Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: If That Night

Yun Chu took a sip of tea.

Tingxue explained in careful detail, "Uncle Chen went to the Prince of Pingxi's Estate twice. During the first trip, the little young lord received him personally and remarked that the cricket was far too small, so Uncle Chen hurriedly went out and bought an even larger, stronger cricket to deliver. Who would have thought that this time, the little young lord wouldn't even step out, directly ordering his men to chase Uncle Chen away while declaring that if a satisfactory cricket wasn't brought to him, this matter was far from over..."

Tingfeng frowned. "How can the little young lord of the Prince of Pingxi's Estate be so difficult to deal with?"

"Hush your reckless talk," Tingshuang reminded her. "You may say such things before the Mistress, but you must never speak carelessly outside and bring disaster upon her."

After eating a modest amount of food, Yun Chu finally put down her chopsticks and said, "The little young lord has seen countless treasures, so naturally he looks down on ordinary crickets found in the marketplace. Tingxue, go tell Uncle Chen to take a few men out to search the hemp fields in the mountain forests outside the city. Only by finding some unusual crickets will we catch the little young lord's eye."

Tingxue was just about to acknowledge the order.

The curtain of the flower hall was suddenly lifted.

A man with a figure as jade walked inside.

It was none other than Xie Jingyu.

He seated himself beside the dining table and instructed, "Set another pair of chopsticks and a bowl."

Tingfeng was overjoyed.

My lord had not come to dine at the Mistress's quarters for a very long time.

If a husband and wife sat down to share a meal together and nurtured their affections, perhaps he would stay the night in Sheng Residence.

She hurriedly fetched a set of tableware and placed it respectfully before Xie Jingyu.

Yun Chu had originally wanted to eat a bit more, but the moment she laid eyes on Xie Jingyu, she lost all remaining appetite.

In a light, detached tone, she asked, "What brings my husband here?"

"The Prince of Pingxi is busy with official duties and has yet to take a principal wife, leaving the little young lord without proper discipline, so his disposition is inevitably somewhat unruly and overbearing," Xie Jingyu said leisurely. "By sending an ordinary servant like Uncle Chen, the little young lord would assume he was being slighted and naturally make things difficult for him. If the Mistress trusts me, tomorrow happens to be my day of rest from court; why not let me make this trip on your behalf?"

A trace of an imperceptible, cold sneer curled across Yun Chu's lips.

This was precisely how Xie Jingyu operated: clearly doing it to forge connections with the Prince of Pingxi for his own benefit, yet phrasing it as if he were going out of his way to help bail her out.

However, could a mere cricket really allow someone to latch onto the Prince of Pingxi's Estate?

Suppressing her mockery, she replied, "Thank you, Husband, for smoothing this out for me."

Xie Jingyu looked at her and said, "You and I are husband and wife; family has no need for words of thanks."

Suddenly, he felt as though a gracefulness that did not belong to a standard Xie family matron had blossomed across his wife's fair face.

When he first met her at the General's Estate, she had possessed this exact appearance, seeming to absorb all the light around her with an indescribable, breathtaking beauty.

His throat rolled, and uncontrollably, he reached out to clasp Yun Chu's hand.

In that split second, it felt as though a venomous snake was slithering up from his palm. Goosebumps erupted across Yun Chu's entire body, and instinctively, she moved to yank her hand back.

Yet Xie Jingyu released her a step ahead.

His gaze grew dark and obscure.

He, too, had once envisioned sharing a devoted marriage with her, surrounded by children and grandchildren, growing old together until their hair turned white.

Yet who could have foreseen what would happen...

If that night...

Xie Jingyu stood up. "I still have some matters to attend to, so I will head back first."

He strode out with hurried paces.

As he reached the entrance of Sheng Residence, he glanced back and noticed Tingshuang setting a basin of water on the table while Yun Chu furiously scrubbed her hands.

His expression instantly darkened.

He hadn't even minded that she had lost her purity, so how dared she...

Raising his head, he noticed that the plaque of Yusheng Residence had somehow been changed to simply Sheng Residence.

An indescribable, murky emotion surged within his chest...

"My lord."

Madam He's figure abruptly emerged from the evening shadows.

Seeing him emerge from Sheng Residence, Madam He remarked with a hint of grievance, "Did my lord come straight to the Mistress the moment he returned to the estate?"

