Tragic Daughter-in-Law V

For the past day and night, the Princess Consort had been sitting on pins and needles. She was utterly exhausted by this agonizing torture, yet she could not bring herself to open her mouth and question her, to take the initiative and bring the truth to light.

Watching her changing expressions, Chu Yunli stopped speaking harshly. With a light smile, she said, "To be honest, if you hadn't pushed me step by step, I had no intention of bringing these matters to light. All I ask is that from now on, you treat me with courtesy and accord me the respect due to a Prince's Heir Consort. Do not ever make me pick beans or do things of that sort again."

She turned to leave, but as if suddenly remembering something, she looked back and added, "You actually dared to welcome that mother and daughter back. Aren't you truly afraid of being discovered?"

The Princess Consort's face turned ashen; she glared at her in silence.

Chu Yunli's tone grew heavier. "The sight of them irritates me. Get them out of here immediately, and remember: do not provoke me."

Hearing this, the Princess Consort's expression grew even more unsightly, yet she no longer dared to stop her.

By now it was midday. Chu Yunli returned to her own courtyard and ordered all the furnishings, including the bed, to be completely replaced with styles to her liking. She then went to admonish Madam Zhu once more, telling her to keep her maids in line.

Over the years, Yang Aicao had seemed to bask in boundless glory, but in truth, she labored incessantly day after day. The exhaustion from the previous night had not yet faded, and once she finished her evening meal, Chu Yunli locked the door directly.

Half-asleep, she seemed to hear someone kicking at her door from the outside. Paying no heed, she simply rolled over and pulled the quilt over her head.

The person outside was not persistent; after a few kicks, they left.

The following morning, when Chu Yunli woke up, the day was still early, but she did not get out of bed. Since she had no intention of making a morning greeting, she cared little if others called her lazy. On the contrary, the maids outside bustled back and forth, wanting to knock on the door yet not daring to.

By the end of the Chen hour, having slept her fill, Chu Yunli finally instructed a maid to bring in water for her to wash.

For the servants attending to the Heir's residence, such a thing—where the mistress had still not risen by this late hour, aside from when she was confined after childbirth—had never happened before. As the group entered, everyone stole glances at Chu Yunli's expression amidst their chores.

While she was eating breakfast, Guan Haiquan walked in from outside and said with displeasure, "Why did you bolt the door last night?"

Chu Yunli replied casually, "I was too tired and didn't feel like dealing with you. Besides, you have so many other places to go; it's not like you have nowhere to sleep. Other people are practically begging for you to stay the night."

Guan Haiquan was left speechless.

"Mistress, what has gotten into you these past two days?"

Her temperament had undergone a drastic transformation, making her like a completely different person from before.

With a casual expression, Chu Yunli said, "I've suffered enough grievances over the years and no longer wish to be bullied. Whoever makes things difficult for me, I will make things difficult for them."

For a moment, Guan Haiquan did not know how to persuade her. Catching sight of the high sun outside, he could not help but say, "You haven't gone to pay your morning respects to Mother at this hour; you'll end up being punished again shortly. Caught in the middle, I am truly in a difficult position..."

"That won't happen." Chu Yunli put down her bowl. "Let alone me going late, even if I didn't go to pay my respects at all, your mother would no longer lecture me the way she used to."

Guan Haiquan looked utterly unconvinced.

Old habits die hard; over the years, his mother had long since made lecturing her daughter-in-law a habit. In the past, even when Yang Aicao had done nothing wrong, his mother could still find an excuse to discipline her. Yesterday, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had stood toe-to-toe in confrontation, which would only make his mother angrier; consequently, her punishments would only be harsher.

Chu Yunli smiled. "Then let's wait and see."

Guan Haiquan held a minor official post and was currently lending a hand in the Ministry of Revenue... How should he put it? He was considered an imperial relative. Even if he wasn't close to the Emperor, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue wouldn't intentionally make things difficult for him—though, of course, they wouldn't truly employ him as a proper official either.

When he first started, he too was full of ambition and wanted to accomplish things. But given his status, as long as the Emperor didn't value him, anything he did was redundant. Over the years, the youthful vigor within him had long since been worn away; nowadays, he took leave every other day, and the Ministry of Revenue didn't care either.

