After dismissing Zhao Mingkun, Guogong Yé strolled leisurely to the small training ground after dinner. As he looked up, he saw someone he had thought wouldn’t come tonight, sitting quietly on the edge of a flower bed under the old pine tree beside the training ground. That person was sitting motionless with both hands resting on his knees and his head lowered.

“Huanxi,” Guogong Yé called out to him.

Zhao Huanxi suddenly snapped back to his senses. Seeing Guogong Yé, he stood up and greeted him, “Zufu.”

Guogong Yé walked over, gestured for him to sit down, and then sat beside him. He asked, “Has your mother woken up?”

Zhao Huanxi shook his head. “Not yet. Nian’an is keeping watch over her.”

“I thought you wouldn’t come tonight.”

Zhao Huanxi lowered his head. “I originally didn’t plan to come, but I was feeling restless and wanted to find a quiet place to stay for a while. Somehow, I ended up coming here.”

“Why are you feeling restless?” Guogong Yé asked.

Zhao Huanxi looked at his lightly clenched hands and said, “Today, when I went to the Yilan Pavilion, I saw my father hitting my mother, and Zhao Huanyang was standing by, watching. I went up and pushed my father away. He tried to stop me, and I hit him too. I pushed my father to protect my mother, but when I hit him, there was some personal resentment mixed in. One is my father, and the other is my shu-brother. I shouldn’t have raised my hand against either of them. But today, not only did I strike them, I also didn’t feel much guilt in my heart. I… I am an unfilial and unbrotherly.”

“With those two, one who does not act his age and the other who does not behave like an elder brother, what makes them worthy of your filial piety or fraternal love?” Guogong Yé snorted coldly.

Zhao Huanxi was stunned for a moment. He raised his head and looked at Guogong Yé in surprise.

“Your father was such an unfilial son. I regret having been too soft-hearted with him all these years, letting him live too comfortably, to the point where he no longer knows his place. I’ve decided to find him a position in Pingliang Prefecture so he can fend for himself! Without him causing trouble, there will be more peace in the household,” Guogong Yé said sternly.

Zhao Huanxi: “……”

Guogong Yé, after venting his anger for a moment, placed a hand on Zhao Huanxi’s shoulder and said, “Just do what you need to do. Don’t overthink the rest. As long as Zufu is here, Zufu won’t let you be put in a difficult situations.”

Zhao Huanxi instinctively bowed and said, “Thank…” but after uttering the first word, he realized that thanking his grandfather for this seemed a bit odd, so he got stuck there, his expression conflicted.

Seeing him like that, Guogong Yé couldn’t help but laugh. He gave him a light pat and said, “Silly boy!”

After talking with Guogong Yé, Zhao Huanxi felt a bit better and returned to Jiaxiang House.

Xu Nian’an was still by the bedside, keeping watch over Yin Furen. Seeing him return, she said, “You should go rest. I’ll stay here and watch over Mother.”

Zhao Huanxi refused, “I want to stay with you and keep watch together.”

Xu Nian’an said, “Why do we need two people to keep watch together? You should go to sleep first and take over when you wake up. Otherwise, if both of us stay up all night, neither of us will have any energy tomorrow.”

“Alright then, it’s settled. When I wake up, I’ll take over, and you’ll go to sleep,” Zhao Huanxi replied.

Xu Nian’an nodded. “But you can’t come after just one or two hours of sleep.”

Zhao Huanxi: “I’ll come whenever I wake up, no matter the time.”

Xu Nian’an sighed helplessly, “Alright, alright, just go now.”

Jiaxiang House had many rooms, so he asked a maid to quickly tidy one up, and he settled in there.

Nanny Su, being older, had suffered some minor injuries from the tussle earlier. Xu Nian’an also sent her to rest, while Qianhe and the others took the night watch outside.

Yin Furen woke up shortly after the middle of the Hai hour (around 9 to 11:00 p.m.).

Seeing that Yin Furen seemed to be waking up, Xu Nian’an sat down on the edge of the bed and gently called out, “Mom, Mom?”

