Chapter 377: 384: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

The bodyguards tightly encircled the couple as well, fearing that they might pull out some hidden weapons or the like. However, what the couple took out was merely a hard object like a token, with some sort of patterns engraved on it.

“This is our token of trust; you’ll understand once you’ve seen it.” To gain Su Wenyue’s trust, the couple hesitated but still handed over the token they’d taken from their bosom to the housekeeper.

When the housekeeper saw the token-like object, his eyes narrowed. Although the other people did not recognize the token, he did. As a steward in charge of the Han Family’s outer estates, he was often involved in some secretive affairs, though he did not fully understand the clandestine dealings of Han Yu. To be accurate, the housekeeper was also one of the insiders, albeit with lower authority and limited knowledge.

Seeing the housekeeper’s reaction, Su Wenyue knew there must be a reason. Su Wenyue did not recognize the token, not because Han Yu wanted to keep it from her, but because he had not specifically told her. Han Yu always hoped that Su Wenyue would not have to deal with such dark matters.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Did the master send you? What are you waiting here for?” Although the housekeeper now knew their identity, he didn’t understand their purpose. However, he relaxed his vigilance.

The couple glanced at the housekeeper and the others but did not disclose their reasons: “Please forgive us, this matter is confidential and can only be made known to Madam alone.”

Seeing this, the housekeeper knew it was not his decision to make, so he informed Su Wenyue and let her decide: “Madam, what do you think we should do about this situation?”

Su Wenyue pondered for a moment, asking Qi Luo and Aunt Li to stay behind to protect the three little ones, while she herself went into the house with the housekeeper.

“Were you sent by Han Yu?” Though Su Wenyue had learned of the couple’s identity from the housekeeper, she was not fully convinced. In such a special period, who knew what might happen? It was always right to be cautious.

Once inside the house, the ‘couple’ immediately knelt before Su Wenyue. They had roughly the same status as the housekeeper, but Su Wenyue was their master.

“I, Xia Jiang, and Xia Hai, pay respects to Madam.”

“Rise. What is it that you are waiting here to tell me? Why didn’t you convey the message through other means but instead wait here? Has something happened?” From the time she saw Han Yu until now, Su Wenyue always had this question. Unfortunately, she could not ask him in his presence, and the others around her also did not know what was happening. Now, finally, someone who knew the inside story had arrived.

“Madam, the master is being assigned to suppress a rebellion. The master is concerned about Madam’s safety and wants to arrange for you to leave, but with a traitor among us, this was the only way we could ensure Madam’s safety.”

“A traitor?” Su Wenyue’s heart tightened, naturally aware of how dangerous a traitor could be, especially in Han Yu’s situation. If they were not careful and the traitor discovered something, the consequences were unthinkable.

Thinking this, Su Wenyue looked at the couple with scrutiny. With a traitor around, the token’s credibility was diminished. Han Yu must have made such arrangements because he was not yet sure who the traitor was, and moreover, the traitor held a position high enough to affect Han Yu’s actions and decisions. Who knew if the couple could be part of the traitor’s schemes?

“Yes, the master didn’t want Madam to suffer any discomfort, but the influence of the traitor is too great. If we don’t find them in time, it will not only affect the master’s great cause, but also the safety of Madam and the young masters. Thus, the master resorted to this strategy, both to seek out the traitor and to put on an act for those watching, killing two birds with one stone.”

Su Wenyue found their account quite convincing, but no matter how convincing it was, she wouldn’t just take them at their word: “Besides the token, do you have any other proof that you were sent by Han Yu?”

The ‘couple’ shared a glance, feeling admiration for their master. The master truly had a profound strategy and had anticipated that Madam would not simply believe them. Now, with no outsiders present, they took out an embroidery pouch and handed it to Su Wenyue.

“This was given to I by the master. He said that if Madam did not believe us, we should produce this silk pouch, and Madam would recognize it upon seeing it,” the woman said with great respect.

Su Wenyue took the silk pouch, and after a few glances, she was certain. It was her own handiwork; how could she not recognize it? But Han Yu really did enjoy using her embroideries as tokens, probably because he always carried this silk pouch with him and no one else could acquire it, which is why he used it as a token.

Now that she was convinced the couple was sent by Han Yu, Su Wenyue’s expression softened considerably. After making sure they had no issues, she called the nanny and Aunt Li in along with the others.

Outside, everyone cooperated to fix the broken horse carriage and cleared a path, allowing Su Wenyue and her entourage to depart first and hasten their journey. The carriage that had stopped at the farmhouse for a while soon left, heading in a different direction.

“Madam, are you alright? After such a long and bumpy journey, plus traveling overnight, you must be exhausted. I found a place for Madam to rest for the night; we can continue on our way tomorrow,” said the decrepit horse carriage as it opened its curtains and helped the master down, revealing the farming couple.

A pair of delicate hands extended from the carriage, and Su Wenyue stepped down, visibly weary, with dark circles under her eyes, clearly from a lack of rest.

“It’s nothing; I’m not so delicate. It’s just the children I worry about, but I know you had no choice. We had to travel overnight for fear someone would discover our whereabouts and chase us,” Su Wenyue, indeed feeling quite tired, was not one to complain. Despite the continuous travel, the couple had taken very good care of her.

After another half day’s journey on the following day, Su Wenyue finally arrived at their new home with the children. Until Han Yu returned, she and the three children would be living here.

Su Wenyue personally oversaw the cleaning of the house. The arrangements for this trip had been made hastily by Han Yu, and in addition to guarding against the traitor, many details were not thoroughly planned. Bringing too many people would have attracted attention, so Su Wenyue only took Aunt Li, Qi Luo, and the nanny with her, with no servant girls to attend to them. Some tasks had to be done by herself, reminiscent of the days when she had first married Han Yu.

Speaking of home, Su Wenyue inquired about her family’s situation and learned that Han Yu had made arrangements. She finally put her mind at ease and settled down in this almost isolated place with the children, counting the days and waiting for Han Yu’s return.

She had not expected such a brief separation to last so long; Han Yu’s departure stretched into a year. Within that year, only a few letters had trickled in to reassure Su Wenyue that he was safe and she need not worry.

“Han Yu!” Su Wenyue woke from a nightmare, feeling uneasy. Her heart raced with panic.