Rebirth of a Farming Wife

Han Yu did not want to disappoint his daughter-in-law when the time came, so he had Su Wenyue make mental preparations in advance. As for Feng Susu, he would see if she was a good person or not. After having met her only twice, to have his daughter-in-law so concerned and even wanting to bring her home, if Feng dared to use his daughter-in-law or play tricks on her, she should not blame him for being impolite. With his current ability, although he could not make too big a move, it was still very easy to make a woman with no significant background disappear.

However, all these were just thoughts in Han Yu’s mind, and he had not let Su Wenyue know. Such dark matters were best handled by him alone; his daughter-in-law only needed to spend her days happily. He would support her and protect her within his realm.

Su Wenyue did not realize that her attitude towards Feng Susu had led Han Yu to have so many thoughts. Originally, she did not intend to keep this matter a secret from Han Yu, but she did not know how to explain it. She thought about saying that it was from a dream she had before, but clearly, Han Yu did not quite believe this claim. Thus, she decided not to mention it for the time being and to tell Han Yu at the right opportunity, perhaps even surprising him.

“It’s nothing! I’m just helping an aunt with a favor. You can just ask around when you are free.” I didn’t really count on you to find it, Su Wenyue silently added in her heart. With the clues given by Feng Susu, it naturally wouldn’t be easy to find. Otherwise, why would Feng have searched for so many years? If it were truly possible to find, she wouldn’t have asked for Han Yu’s help; she was simply letting Han Yu go through the motions as a preamble for future matters.

This is not the right attitude, daughter-in-law, Han Yu thought. He knew Su Wenyue very well. If she was willing to help someone, she would do so diligently. This clearly meant he should take it lightly. But this was not a task from Shangfeng; Feng Susu was an ordinary woman. If his daughter-in-law did not want to help, she could simply refuse. What was going on?

His daughter-in-law’s thought process was becoming increasingly incomprehensible to Han Yu. Was there something fishy about Feng Susu’s status that made his daughter-in-law go through such lengths to placate her? Han Yu really wanted to understand.

After discussing Feng Susu, Su Wenyue pulled Han Yu into the study. Han Yu remembered Su Wenyue mentioning military books before. He wondered whether his daughter-in-law had truly managed to transcribe the military books from memory. Then again, he thought it was unlikely. His daughter-in-law was not someone with a photographic memory. Military books were not like the Book of Songs; even if she had seen them before, she probably wouldn’t remember much, let alone transcribe them.

Seeing Su Wenyue retrieve a package from a hidden corner and unwrap it to reveal two freshly bound books, Han Yu visibly saw the words “The Art of War” and “Thirty-Six Stratagems” on the covers. Although he did not show much on the surface, Su Wenyue still noticed the thrill in Han Yu’s heart.

“You must think I’m just bluffing, right? I’m the most honest person, I never like to lie,” she said. “Look, these two Art of War books are far superior to whatever the Mighty General has written.”

If it were any other time, Han Yu would have teased her with a few jokes, but at this moment, his mind was entirely on the books. He only wanted to take them and check whether they were as formidable as his daughter-in-law claimed.

Han Yu first opened “The Art of War.” After just the first page, his face showed surprise and delight. He steadily flipped through a few more pages and found that it was indeed an exceptional military tome. It seemed that his daughter-in-law’s claims were not exaggerated at all; the military books composed by the Mighty General paled in comparison to “The Art of War.”

The more Han Yu read, the more engrossed he became, so much so that he forgot Su Wenyue was by his side, and he just started reading the book there and then.

This was the first time in his life that Han Yu had ignored Su Wenyue so completely, and it was all because of a military book. Seeing Han Yu like this, Su Wenyue did not disturb him and silently left the study, leaving Han Yu alone to immerse himself in the world of military strategies. His daughter-in-law had left, and Han Yu did not even realize it.

It wasn’t until the candlestick had almost burned out and his neck was getting sore that Han Yu emerged from the book. It was already the middle of the night, and his daughter-in-law had gone out long ago, leaving him alone.

The military books could not be finished in one sitting, and the content certainly could not be digested so quickly. Han Yu had been overjoyed at first to obtain such treasure, but now he began to pay attention to the details. The handwriting on the books was his daughter-in-law’s. Noticing the clean and neat paper, he recalled her words from before; she must have wanted to transcribe the military books and then copy them again.

Having transcribed and organized the military books in just a few days, his daughter-in-law must have done little else, pouring all her energy into this task. It was tiring enough for an ordinary person to do all these, let alone a pregnant woman. She must have seen how much he desired the military books, which was why she pushed herself to finish them.

Never before had Han Yu felt his daughter-in-law’s affection for him as keenly as he did at that moment. Caressing the pages in his hands, something within him swelled.

Although moved, Han Yu did not immediately return to his room. Instead, he took out paper and ink and transcribed both military books again. He could not keep the military books with his daughter-in-law’s handwriting; it could bring her trouble. His daughter-in-law was naive and clever but lacked a sense of caution, sometimes even foolish, like this time. It was all too risky. Even though he was her husband, he could not be entirely without guard. There were countless examples of couples who turned against each other over interests. Yet this foolish girl had exposed everything to him, completely unguarded.

Han Yu was both worried and touched by Su Wenyue’s actions. Her trust in not guarding against him was a good thing, indicating her deep trust in him. But such character could easily lead to losses. He could ensure that he would be wholeheartedly loyal to his daughter-in-law and never betray her in his lifetime, but could someone else be guaranteed to do the same?

Even a smart person like Han Yu could occasionally misunderstand. Although Su Wenyue might act foolishly at times, it was because she did not want to live too hard and did not want to leave an impression of being too shrewd in Han Yu’s eyes. Moreover, she let down her guard knowing Han Yu’s character. She wasn’t really foolish—Su Wenyue knew well that as long as she did not make mistakes on major issues and avoid great losses, it was fine to suffer small losses now and then, taking it as a blessing to suffer losses.

If Su Wenyue knew that her actions would lead to such thoughts from Han Yu, she would have certainly laughed secretly to herself.

Han Yu wrote until dawn, finally finishing the transcription of the two military tomes. He reluctantly caressed the two military books that Su Wenyue had copied for a while, took an abandoned basin, and burned the books one page at a time until they turned to ashes. From now on, no one could link the military books to his daughter-in-law. Even if one day the books were discovered, interested parties would only focus on him, and he had his own ways of dealing with it.