Chapter 77

Chapter 77

[The Male Chauvinist’s Victory – 18]

Before Madam Yu reached Shouzhou, Li Jiangyue had already ordered someone to prepare a residence for her mother. She was always cautious and naturally understood that, given her mother’s status, it was most appropriate for her to establish a separate household.

However, Li Jiangyue was about to give birth, and the residence had not yet been furnished or put in order. Liu Che therefore stepped forward to urge Madam Yu to remain in his residence until after Li Jiangyue delivered her child.

Madam Yu had intended to accompany her daughter through childbirth in any case, so she readily agreed.

Li Jiangxue received thirty strokes under the family rules and truly lost half her life. She fainted on the spot and did not awaken until the next day, roused by the pain.

Her servants kept watch beside her, tears pouring as though they cost nothing. When she opened her eyes, one hurriedly said, “Madam is awake? Drink some water first. Look how dry your lips are-they are already peeling…”

Li Jiangxue lay dazed on her stomach upon the couch. Her mind replayed her father’s letter, saturated with ruthlessness and indifference, and the cousin who had shown not the slightest affection for her. Burying her face in her arms, she began to sob softly.

How had things become like this?

How had the legitimate eldest daughter of the illustrious Li Family of Lingnan fallen to such a state?

After Madam Wei fainted, Li Dongshan had left with a sweep of his sleeves. Her servants hurriedly summoned a physician. Only after several acupuncture needles were applied did she slowly awaken. Then she lay alone on her couch, weeping with empty eyes.

Her senior attendant was terrified and quickly sent word to the Wei Family, asking Old Madam Wei to come and see her daughter. If something serious had truly happened, it would be better for the Wei Family to negotiate with the Li Family than for Madam Wei to withstand everything alone.

The servant had made no attempt to conceal the situation. The moment Old Madam Wei arrived and heard the complete account from the servants, her vision darkened and she nearly fainted.

“What foolish things have you done?!”

Her hand shook so badly that she could barely hold her walking stick. Half pleading and half furious, she said, “Consider this old woman as begging you. The Wei Family raised you, after all. Please stop ruining the reputations of its daughters, will you? If you are truly divorced and sent home, your brother may say nothing, but won’t your sister-in-law tear you apart alive?!”

Every word pierced Madam Wei’s heart. Closing her eyes, she cried hoarsely, “Mother!”

She wept until she could scarcely breathe. “Mother, she deceived even me! I truly believed she meant to kill herself, which was why I persuaded Master to agree. I never imagined she…”

Old Madam Wei also began to weep. Grabbing Madam Wei by the collar, she pulled her upright and said, “Treat that wretch as dead. Never think of her again! You still have sons, and much of your life remains. Do not bind all of it to her!”

Madam Wei’s love for her daughter was deeper than the sea. She had devoted herself entirely to planning for her, never imagining that her daughter had deceived her from the very beginning.

Li Dongshan had been so shocked and enraged when his sincere paternal love was betrayed. Madam Wei had practically torn out her own heart and given it to her daughter. Now that she learned the truth hidden beneath the lie, her agony was even greater.

Her health had already been poor after several successive blows. Now, struck by this fresh devastation, she even vomited blood that night.

Li Dongshan had endured immense pressure and become the greatest laughingstock in Jiankang, only to learn that it had all been a fraud. He regarded mother and daughter as birds of a feather and never once went to visit Madam Wei.

Through deceit, his eldest daughter had attained her wish by trampling upon him and the Li Family’s reputation, while also harming his second daughter. Now that the truth was exposed, Li Dongshan inevitably felt guilty toward Second Young Lady. Furthermore, Concubine Dong had served the family for many years and ranked below only Madam Wei. He therefore soon used Madam Wei’s grave illness and inability to manage the household as grounds to entrust all domestic affairs to Concubine Dong.

The night this news reached her, Madam Wei vomited blood again.

Before news from Jiankang could reach Shouzhou, Li Jiangyue went into labor.

This was her first child, and the birth was inevitably difficult. Still, she was the mistress of the household and had her birth mother watching closely beside her. After struggling for two hours, she finally gave birth to Liu Che’s eldest son in this lifetime.

Madam Yu remained in the delivery room with her daughter, gripping her hand and not daring to let go. The instant the child left the birth canal and the midwife announced with a beaming smile, “It is a young master,” she immediately sighed in relief and murmured, “Amitabha.”

Li Jiangyue felt relieved as well. Covered in sweat, she lay upon the bed and gasped for breath while someone else went out to give Liu Che the news.

Liu Che froze when he heard. Instinctively, he asked again, “A son?”

“My lord heard correctly,” the midwife replied, all smiles. “It is a young master!”

“Good!” Liu Che was instantly overjoyed. “Good, good, good!”

The newborn had not yet opened his eyes. His entire body was red, but his cries were loud and strong.

Watching the newborn boy kick his legs constantly, Madam Yu smiled. “This child’s legs are truly strong. He takes after his father.”

Li Jiangyue lay weakly upon the bed, smiling faintly.

Guan Sheng leaned over for a look and said excitedly, “Big Brother, you haven’t given him a name yet!”

In his previous life, Liu Che had yearned for a son until his eyes nearly turned green, only for his first several children to be daughters. Now that Li Jiangyue had given birth to a son at once, his joy was accompanied by the unreal sensation that he stood within an illusion.

When his eldest son, Liu Ju, had been born, he had been as delighted as any father in the world blessed with a beloved son. He had gently lifted that tiny new life and sworn to give him everything best in the world.

But later…

Sorrow abruptly entered Liu Che’s eyes. He bent down and expertly lifted the wailing infant. He wanted to say that the child should be named Ju, but when the word reached his lips, he swallowed it again.
The name Ju was inauspicious. The child who had once borne that name had not enjoyed a smooth life, nor had he come to possess the realm as Liu Che had hoped.

The infant in his arms now was an entirely different new life. He should choose another character.

“My generation uses Hong, and the next uses Yuan.” Liu Che lowered his head and gently kissed the baby’s red cheek, hope and expectation shining in his expression. “He will carry the past into the future and begin anew. Let this child be named Yuanxin.”

…

The birth of Yan Hongguang’s legitimate son naturally called for a banquet in the Governor-General of Shouzhou’s residence. On the third-day washing ceremony, music sounded throughout the day. Even Li Jiangxue, recuperating in her courtyard, inevitably heard it.

Lying on her stomach upon the couch, she turned her head woodenly and asked, “What is happening outside? They have been making noise all day.”

Her servants hesitated, not daring to speak.

Li Jiangxue frowned in confusion. A few moments later, realization suddenly struck her. “Li Jiangyue gave birth, didn’t she?! Was it a boy or a girl?!”

A servant replied softly, “A young master.”

A young master…

Her cousin’s legitimate eldest son!

Li Jiangxue’s voice turned hoarse. At last, she pounded the bed and burst into loud sobs.

Why had things become like this? Why?!

In her previous life, her cousin had neither married nor had children before taking the throne. Why had her rebirth instead given him a wife and a legitimate eldest son?!

Heaven, why are you treating me this way?

If I never had the slightest chance, why did you let me be reborn? Why did you let Cousin and me fall in love?

And Cousin-he plainly loved me and had promised to marry me. It was only because that wretch Li Jiangyue stole him away that I fell step by step into an abyss from which I could never rise again!

How unjust Heaven was!

At that moment, a messenger from Jiankang arrived outside Li Jiangxue’s door with a letter from her elder brother.

Yes. It did not matter if Father abandoned her. She still had her mother and brother!

As though grasping her final lifeline, Li Jiangxue impatiently tore open the letter. Yet it contained only a few lines. After briefly explaining the situation within the Li Family, her brother coldly informed her not to write home again. From that day forward, her father, mother, and brother would all treat his younger sister as dead. None would ever extend a helping hand to her again.

The paper slipped from her fingers and slowly drifted to the floor. Li Jiangxue herself seemed as thin and fragile as that sheet of paper as she collapsed onto the bed.

Besides bringing Li Jiangxue that heartless letter, the Li Family’s messenger also brought lavish gifts for Li Jiangyue and her newborn son.

