Chapter 111: I Don’t Want to Leave Anymore
“Of course, I’m serious. But whether they want to stay or not is up to them.”
Hearing Yu Zhengqing’s words, the village chief and the men behind him nodded eagerly.
“Great! We will definitely treat them well, we promise! Brother, could we meet them first? We’d like to talk to them properly.”
Now that they had the possibility of women, the village chief completely forgot the original reason for coming here. He was already impatient to take the two women back.
“Bai You, go call them out,” Yu Zhengqing instructed.
Bai You nodded and quickly ran toward the tent.
Inside the tent, the two women huddled together, their faces full of fear as they glared at Bai You.
“Big brother, we’re not going! Please, we beg you, we don’t eat much, and we really don’t want to go!”
“That’s right! If they don’t want to go, don’t force them. It’s just two extra mouths to feed.”
Everyone else remained silent, but unexpectedly, Yu Liang, who was sitting on the side wrapped in a blanket, suddenly spoke.
Upon hearing Yu Liang’s words, He Xia immediately pulled Zhang Xiaocui along and rushed over to kneel before him. With a loud thud, they began bowing their heads to the ground in desperation.
Yu Luo and her mother exchanged glances, their eyes filled with doubt.
“Master Yu, please let us stay! We’ll serve as your servants if necessary. We just don’t want to be thrown into a den of wolves!”
“Father! What are you doing?”
Liu Lan, who had been sitting nearby, was so furious that she threw down the firewood she was holding and stormed toward her father-in-law.
Yu Liang was startled by his daughter-in-law’s outburst and quickly snapped out of his thoughts. His face paled as he turned to meet Liu Lan’s angry, reddened eyes.
“You scared me with that sudden yell!”
Though flustered, he tried to regain his authority as the elder and stiffened his tone, unwilling to back down.
Liu Lan was so furious that she almost laughed out loud.
She had suspected something like this before, but now she was certain.
Noticing the many watchful eyes around them, she took a deep breath, suppressing her growing rage.
“Father, this isn’t just about feeding two extra people. We saved them—that was already enough. We even brought them down the Jiuzheng Mountain. Now, my cousin is offering them a good future, yet they’re still dissatisfied?
You say it’s no big deal, but when we get to the frontier and run out of food, how will we even feed ourselves? And now you want to take care of them, too? And besides, why are these women pleading with you specifically? What kind of message does that send? You two, get up and come with me!”
Liu Lan had always been strong-willed. Ever since her mother-in-law, Mu Chunfang, passed away, she had become the woman in charge of their household.
Even though Yu Liang was the elder, when he acted recklessly, she had to put her foot down.
“You—what kind of attitude is that toward me? I am still your father-in-law!”
Seeing that Liu Lan had exposed his true intentions, Yu Liang’s face turned red with embarrassment. He angrily threw off his blanket and stood up, attempting to reassert his dominance.
Noticing the tension, Zhang Fen, who was usually more reserved, frowned. She had her suspicions as well but hoped they weren’t true—otherwise, it would bring shame to the entire family.
“Father, Sister-in-law is right. We’ve already done our part for these women. Since my cousin has arranged a future for them, why should you interfere?”
“You—you—you two! Now that your mother-in-law is gone, you both think you can ignore me, don’t you?”
Yu Liang was unwilling to let it go and even brought up his deceased wife to justify himself.
Liu Lan, who had been trying to contain her anger, lost all patience.
“Father, we are respecting Mother’s memory. We just don’t want people to see you as a shameless old man!”
The last three words were spoken in a low but firm voice, her meaning unmistakable.
Seeing this scene unfold, Yu Luo and her mother withdrew their attention, choosing not to interfere.
They knew that without protection, these two women would face an even worse fate once they reached the frontier.
Perhaps Yu Zhengqing had considered this as well. After all, when everyone was struggling to survive, who would bother worrying about the fate of two strangers?
*
Eventually, the two women were dragged outside by Yu Liang’s daughters-in-law. They had tried to resist, but when the women from the Bai and Liu families joined in, there was no escape.
As soon as they stepped out of the tent, the men from the stone house village froze in place, their eyes glued to them.
“Little ladies, would you be willing to stay with us? You can pick any one of us as your husband. In return, all the men in our village will treat you well!”
Feeling the countless greedy eyes staring at them, He Xia and Zhang Xiaocui immediately fell to their knees before Yu Zhengqing, kowtowing desperately.
Yu Zhengqing felt a headache coming on.
“You must understand, we’re not being cruel. We could have left you both behind in the bandit camp, but we didn’t. Bringing you here was already an act of mercy. Think about it—if you follow us deeper into the frontier, you’ll face wild beasts and thousands of men desperate for women. Do you really think you’ll survive there?”
“Yes, yes! This gentleman is absolutely right! Instead of following them to the lawless frontier, wouldn’t it be better to settle here? We will treat you well. You’ll have warm fur clothes and plenty of meat to eat. Our village even has three other women your age who don’t have to do any work—just raise children! It’s a stable, comfortable life, no worse than living in the frontier.”
“Re-really?”
Zhang Xiaocui hesitated. She thought about the deeper parts of the frontier—the point of no return.
If she went there, she might never see home again.
If Yu Zhengqing and his people abandoned her later, wouldn’t she be doomed?
“Hey! What are you doing?”
Seeing Zhang Xiaocui waver, He Xia grabbed her arm and whispered a warning.
“He Xia, I… I don’t want to go to the frontier anymore. That place is full of dangers. If we go there, who knows if we’ll even survive? Wouldn’t it be better to just stay here?”
Zhang Xiaocui’s eyes wavered as she turned to face He Xia, her grip tightening.
