Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 81
Chapter 81 - Are You Worthy of It
Yun Chu stepped inside.
She grabbed Xie Ping's wrist and pulled her outward.
"Mother..."
Xie Ping cried until her legs went weak.
If she left just like this, all her plans and calculations would go down the drain, her reputation would be ruined, and the rest of her life would be finished...
"Madam Xie, please stay."
King Anjing shouted angrily.
He had been sent to Qing'an Temple as a punishment; the Emperor had ordered him to reflect deeply on his misdeeds here and copy Buddhist scriptures every day to calm his mind.
If this kind of affair between him and the Xie family's young miss in a Buddhist temple were to be kicked all the way up to the imperial court, the Emperor certainly would not let him off so easily, and he would likely find it difficult to ever return to the capital in this lifetime.
Yun Chu's steps paused, and without looking back, she said, "Although my Xie family is merely a fifth-rank household, a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree, no matter what price must be paid, my Xie family will seek justice for our daughter!"
King Anjing clenched his fists.
Although the Xie family was nothing much to speak of, Madam Xie's maiden family, the Yun family, made even the Emperor wary. How could he dare to act recklessly?
He took a few deep breaths to expel the stifling anger from his chest, stepped across the threshold, and was about to speak to Yun Chu when his peripheral vision caught sight of Du Ying standing at the bottom of the steps, her eyes red from crying.
If nothing unexpected happened, his imperial concubine mother would have requested the Emperor to bestow a marriage between him and Du Ying.
But now, that was presumably ruined.
Fortunately, noble ladies of the capital were countless; he did not strictly have to marry a daughter of the Du family.
The most urgent matter right now was to appease Madam Xie.
"Madam Xie speaks too seriously." Ignoring Du Ying, King Anjing walked up to Yun Chu and said, "I never forced Miss Xie; it was Miss Xie who invited me to meet in the side room. I hold true feelings for Miss Xie, and it was only in a moment of intense passion that inappropriate actions occurred. This is indeed my fault. I wonder what I must do to make Madam Xie's anger subside?"
"My Xie family's eldest legitimate daughter has not yet reached capping age. Even if King Anjing were to offer a humble apology with a thorn-bearing rod, this wife's anger would still not be quelled." Yun Chu's expression was stern and cold. "King Anjing need not say any more. Whatever words we have, we shall argue them out at the Dali Temple!"
King Anjing's expression sank. Was she going to file a lawsuit at the Dali Temple?
He glanced slightly to the side and saw the Du family sisters, a gut feeling telling him that the Du family's eldest daughter, Madam Ji, would certainly be happy to act as a witness.
At that time, the crime of forcing an underage maiden would surely be pinned on him.
He had already angered the Emperor, and with this crime added on, he feared he would be banished far away to his fiefdom.
While he was pondering inwardly, Xie Ping cried even harder.
If this truly went all the way to the Dali Temple, everyone in the entire capital would know she had lost her purity, and who would ever dare to marry her then... It would be better to just become a concubine of King Anjing's estate and slowly plot her future step by step later on...
She went to tug on Yun Chu's sleeve, sobbing, "Mother, I am willing..."
"There is no room for you to speak here," Yun Chu said coldly. "Tingshuang, take the eldest miss to the neighboring side room to tidy up and dress her hair."
Without a word of refusal, Tingshuang pulled Xie Ping away.
Xie Ping's tears had dried up. Because she was not her mother's biological daughter, her mother simply did not care whether she lived or died...
"Madam Xie, I am willing to grant Miss Xie the position of secondary consort." King Anjing lowered his head. "I ask Madam Xie to let go of her anger."
An imperial prince's secondary consort was not something just any ordinary woman could become. Because their names had to be entered into the imperial family jade tablets, the Empress had to review and finalize the appointment.
His promise of a secondary consort position right here was sufficient to prove his sincerity.
Yet, she saw Yun Chu shake her head. "My Xie family's eldest legitimate daughter has been raised according to the standards of a household matriarch, strictly observing propriety and rules in every respect. Had King Anjing not used coercion, my little daughter would never have done such a thing to bring shame upon the family!"
King Anjing's face was full of disbelief.
This Madam Xie had far too big of an appetite, actually daring to demand the position of primary princess consort.
The daughter of a fifth-rank official, who apparently was even born to a concubine outside the main household and merely registered under the primary wife's name as a secondary daughter—she wasn't even qualified to be a secondary consort, yet she dared to covet the position of primary consort?
Xie Ping, who had been brought into the neighboring side room, was completely shocked.
Her mother actually wanted to fight for the position of King Anjing's primary consort for her? Had she gone mad?
A secondary consort was already more than enough. If she pushed her luck and angered King Anjing, causing negotiations to break down, then she would truly be finished...
"Madam Xie, this prince will give you a phrase: a snake tries to swallow an elephant with its insufficient greed." King Anjing once again referred to himself as this prince, raising his head to become overbearing and aggressive. "Some things that do not belong to you, do not harbor wild delusions about them!"
Yun Chu curtsied. "Then this wife shall take her leave with her little daughter first."
She walked to the entrance of the side room, brought Xie Ping along, and walked straight out of the rear courtyard of Qing'an Temple.
The two members of the Du family also had no heart to stay any longer. The group walked out of the temple, walked down the mountain in silence, and after walking for a long time, finally arrived at the foot of Mount Dayan.
Tingshuang supported Xie Ping onto the carriage, and Du Ying also boarded the Du family carriage first with the assistance of her maidservant.
Du Ling looked at Yun Chu with a complex gaze.
Earlier, standing outside the side room, she hadn't said a single word because she sensed that today's affair seemed to be part of Yun Chu's calculations.
Yet in her impression, Yun Chu was a pure and passionate woman who never disdained to scheme such things; this was different from the Yun Chu she knew.
Regardless, today's affair had severed her younger sister's delusions. No matter what Xie Miss ultimately managed to obtain, their Du family would never have anything more to do with King Anjing.
"Chuchu, if you decide to go to the Dali Temple to file a lawsuit, I will testify for you," Du Ling said softly. "I hope you get what you wish for."
Yun Chu gripped her friend's hand. "Lingling, today's matter was not my original intention, but things have reached this point, and I can only ask you to convey my apologies to Xiaoying."
Du Ling shook her head. "Xiaoying will not blame you. Alright, the time is not early, let us return to the city."
She turned and boarded the carriage.
Yun Chu pressed her lips together.
Du Ling was a clever person and would certainly be able to tell that today's matter was not simple.
Although the Du family did not care for the position of a prince's consort, wanting it oneself versus losing it because one was schemed against by others were two entirely different things.
Moreover, she had even used Du Ling as a witness to back King Anjing into a disadvantageous position...
It seemed that in this lifetime, her relationship with Du Ling would just stop here.
But it did not matter; as long as Du Ying died of her infatuation for King Anjing, she would not be foolish enough to commit suicide for him again.
Even if life were lived over again, not everything would turn out the way one wished, isn't that so?
Yun Chu boarded the carriage.
Before the carriage could move, Xie Ping, sitting on the edge, knelt on the floor and grabbed the hem of Yun Chu's dress.
"Mother, I beg you to save me..." Xie Ping cried with a hoarse voice. "My status is not enough to be a princess consort, King Anjing will not agree, Imperial Noble Consort De will not agree, and the imperial family will even less agree... I am willing to be a secondary consort, I beg Mother not to report this to the Dali Temple..."
Yun Chu kicked her away with one foot. "You plotted so much just for a mere secondary consort position?"
Xie Ping's pupils violently constricted. The moment she met Yun Chu's gaze, she understood—everything she had done, her mother knew it all.
"You should be glad that Madam Ji and I went early, otherwise once the matter succeeded and King Anjing lost his freshness toward you, pinning the crime of seduction on you, do you know what the consequence would be?" Yun Chu said word by word. "Lightly, a cup of poisoned wine bestowed upon you; heavily, the entire Xie family implicated by you. Are you worthy of bearing that?"
Xie Ping shuddered all over.
She had actually not thought of this point.
She gripped the medicine packet in her sleeve, feeling fortunate that she had not used the medicine, otherwise the crime of seducing an imperial prince would have been firmly established.
However, although King Anjing did not accuse her of seduction, her current situation was also extremely difficult. She cried out, "Mother, what should I do..."
"What should you do?" Yun Chu sneered. "Go home and kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights first!”