Physician Bai looked relaxed after checking Yuxi's pulse and said to Yun Qing, "General, Madam is recovering better than I expected." For the past two days, Yuxi had been taking medicine regularly. She had always been in good health and rarely fell ill. Even when she did, she would avoid taking medicine whenever possible. As a result, now that she was taking it, the effects were better than anticipated.
Yun Qing turned his gaze to the child and said, "Check on the baby as well." The child was so frail that he was genuinely worried she might not survive.
Physician Bai had examined the baby the night before, but at Yun Qing's request, he checked her carefully again. After the examination, he asked Mama Lan a few questions before turning to Yun Qing and explaining, "The Second Young Miss was born prematurely. Premature babies have weak sucking and swallowing abilities, as well as a fragile digestive system, making them prone to spitting up and diarrhoea. Their fragile constitution also makes them susceptible to illness, so their caregivers must be extra vigilant. In this regard, Mama Lan has done an excellent job."
Mama Lan was already well aware of these concerns. Knowing that premature babies have a fragile digestive system and that drinking milk directly could cause diarrhoea, she had been removing the fatty layer from the wet nurse's milk before feeding it to the baby. That way, the child wouldn't get diarrhoea. For a premature baby like Liu-er, who was already weak, diarrhoea could be life-threatening. Thanks to Mama Lan's meticulous care, Liu-er had been stable for the past two days without experiencing diarrhoea or bloating.
Yun Qing's gaze fell on Mama Lan.
She assured him, "General, don't worry. I will take good care of the Second Young Miss and make sure that nothing happens to her."
Physician Bai then said, "General, I will prescribe a new formula for Madam's medicine." Since Yuxi was recovering better than expected, it was time to adjust her prescription.
Yun Qing nodded, "There's no need for you to go to the pharmacy anymore. Stay in the residence and serve here." Having a physician at the residence would be reassuring in case of any emergencies.
Physician Bai had no objections and replied, "Understood." The Duke had initially sent him to the Northwest to look after Madam, but since she had not trusted his medical skills before, and since he himself did not like being cooped up in the Yun residence all day, he had opened a pharmacy.
After Physician Bai left, Mama Lan prepared to take the baby back to the side room. The side room was directly connected to the main bedroom by a passageway, so there was no need to worry about carrying the baby back and forth in the cold weather.
Seeing this, Yun Qing asked, "Does the child cry a lot? If not, let her stay in the main bedroom. Otherwise, when Madam wakes up, she'll start looking for her again."
Mama Lan shook her head and said, "General, although the Second Young Miss doesn't cry much, she wakes up thrice at night. Moreover, she vomits a lot every time she is fed with milk. I'm worried that if Madam sees this, she will be distressed. Madam is still weak and needs rest. It's inappropriate to keep the child by her side and worry her." Madam had been badly injured and needed to recover properly during her postnatal confinement. If she didn't, it would be even more difficult to restore her health.
Yun Qing knew that Mama Lan was highly experienced in caring for children, so he trusted her judgement completely. "We'll do as you say. I'll leave the child in your care," he said. For him, Yuxi was undoubtedly the most important.
With Yuxi safe and sound, Yun Qing could finally turn his attention to taking care of external affairs. As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom, Mama Qu approached him and said, "General, Mama Bai just made you a bowl of noodles. Eat it before you go out." She knew she couldn't persuade him to rest, but at least she could convince him to eat a bowl of noodles.
Yun Qing ate a large bowl of chicken noodle soup and drank a bowl of goat's milk before heading out into the front courtyard.
As she watched Yun Qing's departing figure, Mama Bai murmured, "Now that Madam has woken up, everything is finally fine." Before, Yun Qing was so tense that she didn't even dare to approach him.
Mama Qu sighed bitterly and said, "For now, yes. But who knows what will happen in the future?" The thought of what Physician Bai had said filled her with worry.
Trying to remain optimistic, Mama Bai said, "The Second Young Miss may be weak, but as the saying goes, 'babies born in the seventh month survive, while those born in the eighth do not'. She was born just over seven months along, and with Mama Lan's experience, she should be able to pull through." Over the past two days, Liu-er had been doing relatively well, so Mama Bai was hopeful about her chances of survival.
Mama Qu shook her head. "It's not just about the Second Young Miss. Madam's body has been damaged, and she should not have another child within five years." Her lips curled into a bitter smile as she said this. The General—how could he possibly wait five years? He would undoubtedly have to take a concubine. Even if Madam agreed, an eldest shu1 son was always a complicated matter in any household.
Mama Bai was unaware of this and asked worriedly, "What are we going to do then? A son is the foundation of a woman's standing in the household. Without one, no matter how capable she is, it won't be enough." She understood this all too well from her own experience.
Mama Qu sighed, "I've already sent a letter back to the capital through the Chief Steward."
Mama Bai's eyes lit up as she said, "I've heard that Madam's nurturing momo is particularly skilled in restoring health. If that momo could come, it definitely wouldn't take five years to restore Madam's health." She had long heard of Momo Quan's reputation.
Mama Qu nodded. "I hope Momo Quan can come too." The reason she had asked the Chief Steward to send a letter back to the capital was to persuade the Old Lady to convince Momo Quan to come to Yu City and nurse Madam back to health. If that happened, the recovery time would undoubtedly be much shorter than five years.
Meanwhile, Yun Qing had just arrived at the front courtyard when he spotted an unwelcome sight.
When Han Jianye saw Yun Qing, he anxiously asked, "Yun Qing, I just heard from Xu Wu that Yuxi has woken up. How is she? Is she alright?"
Yun Qing's face remained expressionless as he responded, "For the sake of my mother-in-law and elder brother, I'll let you off this time." Under normal circumstances, given Yun Qing's temperament, even if he didn't kill Han Jianye, he would have beaten him half to death. However, Yuxi survived this ordeal largely thanks to Mama Lan and Physician Bai, both of whom had been sent by Qiu Shi and Han Jianming. In a way, Yuxi owed her life to them. Because of this, he couldn't go too far against Han Jianye.
Han Jianye said, "You can take my life or punish me however you like—I have no complaints. I just want to know if Yuxi and the baby are all right." Since he was the main cause of the disaster, everyone in the Yun residence despised him. For the past two days, no one had been willing to tell him anything about Yuxi or the child's condition.
Yun Qing's expression darkened as he coldly spoke, "Yuxi has been severely injured and won't be able to have another child for the next five years. Liu-er, being a premature baby, could lose her life at any time. Now you know. Can you get lost and go to the military camp now?"
Han Jianye's entire body went cold. He muttered in a low voice, "How could this be...?" As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing Han Jianye faint, Yun Qing didn't even spare him a glance.
Standing behind him, Xu Daniu quickly explained, "Deputy General Han hasn't slept or eaten for the past two days. His body simply couldn't take it anymore."
Although Yun Qing despised Han Jianye, he had never intended to let him die. "Take him back to the military camp and have the army physician check on him." After a brief pause, he added, "Unless Madam asks to see him, do not let him set foot in this house."
Xu Daniu nodded, "Alright, I'll have someone take Deputy General Han back right away." He had once thought Han Jianye was a decent man, but now he realised that the guy was a complete fool. He didn't even know the actual background of the woman he had slept with, and because of that, Madam and the Second Young Miss had almost lost their lives. This incident served as a wake-up call for Xu Daniu—women who came knocking on the door weren't necessarily good news. Who knew what kind of schemes they might be hiding?
Yun Qing then went to find Huo Changqing. As soon as he entered the room, he saw little Zaozao sitting on the floor. The moment she saw Yun Qing, she ran over and clung to his leg, calling out, "Dad…"
Yun Qing scooped Zaozao into his arms and asked, "Where's Grandpa?" Huo Changqing wasn't in the room; only Old Woman Yu, Shaoyao and two young maids were there.
Zaozao, however, only cared about what was on her mind. "Dad, Mom. Dad, want Mom…" For the past two days, Huo Changqing had comforted her and kept her from becoming too anxious. But after three whole days without seeing her mother, she could no longer hold back.
Yun Qing was in a relatively good mood at the moment, so he was patient with her. "Tonight, Dad will take you to see Mom." Yuxi should be awake by then.
Just then, Huo Changqing walked in from outside. When he saw Yun Qing's expression, he asked, "Is your wife alright?"
Yun Qing nodded, and Huo Changqing said, "That's good."
Old Madam Yu was perceptive and knew that the two of them had serious matters to discuss. She quickly bowed and prepared to take Zaozao out. However, Zaozao clung tightly to Yun Qing's neck and refused to let go.
Yun Qing said, "You all can leave." Zaozao was still too young to understand what they were talking about, so there was no need to worry about her revealing any secrets.
When only the three of them remained in the room, Yun Qing asked, "Uncle Huo, have you found out who was behind it?"
When he heard the Emperor himself had orchestrated it, Yun Qing could no longer keep quiet. "So he really doesn't want to let our family live." Yuxi had been right all along—this d*mned Emperor had never planned to let them survive.
Huo Changqing looked at him and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Yun Qing said, "Now is the best time to deploy our troops."
Huo Changqing frowned and argued, "But it's winter now—ice and snow make movement difficult." Winter was usually a time for ceasefires.
Yun Qing wasn't particularly skilled in political intrigue, but his instincts were razor-sharp when it came to warfare. "Precisely because it's winter, we don't have to worry about the Northern Barbarians getting wind of our movements and gathering their army to attack the city. Also, Ji Xuan is completely unprepared right now—this is the perfect opportunity." In truth, it wasn't Ji Xuan that Yun Qing was most worried about, but the northern barbarians. With the lands of the north covered in ice and snow, even if the barbarians learned of their campaign, they would be powerless to intervene.
Huo Changqing found Yun Qing's reasoning was reasonable. The idea was good, but there was still one big problem. He asked, "What about provisions?" Before an army made any moves, food had to be secured. Accommodation wasn't too much of a problem, but feeding tens of thousands of soldiers was. They couldn't possibly march into battle on empty stomachs.
Yun Qing replied, "There are over 200,000 dan2 of grain along the route. Even if we recruit more troops along the way, it will sustain us until the third month of next year." The supplies escorted by Feng Dajun's forces were currently stored in Wucheng, not far from Lanzhou.
Huo Changqing glanced at Yun Qing and said, "Since you've already planned everything out, I have nothing more to say." Yun Qing's strategy was well thought out. Without this recent incident, he might have still been hesitating.
Yun Qing made a simple acknowledgement.
Huo Changqing then reminded him, "Zhao Feng has already shown signs of disloyalty. You must handle this carefully—if not dealt with properly, he could become a serious threat." It would be easy to take Zhao Feng's life, but he had many loyal subordinates. If he were executed outright, it could create significant trouble.
Yun Qing's face remained expressionless as he said, "I will take care of it. As for the others—anyone involved will be executed." Over the past two years, he had mellowed a bit, and now these people thought he had grown soft and was easy to manipulate.
Seeing Yun Qing's attitude, Huo Changqing said, "Anyone even remotely suspected should be eliminated." His philosophy was that killing the wrong person was better than letting a threat slip through. In many ways, Yun Qing's methods had been deeply influenced by Huo Changqing.
Yun Qing then said, "Uncle Huo, I'll leave Yuxi and the children in your care." Given Yuxi's current condition, he should have stayed by her side. But this was the perfect moment to strike—catching the enemy off guard was the key to success. If they had waited until spring, they would have been fighting on multiple fronts, making their situation even more precarious.
Huo Changqing assured him, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your wife and the two children. But you must also make arrangements for Yu City before you leave."
Yun Qing nodded, "I've already planned for that."
Footnotes Full List
- born to a concubine; illegitimate
- a traditional unit of volume, esp. for grain, equal to 100 sheng (市升), and equivalent to 100 litres or 176 pints
きつね's Musing
While Han Jianye can't help himself from being a disappointment in both his lives, his brother-in-law is ready for war.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi