Chapter 54: The Look in Yu Zhengqing’s Eyes
The temperature inside the tent quickly rose. With bedding spread out and a quilt thrown over, families squeezed together, separating men and women, and soon, the biting cold outside was a distant memory.
Compared to sleeping in mountain caves, this setup was not only more comfortable but also felt much safer.
Of course, officers were still stationed outside, taking turns to keep watch just in case something unexpected happened while everyone was sound asleep.
Coincidentally, just as Yu Luo lay down beside Ye Jiamei, Yu Meiyao suddenly squeezed into their blanket without a word, pulling the quilt over herself without the slightest hesitation.
Their family of three only had one mat beneath them and a single quilt to cover themselves with. No one expected Yu Mei Yao to be so shameless, barging in uninvited and hogging the blanket for herself.
Poor Yu Haojie, who was sleeping at the very edge, was left half-exposed to the chilly air. He shot up at once, bewildered and shivering, glancing at Yu Luo with a puzzled expression.
After all, his daughter would never leave him to freeze like this.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Yu Luo was almost amused to death by Yu Mei Yao’s audacity. After so long without causing trouble, what had gotten into her today?
“I don’t have a blanket, so why can’t I sleep next to you? We’re still family, aren’t we? No need to make such a big deal out of it,” Yu Meiyao retorted, her tone both indignant and aggrieved.
Yu Luo nearly burst out laughing. Did this woman seriously think she could pull the “we’re family” card now?
“Get lost. You’re making my dad freeze. Don’t force me to slap you,” Yu Luo snapped, finally running out of patience for this shameless act.
“Second Uncle’s a man; he doesn’t need a blanket as much as I do. I’m a girl—I can’t be left to freeze. Besides, don’t forget, Yu Luo, I still know your secret. We’re all in this together now…”
“You’ve got some nerve. Have you forgotten how your mother begged me to spare you that night?”
Yu Luo sneered, her voice low and cold. In a swift motion, she pressed a sharp dagger against Yu Meiyao’s waist beneath the quilt.
The chill of the blade made Yu Meiyao freeze, her eyes instantly filled with terror.
Of course, she was scared. How could she forget that night, the way her mother had pleaded for mercy?
“I-I’ll leave! Don’t do anything reckless—I don’t want to die!”
Scrambling back, Yu Meiyao hastily threw off the quilt and fled, half-crawling in her hurry to get away.
Moments later, Yu Luo sensed several pairs of eyes glancing in her direction.
“I’m going to relieve myself,” Yu Haojie muttered, getting up to head outside.
“I’ll come with you. If I get up in the middle of the night, the cold will be unbearable,” Ye Jiamei said quickly, slipping out of the quilt to follow her husband.
As soon as they stepped out, Yu Luo turned back, her eyes narrowing as they landed on the main branch’s side of the tent.
At that exact moment, Yu Zhengqing’s eyes also met hers. The two stared at each other for a breath, until Yu Zhengqing finally averted his gaze, as if that glance had been purely accidental.
For days now, the main branch of the Yu family had been unusually quiet. Even the stroke-stricken Old Master Yu seemed less troublesome than before. Even Old Madam Chen had been keeping a low profile, making for a rare moment of peace.
But the quieter they became, the more unsettled Yu Luo felt.
She couldn’t shake the suspicion that Yu Zhengqing’s earlier glance might have something to do with what Lady Lan and the others had told him about that night.
Or maybe she was just imagining things. But no matter how she thought about it, there was something off about that look in his eyes.
Meanwhile, behind the cover of a large rock on the hillside, Yu Haojie was just about to loosen his belt when Ye Jiamei suddenly let out a sharp scream, making him jump so violently he almost swallowed his tongue.
“What’s wrong with you? Screaming in the middle of the night like that—are you trying to give me a heart attack? If it weren’t winter, I’d have thought you’d seen a snake!”
Despite his usual henpecked nature, Yu Haojie couldn’t help but complain, still shaken by his wife’s sudden outburst.
But Ye Jiamei ignored him, grabbing his arm with a shaky hand.
The only light came from the officers’ campfire in the distance, leaving the area behind the rock steeped in shadows.
“I think I stepped on something… something soft. Could it be a python?”
The genuine tremor in her voice made Yu Haojie burst out laughing.
“In the middle of winter? In the snow? Where exactly do you think you’d find a snake? Have all those medical books you read gone to your head?”
Finally finding an opportunity to tease his wife, Yu Haojie wasn’t about to let it slip.
That is, until Ye Jiamei twisted his waist sharply, making him yelp and cut off his laughter.
“I’m serious! We need a torch. If it’s not a snake, it could be some other kind of animal. What if it’s a beast…?”
She didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Yu Haojie grabbed her hand and started dragging her back toward the tent at full speed.
“What’s the rush? Seen a ghost or something?” one of the officers on night watch called out with a laugh as the pair bolted past.
“There’s something behind the rocks. You should go check!” Yu Haojie shouted over his shoulder.
“A thing? What thing?” The officers exchanged puzzled glances, squinting into the darkness. Not seeing anything move, they scoffed.
“You’re scaring yourselves. Check it yourself,” one officer said with a chuckle, tossing a burning stick to Yu Haojie.
Gripping the torch, Yu Haojie hesitated for a moment, then cautiously made his way back to the rock with Ye Jiamei following close behind.
But the moment they saw what lay behind the rock, their eyes went wide with shock.
“A… a child?! It’s a child!”
Before Yu Haojie could react, Ye Jiamei had already rushed forward, crouching down to check the boy’s breathing.
“Bring the torch closer!”
Under the flickering light, the boy’s face came into full view, and Ye Jiamei’s expression shifted drastically.
“Why… why is it him?!”
