Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Under the truth-telling talisman’s effect

As it turned out, Yu Zhi Yi had judged things well.

After returning to Yu Manor, Yu Chun Yue wanted to curl up alone in his room to rest and think about what to do next. He had completely botched what Consort Yu asked him to do, and he had also ruined his ties with Yu Zhi Yi. From now on, he could forget using Yu Zhi Yi’s influence. If Yu Zhi Yi did not hit back at him, he would have to silently chant in his heart: [Amitabha.]

Offending a powerful mystic arts practitioner was no joke. In the past he never worried, because he never believed Yu Zhi Yi really had that much skill. But after what happened today, that feeling of wanting to keep quiet while your mouth spills the truth on its own was too scary. He hardly dared imagine it, and he thought in panic: [If Yu Zhi Yi truly wanted me dead, could she do it with just a flick of her fingers?]

While he was fuming, Madam Zheng pushed the door open and began to complain: “Master, how could you reveal what happened back then?”

They had done that thing so secretly that, if Master had not blurted it out in public, the people of the Martial Alliance might never have found the truth in this lifetime. Now that everything was exposed, they would face not only the Martial Alliance’s revenge but also the gossip of the Capital. In the past people had spat curses at Yu Zhi Yi; in the future those curses would all land on this husband and wife.

Already annoyed, Yu Chun Yue grew even more impatient and snapped: “Did I want to say it? Who knew that wretch really had skill? Just a piece of paper made people spit out the truth in their hearts.”

Madam Zheng asked with a frown: “Is that talisman paper really that powerful?”

She was not doubting it, since her husband and her daughter had already been forced to tell the truth by the truth-telling talisman. The facts spoke for themselves; she was only sighing. But Yu Chun Yue was already angry, and when he heard what sounded like blame, his temper flared as he barked: “Why don’t you let that wretch stick a talisman on your forehead and see if it works so well?”

Madam Zheng’s own anger boiled over, and she shouted back: “You got mad outside, so why are you taking it out on me? If you have the guts, go face Yu Zhi Yi!”

Yu Chun Yue pointed at her, his voice cold: “So what if I take it out on you? If you hadn’t done wrong back then, would we be in this mess now? All of this started with you. You dragged our family into this state. Why shouldn’t I blame you?”

He jabbed another warning at her, his tone harsh: “Listen. I won’t just blame you. I’m warning you to behave from now on. If you dare make me angry again, I’ll divorce you!”

Madam Zheng screamed, her face wet with tears: “Yu Chun Yue, you bastard!”

She choked out with a sob: “I understand now. What those two men said was true. You really keep a woman outside, don’t you?”

All these years, Yu Chun Yue had never taken a concubine. There was only Madam Zheng as the head madam of the household, and she had been quite pleased with her own charm and with Yu Chun Yue’s loyalty. She spoke now only in anger, yet under the effect of the truth-telling talisman, Yu Chun Yue actually admitted it, and he said flatly: “Yes. I keep a woman outside, and there is a child too.”

He added in disgust: “I’ve long had enough of you, a jealous woman. If your father and your brother were not the military governors of Jiang Prefecture, and if I didn’t want to carry the name of ingratitude, my beloved woman and child wouldn’t have to suffer outside.”

Since he had spoken, he decided to rip off the covering at once, and he declared: “Since the words are out today, there’s no need to hide it. I’ll have them brought over soon.”

Yu Meng Qin, who had hurried back after hearing the news, arrived just in time to hear his father’s bold words. His face, always stern, turned even colder, like stone, and he asked in a low voice: “Father, is that true?”

Yu Chun Yue’s heart jumped. He did have some feeling for his eldest son. This was the child he had looked forward to the most and the one he had poured the most effort into. If it had been any other day, he would have softened his tone, said a few nice words, and coaxed mother and son back to calm. But right now he refused to coax anyone, and he laughed coldly as he answered: “So what if it is?”

Looking at Yu Meng Qin’s grim expression, he grew more irritable and shouted: “I am your father. Everything in Yu Manor is mine. If I want to keep a few women, I will keep a few women. If I want to have a few children, I will have a few children. You are the son, so you think you can control your father?”

Full of humiliation, Yu Meng Qin gave a cold laugh and said: “Fine. I can’t control Father. You can clean up the mess yourself.” Then he took his mother by the arm and left.

Furious, Yu Chun Yue smashed a pile of porcelain in the room. He cursed in a rage: “Unfilial son! Unfilial daughter! A bunch of wretches! You all came to collect debts from me!”

But the trouble wasn’t over. In the afternoon, people came from the palace.

Yu Chun Yue was no longer an Imperial Court official, and Consort Yu was only a consort in the Inner Palace with no right to manage the Six Palaces. He had no right to enter the palace, and she had no right to summon an outsider. So Yu Chun Yue could only disguise himself as a small eunuch and slip into the palace in secret.

The moment he stepped into the Crystal Palace, a teacup flew at him and slammed into his head before he could dodge. Blood streamed down at once.

Consort Yu did not feel even a bit sorry for her brother. She glared and said coolly: “You promised you would bring Yu Zhi Yi into the palace. Is this how you handle things?”

She drove the point in, her voice colder: “You not only failed, you ruined the reputation too. How could this consort have such a useless brother?”

If this had been before, Yu Chun Yue would have bowed and scraped, talked sweetly, and coaxed Consort Yu to smile. But now he could not control his mouth at all. His anger exploded, and the truth poured out as he snarled: “You aren’t useless? You aren’t useless, yet you can’t even keep a man pleased. You aren’t useless, yet you couldn’t even keep your own child, and let it become a neither-male-nor-female monster!”

He spat out her given name with contempt, and he mocked: “Yu Chun Lin, didn’t you gain a little power only by serving a man? What is there to be proud of?”

He went on, voice sharp: “Every time you see the family, you act high and mighty. I’ve been sick of you for a long time!”

He threw out the final truth he had held in, his eyes red: “If your safe delivery of the young prince weren’t tied to whether I could be reinstated, I would never have gone to look for that unfilial girl for you. Now I’m like this, my name is ruined, and any hope of being reinstated is gone. You caused all of it!”

He finished with a hiss: “I won’t even settle accounts with you, and yet you dare order me around? Who gave you the courage? Wretch!”

Consort Yu stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

At the doorway, the Emperor also stopped, his handsome face sinking. The two siblings had not lowered their voices at all, and he had heard from afar the sentence: “You couldn’t even keep your own child, and let it become a neither-male-nor-female monster.”