Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 108
Chapter 108 - The Man on the Bridal Night
Upon hearing the maid's report that Xie Jingyu had taken his medicine, Yun Chu finally stood up and departed from the estate.
The carriage rolled out from the Xie residence, making its way at a leisurely pace along the bustling main avenue of the capital before coming to a halt before the entrance of a popular cockfighting arena.
With people coming and going in a ceaseless stream, Yu Ke cleared the path ahead while Qiutong and Tingshuang guarded Yun Chu closely on either side as they stepped inside.
After Yu Ke discovered through his inquiries that Marquis Xuanwu frequented this cockfighting arena from time to time, Yun Chu had reserved a private viewing booth on the second floor. Ascending the staircase, she found the upper level somewhat quieter and more serene. She settled into a seat, ordered a pot of tea, and cast an indifferent glance down at the floor below.
The arena released two roosters, and the contest commenced in short order. Spectators in the surrounding crowd could place bets on the match, and those blessed with good fortune stood to win a handsome sum of silver.
Yun Chu casually retrieved a coin pouch and tossed it onto the tray presented by the restaurant attendant.
After about two rounds of fighting, Yun Chu—despite knowing nothing of the sport—had actually managed to net a small profit.
Before long, she spotted Qin Mingheng walking in through the entrance on the ground floor.
She sat firmly in place, continuing to watch the cockfight.
Sure enough, mere moments later, a voice rang out from behind her: "Is that the Xie Mistress?"
Yun Chu turned her head, rose to her feet, and lowered her head in a bow. "Greetings, Marquis Xuanwu."
"We are outside, so let us dispense with these empty formalities." Qin Mingheng used his folded fan to gesture a polite correction in mid-air. "I never imagined I would encounter the Xie Mistress here of all places. Which rooster does the Xie Mistress wager will win?"
Yun Chu's expression remained chilly. "If the Marquis has no seat of his own, why not join me?"
The place was packed with people. While the second floor was slightly less crowded than the ground floor, that was only by comparison, as many of the private tables seated at least three or four patrons of both sexes.
In a setting like this, standing on strict ceremony regarding the separation of men and women was nothing short of a joke.
Qin Mingheng was somewhat surprised that Yun Chu would invite him to share her table, but he quickly deduced that this woman must have been waiting here specifically for him.
The last time they met, he had told her that if she wished to uncover the truth, she should come find him at the Marquis's estate.
Daring not to venture into the Marquis Xuanwu's Manor alone, she had instead chosen a bustling, crowded venue such as this. Was she truly that terrified that he might pull some unsavory stunt?
"Heh."
Qin Mingheng let out a soft chuckle and pulled up a chair to sit beside the table.
Lifting his hand, he casually snatched the cup of tea from in front of Yun Chu, greedily inhaling the aroma of the brew. "The tea the Xie Mistress drinks is indeed fragrant."
He made as if to take a sip.
Standing guard nearby, Qiutong's expression turned glacial. The hilt of her sword pressed down sharply against Qin Mingheng's wrist, wresting the teacup from his grasp and pouring the contents straight onto the floor.
"Anything that has crossed this subject's lips—how could it ever be presented before the Marquis?" Yun Chu poured a fresh cup of tea and set it before him. "Please partake of this, Marquis."
Qin Mingheng's complexion improved slightly.
"Speaking of which, I must thank the Marquis for your benevolent gift of medicine five years ago," Yun Chu continued calmly. "Thanks to the Marquis's remedy, my mother-in-law's health was completely restored. Such a profound kindness is something my Xie family will never forget for as long as we live."
The mere mention of this matter caused Qin Mingheng's expression to turn unsightly once more.
That miraculous pill had been bestowed upon his ancestors by the imperial family when they were protecting the emperor, and it had been handed down through the generations to him as a treasured family heirloom.
Driven by a lingering obsession, he had traded that medicine away to Xie Jingyu. The medicine had been given out, yet the outcome he had expected to receive in return had never materialized...
"Hah, and here you are coming to offer gratitude on behalf of the Xie family?" Qin Mingheng's face froze into an icy mask. "You foolish woman, why have you never stopped to consider just why I would willingly hand such a peerless, hard-to-find divine medicine over to the Xie family in the first place?"
"Then—" Yun Chu fixed her gaze intently upon him. "On my wedding night... it was you, wasn't it?"
After Xie Shiwei injured the Heir of Marquis Xuanwu, Xie Jingyu's chosen solution had been to bring her to the Marquis's Manor and offer her to Marquis Xuanwu as a tribute to avert disaster.
Therefore, she had ample reason to suspect that in order to cure Lady Yuan's affliction, Xie Jingyu was entirely capable of trading her away in exchange for the divine medicine.
Lady Yuan's life was worth preserving, whereas she herself was merely a new bride on her wedding night... In Xie Jingyu's eyes, his mother-in-law's life naturally carried infinitely more weight than her own chastity.
This also explained why, for all these intervening years, Xie Jingyu had never once set foot in her bedchamber—because she had lost her purity, and he felt she was no longer worthy of him.
It likewise explained why Xie Jingyu had been able to cast away newborn infants who were still breathing—because those two children were fundamentally not of Xie blood.
Indeed, even a savage tiger would not devour its own cubs, and no matter what kind of beast Xie Jingyu was, he would never throw away his own flesh and blood unless those children were not his to begin with.
Seeing the sudden shift in Qin Mingheng's expression, Yun Chu knew she had guessed correctly.
There was no sense of triumph in having guessed right, only a boundless, marrow-deep chill filling her heart.
In her previous life, she had been utterly and profoundly foolish, remaining completely oblivious to all of this until the day she died.
She picked up her cup of tea, drained it in a single gulp, and pressed on, "How did you know that the remains buried under my name were not my children?"
"Because I witnessed Xie Jingyu discard the infants with my own eyes," Qin Mingheng lowered his gaze. "The children were still breathing when they were in his hands, and he threw them out into the bitter snow."
A spasm of sharp constriction gripped Yun Chu's heart. "Where—where were they thrown?"
"Who could possibly remember such a detail clearly?" Qin Mingheng unfolded his paper fan with a snap. "Out past the city walls, somewhere in the southern district or perhaps the northern district—too much time has elapsed, so I truly cannot recall."
"Why didn't you come and tell me sooner!" Yun Chu cried out in a choked voice. "Do you realize that those two children were your own flesh and blood as well!"
The man who had shared her bridal bed was Qin Mingheng, which made Qin Mingheng the biological father of those twins.
To think that he had stood by and watched with his own eyes as Xie Jingyu threw away those two infants—why, why...
"How would you have had me tell you?" Qin Mingheng's emotions flared up as well. "I took possession of you through foul and improper means; what face did I have left to look upon you? I was terrified of seeing that look of utter revulsion filling your eyes... As for your claim that those two children were my flesh and blood—on what grounds? Xie Jingyu, the man sleeping beside your pillow every single night, refused to acknowledge the children; what right did you have to demand that I, an outsider, should care!"
Yun Chu closed her eyes.
She had no way of telling Qin Mingheng that she and Xie Jingyu had never once shared a bed.
While she had never considered herself pristine or immaculate, she had never imagined that things could be stained with such filth.
Yet she knew deep down that none of this was her fault.
"Yun Chu, do you know? Long, long ago, before I had even taken a wife, I formally proposed marriage to the Yun family to take you as my bride," Qin Mingheng said, bracing his hands against the table as his voice dropped to a low rumble. "Yet your mother was unwilling to wed you to me. Then, just as the emperor issued a marriage decree, I had no choice but to turn around and marry a daughter of the Luo family. I once genuinely wished that you would find a husband far better than myself, yet never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that your mother would marry you off to Xie Jingyu! I merely tempted him with a single pill, and he agreed without hesitation. It was he who fed you the medicine with his own hands and delivered you right to the Marquis Xuanwu's Manor, leaving you lying upon my bed clad in your bridal robes..."
"Say no more!"
Yun Chu sprang abruptly to her feet, knocking her chair over backward in the process.
Patrons in the vicinity watching the cockfight turned their heads to look over, their gazes laced with varying shades of suspicion.
Ignoring their stares entirely, Yun Chu turned on her heel and strode away.
She had already obtained the answers she sought; there was no need to linger here any longer.
"Wait!" Qin Mingheng chased after her, following her all the way from the second floor down to the ground level. "Yun Chu, you and I shared intimate bodily contact, which means we had the full reality of husband and wife. No matter how much you refuse to acknowledge that fact, it happened. I am willing to take responsibility for that night! As depraved as I am, at least I am more open and honest than Xie Jingyu. Marry me, and I—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a sweet, gentle voice suddenly chimed in: "Marquis, Xie Mistress, what are the two of you discussing so intently?"
Turning her gaze toward the voice, Yun Chu saw Lady Luo, a woman of the Marquis Xuanwu's household.
The moment he spotted his wife, Qin Mingheng's gaze instantly tore away from Yun Chu. Stepping back a few paces, he looked toward his wife and demanded, "What brings you here?"
"This little rascal kept making a fuss wanting to watch the cockfights, so I brought him along to take a look," Lady Luo replied, pulling the child standing beside her closer. "Since your father is right here, you can watch the fights with him; I have truly no interest in such things."
Qin Mingheng reached out, grabbed his son's hand, and walked away without another word.
Lady Luo turned her attention to Yun Chu, opening her mouth to speak.
Before she could utter a word, Yun Chu offered a slight, formal curtsy. "Pardon me, Marquis Mistress, but I am feeling somewhat indisposed and must take my leave.”