Chapter 100 Is the Child Alive?
Yun Chu emerged from the lying-in room.
She had intended to find Xie Jingyu to relay Concubine Tao's explanation, but after taking only a few steps, she faintly overheard something about "four years ago."
She immediately gestured for her two maids to tread softly.
Moving swiftly yet silently, she reached the door of the side chamber.
Though the voices inside weren't entirely clear, fragmented phrases gradually formed a coherent sentence.
"...the child still breathing... thrown away directly..."
"...both children carry the bloodline of the Xie family..."
"Abandoned in the freezing snow..."
A roaring sensation surged through her as blood rushed to her head, leaving her nearly unable to stand.
Ting Shuang and Ting Feng naturally heard the voices too. Their pupils contracted sharply, utterly unable to believe what they had just heard.
Ting Feng, being impulsive by nature, reached out to push the door open.
Ting Shuang grabbed Ting Feng's arm and steadied Yun Chu, her voice trembling as she whispered, "Madam?"
Yun Chu's legs had grown so weak she could barely stand, clinging desperately to Ting Shuang's hand.
She knew that even if they barged in now, Xie Jingyu and He Shi could easily claim she had misheard.
How could they ever admit to such a deed...
Yun Chu gestured, and Ting Shuang and Ting Feng supported her as they left the courtyard and returned to Sheng Residence.
After helping her into the inner chamber and settling her on the couch, Ting Shuang and Ting Feng dropped to their knees with a thud. Ting Xue, bewildered, knelt down as well.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Ting Shuang struck her own face repeatedly.
"Madam, it's all this servant's fault. Four years ago, when you were in labor, I shouldn't have handed the young master and young mistress over to the people from the master's courtyard. I truly didn't know they were still alive. Madam, I was wrong. Please beat me to death..."
Ting Feng also began slapping herself, weeping, "Madam, I deserve to die ten thousand times. It was my mistake... I'll go ask the master right now—how could he be so cruel? How could he abandon his own flesh and blood in the snow? Heavens above, could such tiny children have survived..."
Ting Xue finally grasped the situation, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Had the two young masters born by the madam four years ago actually been alive that night?
That evening, the madam had been strolling in the courtyard when she suddenly slipped and fell. By nightfall, she began experiencing abdominal pain and went into premature labor.
Blood had poured incessantly from the madam's lower body—so much blood that all the maids were terrified. Ting Shuang had held the madam's hand, speaking comforting words, while Ting Feng crouched at the foot of the bed, cleaning her. And what had she been doing? Ah, yes—she had been feeding the madam chicken broth to give her strength for the delivery...
The madam labored from night until dawn, and finally, the children were born. But they did not cry.
She remembered the midwife wrapping the babies and exclaiming in shock that they weren't breathing. Those words alone caused the madam to hemorrhage uncontrollably—a postpartum hemorrhage that threatened her life... Faced with two lifeless infants and a madam in mortal danger, there had been no choice to make. Ting Shuang hastily instructed the midwife to carry the children away...
After the children were taken, the madam lost consciousness...When the lady awoke again, it was already three days later. By then, the child had been buried, and the lady remained silent all day long. They dared not mention the child again... Later, the eldest young master, second young master, and eldest young lady entered the household. Then, Concubine Yu gave birth. The third young master was about the same age as the two deceased young masters had been, so he was raised by the lady's side, and she gradually recovered...
The continuous slapping sounds in her ears gradually brought Yun Chu back to her senses.
"Stop!"
She spoke heavily.
She had considered many, many possibilities, but never once did she imagine that the child would be born alive...
Though the child was premature, though it made no sound at birth, though its breathing was faint—it was still alive. As long as she cared for it diligently, she refused to believe it couldn't survive... Yet Xie Jingyu had thrown the child away!
If it had been thrown outside in the heat of summer, there might have been a slim chance of survival.
But when she gave birth, it happened to be snowing—so cold. How could two newborn infants survive?
So, the child hadn't died at birth—it had been abandoned by their own father, cast outside, perhaps to freeze or starve to death.
Just to make her wholeheartedly accept him and He Shi's child, he had cruelly murdered her own son and daughter!
He was nothing but a beast!
No, calling him a beast would be an insult to beasts!
Yun Chu closed her eyes, forcing back her tears.
All she wanted now was to know where the child had been discarded. No matter what, she would find them, whether they were alive or dead...
Xie Jingyu was utterly hypocritical—from his mouth, she would only receive lie after lie, just like those reburied bones of unknown origin.
"Ting Feng, go outside the city now," Yun Chu said, word by word. "Personally gather some thunder god vine and bring it back."
Ting Shuang was shocked. Even without studying pharmacology, she knew what thunder god vine was. When boiled with other medicinal herbs, it could dispel wind ailments, but if consumed improperly, it would cause discomfort. In short, thunder god vine was poison.
"Yes, my lady!" Ting Feng scrambled up from the floor, wiped her tears, and hurried out.
Why should the lady's own children die while the master lived so freely? Why should the lady suffer so much while the Xie family flourished?
The master deserved to drink poison and rot from the inside out!
Yun Chu spent the entire night in a daze, unsure if she slept or not. Scenes flickered through her mind like a revolving lantern, and before she knew it, she heard the rooster's crow.
She rose early to practice martial arts.
Though Qiutong didn't know exactly what had happened, she could sense something was wrong and suggested resting for a day.
Yun Chu shook her head.
What could she possibly learn if she trained only sporadically?
After practicing for over half an hour, the sky gradually brightened. She returned to her room to wash, changed clothes, and emerged to find those coming to pay their respects had already arrived.
Concubine Tao, having just given birth, did not come. Ting Yu had dark circles under her eyes. He Shi held the listless Xie Shiyun's hand, while Concubine Jiang stood quietly with the ever-calm Xie Xian.
Regarding yesterday's incident where Concubine Tao was pushed and fell, Xie Jingyu had personally investigated but declared it an accident, letting the matter drop.
Yun Chu sneered. He Shi had threatened Xie Jingyu with such a significant secret—that weak man naturally didn't dare punish her, so he could only gloss over it ambiguously.
"If there's nothing else, you may all leave," she said, lifting her gaze. "Concubine Yu, stay behind."
He Shi blocked Ting Yu's view of Xie Shiyun and led the child out.She deeply regretted it. Having painstakingly orchestrated yesterday's drama, not only had she failed to eliminate the child in Concubine Tao's womb or get Xie Shiyun punished, but she had also completely severed the affection between her and her husband.
Ting Yu remained alone in the hall, her head bowed with unease, not daring to utter a word.
Yun Chu began, "Last night, I had someone investigate the matter of Concubine Tao's premature birth."
Ting Yu quickly responded, "Madam, the master said it was merely an accident and has nothing to do with Yun Ge'er."
"Indeed, it has nothing to do with Yun Ge'er." Yun Chu set down her teacup. "According to what my people have uncovered, it was Concubine He who told Yun Ge'er that the child in Concubine Tao's womb would be raised by my side. That is what provoked Yun Ge'er to go to Concubine Tao's courtyard early in the morning and commit such an act..."
Ting Yu abruptly lifted her head.
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