On the second day after Yu Cong's return, Yun Qing dispatched another four hundred elite soldiers, led by Yuan Ying, to assist in receiving the second grain batch. With the current chaos in the northwest, it was necessary to have some people support the caravan for their peace of mind. Five days later, Feng Dajun led another four hundred elite soldiers to support the arrival of the third batch of grain.
General Zhao felt that Yun Qing's frequent troop deployments were somewhat inappropriate and personally told Yun Qing, "If the Imperial Court knew, they might reprimand you, General." Despite General Zhao's seniority, he did not dare to act arrogantly in front of Yun Qing.
Yun Qing was now prepared to cause trouble, no longer afraid of any reprimand from the court. However, he couldn't let this show, and Yun Qing replied expressionlessly, "As long as the soldiers in the border cities have food to eat, I can withstand any reprimand from the Imperial Court."
These words left General Zhao speechless.
Back at his residence, General Zhao summoned his eldest son, Zhao Zhuo, and asked, "Have there been any recent changes in the military camp?" He had a feeling that Yun Qing's behaviour hadn't been quite normal for the past six months, and even more so lately, but he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong.
Zhao Zhuo shook his head. "Everything has been normal in the military camp." Yun Qing was particularly strict about training, emphasising that proper training could increase their chances of survival on the battlefield. So even in the scorching weather of the sixth month, the training in the camp remained rigorous.
General Zhao asked, "Why do you think he bought so much grain?" The grain they brought back had already filled the granaries, and there was no space left for the remaining four hundred thousand dan of grain. He couldn't understand what Yun Qing was up to.
Zhao Zhuo replied, "Father, even for a rebellion, grain alone is not enough!" A rebellion required weapons and other supplies, yet Yun Qing had not made any additional preparations. Moreover, a rebellion would surely cause some commotion, but apart from Yun Qing's unusual behaviour, there was no sign of unrest in the military camp.
General Zhao shook his head and said, "It's not a rebellion yet." Rebellion was a grave crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of one's family. Even if Yun Qing had such intentions, his close associates would probably not be willing to join him.
Zhao Zhuo suggested, "Why not go to the Yun residence and investigate?" Since they couldn't gather any information from Yun Qing's side, they could try to gather some unexpected findings at the Yun residence.
General Zhao shook his head and said, "If we can't get any information from Yun Qing's side, it's even less likely that we'll get anything from Han Shi." His wife would not be at a disadvantage against Han Shi, and if their daughters-in-law tried to gather information from Han Shi, they might end up being manipulated instead.
Zhao Zhuo had no choice but to give up.
If one were good at something, it wouldn't take much effort. Yuxi didn't feel like reading after finishing her work, so she picked up needle and thread instead.
When Tu Shi arrived in the backyard, she saw Yuxi sewing clothes. Judging by their size, she knew they were for Zaozao. "Yuxi, I heard Zaozao can speak now."
Yuxi nodded with a smile, "That's right! She can speak, but not very fluently yet. She's sleeping now, otherwise I would have brought her out for you to see." Yuxi had personally taught Zaozao to speak in the authentic official language.
Tu Shi didn't mind and said, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. By the way, Yuxi, I heard that General Yun had sent two groups of people to collect grain. How did the situation in the northwest get so bad?" If even elite troops were needed to escort grain supplies, wasn't it obvious that the situation was dire?
Yuxi nodded. "Yes! I heard from Han Ji that when he stayed overnight in a village once, half of the village was empty. Some of the people who left went to live with their relatives, and the rest, who had nowhere to go, turned to banditry." This was also why there were so many bandits in the northwest because the government there was not honest, to begin with.
Tu Shi sighed. "How are ordinary people supposed to live in this world?" The half-empty village showed how serious the world's situation was.
Yuxi said, "As the old saying goes, it's better to be a dog in times of peace than a man in times of chaos2." In chaotic times, a human being was not even as valuable as a dog. At least a dog could fill its stomach and be cared for before being killed. But what about people? They were always been mistreated.
Tu Shi found these words very apt and said with some emotion, "Those who are well-read do indeed speak differently." She could only recognise a few characters, which Zhao Hao taught her after they married. Tu Shi herself suffered from illiteracy herself, so she wanted her daughter to read more. She had thought about asking Yuxi to teach Ziyao before, but Yuxi was too busy, so she didn't bring it up.
Yuxi smiled. "Just reading randomly. By the way, how is Jingyao?" She asked this because Jingyao had been ill for several days before.
Tu Shi nodded. "She's better now." If she hadn't, Tu Shi wouldn't have been able to leave. Her child was still young; how could she just leave her as she wished?
Yuxi smiled and said, "This child needs to be taken care of carefully; otherwise, she'll get sick easily." It was also thanks to Mama Lan, an experienced elderly person who took care of Zaozao, that Yuxi didn't have any problems.
Tu Shi chatted with Yuxi for a while and then suddenly whispered, "Yuxi, I heard from my Dasao3 yesterday that Chen Shi is pregnant again."
Yuxi realised for a moment that this 'Chen Shi' was referring to Fu Tianlei's wife. Yuxi asked somewhat incredulously, "Really? She just gave birth in the second lunar month, and she suffered a bit during childbirth. How could she be expecting again so soon?"
Tu Shi replied, "My Dasao told my mother-in-law. I don't think it's a lie. It seems that Chen Shi still wants to have the eldest di4 son." Da Nainai5 Zhao's news was still very accurate. Of course, Yuxi's information was even more up-to-date than hers. However, Xu Wu didn't tell Yuxi about this matter because he felt it was unimportant; whether it was reported or not, it didn't matter.
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Yuxi asked, "How long has she been pregnant?" When she heard that it had been about a month, she couldn't help but shake her head. "She really doesn't take her own health seriously!" Given Chen Shi's current physical condition, she was in no condition to get pregnant. If she were to become pregnant, she should recuperate for at least a year before even considering it; otherwise, she would harm not only herself but also the child's health.
Tu Shi remarked, "Exactly!" With two daughters of her own, she also desperately wanted a son. But for the sake of her health, she did not dare to get pregnant right now; she would have to wait at least six months before considering it.
Yuxi felt that this topic was not very auspicious, so she asked another question: "I heard from the General that something happened to your Dage6. How is it? Has it been dealt with?"
Tu Shi replied, "It has been dealt with." After a pause, she added: "Because my mother spent most of the family's savings to settle this matter, she has made my Er Ge7 and Er Sao8 unhappy. My father was afraid this would cause discord, so he decided to split the family." Tu Shi didn't mention that almost half of those savings were earned by her Er Ge. It would be strange if he was willing to let his Dage squander the money he had earned with his life!
Yuxi shook her head and commented, "Every family has its own difficulties." No matter whose family it was, they would encounter things that were difficult to solve.
Tu Shi was a little confused and asked, "What do you mean by that?" She had always thought that Yuxi was very happy. Both of Yuxi's brothers were capable and ambitious, and most importantly, they had a deep brotherly bond, with their mother cherishing Yuxi like a treasure and showering her with gifts as if they cost nothing.
Yuxi said, "My biological father doesn't like me, and my adopted father only likes to travel to the mountains and play in the river9, never settling down at home throughout the year." When the Old Duke travelled, he would often bring along beauties with him. His life was carefree and leisurely.
Tu Shi felt uncomfortable and apologised, "Yuxi, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."
Yuxi smiled lightly, "The pain is long gone. It doesn't matter whether you talk about it now or not." To think that in her last life, she had hoped that Han Jingyan would look at her twice more and acknowledge her. Instead, he personally pushed her into the fire pit10. In this life, she had never treated that man as her own father.
Tu Shi was a bit embarrassed.
During dinner, Yuxi told Yun Qing about Tu Shi's visit. "I think the Zhao family might not be able to sit still." Apart from General Zhao, the rest of the prominent people in Yu City were all Yun Qing's confidants.
Yun Qing replied, "I have asked people to keep an eye on them. I'm afraid General Zhao is getting suspicious." Passive defence was not Yun Qing's style.
Yuxi's heart skipped a beat, but thinking about the amount of food they had purchased, she immediately said, "Speaking of which, we did buy too much grain, which is too eye-catching." But since they had already bought it, what else could they do? Thinking that the granary was already full, Yuxi suggested, "Do you think we could store the second batch at our estate? There's enough space for 200,000 dan of grain."
Yun Qing responded, "That's a good idea, but it's not the right thing to do right now."
Yuxi asked curiously, "We paid for it ourselves and the money didn't come from the public account, so why should it matter if it's not right? Besides, you bought so much food, and anyone with a discerning eye knows that they are for the soldiers." It must be tiring to always care about what others think of you!
Yun Qing said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."
Since they were done talking about the Zhao family, they moved on to the Fu family. Yuxi said, "I've already asked Xu Wu, and it's true that Da Nainai Fu is pregnant again, just over a month. How can she be pregnant with her in such a situation? This Fu Tianlei doesn't love his wife at all." She used to think that Fu Tianlei was someone who cared for his wife, but it was all just appearances.
Hearing the dissatisfaction in Yuxi's words, Yun Qing said helplessly: "This is their family affair; we shouldn't meddle in it." It was hard for a just and upright official to interfere in family matters, and he didn't want to get involved in someone else's domestic quarrel, even if Fu Tianlei was his brother.
Yuxi didn't want to interfere either. She wasn't stupid, she didn't want to get involved in such matters. Yuxi said, "I'm just speaking my mind." After speaking, she touched her visibly pregnant belly. "I'm worried that this child might also be a girl, and you won't like that when the time comes." Although Yun Qing had said before that it didn't matter if the child was a son or a daughter, and even if they didn't have a son, they could have Zaozao find a man to marry into the family, Yuxi just listened without taking it seriously.
Hearing this, Yun Qing asked: "Have you been relatively free lately?"
Yuxi didn't quite understand. "Not busy, why do you ask? There's not much going on at home or outside."
Yun Qing thought to himself, indeed, when Yuxi isn't busy, she likes to overthink things. "Nothing important. You're carrying a child, get some rest and don't overexert yourself."
Yuxi smiled and said, "I'm not tired. Even if I lose track of time, Mama Qu and Zijin will make sure I don't overdo it. You can rest assured."
If Yun Qing wasn't reassured, he wouldn't let Yuxi do anything. But he still had to say what needed to be said, "These things are important, but the safety and health of the child is even more important."
Yuxi nodded, "You're right; the child's safety and health are the most important things." Zaozao's health was better than the average person's, and she rarely got sick.
Yuxi chuckled. Yun Qing never forgot to praise his daughter wherever he went, and it was becoming a bit much for her to hear.
Footnotes Full List
- a traditional unit of volume, esp. for grain, equal to 100 sheng (市升), and equivalent to 100 litres or 176 pints
- Chinese proverb: it is better to live a simple and peaceful life rather than to get involved in the troubles and conflicts of a chaotic society. - AI_monga https://hinative.com/questions/25047813
- eldest sister-in-law
- legitimate, born to an official wife
- da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of a family
- eldest brother
- er=second, ge=older brother, short form for Gege
- er=second, sao=older brother's wife; sister-in-law
- Chinese idiom: to go on a scenic tour
- fig. living hell
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi