Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 248
Chapter 248 - Aunt Jiang Leaves
By evening time, Aunt Jiang finally returned to the Xie household with the child.
The moment she pushed open the door and stepped inside, what caught her eyes was Xie Shi'an's inscrutable expression, which made it impossible to tell whether he was angry or pleased.
"Where has Aunt Jiang been?"
"I took Xian-jie'er out for a walk," Aunt Jiang replied. "We haven't had dinner yet, so we're heading back to our courtyard to cook."
She felt as though a wolf was glaring at her from behind.
Remembering Yun Chu's words, she waited until the following day when Xie Shi'an went out to attend to his affairs, and then immediately went to find Lady Yuan.
Lady Yuan was currently feeding Xie Shikang sheep's milk. Although sheep's milk was inferior to breast milk, it was still much better than rice paste, and Xie Shikang was able to swallow a fair amount of it.
"Madam," Aunt Jiang walked over and said, "I wish to leave the Xie family."
"What did you say?" Lady Yuan stood up abruptly. "What did you just say! Have you lost your mind—say that again if you dare!"
Were these concubines all trying to turn the world upside down?
Aunt Tao had abandoned her child and vanished; Aunt Yu had climbed into another man's bed; and now, even Aunt Jiang, who had the mildest temper of them all, was actually proposing to leave.
Hadn't even half a year passed since her son Jingyu died, yet one by one they were changing their hearts. Was the Xie family simply being too merciful?
Aunt Jiang raised her head, speaking clearly and deliberately: "I could easily walk away just like Aunt Tao did, or look for another household to rely on like Aunt Yu did. But I am not that kind of person, so I have come to discuss this with Madam, hoping we can reach a mutually satisfactory result."
Lady Yuan's chest heaved violently with anger.
She raised her hand, itching to slap Aunt Jiang across the face.
Yet she had never raised a hand against anyone before, and her lifted palm simply refused to come down, ending up slapping her own thigh instead: "What kind of terrible karma has our Xie family accumulated to end up in such a state today? You're all heartless people! The moment the Xie family falls, you all leave one by one, leaving us the old and the young behind—how are we supposed to live this life..."
As she began to cry, Xie Shikang was also frightened into wailing loudly.
Aunt Jiang pressed her lips together tightly.
Making this decision had not been easy for her at all, and she could not allow her heart to soften.
Once Lady Yuan had cried her fill, Aunt Jiang finally spoke up: "If Madam is unwilling, then I will simply have to find an opportunity to leave on my own. Perhaps one day when Madam goes out and returns, Xian-jie'er and I will simply be gone."
Lady Yuan's eyes widened in shock: "Are you threatening me?"
Aunt Jiang pulled out the one hundred taels of silver from her sleeve that Xie Shi'an had failed to take from her: "This money in exchange for my deed of indenture, as well as Xian-jie'er's household registration documents."
Lady Yuan's teeth were chattering: "A woman alone with a child, once you leave the Xie family, how will you survive..."
"Thank you for your concern, Madam, but I figure that as long as I have hands and feet, I can manage to survive," Aunt Jiang gave a bitter smile. "I certainly cannot stay in the Xie family only to die one day without even knowing why."
Lady Yuan fell silent.
She had heard from Wei-ge'er about the deal between Aunt Tingyu and An-ge'er.
It could be said that An-ge'er's scheme had indirectly caused Tingyu's death—a living, breathing person, just gone like that.
Aunt Jiang's worries seemed completely reasonable after all.
Lady Yuan took the one hundred taels of silver, thought for a moment, and then pulled a few small pieces of broken silver from her own sleeve to hand over: "Take this as the last thing I, as a grandmother, can give to Xian-jie'er."
She turned and walked into the room, emerging with Aunt Jiang's deed of indenture and Xie Xian's household registration documents.
Aunt Jiang took the deed of indenture, her eyes stinging with emotion. Since childhood, she had been bought and sold back and forth because of this single sheet of paper, and now she was finally free.
Clutching these two items tightly, she took her daughter and knelt down: "Madam, once I leave today, it will be difficult for us to ever meet again. This concubine kowtows to you. Xian-jie'er, kowtow to your grandmother!"
