Chapter 167: Chapter 168 - Giving A Baby A Bath On The Third Day After Birth (Xisan)

By きつね At February 11, 2021 14 Comments

When Ye Shi woke up, she looked around and couldn’t see her daughter anywhere. She asked Old Woman Hua, who had just walked in, “Where is the child?”

Old Woman Hua made up Ye Shi’s quilt and softly replied, “Big Girl is hungry, and she is currently being fed by the wet nurse!” After she had done speaking, she brought over the bird’s nest porridge in her hand and fed it to Ye Shi.

Ye Shi’s whole body ached. As childbirth was physically demanding work, she had no strength left at all. So she had to let Old Woman Hua feed her. After eating a bowl of bird’s nest congee, she asked, “How is the baby’s health? Is there anything wrong with her?” She was worried about her baby’s health, as she had faced seven calamities and eight disasters[+]Chinese idiom : suffer from one ailment after another while being pregnant with this child.

Old Woman Hua said with a smile, “Big Sister is in good health. Her cries are particularly loud, so Nainai don’t have to be so worried.” Before the child was born, Old Woman Hua was also extremely worried. After all, there was the precedent of Concubine Rong. But when she looked at the healthy child, she felt that the child had been blessed by the Bodhisattva.

Only then did Ye Shi feel relieved. “Did the Imperial Physician say anything?” These words might look like they didn’t ask anything specific, but Old Woman Hua understood it.

Old Woman Hua hesitated for a moment. When she saw Ye Shi staring at her, she could only tell Ye Shi the truth, “The Lady already knew, and I’m sure the Old Lady knows too.”

Ye Shi felt a tightness in her chest, but she knew that it would happen sooner or later. “I’ve asked you to ask the Imperial Physician about the other thing. Did you ask him?” She wanted to raise the child personally, but this matter had to be asked to the Imperial Physician, to confirm if there was no problem with her body.

Old Woman Hua nodded and replied, “The Imperial Physician said that Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house can nurse Big Girl herself. But, Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, do you really want to do this?” In rich and influential families, usually the wet nurse would be the one nurturing the children, and basically none of mothers would nurture the children themselves. Old Woman Hua was worried that the Old Lady and the Lady would not agree to this matter.

。

At this moment, the wet maid carried the child in.

By this time, there was a little bit of strength in Ye Shi, thus she personally picked the child into her arms and let the wet nurse withdraw. Ye Shi looked down at the child in her arms, and softly said, “This is the only child I have in my life.” If she could still give birth to another child, she would definitely not be going to nurture her by herself. But she had only this one child, and the wet nurse was equivalent to half a mother to the child, hence she would not divide and give her own children to others.

Old Woman Hua said, “Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, Imperial Physician Le only said that it was difficult for you to conceive. He didn’t say that you couldn’t have any more children. Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, if you take care of yourself for two years, you will still have a chance.” Unexpectedly, she was unwilling to give up.

Ye Shi shook her head and stated, “I’m already satisfied to have Big Girl. I won’t force myself to ask for more. Since the Imperial Physician says it’s fine, then have the cook make me something to help me produce milk.”

When Old Woman Hua saw this situation, she knew it was useless to persuade her any longer, “Imperial Physician Le has prescribed a medication to help produce more milk. I’ll go and decoct it for Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house to drink.”

She did not see her mother-in-law and husband even when it was already nightfall. It would be a lie to say that she was not sad about it. Despite the fact that she had given birth to a daughter, the child was still the flesh and blood of the Han family. How could she not be chilled by their attitude right now? “Has Master Shizi[+]a heir to a noble family given a name to Big Sister?”

Old Woman Hua shook her head and replied, “Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, Master Shizi[+]a heir to a noble family has gone out on an errand and he has not yet returned.” Seeing that Ye Shi’s expression was not looking good, Old Woman Hua smiled and comforted, “Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, Big Girl is Master Shizi[+]a heir to a noble family’s first child. It’s unlikely that he will dislike her.”

Ye Shi didn’t expect much. Her husband had been cold to her ever since he knew she might be carrying a girl, and she had little hope of him liking his own daughter. “Even if he doesn’t like her, Big Girl has me, her mother, who will love her.”[T/N]Han Jianming, I will be very disappointed and pissed with you if you treat your daughter the way your uncle had done to Yuxi. ?

In the blink of an eye, it was already the day when Big Girl would have her bath after three days she was born. Those who were here in the State Residence today were all relatives. The State Residence had quite a few relatives, so there were many people who had come over.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Since it was the granddaughter’s bath ceremony, originally the maternal grandmother would certainly come over. It was just that Madam Ye had fallen ill some days ago, and this time it was Grandmother Ye who had come in her place.

A baby with longevity lock

It is believed that by wearing a long-life lock, a child will be able to draw on the good fortune of a hundred generations of his/her families and for his/her to avoid evil spirits, protect him/her against fear and evil spirits, and live a long life. The child will wear the lock when he/she reaches 12 years old or adulthood.

Image Credit | 尋夢園 (為什麼要給寶寶佩戴長命鎖？都有哪些講究, Feb 4th, 2019)

Grandmother Ye looked at Ye Shi, who was looking well, and nodded inwardly, “Your mother was not feeling well, so she was not able to come over. However, your mother had asked me to give this to Big Girl.” After saying this, she pulled out a very delicate lock of longevity from her sleeve and placed it in the child’s swaddling clothes.

Ye Shi was a little anxious, “What’s wrong with Mother? She doesn’t have a serious illness, does she?”

Grandmother Ye shook her head and explained, “It isn’t anything serious. She only has a cold. The physician has prescribed her some medicine, and now she’s almost healed. It’s only because you’re in your confinement that she doesn’t come over for cautious sake.”

Ye Shi was relieved when she heard this.

As the two were talking, Big Girl began to cry. Old Woman Hua hurriedly took the child over and handed it to Ye Shi, while saying, “Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, the child is probably hungry?”

Grandmother Ye was very surprised to learn that Ye Shi was feeding the baby herself, “Eldest Girl, how can you feed the baby yourself? You have to hurry up and take care of your health right now, so you can have a son in the future!”

Ye Shi said with a bitter smile, “The Imperial Physician said that I had hurt my body and it would be very difficult for me to conceive again. I will probably only have this one child in my whole life, so I decided to feed her myself. My Grandmother-in-law and Mother-in-law didn’t object to it.” The Old Lady and Qiu Shi didn’t express any opinion on the fact that she wanted to raise the child herself.

Grandmother Ye was shocked. “How could this happen? Didn’t the person who came to report the news say that the delivery was smooth? Did the Imperial Physician make a mistake?” Only difficult deliveries would usually cause such a situation. So, how could Eldest Girl not be able to give birth anymore for no good reason?

Ye Shi did not intend to tell Grandmother Ye the specific situation. She simply shook her head and responded, “It was Imperial Physician Le himself who said it.”

Only after a while did Grandmother Ye open her mouth, and asked, “Then, both Old Lady Han and Lady Han know about this?” Seeing Ye Shi nod her head, Grandmother Ye asked again, “What are they going to do after this?”

Ye Shi shook her head and answered, “It’s not clear yet. However, if I don’t guess wrong, they are probably going to marry Master Shizi[+]a heir to a noble family to a secondary wife.”

As soon as Grandmother Ye heard this, she said, “No, we must not let Eldest grandson-in-law marry a secondary wife. If he married a secondary wife, when the secondary wife gave birth to a son, there will be no more place for you. Eldest Girl, you must not compromise on this matter. If you really want to have a son, it would be just as well to let Master Shizi[+]a heir to a noble family take a concubine from a good family with a clean background.”

Ye Shi stroked her daughter’s face and said with a smile, “Let’s wait until I’m out of my confinement.” She still understood Qiu Shi’s temperament. Qiu Shi would not mention the matter of marrying her son to a secondary wife until Ye Shi was out of her confinement. However, once Ye Shi had done with it, they would surely talk about it then.

The wet nurse came in and announced, “Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, the bath ceremony is about to begin. We have to take Big Girl out.” The wet nurse was actually feeling very depressed. Ever since Ye Shi had personally fed Big Girl milk, she had now become an idle person. Even if she hadn’t been sent home by Da Nainai[+]da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of the house, as she hadn’t fed Big Sister, she wouldn’t get any favour from Big Sister in the future.

Yuxi and Yuchen also participated in the bath ceremony, but the two were only there as spectators. Today, all that had come were adults and they didn’t need to entertain them.

After the bath ceremony was completed, all the guests went back home one by one. Yuxi and Yuchen also returned to their respective yard. As they walked down the road, Yuchen asked, “Si Meimei[+]si=fourth, meimei=younger sister, have you been practising your flute in the past few days?”

Yuxi sarcastically said in her heart, ‘It’s not easy to hide from you out about my flute playing progress’. She was being sarcastic in her heart, but on the surface, she said with a smile on her face, “I’ve been practicing it for the past few days. After learning it, I realised that it’s not really that difficult.”

Yuchen had an expression that she had long known about this. “It wasn’t that difficult in the first place. It was you who didn’t want to learn it before, so that’s why you found it difficult. Just in time, let me see how well you have been practicing?”

Since Yuxi had accepted the matter with the flute in her mind, she could play simple minor tunes after practicing for the past few days, but it was only limited to this. When she arrived at Tingyun Pavilion, she took the flute handed by Yuchen, and she toughened her scalp[+]brace oneself as she played the extraordinarily simple tune that she had learned.

Yuchen nodded and praised, “Not bad.” After saying that, she corrected the problems that occurred during Yuxi’s playing process and gave her a demonstration.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Yuxi listened carefully and played the flute once more. This time, it felt much smoother than the time she did before. At that moment, she smiled and said, “Thank you, San Jie[+]san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie.”

At noon, Yuxi stayed at Tingyun Pavilion for lunch.

After lunch, Yuxi proposed, “San Jie[+]san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie, I’ll go back to take a nap first and come back later.” Now that she had learned to play the flute, she should study hard and try to learn a complete repertoire as soon as possible.

Yuchen vetoed Yuxi’s proposal and said, “Just rest in Tingyun Pavilion. It’s not like there’s no empty room here.”

Yuxi agreed after a moment of thought. Staying at Tingyun Pavilion for her lunch break was not a big deal, and it would save her time on the round trip, “Sure!”

All afternoon, Yuxi spent her time learning how to play the flute. It was unknown if it was because Yuxi was being so serious or if she really had the talent, but she was able to play a simple song in one afternoon.

Yuchen nodded and said, “Since you’ve already started to master the basics, you should focus on practicing your fingering next.” After saying this, she gave Yuxi the notes she had made in her studies. Because of Yuxi’s influence, Yuchen had also developed the habit of taking notes. It had to be said that this was a very good habit, and this notebook would be a convenient thing for Yuxi.

Yuxi took the note, hesitated for a little and then she asked, “San Jie[+]san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie, why did you suddenly want me to learn the flute?” If she didn’t ask, she would not be at ease!

Yuchen smilingly said, “I thought you wouldn’t ask.”

Yuxi smiled a little, “I can’t hide words in my heart, and if I don’t ask when I have doubts, I’ll suffocate.” Yuxi felt that there was something strange about Yuchen’s attitude towards her lately.

Yuchen smiled, “When you are upset or sad or even afraid, you can play the flute and mediate.”

“Uh……” This was too big a jump in conversation that Yuxi was unable to pick up.

Yuchen curbed the smile on her face and looked at Yuxi as she said, “Si Mei[+]si=fourth, mei=younger sister, short form for Meimei, I don’t know what exactly are you afraid of? I can’t do anything else other than hoping that after you learn to play the flute, it will help you relieve your stress.” It was a lie to say that she didn’t know about the thing that Yuxi was afraid of. Yuchen knew very well about it in her heart. Because of what happened to Yuxi as a child, Yuxi had been very insecure and had an instinctive defensiveness towards people in her own family. Yuchen knew why, but there was nothing she could do to solve the problem. Because the source was not from her, but from her grandmother and father.

Yuxi was horrified, but she still smiled and said, “I don’t know what San Jie[+]san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie is talking about. I’m doing well every day, so why would I be afraid?”

Yuchen did not expect Yuxi to deny it until now, and without going round the curves and skirting the corners[+]Chinese idiom : beat about the bush/speak in a roundabout way, she directly said, “If you are not afraid, why are you studying so hard? You even read history books and military books.” It wasn’t really difficult to know what books Yuxi was reading, as long as she knew what books were available on Han Jianye’s side.

After listening to this, Yuxi looked at Yuchen steadily. She didn’t expect her every move would be under Yuchen’s nose. She thought her Taoran House had been brought under her own control.

Yuchen met Yuxi’s gaze. She believed that she was doing Yuxi a favour and didn’t feel she was doing anything wrong.