Yuxi lay in bed for three days before she was allowed to get up. However, Yun Qing wouldn't let her go out. It was freezing at the end of the twelfth month, and given Yuxi's current condition, going out would surely result in her catching a cold.
Listening to Yun Qing's instruction, Yuxi chuckled and said, "Really! I'm not a three-year-old child." It was so cold outside that she would only get into trouble if she went out. Besides, it was not as if she had any masochistic tendencies.
Yun Qing said bluntly, "You're even more troublesome than Zaozao!" Zaozao only ate and slept; apart from being sick, she didn't cry or make a fuss. She was very obedient, unlike Yuxi, who refused to rest properly for a few days and kept complaining about being bored and wanting to read books.
When it came to their daughter, Yuxi was also distressed. "Zaozao has lost much weight in the past few days." Zaozao had been crying a lot lately these days, which broke Yuxi's heart and made her shed tears as well. It almost led Mama Lan to suggest moving to the second courtyard with Zaozao so that the two of them wouldn't cry together.
Feeling equally distressed, Yun Qing responded, "I've already spoken to Mama Lan. She said to give it a few more days, and Zaozao will get used to it." It pained him to see his daughter suffer.
Worried, Yuxi asked, "Do you think Zaozao will forget me when she sees me again in a few days?"
With a smile, Yun Qing replied, "Rest assured, our daughter won't forget you, even if she forgets everyone else." When the little one was sick, she only wanted Yuxi. Even he had to take a back row. There was no way Zaozao could forget Yuxi.
Yuxi didn't have that confidence. Children tended to forget things quickly. They could forget their mother after not seeing her for five or six days.
Yun Qing felt that it was pointless to discuss this topic, so he quickly changed the subject. "Uncle Huo said that we should cultivate more talents. Yuxi, what do you think?"
Yuxi weighed it in her mind and said, "It doesn't matter what I think; what matters is what *you think?" This assassination attempt made Yuxi realise one thing: although Yun Qing was not good at scheming, he had his own principles. Therefore, Yuxi felt she should change her attitude when dealing with Yun Qing. If she continued to follow her old ways, she feared the couple would have a rift over time.
Yun Qing confided in Yuxi: "If we take one wrong step, we could fall into an abyss." A misstep in such matters could easily lead to accusations of treason. Not only would they be branded with infamy forever, but the lives of their entire family would be in danger. For this reason, Yun Qing hesitated, afraid to take this step.
Yuxi replied, "As we move forward, we may face a dangerous fall or a promising path. But if we remain stagnant in Yu City, the Crown Prince, the Song family, and Grand Chancellor Yu will not spare us. It will still be a dead end for us." Since death was inevitable, they might as well take a chance.
Yun Qing held Yuxi's hand and said, "I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid that you and Zaozao will suffer." He yearned for a stable life for his wife and daughter, not one filled with fear and uncertainty.
In return, Yuxi clasped Yun Qing's hand and said, "We live together or die together as a family." She wasn't afraid, even if they were on the road to the underworld.
Yun Qing understood Yuxi's meaning, and his heart was filled with determination. He said, "I know what to do." If his wife wasn't afraid of death, then they would fight it together!
For the next few days, Yuxi stayed indoors and couldn't go out. It wasn't until that day, when the weather cleared that she was finally allowed to venture out.
Yuxi, bundled up in thick layers, had an extra crimson satin and purple sable cloak draped over her by Mama Qu. It had been years since Yuxi had worn such thick layers of clothing.
Stepping out of the house, Yuxi took a deep breath. It felt so much more comfortable to be outside; being cooped up inside would really suffocate a person.
Gancao timidly reminded Yuxi, "Madam, the General said you can only stay outside for a maximum of two-quarters of an hour." No one dared to disobey Yun Qing's order.
Yuxi pulled up her hood to cover her head and stated, "I'm going to visit Zijin."
Gancao meekly protested, "Madam, the General said you can't see Zijin Jiejie1." She didn't understand why the General wouldn't allow Madam to visit Zijin Jiejie1.
Yuxi was somewhat at a loss for words but didn't dare challenge Yun Qing's authority, so she obediently went to the vegetable garden. Once there, however, she absolutely refused to go back.
When Yun Qing received the news, he rushed to the vegetable garden and found Yuxi standing on the bare vegetable plots, lost in thought. He walked over, took off Yuxi's hood, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Yuxi replied, "What do you think about building a greenhouse here?" In the capital, the Han Residence had a greenhouse, allowing them to have fresh vegetables even in winter. However, fresh vegetables were scarce in the northwest, even in regular seasons, let alone in winter. Previously, Mama Lan had suggested building a greenhouse, but Yuxi had rejected the idea, worried about the cost. But after the recent assassination attempt, Yuxi had a change of heart. It was important to do good deeds, but she couldn't neglect herself either.
Yun Qing said, "If that's what you want, then go ahead and build it!" Yun Qing never interfered with internal affairs.
Seeing that Yun Qing didn't object, Yuxi decided to build a greenhouse next year. "I've already asked Han Ji to prepare an ice cellar. That way, we won't have to worry about running out of ice in the summer." Last year, they didn't have the resources, but this year, they definitely needed to build an ice cellar to store ice. Otherwise, they would face another difficult summer.
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Yun Qing, as always, left the decision to Yuxi. After a brief conversation, he forcibly escorted her back to their room.
Watching Yun Qing's retreating figure, Yuxi couldn't help but smile. In her entire life, she had never been subjected to such discipline. However, she didn't feel bad about it. "Please ask Mama Lan to bring Zaozao over." Yuxi hadn't dared to see Zaozao for the past few days when she was awake.
As soon as Zaozao saw Yuxi, she stretched her hands, asking to be held. Yuxi took her hands, smiled, and spoke to Mama Lan, "No wonder they say that breastfeeding your own child makes them attached to you." Yuxi was thinking of breastfeeding her future children herself, too.
Just as she finished speaking, Zaozao arched in her arms. Yuxi was taken aback as this position was all too familiar to her. She asked, "Hasn't she stopped breastfeeding? Why is she still looking for milk?"
Mama Lan replied, "Once Young Miss realises that Madam no longer has breast milk, she won't do this any more." Even though it had been several days since they had last seen Yuxi, Zaozao's instinct to seek Yuxi's milk was purely reflexive.
When Zaozao didn't get any milk, she started to cry loudly. Yuxi felt helpless. Although Zaozao was getting thinner, her crying was still so loud.
It was on that day that Yuxi learned that Zaozao was a persistent child. Zaozao tried to ask for milk five times, but when she still did not get any, she finally stopped crying. Even though Yuxi had run out of breast milk, Zaozao didn't want anyone else to hold her; she just wanted to be in Yuxi's arms. Yuxi couldn't put her down either because she would start crying again.
Yuxi felt both happy and sad. She kissed Zaozao's forehead and said, "It's Mom's fault that Baobao2 has to suffer too." Such a thing should never happen again.
When Yun Qing returned to the backyard, Zaozao was already fast asleep. "Zaozao has suffered a lot in the past few days. I hope she will recover soon." As a father, it pained him to see his daughter so thin.
Mama Lan said, "Young Miss has a good appetite, and she'll be able to recover once she gets over this." Even though this child had lost her weight rapidly, she could easily gain weight as long as she could eat and sleep well.
After the child was taken away, Yun Qing informed Yuxi, "I found out that the people who tried to assassinate you were sent by the Xu family." The one the Xu family wanted to kill most was Yun Qing, but it was almost impossible to do so because he was surrounded by skilled fighters, was a trained fighter himself, and was very vigilant. Therefore, the Xu family decided to kill Yuxi and Zaozao as a way of revenge against Yun Qing.
Yuxi wasn't surprised by this and asked, "Have all the remnants of the Xu family been captured this time?" They couldn't let anyone else escape again.
Yun Qing nodded. "They have all been captured. Cui Mo has taken care of all of them." The term 'taken care of' actually meant that their lives had been ended. Cui Mo didn't just eliminate the remaining members of the Xu family but also those who had protected and helped them.
Tan Tuo stared at Cui Mo, his voice cold, as he said, "We can't go on killing. The people in the city are already afraid, and if we continue, it will lead to chaos." More than a hundred people had been killed in just five days. Tan Tuo was extremely worried that further killings would lead to a violent uprising.
When Cui Mo arrived with his troops, he said they would follow Tan Tuo's orders. But as soon as they started taking people prisoner, they began interrogating them. After that, they no longer adhered to the original agreements. They would arrest anyone suspected of involvement, using the pretext of the prefectural yamen3 to do so. Seeing their behaviour, Tan Tuo regretted getting involved with Yun Qing.
Cui Mo said, "Don't worry, Daren4. Xinping City will not fall into chaos." There were one hundred thousand troops stationed just one hundred li5 away. Only if the people in the city wanted to die would they dare to cause trouble.
Tan Tuo could feel his patience wearing thin. "Cui Daren4, if you continue to kill without my consent, don't blame me for being impolite."
Cui Mo, not wanting to scratch Tan Tuo's face6, said, "As long as they are not spies, I will hand them over to Lord Tan to deal with." However, if they were spies, he could not do that.
Tan Tuo took a deep breath and said, "I hope you keep your word."
News of the changes in Xinping City quickly reached Yu City. When Zhao Zhuo heard this, he was astonished and told General Zhao, "Yun Qing actually wants to interfere in local government affairs despite the separation of military and political power. Could he be planning a rebellion?"
General Zhao shook his head. Cui Mo was sent out under the pretext of assisting Prefect Tan in maintaining local security, and the number of soldiers was only three hundred. To call it a rebellion was a bit of an exaggeration. "Yun Qing is merely exploiting a loophole, but he could only do so with Prefect Tan's cooperation."
Zhao Zhuo couldn't make sense of it as he asked, "Father, I heard that Han Shi is not seriously injured. Why is Yun Qing making such a fuss?"
General Zhao replied, "Han Shi is an extremely ambitious woman. The incident in Xinping City could just be the beginning." General Zhao had some understanding of Yun Qing. Although Yun Qing carried a deep grudge, he acted with honesty and integrity and was not an ambitious person. Otherwise, the former Marshal wouldn't have wanted to groom him as his successor. It was unfortunate that Yun Qing had married such an ambitious woman, and he had been influenced by her.
Footnotes Full List
- elder sister. It can also be used as a sign of intimacy with a familiar woman older than the speaker.
- [a pet name for a child] darling; baby
- government office in feudal China
- title of respect toward superiors
- a traditional unit of length, equal to 150 zhang (市丈), and equivalent to 0.5 kilometres or 0.311 miles
- (col) quarrel openly; put aside all considerations of face; throw face-saving to the wind; not spare sb.'s sensibilities
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi