The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0744 Background (2)

After washing up, Yuchen sat down at the dressing table to apply her makeup. Momo Gui walked over to her and whispered, "Niangniang, Tang Jieyi has arrived." Tang Jieyi was Tang Zhan's younger half-sister born of a concubine. After she passed the selection process, the Emperor conferred upon her the rank of fifth-grade Jieyi.

Yuchen adjusted the phoenix hairpin in her coiffure and said, "Let her wait." This time, three women had been selected, and among them, Tang Jieyi was the most respectful toward Yuchen. Ever since entering the Imperial Palace, she had never once missed the daily morning and evening greetings and formal respects.

However, Yuchen would not simply believe that Tang Jieyi was obedient and well-behaved just because she was respectful towards her. She was merely more affectionate on the surface. How many of the women who entered the Imperial Palace were genuinely free of desire and ambition?

Momo Gui suggested with a smile, "Niangniang, it's snowing outside. Shall we have someone collect snow water from the plum blossoms later?" This was Yuchen's habit. Whenever it snowed, she would have people gather snow water from the plum blossoms, then store it in the ice cellar for brewing tea.

Yuchen responded, "After breakfast, let's go to the Imperial Garden." She planned to go there herself to collect the snow water from the plum blossoms. Not only did she like this thing, but the Emperor liked it as well. Therefore, this year she wanted to gather and store as much as possible.

Tang Jieyi was actually fairly pretty, but with Yuchen present, she was overshadowed and faded into dullness. Yuchen's beauty had grown increasingly dazzling over time. Tang Jieyi saluted Yuchen and said smilingly, "No matter how Elder Sister Empress dresses, your beauty is enough to make people not dare look directly at you." Yuchen did not trust Tang Jieyi, but in truth, Tang Jieyi genuinely admired her. Looking at Yuchen, she could not help but wonder how such a flawless woman could exist in this world.

Although Tang Jieyi was quite pretty, she paled in comparison to Yuchen. Yuchen's beauty had become increasingly dazzling over time. After saluting, Tang Jieyi said smilingly, "No matter how Empress Jiejie dresses, your beauty is enough to make people not dare to look at you directly." Yuchen did not trust Tang Jieyi, but in truth, Tang Jieyi genuinely admired her. Whenever she looked at Yuchen, she could not help but wonder how such a flawless woman could exist in this world.

Yuchen smiled. "I'm going to the Imperial Garden later. Come with me." Although she was wary of Tang Jieyi, she had not reached the point where she saw every bush and tree as soldiers.

After breakfast, Yuchen wrapped herself in a fox-fur cloak and led a group of palace servants towards the Imperial Garden. It was still snowing outside at that time.

The Imperial Garden, where countless flowers had once competed in beauty, was now utterly silent. The green pines planted along the roadside were also covered in snow, and the surroundings were a vast expanse of whiteness.

Dozens of wintersweet trees had been planted in the Imperial Garden. The wintersweet flowers in bloom were white with a red tinge, their petals smooth and translucent like precious crystals. Meanwhile, the unopened flower buds trembled gently on the branches, like bashful young maidens.

Tang Jieyi stared so hard that her eyes nearly went blank with amazement, and she finally could not help but exclaim, "So beautiful!" Tang Jieyi was the daughter of a concubine and the only member of the Tang family to meet the qualifications this time. When the Emperor selected consorts, family background was more important than beauty. No matter how beautiful a woman was, beside Yuchen, she became nothing more than a decoration.

Back when Tang Jieyi lived in her maiden home, as the daughter of a concubine, the head wife of the Tang household provided her with enough to eat and wear, but beyond that, she received nothing. She rarely went out and had limited experience of the outside world. Even at her age, this was the first time she had seen such a beautiful winter scene.

Yuchen smiled slightly, took a jade flask, and began collecting snow water. Copying Yuchen's actions, Tang Jieyi climbed up a tree while the palace maids accompanying them were not paying attention. As a result, she lost her footing and fell from the tree. The tree was not very tall, only a little over one metre high. She was uninjured, but her clothes were dirty.

Looking at Tang Jieyi, who was now covered in dirt, Yuchen said helplessly, "Jieyi, return to the palace and change your clothes." For an imperial concubine to climb a tree herself, all those rules and etiquette lessons seemed in vain.

That evening, after the Emperor heard about the incident, he visited Tang Jieyi. As a result, Tang Jieyi was chosen to attend the Emperor in bed that very night.

Momo Gui said coldly, "What effective methods indeed!" To think she had used such a way to attract the Emperor's attention, they had truly underestimated her.

Yuchen was upset too, but she didn't say anything. "Make the arrangements!" After saying this, she couldn't help touching her stomach. Several months had passed with no sign of pregnancy. She had even consulted the imperial physician, who had confirmed that she was in perfect health.

Thinking that Yuchen was angry, Momo Gui did not dare speak anymore.

Same people, different fates. Yuchen had the leisure and refined mood to collect melted snow for making tea, whereas Yuxi was so busy as the year-end approached that she did not even have time to drink a cup of tea.

Zaozao grabbed Yuxi's clothes tightly and stubbornly refused to let go, no matter what. Ever since Liu-er's birthday banquet, Yuxi had been busy from morning until night. Other than during mealtimes, the children could hardly see her at all.

Yuxi told Hongdou, "You carry her."

Hongdou forcibly took Zaozao from Yuxi's arms and was met with ear-splitting cries in return. Hearing Zaozao crying, Liu-er started crying too.

The crying gave Yuxi a headache, so she had no choice but to take Zaozao back into her arms. Only then did the little girl stop crying, while Liu-er continued to sob in between hiccups.

Momo Quan shook her head slightly. "It's been almost half a month already. The children hardly get to see you, so how could they not cling to you? Just rest for half a day today!"

Yuxi shook her head. "I can't. Many ordinary people have suffered due to the heavy snow, and the situation must be resolved as quickly as possible; otherwise, their lives could be in danger. Also, many cattle and sheep in Xihai have frozen to death, and that issue needs to be dealt with quickly, too." Yun Qing had gone to the horse ranch several days earlier to deal with some problems that had arisen there, leaving Yuxi to deal with all the governmental affairs alone. In truth, the disaster situation below was not especially severe, but this was Yuxi's first time dealing with such matters. Human lives were at stake, and since she lacked experience, she acted very cautiously.

After a moment's thought, Momo Quan suggested, "Why don't you bring the child to the study?" Liu-er was comparatively easy to soothe, but Zaozao was difficult to calm down! Even she could not endure that little girl's crying.

Yuxi thought for a moment and agreed. "All right then, I'll take Zaozao to the front courtyard. Liu-er will be in your care, Momo." Zaozao was too heavy; after carrying her for only a short while, Yuxi's arms started to ache.

After crying for a short while, Liu-er fell asleep.

Mama Qu walked lightly into the room and reported to Momo Quan about the New Year goods that had been purchased. "Momo, all the New Year supplies have been fully prepared."

Momo Quan took the list and looked through it. Nodding, she handed it back to Mama Qu and said, "Wangfei is busy with external affairs, so you will need to put more effort into the inner household matters." A person's energy was limited. No matter how capable Yuxi was, she could not manage both the inner and outer affairs simultaneously. Therefore, Yuxi had handed over the inner household matters to Momo Quan and Mama Qu. As Momo Quan was already advanced in age and had limited energy herself, she mainly oversaw the overall direction, while Mama Qu handled most household matters.

Mama Qu smiled. "It's not hard work. Madam allowing me to manage the inner household is a sign of her trust in me." Thinking back to when she had fled her mud pit of hometown and returned to the capital, she remembered how idle she had been, and how uncertain she had felt about the future, living each day in anxiety and unease. Now, although she was busy, she felt steady inside.

When they arrived at the front courtyard and saw Xu Wu, Yuxi handed Zaozao to him. "Please take Zaozao to Uncle Huo!" Other people could not endure Zaozao's crying, but Huo Changqing could. Moreover, he was especially patient with her. When she cried, he would coax her and would never become irritated, no matter how long it took. Regarding this, Yuxi could only conclude that it must be the special bond between grandparent and grandchild.

Rubbing her temples, Yuxi entered the study and picked up the stack of memorial documents on the desk. She was working so hard only because she wanted those under her rule to enjoy a peaceful and happy New Year.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yun Qing returned. The moment he walked into the study, a chill breeze followed him in. Fortunately, Yuxi was wearing lots of warm, thick clothes, so she wasn't cold.

Yun Qing removed his snowflake-covered cloak and handed it to Gao Song, instructing him, "Take it back to the rear courtyard." Yun Qing now had eight cloaks, all of which had been made for him by Yuxi. Had he not stopped her, she would have hurriedly made even more.

Yuxi handed Yun Qing a small, red-gold, openwork carved hand warmer and said, "Warm your hands." After travelling such a long distance, his whole body must have been freezing. Yun Qing was indeed somewhat cold, so he accepted the hand warmer and held it in his hands. Looking down at it, he saw that not only was the workmanship exquisite, but it was also made of red gold. Yun Qing asked, "Where did this come from?" Ever since Yuxi started managing government affairs, she had become extremely frugal and would never have spent money on something like this.

Yuxi replied with a smile, "I found it in your private treasury." Even in Yu City, let alone the capital, Yuxi had never been extravagant enough to use red gold to make a hand warmer. This small hand warmer had been confiscated from the Governor-General's residence. This thus illustrated how luxurious Ji Xuan's lifestyle had been.

Yun Qing wondered aloud, "When did I ever have a private treasury? Haven't I already let you manage everything?" He had handed all the spoils of war confiscated by him to Yuxi for disposal. There were many items in Yun Qing's treasury, and it took Yuxi half a month to fully register and catalogue everything in the storeroom.

A smile appeared on Yuxi's face. "Only by handing them to me can these things exhaust their usefulness." Everything inside that could be used was taken out and put to use. As for the rest, Yuxi had given them away as gifts.

Yuxi spoke calmly at that moment, but the truth was that when Yun Qing had handed her the keys to the private treasury that day, she had been so moved that tears had rolled down her cheeks. Yun Qing, who was standing beside her at the time, did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Yun Qing did not mind, though. When it came to administrative matters, he was no match for Yuxi, and he was inferior to her in certain political affairs as well. Of course, they both had their own strengths and weaknesses. Yun Qing said, "Yuxi, I went to Tong Pass." He had mainly gone to Tong Pass to inspect the local defence conditions.

Yuxi was well aware of Yun Qing's movements. Du Zheng was a steady, composed person, and Yuxi felt reassured with him firmly guarding Tong Pass.

Yun Qing's expression became somewhat grave as he continued, "The situation over in Henan is terrible. More than twelve hundred people in Chizhou📹 have frozen or starved to death in this snowstorm alone." They had previously tried to implement An Zike's idea of attracting commoners from Henan and other regions who could no longer survive there. The idea itself was good, but the results were not very successful. Due to the extremely strict controls imposed by Chizhou📹, only a few thousand people had managed to come over so far.

Yuxi shook her head. "There is nothing that we can do about that." When disasters struck the northwest, the northwest government would provide relief. But in Henan, officials only cared about peeling their people layer by layer and did not care whether they lived or died.

Yun Qing suddenly blurted out: "Yuxi, you were right." Seeing the puzzled look on Yuxi's face, he continued, "The common people in the northwest can now at least be considered peaceful and content with their lives and work." If they had not taken over the northwest, the situation there would definitely be much the same as in Henan now.

Yuxi had always held Yun Qing in very high regard. She said, "This is all your achievement. Without you, they would still be suffering under Ji Xuan's exploitation."

Yun Qing replied, "This is not only my achievement, but also—"

Before Yun Qing could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Xu Wu's loud and resonant voice from outside: "Wangye, Wangfei, Han Daren has important matters to report!"

Yuxi said smilingly, "Please invite Dage in."