Chapter 184: Xie Shi'an Returns
Chu Yi brought the two children back to the manor.
After the children were taken away by the nursemaids, he still had to attend to official duties. While reviewing the memorials, he found himself unable to concentrate. For some reason, Yun Chu's smile kept appearing before his eyes.
He had seen her smile before, but this time, it felt particularly profound—just like the first time he saw her as a child. That smile of hers had soothed all the wounds in his heart, unforgettable to this day...
He loved the way she looked at him, loved how her eyes held only him, and he longed to touch her...
At this thought, Chu Yi's brow furrowed.
A woman who had lost her husband was called a widow. Although the dynasty's rules for women were relatively lenient, a widow remarrying would still attract gossip. Common women who remarried usually moved far away to escape acquaintances and reduce rumors.
As for women from noble families remarrying... He recalled everything he had seen and heard since childhood and had even asked his aunt. In the vast capital, women from prominent families, once widowed, would remain chaste for life—even those merely engaged would be forced by their families to become "gate-keeping widows" if their fiancés died.
Widowhood was a woman's chastity arch and a family's reputation.
He wanted to marry her, but he feared she would face criticism.
Thinking of this, Chu Yi's frown deepened. How had he jumped to marriage when nothing had even started between them?
Unable to focus on the pile of memorials, he picked up his sword and went to the courtyard to practice.
"Your Highness!" Cheng Xu hurried in from outside.
Chu Yi didn't stop his sword practice, elegantly trimming the excess leaves from the tree with a flourish before sheathing his weapon and turning. "What is it?"
"Marquis Xuanwu requests an audience, claiming he has important information regarding the Young Son and Little Commandery Princess," Cheng Xu reported.
Chu Yi's expression darkened. "He knows I care about this matter and is using it as leverage. Let him wait a few days until his spirit is broken, then we'll interrogate him properly."
Cheng Xu bowed. "Understood!" With Marquis Xuanwu in the prince's custody, his life or death depended entirely on His Highness's word—there was indeed no need to rush.
As Cheng Xu turned to leave, Chu Yi added, "Find which court officials have harmonious marriages. Send invitations in my name, requesting their presence at the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor tomorrow."
Cheng Xu looked surprised. "Your Highness, are you...?"
"To discuss court affairs, of course," Chu Yi said coldly.
Cheng Xu: "..." His prince was being stubborn. Clearly, he wanted to learn how to win a beauty's smile and was seeking advice from married officials.
Alas, Lady Xie was a widow... Even if the prince won her heart, the imperial family would never allow a widow to become Princess Consort of the Pacifying West. Moreover, as the eldest daughter of the Yun family, marrying a general's daughter would make the Empress and Crown Prince suspect the prince of imperial ambitions. To maintain balance, the Emperor would never permit a Yun woman to marry the prince.
Why did the prince have to set his heart on a Yun woman? This path was destined to be difficult.
Late at night, Yun Chu remained awake. Thoughts of the children filled her with energy, making sleep impossible. Their faces lingered in her mind, their laughter echoed in her ears, and visions of the three of them together played before her eyes.It was a scene she wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Heaven had truly been too kind to her.
How much virtue had she accumulated in her past life to be granted this reunion with her children in this lifetime?
Yun Chu stayed awake almost until dawn yet didn't feel tired at all. After washing up and finishing her meal, she summoned Chen Defu and instructed, "Here are five thousand taels of silver. Take it to Qing'an Temple to gild the Buddha's statue. There's no need to leave my name."
To be reborn back to this year when she was twenty.
To have found both children.
These were all blessings bestowed upon her by heaven.
"Additionally—" she paused before continuing, "I want to establish a shelter specifically for homeless children."
Her own children were fortunate enough to survive and grow up this much.
But in this world, there were still many children with nowhere to go.
Some were separated from their families, some became orphans after losing both parents, some were abandoned due to physical illnesses, and some were refugees wandering from famine-stricken areas...
She wanted to help these poor children.
And also, to accumulate blessings for Yu Ge'er and Changsheng, so the two children could grow up healthy...
Chen Defu wouldn't question why. He asked, "How much silver does Madam plan to use for establishing the shelter?"
"Use as much as needed," Yun Chu said calmly. "Buy some cheaper land in the outskirts of the capital. I'll personally draw the shelter's blueprint. You arrange for trustworthy people to manage the shelter."
From this, Chen Defu knew Madam was serious about this matter.
Buying land, building houses, then hiring people to manage it, and finally taking in those homeless children—every day after would mean spending silver like water.
Fortunately, Madam had earned quite a lot of silver, otherwise they couldn't afford such expenses.
At the same time, he thought to himself.
If the Xie family had treated Madam better, and if Madam had used the money donated to the temple and for building the shelter to help the Xie family instead, how could the Xie family have come to this...
The Xie family had brought this upon themselves.
He just didn't know how much longer Madam planned to stay with the Xie family.
Chen Defu went off to handle the matters.
Yun Chu took out the courtyard's blueprint, planning to review it again to see if any improvements were needed.
While examining it, she suddenly heard Ting Feng's panicked voice: "Madam, Madam..."
Ting Feng used to be impulsive, but since Ting Shuang's marriage, she had gradually matured. Yun Chu hadn't seen her so flustered in a long time.
She put down the blueprint: "What happened?"
"Eld-eldest Young Master..." Ting Feng gasped, "Eldest Young Master has returned!"
Yun Chu looked up in disbelief: "What did you say?"
Before Ting Feng could answer, Yun Chu saw a figure approaching closer at the courtyard gate.
Even though he wore tattered clothes, even though he was utterly disheveled, even though his face was covered in dirt and wounds, even though he had lost one eye—she could still see that distinctive unyielding spirit unique to Xie Shi'an.
She abruptly stood up.
"Mother."
Xie Shi'an walked in with difficulty, step by step, until he stood before Yun Chu and performed a greeting ritual.
As he came closer, Yun Chu saw that his left eye no longer had an eyeball, becoming a dark hollow. His entire face was covered with whip marks and burns.
Yun Chu couldn't believe that someone could return alive from the death row prison, and moreover, return openly and honestly.
But thinking about it, it made sense—this was Xie Shi'an, who would reach the highest official positions in the future. How could he die so simply...She showed just the right amount of sorrow on her face: "An Ge'er, you've finally returned. I sent people to the prison multiple times, but they never allowed me to see you. How did you manage to escape?"
"I wrote a blood letter and gave it to the Second Prince, Gong Xi Prince, who happened to be visiting the death row prison. It was Gong Xi Prince who saved me." Xie Shi'an noticed a house blueprint on the table from the corner of his eye and said, "Mother, there's no need to look for another residence for the Xie family. As I've been offering strategies to Gong Xi Prince, he has allowed our family to keep this courtyard."
Yun Chu's heart trembled.
In her previous life, Xie Shi'an had worked for Gong Xi Prince.
Despite all that had happened in this lifetime, he had still ended up boarding Gong Xi Prince's ship.
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