Yuxi watched as Yun Qing undressed and then got into bed, only to come to her senses half a second later and exclaim, "Don't sleep here. I smell!" She hadn't bathed for days, especially her hair, which was all tangled up, but there was nothing she could do about it as she was in confinement.
Yun Qing didn't care as he said, "There's no such smell. Don't think too much." Not to mention that he had run for his life this time and hid in the deep forest; usually, even his sweat-stained body could overshadow Yuxi's odour.
After hearing this reply, Yuxi naturally wouldn't drive him out. "Well, I'll sleep inside, and you sleep outside." As for their daughter, she would naturally sleep in the middle.
After lying down, Yun Qing kissed his daughter, covered in the smell of milk, once more before falling asleep. In the middle of the night, he woke up to a child crying. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Yuxi was already up and holding their baby. Yun Qing hurriedly asked, "Has Zaozao pooped again?"
Yuxi unwrapped the swaddling clothes, and it was indeed wet. Even their bed sheet had gotten damp. Yuxi was a little speechless. This little one could not only eat but also pee.
Yun Qing consciously got out of bed to fetch clothes and nappies to help change the baby. Yuxi, on the other hand, replaced the blanket and bed sheet.
When Mama Lan and Mama Xi heard the child crying, they were already awake and waiting outside the door. But they couldn't barge in since Yuxi had yet to call them.
While Yuxi made the bed, Yun Qing put on the baby's nappy and changed her little clothes. But the baby was still crying. Yun Qing asked Yuxi helplessly, "I have changed her nappy, but why is she still crying?"
Yuxi took the child in her arms, and before she could say anything, the little one arched towards her chest, which couldn't have been more obvious: the child was hungry. Yuxi scratched Zaozao's nose and said with a smile, "What a little fat piggy." With that, she carried the baby to the bed and lifted her clothes to breastfeed her, turning her back on Yun Qing.
After the child had eaten her fill, Yuxi put her on the bed and said to Yun Qing, "You should go to sleep in the front yard tomorrow. This child will wake up once or twice in the middle of the night, and you won't be able to sleep well then."
Yun Qing looked at Zaozao, who was smacking her little mouth and said with a smile, "That won't happen." Back then, he couldn't even sleep the whole night. Thus, doing it again now would be a piece of cake for him.
When Yuxi woke up the following day, Yun Qing was gone, and only the two of them, mother and daughter, were left. Yuxi was used to it, so she called for Mama Xi. She rinsed her mouth with warm water, not daring to use cold one. After washing herself, Yuxi said, "Please bring a mirror over here."
Looking in the mirror, Yuxi pinched her face and asked, "Mama Xi, do you think I've gained weight?"
Mama Xi smiled and said, "Where has Madam put on weight? Madam is the same as before Madam gave birth to the child!" She was telling the truth. She genuinely didn't think Yuxi was fat. It was only Yuxi who had that idea in her head.
The breakfast consisted of peanut congee and steamed twisted rolls, plus two plates of vegetarian dishes. Peanut congee was also a food that stimulated milk production.
steamed twisted rolls
After breakfast, Yuxi took out the little booklet that Momo[1] Quan had given her to read. When Mama Xi saw this scene, she reminded Yuxi, "Madam, you shouldn't read while in confinement." Reading books usually strained the eyes, and to do so while in confinement would be even more damaging, causing them not to function correctly in the future.
Yuxi waved her hand and said, "I won't read it for long." She wanted to see if there were recipes that could be eaten to increase her milk production without making her fat. Unfortunately, there were none.
Seeing Yuxi's disappointed face, Mama Lan asked her a question. After knowing Yuxi's concern, she said, "Madam, don't worry. You won't gain weight if you eat less but have more meals every day and don't eat greasy things." Even if Yuxi did gain weight, it wouldn't be too much.
Yuxi looked at Mama Lan and asked in a surprised tone, "Really?"
Mama Lan said calmly, "I won't lie to Madam. As long as Madam does what I say, Madam won't gain weight."
This was naturally what Yuxi had been seeking but failed to get[2]. Although Yun Qing said he did not care if she was fat or thin, no woman would want to lose her figure and turn into a yellow-faced woman[3] too soon. Since then, Mama Lan took care of all the food during the confinement.
Being in confinement was a very boring thing to do. If the child was not easy to look after, one might have to learn how to coax the child. Unfortunately, Zaozao was a very well-behaved child and didn't need to be bothered by Yuxi at all. After a few days of this, Yuxi couldn't stand it any more and called Mama Qu to ask about what was happening outside.
Mama Qu wanted Yuxi to be left in peace while in confinement, so she didn't want to tell her anything about what was going on outside. When Yuxi asked, she just said that everything was fine.
Yuxi finally asked Zijin. Others would have kept it from her, but not Zijin. "Has anything happened outside in the last few days?"
Zijin didn't have as many scruples as Mama Xi and the others, so she told Yuxi everything she knew. "The Imperial Court has sent a military supervisor over, and that person is Du Wenshu, who read the Imperial Decree at the beginning."
When Yuxi heard the words, military supervisor, her mood immediately turned sour. Although she knew that the Imperial Court would send someone to keep an eye on them, this covert surveillance was completely different from that of an official military supervisor. "Then what did Du Wenshu do after he came to Yu City?"
Zijin replied, "He hasn't done anything for the time being, as his posting documents haven't arrived yet, but I've heard that Du Wenshu has been very active during this period, visiting the Zhao family, the Kang family and several generals."
Yuxi's mind started to become active as she asked, "What else?" Du Wenshu was afraid Yun Qing would reign supreme, so he was unwilling to let everyone unite behind Yun Qing.
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Zijin reported, "The pension from the Imperial Court has not been delivered, and the General has been busy this time. Also, new soldiers will arrive soon, and I don't know if the General has time to train them." After saying these words, Zijin looked at Yuxi with bright and sparkling eyes.
Yuxi pretended not to see it as she said, "You don't have to worry about that."
Seeing this reaction, Zijin could only say what was hidden in her heart. She also wanted to join the military camp and become a soldier who could go into battle and kill the enemy. "Madam, I have already thought about it. I don't want to waste my martial arts skills. I don't want a distinguished career, but I want to kill more enemies, Madam."
After a moment of silence, Yuxi asked, "Does Yu Zhi agree?" In fact, without hearing Zijin's answer, Yuxi could guess that Yu Zhi would disagree.
Zijin looked slightly gloomy as she replied, "Yu Zhi didn't agree." It wasn't just Yu Zhi who disagreed; even her master was against it!
Hearing this answer, Yuxi said, "You should discuss it with Yu Zhi first, and if he agrees, I will mention this idea to the General." It wasn't wrong for Zijin to have this idea, but she had to get Yu Zhi and Master Yang's approval beforehand. If they opposed it, Zijin couldn't enter the army camp.
Zijin was a little grumpy as she said, "It's been a month since I said that, but Master and Yu Zhi still won't agree." Yu Zhi had always listened to her before, but he just wouldn't hear her explanation this time.
Since Zijin had failed to persuade them for a whole month, there was basically no more chance of persuasion. Yuxi thought momentarily before saying, "Yu Zhi and Master Yang have a reason to disagree. After all, men are better at fighting and killing. If you are willing, I can let you take over Xu Wu's position."
Zijin was momentarily taken aback; she hadn't expected Yuxi to put her in charge of the guard.
Yuxi smiled and asked, "What? You don't want to?" Not to mention Yu Zhi and Master Yang, even Yun Qing would definitely disagree with Zijin's idea. It wasn't that Yun Qing was prejudiced against men and women, but the military camp was full of men. Wouldn't it be scandalous if they let even a single woman in? It was as if all the men of the Great Zhou Dynasty were losers and had to rely on women to defend the country.
Zijin shook her head. "It's not that I don't want to; it's just that I haven't thought about it." After a pause, she continued, "Madam, would it be inappropriate for me to replace Guard Xu? I have no idea what to do." It was different from protecting Yuxi alone since the burden and the responsibility would be too great.
Yuxi burst out laughing and said, "Didn't you just say you wanted to go into battle and kill the enemy? You are not afraid of killing the enemy, but you are still afraid of taking the position of the chief guard of the Yun Residence." After a pause, she added, "It's not like you're going to replace Xu Wu immediately. I'll ask Xu Wu to teach you for a while, and once you've taken all those people under your wing, I'll let Xu Wu go back to the General's side." There were too few helpful people around Yun Qing; if Xu Wu returned to his side, it would also give Yun Qing more people to use.
Zijin's confidence grew as she heard these words, and she nodded her head.
Yun Qing came back very late again that day. Looking at his tired face, Yuxi asked, "Is there too much work to do?"
Yun Qing nodded. "That's right. The injured soldiers have not been properly treated yet, and the recruits will be sent in in another month. There are thousands of strands and loose ends[4]."
Yuxi offered, "Let me give you a massage!" Seeing Yun Qing's resistance, she smiled and said, "Even though I can't be affected by the wind or exert much mental effort in confinement, that doesn't mean I can't move. I'll give you a massage to relieve your fatigue."
Yun Qing shook his head. "I'd rather not. If you give me a comfortable massage later, I'll fall asleep in no time." He had just returned after finishing the business at hand and had yet to have dinner!
Yuxi called Mama Xi and asked her to set the dinner inside the room.
Mama Xi disagreed with Yuxi this time, arguing, "Madam, if we eat in the room, it will be full of smell, and since we can't open the windows, the smell won't dissipate. It would be better for the General to eat outside." It was a small matter that the smell would not go away, but she was afraid that Madam would not be able to resist after looking at the colourful and fragrant food. A person in confinement ate food without salt; one could only imagine what it would taste like. But that could not be said in front of the General.
Yuxi hadn't thought much about it before, and when she heard Mama Xi's reasonable words, she nodded and urged Yun Qing, "Then you should go out and have your dinner quickly!"
After Yun Qing left, Mama Xi suggested to Yuxi: "Madam, let Mama Lan and I take care of the Eldest Young Miss tonight!" Mama Xi wanted to ease Yuxi's worries.
Yuxi shook her head. "No need. Zaozao is very well-behaved. Apart from midnight feedings and nappy changes, she doesn't make that much of a fuss."
Mama Xi did not dwell on this matter but spoke of another issue. "Madam, it is time to choose people to serve the Eldest Young Miss, right?" Although the child was still young, it was important to have everything ready so they didn't have to rush around later.
Yuxi said, "There's no hurry. The child is still young! Even if we have to choose someone to serve her, we can wait until after I'm out of confinement." There was no need for maids or anything else for the time being.
Mama Xi just reminded Yuxi, and when she saw that Yuxi had already made a plan, she said nothing more.
Footnotes Full List
- a term for an elderly woman
- Chinese idiom: precisely what one's been looking for
- faded old woman
- Chinese idiom: a plethora of things to tackle
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi