The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0777 Psychological Warfare (2)

-By the time Yan Wushuang returned to the wangfu, it was already nighttime. Yuchen had already gone to bed, but Yan Wushuang paid her no mind and walked straight into her bedchamber.

Yuchen clutched the quilt tightly with both hands and asked, "What are you trying to do?" Her entire body trembled as she spoke, for she was afraid that Yan Wushuang's bestial urges would erupt and he would pounce on her.

Yan Wushuang smiled. "Although I am hardly a good man, I am not so utterly without decency. Unless you consent of your own accord, I will not touch you."

Yuchen's face flushed red with anger. "Why should I believe you?"

Yan Wushuang found the question amusing. "I heard that the Third Young Miss Han was naturally intelligent and possessed a fragrant Hui nature and an orchid-like heart. From what I have seen today, however, the rumours appear to have been mistaken." Had he wanted to use force, Han Yuchen would have been unable to resist him. Why would he need to waste so many words?

After saying this, Yan Wushuang added, "Come and take a walk in the garden with me!" With that, he walked out of the room.

Yuchen was unwilling to give in, but she saw the two female guards step forward. Not wanting those two rough women to drag her out of bed, she said, "I will dress myself."

Apart from the imperial garden, the garden of Yan Wangfu was the finest in the capital. Unfortunately, Yuchen was in no mood whatsoever to admire its nighttime scenery.

When they reached a pavilion, Yan Wushuang raised his foot and climbed the steps. Standing inside the pavilion and gazing at the lake, shrouded in curling white mist, he remarked, "Yesterday, Han Jingyan went to the Ministry of Justice to observe an execution. He fainted after watching for only a few minutes." What Yan Wushuang did not mention was that Han Jingyan had been watching a punishment of death by a thousand cuts and ten thousand slices. The scene was so bloody that, never mind experiencing it personally, merely watching it could frighten someone to death. Han Jingyan was scared half to death and even suffered nightmares that night.

Yuchen truly wished she could crawl into a hole in the ground and disappear.

Yan Wushuang said with a smile, "What truly puzzles me is how a man like Han Jingyan could have produced a daughter like Han Yuxi." That a man such as Han Jingyan could father a daughter of such exceptional courage was undeniably a rare occurrence.

This was the first time Yuchen had heard someone praise Yuxi in her presence.

Seeing that Yuchen remained silent, Yan Wushuang did not become angry. Instead, he continued, "I heard that you and Han Yuxi grew up together and were even taught by the same teacher. Can you tell me if there was anything unusual about Han Yuxi when she was young?" The person who understands you best is not your family, but your opponent. Yan Wushuang intended to become a worthy opponent.

Only after a long silence did Yuchen manage to squeeze out a single sentence: "There was nothing particularly unusual about her." Other than being extremely hardworking, Yuchen genuinely did not think Yuxi possessed any other special qualities.

Yan Wushuang said, "But I heard that Han Yuxi was exceptionally diligent from childhood. Even without anyone supervising her, she studied tirelessly and without weariness. She practised calligraphy until her hands bled, and even when she could no longer write, she still insisted on finishing her lessons. Is all of that true?"

Yuchen nodded. "It is." Even now, Yuchen could not understand why Yuxi had worked so desperately, as though her life depended on it back then.

Yan Wushuang smiled. "What puzzles me is why such a hardworking and diligent person was not particularly well known in the capital when she was young." Yan Wushuang was mistaken on that point. Yuxi had indeed been very well known in the capital—her reputation simply had not been a favourable one.

Yuchen spoke softly. "She did not possess any particularly outstanding talents." Yuxi had dabbled in chess, calligraphy and painting, but she was not proficient in any of them. Which daughter of a prominent household in the capital had not been carefully educated? Compared with those young women, Yuxi's abilities were only respectable, not exceptional. Furthermore, with Yuchen standing before her and overshadowing her, it was only natural that Yuxi's reputation had not stood out.

