The news that the Fourth Miss Han was taken and killed after being sexually assaulted by the northern barbarians soon spread throughout the capital. This time, even Han Jianming could not calm himself up.
When Zhou Shi got this news, she did not seek Han Jianming directly but had someone go to Jing Wangfu to inquire the truth of this matter from Yuchen.
Yuchen was ridiculed by many people these days because of how Yuxi died at the hands of the barbarians. Song Ling-er was even more unrelenting in her burning satire and freezing irony upon Yuchen as if this would vent all her pent-up anger. When Yuchen heard that someone from the State Residence had come to question the authenticity of the news, she told Mama Luo, "I have asked His Highness, and he confirmed that this is true." When she got the information, she didn't believe it at first, but when His Highness verified it, she couldn't help but trust his words.
Mama Luo's face turned pale. "Wangfei, what should we do?" Because a young miss from the Han family had died after being sexually assaulted by the barbarians, the Fifth Miss and the other young masters' marriage would also be affected.
Yuchen gave out a bitter laugh and said, "What else can we do?" Since that person was already dead, they were the ones who had to bear the consequences.
After Mama Luo left, Momo Gui wondered, "Wangfei, that old ancestor has specially asked Mama Luo to inquire about this matter. Is she planning something?"
Yuchen shook her head and said, "What can she plan? That person is already dead. Moreover, Yuxi was also a victim in this matter." She and Yuxi had gotten along very well over the years, but she never thought that Yuxi would end up in such a miserable situation. Her death was already unsightly enough, and she was even humiliated after losing her life. When Yuchen recalled this, she got so flustered that she felt suffocated in her heart.
Momo Gui also sighed and said, "No one would have thought that Fourth Miss would end up like this. If only she had not withdrawn from her previous marriage." If Yuxi hadn't withdrawn, even if Song Guifei killed her, she would at least pass away with a clean reputation. Unlike now, she was humiliated after her death and implicated all Han family members.
Yuchen let out a long sigh. "Who could figure out that it would be like this?" If anyone could, she was confident that Da Tangge would not let Yuxi withdraw from her previous marriage.
Hearing these words, Momo Gui immediately shifted their topic to the one they could still fight for and figure out. "Niangniang, Heshou Xianzhu will enter Xuan Wangfu at the end of this month."
Yuchen sneered as she said, "Let her bounce around for a few more days first. When she has no more use, she will die in the hand of 9th Prince, even without us going through the 9th Wangfei." If they didn't kill Heshou, Yuchen would also find a way to end her life. She had not yet taken revenge for the night of the palace rebellion back then! Because of Heshou, she and her grandmother suffered heavy losses, and many of their people died. If Heshou had been hiding in Wutai Mountain, it would have been fine, but now that she was back in the capital, Yuchen must take her revenge.
Momo Gui nodded and said, "I don't know why the Buddha didn't just take this scourge away." She knew that the 9th Prince kept Heshou around because he thought she still could be of any use. Otherwise, how would such a strange woman be left alive?
After Mama Luo got the exact news from Yuchen's side, she immediately returned to the Han family and told Zhou Shi about it.
When Zhou Shi got the news, a fierce light flashed in her eyes. "Go and call Jianming over. If he's not at the residence, have someone call him back." How dare he hide such a significant matter from her? Did he think that his wings had hardened and that she couldn't control him anymore?
When Han Jianming was made aware that Zhou Shi was looking for him, his heart flashed with fear that his grandmother had heard of Yuxi's new rumour. He didn't know what she would do next after discovering it.
Zhou Shi looked at Han Jianming and asked, "What are you going to do about this?"
Han Jianming said, "Grandmother, this matter is only a rumour. There is not enough evidence to prove that the dead woman is Yuxi. If anything, we better wait until the letter from Er Di arrives." Before Han Jianye's news arrived, he still had a glimmer of hope that the woman sexually assaulted until she died was not Yuxi.
