Yuxi slept soundly and didn't wake up until the evening. When she woke up this time, she felt slightly better than before, especially as the burning pain in her shoulder had eased.
Looking at Mama Qu, Yuxi requested, "Please bring me some clean clothes to change into." Her body felt sticky and uncomfortable. She would have loved to bathe if the circumstances weren't so inconvenient.
Mama Qu hesitated before responding, "Madam, you have wounds on your body. It's not good for you to move." She worried that the wounds would reopen if Yuxi moved too much.
Yuxi shook her head. "Please call Zijin." The sticky discomfort was unbearable. Even if she couldn't bathe, she should at least be able to wipe herself.
When she saw Mama Qu was about to leave, Yuxi thought for a moment and added, "Have someone inform the General that I've woken up later." She didn't want Yun Qing to drop everything he was doing and rush over to see her.
Mama Qu could only comply reluctantly and went to call Zijin first.
When Zijin arrived, she knelt by the bed as soon as she entered the room, saying, "Madam, I'm sorry. It's all my fault." She blamed herself for being careless and causing Yuxi so much pain.
Yuxi sighed softly. Even though Zijin wasn't primarily responsible for this incident, she did bear some blame. Yuxi said, "We'll talk about that later. For now, help me up so they can change the bedding." Zijin was strong and steady, so she could do the job without causing her any additional pain.
Knowing that Yuxi's left shoulder blade was injured, Zijin climbed onto the bed and carefully lifted Yuxi from the inside out, slowly carrying her off the bed.
Mama Qu hurriedly changed all the bedding and brought clean undergarments for Yuxi to change into. However, when Yuxi mentioned wiping her body, Mama Qu firmly opposed it. "Madam, your body is too weak to endure the cold right now. Please hold on a little longer! Wait until after the confinement period to take a bath." Given the current situation, Yuxi would have to endure discomfort.
Yuxi thought wiping her body with boiling water shouldn't be an issue, but since Mama Qu was so insistent, she decided to compromise. "Then just wipe my face and hands for now." She would talk about this again in a couple of days. Right now, she didn't have the energy to argue with Mama Qu.
Hongqi brought in boiling water, and Mama Qu soaked a towel in the hot water and wrung it out before wiping Yuxi's face and hands. She then prepared another basin to wipe Yuxi's feet. By the time she was done, Mama Qu's hands were red from the heat.
After having her face wiped, Yuxi felt much better. She only regretted not being able to wipe her whole body. "Please bring me some food. I'm hungry," she said. She'd only had two bowls of porridge since waking up, and her stomach had long since begun to growl.
In her current state, Yuxi could only eat light and nourishing foods. For dinner, Mama Bai had prepared ginseng chicken soup. She had skimmed off the oil so it didn't appear greasy.
Yuxi ate a big bowl of the soup and then said, "Please make tofu and fish porridge tomorrow!" She wasn't fond of chicken, and even though the oil had been removed, it still tasted a bit greasy to her.
Mama Qu was delighted to see Yuxi's appetite returning, "All right, I'll have Mama Bai make tofu and fish porridge for you tomorrow."
Feeling full and energised, Yuxi instructed, "Please tell Mama Lan to bring Liu-er over." She decided against calling Zaozao as her eldest daughter was too loud. A few shouts from Zaozao would make her head buzz, something she couldn't handle at the moment.
When Mama Lan arrived, Yuxi asked her many questions, some of which were repeated. Looking at her frail and underweight daughter, Yuxi couldn't help but worry that she might not survive.
Mama Lan, being a patient person, answered every question thoughtfully. Without patience, she wouldn't be able to care for a baby. After answering, she looked at the wrinkled little Liu-er lying next to Yuxi and said, "The Second Young Miss is very well-behaved, Madam. There's no need to worry. I believe she will get better and better." Today, Liu-er had eaten more milk than the first day. As long as she could eat and didn't get diarrhoea, there was hope for her survival.
Yuxi gently touched Liu'er's wrinkled little face and said, "That's good." It was impossible not to feel sad. When Zaozao had her xisan🔗, she was chubby and fair. But this child hadn't grown out yet; she was still wrinkled and skinny. That was why they hadn't dared to hold a xisan🔗 ceremony for her—her body might not be able to withstand it, and she might catch a cold.
Seeing Yuxi's sadness, Mama Lan softly comforted her, "Madam, after two months of good care, the Second Young Miss will be just like a full-term baby—plump and healthy." If Liu-er weren't cared for properly, a premature baby like her could easily perish. However, Liu'er was very cooperative; even though she would spit up milk, she never refused to be fed despite the discomfort.
As they were talking, Yun Qing walked in.
Yuxi asked softly, "Have you eaten yet?" When Yun Qing shook his head, she quickly instructed Mama Qu to prepare a meal for him.
Seeing that Yuxi's spirits had improved since noon, Yun Qing felt less worried. "Have you eaten?" he asked.
Yuxi smiled, "I just had a big bowl of ginseng chicken soup. The ginseng my Mother gave me is almost gone." She had used up almost all of the nearly 400-year-old ginseng. What a waste.
Yun Qing, not one for sweet words, simply said, "Don't worry. I'll find even better ginseng for you in the future."
Yuxi had only meant it as a joke to lighten the mood and didn't actually regret using the ginseng. It was a medicinal herb meant to save lives, not something to waste recklessly. Seeing Yun Qing's tired appearance, Yuxi said, "This ginseng chicken soup is very nourishing. You should have a bowl later, okay?"
At this point, Yun Qing would agree to anything Yuxi said. "All right, I'll have a big bowl later," he said, then picked up Liu-er. The little girl was still asleep as her eyes remained closed.
Yuxi murmured, "Even though this child hasn't grown up yet, judging by her facial features, she doesn't look like any of us! I wonder who she takes after. To be honest, it feels a bit unfair—Zaozao looks like you, and now Liu-er doesn't look like me either. All that suffering for nothing."
Yun Qing didn't care too much about the child's appearance. His only wish was for Liu-er to grow up safe and sound. "When she grows up, we'll know who she takes after."
Yuxi just wanted to keep the conversation light. Seeing Yun Qing's lack of enthusiasm, she dropped the subject. "Go eat first. We'll talk later," she said. She still had a lot to discuss with him.
When Yun Qing returned after dinner, Yuxi handed him a thick notebook. Flipping through it, Yun Qing recognised the familiar handwriting. "What is this?" he asked.
Yuxi replied, "It's a collection of notes I've made. Keep it with you, and look through it whenever you have time. It might come in handy."
Yun Qing was not interested in looking at any notes at that moment. He closed the booklet and said, "Alright, I'll take it with me."
Seeing his reaction, Yuxi knew the chances of him actually reading the booklet were slim. "As long as you gain people's trust and use the right people well, most problems can be avoided..."
Yun Qing interrupted her by saying, "The most important thing for you right now is to recover. Don't worry about these things; I'll take care of them." Although he disliked dealing with the tedious administration details, he would dedicate himself to handling them properly when the time came.
Yuxi smiled weakly, "There are only three days left before your deployment. I'm sure there will be a lot to prepare, so you should focus on that. I'm fine here."
Yun Qing shook his head. "No matter how urgent it is, it's not so urgent that I can't spend this moment with you." Once he led the troops out, it would be months before they could see each other again, so he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible over the next few days.
Yuxi didn't insist that he leave. She remembered something and asked, "He Rui, how is my Er Ge1?" She blamed herself for part of the incident. She had placed too much trust in Han Jianye and overlooked his consistent weakness when it came to women. If she had been more cautious, this wouldn't have happened. Of course, that didn't absolve Han Jianye of blame. If he hadn't brought the assassin himself, Yuxi would never have met her in the first place.
After a moment of silence, Yun Qing replied, "I sent someone to escort him back to the barracks this morning." He previously had a decent impression of Han Jianye, but after this incident, all goodwill vanished.
Yuxi sighed, "He Rui, send someone to imprison my Er Ge1 in a cell for now. After a few days, transfer him to the residence." Her decision to have Han Jianye jailed was to give the impression that they had severed their ties. The instruction to transfer him to the Yun Residence later was because Yuxi didn't trust the prison's security and believed the Yun residence would be safer.
Yun Qing was surprised. "Imprison him? For what?" He didn't think Yuxi would seek revenge on Han Jianye for the earlier events.
Yuxi explained, "By imprisoning my Er Ge1 and spreading the word that he colluded with the female assassin to harm me, we can ensure that my Dage2 and Mother won't be implicated. While it's said that a married daughter is like spilt water, if we rebel, the Han family will inevitably be dragged into it. Claiming that my Er Ge1 plotted against me would exonerate the Han family, spare my Mother and Dage2 from blame, and preserve the Han family's centuries-old legacy. Of course, this has a cost—my Er Ge1 will suffer physical punishment and public scorn. But this time, I can't go easy on him. Mistakes come with consequences, and only by facing them will he learn. Otherwise, something like this might happen again."
Yun Qing hadn't thought that far ahead, but after hearing her reasoning, he nodded, "Alright." He still had a good impression of Qiu Shi and Han Jianming.
Yuxi couldn't help but smile bitterly, "I should have realised sooner that something was wrong in the capital, but I ignored the signs. My Mother didn't send any letters or gifts for three months, and when my Dage2 was promoted to Minister of War, no one even sent a congratulatory message. All these things indicated that something was off, but I overlooked it. I suspect my Dage2 had already realised that the Emperor harbours ill intentions toward me. But since he couldn't warn me directly, he could only use these subtle signals to warn me."
Yun Qing tucked the blanket around Yuxi and advised, "Don't overthink it. Rest for now. I'll take a bath and come back to talk to you." He hadn't bathed for three days and knew his body smelled. If he climbed into bed smelling like that, Yuxi would probably find him unbearable.
Footnotes Full List
- èr (二) = second, gē (哥) = elder brother, short form for gēge (哥哥)
- 大哥 eldest brother
きつね's Note
The ruse of self-injury is the 34th strategy in The Thirty-Six Stratagems.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi