Xu Wu was a man of his word. Regarding Yuxi getting jealous over Xie Xiaoyun, he didn't tell Yun Qing. After spending a full day in...
Xu Wu was a man of his word. Regarding Yuxi getting jealous over Xie Xiaoyun, he didn't tell Yun Qing.
After spending a full day investigating Xie Xiaoyun from bottom facing the sky1, Xu Wu then asked Gao Song, "What do you think of Miss Xie?"
Gao Song was baffled. "What do you mean by 'what I think of her'?" Gao Song wasn't the type to cherish flowers and jade2, but he wasn't cold-blooded either. When he heard someone had fallen ill, he sent someone to check. Later, when Gao Song heard from his subordinates that Xie Xiaoyun's face was covered in red bumps and seemed seriously ill, he had her sent back to the Yun residence. As a result, a misunderstanding arose.
Xu Wu smiled. "Miss Xie is quite good-looking and still unmarried. If you're interested, you can send a matchmaker to propose." Nearly half of Yun Qing's guards were still bachelors!
Gao Song felt somewhat tempted after hearing this: "Better to first send someone to sound out the Xie family's attitude. If they agree, it won't be too late for me to invite a matchmaker." With Xu Wu and Xu Daniu as examples, Gao Song no longer thought that marrying a well-bred lady was anything extraordinary, nor did he consider himself unworthy.
In the end, Gao Song invited Bao Shi to act as the matchmaker. The Xie family's intentions were the same as the Sun family's—they all wanted to establish connections with people close to Yun Qing. Once they learned that Gao Song wanted to marry their daughter, how could they refuse? The marriage was quickly arranged.
Just two days after the engagement was settled, Yun Qing encountered another broken carriage on his way to the military camp. This time, he ignored it. A broken carriage and someone being on the verge of death were two entirely different matters.
Xu Wu thought this was a trivial matter, but he was worried that it might stir Yuxi's jealousy again, so he didn't tell her. However, the next time Yun Qing went to the camp, they encountered a very pretty village girl on the road who even fainted right in front of them.
The series of events, happening one after another, forced Xu Wu to take a closer look at the situation, so he quickly sent people to investigate. The results left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry—it turned out that the reason behind Gao Song's engagement to Xie Xiaoyun had become public knowledge. This event had led others to harbour improper intentions and try their luck. Whether their target was Yun Qing or the guards around him was something only the women staging 'chance encounters' would know.
To avoid being held accountable if something went wrong, Xu Wu had no choice but to inform Yuxi. He added afterwards, "Madam, there are still twelve unmarried men around the General." What he meant was that it would be great if Yuxi could resolve the marriage issue for these twelve bachelors.
Upon hearing this, Yuxi's face darkened. This situation was completely a case of lifting a stone only to drop it on her own foot3. Had she known something like this would happen, she wouldn't have said that in the first place.
That evening, when Yun Qing returned, he entered the study and saw Yuxi with her head bowed, reading memorials. Usually, she would greet him with a smile every time he returned, unless she was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice. But now, she was completely indifferent to him.
Yun Qing smiled and asked, "Are you really angry?" Earlier, Xu Wu had already told him the reason why Yuxi was upset.
Yuxi put down the document she was holding, raised her head and snorted coldly. "Shouldn't I be angry? Such a big matter, and you actually dared to keep it from me—it's truly hateful."
Yuxi had a round face, and she looked very cute when she puffed up in anger. You wouldn't normally see her like this. Seeing this, Yun Qing couldn't resist the itch in his heart—he reached out and pinched her cheek. Just as Yuxi was about to explode, he explained, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get angry." Yuxi was the type who liked to overthink things, and Yun Qing didn't want her worrying about baseless matters.
Yuxi slapped Yun Qing's hand away and said, "If you keep pinching, my face will get red and swollen." With Momo Quan around, it was hard for Yuxi's skin not to be smooth, delicate, and fair. That pinch really left a visible mark on her face.
The couple's relationship was now much more harmonious; they no longer treated each other with the distant politeness they had before. Hearing this, Yun Qing lowered his head and kissed the spot he had pinched. "It's not red or swollen. If you don't believe me, go look in the mirror." Yuxi was truly adorable like this.
Yuxi glared at Yun Qing in annoyance. "This is the study—stop getting handsy." It was one thing to fool around at night, but acting improperly in broad daylight was out of the question.
Instead of getting angry, Yun Qing looked at Yuxi's face and said regretfully, "It's a pity that Zaozao and Liu-er don't resemble you." They would have been so cute with round little faces like Yuxi's.
Yuxi felt depressed. After all, she had carried these two children for ten months and given birth to them, yet neither of them resembled her. Just thinking about it made her feel as though she had suffered a loss.
Xu Wu called out from outside, "General, Madam, Tan Tuo Daren4 requests an audience." Tan Tuo now spent a third of his time at construction sites and was rarely in Haocheng. It was precisely because of his serious and responsible attitude that those under him dared not slack off in the slightest, ensuring that they completed the work to a high standard and on schedule.
Hearing this announcement, Yun Qing immediately returned to his expressionless demeanour.
Yuxi had already become immune to this. Ever since Momo Quan had coaxed her into reading those risqué booklets, which she then put into practice, Yun Qing had stopped hiding his roguish side from her. Of course, having been teased so often, Yuxi was no longer dignified and composed in front of Yun Qing—she had become increasingly lively. Momo Quan was very pleased about this.
Tan Tuo entered the study, greeted Yuxi and Yun Qing, and asked, "Madam, the potatoes on the estate should have been harvested by now, right? How many jin5 were collected?" As this matter was important to the nation's economy and the livelihoods of its people, Tan Tuo was deeply concerned about it. If he hadn't been tied down, he would have taken charge of the task himself.
Yuxi answered, "From two fen6 of land, we harvested more than three hundred jin5 of potatoes."
Tan Tuo's face beamed with joy. "A yield of fifteen to sixteen hundred jin5 per mu7—this is excellent." Even the best wheat fields produced only six to seven hundred jin5 per mu under perfect weather conditions. This record of yield for potatoes was more than double—how could he not be delighted?
Seeing this reaction, Yuxi responded, "We don't have enough potato seeds, so I've already sent Tian Yang to Fujian to purchase some." With this yield amount, they would need to buy only a few thousand jin5 of seed potatoes. By the next eighth month, they could plant hundreds of thousands of mu of land.
Tan Tuo nodded repeatedly.
Yun Qing, who had been overlooked, asked, "Tan Tuo, have you returned this time to report something?" Tan Tuo had come to report to Yuxi on the dam's progress. The first dam and canal had already been completed at the beginning of last month and were now in use. Construction on the second dam had already begun.
As for Yun Qing, under Yuxi's intensive tutoring, he had gained a basic understanding of water management, so he listened attentively as well.
This discussion lasted for half a shichen. Yuxi said, "Tan Daren4, it's already past mealtime. Why don't you stay for a meal?" Accepting the invitation did not mean dining with Yuxi in the inner quarters, but rather in the front courtyard. For this purpose, Yuxi had hired a fairly skilled cook.
Tan Tuo politely declined. "I haven't been home for over half a month—I should return." Tan Qin had already married Dong Bicheng, one of Tan Tuo's subordinates. Dong Bicheng was a xiucai8 and was three years younger than Tan Qin. He served as a clerk in the provincial governor's office.
Yuxi smiled and said, "Then I won't keep you."
Footnotes Full List
- 底朝天 (dǐ cháo tiān): To turn something upside down; to investigate completely and thoroughly
- 怜香惜玉 (lián xiāng xī yù): To be tender and protective toward women
- 搬石头砸自己的脚 (bān shí tou zá zì jǐ de jiǎo): To bring trouble upon oneself
- 大人 (dàren): title of respect toward superiors
- 斤 (jīn): a traditional unit of weight, each containing 10 liang (市两) or 16 old liang (旧市两) and equivalent to 0.5 kilogram or 1.102 pounds
- 分 (fēn): a traditional unit of area, equal to 0.1 mu (市亩) and equivalent to 0.667 acre or 79.73 square yards
- 亩 (mǔ): a traditional unit of area, equal to 60 square zhang (平方市丈), and equivalent to 6.667 ares or 0.165 acres
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