ROHYX Chapter 625 : Early Signs Of A Problem (1)

After Han Jianye left, Yuxi was in a bad mood. The next day, she had no energy and no appetite.

After meeting Master Er Jiu¹, Madam had not been herself. So, Mama Qu figured the root of the problem must lie in that meeting. However, she didn't know what they had talked about. Seeing that things couldn't go on like this, she asked Zijin. Zijin initially refused to speak at first, which annoyed Mama Qu. "Madam is already like this; why are you still hiding?"

After struggling for a long time, Zijin finally told Mama Qu what had happened that day.

Once she understood the situation, Mama Qu could comfort Yuxi more easily. "Madam, don't be upset. You're still in your postpartum confinement—this is not the time for you to overthink."

Yuxi responded sadly, "I was just thinking... my Er Ge² used to be the one who loved me the most. But now..." In his eyes, her life meant nothing.

Mama Qu hesitated before saying, "Madam, although I don't know much about your childhood, to be honest, I never thought Master Er Jiu¹ truly cared for you." She paused and continued, "You both lived in Yu City, but whenever he had a break, he spent it with friends and rarely visited the General's Mansion. If he really cared, no matter how busy he was, he should have come to see you every month." In reality, Han Jianye rarely visited her Madam.

Yuxi told her, "Er Ge² used to be very good to me. Every time he came down from the mountains, he would bring me all sorts of strange and interesting little trinkets. And whenever he returned to the Han household, I was always the first person he came to see..."

Mama Qu had a different opinion. She said, "When Second Master came back, he should have visited his own mother first. If he always came to see you first, a more narrow-minded person might have taken offence." Ignoring one's own mother to visit one's tangmei³ first could easily hurt feelings. Fortunately, Old Lady Qiu was broad-minded. If she had been petty, Yuxi's already difficult life in her maternal home would have been even harder.

Although Yuxi was clever, she had never spent much time thinking about the past. But after hearing Mama Qu's words, she bitterly smiled as she spoke, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore." Her Er Ge²'s personality was hard to change, so she didn't want to dwell on it. However, if she had a son in the future, she would not raise him like that.

Mama Qu only wanted to comfort Yuxi; she didn't want to dwell on these family matters. "Madam, the most important thing right now is to take care of your health." Only when Yuxi was fully recovered could she hope to have a son—although Mama Qu didn't say that part out loud.

Yuxi asked, "What did the physician say? How many years will it take for me to recover fully?" She knew her condition—her body was far weaker than before. Even walking around the house could make her dizzy.

Mama Qu hesitated before answering, "Physician Bai said it'll take five years." She had originally intended to wait until Yuxi had finished her confinement to inform her, but since she had asked, Mama Qu could only tell her the truth. Madam had been through so much—surely she could handle this blow. Besides, it was just that her body was too weak to bear children for the next five years. It wasn't as if she couldn't have them at all. Physical weakness could be nursed back to health, but not being able to bear children—that was the real problem.

Yuxi was stunned. She had thought three years would be enough, but five? "Five years?" That felt like an eternity.

Mama Qu weighed her words as she said, "Madam, I hope you won't take offence at what I'm about to say."

Yuxi nodded. "Go ahead." Mama Qu's words might be harsh, but they were always for her own good.

Mama Qu said, "Physician Bai estimated five years, assuming you take good care of yourself. If you don't, it might take even longer—or your health could deteriorate further. The General is deeply attached to you. He may be willing to wait five years, but if it takes longer, I fear he may not be able to wait." Men cared deeply about heirs. If Yuxi couldn't bear children anymore, even five years might be too much to ask.

Yuxi said, "If you have anything else to say, just speak freely."

Mama Qu continued, "The most important thing now is to recover and give birth to a son. Otherwise, everything Madam has done so far will benefit someone else." If one of the General's future concubines bore a son who would inherit everything, then all of Yuxi's sacrifices would have been for nothing.

Yuxi nodded. "In the coming days, I'll focus on recovering." Once her confinement was over, she would do what needed to be done, but she would take it easy.

Hearing this, Mama Qu said nothing more. Her Madam was a wise woman. Anything she could think of, Yuxi surely had as well. A reminder was enough.

The next day, Er Nainai⁴ Zhao came to visit Yuxi and shared with her some news: "Yuxi, on my way here, I saw Old General Fu's carriage. I asked around and found out he was going to Xinping City. What do you think he's doing there in this freezing weather?"

Yuxi felt relieved—it seemed that Old General Fu hadn't been able to persuade Fu Tianlei. Yuxi smiled and responded, "Maybe there's something urgent."

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao scoffed. "What could be so urgent! But I bet Chen Shi will sigh with relief now that Old General Fu is gone." Then she covered her mouth and laughed. "I've heard of many mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law not getting along, but a father-in-law at odds with his daughter-in-law? This pair is the first I've ever seen." Fathers-in-law usually didn't interact much with their daughters-in-law, so naturally, they would have less conflict.

Yuxi chuckled. "There are plenty of quarrels between sisters-in-law, too!"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao nodded with a smile. "But I've heard that this time, Chen Shi's belly is pointy—the midwife says the child will most likely be a boy." Chen Shi was about to have a son, but Er Nainai⁴ Zhao didn't even have a shadow of one yet. And with her husband away, there wasn't much she could do about it.

Yuxi recalled Zhao Hao's concubine and asked, "How's that concubine doing?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao laughed. "She's doing great! She eats chicken, duck or fish every day—she's practically glowing. A few days ago, she even asked for bird's nest soup, and my Dasao⁵ scolded her hard for it." Everything Hua Shi ate came from the household budget. The daily chicken, duck, and fish were enough to make Ping Shi ache with worry; if she had to add a bird's nest, too, it would be like cutting flesh from her own body.

Yuxi frowned slightly. "Are you planning to keep the child and get rid of the mother?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao was startled initially, then exclaimed, "What keep the child and get rid of the mother? I can still have children—why would I want hers?" She had never considered raising Hua Shi's child herself, regardless of the gender.

Yuxi said, "If a pregnant woman overeats, the child might grow too big and cause a difficult birth. If you're not trying to keep the child, why let her eat so much?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao shook her head. "I have no such intention. The people taking care of Hua Shi are my mother-in-law's people." She had no idea whether her mother-in-law intended to keep the child and discard the mother.

Seeing this reaction, Yuxi changed the subject. "What else is new in Yu City these days?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao replied, "Nothing particularly new, but something strange has happened. Regional Military Commissioner Xiang's wife, Yan-shi, wore a gemstone necklace yesterday. I heard that the centrepiece sapphire was the size of an almond, and even the smallest stones were the size of peanuts. It must have cost a fortune!"

Yuxi's heart skipped a beat, though her expression didn't change. She smiled and asked, "Have you seen it?" Even a single sapphire the size of an almond was worth thousands of taels. Yuxi knew the financial situation of Yun Qing's subordinates—they were never short of food or clothing, but they certainly weren't so extravagant enough to afford a gemstone necklace worth several thousand taels.

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao shook her head. "No, but my Saozi⁶ did. She said it must be spoils of war from the front lines." How it ended up in the hands of Xiang Weiguo's wife was anyone's guess.

It was a sensitive topic if military spoils had ended up with Xiang Weiguo's wife. Yuxi smiled and steered the conversation away. "Did Second Master Zhao write a letter home?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao understood and didn't press further. "Yes, just a note saying they were safe and sound."

Yuxi asked, "Just that? Nothing more?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao laughed. "Just knowing he's safe is enough. I don't expect a whole letter. When he used to travel, he'd go a month or two without a word."

Yuxi exclaimed, "So, all men are the same after all!" When she realised it wasn't just Yun Qing who was like this, she felt more at ease.

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao's interest was piqued, "Could it be that General Yun also just sent you a brief message saying he was safe too?"

Yuxi shook her head in disappointment. "I wrote him sixteen pages, and he only sent back six words: 'Everything is fine. Do not worry.' I nearly coughed up blood."^🦊

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao burst out laughing. "That is enough to make someone cough up blood. But all men are careless like that—as long as they report that they're safe, that's already good enough." At least Yun Qing knew to send word after leaving home. In that regard, he was better than her husband.

Yuxi said, "Yes, all men are this careless. They don't know how worried we are at home." When men went off to war, all their wives wanted to know was that they were alive and well.

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao agreed wholeheartedly. "Exactly! I've repeatedly reminded him, but it's no use." She had brought it up many times, but seeing that Second Master Zhao always treated her reminder as wind past his ear⁸, she simply stopped mentioning it.

Yuxi smiled. "Forget it; let's stop talking about them. Has Ziyao been practising her characters lately?"

Er Nainai⁴ Zhao nodded. "Yes, she practices for half a shichen⁹every morning and afternoon." Yuxi had insisted that calligraphy required daily practice without exception. Even when Ziyao complained of sore hands, Er Nainai⁴ Zhao made her continue. The results were evident—her handwriting had improved significantly.

Yuxi nodded in approval.

Footnotes Full List

1. èr (二) = two/second, jiù (舅) = can mean either maternal uncle or wife's brother; brother-in-law. In this sentence, it is the latter.
2. èr (二) = two/second, gē (哥) = elder brother, short form for gēge (哥哥)
3. 堂妹 tángmèi = younger female patrilineal cousin
4. 二 èr = two/second, 奶奶 nǎinai =young mistress of the house
5. 大嫂 dàsǎo = eldest sister-in-law
6. lit. elder brother's wife; sister-in-law. I think she's talking about her sister-in-law from her maiden family.
7. Wow... 16 pages of Chinese characters. If the letter were translated into English, it could be two to three times longer. 😱
8. (fig) to ignore completely
9. 2 hours. Half a shichen is one hour.

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