The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 355 : Grief (2)Translated byきつねonJune 28, 2022

After knowing that Yuxi had fainted, Yun Qing immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed back. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard the sound of crying.

When Yun Qing entered the room, the first thing that caught his eyes was Yuxi’s red and swollen eyes. He was a bit distressed and went over to say, “People can’t come back from the dead. Moreover, Grandmother is already at the end of her life, so don’t be too sad.” No one knew better than him the grief of losing a loved one.

When Yuxi saw Yun Qing, she hugged him and cried loudly. While she sobbed as she questioned, “Why? I don’t understand what I did wrong. Why did Grandmother do this to me?”

Yun Qing helped Yuxi sit up and asked, “What’s going on?” This kind of topic was not what he thought it would be!

Zijin said, “In the Duke Han’s letter, it was said that the Great Old Lady had left behind her last words where she forbade Madam from observing mourning for her. When Madam found out about this, she immediately fainted from grief. After waking up, Madam kept on crying, and no one could console her.” The so-called fainting was actually Yuxi pretending to pass out. However, she could somewhat fool the physician since she was pretty familiar with meridians.

Yun Qing was baffled. “What do you mean you are not allowed to observe mourning for your Grandmother? What is this all about?” It had been the rule in ancient times that a married granddaughter would observe mourning for three months in the death of her grandparents. For Yuxi’s grandmother to leave such last words would only baffle those who heard it.

Zijin handed the letter written by Han Jianming to Yun Qing.

After reading the letter, Yun Qing’s expression turned livid. What did it mean to remove Yuxi from the clan for losing her innocence after being kidnapped by western barbarians? This happened a few months ago. He did not believe that the other party did not know the truth about it. But to leave such last words even after knowing the actual circumstances was purely disgusting.

Mama Qu winked at Zijin and then went out with the other two maids. Zijin then followed suit.

Zijin didn’t quite understand the current situation and asked, “Mama, why is Madam doing this? This matter has nothing to do with her. Why does Madam have to be this sad?” Other people were unclear about Yuxi’s life, but not Zijin. Her Miss had no affection for that old fart, but these fainting and crying acts left her a little confused. Miss, aren’t you being too engrossed in this play? Those who didn’t know would have believed that she was genuinely heartbroken!

Mama Qu replied, “Madam has her own intentions for doing so.” To turn this unfavourable situation around, one could only use the ruse of self-injury. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate for one to carry the reputation of being unfilial. If Guye had a knot in his heart, it would even be more troublesome.

Zijin still didn’t quite understand, but seeing Mama Qu didn’t have the intention to explain it to her, she stopped asking further questions. It was not that Mama Qu didn’t want to make it clear to Zijin. But after disclosing the plan to Zijin repeatedly and seeing that she still couldn’t get the hang of it, Mama Qu gave up, unwilling to waste any more of her time. Zijin’s primary duty was to protect the Madam’s safety anyway. It didn’t matter if she was oblivious to anything else.

Only when Yuxi had cried so much that she didn’t even have any tears left did Yun Qing open his mouth and ask, “Doesn’t Grandmother know that the one who was taken away was a double, not you?”

Yuxi cried until her voice was hoarse. “How could she not know? Dage would definitely tell her.” After a pause, she laughed bitterly. “In fact, I still don’t understand why they love Yuchen dearly like she is the apple of their eyes while they treated me as if I didn’t have equal status with their subordinates. Now that she has passed away and left such last words, how will outsiders look at me if this matter gets out?”

Yun Qing’s expression turned grave. “They? Who else are you referring to apart from the Great Old Lady?” The change of address from grandmother to the Great Old Lady was enough to show Yun Qing’s attitude on this issue.

Yuxi revealed a sad expression as she answered, “There is also my biological father, the Third Old Lord Han. I was originally a girl from the Third House before I was adopted into the Main House. You should know about this, right?”

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Yun Qing nodded. There was no way he didn’t know something this huge. Moreover, Yuxi was already old enough when she was adopted. At that time, he wondered about the reason for the adoption. Now, he was afraid there was an unimaginable secret behind it.

Yuxi grabbed Yun Qing’s arm as she continued. “When Qinxin Gongzhu released the rumour of me having a bad fate, the Third Old Lord forbade me from staying inside the residence. He was afraid that I would bring bad luck to our home. I had no choice but to leave the State Residence and depart to a hamlet.”

Yun Qing was dumbfounded. “Just because of a rumour, he kicked you out of your home?”

Yuxi looked miserable and said, “The hamlet he wanted to send me to was sparsely populated and far from the capital, which would take a month’s journey. Mother has always loved me, but at that time, I had not yet been adopted by the Main House. She had no choice but to accept the Third Old Lord’s decision to drive me out. However, with Mother’s intervention, I went to my own hamlet, which was closer to the capital, and right next to the official road. It only took me half a day’s journey from the capital.” After saying that, she told him about how she unintentionally rescued Chen Ran and the rumours that spread in the capital after that.

When Yuxi told Yun Qing the time Han Jingyan instructed his retainer to tie her up so he could send her far away, he coldly asked, “Yuxi, I remember that your San Shu is now a lower third rank official?” How did such a person climb to his current position by not trusting his biological daughter and would instead believe an unfounded rumour?

How could Yuxi not understand the meaning behind Yun Qing’s words? She let out a bitter smile as she responded, “He is a second rank jinshi. He still has his personal ability, and he did all this just because he loathed me. In fact, I don’t understand why he hates me so much. While stationed in Hebei, he would send Yuchen gifts separately every year, while none for me, as if I was not his daughter. Later, when he returned to the capital, my stepmother found me to be an eyesore. He and she treated me like someone who blew wind past their ear. He always chastised me without asking why, and once in the winter, he punished me by forcing me to stay outside in the corridor on a cold day. Because of the chill wind, I had a high fever and nearly lost my life. Even at that critical moment, he did not even show his face. Slowly, my heart turned cold.” It was okay if she didn’t have to return to the capital. However, if she wished to go back there, they would have to face this situation sooner or later. Instead of revealing these things in the future, it would be better to take this opportunity to put everything out, including the tray. In this way, no matter what the outside rumours were, Yun Qing would always lean toward her. [+]

Yun Qing had this one thought: Was this person really her biological father? Was there even such a father in this world? Even a stepfather wouldn’t act this way, okay?

Yuxi whispered, “I truly have no idea why the Third Old Lord dislikes me so much. But I do know why Grandmother hated me.”

Yun Qing subconsciously asked, “What’s the reason?”

Yuxi told him the story of when she suffered from smallpox. “My San Ge was decorated with white powder and carved out of jade kind of person. He was brilliant. He could even memorise the Three Character Classic when he was only three years old. If he had survived, he would definitely obtain zhuangyuan. The smart and intelligent San Ge died. While I, the unpleasant one, survived without medical treatment. When I got better, she sent word that I was disallowed from visiting her to show my respects. Although she didn’t like me, she didn’t deliberately torment me. She just didn’t want to see me and told me to stay away from her.”

A flash of murderous look appeared in Yun Qing’s eyes. “You mean, when you suffered from smallpox, that old woman even called off the physician who treated you? And she just left you to die there?”

Yuxi nodded. “Maybe my Grandmother was right in saying I’d an obstinate life!” Many children had died because of smallpox that year, while she survived without a physician treating her. What else could her grandmother say other than her having an obstinate life?

Yun Qing sneered. “As expected of a mother and son.” One could watch her own granddaughter die, while the other one was unruffled by the fact that he was the one who almost led his own daughter to death. This pair of mother and son was really cold-blooded and heartless!

Yuxi’s tears came out again. “Husband, tell me, what have I done wrong? Why are they doing this to me?” After saying that, she clenched Yun Qing’s arm tightly and cried, “Do you think I really have a bad life? Otherwise, why would they do this to me?” She wasn’t pretending right now. She was genuinely weeping her heart out. It wasn’t like she didn’t suffer any pain while experiencing the bitterness of life. She merely forced herself to not think about it and just look forward to the rest of the time she had left in this world.

The feeling of anguish in Yun Qing was unparalleled as he wiped Yuxi’s tears away. “No, these people are just too cold-blooded and heartless.” As the saying goes, even a tiger did not eat its own cubs. While Han Jingyan acted much worse than a beast. As for Zhou Shi, he would rather not give any comment since he still had to honour the dead.

Yuxi looked up at Yun Qing. Her eyes were still hazy because of tears when she asked, “Really? Is it really not because of my bad fortune?” She was worried that Yun Qing had a knot in his heart, or else she wouldn’t have worked this hard. Ahem, she was too absorbed in her acting until her emotions exceeded her control.

Yun Qing still ached for her. “Don’t indulge yourself in flights of fancy.” Seeing Yuxi still looking worried, he shared a part of his life experience with her. “Do you know, a wandering Taoist priest once said I was the bane of others’ existence? After arresting and torturing him, I discovered that he had been incited to purposely spoil my reputation.”

Yuxi’s eyes flickered. There was even such a play? “Was that Taoist priest just an impersonator?”

Yun Qing shook his head. “No, he wasn’t. He was indeed a Taoist priest. But he was paid by the Song family to deliberately ruin my reputation.” The old bald donkey was not only a wandering Taoist priest but also a shameless, vile person who was good at sweet-talking.

Yuxi opened her mouth but only spoke after a while, “Husband is really amazing.” How could he not be amazing? If it were an ordinary person, a person would likely believe the Taoist monk’s words that he was the bane of others’ existence when he was left alone after the death of his whole family. He would even hate himself for it. Yun Qing, on the contrary, not only did not believe it but also used a violent method to clean up his name. Alas, suppose she had this ability too. In that case, she might have received an unexpected effect by arresting and punishing this kind of old bald donkey.

Yun Qing gently patted Yuxi’s back and comforted her, “Don’t let your imagination run wild anymore. Just think about it, although the Great Old Lady and Third Old Lord aren’t fond of you, there are still mother-in-law and two jiu xiong who love you very much.” It could only be said that Han Jingyan and Zhou Shi were too odd for ordinary people to understand their way of thinking.

Yuxi let out a sigh and said, “Mother, Dage, and Er Ge do love me very much. I probably wouldn’t have grown up if it weren’t for them.”

Yun Qing didn’t like to hear this kind of thing. “Don’t say such depressing words in the future.” What do you mean by you wouldn’t have grown up? Isn’t this the same as cursing yourself?

Yuxi nodded her head sincerely. “I couldn’t help it this time. I won’t speak like this again.” After saying that, she touched her stomach and said, “It’s not good for the child to hear it!”

After saying these words, Yuxi, tired from crying, finally fell asleep. Yun Qing gently put Yuxi onto the bed and covered her with the quilt. Since he did not dare to go away from her, he stood guard by the bed.