Rebirth of a Farming Wife

Chapter 531: Chapter 538: Silence Descends

Being able to obtain The Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems was an unexpected delight, and now his wife was about to give him an even greater surprise. If he could truly learn the contents of that ancient book and master the arrays and mechanisms within, the impact it would have on the battlefield would be immense.

“Yes, I remember!” Su Wenyue nodded her head, and seeing the joy on Han Yu’s face made her happy as well. This was one of the benefits of her rebirth. She didn’t have an exceptional memory, but for some reason, she could clearly recall the content of the book; even she herself couldn’t explain why. Nevertheless, this was a good thing. Especially when facing the expectant gaze of Han Yu, Su Wenyue felt she finally had some utility and could be of help to him.

However, Han Yu did not ask Su Wenyue to write it down; out of caution, since Peach Blossom Valley wasn’t his turf, he had her dictate it to him directly, and then he committed it to memory.

Compared to Su Wenyue’s slightly dubious memory, Han Yu truly had a great memory. Although not to the level of photographic, he could remember almost everything Su Wenyue recited. Once she finished reciting the entire content, not only did he memorize the main points, but he had also managed to integrate a good half of it. This kind of talent and ability made Su Wenyue immensely envious, but fortunately, he was her husband, and she couldn’t help but feel proud of his capabilities.

Since Han Yu needed to digest the content from the ancient book recited by Su Wenyue, he did not accompany Divine Doctor Mu to the mountain to gather herbs these days. Instead, he and his wife spent their time together indoors, making others believe that the couple was extraordinarily affectionate. Although Sikong Ling felt that something was off, he couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

“What exactly is Han Yu plotting? He’s not openly scheming to take Su Wenyue away from Peach Blossom Valley, is he? At this time, he should continue seeking a path on the Back Mountain. Why did he suddenly calm down, and why is there no movement at all? It’s really puzzling,” Sikong Ling furrowed his brows, clearly aware of Han Yu’s motives, but unaware of the latter’s relationship with Divine Doctor Mu. He also didn’t know that Han Yu had found a way out. That route, however, was impassable, so Han Yu stopped all his actions and fell into silence, which left Sikong Ling quite confused.

“Is something wrong with you all? Have you discovered anything unusual about Han Yu, who truly hasn’t stepped out of the courtyard these past days?” Sikong Ling summoned the servants attending to Su Wenyue and Han Yu and questioned them in detail again, failing to detect any problems, which made him even more puzzled.

“You all need to be more vigilant and not overlook anything suspicious. Han Yu is very cunning; he may have done something without you realizing it. Open your eyes wider. If you miss something due to negligence, don’t blame me, your Young Master, for being ruthless!” Sikong Ling, still feeling that something wasn’t accounted for, called Phantom to personally monitor Han Yu’s surroundings. Unless Han Yu hadn’t done anything, he would definitely leave some trail.

Han Yu also noticed that the people Sikong Ling sent were keeping an increasingly tight watch on him, yet he was not worried in the slightest. Since he had the most convenient method at his disposal, why bother with the roundabout way of finding a path on the Back Mountain, which was merely a last resort if other methods failed? The ancient book was truly no ordinary object; it was no less significant than The Art of War. As long as he could learn even just half of its content, dealing with the valley’s mechanisms and arrays would not be an issue.

What Han Yu was most wary of were the mechanisms and arrays inside Peach Blossom Valley. Once this threat was eliminated, there would be no more problems, so he was in no hurry. It was more important to thoroughly understand the ancient book’s content first. As for Sikong Ling, even if he was suspicious, he would never imagine that such an opportunity could arise because of his wife.

“Husband, it’s a good thing I listened to you. Those servants sent by Sikong Ling are peering around every day. You can tell they’re up to no good, trying to pry information from us. Too bad they won’t be able to find anything out,” Su Wenyue observed, as she too had noticed the prying eyes.

“Wife, be good and don’t bother with them. After all, we aren’t doing anything wrong!” Han Yu said this a bit louder on purpose, so that the listening servants would know they had been overly intrusive and left evidence behind. They became somewhat restrained, as they were also frightened by the harsh words Sikong Ling had given them. Knowing how cruel their master could be when assigning blame, they could scare themselves with just the thought of it.

Hearing Han Yu say this, Su Wenyue restrained herself from troubling the servants. After all, they had it hard enough.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yiyang Prefecture

Liu Xiu looked at the intelligence gathered below; his already furrowed brow became even tighter. Many events had transpired during Han Yu’s absence, one after another, giving him a sense of desperation. Not only were the Imperial Army’s provocations coming intermittently, but serious internal issues had arisen as well. There were more spies in the army than he had anticipated, deeply concealed, resulting in crucial intelligence being passed to the enemy, despite his careful precautions.

“My Lord, the current situation is dire. According to the scout’s information, the Imperial Court has issued a final ultimatum to Zhao Fan, demanding that he conquers Yiyang Prefecture within a set time. Zhao Fan will surely make a significant move soon, possibly launching a full-scale attack on us,” the subordinate said with a worried tone, full of concern.

“Ever since our last major defeat of the enemy, they may have suffered greatly, but after some time to recuperate, they have recovered. With the court sending fresh troops, I worry we are no match for them. We need to plan ahead and prepare for a retreat.”

“What are you saying? You’re just discouraging our own side. Originally, we faced even larger enemy forces than we do now and we still won decisively. Now that the enemy’s forces are far fewer than before, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Thinking of retreat at every turn is the behavior of a coward!”

“What kind of talk is that? You think I, Zhang Han, am a coward who fears death? On the battlefield, when have I not charged to the front? Yet you dare call me a coward?”

“If so, why do you speak such disheartening words? This only serves to break the spirit of our troops.”

“I’m just speaking the truth. Unlike some of you, I don’t hide things. I don’t believe any of you are confident about the court’s upcoming attack. How we were victorious in the previous battle, despite the great disparity in forces, was due to General Han’s tactics and ability, leading everyone to victory. But now, without General Han here, even a small skirmish could be undecidable, let alone a major attack,” Zhang Han held General Han in high esteem, which is why knowing the superior’s dissatisfaction with General Han, he couldn’t keep his words bottled up inside. Additionally, the current situation was indeed as he described, and Zhang Han couldn’t help but voice his perspective, regardless of whom he could offend in the process.