Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 229
Chapter 229 - A Lovely Little Quilted Jacket
The early winter wind swept down the withered leaves in the courtyard.
Ting Xue and Ting Feng led the little girl by the hand, picking up beautiful tree leaves in the yard.
The little girl collected the leaves, placed them on the side table, and picked up a writing brush to paint and scribble on them.
Yun Chu rested her chin in her hand.
Because Changsheng was in frail health, those attending to her were all adults, and she didn't have a single playmate her own age.
Now that Changsheng was gradually stepping out of her closed off world, she would start to need friends. Perhaps she ought to buy a little maidservant to bring back as a playmate for Changsheng.
Just as she was pondering, she saw Ting Feng walk in and say, "Miss, just now when I went out to buy candy, I heard that the young mistress of the Zou family... that is, the Madam Zou we met at the hot spring manor yesterday—she actually hanged herself."
Yun Chu could hardly conceal her shock: "Dead?"
"It's causing quite a stir in the capital! People are saying that the eldest legitimate son of the Zou family isn't even of Zou family blood at all. Madam Zou choked her own daughter to death and forcibly took in the son of a farm woman. For so many years, the Zou family raised someone else's son for nothing!" Ting Feng shook her head. "I heard that the Zou family found out about this last night, and early this morning they summoned Madam Zou's maiden family and handed her a letter of divorce. Her maiden family refused to acknowledge her as their daughter either. Abandoned by her in-laws and rejected by her maiden family, Madam Zou hanged herself right at the entrance of the Zou manor..."
Yun Chu's fingers froze.
This matter had been revealed a full seven or eight years earlier than in her previous life.
Currently, the eldest legitimate son of the Zou family was not even ten years old and had no way of protecting Madam Zou. It was no surprise that Madam Zou hanged herself.
In her previous life, when this matter was exposed, the Zou family's eldest son had already become a imperial scholar, considered a promising young gentleman in the capital who was even engaged to the daughter of a first-rank noble family. With him protecting Madam Zou, she was never divorced by the Zou family...
She had not arranged for anyone to send word to the Zou family.
How could the Zou family happen to receive the news so coincidentally last night?
Yun Chu's fingers tapped lightly against the table.
The only person capable of doing such a thing was the Prince of Pingxi.
She had to rely on the foresight of her past life to know certain secrets that would happen in the future.
Yet the Prince of Pingxi only needed a single night to uncover it.
Now, because of her rebirth, small events were being altered one by one, causing many major matters to stray from their original path as well.
That bit of foreknowledge she possessed was gradually losing its advantage.
If she wanted Ding Yiyuan to take the position of State Preceptor and hold it securely, there was still far, far too much she needed to do.
After Yun Chu finished her morning meal, the little girl tugged at her hand and spoke, "I... I want... Father..."
"Changsheng wants to go see Father, is that it?" Yun Chu stroked her small face. "You sit still, let Mother put your shoes on first."
While putting shoes on her daughter, she had Ting Feng go ahead to deliver word first.
Lest when her young daughter went over shortly, she would be terrified to tears upon seeing her father covered in blood.
Once Ting Feng returned, Yun Chu finally picked up the child, crossed through the doorway, and walked to the entrance of Chu Yi's bedroom.
Chief Steward Cheng immediately pushed open the door and reported, "Your Highness, Miss Yun and the county princess have arrived."
Yun Chu looked inside.
It was broad daylight now, and the warm early winter sunlight streamed in, falling upon the man. His complexion looked much better than it had last night.
He wore a dark black robe, rendering the injuries underneath completely invisible.
The little girl slid down from Yun Chu, pitter-pattering inside, and threw herself onto Chu Yi just like before.
"Hss—"
Chu Yi's chest was pressed upon, and he gasped sharply from the pain.
"Changsheng..." Yun Chu hurriedly went to pull the little girl back. She sat down on a small stool beside the bed, letting the little girl sit on her lap. "Your father is feeling a bit unwell and cannot hold you for now. How about keeping him company like this?"
