After sending Qiu Shi and Ye Shi away, Momo Quan turned around and went back inside. She spoke towards the sleeping Yuxi. "Miss, the Lady and Da Nainai has left." Someone couldn't sleep when something of this magnitude had happened unless that person was dim-witted.
Yuxi wasn't surprised that Momo Quan would find out that she was pretending to be asleep. When she heard Momo Quan's words, she opened her eyes and asked, "Did Zisu say when Dage would be back?"
Momo Quan shook her head. "She has already sent someone to invite the Lord Duke. Miss, this time, it's very tricky." Qinxin Gongzhu wanted to recruit Chen Ran as her fuma, but the Chen family was unwilling to withdraw from their marriage, so Yuxi got caught in the middle.
Yuxi felt stupid. How could she not know that she would be facing this kind of exit? "In this matter, we must first see Dage's attitude." If Han Jianming could support her, it would be easier to avoid this calamity. If Han Jianming did not help her, she might not even have a chance to live.
Momo Quan advised, "Miss, don't get your hopes up for the Lord Duke. In his mind, the family interests come first."
Yuxi knew this reasoning and said, "I know. But my affairs do not involve the family interests." If she could be sacrificed in exchange for huge benefits, Han Jianming would definitely compromise. But in the current situation, he wouldn't gain any benefits from doing so. Thus Dage would certainly not have done it.
Momo Quan was just giving Yuxi a heads-up. When she saw that Yuxi was clear-headed and hadn't pinned her hopes on Han Jianming, she didn't say anything more. "Miss, should we ask Zijin to stay outside for a while? Zijin has beaten Song Guifei's people. If she stays in the State Residence, I'm afraid that Song Guifei will harm and square accounts with Zijin after the autumn harvest." Song Guifei didn't dare to kill Yuxi directly because she still had some scruples, but if she wanted to kill Zijin, it would be a matter of minutes.
Yuxi shook her head and said, "No, let Zijin stay by my side." Now that she had become a bird that startled at the mere twang of a bowstring, she was even more uncomfortable without Zijin by her side. As long as Zijin was around her in the State Residence, no one could do anything to her. Even if Song Guifei were capable, she wouldn't dare send an assassin to kill someone in the State Residence.
In response, Momo Quan didn't speak about the matter anymore. "It's good that Miss has a sense of proportion."
An hour later, Han Jianming returned to the residence. As soon as he reached his home, he rushed to the Taoran House. When his sight fell on a pale looking Yuxi, he asked, "I heard that you were facing an assassination attempt at the wangfu? What happened?" What kind of person would have the audacity to assassinate someone in the wangfu?
Yuxi told Han Jianming her suspicions as she retold him her situation. "Dage, this is only my suspicion. Whether it is true or not, I still have to ask you to check it out."
Han Jianming's face instantly turned gloomy. "I didn't expect that Song Guifei would be so vicious. Since she can't deal with the Chen family, she would go as far as went after you." If she could aim for the Chen family, she wouldn't need much to silence a mere weak woman like Yuxi. As expected, there was no single good person in the Song family from top to bottom.
When Yuxi heard these words from Han Jianming, Yuxi was shocked and asked, "Dage, do you know about this?"
Han Jianming nodded a little and said, "Qinxin Gongzhu has fallen in love with Chen Ran, and Song Guifei has leaked the news to the Chen family. She wanted Chen Ran to marry the princess, but the Chen family refused."
Yuxi's face was even uglier than it had been earlier, and she couldn't help coughing. She thought Han Jianming didn't know, and somehow, because of their attachments, he had left her imprisoned in the drum. "Dage, why didn't you tell me about such a big thing?" Because of her Dage's concealment, she almost lost her life in the wangfu.
Han Jianming didn't expect this either and explained, "The Chen family has politely refused the offer, and there was no movement coming from Song Guifei's side, so I thought this issue had died away. At that time, I also remembered that you would be getting married soon. If I told you about this matter, it would not be beneficial to you. So I hid it from you." Han Jianming just thought that although Chen Ran was good in every way, he was not the world's best. Qinxin was a gongzhu and the favourite daughter of the Emperor and Song Guifei. Thus, how hard would it be to find a suitable husband for her? After the Chen family declined the marriage offer and everything was peaceful coming from Song Guifei and the Gongzhu's side, he naturally thought the matter was over. He had never expected that Guifei would be so keen on having Chen Ran as her son-in-law.
Hearing this explanation, Yuxi tried to calm down by leaning back on the bed and asked, "Dage, what now? Since Song Guifei and the Gongzhu have failed to kill me the first time, they will try for the second time."
Han Jianming also felt guilty. This matter was indeed an oversight on his part. If he had known what Song Guifei had in mind, he would not have let Yuxi leave the residence. "As long as you stay inside, you will be safe and sound. When you get married, I believe that Guifei and Gongzhu will also give up."
A smile flashed on Yuxi's face. "Dage, if you want to comfort me, please use a solid reason. Even if I survive these ten days and marry into the Chen family safely, will I still be safe after that? This incident is a good example of what kind of nature Song Guifei has. If she doesn't get what she wants this time, her hate towards me will increase so much as she was unable to get rid of me quickly."
Han Jianming asked, "Then, what do you think should we do?"
Yuxi's answer was simple and clear. "Dage, I don't want to die." It was already hard for her to relive her life. Even if she had to die, it should be for something worth dying for, instead of dying for no reason.
Han Jian clearly understood the meaning of Yuxi's words. "You want to withdraw from the marriage?"
With fatigue in her eyes, Yuxi said, "Dage, if I don't withdraw from my marriage, it will be as if a knife is hanging over my head, where that knife will come down and kill me at any moment. Dage, I don't want to live in fear and anxiety day after day and end up having to die in fear."
Han Jianming was silent for a moment and uttered, "Yuxi, breaking off your engagement is not as simple as touching your upper lip to your lower lip. You and Chen Ran are only ten or so days away from getting married, and not only by withdrawing from the marriage right now will offend the Chen family, you may never be able to marry again."
Yuxi also knew that it was not that easy to break off the engagement. If she did so, the Chen family would not have her as their shield, and Chen Ran would have to marry the princess by then. So for the Chen family, it would be better if she died than to agree to withdraw from the marriage. It was up to Han Jianming to decide whether or not to do so. It was also at this time that Yuxi was glad that the Main House had adopted her. If she were still in the Third House, it would have been useless to make any effort because Han Jianyan would prefer her death to withdraw from the marriage.
Yuxi calmly asked, "Dage, haven't you always felt sorry that I was born as a daughter? If we break this marriage, and I don't want to marry, can you let me stay at the State Residence to be your assistant? Or, it's fine to let me become a helper to Er Ge." This was the only bargaining chip she had left. [+]
Han Jianming loosened his clenched fist and coldly said, "This matter is not yet gone so bad. I will talk to the Chen family first and see what they say? If they can't give me a satisfactory answer, then we'll talk about withdrawing from the marriage." If the Chen family could give him a satisfying response, he would disagree with breaking off the engagement.
Seeing that Yuxi was silent, Han Jianming spoke, "Yuxi, if you can stay in residence and help me, I will have an extra arm. But if you do, this situation will also ruin your life, and Dage doesn't want to see you end up like that." Yuxi's marriage was just ten days away, and to withdraw at this juncture, they could only use the excuse that Yuxi had a severe illness. She already had a reputation of having a bad fortune, and once they used this cover-up, it would only confirm the rumour of her bad fate. Who else could marry her under such circumstances? If she couldn't get married, she would have to stay at home and be a spinster for the rest of her life. And when she died, she would be a wandering ghost without even a living descendant to pray for her.
Yuxi's attitude was absolute as she stated, "Dage, even if I can't get married, it's still better than me being dead." When a person passed away, there would be nothing left of that person.
Han Jianming shook his head and said, "Stop talking about something like that. I'll go to the Chen family first." He had personally watched Yuxi grow up, and he had treated her like his birth sister all these years. Hence, he did not want to see Yuxi end up alone for the rest of her life.
Yuxi knew that this was the most significant concession Han Jianming could make. "Okay, then I'll wait for Dage's news." After saying this, Yuxi added, "Dage, you should also be more careful when you go out. I'm afraid that these people will turn against you and Er Ge. People from the Song family have always acted in a way that they will do anything to achieve their goals and never have a bottom line to speak of." People with a bottom line couldn't even betray their country.
Han Jianming nodded and said, "You don't have to worry about me. You should get some rest." After saying that, he took a giant stride and walked out.
Yuxi closed her eyes as negative emotions surged out inside her. In her previous life, she and the Qiu family had been one step closer to settling down, only for Jiang Hongjin to snatch her at this very moment, leaving her to suffer for seven years. In her current life, she had managed to get rid of the Jiang family and be betrothed to Chen Ran, and they were just a few days away from getting married, only to have Song Guifei and Qinxin Gongzhu come out wanting to kill her.
Just at this moment, someone walked in from outside. Yuxi opened her eyes and saw that it was Momo Quan. Confusion flashed in her eyes, and she couldn't help asking, "Momo, do you honestly think I have a bad fate?"
The similarity of her experiences in her two lifetimes made Yuxi wonder if she could not escape her fate. Was it indeed just as Monk Hetong said that her luck was terrible. Otherwise, why would such a thing always happen to her? At this moment, Yuxi couldn't express how tired and helpless she was.
Momo Quan said, "Miss, if you believe that your fate is bad, then your life will never get better."
Yuxi knew this, but now she genuinely felt that she was unable to support herself. "Momo, I feel so tired." She had fought so hard for so many years, only to come back to square one. She still didn't know what she was working for, and she couldn't see the point of working so hard.
Momo Quan said, "Miss, one cannot have smooth sailing in one's life as one will always encounter many things. This time, it is a hurdle for Miss to go through, and your life will turn good once you can get over it." In fact, Momo Quan knew in her heart that only Yuxi had a tough nature and a strong ability to endure something like this. If it were any other woman, even if the assassination didn't kill her, she would die from being too scared by now.
Yuxi did not want to cry, but tears involuntarily slipped down her face. "But the hardships I have gone through are too many." Suffering seemed to follow her forever, and she couldn't escape from it.
Momo Quan thought otherwise. "Miss, You've survived dreaded smallpox and this time, you have escaped from Song Guifei's murderous scheme. Miss, it is clear that God does not want you to die. If that is the case, then what do you have to fear?"
Yuxi smiled bitterly. She was afraid, literally afraid of losing her life!
Momo Quan didn't know what else to say. After thinking for a while, she said, "Miss, after surviving a great disaster, one is bound to have good fortune in later years. You must believe that you are a person with future blessings." Others said that Yuxi had a bad fate, but she did not think so. If Yuxi had suffered more when she was young, she would be able to deal with whatever came her way in the future in a calm manner, instead of feeling that heaven had fallen and the earth cracked.
Yuxi murmured, "A person with future blessing? I hope so!"
Momo Quan & Yuxi
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi