Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 129
Chapter 129 - One Year of Mourning
The Xie residence summoned a physician.
The physician, carrying his medicine box, hurried into Anshou Hall.
With just a single glance at the old matron, the physician knew there was no saving her. Still, he checked her pulse before letting out a heavy sigh and shaking his head.
Yun Chu lowered her eyelids.
She had originally intended to use Xie Shiwei to deal a vicious blow to Xie Shi-an, yet in the end, it was the old matron who had lost her life.
In her past life, the Xie family had climbed to the very peak of society, and the old matron had lived out her twilight years in peace. When she finally passed away, people from all over the capital came to offer their condolences, earning her a magnificent, honorable burial.
In this lifetime, before the Xie family's journey to soaring success had even truly begun, the old matron was already buried beneath the yellow soil.
"Old Matron!"
Lady Yuan stumbled into the room, flung herself over the old matron's corpse, and burst into loud, wailing sobs.
The concubines had also brought their children along, dropping to their knees before the old matron's bed. The maidservants and older matrons knelt in their wake, filling the air with a low, oppressive chorus of weeping.
Yun Chu forced a look of profound grief onto her face, yet she found that not a single tear would fall.
Had the old matron ever done anything directly to her? It seemed not. But upon closer reflection, the shadow of the old matron could be found lurking behind every single ordeal.
An old matron who had spent her entire life safeguarding the Xie family, an old matron who regarded the honor and disgrace of the Xie family as her heaven, had died at the hands of her own great-grandson. One could only wonder what her final thought had been before drawing her last breath...
Yun Chu turned and walked out of the old matron's Anshou Hall.
Standing in the courtyard, she instructed several managerial matrons in a calm, flat tone, "Handle the old matron's funeral arrangements. Make it efficient."
The matrons hastily wiped away their tears and scrambled off to carry out her orders.
Yun Chu cast her gaze toward Xie Jingyu, who sat on the courtyard steps silently shedding tears, and spoke up, "You should stop crying for now. I asked around just a moment ago—the old matron passed away after being pushed and knocked down by Wei'er. How do you plan to deal with this?"
Xie Jingyu raised his head to look at Yun Chu. That feeling of looking up from below filled him with absolute discomfort, and he tried to stand, only to find his left leg completely devoid of strength.
He had no choice but to remain seated on the steps, his voice low, cold, and hoarse. "That unfilial wretch! Keeping him alive is just inviting disaster—fetch a rope and strangle him to death!"
"If a child is uneducated, the fault lies with the father. Wei'er turning out like this is inextricably tied to you as his father," Yun Chu said. "With the old matron's passing, as the only grandson currently residing in the capital, you are required by custom to observe a full year of mourning. During this year, you won't need to attend court, so you might as well stay at home and properly discipline Wei'er. He is only eight years old and still young; as long as you guide him properly as his father, you can surely set him back on the right path!"
Xie Jingyu's heart sank heavily.
He had completely forgotten about something as monumental as the mourning period!
His official career had already been suffering of late; if he returned to the imperial court only after a full year of mourning, there would no longer be any foothold left for him!
The old matron had always enjoyed robust health; why on earth did she have to die precisely at a time like this?
He no longer had the luxury of grieving or shedding tears; his sole thought now was to drag Xie Shiwei out, lash him viciously with a whip, and then strangle him to death!
Kneeling nearby, Xie Ping wiped away her tears.
Fortunately, she was merely a great-granddaughter and was not required to observe mourning. Even if she had to, it wouldn't matter; her marriage to the Prince of Anjing was scheduled for just a month from now, which fell well within the period of "hot mourning," allowing wedding ceremonies to proceed as normal...
Xie Zhongcheng had been staying at the suburban estate and did not rush back to the Xie residence until the following morning.
Before he even reached the front gates of the Xie manor, he heard numerous neighbors and passersby gathered outside, discussing the household in hushed, animated tones.
"Old Matron Xie was usually such a robust person; how could she just drop dead out of nowhere?"
"You don't know yet? Early this morning before dawn, I heard the manservant hanging the white funeral lanterns outside the Xie gates say that it was the Xie family's Second Young Master who caused the old matron's death!"
"My goodness, isn't Second Young Master Xie the exact same boy who broke the Marquis of Xuanwu's heir's finger? He actually went as far as killing his own biological grandmother?"
