Chapter 487 : The Return of Han Jianye

Yuxi was swamped. What had started as a pile of work had now grown to include more than 20,000 mu1 of land to manage. The planting season was coming up, and there would be a lot to do; plus, her restaurant in Yu City was about to reopen. Although she wasn’t planning to go there in person, she still had to make some arrangements.

Sitting on the chair, Yuxi said very tiredly: “I really wish I had a cloning technique.” Exhaustion made her so sleepy that she just wanted to collapse on the bed.

Mama Xi stepped forward, squeezed Yuxi’s shoulders, and said softly: “Madam, just leave these things to the subordinates. Why do you have to work so hard?”

Although Yuxi was tired, she never complained, muttering, “It’s better to have something to do than to stay at home all the time.” In her previous life, she spent the whole day in the house doing nothing, relying on embroidery to pass the time every day. In this life, she would rather be busy and tired than live a mediocre life like in her previous life.

Mama Xi didn’t speak anymore but carefully kneaded Yuxi’s shoulders. Mama Xi’s skill was first class, and it felt so comfortable that Yuxi fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

Zijin rushed into the room and woke the sleeping Yuxi. Zijin complained, “Madam, why don’t you just sleep in the house? You will catch a cold if you do it here.”

Mama Xi was a little speechless. She was such a big living person, massaging Madam, yet Zijin directly ignored her.

Yuxi chuckled as she replied, “Mama Xi was so skilled, I fell asleep as soon as she massaged my shoulder. By the way, Zijin, why are you in such a hurry?”

Zijin quickly said: “Madam, the Second Master is here. He is with Zaozao in the front courtyard right now!” When Han Jianye learned that Zaozao was at Huo Changqing’s place, he went straight there to see her. As for Yuxi, he was in no hurry as he could just meet her later.

Yuxi exclaimed in pleasant surprise, “Er Ge2 is here?” Then she stood up and walked quickly towards the front courtyard.

Before entering the front courtyard, Yuxi heard Zaozao giggling. When Yuxi walked in, she saw Han Jianye playing with Zaozao, lifting her high above his head. The girl was not only fearless but also extremely lively.

Yuxi felt that she had given birth to the wrong child. Her child should have been a boy, not a girl! How could a girl be born so courageous? Really.💪

Yuxi greeted Huo Changqing first, then said to Han Jianye with a smile: “Er Ge2, I thought you would come back after your mourning period!”

When Zaozao noticed Yuxi, she stretched out her hands, asking for a hug. Han Jianye smiled as he handed Zaozao to Yuxi, saying, “This child is still close to you!”

Hearing this from the sidelines, Mama Lan felt her Second Master was being foolish again. If this child couldn’t be close to her mother, who else could she be close to?

Huo Changqing waved his hand and said, “You two siblings should take your time to chat. I’ll just go for a walk.” Huo Changqing had no problem walking nowadays but was less agile than before.

It was certainly not appropriate for siblings to continue chatting in Huo Changqing’s courtyard. Yuxi immediately hugged Zaozao and led Han Jianye into the backyard.

Once in the backyard, Yuxi told Han Jianye, “Er Ge2, have a cup of tea first, and I’ll come out later.” Yuxi couldn’t help it. Zaozao kept wiggling in her arms. If Yuxi waited to feed this girl, she couldn’t talk to Han Jianye properly.

After about a quarter of an hour, Yuxi changed her clothes and walked out of the bedroom. Seeing Han Jianye sitting patiently in a chair drinking tea, Yuxi’s face lit up with a smile and asked, “Big Brother, how is Mother recently?”

Han Jianye nodded and replied, “Mother’s health is excellent. You used to tell her to get out more and not stay in the house all the time. Nowadays, as long as it doesn’t rain, she’ll stroll around the garden four times a day.” He had to say that Yuxi’s words were much more effective than their mother’s own two sons.

Seeing that Qiu Shi had been adhering to her words, Yuxi smiled. “That’s good.” A well-maintained body would lead to a long and healthy life.

Han Jianye suddenly lowered his face and said to Yuxi, “Yuxi, Er Ge2 feels sorry for you.”

Yuxi’s heart skipped when she heard this and asked, “Er Ge2, why did you say that when everything is fine? Has something happened?”

Han Jianye didn’t know whether to cry or laugh at Yuxi’s words as he explained, “I mean, I couldn’t be there to protect you at your most difficult time. I’m such an incompetent brother.” He wasn’t very well informed, and by the time he found out what had happened in Yu City, the crisis there had already been resolved.

Yuxi couldn’t help smiling and said, ”What are you talking about? It’s not like it was intentional. And it was such a long time ago, so there’s no need to bring it up again.”

Zijin interjected, “Second Master, there’s no need to talk about those sad things anymore, or Madam might have nightmares again. It’s better to talk about something happy!”

Seeing Yuxi’s radiant look, Han Jianye stopped talking about this disappointing topic: “Mother has personally made clothes for Zaozao, and I’ll have someone bring them in.” Han Jianye didn’t bring many things this time, just three boxes. The boxes contained all the food and toys they could find, and nothing was left behind.

Yuxi’s eyes suddenly reddened as she spoke, “Mother is already old, and I still make her worry. As her daughter, I am truly unfilial.” She wanted to be filial to Qiu Shi for the rest of her life, but she hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t be able to see her even once a year these days.

Han Jianye said: “This is a good thing. Why did you cry?” Women really were a mystery, so to speak. They especially like to cry. Like his wife, who wept so much that even he didn’t know what she was crying about.🙂

Yuxi couldn’t help but giggle at Han Jianye’s bewildered look. Her Er Ge2 was still as amusing as ever!

Han Jianye muttered, “I don’t even know what you’re crying and laughing about.” It was hard for him to understand how a person could cry one moment and laugh the next.

Yuxi felt helpless and immediately changed the subject. Fortunately, her Er Ge2 only acted like this in front of her. If he had been like this outside, she would be worried to death. “Er Ge2, which vacant position will you fill this time?” Last time, he was in the lower fourth-rank position; this time, he would at least get the upper fourth-rank officer position.

Han Jianye replied, “It’s an upper fourth-rank assistant captain.” At present, there was a shortage of high-ranking military officers in Yu City. Although Han Jianye had not been promoted due to his meritorious service, there were so many vacancies that no suitable person in Yu City could be chosen to fill the position.

Yuxi said with a smile: “If He Rui knows that you are here, I am sure he will be ecstatic.” After a pause at this point, Yuxi asked: “Er Ge2, should we invite Lu San Ge5 over to have a meal together?” Apart from his first visit, Lu Lin had only been to the Yun Residence once since then. All in all, the number of times he had visited was pitifully small.

Han Jianye was somewhat moved: “Prepare some good wine for me. I’ve heard that the wine from your winery is delicious, so let me drink to my heart’s content this time.” Although he had completed his mourning period, his mother and Dage6 had not, so he could not eat meat or drink wine at home.

Yuxi didn’t object to Han Jianye’s drinking. She just said, “I’ll give you four liang7, no more.” Han Jianye’s drinking capacity was excellent. When he drank freely, he could drink more than one and a half jin8 of distilled liquor. Yuxi didn’t dare to let him drink to his heart’s content.🧮

Han Jianye argued with a defeated face, “Four liang7 is too little. Let’s make it six liang7!” If he asked for more than that, he knew Yuxi wouldn’t allow it.🧮

Yuxi nodded. “Six liang7 then, no more. After you’ve finished drinking, take a bath, go to bed, and rest for another day tomorrow before going to the barracks the day after.”

Han Jianye laughed. “You’ve become such a meddlesome woman.”

The two siblings talked about what had happened in the year they’d been apart. There was no need for Yuxi to say anything about what had happened to her in Yu City, as Han Jianye knew all about it. Rather, it was Yuxi who wasn’t clear about what had happened in the capital.

Han Jianye told Yuxi: “Let me tell you, Qingyang Gongzhu11 is dead, and all three generations of the Qiao family are gone. The only one left in the Qiao family is Heshou Xianzhu12. However, His Highness, the Crown Prince, has also confined her to her courtyard. I guess she won’t live long either.” Even death would be too good for such a vicious woman. His only regret was that he didn’t have enough ability. Otherwise, he would like to meet this woman in person.😱

Yuxi was very surprised and asked, “How did the four members of the Qiao family die? Could it be the plague?” Unless it was the plague, it was impossible for almost the whole family to die! Of course, there was another possibility, and that was that someone had plotted against them. Although Qingyang Gongzhu11 was no longer under the care of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, she was still a member of the royal family, and ordinary people would not lay a hand on her.

Han Jianye shook his head, “Speaking of which, it’s also the punishment for the evil done by the Qiao family.” After saying that, he explained the cause of the deaths of the three generations of the Qiao family. After he finished explaining, he said, “As it happens, Qingyang Gongzhu11’s death was the most bizarre, as she died surprisingly in her sleep. Do you know? Because of our grudge against the Qiao family, they even suspected that Dage6 killed the four members of the Qiao family. And then there were rumours that it was Yuchen’s murderous plan.” There were all sorts of messy rumours, and hearing them irked him to no end.

Yuxi trembled when she heard the last part. If it was Han Jianming’s vicious attacks, Yuxi didn’t believe it. But if it was Yuchen, it was possible. She secretly thought about it but did not show it on her face. Yuxi deliberately uttered: “I do not know who is behind the slander against the Han family and Yuchen.”

Han Jianye said, ”Who says otherwise? There are also people who say that Yuchen killed a girl of a merchant family called Cai from Jiangnan. Why would Yuchen, with her position, kill a merchant’s daughter? Isn’t that nonsense? I wonder what the people behind the scenes are up to.” Han Jianye was someone who strongly believed in his own family.

When Yuxi heard about the girl of the Cai family from Jiangnan, her heart almost jumped out of her chest. She couldn’t help but ask, “What was the name of the girl from the Cai family who was killed?” It must not be the person she was thinking of.

Han Jianye lowered his head and thought momentarily before answering, “I’m not exactly sure what her name is. I only know she was from the Cai family and a shu14 daughter.” He didn’t know more than that. He didn’t bother to check it out because he thought the rumour was senseless.

Yuxi’s heart almost jumped out of her chest when she heard the word ‘shu14 daughter’, and she asked in a low voice, “Er Ge2, is the girl called Eight Young Miss Cai?”

Han Jianye thought for a moment before nodding. “She seems to be called Eight Young Miss Cai…”

Yuxi’s hands shook as she asked, “Is that Eighth Young Miss Cai really dead?” When she saw Han Jianye nod, Yuxi was horrified. How could this be? How could the Eighth Young Miss Cai be dead? At this time in Yuxi’s previous life, the Eighth Young Miss Cai was just starting to become famous! Afterwards, she created so many rare and practical things. All the things Heshou came up with, as well as the methods Yuxi used to extract the purity of the wine, were all created by the Eighth Young Miss Cai.

Seeing that Yuxi’s face didn’t look right, Han Jianye asked, “Yuxi, is it possible that you know this Eighth Young Miss Cai?” As far as he knew, Yuxi and the Eighth Young Miss Cai shouldn’t have crossed paths! Because Yuxi had never been to Jiangnan, and the Cai family’s eighth girl had never come to the capital, at least until her death, she had never set foot there.

Yuxi shook her head. “I don’t know her, nor have I ever seen her.” Whether in her previous life or this one, she had never seen this Eighth Young Miss Cai. She had only heard her name but never met her.

Han Jianye said, “Since you don’t know each other, don’t take it to heart.” In this world, the death of a stranger carried no weight.