Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 177
Chapter 177 - Tingyu's Calculation
Yun Chu opened her eyes and awoke.
The sky was only just beginning to brighten, and thin strands of morning light shone in through the window.
The moment she sat up, Tingxue walked in from outside to attend to her washing and dressing.
After dressing and washing up, she walked into the hall, where Tingfeng had already instructed the servants to prepare a sumptuous meal. Except for the absence of meat dishes, everything else was abundantly provided.
If one were to look solely at the scenery within the Sheng Residence, no one would ever imagine that the Xie family had completely collapsed.
Following the meal, Yun Chu proceeded to the mourning hall.
Her final task within the Xie family was to see Xie Jingyu off on his final journey; whatever facade was required, she would perform it accordingly.
Upon arriving at the front courtyard, the few remaining members of the household had all gathered. The gates of the Xie Manor remained wide open, yet no one called, no one came to offer condolences, and the place was desolate to the extreme.
"Chu'er."
Lady Yuan had not slept the entire night and could barely speak; those two words were uttered in a mere breath of air.
Yun Chu stepped forward, ignited three sticks of incense for Xie Jingyu, and then turned her head to ask, "What is it?"
"Jingyu's funeral arrangements will be handled by myself, Auntie Yu, and Auntie Jiang," Lady Yuan said with arduous difficulty. "Once the funeral concludes, our entire household of old and young will have to move out. Tell me, where shall we relocate, and what shall we rely on to live in the future?"
Yun Chu spoke: "The Xie family of today has become the greatest laughingstock in the capital. Does Madam still wish to remain in the capital?"
Lady Yuan paused: "What do you mean?"
"Return to our ancestral home in Jizhou," Yun Chu said in a measured voice. "Before the Xie family moved to the capital, all our farmland and residences were registered under the names of the elders within the clan, so they will not be implicated. Returning to Jizhou, where there is an ancestral estate and income from farmland, will be no worse than staying in the capital."
Hearing these words, Lady Yuan felt the urge to weep once more.
Through the efforts of three generations, the Xie family had managed with such difficulty to make it to the capital. Having spent only these few years here, were they really to return just like this?
When they first came to settle in the capital, how magnificent and glorious had they been?
Now, returning in defeat with so many family members lost, how desolate would that journey be?
She did not wish to return.
Yet she knew that returning to Jizhou was the only path left open to them now.
"Madam." Tingyu could not help but speak up.
The previous night, she and the Madam had discussed everything so thoroughly; how was it that the moment the Madam spoke, Lady Yuan was swayed and completely forgot their discussion from last night?
"If we simply return to Jizhou like this, does the Madam truly believe that those elders of the Xie clan will be willing to hand over the farmland and residences registered under their names?" Tingyu lowered her eyes. "This concubine believes that returning to Jizhou is an absolute last resort; unless there is no other alternative, we cannot take this path."
Yun Chu smiled slightly: "Then in your view, is there another path we can take?"
Only then did Tingyu raise her head, meeting Yun Chu's gaze directly: "If the Madam is managing the household, then the Madam has a responsibility to find a place of refuge for the entire household. If the Madam is unwilling, she should hand over the Xie family ledgers and turn them over to the Madam to arrange."
The smile on Yun Chu's face grew even deeper: "So Auntie Yu actually wants me to hand over my dowry?"
Having her true objective exposed, Tingyu showed not a shred of embarrassment. Emboldened, she enunciated each word clearly: "The Madam is the mistress of the Xie family and the legitimate mother of the children. Now that the Master is gone, the Madam ought to hold up the Xie family and rightfully raise the children. But—based on this concubine's understanding of the Madam since childhood, the Madam does not intend to manage the Xie family's mess anymore, am I right?"
Yun Chu stroked a lock of hair beside her temple: "And so?"
"And so, if the Madam wishes to withdraw completely and cleanly, then bring out your dowry." Tingyu knew she should not utter such words, but with Lady Yuan unable to stand firm, she had no choice but to step forward. "If the Madam is unwilling to produce the dowry, then please step up and shoulder the Xie family, finding a place that shelters this household from wind and rain."
"Slap!"
The moment her words fell.
Tingfeng, standing beside Yun Chu, raised her hand and delivered a sharp blow across Tingyu's face.
Tingyu was completely dazed by the strike, staring at Tingfeng in sheer disbelief: "You are a mere servant, yet you dare to strike me?"
"I struck you, so what?" Tingfeng's face was painted with utter disdain and fury. "A lowly wretch who climbed into her master's bed and betrayed her trust, yet you dare to scheme against the dowry of the Yun family's eldest legitimate daughter—who gave you such audacity?! Were it not for our Madam's kindness, in any other courtyard a wretched creature like you would have been beaten to death and sold off long ago! Now that the Master's corpse is thoroughly cold, you still try to put on the airs of a concubine before me in a dream!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand once more and delivered another stinging slap.
Tingyu was struck dizzy, her head spinning as she lunged forward with claws bared to strike back.
Yun Chu seized Tingyu's wrist and gave it a vicious shove, sending Tingyu stumbling hard to the ground.
"Is the Madam simply condoning her own maidservant in bullying this concubine?" Tingyu collapsed onto the floor, wailing bitterly. "The Madam sees that the Xie family has fallen and wishes to abandon us, refusing to hold the Xie family in any regard. She even lets a maidservant trample all over me! What path of survival is left for me in the future? I might as well smash my head against a pillar and die right now..."
Concubine Jiang hurried forward to pull her back.
With onlookers constantly lingering outside the Xie Manor these days, if Auntie Yu truly died right in plain view, a terrible reputation of cruelty would forever cling to the Madam.
Yun Chu stood tall, looking down upon her from above: "Tingyu, are you certain you want to make such a scene?"
Tingyu sobbed brokenly.
She did not wish to make a scene or lose her dignity either, but if she did not, her Brother Yun would truly be finished.
Right now, she only wanted to force the Madam into making a choice.
If she stays, then she must properly devise strategies for the Xie family.
If she leaves, then she must leave behind her dowry to resolve the Xie family's predicament.
Regardless of which option the Madam chooses, the beneficiary will be Brother Yun.
For the sake of Brother Yun, she could cast away even her life; what did a bit of dignity matter...
Seeing the crowd gathered outside the gates of the Xie Manor growing larger by the minute, she cried tears of absolute heartbreak: "The Master's bones are not yet cold, yet how can the Madam simply wash her hands of us and refuse to care? I beg the Madam to take pity on these children—they know nothing of this, what wrong did they commit, why must they bear these consequences..."
Xie Shiyun knelt upon the ground, crying out: "Mother! I have called you Mother for four years, I beg you, Mother, do not abandon me..."
A frail woman and helpless children kneeling upon the ground, weeping miserably, caused many onlookers to sigh with deep emotion.
"So pitiful."
"The old are old and the young are young; a house full of the old, weak, women, and children—what are they to do from now on?"
"Madam Xie is still the mistress of the Xie family; how can she just wash her hands of everything?"
"The Xie family can only rely on Madam Xie now. Otherwise, the moment this group steps out that door, they will either starve to death or be bullied to death."
"Who's to say otherwise? They committed no wrong, yet they must swallow the bitter fruit. Truly pitiful."
Right amidst this wave of public sighs.
A chilling voice rang out: "So this is the true face of the Xie family. It has truly opened the eyes of our Yun family."
Tingyu whipped her head around abruptly.
She saw that the members of the Yun family had arrived!
Lady Lin, the Yun family's matriarch, walked at the very forefront, supporting an elderly woman of the Yun clan with her right hand, while flanked on her left by the pregnant young mistress of the Yun family, Liu Qianqian. Behind them came Yun Ze, alongside Yun family maidservants and guards—a retinue of nearly twenty people.
At the sight of this imposing formation, Tingyu's heart turned completely ice-cold.
On the very first day after the Master's death, no one from the Yun family had come, leading her to believe that the Yun family would wait until the Master's funeral was concluded before launching their reckoning. Therefore, she had deliberately chosen this day to kick up a fuss.
She knew the Madam was a soft-hearted and benevolent person; as long as she made enough of a scene, she would surely extract some benefits.
Yet she never imagined that before any result could be forced out of her disturbance, the Yun family would arrive.
Her plan had completely fallen through!