"What kind of household could possibly raise a child like that? Courting disaster left and right was one thing, but now he's actually committed murder! He's only eight years old—who knows what kind of monster he'll grow up to be!"
"When the Xie family married the eldest daughter of the General's estate back then, didn't they conceal the fact that he already had an illegitimate son before marriage? It just goes to show that people whose hearts are crooked from the start will breed a murderous wretch without the slightest surprise!"
"The eldest daughter of the General's estate was tricked into this marriage, and then diagnosed as barren. It's hard not to suspect the Xie family of foul play, purely to force the General's daughter into willingly raising another woman's illegitimate child!"
"A rotten beam at the top makes the lower ones crooked!"
"Damn it, these Xie family members are utterly repulsive!"
Among the crowd were some neighborhood women who had just returned from buying groceries. Unable to contain their disgust, they pulled vegetable leaves and eggs straight from their baskets and hurled them directly at the Xie family's plaque above the front gate.
Thud, thud, thud—the entrance of the Xie manor was left in a complete mess.
"All of you, stop right there!" Xie Zhongcheng roared in fury as he stepped down from his carriage. "Someone come, chase these irrelevant busybodies away!"
The onlookers spat onto the ground in front of the Xie gates before scattering in twos and threes.
Xie Zhongcheng was boiling with rage. He had only known that his elderly mother had passed away, completely unaware that she had died at the hands of Xie Shiwei.
Seething, he strode into the courtyard. White funeral banners and white lanterns were draped everywhere, everyone was dressed in coarse white mourning hemp, and the main hall had already been converted into a mourning parlor. A single coffin sat squarely in the center, while the majority of the Xie family members knelt before it, weeping and burning paper offerings.
Suppressing his rising anger, he walked inside, offered incense to the old matron, knelt to burn the paper, and finally stood back up. "Where is that unfilial wretch?"
Lady Yuan raised her head, her voice raw and hoarse. "Jingyu locked him in the woodshed."
Mentioning Xie Jingyu made Xie Zhongcheng frown deeply. "Where is Jingyu? Why isn't he here in the mourning hall!"
"Jingyu has fallen ill," Lady Yuan said, covering her mouth as she wept. "He has a blinding headache, and his left leg is completely paralyzed—he can't even walk. I took it upon myself to let him rest in his room."
Xie Zhongcheng's mind was a chaotic tangle of anxiety. How could Jingyu fall ill on top of everything else? For a young man to lose the use of his left leg sounded thoroughly terrifying.
He turned his head and saw Yun Chu stepping into the mourning hall, prompting him to snap coldly, "The old matron has passed away, why aren't you in the mourning hall either?"
Yun Chu lifted her eyelids. "Is Father-in-law interrogating me? Very well, I shall kneel in the mourning hall to burn paper and kowtow, while Ping'er can take charge of managing the funeral."
Xie Zhongcheng's expression turned as dark as ink.
He had merely asked a simple question, only for this daughter-in-law to snap right back at him. What was this—he wasn't even allowed to ask a question now?
Yet he didn't dare press the matter any further; if he really let Ping'er manage the funeral, the Xie family would likely become the laughingstock of the entire capital all over again.
"That's not what I meant," he softened his tone slightly. "Right now, everyone outside is gossiping that Wei'er killed the old matron, which is dealing a devastating blow to our Xie family's reputation. Chu'er, how do you think we should handle this matter?"
Just as Yun Chu was about to reply, the voice of a manservant rang out from the entrance: "Madam Yun has arrived!"
Seeing Lady Lin enter the hall alone, Xie Zhongcheng's expression soured once more.
Clearly, General Yun had returned to the capital and the legitimate Yun son, Yun Ze, was also at home, yet they had only sent a single woman to offer condolences. This was a blatant display of looking down on his Xie family!
With a cold, indifferent expression, Lady Lin walked into the mourning hall and offered incense.
Originally, she and Yun Silin had planned to come together, but the moment they stepped out of their house, they heard numerous people discussing the scandals of the Xie family—tales so shocking they defied belief.
If the stories circulating among the commoners on the streets were true, she would never dare keep her daughter locked inside this den of wolves. Naturally, she had also decided against letting the General come to lend prestige to the Xie family!