The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0791 Concubines

When Tie Kui went to Qiu Dashan's residence, he happened to see two women there. Although he wasn't the type to be easily captivated by beautiful women, even he was momentarily stunned by the two beauties.

The two women looked exactly alike, and even wore identical clothes. Yet that was not the most remarkable thing. What was truly remarkable was that the woman on the left was as gentle as water, her eyes so clear that they seemed like crystals immersed in water; while the woman on the right was captivatingly beautiful, with eyes that seemed capable of bewitching a person's very soul. Their appearances were identical, yet their temperaments were completely opposite, creating a striking visual impact when they stood together.

Qiu Dashan waved for the two women to withdraw, then smiled at Tie Kui and said, "Unfortunately, they already have an owner, otherwise I would definitely give them to you."

Tie Kui shook his head. "I couldn't handle beauties like these. I already can't cope with the three women at home. Add another two, and my body wouldn't be able to take it." Tie Kui also had two concubines. One had been bestowed on him by Yan Wushuang, while the other had been given to him by Qiu Dashan.

Qiu Dashan slapped Tie Kui on the shoulder and burst out laughing. "With that build of yours, you really should take it easy." In truth, Tie Kui was not short. He stood at 1.78 metres. But compared to Qiu Dashan, who was 1.86 metres tall, broad, and sturdy, Tie Kui simply could not measure up.

Tie Kui chose the right moment to pat Qiu Dashan's horse's backside. "I can't compare with you, General!" Qiu Dashan was indeed very robust and often had two women attend to him at once. Of course, these were Qiu Dashan's own claims. Whether he was actually blowing a cow, only Qiu Dashan himself knew.

Qiu Dashan's horse's backside was patted very well, leaving him thoroughly pleased from the inside out. After all, for a man, being strong in that particular department was certainly something worth boasting about.

Seeing that Qiu Dashan was in a good mood, Tie Kui could not resist asking, "General, are you planning to present those two beauties to His Majesty?" Zhou Jing was already fifteen. Before ascending the throne, he was still a virgin. After becoming Emperor, he had acquired two women to attend to him. The Ministry of Rites was now selecting an Empress for him. Finding an Empress for Zhou Jing was no easy matter. Everyone knew that he was merely a puppet, and none of the powerful families was willing to marry their carefully raised legitimate daughters to him.

Qiu Dashan laughed. "His Majesty hasn't even turned twenty yet. Why would I give them to him? I'm preparing to give them to Wangye." In truth, Qiu Dashan did not put Zhou Jing in his eyes at all. In his heart, there was only one true master: Yan Wushuang.

Tie Kui was extremely surprised. "Would Wangye accept them?" As Qiu Dashan's trusted confidant, Tie Kui knew more than most people. For example, he knew Yan Wushuang and Han Yuchen were only married in name and had not consummated their marriage.

Qiu Dashan replied, "Wangye is a man too! How could he refuse a pair of such delicate, alluring beauties? As far as I'm concerned, no matter how beautiful a woman is, if she doesn't know how to please a man, it's all a complete waste." Han Yuchen might indeed be the greatest beauty under heaven, but what use was that? She was always as cold as a block of ice, and she wouldn't even let Wangye touch her. Did she think she was some kind of immortal maiden? It was only because Wangye was willing to indulge her like this. If he were in Wangye's shoes, he would have put her in her place ages ago.

Tie Kui smiled. "You're right, General. But where did you manage to find beauties like these?" As for the two concubines in the Tie residence, Tie Kui had formally taken them to his room after they were given to him. Since he had to make a living right under Yan Wushuang's eyelids, he certainly could not behave too differently from everyone else. Still, Tie Kui insisted on one principle: until his wife gave birth to their firstborn son, neither concubine was permitted to have a child.

Qiu Dashan smiled broadly. "I paid a great deal of money for them." Such exceptional beauties were something one might encounter but could never seek out.

On that same day, Tie Kui returned home only to hear some very bad news. Lu Shi, the concubine that Yan Wushuang had given him, was pregnant and already more than a month along.

