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Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 94

Chapter 94 - Weakness and Hypocrisy

Xie Jingyu's expression turned as dark as ink.


After parting ways with Magistrate Yu over tea and stepping out of the teahouse, he had caught sight of the most eye-catching woman in the middle of the crowd from afar.


Truly, she deserved her reputation as the peerless beauty of the capital—the eldest young miss of the Yun family. Amidst the bustling, moving crowds, she was so dazzling that everyone's gazes were irresistibly drawn to her.


However, the moment he saw the man standing face-to-face with Yun Chu, his entire heart plummeted straight to the bottom of a valley.


Offering a hasty word of apology to Magistrate Yu, he strode over swiftly and yanked Yun Chu behind him with a single pull.


He cupped his fists in salute. "This official pays respects to the Marquis."


"Tsk." Qin Hengzhi let out a chuckle. "This Marquis was merely exchanging a few words with Madam Xie. Is Lord Xie afraid that this Marquis might swallow her whole?"


Xie Jingyu replied, "The hour is growing late, so this official will first take my wife and return home. If there is an opportunity another day, I will make a formal visit to the Marquis's estate."


With that, he turned around and looked at Yun Chu. "My wife, let's go home."


Yun Chu dodged the hand he had reached out, steadied herself with Tingshuang's help, and boarded the carriage first.


Xie Jingyu followed her up and sat down directly across from her.


Just as before, Yun Chu could not be bothered to speak with him, lifting the carriage window curtain to gaze at the scenery outside.


A stifled ball of pent-up frustration churned within Xie Jingyu's chest.


He could not help blurting out, "What was the Marquis of Xuanwu saying to you?"


Yun Chu answered indifferently, "We simply bumped into each other along the way and exchanged a greeting."


Xie Jingyu pressed further. "Is that truly all?"


"What else could it be?" Yun Chu dropped the carriage curtain and met his gaze head-on. "My husband is interrogating me so aggressively—do you assume I have been unfaithful?"


"Of course not..." Xie Jingyu hadn't expected her to be so blunt. He was momentarily at a loss for words, lacking even the courage to look into Yun Chu's clear, limpid eyes as he muttered defensively, "After Wei Ge'er injured the Marquis of Xuanwu's heir that day, the Marquis has constantly made things difficult for me in court. I was only worried he might be discourteous to you, which is why..."


Yun Chu stared at him fixedly.


She knew that Xie Jingyu was a thoroughly hypocritical man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.


If what Qin Hengzhi said was true, then why on earth had Xie Jingyu used two fake corpses to deceive her?


Those were the children she had given birth to, flesh and blood carrying the Xie family lineage. She truly was unwilling to believe that Xie Jingyu had lost the children's remains...


"My wife, what is the matter?"


Under Yun Chu's gaze, Xie Jingyu grew thoroughly restless and unconsciously rubbed his own face.


Yun Chu shook her head and said no more.


The carriage arrived swiftly at the gates of the Xie residence.


They had set out for the Yun family in the morning and then gone to the outskirts, suffering delays along the way. By the time they returned, it was already dusk.


The orange rays of midsummer twilight fell across both their shoulders, stretching their shadows into long trails.


Madam He stood in the courtyard, instantly catching sight of the two figures walking in side by side—the man tall and graceful like jade, the woman with a face of peerless beauty. What a picture-perfect pair.


Suppressing the turbulent emotions welling up inside her, she walked over and curtsied. "Lord, Madam."


"I still have matters to attend to; I am returning to my quarters first."


Without a single superfluous word, Yun Chu turned and left with her maidservants in tow.


Xie Jingyu watched her retreating figure and let out an imperceptible sigh.


"My lord," Madam He spoke up, "Madam went out alone this morning. How is it that she returned alongside you?"


Xie Jingyu answered offhand, "We happened to cross paths on the road."


"Then why did Madam change her clothes?" Madam He had been doing embroidery work lately and possessed an expert eye for fabrics. "The dress Madam is wearing is a rare Water-Cloud Brocade from the Jiangnan region, something only titled nobility can afford. Has the Yun family truly grown this wealthy?"


Xie Jingyu's expression sank abruptly.


As the son-in-law of the Yun family, he was well aware that although the Yun family held the status of a first-rank general's estate, they were not particularly wealthy and could never afford such exorbitant bolts of fabric.


He strode rapidly into his own courtyard and gave a cold command, "Go to the gatehouse of the Yun family and inquire how long Madam stayed there."


The page boy handled errands efficiently, returning in less than half an hour to report, "After having lunch at the Yun family estate, Madam departed around quarter-past noon."


Xie Jingyu slammed a teacup down onto the table.


She had left the Yun family at quarter-past noon, yet why was she still out on the streets at dusk?


Could it be that after leaving the Yun family, she had gone to the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate...


The mere thought of this possibility made Xie Jingyu lose all control. He set off immediately toward Sheng Residence.


Yun Chu had just seated herself at the dining table. Ice blocks placed around the hall kept the room pleasantly cool as the maidservants carried in the dishes one by one.


She picked up her chopsticks and was about to eat when she heard the young maid outside paying respects: "My lord, Madam is currently dining. Please allow this servant to go in and announce—"


Before the young maid could finish, Xie Jingyu had already pushed his way into the side hall, taking a seat directly beside the dining table.


Yun Chu gave a calm instruction, "Prepare another set of utensils."


Xie Jingyu's gaze locked intently onto Yun Chu. He remembered she owned an outer robe similar to this one, which she had worn perhaps two or three times. Without a careful look, one might mistake her current garment for that old one; in reality, however, they were still different—even though both were white, subtle distinctions remained.


This dress was clearly meant to pull the wool over people's eyes.


Why had she changed her outer garment outside? Had she only swapped the outer layer, or had she changed her inner garments as well?!


He picked up his chopsticks and forced down a few mouthfuls while keeping his temper in check.


Seeing that Yun Chu had nearly finished eating, he said in a cold voice, "All of you, withdraw."


Tingshuang glanced at Yun Chu.


Yun Chu smiled slightly; as it happened, she also wished to have a proper conversation with him. She waved her hand, causing the maidservants and matronly servants in the room to retreat and quietly pull the doors shut behind them.


The room grew dead silent.


"My wife, where did you go this afternoon?" Xie Jingyu asked point-blank. "Did you truly only run into the Marquis of Xuanwu by chance on the street?"


Yun Chu lowered her gaze to sip her tea.


Had she not known that this man had once offered her up to the Marquis of Xuanwu to shield the Xie family from disaster, she might genuinely have believed he cared about her.


Having committed such despicably sordid acts, how could he possibly have the gall to interrogate her?


Before she could speak, Xie Jingyu abruptly stood up, leaned forward across the table, and seized Yun Chu's wrist in a tight grip.


Then, catching her completely off guard, he yanked open her outer robe, revealing a garment she had never worn before.


"Why did you change your clothes outside? You changed them from top to bottom!" Xie Jingyu demanded, tightening his grip angrily around her slender wrist. "What on earth did you and the Marquis of Xuanwu do?!"


"When you abandoned me alone at the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate, why didn't you consider these things?" Yun Chu asked coldly. "The Marquis of Xuanwu told me that the cup of tea you handed me back at the estate had been drugged with a knockout powder. I was wondering how I could have slept away an entire afternoon in the Marquis's residence—does my husband not wish to offer an explanation?"


Xie Jingyu's heart skipped a beat. "What else did he tell you?"


"That single matter alone is enough to shock me. Could there be something else I don't know about?" Yun Chu shoved Xie Jingyu away with a sharp shove, her gaze piercing. "If you refuse to give a clear explanation, I don't mind taking a trip to the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate to get to the bottom of it."


Xie Jingyu clenched his fists.


There was simply no way to explain this matter. Even if he managed to gloss it over, if Qin Hengzhi were to bring up their wedding night to Yun Chu once more, he would find himself backed into a passive corner all over again.


Raising his eyes, he painted his face with utter disappointment. "My wife, would you rather place your trust in an outsider than in your own husband? What kind of person I am is something no one knows better than you."


Yun Chu let out a cold, mocking laugh.


Indeed, no one understood Xie Jingyu's inherent weakness and hypocrisy better than she did.

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