Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Bring Out the Family Law

After concluding his morning greetings, Xie Shi'an still had to attend classes at the academy.

Every single day, he would arrive over half an hour earlier than the stipulated time, spending the moments reading and practicing his calligraphy there with utmost diligence.

He was just about to depart.

At that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted in the courtyard.

Yun Chu's brow furrowed tightly.

Tingfeng hurried in from outside, reporting, "Mistress, the Second Young Master has taken a fancy to the cricket in Uncle Chen's possession. What on earth should we do about this?"

At the mere mention of a cricket, the image of that exquisitely carved-jade milk dumpling from yesterday immediately surfaced in Yun Chu's mind.

Although the child lacked manners and etiquette, jumping onto her body and acting wildly, for some reason, she could not manage to summon even a shred of aversion toward him.

She stood up and walked out toward the courtyard.

With the morning light brilliantly bright, the concubines had brought the young masters and misses over to pay their respects, making the courtyard quite lively.

As it happened, Chen Defu had just arrived carrying the cricket cage. The two parties bumped into each other, and Xie Shiwei caught sight of the cricket.

Eight-year-old Xie Shiwei lifted his chin and commanded, "Hand that cricket over to me!"

Chen Defu looked deeply troubled. "Replying to the Second Young Master, this cricket was specially ordered by the Mistress for old servant to procure and give to—"

"If I tell you to hand it over, just hand it over! Where did you get so much nonsense to spout?" Xie Shiwei let out a huff through his nose. "Mother has always been the most generous person; how could she possibly begrudge a single cricket!"

"Wow, this cricket looks really impressive!" four-year-old Xie Shiyun widened his big eyes. "Second Brother, can I play with the cricket with you?"

Xie Shiwei felt a trace of displeasure.

Their mother had always favored the Third Brother the most; whatever the Third Brother wanted, he got, yet he even had to come and snatch a little cricket away from him...

"You're just a little pipsqueak, what do you know about playing with these? Scram, go play elsewhere!"

Glaring at Xie Shiyun, he strode toward Chen Defu.

When all was said and done, Chen Defu was merely a servant, and he knew that the Mistress had always doted on these young masters.

He was uncertain whether the Mistress would be willing to give this cricket to the Second Young Master and then have him scour the market for another...

While he hesitated, the cage in his hands was snatched away by Xie Shiwei.

Xie Shiwei flung the cage open, and the cricket leaped out from inside, scurrying toward the patch of grass nearby.

"How dare you run!"

Dropping the cage, Xie Shiwei gave chase.

An eight-year-old boy was at his most nimble age. With a sudden lunge, he trapped the cricket right beneath his palm.

Clambering up from the ground, the moment he raised his eyes, he spotted Yun Chu standing on the steps not far away.

He hastily offered a bow. "Mother."

The others in the courtyard only then noticed that Yun Chu had emerged, and they lowered their heads to offer their greetings.

Yun Chu's gaze fell upon Xie Shiwei.

The Second Young Master of the Xie family had failed to inherit Xie Jingyu's intelligence and diligence. He was naturally mischievous, detested studying, and at eight years old still refused to attend the academy.

He slept in until the sun was high in the sky every single day, and managing to show up for morning greetings three or four times in half a month was already considered quite a feat.

Although Xie Shiwei was not the child she cherished the most, she had never shown him any partiality either, striving to raise and educate each of her children to the best of her ability...

When Xie Shiwei proved a failure at his studies, she had persuaded her eldest brother to leverage the Yun family's influence to secure this son a post in the military camp... And it was precisely because of this mistaken decision that Xie Shiwei gained the authority to freely enter and exit the Yun family's military camp. The concrete evidence that substantiated the Yun family's treason had been personally concealed by Xie Shiwei among her father's correspondence...

As these thoughts churned, the aura surrounding Yun Chu turned somewhat terrifying.

Standing behind her, Xie Shi'an acutely perceived the shift in her mood.

"Shiwei." Xie Shi'an stepped forward, adopting the demeanor of an elder brother. "To take a cricket without permission is not the conduct of a gentleman. Our Xie household passes down learning through generations; behavior like yours brings shame upon the family. If Grandfather and Father were to find out, they would surely punish you to reflect upon your misdeeds behind closed doors. Why haven't you put the cricket back in its cage and apologized to Mother yet!"

