Chapter 72: Though We Lay in Separate Beds in Life, We Share the Same Grave in Death

Matchmaker’s Witness!

When Shen Yu heard this, he shot up from the ground, his features instantly turning cold. “You want Han Chu to become Wan Zhi’s widow? To remain in the Yun household mourning him for life?”

“No!” Madam Xie denied flatly. “I have no interest in such a daughter-in-law. If I wished to find a woman willing to mourn for my son, I could pick any from all the noble ladies in the world—it would never be her!”

A sharp glint flashed in the old lady’s eyes, laced with coldness, hatred, and calculation. “I want her to stay in the Yun household under the rightful title of the late Marquis of Li Xin’s widow, as bait to draw out the true culprit behind my son and grandson’s deaths.”

Use Han Chu as bait to lure out the culprit? Shen Yu could not possibly agree. He refused angrily, “You’re sending her to her death! Before Wan Zhi died, he repeatedly instructed—”

“Instructed what?” Madam Xie cut him off in a low voice. “My son gave his life to save her! Now I ask only that she be bait for his vengeance—what of it?”

Hearing this, realization finally dawned on Shen Yu. “That day you spoke to Han Chu alone in the room—you hoped she would stay?”

“Exactly.” Madam Xie’s tone was faint. “I won’t hide it from you—I told her the truth about my son’s death. But when I asked her to stay as bait, she refused.” The old lady’s voice carried both regret and weariness, then she sighed. “Chu Xiu is too weak. I can see she has no will to seek vengeance for my son; I fear she wishes only to follow him in death.”

“What?” Shen Yu was shocked, repeating, “To follow him in death?”

“Yes.” Madam Xie met Shen Yu’s gaze, her presence even more imposing despite his height. “From her appearance that day, I could tell she was resolved to die. You must make your decision quickly. If you hesitate any longer, she’ll have hanged herself by now, joining my son on the road to the underworld.”

At these words, Shen Yu’s heart tightened abruptly. He pressed, “Are you truly not the one who had her kidnapped?”

Madam Xie only let out a series of cold laughs. “If I truly wished her dead, would I have waited until now? I left her untouched these days to give her time to reconsider. But now…it seems she is a grave disappointment.”

Shen Yu hesitated, still struggling inwardly. “I don’t believe it. If she meant to end her life, she could have done so long before today…”

He suddenly dared not finish his thought. If Han Chu truly harbored a death wish, as Madam Xie claimed, how could he ever face Yun Ci? Or his own heart? But if he signed that marriage contract, by law, Han Chu would truly become part of the Yun household! Was he to let her live as a widow here? Even risk her life as bait?

No! Whether out of respect for Yun Ci’s last wishes or out of his own selfishness, he would never agree!

As Shen Yu wrestled with his thoughts, Madam Xie spoke again. “Today is the seventh day since my son’s death, when his spirit is at its strongest. Chu Xiu chose this day to die, surely intending to meet him in the afterlife. If I’m right, the day she received the marriage contract, she had already made up her mind.”

Shen Yu grew even angrier at this. So Madam Xie had long known Han Chu intended to die, yet did nothing to stop her—partly to let her reconsider, but also to force his hand into signing that contract!

At last, Shen Yu realized he had underestimated Madam Xie. The mother of Yun Ci, the matriarch of the Yun clan—her heart aside, her cunning and calculation far outstripped his own. He, who knew only pleasure and idleness, could never hope to equal her.

Madam Xie has indeed managed the Yun family for decades—her depth of thought is beyond compare. Shen Yu’s words were half mocking, half in awe, yet he could not restrain his growing anxiety. He realized that he had never truly understood Han Chu—not in the past at Zhuihong Courtyard, nor now, after Yun Ci’s death. He had always needed to hear of her feelings from others! He even felt gratified when she agreed to leave with him, never suspecting it was merely a stalling tactic.

Han Chu had long since resolved to die for love! As this cruel truth was exposed, Shen Yu felt both anxious and bitterly pained.

Madam Xie, who had seen through countless people in her life, saw Shen Yu’s darkened expression and pressed further, “I don’t intend for Chu Xiu to remain a widow in the Yun household forever. I only wish to find the real killer and avenge my son and grandson. But only Chu Xiu can serve as this bait. Once it’s done, if you wish to take her away, you can—since you are the matchmaker, and my son is dead, as long as she agrees, there will be no dispute. Whether the marriage contract holds will be up to you.”

“But if someone else acts as matchmaker, even if Chu Xiu wants to leave with you in future, unless the matchmaker annuls the contract, she will remain bound by law, forever Yun Ci’s widow!”

Admittedly, Shen Yu was moved by these words, though he remained half suspicious. He could not help but doubt Madam Xie’s honesty—before this matriarch who had ruled the Yun family for so many years, he felt like a child. “Would you truly let her go?”

Madam Xie nodded impatiently. “Why do you think I insist on you as matchmaker? First, to honor my son’s last wish; second, to make it easier for you and Chu Xiu to leave. Otherwise, would you have this chance? If I brought the contract to Prince Mu of Fangzhou, would he refuse?”

Shen Yu considered carefully. In great families since ancient times, the matchmaker was always someone of high repute, making the marriage binding by law. If Madam Xie wished to hold onto this contract, she could simply have Prince Mu, master of Fangzhou, act as matchmaker…

If that happened, even if Han Chu wished to leave the Yun household, as long as Prince Mu recognized the marriage, she would be legally bound—unable ever to escape the title of “Yun Ci’s widow.” His own father, the Marquis of Wenchang, would never allow her to marry in. And what power did a mere marquis’s son have to oppose the Yun family or Prince Mu? After all, Prince Mu was the emperor’s own son, while he was merely an adopted child.

As Madam Xie said, if he acted as matchmaker, he would hold the power to decide whether the contract was valid, and could allow Han Chu to remarry if he wished…

At this, Shen Yu finally made up his mind and agreed to Madam Xie, “Very well, I will be the matchmaker—but only if you guarantee Han Chu’s safety.”

Madam Xie smiled. “With your master and Luanqing by her side, who would dare poison or harm her? I, Xie Miaodan, am not so foolish as to allow the Yun family’s foundation to be toyed with again and again!”

By now, Shen Yu had no choice but to believe her. He pressed urgently, “Then please, give the order at once to search for Han Chu’s whereabouts.”

“Naturally.”

Immediately, Madam Xie ordered the entire household to search for Chu Xiu. But the Yun estate was vast; even the secret guards were mobilized, and they searched every corner, even the lotus pond in Still Garden where Xia Yanran’s body had been recovered, yet found nothing.

Shen Yu dared not imagine—if Han Chu truly met with harm, how could he live with himself? To fail Yun Ci’s trust and lose his beloved—it would be a pain like ten thousand arrows through the heart.

Time ticked by, dusk approached, and the servants began lighting lanterns, making the search all the more difficult. Madam Xie was pulled in every direction, and when she heard there was a dispute over inheritance erupting in the front hall, she had no choice but to go mediate with the Yun family elders.

“Madam!” After two hours of searching, Shen Yu was exhausted. He went to the front hall, interrupting the heated argument.

The atmosphere inside was tense, and Madam Xie’s face looked grim. Seeing Shen Yu arrive, she excused herself from the gathering and stepped outside to ask, “Still no sign of her?”

“An hour ago, someone saw Chu Xiu pacing before the mourning hall, but we still can’t find her.”

At this, Madam Xie’s expression changed immediately. “Come! To the mourning hall!”

*****

White funeral drapes hung all around the mourning hall, with memorial banners from mourners everywhere. Offerings and incense were piled high on a six-foot altar, before which stood Yun Ci’s coffin. Though the Yun family was vast and wealthy, the hall was arranged with solemn simplicity, just as the deceased had preferred in life.

Because Yun Ci’s death had been sudden, many relatives had not yet arrived to pay respects, so the coffin remained here, awaiting burial after the seventh day. Madam Xie had even procured rare spices to keep her son’s body preserved for half a month.

One could see the entire hall at a glance, but Han Chu was nowhere to be seen. The more Shen Yu thought, the more anxious he became; veins bulged on his forehead, fearing to hear some dire news.

Just then, Madam Xie narrowed her eyes and glanced at Yun Ci’s coffin. “Open it!” she ordered.

At these words, even Shen Yu was stunned. To reopen a coffin was a grave disrespect to the dead. Did she mean—

“Madam, I understand your intent, but the lid weighs over a hundred pounds. How could Han Chu, a woman, possibly lift it? Please…do not disturb Wan Zhi’s soul—let him rest in peace.” Shen Yu pleaded earnestly.

“You underestimate a woman’s strength in grief and anger,” Madam Xie shot him a cold look. “If you lack the courage even to open the coffin, how can you hope to protect Chu Xiu in the future? If the Heleian or Ming clans trouble her, will you have the guts to oppose them?”

This time, it was Shen Yu’s turn to flush with anger. “Madam!” Accustomed to flattery, he was unprepared for such contempt.

“Enough! Open the coffin!” Madam Xie gave him no quarter, repeating her command to the servants. But the servants hesitated, afraid to disturb Yun Ci’s spirit.

“Useless lot! Out!” Madam Xie barked. When they had all dispersed, she turned to Shen Yu. “I am his mother; you, his friend. The two of us opening the coffin is no affront to the dead.” With that, she strode to the coffin.

At this point, Shen Yu dared not delay. He hurried forward, rolled up his sleeves, and with both hands heaved at the heavy lid. The deep sound of wood scraping echoed; after a moment, the lid was pushed aside halfway.

They looked into the sandalwood coffin, and saw a man and a woman lying side by side. The man’s face was pale but handsome, his body faintly fragrant—the corpse of Yun Ci, dead these seven days. The woman lay on her side next to him, her face flushed and beautiful—a peerless beauty, unmistakably Chu Xiu.

She had truly entered the coffin to die with Yun Ci—seeking to share his grave in death as she could not share his bed in life.