Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 205
Chapter 205 - Miss Fang Hangs Herself
The evening sun shone into the flower hall.
An orange glow fell across Chu Yi's face, softening his sharp features.
Yun Chu had not expected herself to ask that question so directly either.
She thought that it was better to ask and clarify things face-to-face.
Some matters were perhaps easier to discuss once brought into the open.
She no longer needed to plot and calculate how to get the children back to her side.
She only needed to reach an agreement with him, and she could still be reunited with her daughter and son—could she not?
To her surprise, Chu Yi merely let out a bitter smile. "If I say that I have never seen the children's mother... would you believe me?"
This was the most painful secret of his life.
Something he could neither move past nor make peace with.
Facing Yun Chu made him feel profoundly ashamed.
Five years ago, he had ruined a woman's entire life.
Was someone like him even worthy of Yun Chu?
"You... you have never seen the children's mother?" Yun Chu stared in astonishment. Could the truth really be as her eldest sister-in-law had surmised—that the Prince of Pingxi truly knew nothing about it?
She swallowed a breath of the crisp autumn air. "Then why did you tell the children that their mother was dead?"
Chu Yi knew he had to confront that past sooner or later.
He spoke with great difficulty, "On the day of your wedding, I went to the Yun residence to attend your banquet. I accidentally fell into a trap—someone spiked my drink with an aphrodisiac, and I collapsed outside the gates of the Xuanwu Marquis Estate. Exercising proximity and convenience, Cheng Xu used a maidservant from the Marquis Estate to clear the drug from my system..."
Voicing these words made it even harder for him to face the woman before him.
He felt like a despicable, shameless man awaiting his judgment.
Yun Chu's heart shook violently.
So that was how it happened.
This was the truth behind what occurred five years ago.
She had been set up.
And he had been set up as well.
The stifling air trapped in Yun Chu's chest gradually dispersed.
She asked, "Who was it that set you up back then?"
A flash of cold, lethal intent surfaced in Chu Yi's eyes. "The Bai family."
Yun Chu knew of the Bai family of the capital.
Five years ago, on the second day after she married into the Xie family, she heard that the eldest Miss Bai had fallen inexplicably ill. Soon after, Madam Bai fell ill as well, and Master Bai became bedridden shortly thereafter.
Later, word spread that Miss Bai had been married off to a remote southern region, Madam Bai passed away in tears and illness, and Master Bai was stripped of his official post due to repeated blunders in his duties...
Just like that, the prominent Bai family—holding a second-rank official residence—vanished completely from the capital.
Much like her own vengeance, when she destroyed the Xuanwu Marquis Estate that had plotted against her, the entire Xie family fell into ruin alongside it.
"Does Your Highness know why I interrogated the Xuanwu Marquis?" Yun Chu asked in a soft voice.
Chu Yi had a vague idea.
The Xuanwu Marquis had kept two outer mistresses, one of whom was named Chu'niang and looked almost identical to Yun Chu.
Anyone who had seen that mistress could easily guess a thing or two about the Xuanwu Marquis Qin Mingheng's unspeakable thoughts toward Yun Chu.
After escaping on the road to exile and sneaking back into the capital, the very first thing he did was infiltrate the Xie residence to see Yun Chu.
This alone proved the depth of his obsession.
He must have committed some other repulsive deeds in secret, which was why Yun Chu had interrogated him.
Those foul deeds concerned a woman's chastity and honor.
Out of respect, Chu Yi had not dispatched anyone to pry into the specifics.
He had not expected Yun Chu to bring this up on her own initiative.
"Your Highness might as well interrogate the Xuanwu Marquis yourself," Yun Chu said, a faint sneer gracing her lips. "Lies spill from his mouth without a second thought. I ask Your Highness to scrutinize his words carefully."
During the time Chu Yi went to conduct the interrogation, she needed to think carefully about how to reach a consensus with him regarding their two children.
A heavy crease formed between Chu Yi's brows.
Could it be...
He had harbored suspicions before.
However, it had seemed too absurd, so he had not dared to entertain the thought deeply.
Looking at it now, everything seemed entirely possible.
A wave of wild ecstasy surged in his heart.
"Your Highness, disaster has struck!" Cheng Xu suddenly burst into the room. "The Fourth Miss of the Fang family has hanged herself! The entire palace has been thrown into an uproar! Your Highness, please go and have a look at once!"
Chu Yi found it hard to believe.
She hanged herself simply because he refused the imperial marriage decree?
Only four or five people knew about his refusal to accept the marriage decree; it could hardly be said to have ruined Miss Fang's reputation. What reason could she possibly have to hang herself?
Furthermore, he had compensated the Fang family both openly and covertly, believing he had fulfilled his duty to the utmost.
Her sudden attempt on her own life—making it known to everyone—was hardly a genuine desire to die. It was nothing more than an attempt to force him to accept the imperial decree.
"Your Highness should go and take a look," Yun Chu stood up and said. "I will have someone carefully escort Yu'er and Changsheng back to the estate. Please do not worry."
Chu Yi nodded. "Thank you, Miss Yun."
By this time, dusk had fallen. Lanterns were lit along the streets, and the capital's night market was lively, with bustling crowds moving to and fro.
Chu Yi soon arrived at the main gate of the Fang residence.
Standing inside the gate were eunuchs and senior nannies from the palace, dispatched by the Empress and Concubine Yin to offer comfort.
"It is good that Your Highness has arrived. Please hurry inside to check on Fourth Miss Fang," the nanny beside Concubine Yin said with an anxious expression. "Earlier, she was saved after hanging herself, and the imperial physician said there was no serious harm. Yet as soon as she woke up, she sought death again, insisting on bashing her head against the wall. If she truly dies, Your Highness will be dragged into a world of trouble..."
Chu Yi walked into the rear courtyard. Before he even set foot inside the inner yard, he heard the commotion.
"Mother, stop holding me! Just let me die..." Fang Xinyan broke down in tears. "I am a pure and chaste woman, yet my marriage proposal was rejected! How can I have the face to remain in this world? Let me bash my head and end it all; at least it will be clean!"
Madam Fang embraced her daughter's waist tightly. "Xin'er, what foolish words are you saying?! This matter is not your fault. Why bring such suffering upon yourself?!"
Master Fang was so enraged that his beard twitched and his eyes bulged. "It's all because you were spoiled rotten in ordinary times! You think that if you can't get what you want, throwing a tantrum and hanging yourself will get it for you? How utterly naive! Hardly anyone knew your marriage was rejected, but with this scene you've caused, everyone now knows the Prince of Pingxi would rather take a beating than accept this marriage! You ruined your own reputation—you brought this entirely upon yourself!"
What kind of person was the Prince of Pingxi? He had fought on the Western Border battlefield, taking the enemy commander's head from amidst tens of thousands of soldiers.
He had slaughtered tens of thousands of bandits, hunting them down until the bandits within Great Jin were virtually wiped out.
Would such a man be forced into compliance by a woman staging a suicide attempt?
Not in the slightest!
The Prince of Pingxi had originally owed their Fang family a favor.
By making such a scene...
It would already be considered generous of the Prince of Pingxi if a deep grudge wasn't formed.
Master Fang was nearly dying of rage because of his daughter.
He was even angrier that his wife had indulged their daughter, allowing this matter to blow up all the way into the palace.
Just as he was about to continue scolding her—
The voices of servants offering salutations echoed from outside the room: "Greetings to the Prince of Pingxi!"
Fang Xinyan, who had been staging her suicide, instantly brightened. Separated from him by the folding screen, she wept loudly, "I love the Prince of Pingxi! I love him! In this lifetime, I will marry no one but him! Since he is unwilling to marry me, what meaning is there left for me to live..."
With such a heartfelt declaration of love, she refused to believe the Prince of Pingxi would remain unmoved.
Chu Yi's gaze turned exceptionally heavy and cold.
So it turned out he had brought this unwanted affection upon himself.
He composed himself, sat down unhurriedly on a chair, and spoke in a cold voice, "Is Fourth Miss Fang truly determined to marry no one but this Prince?"
Hearing him call her "Fourth Miss Fang," Fang Xinyan trembled uncontrollably.
She had admired him for a long time, yet due to the strict propriety between men and women, the two of them had never exchanged a single word.
Hearing "Fourth Miss Fang" spoken by his voice stirred her feelings even further.
Disregarding all propriety, she stepped directly around the folding screen and walked right up to Chu Yi.