ROHYX Chapter 724 : Reunion (1)

The earth seemed to have donned a golden-yellow coat, as the withered leaves drifted softly down. When the frost arrived, only the green pi...

The earth seemed to have donned a golden-yellow coat, as the withered leaves drifted softly down. When the frost arrived, only the green pines remained vividly emerald, standing tall around the courtyard and appearing even lusher by contrast.

After waking from her afternoon nap, Yuxi saw Momo Quan strolling around the courtyard while holding Liu-er. She asked, "Momo, why didn't you take a nap?" Although Yuxi was busy every day, she still made a point of resting at noon—otherwise, she would have no energy in the afternoon.

Momo Quan smiled and replied, "I just got up! Governor Tan is waiting in the front courtyard—you should go quickly." With Yun Qing away, Yuxi was so busy every day that she hardly had time to care for the child. Momo Quan could only hope that Yun Qing would return soon so that Yuxi could finally rest properly.

The winter wheat had just been planted, and the common people were currently in a relatively idle period. The government had now begun to mobilise the population for corvée labour. With a hundred neglected matters awaiting renewal¹, even if canals and dams did not need repairing, roads still had to be built.

Tan Tuo had come specifically to discuss conscripting people for labour. In the past, officials had severely stripped the populace layer by layer², by giving them little food while forcing them to work long hours, even causing some to die from exhaustion. They would never do such things. These labourers must be properly fed and clothed, and their daily working hours could not be too long—though this would inevitably increase costs.

Yuxi responded calmly, "Money that needs to be spent still must be spent. By the way, have you finalised a proper plan for planting mulberry trees?" If they grew mulberries and raised silkworms, they wouldn't need to buy silk from Jiangnan anymore—they could produce it themselves.

Tan Tuo quickly replied, "Madam, it should be completed before the end of the year. However, if we are to grow mulberries and raise silkworms, we'll need someone to teach us."

Yuxi said, "There's no rush. When the time comes, we can invite skilled silkworm breeders from Jiangnan." However, silkworm experts wouldn't be the only specialists they needed—spinning specialists would be required as well.

Tan Tuo added, "Madam, we must not only invite silkworm experts, but also ensure that they bring mulberry seedlings, seeds and silkworm tools with them." This was precisely the drawback of half-baked knowledge.

Yuxi smiled. "That's why you need to come up with a proper plan, so that nothing goes wrong later." Aware of her own shortcomings, Yuxi always consulted experienced officials such as Tan Tuo and An Zike before making decisions. For her, handling government affairs was essentially like crossing a river by feeling for the stones³—slowly accumulating experience along the way.

This discussion lasted the entire afternoon.

In the evening, Han Jianming returned and told Yuxi about Widow Zhang's case from Fu County. "Widow Zhang and Cao Han were lovers. Recently, someone helped arrange another marriage for her, and her parents-in-law agreed to her remarriage, so she wanted to sever ties with Cao Han. However, Cao Han refused. The two got into a dispute, and Cao Han was beaten to death in a moment of carelessness."

Yuxi frowned. "The competence of the lower officials is truly abysmal." Although Widow Zhang certainly deserved punishment, she should not have been sentenced to death in these circumstances.

Han Jianming agreed. "The lower officials really do need to be thoroughly reorganised." Their inability was deeply concerning.

Yuxi sighed with some frustration. "Reorganisation itself isn't the problem—the trouble is finding suitable people to take over." Talent in the northwest was simply far too scarce.

Han Jianming felt that Yuxi was overthinking things. "It's not necessary to have official honours or academic titles. As long as the person can read and is sincerely devoted to serving the common people, that's already good enough."

Yuxi thought for a moment and nodded. "What you say makes sense, Dage. When He Rui comes back, I'll discuss it with him before choosing a candidate." The selected person must be honest and not afraid to offend others.

Han Jianming felt that he could barely handle the matters he already had on his plate, so he would not take on this task. Instead, he said, "Mom is already on the way to Haocheng and should arrive in about two days." Since Ye Shi's health had improved somewhat, the group set out for Haocheng. It was only because a physician was accompanying them that they dared to hurry here so quickly.

As it was such a significant matter, Yuxi had naturally already been informed about it. She asked, "Has the residence been tidied up yet? If anything is missing, just tell me directly."

Han Jianming shook his head, then brought up the ransom from last time. "Yuxi, let me owe you the two hundred thousand taels for now. I'll repay you later." When Yuxi said it wasn't necessary, he replied, "Yuxi, two hundred thousand taels of silver is a considerable sum. If such a large amount isn't repaid, even if my Meifu⁴ is generous and has no objections, others will certainly start to have their own thoughts about it."

Yuxi knew Han Jianming's temperament—once he had spoken, he wouldn't take it back. So she said, "I still owe you one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, Dage! If you want to repay me, you only need to return fifty thousand taels."

This time, Han Jianming did not refuse again and instead spoke frankly to Yuxi. "Over the past two years, I've secretly sold off all the movable properties. The sales of gold and silver have been hidden in secret places. Once the sound of the wind has passed⁵, I'll send someone to retrieve it." That was also quite a considerable sum of money.

Yuxi's eyes flickered, and she exclaimed, "You mean the Duke's residence is left with nothing but an empty shell?" Preventing Han Jingyan from gaining any cheap advantage⁶ pleased her greatly.

Han Jianming nodded. "More or less. Apart from the sacrificial fields⁷, I've hidden away all the valuable antiques and paintings in the residence." Only the Patriarch knew the truly secret places within the Duke's residence.^🦊

Yuxi was very pleased, smiling until her eyes curved. "This is great. I think once Han Jingyan moves into the Duke's residence, he'll be so angry he'll probably cough up blood."

After saying this, Yuxi noticed that Han Jianming's expression didn't look very good and asked, "Did Han Jingyan do something bad?"

Han Jianming had always respected his San Shu⁹ Han Jingyan. Although he was dissatisfied with what Han Jingyan had done, he never showed the slightest disrespect. "After finding out where Concubine Jia and Lil Boy Hua were staying, he had them arrested and sent to the Office of Transmission¹⁰." Han Jianming had originally planned to send people to escort Concubine Jia and Lil Boy Hua to the northwest, but he received this piece of news instead.

Yuxi was not surprised that Han Jingyan had done such a thing. He didn't even care about the life or death of his own daughter, much less his grand-nephew. "Brother, if the Imperial Court killed Lil Boy Hua and the other children, it wouldn't really serve much purpose. Using them to threaten you would be far more effective. Don't you think?"

Han Jianming shook his head. "The children are already gone. Since I've taken this step, there's no turning back. Those people probably knew that, which is why they laid their hands on the children."

Yuxi felt very upset and said, "Dage, I'm sorry. It was me who dragged all of you into this." If her Dage had not come to the northwest, Lil Boy Hua and the others would not have died.

Han Jianming did not blame Yuxi. "This has nothing to do with you. Coming to the northwest was my own decision. It's better to come to the northwest than to live in constant fear in the capital—at least we can enjoy a few peaceful days."

Seeing the guilt written all over Yuxi's face, Han Jianming immediately changed the subject. "Ever since Yan Wushuang arrived in the capital, he hasn't taken any action. That's not like him."

Yuxi responded, "If he hasn't made any move yet, it means he's planning something even bigger." Yan Wushuang was this kind of person: if they didn't chirp, they would stay silent; but once they did, they would startle the world¹¹. Earlier this year, after exposing the late Emperor's collusion with the Donghu people, he immediately raised troops in rebellion. So Yan Wushuang must be plotting something this time, too.

Han Jianming actually thought the same way: "Yan Wushuang acts very cautiously, and his trusted aides are extremely tight-lipped. We can't obtain even the slightest bit of information."

Yuxi was not surprised by this. "As long as he isn't targeting us, whatever he does has little to do with us." At least for now, Yan Wushuang would not set his sights on them.

At that moment, a series of firm and powerful footsteps sounded outside the study. A smile appeared on Yuxi's face as she exclaimed, "He Rui is back."

Han Jianming's eyebrows twitched. Just from the sound of the footsteps alone, she could tell that Yun Qing had returned—she really paid close attention to Yun Qing.

After greeting Han Jianming, Yun Qing went straight to the back courtyard. Instead of seeing Zaozao and Liu-er, he went to bathe first.

While Yuxi was scrubbing his back, she noticed a new scar on Yun Qing's shoulder blade. Fortunately, it wasn't deep and new flesh had already grown over it.

Yuxi's face immediately darkened as she asked, "Did you come back late because of this wound?"

Yun Qing naturally denied it. "I was injured during the battle. I only returned late because I was lending breeding sheep to those herdsmen who had drifted and lost their place¹²." When there were more cattle and sheep in the future, the army's meals would improve greatly. Because of this idea, Yun Qing was extremely enthusiastic.

Although Yuxi was somewhat speechless about Yun Qing's idea, lending breeding sheep to those herdsmen would certainly make them more willing to submit. "The Xihai region has abundant resources—we must make good use of them in the future."

Yun Qing washed himself from head to toe until he was completely clean. Afterwards, he shaved his beard and went to find Zaozao.

When Zaozao called him "Dad," Yun Qing picked her up, kissed her, and tossed her into the air above his head, catching her before tossing her up again. Zaozao wasn't afraid at all—she giggled happily.

Watching the scene in the courtyard, Han Jianming whispered to Yuxi, "Isn't Meifu⁴ afraid of dropping the child?"

Yuxi replied, "That won't happen." She had spoken to Yun Qing about it before, but while he would listen to her advice on other matters, he never listened when it came to the children and simply did whatever he wanted.

Yuxi reminded Yun Qing, "That's enough. Don't just focus all your attention on Zaozao and ignore Liu-er." Yuxi had suffered greatly from her father's favouritism in the past, so she wanted Yun Qing to treat their two children equally.

Watching Yun Qing put Zaozao down and pick up Liu-er, Han Jianming felt as if his eyes were about to go blind¹³. Although he had heard that Yun Qing obeyed Yuxi's words completely, seeing it with his own eyes was far more shocking.

At that moment, Yun Qing was holding Liu-er and kissing her. He said to Yuxi, "Liu-er is already more than ten months old. I wonder when she'll start speaking?" Zaozao's first word had been 'Grandpa📹 '; hopefully Liu-er's first word would be 'Dad📹'.

Yuxi smiled as she responded, "When the child is ready to start talking, she'll naturally start talking. Don't just stand around in the courtyard—go inside."

"Mom, hug…" Zaozao didn't want Mama Zeng to hold her; she wanted Yuxi to carry her.

Yuxi rarely carried Zaozao anymore because she was too heavy, and doing so would strain her arms. After holding her for only a short while, Yuxi could no longer bear it.

Footnotes Full List

1. 百废待新（commonly 百废待兴) (bǎi fèi dài xīn): Refers to a situation where many things have fallen into disrepair and need rebuilding or reform.
3. 盘剥 (pánbō): A figurative term meaning to exploit or squeeze the people financially and physically
4. 摸着石头过河 (mō zhe shítou guò hé): A vivid metaphor for proceeding cautiously, learning through trial and error.
5. 妹夫 (mèifu): younger sister's husband; brother-in-law
6. 风声过去 (fēng shēng guò qù): When the attention, investigation, or political pressure dies down.
7. 占到便宜 (zhàn dào pián yi): To profit unfairly or gain benefits easily at someone else's expense.
8. 祭田 (jìtián): Land owned by a clan/family specifically to fund ancestral worship and sacrifices. Under ancient Chinese law, jìtián was often protected from confiscation, even if the family was punished for a crime. By mentioning this, the speaker is saying that they have secured the one thing that the law won't touch and have hidden everything else that the law would take.
9. Since the handover didn't involve Han Jiangming, the former Patriarch, the secrets remained with him.
10. 三 (sān): third, 叔 (shū): father's younger brother; uncle (on father's side)
11. 通政使司 (Tōngzhèngshǐ-sī): In the Ming and Qing dynasties, this was the 'Office of Transmission'. It handled official memorials to the Emperor, but in fiction, it often functions as a high-level investigative or administrative body. Sending family members here is an act of reporting them for a crime (like treason or corruption).
12. 不鸣则已，一鸣惊人 (bù míng zé yǐ, yī míng jīng rén): Someone stays quiet for a long time, but, once they act, they achieve something astonishing. The idiom comes from the story of King Zhuang of Chu (Spring and Autumn period). For three years after taking the throne, he didn't issue a single order, instead spending his time partying. When a frustrated official asked him why a 'great bird' would sit for three years without flying or singing, the King replied: "It does not fly because it is growing its wings; it does not sing because it is observing. It may not fly now, but once it does, it will soar to the heavens. It may not sing now, but once it does, it will startle the world." Shortly afterwards, he cleaned up the government and became one of the most powerful leaders in China.
13. 流离失所 (liú lí shī suǒ): Homeless and displaced, forced to wander without a stable home.
14. 眼都要瞎了 (yǎn dōu yào xiā le): A humorous exaggeration meaning one is extremely shocked or can hardly believe what they are seeing.

きつね Apologised

Sorry for the delay, everyone! I've been busy with real-life commitments recently, but I've tried to finish my workload and translations before taking a short break next week. After that, things will probably go back to normal. Probably... 😅

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