Concubine Dong’s son personally came to Shouzhou to offer congratulations. Presenting Li Dongshan’s handwritten letter, he said respectfully, “Father originally wished to come and see his grandson in person. Unfortunately, official business kept him too busy to leave, so he sent me to convey his regards and bring these gifts to Younger Sister and my nephew.”

He did not mention Li Jiangxue by so much as half a word.

Indeed, as far as the Li Family was concerned, she was already dead.

Worse than dead, even. At least a dead person was truly dead and could no longer cause trouble.

Liu Che and the visitor understood each other perfectly without saying so.

…

At the turn from winter to spring that year, the Northern Dynasty, quiet for two years, once again formed an allied army and invaded the south with momentum no less imposing than before. The court immediately issued a decree promoting Yan Hongguang, Governor-General of Shouzhou, to the upper-third-rank office of General Who Pacifies the North. He was given command over six northern prefectures and ordered to lead the campaign.

In his previous campaigns, Liu Che had always served as a subordinate general. This was his first time setting out as commander-in-chief, so he was exceptionally cautious. He took his trusted followers north to meet the enemy and did not forget to bring Guan Pu.

No Marquis of Changping could be raised in peaceful surroundings. Only clashing weapons and iron cavalry could forge one.

Skilled men were bold. Guan Pu dared lead a detachment of light cavalry deep into the enemy ranks. He earned a modest reputation and gradually began to distinguish himself.

Watching the sapling he had carefully cultivated grow lush with branches and leaves, Liu Che smiled in deep satisfaction.

When the Northern Dynasty’s entire line collapsed, Liu Che received a letter from his household in Shouzhou. Lady Lu had safely given birth to his eldest daughter in this lifetime.

Seated upright on his horse, Liu Che carefully read the letter several times. For once, genuine tenderness appeared in his expression. “A daughter. That is good too. Now I truly have both a son and a daughter.”

It was evening, and rosy clouds filled the sky. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized from the dates that his daughter had been born on the first day of the first month.

“What remarkable timing.” Liu Che considered the matter with his riding crop in hand, then laughed. “Originally, only the sons in our household were to use Yuan as their generational name. But since she chose such a fortunate day to be born, let her follow the sons’ sequence too. Her name will be… Yuanxia.”

The southern campaign ended in a great victory. For a time, Yan Hongguang, General Who Pacifies the North, stood unrivaled in prominence and seemed poised to eclipse every renowned general of the age. With the northern armies in his grasp, he displayed all the bearing of a regional hegemon.

After the second month, Liu Che led his army back to Shouzhou. Li Jiangyue finished checking the accounts with the household stewards. Before she entered her room, she heard her son’s delighted babbling from within, as though someone had amused him.

Her heart stirred. A servant beside her reported in a low voice, “The lord is inside.”

Li Jiangyue nodded gently and lightened her steps as she entered. Her husband lay on the bed, holding the little boy beneath the arms with both hands and tickling his plump feet with the stubble on his cheek. Father and son both appeared delighted.

Her heart softened, and she smiled. Held aloft by his father, the baby had a higher view. When he saw his mother enter, he babbled excitedly.

Li Jiangyue smiled and stroked his soft infant hair. In a low voice, she said, “My younger brother has just left the academy and wishes to find something to do. But he is still young and does not know what work would suit him. He wrote to me a few days ago, saying he wanted to come to Shouzhou and place himself under your care. If Husband thinks it inappropriate…”
Liu Che glanced at her and smiled. “What would be inappropriate about that? Is he not also our Yuanxin’s own maternal uncle?”

Li Jiangyue smiled. “Husband is right.”

Yan Yuanxin gradually grew older. He could roll over and sit up, and even crawl around the bed by himself for a while. Sometimes Lady Lu brought her daughter over and looked at him with immense envy. Half doting and half complaining, she said, “Our girl is such a little lazybones. She never wants to move and only likes sleeping.”

Li Jiangyue could not help laughing. “All little children are like that. Don’t forget that Yuanxin is several months older than Yuanxia.”

Lady Lu handed her daughter to the nursemaid and lowered her voice. “Has Madam heard? The woman over there has finally regained her energy. She has been acting mysteriously these past few days. No one knows what she is plotting.”

“Let her be.” Li Jiangyue smiled faintly. “So long as she harbors no wicked intentions, do not deprive her of food, clothing, or other necessities. We can simply treat her as an idle dependent.”

