Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 224
Chapter 224 - Regrets of Childhood
"If Your Highness intends to go to the southern border merely to search for my father, then I have only three words for you: there is no need," Yun Chu said as she walked over. "Before heading south, my father had someone cast a divination for him. The trip would involve a few turbulences, but in the end, it would yield a happy outcome for all, so there is no cause for excessive worry. If Your Highness goes to the southern border at a time like this, I fear it will only invite all manner of suspicion and scheming. My main concern is that the two children might be affected."
Chu Yi glanced at Yun Chu.
Then he glanced at Lady Lin.
Indeed, he did not catch even a thread of anxiety or distress in their eyes.
It was as though General Yun's disappearance were no grave matter at all.
At this moment, Yun Ze stepped over as well: "My father employs troops like a god; nothing will happen to him. Your Highness need not fret over it."
He had misunderstood Chu Yi previously, assuming Chu Yi was cut from the same cloth as Xie Jingyu and Qin Mingheng.
Only now did he realize that Chu Yi was a victim as well.
He felt apologetic for the thoughts he had harbored before.
"Your Highness, let us go drink a cup of tea."
Yun Ze and Chu Yi walked to the front courtyard. The servants served tea, and the two sat opposite each other.
"I wonder if Your Highness has ever considered sitting upon that highest position?"
Chu Yi took a sip of clear tea.
A few days prior, he might have shaken his head.
Yet after that fateful moment—the precise moment his Imperial Father ignored his dissuasion and pressed the imperial seal onto the marriage decree—a genuine yearning for power had blossomed within his heart.
At present, the one holding power was his Imperial Father, who would not deal him a fatal blow.
However, if it were his elder brother the Crown Prince, or his Second Imperial Brother, what fate would await him?
Chu Yi's expression turned stern and cold.
"The struggle for the throne among imperial princes carries nine chances of death against one of life. My Yun family never intended to participate, but as matters stand, the Yun family is left with no choice," Yun Ze shook his head. "The Eighth Prince will eventually depart for his fief in the future and can distance himself from these right and wrong entanglements. Yet as for you, Your Highness, before the Emperor closes his eyes, I fear he will not allow you to travel as far as Luochuan to take up your fief."
Chu Yi's eyes turned deep and dark: "So, the Yun family has made up its mind?"
"For the sake of Hong'er and Changsheng, does my Yun family still have a choice?" Yun Ze smiled slightly. "So long as Your Highness can guarantee Hong'er's position as the Heir, my Yun family shall step forward without hesitation."
The implicit meaning within these words was already crystal clear.
Chu Yi naturally understood it.
He raised the teacup in his hand: "I shall substitute tea for wine and drain this cup."
Yun Ze clinked cups with him and downed the tea in a single gulp.
A matter of monumental importance was thus settled over a pair of teacups.
That very evening, Chu Yi was summoned into the palace by an imperial decree, whereupon he was naturally scolded to a complete pulp by the Emperor.
To renounce his title, fief, and Prince's Manor all for the sake of a woman was simply the grandest joke under the heavens.
How the Emperor would punish him was beyond Yun Chu's guessing.
After all, to a man who had already relinquished everything, no punishment seemed to truly matter.
Furthermore, Chu Yi was an imperial prince whom the Emperor valued immensely; no matter the punishment, it would not truly harm him.
Yun Chu did not dwell further on this matter.
Hong'er still had to attend his studies at the Imperial Academy.
As for Changsheng, due to her physical health, no academic studies were arranged for her; aside from painting, she knew nothing else.
Yun Chu fetched a copy of the Three-Character Classic. First, she read it aloud to the child herself. Once Changsheng grew familiar with the sound, she slowly taught the child to read along, enunciating word by word.
"At the beginning of life, human nature is fundamentally good," she explained with immense patience. "This means that every person is born a kind-hearted soul..."
The little girl's stamina was limited. As she read along, her head tilted to the side, and she drifted off to sleep.
Yun Chu smiled tenderly, lifting the child into her arms to lay her on the daybed, gently draping a blanket over her.
"Miss, Prince Pingxi has arrived."
Tingxue stepped inside with light, quiet steps to report.
Yun Chu rose and walked out, catching sight of Chu Yi standing on the opposite side of the arched entryway.
As she drew closer, she noticed a faint red handprint on the man's face. Undoubtedly, he had taken a slap to the face from the Emperor.
Chu Yi turned his body slightly out of self-consciousness.
Why did he feel as though he were constantly getting beaten—if not getting hit with the wooden planks, then taking slaps to the face?
It truly was somewhat embarrassing.
Yun Chu made a gesture toward Tingxue.
Tingxue quickly fetched a bottle of medicinal salve.
"Your Highness may apply this salve," Yun Chu handed it over. "In roughly two days, it will no longer be visible."
Chu Yi had actually already received salve from Concubine Yin, yet that did not prevent him from taking an extra bottle: "My thanks to Miss Yun."
He carefully stowed the salve away, then lightly clapped his palms together.
Cheng Xu appeared from behind, cradling a dog in his arms as he crossed through the arched doorway and stepped up before Yun Chu.
Just as he stepped over, he suddenly realized something was amiss and immediately recoiled back, standing behind Chu Yi once more. He cleared his throat and said, "His Highness has commanded that without Miss Yun's order, no member of the Prince's Manor may cross this boundary."
Yun Chu: "..."
No wonder this man had been standing on the other side of the arched doorway to speak with her the entire time.
It was a bit strange.
She stepped aside: "Your Highness, please."
Only then did Chu Yi nod, stepping across the arched doorway.
It was clearly the same sky, the same ground, and the exact same distance to Yun Chu herself, yet after stepping across this threshold, his mood felt entirely different.
Yun Chu's gaze landed upon the dog cradled in Cheng Xu's arms.
As she looked at this dog, it seemed somewhat familiar.
"Does it look very similar to the dog you saved when you were young?" Chu Yi spoke up. "That dog has found a different way to return to your side."
It was a little milk pup, a tiny, fluffy bundle curled up in Cheng Xu's arms.
Yun Chu extended her hand. The puppy sniffed at her hand, perhaps picking up a faint fragrance from when she had fed pastries to Changsheng earlier, and licked her finger.
Taking advantage of the moment, she gathered the puppy into her arms: "My thanks to Your Highness."
That dog she had rescued in her childhood had ultimately died right before her eyes, serving as a minor regret in her life.
Now, someone had helped her make up for even such a tiny regret.
Chu Yi gazed at her intently: "Why doesn't Miss Yun give the puppy a name?"
"What would be a good name?" Yun Chu stroked the puppy's head. "What does Your Highness think?"
At this moment, an illusion arose within Chu Yi—as though the two of them were naming a child that belonged to them both.
"It has a patch of white fur right on top of its head; how about calling it Snow Wolf?" Chu Yi pondered for a moment before saying, "May it grow into a hound capable of rivaling a wolf in the future."
"Then let us call it Snow Wolf." Yun Chu gave a soft smile. "Changsheng will surely like Snow Wolf."
At the mention of Changsheng, Chu Yi spoke up: "Changsheng undergoes acupuncture once every half-month now. This afternoon, she needs to go to the Hot Springs Manor for her acupuncture session."
Yun Chu's heart tightened suddenly.
Yet she knew this was a process Changsheng had to go through.
She nodded: "I shall take Changsheng there."
"I shall go along with you." Chu Yi paused before adding, "Physician Bi said that after roughly three more months of acupuncture, the treatment will be concluded. There is no need to worry."
After finishing their midday meal, Yun Chu and Chu Yi took the two children along as they set out for the hot springs manor in the suburban countryside of the capital.
As the carriage drove through the most bustling street of the capital, Chu Hongyu could not resist lifting the carriage curtain to peek outside: "Wow, it's so lively! I really want to get down and play! Mother, when we head back after sister's acupuncture is done, can we stroll around the streets for a bit?"
Yun Chu agreed gently: "Alright."
Her gaze swept past the carriage window, and she suddenly froze.
She actually caught sight of Tingyu.
After departing from the Xie family, aside from occasionally hearing updates regarding Xie Shi'an's movements from Ganlai, she had no longer paid any mind to how the rest of the Xie family was doing.
She saw Tingyu dressed entirely anew, wearing that peach-pink gown from back when she had become Auntie Yu—which was likely Tingyu's most expensive piece of clothing.
With the Xie family fallen into such a pathetic state, what was Tingyu going to do dressed up like that?
Yun Chu kept this matter in mind, intending to have Ganlai make inquiries about it later.