Chapter 463 : Sons’ Filial Piety

After breakfast, the weather outside suddenly turned cloudy, and not long after, there was a sudden downpour: “Dida, dida……” The sound of the rain grew louder and louder.

Yuxi stood in the doorway, looked at the curtain of rain and said: “This rain will not stop for a while.” As soon as she spoke these words, a bolt of lightning flashed, followed by a roar of thunder.

When Yuxi heard wailing coming from the room, she rushed back inside. Yuxi hastily picked Zaozao up and whispered, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid, okay, Zaozao?” She hadn’t expected this girl to be afraid of thunder.

Apparently, Yuxi was wrong because Zaozao stopped crying as soon as she picked her up, and there was still thunder outside! Yuxi chuckled and said, “She was crying because she had been woken up.” This girl is really courageous!

Shiliu trotted in and reported, “Madam, Er Nainai1 Zhao is here.”

It was such a reckless act to come over in such heavy rain. Yuxi hurriedly said, “Tell her to come in quickly!” You would still get wet even with an umbrella in such heavy rain. Yuxi was busy ordering Shiliu to find a set of clothes to carry with her.

After a while, Er Nainai1 Zhao came in. As Yuxi had expected, Er Nainai1 Zhao’s clothes were still wet, even though two umbrellas covered her.

Yuxi said: “I have prepared all the clothes for you. Quickly change into them.” Er Nainai1 Zhao was plumper than Yuxi, so Yuxi prepared several sets of loose clothes when she was pregnant.

After Er Nainai1 Zhao changed her clothes, Yuxi made her drink a bowl of ginger soup to prevent her from catching a cold. When Er Nainai1 Zhao finished drinking it, Yuxi grumbled, “Please don’t come here when it’s raining so hard. It’ll be the same if you come over tomorrow.”

Er Nainai1 Zhao wiped her mouth before replying, “I didn’t know it would rain so hard! If I had known, I would have gone out later.”

After sitting down, Er Nainai1 Zhao said, “Yuxi, I’m not going to hide anything from you. I came over this time because my mother-in-law heard that the Wu family also wanted to get into the medicinal herb business and said they were willing to lower their prices. Yuxi, is this true?” She didn’t feel like going round the curves and skirting the corners2 when talking to Yuxi. Not only would it affect her emotions, it would also consume too much of her brain.

Yuxi was surprised that she asked, “How did you all know this?” With that expression, those who did not know the truth would think she was unaware of it.

Er Nainai1 Zhao’s eyes widened as she asked, “It’s actually true? Then how much did the Wu family say they would lower it to?” She had never been involved in the family business but knew what lowering the price meant.

Yuxi smiled and explained, “There are many kinds of medicinal herbs, each with a different price. If you want to reduce the price, it will depend on the type.” Medicine was different from food, and it was not as simple as reducing the price by 10% or 20%. It was more complex than rice and grains.

When Er Nainai1 Zhao heard this explanation, she asked, “So, the price of grain and fodder has been reduced?”

Yuxi made a sound of agreement. “My General has already agreed.” The price had been reduced by 20%, and once these words got out, the Xu family would be criticised even more by then.

Er Nainai1 Zhao asked, “How much has the price gone down?”

Yuxi smiled and said, “The Wu family’s offer was very reasonable, to the General’s satisfaction.” If he weren’t satisfied, he wouldn’t have agreed. As for Yuxi not revealing the exact amount, it was because the contract had yet to be signed, so there was no need to make it public.

Er Nainai1 Zhao also knew that what she had just said was abrupt. Hence, she immediately said, “Yuxi, I just found out today that the Qin family also has shares in the Zhao family’s medicinal herb business.”

Yuxi wasn’t surprised at all. She knew that the Qin family would definitely get a share of the profits from this medicinal herb business, and the portion they got would probably not be too small. Things like this didn’t just happen in Yu City but in other places as well. “How many shares does the Qin family own? And when did this practice start?”

