Chapter 108: The Person on the Wedding Night
Upon hearing the maid's report that Xie Jingyu had taken his medicine, Yun Chu rose and left the manor.
The carriage departed from the Xie residence, slowly making its way to the busiest main street in the capital, stopping at the entrance of a cockfighting arena.
Amid the bustling crowd, Yu Ke cleared the path ahead while Qiutong and Ting Shuang flanked Yun Chu as she entered.
After Yu Ke discovered that Marquis Xuanwu occasionally visited this cockfighting arena, Yun Chu had reserved a private seat on the second floor. Ascending the stairs, she found the upper level quieter and less crowded. Taking her seat, she ordered a pot of tea and casually observed the scene below.
The arena released two roosters, and the fight began swiftly. Spectators could place bets, with the chance to win substantial silver if luck favored them.
Yun Chu casually took out a money pouch and tossed it onto the tray offered by the waiter.
After about two rounds, Yun Chu—who knew nothing about the sport—had surprisingly won a small sum.
Before long, she noticed Qin Mingheng entering through the first-floor entrance.
Remaining seated, she continued watching the cockfight.
Sure enough, a voice soon sounded behind her: "Is that Lady Xie?"
Yun Chu turned, stood up, and bowed slightly in greeting. "My respects to Marquis Xuanwu."
"We're in public—no need for such formalities." Qin Mingheng gestured vaguely with his fan to stop her. "I never expected to encounter Lady Xie at a cockfighting arena. Which rooster do you think will win?"
Yun Chu replied indifferently, "If the Marquis lacks a seat, would you care to join me?"
The place was crowded everywhere. Though the second floor was less packed compared to the first, many private tables still seated at least three or four people, both men and women. In such a setting, strict adherence to gender segregation was laughable.
Qin Mingheng was slightly surprised that Yun Chu would invite him to sit, but he quickly deduced that this woman had been waiting here for him.
Last time, he had told her that if she wanted to know the truth, she should visit him at his residence.
Unwilling to go alone to the Marquis Xuanwu estate, she had chosen this bustling location—clearly afraid he might do something improper.
"Heh."
Qin Mingheng chuckled and took a seat at the table.
He reached out and took the cup of tea in front of Yun Chu, greedily inhaling its fragrance. "The tea Lady Xie drinks is indeed fragrant."
Just as he was about to take a sip,
Qiutong, standing nearby, scowled coldly. Pressing the hilt of her sword against Qin Mingheng's wrist, she snatched the cup and poured the tea directly onto the floor.
"Something this humble wife has already sipped from should not be presented to the Marquis," Yun Chu said, pouring him a fresh cup and placing it before him. "Please enjoy this, Marquis."
Qin Mingheng's expression softened slightly.
"Speaking of which," Yun Chu continued, "I must thank the Marquis for the medicine you bestowed five years ago. Thanks to your remedy, my mother-in-law's health improved greatly. Such kindness, our Xie family will never forget."
At the mention of this, Qin Mingheng's face darkened again.
That miraculous pill had been a royal gift to his ancestors for protecting the emperor, passed down through generations as a family heirloom until it reached him.
To fulfill an obsession, he had given the medicine to Xie Jingyu. The pill was delivered, yet what he had hoped to gain remained unattained...
"Heh, and you're thanking me on behalf of the Xie family?" Qin Mingheng's expression turned icy. "Foolish woman, have you never wondered why I would give such a rare, divine medicine to the Xies?""So—" Yun Chu stared fixedly at him, "that wedding night—it was you, wasn't it?"
After Xie Shiwei injured the heir of Marquis Xuanwu, Xie Jingyu's solution was to take her to the marquis' residence and offer her to Marquis Xuanwu to avoid disaster.
Therefore, she had reason to suspect that to cure Yuan Shi's illness, Xie Jingyu would absolutely be capable of exchanging her for the divine medicine.
Yuan Shi's life was at stake, while she was merely losing her wedding night... In Xie Jingyu's mind, his mother's life naturally mattered far more than her purity.
This also explained why, for so many years, Xie Jingyu never entered her chambers again—because she had lost her purity, and he felt she was no longer worthy.
It also explained why Xie Jingyu could discard their newborn children before they had even drawn their last breath—because those two children weren't of Xie blood at all.
Indeed, even vicious tigers wouldn't harm their own young. No matter how beastly Xie Jingyu might be, he wouldn't abandon his own flesh and blood unless... they weren't his children.
Yun Chu saw Qin Mingheng's expression change, and she knew she had guessed correctly.
There was no joy in being right, only a chilling coldness that filled her heart.
How foolish she had been in her previous life—so foolish that she went to her grave without ever knowing these truths.
She picked up her teacup, drained it in one gulp, and continued, "How did you know the remains buried under my name weren't my children?"
"Because I saw with my own eyes when Xie Jingyu threw the children away." Qin Mingheng lowered his gaze. "They were still alive in his hands when he discarded them into the heavy snow."
Yun Chu's heart constricted painfully. "Where did he throw them?"
"Who can remember clearly?" Qin Mingheng unfolded his paper fan. "Somewhere outside the city walls—south or north, perhaps? It's been too long, I truly can't recall."
"Why didn't you come tell me sooner!" Yun Chu cried out, her voice breaking. "Don't you know those two children were your flesh and blood too!"
If the one who shared her wedding chamber was Qin Mingheng, then he was the biological father of those two children.
He had actually watched with his own eyes as Xie Jingyu discarded their children. Why... why would he...
"How could I have told you?" Qin Mingheng's emotions also surged. "I took you by improper means. What face did I have to confront you? I feared seeing the look in your eyes that you're giving me now—full of revulsion... As for you saying those children were my flesh and blood, based on what? Even Xie Jingyu, who slept beside you every night, refused to accept them. What right do you have to demand that of an outsider like me!"
Yun Chu closed her eyes.
She couldn't tell Qin Mingheng that she and Xie Jingyu had never shared a bed.
Though she had never considered herself pure as ice or jade, she never imagined she could be this tainted.
Yet she knew this wasn't her fault.
"Yun Chu, do you know—long, long ago, before I was even married—I once sought your hand from the Yun family."Qin Mingheng leaned on the table, his voice was low." "But your mother refused to marry you to me. Then the Emperor issued a marriage decree, and I had no choice but to marry a daughter of the Luo family instead. I genuinely wished for you to find a husband better than me. But I never imagined your mother would marry you to Xie Jingyu! All it took was one pill to tempt him, and he agreed. He personally fed you the medicine and delivered you to Marquis Xuanwu's residence, where you lay in my bed in your wedding dress..."
"Stop talking!"
Yun Chu stood up abruptly, knocking over her chair in the process.The onlookers watching the cockfight turned their gazes over, their eyes tinged with suspicion.
Yun Chu paid no mind to those stares and strode away immediately.
She had already obtained the answer she sought; there was no need to linger.
"Wait!" Qin Mingheng chased after her, following her from the second floor down to the first. "Yun Chu, we've been intimate—that means we've consummated a marital bond. No matter how unwilling you are to acknowledge this fact, it happened. I'm willing to take responsibility for that night. Though I may be despicable, at least I'm more forthright than Xie Jingyu. If you marry me, I..."
Before he could finish, a sweet and gentle voice interrupted, "Marquis, Madam Xie, what are the two of you discussing?"
Yun Chu looked over and saw Luo Shi, the wife of Marquis Xuanwu.
At the sight of his wife, Qin Mingheng immediately averted his gaze from Yun Chu, took a few steps back, and turned to her, asking, "Why have you come here?"
"This child insisted on watching the cockfight, so I brought him for a quick look," Luo Shi replied, pulling the child beside her. "Your father is here now—you can watch with him. I have no interest in such things."
Qin Mingheng took his son's hand and left without another word.
Luo Shi turned to Yun Chu, about to speak, when Yun Chu curtsied slightly and said, "My apologies, Lady Marquis, but I am feeling unwell and must take my leave."
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