Xie Shiwei first glanced over at Yun Chu.

Normally at a time like this, Mother would say it was just a cricket, nothing major, and tell him to take it and play.

Yet right now, Mother's face was dark, and her gaze looked somewhat frightening.

With no other choice, he loosened his palm.

"Huh, why isn't the cricket moving?" Xie Shiyun cried out in surprise from the side. "Oh no, it looks like Second Brother smothered the cricket to death!"

Xie Shiwei poked at it, but the cricket remained completely motionless.

He furrowed his brow. "How could it die so easily..."

"Kneel!"

Yun Chu spat out two cold words.

Xie Shiwei found it utterly unbelievable. "Why?"

"Over these past few years, it is because I have been far too indulgent with you that you have developed such an untamable, lawless disposition!" Yun Chu's voice was sharp and stern. "Taking things without asking is theft. Our dynasty's laws are written with absolute clarity: thieves shall have characters tattooed upon their foreheads, bringing lifelong disgrace. How is this supposed to let your father make his footing in officialdom, or allow your eldest brother to pursue an official career through his studies..."

"I didn't steal anything!"

Xie Shiwei panicked a little; no matter how mischievous he was, he knew better than to have the label of a thief branded upon himself.

"Mother, I was only playing around! I was wrong, I will never do it again..."

He had clearly taken things from Mother in the exact same manner before, and Mother had merely smiled and let him take them.

Why make such a huge fuss this time...

Yet he dared not question her further, and could only obediently admit his mistake, hoping that Mother would stop dwelling on the matter.

Yun Chu tilted her head slightly, looking toward Xie Shi'an beside her. "An'er, tell me, how should this incident be dealt with?"

Xie Shi'an lowered his gaze. "To recognize one's faults and amend them is the greatest virtue. Since Shiwei knows he was wrong, he should compensate for it with a cricket of equal value."

Xie Shiwei's face crumpled into a bitter grimace.

His eldest brother shared the exact same mother as him, yet not only did he fail to plead on his behalf, he even proposed that he pay compensation.

All his silver was spent on food, drink, and entertainment—where on earth was he supposed to find the money to compensate Mother? Wasn't this deliberately making things difficult for him?

Yun Chu smiled. "An'er, do you know who I intended this cricket as a gift for?"

Xie Shi'an shook his head.

"It was meant for the little young lord of the Prince of Pingxi's Estate," Yun Chu's smile abruptly vanished as she said in a chilling voice, "As for my belongings, if Wei'er takes them, he takes them—we are all family, and naturally I would not quibble over it! But what sort of status does the Prince of Pingxi possess? You must have heard of him as well. The little young lord of the Prince of Pingxi's Estate—is that someone our Xie family can afford to provoke? Wei'er was able to smother the little young lord's cricket to death today, but tomorrow he might ruin some commandress's gown, and the day after that he might very well pluck the flowers painstakingly cultivated by some princess consort... If he is not properly punished, do you think Wei'er will ever learn his lesson?"

Xie Shi'an was struck with utter astonishment.

His mother had actually managed to latch onto a prestigious household like the Prince of Pingxi's Estate; she must have expended a tremendous amount of effort.

The cricket that had been found with such great difficulty to curry favor with the young lord had actually perished in Shiwei's hands—no wonder his mother flew into such a thunderous rage.

Xie Shi'an spoke in a measured tone, "Then administer punishment according to the family law."

Yun Chu curved her lips. "As expected, An'er understands the bigger picture and weighs the overall situation. Someone come, bring out the family law."

"No!" Xie Shiwei's eyes widened in terror. "I don't want to be beaten with the boards, I won't! Can't I just compensate you with a cricket..."

When the Xie family established their household, they laid down a strict rule: committing a major offense required invoking the family law, starting at a baseline of twenty heavy board strikes.

Previously, a matron who colluded with outside servants to embezzle silver from the Xie household had been beaten directly to a cripple by the Old Madam, never able to rise from her bed again.

This incident had left a massive psychological shadow deep within Xie Shiwei's heart.

He was terrified of having his flesh beaten to a pulp, terrified that he would never be able to get out of bed again…