Er Nainai1 Zhao replied, “It’s 20%. I’m not sure when it started.” Da Nainai3 Zhao knew a lot about the Zhao family business that Er Nainai1 Zhao did not. It wasn’t that Madam Zhao didn’t like Er Nainai1 Zhao or thought she was stupid and couldn’t keep a secret. But the one who would inherit the family business was the eldest son, and there were some things the second daughter-in-law didn’t need to know.

Yuxi exclaimed in surprise and said nothing more.

Er Nainai1 Zhao was not one to hide her words as she asked, “Yuxi, what do you mean by that reaction?” She had made her words very clear and wanted an answer from Yuxi.

Yuxi said, “As you probably know, I have studied pharmacology, so I have a good idea of the prices of herbs. The medicinal herbs provided by the Zhao family, not to mention the more expensive herbs, the prices of ordinary herbs are all on the high side of the scale.” When she was in the capital, she often had people buy medicinal herbs for her, so she knew the prices very well.

Er Nainai1 Zhao asked: “You mean, the price of medicinal herbs has to be reduced?”

Yuxi nodded. “Now, there are rumours that the Wu family was willing to lower the price to take over the medicinal herb business. If this is not handled properly, it will attract criticism. Of course, if the prices are set at the same level, we will prioritise the Zhao family.”

Er Nainai1 Zhao didn’t say much. She was only responsible for delivering the message. She didn’t dare say more as it would be useless even if she did, “I’ll go back and talk to my Mother about this.”

Yuxi chuckled and said, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. You’ve been back for so long. Is there any movement in your stomach?”

Er Nainai1 Zhao shook her head. “It will take me another half a month to finish the medicine.” After years of waiting, she didn’t mind waiting another half a month or even a month.

Just as Yuxi was anxious about Er Nainai1 Zhao, Qiu Shi, in the capital, was worried about Yuxi. It wasn’t because Yuxi had given birth to a daughter. Even if Yuxi had a daughter, she could still conceive again. What worried Qiu Shi was that Yuxi was feeding her child herself.

Qiu Shi grumbled, “How could this child be so reckless?” Who in a wealthy family would breastfeed their own children? More importantly, once you started breastfeeding, it would take at least ten months before you could get pregnant again.

Mama Li smiled and said, “Feeding your child yourself is more intimate. Besides, I have heard that in Yu City, children are fed by their mothers.”

When Qiu Shi heard this, she was so annoyed. “This dear daughter of mine was pregnant for ten months and even gave birth to her child. Don’t tell me she can’t have intimate contact with her baby if she lets the runiang4 feed her?”

Mama Li knew Qiu Shi was anxious and comforted her, “Don’t worry, my Lady. The Fourth Miss was unwilling to leave the city for Guye5’s sake, and she even saved the person to whom Guye5 owed a great debt of gratitude. Therefore, he would never let Fourth Miss down. Since she is in good health, she will surely become pregnant soon after weaning.” The matter of the near collapse of Yu City was kept from Qiu Shi at first, and when things started to fall into place, Han Jianming personally told Qiu Shi about it. As a result, Qiu Shi chewed him out.

Qiu Shi said, “Yuxi has given him her heart and soul. If he dares to let her down, his conscience will be eaten by dogs.”

Seeing Qiu Shi’s reaction, Mama Li smiled and said: “Didn’t Fourth Miss say in the letter that Guye5 treated her very well and loved the child very much?”

Qiu Shi sighed. “She was married too far away for us to care for her.” She could have looked after Yuxi if she had married someone in the capital.

Mama Li brought Qiu Shi a cup of tea and said, “Old Lady, I heard that Song Ling’er of the Song family has passed away at Jingxin Nunnery.”

Once Qiu Shi received the tea, she took a sip and cursed, “It will be much better if that evil woman also dies!” Heaven had indeed been short-sighted in allowing that malicious woman to enjoy glory, splendour, wealth and rank6.

Mama Li responded, “Old Lady, don’t you always say that evil has its retribution7 and virtue has its rewards8, and the time for retribution has yet to come? I believe that that evil woman will get her due sooner or later.” Now, both Qiu Shi and Mama Li used the words evil woman as a substitute for Song Guifei9.

Qiu Shi sneered. “There’s no need to wait for the future. That evil woman is beginning to suffer her retribution now.” Even though Qiu Shi didn’t go out much, she was still well aware of what was happening outside. Not only were the evil woman’s two daughters-in-law growing tired of their mother-in-law, but her own two sons were becoming less patient with her. What could be more heartbreaking than a troubled relationship between a mother and her son?

Han Jianming arrived just in time to hear this. He hadn’t realised that his mother had always been cynical about what happened back then. Of course, he couldn’t forget it, either.

Qiu Shi’s mood significantly improved when she saw Han Jianming come in. “Why are you here at this time of day? Is something wrong?”

Han Jianming nodded. “Yes, there is something. Next month, Er Di10 will complete his mourning period. Mother, I want him to go back to the northwest.” The northwestern part of the country had suffered many deaths and injuries this time, but likewise, it was also a place of opportunity. It was fortunate that Er Di10 only had to mourn for nine months. If he had to do it for three years like him, even the vegetable dishes would have gone cold11.

Qiu Shi’s face paled when she heard these words, and she said, “Let your Er Di10 stay in the capital tomorrow! If he didn’t have to observe mourning for your Grandmother, I don’t even know if he could survive this time.”

Han Jianming pointed out, “Mother, now that Meifu12 has become the head general of Yu City, there won’t be a repeat of what happened before.” Han Jianming still had great faith in Yun Qing.

The rim of Qiu Shi’s eyes reddened. “Even if there won’t be any more deaths like before, people will still die in the war. If something unfortunate happens to your Er Di10, do you want your mother to be the white-haired person who has to send off a black-haired person13?” It was already bad enough that Yuxi was in Yu City. If her son had to go there again, a day in her life would drag on like a year14.

Han Jianming said, “Mother, Er Di10 has been training in martial arts since he was seven so that he can easily build a career. If we let him stay in the capital, all his training will be in vain.” Even if Qiu Shi disagreed with his idea, Han Jianye would be against staying in the capital.

Qiu Shi was in a difficult position. She didn’t want to delay her son’s future, but she didn’t feel comfortable worrying about him risking his life. It was such an ordeal to be a mother.

Han Jianming lowered his voice and said, “Mother, I know you don’t want to part with Er Di10, and you’re worried about him getting hurt in the war. But you can’t let him waste his time in the capital just because you’re worried!”

No matter what Qiu Shi did, she could not stop her son from pursuing his future. “What is your Er Di10 opinion on this?”

Han Jianye walked in at that moment and said, “Mother, I am going to the northwest as soon as I’ve completed my mourning period.” Han Jianming had been discreetly fishing for information on something before he came up with this idea.

Qiu Shi was so exasperated. “Since you have all made up your minds, what are you doing here asking me then?” What’s the point of raising a son if you were going to spend your whole life worrying about him?

Han Jianye was no longer acting foolishly as he hurriedly tried to reason with his mother, “Mother, Dage15 has found me a flexible armour made of golden silk, and with my excellent martial arts skills, those barbarians can’t do anything to me. So, don’t worry, Mother.”

When Qiu Shi heard about the flexible armour, she eagerly said, “If you have one, you should buy another one for your Meifu12 as well.” She knew very well that, in comparison, her family Guye5’s situation was much more dangerous than his son’s.

Han Jianming replied, “I could only get one, but I’ve already placed another order. I don’t expect to receive it before the end of the year.” The flexible armour was expensive because it was challenging to make.

By this time, Qiu Shi had no objection to the idea and reminded him, “Mother won’t oppose if you truly want to go to the northwest, but make sure to take care of yourself.”

Han Jianye nodded. “Don’t worry, Mother, I will.” Han Jianming’s original intention was to wait until things were settled before telling Qiu Shi, a suggestion that Han Jianye rejected. He felt that his mother would be extremely angry with them if they did that. Even if they told her later, she would still be worried. It would be better to inform her sooner rather than make her angry and concerned at the same time. Yuxi’s previous efforts had worked well, as Han Jianye had paid more attention to Qiu Shi than Han Jianming.