Pacing forward with his hands clasped behind his back, Xie Jingyu countered, "Is there something improper about me visiting my own wife?"

"Does my lord have any idea what the Mistress did today?" Madam He bit her lower lip and said, "The Mistress invoked the family law and beat Wei'er until he passed out. His backside is torn to shreds, bleeding profusely, and the physician says it will be difficult for him to recover even within half a month or ten days... The Mistress is not the boys' biological mother, which is why she feels no heartache when beating them. But my heart aches, my lord! Can you please do something to rein in the Mistress and tell her not to..."

"She is the boys' legitimate legal mother; disciplining them is entirely justified!" Xie Jingyu swept a sharp gaze toward her. "Whether An'er can secure a good tutor, whether Shiwei can make something of himself, and whether Ping'er can marry into a noble household—all of this depends upon her. What can a birth mother like you possibly bring to them?"

Madam He lowered her head, her entire face brimming with bitter self-derision.

Turning around, she hurried toward Xie Shiwei's courtyard.

Before she had even stepped inside, she heard the miserable cries of agony echoing from within.

"All of you, dismiss yourselves."

Shooing away the domestic servants, she slammed the door shut and bolted like an arrow toward the bed. "Wei'er, does it hurt?"

"Mother, Mother, I'm dying of pain!" Xie Shiwei flung himself into Madam He's arms. "Why did they have to make that woman my mother? I hate her, I hate her the most..."

Madam He clamped a hand firmly over his mouth. "Wei'er, she is your legitimate mother; you must show her respect, and you are forbidden from speaking so recklessly ever again!"

No matter how intensely she detested Yun Chu, she had to admit that acknowledging Yun Chu as his mother was the single most advantageous choice for the children.

Xie Shiwei bit down on Madam He's hand and muttered resentfully, "She couldn't even bear to give me a single cricket—she has never truly treated me as her son. What reason do I have to respect her? I hate her to death..."

Before his voice could even fade, the bedroom door was suddenly pushed wide open.

Madam He opened her mouth, ready to scold the servants for lacking basic manners.

Turning around, however, she saw Tingshuang and Tingxue walking in on either side. The door swung fully open, and Yun Chu stepped across the threshold.

Frightened completely pale, Madam He lost her footing entirely and dropped straight to her knees in a clumsy tumble.

"Mi-Mistress!"

Lowering her head in a bow, she prayed frantically in her heart that the Mistress had not heard Wei'er shouting that word of endearment.

"Why is Mammy He greeting me with such a grand kowtow? You are the master's person; I surely cannot bear such a heavy formal salute." Passing right by her, Yun Chu turned her gaze toward the figure sprawled facedown on the bed. "Did Wei'er just say that he hates me the most?"

Xie Shiwei pressed his lips into a tight line and remained stubbornly silent.

Though he had said those words aloud, in truth, he didn't actually detest his mother all that much.

Before he turned four, he had lived with his birth mother in a manor outside the city in extreme hardship.

After turning four, he returned to the Xie residence to live alongside his father and mother. Every aspect of his food, clothing, housing, and transportation was vastly superior to how it had been before.

He knew he couldn't afford to cross his mother, but after receiving so many heavy board strikes, he truly felt deeply wronged...

"It seems Wei'er still hasn't learned his lesson," Yun Chu shook her head with cold indifference. "I originally intended to waive your remaining ten board strikes. Since you are still so utterly devoid of manners, once your wounds heal, the family law will continue to be executed."

Xie Shiwei's eyes widened in horror.

He had assumed his mother had come here to coax him, never imagining she would be ruthless enough to still demand he be beaten.

Daring no longer to utter a single unmanageable word, he scrambled to roll off the bed, lunging forward to grab hold of Yun Chu's sleeve. "Mother, I truly know I was wrong! I've learned my lesson, I really have remembered this profound lesson! I beg Mother to remit the remaining boards, I beg you, Mother!"

Madam He opened her mouth to speak, but forced herself to swallow back any words of intercession.

Bending down, Yun Chu helped steady Xie Shiwei so he could lie back down flat on his stomach, and spoke in a gentle tone, "That was the most expensive cricket on the entire market, commanding a price of five hundred taels of silver. By comparison, twenty heavy board strikes is truly nothing at all."

Cracking under the pressure, Xie Shiwei wailed hysterically, "I'll compensate Mother with the five hundred taels of silver, won't that do?! If five hundred taels isn't enough, make it a thousand!"