ROHYX Chapter 664 : Pleasantly Surprised

Yun Qing returned to Yu City in the middle of the night. Instead of going home, he went straight to the military camp to find Chu Shaoguang...

Yun Qing returned to Yu City in the middle of the night. Instead of going home, he went straight to the military camp to find Chu Shaoguang and get an update on the battlefield.

Chu Shaoguang had just returned from the battlefield. Wiping the blood from his face, he reported, "General, we now have fewer than ten thousand men left. Holding out for eight days has already pushed us to our limit."

Yun Qing responded, "I've brought thirty thousand men with me, and another forty thousand are on the way. They'll arrive in three days." However, these thirty thousand men he had brought with him were newly conscripted recruits, not the forty thousand he had left behind in Haocheng. Nevertheless, these thirty thousand were enough to hold out for three days.

Chu Shaoguang finally felt relieved the moment he saw Yun Qing. With the General back, Yu City was sure to be safe.

Yun Qing patted Chu Shaoguang on the shoulder. "You've worked hard these past few days. Rest here for a while."

Chu Shaoguang hadn't closed his eyes for four days and nights. Now that Yun Qing had returned, his worries disappeared. Without even taking off his clothes, he collapsed onto the wooden floorboards and fell asleep. It was his personal guard who covered him with a blanket.

When dawn came, Yun Qing donned his armour and went out onto the battlefield himself. The moment he appeared, all the soldiers on the city wall shouted, "The Great General is back! The Great General has returned..." With Yun Qing's return, it was as though the backbone of their hearts¹ had come back. And with him bringing reinforcements, the troops were like people injected with a powerful stimulant², and their morale instantly soared.

Yuxi only learned of Yun Qing's return after she had finished breakfast. "Why did no one inform me that the General had returned?"

Gancao replied cautiously, "Madam, the Great General returned at midnight. But, he did not come back to the residence; he went straight to the military camp."

Lying in bed, Yuxi softly said, "Go and call Xu Wu here." Her body was so frail that even the slightest breeze was enough to make her catch a chill.

Xu Wu was very busy at that moment, but when he heard that Yuxi wanted to see him, he immediately set aside his work. "Madam, the Great General returned last night during the second watch³. He brought thirty thousand men, with another forty thousand still on the way." After saying this, he added, "Madam, please focus on recovering from your illness! Now that the General is back, Yu City will surely be safe." Xu Wu still had great confidence in Yun Qing.

Yuxi gave a slight 'mm' in acknowledgement and said, "I understand. Go on with your work!" With so many matters to attend to inside and outside the residence right now, she couldn't be of any help anyway.

Momo Quan came over and felt Yuxi's forehead. "Thankfully, there's no fever. If there were, it would be much more troublesome."

Yuxi asked, "Momo, how are Zaozao and Liu-er? Are they well?" She hadn't dared to see them for the past two days for fear of passing her illness on to her two children.

Momo Quan replied, "Liu-er has a slight cough, but it's nothing serious. Mama Lan is already taking care of it." She hadn't hidden Liu-er's illness from Yuxi just because Yuxi herself was sick.

Yuxi felt a little guilty as she lamented, "I'm such an incompetent mother."

Although Momo Quan did not blame Yuxi, she still reprimanded her, "A foot has its strengths, an inch has its uses⁴. To use your shortcomings to deny your whole self is the most foolish thing to do."

Yuxi was momentarily stunned by this sudden, blunt reprimand.

Momo Quan said, "Take care of your health. In the future, do your utmost to bring blessings to the soldiers of Yu City and the ordinary people of the Northwest. That is true virtue. You are not skilled at warfare. Your regret and sorrow only cause unnecessary worry."

Mama Bai brought over the medicinal meal prepared by Momo Quan. For the past two days, Yuxi had only eaten medicinal food and not taken medicine. After eating it, she went back to sleep.

Watching Yuxi sleep so soundly, Mama Bai asked, "Is it really all right for Madam to go on like this?" Over the past few days, Madam had done nothing but eat and then sleep, sleep and then eat, which worried Mama Bai.

Momo Quan replied, "Now that the General has returned, I won't add calming herbs to her meal this afternoon." She was worried that the incident from that day might have lingering effects on Yuxi, which is why she had added calming herbs to her medicinal diet. As a result, Yuxi had been sleeping almost constantly these past few days. However, the effect was obvious — her complexion looked much better than before.

Hearing this, Mama Bai's face lit up with joy. She said, "Yes! Now that the General is back, we don't have to live in fear anymore." They were all aware of the fighting outside. They had been living in constant anxiety, not daring to sleep deeply for fear that the Northern Barbarians might break through the city walls and reach their doorstep. If they slept too heavily, they wouldn't be able to flee in time.

Momo Quan thought about everything that Yuxi had been through recently. "Everything just came crashing down on her all at once. An ordinary person would have collapsed long ago." First, her own brother had caused her to have a difficult labour, which almost cost both mother and child their lives. Afterwards, the baby turned out to be frail and weak. Then her husband led a rebellion and marched off to war, and now, the Northern Barbarians had attacked the city. Even one of these ordeals would have been unbearable for most women, let alone all of them together.

Mama Bai, who understood from her own experience, said, "Exactly. Everything has come crashing down on Madam alone— even an iron man couldn't endure it. For her to hold on until the General returned is truly remarkable." If it had been her, she wouldn't have lasted. Had Mama Fang not taken her in back then, she would have chosen to end her own life.

Yuxi slept until noon before waking up. The moment she opened her eyes, she asked, "What's the situation outside now?"

Gancao had also been keeping a constant watch on the situation outside, so she could answer whenever Yuxi asked. "Don't worry, Madam. With the General's return, morale has soared, and the Northern Barbarians have already been repelled several times."

Yuxi instructed, "Help me up; let's walk in the yard." In the past, when she caught a chill, she'd recover in two or three days without medicine. But not this time — four days had passed, and she still wasn't fully recovered.

Before she even stepped outside, Momo Quan brought her another bowl of medicinal food and said, "Have this first, then I'll walk with you a bit."

Yuxi took the bowl and gratefully expressed, "Thank you, Momo! Otherwise, I don't know what state I'd be in!" The medicinal meals she made herself were not only unpalatable but also less effective than Momo Quan's. After all, Momo Quan's decades of experience were not in vain.

Momo Quan smiled. "I'll be happy if you get well sooner and spare me the worry." It pained her greatly to see Yuxi looking so frail. These years since coming to the Northwest had truly been hard on Yuxi.

After finishing the medicinal food, Yuxi went out into the yard, supported by Hongdou. At that moment, Zeng Shi appeared, carrying little Zaozao.

Yuxi quickly waved her hand. "Take the child inside at once—if my illness passes to her, it won't be good." She still hadn't fully recovered and couldn't risk infecting Zaozao.

After saying this, Yuxi turned to Zaozao and said, "Good girl, Mom isn't feeling well and can't play with you right now. Once I'm better in a few days, I'll play with you then, alright?"

Zaozao, being very sensible, replied, "All right."

Zheng Shi felt a bit uneasy as she spoke, "Madam, since you are so far away, you won't pass on the illness." On the one hand, Madam seemed to care deeply for the children, yet she would leave them behind at the residence to attend to matters outside. On the other hand, if she didn't care, why would she worry about passing her illness on to them by seeing them?

Yuxi firmly refused. "No, we can't risk even the slightest chance." Zaozao would be fine—her body was strong, and a couple of doses of medicine would cure her if she caught the illness. But if Liu-er were infected, it could very well take her life. Yuxi dared not take that risk.

Seeing that Momo Quan didn't object, Zeng Shi carried Zaozao inside. Before going in, Zaozao looked at Yuxi and said, "Mom, better, play with me..." meaning, 'When you're better, you must play with me'.

Yuxi nodded. "Mm, when Mom is well, I'll play with you and your sister." Her daughter was so thoughtful that her heart ached sourly⁵.

Momo Quan smiled and said, "Yuxi, your blessings are yet to come. Zaozao is so well-behaved that I'm sure Liu-er and any future children will be too." If the eldest daughter set a good example, her younger siblings would certainly follow suit.

Yuxi smiled and responded, "Then I'll borrow Momo's auspicious words⁶."

As they were speaking, Xu Wu came over carrying a small box. Seeing Yuxi, he informed her, "Madam, the General asked me to deliver this to you."

That 'small box' wasn't actually that small—it could even hold an infant! Yet Xu Wu carried it with ease, without the slightest strain. Yuxi asked curiously, "What's inside?" If it were filled with gold and silver jewellery, Xu Wu wouldn't be carrying it so lightly.

Xu Wu shook his head. "I don't know." How could he open and peek at something sent by the General for Madam?

Yuxi grew interested and instructed him, "Bring it inside and let's open it." She was eager to see the treasure that Yun Qing had sent to her.

Opening the chest, they saw a jade box placed in the centre, cushioned on all sides by thick satin. Yuxi laughed, asking, "What kind of treasure needs to be stored in a jade box?"

When she opened the jade box, Yuxi was instantly stunned. Inside was a lump of something she had never seen before. It was pale yellow in colour, dotted with irregular speckles and covered in vein-like protrusions. Through a broken spot, she could see that the inside of the Taisui📹

, which was white and fleshy, resembling fat with fibrous striations.

Xu Wu was dumbfounded, too. "What on earth did the General send? This thing looks downright eerie." This General was something else, treating it like a rare treasure. After all this, sending such a strange thing would surely upset Madam again.

After examining it carefully, Yuxi opened her mouth several times before finally managing to stammer out, "This... this treasure, where did it come from?" She had never imagined she would see such a thing in her lifetime. This was truly a huge surprise!

When Xu Wu heard Yuxi call it a treasure, he knew she had recognised it. He shook his head. "I don't know either. When Gao Song handed it to me, he said it was extremely precious and must be delivered to Madam in person. Madam, what is this thing?" It wasn't a small matter for Madam to call it a treasure.

When he heard the words Taisui, Xu Wu's legs nearly gave out. "Tai... Tai... Taisui..." He couldn't even get his words out clearly.

However, Xu Wu's mental composure was fairly good; he quickly steadied himself and looked at Yuxi as he asked, "Madam, is this really Taisui? You're not joking with me, are you?"

Yuxi examined it carefully and responded, "It should be right, it looks exactly the same as what's described in the books." After speaking, she recalled a passage in the Shennong Bencaojing🔗: "The fleshly lingzhi mushroom is non-toxic and nourishing to the centre. It replenishes vital essence and energy, enhances wisdom and cures obstructions in the chest. If taken over time, it lightens the body and prevents ageing."

Xu Wu exclaimed in surprise, "Madam, didn't you just say this was the Taisui? How did it suddenly become a fleshly lingzhi?"

Yuxi smiled as she explained, "Taisui is the folk name for it, while ‘fleshy lingzhi' is the term used by physicians. Back in the day, the First Emperor of Qin searched for it tirelessly, as it was said that eating it could grant immortality!" Yuxi was in excellent spirits now. Of course, living forever was impossible, but it was true that this mushroom was certainly good for one's health. Since her body was so weak at the moment, she would surely recover quickly with this treasure.

Footnotes Full List

1. "主心骨(zhǔxīngǔ)," means the main pillar of support
2. "仿若打了强心针 (fǎngruò dǎ le qiángxīnzhēn)," metaphor meaning "suddenly revitalised"
3. 二更 èr gēng: 9 PM to 11 PM
4. "尺有所长,寸有所短 (chǐ yǒusuǒcháng , cùn yǒusuǒ duǎn)," an idiom meaning everyone has strengths and weaknesses
5. 心里酸得厉害 (xīnlǐ suān dé lìhài) → literally "her heart felt very sour." It's a metaphor for feeling deeply moved, saddened, or bittersweet with emotion.
6. 借吉言 (jiè jí yán) → literally "borrow auspicious words." A polite idiom meaning thank you for your good wishes, may they come true.

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