When Yuxi woke up, the sun was three poles high[1].
After breakfast, Mama Qu came in and informed Yuxi, "Madam, Third Master Lu wants to see Madam and has been waiting for a long time." Of course, Lu Lin was not waiting outside the door but in the front yard to see Yuxi.
Yuxi smiled and said, "Please ask Third Master Lu to come in!"
Of the Lu family, Yuxi had only met a few of the women and none of the men. When she met Third Master Lu this time, she thought he looked very much like Er Sao[2], Lu Xiu, and was worthy of being a brother and sister. "Good day, Lu San Ge[3]." Yuxi could not figure out what medicine the Lu family was selling in their gourd[4]. Most of the Lu family's sons were in the southwest, and she could not understand why they had allowed Lu Lin to come to the northwest.
Lu Lin smiled. "Sorry to bother you last night."
Yuxi couldn't help laughing. "I am more than happy that San Ge[3] is willing to come. It was too much for San Ge[3] to apologise for that." Yuxi was a little baffled as to why Lu San Ge[3] had come over, especially to see her.
Third Master Lu soon answered this question. He pulled out a roll of something from his sleeve and said, "This is what the Duke of State asked me to pass on to Madam. Since it is very valuable, I must hand it over to Madam myself." Over 60,000 taels of silver tickets, how could he feel comfortable letting someone else pass it on? If something went wrong, there would be no way for him to pay for it.
Zijin walked over, took it and opened it. She froze before handing it to Yuxi.
Yuxi looked at the large denomination of silver tickets and asked, "Did my Dage[5] say what this money was for?" Sixty thousand taels of silver tickets was a considerable sum of money. What was her Dage[5] doing giving her such a large sum of money? The most important thing was that he didn't mention anything about it in his letter.
Third Master Lu smiled and explained, "This is Old Lady Han's personal money. She hopes you can use it to help more children." Third Master Lu admired Old Lady Han. It was hard not to respect such a person who could take out a large amount of money without blinking an eye, and it was for a good cause.
Yuxi was not surprised that Qiu Shi would send her money to do a good deed since she had given congee to help the poor people in the capital and would undoubtedly be moved by compassion when she heard that the children here were having such a hard time. However, Yuxi did not expect Qiu Shi to spend so much money. She was afraid that Qiu Shi had emptied her wealth. "Thank you so much, San Ge[3]." It must've not been safe to carry so much money.
Third Master Lu was relieved after handing over the money as he felt it was unsafe to have such a large sum of money on him. "We are all relatives. There's no need to thank me over a favour."
Yuxi smiled a little. "I wonder where San Ge[3] currently serves in the military camp?" She was asking this because the 100,000-strong army in the northwest was divided into five barracks, with Qin Zhao in charge of three, General Zhao managing one, and Yun Qing handling the last one.
Master Lu said, "I have been assigned a position under the Qin family's companies." He wanted to go to Yun Qing's Dingbei Army, but he had no choice but to be allocated to the Qin army. As a soldier, he had to obey orders. No one would want a soldier who disobeyed orders.
Yuxi didn't ask any further questions about this but simply said, "If there is anything, San Ge[3] can come to me by all means."
Lu Lin was not unreasonable as he responded with a smile, "Then thank you, Madam Yun." His attitude was not trying to be intimate, nor was he being distant either.
After Lu Lin had left, Yuxi looked at the 60,000 taels of silver tickets in her hand and stated, "Mother is really generous." Even she might not have the guts to take out so much money.
Mama Qu praised, "Old Lady is a benevolent person." People said Madam was cold-hearted, but with such a kind-hearted foster mother, how could she be cold-blooded and heartless? Many things in Madam's life were just forced by circumstances.
Yuxi nodded for a moment. "Let's use the money to purchase some estates. Once they bear interest, they can continuously supply the school." But with the war coming up, the purchase of the estates would have to be moved to a later date.
The following day, Yuxi knew that Er Nainai[6] Zhao was preparing to go to the provincial capital, so she immediately had some gifts sent over. She was pregnant and would not have picked this way if she could have gone to the Zhao family herself.
Yuxi was cutting out material when she heard the maid say that Han Ji had arrived.
Han Ji came over because he had something to say to Yuxi. "Madam, didn't you say last time that you would have someone go to the West Sea once spring comes?"
Yuxi nodded her head. "Yes! It's just that there are too many things going on at the residence now, and you can't get away. Besides, there's no other suitable candidate around." Since Han Ji became the steward of the outer courtyard, Yuxi felt relieved.
Han Ji suggested, "Madam, Tian Yang is a smart boy and has learnt a lot from me in the past few years. So why don't Madam let him survey the place himself as a way for him to gain knowledge."
Yuxi looked at Han Ji and asked, "Do you mean to let Tian Yang go there as an advance scout party?" It was fine to let Tian Yang go just as a scouting party, but she was uncomfortable reassigning the task she gave Han Ji to Tian Yang.
Han Ji nodded. "Yes. Let's send Tian Yang to the West Sea to scout the area first. I will bring my men there in a couple of months when there is a truce. Madam, Tian Yang is a good businessman. If he has more training, he can be independent in the future."
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Hearing this, Yuxi said, "Then, let Hao Dazhuang choose a few people to go along with him." If Tian Yang could be independent sooner, she would have another person she could use. After all, using someone from the State Residence was not as good as using someone she had trained herself.
Han Ji thought the same thing. "I will ask Tian Yang to come over later to pay his respects to Madam."
Yuxi shook her head. "No, it's not too late to see him again when he has produced some results." This was a different kind of incentive!
When Han Ji had gone out, Yuxi asked Mama Qu, "How is Tian Ju? If she's handy, she can be transferred to my side."
Mama Qu shook her head. "That child is not that clever. It would be safer for her to continue to serve outside." While loyalty was important, she thought it was not suitable to be too honest. It would be better to use someone smart and clever.
Hearing this answer, Yuxi shook her head with a smile and said, "Steward Han said that Tian Yang learns things very quickly, and his brain is also agile, making him able to raise one and infer three[7]. So how come Tian Yu isn't that clever?"
Mama Qu replied with a smile, "As the old saying goes, a dragon has nine sons, and each of them was different from the others[8]." Among the siblings, some were smart, and some were not.
Yuxi just smiled and suddenly recalled Yun Qing's upcoming war expedition. When she thought about it more, it was inevitable that she would mutter a few words, "Zijin, say if the northern barbarians want to rob our grain, wouldn't it be better if we guard the city? Why must we take the initiative to attack them?" Why must it be a three-pronged attack? If they didn't have the intel on the enemy, wouldn't they be attacking blindly?
Zijin looked starry-eyed at Yuxi. "Madam, I don't know anything about warfare. Even if you ask me, I won't know the answer."
Yuxi sighed. She was not sure either, but she always felt that Yun Qing's idea was safer. It was just that most of the generals agreed to take the initiative and were not willing to be passive. Since Yun Qing was not a marshal, he could not overrule others' opinions. The only thing she could do now was to prepare some emergency herbs for him.
Zijin thought for a moment before asking, "Madam, do you think there are spies from the northern barbarians around Qin Zhao? The General would be in danger if our battle plan leaked out." Zijin asked this question because the tragic incident happened in Tong City.
Yuxi shook her head. "This is unlikely. Only a few top generals knew the battle plan only to a few top generals, all of whom were great generals with great military achievements and would not do anything to betray the country for the enemy."
Zijin thought about it and felt that this was very true.
Yuxi inquired, "How much wound medicine does Master Yang still have over there? Can you get two more bottles over?" That stuff was incredibly effective at stopping bleeding and was a lifesaver on the battlefield.
Zijin shook her head. "I've asked Yu Zhi, but he said there were only three bottles left in Master Yang's possession. It's not that easy to get him to take them out." Jianghu[9] people like Master Yang would keep some good things by his side.
Speaking of this matter, Zijin said, "Madam, don't you already have three bottles in your hand? It should be enough to use." It had taken a lot of effort for Yuxi to get these three small medicine vials into her hands.
Yuxi let out a bitter smile. "I was afraid it wouldn't be enough!"
In the evening, Huo Changqing came back. He went straight into the backyard and told Yuxi, "We're going on the war expedition tomorrow, so Yun Qing won't be able to come back today."
Yuxi's heart jumped at these words, but she soon calmed down.
Huo Changqing nodded momentarily, and when he saw that only Zijin was in the room, he took out an opaque token from his sleeve and gave it to Yuxi, saying, "This is the token of the Secret Unit. With this token, all the people of the Secret Unit will obey your orders."
Yuxi knew that the so-called Secret Unit meant the people who collected intelligence, but she felt it was a bit too hot for her to handle. "Uncle Huo, why are you giving this to me?"
Huo Changqing replied, "I've wanted to give it to you for a long time, but since you're pregnant, I'm afraid I'll tire you out. This time, we'll be going on a war expedition. When you have this token, you can utilise these people if you need to do something." After saying that, he gave Yuxi two names and the details of these two people.
Yuxi shook her head. "These people have been carefully cultivated and should not be used until it's absolutely necessary." These were handy people. If one died, they would be one less. She would not use them unless her life were at stake.
Huo Changqing nodded. "Just be sure to keep a good grip on this."
Yuxi briefly nodded, then asked Zijin to bring out the things she had prepared and hand them to Huo Changqing. It wasn't much, just two small fist-sized bags. It contained a bottle of medicine prepared by Master Yang, sliced ginseng and some other valuable medicinal herbs. The amount was minimal, but Yuxi was still afraid they were too much. "Uncle Huo, you should keep these and not give them to Yun Qing. You can only take them out when you simply need to use them."
Seeing this, Zijin also reminded, "Uncle Huo, the slices of ginseng were cut by Madam from a nearly four hundred ginseng. They're good stuff. You have to use them carefully. Don't spoil them." If they were to talk about spoiling good things, it was also Yuxi who did it first. Her heart ached as she watched Yuxi cut the ginseng. Such a thing could be used as a family heirloom.
Hearing this from Zijin, Yuxi was busy adding, "This ginseng slice will only be enough for three to four people, so Uncle Huo can't give it to He Rui for safekeeping." She was worried that He Rui would then take out the ginseng slices and give them to someone else. Such superb ginseng was a lifesaver in times of trouble. People were selfish, and she was preparing this for Yun Qing and Huo Changqing, not for anyone else.
Huo Changqing understood the meaning of Yuxi's words and nodded. "Don't worry. I'll keep it safe." It was only because Han Shi was willing to use her hidden treasures for them to use, so how could he waste Han Shi's thoughts? To put it mildly, Yun Qing was right to marry this wife.
Footnotes Full List
- Chinese idiom: It's late in the morning. [usu. referring to getting up late]
- er=second, sao=sister-in-law
- San=third, ge=older brother, short for form Gege
- A well-known Chinese phrase: Used when the other party was planning when that person suddenly acted out of his norm
- eldest brother
- er=second, Nainai=a young mistress of a family
- Chinese idiom: learn by analogy
- Chinese idiom: brothers born of the same parents differ from each other
- lit. rivers and lakes—people wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc., considered as a social group
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi