Yun Chu Ling

Chapter 70: The Ice Shop Opens

Just as Yun Chu had anticipated.

The next day, she heard that Lord Yu had publicly reprimanded Xie Jingyu at the palace gates and transferred all official documents under Xie Jingyu's responsibility to Yuan Daren.

Although Xie Jingyu had the Yun family as his backing, he failed to get promoted to the fifth rank. Coupled with the recent series of embarrassments for the Xie family and their offense against Marquis Xuanwu, many court officials were waiting to see greater misfortunes befall them. Xie Jingyu, however, proved resilient—despite being mocked, he continued attending court early every day without taking a single day off.

In public, Xie Jingyu showed no signs of distress, but only the servants in his study knew how many teacups he had smashed.

"Father, this might actually be a good thing," Xie Shi'an said calmly as he picked up the fragments from the floor. "Over the past five years, the Xie family has enjoyed too much glory. The Number One Scholar parading through the streets on horseback, followed by marrying the legitimate daughter of a first-rank military family, and rising two official ranks in just five years—such rapid promotion is rare in this dynasty. Many have grown envious of you. Now that you've been relieved of your duties, those people have gotten what they wanted. This gives you a chance to rest for a while."

Xie Jingyu's face darkened. "Marquis Xuanwu has no intention of letting our Xie family off."

"Another reason is that the Yun family hasn't shown their stance," Xie Shi'an continued. "If only someone from the Yun family would stand with you, Marquis Xuanwu would hesitate to provoke them and wouldn't dare rally court officials to isolate you."

Xie Jingyu drained his teacup in one gulp.

He had already asked Yun Chu to visit the Marquis Xuanwu residence. Should he now ask her to beg Lady Yun to intervene and reconcile with the Marquis?

"There's no need to involve the Yun family," Xie Shi'an stated. "Father, I maintain what I said before: misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Since things have reached this point, we should go with the flow, retract our sharpness, lie low and prepare, waiting for the next opportunity."

Xie Jingyu knew this was the only path available now.

Leaving the study, Xie Shi'an sighed.

Ultimately, it came down to the weak marital bond between his father and mother. Otherwise, his mother would have actively helped resolve his father's current predicament.

As he reached his courtyard entrance, He Shi emerged from the side, her face full of worry. "An Ge'er, your younger brother hasn't sent any news since he went to the estate. Could you plead with your father to let me go care for him there for a few days?"

"Concubine, you may go whenever you wish, but remember—if you go, you might never return to the Xie residence," Xie Shi'an said coldly. "In fact, leaving would be best for all of us. Why don't you find an excuse to stay permanently at the estate?"

He Shi instinctively objected. "How can I leave when you and Ping Jie'er are still here? If I go, what if you and Ping Jie'er end up in trouble like Wei Ge'er..."

"If you won't leave the Xie family, then quietly remain as his Concubine," Xie Shi'an said wearily. "Father's career is blocked—don't add to his troubles."

He massaged his temples and entered his room.

He Shi bit her lower lip.

Since becoming a Concubine, she had even lost the freedom to leave the residence. The lady truly schemed deeply.

Fortunately, the young nun at the temple was willing to help her, otherwise she wouldn't be able to sell the embroidered screens and handkerchiefs she made.

Yun Chu sat on the couch while Ting Shuang stood nearby reporting: "These past few days, Marquis Xuanwu hasn't attended court and has remained quiet."She had witnessed with her own eyes how Marquis Xuanwu was slapped by his wife—his face immediately swelled up. Anyone else would likely not have let the matter rest so easily.

It wasn't a big deal if Marquis Xuanwu suppressed the Xie family; what worried her was that her mistress might face trouble.

Yun Chu sipped her tea.

She tried hard to recall her previous life—until her death, she had never had any interaction with Marquis Xuanwu.

Who would have thought that Marquis Xuanwu harbored such dark intentions toward her? No wonder he had urged her to divorce at Old Madam's birthday banquet last time.

Naturally, she had to stay away from someone who held such filthy thoughts about her.

Ruining her own reputation was a minor matter, but tarnishing the Yun family's esteemed name was a grave concern...

"Mistress, the maids, nannies, and servants from the Second Young Master's courtyard have all arrived," Ting Xue reported as she entered.

Yun Chu nodded and had them brought into the garden.

Xie Shiwei had only taken one personal servant to the estate to attend to him; the rest had remained behind. Two maids, two nannies, and one servant—five people in total—stood with their heads bowed at the foot of the steps.

Now that Yun Chu was in charge, she no longer used her dowry to subsidize the Xie family. The funds in the Xie family's accounts came solely from her father-in-law's estate earnings.

She had no intention of saving money for the Xie family.

She spoke: "Old Madam is elderly and has fallen ill. She now requires more hands to care for her. You two nannies shall go to Old Madam's courtyard. The Third Young Master is growing older; you two maids shall serve in his courtyard."

In the end, only Jiu'er remained standing in the garden.

Yun Chu looked at her and said, "You shall stay and work for me."

Jiu'er nodded. "Yes, Mistress."

She knew things she shouldn't—she had long understood that the mistress would not assign her to serve in another courtyard.

"I have an estate in the outskirts of the capital with many tasks for you to handle," Yun Chu continued. "I've consulted a physician. There are still three silver needles in your body that may only be expelled through long-term soaking in a hot spring. Coincidentally, that estate has a hot spring. Take good care of yourself and recuperate. Once you've recovered, I'll need to rely on you for important matters."

Jiu'er's eyes widened in astonishment.

When the physician had mentioned the hot spring, she hadn't dared to even consider it—such baths were only for the wealthy and noble. How could a lowly servant girl like her be so fortunate?

She had resigned herself to the needles in her body, accepting that her death would come whenever fate decreed.

But she never expected the mistress to assign her to an estate with a hot spring, allowing her to soak and heal. Since the mistress had saved her, wasn't she afraid Jiu'er would reveal to the Xie family that the mistress had a hand in the Second Young Master's affairs?

Why did the mistress trust her so much?

Before she could ponder further, Ting Shuang led her away.

Yun Chu lowered her head, gazing at the tea foam.

Sooner or later, she would need to promote a few maids. Soon, she would marry off Ting Shuang and Ting Xue, and she would always need people around to handle affairs.

Though Jiu'er was young, after this ordeal, she had gained some cunning and shrewdness. With gradual cultivation, she could become a capable assistant in the future.

As for trust—it didn't exist.

Even the children she had raised with her own hands had betrayed her one by one; how could she fully trust a maid she wasn't very familiar with?

Jiu'er was simply the best option available at the moment.

During this period, Xie Jingyu returned home immediately after court sessions. To avoid running into him, Yun Chu rarely left Sheng Residence.

It wasn't until mid-May, when the ice shop opened, that she had a horse prepared and went out to see the excitement.

She ordered a pot of tea in the teahouse across from the ice shop and sat by the window, looking toward the storefront.

As the weather grew hotter, the ice shop attracted quite a few customers."For some reason, none of the ice shops that sold ice in previous years have any ice blocks this year. I heard they were all bought by a southern merchant back in March and April."

"Who would have known it would get this hot as soon as May arrived? It was still so cold in March and April. That's why my master didn't purchase ice in advance, and now I've been urgently sent to buy more."

"It's unbelievable that there's only this one ice shop left in the entire capital city."

"..."

Yun Chu also found it unbelievable.

Could it be that Chen Defu had bought up all the ice in the capital and surrounding cities back in March and April?

If hers really became the only shop selling ice, trouble was bound to ensue.

Yun Chu spoke up, giving Ting Shuang a few instructions. Ting Shuang's eyes gradually lit up with understanding.

Just then, a voice suddenly sounded from behind: "Madam Xie."

Yun Chu turned around and saw a man dressed in black brocade standing about one table's distance away. It was none other than Prince Pingxi, Chu Yi.