The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0808 Complications (2)

Qiu Shi knew her son's temperament, which was precisely why she had deliberately brought the matter up with Yuxi. "Given your Dage's temperament, he'll definitely make your Dasao get rid of the child." Her daughter-in-law did not want to abort the child. If her son forced her to, husband and wife would end up as enemies. Qiu Shi absolutely did not want that to happen.

Yuxi could understand her Dasao as well. Unless there was absolutely no other way, what mother would willingly give up her own flesh and blood? But understanding was one thing; she still would not interfere in this matter.

Seeing Yuxi's reaction, Qiu Shi said sadly, "Yuxi, your Dage listens to you more than anyone else at the moment. *Please persuade him to keep this child, all right?"

Yuxi shook her head. "Mom, I can't persuade him about this. If this child is kept, Dage will have to carry the reputation of being unfilial and lacking in virtue." If Han Jianming himself was willing to bear such a reputation, she had nothing to say.

After pausing for a moment, Yuxi continued, "And Mom, have you considered that if this child is kept, he will have to carry the label of a 'mourning-period child' for his entire life?"

Qiu Shi had also thought a great deal over the past two days. She tried to reason with Yuxi. "Your Dasao wants to give birth to the child and raise him outside the household. Once the mourning period is over, she'll pretend to become pregnant again. We'll tell outsiders that the child is in poor health and shouldn't meet people. Then, after eight or ten years, we'll bring the child back." Ye Shi intended to shift the child's stated age back by three years so that he would not be labelled a 'mourning-period child'.

Yuxi gave the same answer as before. "Dage still has to agree to this. He's the child's biological father. Whether this child stays or not is a decision only he can make."

In the end, Qiu Shi still failed to persuade Yuxi.

After Yuxi left, Qiu Shi wiped away her tears and sadly told Mama Li, "Yuxi's heart and intestines have become harder than before." In Qiu Shi's eyes, Yuxi had always been the softest-hearted person. Yet this time, Yuxi had not budged in the slightest.

Mama Li suddenly felt alarmed. She pointed out, "Old Madam, this truly isn't something Gunainai should interfere in. Even an upright magistrate finds family affairs hard to judge, much less when these are affairs of her own natal family. If she interferes and handles things badly, she'll end up the bad person on both sides."

Qiu Shi turned the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand and admitted, "I know this puts her in a difficult position, but she rejected it without hesitating at all...." While it was understandable that Yuxi would refuse to persuade her son, Qiu Shi was still greatly concerned by her attitude.

Mama Li tried to persuade her. "Gunainai is no longer what she once was. If she were still as soft and yielding in the way she handled matters as she used to be, how could she possibly keep so many people under control? An ordinary woman would already be doing very well if she could manage the hundred or so people in her inner household. Our Gunainai is responsible for more than a million people throughout the Northwest. If she were kind-hearted and soft-handed, how could she keep those beneath her in line?"

Qiu Shi expressed his concern, saying, "I understand everything you're saying. But a woman can't have too hard a temperament! Even Yuxi's heart and intestines are becoming increasingly hard."

Mama Li felt that Qiu Shi was worrying blindly over nothing. "Old Madam, Gunainai and Guye are deeply loving and affectionate toward each other. Look, they even came here to have New Year's Eve dinner with you. What is there left for you to worry about?" Although she too felt that Yuxi had become much firmer in temperament, Yuxi was still gentle and tender in front of her husband. That showed that their Gunainai always knew where the proper limits lay in everything she did. It was not for them to criticise her.

Yun Qing was in the room, recounting tales from his battles to Zaozao and Liu-er once again. Yuxi knew those stories so well that she could recite them backwards as smoothly as flowing water. Yet Zaozao still listened with relish, as though every detail were full of flavour, while Liu-er couldn't understand any of it. Yun Qing was telling his story enthusiastically, but Liu-er had already started yawning. If Yun Qing's voice hadn't been so loud and resonant, she probably would have fallen asleep by now.

When Yuxi returned to the room and saw the father with his two daughters, she picked up Liu-er, who was in the middle of a huge yawn, and urged with a smile, "It's very late. Let the children go to sleep!"

Zaozao hurriedly said, "Mom, I haven't washed myself nice and fragrant yet." What she meant by 'washing nice and fragrant' was simply taking a bath. Zaozao had once refused to bathe, so Yuxi coaxed her by saying that if she did not bathe, she would smell bad, but if she did, everyone would like her because she would smell nice and fragrant. Zaozao had remembered those words ever since.

Yuxi smiled. "All right. Mama Zeng will help you wash nice and fragrant now."

After the two children had been carried out, Yun Qing could not help saying, "A bath is a bath. Why call it 'washing nice and fragrant'?" It sounded far too girly.

Yuxi replied with a wooden expression, "Zaozao is a girl, not a boy. Don't get the two mixed up." The older Zaozao became, the more she resembled Yun Qing, and every time Yuxi thought about it, she became so worried she could barely eat. So much for 'a girl changes eighteen times as she grows'. At this rate, Zaozao would become an exact copy of Yun Qing.

Yun Qing exclaimed cheerfully, "She was a girl to begin with!" Only after saying that did he ask, "What did Mom talk to you about? And why are your brows refusing to unfold?" They had been married for more than four years, so he could still tell whether Yuxi was in a good mood or a bad one.

Yuxi briefly told him about Ye Shi's situation. Afterwards, she lamented, "This child truly came at the worst possible time." Ye Shi's pregnancy should originally have been wonderful news, but the timing could only be described as fate playing tricks on people.

Yun Qing nodded. "We should stay out of this matter." Whether to keep the child was up to Han Jianming. They had no right to decide.

Yuxi sighed. "Dasao has even thought of hiding the child away and altering his age. If Dage decides not to keep this child, she definitely won't agree."

Yun Qing shook his head. "Leave it to Dage to handle." Altering the child's age was possible, but *only if Han Jianming agreed to it. Otherwise, every idea Ye Shi came up with would be futile.

Yuxi said softly, "I hope Dage will keep this child." After all, it was a life. If it were snuffed out like this, she could not bear it in her heart.

Han Jianming did not return to Haocheng until the sixth day of the first lunar month. The moment he arrived, he learned that Ye Shi was pregnant. Even a man of his exceptional composure could not hide his surprise.

Once he reached home, Han Jianming went straight to see Qiu Shi. Qiu Shi held on to him and said a great many things, all with the same essential meaning: she wanted him to keep the child.

By then, Han Jianming had already calmed down. He told Qiu Shi, "Mom, I'll go back to the main courtyard and see Ye Shi first."

The instant Ye Shi saw Han Jianming, she felt uneasy. "Master..." She had prepared a whole bellyful of words to tell him, but now that he was actually standing before her, she could not get a single word out. Instead, her tears streamed down one after another.

Han Jianming sat down beside her and said plainly and directly, "This child cannot be kept." He was still deeply in mourning. If the child were allowed to be born, he would no longer be able to plant his feet and stand in officialdom.

Ye Shi's entire body began to tremble. "Master, the child is your own flesh and blood too. How can you harden your heart enough to do this?"

Han Jianming became somewhat agitated. "I don't want to do this either. But *think about it. If we keep this child, he will be a child of the mourning period. Leaving aside the fact that I would no longer be able to stand firmly on my feet in officialdom, the child would have to spend its entire life living beneath other people's strange, judging gazes."

Ye Shi hurriedly explained her plan. After finishing, she took Han Jianming by the hand and said, "Master, as long as we're careful, no one will ever know."

Han Jianming shook his head. "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it. Madam, something like this cannot be concealed." This child absolutely could not be kept.

Ye Shi was crying uncontrollably. "Master, he is your own flesh and blood too. How can you be so cruel? I'm begging you, Master! Please, please let the child live!"

Han Jianming was suffering too. After all, the child was also his own flesh and blood. If the child were a boy, he would be Han Jianming's legitimate son. Unfortunately, the child had arrived at the worst possible time, and keeping him would cause too many problems later on. "Once you've recovered your health, you can have as many children as you want later."

Ye Shi covered her belly and shook her head. "There won't be another one. This child is already a gift from Heaven. There won't be another." Although Ye Shi had taken the medicine that Yuxi had given her, she knew that her health had not fully recovered. On top of that, she was already getting older. If she lost this child, she truly might never have another chance.

Han Jianming spent a good while trying to persuade her, but Ye Shi still wouldn't be convinced, and he began to grow irritable. Standing up, Han Jianming said, "Get some proper rest. I'm going to change my clothes."

After Han Jianming left, Ye Shi got up, wrapped herself up completely, and left the Han residence. Once she had climbed into the carriage, she instructed, "Go to the Yun residence."

The moment Yuxi heard that Ye Shi had arrived, she knew why she was there. Rubbing her forehead, Yuxi told Meiyun, "Please take Dasao to the rear courtyard. I'll be there shortly."

Ye Shi also knew how to behave appropriately and knew where to draw the line. Although she was deeply upset inside, she behaved as though everything were normal. When everyone saw her reddened eyes, they assumed she had quarrelled with her husband and didn't think much more of it.

Yuxi entered the room with Physician He following behind her. She waved everyone else away, then told Ye Shi, "Let Physician He confirm the diagnosis first." Although the chance of a mistake was very small, Yuxi still hoped that there had been one.

Ye Shi hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right."

After taking Ye Shi's pulse, Physician He announced, "Madam has been pregnant for one month already. However, your body is weak, and your emotions have fluctuated greatly recently. The pregnancy is not very stable."

Yuxi asked, "Is Dasao healthy enough to give birth to this child?" It was impossible to restore Ye Shi's health completely within half a year because she was so weak. If that were possible, Yuxi herself would not have needed two years of careful recuperation, even after taking miraculous medicine.

Physician He hesitated before answering, "If she is properly cared for and her health is carefully regulated, she should be able to deliver the child safely." The Wangfu had Momo Quan, who was skilled at restoring people's health, as well as Mama Lan, who knew how to care for pregnant women. The danger should not be too severe.

Yuxi said to Physician He, "It's enough that you know about this. Don't tell anyone else." Physician He also understood the situation and knew how to act tactfully. After Yuxi warned him, he certainly wouldn't speak carelessly.

Physician He nodded. "Yes." By now, he was certain something was wrong with the situation and seriously wrong at that. Otherwise, at a time like this, Yuxi should have been instructing him to prescribe medicine to stabilise the pregnancy, rather than telling him not to let word of it get out.

Just as Physician He was about to turn away, Ye Shi spoke up. "Mr Physician, please prescribe me some medicine to stabilise the pregnancy!" Even if it cost her her life, she was determined to keep this child.

Physician He looked towards Yuxi. Only after seeing Yuxi nod did he agree.