Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Mommy's Secret 

The Sheng Residence was exceptionally quiet.

After looking over the ledgers for a while, Yunchu felt that it was a bit too quiet.

Frowning, she asked, "How long has Brother Yu been gone?"

Tingshuang was also startled. She had been so absorbed in helping the Madam handle affairs that she only now realized the little heir had been gone for far too long just to use the privy.

At that moment, Tingsue walked in drenched in sweat. "Madam, the Little Heir is missing. This servant searched everywhere in the Sheng Residence and couldn't find him..."

A knot tightened in Yunchu's chest, and she abruptly stood up before forcing herself to calm down. "First, go check the front courtyard to see if Ah Mao is still there."

When the child had come, he had sneaked in stealthily; perhaps he had taken the opportunity to sneak away just as quietly.

Ah Mao was temporarily staying in the front courtyard's side rooms under the guise of Tingshuang's distant cousin. Tingsue hurried over to check and returned with a pale face. "Ah Mao is still there."

That meant the Little Heir had not left the Xie estate—he had simply vanished somewhere within it.

"This servant deserves death!" Tingsue dropped to her knees. "Please punish me, Madam."

Tingshuang chimed in, "Now is not the time for punishment. Think carefully right now: where exactly did you lose track of the Little Heir?"

"When the Little Heir went to use the privy, I stood guard right outside the door and waited for a long time without seeing him come out. When I went inside to look, I found the window open. The Little Heir must have climbed out through the window," Tingsue said, on the verge of tears. "The path outside the window leads directly to the Xie family's back garden. I quietly searched the area once, but I didn't see the Little Heir anywhere."

Yunchu's heart sank. There was an artificial lake in the back garden; if the child had fallen into the water...

The mere thought of this possibility sent a sudden wave of suffocation crashing over her.

Stabling her mind, she commanded, "Tingshuang, find any excuse you like to clear everyone out of the garden."

Tingshuang accepted the order and departed.

Yunchu led her personal maidservants and matrons toward the garden. The Xie family's back courtyard wasn't particularly large, and the garden was even smaller—featuring just an artificial lake, a rockery, and jujube trees that had replaced the original flowers and plants. One could scan the entire grounds at a single glance, but the lake was choked with water weeds and water lilies, making it impossible to see beneath the surface at a glance.

Tingsue was trembling all over.

If the Little Heir drowned in the lake, how could her cheap, worthless life ever compensate for it? It would inevitably implicate the Madam as well...

She tied up the hem of her skirt and was just about to step into the water when a voice suddenly called out from behind.

"Sister Tingsue, what are you doing going into the water? Are you trying to catch fish?"

Yunchu whipped her head around.

To her astonishment, Chu Hongyu—dressed in his fine brocade robes—was actually climbing out from the hollow trunk of a large tree. For reasons unknown, the trunk was completely hollow inside, making it effortless for a child to hide inside. No wonder they couldn't find him no matter how hard they searched.

Just as anxious and terrified as Yunchu had been moments before, that was how furious she was right now.

Suppressing her anger, she demanded, "Why did you hide in here? Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you, or how worried we were?"

"I didn't let anyone see me. I only crawled out of the tree hole after I saw everyone else had left the garden," Chu Hongyu said, tugging and shaking her sleeve pleadingly. "Mommy, please don't be mad, okay? I know I was wrong, and I promise I'll never run off alone again..."

Taking his little hand in hers, Yunchu led him back to the Sheng Residence. She handed all the administrative tasks over to Tingshuang to handle while she personally sat down with the child to study.

"You don't recognize this character? And you don't know this one either?" Yunchu's expression cracked in disbelief. "You're four years old; hasn't your father started your formal education yet?"

With a bitter little pout, Chu Hongyu mumbled, "It... it started, but I couldn't understand what the tutor was saying, and nothing would stick in my mind... Mommy, you teach me. I'm sure I can learn it then."

How could Yunchu fail to see that this rascal had simply let his studies lapse due to a love of play?