Yan Wushuang gave a quiet laugh. "Did she truly possess no particularly outstanding talent?" If Han Yuxi had no qualities that surpassed those of ordinary people, she could never have reached her present position.

Yuchen mused, "There was one unusual thing, I suppose. Yuxi loved reading. Sometimes she became so absorbed in her books that she forgot to sleep or eat."

Yuxi's fondness for reading was no secret in the Duke's residence. Yan Wushuang asked, "What kind of books did she read?" Young women raised in the inner chambers generally read travel accounts and other miscellaneous works. Han Yuxi, however, was an unusual person, so the books she enjoyed were surely different.

Yuchen replied, "Nothing more than medical texts, travel accounts, storybooks and the like."

Yan Wushuang smiled. "Were those truly the only ones?" When Yuchen nodded, Yan Wushuang knew that she was not telling the truth.

Idly playing with the curved Wu blade in his hand, Yan Wushuang asked casually, "Do you know Han Yuxi's weaknesses?"

Yuchen nodded. "She is deeply filial towards Eldest Aunt, and she greatly respects Dage and Er Ge." Yuxi's only weakness was no longer in the capital.

Yan Wushuang chuckled. "Unfortunately, Qiu Shi and Han Jianming have gone to the northwest. Speaking of which, Zhou Chaixuan truly is a fool. He had such an excellent card in his hand and did not even know how to use it."

Yuchen did not respond.

Seated in the pavilion, Yan Wushuang said to Yuchen, "I heard that you play the qin very well. Play a piece for me."

The moment he finished speaking, someone entered carrying a qin. Yuchen stared at the instrument and struggled with herself for a long while, but ultimately gave in.

Yan Wushuang glanced at Yuchen without speaking, then closed his eyes. While Yuchen tuned the instrument, Yan Wushuang instructed her, "Play The Drunken Fisherman Sings at Dusk📹."

After listening for less than two minutes, Yan Wushuang said, "Stop playing. You may go back!" With her performance sounding so mournful and wretched, how was anyone supposed to sleep?

After Yuchen left, Yan Wushuang said to Meng Nian, who had come up to him, "Have the guards pay closer attention to Han Shi tonight. Do not let down your guard." Han Yuchen had been far too obedient that evening. It was inconsistent with her character.

Yuchen didn't do anything else that day. After returning to her room, she simply went to bed. In the following days, she ate when it was time to eat and slept when it was time to sleep. Her expression remained calm, and no one would have guessed that she was a recently widowed woman. The only habit she maintained was her vegetarian diet; she refused to eat meat or fish.

Yuchen remained quietly in Yan Wangfu for half a month. Seeing that she was perfectly obedient and well-behaved, the two female guards gradually let their guard down. However, the moment they did so, something went wrong.

Yan Wushuang learned that Yuchen had attempted suicide by cutting her wrist with a tiny blade. He flew into a towering rage. "Where did she find that blade?" There wasn't a single sharp-edged object kept in Yuchen's room, let alone something as dangerous as a blade.

The fact that Han Yuchen had possessed a blade showed that there was a spy inside Yan Wangfu and that spy had supplied it. The matter would not be difficult to investigate. They merely had to arrest and interrogate everyone who had come into contact with Yuchen.

Uncle Tang stated, "I will investigate this thoroughly." Having seen that Yan Wushuang was not infatuated with Yuchen, Uncle Tang's concerns disappeared, and he consequently stopped paying attention to her.

Yuchen had only come into contact with a few people during that time, so the investigation was straightforward. They arrested and interrogated them separately and soon obtained an answer. It turned out that the old woman who delivered Yuchen's meals had given her the blade. She had hidden it inside a steamed bun and then alerted Yuchen to its presence. The reason why the woman had done so was no longer important, as everyone involved in the affair would be put to death.

Yuchen awoke after daybreak. When she opened her eyes and saw the room's furnishings, she immediately knew that she had failed. Tears began falling uncontrollably. Why wasn't she even allowed to die?