Tie Kui's face darkened. His wife, Xiao Shi, had still shown no sign of pregnancy, yet Lu Shi had somehow become pregnant first. "What happened?" He had long since ordered that both concubines be given a contraceptive decoction after every encounter. If she was pregnant now, then something must have gone wrong somewhere.

Xiao Shi was furious as well. "I made sure they took the contraceptive decoction every single time." Since Lu Shi was now pregnant, she must have either secretly poured it down the drain without drinking it, vomited it back up after drinking it, or the medicine had been switched. It had to be admitted that Lu Shi was quite a formidable character.

Tie Kui fell silent for a moment before saying, "If she could become pregnant even after taking contraceptive medicine, perhaps it is Heaven's will." He was already twenty-seven. If he ordered Lu Shi's child to be aborted, Yan Wushuang would certainly become suspicious. To be safe, this child had to remain.

Xiao Shi's face turned pale. "I understand." Although she had already suspected that Tie Kui would allow the child to remain, hearing him say it with her own ears still caused her great pain.

Watching Tie Kui leave without even looking back, Xiao Shi felt deeply aggrieved.

Seeing Tie Kui in a bad mood, Zhong Shan advised, "No matter what, this is still your own flesh and blood. You ought to be happy." Even if Tie Kui was unhappy inside, he should at least appear delighted in front of others.

Tie Kui said, "What's there to be happy about? Leaving aside the fact that Lu Shi shouldn't have been allowed to have this child, just look at Xiao Shi. If she can't even manage two concubines properly, how will she raise and discipline the children in future?" Scholarly families placed great importance on proper order between seniors and juniors, a principle that had deeply influenced Tie Kui. Thus, he was greatly disappointed by this incident. He had made his position clear to Xiao Shi, telling her that no concubine was permitted to become pregnant before the birth of an eldest legitimate son. Yet she had allowed Lu Shi to conceive anyway. When Lu Shi's pregnancy was revealed, rather than trying to resolve the matter herself, Xiao Shi passed the problem on to Tie Kui.

Zhong Shan consoled him. "Madam is still young and has spent most of her life secluded in the inner chambers. How could she possibly outmanoeuvre a woman like Lu Shi, who has been trained and is so calculating?"

Tie Kui shook his head. "Having an older maid watch them actually swallow the contraceptive decoction isn't exactly difficult." This was not some complicated scheme or intrigue. When all was said and done, Xiao Shi had simply underestimated her opponent and been too careless. Hopefully, she would learn from this mistake.

The two beauties Qiu Dashan had found were delivered to Yan Wangfu that very day. When Yan Wushuang saw them, he smiled. "Dashan certainly went to a lot of trouble." Their shoulders were as though delicately carved, waists as slender as if bound in white silk, skin like congealed cream, and an aura like secluded orchids. They were seductively graceful, seemingly boneless, with their beauty heightened another three parts. They could certainly be considered exceptional beauties.

After the two beauties had withdrawn, Uncle Tang suggested, "If Wangye likes them, let them attend Wangye tonight."

Yan Wushuang nodded. "All right." Yan Wushuang was not obsessed with women, but that did not mean he abstained from them. The only men who completely stayed away from women were eunuchs or those who were fond of Longyang.

Early the following morning, word of the matter reached Momo Gui. Momo Gui was somewhat worried, but when she looked at Yuchen, who was as tranquil as still water, she found herself unable to get a single word out.

After Yuchen had finished reciting the scriptures, she rose and asked Momo Gui, "Why does your complexion look so terrible? Has something happened?"

Momo Gui replied, "Yesterday, someone presented Wangye with a pair of sister flowers, and Wangye has already taken them to his room." Although Momo Gui had never seen the two women, she was deeply worried.

Thinking about Yuchen's attitude, Momo Gui sighed. Even though things had already reached this point, Yuchen still refused to let Yan Wang get close to her intimately. Given enough time, no man could endure that. Yet Momo Gui could not even advise Yuchen about it, because Yuchen's expression would turn ugly the moment she mentioned the matter.

