Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 206
Chapter 206 - The Woman of That Night
"Your Highness once wrote a letter to my mother, clearly stating that you already had someone in your heart, but as far as I know, there are no women such as concubines in the Prince of Pingxi's Estate," Fang Xinyan spoke out boldly. "From this, it can be seen that Your Highness, due to some reason, is unable to marry the woman in your heart. However, an heroic man such as Your Highness cannot possibly remain unmarried for the rest of his life. Since marrying anyone is all the same, why can you not marry me?"
These words caused Master Fang to be so enraged he nearly spat blood.
This was the youngest daughter he had doted on and held in the palm of his hand as she grew up, yet she actually had the thick skin to say such shameless words to a man.
Chu Yi did not even cast a glance at her.
His voice was icy cold: "This Prince has repeatedly defied imperial decrees, drawing the Emperor's suspicion. If Master Fang resigns from his official post, and I then marry Miss Fang, it would not be a bad way to regain the Emperor's favor. However, I wonder if Master Fang is willing?"
Fang Xinyan froze instantly on the spot.
Did marrying the Prince of Pingxi require paying such a heavy price?
Master Fang immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, my daughter is young and talking nonsense. Please, Your Highness, do not take her words to heart!"
His Fang family had gone through seven generations to reach this position of a second-rank high official in the court. To resign and throw everything away for the sake of a marriage was absolute madness!
Fang Xinyan stammered, "I... I was not talking nonsense..."
"Instead of wasting time making a scene of life and death here, Miss Fang might as well persuade your father to resign from his official post," Chu Yi let out a cold laugh. "This Prince shall await your good news then."
He turned and strode straight outside.
Master Fang glared fiercely at his daughter, then hurriedly quickened his pace to follow after him.
Upon reaching the main entrance, Chu Yi paused his steps: "Master Fang had better act fast with your resignation. Any later, and the Empress Dowager might just issue an imperial decree bestowing Fourth Miss Fang to Prince Zhuang as his princess consort."
Master Fang was stunned.
Prince Zhuang was the legitimate son of the late Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager's only direct blood grandson. Although he held the title of a prince, he possessed no real official duties.
Most importantly, Prince Zhuang was a sickly weakling!
After seeing off Chu Yi, Master Fang turned around and walked back to Fang Xinyan's courtyard.
"Father, just resign temporarily for now. Once I become the Princess Consort of Pingxi, I will find a way to help you regain your official post..."
Slap!
Master Fang slapped his daughter sharply across the face.
This daughter was a late blessing he had received only after turning forty, and he had doted on her immensely. This was the first time in his life he had ever raised a hand against her.
Fang Xinyan covered her face in utter disbelief: "Father, you actually dared to hit me! I only asked you to resign temporarily, yet you hit me! You have disappointed me too much..."
Master Fang was so angry that his forehead felt ready to burst: "Do you have any idea that the Empress Dowager intends to bestow a marriage between you and Prince Zhuang?!"
"Prince Zhuang..." Fang Xinyan's eyes widened in horror. "That sickly weakling who looks like a ghost? I won't marry him! I won't!"
Madam Fang said in great anxiety, "Master, what should we do now? The Prince of Pingxi is unwilling to marry her, and Prince Zhuang is hardly a good match either. What is to become of our Xin'er?"
Master Fang was plagued by a splitting headache.
Before today's spectacle, his daughter could still have found a good home to marry into.
However, with her suicide attempt causing such a huge scene, which noble family in the capital would dare to marry a wife whose heart belonged to another man?
Yet as her father, he had to step forward on his daughter's behalf and try his best to seek out a decent marriage arrangement.
While the members of the Fang family were in discussion...
Chu Yi had already arrived at the dungeons of the Supreme Court.
Qin Mingheng had been imprisoned for days, kept alive merely on a single bowl of porridge each day.
He had emaciated rapidly, to the point where even the iron chains could no longer bind him securely. Lying on the straw mat on the floor, the rise and fall of his chest was the only proof that he was still breathing.
Cheng Xu picked up a bucket of water and splashed it squarely over his face.
Qin Mingheng choked and coughed, slowly opening his eyes. When he saw Chu Yi, a sinister smile crept onto his face: "The Prince of Pingxi has finally remembered a nobody like me."
