The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0598 The Ruse Of Self-injury

Yuxi slept soundly and didnʼt wake up until the evening. When she woke up this time, she felt slightly better than before, especially as the burning pain in her shoulder had eased.

Looking at Mama Qu, Yuxi requested, ”Please bring me some clean clothes to change into.” Her body felt sticky and uncomfortable. She would have loved to bathe if the circumstances werenʼt so inconvenient.

Mama Qu hesitated before responding, ”Madam, you have wounds on your body. Itʼs not good for you to move.” She worried that the wounds would reopen if Yuxi moved too much.

Yuxi shook her head. ”Please call Zijin.” The sticky discomfort was unbearable. Even if she couldnʼt bathe, she should at least be able to wipe herself.

When she saw Mama Qu was about to leave, Yuxi thought for a moment and added, ”Have someone inform the General that Iʼve woken up later.” She didnʼt want Yun Qing to drop everything he was doing and rush over to see her.

Mama Qu could only comply reluctantly and went to call Zijin first.

When Zijin arrived, she knelt by the bed as soon as she entered the room, saying, ”Madam, Iʼm sorry. Itʼs all my fault.” She blamed herself for being careless and causing Yuxi so much pain.

Yuxi sighed softly. Even though Zijin wasnʼt primarily responsible for this incident, she did bear some blame. Yuxi said, ”Weʼll talk about that later. For now, help me up so they can change the bedding.” Zijin was strong and steady, so she could do the job without causing her any additional pain.

Knowing that Yuxiʼs left shoulder blade was injured, Zijin climbed onto the bed and carefully lifted Yuxi from the inside out, slowly carrying her off the bed.

Mama Qu hurriedly changed all the bedding and brought clean undergarments for Yuxi to change into. However, when Yuxi mentioned wiping her body, Mama Qu firmly opposed it. ”Madam, your body is too weak to endure the cold right now. Please hold on a little longer! Wait until after the confinement period to take a bath.” Given the current situation, Yuxi would have to endure discomfort.

Yuxi thought wiping her body with boiling water shouldnʼt be an issue, but since Mama Qu was so insistent, she decided to compromise. ”Then just wipe my face and hands for now.” She would talk about this again in a couple of days. Right now, she didnʼt have the energy to argue with Mama Qu.

Hongqi brought in boiling water, and Mama Qu soaked a towel in the hot water and wrung it out before wiping Yuxiʼs face and hands. She then prepared another basin to wipe Yuxiʼs feet. By the time she was done, Mama Quʼs hands were red from the heat.

After having her face wiped, Yuxi felt much better. She only regretted not being able to wipe her whole body. ”Please bring me some food. Iʼm hungry,” she said. Sheʼd only had two bowls of porridge since waking up, and her stomach had long since begun to growl.

In her current state, Yuxi could only eat light and nourishing foods. For dinner, Mama Bai had prepared ginseng chicken soup. She had skimmed off the oil so it didnʼt appear greasy.

Yuxi ate a big bowl of the soup and then said, ”Please make tofu and fish porridge tomorrow!” She wasnʼt fond of chicken, and even though the oil had been removed, it still tasted a bit greasy to her.

Mama Qu was delighted to see Yuxiʼs appetite returning, ”All right, Iʼll have Mama Bai make tofu and fish porridge for you tomorrow.”

Feeling full and energised, Yuxi instructed, ”Please tell Mama Lan to bring Liu-er over.” She decided against calling Zaozao as her eldest daughter was too loud. A few shouts from Zaozao would make her head buzz, something she couldnʼt handle at the moment.

When Mama Lan arrived, Yuxi asked her many questions, some of which were repeated. Looking at her frail and underweight daughter, Yuxi couldnʼt help but worry that she might not survive.

Mama Lan, being a patient person, answered every question thoughtfully. Without patience, she wouldnʼt be able to care for a baby. After answering, she looked at the wrinkled little Liu-er lying next to Yuxi and said, ”The Second Young Miss is very well-behaved, Madam. Thereʼs no need to worry. I believe she will get better and better.” Today, Liu-er had eaten more milk than the first day. As long as she could eat and didnʼt get diarrhoea, there was hope for her survival.

Yuxi gently touched Liuʼerʼs wrinkled little face and said, ”Thatʼs good.” It was impossible not to feel sad. When Zaozao had her xisan🔗, she was chubby and fair. But this child hadnʼt grown out yet; she was still wrinkled and skinny. That was why they hadnʼt dared to hold a xisan🔗 ceremony for her—her body might not be able to withstand it, and she might catch a cold.

Seeing Yuxiʼs sadness, Mama Lan softly comforted her, ”Madam, after two months of good care, the Second Young Miss will be just like a full-term baby—plump and healthy.” If Liu-er werenʼt cared for properly, a premature baby like her could easily perish. However, Liuʼer was very cooperative; even though she would spit up milk, she never refused to be fed despite the discomfort.

As they were talking, Yun Qing walked in.

Yuxi asked softly, ”Have you eaten yet?” When Yun Qing shook his head, she quickly instructed Mama Qu to prepare a meal for him.

Seeing that Yuxiʼs spirits had improved since noon, Yun Qing felt less worried. ”Have you eaten?” he asked.

Yuxi smiled, ”I just had a big bowl of ginseng chicken soup. The ginseng my Mother gave me is almost gone.” She had used up almost all of the nearly 400-year-old ginseng. What a waste.

Yun Qing, not one for sweet words, simply said, ”Donʼt worry. Iʼll find even better ginseng for you in the future.”

Yuxi had only meant it as a joke to lighten the mood and didnʼt actually regret using the ginseng. It was a medicinal herb meant to save lives, not something to waste recklessly. Seeing Yun Qingʼs tired appearance, Yuxi said, ”This ginseng chicken soup is very nourishing. You should have a bowl later, okay?”

At this point, Yun Qing would agree to anything Yuxi said. ”All right, Iʼll have a big bowl later,” he said, then picked up Liu-er. The little girl was still asleep as her eyes remained closed.

Yuxi murmured, ”Even though this child hasnʼt grown up yet, judging by her facial features, she doesnʼt look like any of us! I wonder who she takes after. To be honest, it feels a bit unfair—Zaozao looks like you, and now Liu-er doesnʼt look like me either. All that suffering for nothing.”

Yun Qing didnʼt care too much about the childʼs appearance. His only wish was for Liu-er to grow up safe and sound. ”When she grows up, weʼll know who she takes after.”

Yuxi just wanted to keep the conversation light. Seeing Yun Qingʼs lack of enthusiasm, she dropped the subject. ”Go eat first. Weʼll talk later,” she said. She still had a lot to discuss with him.

When Yun Qing returned after dinner, Yuxi handed him a thick notebook. Flipping through it, Yun Qing recognised the familiar handwriting. ”What is this?” he asked.

Yuxi replied, ”Itʼs a collection of notes Iʼve made. Keep it with you, and look through it whenever you have time. It might come in handy.”

Yun Qing was not interested in looking at any notes at that moment. He closed the booklet and said, ”Alright, Iʼll take it with me.”

Seeing his reaction, Yuxi knew the chances of him actually reading the booklet were slim. ”As long as you gain peopleʼs trust and use the right people well, most problems can be avoided...”

Yun Qing interrupted her by saying, ”The most important thing for you right now is to recover. Donʼt worry about these things; Iʼll take care of them.” Although he disliked dealing with the tedious administration details, he would dedicate himself to handling them properly when the time came.

Yuxi smiled weakly, ”There are only three days left before your deployment. Iʼm sure there will be a lot to prepare, so you should focus on that. Iʼm fine here.”

Yun Qing shook his head. ”No matter how urgent it is, itʼs not so urgent that I canʼt spend this moment with you.” Once he led the troops out, it would be months before they could see each other again, so he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible over the next few days.

Yuxi didnʼt insist that he leave. She remembered something and asked, ”Herui, how is my Er Ge?” She blamed herself for part of the incident. She had placed too much trust in Han Jianye and overlooked his consistent weakness when it came to women. If she had been more cautious, this wouldnʼt have happened. Of course, that didnʼt absolve Han Jianye of blame. If he hadnʼt brought the assassin himself, Yuxi would never have met her in the first place.

After a moment of silence, Yun Qing replied, ”I sent someone to escort him back to the barracks this morning.” He previously had a decent impression of Han Jianye, but after this incident, all goodwill vanished.

Yuxi sighed, ”Herui, send someone to imprison my Er Ge in a cell for now. After a few days, transfer him to the residence.” Her decision to have Han Jianye jailed was to give the impression that they had severed their ties. The instruction to transfer him to the Yun Residence later was because Yuxi didnʼt trust the prisonʼs security and believed the Yun residence would be safer.

Yun Qing was surprised. ”Imprison him? For what?” He didnʼt think Yuxi would seek revenge on Han Jianye for the earlier events.

Yuxi explained, ”By imprisoning my Er Ge and spreading the word that he colluded with the female assassin to harm me, we can ensure that my Dage and Mother wonʼt be implicated. While itʼs said that a married daughter is like spilt water, if we rebel, the Han family will inevitably be dragged into it. Claiming that my Er Ge plotted against me would exonerate the Han family, spare my Mother and Dage from blame, and preserve the Han familyʼs centuries-old legacy. Of course, this has a cost—my Er Ge will suffer physical punishment and public scorn. But this time, I canʼt go easy on him. Mistakes come with consequences, and only by facing them will he learn. Otherwise, something like this might happen again.”

Yun Qing hadnʼt thought that far ahead, but after hearing her reasoning, he nodded, ”Alright.” He still had a good impression of Qiu Shi and Han Jianming.

Yuxi couldnʼt help but smile bitterly, ”I should have realised sooner that something was wrong in the capital, but I ignored the signs. My Mother didnʼt send any letters or gifts for three months, and when my Dage was promoted to Minister of War, no one even sent a congratulatory message. All these things indicated that something was off, but I overlooked it. I suspect my Dage had already realised that the Emperor harbours ill intentions toward me. But since he couldnʼt warn me directly, he could only use these subtle signals to warn me.”

Yun Qing tucked the blanket around Yuxi and advised, ”Donʼt overthink it. Rest for now. Iʼll take a bath and come back to talk to you.” He hadnʼt bathed for three days and knew his body smelled. If he climbed into bed smelling like that, Yuxi would probably find him unbearable.

きつねʼs Note

The ruse of self-injury is the 34th strategy in The Thirty-Six Stratagems.