After going to the front courtyard, Han Jianye learned that Zaozao had to be weaned because of Yuxi's injury. After lunch, Han Jianye criticised Yuxi again: "You're so capable, but now that you're lying in bed, you can't even feed your child with milk."
Han Jianye was angry because he felt that Yuxi was overly independent. She had to run the Children Charity Home, Qingming Hall, tens of thousands of acres of land, and engage in business. Han Jianye didn't interfere with what Yuxi wanted to do, but she had to be realistic and not push herself too hard. He had expressed his concerns to Yuxi several times, but she hadn't listened, and he had strong objections about that.
Yuxi lowered her head, looking pitiful.
After scolding Yuxi, Han Jianye warned her, "If you don't listen to me again, don't blame me for telling Mother about your affairs. You may not listen to me, but you should at least listen to Mother."
Yuxi promised with a pained expression, "Er Ge1, please don't worry. I promise there won't be another time. Please don't tell Mother. If she finds out about my injury, she won't be able to sleep because of worry." Besides, their mother had become a devout Buddhist and a vegetarian.
Han Jianye was concerned and unwilling to see Yuxi exhausted like this again, so he warned, "I won't mention it to her this time, but if it happens again, I definitely won't keep it a secret for you."
Yuxi quickly replied, "There definitely won't be another time." It would be foolish to make the same mistake again.
Han Jianye said, "I'll believe you this time. If anything happens in the future, let me know. Don't hide it from me again." He was upset to learn about Yuxi's injury from Fu Tianlei this time. As her elder brother, he shouldn't have to find out about his sister's injuries from someone else.
Yuxi muttered to herself, thinking, 'This can only be because your information is outdated, and that is not my fault.' However, she didn't dare say what she was thinking, fearing that it would only lead to another round of scolding. It dawned on her that it had been long since she had been scolded like that.
In the evening, Yuxi picked up the conversation from earlier in the day and asked, "Is it enough to send only three hundred people to Xinping City?" She thought it would be better to send about a thousand people.
Yun Qing got into bed, covered himself with the blanket, and said, "Don't worry any more. I'll take care of these things." Having a wife who worries all the time could be a headache.
Noticing Yuxi's reluctance, Yun Qing continued, "You just concentrate on resting for now. Don't worry about anything, be it affairs outside or inside the residence." This time, it wasn't a suggestion but a direct order.
The next day, Yun Qing instructed Mama Qu: "If anyone dares to mention anything that would burden Madam, they will receive twenty strokes of the cane."
In the Yun Mansion, no one dared to defy the authority of Yun Qing, the head of the household.
However, Huo Changqing approached Yun Qing and raised an old issue again: "Our information network is lagging behind. We need to cultivate more talent in this area. Take this incident as an example. If we had received the news earlier, your wife wouldn't have been injured." After a pause, Huo Changqing continued, "Yun Qing, you will have more children in the future. Without enough manpower, we can't guarantee their safety. What happened to the Qin family could happen to you, too." He didn't believe for a second that the deaths of the Eldest and Third Young Master Qin were accidents. He was convinced that someone had plotted against them.
Yun Qing was silent for a long time before he asked Huo Changqing, "Uncle Huo, are you also on Yuxi's side?" He wasn't oblivious to the events in Yu City. He was simply pretending not to know.
Huo Changqing nodded. "Yun Qing, in times of peace and prosperity, such thoughts from your wife would be absolutely unacceptable. And I believe that she wouldn't have such thoughts in times of peace and prosperity. But now we are in a chaotic era, and if you don't think about strengthening your own power, you will only end up being beaten." Without power and influence, you won't be able to protect your wife, children, and family.
Yun Qing clenched his fist tightly, then released it and asked, "Uncle Huo, do you really think that the world is truly heading towards chaos?" Deep down, he still hoped that the Crown Prince could turn the tide and bring peace to the land. Otherwise, he didn't know how many lives would be lost.😱
How could Huo Changqing, who had raised Yun Qing since he was a child, not know exactly what was on his mind? "Whether the world will fall into chaos or not, you know very well in your heart. Don't waste any more time. While the Imperial Court is busy elsewhere, use this opportunity to cultivate your own people." Once you are strong, you have nothing to fear.
Yun Qing didn't react to this statement; instead, he said, "Uncle Huo, the Duke sent a letter saying that the Crown Prince wants to kill Yuxi." Yun Qing had grown up at Old Master Yun's side, and Old Master Yun's ideals of loyalty to the military, service to the country, and pacification of the world were deeply ingrained in his heart.
Huo Changqing was not surprised by this and responded, "Your previous reputation was so bad that even though the Song family was the mastermind, there may have been individuals from the Crown Prince's faction and the Yu family supporting them behind the scenes. And a person with a tarnished reputation, even if he's skilled in warfare, wouldn't threaten the nation's stability. But things are different now. Your wife's actions have already cleared your name of any stain." If Yun Qing had continued to carry the reputation of being bloodthirsty and ruthless, no one would have joined his cause. Joining Yun Qing would not only offer no prospects but would also put their own lives at risk. With no one joining him, Yun Qing would be left to rely on himself, and even if he rebelled, he wouldn't have to fear the consequences. However, things have changed now. Yuxi not only helped Yun Qing but also earned him a good reputation. Of course, the most crucial thing was that Yuxi cured Yun Qing's illness.
Yun Qing asked, "Can I think about this first?" Before, he would have rejected the idea outright without hesitation, but now that he expressed the need for consideration, it showed significant progress.
Huo Changqing said, "Give me your answer before the New Year. The longer you delay this matter, the worse it will be for you." The sooner you prepare, the greater your chances of success. Huo Changqing was not an ambitious person; he simply wanted Yun Qing to have the ability to protect himself in times of chaos.
Yun Qing agreed.
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.
Cui Mo arrived in Xinping City and handed Yun Qing's letter to Tan Tuo, saying, "Prefect Daren3, our General has stated that we are at your disposal."
Tan Tuo was startled when he read in the letter that Yuxi had been attacked by assassins. He immediately frowned when he saw Yun Qing's request in the letter to cleanse Xinping City. However, he quickly made up his mind. He had already boarded the thieves' ship4, and there was no way to disembark. Since that was the case, further hesitation would only make things worse.
That night, Prefect Tan arrested a considerable number of people, and the prisons of Xinping City were overcrowded. In the midst of their sleep, many citizens suddenly heard cursing and weeping.
When Eldest Master Zhao received the news, he asked his son Zhao Huan, "Who did the Prefect arrest this time?" He knew something was wrong when he heard about three hundred elite soldiers arriving in Yu City yesterday afternoon. However, he had not expected Yun Qing and Tan Tuo to take such drastic measures.
Zhao Huan replied, "They arrested everyone with connections to the Xu family5, claiming they were harbouring the assassins." He then explained, "I also received news last night that Madam Yun was seriously injured after being attacked by assassins." As Yun Qing forbade outsiders from visiting, and the people in the Yun residence and the physicians kept their mouths shut, everyone assumed that Yuxi was severely wounded.
Eldest Master Zhao asked, "Could Madam Yun be in a critical condition?" Why would Yun Qing resort to such drastic measures if not for this reason?
Zhao Huan wasn't sure about this, so he replied, "We'll have to wait for Uncle and the others to bring us the news to know the exact situation." Xinping City was quite far from Yu City, so the flow of information was not very efficient.
In fact, even the other members of the Zhao family had no idea of Yuxi's actual condition at that time. They tried to send the second daughter-in-law, who had the closest relationship with Yuxi, to visit her, but she was refused by the people at the Yun residence. They sent someone to inquire, but all they could find out was that the attendants who had accompanied Yuxi to the Charity Home had been severely punished. Even her personal maid, Zijin, had received twenty lashes of the cane, and there was no further information.
Da Nainai6 Zhao said to Madam Zhao, "Mother, I think Han Shi must be in critical condition. Otherwise, why wouldn't they allow anyone to visit her?" Even if Yuxi wasn't dying, she must have been clinging to life.
Madam Zhao, however, didn't think so. "At that time, Master Yang went along with her, and he's exceptionally skilled in medicine. With him around, Madam Yun shouldn't be in any life-threatening danger."
Da Nainai6 Zhao responded, "I heard that the knife was heavily poisoned. No matter how skilled Master Yang is, he wouldn't be able to detoxify it, would he?" Of course, if it was just a stab wound to the arm, it would be fine, but the problem was that she was attacked with a poisoned dagger! Under normal circumstances, Yuxi's chances of survival would be very slim. Even if she didn't die, she would definitely be left disabled.
Being the more composed one, Madam Zhao warned: "Until we have accurate information, let's not discuss these matters any further, shall we?" Earlier, Da Nainai6 Zhao had mentioned to Madam Zhao that if Yuxi were to die, they could choose a suitable young woman from the Zhao family to marry Yun Qing. In this way, the Zhao family could reap greater and larger benefits.
Seeing her mother-in-law's displeasure, Da Nainai6 Zhao quickly added, "Mother, I only said this in front of you!" She had made the previous suggestion with the best interests of the Zhao family in mind.
Unfortunately, Tu Qingmei found out about this conversation. She wanted to spit at Da Nainai6 Zhao as she spoke: "She's always pretending to be decent and proper7, yet she's actually so evil. Han Meimei8 isn't even dead yet, and she's already thinking of sending a Zhao woman to be the jishi9. She has some nerve saying that, doesn't she?" As a result of this incident, Tu Qingmei looked down on Grandmother Zhao completely.
However, her maid, Xiao Cao, frowned and wondered, "Nainai10, why did Mama Tong tell us about this? What's her motive?" Mama Tong was Madam Zhao's trusted subordinate, and Xiao Cao couldn't understand why she would tell her mistress this news.
Tu Qingmei sneered, "Whatever she's up to, just ignore it." Ping Shi was the eldest sister-in-law, and most of the family's properties belonged to the eldest branch. If Tu Qingmei were to fight for it, there would be no benefit to her other than annoying her mother-in-law and displeasing her husband. Why should she bother with such a thankless task?
Xiao Cao said, "Nainai10, then, should we tell Madam Yun about this? I think we should give her a heads-up so that she can take precautions."
When Tu Qingmei heard this suggestion, she found it a bit unusual and asked, "Are you so sure that Yuxi Meimei8 is fine?" Even though she didn't dare to be sure, how could this girl be so sure?
Xiao Cao smiled and explained, "Nainai10, General Yun and Madam Yun have such a strong bond. If Madam Yun were truly in a bad condition, would the Yun Manor be so peaceful? Certainly not." She had personally witnessed the loving relationship between General Yun and Madam Yun; their affection wasn't just superficial, as rumoured. Therefore, Xiao Cao felt Madam Yun couldn't see any guests right now because she should be recuperating.
Tu Qingmei chuckled and remarked, "Even you can think of these things, yet they seem so clueless." Considering Yun Qing's temperament, if Yuxi were truly unwell, he wouldn't have remained so calm. He would have erupted in anger long ago.
Footnotes Full List
- er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege
- Wow, he still has high hopes for that traitorous Crown Prince after what Yuxi has revealed to him?!
- title of respect toward superiors
- reactionary faction
- The author originally used the Zhao family here, but the Zhao family have no grudge against Yuxi. The other family that has problems with Yuxi in Xinping City is the Xu family. So, I changed it to the Xu family.
- da=eldest, nainai=a young mistress of a family
- Chinese idiom: to act falsely or hypocritically
- younger sister
- second wife (taken after the death of one)
- a young mistress of a family
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi