Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 103
Chapter 103 - The Truth is Unveiled
Xie Jingyu and Xie Shian returned to the manor together.
The father and son exchanged a single glance before marching straight to Yun Chu's Shengju Residence.
"Husband has finally returned," Yun Chu said with a cold expression. "I just had someone thoroughly reinvestigate the matter of the curse, and it was indeed the handiwork of Concubine He. How does Husband believe she should be dealt with?"
Xie Shian clenched his fingers tightly. "Mother, send Concubine He away."
As early as two months ago, he had already wanted his father to send Madam He out of the Xie family, but Madam He had stubbornly insisted on staying, stirring up all these troubles.
If she were allowed to remain any longer, there was no telling what else might happen...
"Send her off to the estate in the countryside," Xie Jingyu declared. "Let her keep Weiqi'er company."
Yun Chu picked up several letters from the table and handed them over. "When the Emerald Lotus Garden was searched, the servants dug up these items. I wonder if Husband has ever seen them?"
Unsure why she had suddenly shifted the topic, Xie Jingyu took the items with a skeptical look. He swept his gaze across them, and his expression drastically transformed in an instant.
Xie Shian glanced at them, his expression freezing completely.
These were the correspondence letters exchanged between Madam He and her maternal family over the past few years!
He had long since instructed Madam He to burn these things; how could they still have been dug up?
"Judging by Husband and An'er's expressions, you both must have known Madam He's true identity long ago." Yun Chu turned around, picking up a few embroidered handkerchiefs from the desk. "A while back, Madam He had some embroidery taken out to be sold, and a certain merchant purchased them in large quantities, even sending people to the Xie estate to inquire about Madam He's background. At the time, I didn't understand why, but now, seeing these letters, I finally understand. As it turns out, Madam He is actually the legitimate granddaughter of the late imperial court's Minister of Revenue, Lord He, from twenty years ago! The needlework techniques in those handkerchiefs seem to be the exclusive, secret methods possessed solely by the He family! If I am capable of investigating and uncovering this, could others not do the same?"
Xie Jingyu grew unsteady on his feet, his entire body swaying.
Someone was actually investigating Madam He's identity? What did this signify? It meant that someone had set their sights on the Xie family and suspected that Madam He was connected to the He family from over twenty years ago!
Although the downfall of the He family had taken place more than twenty years ago, and the imperial court did not explicitly forbid the descendants of the He family from marrying, the moment one became entangled with the descendants of a convicted criminal and faced impeachment from the Censorate, his official career would undoubtedly suffer repercussions.
It would be one thing if he were not an official serving in the Ministry of Revenue; others might harbor suspicions, but they would say nothing.
Yet he was a Fifth-Rank Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue, and yet he had taken the granddaughter of the former Minister of Revenue as a concubine. Would the imperial court suspect him of following the example of the He family in corruption and accepting bribes...?
Moreover, during this recent period, in order to scrape together Ping'er's dowry, he had indeed accepted many things he ought not to have touched.
"Our dynasty has laws stating that if one forms a marital alliance with the descendant of a convicted official, one must submit a formal report to the throne," Yun Chu stated, pronouncing each word distinctly. "Judging by Husband's appearance, you certainly never reported this to the imperial court."
Xie Jingyu closed his eyes.
How could he ever dare to submit such a report? Wasn't that simply inviting trouble upon himself?
When he first met Madam He, he only knew her by the name He Lingying, and had no inkling whatsoever that she was a descendant of the He family. It was not until Ping'er was born that she finally revealed her true background.
At that time, the affection between him and her ran deep, and since he had not yet entered official service as an imperial official, he simply did not take Madam He's background to heart. He had covertly purchased a residence without the Old Madam's knowledge, keeping Madam He as an external concubine, and soon after birthed An'er, followed closely by the birth of Weiqi'er.
For all these years, not a single soul had ever suspected Madam He's identity, and even he himself had gradually grown accustomed to forgetting that Madam He's original surname was He.
Now, however, someone was investigating Madam He, and he could no longer afford to bury his head in the sand and deceive himself.
Drawing a deep breath, he said, "She is merely a concubine; there was no need to report her to the imperial court. Since she has committed a wrongdoing, it provides the perfect pretext to dispatch her away. We can send her far off to the south or the north—as long as the Xie family draws a clear line between us and her, even if her identity is exposed, it will not affect the Xie family."
With that, he turned his gaze toward his eldest son standing at his side.
Xie Shian's lip line was pressed tightly together, his fingers clenched into fists.
After a long silence, a resolute look surfaced on his face. "Then let it be as Father says. Send her far away."
As long as Madam He left, even if anyone wished to investigate her identity anew, it would become exceedingly difficult to uncover anything. And even if it were discovered, by that time the Xie family and Madam He would no longer share any ties whatsoever... He would secretly protect Madam He, ensuring her remaining years passed free of sorrow.
"Do you both truly believe that once Concubine He leaves, everything will be fine?" Yun Chu lowered her gaze. "In truth, Concubine He is the biological mother of An'er, Weiqi'er, and Ping'er, is she not?"
Xie Jingyu froze stiff in utter shock.
Not only had Madam He's true identity been exposed, but even the identities of An'er and his siblings had been discovered by Yun Chu.
She was acting with such composure, which clearly indicated that she had known about this matter all along. Why had he failed to perceive it in the slightest?
Xie Shian had never expected to hear these words. Flashes of countless thoughts raced through his mind before he finally uttered what he considered to be a heartfelt plea: "Madam He provided nothing more than the grace of birth; you, Mother, are my true mother."
Swallowing a gulp of air, Xie Jingyu stammered, "Mistress, things are not as you imagine. Although Madam He is the children's mother, I never once harbored any thought of rekindling anything with her. Were it not for the accident during the last banquet, she would forever remain nothing more than a servant of the Xie estate rather than Concubine He. I beg that you hold no lingering resentment in your heart."
"Saying these things now holds no real meaning. Husband should instead give serious thought to how we ought to handle the matter regarding Concubine He." Yun Chu walked toward the exit. "I am going to check on the Old Madam."
The moment she left, Xie Jingyu collapsed limply into a chair.
Upon arriving at the Hall of Longevity and Peace, before she had even stepped foot inside the room, Yun Chu heard Xie Ping speaking: "Concubine He could never have done such a thing! Even if she genuinely desired to become the mistress of the household, she would never curse the Old Madam and the Matriarch. This is undoubtedly a malicious framing by someone else; there must be a hidden story behind this. Old Madam, please arrange for someone to investigate this all over again!"
The Old Madam was reclining on the daybed, and only after taking her medicine did she speak: "Ping'er, are you insisting on shielding Madam He?"
"Old Madam, you do not understand." Yun Chu stepped through the doorway. "Concubine He is Ping'er's biological mother, so naturally she feels compelled to shield her mother. There is nothing wrong with that."
Xie Ping whipped her head around in shock. "Mo—Mother..."
"Chu'er, what nonsense are you uttering?" The Old Madam's fingers stiffened for a moment before she continued with an air of nonchalance, "Ping'er's biological mother passed away long ago. Right now, you are her true mother!"
"An'er has already informed me. Concubine He is the biological mother of the three siblings," Yun Chu said, her expression serene and detached. "I only wonder whether the Old Madam was aware of Madam He's original background?"
With a thunderous crash, Xie Ping felt a series of deafening thunderclaps ring out in her ears, her body slipping downward out of her control.
Before she could even process the previous sentence, the next one left her utterly incapable of reacting. Clinging desperately to her maid's arm was the only thing that kept her from collapsing onto the floor.
The Old Madam's brows knitted tightly together. "Aside from being a concubine of the Xie family, what other background could Madam He possibly have?"
In her heart, she was still pondering the previous statement—the granddaughter-in-law already knew that Madam He was the biological mother of the children and would likely kick up a fuss. After all, the initial agreement presented to the granddaughter-in-law was that An'er's biological mother had died, which was why she had been persuaded to accept the three children as legitimate offspring... Now that the person supposed to be dead had turned out to be a concubine living right within the estate, the granddaughter-in-law would undoubtedly feel deceived by the Xie family. If she were to make a scene and take the matter back to the Yun family, that would spell disaster...
While the old matriarch's thoughts were running wild in every direction, she heard Yun Chu state: "Madam He's grandfather is He Tao, the former Minister of Revenue from over twenty years ago—that same Minister of Revenue whose family across all three clans, including every male over the age of seven, was sentenced to decapitation due to corruption and bribery.”