Seeing Chu Yunli speak with such certainty, he refused to believe it. He simply sat down opposite her and ate a bit of food casually.

For the remainder of the half-day, Guan Haiquan went nowhere, merely lingering around the courtyard.

The beauties in the inner courtyard had their own ideas and kept drifting past him to catch his eye, but Guan Haiquan had no heart for it and kept his attention fixed on the courtyard gate.

By evening, someone did indeed come from the main courtyard. Instead of summoning Yang Aicao to face a reprimand, they had come to deliver items.

Two bolts of this year's newly acquired fabric had been sent over. Upon seeing them, the astonishment on Guan Haiquan's face was almost impossible to conceal.

These two bolts of fabric were not things that could be bought anywhere at will in the capital; they were tribute items respectfully presented by lower-ranking officials, and only various Prince's estates and Commandery Prince's estates were allocated a small share. The Prince's estate had only received three bolts in total—and two of them had been sent straight here?

Even though Guan Haiquan usually paid little attention to such matters, he could not help but be shocked.

By the time Old Mother Yang had put down the fabrics and respectfully withdrawn, Guan Haiquan's gaze toward Chu Yunli had completely changed.

"What on earth is the handle you hold over Mother?"

Chu Yunli's gaze was profound and meaningful. "You wouldn't want to know."

Guan Haiquan slammed his hand on the table. "Tell me!" He emphasized, "There is nothing I dare not hear."

With a half-smile, Chu Yunli asked, "Do you truly want to hear it?"

Guan Haiquan nodded. "Speak!"

With a wave of her hand, Chu Yunli dismissed all the servants in the room. When only the husband and wife remained, she lowered her voice and said, "It's nothing much. It's just that back then, after your mother married in, her position wasn't very secure, so she came up with a scheme."

Accustomed to being fawned over all these years, Guan Haiquan had never liked using his brain, but that did not mean he was stupid. Hearing this much, and seeing that his wife fell silent, he frowned.

His mother had been able to firmly secure her position as the Heir Consort entirely because she had given birth to the Prince's legitimate grandson that year—which was to say, himself.

A chill ran through his heart, and he asked in a startled voice, "What scheme did she come up with?"

Chu Yunli blinked. "She swapped away the daughter she gave birth to! And brought in a baby boy to pass off as the Prince's legitimate grandson..."

"You're talking nonsense!" Guan Haiquan abruptly stood up, slamming his palm onto the table with a roar loud enough to almost blow the roof off.

Chu Yunli picked up a cup of tea. "You can just consider it nonsense, then." As she said this, she glanced at the bolts of fabric on the Eight Immortals table.

This little action happened to fall into the eyes of Guan Haiquan, who had been staring fixedly at her.

In the past, tribute fabrics had never once been delivered to their courtyard. Even if there were any, his mother would have them made directly into garments for him. As for Yang Aicao... it seemed she had received some once. One year, the fabric sent was rather odd—neither quite yellow nor quite red—and she had received a garment that year. At all other times, whatever she received amounted to nothing more than handkerchiefs.

Those handkerchiefs were made from leftover scraps. Guan Haiquan knew his mother disliked Yang Aicao, and sending handkerchiefs was likely just to avoid giving people something to gossip about.

Yet now, two full bolts had been delivered directly... Guan Haiquan felt as though his heart had plunged into an icy cave, chilling him so deeply that he could not help but shudder.

At that precise moment, someone knocked on the door outside.

"Master, what has happened?"

It must have been the sound of Guan Haiquan slamming the table and roaring in anger just moments before that had drawn them over.

Amused, Chu Yunli said, "You are entirely welcome to be even louder, so that everyone under the sun can know."

Guan Haiquan stared at her dead-eyed. "You're not lying to me?"

Chu Yunli let out a cold laugh. "Self-deception will get you nowhere, Heir Lord!"

When she uttered the three words "Heir Lord," her tone was dripping with mockery.

With weak limbs, Guan Haiquan clutched the edge of the table and slowly sank into a seat, unable to recover his wits for a long time.

Over the years, his mother had treated him quite well, and everyone inside and outside the estate had shown him great respect, to the point that he had never once suspected he was not a true imperial relative.

To tamper with the imperial bloodline—even if it was only the bloodline of a peripheral Commandery Prince's estate—carried an exceedingly heavy crime. Being left with an intact corpse would be considered sheer good fortune.

At this thought, he shuddered violently.

After a long while, when he finally spoke again, his voice was trembling. "Such a massive matter... h-how could you just blurt it out?"

Chu Yunli had her reasons. "I kindly warned you, but you refused to listen and insisted on making me tell you."

Guan Haiquan raised his hand and dealt himself a vicious slap across the face. He truly regretted hearing this news.

He struck himself hard, and the imprint of five fingers quickly rose on his cheek, yet he felt not an ounce of pain. Staring intently at Chu Yunli, he asked, "Then what do we do now?"

Chu Yunli shrugged and shook her head.

Guan Haiquan sat there looking as though he had been dealt several heavy blows with a club; his mind was a blank slate, a tangled mess of chaos without a single clue.

"I am innocent."

Chu Yunli agreed with this sentiment. "But the imperial house does not reason with people. You occupied a status that did not belong to you and enjoyed wealth and glory you had no right to; when the time comes, you certainly won't be able to escape."

Guan Haiquan was left speechless. Gripping his own hair at the roots, he gritted his teeth and said, "So Mother wants to divorce you, and then have me marry someone else... That widow surnamed Zhou is her daughter, a proper Princess of a Commandery of the Prince's estate, isn't she?"

Chu Yunli gave him an appreciative look. "Your brain is quite sharp."

Guan Haiquan genuinely felt that this situation was difficult to handle. Not knowing how to protect himself, he muttered in a daze, "Did you use this as leverage to force Mother into a compromise?"

Chu Yunli did not answer.

Guan Haiquan stood up abruptly.

Curious, Chu Yunli asked, "Where are you going?"

With his hands clenched tightly at his sides, Guan Haiquan said, "Ever since I can remember, I have been the Heir of the Prince's estate, and this status will not change in the future. I am going to have a proper talk with Mother."

"There is nothing to talk about," Chu Yunli reminded him. "The one who is afraid right now is her..." As long as they held their ground, the one who would ultimately compromise was still the Princess Consort.

Unable to bear it any longer, Guan Haiquan interrupted her, demanding, "Are you not even a little afraid?"

Chu Yunli countered, "Does being afraid help?"

Guan Haiquan: "..."

"I don't want to die!"

Chu Yunli set down her teacup, picked up some face powder, and meticulously applied it to her hands. "She is even more terrified than us of this matter being exposed. We were completely unaware, but she is different—she was the one who swapped the baby back then."

If this matter were to be investigated, the heaviest crime would undoubtedly fall upon the Princess Consort.

Even though Guan Haiquan understood this logic, it still sat heavily and uncomfortably in his chest. His good and proper status as an imperial relative had turned out to be that of a bastard of unknown parentage; who on earth could accept such a bizarre twist?

Wiping his face, Guan Haiquan squatted on the ground to rack his brain for countermeasures.

Chu Yunli thoroughly smoothed the powder over both her hands. "Keep your women in check; don't let them come making a scene in front of me. Otherwise...呵呵..."

All her threats were packed into those two chilling "Hehe"s.

As if he hadn't heard a word, Guan Haiquan tugged fiercely at his hair until it looked like a bird's nest in short order.

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside.

In a foul mood, Guan Haiquan irritably snapped, "I am speaking with the mistress; do not come and disturb us."

There was a brief silence outside before someone tentatively ventured, "The Secondary Consort has prepared the hot pot you love, and specifically sent this servant to invite you over for a drink."

Guan Haiquan: "..."

The moment he raised his head, he met Chu Yunli's eyes, which were brimming with smiles. He shuddered involuntarily and shouted, "I'm not going! I'm staying right here with the mistress!"

The sound of footsteps outside gradually faded away. He crept close to Chu Yunli and fawned, "Mistress, from now on I won't go anywhere; I'll only stay with you!"

Chu Yunli: "..." Not interested.