The physician arrived half a shichen[1] later, and by this time, Zaozao's fever had mainly subsided. After seeing the child, the physician gave a prescription for medicine. "Let her take this medicine, and she will be fine."[T/C]
Yuxi told Han Dong to send off the physician and asked Mama Lan, "Should we let Zaozao take medicine?" She was a novice in this area of parenting, but she still trusted Mama Lan.
Before Mama Lan could reply, Yun Qing said, "Go ahead. Let's take the medicine to be safe."
When Mama Lan looked at Yun Qing's dark and sullen face, she nodded and did not dare to argue. "If Madam is not at ease, let's give her a couple of the medicine." There was no problem for the child to have the medicine, except for the difficulty of feeding it to the child.
Yuxi said, "Give me the prescription." After reading the prescription, she saw that all the medicines were available in her own medicine store, so she did not ask anyone to get them and just went there to prepare the medication herself.
Once the medicine was prepared, Yuxi left it for Mama Xi to decoction and returned inside. Just in time to hear Yun Qing ask Mama Lan, "How did the child catch a cold?" Although Yuxi said Mama Lan worked adequately, he still didn't believe her. If Mama Lan worked as well as Yuxi said, how could the child catch a cold and have a fever?
Mama Lan lowered her head and answered, "I didn't take good care of the Eldest Young Miss."
Looking at Mama Lan's appearance, Yuxi knew she was hiding something and asked, "Mama Lan, you usually take good care of Zaozao, but today she suddenly has a cold. There must be some other reason for this, right?"
Mama Lan still kept her head down and didn't say anything.
When Yun Qing saw this scene, he knew Mama Lan was hiding something. "How did Zaozao get cold? You better tell me straight out. If you don't, I can't let you take care of Zaozao anymore." Who would feel at ease with such a careless old woman servant?
At this point, Mama Lan couldn't help but say, "It was a bit hot this afternoon, so the Old Master took a layer off the Eldest Young Miss' clothes, and I happened to be away at the time as I had to go to the restroom. I didn't notice it until the Eldest Young Miss was hungry, and I had to carry her back to the inner courtyard to feed her."
Yun Qing blushed slightly. He hadn't expected Huo Changqing to be the culprit behind Zao Zao's fever. Of course, he knew Huo Changqing didn't do it intentionally.
Yuxi knew it couldn't be Mama Lan's fault. Mama Lan had taken excellent care of Zaozao. Even she, Zaozao's own mother, couldn't compare to Mama Lan, so how could Mama Lan have carelessly let the child catch a cold?
Once the medicine was cooked, Yuxi tested its temperature and waited for it to cool down a little before scooping a small spoonful and feeding it to Zaozao.
Even adults, let alone children, could not stand the taste of this traditional Chinese medicine. Zaozao threw up all the medication and burst into tears.
Yuxi was also distressed but couldn't stop scooping the medicine just because she felt so. Ruthlessly, she gave her daughter another mouthful. Even when she vomited, she kept feeding her.
When Yun Qing saw his precious daughter desperately struggling and crying in Yuxi's arms, he couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Or else, it's not too late for us to skip the medicine for now. Didn't you just say that the fever can go down without medicine?" It was hard for him to see his child suffering like that!
Yuxi was so furious that she laughed. "You're the one who told us to feed her the medicine, and you're also the one who's stopping us from feeding her? What the hell do you want?" Fortunately, it was not their son. Otherwise, Yuxi worried the child would be spoiled until he became a fop.
Yun Qing was somewhat embarrassed.
Mama Lan was also a bit worried and whispered, "Madam, looking at the appearance of the Eldest Young Miss, it will be fine if she doesn't take any medicine." She had seen the few kicks Zaozao had just given Yuxi. Of course, no matter how hard a one-month-old child tried, her kicks wouldn't hurt Yuxi. But from this, she could see that Zaozao's condition was still very optimistic and that she could do without medicine.
