The next day, just past the midpoint of the Mao hour 1 , Yuxi woke up. Yuxi woke up at this exact time every day, and today was no exc...
The next day, just past the midpoint of the Mao hour1, Yuxi woke up.
Yuxi woke up at this exact time every day, and today was no exception; once the time arrived, she awoke naturally. Thinking about what had happened the previous day, Yuxi rubbed her forehead. She was truly embarrassed when she remembered that she had actually got drunk the previous day.
After getting out of bed, Yuxi asked, "Where is Wangye?"
Gancao replied, "Wangye stayed up keeping watch last night. He's in the front courtyard dealing with things right now." Gancao thought that if a woman were to marry, she should marry a man like Wangye.
Yuxi nodded. "There's a smell on me; I need to take a bath." After saying this, she added, "Put some rose petals in the water as well!" Even she found the smell of alcohol on her body unpleasant.
Just as Yuxi had finished washing and getting dressed, Yun Qing returned from the front courtyard.
Seeing the bloodshot veins in Yun Qing's eyes, Yuxi said somewhat worriedly, "Did you stay up all night again? You can't keep treating your body so carelessly just because you're young." No matter how busy Yuxi became, her daily schedule always remained regular, unlike Yun Qing's, which would be thrown into disarray whenever he was busy. Momo Quan's biggest criticism of him was that he took care of the wider family but neglected his own small family2.
Yun Qing smiled and reassured her: "I slept for a little while in the front courtyard. Since there's not much to do today, I'll catch up on some sleep later." If he hadn't said that, Yuxi would have started nagging him again.
Both Zaozao and Liu-er were carried over together. Dressed in bright red outfits, the two children looked especially festive.
Yun Qing happily held Zaozao, exclaiming, "My Zaozao looks so good in this outfit! Yuxi, don't you think Zaozao looks like the Golden Boy who attends Guanyin🖼️?"
When Yuxi heard this, she almost burst out laughing. What did he mean by 'Guanyin's Golden Boy'? Someone unaware of the truth might even think Zaozao was a boy! However, since it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, the beginning of the year, Yuxi kept her inward mutterings to herself.
After breakfast, the husband and wife took the two children to the front courtyard to pay New Year's respects to Huo Changqing. Huo Changqing gave each child a thick red packet. Liu-er was still too young to understand, but as soon as Zaozao received hers, she handed it to Yuxi.
Smiling, Yuxi kissed Zaozao on the cheek and praised her: "Zaozao is such a good girl." This was Zaozao's good point: she always gave Yuxi whatever nice thing she received, a trait which Yuxi especially liked.
Zaozao and Liu-er made a round through the front courtyard, collecting countless red packets. After returning to the rear courtyard, Momo Quan had also prepared red envelopes for the two children. Since these red envelopes were only given out during the New Year celebrations, Yuxi didn't stop them from accepting them.
After Zaozao accepted the red envelope, she handed it to Yuxi once again.
Watching this, Momo Quan smiled and said, "Zaozao is the eldest sister. With her setting such a good example, the younger brothers and sisters certainly won't turn out badly." If Zaozao set a good example, the children who came after her would surely follow her lead, so how could they possibly turn out badly?
Yuxi stroked Zaozao's head and remarked with a smile, "I hope this girl can keep this up forever." Whenever Zaozao was noisy and mischievous, Yuxi felt like giving her a beating, but when she behaved obediently, Yuxi adored her immensely.
Starting from the second day of the first lunar month, the wives from various families came to pay New Year visits, and Zaozao and Liu-er once again received countless red packets.
Everything belonging to Zaozao and Liu-er was recorded in account books. These items would later count as their personal savings and property.
After the Lantern Festival, Yuxi brought over the account books for the two children. After looking through them, she could not help but smile as she said to Yun Qing, "The two children received more than two thousand taels' worth of red packets during the New Year." When she was young herself, receiving a one-tael gold nugget had made her incredibly happy.
Yun Qing replied indifferently, "Isn't it just a little over two thousand taels of silver? That's nothing." He still intended to prepare dowries 'ten li3 long' for his two daughters in the future!
All government affairs had been taken care of before the New Year. Furthermore, there was an unwritten rule among officials that anything that was not a major matter would be postponed until after the Lantern Festival. This rule also enabled those in authority to enjoy a peaceful and festive New Year. Consequently, Yun Qing and Yuxi were able to relax together as a married couple during this fortnight. Of course, this 'rest' was relative compared to what outsiders experienced. Yuxi was someone who could never stay idle. If she weren't with Yun Qing or the children, she would usually be embroidering or reading. Yun Qing was helpless regarding this, and even Momo Quan could do nothing about it.
As soon as the Lantern Festival was over, Yang Duoming entered the Yun residence to report something to Yuxi. "Wangfei, Jiang Hongjin's wife, Han Shi, is pregnant." Once Han Yurong became pregnant, the rumours that they had previously spread collapsed of their own accord, without needing to be refuted.
Yuxi asked, "Is the pregnancy real or fake?" The matter was simply too coincidental, and Yuxi could not help suspecting that it was fake.
Yang Duoming replied, "It's real. She's already one month along." He had received the news several days earlier. It was only because the Lantern Festival had not yet passed at the time that he could not let one Jiang Hongjin ruin the festive joy of the New Year.
Yuxi smiled faintly and remarked, "His luck is truly good." If Yurong had not conceived, Jiang Hongjin would never have had children of his own in this lifetime. Speaking of which, Heaven had indeed favoured Jiang Hongjin greatly.
Yang Duoming cautiously suggested, "Wangfei, if you are willing, I can make this child…" He did not finish the sentence, but he believed that Yuxi understood what he meant.
Yuxi shook her head. Although she hated Jiang Hongjin to the core, the child was innocent. Moreover, she was unwilling to create needless killing karma.
Truth be told, Yang Duoming knew he would face opposition from Yuxi as soon as he made the suggestion. It could not be helped. How could someone as kind-hearted as Wangfei lay down a cruel hand4 towards an unborn child? The outcome turned out exactly as he had expected.
After a long silence, Yuxi instructed, "Cut off his official career." If Jiang Hongjin could no longer become an official, it was unclear whether he could withstand such a blow.
Yang Duoming hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wangfei, if Jiang Hongjin's official career is cut off, he will definitely return to the capital. At that time, we won't be able to do whatever we want with him. Wangfei, it would be better to simply finish him off directly!" Once the man was dead, then no matter how great the hatred was, revenge would have been considered achieved.
Yuxi shook her head. "Once dead, everything ends completely." She wanted Jiang Hongjin to experience what she herself had experienced. If they simply k!lled him straight away, it would be letting him off too easily.
Yang Duoming shook his head and protested, "Wangfei, Jiang Hongjin is quite talented. Even if his career in the civil service is cut short, with a father who is the Minister of Revenue, he can still achieve great things. It's better to finish him off, Wangfei! Only then will there be no future troubles." In truth, with such a father backing him, Jiang Hongjin could still enjoy wealth and honour even if he did absolutely nothing. If there were deep hatred and great enmity, k!lling the other party would truly count as revenge, not making things as troublesome as they were now.
Yang Duoming had different experiences, which shaped his way of thinking. He believed that as long as a person was alive, there was hope. This belief came from his own experience of being forced to become an outlaw after his parents met a tragic end, followed by abandonment by his clan. Yet he never gave up hope, persevering in his search for a new path forward. And that was why he was where he was today.
Yuxi shook her head. "You only need to cut off his official career. Handle this matter personally." If Jiang Hongjin were allowed to die just like that, it would be too cheap for him5.
Yang Duoming was unaware of Yuxi's obsession. Seeing that he could not change her mind, he said no more. "All right, I'll get it handled as quickly as possible." This matter had to be carried out discreetly. Jiang Hongjin absolutely could not find out that Wangfei was the mastermind behind it; otherwise, there would be enormous trouble.
Yuxi then told Yang Duoming something: "The Supervisory Office cannot be established for the time being. If you have any ideas, you may bring them up." The Supervisory Office was responsible for supervising officials and military generals. However, Huo Changqing believed that establishing such an organisation at this time would cause people to become divided in their loyalty, so the plan was temporarily put on hold.
Yang Duoming shook his head. "No, I think things are quite good as they are now. I'm used to living freely and casually. If I became an official, I wouldn't be able to endure that kind of restraint." In reality, Yang Duoming's current activities were already akin to monitoring officials. The only difference was that he operated from the shadows.
Seeing that Yang Duoming was completely sincere, Yuxi said nothing further.
Upon returning home, Yang Duoming pondered how to deal with Jiang Hongjin. Yuxi had only instructed him to ruin Jiang Hongjin's future, but he was unsure exactly how to do so. He therefore summoned Yan Xi to discuss it with him.
Yan Xi could not help but ask, "Good heavens, what kind of grudge does Wangfei have against that Jiang fellow?" First, she had him drugged so that he could no longer perform sexually, and now she wanted to destroy his career as well. Even the hatred that would arise from murdering one's father and stealing one's wife would not go this far.
Yang Duoming said, "This is not something we should know. For now, think about how to resolve this matter." The animosity between Wangfei and Jiang Hongjin was probably greater than that arising from murdering one's father and stealing one's wife.
Yan Xi answered carelessly, "Isn't this easy to solve? Just make that Jiang fellow lose an arm or break a leg, and his official career would be over, wouldn't it? A cripple can't become an official."
Yang Duoming had an idea in mind: "I still want to solve this matter once and for all." He felt that merely crippling Jiang Hongjin would leave the door open for future trouble. Alas, no matter how much power Wangfei held, she was still a woman. Women, after all, were soft-hearted.
As for a once-and-for-all solution, that naturally meant k!lling Jiang Hongjin. Yan Xi shook his head. "Wangfei only told us to ruin Jiang Hongjin's official career; she never ordered us to end his life." Seeing that Yang Duoming remained silent, Yan Xi continued, "Don't be fooled by how easygoing Wangfei seems. If you disobey orders and act on your own initiative, the consequences will be very serious." What those in power hated most were subordinates who were disobedient and made decisions on their own.
After a moment's thought, Yang Duoming nodded. "Then we'll do as you said!" Yan Xi was right. Although Wangfei was soft-hearted, that only applied when someone had not crossed her bottom line. Cross that line, and she could be just as ruthless.
Jiang Hongjin had no idea that danger was approaching. Over the past few days, he had been delighted beyond measure. He had originally only asked Yurong to feign pregnancy to calm the wind and waves6 outside, but unexpectedly, she suddenly fell ill after the New Year celebrations. After a physician examined her, it turned out that she was actually pregnant. Although only one month had passed, this was enough to make Jiang Hongjin overjoyed. However, once he had calmed down, he began to feel afraid again.
Lying on the bed, Yurong's voice rose unconsciously when she heard Jiang Hongjin's words: "Are you crazy? Do you even know what you're saying? You want me to return to the capital now? Have you forgotten that we lost our last child because of the hardships of long-distance travel?" If she returned to the capital now, there was an eighty to ninety per cent chance that this child would not survive either.
Jiang Hongjin said anxiously, "If returning to the capital won't work, then go to the provincial city instead. You cannot stay in Luoyang. It's too dangerous."
Yurong refused. "No. My pregnancy is unstable right now. I can't go anywhere." Even going to Zhengzhou would take several days by carriage. If something unexpected happened, she would regret it endlessly. Moreover, Jiang Hongjin had contracted an illness that might be incurable, meaning they might never have another child.
Jiang Hongjin had his reasons for wanting Yurong to leave Luoyang: "I'm afraid the person trying to harm me will find out about your pregnancy and come after you, too. They want me to have no descendants at all." Wasn't the intention of giving him that kind of drug precisely to wipe out his descendants? Therefore, he would protect this child with all his might, as this child might be his only heir.
Yurong frowned tightly.
Footnotes Full List
- 卯时 (mǎo shí) — the 'Mao hour', a traditional Chinese time period corresponding roughly to 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
- 顾大家,没顾好小家 (gù dà jiā, méi gù hǎo xiǎo jiā) — literally "looked after the big family, but not the small family"; meaning he cared for the larger responsibilities/public matters while neglecting his own family.
- 里 (lǐ): ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m
- 下狠手 (xià hěn shǒu) — meaning to act ruthlessly.
- 太便宜他了 (tài pián yi tā le) — meaning letting someone off too lightly.
- 平息风波 (píng xī fēng bō) — meaning to suppress controversy or turmoil.
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