But Li Jiangxue did not intend to be merely an idle dependent. She intended to become Empress.

The most honored woman in the entire realm.

Her parents had abandoned her. The rest of the Li Family would certainly pay her even less attention. The once-glorious legitimate daughter of the Li Family now ranked below even the daughter of an ordinary official household. She could rely only upon herself.

But what did she possess upon which she could rely?

Li Jiangxue finally understood that when beauty faded, love declined with it. She found the spirit to dress and adorn herself again.

Fortunately, she was still young and naturally beautiful. After lying in bed for so long, she had grown thin. At first glance, she now truly possessed something of a slender willow’s graceful charm.

But that alone was not enough.

Beautiful women were everywhere as far as her cousin was concerned. And as for old affection, did he share none with Li Jiangyue or Lady Lu?

She had to offer an advantage no other woman could provide.

Just as the cold season passed, spring arrived, and all things returned to life, Liu Che encountered Li Jiangxue in the garden. Dressed in plain robes, she was as lovely as peach and plum blossoms. Their eyes met. She bowed gracefully, tears filling her eyes, and called softly, “Cousin.”

Liu Che: “…”

“Wow, why do these women all like ambushing me in gardens?”

He complained to his old companions, “The same trick feels fresh once or twice, but after enough repetitions, it becomes completely stale!”

Li Shimin replied in boredom, “Nonsense. The stage is only so large. How expansive could their schemes possibly be?”

Li Jiangxue was indeed beautiful, and Liu Che did feel somewhat tempted when he looked at her. But his alliance with the Li Family was already a thing of the past, and he truly did not need this one woman.

He frowned slightly and turned to leave. At that moment, Li Jiangxue dropped to her knees and clutched his leg. “Cousin, please hear me out!”

Her expression was filled with remorse, and her voice trembled. “I don’t know what possessed me then. I lost my senses and did something so terrible… Jiangyue is my own sister, and the child in her womb was yours. After committing such a deed, how could I have the face to remain alive? I originally intended to take my own life to atone to Cousin. I had already hung myself from the beam, but while hovering between life and death, my soul drifted into the Underworld…”

Liu Che: “…”

Well, she had made it sound surprisingly convincing!

He mocked her inwardly but stopped with apparent interest. His face filled with nervous concern as he pressed, “Truly? What happened next?”

Li Jiangxue gazed sorrowfully at him and wept. “The King of Hell said I was originally a celestial maiden, while Cousin is destined to become an emperor in the mortal realm. The Heavenly Sovereign sent me down to assist Cousin in accomplishing your great undertaking. Yet I lost my senses and nearly made a terrible mistake. Therefore, I was summoned to the Underworld, reminded of my past, and ordered to devote myself to helping Cousin without causing further trouble…”

Liu Che: “…”

Liu Che asked, “Did the King of Hell say anything else?”

Li Jiangxue froze slightly. “What else?”

Liu Che chuckled without answering.

Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his nose in embarrassment. “Sneaking out like this does seem rather dishonorable of us.”

Emperor Gaozu said, “If we get caught and dragged back…”

Li Shimin silently finished, “The furious King of Hell will definitely slice us into potato chips!”

Li Jiangxue had the persistent sense that something beyond her knowledge had just occurred. She cautiously moistened her lips and called softly, “Cousin?”

Liu Che’s expression turned gentle. “Jiangxue, what you describe is far too incredible. I very much want to believe you, but…”

“I can prove that everything I said is true!”

Li Jiangxue clenched both fists and declared firmly, “Cousin, the King of Hell once allowed me to read a heavenly book. I know what difficult battles you will fight in the future. I can help you a great deal!”

“Truly?”

The suspicion in Liu Che’s eyes did not fade, but his tone softened. He removed his cloak, draped it over her shoulders, and sighed. “Forget it, Jiangxue. I know you have had a difficult time lately, but do not try to fool me with a childish trick like this.”

He sighed again, his expression helpless. “Did I want to treat you that way? But both witnesses and physical evidence were present that day. I had no means to protect you. Do not speak such nonsense again, and do not lower yourself like this. I cannot bear to see it.”