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Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 243

Chapter 243 - Irrefutable Evidence Right Before Their Eyes


Yun Chu stepped over the threshold and walked inside.

Her gaze landed on that cup of tea; she picked it up directly and brought it to her nose to take a gentle whiff.

"Chuchu."

Fourth Aunt Yun's heart leaped into her throat.

Forcing a stiff smile, she lowered her head to grab the teapot: "This tea is for your Aunt Guilan. I'll pour another cup for you."

"I'll just drink this cup." Yun Chu smiled faintly. "Aunt Guilan wouldn't mind either, right?"

Aunt Guilan gripped the ledger in her hand tightly and shook her head.

Fourth Aunt Yun grew increasingly flustered, even reaching out to snatch it: "The tea is already cold. It's not good for you to drink it, Chuchu. Come, let me change it for a fresh cup."

Yun Chu raised the cup higher: "What, Fourth Aunt? Am I unworthy to drink this tea, or is there something wrong with it?"

Fourth Aunt Yun's fingers stiffened: "If you want to drink it, then drink it."

The drug in this cup of tea had been added in a somewhat heavy dose; drinking a whole cup would force someone to lie in bed for at least a month. Since Yun Chu was practically rushing toward it, she felt no psychological burden whatsoever.

Once Yun Chu fell ill as well, wouldn't the Yun family's properties naturally fall right into her hands?

At this thought, Fourth Aunt Yun relaxed all at once. She sat down in a chair, picked up a cup of tea to drink herself, and naturally kept her side vision fixed on Yun Chu's movements.

Yet she saw Yun Chu suddenly set the tea down on the side table and say softly, "Have Physician Bi step inside."

Tingxue walked out and brought in a bearded physician.

"Physician Bi, sorry to trouble you to check my Aunt Guilan's pulse and see what kind of illness she has." Yun Chu stood up and said politely, "Please sit."

Fourth Aunt Yun jerked her head up and saw that Physician Bi was dressed in plain clothes—neither an imperial doctor from the palace nor a renowned physician. Her mind instantly eased.

Physician Bi walked over and sat down, feeling Aunt Guilan's pulse. Before long, his expression turned grave: "These are symptoms caused by ingesting Qianyuancao. Fortunately, the amount consumed was small. I will prescribe three formulas to be taken alternately, and she should recover in about half a month."

The cup of tea in Fourth Aunt Yun's hand was knocked over with a loud slap.

Realizing she had lost her composure, she hurriedly set the cup upright again: "What is Qianyuancao? Can you really tell just by feeling her pulse?"

"An ordinary physician naturally cannot tell," Physician Bi stroked his beard and said. "However, for me, it is no difficult task."

Fourth Aunt Yun's fingernails dug deeply into her palms.

She had assumed this was just some random doctor Yun Chu had fetched, but no ordinary doctor on the street could possibly know of the existence of Qianyuancao...

Her heart pounded wildly, and she cast an uneasy glance at the tea.

Coincidentally, Yun Chu looked toward that cup of tea as well.

Her scallion-white fingers picked up the tea and handed it over to Physician Bi.

Before Yun Chu could even speak, Fourth Aunt Yun leaped up with a start, intentionally throwing her body off balance to crash into Yun Chu.

Qiu Tong used her sword hilt to brace against Fourth Aunt Yun's chest, saying coldly, "Fourth Madam, stand firm."

The cup of tea landed in Physician Bi's hands. With a single sniff, his brows furrowed tightly. He then dipped his finger into it, lightly touched the tip of his tongue to it, and immediately poured a cup of water to rinse his mouth—rinsing several times before he finally stopped.

His voice turned cold and heavy: "In this tea, there is Qianyuancao."

Aunt Guilan's eyes widened in shock.

Although she had long anticipated that there was something wrong with the tea, having the fact confirmed still filled her with unshakeable astonishment.

Her lips trembled as she said, "Fourth Madam, why did you put poison in the tea?"

"I didn't put poison in it!" Fourth Aunt Yun forced herself to maintain a calm facade as she raised her voice. "Chuchu, where did you hire such a quack doctor? He's spouting utter nonsense! Qianyuancao, what is that? I've never even heard of it!"

Just as her words left her mouth...

A group of people appeared at the entrance of the reception hall.

It was Yun Ze, who had brought many members of the Yun family to visit the sick woman; numerous clan members had come along.

"Fourth Aunt says Physician Bi is a quack?" Yun Ze chuckled softly. "Physician Bi and the famous Divine Physician Si whom you all know studied under the same master. Divine Physician Si is the senior fellow disciple who inherited the master's true teachings, specializing in intractable and rare illnesses, which made him famous throughout Great Jin. Meanwhile, Physician Bi's patients are mostly under ten years old; he specializes in treating stubborn childhood ailments. Almost all the children of the royal family and nobility have had their health regulated by Physician Bi. Is such a doctor still considered a quack?"

Fourth Aunt Yun stood frozen in place.

Her few children were all in good health, so she knew nothing about Physician Bi's existence.

How on earth did Yun Chu manage to invite such a formidable doctor, and why had she specifically brought him over to treat Guilan...

Could it be...

A chill ran down her spine, making her shudder violently.

"I... I was blind," Fourth Aunt Yun spoke with great difficulty. "I have offended Physician Bi, and I ask for Physician Bi's forgiveness."

Yun Chu said in a cold voice, "Fourth Aunt, you still haven't answered: why did you put poison in the tea?"

"I didn't!" Fourth Aunt Yun raised her voice to a screech. "I haven't even heard of this Qianyuancao! What poison would I place? Am I insane? Although Guilan and I haven't spent much time together, we are both daughters-in-law of the Yun family! Why would I poison her? Chuchu, even though your status is different now—a Yiren of the Fifth Rank personally conferred by the Emperor—you still cannot slander someone out of thin air like this!"

Yun Run stepped forward: "Fourth Aunt indeed has no reason to do such a thing. Yun Chu, you are being too impulsive."

"Is that so?" Yun Chu stepped forward and grabbed Fourth Aunt Yun's wrist in one swift motion.

Fourth Aunt Yun's pupils dilated: "What are you doing?!"

She struggled with all her might.

However, her shoulders were clamped down tightly by Qiu Tong.

Yun Chu reached into Fourth Aunt Yun's waist pouch and pulled out a paper packet with remaining powder residue still inside.

Physician Bi took the paper packet, sniffed it, and said in a grave voice: "This is indeed the scent of Qianyuancao. If a packet like this were ingested, even a young, strong man would be bedridden for at least half a year. If accidentally consumed by a pregnant woman, the consequences would be unimaginable—it would very likely result in two deaths for one life."

Hearing these words, Yun Ze's face turned instantly dark and grim.

Going by this, the real culprit who caused his wife's miscarriage in Chuchu's dream was none other than the Fourth Aunt Yun right before his eyes.

The Yun clan members present were all struck dumb with shock as well.

"Fourth Aunt, what on earth are you trying to do? Why would you poison Aunt Guilan?"

"It couldn't be because Guilan took over the ledgers for the cloth shop and tea shop, and you harbored resentment and sought revenge, could it?"

"We are all one family. Fourth Aunt, doing this is truly going too far!"

The irrefutable evidence was right before her eyes, leaving Fourth Aunt Yun completely unable to defend herself any further.

She parted her lips blankly: "The doctor who sold the medicine said it was just ordinary knock-out powder. Drinking one packet would only cause three days of illness, and recovery would be fast without harming the body... I didn't know this was Qianyuancao..."

Fourth Aunt Yun's husband, Yun Siyuan, stepped forward: "She couldn't possibly harm her own clan members. This must be a misunderstanding."

Yun Siyuan belonged to the same generation as Yun Silin; in this generation, they were the only two male heirs. With Yun Silin missing and old General Yun bedridden, Yun Siyuan was the sole remaining man in the entire Yun family.

His words had always carried a fair amount of weight.

Ordinarily, once he spoke up like this, the matter would be brought to a close right then and there.

Yun Ze spoke up in a calm, flat tone: "For a matter that almost took a life, can a simple phrase like 'a misunderstanding' settle it?"

After deliberating for a moment, Yun Siyuan said, "After we return, I will have someone deliver two stalks of ginseng, along with an additional two hundred taels of silver as compensation for the fright."

Fourth Aunt Yun gnashed her teeth.

The objective had not been accomplished, and not only had she lost face, but she also had to suffer the loss of ginseng and silver—it was truly a massive loss.

Yet she knew full well that they had to bleed money, or else this matter would never be swept away.

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