Chapter 66: The Meaning Bestowed by the System
Yu Zhengqing remained silent, but he did notice Old Madam Chen’s surprised and suddenly sorrowful gaze falling on him. However, he pretended not to see it.
Although Old Madam Chen was already sixty, she had lived a pampered life before and was still in good health. She wasn’t at the point of being only good for barking orders.
Frankly, he was a bit fed up. Even though she was his mother, what annoyed him most was how she could ruin everyone’s mood with just her mouth.
In these dire times, he truly wished that Old Madam Chen could tone it down a bit.
“Oh heavens, how could we be so miserable, old man! You’ve just fallen, and now none of them treat me, this old woman, with any respect!
Look at that precious grandson of yours! Remember how much we used to dote on him? If it weren’t for your hard work, would these little brats have lived in luxury in the Marquis’ estate? Now that you’re nothing, they’ve all turned their backs on us…”
“Enough! Stop whining! I’ll go gather firewood, alright?”
Annoyed beyond measure, Yu Zhengqing stood up. The heavy iron chains on his feet clanked loudly. As the irritable sound echoed, Old Madam Chen instantly fell silent.
She couldn’t bear to let her son do manual labor. That was never her intention…
“I’ll go too!”
Seeing Old Madam Chen’s face change suddenly and her lips tremble as if to call Yu Zhengqing back, Yu Xiaoran stood up with a scowl.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo’s family of three huddled together, eating their meal discreetly while waiting to see what the guards had planned for the night.
They were now sure of it: Yu Zhengqing must have made some move. Otherwise, why would Wu Dahai go out of his way to send them tents? Moreover, even Liang Chao’s attitude towards the Yu family was significantly different.
If Yu Zhengqing indeed had the ability to overturn the conviction, then even if that marquis’ estate regained its honor, Yu Luo and her family would have nothing to do with them.
After all, for the deaths of the original host and her parents, they would forever be strangers to that marquis’ estate.
After eating and drinking their fill, it was finally time to arrange the night’s accommodation.
The guards had their own bedding, but the other prisoners weren’t so fortunate. The thing they feared most still happened: Liang Chao split the fifty guards into five groups. Forty rested while ten stood guard outside, rotating shifts every hour.
Those forty guards occupied a tent for themselves, leaving the remaining two tents to house over two hundred prisoners.
Previously, a single tent was barely enough for the dozens of people in the Yu family and Wu Dahai’s group. Now, with so many more people, it was even more cramped.
As Yu Luo’s family spread out their bedding, ready to lie down, the tent next to theirs suddenly erupted with cries of women and children.
Before they could react, a group of guards swaggered into their tent. By the faint light of the torches, they scanned the crowd, quickly locking onto a few targets. They immediately moved forward, dragging away several women who weren’t part of the Yu family.
The scene left the women of the Yu family trembling in fear, instantly recalling Wu Dahai’s previous warnings.
Watching the guards eagerly lay their hands on the female prisoners, all the women of the Yu family instinctively clung to the men beside them, not daring to make a sound.
Amid the screams of the female prisoners and the beatings of their resisting family members, the women were eventually dragged out.
There was no need to guess what horrors awaited them.
“System, I can’t take it anymore. I want to take action.”
Watching one of the women being forcibly dragged away while her three- or four-year-old daughter clung to her, crying desperately, Yu Luo felt nothing but outrage and horror.
It was even worse when she saw a seven- or eight-year-old girl being taken as well.
Thinking of what awaited those children, Yu Luo couldn’t care less about seeming too soft-hearted. Suddenly, it was as if she understood the true meaning of why the heavens had given her this system after transmigrating.
Ordinary people were content to have food and drink. But with this system, if she didn’t use it to help the weak, what was the point of her life?
[This system fully supports your decision. After all, you are people who came from another timeline with special abilities. It seems you have realized the purpose of your existence in this world. However, with just the three of you, it will be difficult to take down fifty guards.
The system will now provide you with a mysterious iron dagger. You can use it to cut the chains on Yu Zhengqing and his two sons. With their help, dealing with the guards—and the mountain bandits that might appear later—will be much easier.]
As the system’s voice fell, a dagger appeared in Yu Luo’s hand.
It was said that the mysterious iron dagger could cut through iron like mud. Without hesitating, Yu Luo walked straight to Yu Zhengqing.
Everyone was still in shock and fear from the guards’ actions earlier. When they saw Yu Luo approaching, their eyes widened in alarm.
In the faint torchlight, the sight of the dagger in Yu Luo’s hand made the eyes of the Yu family’s legitimate descendants widen with terror.
“Death Star! What do you want?! Please don’t kill us!”
Old Madam Chen, seeing Yu Luo’s cold expression, hurriedly moved closer to Chang Huilan, her body trembling so badly that she even wet herself in fear.
“You’ll get your retribution someday, Old Madam Chen!”
“Don’t kill me! I… I know your grandmother’s secret…”
Yu Luo paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes at Old Madam Chen.
“You’ll have a chance to talk later. Right now, I have more important things to do.”
“What… how do you have a mysterious iron dagger?”
Yu Zhengqing was the first to regain his composure. As a former heir of An Rong, he quickly noticed that Yu Luo’s family no longer wore any chains.
“That’s not your concern. I’m freeing you because I need you to save those women and children.”
With that, Yu Luo slashed down with the dagger, instantly breaking the chains on Yu Zhengqing. She then swiftly cut the chains on his two sons.
“No way! They have so many people. Are you trying to send us to our deaths?”
Yu Xiaoxuan, who had just regained his freedom, was still delighted for a mere two seconds before realizing Yu Luo’s intention. His voice instantly rose in panic.
“Go! You coward!”
Just as Yu Zhengqing felt ashamed for having such a cowardly son, the old man, who had been paralyzed by a stroke for days, suddenly roared, cursing at Yu Xiaoxuan.
All the Yu family members stared in shock at the old man, while Yu Luo wasted no time in idle chatter.
“Fine. If you don’t want to go, suit yourself.”
She turned around, took out three crossbows, handed them to her parents, and the three of them walked decisively towards the tent’s entrance.
