Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 77

Soon, it would be time to finish her confinement month.

Little Su had seen her own mother pregnant with her younger brother before, and always felt that Ye Jiao really didn't need to do confinement for so long. She had given birth smoothly, everything that needed to be expelled had been expelled early on, and she looked radiant and fair throughout. Later she could stand up and walk around the room by herself, occasionally pulling out books to read. She looked like she'd been fine long ago.

But Liu Shi was worried, and Qi Yun also said it was better for her to stay put longer. Nothing bad could come of it.

Enduring it for a while was better than suffering later.

Fortunately it was now autumn, not as hot as summer. Though there were charcoal braziers in the room, it wasn't as stifling as before, so it was bearable.

But even after finishing her confinement month, Ye Jiao still only wiped her body and washed her hair, not using the bathtub. Finally after waiting several more days, when Liu Shi finally nodded her approval, Little Ginseng wouldn't delay for even one day. She immediately had people bring in the bathtub and went in for a good wash.

Little Su held a towel to scrub her back, doing it very carefully.

It wasn't that she couldn't use strength, but Second Young Mistress's skin looked too delicate. It looked much more lustrous than before, and the slightest touch would leave a red mark. Little Su really didn't dare scrub hard.

Ye Jiao felt her caution and asked: "What's wrong?"

Little Su went to get bath beans while saying: "Second Young Mistress's skin is just too good, I don't dare use force."

Hearing this, Ye Jiao wasn't surprised and replied lazily: "If you were also confined for over a month, eating nothing but fish soup and pig's foot soup every day, you'd also be raised to be plump and fair."

During her confinement, Little Su had been attending to her the whole time, so she naturally knew Ye Jiao's hardships.

After all, whatever you gained, you had to suffer for.

Little Su took a bath bean, moistened it slightly with water, dissolved it on cloth, then applied it to Ye Jiao's body.

This bath bean was something Qi Yun had newly obtained and gave to Ye Jiao to use.

Ordinary bath beans were mostly made from ground beans mixed with medicinal materials like honey locust, angelica, and atractylodes ground into powder, then mixed with oil and herbal juices, shaped into balls and dried.

This time what Qi Yun gave her was made from ground glutinous rice. Besides those medicinal materials, it also contained pearl powder, sweet pine fragrance, and zero ling fragrance. It lacked the roughness of ordinary bath beans, being exceptionally smooth and carrying a pleasant aroma.

Ye Jiao found it comfortable and smiled, exhaling contentedly.

Being human was truly wonderful. Even bathing had so many intricacies. Before, she'd seen the little fox roll in snow to bathe, while she herself was buried in soil every day, unable to move at all. Thinking about it now, this was truly a divine life.

Little Su made small talk to fill the silence: "Second Young Mistress, I've noticed Little Black seems different from before lately."

"How is it different?"

"It seems smarter somehow. When I call its name, it stares right at me. It doesn't run around randomly anymore, and even its tail feathers seem to grow faster than usual."

Hearing this, the first few things didn't surprise Ye Jiao. After all, all creatures had some intelligence, and after being raised for a long time, they would become more aware.

She only heard the last point.

Looking at Little Su with a smile, Ye Jiao said: "Perfect. Last time my husband said he wanted to make a tassel for Xu Bao to play with. Let's use Little Black's feathers."

After all, they'd grow back after being plucked, so it wouldn't matter.

Little Su hadn't expected this turn of events, but since she'd already spoken, it was too late to take it back. Fortunately Little Black's feathers grew quickly, so she didn't feel as sorry for it as before, and nodded in agreement.

After one wash, Ye Jiao changed the water, scattered flower petals, and soaked again.

When Qi Yun returned, he came face to face with a pair of eyes staring at him from beside the bathtub.

Ye Jiao had very beautiful eyes, large and clear with distinct black and white. Qi Yun felt Xu Bao might resemble him in other ways, but those eyes were exactly like Ye Jiao's.

Both had bright, shimmering eyes that seemed to see straight to your heart with just one glance.

Seeing him return, Ye Jiao called out with a smile: "Husband!"

Qi Yun, afraid of letting in cold air, quickly closed the door and hurried over, wanting to pull the screen for her: "Why aren't you blocking yourself? Where's Little Su?"

Ye Jiao heard that he wanted to scold Little Su and quickly said: "I told her not to pull the screen. It's been so long since I could bathe, I want to soak more and talk with you. Little Su is holding Xu Bao in the small room, with Nanny Liu helping, so it's fine."

Qi Yun nodded, but his eyes unconsciously glanced toward the bathtub.

Ye Jiao had already washed herself clean in the previous round. This time she was just soaking because she'd missed water for so long, naturally making herself as comfortable as possible.

Flower petals floated on the water surface, and logically one shouldn't be able to see much.

But Ye Jiao had been confined indoors for a month and had grown fair from boredom. Combined with her naturally fair complexion and all the nourishing soups during confinement, she'd been extremely well cared for, making her skin even better.

Even with flower petals as cover, her fairness was dazzling.

Hands like soft catkins, skin like congealed fat.

Only today did Qi Yun truly understand the meaning of this poem.

His ear tips suddenly reddened. Qi Yun coughed lightly, originally wanting to avoid looking, but remembering that Ye Jiao wanted to talk with him, he stopped, moved a chair to sit not far from the bathtub, and said to Ye Jiao: "What does Jiao Niang want to talk about?"

Ye Jiao leaned against the edge of the bathtub, resting her chin on her arms, tilting her head to look at him: "At the full-month celebration, we still didn't see elder brother, did we?"

Mentioning Ye Ping Rong, Qi Yun's heart tightened.

After Ye Jiao mentioned him last time, Qi Yun had specifically made time to go to the Meng family medicine shop to find Third Young Master and inquire about Ye Ping Rong's whereabouts.

Though Third Young Master hadn't explained everything clearly, Qi Yun could see the anxiety on his face.

Third Young Master could guarantee that Ye Ping Rong's life wasn't in danger, and he would definitely return within a month.

Though Chu Chengyun usually seemed careless about everything, he was actually very clear-minded. Ye Ping Rong wouldn't really come to harm. Even if his brothers were mad enough to actually detain his man, they would only use him to threaten him or as a bargaining chip. A living Ye Ping Rong was far more useful than a dead one.

The facts were as he thought. Ye Ping Rong was alive, just in a rather miserable state, still unconscious in Prime Minister Meng's residence.

According to Prime Minister Meng, it was a miracle he survived. The opponent's blade had struck his chest, and anyone else would have died 800 times over, but Ye Ping Rong had endured and held on until Prime Minister Meng rescued him.

But his injuries were too severe to move, so he was being cared for at the prime minister's residence.

Chu Chengyun couldn't say more, only telling him: "Ping Rong suffered this for me. I'll remember this debt forever. Second Brother, rest assured, I guarantee that within three months, Ping Rong will return completely unharmed."

But for Qi Yun, Third Young Master having him do things that involved life and death was already serious enough.

This made Qi Yun suddenly feel that he was still too comfortable. Though his shops brought in considerable income and he'd formed a merchant caravan, when it came to actually doing anything, he was completely helpless.

If he had even one shop or some personnel in the capital, it would be better than his current powerlessness.

Even walking the merchant path, being just a local wealthy household wasn't enough. When real problems arose, he was still helpless.

Ultimately, he needed to work harder. Now he had not only his wife but family and a son to care for. He couldn't always be powerless.

But right now, Qi Yun wouldn't reveal any of this to Ye Jiao. He just smiled and said: "Third Young Master says elder brother will be able to return in three months, just in time for New Year. We can have a happy family reunion dinner."

Having a specific time made Ye Jiao much more at ease. She nodded, smiling until her eyes squinted.

Then Ye Jiao's voice mixed with the steamy water vapor: "Husband, go help me find some clothes."

Qi Yun immediately stood up and walked toward Ye Jiao's wardrobe.

He said he was looking for clothes, but all his attention was behind him.

After all, the sound of water was so obvious, the movement so real, it was hard not to notice.

