Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Who Could Be Plotting Against You
The guests had all dispersed.
In the massive courtyard, only the Xie family members remained.
Although Old Madam Xie was advanced in age, she was usually in robust health and rarely fell ill. Yet at this moment, she collapsed limply onto a recliner, completely drained of strength.
"You scoundrel, you vile wretch!"
Gazing at the two people kneeling before her, the old matriarch snatched up a teacup and hurled it down.
The splashing porcelain shards grazed the side of Xie Jingyu's face. It was as if he had only just jolted back to sobriety, and the memories from before his consciousness blurred rushed back into his mind.
He abruptly clenched his fists. "Grandmother, I was set up."
Mother He slowly regained her clarity as well. She only remembered that Xie Jingyu had pulled her to a small courtyard near the rockery to talk, and the two of them had ended up arguing as they spoke.
Not wishing to have a falling out with Xie Jingyu, she had casually picked up a pot of tea on the table, poured a cup, and handed it to Xie Jingyu.
The two of them sat facing each other and drank tea, and then... and then she could remember nothing more... Only vaguely did she recall that she and Xie Jingyu seemed entwined in an intense fever, watched by the birthday banquet guests...
She also remembered someone calling her Auntie He.
"Set up?" The old matriarch straightened her body. "Who could possibly plot against you?"
"Why, of course it's Mother He," Auntie Tao chimed in coldly, supporting her large belly. "Who doesn't know that our Mother He harbors inappropriate thoughts toward my lord? Drugging my lord on an occasion like this—isn't it simply trying to force raw rice into cooked rice so she can fly up onto the branches and become a master?"
Mother He blurted out, "It wasn't me! I didn't plot against my lord, and I never thought about becoming a concubine..."
"If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?" The old matriarch's eyes flashed as though spitting fire. Although she knew in her heart that Mother He had no intention of becoming a concubine, wasn't this massive humiliation suffered by the Xie family caused by Mother He's unruly behavior? If she had just honestly stayed in her small shrine, would there have been so much trouble?
Xie Jingyu pressed his lips tightly together, speaking only after a long pause, "It was the Yuan family."
He and Lord Yuan were both fifth-rank Ministry of Revenue directors. Lord Yuan had held that position for over ten years, and now approaching forty, he had never found an opportunity for promotion.
This time, there had been a chance to advance to a senior fifth-rank position. Originally, it belonged one hundred percent to Xie Jingyu, but for reasons unknown, Lord Yu had suddenly grown cold toward him. Coupled with the rumors concerning the Xie and Yun families that had swept through the capital recently, that position suddenly opened up to numerous possibilities.
If word of his illicit affair with a backyard servant girl were to reach the ears of the Censorate, he would probably have no hope of promotion for the next five or six years.
Lord Yuan must have wanted to seize this opportunity to step on him and completely crush his chances.
Mother He bit her lip hard.
She always felt that the Yuan family's reach could not possibly extend this far; she suspected it was someone within the Xie manor who had plotted against her.
The only ones with the capability to pull this off were the concubines and the legal wife. Yet none of these women should have wanted another woman by my lord's side, meaning they lacked the motive to scheme against her.
Pondering back and forth, she still had no idea whose trap she had fallen into.
"Investigating who plotted against us is meaningless right now. We should figure out how to minimize the fallout," Yun Chu said in a measured voice. "A current-dynasty official committing illicit acts with a manor's servant girl on Grandmother's birthday banquet—if this reaches the ears of the Censor, my husband will not only find it difficult to get promoted, but he might even be demoted and stripped of his real authority... Precisely because I thought of this, I referred to Mother He as Auntie He in front of those madams. To prevent anyone from using this as leverage against us, we must enter Mother He's name into the Xie family registry right now..."
Madam Yuan breathed a massive sigh of relief. "Chuyu, it's still your thinking that is most thorough."
"No, I don't want to be a concubine," Mother He said with a pale face. "Madam, I never thought about becoming a concubine."
Auntie Tao spoke up with a panicked expression, "Mother He once harmed the child in my belly. If she becomes a concubine, the child in my belly will be in danger."
Xie Jingyu spoke up, "Mother He cannot become a concubine."
Auntie Tao, Auntie Jiang, and Tingyu all simultaneously revealed expressions of relief on their faces.
They knew it! Mother He was aged and past her prime; my lord would never fancy her. Even throwing herself at him could not win her a shred of my lord's pity.
In her heart, Yun Chu grew even more certain that Mother He's background likely had some origins.
The more she resisted becoming a concubine, the more determined Yun Chu was to push her into that position—otherwise, why would she have orchestrated this entire play?
She spoke up, "Then does Husband have any better ideas?"
Xie Jingyu pressed his lips into a tight line.
He could think of no second option.
"I actually do have another method," Yun Chu paused. "We can grant Mother He a cup of poisoned wine to end her life, and this matter will naturally pass."
Mother He collapsed limply onto the ground.
Xie Jingyu's lips pressed into a straight line, plunging him into deep, agonizing hesitation.
Old Madam Xie stated sternly, "A concubine or poisoned wine—choose for yourself."
Madam Yuan truly did not understand. "Mother He, you harbor deep affection for Jingyu, yet you are unwilling to become Jingyu's concubine? Is becoming a concubine truly a source of infinite suffering?"
Mother He trembled all over. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed pleadingly at Xie Jingyu.
Xie Jingyu closed his eyes and softly said, "Then let Auntie He be entered into the Xie family genealogy."
In this dynasty, even concubines could have their names entered into the family genealogy, all because a Grand Lady of the State had emerged several centuries ago, greatly elevating the status of women.
Yun Chu stepped forward and helped Mother He to her feet. "Auntie He, from now on we shall serve Husband together, and we are a family. What is your given name?"
Mother He was still caught in a state of panic and unease. Hearing this, out of pure instinct, she blurted out, "He Lingying."
A faint smile hung on Yun Chu's face. "Father-in-law is busy with official duties on ordinary days, so there's no need to ask him to make a special trip back. Husband, why are you still kneeling? Let us first go open the ancestral hall, invite out the family genealogy, and enter Auntie He into the registry."
Xie Jingyu dragged himself up from the ground with great difficulty.
His figure was somewhat unsteady, unable to stand firmly.
Yun Chu sidestepped out of the way, mainly terrified that Xie Jingyu might lean against her—she had no desire to take multiple extra baths tonight.
She turned around and took the lead in walking outside.
Watching her figure leave, Auntie Tao let out a sigh. Why could she never manage to be as unattached and carefree as the legal wife? The mere thought of another person by my lord's side made her heart feel as though it were being pricked by needles. Her only comfort was that she carried a child, which gave her something to rely on. As for Mother He, being so advanced in age, she would likely find it difficult to conceive. After some time, my lord would probably forget all about Mother He entirely...
Yun Chu and Xie Jingyu departed from the courtyard, taking Mother He with them.
The moment they left, the old matriarch commanded sternly, "Bring that steward surnamed He here!"
Mama Zhou had long since kept He Xu waiting nearby. With the matters of the masters resolved, it was naturally time to deal with He Xu.
Mama Zhou forced He Xu down to his knees, presenting a large bundle. "Old Madam, this was searched out from He Xu's quarters."
The old matriarch glanced at it. Inside were gleaming white silver ingots totaling several hundred taels.
"Such audacity!" Furious, the old matriarch lashed out with a vicious kick.
He Xu had originally been brought into the Xie manor by Mother He, who claimed he was a clan kinsman who needed to be looked after.
Because of this connection, He Xu had only been in the manor for four or five years before becoming a prominent chief steward in the outer courtyards. The Xie family had shown utmost benevolence and righteousness toward this pair of siblings, yet these two had jointly dug a pit for the Xie family—one bringing utter shame upon the Xie house, and the other embezzling the Xie family's silver behind their backs!
Mama Zhou continued, "Just now, this servant went to check several of the shops and only then discovered that the shops managed by Steward He have been running at a loss for half a month."
Those shops were located right on the main street; it was utterly impossible for them to run at a loss. Clearly, they had been embezzled by He Xu.
"Give him twenty heavy board beatings, then throw him out!" The old matriarch's head felt as though it were about to split open. "He is never allowed to enter the Xie family gates again!"
With his mouth gagged, He Xu tried to make muffled sounds of explanation, but he was pinned down by four burly matrons. Whack, whack, whack—twenty heavy blows landed. As a grown man, the pain caused him to faint away instantly, after which he was dumped at the doorstep of a dilapidated temple outside the capital where beggars gathered.