Yuxi went out at night and also came back at night. When Mama Lan saw Yuxi, she was visibly relieved. She didn't know what to do if Yuxi hadn't returned yet.
Yuxi was startled when she looked at Zaozao lying on the bed. "Why has the child lost so much weight?" Her daughter, who was fair and plump, had lost a lot of weight in just seven or eight days.
Mama Lan replied, "This child doesn't want to be breastfed by Yangzi's wife. She only sucks a few mouthfuls when she's hungry." It was a good thing that Mama Lan had experience caring for children, and this time, she fed Zaozao some easily digestible supplementary food. Otherwise, Zaozao would probably be completely sick.
Yuxi felt a little guilty. If she had known that Prefect Tan was so easy to talk to, she would not have gone there and just let Mr Xia deal with Prefect Tan directly. That way, Zaozao would not have had to suffer. Yuxi had actually not been feeling well these past few days, either. She felt very uncomfortable as her chest continued to swell.
Perhaps feeling familiar with the embrace and the voice, Zaozao soon woke up in Yuxi's arms. The first thing she did after waking up was to arch herself in Yuxi's arms, which was the rhythm of her wanting to be fed.
Yuxi no longer cared about whether she was clean or not as she carried Zaozao into the inner room. After a while, Yuxi finally came out of the room.
Mama Lan said, "Madam, the hot water is ready. You can bathe now." Looking at the exhausted Yuxi, she couldn't say anything reproachful.
After taking a bath, Yuxi lay down on the bed and fell asleep. She had been travelling day and night during this period, so she was exhausted. After sleeping until dawn, Yuxi was awakened by Zaozao crying. It was Yuxi's habit to get up at dawn every day to breastfeed Zaozao.
Looking at Zaozao eating happily, Mama Lan praised her: "Eldest Young Miss, you are so clever." If a normal child were to change their wet nurse, they might not get used to it and cry at first, but in time, they would compromise. But Zaozao didn't. If she hadn't been so hungry, she would have continued to refuse to eat the new wet nurse's milk. Even if she had to accept it in the end, she wouldn't eat much.
Yuxi was speechless. "Where does she look clever? She is clearly picky. If she's already this picky when young, what will she become when she grows up?" It was not good for a girl to have such a temper!
Zijin asked, "Mama Lan, is there something dirty about the wet nurse?" She didn't think a child could be like that.
Mama Lan knew that Zijin had no ulterior motives and would say whatever came to her mind, not to make fun of Mama Lan for behaving improperly. So Mama Lan didn't get angry with her either and explained, "Yangzi's wife takes a shower every day, and everything she eats is according to my requirements. So, there is no problem with her at all." The problem was their Eldest Young Miss, who had such a fussy mouth.
Zijin felt a little embarrassed when she remembered Mama Lan's strictness. What she had just said was really out of her mind. Mama Lan was such a meticulous person. If there were indeed something wrong with Yangzi's wife, Mama Lan wouldn't have hired her.
Mama Lan asked Yuxi: "Madam, when will you go back to Yu City? If it's not urgent, you should stay at the estate for a few more days." Back in Yu City, there would be endless things for Yuxi to do.
Yuxi nodded. "Nothing is going on over there in Yu City. Let's wait until the middle of the month before we go back." This Mr Xia was genuinely impressive, and Yuxi couldn't help but admire him for it. With such a person by Yun Qing's side, she could stay at the estate for a while longer with peace of mind.
Seven days later, Yun Qing arrived at the estate and informed Yuxi, "The things confiscated from the Xu family should arrive tomorrow afternoon, so you should come back to Yu City with me tomorrow." Yun Qing thought it would be best for Yuxi to take care of these things.
Mama Lan said unhappily, "General, I'm not trying to show off my seniority. Madam has been too tired these days, so you should let her stay on the estate for a while longer." After a moment's pause, Mama Lan continued, "General, Madam is not your subordinate. Your affairs should be handled by your actual subordinates, not Madam." Mama Lan felt that Yun Qing treated his wife entirely like a subordinate, and she was very unhappy about it.
Yun Qing's expression was quite grim when he heard these words.
Mama Lan was not afraid of Yun Qing either. She was an old servant of the Han family. If Yun Qing didn't like her, the worst Mama Lan could do was return to the Han family. So, regardless of Yun Qing's dark face, she continued: "General, with all due respect, you have not fulfilled your responsibilities as a husband and father. In all my years of life, this is the first time I have seen a married woman feed her child, go to work and be gone for eight days. General, look at how thin the Eldest Young Miss has become." Not only was Yun Qing unqualified, but so was Yuxi. But in comparison, Yuxi was still a little better at handling her responsibilities as a mother.
Yun Qing looked at Zaozao while feeling distressed and guilty, unable to say anything. Zaozao was just over three months old, the age at which she could not be separated from her mother. This time, it was true that he hadn't thought things through. "It won't happen again in the future."
Mama Lan said, "Madam's body isn't too good right now. It's better to let Madam recuperate at the estate for a few more days." Once they returned to Yu City, it would be like war again.
Yun Qing nodded. "Okay." Mama Lan's words made Yun Qing feel that it would be best to solve things on his own in the future and not burden Yuxi any more. Yu City was important, but his wife and children were just as important.
Mama Lan was satisfied with Yun Qing's answer and immediately walked out with Zaozao in her arms. As for the couple, they were left alone to talk.
Yuxi asked, "I heard Master Yang say that the gold, silver and jewellery raided from the Xu family are still in the prefect's yamen1. He Rui, has something happened that I don't know about?" This was different from the situation that they had agreed upon before! Of course, this way would be safer for Yun Qing and would not endanger him.
Yun Qing replied: "This gold, silver and jewellery is only a small part. The lion's share is in the Xu family's secret room. We found twelve boxes of gold, forty-eight boxes of silver, six boxes of various kinds of high-quality jade and treasures, and eight boxes of miscellaneous jewellery in the secret room. If I hadn't already guessed, these are just some of the Xu family's hidden possessions." Considering what the Xu family had earned over the years, it must be more than that.
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Yuxi's eyes lit up for a moment before she asked, "How much is all this stuff together?" It was more than she had expected.
Yun Qing said, "Based on a rough estimation, it's worth more than two million taels of silver. It should be three million taels of silver if added with the things placed in the governor's office!" This would be a lucrative year for them.
Yuxi asked, "What kind of person has Marshal Qin planted?" Surprisingly, even the secret room where the Xu family hid their treasures was known. This information was not something that an ordinary person could find.
Yun Qing replied, "There are three people in total. One is the second steward of the Xu family, who used to be the Xu family patriarch's personal attendant. The other is the Xu family patriarch's aide, and the other is the Xu family patriarch's favourite concubine."
Yuxi muttered, "No wonder." No wonder it was possible to spy on such confidential information. Marshal Qin had caught everything from the inner and outer courtyards in a single net2. It had to be said that Marshal Qin's ability was indeed not ordinary, and she didn't know how he had taken these people under his wing.
Yun Qing said, "As per your request, except for these gold and silver treasures, all the other things of the Xu family have been collected, put into boxes, and transported back to Yu City." These things also kept the unearthed gold and silver treasures hidden in them from being discovered.
Yuxi smiled and said, "In that case, when classes start in the eleventh month, the children will also have the opportunity to write with a writing brush." A good writing brush could be used for a long time. The most troublesome thing was the paper, which was too expensive to consume.
After saying these words, Yuxi said, "Don't leave these things at the Yun Residence. Just find a house and let Han Ji and Han Dong take care of them." When they were placed in the Yun Residence, Yuxi worried that someone might accuse them of filling their pockets3. Although those who stood straight wouldn't fear a crooked shadow4, she wanted to avoid this kind of trouble as much as possible. At that time, these things would be divided and sent to where they could be used.
Yun Qing nodded in agreement. "Alright."
More than a hundred carts of goods entered Yu City, and many people were watching. It was a rare sight for everyone.
The goods were unloaded into a three-entry residence. In addition to the furniture, there were more than 900 large wooden boxes, so the three-entry residence was packed to the brim.
After unloading the things, Han Ji and Han Dong became the busiest people. Although these things had all been classified, they had only been sorted into simple categories, such as clothing, where all the fabrics and leather were mixed together. For these things to be distributed, they had to be sorted again.
It took five and a half days to sort everything out. Han Ji presented the written list to Yun Qing and asked him to distribute the things.
Yun Qing's head hurt when he saw the long list, and he said, "It's not too late to deal with these things when Madam returns."
Han Ji asked, "General, when will Madam return?" He had been back almost a month, but Madam hadn't even returned to Yu City. He would like to go to Scholar Tree Estate to see her, but he was not allowed to.
Yun Qing said, "She will be back by the middle of the month." There weren't many days left until then.
Once things were put back in order, the affair of Xinping City also spread to Yu City. When Da Nainai5 Zhao, Ping Shi, heard the news, she shared it with Madam Zhao: "Mom, I have heard that this time General Yun took troops to raid the Xu family's property. After the raid, the Xu family was left with nothing but bare walls." What Yun Qing did this time was truly worse than bandits! The bandits only took gold, silver and jewellery, but Yun Qing wanted everything. Of course, only some things were needed. Those particularly bulky beds and wardrobes were not transported back to Yu City.
Madam Zhao thought differently. "It's not important how the Xu family is doing. What's important is that we didn't hear a word before the Xu family was raided." Not to mention the raid, even if they dug up three feet into the matter, they still wouldn't know what it was all about. It was just that their inability to hear a peep before the Xu family was raided was something they had to pay attention to.
Ping Shi nodded and wondered, "Mother, are you saying that Prefect Tan really asked General Yun to help him raid the Xu family? Why do I feel that something is wrong?" But she couldn't say what was wrong.
Madam Zhao asked her, "Do you think Prefect Tan is so capable of mobilising Yun Qing?" Although it was said that the status of military officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty was inferior to that of civilian officials, it was when they were at the same level. This was not the case with Yun Qing and Prefect Tan. Yun Qing was an upper second-rank great general, while Prefect Tan was only an upper four-rank official. It was normal for Yun Qing to ask Prefect Tan to assist him with his errand, but it was not normal for Prefect Tan to mobilise Yun Qing.
Ping Shi understood immediately. "What Mom means Yun Qing was the one who raided the Xu family for committing treason by collaborating with the enemy, and Prefect Tan only helped him? But why would he listen to Yun Qing like that?"
Madam Zhao said, "I'm not sure at the moment, but I think that Yun Qing must have some lever on Prefect Tan; otherwise, he wouldn't be so obedient." The relationship between Prefect Tan and the Han family was unclear to the Zhao family at this time. Not only was it not clear to the Zhao family, but it was the same for the Xu family, either. Otherwise, it was impossible for the Xu family not to be suspicious of Prefect Tan.
Footnotes Full List
- government office in feudal China
- Chinese idiom: to scoop up the whole lot / capture them all in one go
- Chinese idiom: enriching oneself
- Chinese idiom: as long as you behave honourably, you don't have to worry about what people think
- da: eldest, nainai: a young mistress of a family
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi