Yuxi starts healing herself with medicated bath; Uncle Huo thought Yuxi tried to use trick to not let Zaozao trains martial arts with him
Yuxi couldn't sleep again that night. She couldn't stop thinking that things would be much easier if her momo were here to help nurse her back to health. However, it wasn't appropriate to send someone to fetch her yet, given that the situation in the northwest hadn't been resolved.
Yuxi got up from bed and groped around for a while before finally finding a small booklet. Without even looking through it, she flipped directly to page twelve. After glancing at it, she called for Gancao to bring her some paper and a writing brush.
Having listed down all the medicinal ingredients, Yuxi handed the paper to Gancao and instructed, "Give this to Guard Xu and have him purchase everything on this list."
When Xu Wu received the list and saw the medicinal ingredients on it, he quickly asked, "Is Madam feeling unwell?" If Zaozao or Liu-er were unwell, they should call Physician Bai right away instead of Madam writing a prescription. Besides, this prescription was strange—not only did it include many ingredients, but the quantities were unusually large, too.
Gancao shook her head and replied, "Madam is perfectly fine, Xu Daren1. She said she needs these things for tomorrow morning."
Xu Wu didn't ask any further questions. "I'll deliver the medicine first thing in the morning."
Yuxi's list included more than thirty medicinal ingredients, and the required amounts were substantial. They almost cleaned out the pharmacies in Yu City.
Half past haishi2, Gancao was pacing back and forth outside. The night before, Yuxi had instructed her to wake her at this time. Gancao wanted to let Yuxi sleep longer, but she was also afraid of being blamed by her.
After a short internal struggle, she finally stepped inside, walked to the bed, and called softly, "Madam, it's past the halfway point of haishi..." She started to whisper, but her voice then grew louder and louder. As a result, she didn't wake Yuxi but accidentally woke Zaozao instead.
Zaozao was so frustrated at being forcefully woken up that she angrily wailed. "Waaah..." Her earth-shattering wails, however, had successfully woken up Yuxi.
After waking up, Yuxi smiled and took Zaozao from Old Woman Yu's arms. She soothed the child, kissed her, and then returned her to Old Woman Yu. Afterwards, she bundled herself up tightly and headed to the pharmacy.
After inspecting the necessary medicines, she carefully selected several high-grade herbs and added them to the mix. Once the mix was done, Yuxi told Gancao, "Take these and soak them."
Gancao took the large bundle of herbs and asked, "Madam, when should I take them out?"
Yuxi replied, "In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea🔗…" but before she could finish, she heard Zaozao crying and rushed back into the room.
Zaozao had bumped her head on the corner of the table, causing a lump to appear on her forehead. Yuxi shot a glance at Old Woman Yu and said, "You may withdraw. I'll handle this."
After soothing Zaozao and applying medicine to her injury, Yuxi didn't return the child to Old Woman Yu this time. Last time, Old Woman Yu failed to discover Zaozao's fever in time, and now Zaozao had bumped her head. Yuxi was already considering replacing her.
From the time she discovered her pregnancy until now, Yuxi hadn't practised the Five Animal Frolics for over half a year. When she picked it up again, her body felt incredibly stiff. After just five minutes, she already felt slightly dizzy. It was essential to do things within one's capabilities, and since her body couldn't endure it, she naturally couldn't continue.
Zaozao sat on the chair, eyes wide open, utterly transfixed as she watched Yuxi practise the Five Animal Frolics. When Yuxi stopped, Zaozao hurriedly shouted, "Mom, move, move…" and she even waved her little hands.
Yuxi couldn't help but laugh. Zaozao was so excited watching her practise the Five Animal Frolics—it seemed this girl had a talent for it. "Don't rush, Zaozao. Mom will rest a bit before continuing."
After resting, Yuxi continued practising in intervals and managed to complete three full sets. However, halfway through the fourth set, she reached her limit and knew she couldn't push herself further. After finishing the final movement, her legs gave way, and she plopped onto the floor.
Gancao quickly helped Yuxi onto a chair and wiped her face with a towel. As she did so, she said with lingering fear, "Madam, please don't practise anymore—it's too hard on you."
Yuxi shook her head. "I must practise every day from now on." From now on, she would have to stick to exercising morning and evening — only then could she recover more quickly.
After resting for a while, her body regained some strength. Yuxi wrapped herself tightly in a thick cloak and returned to her bedroom. Without changing her clothes, she asked Mama Bai to bring up breakfast.
After eating, she began feeding Zaozao. Zaozao had a great appetite and needed no encouragement to eat. However, she shared Yun Qing's bad habit of disliking vegetables and only wanting meat. She honestly couldn't live without meat. Unlike Yun Qing, Zaozao wouldn't tolerate being forced to eat - she'd protest at the top of her lungs with full-throated wails. Left with no other choice, they had to blend the vegetables into juice for her to drink.
After a while, Mama Qu came to tell Yuxi that the medicinal bath was ready. The bathing room had underfloor heating, and once a large bucket of hot water had been poured in, the room became stiflingly hot.
Yuxi gritted her teeth as she lowered herself into the tub, clad only in her underclothes — the medicinal bath was truly a form of torment. And that was just the beginning. Within minutes of sitting in the tub, sweat began to bead on her forehead, prompting her to say, "Bring me a towel." This towel wasn't for wiping; it was for her to bite down on.
Yuxi hadn't taken medicinal baths during her postpartum period, only medicated meals, as this formula was not as pleasant as legends claimed. The booklet said the first bath was particularly painful—almost like torture. In poor health herself, Yuxi worried she wouldn't be able to withstand this kind of pain. But now, in order to recover sooner, she no longer cared. At worst, she might faint—there were no other side effects.
Sweat streamed down her forehead like pearls from a broken string. Yuxi bit down hard on the towel and gripped the rim of the wooden tub tightly. The veins on her forehead and hands stood out starkly.
When Mama Qu saw Yuxi in so much pain, she couldn't help but cry. Wiping her tears away, Mama Qu pleaded, "Madam, please don't do this again. Your body won't be able to bear it."
Yuxi shook her head. She had to persevere—she mustn't faint. The first medicinal bath had the strongest effect; the later ones were never as effective. If she fainted halfway through, she wouldn't reap the full benefits. Gritting her teeth, Yuxi held on until the time was up, and then she passed out.
Mama Qu used all her strength to lift Yuxi out of the tub and dress her. Only then did she call Hongqi and Hongdou into the room for assistance.
Seeing how terrifyingly pale Yuxi was, Hongqi asked with concern, "Mama Qu, shouldn't we call a physician for Madam?"
Mama Qu shook her head. "It's nothing—Madam is just exhausted. A good sleep will fix it." She hadn't expected the bath to be so intense. Had she known, she would have stopped Madam from soaking in it.🦊
Although Hongqi wasn't as strong as Zijin, picking up Yuxi was still easy for her. However, once she had done so, keeping the incident a secret was no longer possible.
Upon receiving the news, Xu Wu hurried over to the back courtyard with Physician Bai and asked Mama Qu, "Why didn't you call Physician Bai to check on Madam after she fainted?"
Shaking her head, Mama Qu explained, "Madam just had a soak in a medicinal bath. The effects were so strong that she fainted." The medicinal bath was supposed to last for half an hour. For Yuxi to make it to the end, her willpower had to be incredibly strong—even Mama Qu, who was just an onlooker, had been scared out of her wits.
Xu Wu remembered the medicines he had bought the previous night and had a good idea of what was going on. "Just let Physician Bai take a look at her."
Mama Qu didn't object and led Physician Bai into the room.
After taking her pulse, Physician Bai spoke with visible delight. "A lot of the harmful energy in Madam's body has been cleared. What kind of medicinal bath did she take to achieve such amazing results?"
Mama Qu shook her head. "I don't know about that." She guessed that the formula probably came from Momo Quan for her Madam.
Physician Bai thought of waiting until Yuxi woke up to ask her. However, he figured she probably wouldn't tell him, as such formulas usually weren't shared with outsiders.
Mama Qu reminded, "Guard Xu, please keep the people in the outer courtyard in check and don't let them spread nonsense. Otherwise, Madam will face a lot of trouble in the future." If it weren't for Mama Lan's renowned reputation, why would Chen Shi keep pestering their Madam? If she found out about the amazing effect of the bath, she'd definitely come begging Madam again. But this time was different—even Madam could barely endure the strength of the medicine. With Chen Shi's frail body, she would probably die in the tub. So, this incident absolutely must not be leaked.
Xu Wu assured her, "Don't worry. I won't let this leak out." Still feeling uneasy, he asked, "Is Madam really all right?"
Physician Bai replied, "Madam is too physically weak. She fainted because she couldn't bear the pain. Once she has rested, she will be fine."
When Huo Changqing heard about this, he exclaimed, "She's clearly dead set against Zaozao training in martial arts with me!" Yesterday, they were discussing training Zaozao in martial arts, and today, she had already started taking medicinal baths, even fainting from them. She was really going all out!
Xu Wu wasn't foolish; he naturally understood the meaning behind Huo Changqing's words. "Yifu4, Madam isn't the kind of person to joke with her life. I think there may be more to this story."
Huo Changqing responded, "Whether there's more to it or not, Zaozao's training is not up for debate." As long as Yun Qing agreed, Zaozao could still train with him. He just didn't want to cause marital strife, which was why he spoke to Han Shi first.
Yuxi slept until late noon. After getting up and eating, she freshened up and went to the front courtyard to see Huo Changqing.
Huo Changqing said, "Even if you don't want Zaozao to train with me, there's no need to stake your life on it, is there?" If something happened to Han Shi, he would be the one to blame.
Yuxi replied impassively, "I prepared the medicinal bath myself — how could it possibly k!ll me?" The edge in her voice was unmistakable.
Huo Changqing let out an 'oh' and asked, "Then why did you come to see me for?"
Yuxi replied, "It's not impossible for Zaozao to train with you. But I have three conditions. As long as you agree, I'll let her do it." Since she was making a sacrifice, she had to get the most out of it.
Huo Changqing responded, "Speak. As long as it's within my ability, I'll agree." Even if he couldn't, he would try his best.
Footnotes Full List
- 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors
- 亥时 hàishí: 9-11 pm (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times).
- Well, aren't you one of the people who has been 'pressuring' her? If not, she would have nursed her body in the normal way.
- 义父 yìfù: adoptive father
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