Yuchen replied indifferently, "Whether he marries a wife or takes concubines is none of our concern." She had never regarded Yan Wushuang as her husband, nor did she intend to remain in the Yan Wangfu for the rest of her life. Therefore, she didn't care in the slightest whether Yan Wushuang took concubines.

Momo Gui sighed and said nothing more.

Before long, an older maid brought in breakfast. Because Yuchen treated Yan Wushuang coldly, she had angered Uncle Tang. As a result, Yuchen and Momo Gui's living conditions had plummeted sharply during this period. Recently, for example, breakfast consisted of nothing but plain rice porridge and vegetarian steamed buns, without even a small side dish. In the past, Yuchen's breakfast alone would have filled an entire table.

Today's breakfast had deteriorated yet again. Looking at the food on the table, Momo Gui's face darkened. She demanded of the maid who had delivered the food, "You actually dare to serve Niangniang things like these?" The porridge was murky and clearly made from poor-quality rice. Then there were the dark, coarse-grained steamed cakes, which were enough to destroy anyone's appetite at first glance.

Yuchen remained silent. She picked up one of the coarse cakes and ate it with the porridge. Although it tasted awful, she merely frowned and forced herself to swallow it.

Tears fell from Momo Gui's eyes. "Niangniang, please just bow your head this once!" If this continued, they might eventually stop giving her even coarse cakes and rice porridge.

Yuchen gritted her teeth. "It isn't going to kill anyone." But she had spoken too soon. Because the old rice was mouldy, she developed diarrhoea that very day.

When Uncle Tang heard about it, he just dismissed it. "She just ate something that upset her stomach. It's hardly anything serious." Because he looked down on Yuchen, Uncle Tang would not even summon a physician for her.

What Uncle Tang had not expected was that Yuchen developed a high fever that very night. She had been raised too delicately and could not endure this sort of rough treatment and ordeal.

Uncle Tang reported the matter to Yan Wushuang. "I've already summoned a physician for her. Wangye, just what exactly do you intend to do about this Han Shi? If you like her, then take her into your room. Don't leave her moping around half-dead every day. If you don't like her, send her straight to a temple to be born by herself and perish by herself." By this point, even Uncle Tang could no longer understand what Yan Wushuang was thinking.

Yan Wushuang responded, "Keeping her in the residence isn't causing any trouble."

Uncle Tang fell silent for a moment before advising, "Wangye, it is time for you to marry and have children." The continuation of the family line still depended on a legitimate son. The two boys outside, after all, were merely sons born of concubines.

Yan Wushuang shook his head. "Don't bring this matter up again. I will not marry a wife." He did not explain why.

Uncle Tang found Yan Wushuang increasingly difficult to understand. "Why does Wangye refuse to marry?" Wangye was willing to take secondary consorts yet unwilling to marry a principal wife. Uncle Tang could not understand what he was thinking.

Faced with Uncle Tang's increasingly persistent nagging, Yan Wushuang felt that his patience was wearing thin. "If I don't want to marry, then I won't. Why does everything need a reason?"

Seeing that Yan Wushuang had become angry, Uncle Tang did not dare say another word.

At that moment, Meng Nian hurried inside and reported, "Wangye, our men have found traces of Zhou Yan."

Yan Wushuang instructed, "Arrest him immediately. Once you've caught him, hand him over to Zhou Jing for punishment." Anything inconvenient for Yan Wushuang to do personally because it would leave him with a notorious reputation, he now simply dumped onto Zhou Jing.

Meng Nian immediately withdrew. 

On that same day, Yan Wushuang received news that Yuxi intended to hold Imperial Examinations in the Northwest. He tossed the slip of paper in his hand onto the table and remarked, "That woman certainly has a really big heart." Yun Qing and Yuxi now fundamentally refused to recognise Zhou Jing as emperor. Consequently, the couple paid absolutely no heed to orders from the Imperial Court. Their attitude was as different as heaven and earth from the way they had behaved when Zhou Chaijin had previously been Emperor.