Chapter 401: Blaming It All on Her
Old Madam Chen spat her words out through gritted teeth, sending shockwaves through the entire cave.
Everyone was stunned, their mouths hanging open.
“Grandmother, they’re still family! Isn’t this too extreme?!”
Yu Xiaoxuan, still in shock, was the first to voice his disagreement.
Though he despised Yu Luo’s family, having them executed for treason felt like too much.
Even if he had wished for their deaths before, the thought of them being hunted down by the imperial court suddenly made him hesitate.
For a moment, he couldn’t tell if it was because he feared his father’s wrath or because he was having second thoughts.
But before he could dwell on it, Old Madam Chen’s palm came crashing down on his shoulder.
The hard slap made even a strong seven-foot-tall man like Yu Xiaoxuan flinch.
“You ungrateful brat!” Old Madam Chen snapped. “Why are you still protecting them?! Do you still think of them as family?”
“Yu Haojie is nothing but a bastard son of that fox spirit! Hmph! You wouldn’t understand, but that woman… never mind. Just do as I say!”
“Once your father returns, he will sign an official document severing ties with them. That way, whatever crimes they commit will no longer be our burden.”
Yu Xiaoxuan rubbed his sore shoulder, still frowning.
“But Grandmother, is this really necessary?”
Yu Yingying, her eyes gleaming with malice, smirked.
“I think Grandmother is absolutely right! Second Brother, you’re being too soft!”
“Have you forgotten how Yu Luo wounded you, Father, and Big Brother?! If she cared about family, would she have attacked you so ruthlessly?”
Yu Xiaoxuan fell silent, his brows still furrowed.
Even Yu Meiyao, who rarely spoke, voiced her concern.
“We should… wait for Father to return before making such a decision. If we act on our own, we might make him angry again.”
She still remembered vividly how furious her father had been the last time they plotted against Yu Luo’s family.
If they went too far again, he might completely turn against them.
Old Madam Chen snorted.
“This won’t work without your father’s approval anyway! But let me tell you—I’ve had enough!”
“Ever since our last failure, your father has barely spoken to me! He’s my own son, yet he’s been sulking just because of that damn Yu Haojie!”
Old Madam Chen clenched her fists, her eyes burning with resentment.
“Ungrateful son… to side with an outsider over his own mother!”
Meanwhile, Yu Meiyao suddenly realized something was wrong.
She had just stood up to grab her coat, when she froze in place.
Her face turned pale.
“Mother… Where is Xiaoyun?!”
The entire cave fell silent.
The moment Yu Meiyao voiced her fear, a chill crept up everyone’s spine.
Her little brother, Yu Xiaoyun, was nowhere to be seen.
“The sun has already set,” she murmured, her voice trembling. “Almost everyone from this area has moved away, but Xiaoyun still isn’t back? Did something happen to him?!”
Yu Xiaoyun was only eight years old.
Even though their father was gone, and Chang Huilan had been forcing him to do manual labor, he would never stay out this late.
This was still a dangerous place—full of wild animals and unpredictable threats.
Her heart clenched.
Yu Meiyao’s worst fear was that her little brother had wandered too far and gotten lost.
Or worse—he might have run into something dangerous.
Her voice rose in panic.
“Grandmother, we have to find him! He’s just a child! If he’s out there alone… he might not survive!”
Old Madam Chen’s face darkened.
Even though Yu Xiaoyun was only a concubine’s son, he was still her grandson—and, more importantly, her son’s child.
She might have been harsh to her other grandkids, but Yu Xiaoyun had always been obedient.
Even Yu Xiaoxuan, who usually didn’t care much, suddenly felt uneasy.
Then, as expected, all eyes turned toward Chang Huilan.
Old Madam Chen’s gaze was sharp and accusing.
“Where. Is. Xiaoyun?”
The implied accusation was obvious:
“Did you get rid of him?”
Even though Old Madam Chen was ruthless, she had always been suspicious of Chang Huilan.
Chang Huilan, on the other hand, remained composed—but her heart sank.
“I knew this would happen…”
“I knew they’d try to blame me.”
She lowered her gaze, forcing tears to well up in her eyes.
“Mother… Meiyao… I’m sorry!”
Her voice trembled with emotion, her shoulders shaking as if wracked with guilt.
Tears streamed down her face, and she choked out,
“I… I failed you… and I failed Xiaoyun’s mother… I failed all of you!”
For a moment, even Old Madam Chen was stunned.
Her rage faltered as she saw Chang Huilan completely break down in sobs.
But Yu Meiyao’s eyes widened in horror.
“Aunt! What do you mean?!”
She clutched Chang Huilan’s arm, shaking her urgently.
“You’re saying it like… like something happened to him! Tell us the truth! Where is Xiaoyun?!”
Seeing Yu Meiyao’s frantic expression, Chang Huilan knew she had to sell the story convincingly.
“Please… please don’t hate me,” she sobbed dramatically.
“The truth is… he ran away.”
Yu Meiyao’s face went completely white.
“Ran away?! Why?!”
Chang Huilan glanced at Old Madam Chen, then at Yu Meiyao, then let out another broken sob.
“I don’t know!” she wailed.
“But after Grandmother and Meiyao were taken away, Xiaoyun… he was scared! He was convinced that you were dead… and that if he stayed here, he’d be next!”
She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.
“He said he would go find Father himself… and before I could stop him, he vanished!”
Yu Meiyao staggered backward, her eyes filled with horror.
“He… he’s been missing for days?”
Chang Huilan nodded pitifully.
“Yes… and your Second Brother even tried to look for him. But it was too late—he was nowhere to be found.”
Old Madam Chen’s hands trembled with fury.
“You’re saying my grandson has been missing this whole time, and you only tell me NOW?!”
Chang Huilan fell to her knees, sobbing harder.
“I was afraid! I… I didn’t know what to do!”
Yu Meiyao let out a choked scream, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Xiaoyun…”
“All alone in this wasteland…”
“If he was lost this long…”
“Could he even still be alive?”
