At dusk, Yun Qing was discussing military affairs with Chu Shaoguang, Cui Mo, and the others when Gao Song lifted the curtain and entered, ...
At dusk, Yun Qing was discussing military affairs with Chu Shaoguang, Cui Mo, and the others when Gao Song lifted the curtain and entered, announcing, "General, General Fu's son is gone." As Fu Tianlei only had this one son, his loss must have been devastating.
Yun Qing recalled how Fu Tianlei's trusted aide had come to ask him something that morning, and an uneasy thought crossed his mind. Could the child have died from taking the fleshy lingzhi?
Seeing that Yun Qing remained silent, Gao Song stiffened his scalp1 and continued, "They said the child died after taking the elixir you sent." Gao Song felt that perhaps the child's fate simply wasn't blessed enough to bear such a powerful medicine.
Cui Mo and Chu Shaoguang exchanged glances — wasn't it supposed to be a life-saving elixir? How had it turned into a life-hastening poison instead?
Upon hearing this, Yu Cong said coldly, "The problem isn't with the medicine — Chen Shi brought this upon herself! Such a small child, and she dared to give him medicine without consulting a physician?" Even the best medicine must be used with care. From what he knew, when Madam took it herself, she only dared to steep a piece the size of a fingernail in water. Even then, she only drank the infusion, not the powder itself.
Yun Qing looked at Cui Mo and Chu Shaoguang and explained, "Children are young and fragile. Even ordinary medicine must not be used on them without a physician's approval." He knew such basic common sense well enough.
Cui Mo understood now. The boy was simply too young to take such medicine, and that's why he didn't survive.
Yun Qing nodded. "You handle the rest. I'll go to the Fu residence to take a look." Although Chen Shi had recklessly poisoned her own child, he bore no responsibility. Still, since the medicine had come from him, both sentimentally and morally, he owed them a visit.
After Yun Qing had left, Cui Mo muttered, "What a mess! The General's good intentions in giving Fu Tianlei a life-saving elixir have caused trouble instead."
Chu Shaoguang glared at him coldly and warned, "Watch your mouth! Fu Tianlei's son's death has nothing to do with the General." Chen Shi was responsible for her own child's death; the General had nothing to do with it.
When Yun Qing arrived at the Fu residence, he saw Fu Tianlei's ashen face. "Tianlei, I'm sorry — I didn't know this would happen." Had he known Chen Shi lacked even this basic sense, he would have told Yu Cong to remind her.
Fu Tianlei's feelings were complicated. After a long silence, he said, "Qier's passing… may not be a bad thing." This child was born weak; from the moment he was born until now, he hadn't gone a day without medicine. Even if he were kept alive later on, he would still be a medicine jar2. Now that the child had gone, perhaps it was a kind of release for him.
After hearing this, Yun Qing was silent momentarily before expressing, "Don't cling too hard to things. Let nature take its course."
Fu Tianlei understood what Yun Qing meant. "The Fu family cannot be left without an heir — otherwise, when I die, how can I face the Fu clan ancestors?"
Yun Qing knew the weight on Fu Tianlei's shoulders. "If there's anything I can help with, don't hesitate to tell me." After all, even an honest official finds it hard to judge family matters3.
After hesitating, Fu Tianlei finally asked, "Yun Qing, you're the last of your family, aren't you? Do you really intend to cut off the Yun family's incense line4 with your own hands?" He didn't voice what he meant — how could Yun Qing face his ancestors in the afterlife if he did that?
Yun Qing was displeased upon hearing that question. What did he mean by 'cutting off the Yun family's incense line'? Weren't Zaozao and Liu-er his children, too? Yun Qing replied coolly, "I have Zaozao and Liu-er. In the future, they can bring their husbands into the family5." This time, he even included Liu-er.
Fu Tianlei shook his head and asked, "How could that be the same?"
Yun Qing didn't argue with him, and it was pointless to debate this topic with Fu Tianlei. "Focus on recovering from your wounds. There's still much to handle in the camp."
Fu Tianlei hesitated for quite a while before speaking, "Yun Qing, do you still have any of that spiritual medicine left? If you do, could you spare me another portion? I'm afraid Chen Shi's body won't hold out much longer."
Yun Qing shook his head. "There's still some left, but it's reserved for Uncle Huo and Liu-er." After a pause, he added, "Liu-er is still too young to take it. But once she turns three, she'll be able to."
With things said to that extent, what more could Fu Tianlei say?
The turmoil in Yu City didn't reach Yuxi. Travelling from Yu City to Xinping City took her only five days, much faster than expected.
When they arrived in Xinping City, Yuxi stopped at an inn to rest. Looking at Zaozao and Liu-er lying on the bed, she smiled and said, "I was worried that Liu-er wouldn't be able to withstand the bumpy journey, but she was quiet and calm the whole time, which surprised me. It was Zaozao who made all the fuss." Unable to bear the boredom, Zaozao refused to stay inside the carriage, crying and begging to go out and play. When Yuxi refused, she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was only after Yuxi had properly scolded her that she stayed quiet for two days.
Momo Quan reminded Yuxi, "This is only the beginning — the road ahead is still long, so we must be careful." Liu-er's body was too frail. If she caught even a slight cold or fever, it would cause significant problems.
Yuxi said, "We're not in a hurry — we'll take it slow." Since she was travelling with her two children, she had brought along herbs, a medicine pot, and even a bathing basin, so that if one of them fell ill on the road, she could prepare medicine anytime.
Outside, Xu Wu knocked on the door and handed Momo Quan a letter. "This came from Maicheng." The letter was sealed with wax, completely unopened.
As soon as Yuxi heard it was from Maicheng, she knew it must be from Yang Duoming. The letter was thick — thirty-six pages in all, each containing information about a government official.
Yuxi read the letter carefully. This Yang Duoming wasn't bad — in just over a month, he had investigated the backgrounds of more than half of the officials in Maicheng and Lanzhou. The only pity was that the information wasn't very detailed.
When Yuxi finished what she was doing, Momo Quan reminded her, "Madam, it's time to sleep." Had she not reminded her, Yuxi would probably have picked up another book to read.
Yuxi placed the booklet she had been reading into a small chest, then drank the water in her cup. She even held the sediment left in the cup in her mouth and slowly chewed it.
Momo Quan remarked, "Fortunately, the General found that spiritual medicine for you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to hold up, let alone the children."
Yuxi smiled. "I don't know why, but ever since I saw that Taishui, I've felt that my luck has begun to turn." Most people would never encounter such a treasure, yet Yun Qing managed to find it for her. If that wasn't good fortune, then what was?
Momo Quan chuckled. "So you did believe your luck was bad before, then?" She had thought Yuxi didn't care for such superstitious talk.
Yuxi chewed up the leftover bits and swallowed them. Smiling, she responded, "It's not a matter of believing or not — it's just that my luck has always been terrible." No matter what kind of misfortune it was, she always seemed to encounter it.
Momo Quan disagreed with Yuxi's view, though. "Having a lot of experiences is a good thing, not a bad thing." Without all those experiences, Yuxi wouldn't be who she was today.
Four days later, Yan Xi returned to Lanzhou City, carrying Yuxi's letter for Yang Duoming. "Boss, Madam Yun is already on her way to Haocheng. She should reach Maicheng in about a month!"
Seeing the grave look on Yang Duoming's face, Fu Qingluo came over to ask, "What's wrong? What did Han Yuxi say?"
Looking up at Fu Qingluo, Yang Duoming advised her, "From now on, you must address her as Madam — you can't call her by name anymore." As he was now counted as a follower of the Han family, calling her by both her given name and family name would be improper.
Fu Qingluo was merely a little unaccustomed to this and replied, "I'll try to get used to it. Duoming, what did Han... Madam Yun says about what I asked you to find out?"
Seeing that Fu Qingluo was determined to get to the bottom of things, he thought for a moment before replying, "Madam wrote in her letter that your elder brother was poisoned, but his life isn't in danger."
Fu Qingluo's face turned pale. She grabbed Yang Duoming's sleeve and demanded, "Who poisoned my brother? Tell me — who was it?" When she learned it was the family cook, she exclaimed in disbelief, "How could that be? How could it possibly be Aunt Qin? She was someone my mother brought with her!"
Just as Yang Duoming was about to speak, he saw Fu Qingluo clutch her stomach and suddenly crouch down. Startled, Yang Duoming cried out, "What's wrong? What's happening?"
Fu Qingluo cried out through her tears, "The baby... the baby..."
Qiushuang knew at once that Fu Qingluo had moved her fetal breath6, and immediately went to find a physician. Fortunately, the physician was only two streets away. They had chosen this location in the first place because of the nearby apothecary, which made it easy to summon a physician.
When the physician arrived and saw Fu Qingluo's condition, he didn't even bother to take her pulse. Instead, he urged, "Hurry and call for the midwife — she's about to give birth."
Yang Duoming replied, "Someone's already gone to get her. Mister Physician, please take a quick look at my wife!" When he saw Fu Qingluo bleeding, Yang Duoming knew something was seriously wrong.
The physician shook his head. "There's no use examining her now — this is a premature birth. If you have any ginseng, brew a bowl of ginseng soup quickly." Yang Duoming had a twenty-year-old wild ginseng root — a rare treasure. Hearing the physician's words, he immediately sent Qiuyu to boil the ginseng into soup.
When the midwife arrived and saw Fu Qingluo's condition, she told Yang Duoming outright, "It's a premature birth — the child is too young to survive." She was making the situation clear for him to understand.
Yang Duoming clenched his teeth and said, "Just ensure my wife gets through this safely." A child could be conceived again, but if anything happened to his wife, there would be no making up for it.
Half an hour later, a fully formed male foetus was delivered. As the saying goes, 'A man does not easily shed tears — only when grief pierces the heart'. Looking at the bloody little form in the basin, Yang Duoming finally shed tears. He had longed for this child for so long, yet the baby had left this world without ever seeing it.
When Fu Qingluo woke up and learned that her child was gone, she cried out, "My child? Where's my child? Where have you hidden my child?" Ever since she became pregnant, Fu Qingluo had not known a single day of peace. First, she toiled and rushed about among the rebel army, and later fled from Nancheng, spending a long time finding that secluded mountain manor. Her diet, clothing and sleep were poor, and she constantly lived in fear and anxiety — how could her child possibly have survived under such conditions?
Yang Duoming held Fu Qingluo in his arms and coaxed her softly, "Don't be sad. This child simply had no fate with us. Once you've recovered, we'll try again." Earlier, the physician had already warned Yang Duoming that this pregnancy could miscarry at any moment, but they had clung to a foolish hope. They never expected the child to leave them in such a way.
After coaxing her for a while, he finally persuaded Fu Qingluo to take her medicine and fall asleep.
Footnotes Full List
- 硬着头皮 (yìngzhetóupí) means 'to force oneself to do something despite fear'.
- Figuratively, and in common usage, 药罐子 (yàoguànzi) is often used sympathetically to describe someone who is always sick and constantly needs to take medicine.
- This idiom, 清官难断家务事 (qīng guān nán duàn jiā wù shì), is a popular saying that means even the wisest or most just person (the "honest official") cannot easily resolve conflicts and disagreements that occur within a family. This is because domestic issues are often complex, emotional, and involve deep personal history, making a clear, impartial judgment nearly impossible.
- 香火 (xiānghuǒ) literally means 'incense flame' or 'incense smoke', but it's a metaphor for family lineage or descendants, since incense is burned to honor ancestors — so if the 'incense' goes out, it means there are no descendants to continue the family line.
- In traditional Chinese society, 招婿 (zhāoxù) refers to a matrilocal marriage, where the groom lives with and carries on the bride's family name — often done when the family has no sons to continue the family line.
- 动了胎气 (dòng le tāiqì) — a traditional term meaning a disturbance in pregnancy that could cause premature labour or miscarriage
きつね's Musing
Aw, I don't remember this event... If my memory serves me right, the next time Fu Qingluo met with Yuxi, she was pregnant (again).
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