Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: You Owe Me a Cricket

The streets of the capital were bustling with noise and excitement.

Without taking a carriage, Yun Chu walked along the street and watched the lively crowds, confirming once more that her rebirth was no dream.

Chen Defu took her on a tour of her dowry shops.

There were tea shops, silk shops, grain shops, blacksmith shops—eleven shops in total, both large and small.

Chen Defu managed these shops exceedingly well, pulling in over ten thousand taels of silver annually, yet it was still far from enough.

The Emperor harbored deep suspicions toward the Yun family, and even without Xie Shi'an quietly pushing things from behind, disaster would inevitably strike the Yun family sooner or later.

She had to amass more than enough silver before misfortune befell the Yun family...

"Mistress, it is starting to rain and it is getting a bit chilly." Tingfeng produced a cloak and draped it over Yun Chu's shoulders. "Let's go sit in a teahouse for a while."

Yun Chu raised her gaze to the sky.

If her memory served her right, this year was an unusually cold spring, with the heat only arriving toward May before spiraling completely out of control and lasting all the way through October.

If one asked what enterprise was the most lucrative, it was naturally hoarding and selling ice.

Having formed a plan in her mind, Yun Chu grew much more composed. She stepped into the teahouse, selected a window seat on the second floor, and spent her time enjoying the rain, drinking tea, and chatting.

"What? Mistress, you wish to go into the ice business?" Standing behind her, Chen Defu wore a look of utter astonishment. "The feudal princes and high nobles possess their own ice cellars, while other great aristocratic families begin purchasing ice around this time of year. However, with the spring being so cold this year, the summer surely won't be overly hot either. Many families are only buying a third or even a fifth of what they did in previous years. I'm afraid this venture won't turn much of a profit."

A smile played across Yun Chu's lips. "Uncle Chen just needs to follow my lead. As for the ice on the market, we will take every last block available."

Seeing her looking so full of absolute confidence, Chen Defu knew he could not dissuade her.

Yielding to her decision, he asked, "How much silver does the Mistress plan to allocate for purchasing ice?"

Yun Chu replied, "Take all the usable liquid funds currently on the books, and I will provide you with more silver later on."

Chen Defu was startled. "But Mistress, did you not say earlier that all the funds on the books were to be reserved for you, as they were needed for a matter of great importance?"

Yun Chu let out a cold laugh.

The so-called matter of great importance was due to the fact that Xie Jingyu would soon be attending a birthday banquet for his superior, and that money was intended to be used to purchase a birthday gift for that superior.

She would never spend another single copper coin on the Xie family again.

Just as the two of them were talking, a luxurious carriage pulled to a halt right at the entrance of the teahouse.

Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, the curtain was thrown open, and a chubby, carved-jade milk dumpling of a child leapt briskly down from the carriage.

The maids and matrons trailing behind the little dumpling could not possibly keep up with their little ancestor, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Young Lord, please slow down! Watch your step and take care not to fall."

Yun Chu's gaze landed upon the child.

The child looked thin and petite, appearing to be barely over three years of age, yet he ran with extraordinary speed, slipping out of sight in the blink of an eye.

Withdrawing her gaze, she continued her conversation with Chen Defu.

As they spoke, she suddenly felt as though something had dropped right onto her hair.

"Mistress, please don't be afraid!" Tingfeng was startled out of her wits. "A cricket just jumped onto your head! This slave will remove it for you right away!"

Startled, Yun Chu stiffened her entire body.

As the eldest daughter of the General's Estate, she had possessed immense courage since childhood, fearing neither heaven nor earth—with the sole exception of tiny creatures like bugs and crickets.

Her scalp tingled numbly, and she remained frozen, not daring to move a single muscle.

"Don't touch my Jump-Jump!"

A soft, milky voice rang out, followed immediately by a small cannonball of a child hurling itself fiercely against Yun Chu.

Stunned, she watched as the little young lord from downstairs charged right toward her.

In the blink of an eye, he scrambled straight up onto her lap.

Then, he brought both hands down in a firm slap right against the top of her head.

Everything happened in the span of a split second.

Caught completely off guard, Yun Chu lost her balance and tipped backward.

Instinctively shielding the little dumpling in her arms, she hit the floor hard, cradling the child as they fell.

"Mistress!"

Tingfeng was consumed with mortification. Not only had she failed to block this inexplicable child, but she had let the Mistress take a fall out in broad daylight.

She hurried forward to help Yun Chu to her feet, swiftly assisting her in straightening out her hair ornaments and attire.

"Waaah—!"

The little dumpling dressed in extravagant garments suddenly collapsed onto the floor and burst into loud tears.

For reasons unknown, Yun Chu felt a sudden, sharp pang in her heart.

Gathering the hem of her skirt, she squatted down and asked in a gentle voice, "Did you hurt yourself anywhere in the fall? Shall I blow on it for you to make it better?"

"Bad person, you're a bad person!" The little fellow's eyes brimbed with tears as he looked at her with accusation. "Jump-Jump was crushed to death by you! Waaah, I hate you..."

Yun Chu looked down.

A cricket lay squashed to death on the floor. Disregarding the sticky fluid oozing from the carcass, the little fellow picked the cricket up with both hands and cradled it in his palms.

Frightened, Yun Chu instinctively recoiled.

"You owe me Jump-Jump!" The little fellow glared at her through his tears. "You have to compensate me with an identical cricket right now!"

Yun Chu: "..."

Had she failed to check the fortune calendar before stepping out today? How else could she run into such absurd nonsense?

"Young Lord, why are you crying?"

"Oh, my little ancestor, didn't I tell you to be careful? Did you hurt yourself in the fall!"

A large group of attendants finally raced up the stairs, surrounding the little ancestor and showering him with expressions of anxious concern.

The little dumpling cried even harder. "She... she crushed my Jump-Jump to death!"

The matron, who had just been speaking in soothing, honeyed tones to coax her tiny master, immediately shifted her expression upon hearing those words. Glaring with a ferocious, menacing look toward Yun Chu, she snapped, "Where did this blind wretch come from, daring to crush our Young Lord's precious treasure to death? You..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she noticed that the little young lord, who had been crying so bitterly a moment before, had suddenly cut off his tears.

Those round, dark eyes fixed a glare upon her, filled with utter displeasure as he demanded, "Who gave you permission to scold her? Apologize!"

The matron wore a look of utter bewilderment.

The woman before them had crushed her master's favorite cricket, and she was merely venting her anger on her master's behalf—yet her master was actually demanding that she apologize?

However, meeting her young master's displeased gaze, she had no choice but to step forward and say, "This Madam, my behavior was rather abrupt just now. I beg you not to take offense."

Yun Chu's expression remained very calm. "It is no matter."

Although she was the legitimate eldest daughter of a First-Rank General's Estate, ever since her marriage, the title of Xie Family Matron was her primary identity.

Even though she was completely in the right, the domestic dependent of a minor fifth-rank official could only lower her head before any high noble.

She continued, "I will find an identical cricket and compensate the Young Lord for it. May I ask where your honorable residence is located?"

"I live in the Prince of Pingxi's Estate," the little fellow lifted his chin. "Remember it: the Prince of Pingxi's Estate! Once you find the cricket, bring it over immediately!"

Yun Chu was taken aback.

This child—he was actually the child of the Prince of Pingxi?

The Prince of Pingxi was the current Third Prince, who had once led troops to beat back invading enemy forces in Xichuan, thereby earning his noble title.

Four years ago, the Prince of Pingxi had suddenly appeared with a pair of children. Disregarding the impeachments of civil and military officials alike, he stubbornly insisted on conferring the title of Heir upon a son whose birth mother remained unknown, creating an absolute uproar throughout the capital...

"Little ancestor, it's time to return to the estate," the matron said in a low voice. "If the Prince returns to the estate and finds the Young Lord missing..."

Panic flickered across the little fellow's face. "Let's go, let's go! Hurry back!"

The matron swept the little dumpling up into her arms, and the large crowd of attendants swarmed around him as they hurried down the stairs and boarded the carriage, which then sped off in a gallop.

"Mistress, leave this matter to old servant," Chen Defu offered. "I will procure a cricket for you to inspect tomorrow morning."

Yun Chu nodded.

Sitting inside the carriage as it rolled back toward the estate, her thoughts drifted to the events of her past life.

The Prince of Pingxi had taken to the battlefield at the tender age of fifteen and had been a close, cross-generational friend of her father. After the Yun family was framed and convicted, the Prince of Pingxi had also run about actively trying to save them.

However, before any headway could be made regarding the Yun family's plight, the Prince of Pingxi was exposed for secretly hoarding weapons with the intent to rebel...

As for what ultimately became of the Prince of Pingxi, she never found out, because by then she had already perished from a cup of poisoned wine…