ROHYX Chapter 627 : Progress

Yun Qing's reply arrived in Yuxi's hands on the ninth day.

She gave the letter a light squeeze — it was thin. When she opened it, she saw that it contained six pages. Yuxi read it carefully, not missing a single word.

When Mama Qu came in, she saw Yuxi's face light up. With Yuxi's improved mood, her health would surely recover faster. It was just a shame that Lanzhou and Yu City were a thousand miles apart—even if they spurred the fastest horse¹ day and night, it would still take them four or five days to travel.

In a good mood, Yuxi requested with a smile, "Go bring Zaozao over."

It didn't take long for Old Woman Yu to bring Zaozao over. Yuxi took Zaozao in her arms and kissed her. "Zaozao, your Dad has sent us a letter. Come, Mom will read it to you." Of course, she didn't read the whole thing—just the part where Yun Qing mentioned that he missed Zaozao.

Zaozao wrapped her arms around Yuxi's neck and said softly, "Mom, Dad, miss." What she meant was that she missed her father very much.

Yuxi touched Zaozao's forehead and wondered, "Zaozao, when will you be able to speak in complete sentences?" Zaozao was a late talker; she probably wouldn't be able to express herself fluently until after the age of three.

Mama Qu smiled and said, "Madam, there's no need to rush these things." As long as the child wasn't mute, whether she spoke early or late didn't matter.

A while later, Gancao came in to report, "Madam, Madam Fu's personal mama is requesting an audience."

Yuxi said, "Let her in." Hopefully, Chen Shi wasn't here to ask for another favour.

This time, Mama He had indeed come with a request. The physician who checked Chen Shi's pulse said her child showed signs of premature birth and advised her to be prepared.

Although Chen Shi hoped to carry her son to full term, since the physician had spoken, she had to make preparations. She thought about how Yuxi had given birth early, but despite the dangerous circumstances, Mama Lan had made sure both mother and child were safe. So, she wanted to ask if Mama Lan could help with her delivery.

If Chen Shi truly had a difficult labour, Yuxi might have considered sending Mama Lan to help. However, since it was just a warning from the physician and not a real complication, she would not agree. There was no one in Yu City who wasn't aware of how fragile Liu-er's health was and how unlikely her survival was. Under these circumstances, Chen Shi still dared to ask for Mama Lan, which was quite disheartening.

Yuxi said, "Liu-er is too weak and cannot be without Mama Lan." The last time Mama Lan was gone for just over a day, Zaozao fell ill. Zaozao had a strong constitution, and as long as her illness was treated in time, it wouldn't be serious, but Liu-er was different.

Mama He hadn't expected Yuxi to refuse and was stunned for a moment.

Yuxi said, "If you don't trust the midwives in Yu City, you can hire one from Xinping City. I'm sure the midwives there are more skilled than Mama Lan." Yun Qing and Fu Tianlei were like brothers, so it was hard for her to say no. But she had no such bond with Chen Shi.

Seeing Yuxi's dark expression, Mama He said nothing more.

Yuxi explained, "It's not that I'm being unkind — it's just that Liu-er is too weak. Without Mama Lan, she's very likely to fall ill. Her health is just too poor — she can't afford to get sick." If she got sick, even if it wasn't fatal, it would be like adding frost to snow¹. And once sick, she'd need medicine — when even regular food made her vomit, who knew how she'd react to bitter medicine? With such high risks, how could Yuxi possibly agree?

Mama He secretly grumbled — in fact, when her Madam had instructed her to ask Yuxi for help, she had advised against it. But her Madam wouldn't listen.

When Zijin found out, she couldn't help but say, "Her child in her womb is precious, but is our Second Young Miss nothing more than grass³?" The Second Young Miss might not have survived if it weren't for Mama Lan's meticulous care. Under such circumstances, how could they dare to let Mama Lan leave her side for even one step?

Yuxi responded flatly, "In Chen Shi's eyes, my Liu-er isn't even worth a blade of grass." As Momo Quan had said before, only in times of trouble would one see a person's true nature. Someone like Chen Shi had always had a good reputation. In fact, even now, her public image was still quite respectable.

In Zijin's mind, Liu-er was far more precious than the unborn child in Chen Shi's womb. "She truly takes a foot after being given an inch⁴. If only we hadn't agreed with her request back then, there wouldn't be so many issues now."

Yuxi said, "You don't have to worry about her affairs. What I want to know is — why are you back here?" Zijin had already returned to the military camp on the sixth. By all expectations, she wasn't supposed to return until the Lantern Festival.

Zijin replied, "Nothing is going on in the camp, so I came back."

After all these years, Yuxi knew Zijin's faults well. She was sure that something must have happened for Zijin to come back. "I've told you before — you're a woman. If you want to stand equal to men, you'll have to face many more challenges. You'll have to work twice as hard, or even ten times harder. If you can't endure the hardship or swallow your pride, then you shouldn't go at all." This world was harsh to women — for a woman to be equal to a man was as difficult as climbing up to heaven⁵. The only reason Zijin could stay in the military was because she had Yuxi's support. Without that, she wouldn't even be allowed through the gates.

In fact, one major reason Zijin, as a woman, was allowed into the Vanguard Camp was because she had earned military merit — she had slain hundreds of Northern Barbarians. Without that merit, even Yuxi's influence wouldn't have been enough.

Zijin clenched her fists. "I won't give up halfway."

Yuxi said, "Then stop complaining and stay in the army honestly." In the military, one must follow military discipline.

Then Yuxi looked at her and added, "If you come back for no reason next time, you don't have to return to the Vanguard Camp."

Zijin was so ashamed she couldn't even raise her head. After a long pause, she said, "Madam, I'm going back to the camp now." Seeing that Yuxi ignored her, she left with her head down.

Yuxi murmured to herself, "Why is there not a single competent person around me?" Of all the people she had trained, not one had turned out to be truly useful. Take Zisu and Zijin, for example. Zisu was fine in other aspects, but unfortunately, deep down, she was someone who despised poverty, loved wealth⁶, and was incapable of sharing hardship. As for Zijin, there was no need to even mention it—she was full of bad habits from head to toe. Sigh — the real issue was that she herself was not that good at training people.

Zijin returned to her own courtyard and began packing to head back to camp.

Master Yang saw her looking downcast and understood at once. "Did Han girl just scold you?" Even when General Yun had beaten her, she hadn't looked this disheartened.

Zijin replied, "I'm going back to the camp."

Master Yang tapped his pipe on his shoe and said, "Zijin, this is your last chance. If you can't do well in the army, don't expect to come back to the Yun residence."

Zijin froze. After a moment, she said, "No — Madam won't kick me out." In her heart, Yuxi was more important than even Yu Zhi or Master Yang.

Master Yang felt it was time to give Zijin a dose of tough love. Otherwise, she'd keep making mistakes. "You can't protect Han girl, and you can't even make a name for yourself in the army. What other reason could there be for the Yun household to continue feeding you? Do they have too much grain to waste?"

Zijin's face went pale, but she quickly clenched her fists and firmly vowed, "I will make a name for myself in the army." At that moment, she inexplicably remembered what Fu Qingluo had once said to Yuxi: "Master, I want to become a female general."

Master Yang smiled slightly. "A female general? That's a good goal. Then Master wishes you success upon the horse's arrival⁷." With Zijin's skills, as long as she didn't make any mistakes or suffer any accidents, becoming a general was only a matter of time.

Once Zijin finished packing, she left without another word.

Xu Wu came over and handed a letter to Master Yang. "This is from the General." He didn't even need to read it to know it was surely about requesting medicine from Master Yang.

Master Yang skimmed the contents, and then his lips twitched. In the letter, Yun Qing said he had acquired a good amount of medicinal herbs in Lanzhou and hoped Master Yang could come there to help prepare the medicine. "Tell your General, I only agreed to prepare the medicine, not to follow him around everywhere. Besides, I've promised the Han girl I'll be her guard and protector. I won't eat my own words⁸."

Xu Wu replied, "Understood."

After returning to the Fu Residence, Mama He reported to Chen Shi, "Madam, Madam Yun said Young Miss Liu-er is too weak and cannot be without Mama Lan."

Chen-shi's expression darkened. "Han Shi refused?" Her previous requests had all been granted so smoothly that she hadn't expected a refusal.

Mama He nodded. "Yes." She honestly didn't understand what her Madam was thinking — Liu-er was Madam Yun's youngest daughter and was in fragile health. How could anyone expect her to lend out her child's most trusted caregiver? It was no surprise that Han Shi refused. What mother would risk her own child's life to save another's?

Chen Shi snorted coldly. "Just like Xu Shi said — Han Shi is nothing but a hypocrite who craves praise for false kindness."

Mama He inwardly groaned. Before, her Madam would still listen to advice, but ever since she got pregnant, her temper had worsened, and she refused all counsel. Mama He asked softly, "Madam, I've heard that Midwife Yao from Xinping City is very skilled. Should we send someone to invite her?" Since Yuxi had rejected their original request, it was best to find another solution quickly.

Chen Shi didn't respond.

Mama He felt helpless. She also believed Mama Lan's skills surpassed Midwife Yao's, but the problem was that Madam Yun had already refused.

Seeing how anxious Mama He looked, Chen Shi finally said, "Go ahead and send someone to get Midwife Yao." The physician had already hinted that her labour was likely to be difficult. For the sake of herself and her child, she had to get Mama Lan to help. But if Han Shi refused to budge, at least Midwife Yao was better than the midwives in Yu City.

Understanding what Chen Shi was up to, Mama He couldn't help but remind her, "Madam, Madam Yun has already refused." Given Second Young Miss Yun's condition, it wouldn't make any difference even if they begged again.

Chen Shi stroked her swollen belly and said, "I have been praying for this child for almost ten years. Even if I have to risk everything, I can't let anything happen to him."

Mama He opened her mouth, but the words stopped before they came out. In her lady's current state, nothing she said would get through. It was better to save her breath.

Footnotes Full List

1. The idiom 快马加鞭 (kuàimǎ-jiābiān) means to go as fast as possible
2. The idiom 雪上加霜 (xuěshàng-jiāshuāng) means making a bad situation worse; a double blow.
3. The metaphor 像草一样 (xiàng cǎo yī yàng - Like a blade of grass) indicates that someone is considered utterly worthless or insignificant.
4. The idiom 得寸进尺(décùn-jìnchǐ) means to be greedy or insatiable; to take advantage of others by demanding more after a concession has been made.
5. The phrase 难如登天 (nán rú dēng tiān) implies something is nearly impossible, and climbing into heaven is a proverbial impossibility in Chinese culture.
6. 嫌贫爱富 (xián pín ài fù) describes someone who looks down on people on the poor and actively seeks out and favours those who are wealthy. This idiom carries a negative connotation, highlighting a person's snobbishness, materialism, and lack of empathy or loyalty towards those less fortunate.
7. 马到成功 (mǎ dào chéng gōng) is a metaphorical idiom that originates from ancient warfare, where a swift victory was achieved as soon as the cavalry arrived. Figurative meaning: Immediate success / Success as soon as the action begins.
8. 食言 shí//yán figuratively means to go back on one's word; to break a promise.

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