Chapter 40: I Gave Those Things
Yu Luo was speechless. She had never expected the system to give her such a pointless task.
But considering the 100 points reward, she reluctantly agreed.
Just as Mu Chunfang was about to go all out against the third branch, Yu Luo and Ye Jiamai walked over to them.
“Stop it. Do you really think Commander Wu hasn’t noticed what’s happening here?”
The sudden appearance of Yu Luo and her mother, coupled with Yu Luo’s words, immediately calmed everyone down.
Freed from restraint, Mu Chunfang quickly scrambled up, the iron chains on her feet clinking loudly, echoing her heaving chest full of anger.
“Wang Ying, you’ve got some nerve! You must share those things with me, or we’ll cut ties between our branches!”
“Cut ties, then! With relatives like you, who bully us instead of helping, why should we care? Even back in the village, it was like this. Now that we’re being exiled, do you really think we’d rely on you for support?”
To Mu Chunfang’s surprise, Shu Suhua was just as stubborn. Without hesitation, she agreed to the severance, her tone icy and full of disdain.
In truth, the second branch had never taken care of the third branch. If anything, they were lucky the second branch hadn’t made things worse for them.
Most infuriatingly, Yu Liang and his wife would put on a show of being generous and kind to the villagers, but Shu Suhua had long seen through their pretense!
“Shu Suhua, Old Third, are you sure you want to sever ties? Have you thought it through? Our second branch at least has three strong men. If we work together, we might survive in the wilderness. But if you break ties with us and are already estranged from the main branch, how do you plan to survive in the wilderness?”
“Hah! Forget the wilderness; if you take these things, we won’t even survive long enough to get there. So stop worrying about us, Mu Chunfang.”
Shu Suhua wasn’t buying any of Mu Chunfang’s threats. Her tone was mocking, and she didn’t even bother addressing Mu Chunfang as her sister-in-law anymore.
“Fine, fine! You’ve got guts! Old Third, say something—are you really not going to acknowledge your elder brother and even your second brother?”
“If you two acted like proper elder siblings, why wouldn’t I acknowledge you? But if you’re just here to rob us and threaten us, then so be it. We’re already living day by day; if I die, I die. You do what you want…”
“What’s going on here? We’ve been walking all day; can’t you let us rest? You old woman, what are you causing a fuss for?”
From a distance, Yu Liang saw his wife heading towards the third branch, and faint sounds of an argument reached him.
At first, he didn’t plan to get involved, but seeing Yu Luo and Ye Jiamai walk over, he quickly followed, thinking it was a good opportunity to make contact.
Arriving with an air of authority, Yu Liang spoke as if he were still the head of the family, making Yu Qiang’s face twist in disgust. He didn’t even bother to hide his disdain.
“Stop arguing. I gave them those things. Who are you to demand they take them off?”
Anxious to complete the system task and get back to rest, Yu Luo couldn’t be bothered to entertain Yu Liang. She spoke directly to Mu Chunfang in a calm tone.
“What? You gave them those? How could you possibly have so many cotton clothes?”
“That’s none of your business. The point is, I gave them those things. If you don’t want me to go and fetch Commander Wu to teach you a lesson, you’d better stop harassing them.
By the way, you joined the exile convoy late. Do you even know why our family doesn’t have to be chained up every day like the rest of you, and why we can freely follow behind the convoy?”
“Why?”
It wasn’t just Mu Chunfang who was confused; everyone from both the second and third branches was puzzled. The one who blurted out the question eagerly was Yu Liang.
He had been curious for a while now. Yu Haojie was just a concubine’s son, so why did the officers treat their family so differently?
He had wanted to ask the main branch directly, but those snobs barely even acknowledged him. Now that Yu Luo was bringing it up herself, he was all ears.
“Hah! Go ask Commander Wu yourself. I’m warning you: take your unreasonable wife away now. If she tries to rob the third branch again, don’t blame me for bringing Commander Wu into this.”
With Yu Luo’s threat, Mu Chunfang immediately shut up, though not without a resentful glance at the new blankets in the basket. With a cold snort, she turned and stomped back to her own fire.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the system task. 100 points awarded. Current total: 600 points.]
“600 points already? What can I do with that?”
[Once you accumulate 1000 points, the system will provide several options to exchange for things you might want, but only from the options given.]
After dismissing the system’s voice, Yu Luo noticed Yu Liang was shamelessly sitting by the third branch’s fire, warming himself as if nothing had happened.
Yu Luo didn’t care. Her task was done. The supplies were given to the third branch, and if they couldn’t protect them, it was none of her business.
Watching the mother and daughter walk away, Yu Liang withdrew his gaze and turned to Yu Qiang.
“Old Third, you’ve been holding a grudge against Second Brother for years now. Isn’t it time to let it go? Back then, didn’t I lend you silver…”
“Second Brother, go back and rest. Even if you’re not tired, I am. I just want to sleep.”
Before Yu Liang could finish his speech, Yu Qiang cut him off coldly, making it clear he wasn’t interested in mending ties.
“Fine, I’ll see how long you can keep this temper of yours! The Yu family is in such dire straits, and you’re still holding grudges? You’re just making things harder on yourself!”
Yu Qiang didn’t bother to respond, making it clear he didn’t want to continue the conversation. Frustrated, Yu Liang huffed and stormed off.
“Could it really be that Yu Luo gave us these things?”
After Yu Liang left, Wang Ying’s voice was full of doubt. She found it hard to believe that Yu Luo’s family would be so generous.
“It’s highly likely. How else would those things end up in the bushes?”
Wu Hongping sounded confident. The supplies felt like they were tailor-made for their family’s needs, right down to the exact number of cotton clothes, pants, and shoes for all nine of them.
