The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0795 Huang Taidi (2)

Yan Wushuang returned from the imperial palace and told Meng Nian something. "The Emperor has given Zhou Yan a childhood nickname. He calls him Ah Bu." If Meng Nian hadn't told him two days earlier that the dog Zhou Jing had k!lled and eaten was also called Ah Bu, Yan Wushuang truly wouldn't have thought much of such a nickname.

Meng Nian was stunned. "Does that mean he is treating Zhou Yan like a pet?" Otherwise, why would he give him such a nickname?

Yan Wushuang had thought the same thing, but hadn't said it aloud.

Meng Nian deliberately proposed, "Wangye, why not remove Zhou Jing and put Zhou Yan in his place? Zhou Yan is still only a yellow-mouthed little child. Even if he wanted to stir up trouble, that would still be more than ten years away." By traditional age reckoning, Zhou Yan was only five. It would be another twelve years before he could personally assume the reins of government.

Yan Wushuang enunciated every word: "Zhou Yan and I share the enmity of a murdered father." In truth, there was no difference between Zhou Jing and Zhou Yan.

Meng Nian sighed. "Actually, no matter which of them takes the throne, it will be disadvantageous to us, unless you take the throne yourself, Wangye." Only if Yan Wushuang himself became Emperor could the problem be solved at its root.

Yan Wushuang stated, "The time has not yet come." He genuinely had no interest in that chair, but he could not turn back now. He had to keep climbing upwards because taking even one step back meant death. He had only just picked up his life again, so how could he allow it to be lost at someone else's hands?

In the evening, Yuchen sent Momo Gui to invite Yan Wushuang over for dinner. It was the first time since entering Yan Wangfu that Yuchen had humbled herself. Her purpose was self-evident.

Yan Wushuang also gave her face, and went to Yuchen's courtyard that evening. Before they finished dinner, Yan Wushuang said, "Tell me what you want first." In fact, Yan Wushuang already knew what Yuchen wanted. She merely wished to see her son.

Seeing this, Yuchen stopped turning corners and skirting around angles. "I haven't seen Yan-er for more than three months. I want to go to the Imperial Palace to see him. I beg Wangye to grant me this request."

Yan Wushuang did not refuse. To him, it was just a trivial matter. "As long as you serve me well, I will naturally grant your request."

Yuchen lowered her head and, after a long while, said, "All right." They had already consummated their relationship, so acting coy and hesitant now would only seem insincere. Besides, Yuchen truly missed her son. When her son was hidden away, she was constantly worried that he would be caught and killed. Now that he was in the imperial palace, she still could not feel at ease without seeing him herself.

Yan Wushuang's stamina was something that Zhou Chaijin could not compete with. When Yuchen woke the next day, she could not even walk.

Momo Gui looked at the blue and purple bruises covering Yuchen's body and wiped away a tear. When had her mistress ever suffered such hardship before? "Nianniang, the water is ready. Have a soak." The mistress and servant had now returned to their previous standard of living.

It was not until the afternoon that Yuchen entered the palace. The moment she saw Zhou Yan, she rushed forward and pulled him into her arms, her tears gushing like a spring. "Yan-er, my Yan-er."

The children of the Imperial family matured early. Zhou Yan was five by the traditional method of age calculation and was already old enough to understand things. Those around him had told him long ago that Yuchen had remarried. Although he resented Yuchen, when faced with his own mother, who had always cherished him like a pearl and a treasure, he could not bring himself to say anything vicious to her. Instead, he pushed Yuchen away forcefully and shouted, "Go away! I don't want to see you!" His days of hiding from place to place had been anything but easy, and over the past few months Zhou Yan had tasted more than enough bitterness. When he was captured, he was also terribly frightened.

How could Yuchen possibly let go? He was her only remaining concern, her only reason to keep going. "Yan-er, Mom has wronged you. Back then, Mom should have left with you." If she had gone with Zhou Yan, then even if something truly had happened, they could at least have died together instead of him suffering so much as he did now.

