Yun Chu Ling

Chapter 450: Side Story - Previous Life 2

The commotion in the courtyard drew attention.

The Xie family members arrived upon hearing the disturbance.

Xie Jingyu came from the front courtyard and, seeing many servants gathered around, coldly ordered, "Everyone, step back and attend to your duties."

As he entered the courtyard, he happened to hear Xie Xian's words. Enraged, he stepped forward and slapped her: "Ungrateful daughter! How could I have given birth to such an unfilial creature!"

Xie Xian stubbornly pressed her lips together, refusing to even glance at her own father.

Xie Jingyu turned to Yun Chu: "The Yun family's case has been decided. The charge of treason has been confirmed. Over a hundred members of the clan will be executed after autumn."

Yun Chu's eyes widened in horror: "No... the Yun family is innocent! I will beat the drum to appeal, I will bring my case to the emperor..."

She tried to step forward.

But she had forgotten that she had been kneeling for nearly three months—her legs had long lost their strength. The moment she took a step, she collapsed to the ground.

Watching her disheveled state, Xie Jingyu inexplicably recalled the day she married him over a decade ago.

Back then, she was only fifteen, adorned in phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, with a dowry that stretched for miles, becoming his bride. Yet that very night, something happened that he still could not bring himself to face.

Afterward, he never touched her again.

In the beginning, she was like a radiant pearl, but gradually, she became tarnished by dust. Over more than ten years, she slowly began to wither.

Now, with the Yun family's downfall, these short three months had aged her as if thirty years had passed. Her face was etched with hardship, and she was only thirty-four this year...

"Madam, we have been husband and wife for nearly twenty years. I am not entirely without feeling for you," Xie Jingyu said slowly. "Now, I offer you two paths. The first: write a letter severing ties, completely cutting off your relationship with the Yun family. If you do, the Xie family will still provide you shelter."

"Impossible!"

Yun Chu cried out hoarsely.

The Yun family had raised her and nurtured her; she carried their blood in her veins. She could never sever her ties with them.

"Then, only the second path remains," Xie Jingyu said, looking at her. "End your own life. Preserve some dignity for yourself."

Yun Chu gritted her teeth, forcing out four words from the depths of her chest: "I will not die!"

She had to live on—live to overturn the unjust verdict against the Yun family. The Yun family had been loyal for generations; how could they die stained with such filth...

"Then what should we do?" Xie Jingyu sighed. "You refuse the first path and the second as well. Madam, what do you suggest?"

"Father, there's no need to waste words on her," Xie Shiwei interjected. "The Yun family's rebellion is a fact. Anyone associated with them will be viewed with suspicion. If we divorce her, the Xie family will be criticized by the public for being heartless. Having her take her own life is the best course of action. Don't you agree, eldest brother?"

Xie Shi'an's thin lips were pressed tightly together.

He recalled the first time he met Yun Chu—back then, she had just lost her own child, her face full of exhaustion and sorrow.

When he called her "Mother" for the first time, a smile had appeared on her face, and she had accepted him without hesitation.

She taught him the principles of being a good person, hired renowned tutors for him, sent him to the Imperial College, paved every path for him, and helped him establish himself in the court.

Over the years, he had indeed come to regard her as his rightful mother and was willing to show her filial piety...

But of all things, the Yun family should never have opposed Gong Xi Prince, never stood against him...Without pulling down the Yun family, Prince Gong Xi could never rival the Crown Prince... For the Xie family's future, to overturn the He family's wrongful case, and for the Xie family's status after the new emperor's ascension, he had no choice but to target the Yun family...

But he never intended to take her life.

Xie Shi'an spoke: "Mother, as long as you sever ties with the Yun family, you will remain the matriarch of the Xie household. I will honor and care for you all my life."

He Shi, standing not far away, felt deeply conflicted.

An Ge'er was her biological son, yet his heart and eyes only regarded Yun Chu as his mother.

She was grateful to Yun Chu for sparing no effort in paving the way for An Ge'er and Wei Ge'er, but at the same time, she resented Yun Chu for taking her sons away...

Yun Chu's eyes were bloodshot as she lifted her head and said: "Shi'an, if you agree to one more request from me, I will write the severance letter."

Xie Shi'an breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down: "Please speak, Mother."

At that moment, Yun Chu suddenly drew a golden hairpin from her sleeve and thrust it toward Xie Shi'an's neck.

Although Xie Shi'an dodged, his neck was grazed by the pin.

He stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

Yun Chu pressed forward.

Xie Shi'an shouted angrily: "Shiwei, save me!"

As a dignified Chief Minister, he had never been in such a humiliating state.

He had spared her life.

Yet she sought to kill him.

Indeed, women and petty men were the hardest to deal with in this world.

Xie Shiwei drew the sword at his waist and pressed it against Yun Chu's neck. Blood immediately trickled down her neck.

"Stop!" Yuan Shi trembled as she approached. "Shiwei, lower your blade. She is your mother."

Xie Shiwei said coldly: "The daughter of a convicted official is unworthy of being my mother!"

"But she is indeed your legal mother!" Yuan Shi stepped forward and took the long blade from Xie Shiwei's hand. "If you kill her, you will bear the crime of matricide. Why ruin your own future?"

Having said that, she crouched down and looked at Yun Chu with tear-filled eyes: "Chu'er, stop tormenting yourself. Write the severance letter..."

Concubine Jiang wept along and whispered: "Madam, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Preserve your life first, and plan slowly for the future..."

"We cannot spare her life!" He Shi emerged from the shadows. "She nearly killed Shi'an just now. If she remains in the Xie family, she will surely attempt to harm Shi'an again!"

Yun Chu's eyes were crimson with rage.

She looked at He Shi before her—the head matron of her husband Xie Jingyu's courtyard, deeply trusted by Xie Jingyu and beloved by the children.

It was only after the Yun family's downfall that she learned He Shi was the biological mother of Xie Shi'an and his two siblings.

Outwardly, those three children called her "Mother," but in truth, they regarded He Shi as their real mother. No matter how much she sacrificed for the children, a single whispered word from He Shi could nullify all her efforts... Children who could not be nurtured would inevitably turn around and bite the hand that fed them.

He Shi saw overwhelming hatred in Yun Chu's eyes, and her hands trembled involuntarily.

Avoiding Yun Chu's gaze, she took a packet of powder from her sleeve. "Ping'er sent this a few days ago, saying to administer it to Madam when the time is right."

Though she did not specify, everyone knew the powder contained poison.

She continued, "Now that Ping'er enjoys the Emperor's favor, she must know His Majesty's intentions. If we keep the Yun family's daughter, the Xie family will inevitably fall under suspicion. My Lord, Shi'an, it is time to make a resolute decision."

Xie Jingyu looked toward Xie Shi'an.He had always trusted this son. Whatever Shi'an decided to do, he would let it be done.

Xie Shi'an's neck was still bleeding.

All the respect he held for Yun Chu as his mother had been destroyed by her earlier stab.

He closed his eyes: "Then let us send Mother on her final journey."