Yuxi couldn't bear the thought of her daughter suffering, so she listened to Mama Lan and asked, "Is it possible for her not to take any medicine?" A child with a fever was not a trivial matter. Many people didn't pay much attention to their children with fevers that they ended up getting seriously ill and, in severe cases, dying prematurely.
Mama Lan said, "I'll keep watch with Mama Xi tonight. If the Eldest Young Miss still has a fever, she must drink the medicine." Even if the fever broke, it didn't mean all was well. The fever could recur, so someone had to keep an eye on the child at night, and Mama Lan could not let it be an oversight.
Even after Yuxi stopped feeding Zaozao the medicine, Zaozao was still crying. Mama Lan looked at Yuxi, who was somewhat at a loss and said, "Madam, the Eldest Young Miss has not had any milk for almost two shichen[1]; she must be hungry."
Yuxi hurriedly carried the child back to the bedroom to breastfeed her. As she watched Zaozao gulp down the milk, Yuxi began to relax. The fact that the child was still able to eat meant that the situation was not too serious.
After Zaozao had eaten her fill, Yuxi took a handkerchief to wipe the tears from Zaozao's face. It was heartbreaking to see her daughter, who was usually so full of life, now looking so sickly.
Yun Qing said, "We have such an ordeal this time. It's the first time Zaozao has cried since she grew big!" And she even cried so pitifully.
Yux did not know whether to laugh or to cry[3]. The child was only one and a half months old; how could she be considered to have grown so big? "Mama Lan has experience caring for children, so don't give me any blind advice in the future." If it hadn't been for Yun Qing, Zaozao wouldn't have had to take any medicine. Of course, Yuxi also admitted that when she knew Zaozao had a fever, she was also a bit flustered and not very calm. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed without thinking when Yun Qing said the child should be given medicine.
Yun Qing made a sound of agreement and promised, "I won't do it again."
After coaxing Zaozao for a while and seeing that she had fallen asleep in his arms, Yun Qing placed her on the bed. Mama Lan whispered from outside, "General, Madam, the Old Master is here and is currently waiting outside." Xu Wu originally wanted to hide Zaozao's fever from Huo Changqing, but Xu Daniu let it slip. When Huo Changqing heard the news, he asked Xu Wu to help him come over. But the room was Yuxi's bedroom, and it would not be suitable for Huo Changqing to barge in, so he waited in the parlour.
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Yun Qing told Yuxi, "I'll tell Uncle Huo not to worry."
When Huo Changqing saw Yun Qing, he asked, "Why did you let someone hide such an important matter as Zaozao's fever from me?"
Yun Qing said, "Uncle, don't worry. Zaozao's fever has subsided. It's all right."
Huo Changqing was relieved to hear that the child was fine. But soon, his heart was heavy again as he asked, "How did Zaozao get a fever? Was it because I loosened her clothes this afternoon, causing her to catch a cold and develop a fever?" Huo Changqing would have guessed that he was the cause of Zaozao's fever because Mama Lan had prevented him from undressing the child two days ago. At that time, Mama Lan had reminded him not to loosen the child's clothes casually, as she could easily catch a cold. But Huo Changqing didn't believe Mama Lan. He thought it was already the sixth lunar month, and Zaozao's body was fine, so how could she easily catch a cold if he only loosened her clothes?
Looking at Yun Qing's expression, there was nothing that Huo Changqing didn't understand. "I just saw that the weather was so hot, and Zaozao was wearing several layers of clothes. Her face had turned red from the heat, so I loosened a piece of clothing for her. I didn't think she would catch a cold." At this point, Huo Changqing regretted it too much.
Yun Qing naturally wouldn't blame Huo Changqing. "Uncle, you didn't do it on purpose. But Mama Lan and the others are good at taking care of children. In the future, it's better to ask them first about things like putting on or taking off children's clothes."
Huo Changqing nodded. It was okay if he made a mistake once, so how could he make a second? But he was afraid Yun Qing would deceive him again and asked, "Is the child really alright?"
Yun Qing nodded. "The child is fine. She fell asleep after being fed. Otherwise, I would have carried her out to show you." He didn't tell Huo Changqing that the fever might come back after it had subsided so as not to worry him even more.
Huo Changqing nodded. "It's good that she's okay."
When it was time to go to bed, Yuxi told Yun Qing, "You've got a lot to do tomorrow, so you'd better go sleep in the front yard."
Yun Qing shook his head and said, "It's no problem to sleep less for a while." That night, he insisted on watching over Zaozao with Yuxi.
At the end of haishi[4], Zaozao woke up and started to cry when she opened her eyes. Shocked, Yuxi hastily touched Zaozao's forehead and was relieved to see that she had no fever. When Yuxi unwrapped the swaddling clothes, she found that Zaozao had wet herself.
Mama Lan had already found the nappies. "Let me change it for the Young Miss!"
After the nappy was changed, Yuxi breastfed her daughter again. Usually, the little one would have gone to sleep when she was full. But this time, the little one was not sleepy at all and made no fuss. She just opened her eyes and looked at everyone.
After much coaxing, Yuxi still couldn't lull her daughter to sleep. She looked at Mama Lan and asked, "What's wrong with her?" For Yuxi, who was now like a bird that would get easily startled by the mere twang of a bow[5], her daughter's abnormality was a bad sign.
Mama Lan replied, "Maybe Young Miss went to bed too early, so she doesn't feel sleepy right now."
Yuxi was relieved to hear this answer. As long as her daughter didn't have a fever, everything else would be fine. Looking at Yun Qing, who was waiting for her, Yuxi said, "It should be fine with me, Mama Lan and Mama Xi here. Go and sleep first. You have a lot of work to do tomorrow!"
Yun Qing shook his head. "You've been holding the child for so long. Why don't you give her to me?" Usually, Zaozao didn't cry when he held her, but this time she wailed as soon as she was in Yun Qing's arms.
At this point, Yun Qing became worried. "Is she burning up again?"
Yuxi snapped at him, "You can't even say something good when you open your mouth. She was fine just now. There's no way she could suddenly burn up again."
Yun Qing didn't pay much attention to Yuxi's grumbling as he got all flustered in trying to coax Zaozao, "Don't cry, Zaozao, don't cry!" Unfortunately, Zao Zao wasn't swayed by his words. Instead, she cried even louder.
Mama Lan said weakly, "General, it's better to let Madam hug her." In fact, Mama Lan felt completely relaxed when she heard Zaozao's cry. She knew from the sound that the Eldest Young Miss was all right.
Although Yun Qing did not understand why Mama Lan said that, he still complied and handed the child to Yuxi. Unexpectedly, after being coaxed by Yuxi a few times, Zaozao stopped crying. Yun Qing couldn't help but ask, "Mama Lan, why is it like this?" Why did the child cry when he held her but stopped when she was in Yuxi's arms?
Mama Lan explained in a low voice, "Children are more attached to their mothers when they are sick." In fact, children were not necessarily attached to their own mothers but rather to the people who fed them. Like the children of rich families, most were clingy to their runiang[7] when sick. Mama Lan would not say these words to Yun Qing.
Yun Qing realised that he still had much to learn about parenting!
Yuxi urged Yun Qing, "Go to sleep quickly. With Mama Lan and me here, the child will be fine." If Yun Qing didn't go to sleep again, Yuxi would flip out.
Yun Qing looked at Zaozao lying in Yuxi's arms and saw she was in a pretty good mood, so he nodded a little. "I'll sleep first, then. Call me if there's anything." He didn't go out into the front yard to sleep either, as he slept in the bedroom. That way, if anything happened to the child, he would be the first to know.
Footnotes Full List
- 2 hours
- Wow, it took one hour for the physician to arrive.
- Chinese idiom: to find sth. both funny and annoying
- 9-11 pm
- Chinese idiom: fig. sb. who is easily frightened due to past experiences
- wet nurses
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi