Liu-er's fever came and went for 4 days before finally subsiding. The illness caused her to lose all the bits of flesh she had painstak...
Liu-er's fever came and went for 4 days before finally subsiding. The illness caused her to lose all the bits of flesh she had painstakingly gained. Yuxi had also grown noticeably thinner.
Momo Quan brought over a bowl of chicken and pig tripe soup and said, "Madam, please have some." By this time, Yuxi was drinking more than just the fleshy lingzhi tonic — she also drank three bowls of nourishing soup a day while staying there, despite not eating any medicinal dishes.
After finishing the small bowl of soup, Yuxi set it down and stated, "We'll wait until Liu-er has fully recovered before setting out. It's better to be late than to take risks."
Momo Quan had no objections, of course. "You should take a good rest these next two days and put aside outside matters for now. Even if things are delayed a couple of days, the sky won't fall1." Besides, even if the sky did fall, Yun Qing would be the one holding it up — it wouldn't come crashing down on Yuxi's head.
Yuxi smiled and nodded. "I truly am tired these past few days and need a proper rest." This time, Yuxi kept her word — she rested for three whole days and didn't get involved in any outside matters.
Xu Wu handed Yuxi a letter from Yun Qing and said, "Madam, the General knows Liu-er is ill — he's very worried." To say the General was worried would be an understatement — he had been consumed by anxiety these past few days.
Yuxi took the letter and noticed a ring of blisters at the corner of Xu Wu's mouth. "Didn't I have Mama Bai make you yam and snow pear soup📹 the other day? Why are you still so overheated?" When Liu-er was sick, Yuxi hadn't had time to pay attention to Xu Wu and the others. Once the child had recovered, and Yuxi saw that Xu Wu was still having excessive internal heat, she ordered a cooling soup specifically for him.
Xu Wu looked slightly embarrassed as he explained, "I had roasted lamb yesterday, and it made me overheat again." The soup had been working well — he had simply lost control for a moment the previous day, and the result was a disaster.
Yuxi smiled slightly and said, "Then have Mama Bai make you another pot of cooling soup. But don't eat any more 'heaty' foods🖼️ these next few days."
Xu Wu nodded.
Just as Yuxi had finished reading the letter, a maid announced Tan Tuo's arrival. Seeing Yuxi, Tan Tuo said with a broad smile, "Madam, the one hundred and twenty thousand taels of gold have arrived — I personally delivered them to the treasury." The gold had originally been intended for Haocheng, but Tan Tuo was now responsible for keeping it.
Yuxi gave a brief 'mm' of acknowledgement and asked, "Has the General agreed to have those prisoners open up new farmland?"
Tan Tuo didn't seem particularly happy. He replied, "Madam, the northwest often suffers from droughts. Even though we encourage land reclamation and farming, if a natural disaster strikes, the harvest will still be insufficient." No matter how much land was cultivated, it would all be in vain if a natural disaster struck.
Yuxi smiled. "I've already sent people to look for potatoes. If they can be cultivated in the northwest, then even in times of famine, we won't have to worry about the common people going hungry."
Tan Tuo hurriedly asked, "Madam, what is this potato you speak of?"
Yuxi briefly explained the characteristics of the potato. "Potatoes are drought-resistant and produce an abundant yield — one mu2 of land can produce fourteen to fifteen hundred catties. Even a good field in a good year only produces six or seven hundred catties of wheat. Potatoes yield twice as much as wheat."
Tan Tuo felt a surge of excitement, but he knew his place and kept himself in check. He asked, "Madam, when will we be able to get the seeds?"
Yuxi shook her head. "The people we sent should be on their way back. Besides, I've dispatched another group to Fujian to purchase them." Buying more meant more batches of seeds. Currently, Yuxi could only hope that they could successfully plant this crop in the northwest. If that worked, it would solve a significant problem.
Once they finished discussing official business, Tan Tuo brought up a personal matter. "Madam, I'd like to ask you to act as a matchmaker — would that be possible?"
Yuxi wasn't foolish; whoever he wanted her to matchmake would certainly be someone from her own circle. Feigning ignorance, she asked, "I wonder who's lucky enough to have caught Tan Daren3's eye?"
Tan Tuo had his eye on Xu Wu. Xu Wu looked spirited and held an official post, and, most importantly, his duties were limited to protecting Yuxi's safety, not to engage in battle.
Yuxi nodded with a smile. "Marriage is a serious matter requiring both invitation and consent4. Let me ask Xu Wu first, and then I'll give you an answer."
Yuxi wasn't one to drag mud and water5. After Tan Tuo left, she summoned Xu Wu. "Tan Daren3 has taken a liking to you and wishes to marry his daughter to you. What do you think?"
Xu Wu pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
Yuxi was annoyed. "Marriage is a major life event, not a child's game — you cannot handle it so hastily." Since Yun Qing treated Xu Wu like a brother, Yuxi was clearly going to take his marriage seriously. She didn't think this match suited him. It wasn't just because Tan Chongqin had failed twice in engagements and was therefore unsuitable for Xu Wu. Rather, Tan Chongqin had been raised by Madam Tan, and as the saying goes, one who stays near vermilion becomes red, one near ink becomes black6 — Tan Chongqin had taken on many of Madam Tan's traits. Even setting aside matters of social polish, Yuxi was also displeased that Tan Chongqin came to visit her with such a sorrowful expression. Visiting someone while wearing a long face is very impolite.
With Tan Chongqin's temperament, if husband and wife quarrelled, they would inevitably come crying to her. Additionally, she planned to give Tan Tuo a significant role. If the couple's relationship were poor, the father-in-law and son-in-law would constantly be seeing each other under her roof, which would give her a big headache.
Xu Wu remarked, "Madam, didn't Madam Tan bring Miss Tan to request an audience with you a few days ago? I actually met Miss Tan at that time." In truth, Xu Wu had already forgotten what Tan Chongqin looked like.🦊
Yuxi advised, "Xu Wu, marriage is a lifetime matter."
Yuxi knew everything about the Tan family. Those pieces of information had come through Xu Wu's hands, so he knew them thoroughly as well. "Madam, as far as I know, Miss Tan is filial and capable. I think she's quite fine."
After a moment's silence, Yuxi stated, "Xu Wu, once we reach Haocheng, I will find you a girl who is talented, lovely, and capable of managing household affairs."
Xu Wu smiled wryly. "Madam, you flatter me. What talented and beautiful girl would want to marry someone like me?"
Yuxi responded, "Xu Wu, don't belittle yourself. If I say I can, then I can. Before, we failed to find a suitable one because Yu City is too remote and there are few girls. However, once we arrive at Haocheng, the pool of candidates will be much larger. We'll certainly find someone you're satisfied with." After pausing, she added, "However, her family background might not be as good as Miss Tan's."
Xu Wu hesitated.
Seeing this, Yuxi reminded him, "Think it over seriously." She didn't think the match was very appropriate, but she wouldn't stop Xu Wu if he insisted on it.
Having spent so much time together, Xu Wu had come to understand Yuxi fairly well. He asked, "If there's anything unsuitable about this marriage, Madam, please speak freely." In his view, as long as a young lady was gentle, considerate and good at managing the household, her family background or looks didn't really matter.
Yuxi stopped turning and twisting around corners8 as she elaborated, "Miss Tan has been through a lot. She needs a husband with a good temperament—someone tolerant and understanding. I don't think you can do that." Yuxi knew her own flaws well—she was suspicious and tended to overthink, scars left by her past experiences. However, she was fortunate to have married a man with a broad mind who could truly accept her, which made her life so happy. Xu Wu, however, might not possess such tolerance.
Not quite understanding, Xu Wu asked, "What does Madam mean by 'a good temperament and tolerance'?" In his view, marriage meant finding a wife who could manage the household and bear a few children. Of course, she also shouldn't make trouble or pull his leg from behind9.
After a moment's thought, Yuxi said, "Let me put it this way: if you marry Miss Tan and wish for a loving marriage, you'll need a lot of patience to help her overcome the shadows of her past." Yuxi and Yun Qing were deeply affectionate towards each other, so naturally, she hoped that Xu Wu would live harmoniously with his future wife, rather than bringing home a woman just to bear children and manage chores while maintaining a polite but distant relationship with her.
After all that talk, Xu Wu finally understood what Yuxi meant. "Madam, let me think it over." He couldn't help but envy the affection between Yuxi and Yun Qing.
After thinking it over for a night, Xu Wu went to Yuxi to inform her of his decision: "Madam, please convey my answer to Tan Daren3." He still wanted a gentle, considerate and pleasant wife; Tan Zhongqin simply didn't meet his expectations.
Hearing this, Yuxi shook her head. "All right, I'll reply on your behalf." She reflected that, whereas an unhappy man might take a concubine if he was disappointed with his wife, a woman who married the wrong man would be condemned to a lifetime of misery.
Tan Tuo felt a pang of bitterness upon learning of Xu Wu's refusal. He suspected Xu Wu must have heard about his daughter's reputation and rejected her because of it.
Seeing Tan Tuo's reaction, Yuxi comforted him, saying, "There are plenty of talented young men in Haocheng, and Miss Tan is still young—there's no need to worry about finding a good son-in-law."
This was good news for Tan Tuo—it meant Yuxi would allow him to go to Haocheng. "Thank you, Madam." Yuxi was clearly giving him a helping hand.
Yuxi nodded and handed Tan Tuo several sheets of paper. "Tan Daren3, these are some beauty and skincare prescriptions. Please give them to Miss Tan." Tan Zhongqin's biggest problem nowadays was not the difficulty of getting married, but rather the need to adjust her mindset. If she always wore a face full of sorrow and bitterness, she wouldn't be happy even after getting married.
After pausing for a moment, Yuxi added, "Momo Quan is very skilled at treating women's health issues. If you don't mind, she could help Miss Tan with some physical conditioning."
Tan Tuo was deeply grateful. "Madam, you've gone to such trouble for us."
Momo Quan went to the Tan residence and didn't return until the afternoon. After bathing, she met Yuxi and reported, "Madam, Miss Tan's health is quite frail. She has a cold womb🔗 and deeply repressed emotions. It will take at least a year or two of careful treatment to restore her."
Yuxi was very surprised and asked, "It's that serious?" When she had nearly lost her life in childbirth, Momo Quan had said it would take only three years of care to recover. The fact that Miss Tan needed two whole years just to heal showed how severe her condition was.
Momo Quan informed Yuxi, "Madam, when I told Madam Tan about her daughter's condition, she burst into tears and begged me desperately to cure Miss Tan. In her distress, Miss Tan overheard and fainted on the spot." The saying goes, 'When one becomes a mother, she becomes strong10'. But in Madam Tan's case, it was the opposite.
Having studied pharmacology, Yuxi knew that no miracle medicine could cure a patient who couldn't put her mind at ease. "We'll just do our best. If it doesn't work, it's not our fault." In matters like this, no one else could help — one must rely on oneself.
Footnotes Full List
- "这天也不会塌" (zhè tiān yě bú huì tā) — An idiom meaning nothing disastrous will happen, no need to worry.
- 亩 mǔ: classifier for fields/a traditional unit of area, equal to 60 square zhang (平方市丈), and equivalent to 6.667 ares or 0.165 acre
- 大人 dàren: title of respect toward superiors
- "你请我愿 (nǐ qǐng wǒ yuàn)" — literally "you invite, I consent"; an idiom meaning both parties must willingly agree (mutual consent).
- "拖泥带水 (tuō ní dài shuǐ)" — literally "dragging mud and water," meaning slow, indecisive, or overly prolonged; here it means she is not one to procrastinate.
- "近朱者赤近墨者黑 (jìn zhū zhě chì jìn mò zhě hēi)" — classical idiom literally "near vermilion one becomes red, near ink one becomes black"; means people are influenced by those they associate with.
- Muscle brain, Xu Wu.
- "转弯抹角 (zhuǎn wān mò jiǎo)" — literally "to turn and twist around corners," meaning to speak indirectly or evasively.
- "拖后腿 (tuō hòu tuǐ)" — literally "to pull someone's leg from behind," meaning to hold someone back or be a hindrance.
- 为母则强 (wèi mǔ zé qiáng) literally means 'being a mother makes one strong'. It conveys the idea that a mother will find the courage and strength to protect her child, even if she was once timid or weak.
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