Union

Chapter 193 All Grudges Are Settled

Xu Shaotian escaped and scrambled to the corner furthest from Gu Wangchen.

His crotch was soaked, and his clothes smelled foul; he had wet himself in fear during the beating.

Whether he urinates or not doesn't matter; Xu Shaotian doesn't care about saving face anyway.

If he truly cared about his reputation, he wouldn't have sold Yunying so easily in the first place.

He is still shaken and filled with lingering fear.

As expected, those who become powerful and influential are not ordinary people. Yunying's biological father possessed a formidable strength and almost smashed his head to pieces.

He finally realized he was afraid and felt deep regret.

If he had known this day would come, he would have treated Yunying like an ancestor, and he would never have sold her.

Xu Shaotian was panting heavily, his eyes filled with fear as he stared at Gu Wangchen and Gu Yuanxi.

These two are clearly father and son. It's certainly heartless of him to let their wives/mothers die. But they're not related by blood, and the fact that he saved Yunying shows he still has some conscience. How can we expect him to disregard his own life to save a woman destined to die?

He is a human being, not a bodhisattva who saves people from suffering.

"My lord, my lord, I really know I was wrong, please don't hit me..."

Seeing Gu Wangchen get up and walk towards them, Xu Shaotian instinctively covered his head. Stop hitting him! You'll really kill him if you keep hitting him.

Gu Wangchen didn't lay a hand on Xu Shaotian. He just stared intently at him and asked with difficulty, "Did my wife say anything at the end?"

Xu Shaotian shook his head violently upon hearing this.

What are you saying?

The woman was suffering from severe postpartum hemorrhage and was on her deathbed. She probably couldn't hear anything happening outside, so what could she possibly say?

Xu Shaotian dared not voice these thoughts, nor would he dare to lie to Yunying's father. After considering it, he could only honestly reply, "No, nothing at all."

Gu Wangchen's eyes were vacant, and his imposing body seemed to have become hunched over.

Yes, Huiyin probably left nothing behind.

If the imperial physician had been present to treat the woman who suffered postpartum hemorrhage, she might have survived. Otherwise, her body would have gradually cooled down, and she would have slowly died.

The thought of the word "death" made Gu Wangchen sway, his head throbbing with pain.

He didn't ask anything else after all. After standing there for a moment, he stepped out.

The Xu family's threshold is not high, but for Gu Wangchen at this moment, that low threshold is as difficult to cross as a high mountain.

He staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Gu Yuanxi rushed over and helped her father up, her eyes blurry with tears as she said, "Dad, please be careful."

"Ah."

Gu Yuanxi asked again, "Father, shall we go back?"

"Go back, you already know everything you wanted to know."

Gu Yuanxi was displeased, glaring fiercely at Xu Shaotian, "Are we just going to let this Xu guy go like this? He coldly watched my mother die and even sold my sister..."

Xu Shaotian was terrified upon hearing this and immediately knelt down and crawled over.

He resorted to both pitiful acts and begging for mercy, pleading, "Please, have mercy on me! Even if I carry your mother back, it will only be a pointless ordeal for her, and she'll just die..."

"How dare you say that!" Gu Yuanxi's eyes were bloodshot.

"I won't dare, I won't dare, I won't say it again," Xu Shaotian stammered. "At least I managed to rescue Yunying and bring her home. If it weren't for me, Yunying..."

"I told you not to say it, but you still said it. Are you really not afraid of death?"

Gu Yuanxi kicked out, but Xu Shaotian dodged in time and avoided being kicked again.

But this startled Xu Shaotian.

If the father is ruthless, the son won't be any better.

He had originally planned to use the fact that Yun Cheng had saved Yun Ying to further entangle himself with her—while he was undoubtedly guilty in their eyes, Cheng'er had done nothing wrong. Besides, Yun Ying adored her younger brother when they were at home, and their close sibling relationship was the envy of their parents. If he could just play the victim, Yun Cheng might be able to get something out of Yun Ying.

Of course, he was just thinking about it. Now that he saw Yunying remain unmoved even as he was being beaten, Xu Shaotian could only put his wishful thinking aside.

Gu Yuanxi helped his father walk out, and Chen Yanzhou also pulled Yunying to go out.

But Xu Shaotian was still unwilling to give up, and cried out pitifully again, "Ying'er..."

He called Yunying because his wicked intentions were still alive, but Wang Meiniang also called out "Ying'er".

Wang Meiniang has always been a loving mother. Even though Yunying was not her biological daughter, she was still a baby less than ten days old when Xu Shaotian brought her home.

The tiny little figure yawned and smiled at her, melting Wang Meiniang's heart.

It was Wang Meiniang who hardened her heart, pawned two nice sets of clothes, and used her own money to buy a milking ewe from the market. She fed Yunying milk every day to raise her.

Even raising a chicken, duck, or dog for ten or eight years will create a bond. Moreover, Yunying is naturally affectionate and especially close to her mother. Because she feels sorry for her mother, little Yunying takes on all the chores around the house.

She helped take care of Yuncheng and Yunque, cooked and did laundry for the family, and the little girl even went up the mountain to collect firewood and followed them to the fields to work on the crops.

After Yunying was sold by Xu Shaotian, Wang Meiniang went completely mad at home. This usually virtuous and good-tempered woman scratched Xu Shaotian's face until it was covered in bruises.

No matter how much she fussed, Xu Shaotian refused to say where he had sold Yunying, let alone take her home.

Wang Meiniang had made a scene, gone mad, done everything she could, but still failed to achieve her goal, and she gradually gave up.

In addition, Yuncheng developed a high fever and Yunque developed a rash, so the mother's heart was drawn back, and she gradually stopped mentioning Yunying.

Although she didn't mention it, Wang Meiniang often dreamed about this daughter in the middle of the night.

She dreamt that Yunying was crying and complaining that she was being abused to death; she also dreamt that Yunying had no food or clothes, and was wearing tattered clothes, washing clothes for a nobleman in the courtyard; she even dreamt that Yunying was growing more and more beautiful, and someone was trying to take advantage of her; she even dreamt that Yunying was heavily pregnant and was having a difficult childbirth...

All these dreams tore at Wang Meiniang's heart. She would wake up in the middle of the night and sit by the window, remaining there all night, in a daze. Over those years, she became so thin that she was barely recognizable as a human.

It was only after moving to Lingshui County that her spirits improved. It was also after moving to Lingshui County that she began to dream of Yunying less frequently.

But what was once just a dream has now become a reality.

It was her warbler.

It was only after enduring much suffering and hardship that Ying'er finally found her way home.

Looking at the wound on her daughter's forehead, Wang Meiniang was overwhelmed with pain once again.

If she had been more vigilant back then, Ying'er might not have been tricked by Xu Shaotian into going to the county town, and she wouldn't have been sold by Xu Shaotian.

But it's too late to think about these things now.

Her oriole had suffered all the hardships of the world and would not recognize her anymore.

Yunying stood at the doorway, turning her head to look into the room.

Xu Shaotian stared at her expectantly, his eyes filled with the familiar calculation and flattery, while his adoptive mother was overwhelmed with pain, guilt, and self-reproach.

Yunying had thought about it before: what would happen to her adoptive parents if she sold her? Would they feel guilty? Would they regret it? Would they feel even a moment of reluctance?
She knows the answer now. But she will never again let their emotions sway her love and hate.

Yunying silently looked at Wang Meiniang for a while, reluctantly saying "Take care," and finally turned around and walked out of the room.

Outside the door, Yuncheng and Yun Que stood on the veranda.

Yuncheng has grown from a child full of naivety into a handsome young man.

His appearance was very similar to Xu Shaotian's, but his eyes resembled Wang Meiniang's.

This gave him an extra touch of gentleness in addition to his handsome features. One glance was enough to give people a sense of reliability and kindness.

In fact, this younger brother is indeed reliable.

The year Yunying was sold, Xu Yuncheng was already six or seven years old. When he went out with Yunying, he always volunteered to do chores. His small body insisted on carrying large bundles of firewood; he helped his sister carry the freshly washed clothes home; when weeding and harvesting wheat in the fields, he tried to do more so that his sister would have less to do; even in the kitchen, even though Xu Shaotian had explicitly forbidden him from helping, he always disobeyed, either helping to pick and wash vegetables or boiling water and washing pots. He was always sticking to his sister, trying to lighten her burden.

How could Yun Ying not like Yun Cheng?

She liked her so much that when Xu Shaotian brainwashed her, saying that selling her was to raise tuition fees for Yuncheng, she stopped struggling.

She tacitly approved of Xu Shaotian's actions; she sacrificed herself to fulfill her brother's wishes.

Throughout the years, she had never hated Yuncheng.

While her younger brother sat in a clean and bright private school studying and practicing calligraphy, she could only learn how to please men, how to make them crave her body, and how to escape from conspiracies and schemes. When she fell into someone else's trap and almost lost her life, did she ever regret it or feel resentment? Only she knows the answer to these questions.

Yunying looked at her tearful younger brother, wanting to say something, but in the end, she could only choke back her words and silently lift her feet.

The lark chased after them from behind.

"Sister, you are my sister, right? Sister, I am Yun Que, don't you remember me?"

The lark was also raised by the nightingale.

That's not accurate.

To be more precise, Yunying brought her to the age of three.

As a baby, Lark was soft and adorable. She was chubby, and her eyes curved into crescent shapes when she smiled, making her very endearing.

Yunying also liked this soft and sweet little sister very much, and even slept with her at night.

This was a treatment Yun Cheng never received. Because of this, Yun Cheng disliked Yun Que's approach for a long time and didn't want her to compete with him for his favor.

Looking at Yun Que now, one can still vaguely see the shadow of her childhood in her face. But the liveliness and cuteness of her childhood have long been replaced by silence and introversion. Her bright, smiling eyes have gradually become filled with numbness and weariness.

Yun Que looked at Yun Ying with longing and said, "Sister, will you come home again in the future? Sister, we all miss you very much. Please come home more often, okay?"

Yun Que is thirteen years old this year, a big girl. She is both very smart and very clumsy.

Her thoughts were obvious.

She wanted to use this older sister to escape her current life.

However, Yunying said, "I will not be coming back. Take care of yourselves."

"Sister, sister..."

Amidst the lark's song, Yunying stepped out of the Xu family's gate and reunited with her father and brothers who were waiting outside.

The commotion at the Xu family's house attracted the attention of all the neighbors.

Xu Shaotian previously said they were relatives, but what kind of relatives would cause such a commotion when they come to visit?

The crying, shouting, yelling and yelling—it's not a relative coming to the door, it's a creditor!

Every ordinary family has its share of troubles.

Of all the families living in this alley, the Xu family was the most peaceful. There were no conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, no conflicts between sisters-in-law, no disappointing children, and the family wasn't particularly poor. This was a life one in a hundred, making everyone around them envious.

It was a rare sight to see the Xu family so lively; neighbors and friends from all around came to see what was going on.

But they were just watching the show; they didn't dare get close, for fear of being beaten.

Amidst the attention and discussion of the crowd, Yunying walked to Gu Wangchen's side, took his arm, and called out "Father".

Gu Wangchen raised his head, letting the tears flow back into his eyes. He reached out and touched his daughter's head, finally feeling a genuine sense of peace that his daughter was back by his side.

"Good boy, Daddy will take you home."

"it is good."

Gu Yuanxi was still indignant. "Father, are we just going to let them go like this?"

"Otherwise what?" Gu Wangchen said, "No matter how you put it, they saved your sister and raised her."

"But they sold my sister!"

"Then let's call it even."

"But he didn't save my mother, he just left her to fend for herself, my mother..."

Gu Yuanxi couldn't bring himself to say the words "go to hell." Just thinking about his mother's helpless and isolated state before her death filled him with resentment. He regretted not staying in the capital. If he had, he might have been able to call for help to save his mother.

But Gu Yuanxi couldn't express these thoughts.

He knew that even if he stayed in the capital, he wouldn't be of much help. In fact, he would only cause trouble.

His mother's death seemed to be ordained by fate. He was just an ordinary person in the vast mortal world; he could not defy destiny, and therefore could not save his mother.

Gu Wangchen patted his son's shoulder, "Let it go. He had no obligation to save your mother. Besides, your mother suffered a postpartum hemorrhage, and even the imperial physician might not be able to save her... I'll beat him half to death, and that'll be the end of it."

Gu Yuanxi gritted his teeth, turned his face away, and remained silent.

Gu Wangchen looked at his daughter, "From today onwards, all our grudges with the Xu family are settled. Does He'er agree?"

Yunying nodded, "I will listen to you, daughter."

Gu Wangchen patted his daughter's shoulder, "Alright, Dad will take you home and take you to see your mother."

As the group walked out, Wang Meiniang and Yuncheng chased after them.

They had all heard what Gu Wangchen had just said.

All grudges and debts have been settled.

From then on, they had no further connection with Yunying.

Watching her daughter's departing figure, Wang Meiniang burst into tears once again.

But what's the use of crying now?

They abandoned this girl a long time ago. They don't want her anymore, so why can't she go back to her parents?

Wang Meiniang pulled her son back, saying, "Don't follow us. Your sister's good days are here. Let's stay away and not disturb her."

(End of this chapter)