Hearing Chu Yu's words, Wei Yun was momentarily stunned.
The young girl walking away was, at most, only a year older than him, yet she already carried an entirely different aura.
Perhaps, just as he felt the urgent need to grow up and support Wei Manor, she also believed that as the elder sister-in-law, she ought to support him?
Wei Yun watched Chu Yu's retreating figure.
Chu Yu herself hadn't noticed, but Wei Yun clearly saw the bloodstain seeping through the back of her clothes.
She was injured, yet she still wore a smile, her voice steady without a tremble from the pain.
Just like during the day, when her eyes had brimmed with tears at the sight of her husband's coffin, yet she still smiled as she helped him up and offered him a cup of Triumphal wine.
She buried everything in her heart, appearing calm and composed, facing him with the most graceful demeanor, silently telling him with her actions that it was alright, everything was fine.
Why wouldn't she tell him the truth?
Wei Yun clenched his fists, his mind filled with the image of the bloodstain on her back, slowly closing his eyes.
The dull pain from his bruised leg bone throbbed faintly, but another, more profound pain surged within him.
The helplessness and powerlessness born from weakness.
Never before had he so desperately craved power.
On the journey back with his father and brothers, his thoughts had only been on uncovering the truth, clearing their name, and becoming the pillar of the Wei family.
Yet, when that woman smiled and said, "Your sister-in-law has your back," he truly felt his own weakness and inadequacy. He wasn't even as strong as a woman—a girl who, though his sister-in-law, was only a year older than him.
He had to survive.
Wei Yun abruptly opened his eyes.
With crystal clarity, he knew he must survive, stand tall, and become someone who could shield others from the storm. As long as he lived, he would never allow the Wei family to endure such suffering again!
Chu Yu walked out of the heavenly prison, pondering the clues Wei Yun had provided.
The Crown Prince as the military supervisor, Yao Yong as the Crown Prince's uncle—he must have acted on the Crown Prince's orders when he came to Bai City and secretly plotted with Wei Zhong.
But for some reason, the plan failed, and Yao Yong shifted all the blame onto the Wei family. And the Emperor... likely knew about it.
Chu Yu boarded the carriage, tapping her thigh in thought.
In this matter, did the Emperor know, or was he involved?
Did the Emperor cause the plan to fail, leaving the Wei family to take the blame? Or did the Crown Prince cause it, with the Emperor covering for him? Or did the Emperor originally intend to eradicate the Wei family?
No, impossible.
Chu Yu dismissed the third possibility as soon as it crossed her mind.
Grand Tutor Xie stood by the Wei family, and his assistance, given with full awareness of the situation, proved that the Emperor had no intention of wiping out the Wei family—perhaps even felt guilt toward them. If the Emperor had truly intended to eliminate the Wei family, Wei Yun wouldn't have made it back at all.
The Emperor wouldn't have spared any of the Wei family's descendants.
As long as the Emperor hadn't deliberately planned to destroy the Wei family, they would be much safer.
Lost in thought, Chu Yu returned to the Zhenguo Marquis's residence, where Jiang Chun was still waiting for her. Seeing Jiang Chun, Chu Yu smiled and asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I was worried since you hadn't returned."
Jiang Chun stepped forward to help her down. "How did it go today?"
"Some progress."
Chu Yu looked up at Jiang Chun. "How is everyone else in the manor?""Zhang Han and Wang Lan were crying so hard they had to be persuaded to leave. Yao Jue spent some time in her room cursing Cao Yan before finally falling asleep. Xie Jiu stayed in the ancestral hall—I don’t know if she’s gone back yet."
Jiang Chun’s voice carried exhaustion as she relayed this, adding, "Today, people from various families came, though I’m not sure what was said."
Chu Yu nodded and said to Jiang Chun, "You’ve worked hard."
"I’m alright," Jiang Chun forced a strained smile. "These are just trivial matters. But you..."
She sighed. "A Yu, if you weren’t here, I’m afraid I would..."
She didn’t finish, but Chu Yu understood. In her past life, when she hadn’t been present, Jiang Chun’s choices had revealed the turmoil in her heart. Chu Yu squeezed Jiang Chun’s hand tightly, her voice hoarse. "I’m here."
"Let’s not talk about it," Jiang Chun suppressed her rising tears. "Go rest first."
"You go ahead," Chu Yu smiled. "You’ve been exhausted all day—get some sleep for the first half of the night. I’ll go keep watch over the Seven Star Lamp in the ancestral hall, and you can take over in the latter half."
After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Chun nodded. She walked with Chu Yu for a while before returning to sleep.
Jiang Chun was efficient. In the half-day Chu Yu had been away, the ancestral hall in Wei Manor had been fully prepared, and Wei Feng’s coffin had been properly placed inside, resting peacefully.
Chu Yu changed into fresh mourning clothes and entered the ancestral hall. As soon as she stepped in, she saw a figure dressed in plain white kneeling before the Seven Star Lamp.
The Seven Star Lamp, an oil lamp with seven wicks, was a tradition of Great Chu. It was believed that after death, the lamp would illuminate the path to the underworld. Family members had to guard it for the first seven days—if it went out, the deceased would lose their way and become a wandering ghost.
The Wei family had only just returned, so the lamp had only now been lit.
Chu Yu knelt beside the woman and said softly, "You’re here."
"Mhm."
Xie Jiu responded indifferently, glancing at her. "Did you see Xiao Qi?"
"Yes."
"How is he?"
Chu Yu didn’t answer, and Xie Jiu didn’t press. She knew Chu Yu didn’t fully trust her, and she wouldn’t force the issue.
Gazing calmly at the coffin, Xie Jiu spoke evenly. "Today, my mother came and told me to ask Xiao Qi for a Divorce Letter. With the Emperor’s intentions still unclear, she fears that staying with the Wei family will bury me along with them. If those seventy thousand deaths truly are the Wei family’s crime, the punishment could range from light to severe. If it comes to the extermination of the entire family... what should I do?"
"Next time I see Xiao Qi," Chu Yu said calmly, "I’ll ask for you."
"Aren’t you afraid?" Xie Jiu turned to look at her. Chu Yu remained silent.
In the past, if she had merely been Xie Jiu, of course... she would have been afraid.
But having lived a second life, the fear of death had lessened. Walking a familiar path again gave her more courage.
Moreover, she knew with certainty that the Wei family had not faced extermination in her past life. If it hadn’t happened then, how could it now, with her support?
Still, she wouldn’t voice these thoughts. Xie Jiu lowered her eyes. "I thought I’d be terrified, but seeing him return today... suddenly, I wasn’t afraid anymore."
"I didn’t want to see him," Xie Jiu sighed softly. "I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to leave—that I’d just follow him. A Ya used to ask me if I loved him, saying he couldn’t feel my affection. But the truth is..."Xie Jiu gently closed her eyes. Her throat tightened, and after a moment of choking back sobs, she said hoarsely, "I'm just afraid—afraid that I like him too much. A woman's life is already hard enough, and the path of a concubine's daughter is even harder. My whole life has been lived by calculation—what does it matter whether I like someone or not? My path is already too difficult."
"Look," she stood up and slowly walked to Wei Ya's coffin. She placed her hand on it, gazing down as if the person were sleeping there, and she was watching that sleeping face. Smiling through her tears, she whispered, "If only I didn't like him—how much better that would be."
OpenNovel