Still, at only four years old, with no one at home to properly guide or discipline him, being a bit playful was completely normal.

However, if he played too much and fell behind in his studies, lacking knowledge and failing to understand principles, he would suffer immensely when he grew up.

"Brother Yu, why must we study books? Because books contain countless grand principles. The more books we read, the more principles we understand," Yunchu said softly. "Before you can learn to read books, you must first recognize characters. Recognizing characters isn't actually a dry or boring task. Look at this character, chu—the chu from 'at the beginning of life' [ren zhi chu], which is also the chu in my name. It's written like this..."

Guiding his small hand within her own, she traced the strokes on the paper one by one.

Chu Hongyu began studying with intense focus.

Characters that had seemed so overwhelmingly difficult just moments before were now all recognized by him after less than half an hour of instruction, and he even learned how to write them.

"Mommy, you're amazing!"

Yunchu smiled. "It's because you're very smart. Remember the feeling of recognizing characters just now, and keep following that feeling from now on."

Chu Hongyu nodded vigorously.

Watching Yunchu's gentle smile, the little fellow suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over him.

When he had been hiding inside that tree hollow, many Xie family servants had walked past in groups, and he had overheard countless secrets about Mommy.

So Mommy had previously given birth to two children, but those children had died the moment they were born, causing Mommy to fall deeply ill for a very long time.

So Mommy and that man called Xie-whatever-yu had a terrible relationship; that man never spent the night in Mommy's quarters, and all the Xie family servants pitied Mommy.

So the children who called Mommy "Mother" weren't even Mommy's own children at all...

So Mommy's life had been so terribly difficult...

Yet Mommy smiled so gently, as if she had not a single worry in the world.

"Madam, the servant sent outside the city to make inquiries reports that the Prince of Pingxi has successfully completed his bandit suppression campaign," Tingfeng reported as she walked inside. "Last night, the Prince led his men to capture over a hundred bandits alive. Some fled upon hearing the news, and the Prince pursued them while the momentum was high; he is expected to return to the capital the day after tomorrow."

"Those bandits are way too pathetic," Chu Hongyu frowned. "How could they have zero ability to resist and get captured alive by my father so easily!"

"Brother Yu, it's not that the bandits are pathetic; it's simply that your father is immensely formidable," Yunchu looked at him and said. "Every day those bandits exist, countless innocent lives are threatened. Your father wiped them out in a single day—that is the true will of the people."

Nodding with a half-understanding expression, Chu Hongyu pressed his lips into a tight line. "Then I have to go back the day after tomorrow."

Yunchu stroked his head. "While your father is out fighting bandits, you should focus on your studies. When your father returns, you can recite the Three Character Classic to him from start to finish. Your father will definitely be very pleased."

"Really?" A smile broke out across Chu Hongyu's face. "Will Father praise me?"

Yunchu nodded. "He should."

Clutching his book, the little fellow sat down on the side and began reciting in a serious, earnest voice. Whenever he encountered a character he didn't recognize, he would proactively come over to ask, and if he didn't understand the meaning of a sentence, he would clarify it thoroughly before resuming his recitation.

Tingshuang murmured quietly, "The Little Heir is so well-behaved, why do people outside all say he's unruly and incorrigible?"

Yunchu replied, "A child is like a blank sheet of paper; whatever adults write on it is what becomes of them. The Prince of Pingxi is a stern man, and there is no Princess consort in the household to guide him, so the Little Heir naturally became a bit willful and rebellious."

For the remainder of the day, Chu Hongyu spent his time diligently memorizing his lessons.

As evening approached, Tingsue had several maidservants carry in a massive standing screen, which was meticulously embroidered with various styles of the character for longevity—shou.

"Ah, the characters on this are so ugly," Chu Hongyu muttered, casting a look of utter disdain. "Who gave this screen to Mommy? There's not a shred of sincerity in it."

Yunchu burst out with a soft laugh. "This is a birthday gift that Mommy prepared to give someone."

With the child constantly addressing her as "Mommy," Yunchu had subconsciously begun referring to herself as such as well.