Rebirth of a Farming Wife

Chapter 360: Chapter 367: An Explanation
Han Yu was not a man inclined to pry into secrets, but Su Wenyue was different; she was his daughter-in-law, and he disliked it when his daughter-in-law kept secrets from him, keeping him in the dark, and even deep down he felt an unexplained panic, as if in the world his daughter-in-law had previously been immersed in, his existence was absent.

With an inscrutable expression, Han Yu made his way to the study and saw that Su Wenyue’s trusted maids and servant girls were guarding all around it, not allowing anyone to approach. Han Yu’s first thought was: his daughter-in-law must surely know the secret of the lamp, and the secret was so significant that she had been enduring until now. Han Yu had previously had similar thoughts, knowing that his daughter-in-law’s words were not truthful, but he had not exposed her in front of others, waiting instead for her to give him an explanation.

Although the servants had been ordered by Su Wenyue, Han Yu was the male head of this household, and naturally, no one dared to stop him when he approached; besides, the command that no one should approach the madam must surely not include the master, right?

Han Yu swiftly walked to the entrance of the study until he reached the last line of defense, where Aunt Li quickly stepped forward. Han Yu, seeing who was before him, thought Aunt Li was following Su Wenyue’s orders to stop him; his expression turned a bit sour, and his gaze shot towards Aunt Li with sharp intensity.

Aunt Li endured the pressure and said, “This servant pays respect to the master. Before the madam entered the study, she ordered that the master should go in by himself if he arrives.”

With that, Aunt Li stepped aside, maintaining a distance from the study as ordered by Su Wenyue that no one but Han Yu was allowed near. Aunt Li did not move forward to open the door for Han Yu, but Han Yu did not mind these small details. Given that his wife had given instructions in advance, it meant she was willing to share the secret with him. With a bit of joy in his heart, he pushed open the door.

After giving a few instructions, Su Wenyue went into the study, closed the room door, and then closed the window, ensuring no one could peek inside. Only then did she place the Colorful Exquisite Lamp on the table and, following the method she remembered, began to manipulate the lamp step by step. After a while, she heard a soft click and the seemingly seamless Flower Lantern split in two, and Su Wenyue peered intently at it.

Su Wenyue knew clearly what was inside the Colorful Exquisite Lamp, but now there was only a sheepskin map inside, and nothing else— that object was gone. Su Wenyue had not entertained this thought before, but now she had a bizarre yet seemingly logical notion: perhaps her reincarnation was not without reason.

As the Colorful Exquisite Lamp opened, Han Yu also entered from the outside. He saw Su Wenyue staring blankly at the now halved Flower Lantern on the table, looking as if she was deep in thought.

“Daughter-in-law, you opened the Flower Lantern?!” Han Yu’s gaze landed on the Flower Lantern on the table. Although he had previously guessed, seeing it in reality still struck him with a hint of disbelief, because not only had Shangguan Wuyou handled the Colorful Exquisite Lamp for a long time previously, but he also had studied it thoroughly without finding any flaws.

Watching the Colorful Exquisite Lamp being opened, Han Yu suddenly began to believe that the legend was true. His eyes fixed on the sheepskin in the center of the lampshade—a sheepskin that was yellowing with age, yet the writing on it was clear, though he did not understand the meaning of the patterns drawn on it.

Su Wenyue, seeing Han Yu enter, suppressed the complexity in her heart and nodded: “Yes, I’ve opened it. Actually, I knew how to open the Flower Lantern from the beginning, but with big brother and Xinxin around, I didn’t tell the truth. Look, this is what was inside the Flower Lantern.”

Saying this, Su Wenyue passed the sheepskin map to Han Yu, waiting for his reaction.

Han Yu took the sheepskin map, scrutinizing it. Although he could not understand the drawings and text, he vaguely guessed it recorded the map of some place. A thought struck him—could the reason so many factions were clamoring for it be because of this map? Or perhaps a treasure map?

“Daughter-in-law, how did you come to know the method to open this Colorful Exquisite Lamp?” Every time Han Yu thought he knew his daughter-in-law well enough, he would uncover another mysterious and unknown facet of her.

As expected, there it was. Su Wenyue had thought about her response in advance. Despite feeling a little guilty meeting Han Yu’s gaze, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell the truth; after all, she couldn’t reveal that she had learned it from Sikong Ling.

In her previous life, Sikong Ling had acquired the Colorful Exquisite Lamp and invited various experts to try to unlock it, but they failed to open it. Moreover, some believed it was merely a pretty Flower Lantern with no secret inside—esteemed as The World’s Number One Lamp because it was skillfully crafted by Lu Ban. Eventually, Sikong Ling placed it in the study room, providing Su Wenyue with an opportunity to access it.

Su Wenyue knew that even the most magnanimous of men could not tolerate their woman having a relationship with another man, so she would definitely not mention it.

Su Wenyue did not want to mention it, but she also didn’t want to lie to Han Yu, and lying to him would be unwise. So she went to the desk and began to transcribe from memory a passage from Luban’s secret skills.

Han Yu grew increasingly astounded as he watched her. His daughter-in-law had previously mentioned learning just the surface of the skills from a book, but now it was evident it wasn’t just some superficial learning—she had acquired the legendary Luban’s secret skills. Recalling the The Art of War she had transcribed for him before, he struggled to remain composed, wondering just how many secrets his daughter-in-law’s mind held. Such coveted ancient techniques, more than one copy no less, if known to the outside world, would undoubtedly cause a storm. The consequences of discovery were almost too formidable to contemplate.

“Husband, do you remember the boxes made by the craftsmen for last year’s Mid-Autumn festival mooncakes? They used some of Luban’s secret skills, though only the most basic and rudimentary,” Su Wenyue remarked without missing the surprised and incredulous flicker in Han Yu’s expression, a cunning glint in her eyes as she set down the pen and spoke, feeling somewhat smug. It was rare for Han Yu to be taken in by her ruse; she hadn’t deceived anyone after all.

“Those mooncake boxes?” Han Yu suddenly recalled them. He had indeed admired his daughter-in-law’s ingenious idea at the time. Ordinary mooncakes had seemed extra delicious and prettily packaged, looking quite high-end, especially the lock-like mechanisms, which had intrigued him enough to study them closely, yet it turned out to have involved Luban’s secret skills.

“Just those mooncake boxes. You asked me back then how I had thought of that idea. It wasn’t actually my own idea; I had based it on a simple mechanism design from Luban’s secret techniques for the lock,” Su Wenyue declared with a degree of pride, thinking herself the only one who could have thought of applying mechanism techniques to it. She intended to continue this innovation in the future—to let such a treasure of secret skills go unused would indeed be a pity.