Gazing at the sleeping Zaozao, Yuxi's face was filled with guilt as she gently caressed Zaozao's chubby cheeks. Zaozao slept soundly, but the touch of something cold on her face made her uncomfortable, prompting her to turn her head away.
Yuxi quickly withdrew her hand as a wry smile spread across her face. "After weaning, all the weight I finally managed to put on her will be gone again." She still preferred to see Zaozao chubby and plump.
Mama Lan said, "Madam, Young Miss is already seven months old and has a good appetite, so don't worry. The most important thing now is to concentrate on getting your health back so you can conceive again soon." No matter how capable a woman was, she would only make wedding dresses for others if she could not give birth to a son.
Yuxi chuckled. "Whether it's a boy or a girl is up to fate, not me. But as soon as I get better, we've planned to have another child."
Seeing that Yuxi had made up her mind, Mama Lan decided not to pursue the matter further. "Madam, Mama Qu is responsible for the daily needs of dozens of people in the Yun Residence. She doesn't have the time or energy to manage the inner courtyard. Perhaps it's time to bring in someone else of stature to oversee the household affairs."
Yuxi replied, "I also want to; it's just that it's not easy to find such a candidate!" It wasn't that easy to find someone trustworthy and capable.
Mama Lan suggested, "Madam, I remember Momo Quan, who taught you etiquette, has been living in the countryside. Why don't you bring Momo Quan here?" Other people might not be trustworthy, but Momo Quan shared a special bond with Madam, and she was a very capable woman.
Yuxi shook her head. "Momo Quan said she didn't want to work anymore and wished to enjoy her retirement." She had considered asking Momo Quan to come with her, but she refused.
Mama Lan paused momentarily before saying, "Madam, how do you know it won't work if you haven't even tried? Perhaps Momo Quan has changed her mind now!" Mama Lan had come to realise that Yuxi was not someone who was content to stay within the confines of the inner courtyard. Therefore, having someone of sufficient stature to manage the household affairs was crucial. Otherwise, incidents like this could happen again. It wasn't that Madam lacked ability, but one person's energy was limited. With Madam's primary focus on external matters, the management of the inner courtyard would inevitably be neglected.
Yuxi thought for a moment before saying, "Let me think about it!" Although she knew the chances of Momo Quan changing her mind were slim, Yuxi genuinely wanted to give it a try. She had too few reliable people around her, and if Momo Quan were to come, she wouldn't have to worry about the inner courtyard anymore, and incidents like Mama Xi wouldn't happen. However, to convince Momo Quan to come, Yuxi had to think carefully about how to influence her.
After Fu Tianlei had finished discussing official matters with Yun Qing in the front yard, he brought up a personal matter: "Yun Qing, I remember that Xu Wu is still unmarried!"
Yun Qing nodded. "He hasn't found a suitable match yet." Among his close aides, only Xu Wu remains unmarried. However, the thought of the fallen Jiang Bo weighs heavily on Yun Qing's heart.
Fu Tianlei smiled and suggested, "Yun Qing, I'd like to propose a match between Qingluo and Xu Wu. What do you think?" Fu Tianlei dared to suggest this because Xu Wu was Yun Qing's trusted confidant, and he was also an orphan without any parents or siblings. If Qingluo married Xu Wu, there would be no need to worry about mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts.
Yun Qing's face stiffened. If it were up to him, he would definitely not want Xu Wu to marry Fu Qingluo. From any point of view, that woman would not be a virtuous wife and a good mother. However, Fu Tianlei was his good brother, after all. If he were to say this, it would cause a rift between them. Yun Qing said, "Marriage is a major life event, and it's ultimately up to him to decide. If Xu Wu agrees, I have no objection." This statement implied that if Xu Wu disagreed, he would not force him to do so.
Xu Wu was taken aback when he learned that Fu Tianlei wanted to arrange a marriage between his sister and him. However, he quickly shook his head and refused: "I, Xu Wu, have nothing. My life and position were given to me by the General and my Yifu1. I don't dare to get married right now." It wasn't that Xu Wu didn't want to get married, but he was reluctant to marry Fu Qingluo. Firstly, he didn't think highly of Fu Qingluo's behaviour. Secondly, there was a huge difference in their social status. He was only the General's personal guard, while Fu Qingluo was the di2 daughter of a lower second-rank general. If Fu Qingluo married him, it would be a significant social downgrade for her. While the Fu family might not mind their daughter marrying beneath her status, he didn't want to marry above his rank. A match based on social compatibility was the right path to follow; otherwise, their future life would undoubtedly be filled with difficulties.
Fu Tianlei didn't look too good when he left.
Yun Qing patted Xu Wu's shoulder and promised him, "As soon as your Madam recovers from her illness, I'll ask her to find a suitable match for you and try to resolve your marriage matter as soon as possible."
Xu Wu shook his head and said, "General, I think it's better to let nature take its course." He also wanted to find a woman who would devote herself to him wholeheartedly and be willing to share hardships with him rather than rushing into marriage like Guo Xun and Jiang Bo. As a result, Zisu ended up despising Guo Xun for his disability, and if it hadn't been for the pressure from the General and Madam, Zisu might not have settled down with him willingly. Although Zisu was now pregnant, and they seemed to have settled down, it still left a bad taste in Xu Wu's mouth. As for Jiang Bo's wife, there was no need to mention her. She had already remarried. Xu Wu didn't disapprove of widows remarrying, which would be too heartless, but still, she should have observed at least a year of mourning. However, Jiang Bo's wife had already remarried before the hundred days had even passed since his death, which was genuinely disheartening, considering how much Jiang Bo had devoted himself to her in life, only to have his devotion end like this.
Yun Qing understood that matters of marriage must be one's own choice. He said, "If there's someone you're interested in, you can talk to me or Madam about it when the time comes."
Han Ji entered and reported, "General, there's a letter from the capital." He had been instructed by Yun Qing not to burden Yuxi, so Han Ji reported this matter to Yun Qing beforehand.
Yun Qing accepted the letter, which mainly contained family matters with a few irrelevant court matters thrown in. After reading it for a while, Yun Qing couldn't make much sense of it. His dajiuzi3 had gone to great lengths to have the letter delivered, so it couldn't just be about these trivial matters. He asked, "Is there anything else besides this letter?"
Han Ji presented three additional letters, saying, "These letters are from the Old Lady, the Second Lady, and Jing Wangfei4."
Yun Qing took the letters and opened them all. However, the contents were filled with trivial and mundane family matters without any significant issues.
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Yun Qing had no other choice but to take the letters to Yuxi and let her interpret them. After reading Han Jianming's letter, Yuxi became so dizzy and disoriented with anger that she crumpled the letter in her hand.
Sensing something was wrong, Yun Qing asked, "What did your Dage5 say?" For Yuxi to be so angry, it must be more than just a trivial matter.
Yuxi quickly calmed down and replied, "Song Guifei6 wants to summon me back to the capital, while the Crown Prince believes I pose a threat to the dynasty and wants me dead."
Yun Qing was sure he had misheard. He asked, "The Crown Prince believes you pose a threat to the dynasty? Why would he have such a perception?" That was a completely unreasonable perception.🦊
Yuxi recounted to Yun Qing what Song Mingyue had said that day: "My actions in Yu City were too conspicuous. With Song Mingyue's warning beforehand, it's no wonder they would want me dead.'"
Yun Qing found it unbelievable and wondered, "Isn't Song Mingyue your teacher? How could she say that you would bring disaster to the world?" His wife was such a kind person whose existence could possibly benefit the world. How could she bring disaster to the world? He was afraid that there was something wrong with Song Mingyue's brain.
Yuxi wanted to know why, too!
Noticing Yuxi's pale face, Yun Qing stopped talking about Song Mingyue and asked, "Could it be the Crown Prince who orchestrated this incident?"
Yuxi shook her head. "No, the Crown Prince may want to kill me, but he wouldn't hurt Zaozao. This person is most likely our enemy. I suspect it's someone from the Xu family." Like a centipede that continued to wriggle even after it was dead8, the Xu family had been rooted in Xinping City for a hundred years. They had undoubtedly hidden their influence in the shadows.
Yun Qing shared the same thought and said, "I've already sent Cui Mo with three hundred elite soldiers to Xinping City to help Tan Tuo restore order there." Earlier, Yun Qing suspected the Xu family's involvement in the poisoning, which was why he dispatched Cui Mo to Xinping City. The stated purpose was to restore order, but in reality, it was to eliminate any potential threats.
Yuxi asked, "Are three hundred men enough?"
Before Yun Qing could answer, they heard Gancao enter and report, "Madam, Master Uncle is here and is waiting in the main hall." Master Uncle was someone who could not be neglected, so there was no question of asking him to wait outside in the yard.🦊
Seeing Yuxi looking at him, Yun Qing explained, "Er Ge10 must have heard about your injury and come to see you." Han Jianye was too late to hear the news; it had taken him a day to know that Yuxi was injured.
As soon as Han Jianye entered the room and saw Yun Qing and Yu Xi, he immediately scolded Yun Qing, "How could you hide such an important matter as Yuxi's injury from me? Are you disrespecting me, your elder brother, by withholding this information?"
Don't be fooled by the fact that Yun Qing was a high-ranking general of the upper second rank; his official position was higher than Han Jianye's. However, when Han Jianye rebuked him, he didn't dare speak.
When Han Jianye saw that Yuxi still wanted to plead Yun Qing's case, he became even more furious. He bombarded Yuxi with criticism: "When the children at the Charity Home were poisoned, you could have just called a physician to go and see them. Why did you have to go there yourself? Even if you did go, how could the assassins succeed when you had so many guards with you? Are all the guards you hired useless? I always thought you were intelligent but never expected you to be so foolish. Have you ever thought about what would happen to Zaozao if something happened to you? How could you not know what kind of life a motherless child would lead..." He continued to scold Yuxi relentlessly, leaving her battered and unable to even lift her head.
Yun Qing quickly intervened to stop Han Jianye and said, " Er Ge10, Yuxi has lost a lot of blood. The physician advised her to rest and avoid anger and stress. Once she recovers, you can discipline her as you wish." However, for now, it would be best to let her go.
Knowing that Yuxi's life was not in danger, Han Jianye allowed himself to scold her. When he saw Yuxi's pale face, he immediately stopped and asked, "Where is Zaozao? Why don't I see her?" Han Jianye had sons but no daughters, and he had always longed for a daughter, so he was particularly fond of Zaozao.
Yuxi muttered, "Zaozao is in the front courtyard. I don't have her with me." She feared that if she said that Zaozao was being weaned at the time, her Er Ge10 would scold her again.
Han Jianye said, "Then you rest well. I'll go see Zaozao." With that, he strode out.
Yuxi felt deeply hurt. "Er Ge10 used to love me the most, but now he's like a different person." Not only did he not comfort her after she was so severely injured, but he also scolded her and ran off without a word of consolation. Just thinking about it made her heart ache!
Yun Qing found her reaction both amusing and infuriating.
Footnotes Full List
- foster father
- born of a formal wife; legitimate
- wife's older brother; brother-in-law
- wang=king, fei=consort
- eldest brother
- Noble Consort
- That means Du Wenshu's secret letter has been successfully delivered to the Crown Prince.
- Chinese idiom: old institutions die hard. Or old ideas die hard.
- Hmm, why do they call Han Jianye as Master Uncle (舅老爷 jiù lǎoyé)?
- er=second, ge=older brother, short form for Gege
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi