The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0805 Reconciliation (1)

Yang Duoming did not return to Haocheng until the evening of the 29th day of the 12th lunar month.

After meeting Yuxi, Yang Duoming briefly told her what he had managed to find out. When he had finished, he handed her the notes he had written, recording everything he had seen and heard in Henan with perfect clarity.

Yuxi took the notes, flipped through two pages, then put them down. "You've worked hard these past few days. Go home and spend some quality time with your wife and son."

At the mention of children, Yang Duoming hesitated before bringing up Yurong in Zhengzhou. "Wangfei, Jiang Hongjin's wife, Han Shi, has given birth to a son." Yuxi had previously said that she would no longer pursue the matter, so although Yang Duoming knew that Yurong had given birth to a boy, he had not taken any action.

Yuxi smiled. "What good fortune." She was referring not only to Jiang Hongjin's good fortune, but to Yurong's as well. Given Jiang Hongjin's status, it would not have been easy for Yurong to obtain a mutual divorce. Now she had a son while Jiang Hongjin had become an invalid. With Yurong's temperament, she could undoubtedly walk sideways through the Jiang household. The very same situation could produce completely different outcomes depending on the people involved.

Seeing her reaction, Yang Duoming knew that the matter truly belonged to the past.

When Yang Duoming returned home and saw his chubby little son, he grinned so broadly that he could hardly close his mouth. But Maomao didn't recognise him and refused to be held by him. When Yang Duoming would not let go, the baby burst into loud sobs.

Yang Duoming was not upset. Instead, he playfully nibbled Maomao's cheek and said cheerfully, "My son, I'm your father. Come on, call me Dad. Let me hear you say it."

Fu Qingluo laughed. "He's only a little over a month old. How could he possibly know how to talk? He won't be able to speak properly until he's at least ten months old."

Yang Duoming was only teasing. Of course, he knew a baby this age couldn't possibly talk.

Fu Qingluo could not bear to see her son keep crying, so she finally took him back from Yang Duoming. After soothing him for a little while, the baby stopped crying.

Yang Duoming gathered both mother and child into his arms and apologised, "I've made you suffer." While he had been away, Fu Qingluo had been left to deal with everything by herself.

Leaning against Yang Duoming's shoulder, Fu Qingluo replied, "I haven't suffered much. While you were away, Wangfei took very good care of me. Otherwise, the delivery would not have gone so smoothly." She had followed all of Mama Lan's advice. The results were clear: the delivery went exceptionally smoothly, and the baby was born after only four hours of labour. Of course, her excellent physical condition from years of martial arts training was also a major factor.

Yang Duoming smiled. "Wangfei has always been very thorough in everything she does." This statement might be true, but deep down, Yang Duoming was still very grateful.

Fu Qingluo thought of the child she had lost before, and her expression dimmed. "If I had listened to you back then and gone to Yu City, perhaps the baby could have been saved."

Losing the child was also painful for Yang Duoming, but he did not want that memory to haunt them forever. Stroking Fu Qingluo's head, he tried to comfort her. "Don't dwell on it. That child was simply not fated to remain with us."

Fu Qingluo nodded, her eyes reddening. "Duoming, now that you're back, can we go and see Dage together?" She felt deeply guilty towards Fu Tianlei. If her elder brother hadn't protected her from childhood onward, how could she have spent all those years living so freely and carefree?

Yang Duoming stroked her head and nodded. "All right." Fu Tianlei had wanted to kill him that day, but when all was said and done, Yang Duoming had been the one in the wrong. After all, he had run off with the man's younger sister. If Fu Tianlei wanted to beat or kill him for it, he could only accept it.

Mentioning Fu Tianlei also prompted Fu Qingluo to bring up Chen Shi. She repeated everything Yuxi had told her that day, then gave a bitter smile. "If Wangfei hadn't awakened me to the truth, I still wouldn't know how despicable my Dasao really is." She had only ever told Yang Duoming how close she and Chen Shi were. However, she never breathed a word about things like how Chen Shi had subconsciously made her beat maids who tried to seduce their master to death, or what she did to the pregnant concubines. Otherwise, Yang Duoming would have noticed long ago that something was wrong with Chen Shi.

A fierce glint flashed through Yang Duoming's eyes. "Just keep your distance from her from now on." It was difficult to take revenge on Chen Shi, since she was Qingluo's sister-in-law. But for her to still be scheming against Qingluo even now—he would not simply swallow this bitter breath of resentment.

Fu Qingluo smiled bitterly. "How could I ever get close to her again?" At that moment, she wished she could stay as far away from Chen Shi as possible and never have anything to do with her again. But that was clearly impossible unless she completely severed ties with her maternal family.

Yang Duoming had an idea, though he didn't tell Fu Qingluo about it. "Since we want to ask my brother-in-law for forgiveness, there's no better day than today. Let's take the baby and ask him right now. I'm sure he'll forgive us." Going to the Fu residence to apologise as soon as he returned would also demonstrate his sincerity.

Fu Qingluo hesitated. "It's very cold outside, and Maomao is only a little over a month old. What if he catches a cold?"

Yang Duoming answered, "We'll put more clothes on him. He'll be fine." Once he was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, how could any wind possibly reach him?

Fu Qingluo generally listened to Yang Duoming. Although she was still somewhat worried, she nodded. "Maomao looks a lot like Dage. Maybe once Dage sees him, he'll forgive me."

By the time the couple reached the Fu residence, it was already dark. When they arrived at the entrance, the gatekeeper didn't dare let them in. Bowing to them, he said, "Gunainai, please wait here. I'll go and announce your arrival." Everyone knew that their master was angry with the Gunainai. Without his approval, how could the gatekeeper dare to let her in?

Yang Duoming was not angry. He had expected this. "Then I'll have to trouble you to announce us."

When Fu Tianlei received the news, his face turned cold. "I won't see them!"

His trusted attendant, Zhao Zhengqin, tried persuading him for quite some time, but to no avail. In the end, he went outside and told Yang Duoming and Fu Qingluo, "Gunainai, Master Yang, you should go home for now. Come back after Master's anger has subsided." In truth, Zhao Zhengqin knew that Fu Tianlei's heart had already softened. After all, the wood had already been made into a boat, so there was no point in continuing to resist it. Fu Tianlei simply set aside his pride for dignity.

Upon hearing this, Fu Qingluo knelt on the ground with the baby in her arms.

Yang Duoming knew that Fu Qingluo's stubborn streak had flared up again. There was no use trying to persuade her at a time like this, so he walked over and knelt by her side.

Zhao Zhengqin hurriedly said, "Gunainai, please get up. In this bitter cold, when even the earth seems frozen, kneeling on the ground could cause illness to take root. If you catch a cold now, you'll suffer for it later."

Fu Qingluo refused to get up no matter what. Crying, she said, "Tell my brother that if he refuses to forgive me, I'll stay kneeling in front of this gate and won't get up."

A mother and child are joined at the heart. Hearing Fu Qingluo cry so heartbreakingly, the baby in her arms began to wail too. The sound caused Zhao Zhengqin's expression to change.

Zhao Zhengqin tried to persuade her. "Gunainai, even if you won't think about yourself, you have to think about the child! You're kneeling out here—what if the baby catches a chill?" She was taking the child's well-being far too lightly.

Fu Qingluo handed the baby to Zhao Zhengqin. "Then take him inside." In any case, she was determined to remain kneeling there. If her elder brother refused to forgive her, she wouldn't get up.

Unable to persuade her, Zhao Zhengqin had no choice but to carry the baby back inside and report to his master.

Fu Tianlei had already heard the baby crying from his study. Before he could even ask what was happening, Zhao Zhengqin walked in carrying the child. Fu Tianlei asked coldly, "Why did you bring the baby in here?"

Zhao Zhengqin replied, "Gunainai knows she was wrong. She's kneeling in front of the gate, begging Master for forgiveness. I couldn't persuade her to get up, and I was afraid the baby would freeze, so I brought him inside." After pausing, he continued, "Master, Gunainai has only just completed her postpartum confinement. If she kneels on the icy ground and catches a chill, it could affect her health in the long term."

Fu Tianlei was so furious to the point of death. She clearly wasn't taking her own health seriously at all. "And Yang Duoming is just letting her behave this recklessly?"

Zhao Zhengqin had served at Fu Tianlei for many years and understood his temperament well. "Master, it's not as though you don't know what Gunainai is like. Once she becomes stubborn, no one can stop her. Master, Gunainai was indeed in the wrong. You can beat her or punish her however you wish, but you can't let her ruin her own body." Zhao Zhengqin was not saying this for Fu Qingluo's sake, but for Fu Tianlei's. If Fu Qingluo truly developed a chronic ailment because of this, his master would regret it for the rest of his life.

Fu Tianlei remained silent.

Zhao Zhengqin could tell that Fu Tianlei was beginning to soften, so he held out the baby, who was still crying. "Master, the child is over a month old already, and you haven't even seen him yet! I heard Mama He say that the little young master looks very much like you." The baby was wrapped tightly, and a large cap covered his head, so his face was not yet visible.

Fu Tianlei took the baby and lifted the cap. When he saw the little face that resembled his own, his heart softened involuntarily. He wiped away the baby's tears and said, "Let them come in." There was no point in continuing this standoff. The matter had to be resolved eventually.

Zhao Zhengqin let out a breath of relief.

The moment Fu Qingluo saw Fu Tianlei, she dropped to her knees again and cried, "Dage, I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I brought shame upon you." Even in the relatively open-minded Northwest, eloping would bring disgrace upon one's family.

Without saying a word, Yang Duoming knelt beside her.

Upon seeing them, much of the fire in Fu Tianlei's heart subsided. He scolded Fu Qingluo, "You're a mother now, yet you still act so foolishly! In this cold weather, you actually knelt outside holding your baby! It's bad enough that you don't care for your own health, but did you not even think about *your child? What if he had caught a chill?"

Fu Qingluo quickly nodded. "Dage, I really was foolish. It was all my fault. I'll never do it again." Her brother's willingness to scold her meant the matter was more or less behind them now.

Fu Tianlei snorted coldly. "Why aren't you hurrying to the rear courtyard to change your clothes?" The snow on the ground had yet to melt, so her clothes were bound to be wet after kneeling there.

Fu Qingluo looked at Yang Duoming, who was kneeling beside her, and hesitated. She was reluctant to leave her husband alone there when she had no idea what her elder brother might do to him.

Yang Duoming said gently, "Hurry and change your clothes, or you'll catch a chill." Fu Qingluo had dressed very warmly that day, but after kneeling for so long, her trousers were undoubtedly wet. If she did not change soon, the cold would seep into her legs.

Seeing this scene, Fu Tianlei's face grew even darker.

Seeing his expression, Fu Qingluo no longer dared to be stubborn. She stood up and said, "I'll go and change my clothes right now." After speaking, she glanced at Yang Duoming and walked out. No matter how angry her elder brother was, he would not punish Duoming too severely for the child's sake.