Zhou Shi had not lost her temper for many years, but today she could not hold back any longer. She slammed her most cherished teacup on the ground at once and cursed furiously, "Yuchen has already said that the dead one is Yuxi, and you're still planning to fool me?"
Han Jianming did not utter a single word of reply.
Zhou Shi suppressed her anger and instructed, "The Han family could not afford to have someone leaving behind such a stain. Immediately removed her from the family tree." If Yuxi were out of their family tree, she would no longer be the young miss of the Han family. Although this only made them plug their ears while stealing a bell, it was better than hearing people mutter about a girl of the Han family who died after being forcibly taken by men.
Han Jianming's expression kept on changing, and only after a while did he manage to argue, "Grandmother, I can't agree to this. Grandmother, even if those barbarians had killed Yuxi, it was not of her own free will." If they were to remove Yuxi from the clan, it would appear that they were being too fickle and heartless.
When Zhou Shi heard this, her anger rose once more. "If she had moral integrity, she should have killed herself after being caught by those barbarians to save her reputation. She wouldn't have disgraced the Han family." If she had known this much earlier, she would not have let Qiu Shi save her, and there would not have been today's incident.
No matter what Han Jianming said, he could not put some sense to Zhou Shi. Finally, he said helplessly, "Grandmother, this matter has not been decided yet, so we can't just remove Yuxi from the clan hastily."
Before Zhou Shi could say anything, a maid rushed into the room and said, "My Lord, the Old Lady fainted after hearing about the passing of the Fourth Miss."
Han Jianming immediately went to the Changle Courtyard to visit Qiu Shi in haste.
Qiu Shi had already woken up by now, and when she saw Han Jianming, she asked, "Ming-er, even with all those rumours out there, your Si Mei is still alive and well, right?"
Han Jianming was silent for a moment before answering, "Mother, I, myself, am not sure how Si Mei is currently doing. Now we can only wait for a letter from Er Di." He was also unconfident that the person who died was not Yuxi. After all, the news came from an official source, and he had no proof to contradict it. Please read this chapter at xinshou blogspot com.
Qiu Shi instantaneously burst with hope as she repeatedly muttered, "Right, right, your Si Mei is a bright one, and she has that maid Zijin by her side, so she will certainly be fine. Although your Si Mei has faced numerous adversities and calamities, she always manages to head off any of the dangers. This time she will be fine too." After saying that, Qiu Shi reassured herself once more, "Yes, Yuxi will be fine. She will be fine." Saying it this way was the only way to make her feel at ease. [+]
When Han Jianming heard Zijin's name, he suddenly reacted and said, "Mother, I still have something to take care of. I'll come and see you later."
In his study, Han Jianming browsed over the message Han Ji managed to send back. He did not mention Zijin in his letter or Master Yang and his apprentice who had followed them along to the northwest.
By this time, Han Jianming murmured to himself, "How could I have forgotten such an important thing?" That girl Yuxi could foretell her own bad luck. Thus, she could use this ability of hers to avoid any danger. Therefore, that girl must have left the team earlier, and that dead girl was 100% her double.
As Han Jianmimg thought of this, his entire body finally loosened up. His nerves had been stretched taut from when he heard Yuxi was gone until now.
At that moment, Han Hao scrambled into the study and reported, "My Lord, please go to the main courtyard quickly! There has been a commotion over there because of the matter of removing the Fourth Miss from the clan."
Han Jianming hurried up to the main courtyard without delay. When he arrived there, he could see how chaotic the inside of the house was. Han Jianming asked with an ashen face, "What's going on here?"
Qiu Shi came out of the house with tears in her eyes as she replied, "I heard your grandmother say that she wanted to remove Yuxi from the family, so I came over to have a few words with her. I didn't expect your grandmother to scold me angrily, so I retorted with a few sentences......" She was beside herself with rage. It wasn't even sure if the dead person was indeed Yuxi, but the one who lived here already called for Yuxi's removal from the clan. Not to mention that Yuxi probably was not dead, Qiu Shi would still go against the suggestion even if they confirmed that it was truly Yuxi.