Momo Gui knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, all these days Nianniang has been so worried about your safety that neither tea nor food has tasted good to her, and she has wasted away until she hardly looks like herself anymore. By saying something like that, aren't you cutting Nianniang's heart again?" Yuchen had lost a great deal of weight lately; she was now truly as light as a swallow.

Yuchen stroked Zhou Yan's face; her eyes were brimming with tears. "Yan-er, I know you hate Mom. Mom wronged your Fu Huang. Mom also wanted to end everything by dying and joining your Fu Huang, but Mom cannot bring herself to leave you. If Mom were gone too, what would you do all by yourself?"

Zhou Yan also felt deeply wronged and immediately began to cry.

The mother and son held each other and cried for a long while. Momo Gui urged, "Nianniang, there isn't much time left. Please use the time you have left to have a good talk with His Highness." They had to hurry back to Yan Wangfu before nightfall.

Yuchen wiped away her tears, held Zhou Yan as she sat on the couch, and stroked his gaunt face. "Yan-er, have you been all right these past few months?" Yuchen had raised Zhou Yan herself, and their bond was extremely deep. Even though others had tried to sow discord between mother and son, they had not been separated for very long, so the effect was limited. Of course, seeing how skinny Yuchen was was one reason Zhou Yan's heart softened.

Zhou Yan shook his head. "No." How could life have possibly been good while he was being hunted down? In order to keep travelling, they often had one meal without knowing where the next would come from. At times, to avoid their pursuers, they even had to hide in the mountains and forests. They could not light fires in the mountains, so whatever game they caught had to be eaten raw. The first time he ate such a creature raw, he vomited.

Yuchen nearly burst into tears again, but she held them back. She immediately told Zhou Yan many things, things she had never told him before. In the past, she had thought that Zhou Yan was still young, and that, as long as she was there to protect him, there was nothing to worry about. But now, she intended to tell him as much as she possibly could. Even sordid matters were no longer kept from him.

Yuchen talked until her voice had become hoarse. "Yan-er, if you encounter any difficulties in the palace from now on, send someone to tell Mom." For her son's sake, she had to change her present circumstances.

Zhou Yan was, after all, not even five years old, and his recent life on the run had left him frightened and insecure. However, after Yuchen comforted him, his heart felt much more at ease. He immediately nodded. "All right." Then he took Yuchen's hand and asked, "Mom, when will you come to see me again?"

Yuchen stroked Zhou Yan's head and replied, "Mom will come see you again in a few days."

After returning to Yan Wangfu, Yuchen told Momo Gui, "Momo, I can't have any more children." None of the women serving Yan Wushuang at Yan Wangfu took contraceptive medicine, and Yuchen was no exception. However, she did not want Yan Wushuang's child. Having Yan-er was enough for her.

Momo Gui understood what Yuchen was thinking. "Nianniang, it will be very difficult to find a drug that can permanently prevent you from bearing children." It was not merely difficult; it was *extremely difficult. Even if they managed to obtain such medicine, there would be no way for Yuchen to take it inside Yan Wangfu. They had not yet won over the maids and older female servants in the courtyard, so the slightest unusual movement would be discovered. Besides, Momo Gui actually wanted Yuchen to bear Yan Wushuang a child. Only with a child could Yuchen truly establish a firm foothold in Yan Wangfu. Otherwise, after several more years, when she grew old and her beauty faded, life in the residence would become difficult. Momo Gui herself was someone with half her body already buried in the earth, and she did not have many years left. But Yuchen was still young, and the road ahead of her was still long. She did not want Yuchen to spend the second half of her life in misery and desolation.

Momo Gui thought this way because she believed neither Zhou Jing nor Zhou Yan would last for long. Yan Wushuang was not a kind-hearted and soft-handed man, and he would not remain beneath another person for long.

Yuchen said, "What happens depends on human effort. Besides, I don't need it immediately."

Momo Gui sighed. "Nianniang, you absolutely must take care of your health." Yuchen had become so thin recently that she barely looked like herself. If she continued to torment herself like this, there was no telling how long she could endure it.

Yuchen responded, "I will take good care of myself." For her son's sake, she had to. Yuchen had been living in a muddled daze these days, but now she had to pull herself together for her son's sake.

