Chapter 451: Extra Story - Previous Life 3
The powder was poured into the bowl, turning into a black liquid.
Xie Shiwei picked up the poison and walked toward Yun Chu.
He Shi grabbed him, lowering her voice: "She is your nominal legal mother, and you are a court official. You cannot commit such an act of treason."
Xie Shiwei curled his lips and looked toward someone standing in the corner: "Xie Shiyun, you do it."
Xie Shiyun's face instantly turned pale: "I won't."
Xie Shi'an's voice was cold: "You are part of the Xie family. Some things must be done by you."
Xie Shiyun kept his head lowered stubbornly.
Ting Yu behind him pushed him, sighed, and whispered: "Now your eldest brother is in charge of the Xie family. Even your father has to listen to him, let alone you. Yun'er, go send your mother on her final journey."
The sixteen-year-old Xie Shiyun was not very tall and somewhat thin. His lips were tightly pressed together, unwilling to take even one step forward.
"Yun'er, why are you so stubborn?" Ting Yu said through gritted teeth, "Yes, the lady dotes on you and treats you like her own child, but she only dotes on you—she hasn't given you anything. All of the lady's dowry, some went to Xie Ping as her dowry, some to your eldest brother as betrothal gifts, and you got nothing... Even your eldest brother and sister can be so heartless, why cling to that tiny bit of affection! If you go against your eldest brother's will this time, our mother and son will have no place in this household! Do you only care about your legal mother and not your birth mother?"
Xie Shiyun's eyes were filled with utter despair.
He had no choice but to walk, step by step, to the center of the courtyard and take the poison from Xie Shiwei's hand.
He walked toward Yun Chu.
He reached Yun Chu.
He knelt down, his voice choked: "Mother, I'm sorry, I have no choice, truly no choice..."
Yun Chu quietly watched him.
After her own children died, Ting Yu gave birth to Xie Shiyun shortly after. All the love she had for her deceased children was transferred to Xie Shiyun.
She personally raised Xie Shiyun, and he became the apple of her eye.
But.
The child she raised with such affection was now holding a bowl of poison before her.
"Xie Shiyun, you have no heart!"
Xie Xian cried out hoarsely, then rushed over and knocked the bowl of poison to the ground.
"Unfilial daughter!" Xie Jingyu slapped Xie Xian across the face again, "Guards, take her away and lock her in the ancestral hall!"
Several of his trusted followers entered the courtyard, seized Xie Xian, and dragged her out.
Just as Jiang Yiniang was about to speak, Xie Jingyu kicked her in the chest: "This is the fine daughter you raised! Guards, lock her in the woodshed!"
Soon, Jiang Yiniang was also dragged away.
Xie Jingyu turned to He Shi again: "Is there any more poison?"
"The poison Ping'er sent back is gone, but—" He Shi paused, "there is rat poison. It has the same effect."
Xie Shi'an said calmly: "Then so be it."
He saw the overwhelming hatred in Yun Chu's eyes. If given even the slightest opportunity, the entire Xie family would likely face eternal damnation.
Yun Chu's life truly could not be spared.
He Shi turned and left. Not long after, she returned with a bowl of black liquid and directly placed it in Xie Shiyun's hands, saying indifferently: "Third Young Master, be careful this time."
Xie Shiyun's fingers trembled uncontrollably.
He offered it to Yun Chu, but Yun Chu did not take it.He pleaded, "Mother, drink it. Once you do, everything will be over..."
"That's right, Chu'er..." Yuan Shi wept bitterly. "You are a daughter-in-law of the Xie family. Do this for the Xie family, please, I beg you, Chu'er. Preserve your dignity and drink it."
Yun Chu used her last ounce of strength to press her lips tightly together.
"Hurry up, don't waste time," Xie Shiwei said impatiently. "I still have to report to the military camp later. Don't interfere with my important matters."
Xie Shiyun held back his tears.
He stepped forward and gripped Yun Chu's chin with one hand.
"Mother, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I truly have no other choice. In the next life, I will atone for my sins..."
He poured the entire bowl of medicinal liquid into Yun Chu's mouth.
The highly toxic rat poison caused excruciating abdominal pain the moment it was swallowed.
Yun Chu collapsed to the ground, lying on the cold floor, her eyes fixed on the crescent moon in the sky.
The vitality in her eyes slowly faded, but those beautiful eyes remained wide open, reflecting both the crescent moon and the faces of every member of the Xie family.
This was a death with unclosed eyes—a soul unable to rest in peace.
The scene sent chills down the spines of everyone in the Xie family.
Yuan Shi tremblingly crawled forward and checked Yun Chu's breath. "She's dead... Chu'er is truly gone... Chu'er, I've wronged you..."
After saying this, she threw herself over Yun Chu's body and wailed uncontrollably.
Xie Shi'an crouched down, reached out, and closed Yun Chu's eyelids.
Yet, after being shut, those eyes opened once more.
Though she was already dead, they reopened—eyes filled with overwhelming hatred.
"How can this be?" Tao Yiniang shrank back nervously. "The mistress was driven to her death... Could she return as a vengeful ghost to claim our lives?"
"Silence!" Xie Shi'an roared angrily, and Tao Yiniang dared not say another word.
He lowered his voice and said, "Mother surely wouldn't want to see the Yun family's corpses left unburied, would she? If you go peacefully, Mother, I will handle the Yun family's funeral arrangements. How does that sound?"
Yun Chu's eyes, as if filled with extreme reluctance, finally closed.
Only then did everyone present collectively breathe a sigh of relief.
Xie Shi'an addressed the entire Xie family, "Xie Yun Shi, deeply aware of the Yun family's unforgivable crimes and to avoid implicating the Xie family, has taken her own life. The Xie family is grateful to Xie Yun Shi and will bury her with full honors."
Xie Shiwei expressed disapproval, "A lavish funeral would cost over ten thousand taels. Someone like her isn't worth..."
"Enough," Xie Shi'an declared decisively. "We will proceed as I've said. What happened today stays within the Xie family. Do not speak of it outside."
Xie Jingyu turned to He Shi, "Prepare everything needed for the funeral overnight. We will hold the service tomorrow at dawn."
He Shi nodded, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction as she looked at Yun Chu's corpse.
Yun Chu was dead. With Yu Lang now widowed, her opportunity had finally arrived... As long as An Ge'er could overturn the He family's case, she would rightfully become the mistress of the Xie household.
Her days of prosperity were finally about to begin.
Exhausted, Xie Shi'an returned to his courtyard and saw his wife pacing anxiously.
"Husband!" Song Yin hurried over. "I heard the court has convicted the Yun family. How is Mother? What does the Xie family plan to do with her?"
Xie Shi'an replied in a low voice, "Mother is gone. She took her own life."
"What?" Song Yin's face showed disbelief. "How could this be..."
Having married into the Xie family for so many years, she visited Mother daily to pay respects, sometimes sharing meals, and felt she understood her quite well.In her memory, her mother was a resilient woman who seemed unbreakable no matter what happened—how could she possibly take her own life?
After the Yun family's misfortune, her mother had worked tirelessly, and initially, she had also helped brainstorm solutions.
But later, her husband forbade her from getting involved, fearing it would affect her elder brother's official career, so she had no choice but to stop inquiring and showing concern.
Yet she knew that her mother had never given up on clearing the Yun family's name.
With the Yun family's case still unresolved, how could her mother have committed suicide? Was it even possible?
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