Chapter 200 Leaving the Xie Family
Yun Chu raised her hand.
Ting Xue, standing behind her, retrieved a piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it over.
She unfolded the thin sheet—the three characters at the top, "Divorce Agreement," stunned everyone present.
"Have you all seen it clearly?" Ting Feng's voice was cold. "Our mistress... no, our young lady has long been divorced from Xie Jingyu. This bears Xie Jingyu's name and fingerprint. Back when the Xie family faced trouble, our young lady could have presented this divorce agreement and left your Xie family. Yet even when the Yun family came, she did not leave. Why? Tell me, why?"
The barrage of questions silenced everyone.
Yuan Shi's face was filled with guilt.
Chu'er had stood by the Xie family through thick and thin, yet the Xie family had forced her to sever ties with her own family.
The Xie family was truly despicable.
And so was she.
Yuan Shi stepped forward and grasped Yun Chu's hand. "Chu'er, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..."
"Xie Jingyu and I divorced long ago. I should have left this place long ago," Yun Chu said calmly, her expression unreadable. "When the Xie family needed me, I was willing to stand by them. Now that the Xie family no longer needs me, it is indeed time to leave. An Ge'er, your thirteenth birthday is approaching. I had prepared a birthday gift for you—let me give it to you now."
She instructed a maid to bring a writing brush. "I hope you can be like this brush—unyielding and unbending."
Xie Shi'an still couldn't comprehend why his father had written the divorce agreement for his mother before his death...
And now, his mother was leaving just like that.
The Xie family would gain nothing from this.
A deep sense of resentment welled up in his heart.
But then, he began to despise himself.
His mother had prepared his birthday gift in advance, while he had been scheming against her every day...
How could he be such a selfish person?
He had driven his birth mother to her death.
He had driven his adoptive mother away.
How could someone like him deserve to live...
"An Ge'er, from now on, the Xie family will depend on you," Yun Chu said. "If you encounter any troubles, you can come to me for advice..."
Then she smiled bitterly. "Never mind, it's better if you don't come to me. I wouldn't want to implicate you."
Her words only deepened Xie Shi'an's guilt.
After all he had done, his mother was still thinking of him.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
He couldn't help but slap himself several times across the face.
Yun Chu's long eyelashes veiled the emotions in her eyes.
Divorcing at this moment served two purposes: first, to silence the gossipmongers, and second, to make Xie Shi'an feel guilty toward her. Guilt was easier to dissolve than hatred—she didn't want a hungry wolf lurking in the shadows forever.
Yun Chu ordered her belongings to be packed.
Her things had already been organized earlier and stored in chests in the warehouse. In less than an hour, everything was moved out.
Yuan Shi wept uncontrollably. "Chu'er, can we pretend the divorce agreement never existed? I won't force you to sever ties with the Yun family anymore..."
She truly couldn't imagine life in the Xie family without Yun Chu. She had no idea how to go on living such a life...
Ting Yu stood at the estate's entrance, watching as servants carried chest after chest onto the carriage. Her expression grew increasingly grim. All of this should have belonged to Yun Ge'er, yet the mistress was taking everything away. How could she accept this? How could she ever be reconciled?
Yun Chu's grand departure attracted many onlookers among the passersby.
"What's going on?"
"Why is Madam Xie moving her things away?"
"What's happening?""Our young lady has divorced the Xie family." Ting Feng stood on the carriage, speaking coldly. "It was Xie Jingyu who personally wrote the divorce letter. After the Xie family encountered trouble, our young lady didn't present it because she wanted to face the difficulties together with the Xie family. However, now that the Yun family is in trouble, the Xie family fears being implicated and is forcing our young lady to sever ties with the Yun family. That's why she had no choice but to produce the divorce letter!"
"Heavens, the Xie family is utterly shameless!"
"Madam Xie... oh no, we should address her as Miss Yun or Lady Yun now. First she was affected by her husband's family, and now she's burdened by her maternal family's troubles. She's truly suffering terribly."
