Yurong had been waiting upon Wu Shi since she fell ill. After serving her for most of the month, Yurong had lost as much weight as a piece of paper. When she saw Wu Shi wake up, Yurong wiped her tears and asked, "Mother, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Wu Shi shook her head and said, "Mother is not hungry. Come sit and talk with Mother."
Yurong noticed that Wu Shi's complexion was looking much better than before. A wave of hope welled up in her heart as she said, "Mother, there will be plenty of opportunities to talk later. Let's have something to eat first."
As soon as these words came out of her mouth, Old Woman Chen brought a bowl of bird's nest congee. Yurong took it in her hand and fed it to Wu Shi one bite at a time.
After eating, Wu Shi's spirits were noticeably better, and she turned towards Old Woman Chen and said, "Go and bring over the mahogany box that I keep in the cupboard."
Old Woman Chen answered lowly and wiped her tears after she walked out of the house. Yurong didn't know, but Old Woman Chen could see that her Lady was having her final radiance of the setting sun.
Wu Shi stretched out her thin, bony hand and caressed Yurong's face while saying in a low voice, "My child, you're the one who worries me the most."
Yurong's heart paused for a beat as she forced out a smile. "Mother, what are you talking about? The physician said that your illness isn't that serious, and you will be fine soon."
Wu Shi didn't hold onto Yurong's words. She knew her health well. She couldn't hold on much longer. "Rong-er, your father is unreliable. You still have to rely on the Old Lady and your San Jie for your future. When Mother is gone, you should be good to the Old Lady and do good to your San Jie." Wu Shi was not worried about her two sons, as her husband would certainly take care of them in the future. But her daughter, however, she was not all that sure.
Yurong was only eleven years old, so how could she bear such a thing? Hearing this, she cried out, "Mother, don't say such things. You'll be fine. Mother, you will be fine."
Old Woman Chen carried the box over, knelt on the ground and said, "My Lady, I have brought the thing over." What's inside the box was Wu Shi's properties that Wu Shi had accumulated over a long time.
Wu Shi's words were unsteady, "Open it! Read it aloud to the girl."
Old Woman Chen opened the box, took out the contents, read them one by one until she was on the last one, and whispered, "My Lady, I have finished reading them."
Wu Shi looked at Yurong and said, "Rong-er, this is Mother's dowry. I give them all to you. Yuchen and Yuxi started to take care of their properties when they were seven or eight years old. I believe you can also take care of these properties. In the future, when your siblings are older, you will divide these things into three parts. One for each of you. In addition, all of Mother's jewellery will be yours."
Hearing what sounded like an account of Wu Shi's last words, the grief in Yurong's heart could no longer be described in words. "Mother, don't say anything anymore. Just get well soon."
Wu Shi felt so tired that she couldn't speak much more. But she still held herself together and said, "Rong-er, remember Mother's words. Make sure you are filial to the Old Lady and gain good favours from the Third Miss." Although the Old Lady had mistreated her, Yurong was her di granddaughter, and it was unlikely the Old Lady would not care for her. Yuchen is the future Jing Wangfei. Therefore, if Yurong got along well with Yuchen, Wu Shi wouldn't have to worry about Yurong's marriage in the future. If she became the future Jing Wangfei's sister, her marriage could not have been any worse.
Yurong's tears gushed out. "Mother, I remember. I will be good to my Grandmother and get along well with my San Jiejie. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."
Wu Shi looked at Old Woman Chen and said, "Mama Chen, help me take good care of Yurong."
Knowing that Wu Shi was entrusting her with her only daughter, Old Woman Chen solemnly nodded as she said, "My Lady, don't worry. This old servant will take care of Miss and will not let her suffer a single bit."
After all this talk, Wu Shi couldn't hold on anymore and fell asleep again. And this time, she never woke up again. Wu Shi passed away in her sleep.
It was Old Woman Chen who first discovered Wu Shi's death. When Old Woman Chen noticed Wu Shi didn't breathe any longer, she knelt on the ground and burst into tears. "My Lady, my Lady, why did you leave us!"
Hearing this shout, Yurong touched her mother's cold body and called out, "Mother." Since she was too stimulated, she fainted after calling out to Wu Shi.
Qiu Shi was eating a chilled watermelon when she heard that Wu Shi had passed away. After reciting 'may Buddha preserve us', she asked someone to call Ye Shi over and told her when she arrived, "Your San Shen has passed away. So, we have to make arrangements for her funeral." Qiu Shi didn't feel much when Wu Shi died. The relationship between the two sisters-in-law was already bad, and because of what happened to Qiu Yanfu that day, she was highly annoyed with Wu Shi.
Ye Shi looked surprised and asked, "Mother, San Shen has always been in good health. Why did she suddenly die of a small wind chill?" There was something fishy about this! [+]
Qiu Shi didn't think much of it and said, "No one can stop King Yan from collecting people's lives. Let alone those who suffer wind chill, even a good healthy person can suddenly be gone just like that." Qiu Shi didn't know what Wu Shi had done. And she was not the kind of person who liked to ask questions.
When Ye Shi saw no unnecessary expression on Qiu Shi's face, she thought she might be overthinking things. If there was something not right in San Shen's death, her mother-in-law could not have been so calm. "Mother, isn't it time to bring Si Mei back. Since San Shen has passed away, Si Mei had to come back to attend the funeral."
Qiu Shi waved her hand, a sign of disagreement. "No need. Just let Yuxi stay at the hamlet in peace! We'll bring her back when the New Year comes."
Ye Shi felt that Qiu Shi's attitude was bizarre, but she didn't think much about it. She just said, "It's always a good idea to have someone inform her of such a big thing."
Qiu Shi thought for a moment before saying, "I'll have someone tell Yuxi later."
That evening Yuxi learned that Wu Shi had passed away. When she heard the news, she was silent for a long time. Many things had changed. She remembered in her last life when she was sent to the hamlet by the Jiang family, Wu Shi was still alive and had been living well! Little did she know that Wu Shi was now gone.
Zisu could see that Yuxi was in a bad mood. Hence, she reminded softly, "Miss, shouldn't we put away all the brightly coloured things?" If they didn't put them right away, it would become another pretext for gossip.
Yuxi nodded and instructed, "Put them away!"
Wu Shi's passing had little effect on Yuxi. Her days at the hamlet were as peaceful as ever.
Zisu smiled and said, "Miss, Miss Zhou has sent you a letter."
Since the rumour of her bad fortune had spread, Zhou Shiya had never contacted her. She knew Zhou Shiya well enough to know that she was not one to go after her for profit and shun her when she was in trouble. So, in all likelihood, Second Lady Zhou had stopped and forbidden them from seeing each other.
When she opened the letter, she saw Zhou Shiya complaining that she had always wanted to visit Yuxi, but her mother had forbidden her. She could not even send her a letter. Only a few days ago, her mother had suddenly opened up and allowed her to write. She then wrote that she was worried about Yuxi.
After reading the letter, Yuxi wrote to her back. Yuxi was a person who reported good news but not her sorrow. All the things she mentioned in her letter were good, none of them about bad things.
The letter arrived in Zhou Shiya's hands the following evening. Naturally, this matter could not escape the eyes of the Second Lady Zhou.
The old woman servant beside Second Lady Zhou asked, "My Lady, can the words of First Lady Han be trusted?" Second Lady Zhou had permitted Zhou Shiya to correspond with Yuxi because Qiu Shi had revealed that Great Teacher Pu Yuan had said that Yuxi's fate was only lacking in water, not that her fate was bad. This was not a false statement. After all, Great Teacher Pu Yuan indeed did not say that Yuxi's fate was bad. [T/N]
Second Lady Zhou said, "There should be no mistake. Otherwise, my Eldest Biaosao wouldn't have agreed to adopt Yuxi and put her under her name." Taking the opportunity of Wu Shi's funeral, Qiu Shi revealed the Yuxi's adoption to the Main House to several close relatives, including the Qiu and Zhou families.
With Second Lady Zhou's tacit approval, Yuxi and Zhou Shiya resumed their contact with each other.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Two days before the festival, Qiu Shi had sent a large cart of food and four sets of new clothes to Yuxi. It was as if it was already the New Year.
As soon as everything was placed in order, Han Ji came in and informed Yuxi, "Miss, the Chen family has come and brought a holiday gift for Miss."
Yuxi said with a frown, "Return the gift." The help she had given that day was something she could do just by lifting her finger. Later on, Lady Shizi of the Chen family had come to her door to express their gratitude, and she had given her a generous reward. Therefore, the matter was all settled.
Yuxi really did not want to have any more dealings with anyone from the Marquis Taining's Residence. No matter how good the people outside had spoken regarding the Lady of Taining's reputation and how outstanding Chen Ran was, Yuxi was unwilling to have anything to do with this mother and son. Just because the rumours were good did not mean that they were actually good people. Yuxi's reputation was also excellent in her previous life, and Jiang Hongjin was also a man who was endowed with both beauty and talent. The result? He ended up ruining her whole life. [+]
The gift was not sent by the Marquis Taining but by Chen Ran. When Yuxi returned it, Chen Ran was not angry. He only told his page beside him, "Take back the things and divide them up!" These were not valuable items. They were just edible items.
What Chen Ran had done could not be hidden from the Lady of Taining. Knowing that Chen Ran had sent something to Yuxi, but she had returned it instead, made the Lady of Taining had mixed feelings.
The Lady of Taining was relieved when she heard the news of Wu Shi's death. After all, with Wu Shi's death, Yuxi had to observe mourning for three years, and the Lady of Taining thought that maybe there would be a change of fortune after those three years. She hadn't expected to be happy for two days before she got the news that the Han Main House had adopted Yuxi.
The Lady of Taining really couldn't figure it out and asked Old Woman Lin beside her. "You say, how many good girls have I shown him in the past two years, but he has to fall for that Han girl." She didn't know what kind of eyes her son had. How could he have fallen for Han Yuxi? She still couldn't figure it out.
Old Woman Lin was also stunned when she learned that Chen Ran wanted to marry Han Yuxi. Hearing this, she said, "My Lady, there is no need to worry. Even if Fourth Miss Han has been adopted to the Main House, she still has to observe mourning for three months. During these three months, we can still think of a way."
The Lady of Taining laughed bitterly. "If there were a way, I wouldn't have to fret so much." If it was three years, they might have a chance to turn it around. But three months? There was no way for them to stop it from happening! With her youngest son, she could not beat or scold him. She did not know what else she could do with him.
Old Woman Lin hesitantly asked, "Will the Second Master go to the Han family to ask for her hand in marriage after winning the top three? The Fourth Miss Han is not good enough for the Second Master, no matter how you look at her."
Lady of Taining said, "It's not like you don't know the temper of that second child of mine is. If we don't keep our promise, he will make the whole family feel unsettled." It was a small matter that the whole family would be in chaos. But what she was most afraid of was that her son would become a monk.
When Chen Ran was ten years old, Marquis Taining Hou had slapped him in anger. As a result, Chen Ran ran away on the same day, and they had to search for more than half a month before they found him in a temple. When they arrived at the temple, the Chen family knew that Chen Ran ran to the temple and wanted to become a monk. Fortunately, becoming a monk required the consent of his family. Therefore, the monks in the temple disagreed with his request. So Chen Ran failed in becoming a monk. It was this thing that scared Marquis Taining and his wife to death. This was also the real reason why they didn't dare to beat and scold Chen Ran. Guilt or something like that was just a lie given to outsiders.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi