Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 232
Chapter 232 - Changing Chu Yi's Dressing
Countless thoughts flashed through Prince Gongxi's mind.
The Crown Prince made a genuine suggestion: "Third Brother, I heard that a Divine Diviner named Mister Ding has appeared among the common folk, whose fortune-telling is extraordinarily accurate. Why don't you look for Mister Ding to calculate your marriage affinity? If you and that sweetheart of yours are truly fated together by destiny, it makes sense for you to throw such a fit. But if you have fate without affinity, making a fuss to this extent is enough—don't go and truly infuriate Imperial Father."
Prince Gongxi couldn't help but ask, "Is he truly that accurate?"
"I secretly went to Mister Ding to have a fortune read." The Crown Prince coughed twice and said, "I had him divine whether the child currently in the Crown Princess's womb is male or female."
As everyone knew, the Crown Prince only had three daughters under his knee and had yet to yield an eldest son to this day, which was currently his greatest headache.
The Crown Princess had been pregnant for over nine months now, and might give birth at any moment.
Only a child born of the Crown Princess would be the true legitimate eldest son. He attached immense importance to this pregnancy, which was why he had secretly disguised himself and gone for a fortune reading, spending three thousand taels of silver.
Mister Ding said that for this pregnancy, it was a boy.
He had also sought a divination from the State Preceptor, but the State Preceptor merely said that heavenly secrets must not be revealed.
Just as the Crown Prince was pondering, a eunuch suddenly rushed over to report urgently: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess is about to give birth! Please return to the palace immediately, Your Highness!"
The Crown Prince shot up to his feet abruptly: "You two keep chatting, I'm off!"
As he strode outside, he was even tripped by the threshold and nearly fell, saved only when a young eunuch supported him in the nick of time.
Prince Gongxi did not linger either, saying as he departed, "Every five years in the twelfth lunar month, foreign envoys come to offer congratulations, and Imperial Father intends to let us brothers receive them. Rest and recover your health well; do not delay this opportunity."
Chu Yi twirled his fingers.
He would pass on this opportunity, leaving it for his two imperial brothers to display their abilities.
On the morning of the following day, Yun Chu heard people saying that the Crown Princess had given birth to a son—the Crown Prince's legitimate eldest son. The Empress was overjoyed, and the entire palace received rewards.
Yun Chu had truly not expected that before the Crown Princess gave birth, the Crown Prince would actually go to Ding Yiyuan to secretly have his fortune read, and specifically to ask about the child's gender.
She might not know what kind of child was born into other families, but with the Crown Prince's status, who across the entire nation wouldn't know when he had produced a legitimate eldest son?
The Crown Prince had practically gifted three thousand taels of silver to Ding Yiyuan for nothing.
It was just that this child, born under the watchful eyes of thousands, seemed not to have survived past the age of five before dying in a chaotic palace struggle...
Palace struggles truly claimed lives.
In the battle for the throne, even more people were bound to die.
Yun Chu let out a sigh.
She had no choice, nor did the Yun family; they were destined to be dragged into such conflicts.
Changsheng clamored to go feed her father medicine, so Yun Chu could only tag along.
In the end, naturally, it was she who fed Chu Yi the medicine spoonful by spoonful once more.
Chu Yi thoroughly enjoyed moments like this.
After feeding him the medicine, just as Yun Chu was about to stand up and leave, Chief Steward Cheng popped up at just the right moment: "Miss Yun, this old servant happens to have some matters to attend to. Regarding changing His Highness's dressing, I can only trouble Miss Yun."
Having said that, Chief Steward Cheng picked up the little county princess and strode right out.
Yun Chu: "..."
Feeding medicine was one thing.
Wasn't asking her to help change his dressing going a bit too far?
"There is no need to trouble Miss Yun." Chu Yi sat up. "I can do it myself."
He put on a thoroughly weak and feeble appearance.
Yun Chu's heart softened.
Previously in the bandits' den, when she had been poisoned, it was this very man who had sucked out the poison for her in time, preventing her from suffering such severe harm.
Right now, it was merely changing a dressing; why was she overthinking things so much?
Besides, the reason why there were no serving maidservants around the Prince of Pingxi was that she wanted to stay with the children; to avoid drawing attention, very few people ever frequented this courtyard.
