Night gradually deepened.
Yun Chu finished reading the last account book and raised her eyes toward the doorway. As expected, she saw Xie Jingyu walk in.
He wore official robes—clearly after finishing his business outside and returning home, he didn’t even have time to change clothes before being summoned by Old Madam, and then came directly here.
“Husband has come for the matter of He Shi, hasn’t he?” Yun Chu stood up. “He Shi nearly killed a human life. Not sending her to the authorities is already the Xie family showing mercy. I hope Husband won’t disappoint Concubine Tao.”
Xie Jingyu’s face was full of exhaustion. He drank a mouthful of the clear tea Tingshuang brought up, his voice hoarse: “An’ge, Ping’jie, and Weige all grew up under her care. If we sell her away, I worry it will leave a thorn in the hearts of the three children…”
Yun Chu sneered: “Is Husband not afraid of leaving a thorn in the heart of the child in Concubine Tao’s belly?”
Xie Jingyu was rendered speechless.
Could an unborn child be compared to An’ge?
An’ge was his eldest son. Like him as a child, he was especially brilliant at studying. One could say the student surpassed the master.
How far the Xie family could go in the future depended entirely on An’ge.
“How about this then.” A smile appeared on Yun Chu’s face. “Since the children protect He Shi so much, and Husband trusts her so deeply, then let her become Concubine He.”
Xie Jingyu’s expression changed: “I have no such thoughts toward her. Wife, please don’t joke about this.”
Yun Chu’s eyes deepened.
With things having reached this point, the best solution would be for Xie Jingyu to admit to having a secret affair with He Shi—only then could He Shi be protected.
Yet Xie Jingyu decisively refused to make He Shi a concubine?
Could it be that he wanted to wait until she died, then let He Shi directly become the household mistress?
But would someone who fantasized about becoming the household mistress be willing to serve as a slave beforehand?
“There’s a small temple in the southeast corner of the Xie manor. Let He Shi practice cultivation in the temple.” Xie Jingyu rubbed his brow. “I’ll confine her there. For three years, she cannot step outside the small temple.”
Yun Chu feigned hesitation, then nodded after a long while: “Then let’s do as Husband says.”
From the very beginning, she never intended to drive He Shi out of the Xie family.
Only by keeping He Shi under her watchful eye and forcing her into desperation could she investigate what she wanted to know.
“Thank you, Wife.” Xie Jingyu’s gaze fell on her. “Wife has worked so hard managing the Xie household—this husband is endlessly grateful.”
He stepped forward, moving in front of Yun Chu, just about to reach out and place his hand on her shoulder.
Yun Chu suddenly stepped back, avoiding his touch.
The scene of her desperately washing her hands that day suddenly surfaced in his mind. Once again he realized—she found him repulsive.
That’s why she could so effortlessly suggest that he take He Shi as a concubine.
This realization left an indescribable emotion lingering in Xie Jingyu’s heart.
He withdrew his hand and spoke gently: “I hear Her Majesty the Empress is ill and searching everywhere for divine physicians to treat her illness. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll invite a divine physician to come examine your pulse and see if your infertility can be cured.”
Yun Chu lowered her eyes: “I’m probably fated to be childless. Husband needn’t waste this effort.”
Perhaps because Xie Jingyu mentioned children, that night in her dreams, two children appeared.
One boy, one girl, both four years old, exquisitely carved like jade, circling around her continuously calling out “Mother.” That sense of happiness overflowed from the dream.
But this happiness didn’t last long. The two children suddenly disappeared.
The white mist surrounding her transformed into red blood fog.
“Mother, why don’t you want us anymore!”
“Mother, I miss you so much. Won’t you please come get us!”
“Mother, it’s so cold here…”
The crying echoed in her ears.
Yun Chu’s heart was breaking: “Children, where are you? Tell Mother where you are…”
The crying of the two children gradually faded into the distance.
Yun Chu’s eyes flew open and she sat up straight.
She looked outside—pitch black. It had just passed midnight.
In these four years, she had never dreamed of her two deceased children, yet recently, this was the second time.
Having lived into her thirties in her previous life, what couldn’t she let go of? She should find release, she should learn to face it, she should go see the children…
Yun Chu leaned against the headboard, sitting motionless until dawn.
When Tingshuang tiptoed in and saw her sitting fully dressed at the edge of the bed, she was badly startled: “Madam, when did you get up? Why didn’t you call this servant in to attend you?”
She hastily began combing Yun Chu’s hair.
Sitting before the mirror, Yun Chu asked slowly: “Where were my two children from back then buried?”
Tingshuang’s hand trembled and the comb fell to the floor.
She quickly picked it up and said softly: “Madam, the matter is in the past. Please don’t dwell on it anymore. Too much worry harms the body…”
“The Qingming Festival is approaching.” A smile floated onto Yun Chu’s lips. “I want to go see the children, let them know what their mother looks like. I also want to speak with them…”
Tingshuang lowered her head: “After the young master and young miss died prematurely, it was the Master who had them buried. This servant doesn’t know the specific location.”
Yun Chu’s heart ached somewhat.
After the children passed away, she couldn’t face it and didn’t dare ask about these funeral arrangements. Now wanting to see the children, she didn’t even know where to go.
She was truly an inadequate mother.
No wonder the children came looking for her in her dreams…
After the morning greetings from the concubines ended, Yun Chu went directly to the Grand Madam’s courtyard.
Yuan Shi thought she came because of last night’s matter and sighed: “That He Shi has followed Jingyu for some years. Jingyu is just being sentimental in keeping her in the manor. She’ll be a nun in our Xie manor’s temple from now on and won’t cause any trouble. Don’t take it to heart.”
Yun Chu said: “Mother, I came for another matter. Four years ago, the two children I delivered prematurely—where were they buried?”
“Why are you asking about events from four years ago?” Seeing her eyes were red, Yuan Shi’s voice softened: “I heard Jingyu say that Her Majesty the Empress is searching everywhere for a divine physician who treats women’s illnesses. Once that physician arrives in the capital, Jingyu will find a way to meet him. Perhaps your illness can be cured…”
Yun Chu’s voice was hoarse: “Mother, I only wish to see the children who died prematurely.”
Yuan Shi sighed: “According to the rules, children who haven’t reached adulthood cannot be buried in the ancestral tomb, nor can monuments be erected for them. Paying too much attention makes it difficult for the children to reincarnate. So Jingyu had He Shi take the children’s remains back to the Xie family’s ancestral home and bury them somewhere. If you want to see the children, just arrange for two servants to make the trip.”
Yun Chu gripped her sleeves tightly.
Her children were actually buried by He Shi’s own hands.
The children said in the dream that it was cold—where were they buried that they would feel cold?
Her heart felt as if it were being shredded by knives, the pain intense.
Self-blame, vexation, regret… all kinds of emotions welled up in her heart.
Walking out of Yuan Shi’s courtyard, Yun Chu went directly to the front yard and had someone arrange a carriage. She wanted to return to the Yun family home.
The Xie manor was in the southern part of the city, while the Yun manor was in the prime location near the Imperial City. Because they were separated by half the capital, Yun Chu didn’t return often.
And in her previous life, because she had caused the deaths of over a hundred people in the Yun manor, after being reborn, she felt too ashamed to face her family and had never thought of returning…