The troops had not gathered together for a whole year since they were dispatched last year. So Yun Qing used Liu-er's birthday as an ex...
The troops had not gathered together for a whole year since they were dispatched last year. So Yun Qing used Liu-er's birthday as an excuse to bring everyone together and reconnect. This was done mainly because it was winter right now, and there were no battles; otherwise, nobody would have been able to get away.
Everyone drank and chatted, feeling very carefree. In the end, aside from Feng Dajun, who could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, everyone else had gotten tipsy. Yun Qing could hold his liquor fairly well, but since he was especially happy today, he drank a few more cups than the others and ended up drunk as well. He was supported back to the rear courtyard by Gao Song. Except for Cui Mo and those whose families were not in Haocheng who had to stay overnight at the wangfu1, the other were escorted home by their attendants.
Yuxi instructed Mama Qu, "Bring the sobering tea to General Cui." This sobering tea, prepared by Momo Quan, was effective in relieving post-drinking symptoms such as headaches and dizziness.
After feeding Yun Qing a cup of the sobering tea, Yuxi washed his face, climbed onto the bed and gave him a brief massage. She then covered him with a blanket and left the bedroom.
When Momo Quan saw Yuxi frown slightly, she asked, "Why don't you take a rest?" Yuxi had been busy preparing for Liu-er's ceremony since yesterday and had kept going until now—she must have been utterly exhausted.
Yuxi smiled and replied, "I'm not tired."
Momo Quan didn't believe her. "Hurry back to your room and rest. Mama Qu and I are here, so you don't have to worry about anything!" No matter how many tasks needed to be done, it wouldn't matter if they were delayed for a little while.
Unable to argue with Momo Quan, Yuxi could only return to her room to lie down. However, she slept on the couch rather than the bed. Yuxi was unwilling to sleep next to Yun Qing because he reeked of alcohol after drinking so much.
Once Yuxi fell asleep, she slept for half a shichen2. When she woke up, she could hear faint snoring. She smiled lightly. Yun Qing always snored when he had drunk too much.
Yuxi checked on Zaozao and Liu-er, then went to the front courtyard study to handle official matters. Before dinner, she returned to the rear courtyard and found that Yun Qing was still asleep. She didn't wake him and let him continue sleeping. Only in such circumstances would Yun Qing sleep a bit longer.
Cui Mo woke up in time for dinner and saw a large bowl of mutton dumplings, as well as several side dishes. Smiling, he said, "When I was in Yu City, what I missed the most were these mutton dumplings. Strangely enough, I just can't find this taste anywhere else."
In fact, Mama Bai had taught the chef at Fuji Restaurant the recipe for these mutton dumplings. For some reason, though, the flavour was always just slightly inferior to Mama Bai's.
How could Xu Wu not know that Cui Mo was envious, jealous, and a bit resentful? Smiling, he replied, "Even in the Yun residence, we don't get to eat this every day." The front courtyard had its own cooks, while Mama Bai was Yuxi's personal chef. It was only when she made mutton dumplings for Yun Qing that everyone could enjoy them too.
Cui Mo swallowed a dumpling and complained, "At least you get to eat them five or six times a month! I can't even have them whenever I want!"
After eating more than ten dumplings, Cui Mo couldn't eat any more. "I'll leave the rest for now. I'll eat them later tonight when I get hungry." He had eaten too much at noon and couldn't eat much now.
Xu Wu smiled. "Didn't the General ask you to stay in Haocheng for the New Year? You can eat your fill during this time."
Cui Mo shook his head. "I'd like to, but I can't just leave my wife and children at home for the New Year, can I? Speaking of which, you're the most fortunate of us brothers—you actually married a scholar's daughter. I hear she's as beautiful as a heavenly fairy?" When Cui Mo heard this news, he was extremely envious. Back then, they had even been worried about Xu Wu—who would have thought this guy would be so blessed?
Xu Wu waved his hand and said, "Never mind all that talk about this 'heavenly fairy'—don't listen to their nonsense. Once a woman takes her clothes off, aren't they all the same? Don't you think?"
Cui Mo laughed and scolded, "You show-off! How could they be the same?" Although he was envious, he had no regrets. His wife might not be good-looking, but she was devoted to him and had given him children, so he was content.
After keeping it hidden for a few days, Jiang Hongjin's sexual dysfunction was eventually discovered by Yurong. She angrily exclaimed, "What exactly is going on? Explain it clearly to me!" He had been fine just days ago—how had he suddenly developed this condition? In the eyes of the world, impotence was also considered an illness.
At this moment, Jiang Hongjin wished he could tear the person responsible to pieces. Suppressing his inner shame, he responded, "I was drugged."
Hearing this, Yurong was stunned. Coming back to her senses, she anxiously questioned, "What terrible, immoral thing did you do?" Yurong's thinking was quite normal—if someone didn't hate Jiang Hongjin to the bone, they wouldn't have resorted to such a cruel method. It was even more ruthless than outright k!lling.
What did she mean by saying he had done something immoral? Hearing this, Jiang Hongjin was tempted to slap her, but he knew that now was not the time to lose his temper. If he angered Yurong, there would be no one left to clear his name. Keeping his anger in check, he asked back, "What immoral things do you think I could have done?" Leaving aside his time in the capital, before the imperial exam, he had studied at the academy before entering the Hanlin Academy. Within half a year after that, he was transferred to Luoyang. While in Luoyang, he hadn't done any great virtuous deeds, nor had he committed any immoral acts.
Yurong had a fiery temper, but she wasn't foolish. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "How were you drugged?" Then she looked at Jiang Hongjin and inquired, "Didn't the cook from the front courtyard resign and leave Luoyang a few days ago? Was it that cook who drugged you?" The cook surnamed Huang had just left, and right after that, Jiang Hongjin had run into trouble—it was hard not to suspect him.
Jiang Hongjin's expression turned very grim as he answered, "I sent people to his hometown, but they reported back that that b@stard never returned there at all." As for the possibility that Master Huang had gone to the northwest, Jiang Hongjin didn't mention it—there was no point.
Yurong was both anxious and angry. She snapped, "I've said from the beginning that the kitchen is a critical place—people must sign a servitude contract. What did you say back then? You said it didn't matter if they refused. And now look what's happened! If they had signed the contract, do you think they could have gotten away?" Yurong had also found a kitchen maid who had signed a lifetime contract, essentially placing her life in Yurong's hands, making escape impossible.
Jiang Hongjin also deeply regretted it, but unfortunately, there was no 'medicine for regret'. "Fortunately, the physician said this condition can be treated, though it will take some time." He didn't dare tell Yurong that it was incurable—if she found out, who knew how much trouble she would cause.
Yurong asked suspiciously, "Is what you said true?"
Jiang Hongjin nodded. "Of course it's true. But the urgent matter now is to clear everyone's misunderstanding about me."
Yurong asked, "How do we do that?"
Jiang Hongjin said, "In a few days, you can announce that you're pregnant. That way, the rumours will collapse on their own." Since people close to Yurong already knew that she had previously miscarried, if news of her pregnancy spread now, no one would doubt it.
Yurong hesitated before saying, "If your condition can be cured quickly, that's fine. But what if it can't be resolved soon? If I go ahead with the pretence of being pregnant, how am I supposed to keep it up?" It might be hard to tell at first, but if her belly didn't start showing as the months went by, she would be exposed in an instant.
Jiang Hongjin replied, "When your belly gets big, just don't go out to meet people. Problem solved." If the illness hadn't improved by then, they would think of another solution. The urgent priority was to smooth over the current situation. He was unwilling to live under others' sympathy and pity.
Yurong hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed. Relying on the fact that she had an Empress for an elder sister and a duke for a father, she didn't even bother being polite to the wives of officials of a higher rank than Jiang Hongjin. Over the past six months, she had already offended quite a few people. Now that Jiang Hongjin was incapable as a man, countless people were mocking him behind his back.
In the latter half of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Duoming returned to Haocheng.
After waking from her afternoon nap and rinsing her mouth, Yuxi was approached by Gancao, who softly reported, "Wangfei, Yang Daren3 is waiting in the front courtyard." Although Yang Duoming held a sinecure position4, the things he did were all out in the open and well known to everyone.
Yang Duoming arrived shortly after Yuxi had fallen asleep. However, upon hearing that it wasn't urgent, Gancao and the others did not dare to wake her.
Yuxi immediately understood—this meant the matter in Luoyang had reached a conclusion. She said, "Bring me that water-red long dress."
Upon reaching the study in the front courtyard, Yuxi met Yang Duoming. After not seeing him for a month, he seemed noticeably thinner. "Has everything been handled properly?"
Yang Duoming recounted in detail everything he had done in Luoyang. Truth be told, he felt somewhat uneasy because Yuxi had only instructed him to administer the drug and not to spread rumours to ruin Jiang Hongjin's reputation. That part had been his own initiative.
Yuxi, however, was quite satisfied and nodded. "You did very well." Letting Jiang Hongjin live under others' sympathy, ridicule, and contempt was far more gratifying than killing him outright.
Knowing he had done the right thing, Yang Duoming smiled and took out a small camphorwood box from his sleeve. "This is a birthday gift for the Second Young Miss."
Yuxi smiled as she accepted it. "That's very thoughtful." The value of a gift didn't matter; it was the thought that counted.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Duoming said, "Madam, although the rumours I spread will cause Jiang Hongjin some harm, it's not impossible to undo the damage." As long as one came up with a method, the situation could still be resolved.
Yuxi smiled faintly. "You can deceive others, but not yourself. Still, keep a closer eye on that matter." In her previous life, although Jiang Hongjin had never touched her, under Yu Shi's pressure, he eventually got a concubine pregnant. She herself had been framed for harming that concubine and causing her to miscarry, and was consequently sent away to a country estate. While there, however, she learned that the concubine had become pregnant again. Although Yuxi didn't know whether the child was male or female, it was clear that Jiang Hongjin did care about having his own offspring—he just didn't want her to bear them.
With Yuxi's current intelligence, how could she not realise that the concubine's miscarriage was most likely a staged act directed by the concubine herself? As for why the concubine had used her own child to frame her, Yuxi didn't dwell on it. In this lifetime, she would have no further dealings with that concubine anyway.
Thinking that Jiang Hongjin was now infertile, Yuxi smiled faintly. Not wanting children and being unable to have them were two entirely different things. Jiang Hongjin was a proud and arrogant man—this would be a huge blow to him. Moreover, Yurong was not the type to swallow grievances silently. If she learned the truth, the matter would not end peacefully.
Footnotes Full List
- 王府 (wángfǔ) — A king's residence
- 时辰 (shíchen) — 2 hours
- 大人 (dàren) — title of respect toward superiors
- 挂了个闲职 (guà le gè xián zhí) — meaning a title without real duties
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