She walked forward and picked up the medicine bottle: "Your Highness, lie down properly."
Chu Yi immediately lay back down onto the couch obediently.
He watched as Yun Chu slowly leaned her body down, her scallion-white fingers unbuttoning his clothing.
The muscles all over his body instantly tensed up.
An indescribable emotion spread through him.
It felt as though an electric shock swept through all his limbs and bones.
He didn't dare move an inch.
Yun Chu unfastened his clothes, slowly unwrapping the layers of gauze, and caught sight of that gruesome wound.
Although it had already scabbed over and stopped bleeding, it was still shocking to behold.
She poured the medicinal powder onto the wound; perhaps due to the slight sting, the lines of muscle on the man's chest tensed visibly to the naked eye...
"Your Highness!"
Cheng Xu's voice suddenly rang out from outside.
Yun Chu's whole body jolted.
She swiftly grabbed the gauze and covered the wound.
She didn't even know why she felt such a guilty sensation of having been caught red-handed.
"It's already been two days, why does Your Highness still need someone to help change your dressing? Your Highness's health is certainly not what it used to be."
The moment these words left Cheng Xu's mouth, Chu Yi's face instantly darkened.
Would Yun Chu also feel that his physical health was far too terrible, always getting injured?
Cheng Xu continued, "Since Your Highness's body is so weak, how about leaving the interrogation of Yang Hedong to the Court of Judicial Review?"
Chu Yi sat up from the couch: "Merely interrogating a prisoner is nothing. Prepare a horse."
He put on his shoes and stood up.
He took a few steps.
He walked out into the courtyard.
Chief Steward Cheng was so startled that he hurriedly supported him: "My Prince! You cannot treat your own body with such disregard..."
Chu Yi continued walking outside, his steps exceptionally steady.
Not the slightest trace of a man recovering from a severe injury could be seen on him.
Yun Chu: "..."
There really was no need to push himself like that.
Returning to her own courtyard, Yun Chu continued to busy herself with her own affairs.
The shelter had now been constructed, managed single-handedly by her cousin from a branch line, Yun Qin; tomorrow, the sheltered orphans would officially move in.
With her cousin managing it, Yun Chu felt at ease, though she still ought to make a trip there tomorrow.
Just as she was looking over the account books, Ting Feng walked in and said, "Miss, Gan Lai just sent word."
Gan Lai was the servant boy Yun Chu had placed beside Xie Shiwei—a very clever child who knew who his true master was.
"Gan Lai says the eldest young master ponders doing business every day, going out early and returning late, while Ting Yu goes out every day at dusk and doesn't return until late at night." Ting Feng said in a low voice, "One night, Gan Lai saw Ting Yu return to the manor and go straight to the eldest young master's courtyard, handing him two one-hundred-tael silver banknotes. Gan Lai followed her for a few days and discovered that Ting Yu actually goes to a small courtyard every day, which seems to be property belonging to the Hu family. How can Ting Yu earn a hundred taels of silver just by visiting there once a day? What in the world is she doing?"
Yun Chu couldn't help but laugh.
She didn't know which household the Hu family was.
However, she could guess what Ting Yu was doing.
Back then, Ting Yu had climbed into Xie Jingyu's bed and knelt at her feet, weeping bitterly as she told her that she was unable to control her feelings for Xie Jingyu...
For someone who supposedly loved Xie Jingyu so deeply to climb into another man's bed again so soon after Xie Jingyu's death...
Xie Shi'an's handiwork was definitely behind this.
Every single person in the Xie family would likely be utilized and bled dry by Xie Shi'an until their very deaths...
She opened her mouth to inquire, "What is Xie Shiwei busy with?"
"The second young master was learning to use the abacus, but couldn't learn it. In a fit of rage, the eldest young master told him to stop learning, and the two brothers had a quarrel." Ting Feng relayed the news Gan Lai had sent back.
Yun Chu understood.
Xie Shiwei was just as he had been in her past life—useless mud that couldn't be slapped onto a wall, only knowing how to pick fights and act tough. Picking fights was an advantage in the military camp, but in an ordinary household, it was the root cause of disaster.
With a liability like Xie Shiwei dragging him down while Xie Shi'an carried the heavy burden forward, how far could Xie Shi'an possibly go?