The mother and daughter knocked their heads heavily against the ground three times before standing up and returning to their own courtyard.
Their belongings had long since been packed; whatever could not be carried was converted into silver. The mother and daughter each strapped a small bundle onto their backs and departed from the back door of the Xie residence.
When Xie Shi'an returned that evening, he only learned about the day's events from Sanjiu.
Incredulous, he lashed out and kicked Sanjiu fiercely: "Why didn't you come looking for me the very moment it happened?"
Sanjiu was knocked completely over, sprawling on the ground as he whimpered, "This subordinate only found out an hour ago..."
"What use are you!"
Xie Shi'an forcefully suppressed his raging fury.
He was currently strapped for cash and had been plotting how to squeeze more money out of Aunt Jiang, yet before he could even come up with a plan, Aunt Jiang had simply left.
Someone capable of producing one hundred taels of silver undoubtedly had at least five hundred taels on hand, and his grandmother had actually let her walk away!
His head throbbed with anger.
Once his emotions settled down somewhat, he bent down to help Sanjiu back to his feet: "Apologies, I lost control of myself. You weren't hurt, were you?"
Sanjiu hurriedly shook his head: "N-no, not at all."
Xie Shi'an waved his hand dismissively and went into his room alone to sort out his thoughts.
Yun Chu had helped Aunt Jiang set up a small farmhouse on the outskirts of the capital. Aunt Jiang lived there with Xian-jie'er and her adopted son, Xu Ti, living lives no different from ordinary folk.
The weather grew colder day by day.
When Yun Chu dressed warmly and stepped out of her room, she discovered that it had actually started snowing.
A thin layer of snow already blanketed the ground, crunching softly beneath her footsteps.
She exhaled a breath into the cold air, picked up her short sword, and began practicing her routines.
As she practiced, she suddenly felt the intense, burning gaze of someone staring at her.
Turning toward the moon gate, she saw a tall, slender man standing upright. Snow had settled upon his dark, obsidian robes, making him appear all the more stern and cold.
"Why is Your Highness up so early?"
It was barely past the Yin hour, the time when people were deep in their best sleep.
Chu Yi walked over naturally: "I haven't practiced martial arts in a long time and felt a bit rusty. Let's exchange a few moves."
He had heard from that little rascal Yu'er that Yun Chu practiced martial arts every single day at this hour.
When he was learning martial arts in his youth, he had been just as diligent, though he had let it lapse somewhat over the years.
From now on, he should wake up just as early and spar alongside her.
With Yun Chu wielding her short sword and Chu Yi fighting bare-handed, the two of them began sparring in the courtyard.
Withered yellow leaves and dancing snowflakes brushed past their cheeks; the pitch-black darkness slowly faded away as the very first ray of dawn light landed deep within their eyes.
After exchanging several rounds of blows with Chu Yi, Yun Chu had worked up a light sweat and felt thoroughly refreshed.
She praised him sincerely: "Your Highness has marvelous martial arts!"
Chu Yi offered a serious critique: "Your force is still somewhat lacking. Over the next few days, practice your strength with me so that you can subdue an enemy in a single blow."
"I have no problem with that, except..." Yun Chu began, "I heard that foreign envoys are about to arrive in the capital, and the Emperor intends to have Your Highness receive them. You should be quite busy for a while."
A smile involuntarily blossomed across Chu Yi's lips.
The fact that Yun Chu knew about this indicated that she had been paying attention to him.
This realization put him in an exceptionally good mood.
In a clear, ringing voice, he replied: "It's the several princes who will be receiving the foreign envoys together. I have no desire to contend for the spotlight, so I have nothing to keep me busy."
Just as those words left his mouth, Chengxu called out from across the moon gate: "Your Highness, the foreign envoys have already arrived at the official post road ten miles outside the city. The Emperor has issued an order commanding all the princes to hurry out and welcome them."
Chu Yi: "..."
Yun Chu chuckled musically: "Your Highness, you should hurry along then, don't let the auspicious hour slip by."