In the Northwest, Qiu Shi also brought up Yuchen while speaking with Yuxi. "I heard your Dage say that Yan Wushuang found Yuchen's son and that the boy was even appointed Huang Taidi, heir to the throne?"

Yuxi nodded. "It's true."

Qiu Shi said, "Yuchen truly has a bitter fate." And bitter it certainly was. She had once been an Empress who served as the motherly model for all under Heaven, yet she had now been forced to become a concubine.

Yuxi sighed. "In this world, no one's life is easy." Without sufficient power and authority to protect oneself, one would become like fish and meat on someone else's chopping board. This was also why she had urged Yun Qing to rebel in the first place. Fortunately, she had been willing to break the cooking pots and sink the boats; otherwise, they would never have the peaceful life they enjoyed now. To exaggerate a little, without the two of them, the common people of the Northwest would not have their present good life either.

Qiu Shi could not help thinking of the late Concubine Jia and her child again, and her eyes immediately reddened. "Yes, no one's life is easy. If your Dage hadn't brought the whole family to the Northwest and we were still in the capital, who knows what things would be like now?" It wouldn't only have been those concubines, young ladies, and children who died; they themselves might all have lost their lives as well.

Yuxi never dwelled on hypothetical possibilities, because it was meaningless.

Qiu Shi sighed. "If Yuchen hadn't possessed such beauty, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up being made a concubine." Back then, the Old Lady Han had always been immensely proud of Yuchen's appearance, showering her with extreme affection and indulgence. If the Old Lady Han were still alive and knew of Yuchen's present circumstances, there was no telling what she would think.

Yuxi nodded. "Misfortune and fortune depend on each other. If Yuchen did not possess beauty capable of toppling a city, she might not have survived until now." She could not help Yuchen. For one thing, her people could not even get close to her. Even if they could, Yuxi would not allow it. She could not ask her subordinates to risk their lives for Yuchen, and Yun Qing would never agree to it either. Besides, even if they managed to make contact, it would be useless. There was simply no way to rescue Yuchen.

Reflecting on the origins of these events, Qiu Shi could not help saying, "All of this is the evil karma created by Empress Dowager Song and the Song family!"

Yuxi shook her head. "The greatest culprit behind the disaster of the Tong City Incident was not Empress Dowager Song or the Song family, much less Zhou Chaixuan. It was Emperor Guangzong. Had he been an enlightened ruler, the Tong City Incident would never have happened." The chief culprit responsible for the calamity of the Tong City Incident was Emperor Guangzong. Had he not lusted after beauty while neglecting the affairs of state, the Song family would never have had the opportunity to commit such a ruthless act. It had to be said that Yuxi was becoming increasingly rational and now saw matters much more clearly.

After a moment's thought, Qiu Shi nodded. "You're right. If Emperor Guangzong had been an enlightened ruler, not only would the Yan clan never have been exterminated, but the realm could also have remained peaceful." Unfortunately, Guangzong was a foolish ruler. This allowed his maternal and marital relatives to become too powerful, enabling powerful ministers to dominate the court.

Yuxi's expression remained calm. "Where there is a cause, there is an effect. Emperor Guangzong exterminated the Yan clan, so now that Yan Wushuang has come for revenge, it is not something that can be severely criticised." After Zhou Chaijin died, almost all the members of the Imperial Clan had been dealt with by Yan Wushuang.

Qiu Shi frowned. "No matter what happened, he still should not indiscriminately kill innocent people." The number of people who had died at Yan Wushuang's hands was too great to count.

Yuxi did not want to discuss this issue with Qiu Shi. Just as she had once told her Dage, Han Jianming, people who had never experienced devastation themselves could never understand that kind of despair and grief. She, however, understood it deeply from personal experience. Of course, there was still a difference. Yan Wushuang carried a hatred that towered to the heavens born from the extermination of his entire clan, whereas hers had only been personal hatred. Therefore, Yan Wushuang's pain was ten times, perhaps even a hundred times greater than hers.

Yuxi smiled. "If everyone could be like Mom and do good deeds to accumulate blessings and virtue, then this world would be a wonderful place." But how many people like her mother could there possibly be in this world?