The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0823 Fu Qingluo’s Dream

When Yun Qing returned that evening, Yuxi told him that Zaozao had smashed the water vat. Rather than getting upset, Yun Qing laughed when he heard about it and exclaimed, "Zaozao takes after me!"

Yuxi was so exasperated that she laughed. "She certainly takes after you. Everything about her is *just like you. What about Liu-er, then? Who do you think she takes after?"

Yun Qing returned with a smile, "What are you getting angry about? It's only a water vat!" Yun Qing sometimes found Yuxi rather amusing. In the front courtyard, when discussing affairs with the officials under his command, she was exceptionally rational, analysing the advantages and disadvantages of government affairs logically and systematically. Yet once she entered the rear courtyard, she became a completely different person, hardly any different from an ordinary woman.

Yuxi stood up and said, "I'm going to check on Liu-er." If she continued this conversation, she would only get fired up. Sigh. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, every fault was hers. She should have never agreed to let Zaozao learn martial arts from Huo Changqing in the first place.

Yun Qing caught hold of Yuxi and said, "The children are still young. If they want to play, let them enjoy themselves. In a few more years, they won't have the chance to play even if they want to. Zaozao especially will have to take over my position one day, and the burden on her shoulders will be very heavy. So don't restrict her too much now." It wasn't just Huo Changqing. Yun Qing also regarded Zaozao as his successor.

His words made it sound as though he had already decided that Yuxi would never give birth to a son. Although Yun Qing had spoken without any particular intention, Yuxi, the listener, took his words to heart.

Yuxi let out a breath of pent-up frustration and argued, "We can't indulge her too much either, otherwise we won't be able to control her when she's older." There was no point in saying anything more until she had given birth to a son.

Yun Qing wasn't worried, however. "You don't need to worry about that. With Uncle Huo teaching Zaozao, she'll turn out well." After all, none of Huo Changqing's other disciples, including Feng Dajun and Yu Cong, had turned out badly.

Yuxi said nothing more.

It was time for the evening meal, but Zaozao still hadn't returned. Yuxi sent Jingbai to find out what was happening. Soon, Jingbai returned and reported, "Wangfei, the Old Master has punished the Eldest Young Miss because of the water vat."

Once Huo Changqing learned that Zaozao had smashed the water vat, he waited until she finished her daily exercises, then made her stand in a martial arts stance with a bowl of water balanced on her head.

Yuxi felt rather conflicted. If Huo Changqing had not punished Zaozao, Yuxi would have thought he was spoiling her too much. Yet now that he had punished her, Yuxi felt sorry for her. Nevertheless, reason ultimately gained the upper wind. Yuxi asked, "How long is she being punished for?"

Jingbai replied, "Half a shichen." Although Jingbai had been assigned to serve Yuxi in the rear courtyard, she spent most of her time learning martial arts and medicine-making from Master Yang.

Yuxi intended to train Jingbai to become Zaozao's personal female bodyguard, so she was naturally pleased with this arrangement. As a result, Jingbai was rarely in the rear courtyard during the day, only coming over in the evenings.

Yuxi exclaimed, "Then we'll wait for Zaozao to return before we eat!"

Yun Qing wouldn't agree, though. "Just ask the kitchen to save some food for Zaozao." Setting aside the fact that Liu-er would go hungry, Yuxi was now pregnant and couldn't afford to miss meals either!

For her unborn child's sake, Yuxi had to eat, even when she had no appetite. As her pregnancy progressed, she found herself eating more and more. Just look at this: she had eaten a bowl of rice, a bowl of congee, a bowl of goat's milk egg custard, and quite a few dishes of vegetables. Even though her appetite wasn't particularly good at the moment, she had still eaten a third more than usual.

Zaozao returned after dark and began wolfing down her food as soon as she sat at the table, looking as though she hadn't eaten for days. Yuxi couldn't help frowning at the sight. However, remembering that the child had already suffered through her punishment, she said nothing more.

While bathing Zaozao, Yuxi asked, as she washed her down, "Did Yeye punish you for breaking the water vat?"

Zaozao nodded. "Yeye said I was too reckless and never considered the consequences of my actions, so he punished me." Huo Changqing saw the matter differently than Yuxi. He had punished Zaozao not only for smashing the large water vat, but also for her lack of awareness of danger.

The next day, Yuxi received a letter from Jiang Hongfu. In it, he explained that he intended to send Mr Gao and several others to Henan to rescue Yurong, and hoped Yuxi could issue them with the necessary travel permits to leave the region. He made this request because it was easy to enter the northwest but difficult to leave. As the northwest was sparsely populated, the authorities wanted to encourage more people to settle there. However, the neighbouring provinces kept a tight rein on things, and even those who made it through would have to pay a heavy price.

After giving the matter some thought, Yuxi issued the travel permits anyway. Despite her dislike of Yurong, she didn't want her to become a concubine.

Shortly afterwards, Xu Wu returned and informed Yuxi, "Wangfei, Fu Qingluo is requesting an audience with you. She says she has something to discuss." Compared to how she had been in the northwest, Fu Qingluo seemed like an entirely different person.

Yuxi was somewhat puzzled. What could Fu Qingluo possibly want with her? "Please invite her to sit in the rear courtyard. I'll come over a little later." Not just anyone was allowed to enter the study. Besides, Yuxi didn't think Fu Qingluo had anything particularly important to discuss with her.

It was nearly noon when Yuxi finally returned to the rear courtyard. Looking at the child in Fu Qingluo's arms, she smiled and praised, "This child is growing up beautifully."

Fu Qingluo replied, "It's all thanks to Wangfei's blessings." This wasn't mere flattery. Without Yuxi's help, she never could have raised Maomao so well. Fu Qingluo was therefore sincerely grateful to Yuxi.

In truth, Fu Qingluo was a very straightforward person. If someone treated her well, she would repay their kindness many times over. This was also why she had helped Chen Shi so much. Before Chen Shi married into the Fu family, she had treated Fu Qingluo so well that she couldn't possibly have treated her any better. Even after marrying into the family, Chen Shi had continued to treat her as well as she possibly could. Of course, Chen Shi had been so kind to Fu Qingluo because of Fu Tianlei. However, at the time, Fu Qingluo was unaware of these underlying motives. All she knew was that Chen Shi treated her well, and she felt obliged to protect her.

Yuxi smiled. "All I did was ask Mama Lan to give you a few pointers. The fact that you've raised the child so well is entirely your own achievement."

With that, Yuxi made a small gesture with her hand and invited her, "Have a seat!" Usually, Yuxi would have held the child for a while. However, now that she was pregnant, she could no longer do so in case the child accidentally kicked her in the stomach.

Fu Qingluo was frank and straightforward by nature, with little understanding of subtle manoeuvring or roundabout ways. As soon as she sat down, she stated her reason for coming. "Wangfei, I've been sitting around at home with the child lately, with nothing much to do. So I'd like to find something to keep me occupied."

Yuxi smiled and asked, "What would you like to do?" She suspected that whatever Fu Qingluo had in mind would be difficult to achieve. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come to discuss it with her.

Fu Qingluo replied, "Wangfei, I'd like to establish a martial arts school for women, dedicated specifically to teaching them martial arts." She had always dreamed of doing this, and of training numerous exceptional female martial artists. However, she wasn't foolish. She knew she couldn't do it alone and would need Yuxi's help.

A women's martial arts school might not be feasible anywhere else. But this was the northwest, where Yuxi herself held political power despite being a woman. Therefore, establishing a school for women would hardly shock the world or scandalise society.

Yuxi didn't respond immediately. Instead, she considered the matter for a moment before asking, "What do you want me to do?"

Fu Qingluo replied, "I know how many jin and liang I weigh, so there's no way I could run this martial arts school myself. Teaching the students martial arts wouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't be able to handle the other matters."

Leaning back in her chair, Yuxi responded, "Opening a women's martial arts school isn't out of the question. However, when the time comes, you will only be responsible for teaching them martial arts. You mustn't interfere in anything else." The main reason Yuxi agreed so readily was that she was thinking of Zaozao. Judging by Huo Changqing's and Yun Qing's attitudes, they wanted Zaozao to follow the path Zijin had taken. If Zaozao herself proved unwilling as she grew older, she wouldn't have to endure such hardships. However, if Zaozao also wished to follow Zijin's example and lead troops into battle one day, these girls could become her helpers. As Zaozao's mother, Yuxi had exhausted herself in making painstaking arrangements for her daughter.

Fu Qingluo was overjoyed. This meant she would no longer have to spend every day cooped up at home. If things continued as they were, Fu Qingluo feared that all the martial arts skills she had cultivated would go to waste. With a smile, she promised, "I'll only be responsible for teaching them martial arts. I won't interfere in anything else." Even if she wanted to interfere, she couldn't handle those matters.

Yuxi thought for a moment and said, "I'll leave the preliminary arrangements to the chief steward. If you encounter any problems when the time comes, you can speak to him directly." First, they would have to find a suitable location. Next, they would need to select the students. Since Zaozao was only five years old, the candidates would be limited to girls aged five to eight. Having them relatively close in age would make it easier for Zaozao to manage them. It had to be said that Yuxi, as a mother, had gone to extraordinary lengths in her painstaking arrangements for Zaozao.

Fu Qingluo exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, Wangfei."

Yuxi couldn't help laughing. "What's there to thank me for? I also want to cultivate more capable people." That was the plain truth. If it hadn't been for Zaozao, Yuxi wouldn't have established such a school at this stage.

Having said that, Yuxi continued, "When selecting the candidates, what matters is quality, not quantity. There may not be many students left after the selection process, so you should prepare yourself for that." Naturally, the candidates would have to undergo a selection process, and anyone who failed to meet the requirements would be eliminated.

Fu Qingluo certainly wasn't going to be particular about that. "It's terribly boring spending all my time looking after the child. Once the martial arts school opens, I won't have to sit around doing nothing any more." Taking on disciples wouldn't prevent her from looking after her child either. Fu Qingluo was quite satisfied with the arrangement.

Speaking of which, Zijin was rather hard-hearted about this. She had given birth to a daughter in the middle of the ninth month the previous year. Once the Lantern Festival was over, she had returned to the military camp, leaving the child in the care of a wet nurse. This was Zijin's own decision, and nothing anyone said could change her mind. Yuxi had even spoken to Zijin about it twice, but Zijin had swallowed a weighing stone and turned her heart as firmly as iron. Yuxi could do nothing about it.

After Fu Qingluo left, Yuxi smiled and remarked to Mama Qu, who had just entered the room to report some matters, "Fu Qingluo has changed a great deal."

Mama Qu nodded. "Indeed! Just think: back then, she even brandished a whip at Wangfei! It's only because Wangfei is so magnanimous and forgiving that you not only refrained from holding it against her, but also helped her in so many ways." If it had been someone small-hearted and narrow-minded, they would not only have refused to help, but might even have put stumbling blocks in Fu Qingluo's way!

Yuxi smiled and commented, "That's why they say becoming a mother changes a person." Today's Fu Qingluo had grown gentler and lost much of her former hostility. This transformation had dazzled so many people, almost blinding them. Back in Yu City, hardly anyone believed that Fu Qingluo would make a good wife or mother. The facts had proved them wrong.

Mama Qu wholeheartedly agreed with Yuxi.

Yuxi glanced at the account book in Mama Qu's hands and said with a smile, "Just leave it here! I'll look through it when I come back this evening. From now on, there's no need to reconcile the accounts every month either. Once every three months will do!" In the past, she had the stamina to oversee both domestic and external affairs. Now that she was pregnant, however, Yuxi felt she should slow down a little and not strain herself too much.

Mama Qu smiled, nodded and agreed.