Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 207
Chapter 207 - I am Willing to Take Responsibility
It was a dark night with high winds.
The autumn wind rustled through the leaves outside, making a soft pitter-patter sound.
Yun Chu, draped in a thin robe, leaned against the headboard while reading a book—a volume of Great Jin’s local gazetteer and geography.
Across her two lifetimes, the places she had visited could be counted on a single hand. In the past, she had traveled with Xie Jingyu to his ancestral home in Jizhou to offer sacrifices to his ancestors, and she had accompanied her mother to Yong'an City to pay respects to her maternal grandparents. Aside from these two cities, she had never been anywhere else... As for the cities she passed through while seeking medical help for Xie Shikang, those were merely brief transits, hardly counting as true visits.
She had truly lived a life in vain.
The gazetteer described the diverse sceneries, local customs, and unique delicacies of Great Jin’s northern, southern, eastern, and western regions. Reading the words alone made one yearn for them.
If the opportunity arose one day, she truly wanted to take her two children to travel across the country. And if she allowed herself to be bolder, she even wished to take them aboard a large ship to explore thousands of mountains and rivers...
"Miss," Tingxue tapped lightly on the door and spoke in a low voice from outside. "The Prince of Pingxi has arrived. He says he has important business to discuss with you. Will you see him?"
Yun Chu was not surprised in the slightest.
After the words she had spoken earlier today, Chu Yi would certainly interrogate the Xuanwu Marquis.
Having learned the truth about what happened that night, it was only natural for him to seek her out.
She slipped a cloak over her thin robe before stepping out of the inner chamber, passing through the moon gate, and walking toward the outer courtyard.
Her eyes immediately landed on Chu Yi, who was standing by the entrance of the side hall.
Chu Yi also caught sight of her instantly.
He strode toward her, and as he drew near, the delicate fragrance on her body wafted over to him.
It was a familiar scent, overlapping perfectly with the memory of that night.
He had smelled this fragrance long ago; why, oh why, had he never harbored even the slightest suspicion back then?
Fortunately, it was not too late.
"I..." Chu Yi's throat bobbed. He swallowed hard, forcing down the surging emotions inside him. "I just interrogated Qin Mingheng."
Yun Chu stood before him, tilting her head up slightly to look at him. "And what did your interrogation reveal?"
"Miss Yun, it was I... I who ruined your life."
Within Chu Yi's dark eyes lay an infinite, bottomless abyss of regret and self-reproach.
He clenched his fingers tightly into fists, the veins on the back of his hands taut and trembling as he struggled to contain his emotions.
"I am sorry... I am so sorry, it was all my fault..."
"Had I known earlier, I would have taken full responsibility for that night, and I would never have allowed you to suffer in agony in the Xie family for five years."
He finally understood why she hated the Xie family so deeply.
On their wedding night, Xie Jingyu had delivered his own newlywed bride straight to the Xuanwu Marquis Estate.
And the pair of children she gave birth to had been dumped at the Xuanwu Marquis Estate by Xie Jingyu as well.
Had Qin Mingheng not possessed a final thread of conscience and sent the children to him—their biological father—Yu'er and Changsheng would likely have...
Allowing Xie Jingyu to die like that was far too easy on him. Chu Yi wished he could grind the man's bones to dust and scatter his ashes.
"I am willing to take full responsibility for that night."
Chu Yi gazed at her with a burning intensity.
Yun Chu had fully prepared herself mentally for this meeting. Her expression remained as calm and tranquil as still water, completely unruffled.
Her voice was equally faint: "Your Highness need not be like this. Both you and I were victims; neither of us owes the other anything. The most innocent ones are the two children, who suffered so much undeserved pain without knowing a thing... What is past is past. As their parents, we should think more about the children's well-being."
Chu Yi refrained from mentioning taking responsibility again.
The woman before him had hated the Xie family, so she brought about the Xie family's ruin.
She had hated Qin Mingheng, and the Xuanwu Marquis Estate was no more.
She ought to hate him as well for taking her chastity and ruining her life.
Yet, because he was the children's biological father, she had suppressed that hatred.
This did not mean she was willing to marry him.
Chu Yi pressed his thin lips together. "Miss Yun, regarding the children, I will respect all your decisions."
Yun Chu spoke word by word, emphasizing each one: "The children's true identities must never be leaked. If malicious people seize upon this to make an issue, the children will carry a stain for the rest of their lives."
Back then, she was a married woman of the Xie family, yet she gave birth to royal blood.
No matter how innocent she was in this matter, it would be impossible to stop the endless gossip of the court and the common folk.
It did not matter if she herself became the subject of talk, but she feared her two children would be plagued by rumors surrounding their origins for a lifetime.
"Your Highness has raised the children for over four years, while I have been absent for over four years. I wish to do my best to make up for these lost years," Yun Chu's voice grew gentler. "Changsheng has a weaker constitution and requires more care. Your Highness has a thousand official matters to attend to every day; would it be alright to let her stay with me for the time being?"
Chu Yi nodded immediately. "Very well. I will bring Changsheng over first thing tomorrow morning."
Yun Chu smiled slightly. "Thank you, Your Highness."
The dim light bathed her face, and as she smiled, the shifting interplay of light and shadow highlighted her beauty. Her radiant expression outshone the brilliance of the stars, an unmatched beauty across the ages.
Blown by the night breeze, tiny osmanthus blossoms drifted down from the tree, sprinkling lightly upon her hair and adding to her charm.
He could not help but reach out his hand.
Just as his fingertips came within a hair's breadth of Yun Chu, she subtly leaned back to avoid his touch.
His fingers pivoted in midair, gently picking a tiny osmanthus blossom from her hair instead. His voice turned slightly raspy: "Both Changsheng and Yu'er love to eat osmanthus cakes."
Yun Chu's smile broadened. "I know very little about cooking, but osmanthus cake happens to be the one thing I know how to make. That is truly wonderful."
She was completely clueless about kitchen work. The only reason she knew how to make this treat was that her grandfather loved it. When her grandmother was still alive, she would pull Yun Chu along every late autumn to prepare osmanthus cakes for him.
It had been a long time since she last made them, and she wondered if her hands had lost their touch.
Tomorrow, she would make them together with the children and have the cook offer guidance from the side; the taste should not be too bad.
Chu Yi did not care for sweet foods.
Soft, sweet treats like osmanthus cakes would normally never appear before his eyes.
Yet at this moment...
The branches around him were heavy with osmanthus blossoms, and the air was thick with their rich fragrance. As the cool night wind blew, the dew turned into a fine mist.
He, too, wanted to taste the flavor of osmanthus cake.
The night grew deeper.
When the bell chimed for the midnight hour, Chu Yi finally took his leave from Yun Chu.
Upon returning to the prince's estate, he could not resist checking on the two children. Though his son and daughter had separate courtyards, they always preferred sleeping in the same room.
Before sleeping, the two would snuggle together, but once asleep, each assumed their own unique pose.
Changsheng held a doll tightly in her arms, sleeping sweet and sound.
Yu'er was sprawled across the daybed in all directions, his small belly exposed and rising and falling with each breath.
Chu Yi gently pulled the blanket over his children, carefully gazing at their faces.
Changsheng was practically carved from the same mold as Yun Chu; her eyes, nose, and mouth bore a striking resemblance.
Even Yu'er's facial contours were identical to Yun Chu's.
He should have realized it long ago.
To think so many years had been wasted in ignorance.
"Your Highness,"
Cheng Xu called out in a low voice from the doorway.
Chu Yi tucked the children in securely before rising and walking outside. "Is the person brought back?"
Cheng Xu nodded. "Shall we bring her up now, or wait until tomorrow?"
Chu Yi instructed him directly to bring the person to the side courtyard.
A woman clad in coarse cloth garments was bound tightly with thick ropes, her mouth gagged, and thrown onto the ground.
"Mmh! Mmh!"
The woman struggled desperately, but all her efforts were in vain.
Cheng Xu stepped forward and pulled the rag from her mouth.
"Who are you people?! Why did you kidnap me?!" The woman looked around in sheer panic. "I am going to report this to the authorities! I will report you for abducting a respectable woman!"