Chapter 74
As soon as Yao Chunnuan safely gave birth to a baby girl, a clever servant rushed to the hall to announce the good news, "Master Yao has given birth to a little girl, and both mother and daughter are safe."
Everyone in the living room was very happy to hear the news.
For the Yao family, hearing the news that mother and daughter were safe and sound was pure joy. After all, adding a new member to the family is always worth celebrating. Remember, the little girl's last name was Yao.
For Wu Zongguan and Yu Chen, whether Yao Chunnuan gave birth to a boy or a girl was irrelevant to them. A smooth birth, with both mother and daughter safe and sound, was the best they could hope for. Besides, what if it was a girl? It wasn't like she wouldn't have children in the future; there were plenty of cases where a child blossomed before bearing fruit. Furthermore, considering Yao Chunnuan's future, according to worldly standards, it would be better for her to remarry with a daughter than a son. Finally, Yao Chunnuan was inherently superior to many men; with a mother like her, her daughter shouldn't be too bad.
So the two of them sincerely congratulated Grandfather Yao, "Congratulations, Grandpa Yao, the Yao family has a new addition."
"Thank you, thank you. When the baby is one month old, you should come and have a drink at the wedding."
"Of course, of course."
Shortly after Yao Chunnuan gave birth to a daughter, a messenger came back to report that the army led by the general had returned to Yichun, and they were only seven or eight miles away from home.
In addition, the two teams heading to Funing District and Huangshi District also sent people back to report that they were safe. No one was caught up by the cavalry sent by Shi Mei and was on their way back.
The messenger first went to the General's Mansion and learned that both General Manager Wu and Yu Chen were with Chief Secretary Yao. He then went to Yao's residence. As soon as he arrived, he learned the good news that Chief Secretary Yao had safely given birth to a daughter. Yao's mother also stuffed him with a handful of melon seeds, dried fruits and other things, saying that she wanted him to share in the joy.
After the messenger delivered the message, his mission was complete and he could rest. He simply didn't leave, and with a handful of sunflower seeds and dried fruits, he ran to stay with the other soldiers from the general's mansion that Wu Zongguan and Yu Chen had brought with them when they went out.
After receiving the news that the three waves of people were safe, Manager Wu and Yu Chen were very happy.
He was so happy that he couldn't help but praise others, "Master Yao's daughter is really a lucky little star. She was just born and good news came one after another."
"That's right." Yu Chen didn't think there was anything wrong with praising him like that. You said it was a coincidence, it's too much of a coincidence, this is a sign of good fortune.
Regardless of whether these compliments were true or false, the Yao family was happy to hear them.
After confirming Yao Chunnuan's safety, and knowing the general and his men were nearing their home after their triumphant return, Wu Zongguan and Yu Chen took their leave. They had to go greet the general and his men, receive the spoils of war, and settle and reward the soldiers. In fact, if Yao Chunnuan hadn't been confined to her newborn, she would have gone too. Now that she was confined, they had to share much of the work.
At dawn, Xing Changfeng led a large army back to the Yichun military settlement.
Looking at the towering gate, the soldiers couldn't help but cheer. After more than half a month, they had finally returned to their military settlement. During this time, they had experienced many life-threatening situations. Now, seeing the magnificent gate of their settlement, they felt the joy of returning home and the urge to cry.
Chief Steward Wu and Yu Chen, along with other middle and senior management of the military settlement, saw them from afar.
At first glance, Chief Wu and the others couldn't help but laugh. They still remembered the army's march, neatly arranged and solemn. But on their return, with captured soldiers and wounded soldiers, no one cared about formation. They marched in groups of two or three, their horses laden with either people or supplies, and the soldiers themselves either carrying or carrying things. Their faces were weathered, yet their eyes shone with joy.
Chief Steward Wu and Yu Chen came forward and said, "Great General, you have finally returned safely. Thank you for your hard work, soldiers." As they spoke, the two of them and all the senior officials bowed to them.
The general felt like someone was missing. He scanned the crowd again and asked, puzzled, "Oh, why isn't Chief Secretary Yao here?"
The soldiers nodded in their hearts like chicks pecking at rice. Yes, yes, they had just discovered that Yao Zhubo was not among the people who came to greet them.
The soldiers were disappointed not to see her. They had already made up their minds: they had plundered a lot of spoils in Dilo, and they wanted to pick out the best of them to give to her as a token of their gratitude for saving their lives. For example, the best warhorse, the snow-white fox fur without a single stray hair, and... oh, there were so many goodies, they decided to pack them all up for her.
Hearing this, Wu Zongguan laughed, "Just a quarter of an hour before you came back, Yao Zhubo just gave birth to a daughter."
Upon hearing the news, the soldiers began to talk about it.
"Master Yao gave birth? That happened so quickly."
"What's so fast about that? Isn't it normal to give birth after ten months of pregnancy? Don't you think about how long we've been away? Master Yao isn't pregnant with a monster, so it would be abnormal if she didn't give birth yet, right?"
"Oh, you gave birth to a little girl! That's great! I hate little brats the most. They get more and more annoying the older they get. Even dogs hate them and cats hate them."
"Yes, yes, the sweet and soft little princess is still the best."
"It doesn't matter if it's a son or a daughter, as long as it's born by Yao Zhubo, it's good. If it's a son, let him come to our military settlement to serve as a soldier when he grows up. If it's a girl, let those brats we gave birth to take care of her and let her grow up happily."
"Who are you, a little girl, to be assigned to someone else?"
"I'm her uncle! Can't I arrange for my brat to protect her?"
The soldiers started fighting and making noises over a disagreement. They all had great kindness and goodwill towards Yao Chunnuan and her daughter.
Only Xing Changfeng was stunned, then frowned. He had never expected that she would give birth tonight. "She must have worked hard."
The general's words made the clever few soldiers realize the danger. Yao Zhubo was still giving them advice in the first half of the night, and in the second half he was rushing to give birth. All the complicated emotions turned into a single word of praise for the little girl, "Yao Zhubo's little girl is so well-behaved."
While they were chatting, the management of the military settlement and the leaders of the army were meeting to register the spoils, hand over the wounded, and the merit points obtained by the soldiers on this expedition also needed to be confirmed and registered again. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
"By the way, has Chief Secretary Yao's little daughter been named?" Xing Changfeng asked.
Typically, newborns are named by their father or a male elder on the male side, such as a grandfather or great-grandfather. In other words, the mother and her family have no role to play. Yao Zhubo had already severed ties with the Wang family and would definitely not allow them to name the child. He figured that if the child hadn't been named yet and Yao Chunnuan didn't mind, he, as a superior, would be willing to do it. He felt a natural affinity for this newborn child, whom he had never met.
"Old Master Yao chose a nice name, Yao Zhilan."
"Zhilan Yushu" (orchids and orchids) has a beautiful meaning, implying the expectations of elders for their juniors. But he remembered that a young general beside Marshal Zhu seemed to be named Zhou Yushu. Xing Changfeng raised his doubts.
Hearing this, Wu Zongguan laughed again, "Indeed, there is such a young general, but this young general was earned back by our Chief Secretary Yao and General Meng. He is currently serving in our military settlement for a period of three months."
The soldiers who had been paying attention to the conversation between the two pricked up their ears. It sounded like the military settlement was quite lively during the time they were away on the expedition.
Seeing that the general was interested, Chief Steward Wu then briefly recounted what happened that day.
After hearing what he said, everyone burst into laughter.
"Is the name of Yao Zhubo's daughter Yao Zhilan?" the general asked again.
"How could that be? After asking Chief Secretary Yao for her opinion on this name, she rejected it. Later, Chief Secretary Yao came up with a new name, and now the little girl is called Yao Xi, and Xixi in Japanese."
The general nodded and said, "This name is also very good." Bright hope.
Yao Chunnuan disagreed with the name Yao Zhilan, primarily because Zhilan and Yushu were clearly paired names, typically given to siblings. She understood that her grandfather had chosen the name, intending to reserve the name Yushu for her next child. But Yao Chunnuan didn't want that. Besides, the young chicken farmer was named Zhou Yushu. What would her family think if she named her daughter Yao Zhilan? Wouldn't that be taking advantage of her and embarrassing her?
The general led a large army and was the first to return to the military settlement, followed by about 400 people who went to Huangshi, and the last to return were Meng Yi, Jize and others.
Wang Lang made great contributions this time. He made great contributions by staying behind, accompanying Lu Chengjun to Wuzhipo to support the general, and going to Funing to support Meng Yi's team. His contribution to the latter was the most outstanding because he made great plans and successfully supported Meng Yi's team of more than a thousand people. His wit and adaptability enabled his team to retreat safely. Most importantly, both teams suffered zero casualties.
With all three merits combined, the registrar estimated his merit points at 800. Merit points are valuable, and 800 is a high number, earned only by his outstanding performance during this campaign. Keep in mind, his superior, Ji Ze, accompanied the general on the expedition for half a month, then led the army to support Meng Yi, earning only around 1,600 merit points.
In fact, he and Ji Ze were among the group of people who had gained the most merit points after the expedition to Di Luo. They were all outstanding talents in the military settlement or the Xing family army, and they were the backbone of the army.
However, if we talk about the person who received the highest merit this time, besides General Xing Changfeng, it would be Yao Chunnuan. As the commander of an army, the general led his troops to victory, so his merit value was calculated at the highest level.
Yao Chunnuan, however, had proposed the strategy of "encircling Wei to save Zhao" and had deduced the approximate location of Marshal Zhu's second secret vault. All subsequent deployments were carried out according to her plan. Therefore, her contribution this time was also significant, totaling a full 3,800 Merit Points.
When he came out of the Meritorious Service Building, he happened to hear two young generals talking about Yao Chunnuan's safe birth of a daughter. He was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and wanted to see his little girl immediately. It was the first time in his two lives that he would be a father!
They first talked about how well-behaved the little girl was, and how she didn't disturb her mother from working in the first half of the night, and only wanted to come out in the second half of the night. After talking about this, they even talked about the controversy over the little girl's name.
When Wang Lang heard the name Yao Zhilan, his face turned pale.
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