Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 123
Chapter 123 - A Deal Struck
Yun Chu was also pondering why she had chosen the Prince of Pingxi.
In her past life, that hot spring estate had been seized by Imperial Concubine Hui, and all the silver coins it generated were handed over to the Second Prince, providing ample preparation for his uprising.
Currently, the only ones capable of contending with Imperial Concubine Hui and the Second Prince were the Crown Prince and the Prince of Pingxi. Although the Sixth and Seventh Princes would slowly grow more powerful in a few years, judging by the present situation, she had no choice but to choose between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Pingxi.
Almost without hesitation, she found herself leaning toward cooperating with the Prince of Pingxi.
Could it be because the Prince of Pingxi was the father of Yu'er and Changsheng?
She raised her eyes and answered, "Your Highness and my dad are considered friends. I figured that Your Highness probably wouldn't maliciously seize this estate."
A trace of disappointment flashed in Chu Yi's eyes.
So it was simply such a straightforward reason.
"Since it is your estate, naturally I will not seize it," he said. "I agree to this business venture."
Yun Chu was surprised.
She had not expected things to go so smoothly.
He had agreed even before she could mention how the profits would be split.
"I will give Your Highness a fifty percent cut." Seeing that the man seemed about to refuse, she quickly added, "However, the hot spring resort needs to be opened under Your Highness's name."
Chu Yi frowned.
Even if it were operated under his name, a fifty percent cut was far too high, especially since he was contributing nothing at all.
He spoke up, "Two and eight. I take twenty percent, and you keep eighty."
Before Yun Chu could reply, he continued, "If Madam Xie refuses, then there is no need to discuss this business further."
Yun Chu had no choice but to swallow the rest of her words back down.
A sudden silence fell between the two of them. The summer wind blew in with a wave of warmth, and the blocks of ice in the pavilion slowly melted.
Cicadas chirped tirelessly. Although it was undeniably noisy, it also felt remarkably quiet.
Sensing that the atmosphere had grown somewhat awkward, Yun Chu stood up. "Your Highness, it is time to return to the banquet."
Chu Yi stood up as well, and the two of them walked out of the pavilion.
At that moment, a group of children came running past, chasing one another. The adults were busy drinking and talking, leaving the children free to make a ruckus.
"Stop right there, you few, stop!"
A few boys in the rear held slingshots, taking aim at the ones running ahead.
Whoosh! A small stone flew out from a slingshot, heading straight for Yun Chu's face.
Yun Chu swiftly sidestepped to avoid it.
However, another hand moved faster, stretching out right before her eyes to intercept the stone.
Chu Yi firmly caught the stone in his grip. It was a thumb-sized, sharply angled pebble; had it struck someone's face, it would have left a bruise even if it didn't draw blood.
"Who is it?"
He spat out the single, cold word.
As if an invisible, gigantic net had descended from above, the chasing children immediately halted in their tracks.
All the children turned to look at a boy standing nearby—the Heir of the Marquis of Xuanwu.
The Heir of the Marquis of Xuanwu stepped forward and said with an unblushing expression, "It was me."
Even though the person before him was a prince, he hadn't actually managed to hurt anyone, so not even a prince could do anything to him.
"Do you know the consequences of this stone striking someone?"
Chu Yi asked, his voice devoid of any discernible anger or joy.
Yet Yun Chu could sense that the man standing before her was already furious.
It was simply that the young Heir of Xuanwu was too young to read the man's emotions, and replied with total nonchalance, "Didn't it miss anyway?"
"In that case—" Chu Yi snatched the slingshot from the young heir's hand. "Why don't we try it out?"
He placed the stone onto the slingshot and took aim right at the Heir of Xuanwu's face.
The young heir's small face instantly paled with fright.
This stone was one he had gone through great trouble to find; it had sharp edges and points, and being hit by it would certainly hurt badly, while getting hit in the face would definitely leave a swollen lump.
He had specifically brought it out to target the Heir of the Marquis of Xingguo, just because that brat had deliberately mocked him for being short during the banquet earlier.
Chu Yi let out a cold laugh.
He pulled back the slingshot.
He pulled it very slowly, drawing it all the way to its absolute limit.
"Your Highness, stop!" Qin Mingheng, the Marquis of Xuanwu, hurried over and stepped in front of the child. "Children playing and scuffling is completely normal. As adults, we can just look on and let it be. What does Your Highness think?"
Chu Yi smiled.
If he had truly intended to make a move, the stone in his hand would have long since smashed a bloody hole into the face of the Marquis of Xuanwu's heir.
He was merely giving him a scare to teach the boy a lesson.
Had that stone not almost struck the face of the woman beside him, he wouldn't have bothered involving himself in such trivial matters in the first place.
"I agree with the Marquis of Xuanwu's sentiment; adults should not meddle in matters between children." Chu Yi tossed the slingshot aside. "Since the Marquis understands this principle, then why, during the Xie family's recent banquet, did your esteemed son have a dispute with the Second Young Master of the Xie family, and why did the Marquis personally step in and snap the Xie Second Young Master's leg?"
Qin Mingheng raised his head in astonishment.
So much time had passed since that incident that even he had almost forgotten about it.
How was it that the Prince of Pingxi, busy with official duties every single day, knew even about such petty trifles between two children of other families?
His gaze landed on Yun Chu's face.
How could these two possibly be together?
"The magistrate is permitted to set fires while the commoners are forbidden to light lamps. The Marquis of Xuanwu is no magistrate, nor am I a commoner." Chu Yi's voice turned ice-cold. "Your esteemed son creates trouble everywhere he goes. If the Marquis fails to discipline him properly, there will surely come a day when someone uses the Marquis of Xuanwu's own methods to deal with your son."
With that, he cast a glance at Yun Chu and turned on his heel to leave.
Yun Chu wore no excessive expression on her face. Keeping a distance from Chu Yi, the two of them walked one after the other out of the back courtyard.
Watching the figures of the two vanish down the path, Qin Mingheng's gaze turned intensely sinister.
When they reached the front courtyard, the banquet was already drawing to a close. Many high-ranking court officials weighed down by pressing duties had long since departed to return to their work. Once the major officials left, lingering made little sense for the junior officials, so the crowd gradually dispersed.
Sitting inside the carriage returning to the Xie residence, Yun Chu kept turning over in her mind what major events were about to transpire next, and how she could get her father to believe her words as quickly as possible... If she truly waited until the imperial decree came down, being dispatched to Southern Yue would mean at least another two years away...
Yet in her past life, she had been a sequestered inner-courtyard matron living deep within the residence; unless a monumental event shook the imperial court, news of it never reached her ears... Beyond that, there were natural and man-made disasters, such as this summer's continuous scorching heat, next year's floods in the south, and unrest in the northern territories... But these were all future events, and speaking of them now would require time for verification.
Although she remained out of touch with court affairs, if every minor incident involving the Yun family unfolded precisely as she foretold, her grandfather and father would surely start believing in that dream of hers.
"Madam."
Xie Jingyu suddenly spoke from beside her, interrupting Yun Chu's deep contemplation.
She opened her eyes. "What is it?"
"Why didn't you bring An'er to see your father?" Xie Jingyu pressed his lips into a tight line. "During the banquet, you said there was no need to rush, and I thought that once the banquet ended, you would intentionally take the children to pay your respects in your father's courtyard. But instead... is it simply because you found out the children were born to Aunt He that you refuse to let them see their maternal grandfather?"
"Whose offspring An'er and Ping'er are is not what matters; what matters is that you, Xie Jingyu, lied to me for five years!" A cold smile curled the corners of Yun Chu's lips. "It would be one thing if you only lied to me, but you lied to the entire Yun family as well. My dad just returned to the capital from the Western Frontier with his heart full of joy, and taking those two to pay their respects—wasn't that deliberately meant to leave a bitter taste in my dad's mouth?"
Incredulity filled Xie Jingyu's eyes. "A bitter taste? You actually have the gall to call it a bitter taste? An'er and Ping'er acknowledged you as their mother and showed you filial piety for four full years, treating you with sincere hearts—how can you call them a bitter taste!”