Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 187
Chapter 187 - He Was Unaware
The morning light was just beginning to break.
Yun Chu rose very early.
Ever since the Xie family collapsed, the morning ritual of paying respects had automatically become obsolete. She leisurely enjoyed her breakfast and prepared to head over to the Yun residence.
Just as she stood up, she heard someone in the courtyard offering a greeting: "Eldest Young Master."
She lifted her gaze and saw Xie Shi'an walking in from the courtyard entrance.
The disheveled appearance of earlier seemed to have been washed away. He was dressed in his former brocade robes, his hair was neatly tied up, and his back was held straight. If not for the patch of cloth covering his right eye, he looked no different from the former eldest young master of the Xie family.
"Although the Xie family is a far cry from what it used to be, the proper forms of etiquette cannot be discarded," he cupped his fists in salute toward Yun Chu. "This son pays his respects to Mother."
Yun Chu sat back down and casually asked, "Why aren't you resting properly? Dressing up like this—are you planning to go out?"
Xie Shi'an nodded. "Father has passed away prematurely, so I am now the pillar of the household. The Xie family is currently in this state... I want to earn some silver and get through our immediate predicament first."
The Xie family servants had all scattered; only a single maid remained by Grandmother's side, only a single pageboy remained by his side, and not a single servant was left in the Yiniang's courtyard.
The reason Mother was still able to live as she always had was because Mother was a member of the Yun family.
How could the Yun family possibly stand by and watch Mother suffer?
If he wanted the Yun family to extend a helping hand to the Xie family, he had to let the Yun family see his dedication and effort. Only if he proved capable of standing on his own would the Yun family support him, isn't that right?
Yun Chu had assumed he was going to see Prince Gongxi, not that he was going out to earn silver.
Having just returned from death row, he was already running himself ragged for the Xie family... Had she not been a reborn soul, Xie Shi'an would have been destined to succeed.
She pressed her lips tightly together.
In order to exact a blood vengeance for her two children, she had killed Xie Jingyu with her own hands.
Yet, in truth, the two children had not died.
The children were still alive, and that realization added a touch of softness to her heart.
Xie Jingyu was already dead.
Xie Shi'an was blinded in one eye.
The Xie family had been reduced to this state.
Did she still need to continue taking action...
At this thought, Yun Chu smiled self-deprecatingly.
In her past life, it was precisely because she had been too soft-hearted and held hopeful expectations for everything that she had ended up in such a miserable plight.
As long as Xie Shi'an was still capable of struggling and still desired to climb upward, she could never afford to lower her guard.
"You are the eldest son; you truly ought to shoulder the responsibilities on your shoulders," Yun Chu said. "Let Duoxi accompany you first to offer incense and kowtow to your father. As for future matters, we can plan them slowly."
Xie Shi'an nodded. "Understood."
Duoxi led him away.
Yun Chu boarded her carriage and headed toward the Yun residence.
The morning court session had just concluded at this hour, and Yun Ze had also just returned from the imperial palace.
"Eldest Brother, I have something to discuss with you." Yun Chu pulled Yun Ze to sit down inside the pavilion, paused for a moment, and then spoke. "Four years ago, the twins I delivered prematurely..."
At the mere mention of those two children, a look of pain surfaced on Yun Ze's face.
Chu'er's expected date of childbirth should have been in the spring, but it was forced forward by a full two months, completely disrupting the Yun family's plans.
At that time, he had been dispatched on official business to another province by imperial decree, while his mother and wife had accompanied the Dowager Empress to a temple to chant scriptures. Consequently, on the night Chu'er gave birth, not a single member of the Yun family was present, which was why such an irreversible tragedy had occurred...
"Eldest Brother, my children are still alive..." Yun Chu's voice choked up involuntarily. "A son and a daughter, both of them are alive and well."
Yun Ze abruptly stood up. "Chu'er, is this true?"
"It is true, they are still alive. Eldest Brother, you have even seen them before..." Yun Chu could not help smiling. "It's Yu'er and Changsheng."
Yun Ze thought he had misheard. "What? Say that again!"
"The Young Heir and the Princess of the Prince of Pingxi's estate are the twins I gave birth to back then." Yun Chu's eyes shone brightly before dimming. "I came to discuss with Eldest Brother: is there any way to bring the children back by my side?"
When dealing with the Xie family, she could handle things with ease.
Yet when matched against the Prince of Pingxi's estate, she felt completely at a loss, having no idea which step to take next.
She was afraid of going too far and harming the two children.
She was afraid of not doing enough and failing to get the two children back.
Caught in a dilemma.
Trapped between advancing and retreating.
Difficult, difficult, difficult.
She could only come and seek her Eldest Brother's counsel.
Yun Ze sat back down. "Chu'er, how could your children become the Prince of Pingxi's children? What on earth happened in between? Have you figured it out yourself, or do you need me to investigate?"
Yun Chu took a sip of tea and briefly recounted the events of the wedding night five years ago.
"Preposterous!"
Yun Ze, a man who was always gentle and refined, slammed the table in fierce anger, causing the teacups on the table to overturn from the impact.
"No wonder you wanted to annihilate the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate. So—so he did such a thing!" His chest heaved violently. "Xie Jingyu has unmitigated gall! He actually dared to scheme against the Yun family. Why did he just die of illness? He should have lived on, he should have begged for death in vain and found dying impossible, and I should have ended his life with my own hands!"
Yun Chu lowered her gaze.
She did not dare tell her Eldest Brother that she was the one who killed Xie Jingyu.
She was afraid her Eldest Brother would feel distressed that her hands were stained with blood...
"The Prince of Pingxi—him, him! I always thought he was an upright and honorable man, yet I never expected him to be so despicable and shameless!" Yun Ze's fury surged straight to the heavens.
He and the Prince of Pingxi, Chu Yi, were roughly of the same age—one was an imperial prince, while the other was the son of a great military general. In their childhood, they frequently met at various banquets, and although the two of them could not be considered intimate friends, their relationship was somewhat closer than ordinary acquaintances.
The Prince of Pingxi he knew was an outstanding hero among men and a man of unyielding integrity and spirit. Everyone in the military army said the Prince of Pingxi was bound by honor and loyalty, making him the finest comrade-in-arms and the greatest commander.
He truly never imagined that Chu'er's purity had been ruined by the Prince of Pingxi, and that a son and a daughter had been snatched away from her as well.
"He must have planned this long ago," Yun Ze said in a deep voice. "He knew the Yun family would not meddle in the struggle for the succession, so he plotted this matter as early as five years ago, with the objective of using the Yun family's bloodline to threaten the Yun family into stepping forward and seizing the imperial throne for him! What deep scheming and massive ambition he possesses! To dare scheme against my Yun family—regardless of whether he is an imperial prince or a prince of the realm, he deserves to die!"
"Eldest Brother, calm down," Yun Chu softened her tone. "Our most urgent priority is: without harming the two children, how can we make them return to my side?"
Yun Ze forced his anger down. "Since the Prince of Pingxi made Yu'er the Young Heir, it is impossible for him to let the two children go easily. Unless... he is nearing the end of his days, cannot rest easy with others raising his children, and ultimately has no choice but to return the children to our Yun family..."
Yun Chu's heart skipped a beat, and she was just about to speak.
When she heard her Sister-in-law's voice.
"In my view, both of you siblings have gone down the wrong path of thinking."
Liu Qianqian walked into the pavilion with her heavily pregnant belly.
She had come to call the two siblings over for a meal, but never expected that upon drawing closer, she would overhear a conversation that completely subverted her understanding.
After the initial shock, she calmed her mind and pondered the matter, only to arrive at a conclusion completely opposite to that of the siblings.
"Have either of you considered the possibility that—" she parted her lips, "—regarding the events of that night five years ago, the Prince of Pingxi was completely unaware?”