The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0561 The Wife Of Bandit Leader (1)

The beginning of the ninth month was the hottest time of the year.

Yuxi felt so hot that she moved to a house next to the vegetable garden, which was much cooler than the main courtyard. She even brought Zaozao along with her.

Zijin brought Yuxi a plate of sliced watermelon and said, ”Madam, this has just been taken out of the well. Have a piece to cool yourself down.” Not only Yuxi, but even she couldnʼt stand the weather now.

Yuxi did not dare to eat the ice-cold watermelon, but she could eat a little bit of the watermelon placed in the well water. After eating two pieces, Yuxi looked longingly at the remaining watermelons on the plate and said, ”Take them away!” If she had them in front of her, she would not be able to resist eating two more. Watermelon was a cold food, overeating it would cause diarrhoea.

Zijin could see the craving in Yuxiʼs eyes and smiled inwardly, but she didnʼt challenge Yuxiʼs will and immediately asked Shiliu to take the watermelon away.

Yuxi asked, ”Have they been sent to the front courtyard as well?” One of the perks of Yun Qing working from home was that he could have whatever Yuxi had. If he were in the barracks, there would be nothing for him to eat.

Zijin smiled. ”How could the General be forgotten?” Madam took care of everything about the Generalʼs food, clothing, housing, and transportation.

As they were talking, Gancao came in from outside and said, ”Madam, Er Nainai Zhao is here and waiting outside.”

Yuxi smiled. ”Please invite Er Nainai Zhao in.” There were rules and regulations for things outside, and she only needed to grasp the general direction and didnʼt need to ask about everything. Now that she was pregnant and hadnʼt been able to read for a long time, it was also quite lovely to have Er Nainai Zhao come over for a chat.

Er Nainai Zhao brought her daughter Ziyao in. Some time ago, she had asked Yuxi for a copybook of plum blossom calligraphy for Ziyao to practise. Yuxi thought it was a trivial matter, so she agreed.

Ziyao handed Yuxi a large character she had written with both hands. Madam Zhao smiled and said, ”Yuxi, this child has just started learning. She doesnʼt write well, so you can give her more guidance.” She didnʼt expect her daughter to become a talented woman; she just hoped that her daughter could learn something useful from Yuxi.

Yuxi looked at the character and made no comment. Instead, she ordered Gancao to fetch a writing brush and ink from the study. Then she asked Gancao to spread a white paper on the table and told Ziyao, ”Write a character for me to see first.” When practising calligraphy, one had to pay attention to details.

Ziyao didnʼt understand and looked at Er Nainai Zhao. When she saw her nod, she sat down at the table. Then, she took the writing brush and wrote a big character for ʼpersonʼ.

Yuxi stood up and walked forward. She didnʼt sit down but stood while she wrote. When she finished, she said, ”When you write, your back must be straight, your body and head shouldnʼt be tilted, and your eyes should be about a foot away from the desk. When you hold your brush, it should be straight. The tip of your nose should point forward, not tilted inward...”

Ziyao was utterly overwhelmed. After listening, she glanced at Yuxi, then at Er Nainai Zhao, and stammered, ”I canʼt remember all that.” There were so many rules—how could she possibly remember them?

It wasnʼt just Ziyao who couldnʼt remember; Er Nainai Zhao couldnʼt either. Smiling, Er Nainai Zhao said, ”Yuxi, could you write down all these requirements so she can go over them later?” Er Nainai Zhao wasnʼt foolish either; she wanted Yuxi to teach her daughter hands-on. But not to mention that Yuxi didnʼt have the time, and even if she did, she wouldnʼt be in the mood to do so.

Yuxi smiled and nodded, ”Once Iʼve written down all the key points for practising calligraphy, Iʼll send them to you.” At that moment, Yuxi wasnʼt in the mood to write these things down.

Er Nainai Zhao had no objections. ”Yuxi, I also want Ziyao to learn music. What do you think would be the best instrument?”

Yuxi couldnʼt help laughing and shook her head, ”Donʼt ask me about that. I donʼt know much about music.” Seeing Er Nainai Zhaoʼs confused face, she added, ”I learned an instrument once, but I didnʼt have any talent for it, so I gave it up later.” It wasnʼt that she had no talent—she just thought learning music was a complete waste of time and had no interest in it, so how could she excel?

Er Nainai Zhao felt a little embarrassed. ”I was being presumptuous.”

Yuxi didnʼt mind. ”Itʼs nothing. Not everyone is like my San Jie, who can master everything she learns. For ordinary people, mastering just one or two things is already quite impressive.” In the Northwest, she was also considered a talented woman. At Duke Han Residence back then, however, she had always been overshadowed by Yuchen. But Yuchen was no ordinary person, so Yuxi didnʼt want to worry herself about it.

Er Nainai Zhao said with interest, ”I have heard that the Third Young Miss Han is famous for her beauty and has been called the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Yuxi had heard of this title for a long time. Smiling, she responded, ”My San Jie not only has a beauty that can topple a kingdom, but she is also skilled in the four arts and proficient in all forms of poetry and literature. Sheʼs even excellent at brewing tea and blending fragrances. You think my calligraphy and chess skills are good, but compared to her, Iʼm like a beginner.” Feeling that this was too vague to show the vast difference, Yuxi gave a more relatable example: ”Take calligraphy and painting, for example. If my San Jieʼs works were sold, each piece would fetch at least a thousand taels of silver. If I sold one of mine, it probably wouldnʼt even go for ten taels.” Letʼs not even talk about her previous life; just in this life, Yuchenʼs artworks could easily fetch a thousand taels each.

Er Nainai Zhao was stunned. ”A painting could sell for a thousand taels?” The income from the land and shops in her dowry only amounted to a little over two thousand taels a year. Her annual income was only enough to buy two of Yuchenʼs paintings at that price.

Yuxi smiled, ”Thatʼs the market price. In reality, you canʼt even buy her paintings even for a thousand taels of silver.” Yuchen wasnʼt short of money, so why should she sell her paintings? The result was a situation where the paintings were highly valued but unavailable for purchase.

Er Nainai Zhao wondered, ”How on earth does your Duke Han Residence raise their children? Iʼm so envious!” One by one, they seem to overshadow everyone else. In truth, Er Nainai Zhao was saying this because she wanted to learn and use their methods to teach her child, Ziyao.

Yuxi shook her head. ”Thereʼs really nothing to be envious about.” She then briefly described her and Yuchenʼs educational experiences. When she finished, she asked, ”Do you still feel envious?” In those days, it was all about studying; no time for fun.

After listening, Er Nainai Zhao also felt that learning so much at such a young age was very hard. However, she still thought it was worth it. Er Nainai Zhao said, ”You have to put in the effort to get the rewards. Itʼs a pity that Yu City doesnʼt have a renowned teacher like Teacher Song.” If Jing Wangfei and Yuxi hadnʼt met such a good teacher as Teacher Song, they wouldnʼt have achieved what they have now.

Yuxi smiled. ”Iʼve gone through that hardship myself, and I donʼt want Zaozao to suffer the same. In the future, she can study if she wants to, but I wonʼt force her if she doesnʼt.” Back then, Yuxi had no choice, but Zaozao had her and Yun Qing, so she didnʼt need to work that hard.

Er Nainai Zhao had Ziyaoʼs wet nurse take her away, then turned to Yuxi and started gossiping, saying, ”Yuxi, do you know? Fu Tianleiʼs concubine is also pregnant and has been for over a month. When Old General Fu found out, he immediately sent her to another estate.” Fu Tianlei may have been blinded by love, but Old General Fu was clear-headed. If the concubine had stayed at the Fu residence, the child would not have survived.

Yuxi shook her head.

Er Nainai Zhao smirked as she said, ”Back when Fu Tianlei married Chen Shi, he vowed to be with her solely for the rest of their lives. Now, it seems like nothing but a joke. Thatʼs why you canʼt trust a manʼs words; even a mother pig could climb a tree.”

Sensing something wrong in Er Nainai Zhaoʼs tone, Yuxi asked, ”Whatʼs wrong? Has Zhao Hao done anything wrong to you?” Since the two of them were close, they could speak without much restraint.

Er Nainai Zhao replied, ”Right or wrong, men are all the same, arenʼt they? But before I give birth to a son, those foxy women must not have any children.” Er Nainai Zhao had this confidence because of her strong birth family, plus her mother-in-law, Madam Zhao, was an understanding person.

Yuxi nodded. ”If thereʼs an eldest son from a concubine, many things will become entangled. So you should not give in under any circumstances.”

Er Nainai Zhao wasnʼt foolish; this wasnʼt just about her, it was also about her childrenʼs interests, so of course, she wouldnʼt back down. Moving on from the unpleasant topic, Er Nainai Zhao told Yuxi, ”By the way, I heard a rumour a few days ago, but Iʼm unsure if itʼs true. Itʼs said that Fu Qingluo was kidnapped by bandits and forced to become the wife of a bandit chief.”

Yuxiʼs eyes widened, and she asked, ”Where did you hear that?” Whether it was true or not was still uncertain. If it were, Old General Fu would have spat blood if his daughter was kidnapped by bandits and made into their leaderʼs wife.

Er Nainai Zhao said evasively, ”Iʼve heard it from others, but I donʼt know if itʼs true.” In fact, this information was given to her directly by Madam Zhao. However, even Madam Zhao mentioned it as a rumour without providing a definite answer.

Yuxi shook her head. ”Since itʼs just a rumour, itʼs probably false.” In reality, Yuxi understood that such things usually werenʼt unfounded. If it were true, it would be pretty ironic—Fu Qingluo, who had always talked about going to the battlefield and becoming a famous female general, didnʼt end up as one but instead became the wife of a bandit leader. Of course, Yuxi hoped the news was false.

Er Nainai Zhao nodded, ”I hope itʼs false too.” In fact, she thought there was a good chance it was true. The reason was simple—her mother-in-law had told her about it. If it were just a rumour, her mother-in-law wouldnʼt have bothered to mention it.

After a pause, Er Nainai Zhao added: ”If it is true, the three girls from the Fu family will be in trouble.” With an aunt who became a bandit leader, how would these three girls get good marriage proposals in the future?

Yuxi thought Er Nainai Zhao was overthinking it. ”The children are still young, and itʼs too early to worry about marriage. Besides, itʼs not even true.” If Fu Qingluo had indeed become the wife of a bandit leader, it was because of Chen Shi. If Chen Shi hadnʼt used Fu Qingluo to get rid of a pregnant maid, none of the subsequent events would have happened. So, the real culprit was Chen Shi.

After talking about the Fu family, they discussed the affairs of other official wives in Yu City. But these stories were trivial compared to the excitement surrounding the Fu family. As the women chatted, they often lost track of time.

When Mama Qu entered to report that the food was ready, Yuxi realised they had been talking for over a shichen. She smiled and said, ”Have the dishes also brought to the front yard so the General can eat there.” Since it was mealtime, she invited Er Nainai Zhao to dine with her.

Er Nainai Zhao didnʼt refuse, and during the meal, she asked Ziyao to learn dining etiquette from Yuxi. Yuxi patiently guided her through each step.