"Miss Yun remained loyal to the Xie family and was willing to weather the storm with the Yun family. Such devotion and integrity truly make her a model noblewoman."
"If one marries a woman, she should be from the Yun family. It's a pity the Yun family is about to fall."
"..."
Amid the discussions of the crowd, the carriage gradually moved away.
Xie Shi'an watched the carriage and murmured, "Mother, I'm sorry..."
He tightened his grip on the writing brush in his hand. No matter how hard he tried, the brush remained straight and unyielding.
He too wanted to become an unyielding person.
But it was too difficult.
The news of the Yun family's eldest daughter divorcing Xie Jingyu instantly spread throughout the capital's streets and alleys.
Yun Chu lifted the carriage curtain and looked back, but she could no longer see the Xie residence, not even a single rooftop.
She had imagined this day many times before.
It turned out such peace couldn't stir even a ripple in her heart.
On a sunny late autumn day, during an ordinary afternoon, she just like that left the Xie family that had entangled her for an entire lifetime.
The past pain, hatred, grief... slowly dissipated in the autumn wind.
Don't dwell on the past.
Look forward.
She would have a better future.
Qiutong led the carriage train to the residence in Yulin Lane, while Yun Chu returned to the Yun family by carriage.
Upon hearing the news, Lin Shi had long been waiting at the entrance of the Yun residence with others.
"Chu'er, you've finally returned!"
Lin Shi immediately embraced Yun Chu, holding her close and stroking her hair repeatedly.
She looked behind and frowned, "What about your dowry, Chu'er? Don't tell me you left it with the Xie family?"
"Of course not." Yun Chu smiled. "I had Qiutong take it to the residence in Yulin Lane. I'll be living there from now on."
Lin Shi showed clear disapproval.
Yun Ze mediated: "It's just a few steps away anyway, no matter. Let's go inside first."
No sooner had they stepped through the Yun family's main gate than a procession of carriages stopped at the entrance.
The Yun family's collateral branches in the capital had all arrived.
Having been in the capital for a hundred years, the Yun family naturally had many collateral branches, and the courtyard was filled with a crowd of people.
With the Yun family facing major events, few people paid much attention to Yun Chu's divorce. After asking a few brief questions, everyone turned their attention to Old General Yun.
Sitting on his soft couch, Old General Yun said in a deep voice, "The Yun family has weathered many storms over the years and experienced everything. This wave is nothing. Everyone must remain steady. It's just hard on the Yun family's married daughters... I declare here and now: if any daughter is mistreated by her husband's family because of the Yun family's situation, she may take Yun family guards to bring her daughter back. From then on, our Yun family will provide for her!"
Everyone nodded.
The families their daughters married into were naturally not as disgraceful as the Xie family. It was simply impossible for them to cause trouble before the situation was settled.The third master of the Yun family spoke up: "His Majesty has handed over the three thousand Yun Family Army troops to someone else. Will he next dismiss the Yun family officials from court?"
The main branch of the Yun family held the rank of first-grade general's residence, while the highest-ranking collateral branch was Yun Run's fifth-grade position. Most others held minor seventh-grade posts, occupying inconspicuous positions across all six ministries—Personnel, War, Revenue, and Works... It was precisely these Yun family members at the lowest rungs of officialdom that sustained this prominent family. If all Yun family officials were removed from office, the Yun family would truly be finished.
Old General Yun stroked his beard and said, "Of course not."
Having occupied the throne for so many years, the Emperor had mastered the art of political balance. To curb the Empress Dowager's influence, he would never allow the Yun family to fall.
The Emperor would spare no effort to find Yun Silin, using the Yun family's hand to behead the Empress Dowager's nephew, the Chariot and Cavalry General, thereby extinguishing all possibilities for the Empress Dowager's faction.
The Yun family still served a purpose, so the Emperor would not let them collapse so easily.
Moreover, in Chu'er's dream, it was foretold that Yun Silin would return to court in two years, carrying the head of the King of Southern Yue...
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