"Escaping secretly from exile is a capital offense. Keeping you alive for these many days is already your good fortune," Chu Yi commanded coldly. "Men, drag Qin Mingheng to the Meridian Gate!"
Qin Mingheng's expression turned drastically.
Once Yun Chu learned about what happened that night from him, he had guessed that the Prince of Pingxi would also harbor subtle doubts and would definitely come to interrogate him.
He could then use this secret to handle the Prince of Pingxi and bargain for a way to survive.
Yet the Prince of Pingxi refused to play by the rules and was actually going to execute him on the spot.
He was pulled up and held by two guards.
"Wait!" Qin Mingheng gritted his teeth. "I have a deal I'd like to negotiate with Your Highness. I wonder if Your Highness is interested?"
"I do not negotiate deals with dead men," Chu Yi rubbed his fingers lightly. "I have some past acquaintance with your father, so I will allow your corpses to be buried in the same place."
Having said this, he began walking out.
Qin Mingheng truly felt the icy shadow of death closing in.
"Does Your Highness truly not want to know who the woman of that night was?!"
"Does Your Highness truly not want to know who the biological mother of the young heir and the princess is?!"
"I can tell Your Highness everything, but the condition is that Your Highness must keep me alive!"
Chu Yi let out a soft laugh: "The Xuanwu Marquis told me more than once that the woman was a maidservant in your estate who died long ago. What, using a dead person to negotiate a deal with me?"
"She is not dead! She is alive and well!" Qin Mingheng shouted at the top of his lungs. "The young heir and the little princess long for their biological mother so much! Does Your Highness not wish to fulfill the wishes of those two children?!"
Chu Yi's fingers tightened instantly.
Was the woman of that night... Yun Chu?
It had to be her.
Otherwise, Yun Chu would never have said those words.
"Heh!" The sharp profile of Chu Yi's face hardened with coldness. "I have long since seen through everything that happened that night. Do you truly think that mouth of yours can deceive me again?"
Qin Mingheng froze.
Could it be that Yun Chu had already laid everything bare with Chu Yi?
How could a woman as deeply calculating as her, who usually only played covert schemes for revenge, bring such a matter into the open to discuss?
His subtle shift in expression was fully captured by Chu Yi's eyes.
Having spent years interrogating criminals, how could Chu Yi fail to read such an expression?
In an instant, endless turbulent emotions surged within his heart...
It turned out that five years ago, he and Yun Chu had already...
They had missed each other for five whole years—thousands of days and nights.
He had lived with a heavy burden of guilt for five years.
And she had suffered through agony in the Xie family for five years.
When it clearly did not have to be this way...
He was truly the biggest fool under the heavens!
He could not wait a moment longer to go see her!
"She lied to you! It wasn't her at all!" Qin Mingheng spoke with venomous hatred. "I don't know why Yun Chu lied to you, but I want to tell you that the woman who truly spent that night of passion with you was someone else! She has been hidden away by me in a place you will never, ever find!"
A dark shadow settled over Chu Yi's handsome face.
Which meant that besides Qin Mingheng, there was another person who knew what happened that night.
As a man, it mattered little to him.
However, after Yun Chu had endured so much suffering, he could never allow her to be plagued by malicious rumors again.
Suppressing his turmoil, he spoke in a cold voice, "This Prince shall grant you a few more days to live. Speak truthfully—where is that woman?"
Qin Mingheng felt a relief wash over his heart.
To think that Chu Yi had actually bought his lie.
"Then I ask Your Highness to keep your word and let me live a bit longer," Qin Mingheng said, emphasizing every single word. "That woman is in a village thirty miles outside the city..."
That was a "grand gift" he had prepared for Chu Yi five years ago.
He had originally thought that if he could no longer hold out, he would hand her over as a gift to Chu Yi, never expecting it to prove useful today.
That woman was a member of the Qin clan and was utterly loyal to the Qin family. If she could gain entry into the Prince of Pingxi's Estate, she would definitely find an opportunity to rescue him from the dungeons.
Chu Yi turned and walked out of the dungeon, barking a cold order to Cheng Xu: "You personally head to that location thirty miles outside the city... gag her mouth, and bring her back to the capital immediately!"
Cheng Xu accepted the order and departed at once.
Disregarding the physical discomfort of his body, Chu Yi brought over his horse and galloped at full speed toward the Yun residence.