Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 127
Chapter 127 - Xie Shiwei Returns to the Estate
When Xie Shiwei returned to the estate, Yun Chu specially arranged a family banquet.
The family banquet was set in the old matron's courtyard, with people from every household attending to make things lively.
The old matron sat in the seat of honor, watching as a manservant supported Xie Shiwei into the courtyard.
Although she didn't particularly care for this grandson, he was still a descendant of the Xie family after all. Furthermore, the Yun family had stated they would secure a path forward for Wei'er, which might bring some good fortune down the road.
"Wei'er, come here, let your great-grandmother take a look at you."
The old matron pulled Wei'er over, stroked his face, and put on a deeply affectionate expression.
"You've lost quite a bit of weight. Our Wei'er has truly suffered out at the estate."
Xie Shiwei remained silent, offering no response.
Not long after, Xie Jingyu and Xie Shi'an walked over together.
Xie Shiwei snapped his head up to look at them.
He saw that Xie Shi'an was dressed in brocade robes, his hair secured with a jade crown, cutting the fine figure of a spirited young gentleman radiating boundless vigor and ambition.
As for himself, he was dressed in coarse cloth garments, looking nothing more than a humble manservant of the Xie estate, with a broken leg that meant his entire life was ruined.
He completely lost control of the surging fury boiling within his chest. Rushing forward in long strides, he lunged and clamped his hands around Xie Shi'an's throat.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Xie Shi'an had never anticipated such a move, and was choked until he couldn't breathe. "Xie—Xie Shiwei, have you gone mad? What are you doing!"
Xie Jingyu raised his right hand and delivered a vicious slap across Xie Shi'an's face—wait, no, across Xie Shiwei's face. "You unfilial wretch, creating chaos the moment you're brought back! Are you deliberately trying to anger me to death?"
Xie Shiwei was struck so hard he collapsed across the table, smashing all the dishes that had just been served.
Several of the concubines shrieked in terror.
"Wei'er, what has gotten into you?" Lady Yuan hurried forward to pull Xie Shiwei back. "This welcoming banquet was specially prepared for you, why are you making such a scene?"
"Xie Shi'an, I'm asking you!" Xie Shiwei's eyes blazed with fury as he stared at the older brother he had once admired the most. "Back when my leg was injured, was it you who stopped the family from hiring a physician to treat me? My leg could clearly have been healed, but because of you, I've been left a cripple for the rest of my life. Wasn't it you?!"
Xie Shi'an's expression remained completely calm. "Your leg could never be healed to begin with, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."
"What about Aunt He, then? How did she die!" Xie Shiwei roared. "Was she driven to her death by you?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions of everyone present in the courtyard shifted dramatically.
Aunt He's death had been known to only a handful of people; the rest had assumed she committed suicide after getting caught up in witchcraft scandals.
Hearing Xie Shi'an accused of driving Aunt He to her death, the other concubines found it utterly unbelievable that the truth was so gruesome...
"Shut your mouth!" the old matron thundered in anger. "Bringing you back to the Xie family was meant to secure your future, yet you go around spouting nonsense and stirring up trouble! Someone come here, drag the Second Young Master away!"
Xie Shiwei struggled desperately. The servants who tried to subdue him were met with flying fists and kicks, and a couple of them were even bitten hard.
The two tables of banquet dishes in the courtyard were flipped over and smashed onto the ground by him, the chaos growing completely out of hand.
Xie Jingyu felt a rush of hot blood surge into his chest. The physician had explicitly warned him against flying into rages, but facing a spectacle like this made it impossible to suppress his fury.
Catching sight of a wooden club lying on the ground, he snatched it up and lashed it fiercely across Xie Shiwei's back.
Xie Shiwei let out a miserable, piercing shriek.
"Alright, that's enough of the chaos." Yun Chu stepped forward, yanked the club out of Xie Jingyu's hand, tossed it onto the ground, and then supported Xie Shiwei by the arm. "Wei'er, do this mother a favor and stop causing a scene, alright? Mother will escort you back to your courtyard."
Xie Shiwei could lash out at anyone else, but he found himself utterly unable to put on a cold face toward Yun Chu, simply because it was Mother who had brought him back to this place.
He stopped speaking and followed Yun Chu back to his own courtyard.
"Wei'er, don't blame your father for striking you. No matter how upset you were, you shouldn't have gone trying to choke your eldest brother's neck." Yun Chu seated herself beside the table and advised gently, "Your eldest brother has to attend classes every single day, and before long he'll be entering the Imperial Academy. If people were to see bruises on his neck, wouldn't that cause them to gossip behind our backs and spread ugly rumors about the Xie family?"
Xie Shiwei raised his head. "Mother, tell me the absolute truth—did Aunt He's death have anything to do with Big Brother?"
"Wei'er, don't listen to whatever nonsense people have been feeding you; you mustn't believe it. Aunt He simply committed wicked deeds and couldn't bear to face the consequences, so she drank poison and died," Yun Chu said, her expression changing drastically. "Your eldest brother is your father's proudest child. All of your father's painstaking efforts and all the Xie family's resources are poured into your eldest brother. If you keep antagonizing him, your father will surely never spare you. I can protect you for a moment, but can I protect you forever?"
Xie Shiwei clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He had merely offended the Marquis of Xuanwu, and the Xie family had discarded him like trash.
Yet Xie Shi_an had personally murdered his own biological mother and still managed to inherit everything the Xie family had to offer!
Why was the world so utterly unfair!
"It's getting late, get some proper rest. I'll be leaving first."
Yun Chu patted his shoulder and turned to walk out of the courtyard.
The moment she reached the courtyard entrance, she saw Xie Shi'an standing there. "Shi'an?"
"Mother, Wei'er harbors some misunderstandings about me, and I must clear them up," Xie Shi'an said. "I'll go inside first."
The second he stepped up to the doorway, a porcelain lamp came hurtling through the air, smashing right beside his feet. "Get out!"
"Wei'er, I am your eldest brother," Xie Shi'an sighed, bending down to pick up the broken lamp. "Mother has passed away, and in this entire world, the two of us brothers are the closest kin. At least give me a chance to explain."
"Fine, then explain it to me!" Xie Shiwei limped out of the room on his bad leg, charging toward him. "Explain why you forbade the family from hiring a doctor to treat my leg! Explain why you forced Mother to drink poisoned wine! Go on, say it! Explain yourself!"
"Your leg was never going to heal anyway, and that matter has nothing to do with me," Xie Shi'an said smoothly. "As for Mother's affair, it is deeply complicated and impossible to explain in a few words... Wei'er, rest assured, although your leg cannot be cured, once I pass the imperial examinations and secure an official rank, I will grant you a life of glorious wealth and ensure you live out your days free of worries!"
Xie Shiwei stared at him coldly. "Is that true?"
Xie Shi'an nodded. "Of course it's true, but on one condition: until I pass the imperial exams, you must obediently and quietly remain out at the estate. Tomorrow, I will personally escort you back to the estate, alright?"
He knew his younger brother all too well—impulsive, hot-tempered, and completely lacking in brains.
Now that the boy had uncovered such a massive secret of the Xie family, how could he possibly risk letting his maternal grandfather take Wei'er away from the Xie residence?
Wei'er had to remain in the Xie family, locked away in the family's suburban estate for the rest of his life!
Xie Shiwei's expression mutated violently. "What do you mean by obediently staying at the estate? Are you afraid that if I stay in the Xie mansion, I'll steal away whatever belongs to you in this family?! Xie Shi_an, you are utterly hypocritical! For the sake of your own future, you murdered Mother, and now that I know your secret, are you trying to get rid of me too?"
He snatched up a teacup from the table and hurled it straight at Xie Shi_an's head, instantly splitting open his scalp and sending blood gushing down his face.
The manservants in the courtyard shrieked in fright and rushed forward frantically to pull Xie Shiwei back.
"Quick, go summon the Master and the Old Matron!"
The two young masters were brawling, and mere servants had no authority to intervene; they had to summon someone capable of commanding absolute respect to suppress the chaos.
The old matron had actually been deliberating on coming to talk with Xie Shi_an—er, Xie Shiwei anyway, primarily because this reckless brat had discovered that Aunt He's death was suspicious, and such a dark family secret must never be allowed to leak out. She had specifically come to put Xie Shiwei in his place.
Midway through her journey, however, she was intercepted by a panicked manservant reporting that the Second Young Master had just smashed open the Eldest Young Master's head, leaving him bleeding profusely!