Chapter 45: I Will Not Divorce
Ting Shuang reported the gossip she had heard outside to Yun Chu.
"The Xie family matter spread throughout the capital last night. They're saying Minister Xie of the Ministry of Revenue is lustful, actually engaging in daytime debauchery with his concubine during his grandmother's birthday banquet... They also say the concubine is old and ugly, that Minister Xie has unusual tastes... In short, everyone is discussing the Xie family. The master's reputation is completely ruined, and of course, the young mistress's reputation for poor household management has also become widely known..."
Yun Chu asked: "How did Old Madam react?"
"I heard she smashed everything in her room early this morning. All the servants are terrified and silent." Ting Shuang said softly. "They called a physician this morning, who said Old Madam has liver qi stagnation and prescribed many remedies."
"With everyone discussing the Xie family outside, won't Old Madam's illness worsen?" Ting Xue worried. "Will our mistress have to go care for her then?"
Ting Shuang shook her head: "Last night, Prince Pingxi brought seventy or eighty bandits into the capital tied up. Everyone's attention has been drawn to that matter. The capital has new curiosities every day - within ten days everyone will forget about the Xie family affair, and Old Madam's illness will naturally improve."
As they spoke, Ting Feng brought Chen Defu into the side hall.
"Greetings, Mistress." Chen Defu bowed and said, "Last night, this old servant followed your instructions and went to the abandoned temple outside the city. Indeed, I found He Xu there. His buttocks were completely battered, and the beggars in the temple had stripped him naked. He lay exposed outside - if left unattended, he probably wouldn't last three days. I brought him into the city, found an inn, summoned a physician to apply medicine, and he woke up this morning."
Yun Chu closed her teacup lid and said: "Chen Bo, continue taking good care of He Xu. Find a suitable opportunity to send him into the gambling den."
He Xu was addicted to gambling, constantly organizing small gambling games in the residence with servants. She didn't believe He Xu could resist the huge temptation of a real gambling den.
She continued, "Thoroughly investigate the name He Lingying. Report any clues you find."
Chen Defu bowed in acknowledgment: "Yes, Mistress."
After Chen Defu left, Ting Shuang asked softly: "Does Mistress suspect there's something wrong with Concubine He's identity?"
Yun Chu didn't hide it from her: "Concubine He might be the daughter of a convicted official. However, among the families executed or exiled from the capital in the past fifty years, there is no He clan. Perhaps my guess is wrong."
Ting Shuang's eyes widened sharply.
If Concubine He came from a convicted official's family, according to law, she should have been forced into generations of prostitution. Yet the Xie family took her as a concubine.
The consequences were too terrible to contemplate.
And the reason Concubine He could become a Xie family concubine was entirely due to the mistress's planning.
The mistress was making an enemy of the entire Xie family.
Ting Shuang broke out in a cold sweat: "M-Mistress, should we return to the Yun family and discuss this with the young master?"
Yun Chu asked her: "Discuss what?"
"You... you're opposing the entire Xie family..." Ting Shuang's voice dropped to a whisper. "Why... why?"
She had always thought the mistress made He Shi a concubine to better control her. She never imagined the truth was a hundred times more terrifying than she had thought.
Yun Chu said: "Xie Jingyu is not a good match. I've endured him for four years, and I can't endure it any longer."Ting Shuang’s tears streamed down: “That time, the Yun family invited the old general to intervene, urging Madam and the master to divorce.”
“No, I won’t divorce.” Yun Chu smiled faintly. “I won’t leave the Xie family.”
She would not give the Xie family any chance to rise again; she wanted to personally witness the Xie family’s gradual decline.
Just then, the matrons who had come to report matters entered and were startled to see Ting Shuang weeping uncontrollably.
The matrons had never dared to act presumptuously before the mistress of the house. Seeing that even the most authoritative senior maid by the madam’s side had been scolded to tears, how could they dare to cause trouble? One by one, they obediently reported everything that had happened in the manor during Yun Chu’s illness.
Yun Chu calmly issued instructions for each matter.
Seated in the main position, her demeanor was serene and composed, which brought the matrons a sense of reassurance. With the madam present, even if something went wrong, there would be a solution—unlike when the young lady managed the household, issuing a jumble of disordered tasks that left them unsure where to begin…
After the matrons withdrew, Yun Chu ordered a carriage prepared and headed to the Yun residence.
Given the major incident at the Xie family yesterday, her family must have had a sleepless night, and she needed to return in person.
As soon as she arrived at the Yun residence’s entrance, the guards hurried inside to report. Shortly after, Lin Shi and Yun Ze rushed out to greet her.
“Mother, Elder Brother.” Yun Chu spoke with a relaxed tone. “I heard that Prince Pingxi has returned to the capital after suppressing the bandits. Why didn’t Elder Brother go to the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor to offer congratulations?”
Yun Ze’s expression was grim: “With such a major incident happening to you, how could I have the heart to go to the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor? Do you know how worried Mother has been all night?”
“It’s just Xie Jingyu taking in a concubine—such a trivial matter. Mother, please don’t worry about it.” Yun Chu linked arms with Lin Shi and said with a smile, “To me, having one more or one less concubine makes no difference.”
Lin Shi’s heart ached as if pierced by a knife: “Chu’er, this marriage was one I carefully selected for you. I never expected to choose such a heartless scoundrel. A son of a humble family, he rose from the seventh rank to the fifth rank in just five years, all thanks to our Yun family. How dare he treat you with such contempt? Your elder brother and I have discussed it—we want you to divorce Xie Jingyu. You’re still young…”
“Mother, please don’t mention divorce again.” Yun Chu said earnestly. “Xie Jingyu and I can still make this marriage work, and I’m willing to continue.”
Her gaze was resolute, without any hesitation or inner conflict.
Lin Shi sighed.
Yun Ze said nothing more.
Although he was only a seventh-rank official now, his surname was Yun, which destined him to a status different from that of ordinary seventh-rank officials.
He would take action to make Xie Jingyu understand: without the Yun family’s support, could the Xie family even maintain its foothold in the capital?
Daring to look down on his sister would come with consequences.
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.” Yun Ze said gently with a smile, “Your sister-in-law personally prepared nourishing soup. You must have more later.”
Lin Shi led her toward the main hall: “In a little while, your father will return to the capital. When he does, we’ll have him share a drink with Xie Jingyu.”
Yun Chu’s face lit up with surprise: “Father is returning to the capital?”
In her previous life, after the Yun family met with disaster, her father was seized from the front lines by imperial envoys and thrown directly into the dungeon. Despite her utmost efforts, she never got to see her father one last time.
Calculating the time, it had been at least ten years since she last saw him."Look how happy you are." Lin Shi also smiled. "Your father dotes on you most. If he knew about the grievances you've suffered at the Xie family, the Xies would have quite a reckoning to face."
Yun Chu happily had lunch at home before preparing to return to the Xie residence.
Yun Ze personally saw her out, advising, "Chu'er, I'm your own brother from the same mother. Never hide anything from me, no matter what happens."
"Understood, big brother." Yun Chu laughed freely and unrestrainedly, just like when she was a child. "I just hope big brother won't find me bothersome later. It's getting late, I should be going."
Just as she was about to board the carriage, suddenly another carriage came in from the intersection, blocking her path.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and a man dressed in black brocade robes jumped down from the carriage.
Yun Ze and Yun Chu hurriedly bowed: "Greetings to Marquis Xuanwu."
The newcomer was indeed Marquis Xuanwu, Qin Mingheng.
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