🔑 New Month, New Passkey!
Ko-fi Supporters: The ad-free passkey for November has been updated! Please check your Ko-fi account or latest supporter post to click the new activation link and keep your ad-free access active.

Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 118

Chapter 118 - An Additional Secondary Consort 

Xie Ping walked away in a daze.


Tingsheng stepped inside to report: "Mistress, the master has been taking his medicine consistently for the past half month, and this maid personally disposed of all the medicine dregs left in the clay pot..."


Yun Chu nodded.


Had murder not been illegal, and had she not feared the spread of the scandal of a Yun family daughter executing her own husband, she truly would have liked to end Xie Jingyu's life with a single strike.


However, there was still plenty of time ahead. She would take it slowly, bit by bit destroying Xie Jingyu's spirit and body, making him pay with his life for her two tragically murdered children.


Before long, Chen Defu followed Tingshuang into the side parlor, bowing as he reported: "The task the mistress commanded has already been settled by this old servant. Upon hearing the news, the Second Young Master threw a massive tantrum at the estate and only quieted down after taking a severe whipping from the old master."


Yun Chu smiled faintly.


She had arranged for someone to inform Xie Shiwei of the truth: that He Shi had been driven to her death through the joint efforts of a brother and sister.


She had also casually let Xie Shiwei know that his leg injury could actually have been cured long ago, but because Xie An opposed it, the Xie family had simply ignored the matter and let it worsen.


Xie Shiwei was a man who held grudges and sought immediate vengeance. Upon learning these two facts, he was bound to kick up a tremendous storm.


She only needed to wait for an opportunity to bring Xie Shiwei back.


"As for He Xu over in Jizhou, he hasn't made any major moves," Chen Defu inquired. "Should we still assign people to keep watching him?"


Yun Chu nodded slightly: "This person will still be of great use."


Since He Lingying was dead, He Xu had naturally become the most pivotal figure, so he certainly had to be kept alive.


Chen Defu memorized the instruction, then promptly handed over the account books of the ice shop for the past half month into Yun Chu's hands.


Flipping through the pages, Yun Chu was genuinely startled to discover that the net profit had reached over one hundred thousand taels of silver. With this sum of money at her disposal, managing anything would become vastly more convenient.


The hot spring estate was roughly a month away from completion, and once deep autumn arrived, it would open its doors to welcome guests. But prior to that, she still needed to find an ally.


In her previous life, that estate had ended up in the hands of Noble Consort Hui, one of the four imperial concubines of the inner palace. Noble Consort Hui was the birth mother of the Second Prince... The Second Prince had always enjoyed a reputation for virtue and held exceptionally high esteem among the common folk. If she hadn't learned right before her death that Xie An was a pawn aboard the Second Prince's vessel, she truly would have believed the Second Prince was an uncontentious soul who cared nothing for power...


When Xie An failed to rope the Yun family into the Second Prince's faction, he resorted to the most ruthless tactic of all.


Xie An was merely the blade in the Second Prince's hand; the true executioner who had slaughtered so many lives across the Yun household was, in fact, the Second Prince.


Fortunately, her father would soon be returning to the capital, and she would carefully recount all of these matters to him...


The alliance for the hot spring estate required thorough deliberation. Among those capable of rivaling Noble Consort Hui and the Second Prince, there were only a select few individuals...


The night passed in silent stillness.


Early the next morning, after everyone had finished paying their morning respects, Yun Chu was just about to summon a tailor to fashion a few new garments when Tingfeng rushed over in a flurry: "Mistress, someone has come from the palace!"


Setting her matters aside, Yun Chu stood up and walked toward the front courtyard.


As it turned out, it was an old acquaintance—Nanny Fu from Noble Consort De's quarters. Not long ago, Nanny Fu had resided at the Xie residence for half a month to instruct Xie Ping in palace etiquette, and once Xie Ping had learned nearly all she needed, she had returned to the palace.


Now, she had come bearing Noble Consort De's summons: "Noble Consort De requests the presence of the Xie Mistress and the Xie Miss in the palace for tea. Please make your way there."


Xie Ping clutched her handkerchief tightly, a flicker of fear crossing her face.


Her terrifying experiences from her last trip into the palace were still vivid in her memory, and she feared that this time might end the same way...


Still, this time Noble Consort De had also invited her mother. Her mother was the eldest daughter of the Yun family, so Noble Consort De would surely afford her mother that much respect.


Thinking this, she finally managed to set her mind at ease.


Riding in a carriage alongside Xie Ping, Yun Chu arrived at the gates of the imperial palace, where they followed Nanny Fu all the way to the entrance of Noble Consort De's Evergreen Palace.


"The Xie Mistress and Xie Miss may wait here for a brief moment."


Leaving the two of them at the hall entrance, Nanny Fu strode directly into the grand hall.


Xie Ping twisted her fingers nervously. Fortunately, this time she wasn't made to wait overly long before Nanny Fu emerged and instructed Yun Chu and her companion to enter.


"This subject greets Noble Consort De and pays her respects to Your Ladyship."


Yun Chu curtsied gracefully, executing a textbook palace bow.


"The Xie Mistress needn't stand on ceremony, take a seat," Noble Consort De said with a beaming smile, gesturing for them to sit.


Not daring to sit, Xie Ping stood off to the side next to Yun Chu with lowered eyes and a submissive posture, keeping her gaze fixed downward and her posture meticulously disciplined to avoid any flaws.


Yun Chu, on the other hand, appeared entirely poised and at ease, completely unconstrained.


Back when she was unmarried, she had frequently accompanied her mother to imperial banquets and palace gatherings, moving with absolute freedom and confidence even in the presence of the Emperor, let alone imperial consorts.


"The Xie Mistress is truly worthy of being a daughter of a military household," Noble Consort De said with a smile. "Summoning you to the palace today is to apprise you of a particular matter."


Yun Chu set down her teacup: "Please speak, Your Ladyship."


"Seeing that the wedding date between the Xie Miss and the Fourth Prince is drawing ever closer, I have also grown quite anxious myself," Noble Consort De said, adopting a casual tone. "A while ago, the Emperor and I discussed how the Fourth Prince's quarters lacked a bit of company, so I selected a young woman to enter the Prince Anjing's Estate alongside the Xie Miss as a secondary consort. That way, the two of you can look out for one another."


Xie Ping's complexion turned instantly pale.


Never in her wildest dreams had she expected to hear such words upon entering the palace. This was even harder to accept than receiving a direct slap across the face.


"What is that expression on the Xie Miss's face?" Noble Consort De glanced sideways at her. "What, do you have objections?"


"This subject dares not," Xie Ping lowered her head, suppressing the turbulent emotions in her voice as she spoke with utmost caution. "This subject is merely curious as to who the other sister might be."


"It is the eldest miss of the Shi family," Noble Consort De smiled. "She is two years your senior, but since you are the primary consort, no matter how young you are, she must still address you as elder sister."


A heavy stone plummeted to the very bottom of Xie Ping's heart.


The Shi family was a household of the third rank, and the eldest miss of the Shi family was the daughter of the former primary wife. Although she had fallen out of favor with her stepmother, she was still a legitimate eldest daughter of a third-rank official. Yet a legitimate eldest daughter of a third-rank official was entering as a secondary consort, while she—the illegitimate daughter of a concubine born to a fifth-rank official—had become the primary consort... With both of them marrying into the prince's estate on the very same day, she didn't even dare to imagine what awaited her.


Clenching her palms so tightly her nails bit into her flesh, she forced out words that went against her true feelings: "To serve His Highness alongside Miss Shi is this subject's good fortune."


"As long as you understand this, it is well," Noble Consort De picked up her tea bowl. "Once you become the Princess Anjing, you must act as the mistress of the household with magnanimity and tolerance. Do not let me catch wind of any petty, jealous gossip."


Lowering her head low, Xie Ping replied: "Understood, this subject has noted it all."


Emerging from the Evergreen Palace, Xie Ping could no longer contain herself, tears streaming down her face: "Mother, what do we do? What am I going to do from now on..."


Lacking her husband's affection, coupled with the addition of a secondary consort whose background and status vastly surpassed her own, she truly had no idea how to cope.


"Wipe away those tears. If someone sees you, they'll think you suffered some terrible grievance inside Noble Consort De's palace, and you'll only bring even greater hardships upon yourself down the road," Yun Chu stated. "As an imperial prince, a man is never limited to just a single secondary consort. Once you cross that threshold, Noble Consort De will quickly arrange a second one. If you do nothing but weep, will you ever finish crying? Remember, you are the primary consort, and your status stands right here—no one can afford to treat you lightly."


Forcing the tears back down, Xie Ping swallowed hard.


That was right; she was the primary consort, standing as the mother-figure within the Prince Anjing's Estate. Her own mother acted however she pleased within the Xie residence and no one dared utter a word of dissent. Once she reached the prince's estate, that Miss Shi would likewise have to obey her commands, so what was there for her to fear?


Walking together to the outer palace gates, Yun Chu and Xie Ping turned to thank the young eunuch who had escorted them out, presenting him with a tip of silver.


At that moment, a carriage slowly came to a halt right outside the palace gates.


Lifting her gaze, Yun Chu caught sight of the Prince of Pingxi, Chu Yi.

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Spring - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Rainy City That year, the rain in Beijing was heavier than usual, even heavier than in the south where Shang Zhitao had just left. The rain fell in a continuous drizzle, and faint clouds and mist lingered above the sky, making it hard to tell whether the scene was picturesque or desolate. Shang Zhitao was wrestling with her two large suitcases—one packed entirely with books, and the other filled with clothes and shoes, with nothing else inside. Traveling all the way from Nanjing to Beijing, the twenty-two-year-old had accomplished the monumental feat of her first independent migration. Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead and cheeks, turning her face a flushed pink. Shang Zhitao felt as though she was about to melt. She calculated in her mind that she definitely had to go buy a fan tomorrow. The narrow partition room felt even more cramped because of these two suitcases. She heard the girl in the next room talking on the phone: "Should I go over to your ...
Read more

Against the Current - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Origins It is said that there was once a young boy in Jinling named Chen Wanquan. When he was five or six years old, he lost both of his parents, and his elder brother and sister-in-law sold him to the wealthy Lin family as a bondservant to work in an antique shop. As the days and months passed, he honed a sharp eye for authenticating antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. Because he had no property or family standing to his name, no respectable household was willing to discuss marriage with him, yet he had developed high standards and looked down upon ordinary maidservants. At the age of thirty, his employer promoted him to the position of third manager of the shop. A year later, out of benevolence, the Lin estate granted him a third-class maid named Mistress Xue, ordering the two of them to be wed. This Mistress Xue had originally worked exclusively on embroidery and sewing in the second branch of the household. Because she was quite attractive and possessed a competitive ...
Read more

The Early Spring - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the Story Shang Zhitao boarded the bus early in the morning. As the city was just waking up, the bus wound its way through the thin mist. With earbuds in her ears, she looked out at the streets. How industrious the people living here truly were; even at this early hour, the sidewalks were already packed with hurried commuters. She was a commuter too, rushing along. She wore a white shirt dress today, cinched at the waist with a slim light-brown belt. Her hair was tied up high, and though she wore no makeup, she radiated a peerless, youthful charm. Sitting there, she looked quiet and well-behaved, just like the obedient child from next door that people always talked about—outstanding, yet not too flashy. Shang Zhitao had always been this kind of person since she was little. Her academic grades were only slightly above average, and her looks were similarly middle-of-the-pack. Because of this mediocrity, even with all her diligence and eagerness to lea...
Read more