Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 143
Chapter 143 - Investigating the Xie Family
The long night dragged on.
Yun Chu slept very soundly.
Feeling a tickle at the tip of her nose, she let out a mighty sneeze and opened her eyes.
Before her were two magnified faces, two pairs of bright, watery eyes reflecting her own—it was Yu-ge'er and Changsheng.
Last night, these two little ones had slipped in and insisted on sleeping with her. After having Jiuer inform the Prince of Pingxi, she had kept the two children with her.
Though they had made a racket well into the middle of the night, the latter half of the night had been wonderfully peaceful, and she hadn't slept this well in a very long time.
"Mother, you're awake!"
Chu Hongyu called out sweetly. With no outsiders around, addressing her as "Mother" rolled off his tongue quite naturally.
"Mom..."
The little girl echoed the call, then scrambled directly into Yun Chu's arms.
Not wanting to be outdone, Chu Hongyu tightened his hold around Yun Chu's neck.
The little girl lifted a foot and draped it right over Yun Chu's waist.
"Changsheng, don't go too far," Chu Hongyu grumbled indignantly. "You hugged Mother to sleep all night yesterday and I didn't say a word, but now you still want to hog Mother all to yourself? I won't allow it!"
With a kick, he nudged the little leg off Yun Chu's waist.
The little girl pulled back her leg, her eyes widening as a mist of tears slowly welled up in her pupils, looking aggrieved to the absolute extreme.
Before Yun Chu could even say anything, Chu Hongyu, acting like the older brother he was, immediately caved and compromised, "Alright, alright, I'll give you half the space."
He reached out, grabbed his younger sister's tiny foot, and placed it right on Yun Chu's stomach.
Only then did the little girl break into smiles through her tears. She wrapped her arms around Yun Chu's neck, pressed her cheek against Yun Chu's, and looked thoroughly content.
Yun Chu held a child in each arm, feeling her chest swell with a sense of complete fulfillment.
At that moment, the servants waiting outside heard the movement and knocked gently before entering.
Tingshuang, who attended to Yun Chu, was already used to this scene, but Matron Zheng, who served the two young masters, was startled to the extreme.
She knew that the two young masters liked this Madam Xie, but she hadn't realized they liked her to this extent... If her intuition was correct, the Prince was also treating Madam Xie quite differently... All three father and children exceptionally adored the woman before her eyes.
If Madam Xie were still Miss Yun, she would likely become the future Princess of Pingxi. What a pity that Eldest Miss Yun had become Madam Xie five years ago... What a dreadful shame!
"Yu-ge'er, Changsheng, time to get up." Yun Chu held both children and sat up.
Matron Zheng and several other attending servants hurried over. "Young Lord, Little Commandery Princess, let us help you get dressed first..."
Yun Chu took the garments from them. "I'll do it."
Such opportunities were far too rare, and she also wanted to grow closer to the children.
She meticulously dressed the two children in turn and helped them wash up. As for combing hair, Yun Chu wasn't very skilled at it, so she carefully selected hair ornaments for the little girl instead.
Soon, the three of them finished washing and dressing. She took both children by the hand and walked outside, where breakfast was already prepared in the flower parlor.
Just as they finished their meal, Chu Yi walked in from the courtyard entrance.
Seeing Physician Bi following closely behind him, the little girl was so frightened that she immediately scrambled back into Yun Chu's arms, while Chu Hongyu also stood protectively in front of his sister like a mother hen shielding her chicks.
Physician Bi laughed with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "You two rascals were brought back to life by my own hands, so why are you treating your savior like an enemy?"
He and Chu Yi were old acquaintances, of course, so he didn't truly mind.
Placing his medicine chest on the table, he continued, "Little Commandery Princess, do not panic. This time the acupuncture will be performed right in the hot spring water. With the spring water providing a buffer, it won't hurt as much as before. Just relax, and it will be over very quickly."
Upon hearing the word "needles," the little girl began to tremble all over, clutching tightly to Yun Chu's neck.
Yun Chu held her up, standing as she coaxed her in a soft voice, "Changsheng, there are some nasty little bugs living inside your body. Physician Bi is going to use silver needles to pierce those bugs to death. Once the bugs are completely wiped out, your body will naturally get better."
Changsheng's long eyelashes were already damp with teardrops, and she shook her head in resistance.
Yun Chu leaned close to her ear and whispered, "When this acupuncture session is over, Mother will give you a little gift."
She fished a pouch out from her sleeve, opened a small gap at the top, and let the little girl take a peek inside.
A bright spark instantly lit up in Chu Changsheng's eyes.
Inside there was a little doll, identical to the one her brother had, except her brother's was a boy doll, while the doll in this pouch was a girl doll.
Her brother hung the doll-bearing pouch from his waist every single day and wouldn't even let her touch it.
Now, she would finally have a doll of her very own.
Seeing that this tactic worked, Yun Chu immediately closed the pouch and coaxed gently, "Mother will accompany you to the hot spring pool, and together we'll wipe out those little bugs, alright?"
Chu Changsheng nodded without the slightest hesitation.
"My Lord, this Madam Xie is far better at coaxing children than you are," Physician Bi couldn't help sighing. "Our Prince is unmatched when it comes to suppressing bandits, but he's utterly hopeless at coaxing children."
Chu Yi said coldly, "If you don't speak, no one will mistake you for a mute."
The group walked over to the hot spring pool. Just as Yun Chu prepared to step into the water with the little girl, Changsheng shook her head at her.
Chu Hongyu chimed in, "Auntie Yun, what younger sister means is that she can do it on her own."
Chu Changsheng walked barefoot down into the hot spring pool and sat upon a chair that the matrons had already prepared, while Physician Bi followed her into the water.
The little girl's outer robe was removed, and silver needles were inserted one by one into the acupoints along her back. Though the hot spring water cushioned the sensation, the little girl still bit down hard on her lower lip from the pain.
Her little face turned as pale as snow, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down one by one.
Yun Chu's heart tightened along with every movement.
How could she bear to just stand by and watch? She immediately stepped down into the pool and grasped the little girl's trembling hands.
After about the span of a quarter to half an hour, the acupuncture finally concluded. When all the silver needles were withdrawn, the little girl's body went limp, and she fainted in Yun Chu's arms.
Yun Chu hurriedly scooped the child up and carried her ashore, where Matron Zheng wrapped the little girl in a clean blanket as a flock of servants hurried over in a flurry.
Yun Chu was about to follow them.
"She'll sleep for at least a full day and night before waking up," Chu Yi stated. "Madam Xie should hurry back and change into dry clothes as well."
Yun Chu looked down and saw her soaked garments clinging closely to her skin. Immediately afterward, Tingshuang draped a cloak over her shoulders.
She curtsied to Chu Yi, turned, and walked into the inner chamber where Tingshuang assisted her in changing into fresh attire.
Tingshuang was already dressed as a married woman, her hair pinned up into a bun that lent her a certain composed and dignified air befitting a senior manager.
Initially, Yun Chu had granted her a month's leave, but an urgent matter had arisen in the military camp, leaving Yuke away from home. With Tingshuang having nothing to do, she had simply moved straight over.
With Tingshuang here, Yun Chu felt completely at ease.
She first checked on the sleeping Chu Changsheng, then picked up Chu Hongyu. "These past two days with you both have been wonderful, but it's getting late, and Auntie Yun must go home."
A sour ache pricked at the bridge of Chu Hongyu's nose.
He had originally thought that staying together for a long time would make parting easier to bear, but he discovered that the longer they stayed together, the more he wanted to keep being together forever.
Yet he knew these two days had already been exceptionally precious; he couldn't ask for any more.
He obediently slid down from Yun Chu's arms and waved. "Auntie Yun, goodbye."
Yun Chu patted his cheek before finally looking toward Chu Yi, who had been standing silently off to the side. "My Lord, I shall take my leave now."
Chu Yi nodded, watching her lean on her maid's hand as she boarded the carriage.
Only after the carriage had traveled far away did he withdraw his gaze and turn to the attendant behind him. "Chengxu, go investigate the matters regarding the Xie family."
Chengxu nodded. "My Lord, should your subordinate investigate starting from when Master Xie was in Jizhou, or starting from when he took office as an official?"
Chu Yi spoke in a calm tone. "Investigate the affairs of the Xie family's inner courtyard."
Chengxu scratched his head with a bewildered look on his face.
Since when did their Prince start caring about the backyard affairs of other people's households?