Yin Furen, still groggy and disoriented, opened her eyes and, with a weak and dry voice, murmured, “Nian’an…”

Xu Nian’an quickly took a teapot from the warming tray, poured a cup of warm water, and helped prop Yin Furen up slightly. “Mom, have some water first.”

Yin Furen drank half a cup of water with her assistance, then lay back down, glancing at the canopy and around the room. In a weak voice, she asked, “What happened to me?”

Xu Nian’an placed the teacup down and turned to look at her softly. “Zhang Daifu said that you have long been overworked and your health has always been weak. Today, under such great grief, your blood and qi became unsettled, worsening an old ailments. The body can’t handle it and needs proper care. The medicine and porridge are warming in the warming tray. Mom, you…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence because Yin Furen began crying again.

“What kind of sin have I committed? If it was my sin, why didn’t it fall upon me? It was my fault, forcing her to have a child with that beast. It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault!” Yin Furen, overcome with sorrow and regret, even began to beat her own head.

Xu Nian’an was startled and quickly reached out to hold Yin Furen’s hand. “Mom, don’t do this. Please tell me, what happened to San Jiejie?”

Yin Furen, tears streaming down her face, just shook her head gently on the pillow, remaining silent.

“Mom, you took your anger out on Gongdiē today, which must mean you are at a loss about San Jiejie’s situation. I’m not an outsider, why not confide in me? Perhaps I can help you think of a solution,” Xu Nian’an said softly.

Hearing this, Yin Furen turned to face Xu Nian’an, grasping her hands tightly. With tears streaming down her face and a look of despair, she whispered, “Your San Jiejie… she contracted a venereal disease from that beast.” Having managed to utter those words, she broke down completely.

Xu Nian’an now understands.

For men, contracting such a disease was merely a matter of discreetly seeking treatment. However, for women, it was a dead end. Regardless of whether the disease was contracted from their husband or not, once it became known, it would ruin the reputation of the woman and her family. Women with such diseases, except for those in brothels where reputations were already compromised and will find a doctor to treat it, had no choice but to wait for their end in silence, as reputable families would not seek medical help and would only suffer in silence.

Yin Furen, overwhelmed with pain, reached to beat her head again.

Xu Nian’an grasped her hand once more and said, “Mom, please calm down. There is still hope for San Jiejie. Trust me.”

Yin Furen stopped, staring at Xu Nian’an with tear-filled eyes.

Xu Nian’an leaned closer and whispered, “My family owns a silk shop, and the shopkeeper’s wife comes from a medical family. She may not have a medical reputation, but she has real skills and has treated my mother before. Tomorrow, I will have her dress as one of our own and take her to the Ding Guogong Residence to see San Jiejie. Even if she can’t treat her herself, her family has doctors who can be consulted through letters. They will surely be able to cure San Jiejie.”

Yin Furen clutched Xu Nian’an’s hand tightly, her eyes filled with urgency as she asked, “Really?”

Xu Nian’an nodded. “This is a serious matter, how could I joke about it?” She used her other hand to wipe the tears from Yin Furen’s face and gently said, “Mom, don’t worry about this anymore. Leave it to me. Since I married into the family, San Jiejie has treated me like a sister. I am determined to help her. Once her illness is treated, we will have her divorce that wretch and bring her back home.”

Yin Furen nodded repeatedly, her eyes welling up with tears again. “Alright, I leave this matter to you.”

Xu Nian’an reassured Yin Furen, helped her take her medicine, and then Yin Furen asked, “What about Huanxi? Did that scoundrel of his father come to cause trouble?”

Xu Nian’an replied, “Sanlang was just here and wanted to stay with me to watch over you. I persuaded him to go rest first and come back after he wakes up. Gongdiē hasn’t caused any trouble for him. Biao Ge also came back from outside, learned about your condition, and was very angry. He wanted to write to Jiufu, but I talked him out of it. Zumu and Zufu have both visited you. Zumu intended to have Wu Shenshen take over the household duties, but Zufu refused, saying that you& are ill and that it should be Erxi assisting *you in managing the household.”

Yin Furen nodded. “It’s good to hear there are no further issues. It seems I will be troubling you in the future.”

Xu Nian’an shook her head. “Although Erxi managed the household at home before, the Xu Family is not comparable to the Guogong Residence. In the future, One will still rely on Mother for guidance.”

Yin Furen said, “It may be tiring and complicated, but it’s not difficult. There are people to handle various tasks below. As the head of the household, we just need to manage the overall situation…”

“Mom, you are awake!” Zhao Huanxi’s surprised voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Seeing him arrive, Xu Nian’an moved aside from the edge of the bed.

“Mom, are you alright? You scared me today. Thankfully, Nian’an was here to arrange everything for you and the servants,” Zhao Huanxi said as he sat on the edge of the bed, still shaken.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t held my grandchild yet, so I’m not going to die so easily,” Yin Furen replied.

The word used was 孙子 (sunzi) which mean grandson from a son. (while 外孙 or waisun is grandchild from daughter, which she had plenty).

Her words embarrassed Zhao Huanxi, but he was too concerned to dwell on it. He asked anxiously, “How are you feeling now? Is there anywhere that hurts?”

Yin Furen shook her head. “I’m fine, don’t worry.” Her greatest concern was Jiazhen. As long as Jiazhen’s situation wasn’t resolved, even with medication, she wouldn’t fully recover. Now that there was hope for Jiazhen’s situation to be resolved, she felt she could recover even without medication.

Zhao Huanxi, feeling relieved, said to Xu Nian’an, “I’m awake now. You should go get some rest. You’ve been working all day.”

Xu Nian’an glared at him, noting that he had been gone for less than half an hour. How could he say he had already slept?

Zhao Huanxi looked embarrassed.

Yin Furen, seemingly reminded, quickly said, “Alright, Nian’an, you should go rest. You need to go out tomorrow, so don’t overexert yourself.”

Zhao Huanxi hurriedly agreed, “That’s right, that’s right.”

Seeing that Yin Furen was stable, Xu Nian’an did not insist on further duty. She advised Zhao Huanxi, “Mom just took her medicine. Wait for a while, then help her have the porridge from the warming tray.”

Zhao Huanxi nodded. “Got it. You should go rest now.”

Xu Nian’an then took her leave with a formal farewell.

Once she left, the room was left with just the mother and son.

Yin Furen asked Zhao Huanxi, “Did your father really not come looking for you later?”

“No, but he probably went to see Zufu. Zufu said he would be sent to Pingliang Prefecture for an official post,” Zhao Huanxi replied.

Yin Furen’s eyes lit up, and a hint of vitality appeared on her pale and weak face as she asked, “Really?”

Zhao Huanxi, seeing her expression, felt both helpless and pained. “Yes, really.”

Yin Furen comforted him, “At least we can finally look forward to a peaceful life.”

Zhao Huanxi hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help asking, “Mom, what happened to San Jiejie?”

Yin Furen said, “Don’t ask about this. I’ve already told Nian’an, and she will help your sister.”

Understanding that it was not appropriate for him to inquire further, Zhao Huanxi nodded.

Suddenly, Yin Furen remembered something. “Oh no, Huanxi, quickly call Qianhe in.”

Zhao Huanxi asked, “What does Mom need her for now?”

Yin Furen said, “I fear that with my sudden illness, there might be people who would go to your Si Jiejie and spread malicious gossip. She is pregnant and cannot handle any stress.”

Zhao Huanxi reassured her, “When you first fainted, Nian’an had already sent someone to fetch a physician and asked Nanny Su to handle this matter. Don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Yin Furen sighed with relief. Looking at her young and handsome son, she earnestly advised, “Huanxi, always treat Nian’an well and don’t follow your father’s example.”

Zhao Huanxi responded with determination, “Mom, don’t worry. I won’t take a concubine; Nian’an is the only one for me in this lifetime.”

Yin Furen was taken aback for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement. “Good.”