Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 96
Chapter 96 - They Look Alike
Yun Chu closed her eyes to rest and gather her thoughts.
Once Tingyu's tearful grievances came to an end, she finally spoke, "Ping Jie'er, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Xie Ping had not expected Yun Chu to ask for her opinion.
She figured that it was likely because her status was different now; as the future Princess Consort of Anjing, her words ought to carry some weight as well.
She spoke up, "Father not allowing Auntie Yu to raise Yun Ge'er is also for Yun Ge'er's own good. Auntie Yu cannot delay Yun Ge'er's future simply out of fear of losing her child. In my opinion, it is much better for Yun Ge'er to remain by Madam He's side."
Madam He smiled inwardly.
Although she had no patience for raising Xie Shiyun, Xie Shiyun had to stay by her side.
If Xie Shiyun was ruined and rendered useless, then all of the Xie family's resources would fall entirely to An Ge'er, and the entire Xie family should belong completely to An Ge'er.
Only by securing a better future for An Ge'er could he protect someone as useless as Xie Shiyun.
Tingyu knew that no matter what else she said, Madam could never possibly soften her heart.
She had betrayed Madam twice, and Madam had completely lost faith in her, which was why she was venting her anger on Yun Ge'er and deliberately sending Yun Ge'er to Madam He's side.
She knew she was at fault in a thousand different ways, but what wrong had Yun Ge'er done?
"All of you, withdraw."
Yun Chu waved her hand.
Tingyu glanced at Madam He, who wore a faint smile at the corner of her lips, then bit her lip and stepped backward out of the room.
With a heavily pregnant belly, Concubine Tao steadied herself with a maidservant's arm as she walked slowly outward. Catching sight of Tingyu walking out of Sheng Residence with her head lowered, she turned to Concubine Jiang and muttered, "That woman climbed into the master's bed behind Madam's back just to become a concubine, refusing to keep to her proper place and even sowing discord between the master and Madam. If Madam doesn't punish her, who else would she punish?"
Concubine Jiang had never been one to gossip about others' affairs, and as a restrained person, she was naturally more observant. She had noticed this long ago, but had simply never spoken of it to anyone.
She nodded and said, "There are countless identical leaves in this world, and two people looking somewhat alike is nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps this is simply the affinity between Madam He and the eldest young miss, which is why the two of them have always been closer."
"It's not just the eldest young miss and Madam He who are close; the eldest young master and the second young master are also exceptionally affectionate toward Madam He," Concubine Tao said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "If you really think about it, the eldest young master's eyes are an exact replica of Madam He's, the second young master's mouth is carved from the exact same mold as Madam He's, and the eldest young miss looks so much like Madam He as well..."
Concubine Jiang could not help covering her mouth in shock. "They always say a daughter grows up to resemble her biological mother..."
"Good heavens!" Concubine Tao widened her eyes in astonishment. "Could it be—could it possibly... No, that's too absurd to be true. It's simply too mind-boggling."
"What are you two gossiping about?"
From right behind them, a voice suddenly rang out.
Both Concubine Tao and Concubine Jiang were startled. Turning around, they saw Madam He and Xie Ping standing there. Being caught red-handed discussing others behind their backs was bound to feel more or less awkward.
"N—nothing at all." Concubine Jiang tightly grasped Xie Xian's hand. "I'm taking Xian Jie'er to the study hall."
With that, she hurried away.
Concubine Tao touched her pregnant belly, her gaze sweeping across the faces of Madam He and Xie Ping. "I have to say, Madam He and the eldest young miss really do look somewhat like a pair of biological mother and daughter."
Madam He drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
She hadn't misheard; Concubine Tao and Concubine Jiang were indeed discussing the physical resemblance between her and Ping Jie'er.
Keeping Mother Fu's strict teachings firmly in mind—that no matter what remarks one heard, one must never betray one's emotions—Xie Ping steadied her mind and said coldly, "What ridiculous nonsense is Concubine Tao spouting? My mother is the eldest young miss of the General's Estate, and I am the eldest young miss of the Xie family. How could I possibly resemble a serving creature like Madam He? Spare me your insults!"
With that, she lifted her skirt and strode off.
Concubine Tao frowned. The eldest young miss's words were dripping with utter disdain and disgust toward Madam He—could it be that she had guessed wrong after all?
Keeping her head lowered and her fingers clenched tightly together, Madam He walked away at a brisk pace.
Yun Chu found herself utterly unable to calm her mind enough to accomplish anything.
With Tingshuang out investigating that day's events, it would take at least three days before any results could be yielded.
Deciding against waiting idly, she had a carriage prepared and set off toward the hot spring estate in the northern part of the city to check on its progress. With so many days having passed, the estate should look drastically different by now.
The carriage journey took roughly half an hour before finally arriving at the estate's entrance.
When she had visited last time, waist-high weeds had run rampant everywhere, but these had now been completely cleared away, revealing the estate's original, pristine architecture.
This place had once served as the location for the Wu family's ancestral hall, and the buildings had been constructed with immense effort and resources. Even after standing uninhabited for over twenty years, they had not fallen into extreme ruin.
Naturally, some renovations and repairs were still necessary, particularly for the courtyard walls, roof corners, eaved corridors, and tiled roofs...
"Madam truly possesses extraordinary foresight!" Chen Defu's face was plastered with complete admiration. "It turns out there is actually a massive hot spring located on the back mountain of this estate. Just how large it is won't be fully known until excavation is completely finished."
Purchasing this estate for three thousand silver taels, funding the complete renovations, uncovering the hot spring, and constructing the bathing pools would bring the total expenditure to roughly seven or eight thousand taels.
Yet relying solely on this hot spring during a single winter would yield a profit of at least tens of thousands of taels—and that was merely a conservative estimate.
Following Chen Defu toward the back mountain, Yun Chu had just arrived at the site when she spotted Jiu'er, clad in cyan garments, busily distributing cooling herbal tea to the laborers.
Halting her steps, she inquired, "Uncle Chen, what do you think of Jiu'er?"
"She's an honest, hardworking lass," Chen Defu replied. "Though her physical constitution is frail, she never slacks off or rests. Whenever the workers start their shift, she begins working right alongside them. When she first arrived, she had a fair complexion, but these past few days she's been tanned quite dark by the sun."
Hearing voices speaking nearby, Jiu'er turned her head. Spotting Yun Chu's arrival, she hurriedly set down the tea buckets and came forward to pay her respects.
Yun Chu instructed, "A portion of the hot spring has already been excavated, so you can begin soaking in it. The physician stated that you must soak for at least half an hour each day."
Lowering her gaze, Jiu'er demurred, "Madam, Jiu'er's life is of little worth; I shouldn't go so far as to contaminate the soaking pools."
"I'm not letting you soak for nothing," Yun Chu said indifferently. "No one has ever soaked in this hot spring before, so we have no idea what its specific medicinal effects might be. You are the one who needs to record everything one by one: what it feels like after soaking for a quarter of an hour, and what it feels like after half an hour. Since the temperature of each pool varies, the sensations will differ as well. You must try them all out, and in a month's time, I will come back to ask for your report."
Jiu'er felt a deep wave of emotion stir within her heart. "Understood, Madam."
She knew that Madam had arranged this task specifically to relieve her of any psychological burden regarding the hot spring treatments.
From this day forward, this humble life of hers belonged entirely to Madam; even if Madam ordered her to march through a sea of blades, she would not blink an eye.
Just as they were speaking, Madam Wu—leaning heavily upon a walking cane—emerged from the thatched cottage nestled within the rear grove. The moment she caught sight of Yun Chu, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. "Madam Xie, you are my son's savior, the great benefactor of our Wu family! Even if I were to work like an ox or a horse for you, it would still be hard to repay your kindness..."
Three days prior, her son had departed alongside the Divine Physician Si to travel to Qingzhou for medical treatment. Had it not been for Madam Xie acting as their intermediary, they would never have crossed paths with Divine Physician Si in their entire lifetime.
With Divine Physician Si attending to him, her son would undoubtedly claw his way back from the jaws of death, allowing her to eventually close her eyes in peace and inform the ancestors of the Wu family that their incense lineage had not been cut off!
Yun Chu stepped forward to help Madam Wu up. "Since I purchased the estate belonging to the Wu family's ancestors, helping Young Master Wu receive medical treatment along the way was merely a matter of convenience. Madam Wu, please don't act like this; you are treating me with far too much reverence."
Before Madam Wu could utter another word, a page boy hurried over to Chen Defu's side and muttered something in a low voice. Chen Defu's expression underwent a violent, abrupt shift: "Madam, the background of Madam He has been investigated and uncovered!”