RKDPMC 10

Chapter 10

“Do you think only one or two people know about this? Besides, if the betrothed bride hadn’t been changed, how could it have attracted so much attention that His Highness the Fourth Prince and the eldest daughter of the Yun family have been seen going out together several times recently?”

Afraid that the others might not believe him, he wrapped both hands around his teacup and continued,

“Let me tell you something. My house is right at the end of this alley. The marquis’s residence was in an uproar all night yesterday. I heard that the Second Miss’s condition had worsened, so they summoned an imperial physician late at night. That physician only left this morning, and immediately afterward, the marquis’s residence hung white cloth outside. If it wasn’t the Second Miss who died, then who could it have been?”

Although the Mu’en Marquis’s Residence had not officially announced anything, they had hung white cloth and lanterns, and the timing fit perfectly.

Therefore, the person who had died this time could only be the Second Miss, who had supposedly been seriously ill for quite some time.

Everyone in the teahouse clicked their tongues sympathetically upon hearing this.

Most of them were already familiar with the rumors surrounding the Second Miss of the Yun family.

She was only fifteen years old, yet she was said to possess extraordinary beauty, widely regarded as the unrivaled beauty of the capital.

When the imperial marriage decree had previously been delivered to the Mu’en Marquis’s Residence, the Fourth Prince himself had come to formally propose the marriage.

At the time, the gift boxes accompanying the betrothal presents had filled nearly half the street. The people living around Yinghua Ward had all gathered to watch the lavish spectacle, unable to hide their envy.

Yet in the space of only a few months, not only had the betrothed bride been changed, but the Second Miss of the Yun family had also died.

What a cruel twist of fate.

As the people in the teahouse looked toward the marquis’s residence, they saw the white cloth covering the plaque above the entrance. Someone couldn’t resist making a remark.

“Speaking of which, that Mu’en Marquis’s Residence is rather strange. The Second Miss of the Yun family was merely an unmarried young woman. Why are they holding such an elaborate funeral for her?”

In this era, women generally held a low social status.

Unless the deceased was the lady of the household or an elderly family member who had died after an illness, a noble residence would rarely hold a formal funeral or receive mourners.

When an unmarried girl or a young child died, most families would simply arrange a decent coffin and bury them.

“I know the reason!”

The teahouse owner lifted the teapot and said with a smile,

“The Second Miss of the Yun family was the only child left behind by Madam Lin, the woman Lord Yun loved most. Although Madam Lin has been dead for more than ten years, Lord Yun has never failed to hold a memorial ceremony for her even once. Even after taking a second wife, he never neglected her.”

“Everyone in the capital knows that Lord Yun’s love for Madam Lin was as deep as the sea. They say that when Madam Lin died back then, Lord Yun even wanted to follow her into death. If someone else had died, the marquis’s residence probably wouldn’t go this far. But this was the child left behind by the woman he loved most. How could Lord Yun not be devastated? There’s nothing strange about holding an elaborate funeral.”

After all, she was the only flesh-and-blood descendant left behind by the woman he had loved most.

The people gathered in the teahouse were moved by the shopkeeper’s words.

They recalled how Lord Yun visited his deceased wife every year to offer sacrifices, and they were filled with emotion.

Even after more than a decade had passed since Madam Lin’s death, he still could not forget or stop missing her.

In this harsh world, a man with such deep affection and loyalty was truly rare.

Standing beside the teahouse, Yun Suyin listened as everyone praised Yun Li’an’s touching devotion and listed all the ways he had supposedly treated Madam Lin with utmost affection.

She found it so disgusting that she nearly vomited up everything she had eaten the day before.

People in this world are blind. They believe nothing but whatever rumors happen to be circulating.

If Yun Li’an had truly been devoted to Madam Lin, why would he have taken a second wife?

If he had truly been such a deeply affectionate man, then when the biological daughter of his deceased wife was falsely accused and sent into exile, would he really have announced her death before even bothering to search for her?

Wasn’t this nothing more than an attempt to cover up the shameful deeds of that precious stepdaughter of his and preserve the marriage alliance with the imperial family?

If all the supposedly devoted men in this world were like this, then Madam Lin would have been so wronged that she would have returned as a vengeful ghost and taken Yun Li’an’s life herself.

As Yun Suyin stared at the white cloth hanging over the entrance of the marquis’s residence, she suddenly remembered what Jun Guyan had said after hearing about the situation there.

He had said that the rumor about Yun Suyin being seriously ill was nothing more than an intrigue within the inner residence.

Once several days passed and white cloth was hung outside, whether she was alive or dead—and how she had died—would be entirely up to what they chose to tell the world.

The situation was unfolding exactly as he had predicted.

The people in the Mu’en Marquis’s Residence are certainly in a hurry.

Weren’t they afraid that Yun Suyin might return alive and disgrace them?

No.

It was obvious that they intended to make sure she could never set foot inside this residence alive again.

Once they announced her death and even buried her supposed “corpse,” then even if Yun Suyin returned alive, there was no way the Mu’en Marquis’s Residence would acknowledge her.

They certainly wouldn’t admit that they had held a funeral for a daughter who wasn’t actually dead.

Worse still, under the pretext of protecting the family’s reputation, they might simply kill Yun Suyin themselves once she returned.

Yun Suyin sneered coldly.

She had originally intended to walk through the main entrance openly and proudly.

But when she saw the white cloth hanging high above the gate, she changed her mind.

She turned around and avoided the teahouse patrons who were whispering among themselves, heading toward the back entrance of the Mu’en Marquis’s Residence instead.

After confirming that there was no one around, Yun Suyin took half a step backward, gathered her strength, and leapt upward.

She grabbed the top of the wall, lightly pushed off twice with her feet, and then slipped silently into the marquis’s residence with ghostlike agility.

The main reception hall of the marquis’s residence.

Old Madam Yun, Madam Jiang, sat in the seat of honor.

The elderly woman wore a dark green silk robe with a rounded collar and a matching forehead band.

In her hand, a string of bodhi prayer beads, polished until they gleamed from years of handling, slowly turned between her fingers.

Yun Li’an sat beside her.

In the lower seats sat Madam Wang and Yun Shuyue.

Meanwhile, the household steward stood respectfully in the middle of the room.

Madam Wang was already in her thirties, yet her appearance was so beautiful that she could easily have been mistaken for a woman in her early twenties who had only recently married.

Her skin was exceptionally fair, and her figure was full and curvaceous. Even beneath her rather thick clothing, the fullness of her chest could not be completely concealed.

Her long, deep-pink skirt made her fair complexion appear even more vibrant and radiant.

The faint lines at the corners of her eyes did not diminish her beauty. Instead, they gave her a mature charm that young girls could never possess.

Yun Shuyue had inherited her mother’s beauty almost completely.

Because the corners of her eyes were slightly drooping, however, there was a pure and harmless quality mixed into her beauty.

Her face was free of makeup, and she wore a simple pink skirt. Her hair was pinned up, adorned only with a flower-shaped hairpin decorated with gold thread and jade.

Whenever she moved slightly, the beads hanging from the end of the hairpin gently chimed and swayed, making her look even more delicate and graceful.

The steward stood in the center of the room and respectfully spoke.

“Old Madam, Lord Marquis, everything has been prepared, and the coffin has already been placed. When should we announce the news of the death to the outside?”

Old Madam Yun’s fingers suddenly stopped moving.

She raised her eyes toward Yun Li’an.

“Are you truly planning to do this? Without sending more people out to search for her?”

“If we could have found her, we would have done so long ago.”

Yun Li’an had handsome, well-defined features, and even at his middle age, he remained an attractive man.

He spoke calmly and persuasively to Old Madam Yun.

“We have already sent people throughout the capital to search thoroughly. We even searched the surrounding areas outside the city. Yet after half a month, we haven’t received even the slightest bit of news.”

“I understand that you cherish the family’s bloodline, Mother, but you must also consider the safety of our marquis’s residence.”

Yun Li’an’s eyes widened slightly as he continued.

“That girl knew perfectly well that she was betrothed to His Highness the Fourth Prince, yet she still had an affair with another man and ran away with him.”

“Even if we somehow force her to return, it is obvious that her reputation and chastity will already have been ruined. If this rumor gets out, it would be no different from openly disgracing the imperial family.”

“His Highness the Fourth Prince has only just agreed to change his betrothed to our Yue’er. Even if Yun Suyin returns alive, I will never acknowledge her as my daughter again.”

“Therefore, it is better to announce that she died. That is the only way we can completely preserve the honor of our family.”

Old Madam Yun frowned deeply and hesitated.

At that moment, Yun Shuyue covered her face with her sleeve and began to sob.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have believed my younger sister and gone out with her that day… I never imagined she would do something like that…”

Her shoulders trembled as though she were choking back tears.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and she continued with an expression full of guilt.

“It’s all because I failed to stop my sister. If I had forcibly held her back that day and prevented her from leaving the city gates with that strange man, things would never have gotten this far.”

Madam Wang quickly pulled Yun Shuyue toward her.

“How could this possibly have anything to do with you? How could you blame yourself?”

She then raised her head and looked toward Old Madam Yun.

“Mother, I understand that you care deeply for Yun Suyin. But when that girl ran away with a man, did she ever think about the rest of us in the marquis’s residence?”

“Besides, didn’t Yue’er even hurt her arm while trying to stop her that day?”

Madam Wang rolled up Yun Shuyue’s sleeve.

There were still traces of blood on her fair forearm.

“Just look at Yue’er’s arm. It’s already been half a month, yet it still hasn’t fully healed.”

“Look at how viciously that girl acted. If this wound had been on Yue’er’s face, wouldn’t she have been trying to completely ruin her?”

Madam Wang wiped away her tears and spoke with an aggrieved expression.

“Ever since I entered this household, I can honestly say that I have never mistreated that girl. Yue’er has treated her like her own younger sister as well.”

“But how did she treat Yue’er?”

“She was a girl who had received an imperial marriage decree and was destined to marry into the imperial family. If word gets out that she had an affair with another man and ran away with him, then even if we find her and bring her back, she will still be guilty of the grave crime of deceiving and insulting the emperor.”

“Our entire Mu’en Marquis’s Residence will be implicated.”

“That…”

Old Madam Yun’s heart ached, and her voice trailed off.