Chu Changsheng could sense that her father was uncomfortable.
Usually, her father stood tall and appeared very grand, able to pick her up at a moment's notice.
Yet right now, her father lay on the bed, unable to move at all, looking so pitiable.
The little girl's eyes turned teary, and she turned around to walk outside.
Yun Chu didn't know what she was going to do and hurriedly followed. However, she saw the little girl ask a maidservant for a small bowl, squat in the courtyard's flowerbed, dig up a clump of black mud, pluck two leaves, tear off a chrysanthemum flower, catch a tiny flying insect, and retrieve a small stone to mash and mix all these together.
Yun Chu was completely bewildered watching this.
Then she saw the little girl pick up the filthy little bowl, pitter-patter to Chu Yi's bedside, and somehow pull out a small spoon from nowhere. Scooping up a bit of the unknown substance in the bowl, she held it to Chu Yi's lips: "Father, eat... take medicine."
Chu Yi finally understood why elders always said a daughter was a cozy little quilted jacket.
To have such an obedient daughter—he truly didn't know how many lifetimes of good fortune he had accumulated to deserve this.
He thought to himself that no matter how ridiculous this medicine looked, it would surely taste very sweet in his mouth.
It would be just as sweet as the medicine fed by Yun Chu last night.
Chu Yi opened his mouth.
The little girl happily fed it into his mouth.
"Don't eat that."
Yun Chu hurriedly stopped him.
She truly hadn't wanted to spoil Changsheng's filial gesture.
She had thought Chu Yi was merely pretending to cooperate.
Who could have expected that this man would actually open his mouth to eat it!
Eating these things wouldn't poison him to death, but it would definitely cause diarrhea. He was already injured to begin with—she couldn't let his condition worsen further.
Having been stopped by her mother, Chu Changsheng pouted her lips in slight grievance.
"Changsheng, this isn't medicine. It's... it's a snack," Yun Chu wracked her brains. "Only after your father recovers from his illness can he eat snacks."
Just as she spoke, Chief Steward Cheng had someone bring up the medicine.
The little girl immediately forgot about that bowl of unknown substance, excitedly wanting to feed her father the medicine.
The moment her hand touched the edge of the bowl, it was so hot that she hurriedly pulled it back, looking piteously at Yun Chu.
Yun Chu blew gently on her small fingers, feeling thoroughly helpless: "Watch closely, Mother will feed him."
The little girl broke into a beaming smile, clapping her small hands in excitement.
Yun Chu bit the bullet, blew on the medicine to cool it, and held it to the man's lips.
The man's lips were very thin, their outline as sharp as a fine blade, carrying an inherent fierceness. Yet right now, he appeared exceedingly gentle.
Chu Yi opened his lips and drank down the mouthful of warm medicine, opening his mouth to say, "Thank you."
While Yun Chu was feeding the medicine, the little girl ran out into the yard again to pick up fallen leaves.
Thus, only the two of them remained.
In truth, this room was by no means small—it could even be considered very spacious—yet Yun Chu inexplicably felt it was somewhat cramped.
She initiated a topic to break the silence: "That matter regarding the Zou family—was it Your Highness's doing?"
"That Madam Zou delights in flattery and stepping on those beneath her, but she shouldn't have stepped on your... she shouldn't have bullied Yu'er." Chu Yi's voice was low and deep. "She killed her own biological daughter, so she should have paid with her life in the first place. Living all these extra years was already letting her off too easily."
Yun Chu's fingers paused slightly before she resumed feeding the medicine.
After feeding the entire bowl of medicine, just as she stood up, Chief Steward Cheng walked in: "Your Highness, the book-boy from the Xie family has been found."
Yun Chu's gaze sank instantly.
Five years ago, after she married into the Xie family, she could still see a book-boy by Xie Jingyu's side during the first half-month. Later on, he inexplicably vanished.
Her relationship with Xie Jingyu had been cold and distant, so naturally she hadn't asked much about it.
She had never imagined that this book-boy had actually been involved in what happened on that wedding night five years ago...