Chapter 85: A Change of Heart
Just a moment ago, Old Madam Chen was still mourning the uncertain fate of Old Man Yu. However, upon hearing talk of dividing the silver, she immediately forgot her grief. Her voice echoed through the cave, making the members of the Bai, Liu, and Zhang families even more furious!
“Madam Yu, we don’t like what you’re saying! The silver we found was just loose coins. You claim to have thousands of taels — so just because you say so, it must be true? Are we supposed to give all we found to you and get nothing in return?”
Originally, everyone wanted to stick together to survive the journey to the wilderness. But Old Madam Chen’s words were too much for Tao Fanghua, Zhang Yuan’s wife, to endure.
After all, her family had also lost a few members in the fight against the bandits. Why should Old Madam Chen get to hog all the benefits with just a few words?
Upon hearing Tao Fanghua’s outburst, those who had initially harbored complaints also kept their mouths shut, deciding to wait and see what would happen. After all, Old Madam Chen was Yu Zhengqing’s mother, and no one wanted to offend him unless absolutely necessary.
“What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that this old woman is trying to take advantage of the situation?”
Old Madam Chen was also a stubborn woman. She had seen Tao Fanghua treat her with respect before, but now, at the mention of money, Tao Fanghua turned hostile. This made Old Madam Chen furious!
“That’s not what I meant. I’m just stating the facts.”
Tao Fanghua, after all, came from a prominent family and had a bit more decorum than Old Madam Chen, who was from the countryside. Seeing Tao Fanghua so calmly ignore her displeasure, Old Madam Chen’s face twisted with rage!
At that moment, her mood was like punching cotton — utterly infuriating!
“Enough! Everyone calm down. But my aunt isn’t wrong. We’re all in the same boat now. The bandits’ loot, along with what they took from us, includes several thousand taels of my silver notes that are now missing. This is no time for arguments. Let’s gather everything first and sort it out later.”
Yu Zhengqing wasn’t particularly greedy for the bandits’ loot, but even a hero can be brought down by lack of money. Without silver, how could they survive in the wilderness? This wasn’t the time to be generous. He wanted his silver notes back, but he was also confused. His mother had previously said she only had 500 taels, but now she claimed to have thousands…
As the argument continued, Lady Lan secretly reached into her prison uniform and felt the lining of her cotton jacket. Only when she touched the hidden object inside did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Not only her — even Chang Huilan and Yu Meiyao couldn’t help but discreetly check the silver they had hidden.
Even Old Madam Chen, in the middle of her argument with Tao Fanghua, reached back to feel the silver notes sewn into her cotton pants. Only when she was sure they were still there did she relax.
Meanwhile, Yu Luo’s family watched the scene unfold like spectators. All she could think about was whether their tents were still there. The sooner they got out of here, the better!
While looting the bandits’ bodies had been nerve-wracking, everyone had been motivated by the hope of finding valuable things. But Old Madam Chen’s outburst had soured the mood. Even those who found silver began hiding some for themselves before turning in the rest.
By the time all the clothes and quilts were piled up, the women were sorting them, and the men had torn the bandits’ inner clothes into strips to use as ropes for bundling. After everything was packed, the men sat down together to divide the loot.
“Lord An, there aren’t any silver notes worth thousands of taels. The best martial artists among the bandits had a bit more on them, but all we found was a little over a thousand taels in total. Including the scattered silver and copper coins on the rest, we’ve only got about 2,300 taels, plus these pieces of jewelry.”
Zhang Yuan wasn’t stupid and, naturally, sided with his wife. After Old Madam Chen’s blatant attempt to grab everything, no one was willing to play dumb and give in.
“Those valuables were only what we found on the bodies. I think there must be a secret stash somewhere. This cave has a storeroom for food, so it’s likely there’s one for silver too. These bandits have been here for years — they couldn’t possibly carry everything on them.”
Yu Zhengqing wasn’t blind to Zhang Yuan’s sarcasm. But he genuinely believed there was more silver hidden somewhere. He didn’t care if his mother was trying to swindle others — he just wanted his silver back.
Hearing this, Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but brighten up. If they could find the bandits’ hidden stash, wouldn’t they get even more?
“Second Brother, you hold onto these for now. We’ll keep searching for the stash.”
Yu Haojie was stunned. Since when did Yu Zhengqing trust him so much? The idea of being in charge of so much silver left him feeling both surprised and flattered.
“That won’t do! If anything goes missing later, people will start pointing fingers. It’s better if every family sends someone to guard the silver together. As for searching, we need to hurry — if these bandits have allies, they’ll definitely come to avenge their deaths once they find out.”
Ye Jiamei quickly pulled back Yu Haojie, stepped forward, and offered a sensible suggestion.
“Madam Yu is right. Let’s do it that way.”
Tao Fanghua wasn’t keen on leaving the Yu family alone with all the silver and quickly agreed.
Seeing everyone in agreement, Yu Zhengqing led a group to search for the hidden stash, even combing through the cave that had housed the 500 bandits. But they found nothing.
Watching the crowd search in vain, Yu Luo felt a bit guilty. But then she thought — if she were in their place, she would do the same. That tiny bit of guilt disappeared in an instant.
Better for them to waste time searching than for her to expose her secret and become a target.