Jiao Niang was getting out of the bathtub, Jiao Niang was drying herself, Jiao Niang was coming over...

Qi Yun immediately turned around and saw Ye Jiao wearing only undergarments standing behind him, opening her beautiful eyes to ask: "Where are the clothes?"

Second Young Master Qi naturally couldn't admit he'd just been eavesdropping instead of looking for clothes, so he randomly grabbed something to give her.

Unfortunately, he happened to grab a gauze shirt.

Gauze was transparent against skin, light in hand, but felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in Qi Yun's hands.

He coughed lightly and immediately said: "Let me find you another one."

But before Qi Yun could turn around, Ye Jiao reached out and grabbed him.

The woman's eyes were especially focused as she said seriously: "Husband, it's been almost 50 days since I gave birth to Xu Bao. Can we research books now?"

Hearing this, Qi Yun's heart stirred.

His wife wanted to research, and he wanted to research too. They'd both been wanting this for a long time.

But Qi Yun still took a deep breath, grasped Ye Jiao's hand, and said softly: "No rush. Doctor Li says it's better to wait a bit more. You should recover more first."

Ye Jiao seemed to think of this point. Wearing thick-soled embroidered shoes, she tap-tap-tapped over to the bookshelf, took down "Six Wonders of Flower Formations," and quickly ran back.

Qi Yun didn't know what she wanted to do, so he remained silent, just watching his wife.

Soon, Ye Jiao opened to a certain page, spread it out, and showed it to Qi Yun: "What about this way?"

Then Qi Yun's ears turned red from the illustrations, his tongue going numb.

Ye Jiao was quite frank about it. This was something she'd found after flipping through the book several times while bored in the room. She tugged at his sleeve and shook it: "Is this okay?"

Qi Yun tried to maintain the appearance of a gentleman, though the red on his face somewhat undermined his credibility: "Jiao Niang, it seems you've researched this book more thoroughly than I have."

And he told himself that according to the illustration, it was just him helping her and her helping him, not the full act. It should be acceptable.

Ye Jiao smiled, knowing he'd agreed.

Then the two of them closed the bed curtains, and soon there were soft, scattered sounds from within, occasionally punctuated by laughter and murmurs mixed with water vapor. Only when night fell did the sounds finally cease.

Qi Yun lay beside Ye Jiao, massaging her wrists, thinking that his wife had worked hard just now.

But just as he was about to be affectionate, he heard loud crying from outside.

This was Xu Bao's voice. Usually at this time, Xu Bao would be hungry.

Ye Jiao immediately pushed him and got up fully clothed to go outside, not looking back.

This left Second Young Master Qi propping himself up on the bed with one hand, somewhat bewildered for a moment.

But soon he was calculating again in his mind: Xu Bao was now one month old, how much longer before he could be independent?

His son should naturally be stronger than others.

Just then, Tie Zi outside the window knocked on the window frame and said to the inside: "Second Young Master, someone is trying to force their way in at the front. Do you want to go take a look?"

Qi Yun was about to get dressed when he heard this and raised an eyebrow slightly: "Who?"

If it were unrelated people, Tie Zi wouldn't come ask him.

Tie Zi lowered his voice further, as if afraid others would hear, leaning against the window: "It's people from Second Brother Ye's household, making a fuss about seeing Second Young Mistress."

Hearing this, Qi Yun's brow furrowed slightly.

Then he immediately tidied his clothes, re-bound his hair, put on his robe, and opened the door.

Tie Zi quickly ran over and asked: "Second Young Master, should we tell Second Young Mistress?"

Qi Yun's expression was calm: "No need. She can't leave while watching Xu Bao. I'll go."

After speaking, Qi Yun stepped down from the platform.

Tie Zi quickly followed. After walking a short distance, he heard Qi Yun say: "Go get some people, pick those women who do odd jobs, specifically ones who can talk well and fight and scold, to come with me."

Being able to talk well was one thing, but why also fight and scold?

Were they going to fight or argue?

Hearing this, Tie Zi was stunned, then immediately agreed and ran off.