Yun Chu was also thinking about why she would choose Prince Pingxi.
In her previous life, this hot spring estate had been seized by Consort Hui, and the silver earned had all gone to the Second Prince to make full preparations for his uprising.
Those who could contend with Consort Hui and the Second Prince were currently only the Crown Prince and Prince Pingxi. Although in a few more years the Sixth Prince and Seventh Prince would gradually grow stronger, looking at the current situation, she could only choose between the Crown Prince and Prince Pingxi.
It seemed she didn’t need to hesitate—she was more inclined to cooperate with Prince Pingxi.
Was it because Prince Pingxi was Yu’er and Changsheng’s father?
She raised her eyes and spoke in reply: “Your Highness and my father are friends. I believe Your Highness would not maliciously seize this estate.”
There was some disappointment in Chu Yi’s eyes.
So it was such a simple reason.
“This is your estate. Of course I won’t seize it.” He spoke. “I’ll accept this business venture.”
Yun Chu was surprised.
She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.
She hadn’t even mentioned how to divide the profits yet, and he had already agreed.
“I’ll give Your Highness fifty percent of the profits.” Seeing the man seemed about to refuse, she continued: “But it needs to be run under Your Highness’s name.”
Chu Yi frowned.
Even if it was run under his name, fifty percent of the profits was too high. After all, he wasn’t contributing anything.
He spoke: “Twenty-eighty split. I take twenty, you take eighty.”
Before Yun Chu could speak, he continued: “If Lady Xie refuses, there’s no need to discuss this business further.”
Yun Chu had no choice but to swallow back the rest of her words.
Silence suddenly fell between the two of them. The summer wind blew with warmth, and the ice blocks in the pavilion slowly melted.
The cicadas called tirelessly. It was clearly noisy, yet also very quiet.
Yun Chu felt the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. She stood up: “Your Highness, we should return to the banquet.”
Chu Yi also stood, and the two walked out of the pavilion.
At this moment, a group of children came running past, chasing each other. The adults were drinking and talking, so the children with nothing to do had started causing a commotion.
“Stop! You few, stop!”
The boys behind them held slingshots in their hands, aiming at the people running ahead.
Whoosh—a small stone flew from a slingshot, heading straight for Yun Chu’s face.
Yun Chu quickly dodged to the side.
Another hand was faster, extending horizontally before her eyes and catching the stone.
Chu Yi grasped the stone tightly. It was a thumb-sized pebble with sharp edges. If it struck a face, even if it didn’t draw blood, it would leave a bruise.
“Who?”
He coldly uttered one word.
As if an invisible net had descended from above, the chasing children all stopped in their tracks.
All the children looked toward one person at the side—the heir of Marquis Xuanwu.
The heir of Marquis Xuanwu stepped forward with an open expression: “It was me.”
Although the person before him was a prince, he hadn’t actually injured anyone, so even a prince couldn’t do anything to him.
“Do you know what the consequences would be if this stone hit someone?”
Chu Yi asked, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.
But Yun Chu could sense that the man before her had already become angry.
However, the young heir of Marquis Xuanwu was too young to discern people’s emotions and answered carelessly: “But it didn’t hit anyone, did it?”
“In that case—” Chu Yi took the slingshot from the Xuanwu heir’s hand. “Why don’t we try it?”
He placed the stone in the slingshot and aimed it at the Xuanwu heir’s face.
The Xuanwu heir’s face immediately paled in fright.
He had searched hard to find this stone—it had edges and was sharp. It would definitely hurt if it hit someone, and would certainly cause swelling if it hit a face.
He had specifically found it to hit the heir of Marquis Xingguo, all because that brat had deliberately mocked him for being short at the banquet earlier.
Chu Yi sneered coldly.
He pulled back the slingshot.
He pulled very slowly, to the maximum extent.
“Your Highness, stop!” Marquis Xuanwu Qin Mingheng strode forward quickly and blocked his child. “It’s normal for children to roughhouse. As adults, we should just observe. What do you say, Your Highness?”
Chu Yi smiled.
If he had truly intended to strike, the stone in his hand would have already smashed a bloody hole in the Xuanwu heir’s face.
It was merely to frighten him and teach the Xuanwu heir a lesson.
If this stone hadn’t nearly struck the face of the woman beside him, in the past he wouldn’t have bothered with such matters at all.
“This prince agrees with what Marquis Xuanwu says—matters between children shouldn’t involve adults.” Chu Yi tossed the slingshot aside. “Since Marquis Xuanwu knows this principle, then at the Xie family banquet last time, when your son had a dispute with the Xie family’s second young master, why did Marquis Xuanwu intervene and stomp on and break Second Young Master Xie’s leg?”
Qin Mingheng looked up in shock.
That matter had happened so long ago that he himself had almost forgotten about it.
As a prince, Prince Pingxi was busy with official duties every day. How did he even know about such trivial matters between two children from other families?
His gaze fell on Yun Chu’s face.
How were these two together?
“The magistrates are allowed to commit arson while the common people are forbidden to light lamps. Marquis Xuanwu is no magistrate, and this prince is no commoner.” Chu Yi’s voice was extremely cold. “Your son causes trouble everywhere. If Marquis Xuanwu doesn’t properly discipline him, in the future there will certainly be someone who uses Marquis Xuanwu’s own methods against your son.”
Having finished speaking, he gave Yun Chu a look and turned to leave.
Yun Chu’s face showed no excess expression. Maintaining a distance from Chu Yi, the two walked out of the rear courtyard one after the other.
Watching their figures disappear down the path, Qin Mingheng’s eyes became extremely sinister.
Upon reaching the front courtyard, the banquet had mostly ended. Many court officials had pressing duties and had left early to attend to their business. Once the high-ranking officials left, the lower-ranking officials naturally found no point in staying, and the gathering gradually dispersed.
Sitting in the carriage returning to the Xie family residence, Yun Chu kept thinking about what major events would happen next and how she could make her father believe her words as soon as possible… If she truly waited for the imperial edict to arrive, going to the Southern Frontier would take at least another two years…
But in her previous life, she had been a woman of the inner chambers, living deep in the rear courtyard. Unless something major happened at court, it wouldn’t reach her ears… Then there were natural disasters and man-made calamities—for instance, this year’s continuous summer heat, next year’s southern floods, northern unrest… But all of these were future matters. Even if she spoke of them now, they would still need time to be verified.
Although she didn’t know court matters, if every small matter concerning the Yun family in the near future was exactly as she described, Grandfather and Father should believe in that dream of hers.
“Madam.”
Xie Jingyu beside her suddenly spoke, interrupting Yun Chu’s deep thoughts.
She opened her eyes: “What is it?”
“Why didn’t you bring Brother An to meet your father?” Xie Jingyu pressed his lips tightly together. “At the banquet, you said there was no rush. I thought after the banquet ended, you would specifically bring the children to pay respects in Father-in-law’s courtyard, but you… Just because you learned the children were born to Concubine He, you’re unwilling to let them pay respects to their maternal grandfather?”
“Who bore Brother An and Sister Ping isn’t important. What’s important is that you, Xie Jingyu, deceived me for five years!” A cold laugh escaped Yun Chu’s lips. “It’s one thing for you to deceive me, but you deceived the entire Yun family. My father just returned to the capital from the Western Frontier with joy in his heart. Taking those two to pay respects—wouldn’t that deliberately make my father feel uncomfortable?”
Xie Jingyu’s eyes filled with disbelief: “Uncomfortable? You actually say uncomfortable? Brother An and Sister Ping acknowledge you as their mother and have been filial to you for a full four years. They’ve treated you with genuine hearts. How can you say they make you uncomfortable!”