Mama Qu said to Yuxi, "Madam, this Xu Shi is still pregnant. Wouldn't it seem heartless not to let her stay in the General's residence?" Han Jianye didn't have a place of his own outside, and if they ignored this fact, others would think her Madam was cold-hearted.
Yuxi replied, "If it were my Er Sao1, I wouldn't hesitate to prepare the best courtyard for her. But this Xu Shi hasn't even served tea to my Er Sao1, nor has she gone through any formal procedures. What right does she have to live in the General's residence? Besides, even if I were willing, the General wouldn't allow it."
Yuxi's words revealed her inner thoughts. Her household was clean and free of concubines or tongfang2, so why would she allow one to live in her home? What if this influenced Yun Qing? She trusted Yun Qing's self-control, but trust didn't mean she wouldn't take precautions.
Unaware of Yuxi's private concerns, Mama Qu felt that this approach seemed inappropriate.
Yuxi continued, "Not only in Yu City, even in the capital, it's unheard of for a concubine to live in her husband's sister's house. Besides, my Er Ge3 isn't a child. He should be able to handle such a situation on his own."
About two-quarters of an hour later, as Yuxi was about to take her midday nap, Mama Qu walked in and said, "Madam, Master Er Jiu4 has brought the Xu Shi here and would like to see you."
Yuxi had no desire to meet this woman, but since Han Jianye had accompanied her, she couldn't refuse to give him some face. She instructed, "Let them in."
As they entered, Yuxi glanced at the woman next to Han Jianye. It was snowing outside, and this woman had braved the snow to come. Mama Qu, noticing that the woman's clothes were damp and fearing she might catch a cold, had given her a set of clothes to change into. Xu Chunni was now wearing a peach-coloured jacket over a silver coat and a sea-green skirt. Despite her pregnancy, she was still dressed like a young maiden. With her head down, Yuxi couldn't see her face clearly, but she could tell the woman's skin was quite fair. Of course, compared to the people of Yu City, it was fair, but it couldn't be compared to Yuxi's own complexion.
As soon as he entered, Han Jianye said, "Yuxi, Chunni said she had no other choice. Her father has already set the wedding date, and if I don't find a solution soon, her father might marry her off by the end of the year." If she got married and was found to be pregnant, Wang Dalang would surely beat her to death—or so Xu Chunni had told him.
When Yuxi heard Han Jianye's words, she was deeply upset. She hadn't even spoken yet and he was already acting as if he was afraid she would make things difficult for Xu Chunni. Luckily, she was only his sister. If she were her Er Sao1, she'd probably spit up blood when she heard that.
Yuxi's mood soured, and she found Xu Chunni even more displeasing. Seeing her standing there with her head bowed and looking timid only made her dislike her even more. In a cold tone, Yuxi said, "Raise your head." When Xu Chunni didn't move, Yuxi's expression darkened. "Who are you pretending for? Raise your head!" Her tone was commanding now. She wanted to see what kind of person had made her Er Ge3 lose all sense of decency.
Zijin was a bit surprised. Yuxi rarely spoke so aggressively. Clearly, Madam was in a foul mood.
Han Jianye also sensed that there was something wrong with Yuxi's tone. Knowing they were at fault, he gently encouraged Xu Chunni, "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
Under Han Jianye's reassurance, Xu Chunni slowly lifted her head, revealing a delicate and lovely face.
Yuxi was growing impatient, but when her eyes finally met Xu Chunni's, she suddenly cried out, "Zijin!" and took a hasty step back.
Since Yuxi was Han Jianye's younger sister, she naturally couldn’t remain seated when greeting him. Just moments before, she had been standing in the middle of the living room, waiting for them.
Although Zijin didn't know what had happened, the unspoken understanding between a mistress and her servant meant that as soon as she heard Yuxi's cry, she knew something was wrong. Zijin acted immediately.
Han Jianye was stunned by Yuxi's sudden shout, but when he saw Zijin's heavy punch about to land on Xu Chunni, he quickly stepped in front of her to shield her, loudly demanding, "Zijin, what are you doing?"
If that punch had landed, Xu Chunni would have been either dead or crippled. Not daring to hurt Han Jianye instead, Zijin quickly withdrew her fist. Almost instantly, Xu Chunni seemed to have wings on her feet as she swiftly moved around both Han Jianye and Zijin, lunging at Yuxi.
Yuxi had been exercising regularly for years, even during her pregnancy, making her more agile than the average person. But no matter how agile she was, she was still a seven—or eight-month pregnant woman, and she couldn't avoid Xu Chunni, who was approaching her with such preparation and martial arts skills.
Seeing Xu Chunni lunge at her, the only thing Yuxi could do was protect her child and make sure that Xu Chunni's palm didn't hit her abdomen.
Xu Chunni's palm landed on Yuxi's body, and Yuxi fell to the ground. As a mother, Yuxi instinctively protected her belly when she fell.
Before Xu Chunni could make a second move, Zijin was already behind her and landed a blow on her back. This blow, delivered in a fit of rage, was Zijin's full strength. It caused Xu Chunni to spit blood and collapse onto a chair.
Hongqi and Hongdou, who had been waiting outside, rushed in upon hearing Yuxi's scream, just in time to see Yuxi fall to the ground.
Feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen, Yuxi turned pale and said to Hongdou who was crouching beside her, "The baby, my baby..."
Upon hearing this, Zijin lowered her head to speak but then saw blood flowing from Yuxi. She immediately shouted, "Quickly, quickly call for Mama Lan, quickly call for Mama Lan." Then, she carried Yuxi back into the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
Amidst Zijin's shouts, Han Jianye finally came to his senses. Looking at Xu Chunni, who was being held down by Hongqi and was continuously vomiting blood, Han Jianye rushed over, grabbed her by the neck, and asked with bloodshot eyes, "Tell me, who sent you to kill Yuxi? Tell me!" Up to that point, he still didn't understand what had happened, and he felt like he had lived his life in vain.
Xu Chunni had come intending to die in her attempt to kill Yuxi, so how could she possibly reveal her master's identity to Han Jianye?
When Mama Lan heard that something had happened to Yuxi, she rushed into the main room. Seeing Yuxi's lower body bleeding uncontrollably and her face pale as death, Mama Lan froze in shock.
Yuxi, still conscious, looked at Mama Lan and pleaded, "The baby… save the baby… no matter what…" She couldn't bear the thought of losing her child.
Although Mama Lan was momentarily stunned, her experience quickly kicked in, and she steadied herself. She nodded firmly, "Madam, don't worry. I will make sure that both you and the little one are safe." At that moment, she became the pillar of support. If she lost her composure, not only would the baby be in danger, but even Yuxi's life might be at risk.
After saying this, Mama Lan calmly began organising the preparations for the emergency delivery. Her calm demeanour reassured everyone in the room, and they followed her instructions without hesitation.
When Xu Wu heard that Yuxi had been attacked, he immediately asked, "How did Madam encounter an assassin? Who is the assassin? How could this happen inside the residence?"
Gancao explained with a pale face, "The woman who came to see Master Er Jiu4 was the assassin—she came here to kill Madam! Guard Xu, please go find a physician quickly. Madam… Madam is still bleeding…" Remembering the sight of Yuxi bleeding, Gancao began to tremble uncontrollably.
Xu Wu's face turned ashen, but having followed Yun Qing through countless storms, he knew that panicking wouldn't help. He immediately ordered someone to summon Physician Bai and instructed Xu Daniu to inform Yun Qing.
Han Ji also quickly heard about the incident. Knowing that Physician Bai specialised in difficult and rare illnesses, but not in women's health, Han Ji sent for Physician Zeng as a backup.
Yun Qing was in the military camp, discussing matters with Fu Tianlei and General Zhao when a guard informed him that Xu Daniu had urgent news. Unsuspecting, Yun Qing said, "Let him in."
Xu Daniu entered the tent and when he saw Yun Qing, he blurted out, "General, Madam is about to give birth! You must return home immediately!"
Yun Qing shot Xu Daniu a cold glance and asked, "What are you babbling about?" The child was only just over seven months old; how could it be time to give birth already?
Xu Daniu, on the verge of tears, explained, "General, it's true! Today, a pregnant woman came to the residence claiming to be Master Er Jiu4's concubine, but she turned out to be an assassin. Madam was injured by the assassin and fell to the ground, causing her to go into premature labour!" He added with a trembling voice, "I've heard premature births are very dangerous—one wrong move and both mother and child could die!"
After speaking, Xu Daniu looked up again, only to find that Yun Qing had already disappeared. Realising that Yun Qing had left, Xu Daniu also walked out, muttering as he went, "Please don't let anything happen to Madam'. If something were to happen to Madam, the punishment would be a minor matter; the real concern was whether the General could bear it.
Fu Tianlei frowned and asked General Zhao, "What kind of person would go to such great lengths to try to kill Yun Qing's wife?"
General Zhao shook his head and replied, "That, I don't know. There are plenty of people who want the Han Shi dead—it's just unclear who acted this time."
Hearing this, Fu Tianlei glanced at General Zhao and said, "We'll discuss this later. I'll head to the Yun residence to take a look." Everyone knew how much Yun Qing cared for his wife. They could only hope that Madam Han would survive this crisis unharmed.
When Madam Zhao saw her husband return so early, she found it strange and asked, "Why are you back so early today?" For the past few days, her husband had been staying out until late.
General Zhao replied, "Han Shi has gone into early labour, so Yun Qing has returned to his residence. There's no point in me staying since everything depends on Yun Qing's decisions. I figured I might as well come home early."
Madam Zhao was taken aback. "How could this happen? Just yesterday, Tu Shi visited her and said that Madam Yun was looking very well! How could she suddenly go into labour today?"
General Zhao's expression turned grim. "There was an attempt on her life. Han Shi was injured, which affected her pregnancy and caused her to go into premature labour."
Madam Zhao gasped in shock. "Wasn't the General's residence supposed to be heavily guarded, so secure that not even a fly could get in?" Madam Zhao also knew that Yuxi was a very cautious person and that ordinary people couldn't get close to her. To be assassinated under such circumstances was simply unbelievable.
General Zhao shook his head, "The details are still unclear. But this assassination attempt was certainly carefully planned."
Madam Zhao couldn't help but remark, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the fourth attempt on Madam Yun's life, is it not?" It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Madam Yun has had her fair share of bad luck.
General Zhao said, “Even if she comes through this safely, incidents like this are bound to happen again in the future.” Yun Qing himself had faced no less than a hundred assassination attempts—what Han Shi had experienced was relatively minor in comparison.
Madam Zhao sighed deeply, "Let's hope that Madam Yun's luck will see her through safely." She genuinely hoped now that Yuxi would come out of this unharmed.
Footnotes Full List
- Èr (二) = two/second, sǎo (嫂) = sister-in-law
- A low-ranking concubine in ancient China, who had no official status and primarily served the master.
- èr (二) = two/second, gē (哥) = older brother, short form for gēge (哥哥)
- èr (二) = two/second, jiù (舅) = can mean either maternal uncle or wife's brother; brother-in-law. In this sentence, it is the latter.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi