Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 134
Chapter 134 - Marquis Xuanwu Divorces His Wife
The auspicious hour arrived, and the Dai family's bridal sedan chair also arrived.
The matchmaker led Yun Ran outward. Upon reaching the main gate, Yun Ran looked back at Lady Lin and could not hold back her tears.
Her biological mother had died in difficult labor, and she had grown up by her stepmother's side since childhood. Her stepmother treated her like her own flesh and blood, never allowing her to suffer a single grievance.
After getting married, coming back for a visit would no longer be so easy.
Lady Lin's eyes also grew moist.
The matchmaker wiped away Yun Ran's tears, draped the red veil over her head, and led her all the way to the front gate.
Immediately following this, the sound of firecrackers erupted, gongs and drums clashed deafeningly, and the Dai family's wedding procession hoisted the sedan chair, moving further and further away from the Yun residence.
Lady Lin forced a smile. "Alright, my little girl has already left her maiden home. Everyone, please take your seats and let the banquet begin. Don't stand on ceremony, everyone, please be seated."
The Yun family's banquet did not segregate men and women; the family sat together at the same tables, all gathered in the front courtyard—men and women, old and young—lively and bustling.
Yun Chu brought Xie Ping to sit with the Yun family members. Seated beside her were Yun's Third Aunt and her daughter-in-law, the wife of their paternal cousin Yun Run, whom she addressed as Sister-in-law Run.
Yun Third Aunt casually asked, "Chu'er, how on earth did that Old Madam of your Xie family pass away..."
The moment those words left her mouth, Sister-in-law Run gave her a tug. "Mother, didn't you want to find out about the Marquis Xuanwu's Manor just now? Over there, Lady Li seems to know quite a bit. Why don't you go ask her?"
Yun Third Aunt was someone who loved hearing such gossip, and she immediately stood up and headed over to Lady Li.
Sister-in-law Run apologetically said to Yun Chu, "Chu'er, my mother-in-law is straight-spoken and fast-tongued; please don't take it to heart."
"Sister-in-law Run worries too much." Yun Chu smiled as she spoke. "Third Aunt is merely inquiring about the actual situation without any malicious intent. How could I possibly take it to heart?"
As she spoke, she heard a group of matrons gathered around Lady Li discussing the affairs of the Marquis Xuanwu's Manor and the Luo family.
"What did you say? Marquis Xuanwu actually wrote a letter of divorce? He's the one who kept exterior mistresses, yet he actually has the nerve to cast off his wife."
"Look at how you put it. In this world, which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Lady Luo was overbearing, leaving Marquis Xuanwu no choice but to seek comfort elsewhere. Keeping exterior mistresses was simply a helpless move on his part."
"This move by Marquis Xuanwu can be considered a blunder. He discarded his legitimate wife and ended up with two exterior mistresses—heaven knows what he was even aiming for."
"Wasn't Lady Luo's move a blunder as well? Her only son even lost the heirship position, and his brilliant future was ruined by his own mother."
"Since a daughter of the Luo family has been divorced and cast aside, arranging marriages for Luo daughters in the future will surely be difficult."
"When all is said and done, the Luo family's official rank is simply too low—only the third rank. Yet the daughter of a collateral branch of the first-rank Yun family could successfully separate by mutual agreement, while the legitimate eldest daughter of the Luo main branch actually got cast aside."
"..."
Yun Chu listened casually.
While she did want to exact revenge on Qin Mingheng, she was unwilling to implicate Lady Luo, an innocent victim. Since Lady Luo had already extricated herself, she could finally make her move.
Just as she was about to stand up, she noticed the banquet hall suddenly grow quiet. It turned out that a distinguished guest had arrived.
Raising her head, she saw her father leading the Prince of Pingxi, alongside the Prince of Pingxi Manor's young heir and little princess, slowly walking inside.
She looked at the two children. Having not seen them for many days, this single glance eased much of her yearning.
Taking even one more look made her yearn fiercely to pull the children into her embrace, forcing her to quickly retract her gaze and suppress the impulse.
Meanwhile, everyone in the banquet hall was utterly stunned.
It was merely a concubine-born daughter of the Yun family getting married, yet a Prince had actually come personally to offer congratulations.
From this, one could see just how deeply the imperial family valued the Yun family.
The moment he caught sight of Yun Chu, Chu Hongyu found it difficult to contain himself, though he knew he could not rush forward in such a public setting.
He understood these principles, but Chu Changsheng did not. Her bright eyes sparkled as she gazed at Yun Chu, shaking off her Prince Father's hand and stepping forward right toward Yun Chu's direction.
"Changsheng!" Chu Hongyu hurriedly grabbed his younger sister's arm. "No, not yet! There are way too many people here. If we run over right now, it's going to cause trouble for Mother! Father also said we aren't allowed to be too close to Mother in front of people. Eat something first, and Big Brother will figure something out."
The little girl had no choice but to obediently nestle back into Chu Yi's embrace.
"The young heir and little princess seem to keep looking over at our side." Yun Third Aunt's eyes shone brightly. "Da Ge'er, the young heir must want to play with you. Go on over and play with the heir."
Da Ge'er was Yun Third Aunt's grandson, just over six years old and right at the age for mischief. However, he didn't have much nerve and didn't dare walk over at all.
Yun Zhenjiang was also seated at this table. He glanced at Chu Hongyu and instantly knew this brat was staring at his aunt.
Back when his aunt was recuperating at the Yun residence, this brat came every single day, tagging along behind his aunt's coattails and calling her Auntie until it gave people a headache.
In the past, his aunt doted on him the most, but ever since this brat showed up, his aunt hardly doted on him anymore. It really made him angry.
Yun Zhenjiang let out a huff and refused to look at Chu Hongyu.
After a short while, he felt someone tugging on his sleeve. Turning his head, he met Chu Hongyu's big, wide eyes. The boy said coldly, "Prince of Pingxi Heir, what are you hiding over here and tugging on me for?"
Hiding among the shrubbery, Chu Hongyu looked pitiful as he pleaded, "Brother Jiang, calling you brother is fine, right? Come over here, I have something to tell you."
Yun Zhenjiang gave a cold snort. "No time."
"I brought a flying whirl-fork. Do you want it?"
Yun Zhenjiang was, after all, only a six-year-old child who loved these kinds of gadgets most of all. Hearing this, how could he possibly hold back? He immediately followed Chu Hongyu into the nearby shrubbery.
Chu Hongyu produced a flying whirl-fork from his sleeve—a novelty item he had secretly snuck into the Ministry of War to have the Minister of War gift to him.
He hadn't even played with it a few times yet, and now he was about to give it away.
Yet there was no help for it.
He had managed to persuade his Prince Father to come to the Yun family with great difficulty, but his father had said that just taking one look at Mother was enough, and the moment the banquet concluded, they had to obediently leave.
Therefore, he could only take advantage of the ongoing banquet to summon Mother away and have a proper talk with her. Trading a flying whirl-fork for a chance to speak with Mother didn't seem like a bad deal after all.
"Seeing as you're so sincere, I'll help you out." Yun Zhenjiang fondled the flying whirl-fork, unable to put it down. "However, I must warn you: men and women should keep a proper distance after coming of age. You aren't allowed to keep crawling all over my aunt, you aren't allowed to hug my aunt, and you're not allowed to..."
"Alright, alright, I remember!" Chu Hongyu grinned. "The banquet is almost over, hurry up and go find Aunt Yun, and tell her that Changsheng and I are waiting for her!"
Yun Zhenjiang put away the flying whirl-fork and went off to find Yun Chu.
The two little fellows waited for a brief moment in the neighboring courtyard before watching Yun Chu walk in.
"Mother... Aunt Yun!"
Catching sight of Yun Zhenjiang following closely behind Yun Chu, Chu Hongyu corrected himself just in time.
The little girl swiftly darted into Yun Chu's embrace, scrambling up using all fours. Chu Hongyu was about to do the same when he caught a warning glare from Yun Zhenjiang.
"Yu Ge'er, Changsheng, I prepared gifts for you both." Yun Chu retrieved two longevity locks she had prepared in advance from her sleeve. "This one is for Yu Ge'er, and this one is for Changsheng. Have a look—do you like them?"
"I like it, I like it so much!" Chu Hongyu shot a smug look at Yun Zhenjiang. "Brother Jiang, Aunt Yun definitely didn't give you a longevity lock, did she?"
Yun Zhenjiang nodded. "Indeed she didn't."
Chu Hongyu was overjoyed. It seemed that in Mother's heart, he was much more important than Yun Zhenjiang.
"However, when I was born, Aunt gave me a jade pendant. On my first birthday, she gave me a set of scholar's four treasures. When I was two, she gave me clothes she made with her own hands. When I was three, she gave me... When I was four..."
Chu Hongyu: "..."
He covered his ears.
If he kept listening, he really would turn green with envy.