Yun Chu Ling

Chapter 63: Listen to Mother's Words

Yun Chu's pupils constricted sharply, her breath catching in her throat.

"Madam, what's wrong?"

Seeing her strange expression, Xie Jingyu felt a flicker of unease.

Yun Chu withdrew her gaze, steadying her voice as she said, "An Ge'er's words aren't without reason. How to handle Wei Ge'er's punishment should be discussed further between you and the Old Madam. I have a headache and will return first."

Having said this, she turned and walked out.

Outside, she saw Jiu'er kneeling in the courtyard, waiting as if ready for punishment.

"You're not needed here," Yun Chu said to her. "The Second Young Master is injured and in a foul temper. Stay away from him for now. My courtyard is short a sweeping maid—help me out for a couple of days."

Without waiting for Jiu'er's response, Yun Chu hurried toward the rear.

This was the side courtyard closest to the jujube grove, situated at the very back of the Xie residence. Beyond its wall lay a small alley of the capital.

After the guests had dispersed, the Xie servants had all gone to the front courtyard to clean up, leaving this area completely deserted.

"Huh? Didn't they say the Xie family was holding a banquet today?" Chu Hongyu muttered, perched on the wall and looking around. "Why is there no one here?"

"Young—Young Son!" A Mao's voice came from below. "Please hold steady on the wall with the Little Commandery Princess. This subordinate must let go now."

Chu Hongyu quickly scrambled onto the wall, pulling his sister's hand. "Changsheng, grip this brick and push with your legs. You can make it up."

The little girl's pink fingers clung to the brick, straining to climb up, her small face flushing red with effort, but she still couldn't manage.

"Changsheng, if you can't get up, we won't get to see Mother," Chu Hongyu said, reaching down to help her. To the person below, he called, "A Mao, higher! A little higher!"

A Mao wore a pained expression. Who asked him to be so short? No matter how much he stood on his toes, he couldn't reach any higher.

Fortunately, with great effort, the little girl finally managed to clamber onto the wall.

A Mao breathed a huge sigh of relief. He blew on his palms, then planted his feet against the wall, scaling it with almost supernatural agility. Seeing no one in the courtyard, he jumped down, looked up, and stretched out his arms. "Little Commandery Princess, jump down. Don't be afraid. This subordinate will catch you."

This was Chu Changsheng's first time doing something like this.

Trembling, she stood up, looked down, and immediately felt dizzy and terrified.

But the thought that her mother lived here, that she would see her soon, filled her with courage.

Her long, feathery eyelashes fluttered, then she closed her eyes, spread her arms, and jumped, landing safely in A Mao's embrace. He carefully set her down and looked up. "Young Son, come down quickly! This subordinate thinks he hears someone talking."

Chu Hongyu nodded. Just as he stood up, he saw two figures appear around the corner. He was about to hide when he realized the person leading the way was Yun Chu.

Overjoyed, his mouth opened to call out "Mother!"

Yun Chu quickly raised her hand, placing a finger to her lips in a silencing gesture.

The Xie family was nearby. If the Young Son made any noise that alerted them, he would become a tool for the Xie family to curry favor with the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor.

"Shh!"

Chu Hongyu mimicked the gesture.

Perhaps too excited, he lost his balance and tumbled downward.

Yun Chu's heart nearly stopped with fear.

Luckily, A Mao was standing right below the wall and caught him in time."Yu Ge'er, didn't I tell you last time that you can't sneak into the Xie residence anymore?" Yun Chu deliberately put on a stern face to look at him. "Not only did you come by yourself, but you even dragged the Little Commandery Princess into climbing walls with you. What if you had fallen?"

Chu Hongyu fiddled with his fingers and said, "My sister dreams of mother every day. Since father is away, I brought her to meet you. Mother, look quickly, this is my sister, her name is Chu Changsheng."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw his usually timid and shy sister roll into Yun Chu's arms like a snowball.

Yun Chu picked her up with gentle affection: "Changsheng, I've missed you during all these days apart."

Chu Hongyu widened his dark, bright eyes in disbelief: "Mother, when did you meet Changsheng before? How come I didn't know?"

"I happened to encounter Changsheng when she left the manor late at night a few days ago." Yun Chu held Chu Hongyu's hand with her other hand. "This isn't a good place to talk. Let's go back to my courtyard first."

Ting Shuang had already cleared all the servants from the path. They encountered no one along the way back to the courtyard.

Once inside the familiar courtyard, Chu Hongyu became even more at ease. He said cheerfully, "Mother, my father received an imperial decree to handle affairs in Jizhou and won't be back for half a month. Can my sister and I stay with you during this time?"

Yun Chu frowned: "Half a month is too long, I'm afraid that won't be possible."

"Then how long can we stay?" Chu Hongyu wrapped his arms around her neck. "We'll stay however many days mother says. We'll listen to mother."

The little girl also climbed onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her neck from the other side. Though both children were small, they were quite strong, and seemed to be competing to make her face turn toward them. She felt her neck being twisted back and forth until it was nearly cramping.

Chu Hongyu felt somewhat annoyed. He was sharing their mother with his sister, yet she insisted on having her all to herself. He almost regretted bringing his sister along.

However, seeing the newfound sparkle in his sister's dark eyes made him feel the trip was worthwhile.

His sister had been frail since childhood. Though four years old, she was thinner and shorter than most three-year-olds, and still couldn't speak at her age.

The imperial physician said there was nothing wrong with her throat - it was another illness caused by years of poor health. She was unwilling to communicate with others, her eyes seeming to see no one. In her small world, it seemed there was only him, her brother, and occasionally their father, but only when their father happened to say something that touched her heart.

This was the first time he had seen his sister accept someone else so completely.

Since he liked their mother so much, he had known his sister would come to like her too.

"You can stay for two days first." Yun Chu also liked these two little ones, holding one in each arm. "If you remain in the Xie residence, you must stay within my courtyard and aren't allowed to go out randomly. Can you do that?"

Chu Hongyu responded loudly: "Yes!"

The little girl blinked her big eyes and nodded.

Yun Chu tapped both their noses: "You two have become little mud monkeys from climbing the wall. Let's get you bathed first."

She was truly amazed - these two little ones had sneaked in and even had A Mao carry a bundle containing their change of clothes.

She had Ting Shuang and Ting Xue bathe Yu Ge'er while she personally bathed the little girl. When she removed the little girl's dress, her heart felt as if gripped by a large hand.She knew the little girl was thin, but never imagined she would be this thin—all bones with no flesh to speak of, the only bit of plumpness perhaps residing in her face, which made her so endearing.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed the child’s body was covered in needle marks.

These marks were quite distinct, not resembling signs of deliberate abuse but rather the traces left by years of acupuncture.

"Changsheng, Changsheng..."

As she murmured the name, she seemed to vaguely understand why Prince Pingxi had chosen this name for the Little Commandery Princess.

With a heavy heart, she bathed the little girl. In the midst of her task, Ting Shuang's voice came from outside the door: "The master has arrived and wishes to discuss urgent matters with you, my lady."

Yun Chu lifted the little girl out of the bathtub, dried her off, and dressed her in a gown. Smiling, she said, "I need to step out for a moment."

The little girl clutched the hem of her robe, her large eyes fixed on Yun Chu as if afraid she wouldn’t return once she left.

"Be good, I’ll be back soon."

Only then did those small, pink hands release their grip.