Chapter 240: Never Think of Escaping
Yu Luo curled her lips into a cold smirk.
After enduring exile with these hundred people, she had come to understand their nature.
She knew—Yu Family’s Second Branch would never refuse such an offer.
But for Yu Xiangxiang, who had longed to escape her suffering, seeing herself traded like an object—haggled over by her grandfather and mother—still stung deeply.
“Why sell my sister?”
Yu Chunmu’s voice trembled with grief as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Our family doesn’t lack food to feed her! Grandfather, Mother—don’t sell her!
I’ll work harder—I’ll earn back dozens of taels in no time!”
Kneeling on one knee, he clutched Yu Liang’s hands, pleading desperately.
His wife, Huang Xiaojun, held their infant daughter, eyes red with sorrow.
She wanted to plead for her sister-in-law, but she had no voice in this household.
Especially after giving birth to a girl, she was barely acknowledged.
“Chunmu, don’t ruin Xiangxiang’s chance. She’s already disfigured—even in this wilderness, where women are scarce, what man would want her? She’d be beaten, humiliated. At least with Xiao Luo, she’ll have a decent life.”
“It’s not that I distrust Xiao Luo—I just…If she leaves, she won’t be part of our family anymore! Grandfather, don’t be so heartless! We’re all together—isn’t that enough?”
Yu Chunmu’s voice cracked.
He knew Yu Luo’s family weren’t cruel people, but his sister’s pain—the loss of their bond—tore at his heart.
Who willingly sells themselves into servitude?
Yu Liang had had enough.
With a sharp kick, he sent Chunmu sprawling onto the ground.
He wasn’t particularly forceful, but his patience had run out.
“Hmph! A girl’s fate is to be married off anyway! If not for our misfortune, she’d be someone else’s wife by now! Consider this her marriage—now get out of my way! If you keep interfering, I’ll sell your daughter too!”
“Brother, don’t beg anymore.”
Yu Xiangxiang wiped away her tears, straightened her back, and pulled her brother up.
“But, Xiangxiang—you’ll never be free again! Even though Xiao Luo’s family is kind, I know you. You’re suffering inside. Stay here—I’ll find you a good husband. You’ll still be able to marry, have children, have a future. But once you sell yourself, you might remain a servant forever!”
“It’s okay, Brother. With this face, I have no desire to marry. Better to serve kind people than to be beaten and scorned.”
Watching the sobbing siblings, Liu Lan grew impatient.
She turned to Yu Luo, palm open.
“Hand over the silver. Take her away already—I’m sick of her miserable face. She brings bad luck just staying here!”
Yu Luo…
Her laughter was laced with sarcasm.
“You really are a piece of work, huh? She’s your daughter—and you can’t even say something kind before she leaves? Liu Lan, you truly are something else.”
Liu Lan didn’t care.
She took the money eagerly, her face beaming.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiangxiang knelt before her father, her forehead knocking the ground three times.
“Father, Mother, I have repaid my debt of birth. From this moment on, I am no longer part of the Yu Family’s Second Branch. Even if we meet again, we are strangers.”
Her tear-filled eyes lingered on Yu Shanhai, who had turned away, crying silently.
“Father, take care of yourself.”
Yu Shanhai couldn’t speak—he simply helped her up, his throat too tight with grief.
Huang Xiaojun moved to pack Xiangxiang’s belongings, but—
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”
Liu Lan snatched the old clothes from her in rage.
“In this wilderness, every scrap of clothing matters! Why should she take anything? She has a new master now! Let her wear their clothes—not ours!”
Yu Xiangxiang’s last hope shattered.
Her mother’s cruelty—even over something as small as a few clothes—finally crushed her.
She turned to Huang Xiaojun, who was being scolded and humiliated.
“Sister-in-law… If you can endure, endure. If not—leave. Take my brother and niece, and go.”
Ever since Huang Xiaojun gave birth to a daughter, she had been mistreated by the entire household.
Yu Xiangxiang had witnessed it all.
More than herself, she worried about Huang Xiaojun’s fate.
“Xiangxiang…”
Huang Xiaojun choked back tears, her eyes glistening.
A part of her was relieved—at least Xiangxiang could escape.
But she herself…
She had nowhere to go.
She would be trapped here forever.
Yu Luo read the fear in her eyes.
She spoke firmly, her voice carrying a quiet strength.
“If you can bear it, bear it. If not—leave. If they force you too much, divorce them. Huang Xiaojun, remember—men can’t afford to lose their wives in this wilderness. If they push you too far—let them rot alone.”
