Chapter 108: Mother And Daughter
After Yan Bei left, Yue Tang kept Dou Yun behind and spoke a few words.
The old servants that Chu Yan had used at Prince Duan’s Mansion could no longer be used, so it was most appropriate to entrust these matters to Dou Yun and Wei Zhang.
After Dou Yun also left, the imperial physician sent by the Emperor arrived, along with officials from the Imperial Clan Court, who brought her household registration file to complete the formalities.
And this official was none other than Xu He.
Xu He was of course designated by Yan Bei.
At this time, with heaven, earth, and man all in harmony, the formalities proceeded very smoothly, and when their group departed, the sky had just brightened.
The people on duty in each department of the Prince’s Mansion opened the doors and went about their duties, and the morning court in the Palace had already begun.
The aftermath of this night of bloody storm showed no signs of subsiding; instead, it grew increasingly intense.
The Shen Family had never taken a stance, and surprisingly showed no glee at the downfall of their old enemy, the Chu Family; this caught the world off guard.
Meanwhile, the Mu Family had earned such great merit, yet on the Imperial Court, they did not seize the momentum; instead, when the Emperor was about to issue an edict to reward them, they repeatedly declined, which was equally baffling.
On the matter of contending for power, no one would think excessive low-key humility is appropriate; if they must do so, it is most likely they have other plans.
Everyone was speculating.
Yue Tang persuaded herself to sleep for half a shichen. The guards sent by Yan Bei to deliver messages kept crossing the threshold without stopping, and palace servants kept coming to relay edicts; she simply gathered her long hair, slipped on her shoes, and got out of bed.
She had just sat down behind the desk when the news arrived that Chu Rui and Chu Xuan had both been captured by the guards dispatched by Yan Bei.
Just behind the alley where Chu Ying was killed last night, the two brothers were also found, one after the other.
However, when found, they had both already become corpses.
Both had a long wound on their necks, blood all over the ground; it was clear they had been caught off guard and killed with a single knife.
The one who struck was of course arranged by Mu Chang.
This traitor’s actions were so meticulous, further proving he had made thorough plans long before going.
But with the Mu Family staying still, Yue Tang could focus her mind on handling the matters at hand.
After breakfast, she first sent Lan Qin and Xiao Huo to Prince Duan’s Mansion to clean up her residence.
When the two arrived at the Prince’s Mansion, they still went to see Chu Yan out of propriety.
After several days without seeing her, Chu Yan had changed dramatically; her cheekbones protruded, her cheeks and eye sockets sunken, the whole person like she had lost her soul, just sitting quietly on the soft couch, neither speaking nor making a sound.
Only when Lan Qin mentioned going to the family temple to light incense for Yue Rong on behalf of Yue Tang did she lift her eyes and stare straight over.
Yue Rong’s anniversary of death had already passed.
Originally, Yue Tang had planned to visit his tomb on the anniversary, but due to the subsequent endless incidents, the plan was shelved.
And Chu Yan, because she had reported her own biological father, plus with Yue Huan already dead, the large-scale memorial rite that had been arranged was also called off.
“He must be angry with me.”
A hoarse, muffled sound came from Chu Yan’s throat.
She supported herself on the edge of the table to stand, like a marionette, mechanically stepping over the threshold, still muttering to herself: “He must be angry with me…”
Lan Qin followed behind her with Xiao Huo, who was full of resentment, and said nothing.
At the family temple, Chu Yan knelt down on her own before Yue Rong’s memorial tablet, lit incense herself, and silently burned paper in the fire basin.
Lan Qin paid respects according to propriety.
Looking up, she saw the memorial tablets of Yue Tang and A Li still on the desk; she reached out to turn them face down, then went with Xiao Huo, who had stood up, to Ning Hua Zhai where Yue Tang had lived back then.
Ning Hua Zhai was the most luxurious and exquisite courtyard closest to Chang Qing Hall where Prince Duan and his wife had lived.
But after Yue Tang returned, as the head of the household in the Prince’s Mansion, her residence could only be Chang Qing Hall, located in the exact center of the entire Prince’s Mansion.
Fortunately, Chu Yan had been living in the courtyard where she and Yue Rong had lived these past years, so Chang Qing Hall still retained the layout from when Prince Duan was alive, even the bedding and bed curtains were in their original places.
A set of fine white porcelain tea set was placed on the table, with the teapot handle oriented according to the master’s habit.
As if Prince Duan had just drunk tea that morning before going out, and when night fell, he would walk in again, pick up the pot casually, brew himself a cup of fragrant Longjing, and read memorials through the long night.
Xiao Huo’s eyes were red, he lifted his sleeves alternately to wipe tears, and turning his head to look at Lan Qin, saw she had already carefully moved the bedding aside and was tidying it up, so he hurried forward to help.
Yue Tang had extremely deep father-daughter affection with Prince Duan and was not taboo about it in her heart, so she only sent them to do a simple cleanup.
While they were busy in Chang Qing Hall, the palace servants and Ministry of Rites officials sent by the Emperor to relay the edict had already arrived at the front courtyard of the Prince’s Mansion.
With no descendants left for Chu Yan, the entire Prince Duan’s Mansion now only had her and Yue Tang, the sister-in-law pair; the Former Emperor had once permitted Yue Tang to marry into the family and give birth to a child to inherit the Prince’s Mansion nobility title; now that she had returned, having her resume the position of head of the household was only natural.
While the edict messenger proclaimed the edict, he kept glancing sideways at Chu Yan’s expression, after all, after the Chu Family’s incident, her status was the most awkward.
Rumors had already spread outside about her falling out with the Chu Family; now, with her sister-in-law coming to take charge over her, what would her reaction be?
But Chu Yan remained very quiet until the proclamation ended, without missing a single step of the required propriety.
This left the edict messenger, who had originally planned to dawdle and watch the excitement, without reason to stay; he took another imperial edict and set off for the Chu Family.
After Chu Ying left last night, Madam Chu could no longer sleep.
Her marriage to Chu Ying had been arranged by her parents’ order, and over the years, they had respected each other as guests.
The Chu Family sons had received strict training from childhood and almost never showed tenderness in the inner residence.
Chu Ying was born with a stern temperament, so he carried the family tradition to the extreme; not only harsh on his daughter, in his eyes, his son was merely someone to carry on the lineage.
In his eyes, she as his wife was even more like just a partner.
Like last night, suddenly returning to the room and sitting at the bedside watching her, was something that had never happened in decades!
Madam Chu grew more and more afraid the more she thought.
She called her second son to ask; unable to withstand her probing, he finally explained the whole story, including that Chu Xin had already been poisoned to death by his biological father.
After hearing this, Madam Chu collapsed to the ground.
When she woke, she was still dizzy.
That was her eldest son!
He was her pride and capital in this family!
He had actually died!
And poisoned to death by his own biological father!
Madam Chu wailed at the top of her lungs, drawing people from all courtyards.
The Old Madam also learned of it and cried as if dying.
But she was more open-minded than Madam Chu as a mother; after crying twice, she wiped her tears and advised her daughter-in-law to prioritize the bigger picture, after all, she still had two sons.
Chu Rui and Chu Xuan’s wives, who had openly and covertly competed with Madam Chu in the past, now felt delighted inwardly; they were happy to go along with their mother-in-law and took turns admonishing Madam Chu to protect the family.
Until dawn, when the news came back that Chu Ying had been killed, the Old Madam suddenly stopped her lecturing, let out a strange cry, rolled her eyes, and fell to the ground!
The two sisters-in-law were both shocked and panicked, hurriedly calling for a doctor and maids, exerting all efforts to wake the Old Madam.
Before their bottoms were even settled, the news that Chu Rui and Chu Xuan had also been killed came back!
The two immediately collapsed crying in the main house again.
Madam Chu looked at the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law whose cries grew louder and louder, wanting a million times to mock them harshly, but helplessly, first losing a son then a husband, such blows were truly unbearable for a person!
Her heart was empty, watching her just-adult second son anxiously coming and going, with only one thought in her mind: the Chu Family was finished!
“The person in charge of the Chu Family, come forward to receive the edict!”
When the shrill voice outside the door rang out without any courtesy, Madam Chu shuddered violently and came back to her senses.
The sky had already brightened greatly; the edict messenger stood aggressively under the door with palace eunuchs and guards, and palace guards were stationed all around their courtyard!
She did not listen carefully to what the imperial edict said; she only realized one thing: last night, her husband had gone to kill Yue Tang to silence her but failed, not only losing his life in return, but allowing Yue Tang to emerge from the shadows into the open and return to Prince Duan’s Mansion!
And welcoming her at Prince Duan’s Mansion was Chu Yan!
Why could Yue Tang return to Prince Duan’s Mansion?
Why, after escaping three years ago, could she still survive?
Because Chu Yan had concealed the truth!
She had deceived the Chu Family!
She had turned her elbow outward, causing her maternal home to be destroyed!
Hatred reddened Madam Chu’s eyes; she jumped out and said to the guards: “My daughter has evidence of the Chu Family’s crimes in her hands; I can go get it from her!”
The guards who had come under orders to seal the Chu Family exchanged glances and reported to their leader.
The Chu Family’s murder of Princess Yongjia case was fully handled by Prince Jingyang.
The guard captain also wanted to curry favor with Prince Jingyang; now being able to obtain evidence of the Chu Family’s crimes was naturally a good thing, no reason not to allow it.
Ten armed guards accompanied Madam Chu to Prince Duan’s Mansion.
As soon as Madam Chu entered the mansion gate, she headed straight for where Chu Yan was.
Chu Yan did not let anyone stop her.
In the wide and empty hall, the mother and daughter faced each other across the curtain.
Madam Chu’s hair was disheveled, her eyes bulging, her whole body trembling with rage.
Her slowly raised right hand ultimately became like a knife picking bones, stretched straight and pointing right at the tip of Chu Yan’s nose:
“You beast guilty of every crime! Your father, your brother, all died by your hand!
“Now even your mother, your brothers, your clan members, all must die because of you!
“You are the sinner of our Chu Family! The one who deserves to die most is you!”
Her shrill voice was sharper than her extended finger, piercing Chu Yan’s eardrums wave after wave.
Chu Yan smiled, her golden hairpin with dangling ornaments swaying slightly, reflecting the cold light outside the window, illuminating her withered but exquisitely made-up face.
“Isn’t this good? Your whole family will soon reunite.
“That little bastard must have been waiting impatiently for you all under the underworld; after all, in his heart, you Chu Family people were the best to him.”
Madam Chu’s furiously deranged face froze in a bizarre expression.
Then she gritted her teeth and shrieked even more distortedly: “He is your brother’s child, a Chu Family person; if he is a bastard, then what are you!”
“Of course I am too!” Chu Yan’s smile gradually widened; under her brocade robe embroidered with gold thread, her two legs slowly stepped forward, “Not only am I a bastard, I’m even worse than a beast; didn’t you just curse me like that?”
Madam Chu was completely stunned.
When a person is determined to go mad, what way does anyone have to deal with her?
Madam Chu was not a soft-hearted person either; otherwise, how could she have agreed back then to Chu Ying and his son swapping Chu Family sons with imperial clan sons to deceive her own daughter into raising him?
Facing such a Chu Yan now, she truly did not know what to curse!
But she could not go back either!
The Chu Family had already been sealed, and next would be the court sending troops to ransack it!
She quickly took two steps forward, and just as she approached Chu Yan, her left hand suddenly grabbed Chu Yan’s clothes, her right hand pulled out the jade hairpin from her head, and with a loud shout, she stabbed toward her throat:
“I’ll kill you, you bitch!”
Chu Yan raised her hand to block, but the hairpin still grazed her face, drawing a shocking blood mark!
She touched the blood with her hand, saw the blood in her palm, then snatched the jade hairpin from Madam Chu who had fallen to the ground: “Come in!”
The mansion servants outside the door rushed in.
“Drag her out and hand her over to the palace guards!”
Chu Yan ordered hysterically.
The blood mark on her face intensified her ferocious aura, making her, wrapped head to toe in brocade embroidered clothes, look as ferocious as a malevolent ghost.
Madam Chu was still cursing loudly: “Chu Yan, you won’t die well! With the Chu Family fallen, you won’t have a way to live either!
“Your father and I will wait for you under the nine springs, waiting to see you descend to the eighteenth level of hell, suffering the torments of skinning and tendon-pulling!…”
The woman’s unwilling and furious voice gradually faded away.
Chu Yan stared at the empty doorway and laughed silently.
At first just a light laugh, then it grew louder.
She tossed the hairpin in her hand; with that crisp sound, she hunched over, hands on knees, and cackled with laughter.
The servants at the door dared not breathe, nor approach.
Only when the laughter in the room gradually faded did they dare peek in.
But they saw she had already come out, dragging her legs, stepping unevenly onto the long corridor, heading toward the family temple.
The sunlight had already begun to slant westward.
Stretching her shadow long, one end pressing the ground, the other hooking the wall.
Since Wei Zhang and Dou Yun came in the morning, there were already few servants along the way.
And soon even the remaining ones would disappear, replaced by a new batch taking up their duties here.
This Prince’s Mansion was about to undergo a complete change.
The slanting sun barely illuminated the rows of desks in the family temple.
The paper burned earlier during worship was still in the fire basin; now the ashes were cold, the room empty, and on the table with the two turned-down memorial tablets, the remaining few memorial tablets looked all the more lonely.
Chu Yan lit a fire starter, ignited a few sheets of paper, and threw them into the fire basin.
The sudden flame illuminated a small area of vision, and even more brightly lit her unusually gleaming eyes.
