Chapter 272: Poisoned Wine and White Silk
The Empress Dowager forcibly issued an imperial decree.
The Imperial Study instantly fell silent.
The Empress quietly pondered—could the Yun family have some hidden influence she was unaware of? Otherwise, why would the Empress Dowager persist so fiercely?
Yin Fei silently shook her head.
They say beautiful women bring calamity, and today she witnessed it firsthand. It must be that Chu Rui had taken a liking to Yun Chu, prompting the Empress Dowager to come and force a marriage.
First, the Empress’s nephew proposed marriage, and now the Empress Dowager was forcing a match. Being too beautiful was also a problem—one’s marriage was entirely out of their own hands.
Truly pitiful, lamentable, and tragic.
Amid the silence, Yun Chu knelt directly on the ground. “This guilty woman dares not accept the decree. I beg the Empress Dowager to punish me!”
The Empress Dowager flew into a rage. “Yun Yiren, how dare you defy the imperial decree!”
“I beg the Empress Dowager to punish me!”
Yun Chu prostrated herself on the floor.
If, in this second chance at life, she was still to be controlled by others, she might as well die.
Whatever punishment it was, she would accept it.
The Empress Dowager’s chest heaved violently with anger.
This woman was willing to marry into the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor but would rather defy the decree than marry Rui’er. It was all because Rui’er was no longer a prince and held no power…
Such a power-hungry woman was utterly unworthy of Rui’er.
Rui’er must be blind to have taken a liking to a woman like this!
“Your father, Yun Silin, has been convicted of colluding with the enemy and treason. It is only because the Emperor remembers the Yun family’s contributions that he has not yet allowed the Court of Judicial Review to announce the verdict. Do not think the Yun family is still what it once was?” The Empress Dowager looked down at Yun Chu from her elevated position. "Without the Yun family as your backing, what right do you have to defy this family's decree?"”
As she spoke, she lifted her foot, pressing the tip against Yun Chu’s shoulder, and pushed her forward.
Before the Empress Dowager could exert force, Yun Chu had already leaned backward in response, falling to the ground without sustaining any injury. Yet, she wore a perfectly feigned expression of fear and unease.
The Emperor’s brows were furrowed.
He gave Gao Gonggong a meaningful glance.
Having served the Emperor for over forty years, Gao Gonggong immediately understood what that look meant.
It was an order to summon the officials from the Censorate at once, so they could witness firsthand how the Empress Dowager was forcing a marriage and record it in the annals of history.
Whether the marriage proceeded or not, what the Emperor wanted was to ruin the reputations of the Empress Dowager and Chu Rui…
“Yun Chu, with the Yun family in its current state, if you were smart, you would know how fortunate you are to be able to marry Rui’er,” the Empress Dowager said, enunciating each word clearly. "Of course, if you insist on defying the decree, this family will not force you to agree. But you must weigh whether you can bear the consequences.”
Yin Fei’s eyelids twitched.
The only outcome for those who defied an imperial decree was death.
Yi’er had escaped punishment for defying a decree because he was the Emperor’s own son. What father would execute his son for disobedience?
But Yun Chu was nothing.
“All the men of the Yun family died in battle on the front lines. If a woman of the Yun family were to die tragically in the palace for defying a decree, and if word got out…” The Empress wore a worried expression. “The common people might criticize the Empress Dowager.”
The Emperor’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
If a woman of the Yun family were to die at the hands of the Empress Dowager, witnessed by all the officials from the Censorate, then this matter would be perfect.
He glanced out the window, where he seemed to catch a glimpse of approaching figures.
Only then did he speak. “Defying an imperial decree is a crime punishable by death. Yun Yiren, are you certain you wish to defy the Empress Dowager’s decree?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Yun Chu also saw the figures drawing nearer outside the window.She thought to herself, her eldest brother moved so quickly, arriving with such speed.
She spoke: "Your Majesty, this humble woman is not defying the decree, but following her own conscience... I know that defying an imperial decree is a capital offense, but the Empress Dowager practices Buddhism and embodies compassion. I know the Empress Dowager would never be so cruel..."
The Empress Dowager smiled.
This wretched woman was certain she wouldn't be sentenced to death, hence daring to defy the decree.
This showed she held no regard for the Empress Dowager's authority at all.
She spoke word by word: "If Yun Yiren defies the decree, then let her choose between poisoned wine or white silk. In consideration of the Yun family's contributions, I grant you the mercy of keeping your body intact."
"By that reasoning, should our Yun family thank the Empress Dowager for her grace?"
A cold voice came from outside the Imperial Study.
Simultaneously, the door of the Imperial Study was pushed open by Gao Gonggong, and a group of people entered, bringing with them the biting winter chill.
Yun Chu looked up.
She was instantly stunned.
She had thought it was her eldest brother Yun Ze arriving with officials from the Censorate.
Never had she expected to see her father.
Yun Silin walked at the forefront, followed by Yun Ze and two deputy generals, with a group of civil officials from the Censorate behind them.
In her previous life, her father hadn't returned to the capital until two years later.
But in this life, he was back in less than three months.
The Emperor was also stunned.
Yun Silin, whose fate had been unknown, now stood before him—what did this mean?
"You... weren't you dead?"
The Empress Dowager stared at Yun Silin as if she had seen a ghost.
Her nephew was the Chariot and Cavalry General. Over a month ago, he had written to inform her that Yun Silin had been surrounded by his men and died in Dark Lake.
Yun Silin looked at Yun Chu, who sat collapsed on the floor.
His daughter, whom he had cherished and raised like a precious pearl, who had suffered for five years in the Xie family before finally returning to the Yun family, was now being sentenced to death by the Empress Dowager.
If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed that the imperial family would dare treat a member of the Yun family this way!
He had feigned death; he wasn't truly dead!
After pretending to be dead to secure the Southern border region, he had sent a deputy to rush back with the news.
But the deputy couldn't match his speed on horseback.
He had left the Southern border affairs to the city magistrate to handle, riding over a dozen sweat-blooded horses to death as he raced from the Southern border region to the capital.
He had just returned to the Yun family, intending to inform them he was alive before attending court, when Yun Ze told him that Chu'er had been summoned to the palace.
Thus, he rushed over without delay.
Before even entering, he had heard the Empress Dowager's words.
"Chu'er."
Yun Silin threw aside what he was holding and immediately went to help his daughter up.
The object in his hand fell to the ground with a thud, rolling and rolling until it came to a stop before the Empress Dowager.
The cloth wrapping it loosened, revealing two bloody heads.
"Ah—!"
The Empress Dowager let out a sharp scream, collapsing to the floor in terror.
Her hand trembling, she reached forward and pulled the cloth away completely, exposing the faces: "Pin'er..."
Feng Pin was her nephew serving as Chariot and Cavalry General in the distant Southern border region.
"Your humble servant pays respects to the Emperor and Empress! I apologize for my delayed arrival, please forgive me, Your Majesty!" After greeting the Emperor, Yun Silin pointed at the heads and said, "Chariot and Cavalry General Feng Pin conspired with Southern Yue military officers in an attempt to rebel, causing Qi City in the Southern border region to become a backyard for Southern Yue, where the people suffer unbearably... I executed Feng Pin first, then captured the head of the King of Southern Yue. Please examine them, Your Majesty!"
One head was Feng Pin's.
The other belonged to the King of Southern Yue.The Emperor abruptly rose to his feet, exclaiming with great joy, "Excellent, truly excellent! Yun Silin, you have indeed lived up to Our expectations! Rewards! Bountiful rewards shall be granted!"
The Empress Dowager finally regained her composure: "Your Majesty, Yun Silin clearly did not die, yet he spread news of his own death. With such cunning, how can we simply accept his claim that Feng Pin committed treason? Where is the evidence?!"
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