Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 46
Chapter 46 - The Marquis Picks Up a Handkerchief
"Lord Yun, Madam Xie."
Qin Mingheng greeted them one by one, his gaze sweeping past Yun Chu as naturally as ever.
Yun Ze spoke up, "This official will first escort my younger sister to her carriage. Please pardon us, Marquis, for making you wait a moment."
Qin Mingheng retreated a few steps to the side. "Think nothing of it."
Yun Chu nodded toward Qin Mingheng, then leaned upon Tingshuang's hand as she boarded the carriage. Yun Ze stood in place, watching the carriage as it traveled into the distance.
Not until the carriage vanished along the broad avenue did he withdraw his gaze and turn to Qin Mingheng. "Marquis, please."
Qin Mingheng's brows knitted slightly. "Lord Yun, I suddenly recall some urgent matters that require my attention. Let us reconvene to discuss that affair tomorrow at this same hour."
Yun Ze cupped his hands in a salute, watching as Qin Mingheng boarded his carriage.
Once the carriage had departed the vicinity of the Yun estate, Qin Mingheng finally drew out a white handkerchief from his sleeve.
Just moments earlier, when Yun Chu was boarding her carriage, this snowy white handkerchief had fluttered down to the ground. His peripheral vision had been trailing after her the entire time, and thus, he had moved at the very first moment to scoop up the handkerchief, concealing it within his sleeve.
He raised the handkerchief to his face, inhaled its scent, and a look of deep satisfaction bloomed across his features.
He thought back to that night five years ago when she wore a dress of brilliant crimson, a red bridal veil resting upon her head, lying upon his couch.
Just a fraction more, and he would have tasted her fragrance, claiming the beauty as his own...
At the memory of that affair five years ago, a dense, raging hatred surfaced upon Qin Mingheng's face, and the handkerchief in his grasp was actually torn straight in half by his grip.
The carriage slowly came to a halt before the gates of the Xie manor.
Out of habit, Yun Chu reached into her sleeve to feel around, but her fingers encountered no handkerchief. "Tingshuang, is the handkerchief with you?"
Tingshuang shook her head and hurriedly searched all around, yet failed to find any trace of the handkerchief.
"Never mind, it was just an ordinary handkerchief. If it's lost, let it be."
Yun Chu waved her hand dismissively, unconcerned.
A handkerchief without any embroidered names was not considered a personal item of consequence; even if someone picked it up, it posed no problem.
Next, Yun Chu meticulously screened eligible young talents of good standing, intending to select an exceptional husband for her younger half-sister, Yun Ran.
With her grandfather and father waging campaigns for decades and boasting illustrious military achievements, coupled with her paternal aunt being a favored imperial concubine in the palace, the entire Yun family belonged to one of the paramount great clans in the capital. To avoid attracting the imperial family's wariness, Yun family daughters could only marry downward into lower-ranking households.
Yet marrying downward did not mean casually wedding just anyone; there were countless intricacies to consider.
Having lived through a second life, she possessed crystal-clear insight into the future trajectory of numerous matters, making her the ideal person to select a fine husband for her half-sister.
Among the capital's many young talents, after toiling for three or five days, Yun Chu finally singled out two candidates. She wrote down their households on a sheet of paper, folded it into an envelope, and instructed Tingshuang to have a servant deliver it to the Yun residence.
Her own verdict wasn't final; her mother still needed to discreetly inquire into the conditions of both families, and ultimately, her half-sister had to give her personal consent as well.
Once finished with these tasks, she proceeded to the courtyard to practice horse stances.
Aside from horse stances, Qiutong had also arranged several basic offensive maneuvers, with the intensity set to gradually escalate thereafter. Yun Chu did not find it taxing at all; on the contrary, the more she learned, the more invigorated she felt—perhaps because, as the daughter of a military general, she possessed an innate fondness for these martial arts deep within her bones.
After completing her martial practice and bathing, Tingshuang stepped inside to report, "Madam, Auntie Tao and Auntie He request an audience."
Yun Chu naturally knew what these two had come to Shengju Residence to accomplish.
Ever since Mother He had become a concubine, Auntie Tao had constantly sought out ways to pick a fight, and the more Mother He avoided confrontation, the more Auntie Tao targeted her.
Over the past three or five days, Mother He had lost count of how many times she had been targeted. Unable to endure it any longer, she had finally brought the commotion right here to Yun Chu.
"I beg Madam to uphold justice for this concubine," Mother He said with her head lowered. "Auntie Tao is simply going too far. She spent money to bribe every single maidservant and matron serving in my courtyard..."
Auntie Tao spoke up unhurriedly, "Madam may not know this, but everyone in the Xie manor is well aware that Auntie He transformed overnight from a servant into a mistress, and people are gossiping behind her back everywhere. Since Auntie Tao and Auntie He both serve my lord, we can be considered sisters; how could I bear to watch such a thing happen? Therefore, I spent a bit of silver to quiet those maidservants and matrons. I am doing this for Auntie He's own good—how could Auntie He turn around and file false accusations against me before Madam?"
Mother He felt a stabbing pain in her chest from sheer fury.
Ever since she moved into Bige Garden, she had not known a single day of peace. Either dead fish from the pond were hidden inside her bedding, or the oil lamps in her room were sabotaged, or her meals were tampered with... Only after paying careful attention did she discover that the two maidservants and two matrons serving her had all accepted Auntie Tao's silver, deliberately orchestrating these torments.
Remembering Xie Jingyu's injunction not to cause further trouble, she had clenched her teeth and endured it all.
Until early this morning, the maidservant serving her actually stole her vanity case. There was no money inside; instead, it held the baby hair and deciduous teeth of Pingjie, Ange, and Weier, which she had kept close to her side all these years. Now that the maidservant had caused them to go missing, she truly had no other recourse, which was why she had come to beg the legal wife to preside over justice.
"Madam..." Mother He drew a deep breath and said, "I will say no more of the rest; I only ask that Auntie Tao return that case."
Hearing this, Auntie Tao refused to let the matter rest, bursting into loud, pathetic tears. "Madam, this concubine acted with absolute sincerity out of consideration for Auntie He, yet she falsely accuses me of stealing her case. Ever since I conceived this child, my lord has lost count of how many pieces of jewelry he has bestowed upon me; who would covet a case like hers? Madam, this concubine truly did not commit theft. I beg Madam to render justice for me."
Yun Chu twitched the corner of her lips.
Auntie Tao's acting skills were truly abysmal; only she herself was willing to play along with this farce. Had it been any other head matron, Auntie Tao's behavior would have earned her a heavy punishment long ago.
Gently patting the back of Auntie Tao's hand, Yun Chu turned her gaze toward Mother He and stated coldly, "Auntie He, you previously attempted to harm the child in Auntie Tao's womb. The entire Xie family let the matter slide and even elevated you to a mistress, yet you show no remorse and strike at Auntie Tao once more. If Auntie Tao is agitated into prenatal distress and suffers a premature labor, what crime should you bear?"
Mother He was truly wronged to the point of injustice. She hurriedly defended herself, "Madam, this concubine..."
"Very well, there is no need for further words," Yun Chu cut her off. "For the next three months, your monthly allowance shall be paid directly to Auntie Tao, considered as a gesture to calm the spirits of the unborn fourth young master."
Mother He stared in absolute disbelief.
A concubine received a monthly allowance of two taels of silver. With that being her sole source of income now, if she handed all of it over to Auntie Tao, what would she live on?
Yet meeting Yun Chu's unquestionable gaze, she knew that no matter how she argued, it would be entirely meaningless, for the legal wife was plainly favoring Auntie Tao.
Emerging from Shengju Residence, Mother He clutched her own shoulders in utter helplessness.
Unless absolute necessity demanded it, she would never turn to her three children for aid.
Xie Jingyu had slapped her across the face and clearly harbored deep impatience toward her; she would not go courting further humiliation there either.
As for her elder brother, He Xu, who had been beaten by the old matriarch and thrown out just days ago, he was likewise an unreliable scoundrel.
Suddenly, she recalled that there was still a sum of wealth resting in He Xu's hands—a full two thousand taels of silver. With money in hand, she refused to believe those maidservants and matrons would continue favoring Auntie Tao.
With this thought flashing through her mind, Mother He hurried out toward the gates of the manor.