Chapter 229: The Adorable Little Cotton-Padded Jacket
The early winter wind swept fallen leaves across the courtyard.
Ting Xue and Ting Feng held the little girl's hands as they collected pretty leaves in the yard.
The little girl gathered the leaves, placed them on the table, picked up a brush and began painting on them.
Yun Chu rested her chin in her hand.
Because Changsheng had poor health, all her attendants were adults - there wasn't a single girl her age around.
Now that Changsheng was gradually emerging from her self-enclosed world, she would start needing friends. Perhaps she should buy a young maid to keep Changsheng company.
While lost in thought, she saw Ting Feng enter and say: "Miss, when I went out to buy candy earlier, I heard that the Zou family's young madam... that Madame Zou we met yesterday at the hot spring manor, she actually hanged herself."
Yun Chu couldn't conceal her astonishment: "She's dead?"
"The whole capital is abuzz with rumors," Ting Feng shook her head. "They say the Zou family's eldest son isn't actually of Zou blood at all. Madame Zou strangled her own daughter and forcibly adopted a peasant woman's son. All these years, the Zou family has been raising another family's son for nothing." She continued, "I heard the Zou family learned about this last night. First thing this morning, they summoned Madame Zou's natal family and presented them with a letter of divorce. Her natal family refused to acknowledge this daughter either. With neither her husband's family nor her natal family wanting her, she hanged herself at the Zou family's entrance..."
Yun Chu's fingers stilled.
This incident had actually happened seven or eight years earlier than in her previous life.
Currently, the Zou family's eldest son wasn't even ten years old yet - completely incapable of protecting Madame Zou. No wonder she had hanged herself.
Whereas in her previous life, when this matter came to light, the Zou family's eldest son had already become a tribute scholar, considered a promising young gentleman in the capital. He was even engaged to the daughter of a first-rank noble family. With his protection, Madame Zou hadn't been divorced by the Zou family...
She hadn't sent anyone to deliver messages to the Zou family.
How could the Zou family have coincidentally received the news last night?
Yun Chu tapped her fingers on the table.
The only person who could have done this was Prince Pingxi.
She could only know some future secrets through her previous life's foresight.
Yet Prince Pingxi needed just one night to investigate.
Now, because of her rebirth, she had changed one small incident after another, causing many major events to deviate from their original course.
Her small advantage of foresight was gradually diminishing.
To help Ding Yiyuan ascend to the position of Grand Astrologer and secure his standing there, she still had so much more to do.
After Yun Chu finished her morning meal, the little girl took her hand and said: "I... I want... Father..."
"Changsheng wants to see Father, is that right?" Yun Chu stroked her little face. "Sit still, let Mother put your shoes on first."
While putting shoes on her daughter, she had Ting Feng go ahead to announce their visit.
This would prevent her young daughter from being frightened and crying if she happened to see her father covered in blood when they visited.
Only after Ting Feng returned did Yun Chu pick up the child, pass through the gateway, and arrive at Chu Yi's bedroom door.
Cheng Zongguan immediately pushed the door open and announced: "Your Highness, Miss Yun and the young mistress are here."
Yun Chu looked inside.
It was broad daylight, the warm winter sun streaming in and falling upon the man. His complexion looked much better than last night's.
He wore dark black robes that completely concealed his injuries underneath.
The little girl slipped down from Yun Chu's arms, pattered inside, and just like before, threw herself onto Chu Yi.
"Hiss—"Chu Yi's chest felt a crushing pain, making him gasp sharply from the discomfort.
"Changsheng..." Yun Chu hurriedly picked up the little girl. She sat on a small stool by the bed and settled the child on her lap. "Your father isn't feeling well and can't hold you right now. How about keeping him company like this?"
Chu Changsheng could sense her father's discomfort.
Normally, Father would be standing tall, always ready to scoop her up in his arms.
But now, he lay confined to the bed, unable to move, looking utterly pitiful.
Tears welled in the little girl's eyes as she turned and walked out.
Unsure of her intentions, Yun Chu quickly followed, only to see the child ask a maid for a small bowl. She then squatted in the flowerbed, dug up some black soil, plucked two leaves, picked a chrysanthemum, caught a tiny flying insect, and found a small stone to crush and mix everything together.
Yun Chu watched in utter bewilderment.
Then the little girl picked up the grimy bowl, trotted back to Chu Yi's bedside, produced a spoon from somewhere, scooped up some of the mysterious concoction, and held it to Chu Yi's lips. "Father, m-medicine."
Chu Yi finally understood why elders often called daughters "little warm jackets."
Having such a devoted daughter felt like a blessing accumulated over lifetimes.
He thought to himself, no matter how bizarre this "medicine" looked, it would surely taste sweet.
Just as sweet as the medicine Yun Chu had fed him last night.
Chu Yi opened his mouth.
The little girl happily fed him the mixture.
"Don't eat that!"
Yun Chu rushed to stop them.
She truly didn't want to thwart Changsheng's filial gesture.
She had assumed Chu Yi was just humoring the child.
Never did she expect the man to actually open his mouth and consume it.
While these ingredients wouldn't be lethal, they'd certainly cause stomach troubles. Already injured, he couldn't afford worsened symptoms.
Chu Changsheng pouted in grievance when her mother intervened.
"Changsheng, this isn't medicine—it's... it's a snack." Yun Chu racked her brains. "Father can only have snacks after he recovers."
Just then, Cheng Zongguan had servants bring in the actual medicine.
The little girl immediately forgot about the mysterious bowl and eagerly volunteered to feed her father.
But the moment her fingers touched the bowl's edge, she jerked them back from the heat, looking pitifully at Yun Chu.
Yun Chu blew on her tiny fingers and sighed helplessly. "Watch carefully—Mother will feed him."
The girl beamed, clapping her hands excitedly.
Steeling herself, Yun Chu blew on the medicine and brought it to the man's lips.
His lips were thin, their lines sharp like blades, naturally severe—yet now they appeared soft.
Chu Yi drank the warm medicine and said, "Thank you."
While Yun Chu was feeding him, the little girl had run back to the courtyard to collect fallen leaves.
Leaving just the two of them alone.
The room wasn't small—in fact, it was quite spacious—yet Yun Chu felt an inexplicable sense of confinement.
She grasped for conversation. "Was the Zou family incident your doing, Your Highness?"
"That Madame Zou has always been an opportunist, but she shouldn't have targeted... shouldn't have bullied Yu Ge'er." Chu Yi's voice was low. "She murdered her own daughter and deserved to pay with her life. Living this many extra years was more than she deserved."
Yun Chu's hand paused briefly before continuing to feed him the medicine.
After finishing the bowl, she had just stood up when Cheng Zongguan entered. "Your Highness, the Xie family's page boy has been found."
Yun Chu's eyes darkened.After she married into the Xie family five years ago, she had seen a book boy by Xie Jingyu's side for the first half-month, but then he inexplicably disappeared.
Her relationship with Xie Jingyu was distant, so naturally she didn't ask further.
Unexpectedly, this book boy had been involved in what happened on their wedding night five years ago...
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