Chapter 231: Eldest Uncle, Weren’t You Quite Arrogant?
“Xiao Luo, Liu Lan has always been like this. We’ve all had enough of her. You might as well just stop letting her work altogether. Every time we cleared land, she was the one slacking off the most, yet she still wanted an equal share of the wages. And now, she’s acting so shamelessly, afraid you won’t pay her.”
Among the Bai family women, someone finally voiced their dislike for Liu Lan, openly urging Yu Luo to fire her in front of everyone.
Hearing this, Liu Lan flew into a rage. She immediately transformed into a full-blown shrew, ready to fight with the Bai family woman.
But with the entire Bai family present, how could they let Liu Lan have her way?
Not just the Bai family— even the Liu family joined in. Within moments, Liu Lan was thrown to the ground.
The ground was still muddy from the rain, and when she fell, her entire side, along with her hair, got covered in mud— an utterly wretched sight.
Seeing Liu Lan in such a sorry state, Yu Shanhai felt his face burn with humiliation.
He rushed forward, grabbed her from the ground, and dragged her back to their cave, not wanting to let her embarrass him any further.
Liu Lan was always a shrew, and even though Yu Shanhai had hit her a few times before, she was thick-skinned and never learned her lesson. She continued struggling and throwing a fit even as he dragged her away.
Yu Luo didn’t care what happened to Liu Lan. But Yu Shanhai and his son were actually quite efficient workers, as were their daughters-in-law. They were far more reliable than Liu Lan.
She could do without Liu Lan, but she still needed the rest of them. Manpower was the biggest shortage right now.
If she had enough people, she would have fired Yu Shanhai’s whole family just to teach Liu Lan a lesson— let her learn the hard way that running her mouth had consequences.
“Alright, Liu Lan won’t be working here anymore, but everyone else’s wages remain the same. Wages will still be settled monthly. Even though we had a ten-day rain break, all your work has been recorded. At the end of the month, my father will settle the accounts.”
As the crowd grew rowdier, Yu Luo quickly reassured them. She had more pressing matters today and couldn’t waste any more time on this nonsense.
“That’s right! Xiao Luo is correct. Wages will be paid at the end of the month. Now that the rain has stopped, the ground is still muddy, so you can resume work tomorrow.
I came today to discuss something important. Now that we’ve had such heavy rain, we can turn the cleared land into rice paddies. Water used to be a problem here, but this rain has solved that. Preparing the fields cannot wait. We need to get the seedlings planted before May.”
While Yu Haojie discussed farming plans with the workers, Yu Luo led her guards toward Yu Zhengqing’s cave.
She had come today to dig up Old Madam Chen’s grave— and that’s exactly what she was going to do!
She had no need to prove her innocence to Yu Zhengqing, but why should she let Yu Yingying and the others get away with framing her family?
Earlier, when she was dealing with the second branch of the Yu family, Liu Mingxia had secretly pulled Yu Haojie aside, asking about Old Madam Chen’s death. He said that Yu Zhengqing had been going from cave to cave, asking people if Yu Haojie had killed her.
Yu Haojie was dumbfounded.
Liu Mingxia had actually assumed that Yu Haojie was guilty. But when Yu Zhengqing had questioned the others, they all denied knowing anything. It had been raining non-stop, and everyone had stayed in their caves with their doors shut tight against the cold. How could they have known anything?
Listening to Liu Mingxia’s account, the smirk on Yu Luo’s face deepened.
Today, she would make those who framed her family pay.
And she would make that fool, Yu Zhengqing, see exactly what kind of people he was protecting!
“You— What are you trying to do?!”
The legitimate branch of the Yu family had, of course, been keeping an eye on Yu Luo and her father.
But Yu Zhengqing was still recovering from his injuries. Ever since the brutal beating he received, his arm had yet to fully heal, and the bruises on his face had only worsened over the past few days, making him look even more pitiful.
Although Yu Xiaoxuan hadn’t been as badly hurt, his face was still swollen, and he had barely stepped out of the cave since then.
When Yu Meiyao, who had been working in the vegetable patch, heard that Yu Luo was back, she immediately ran home to inform her family.
Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoran were still furious. They were about to rush out to seek revenge, but the women of their family stopped them.
Seeing the state they were in, how could they let them go out and throw their lives away?
Originally, they had planned for Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoran to personally kill Yu Luo’s family and sever all ties with them.
But they had made a fatal miscalculation— they hadn’t realized that Yu Luo now had so many skilled warriors protecting her.
Since they couldn’t kill Yu Luo’s family themselves, as long as Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoran deeply resented them, it was enough.
Once people from the capital arrived, Yu Luo’s fate would be sealed.
For now, they just had to make sure Yu Zhengqing and Yu Xiaoran didn’t get themselves killed prematurely.
Seeing Yu Meiyao’s panic, Yu Luo merely smiled.
She raised a hand, and with a single strike, Yu Meiyao was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, stumbling several steps before finally being caught by Lady Lan.
With that, Yu Luo and her five guards stormed into the cave.
The sight left the legitimate branch of the Yu family utterly stunned!
Especially Yu Zhengqing— he was still leaning against the stone wall to recover, but his eyes burned with hatred.
He forced himself to his feet, ignoring his internal injuries, and grabbed his sword.
“Heh, don’t be so hasty. I’m just here for a visit. Weren’t you quite arrogant when you came to my house? Using lightness technique to drop right into my courtyard— how bold of you. What? Now that I’ve barged in, you have a problem with it?”
Yu Zhengqing had once dreamed of hearing Yu Luo call him “Eldest Uncle.”
Yet, after months of exile, she had never even given him a proper glance, let alone called him that.
Now, she finally said it— with a smile.
But the more Yu Luo smiled, the more it fanned the flames of Yu Zhengqing’s hatred.
“You wretched disaster! Don’t push your luck! I will never forget the blood debt of my grandmother! Even if I can’t deal with you now, once people from the capital arrive, I will avenge her!”
Yu Xiaoxuan positioned himself protectively in front of the women in the cave.
His voice was filled with venom, but Yu Luo could see through him.
This coward was actually terrified.
