Not expecting this ambush to be so successful, Hu Yingming was so delighted he smiled until his face bloomed like a flower and his teeth nearly fell out from grinning. Having been tense for so long, he could finally sleep peacefully. He slept until the sun was high in the sky before hurriedly getting up. The first thing he did was write a memorial to send news to the capital. Previously, they had been unable to send messages out due to the siege, but now things were different. With Wu Qianli beaten so badly he couldn’t attend to everything at once, and Prince Gong’s side having run into trouble, if the message could reach Huang Yiqing’s hands in Wu’an, it could also reach the capital.
Thinking they could send messages out, even the Prince of Zhennan couldn’t help but feel a great weight lifted from his heart. He wrote a family letter and solemnly entrusted it to Hu Yingming. Having come to Jinzhong only to nearly be killed by Wu Qianli and Prince Gong at the prefectural office, if he couldn’t reclaim Xibei, he would have no face to return home. This family letter might well be his final testament. Everything that needed to be said, he had clearly stated in the letter.
Cui Yingtang wrote even more detailed letters covering matters both great and small to hand over to Hu Yingming. The only fortunate thing now was that his elderly mother had gone to the capital before trouble broke out. Otherwise, leaving his mother trapped in a dangerous situation would have prevented him from finding peace even in death.
Though the letters had been sent out, the work that needed doing still had to be done. Several of them gathered to discuss for a while and unanimously decided to first take Yangquan. Once Yangquan was in hand, Jinzhong would no longer be an isolated city, and the route to Suzhou would also be opened.
Fortunately, the Cui family had established considerable business ventures in Yangquan since the Grand Prince’s bandit suppression campaign. Even the Yangquan county magistrate had frequent dealings with their family. Previously it had been from necessity, but now with choices available, seeing that the Prince of Zhennan and Marquis of Dingyuan also had large numbers of troops, after several days of hesitation, he finally agreed, saving the Prince of Zhennan and Hu Yingming who knows how much effort and worry.
Since Yangquan had also been secured, the pressure on Jinzhong suddenly lessened considerably. The Prince of Zhennan and Marquis of Dingyuan spread news of Yangquan’s submission, luring Wu Qianli to lead his men thinking they could attack while Jinzhong was vulnerable. They set up an ambush in advance, causing Wu Qianli another major defeat.
Having brought over twenty thousand men when he arrived, he had thought this time he would surely accomplish his mission successfully without a scratch and capture Jinzhong. Who knew it would end in failure on the verge of success, with over half his troops lost? Wu Qianli was both anxious and furious. In his anger, he lost all sense of proportion and repeatedly ordered forceful attacks. But the Marquis of Dingyuan seemed like a worm in his heart—he could anticipate and prepare countermeasures for Wu Qianli’s every next move. Wu Qianli gained not the slightest advantage and suffered several solid defeats. Under the stress and fury, his old injuries actually flared up again.
This was already adding frost to snow, yet who could have expected Prince Gong’s side to specially send someone over with a message, saying he could do whatever he wanted with Han Yang and urging him to quickly capture Jinzhong.
He was utterly helpless. Now was hardly the time when he could casually deal with Han Yang however he pleased. He wrote a battle report to send back, then reorganized his troops himself and decided to take advantage of the increasing rainfall to divert water to flood the city.
This was also a method born of desperation. Jinzhong’s terrain was low-lying. As long as he redirected the river channel, he could surely catch Jinzhong completely off guard, and then he would have his opportunity.
Having already suffered so many defeats, if he continued to delay, it would likely affect the situation in other areas. Even if Prince Gong didn’t press him, he knew he could no longer afford delays.
But even this was somehow anticipated by the Marquis of Dingyuan, who sent men upstream to guard the area in advance and personally led the team to completely annihilate the thousand-plus men Wu Qianli had dispatched, even capturing over two hundred prisoners.
After this battle, his side suffered devastating losses and lost the capital to contend with the Marquis of Dingyuan. He was practically being beaten down, not only losing Yangquan but even Baihe Village and Changning behind it. He fled in disarray all the way back to Yuannan County.
When the news reached the capital, Ye Jingchuan had just figured out whether or not he truly liked Lu Chonghua.
Along this journey, he and Lu Chonghua could be said to have shared hardships together. All along the way, he had developed quite favorable feelings for this refined young lady who wasn’t the least bit affected and had no airs about her. He felt Lu Chonghua had many qualities in common with Song Chuyi. At the very least, both of them were quite unlike most girls in the world—completely unpredictable and unfathomable, yet both were kind-hearted and valued their families greatly. No matter how many burdens they carried, they never complained but always worked hard to solve problems.
Thinking of his interactions with Lu Chonghua, he again felt his face burning as if on fire. He raised his hand to touch his wildly beating heart, finally confirming his own feelings. He solemnly first went to find his elder brother and frankly told him, “I… I like Miss Lu.”
Ye Jingkuan had thought this blockhead probably wouldn’t figure it out in his entire lifetime. He hadn’t expected him to actually understand this time. His heart felt both gratified and happy, and a smile appeared on his face. “I was still worried you wouldn’t be able to move on.” After saying this, he felt somewhat melancholy. “This is very good. Father’s greatest worry before was that you were too stubborn—once you fell into a relationship, it would be very difficult to extricate yourself. Now knowing you’ve grown, he would surely be happy for you.”
Mentioning the Prince of Zhennan whose life or death was unknown, neither brother spoke for a long while. After quite some time, Ye Jingkuan finally rallied his spirits and looked at him. “That you can think it through is very good. Miss Lu is a good girl. As for those matters in her family, at the end of the day, both she and Yunji are chess pieces without any say in the matter themselves. Our family isn’t that kind of rigid household. Since you like her, I’ll go mention it to Mother.”
Ye Jingchuan, however, had his own thoughts and very firmly refused. “I’ll first go ask her own thoughts myself.” He still remembered the incident when his mother had gone to the Song family before he had expressed his own feelings.
Matters of liking or not liking—if they instead became a burden for the other party, it wouldn’t be so wonderful. This point was something he had only gradually come to understand himself. He said he liked Lu Chonghua, but if Lu Chonghua didn’t like him, then this affection would be a burden. Moreover, Lu Chonghua’s situation was somewhat awkward now. If she thought he had ulterior motives, that would be terrible.
Ye Jingkuan looked at him in surprise, only then believing his younger brother had truly grown up. He smiled and agreed, then said, “If you find it really difficult to speak up, you could also ask the Grand Princess Consort to drop some hints from the side.” Previously he had considered advantageous alliances, but after going through so much, he had completely dismissed such concerns. Ye Jingchuan was right—if he had ability, he could naturally establish meritorious achievements and didn’t need to rely on a powerful wife’s family. As long as the girl had good character, that was enough. Most important was that the young couple could live well together in the future. He pressed his lips together, patted him once, and smiled. “Go on now, remember to speak properly.”
Ye Jingchuan responded with a sound. This time he truly had learned from experience and was determined to openly and honestly ask Lu Chonghua’s feelings clearly.