As soon as Yuxi woke up in the morning, she heard Shiliu say it was snowing outside.
Somewhat surprised, Yuxi remarked, "It's only the beginning of the twelfth month, and it's already snowing. The snow is coming really early this year!"
After washing up and changing her clothes, Yuxi went outside. The snow was still falling, intermittently, sometimes heavily, sometimes lightly. Because the snowfall wasn't dense, the snowflakes melted almost instantly upon touching the ground.
"Mom..." The voice was loud enough to be heard from far away.
Mama Qu came over carrying Zaozao, saying, "I don't know what's wrong with this child. As soon as she opened her eyes, she started crying for Madam."
Yuxi reached out to touch Zaozao's forehead. When she noticed that Zaozao's forehead had a normal temperature, she finally relaxed. It wasn't that Yuxi was overreacting, it was just that Zaozao was especially attached to her when she wasn't feeling well.
Zaozao grabbed Yuxi with both hands and called out, "Mom, hug..." This was Zaozao's biggest complaint. Everyone else would carry her, but not her mother.
Yuxi smiled and said, "Mom can't right now, but Mom will give you a big hug later when Mom can, OK? Shiliu, go get some water." Then she stroked Zaozao's little cheek, "When you grow up, you can't run out without washing up, alright?"
Zaozao couldn't understand such deep words.
Yun Qing had gone to the military camp on business, so mother and daughter had breakfast together. Zaozao was still young and was fed by Mama Lan. After Yuxi finished her breakfast, she took over.
After spending half a day with Zaozao, Yuxi felt a little tired and told Mama Lan, "Carry Zaozao downstairs." She needed to rest.
Zaozao didn't want to leave and held onto Yuxi's arm tightly. As Zijin forcibly carried her, she cried loudly, calling out, "Mom, Mom..."
Yuxi felt that Zaozao was behaving differently today and told Mama Lan, "This child is a bit out of sorts today. Please pay more attention."
Mama Lan also noticed Zaozao's unusual behaviour and said, "I will." With that, she followed Zijin out.
Yuxi reclined on the soft couch to rest.
At that moment, a woman in a water-red dress appeared at the gates of the Yun residence. Seeing the gatekeeper blocking her way, the red-eyed woman said, "I need to see Madam Yun."
The gatekeeper stopped her and asked, "Who are you?" The lady of the house was not someone you could just meet on a whim.
The woman lowered her head and softly said, "I wish to see Madam Yun."
The gatekeeper was about to respond when the guard next to him signalled with his eyes. It was then that the gatekeeper noticed the woman was visibly pregnant. Her clothes were so loose that it wasn't immediately obvious unless you looked closely. His curiosity flared—this pregnant woman showing up at their doorstep asking for his mistress? Could it be that the General had been fooling around outside and had forgotten to cover his tracks?
Seeing that the gatekeeper was ignoring her, the woman anxiously pulled a jade pendant from her sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "Please give this to Madam Yun. Once she sees it, she will agree to meet me."
The gatekeeper took the pendant and examined it. It was a tiger-shaped jade of excellent quality, clear and lustrous. He glanced up at the woman and said, "Wait here for a moment." Since she had such an item as proof, it was something that needed to be reported.
Despite the token, the gatekeeper still suspected that the child she was carrying might belong to the General. However, to be cautious, he didn't report the matter directly to Yuxi but went to find Xu Wu instead.
After explaining the situation, the gatekeeper couldn't help but ask gossipingly, "Captain Xu, do you think the child in her belly could really be the General's?"
Xu Wu replied coldly, "Madam is pregnant herself. If she hears such nonsense and it affects her health, not even ten lives would be enough for the General to take from you." The General and Madam had such a strong relationship—how could he possibly have any involvement with another woman? Moreover, the General was either at home doing official business or at the barracks inspecting military affairs every day. Where would he find the time to see other women?
The gatekeeper thought about it and laughed awkwardly. "I guess I've been thinking too much."
With that, the gatekeeper's expression turned serious. "This woman might be here to harm Madam!"
Xu Wu replied, "Let's question her first." If someone wanted to harm Madam with such clumsy tactics, it was clear they weren't taking them seriously. This matter might not be what it seemed.
After questioning the woman, Xu Wu learned that the child she was carrying belonged to Han Jianye. With an expressionless face, Xu Wu said, "Since you know the child is Han Jianye's, why don't you go find him? Why did you come to see Madam Yun?" A man getting a woman to become pregnant and then expecting his sister to clean up after him—what kind of nonsense was this? When Han Jianye found out, he'd probably want to crawl into a hole from embarrassment.
The woman claimed her surname was Xu and her given name was Chunni. With a face full of grievance, Xu Chunni said, "I tried to find him, but he was in the military camp and I couldn't see him." Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, "I had no choice but to come to Madam Yun. Regardless, the child I'm carrying is also her nephew. She can't just ignore me, can she?"
Xu Wu thought Han Jianye was a real scoundrel. He had caused this mess and now he was causing trouble for his own Madam. Xu Wu said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll send someone to call Han Jianye over."
Xu Chunni sobbed, "Thank you."
After a moment's thought, Xu Wu decided to tell Yuxi about this. When he entered the courtyard, he learned that Madam was resting.
Mama Qu asked, "Guard Xu, is there anything urgent? I can tell Madam when she wakes up. If it's inconvenient, I can have someone notify you when she wakes up?"
Xu Wu replied, "It's nothing inconvenient. A woman came to the door saying she was pregnant with General Han's child. I've already sent someone to call General Han, and I wanted to inform Madam personally." Whether Madam wanted to deal with it or not was up to her, but he had to inform her.
Before Mama Qu could respond, an angry voice rang out, "What did you say? The General has a woman outside? And now she's pregnant and coming to our door?" With that, Zijin rushed towards Xu Wu.
Mama Qu said sternly, "Don't be so loud. You might wake Madam up." With such a temper, she didn't know when Zijin would ever change.
Zijin was exasperated, "Mama, this is a big deal! I can't stay calm." Then, she stared at Xu Wu and asked, "Where is that woman? Where is she?"
If Yuxi could still sleep after such a loud noise, she would be a pig. As soon as she opened her eyes, she heard Zijin talking about a woman. Yuxi sat up and called out, "Zijin, come in."
Mama Qu tugged at Zijin's sleeve and lowered her voice, "Guard Xu was talking about your Master Er Jiu1, General Han, not the General. Don't go blabbering to Madam later. Madam is now seven months pregnant and can't be frightened."
After hearing this, Zijin asked Xu Wu, "Really? It's Master Er Jiu1, not the General?" Seeing Xu Wu nod, Zijin complained, "Why didn't you make that clear? I ended up waking Madam for nothing."
Xu Wu knew Zijin's temperament, so he didn't get angry. He smiled and said, "Next time, make sure you've got the facts straight before you get angry."
Zijin said, "When Madam asks, you should be the one to explain it." She didn't know much about this either, and she wouldn't know what to say if Madam asked.
Yuxi knew that Xu Chunni was pregnant with Han Jianye's child, and she couldn't help but think of the gossip that Er Nainai2 Zhao had told her. Could it be that the young general she was referring to was her Er Ge3? But if so, Er Nainai2 Zhao was being inconsiderate. She should have told her. Soon, Yuxi shook her head. Based on Er Nainai2 Zhao's personality, if she knew the gossip was about her Er Ge3, she would have told her.
After finishing his report, Xu Wu handed the jade pendant to Yuxi, saying, "That woman said this was a token left by Master Er Jiu1."
Yuxi had never seen this tiger-shaped jade pendant before. It must have been something he wore close to his body. Yuxi told Xu Wu, "Go investigate this woman's background and see if what she said is true." This woman most likely knew her Er Ge3's identity and was latching onto him.
Xu Wu replied, "I've already sent someone to invite Master Er Jiu1 over." The man himself would know best if the child was his.
Yuxi had to make it clearer, "Investigate carefully and see if this woman has any other men besides my Er Ge3." Who knew if she was trying to pawn someone else's child off on her Er Ge3? With Er Ge3's soft-hearted nature, if he felt sorry for her and acknowledged the child, he'd be tarnishing the Han family bloodline. How would she explain it to Mother and Dage4 then?
Xu Wu hadn't considered it from this angle, but Madam's concern was valid. This woman had an intimate relationship with Han Jianye without any official status, which showed she wasn't a virtuous woman. Xu Wu quickly replied, "Madam, I'll have someone investigate immediately."
Seeing Yuxi stand up and stretch, Zijin asked, "Madam, aren't you going to see that woman?"
Yuxi rolled her eyes at Zijin, "What a silly question. Zijin, how come you're getting dumber and dumber?" Even if the child belonged to her Er Ge3's, it had nothing to do with her, so why would she want to see her?
Zijin laughed, "I thought Madam would go." Compared to Madam, she was indeed a bit foolish, so she didn't mind when Yuxi called her dumb.
Mama Qu asked, "Madam, if the child really belongs to Master Er Jiu1, what should we do then?" The Old Lady and the Second Lady were both in the capital. They couldn't just ignore it.
Yuxi twisted her arm and said, "Whoever the child belongs to, let them deal with it." She was annoyed with Han Jianye for what he had done. If he was so desperate for a woman, he could have written home to inform Mother and Er Sao5 and taken a concubine properly. But instead, he went and messed with such a restless woman. He hadn't learned his lesson from Qiu Yanfu and was about to make the same mistake again.
Seeing Yuxi's displeasure, Mama Qu hesitated before saying, "If Master Er Jiu1 asks Madam to take care of the child, can Madam refuse?"
Yuxi snorted, "Why can't I refuse? I've already cleaned up his mess once, and I won't do it again." In fact, Yuxi still couldn't understand why Er Ge3 had married Qiu Yanfu in his previous life. They were incompatible in every way, yet he had forced Mother to agree to the marriage.
Mama Qu was surprised. What did she mean by 'once'? However, she was smart enough not to ask. It wasn't a pleasant topic, and the less she knew, the better.
Not wanting to deal with the matter, Yuxi said irritably, "If I had known, I wouldn't have listened to him and just brought Er Sao5 here directly." If Er Sao5 were here, there wouldn't be such a mess.
Mama Qu remained silent. Who could have predicted such a thing?
Footnotes Full List
- er = second, jiu = wife's brother
- er = second, nainai = a young mistress of a family
- er = second, ge = older brother, short form for Gege
- eldest brother
- er = second, sao = sister-in-law
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi