Chapter 283: Chapter 285 - Concubine Jia Gave Birth To A Son (2)

After Ye Shi walked out of Guihua Courtyard and returned to her yard, she sat on a chair and panted heavily. She couldn’t even make her move in the delivery room last night, and today, her mother-in-law said that she would send the baby to her after the baby’s first bath in the next three days. All the promises agreed at the beginning had now become empty words.

Old Woman Hua was also furious. But at this time, she knew not to pour oil on the flames and suggested, “Da Nainai, let’s wait for the Eldest Lord’s decision on this matter!” They couldn’t talk some sense to the First Lady. The more they tried to persuade her, the more strained it would be. So it was much more appropriate to refer the matter to the Eldest Lord.

Ye Shi knew Qiu Shi’s nature very well. If she went against her at this time, she would be the one to suffer. “What if the Eldest Lord also favours Concubine Jia?” She had said that this Concubine Jia was a curse to keep, but she had failed to do anything last night. Thinking of this, Ye Shi also resented Yuxi. If she hadn’t intervened, what happened now would not have happened.

As Old Woman Hua was about to speak, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps outside. Ye Shi had just stood up when she saw Mama Li walk in, carrying a tightly wrapped bundle in her arms. Ye Shi was a little startled. “Mama Li, this is……”

After saying that, Ye Shi walked forward and carried the bundle over. Then she carefully lifted the hat, and when she saw that it was a child, Ye Shi couldn’t help smiling. From now on, this child would be her son.

Old Woman Hua was also thrilled that the child would not be carried out again once he delivered into the courtyard. At that moment, she urged with a smile, “Da Nainai, let’s put the child on the bed!”

Putting the baby down, Ye Shi came out of the house and said, “Thank you so much, Mama Li.” Mama Li must have talked her mother-in-law into it, or else how could her mother-in-law back down!

Mama Li waved her hand and said, “I can’t take credit for this. It was the Fourth Miss who persuaded the First Lady just now. After listening to the Fourth Miss’s advice, the First Lady let me carry the baby to Da Nainai.”

Ye Shi’s expression became somewhat complicated when she heard this. Having saved Concubine Jia’s life last night and persuaded her mother-in-law to carry the child over today, she didn’t know which side Yuxi was actually on.

Mama Li also explained Qiu Shi’s behaviour just now. “Please don’t take what happened just now to heart, Da Nainai. Da Nainai may not know that the Old Lady had carried the Eldest Lord away not two days after he was born. So just now, when the First Lady saw Concubine Jia cry so much while holding her baby, she remembered what happened back then and said that kind of thing in a moment of weakness.” At first, because Ye Shi had concealed her poor health, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had come into conflict, but overall, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law still got along well. Mama Li did not want Concubine Jia and the baby to drive a wedge between the two of them, and then it would be impossible for her Lady to have such a calm and peaceful life from now on.

The two had been getting along for years, and Ye Shi knew Qiu Shi’s nature well enough to know that she was not deliberately using the child to suppress her. Now that the child had been carried over, Ye Shi would naturally not take the little friction they had just now to heart.

Mama Li had not even stepped out of the Songxiang Courtyard yet when Ye Shi saw Yuxi. “Fourth Miss, this is……”

Yuxi smiled and said, “I’m here to see my nephew.” To see the child was just her excuse. The truth was, she wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words to Ye Shi.

Mama Li greeted Yuxi and went back.

Ye Shi couldn’t see through Yuxi’s behaviour, but she still greeted her with a smile and brought her inside to see the child. Yuxi looked at the child lying on the bed and smiled. “He’s sleeping soundly.”

Ye Shi’s smile had a little more sincerity this time around. “The wet nurse also said that when she fed the baby with milk after he woke up this morning, he didn’t spit any out.” The baby was born at full term, and there was not much of an ordeal when he was born. Since he could eat and sleep well, she should be able to nurture him better in the future.

Yuxi smiled a little, and then she looked at the four maids standing in the room and Old Woman Hua and the wet nurse. The meaning was clear: she had something to say to Ye Shi.

After everyone had gone out, Ye Shi asked, “What does Si Mei want to say to me?”

Yuxi smiled and said, “I wonder if Dasao ever heard about Empress Dowager Xiaoxian?” Seeing Ye Shi’s puzzled face, she explained, “Empress Dowager Xiaoxian was Emperor Zhezong’s adoptive mother.”

Ye Shi’s face slightly changed when she heard the word adoptive mother.

Yuxi didn’t take notice of Ye Shi’s facial expression as she continued, “Empress Dowager Xiaoxian suffered every possible torment in raising Emperor Zhezong and even pushed him for the throne. But when Emperor Zhezong’s wings were well established, not only did he keep the Empress Dowager Xiaoxian under house arrest in the Imperial Harem, but he also had her natal’s family raided and destroyed. The reason why Emperor Zhezong did this to his adoptive mother was that Empress Dowager Xiaoxian killed his biological mother.” Of course, Empress Dowager Xiaoxian’s poisoning of his biological mother was only one of the reasons he did this to her. The most important was that Empress Dowager Xiaoxian had exclusive control of the Imperial Court affairs and was unwilling to pass the power. Yuxi deliberately omitted only this latter sentence.

Ye Shi’s face turned from white to green, then to blue, and lastly to purple.

Yuxi looked at Ye Shi and said, “Dasao, if the little boy is put under your name and raised by your side, then the little boy officially becomes your son. No one can change that fact, right? As for Concubine Jia, as long as she is content with her lot, won’t the advantages of keeping her outweigh the disadvantages? Dasao, you have always been a wise person. I believe you’ll have a sense of propriety in what you should do next.”

Ye Shi looked at Yuxi with a complicated look in her eyes. After half a second, she said, “I will consider your words.” If she had to say, Yuxi’s words just now had somehow touched her. Getting rid of Concubine Jia would indeed do more harm than good. Once the child grew up and people around him told him that she had killed Concubine Jia, the relationship between mother and child would indeed be estranged. Therefore, she needed to make careful consideration regarding this matter.

Yuxi smiled a little and turned to inquire, “Where is Dage? How come I don’t see Dage early this morning?” This child’s father was really irresponsible. Back then, when Er Sao gave birth, Er Ge had taken time off work to stand guard outside the delivery room.

Ye Shi answered with a smile, “Your Dage has been very busy lately, and he has gone out before dawn today.” Ye Shi already knew that her husband was seeking a way to fill the vacant post of assistant minister in the Ministry of War. Still, the official paperwork regarding the position had not yet been released, so she could not say anything about it.

Yuxi shared a few more gossip with Ye Shi before returning to her own place.

Ye Shi sent her off to the courtyard gate and said with a smile, “If Si Mei is not busy, Si Mei can come and talk with me anytime.”

Yuxi smiled as she replied, “Okay.”

When Old Woman Hua noticed Ye Shi’s grave expression, she felt something was wrong. She immediately asked, “Da Nainai, what did the Fourth Miss say to you?”

Ye Shi answered, “She just told me about the baby.” Ye Shi did not want to tell her about the rest. There were some things that only she should know about, and there was no need to tell anyone around her, not even to her most trusted subordinate. [+]

When Yuxi returned to Taoran House, she saw Zisu carrying two large chests out.

Zisu explained aside, “Miss, these are the things that I have done packed out and ready to be sold.” Inside the chests, some things should have been given to the Chen family and more than ten sets of clothes Yuxi had prepared to wear after her marriage. Zisu thought Yuxi would be too upset to look at them, so she put them all in these chests and was ready to sell them together.

Yuxi still had confidence in how Zisu handled her work, as she instructed, “Then, have someone carry them out and sell them. I don’t know if these two big chests can be sold for more than a hundred taels of silver.”

Zisu looked at the two big chests of clothes and opened her mouth to exclaim, “No way! How can they be sold only for a hundred taels of silver?” The material used to make these clothes, shoes and socks were all of the highest quality, not to mention the time spent on embroidering the floral patterns. If they were to be bought, a single set of clothes for Miss would cost several tens of taels of silver. If they sold these many things for only a hundred taels, it would be too much of a loss.

Yuxi nodded and said, “The things are naturally worth more than that, but if we were to take them to a pawn shop, they would naturally be sold at a low price.” Thinking of this, Yuxi suddenly remembered someone and requested with a smile, “Will you give this job to Tian Yang? Let him take these things to sell.” That boy had been in residence for so long, and she wanted to see if he had made any progress. As far as Yuxi was concerned, Tian Yang was one of her people. If she gave him a lot of practice, he would be of great use in the future.

It took Tian Yang two days to sell the two large chests of goods, and he sold them for a total of four hundred and eight taels of silver, a sum that greatly exceeded Yuxi’s expectations. She smilingly said, “You’re genuinely good at doing business, aren’t you?”

Zisu asked, “Miss, will all this silver be sent to the children’s charity home?”

Yuxi shook her head and said, “Don’t send the silver. Who knows if the people there will even use it for the children. Tell Tian Yang to buy some clothes, meats and vegetables to send over. Oh, that’s right, also tell Tian Yang to send fish and other meat dishes once every few days.” Even if the people in the children’s charity were greedy with the things they had sent over, the children could at least get some of them.

Momo Quan glanced at Yuxi in amazement. Miss had always been in the State Residence and never went out. Thus, how did she know so much about the outside world? Even though she had these questions in her heart, Momo Quan did not intend to ask them. Being cautious was something that had been ingrained deep into her bones.

Qiu Shi knew what Yuxi had done as she put her arms around her and praised her, “My child is so good. Heavens will surely reward you well.”

Yuxi laughed a little and said, “Mother, it’s just some clothes and food for those poor children. How can Mother consider me as a good person who will surely be rewarded?” Yuxi never thought she was a good person, but she wouldn’t be evil either.

Qiu Shi now believed that Heavens would reward evil with evil and good rewarded with good.

On the second day after the baby was born, the Ministry of Justice issued a letter appointing Han Jianming as the Assistant Minister of War. First, Han Jianming had a newly born son, and now he had been promoted to the rank of Assistant Minister of War, which was a double blessing for the Duke’s family.

When the baby had his first bath after three days of his birth, Yuxi did not appear. As she was still recovering from her illness, she could not show up brightly and brushed up her presence in front of everyone. So on this day, Yuxi laid in bed and pretended to be sick, just in case someone would come to visit her later.

Xuntao went out to help gain some info and came back bearing good news. “Miss, the Duke of State has named his son Jia Chang.”

“Jia Chang…..prosperous family. This name has a good meaning.” It was also clear how much Han Jianming expected from this child just from seeing this name alone.

Xuntao’s eyes sparkled. “Miss is amazing. That’s what that child’s name truly means. Miss, many Ladies and Madams have attended the child’s first bath ceremony today.” The Zhou family, the Chiang family, the Qiu family, the Jiang family, the Lu family, and the Zeng family……all friends and relatives of the families had all come. Moreover, they were all the ladies, madams and young mistresses in charge of their own families households.

Yuxi smiled and commented, “That was not that surprising.” Dage’s promotion as the Assistant Minister of War was a signal to the outside world that this State Residence would rise. After all, the Ministry of War was an essential department at a time like this. Plus, the Assistant Minister of War was second only to the Minister of War and held much power.

Xuntao said with a smile, “Zisu Jiejie said that the child’s full moon ceremony will be even more lively.”

Yuxi nodded. “That will absolutely be very lively.” Chang-er was Dage’s eldest son and would be raised by Ye Shi. As long as nothing went wrong, he would be the next master of the State Residence. His full moon feast would undeniably be a lively affair.