Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 77
Chapter 77 - The Fish Has Taken the Bait
In the afternoon, the Yun family's carriage came to a halt outside the palace gates.
Yunchu alighted from the carriage alongside Madam Lin, presenting their palace tallies before a young eunuch led the two of them inward through a side gate of the imperial city.
Walking through the long, winding palace corridors, they finally reached the inner court. They first had to pay their respects to the Empress before proceeding to Consort Yun's quarters.
Upon arriving at the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunning Palace), the towering, majestic palace walls teemed with palace maids and eunuchs bustling back and forth. After standing briefly at the hall entrance, an elderly matron emerged to lead the mother and daughter inside.
"This humble wife, accompanied by her daughter, comes to pay her respects to Her Majesty the Empress."
Madam Lin led Yunchu in offering a graceful, dipping bow.
The Empress, nearing fifty years of age, was exceptionally well-preserved and wore a benevolent, kind-hearted expression. She instructed the two of them to rise and bestowed seats upon them.
"With affairs in the palace peaceful of late, it has been quite some time since I last saw Madam Yun," the Empress said with a smile. "Madam Yun ought to come visit the Palace of Earthly Tranquility more often."
Madam Lin hastily replied, "This humble wife feared that coming too frequently might annoy Her Majesty. As it happens, there is a matter I wish to ask for Your Majesty's assistance with. Ever since my daughter Chuchu suffered a premature childbirth four years ago, her constitution has never quite recovered, and all these years she has been unable to conceive. I heard that a divine physician is currently treating Your Majesty—might it be possible to ask this divine physician to pulse-diagnose my daughter?"
The Empress had indeed heard of this matter. Her gaze fell upon Yunchu with affectionate pity: "Heaven is truly unfair. She is still so young; without a child, how will she endure the long, desolate years ahead? Madam Yun, rest assured, I have noted this matter in my heart and will arrange it as swiftly as possible."
Madam Lin was overjoyed: "Many thanks, Her Majesty the Empress."
Knowing that the primary purpose of their visit was to see Consort Yun, the Empress chatted with them briefly before directing them onward to Consort Yun's residence.
As one of the four high-ranking imperial concubines and the mother of the Eighth Prince, Consort Yun's dwelling was naturally far from shabby, attended by throngs of palace servants.
"Greetings, Consort Yun."
Madam Lin and Yunchu bowed to Consort Yun in unison.
Knowing this was proper protocol, Consort Yun did not stop them. Once she had dismissed all the surrounding attendants, she stepped forward to help the two of them up.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, Chuchu, take a seat," Consort Yun sighed. "With His Majesty intending to take a new imperial concubine these past few days, the Empress has been constantly admonishing him, throwing the inner court into turmoil."
Madam Lin asked with surprise, "Is it that young palace maid currently favored by the Emperor?"
Yunchu felt not the slightest bit surprised.
In the year of her death, the Emperor was already over sixty years old, yet he was still continuously taking in women to fill his inner chambers.
His Majesty's mind remained entirely consumed by the trivial dramas of the inner court, causing the imperial court outside to grow increasingly chaotic, though no one knew upon whose head the imperial throne would ultimately fall.
"The Crown Prince sits securely in the Eastern Palace; the Second Prince, the Prince of Gongxi, possesses boundless literary and martial talent; the Third Prince, the Prince of Pingxi, wields military power; and the Fourth Prince received his princely title long ago," Madam Lin began. "The Fifth and Sixth Princes are also growing older by the day. Party struggles within the palace are gradually surfacing. Your grandfather's meaning is that the Eighth Prince should maintain a middle path of moderation; matters he ought not to meddle in must never be touched."
Consort Yun nodded: "I am well aware of all this."
Yunchu spoke in a soft voice: "Aunt, if the Eighth Prince receives a princely title in the future, it might be better for him to be dispatched outward to a fief. That would truly be considered entirely staying out of the struggle."
In her past life, her aunt and the Eighth Prince never participated in the battle for the succession. Yet in the end, the Eighth Prince was somehow plotted against by unknown parties and perished at the hunting grounds, while her aunt also fell victim to Xie Ping's schemes...
As long as the Eighth Prince bore the surname Chu, he could never escape this whirlpool.
Since he could not win the fight, it was better to walk far away and never return to the capital, which at the very least could preserve his life.
Consort Yun could not help smiling: "Our Chuchu has grown up; she even knows how to offer counsel to her aunt now. However, the fiefs granted by the Emperor are all located in the northwest and southern frontiers—far too distant. I couldn't bear to let Lao Ba go suffer out there. Keeping him by my side allows me to protect him somewhat."
Yunchu said nothing further.
She was young, and her words carried no weight; naturally, her aunt would not heed her.
In any case, there was still plenty of time. Through gradual persuasion, she believed her aunt would come to her senses one day.
Having spent less than an hour in the palace alongside Madam Lin, Yunchu took her leave and departed. Seated inside the carriage, she lifted her gaze to look at the towering palace walls and let out an involuntary sigh.
Her aunt had been confined within these walls her entire life, entering the palace at age fourteen, never to emerge again.
Consort Yun had bestowed several exquisite palace hair-flowers for Yunchu to bring back. Upon returning to the Xie residence, Yunchu took these flowers and distributed them between Xie Ping and Xie Xian.
"Madam, Concubine Yu has kicked up a ruckus," Tingsheng reported upon her arrival. "She found out that the Third Young Master had been sent to Concubine He's side to be raised, and she simply couldn't accept it. She rushed into Concubine He's quarters to snatch the child back. The two of them started a massive brawl that frightened the Third Young Master into wailing bitterly. Since Madam wasn't home, the commotion ended up being taken all the way to the Old Lady."
Yunchu gave a cold smirk.
Even when Xie Shiyun was sent to her own care, Ting Yu hadn't been entirely willing.
Considering Concubine He had nearly caused Tao Concubine to miscarry previously, how could Ting Yu possibly allow her own child to fall into Concubine He's hands? Naturally, a tremendous scene was bound to erupt.
As for whether Concubine He would deliberately mistreat Yun'er, that fell outside the scope of Yunchu's concerns.
"The Old Lady knew this was the joint decision of Master and Madam, so she scolded Concubine Yu severely and refused to inquire further," Tingshuan continued. "Concubine Yu came to Sheng Residence just a moment ago, but Tingfeng scolded her away. Does Madam wish to see Concubine Yu?"
Yunchu curled her lips: "She brought this upon herself; she must swallow this bitter fruit."
The next morning, Xie Ping came to consult with Yunchu regarding Madam's upcoming birthday preparations. Since the Xie family was not large, they only needed to prepare two tables of banquets, followed by an afternoon tea gathering where the family could sit together drinking tea, playing cards, and chatting.
Yunchu glanced at the arrangement and said, "You should schedule the tea gathering in the Xie family's back garden. Sitting out in the courtyard to drink tea in this weather will leave everyone drenched in sweat."
Xie Ping replied, "I'll have someone purchase a larger quantity of ice blocks."
"Eldest Miss, I'm afraid that won't do," Tingshuan intervened. "We've only allocated two hundred taels of silver for Madam's birthday. If we purchase ice, the budget will be severely overdrawn."
"I truly don't understand why the price of ice is so exorbitant this year," Xie Ping sighed. "Two taels of silver per jin of ice, and just for the Old Lady's rooms alone, it takes two jin of ice a day."
This was still only the fifth month; summer had merely begun, and the deeper they went into the season, the greater the consumption of ice would become.
Yet the funds in the public accounts were dwindling by the day.
She spoke up, "Mother, let me check again to see where we might shave off some expenses."
Yunchu shook her head: "No matter how much you cut back, you won't scrape together enough money to buy ice. Go find the Old Lady and ask her to send someone to your grandfather's estate to draw some silver from his accounts; otherwise, there is simply no surviving this summer."
In previous years, she had always used her own dowry to purchase ice. This year, either the Xie family would have to shell out their own funds, or the entire household could just swelter in the heat—she no longer cared to manage it.
Xie Ping lowered her head in acknowledgment of the order.
Yunchu cast a glance at her and said, "Lately, our Xie family has encountered numerous unfavorable events. I originally planned to take you to Qing'an Temple to offer prayers for blessings and ensure the Xie family enjoys smooth sailing. Who would have guessed that upon entering the palace yesterday, I learned the Fourth Prince has actually gone to stay temporarily at Qing'an Temple? On second thought, perhaps we'd better postpone our trip."
Xie Ping's head snapped upward abruptly: "The Fourth Prince is at Qing'an Temple?"
Heaven knew how many dreams she had woven ever since catching a glimpse of the Fourth Prince at the Eldest Princess's manor that day.
She had once harbored the dream of becoming the Fourth Prince's primary consort, though she slowly came to realize that with her background, she wasn't even worthy of being an imperial prince's secondary concubine.
To catch even a single glance of the Fourth Prince was as difficult as ascending to the heavens...
Upon hearing that the Fourth Prince was at Qing'an Temple, how could she possibly hold back? She hastily spoke up, "How would ordinary people know the Fourth Prince is staying at a temple? People go when they need to go. Since Mother originally planned to go to Qing'an Temple to pray, let's go ahead. We'll simply be a bit more careful so as not to accidentally cross paths with or offend the Fourth Prince."
Yunchu wore a smile that was not quite a smile.
She had merely cast out a tiny sliver of bait, and the fish had already taken it.
With a Ping'er this utterly foolish, how on earth had she managed to plunge her aunt into such unspeakable tragedy in her past life…