Qingyi brought a bowl of red-date congee and sat beside the bed. "Open your mouth." When Yuchen refused to eat, Qingyi ate the congee herself. After finishing it, she said, "There are so many people who wish they could eat red-date congee like this but cannot. You truly are surrounded by blessings without appreciating them."

Yuchen asked, "Why? Why didn't I die?" Afraid of being discovered, she had deliberately chosen to cut her wrist in the middle of the night. Yet she had still been found.

Qingyi snorted coldly. "You have a remarkably strong fate. Wangye happened to return at just the right time." Yan Wushuang had been out attending to certain matters and did not return until midnight. Feeling irritated, he wanted someone to talk to, and Yuchen was the most suitable choice. Consequently, the person he sent found her with a cut wrist.

Yuchen was overwhelmed with grief. She did not know whether to call herself fortunate or unfortunate.

Qingyi ignored the weeping Yuchen and carried the empty bowl away. She dared to leave so confidently only because she knew that Yuchen was physically weak and would be unable to kill herself even if she tried again.

Realising that cutting her wrist had failed, Yuchen began refusing food. Qingyi simply allowed her to do as she pleased and did not force her to eat. In this way, Yuchen went hungry for a whole day. She was already extremely weak from losing so much blood, and after going another day without food, she became dizzy and mentally muddled from hunger.

Qingyi brought over a bowl of ginseng chicken soup. "This is excellent stuff. If you still refuse to eat, I will have to enjoy it myself." Her expression made it seem as though she could hardly wait for Yuchen to refuse.

Yuchen replied weakly, her voice lacking strength: "I will eat." Someone who had never gone hungry could never understand how unbearable starvation felt.

Qingyi told her, "'If you had done this earlier, you wouldn't have needed to suffer like this." Now that Yuchen knew how unpleasant hunger was, she wouldn't make another scene by refusing food.

News of Yuchen's suicide attempt quickly spread.

Upon receiving the news, the Lady of Pingqing immediately sent a visiting card to the Wangfu, requesting permission to see Yuchen. This was the first time anyone had voluntarily requested to visit Yuchen since her capture.

Uncle Tang accepted the visiting card and granted the request.

When Zhao Shi, the Lady of Pingqing, arrived and saw Yuchen lying in bed with a deathly pale face, she felt tears welling up. Choking back tears, she said, "Meimei, you have suffered terribly."

Yuchen shook her head. "I am doing quite well. Biaosao, are Jiujiu, and Da Biaoge doing well?" The fact that Zhao Shi was willing to visit her already made Yuchen very happy.

Zhao Shu wiped away her tears. "Do not worry, Meimei. My father-in-law is doing well. He is merely deeply concerned about you. When he heard this morning that something had happened to you, he asked me to come and see you."

After Yuchen was confined in Yan Wangfu, those men who styled themselves as guardians of morality did not dare spread malicious stories about Yan Wushuang. Instead, they began to degrade and humiliate Yuchen. They called her fickle as water and flighty as poplar blossoms, claiming that she had given herself to Yan Wushuang immediately after her husband's death. When news of Yuchen's suicide attempt spread, they said that she was merely putting on a hypocritical performance. Had she truly intended to die, they argued, she should have done so much earlier. Why wait until after she had lost her chastity before killing herself?

Yan Wushuang knew about the rumours circulating outside, but he ignored them. Such flowing words and flying speech simply could not be held back. Even killing people would accomplish nothing.

They might refrain from saying it to his face, but they would say the same things behind his back.

Upon hearing this, Yuchen's tears began to fall again. "I have caused Jiujiu to worry. The fault is mine." At least there were still people who genuinely cared about her. She had not failed completely.

Zhao Shi stayed with Yuchen and talked to her for most of the day before leaving. After receiving Zhao Shi's comfort, Yuchen felt much better.