When Han Jianming heard these words, he suddenly felt his head could explode. "Mother, you go back first. I will take care of things here."
Qiu Shi wiped her tears, looked at Han Jianming and said, "Ming-er, no matter what, you can't agree to remove Yuxi from the clan."
Han Jianming stated, "Mother, the person killed by the northern captives was not Yuxi, so you don't have to worry." Since the one who died was only a double, even though their grandmother hated Yuxi, she still could not remove her from the clan.
Qiu Shi's eyes lit up as she grabbed Han Jianming's arm and asked, "Really? Did your Er Di write that to you?"
Han Jianming shook his head and answered, "No. This is only my speculation." As for how he came out with it, he didn't have to explain it to Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi did not bother to pursue the root of the matter, and after listening to Han Jianming's words, she covered her chest and stated, "It's good that your Si Mei is okay." She knew her eldest son's nature very well, and he would not have said this to her if he, himself, was not confident enough. Therefore, Yuxi must still be alive and well.
The physician soon came and gave Zhou Shi a prick of the needle, and she woke up not before long. However, Zhou Shi had a stroke because of this incident and could not speak smoothly.
Qiu Shi felt a little guilty after knowing that Zhou Shi had suffered a stroke.
Upon seeing this reaction from Qiu Shi, Mama Li tried to console her, "She was going to remove the Fourth Miss from the clan even before the exact news came from the border city. How can there be such a cruel grandmother?" Once they removed the Fourth Miss from the clan, she was no longer one of the young misses of the Han family. If Yun Qing didn't marry the Fourth Miss because of this, would he not be driving her to her death?
After hearing Mama Li's words, the guilt in Qiu Shi's heart was gone. However, thinking about the dangers that Yuxi had to face along the way, where she nearly died three to four times, Qiu Shi was furious as she let out. "If it were not for that poisonous woman, Yuxi would have married into the Taining Residence by now, and her life would be so beautiful. Where would she have suffered these many trials and tribulations?"
Even if Yuxi married into the Taining Residence, Mama Li felt that her days would still not be good. "Master, since Song Guifei rewarded the Second Master Chen with a noble concubine, Taining Residence is now in hell of an uproar, and the Lady of Taining has been infuriated because of this." Chen Ran's little trick could fool Qin Xin, but not Song Guifei. Not only the treasure of her heart had been regarded with disdain but had also been schemed against. How could Song Guifei swallow this anger? Hence, not long after Chen Ran married Yu Xixian, Song Guifei bestowed a noble concubine to Chen Ran.
The concubine's father was also surnamed Song and related to the main Song family by many turns of generations. Song Guifei gave that woman to Chen Ran because this concubine was extraordinarily spirited and acted very boldly, not at all a submissive person. One could well imagine how harmful such a person was. Ever since she arrived at the Marquis Residence, the Marquis Taining household had never been peaceful.
Qiu Shi felt that Song Guifei was such a ridiculous person as she commented, "Song Shi does not even put the Yu family in her eyes." When she bullied the Han family, they could still say that the Han family had lost its power, and when they were forced, they had no way to fight back but to put up with it. But the Yu family and the Song family were two armies with equivalent banners and drums! One could imagine how foolish this move was.
Mama Li responded, "Although the Yu family has power and influence, their eldest girl is the 9th Prince's consort. No matter how angry the Yu family is with this act, they still have to endure this grievance." That was why women had to give birth to helpful sons. How would Song Guifei dare to be so arrogant if she didn't have a powerful son to rely on!
As for the woman inciting troubles in the Taining Residence, she would have withdrawn and lived the rest of her life like that if she had even a little brain. She should not think that Taining Residence was where she could act arrogant. It was estimated that it would not be long before this woman ended up dead. As long as one could grab any information that one could use against her, who would care about her being Song Guife's bestowment.
Qiu Shi's eyes flashed with disdain as she said, "You'll see. Sooner or later, there will be retribution." Evil had its retribution, and virtue had its rewards. If the retribution was not forthcoming, it was because the time had not yet come.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi