Yun Qing had slept for three days and three nights this time. If Huo Changqing and Master Yang hadn't told Yuxi that Yun Qing was so tired, she wouldn't have let him sleep for so long. As she was told to not to wake him up, she didn't even dare to ask for a physician.
Yuxi was making clothes in the bedroom when she heard footsteps. She turned her head to see that Yun Qing had gotten up, so she let out a sigh of relief and said, "You're finally awake." If he hadn't yet woken up, she wouldn't hold off on calling the physician.
Yun Qing looked at the small garment in Yuxi's hand and asked with a frown, "Doesn't the child already have enough clothes to wear? Why are you still making them?"
Yuxi smiled. "I don't do it for a long time, just more than half a shichen[1] a day, and I do it to pass the time."
Still not satisfied, Yun Qing said, "Please don't do it again. You'll give birth in a month, so take good care of yourself."
Yuxi smiled and nodded. "Enough of that. You've slept for three days and three nights. You must be hungry. I'll ask Mama Bai to prepare some food."
Since Yun Qing hadn't eaten for three days, Yuxi asked Mama Bai to prepare easily digestible food such as vegetarian baozi[2] and two side dishes.
After Yun Qing finished eating, Yuxi asked him to accompany her for a walk. As they walked to the second courtyard, Yuxi commented, "It would be great if there were a garden." Although the garden of the Duke of the State Residence was not as beautiful as that of Jing Wangfu[3], whenever she was bored, she would feel much better after taking a walk in it. Of course, this time, Yuxi lamented that there was no garden, not because she was in a bad mood, but because she felt that the mansion was too small and that there was not even a place to walk around.
Yun Qing said, "Just buy the residence next door, connect these two places and build a garden there."
Yuxi smiled and shook her head. "Instead of buying a residence, buying an empty lot and then building on it is better." On one side of the Yun Residence was a residence with three entrances. The owner was a merchant who travelled all over the world. On the other side was an open space. Rather than buying the residence, buying the empty lot to expand was cheaper.
Yun Qing said, "As you wish." After speaking, he took Yuxi to the study in the front yard. Yun Qing's study was extremely simple. Besides the desk and chair, there was only a bookshelf with a few books on it.
Yun Qing let go of Yuxi's hand and said, "Wait here for a moment." After saying that, he walked over to the bookshelf and pushed it aside, exposing half of the wall. Then, with a violent push, the wall opened as if it were a door.[T/C]
Yuxi was not frightened either and asked with a smile, "What treasure is hidden here?" It must be something valuable if it was kept so secret.
Yun Qing smiled. "Just go in and take a look."
As Yuxi was heavily pregnant, it was difficult for her to bend over, and after some tricky manoeuvre, she finally walked in. As soon as she entered, she saw more than a dozen chests inside. "These are all filled with gold, silver and jewellery, right?"
Yun Qing lit the tung oil lamp and then opened the chests one by one. Each contained various items, ranging from gold, silver, gems and jewellery. There were also daggers inlaid with precious stones. The designs and carvings on these items were all exotic, and Yuxi knew without asking that they were war trophies.
Yun Qing said, "Once, I led an attack on a tribe and got many things. The others were also spoils of war we got when we won battles." When they got these spoils of war, they all shared them privately and did not hand them over to the higher authorities. As the commander, he got the most significant share. Since many people were watching him, and he was not short of money, he kept everything inside the storage.
Yuxi smiled after looking at the contents of the chests. "I didn't expect you to be a rich man!"
Yun Qing said, "You can get a lot of money by exchanging these things for them."
Hearing this, Yuxi shook her head. "I'm not short of money for the time being, and when I am, I'll exchange some for them." When that time came, she should pick out some of the things she liked and exchange the ones she didn't, as it would be a waste to leave them lying around. However, moving any of them at this time was inappropriate, lest they be caught by Qin Zhao.
After leaving the secret chamber, Yuxi told Yun Qing, "The new recruits won't arrive for at least two months, so you should just rest at home for a while!" When the recruits arrived, Yun Qing would be busy again. So this while, Yuxi wanted Yun Qing to stay at home. On the one hand, she could spend more time with him, and on the other hand, she also hoped that Yun Qing could relax and not get too tense. If he got too high-strung, his condition would get worse.
Yun Qing readily agreed. "Okay."
Hearing Yun Qing's straightforward answer, a smile appeared on Yuxi's face as she said, "You better keep your word." Seeing Yun Qing nod, Yuxi's smile widened as she continued, "If anyone comes to your door asking for help with anything, just tell them that your old illness has returned and you need to recuperate for a while."
After hearing this, Yun Qing asked, "What do you mean?" Letting him rest at home was fine, but there was no need to tell other people that his old illness had returned.
Yuxi smiled a little and explained, "On the second day after your return, I spread the word that the northern barbarians retreated because you burned their provisions. The northern barbarians had no food to eat, and only then did they have no choice but to retreat." Burning the enemies' provisions was like strapping one's head to one's belt[5]. This news made the crowd even more admiring and respectful of Yun Qing.
After hearing this, Yun Qing, who understood a little of Yuxi's thoughts, asked her, "What else?"
Yuxi said, "I also told the soldiers and the people of Yu City the truth about the destruction of the Dingbei Army." When this news was released, the soldiers and the people of Yu City were outraged. They all demanded that this scum be exposed.
Qin Zhao couldn't stand the pressure, and after confessing that Xia Hong leaked military information, he was questioned by many people. It was normal for everyone to doubt him; after all, Xia Hong was dead. It was not only inconsiderate but also shameless to blame a deceased person.
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Yun Qing asked, "Are you worried that Qin Zhao will look for me to take care of this matter?"
Yuxi shook her head. "I'm not. Qin Zhao came by two days ago, but I sent him away." In addition to the two things she had just mentioned, Yuxi also had people spread the word that the Xu family was also involved in this military leak. Although there was no hard evidence or investigation, which could give them a sense of security, as long as this rumour was investigated, mistakes could still be uncovered. Not only were the people and the soldiers furious about this incident, but some of Qin Zhao's top generals, such as Kang Donglin and Geng Jichen, were also extremely dissatisfied with Qin Zhao.
Kang Donglin, Geng Jichen and others were indebted to Marshal Qin, so they supported Qin Zhao, but what Qin Zhao did this time was too much for them to accept. It happened that Qin Zhao had helped the Xu family to clean up their mess, and no one would believe him if he tried to say that he was innocent, so he severely burned his head[6]. Qin Zhao was helpless and wanted Yun Qing to help him settle all the wounded soldiers and the families of the dead. Unfortunately, instead of Yun Qing, he met Yuxi. Yuxi even kicked him out, saying that Yun Qing's old illness had returned and that he could not see anyone because he was still unconscious. Even if Qin Zhao didn't believe her, he couldn't just break in!
Yun Qing said, "There are over a hundred wounded soldiers in the Dingbei Army; I can't ignore them." He could ignore Qin Zhao's affairs, but he couldn't do the same to the people of the Dingbei Army.
Yuxi said, "Let's leave these things to your subordinates. By the way, I plan to use this opportunity to buy more farms. If the wounded soldiers have nowhere to go, they can be put to work on these farms." The officials who escaped this time should be punished. She would use this opportunity to buy more land. As for the shop, Yuxi had no plans for the time being, and opening a shop in Yu City would only bring in a little money. It would be better to buy more land. Whether they planted grain or vegetables, they would not have to worry about being unable to sell them anyway.
Yun Qing's expression became somewhat grave when it came to the question of where the wounded soldiers would go. "There are too many casualties this time. I'm worried that the Imperial Court will be unable to pay the pension." If the Imperial Court could not pay, the survival of the dead soldiers' families would be a problem.
Yuxi sighed softly. "There's nothing we can do about it for now." With nearly 80,000 men lost, the pension would amount to millions of taels of silver, and there was nothing they could do to help, even if they wanted to.
Yun Qing felt terrible thinking about the soldiers who had died in battle.
Seeing Yun Qing's reaction, Yuxi held his hand and said, "I wrote a letter home before you returned, telling my family about what happened in Yu City. With the memorial we delivered a few days ago, Qin Zhao will no longer be able to sit in his position." With Grand Chancellor Yu around, Yun Qing could take over. But without concrete news from the capital, Yuxi would not say so.
Yun Qing hummed in understanding. If Qin Zhao hadn't insisted on sending out troops this time, even if there were still casualties, they wouldn't have been so high. If Qin Zhao didn't step down from his position, more people would die.
Yun Qing stayed inside the Yun Residence for the next few days and did not go out.
Qin Zhao waited another three days but still heard no news of Yun Qing leaving the Yun residence. He asked, "Could it be that his old illness has really returned?" Otherwise, with Yun Qing's nature, he would not have hunkered down in his residence and not gone out.
Mr Xia responded, "It should be. Otherwise, it's unlikely that General Yun would not leave his home, even once." Mr Xia no longer wanted to interfere in Qin Zhao's affairs; he was just muddling through his work[7]. He knew what was happening while the other people still didn't know! But Mr Xia was also smart enough to know that he couldn't resign now, or he would be killed.
Another of Qin Zhao's aides, Mr Li, disagreed. "General, Yun Qing was clearly in good health and full of energy the day he returned. How could his old illness relapse overnight? He deliberately didn't show his face."
But Mr Xia retorted, "Then tell me, why did Yun Qing pretend to be ill and not come out of his house?" Once Yun Qing came out, Qin Zhao would have to leave the matter of appeasing the families of the dead to Yun Qing. Mr Xia felt that Yun Qing was trying to avoid getting into trouble.
Mr Li questioned, "If Yun Qing has a relapse of his old illness, why don't they call a physician?" It was ridiculous that this person surnamed Xia didn't expect such a significant flaw.
Mr Xia couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "Huo Changqing suffered such a serious injury that day, and the physician they invited said there was no cure, but now Huo Changqing is fine. Why is that? Because there is an expert at the Yun Residence, and that person cured Huo Changqing." Even Huo Changqing, who was seriously injured to the point of death, could be cured, let alone Yun Qing's old injuries, so they did not need to invite a physician.
Mr Li was suffocated to the point that he was unable to speak.
When Qin Zhao saw his aides arguing, he became even more agitated. "All of you, get out!" They couldn't come up with any good ideas for him, but they had the energy to fight there.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi