The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0832 Zaozao Gets a Spanking (1)

By the end of the seventh month, many of the jujubes had turned red. The two jujube trees in Wangfu's main yard bore heavy clusters of fruit, creating a particularly delightful sight. Yuxi would look up at them every time she went there.

One day after breakfast, Zaozao went into the yard and said to Yuxi, "Mom, I want to eat some red jujube." Whether it was because of her name or because she took after Yun Qing, Zaozao was particularly fond of sweet things.

Seeing Yuxi nod, Yun Qing picked up a nearby bamboo pole and struck the branches several times. The red jujubes tumbled down like rain, dropping one after another onto the green bricks. Zaozao ran over, gathered a lapful, and held out a handful to Yuxi. "Mom, these are for Meimei." Yuxi generally didn't eat anything after finishing a meal.

Yun Qing asked with a smile, "Dad was the one who knocked down those red jujubes for you. Why aren't you giving any to Dad?" Seeing how Zaozao always remembered Liu-er whenever she had something good made Yun Qing very happy.

Zaozao raised her head and responded, "If Dad wants some, Dad can knock them down himself!"

Yuxi smiled and stroked Zaozao's head. Then, accepting the handful of red dates, she told her, "All right, hurry along to the front courtyard! If you're late, Yeye will punish you again." Huo Changqing was extremely strict with Zaozao. Whenever she failed to meet his requirements, he would punish her severely.

Hearing this, Zaozao bounded out of the courtyard like a rabbit, leaving Yuxi shaking her head. But saying too much was pointless, so she said nothing.

That morning, Tan Tuo discussed the summer harvest with Yuxi. "This year's yield per mu is more than ten per cent lower than last year's." The winds were favourable, and the rains came in time last year. This year, however, rainfall had been relatively scarce. Fortunately, the situation was not too severe. If it had been worse, they might not have harvested a single grain.

Yuxi had been paying close attention to this matter, so she already understood the situation reasonably well. Although the yield per mu had decreased, they had brought several hundred thousand additional mu of farmland under cultivation the previous year. As a result, the total harvest was approximately the same as last year's.

After discussing the summer harvest, Yuxi brought up the issue of drinking water. "Many places under our administration are short of water. Not only is there insufficient water to irrigate fertile farmland, but drinking water is also becoming a problem. Tan Daren, this is an issue that cannot be overlooked." After all, how could people live without water? Without it, they could not survive.

Although this year's weather was not as favourable as last year's, it had not rained particularly infrequently either. If people were already struggling to get drinking water under such circumstances, a drought would undoubtedly claim many lives unless they took action. Therefore, this was an urgent problem that needed to be resolved.

Tan Tuo hadn't expected such an abrupt change of subject, but he nodded anyway. "Wangfei is right. This problem certainly needs urgent attention. The shortage of water for irrigating fertile farmland is something beyond human power to resolve. However, when it comes to drinking water for the common people, as long as we put our minds to it, we can still prevent some tragedies from occurring."

Yuxi explained her idea: "What I propose is digging wells and constructing underground water cisterns in these villages. If a drought does occur, these could help to alleviate the shortage of drinking water." During a drought, the wells they dug would probably yield no water. At such times, the villagers would have to rely on the cisterns. These could store rainwater and melted snow, and during a drought, the stored water could meet people's drinking needs.

Tan Tuo did not need Yuxi to elaborate further and immediately responded, "Wangfei, I will draw up a detailed proposal as soon as possible." Yuxi only needed to put forward her ideas. The actual implementation would still depend on officials such as Tan Tuo. Of course, as someone in a position of authority, she did not need to personally handle many matters from beginning to end.

After spending three hours dealing with the matters at hand, Yuxi returned to the rear courtyard. She had barely arrived when Han Ji came to report on the women's martial arts academy. "Wangfei, the candidates have been selected. There are thirty-two in total. Here is the list. Please have a look." Huo Changqing had strongly supported Yuxi's plan to establish a Women's Martial Arts Hall. He had even personally selected these thirty-two young girls from over two hundred candidates.

Preparations for the Women's Martial Arts Hall had been underway for several months already. Everything else was relatively straightforward; only selecting candidates required considerable effort. Not only did the girls have to be intelligent and have good bones and skeletal foundations, but they also had to come from clean and respectable family backgrounds. Anyone whose background was not clean could not be accepted.

Yuxi carefully examined the list and, after finishing, nodded. "Since there are no problems, we can choose an auspicious day under the Yellow Path to open our business." This Women's Martial Arts Hall was different from Qingming Hall. Qingming Hall was closed to outsiders, whereas the Women's Martial Arts Hall was open to the public. If someone wanted their daughter to learn martial arts, they could pay a certain fee to enrol her. Naturally, these paying students would not train alongside the girls they had specially selected. It was Fu Qingluo's suggestion to open the hall to the public. She hoped to give girls who wished to learn martial arts the opportunity to do so.

Han Ji nodded. "All right."

Once she had finished her discussion, Yuxi lay down on the cushioned couch and said to Gancao, "Give me a massage." She had worked nonstop all morning and was rather tired.

Momo Quan brought over a plate of sliced honeydew melon and placed it on a stool beside the couch. She advised Yuxi, "You're quite far along in your pregnancy now. Leave these matters to Wangye and concentrate on looking after yourself and the baby." Since Yuxi handled the government affairs, Yun Qing spent most of his time at the military camp.

Yuxi ate a slice of honeydew melon and said with a smile, "It's fine! I'm feeling full of energy!" Then, stroking her belly, she continued, "Come to think of it, this child is so well-behaved it's almost unbelievable. I haven't even experienced the slightest discomfort. I think this child will certainly grow up to be filial and sensible."

Hearing this, Momo Quan told Gancao, "You may leave us for now." She wanted to speak with Yuxi privately.

Gancao immediately withdrew.

Momo Quan looked at Yuxi's belly and informed her, "Yuxi, both Mama Lan and Physician He say that eight or nine times out of ten, this baby will be a girl." Even if one disregarded Yuxi's rosy complexion and smooth, delicate skin, her round belly alone was enough to convince everyone she was carrying a girl. They believed that if she were carrying a boy, her belly would be pointed instead.

Although everyone had previously said that this baby would be a girl, Yuxi still clung to a glimmer of hope. Now that even Mama Lan and Physician He had said the same thing, that final hope was gone. Yuxi felt a little disappointed, but she quickly composed herself and exclaimed cheerfully, "Wasn't this something we already knew?" After speaking, she stroked her belly and added, "As the saying goes, things should not go beyond three. If this baby is a girl, the next one will definitely be a boy."

Momo Quan had deliberately brought up this subject with Yuxi for a reason. "You're almost six months pregnant now. You must take proper care of yourself and the baby. You shouldn't continue overworking yourself. Leave all your current responsibilities to Wangye!"

Yuxi shook her head. "I don't find handling government affairs tiring. If I had to shut myself away in the rear residence every day, I'd actually feel miserable. Besides, if my body couldn't take it, I wouldn't force myself to endure it." Staying cooped up in the inner residence would only give her too much time to brood, which wouldn't be good for her physical or mental health.

Momo Quan's expression cracked slightly. Sometimes, she truly felt that Yuxi was destined for a lifetime of toil. Otherwise, why would she refuse to enjoy the blessings she already possessed and instead insist on exhausting herself?

Momo Quan stated helplessly, "Leave the affairs of the inner courtyard to me. That way, you won't have to tire yourself out over them." In fact, Momo Quan was only in her fifties and was still remarkably robust. However, she had spent her earlier years in the Imperial Palace wearing herself out mentally and physically. For that reason, Momo Quan had always wanted to retire early. Unfortunately, after taking on a disciple like Yuxi, her hopes were dashed.

Yuxi didn't refuse and accepted with a smile, "All right!" With Momo Quan in command of the rear courtyard, Yuxi had nothing left to worry about.

Yuxi did not finish reviewing and approving the memorials until nearly dinnertime. When she returned to the rear courtyard, she heard a commotion coming from inside before she had even entered.

Gancao was waiting outside the courtyard. As soon as she saw Yuxi, she hurriedly said, "Wangfei, Eldest Young Miss has climbed a tree to pick jujubes. Mama Lan and Momo Quan have been trying to coax her down for quite some time, but she refuses to come down." Climbing a tree was such a dangerous thing to do. If Zaozao fell, she could be seriously injured.

Momo Quan was also concerned that Yuxi might suddenly appear in the courtyard and be frightened by what she saw. After all, Yuxi was pregnant. If she were startled and disturbed her foetal qi, that would be terrible.

The moment Yuxi stepped into the courtyard, she saw a crowd gathered beneath the jujube tree. Hongdou and Hongqi watched Zaozao especially closely, not taking their eyes off her for even a moment. If Zaozao fell from the tree, they would have to position themselves carefully to catch her.

Yuxi looked up and saw Zaozao perched in the tree, gripping a branch with one hand and stretching out the other to grab a cluster of reddening jujubes.

Yuxi was so frightened that her expression changed, but she did not make a sound. Only after Zaozao tucked the cluster of red dates into her pocket did Yuxi smile and speak. "Zaozao, why did you climb up the tree? If you want some jujubes, you can simply ask Hongdou and the others to pick them for you." This girl's gallbladder was growing larger and larger. She actually dared to climb a tree now!

Seeing that Yuxi wasn't angry, Zaozao replied happily, "Mom, the jujubes I picked are bigger and sweeter than the ones Auntie Hongdou and the others picked." After saying this, she patted her bulging pocket and declared loudly, "Mom, I've picked lots and lots of red jujubes! Can you ask Mama Bai to make me some red jujube cakes later?" Zaozao loved sweet things, but Yuxi worried that eating too many would damage her teeth, so she strictly limited her sweet intake. She even rationed her usual cakes and other snacks.

With a smile spreading across her face, Yuxi urged, "Then hurry down and give the red jujubes to Mama Bai. You'll be able to eat red jujube cakes this evening."

Without giving it another thought, Zaozao climbed down from the tree.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Yuxi's face turned ashen with anger, and she ordered Hongdou to seize Zaozao. "Carry her into the room!" If she did not severely punish this wretched little girl this time, the child would probably turn the heavens upside down!

In the past, whenever Zaozao misbehaved, Yuxi would get angry, but at most, she would scold her a few times before making her practise writing large Chinese characters as a punishment. This time, however, Yuxi was genuinely furious. As soon as she entered the room, she began searching for a feather duster.

"Waaah! Waaah..." Zaozao's heart-wrenching cries reached Yun Qing's ears as he returned. Having just come back from outside, Yun Qing heard the crying and thought something terrible had happened. He immediately rushed towards the rear courtyard.

As soon as Yun Qing stepped into the room, he saw Yuxi holding a feather duster and swatting Zaozao's bottom. She hit her really hard, and Zaozao cried until her voice went hoarse.

Stepping around the red dates scattered across the floor, Yun Qing walked over and asked, "Yuxi, what's going on? What trouble has this girl caused now to make you so angry?"

Seeing Yun Qing, Zaozao cried out between sobs, "Dad, Mom is going to beat me to death! Save me!" From Yuxi's scolding, Zaozao had already realised that Mom was beating her for climbing a tree. What she could not understand was why climbing a tree warranted such a ruthless beating!

Hearing those words, Yuxi hit her even harder.