Chapter 52: Someone Wants to Jump into the Well
As the two groups stood in a stalemate, the sound of galloping hooves approached.
More than ten horses stopped in front of the carriage. Leading them was a Ferghana horse, on which sat a majestic man clad in a black cloak.
Yun Chu looked up and recognized the newcomer—it was Prince Pingxi, Chu Yi.
Chu Yi dismounted and walked to the front of the carriage, stopping where he stood without advancing further. He spoke, "So it's Lady Xie."
Yun Chu stepped down from the carriage, holding the child in her arms, and said, "Greetings, Prince Pingxi. May I ask how such a large manor as the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor, with countless servants attending to it, could allow such a young child to leave the manor late at night?"
She knew the affairs of Prince Pingxi's manor were none of her concern.
Yet, the thought of Yu Ge'er sleeping at the Xie residence for several nights without anyone searching for him, and the idea of such a young girl getting lost late at night, made her heart ache for the two children.
Moreover, the little girl in her arms showed no reaction even when her biological father was right before her—this was far from normal.
Overwhelmed by emotion, she couldn't help but voice her question.
Even though the other party was the renowned Prince Pingxi, she showed no fear.
Chu Yi met her gaze, his voice slightly hoarse: "I've been preoccupied with official duties lately and neglected the child. It is indeed a failure on my part as a father."
The attendants of Prince Pingxi's manor stared in astonishment, their eyes wide.
They had served the prince for many years and had never once seen him bow his head or apologize to anyone. Lady Xie was the first.
Yun Chu hadn't expected the prince to be so amiable either.
She lowered her head to look at the child in her arms: "Your father has come for you. Go home with him."
The little girl didn't even glance at Chu Yi, clinging tightly to Yun Chu's shoulders with her arms and legs, clearly unwilling to return.
"Changsheng, Father is taking you home," Chu Yi said, though he tried to soften his tone, it still sounded heavy. "You said you wanted to raise a cat—Father agrees, alright?"
The little girl immediately lifted her head from Yun Chu's shoulder, her dark eyes slowly turning to Chu Yi, filled with disbelief.
Chu Yi nodded: "Father won't lie to you. Be good, let Father hold you."
After what seemed like a long deliberation, the little girl reluctantly stretched out her arms and allowed Chu Yi to take her.
Yun Chu's arms suddenly felt empty.
The girl loosely wrapped her arms around her father's neck, gazing at Yun Chu with great reluctance, her large eyes gradually misting over with tears.
Yun Chu smiled and gently patted her head: "There are many bad people outside at night. Don't run off so recklessly again in the future."
The little girl pursed her lips and nodded softly.
Chu Yi looked at Yun Chu and said, "Thanks to Lady Xie. If there is anything you need assistance with, please do not hesitate to ask."
Yun Chu bowed slightly: "It was a small matter, no need for thanks."
Chu Yi nodded to her, then mounted his horse with the child in his arms.
The little girl clung to Chu Yi's neck, her eyes fixed on Yun Chu until her figure gradually disappeared into the night. Only then did she withdraw her gaze, dejected, and nestle into Chu Yi's embrace.
Back at the manor, Chu Yi summoned all the servants to the front courtyard. Dozens of them trembled with fear.
Seated in his chair, his authority palpable even without anger, he said coldly, "Speak. How did the young mistress manage to leave the manor late at night?"While the Metropolitan Prefect was interrogating the mountain bandits through the night, someone from the residence suddenly came to inform him that Changsheng had disappeared. His heart felt as if it had been thrown into a frying pan, tormented by indescribable anguish.
He immediately dispatched a team of guards to search the entire city and finally managed to locate the child. Fortunately, nothing serious had happened.
Changsheng had long wanted to keep a cat, but because of her delicate constitution—breaking out in rashes upon contact with felines—he had never agreed. Tonight, when Changsheng stubbornly clung to Lady Xie, he had no choice but to promise her a cat to coax her back into his arms. However, this did not mean Changsheng had left the residence because of the cat.
The servants stood trembling in the courtyard.
Chu Yi’s gaze fell upon the nanny who attended the child closely.
The nanny had no choice but to speak up: “In the evening, I saw the Little Commandery Princess painting a portrait of a woman and writing the word ‘Mother.’ She wept afterward. I suspect she left the residence at night to search for her mother…”
Chu Yi’s eyes darkened.
He could fulfill any of the children’s requests—except this one.
Suppressing his emotions, he said coldly, “The Little Commandery Princess is only four years old. How could she leave the residence so easily? From her courtyard, one must pass through at least five gates. Explain to me how this happened.”
While Chu Yi was interrogating the servants in the courtyard,
Chu Hongyu rushed into his sister’s room, ordered the maids to leave, and climbed directly onto the little girl’s bed.
He hugged his sister tightly and whispered,
“Changsheng, I know you miss Mother too. Let me tell you a secret—I’ve actually found her. It’s just a bit complicated to go to her home, so I didn’t dare tell you earlier…”
“But it was wrong of you to sneak out in the middle of the night. If you promise me never to do it again, I’ll take you to see Mother.”
The little girl fluttered her long lashes, her large pupils sparkling with lively light.
She gestured rapidly with both hands.
Chu Hongyu smiled. “I’m not lying to you. I really have found Mother. She’s extremely beautiful, very gentle, and she likes me a lot. I’m sure she’ll like you too.”
The little girl began to wave her hands excitedly.
“Father agreed to let you keep a cat? That’s wonderful! But you can’t touch it—you’ll break out in so many little rashes, and they’ll itch terribly. We’ll keep the cat in my courtyard instead…”
As the siblings talked, they gradually drifted off to sleep.
That night, Yun Chu slept very little. Her mind was filled with images of Yu Ge’er and the Little Commandery Princess—their figures overlapping, sometimes laughing heartily, sometimes weeping, and calling her “Mother” together.
Before dawn, Yun Chu awoke.
She got up and picked up the wooden carving on the table, carefully tracing its contours. Her heart felt somewhat more at ease.
After finishing her toilette, those who had come to pay their respects were already waiting outside.
Xie Shi’an, dressed in new clothes, waited in the side hall. Only then did Yun Chu remember that the county-level imperial examination was today.
She had been so busy with various matters that she had temporarily forgotten about it.
She recalled how, in the past, she had specially prepared many things for Xie Shi’an—such as Success Congee, Number One Scholar Soup, Top Graduate Feast, and Cassia Wine for Academic Honors…
Yun Chu picked up a cup of tea and personally handed it to Xie Shi’an. “Once you enter the examination hall, the most important thing is to calm your mind. This is a cup of clear tea. Drink it to cast aside restlessness and emerge victorious.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Xie Shi’an took the tea and drank it.In the room, the other concubines offered auspicious words one after another, while the young masters and misses wished him success in becoming a Cultivated Talent, creating a harmonious atmosphere for a time.
He Shi secretly slipped a prayer charm into Xie Shi'an's hand.
Yun Chu said with a smile, "An Ge'er, today your father and I will accompany you to the examination hall. Your father is likely waiting in the front courtyard. Let's go."
Xie Shi'an nodded.
Just as the two were about to leave, a matron suddenly rushed into the residence in a panic: "Madam, it's terrible! Someone is trying to jump into the well!"
He Shi said angrily, "Can't you see the young master is about to take the imperial examination? Why are you saying such inauspicious things at a time like this? Get out!"
If these wretched matters affected her son's imperial examination, she would surely make this matron pay.
The matron, her face full of anxiety, said, "Madam, we just pulled her back from the well, and now she's trying to dash against the wall. She's also searching everywhere for scissors to harm herself. What should we do?"
Yun Chu frowned, "Who is trying to take their own life?"
The matron replied, "It's Jiu'er from the second young master's courtyard."
At this mention, Yun Chu recalled: in her previous life, on this very day, a maid from Xie Shiwei's courtyard had also threatened suicide. At that time, she had been in a hurry to send Xie Shi'an to the examination hall and had instructed Ting Shuang to handle it. Unexpectedly, they failed to restrain her, and the maid ultimately drowned herself in the lake.
In the end, she had authorized a large sum of funeral expenses for Jiu'er's parents but had never investigated the reason behind Jiu'er's desperation.
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