The start of conflicts in the Fu family between Fu Tianlei, Old General Fu and Chen Shi, also between Yuxi and Huo Changqing regarding Zaozao.
It was raining. The rain looked like a wisp of smoke or a drawn curtain; it seemed as though it were part of a painting. Yuxi stood at the doorway and gazed out, suddenly recalling a rainy day when she and Yuchen had played music together. She played the flute while Yuchen played the zither. It had felt especially wonderful.
Yuxi's heart was stirred as she said, "Go fetch my flute." She didn't know why, but looking at the scene, she suddenly had the urge to play a tune.
Gancao hesitated before offering her opinion, "Madam, the General is still at war. Would it be inappropriate to play music at a time like this?" Having come from the Duke's household, she knew some things had to be kept discreet. With Yun Qing fighting on the front lines, she thought it might be seen as unbecoming for Yuxi to still have the leisure and elegance to play music. If word got out, it wouldn't reflect well on her.
Yuxi smiled slightly at those words. "The General has been winning battles all along. Playing the flute is a way to celebrate." Yun Qing was winning, not losing—naturally, she could play a song. Unconsciously, Yuxi touched the jade bracelet on her left wrist—a gift from Yun Qing. She wondered where he was now.
Before Gancao could bring the flute over, Mama Qu lifted the curtain and entered. "Madam, Guard Xu said the Fu family have sent an invitation asking you to attend Young Master Fu's third-day ceremony tomorrow."
Yuxi shook her head. "Tell them I haven't been feeling well these past few days. I'll definitely attend the full-month celebration instead." She had taken care of Liu-er for two days and nights and was nearly exhausted. Sigh, it seemed she needed to start eating medicinal meals to improve her health.
Madam Qu acknowledged and added, "Madam, Guard Xu said the Old Master misses the Eldest Young Miss and wants her to be brought to the front courtyard. What does Madam think?"
Yuxi nodded. "Tell Xu Wu to send Zaozao back to the inner courtyard before lunch." Recently, Huo Changqing had been acting strangely—she had to send someone to remind him every time before Zaozao could be returned. Although she knew Huo Changqing was fond of Zaozao, she still found his behaviour odd and even unsettling.
Xu Wu agreed at once.
Not long after, Er Nainai1 Zhao came over and brought up the matter of the Fu family's young master's third-day celebration. She asked, "Yuxi, I heard Chen Shi had a smooth delivery this time, thanks to Mama Lan—is that true?"
Yuxi nodded. "It's true." As for why Mama Lan, who was skilled at caring for children, also happened to be an excellent midwife, Yuxi decided not to pry further.
Er Nainai1 Zhao chuckled and said, "If that's the case, anyone with a difficult labour will come begging for her help in the future." When Hua Shi broke the wasteland of heaven2 by greeting her this morning, she almost thought the sun had risen in the west3. As she was about to go out, Hua Shi stammered, asking her to speak to Yuxi on her behalf, hoping that Mama Lan would help with her future delivery. Er Nainai1 Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just a few curse words were enough to scold Hua Shi into leaving—how dare she, given her status, expect her to ask Yuxi for a favour? How ridiculous—she really thought getting pregnant had turned her from a sparrow into a phoenix4!
Yuxi shook her head. "Mama Lan needs to look after Liu-er, so she can't help with any more deliveries. My health isn't good at the moment either. After looking after Liu-er for two days, I nearly fell ill."
Er Nainai1 Zhao wasn't surprised. By comparison, Yuxi's situation was actually not bad. Many women who had difficult labours didn't survive, and even if they did, it was as if they had lost half their life5. Chen Shi was a prime example of this. Er Nainai1 Zhao asked, confused, "I heard both Chen Shi and her baby are very frail. Why are they still holding a three-day ceremony if they are both so weak?"
Yuxi replied, "I asked the same thing, and they said it was Old General Fu's decision." He had returned to Yu City yesterday afternoon. According to Xu Wu, the child did not please the Old General. Yuxi could guess why—he probably disdained the child's poor health.
Er Nainai1 Zhao shook her head. "I found it strange—this son was what Chen Shi desperately hoped for through countless hardships, so how could she bear to put him through this? Ah, so it was Old General Fu's idea!"
Although Yuxi didn't like Chen Shi, she felt sorry for her when she had to deal with such a harsh father-in-law. "Chen Shi was already in poor health, and the difficult childbirth must have drained her completely." Even Yuxi, with her strong constitution, had been in rough shape after a difficult birth — let alone someone as frail as Chen Shi.
Remembering what Yuxi had once told her, Er Nainai1 Zhao quickly asked, "What about the child?" Upon hearing from Yuxi that the child was also very frail and would likely have to depend on medicine for life, she muttered, "Amitabha! What a cruel fate!" Thankfully, she had withstood the pressure and hadn't rushed to get pregnant again straight away after giving birth to Jing-er—otherwise, she might have followed in Chen Shi's footsteps. Although she wanted a son, it would be heartbreaking if the boy turned out to be nothing more than a walking medicine jar6.
Yuxi remarked, "If Chen Shi's health has deteriorated so much that she can't make it, and if Fu Tianlei remarries, those children will be pitiful." While not all stepmothers were evil, it was undeniable that most did not treat their husbands' children from previous marriages very well.
Er Nainai1 Zhao nodded. "Exactly. How many stepmothers are ever decent? In the end, it's always the children who suffer." She used to regret not getting pregnant before Zhao Hao left the city. Now, however, she only felt relieved — thank goodness she hadn't. If she had got pregnant before her body had fully recovered, both she and her baby would have suffered.
At this point, Er Nainai1 Zhao looked at Yu Xi and advised her, "Yuxi, you must take care of your health before trying for another child—you mustn't follow Chen Shi's example." Her words might have overstepped some boundaries, but they were spoken from the heart.
Yuxi smiled and assured her, "Don't worry—I won't do anything so foolish." Having suffered from growing up without a mother herself, she couldn't bear to let Zaozao or Liu-er experience the same pain. Of course, Yun Qing wasn't Han Jingyan, but Yuxi still wasn't feeling at ease. For the sake of her two daughters, she couldn't take even the slightest risk. That's why she absolutely would not try for another child until her body had fully recovered.
Yuxi handed over the gifts for the three-day ceremony to Er Nainai1 Zhao, asking her to help with the basin ritual the following day. She would present the gift for the child herself at the full-month celebration.
Er Nainai1 Zhao didn't stay for dinner. After chatting, she took her leave.
Holding Liu-er in her arms, Yuxi softly promised, "Liu-er, when you turn one, I'll have your father throw a three-day feast for you." Since they had not yet held a three-day or full-month celebration for Liu-er, her first birthday party would have to be a grand affair; otherwise, people might think that Yun Qing didn't like her.
At that moment, Liu-er was busy blowing bubbles, completely oblivious to what Yuxi was saying.
Mama Bai came in carefully and said, "Madam, there's a message from the front courtyard. They want me to bring the Eldest Young Miss's food there. What does Madam think?" She didn't know what the Old Master was thinking. Madam was already very understanding, yet he was still acting so unreasonably.
Yuxi frowned slightly, wondering what had gotten into Uncle Huo lately. Although puzzled, she didn't want to embarrass him, so she said, "Go ahead and send Zaozao's food to the front courtyard. Just make sure to keep it warm—it can cause diarrhoea if it gets cold."
Mama Bai was not someone who lacked 'eye colour'7. Seeing Yuxi's expression, she immediately knew Yuxi was unhappy. "Madam, shall I ask Mama Qu to bring the Eldest Young Miss back?"
Yuxi looked at Liu-er, who was sleeping soundly, and said, "No need." In these extraordinary times, there was no reason to make things awkward with Huo Changqing over such a trivial matter.
By evening, when Zaozao still hadn't returned, Yuxi decided to go to the front courtyard herself to fetch her child. However, Mama Lan advised against it, saying the child was too young to be out at night.
Before Yuxi could even leave the courtyard, she saw Xu Wu bringing Zaozao back. Upon seeing her, Xu Wu looked deeply ashamed. He had confidently promised to return the child before lunch, but had to eat his own words8 in the end. Unfortunately, his Yifu9 stubbornly refused to let the child be brought back, so Xu Wu had no choice.
Yuxi noticed Zaozao's red eyes—it was obvious she had been crying. She quickly asked Xu Wu, "What happened to Zaozao?"
Before Xu Wu could answer, Zaozao clung to Yuxi's neck, crying, "No play! Want Mom, Mom..." as if she were terrified Yuxi might disappear again.
During Yuxi's dangerous childbirth, Zaozao hadn't seen her for three days. Though still young, this had cast a big shadow10 in her heart. So, today, not seeing Yuxi all day had made her anxious, and she kept crying out for her mother.
Hearing this, Yuxi's expression darkened. However, upon seeing Xu Wu's surprised expression, she realised he probably didn't know either and promptly sent him back to the front courtyard.
After calming Zaozao down, Yuxi asked Old Woman Yu, "Did the Eldest Young Miss cry in the front courtyard? Why was she crying?"
Old Woman Yu lowered her head and replied, "Just now, the Eldest Young Miss has been crying for her mother. The Old Master didn't know what to do, so he asked Guard Xu to bring her back." Zaozao actually cried for her mother at noon, too, but Huo Changqing managed to calm her down. It took a certain skill to calm Zaozao down, but Old Woman Yu didn't dare tell Yuxi for fear of upsetting her.
Huo Changqing's actions made Yuxi uncomfortable. However, Huo Changqing treated Zaozao with genuine devotion, the kind of way in which he would pour out all his love and care. Because of that, she didn't know how to handle the matter. Due to Huo Changqing's status, she couldn't stop Zaozao from going to the front courtyard.
Unable to resolve the situation, Yuxi could only put it aside and wait for Yun Qing to return so he could speak to Huo Changqing about it.
Yuxi was eating dinner when she received a message from Xu Wu saying that the Fu family had cancelled the three-day ceremony. She put down her spoon and asked, "What's going on?" If the Fu family did something like this in the capital, they would surely become the laughing stock.
Mama Qu replied, "I don't know the details, but General Fu ordered the cancellation. He was likely unaware that the invitations had already been sent out."
Yuxi remained silent but felt that Fu Tianlei was not fit to take on great responsibility. Since he was now the head of the Fu family, she believed that everyone in the household should follow his orders. However, the Fu family servants only listened to the Old General and sent out the invitations without consulting Fu Tianlei first. This demonstrated his incompetence as head of the household. It was only through comparison that one's capabilities became clear. Take her Dage11, for example. He held the Duke's household firmly in his grip—so firmly that even their father, the Old Duke, found his orders ignored by the servants.
Footnotes Full List
- 二 èr = two, 奶奶 nǎinai = (respectful) mistress of the house)
- 破天荒 (pò tiān huāng) referred to doing something for the first time ever, especially something unprecedented or previously thought impossible.
- 太阳打西边出来 (tài yáng dǎ xī biān chū lái) used to describe something so unbelievable or rare that it's like the sun rising from the opposite direction. It's often used humorously or sceptically
- 麻雀变凤凰 (má què biàn fèng huáng) is a metaphor for someone of humble origin suddenly rising to a high status, often used sarcastically in this kind of context.
- The Chinese phrase "去掉了半条命" (qù diào le bàn tiáo mìng) vividly describes someone who is severely weakened after an ordeal, as if half their life force has gone.
- The term "药罐子" (yào guàn zi) literally means "medicine jar", but when used to describe a person, it's a metaphor for someone who is constantly ill and dependent on medicine.
- The phrase 不是没眼色的 (bù shì méi yǎnsède) is used to describe someone who is socially aware or can read the room.
- 食言了 (shí yán liǎo) means to break a promise
- 义父 (yīfu): adoptive father
- 很大的阴影 (hěn dà de yīn yǐng) is a metaphor for emotional trauma or psychological scar.
- 大哥 dàgē: eldest brother
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