The soft moonlight gently filtered through the umbrella-shaped branches of the locust tree, quietly spilling out into the courtyard of the Yun family residence. Everything was so serene and beautiful.
"Wah wah..." The baby's cry shattered the peaceful silence.
Yun Qing was walking around the house, holding the crying Zaozao and gently rocking her, saying, "There, there, Zaozao, don't cry..." Although Yun Qing knew how to change the baby's diaper and take care of Zaozao's personal hygiene, he truly didn't know how to stop her from crying.
Zaozao, showing no signs of giving in, continued to cry loudly. Not only did her deafening wails fill the air, but she also kicked and flailed, leaving Yun Qing at his wit's end.
Yuxi, who could no longer stand it, said, "Have the General bring Zaozao to me!" This little girl's ability to cry was truly amazing; if she was not comforted, she could cry for two whole shichen1.
Upon hearing this, Yun Qing was relieved and quickly carried Zaozao into the bedroom. As soon as he entered, he saw Yuxi already lying in bed.
As soon as Zaozao saw Yuxi, she stopped crying, stretched out her hands, and cried, "Mom, mom, hug, hug..." Although Zaozao was usually taken care of by Mama Lan, she was still the closest to Yuxi. Otherwise, Mama Lan wouldn't have dared to leave.
Yuxi didn't hold Zaozao; in her current condition, she couldn't. Instead, she had Yun Qing place Zaozao beside her and said, "Go ask Shiliu to bring a basin of water. Her face is all dirty." If they didn't clean her face, the bedding would be soiled.
Zaozao eagerly tried to climb onto Yuxi, but Yuxi wouldn't let her. Seeing she couldn't get what she wanted, Zaozao began crying loudly again.
Seeing this, Yun Qing said, "Why don't you hold her for a while? Zaozao is only one year old; she's not that heavy." Watching Zaozao cry for such a long time also pained him.
A little speechless, Yuxi replied, "She's so strong; what if she kicks my belly? He Rui, you can't spoil this girl too much. Spoiling a child will do more harm than good." Having experienced serious consequences in the past, Yuxi believed that strict discipline was essential in raising children.
Shiliu soon came in with water, placed it on the washstand, and handed Yuxi a small towel. Yuxi didn't take it but instead said to Yun Qing, "You do it."
The water was warm, but even a warm bath would be uncomfortable on such a hot day. Zaozao naturally resisted, and when Yun Qing tried to force a washcloth on her face, she cried even louder.
Yun Qing worried, "If she keeps crying like this, I'm afraid she'll hurt her throat!” She had been crying for nearly half an hour, and he was really worried that her throat would be sore tomorrow.
Yuxi said, "You go take care of things outside; I'll take care of Zaozao.” This little one, the more you paid attention to her, the louder she cried. If you ignored her, it was guaranteed she'd stop crying soon. Even though she was only one year old, she was very clever!
Seeing his daughter lying on the bed with tears streaming down her face, Yun Qing hesitated to leave. "It won't take a moment."
Yuxi saw this and said, "Then you can coax her slowly. I'm going to sleep.” Pregnant women tended to get sleepy easily and slept very soundly. Sure enough, as soon as she lay down, she fell asleep without paying attention to the loud crying beside her.
Yun Qing feared that Zaozao would wake Yuxi, so he quickly carried the crying Zaozao out of the bedroom.
In the middle of the night, Yuxi woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Yun Qing holding Zaozao and sleeping soundly. The scene would have been even more beautiful had it not been for the two snot streaks under Zaozao's nose.
Yuxi initially didn't want to disturb Yun Qing, but just as she lifted the quilt and was about to get up, Yun Qing woke up. Seeing Yuxi getting ready to get out of bed, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Yuxi replied, "I need to go to the toilet." Now that she had been drinking a lot of soup and water, she always had to get up in the middle of the night to take care of her personal hygiene.
Yun Qing put Zaozao down and got up, saying, "Let me help you." The toilet was in the washroom, and it wasn't far.
Yuxi smiled. "No need; I can walk." Although she was pregnant, she was very agile, almost like a normal person, and this was also the result of her daily exercise.
After saying that, Yuxi looked at the sleeping Zaozao's clothes and asked, "Why didn't you bathe the child last night?"
Yun Qing shook his head and replied, "That's not it. Since I see her bathe every day, missing a bath shouldn't be a big deal. So, I didn't give her a bath." In fact, Mama Qu had already brought the water, but Zaozao didn't want to bathe. She cried the moment she touched the water, and Yun Qing had no choice but to give in.
Yuxi rolled her eyes to the sky, speechless. "What do you mean 'missing a bath shouldn't be a big deal'? By that logic, skipping a meal won't starve her either! From now on, you can't be in charge of looking after the child."
Yun Qing was unperturbed by the sarcasm and replied, "I don't have time to take care of the child very often, so this rare occasion of indulgence won't hurt her." Seeing that Yuxi was about to say more, he quickly added, "Come on, let me help you to the washroom!"
The next day, after Yuxi had finished breakfast, Mama Lan still hadn't returned. Yuxi didn't say much, but Mama Qu was displeased: "What is Chen Shi trying to pull here?" It was unheard of to withhold the wet nurse when there was a child in need of her care.
Yuxi remained calm and instructed, "If Mama Lan still hasn't returned by noon, we'll send someone to the Fu family to bring her back."
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Mama Lan still hadn't returned by noon.
Yuxi told Yun Qing during lunch, "I don't feel so energetic these days. After taking care of the child all morning, I'm quite exhausted. I'll send someone to fetch Mama Lan later." It wasn't that someone else couldn't take care of the child, but Yuxi didn't trust anyone else with the task.
Yun Qing looked a bit troubled as he said, "I have already promised Tianlei that Mama Lan will stay at the Fu residence for a few days to take care of Chen Shi."
Yuxi was furious. "What's more important, your brotherly bond or your daughter?" It was fine to let Mama Lan go to check on things and offer Chen Shi some good advice, but to keep her there like this was unacceptable.
Yun Qing thought Yuxi was being unreasonable and argued, "Although Zaozao has always been taken care of by Mama Lan, she's not completely dependent on her. Chen Shi's situation is unstable right now; it won't hurt to let Mama Lan take care of her for a few days."
It was easy for tempers to flare in the hot weather, and being pregnant made Yuxi even more irritable. Usually, Yuxi could control her temper, but not this time. When she heard Yun Qing's words, she slammed her chopsticks down on the table and coldly said, "Do you know that a child as young as Zaozao can easily fall ill if not properly cared for?"
Before Yun Qing could reply, Yuxi stood up, left her meal unfinished and went straight back to the bedroom. This was the first time since their marriage that Yuxi had shown such an attitude towards Yun Qing.
Mama Qu, who served them nearby, quickly explained, "Madam is already uncomfortable due to her pregnancy, and she's been taking care of Zaozao all morning, so it's understandable that she's a little irritated."
Yun Qing was just about to speak when he saw Xu Wu walk in and say, "General, Weiguo is here and waiting outside."
Weiguo's arrival at this hour must be for something important. Yun Qing put down his chopsticks and left immediately. Mama Qu quickly entered the bedroom and told Yuxi, "Madam, the General has gone to the front yard for some urgent matter." Afterwards, she comforted Yuxi, saying, "No matter what happens, please finish your meal first. If you don't eat, how will your body handle it? There's no need to strain your relationship with the General because of Chen Shi."
Yuxi had only lost her temper for a moment and didn't actually want to neglect her health. She immediately returned to the table to continue her meal. Not long after she finished, she began to feel sleepy. She gave Mama Qu and Shao Yao some instructions and then went to sleep.
In the afternoon, Yuxi habitually felt Zaozao's forehead. Her face changed after doing so, and she immediately called out, "Tell the Chief Steward to invite Physician Zeng over." Physician Zeng was known to be the best paediatrician in Yu City.
Shiliu, who was quick to react, realised that something was wrong with Young Miss. Without delay, she ran out to deliver the message.
Mama Qu asked anxiously, "Madam, what's wrong?"
Yuxi felt like she had a crow's beak2 for cursing her child for no reason. She replied bitterly, "Zaozao has a bit of a fever." Fortunately, Yuxi had developed the habit of checking Zaozao's forehead regularly; otherwise, she might have missed it. This habit was thanks to Mama Lan's constant reminders that children's illnesses often went unnoticed by adults and that minor problems, if neglected, could turn into big ones.
Physician Zeng arrived quickly. After checking Zaozao's pulse, he said, "Young Miss caught a slight cold, but it was caught in time. Nothing serious. I'll prescribe some medicine; take one dose, and if her fever subsides, she won't need any more."
Yuxi was taken aback. "A cold?" she repeated, then turned to look at Mama Qu and Shao Yao, who had been looking after Zaozao.
Mama Qu didn't hide anything and said, "When Young Miss fell asleep at noon, I instructed Shao Yao to look after her while I handled matters in the inner courtyard."
Shao Yao hurriedly explained, "Madam, Ganniang3, I stayed with Young Miss all the time. I didn't leave her for a moment." Ever since she learned the rules, she had been helping Mama Lan take care of Young Miss.
Yuxi thought for a moment and asked, "Did Zaozao kick off her blanket during her nap?" There had been a basin of ice in the room at that time. If Zaozao had kicked off her blanket, she would definitely have caught a cold.
Hearing this, Shao Yao's face turned pale. She knelt and said, "Madam, it’s my fault." As it turned out, while Zaozao was napping, Shao Yao had dozed off as well. When she woke up, she found that Zaozao had kicked her blanket aside. She didn't think much of it then and covered Zaozao again. She hadn't expected that such a small oversight would make Zaozao sick.
Although Yuxi was upset, she didn't punish Shao Yao right away. Instead, she said, "Let's put this aside for now and concentrate on getting Zaozao her medicine." In truth, Shao Yao didn't bear the main responsibility. A young child like Shao Yao couldn't take care of Zaozao properly. Yuxi herself couldn't stay awake when she felt sleepy; otherwise, this wouldn't have happened. Of course, if Mama Lan had been around, such an incident wouldn’t have occurred. Yuxi turned to Mama Qu and instructed, "Go to the Fu family and personally bring Mama Lan back."
Mama Qu obeyed immediately.
Yuxi tended to the sick Zaozao personally, even administering the medicine herself. As she listened to Zaozao's soft cries, she kissed her forehead and comforted her, "Zaozao, be good. Once you take your medicine, you'll feel better." Administering medicine to a child has always been a painful and difficult task.
Footnotes Full List
- 2 hours. 2 shichen means 4 hours.
- A colloquial term used to describe someone unlucky or who tends to jinx things.
- adoptive mother
きつね'S RECOMMENDATION
It's a year-old Chinese mini-drama called 'Confess Your Love'. It was so cute that they had a crush on each other, and the ML fell for the FL first. So sweet! This was my favourite scene of the drama.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi