Chapter 47.1: If heaven won’t punish you, Mr. Liu, then I’ll take over!

The room was silent, and Liu Kangsheng did not follow in this time. He was confident that there was no need to closely follow and stare at Wang Shi.

Wang Shi trembled, even afraid to remove the cloth stuffed in Liu Yu’s mouth. She cried with sobs, “Yu’er, don’t blame Mother, don’t blame Mother…”

Liu Yu just looked at her silently, the mockery and disappointment in his eyes undisguised.

The last strand of hope in his heart was completely shattered, rooted out.

She was naive; she shouldn’t have harbored any hope. She shouldn’t have hoped for the Wang Shi of the past to be trapped in a deception. She shouldn’t have hoped that Wang Shi didn’t know that the sweet soup was drugged, and she shouldn’t have hoped that, for the sake of a bit of blood and familial connection, Wang Shi would dare to oppose Liu Kangsheng.

But hope, in the end, was just extravagant hope…

Wang Shi seemed as if she was burned by that gaze, yet her trembling hands couldn’t help but touch Liu Yu’s cheek.

Looking at this face, there was a moment when she truly hated, but it was clear that there was also his shadow. Wang Shi broke down and cried, “Why did you end up with such a face, why…”

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“Pye, obyv byrrldle?”

Liu Kangsheng had a satisfied look on his face, and with just a glance, Liu Dalang and Wu Shi knew that Wang Shi had been settled by the old man. The couple was overjoyed.

Liu Kangsheng looked at Wu Shi and whispered, “Go to Liu Langzhong’s¹Dr. Liu house. Your third brother and his wife are already there. Bring them all to Yi’an Tang in town. Stay there as late as possible and say it’s my order. The child in the belly is important, you must go to town and check on it.”

Wu Shi immediately understood. It was to prevent the third household from exposing the plan of selling Liu Yu and to have her intercept the third household.

As for Liu Dalang, Liu Kangsheng instructed, “Go out and welcome your brother-in-law. Urge him to hurry.”

The couple agreed immediately and quietly sneaked out of the Liu family courtyard.

Not long after Liu Dalang went out, Liu Kangsheng heard the conversation between him and Wu Jin outside. He quickly got up and opened the courtyard gate. Wu Jin had indeed rented a mule cart from the county and rushed in.

Liu Kangsheng was overjoyed and closed the gate as soon as the mule cart entered.

Meanwhile, Liu Yan, who was playing at a neighbor’s house, returned home after lunch. Just as she saw Liu Dalang and Wu Jin rushing in with the mule cart, her father glanced outside a few times and abruptly closed the courtyard gate. She hurriedly ran a few steps and, as she approached, gently pushed the door, only to find that it was bolted from the inside.

Why would they bolt the door in broad daylight?

As Liu Yan was about to call out, she heard Liu Kangsheng’s suppressed voice from inside, “Eldest, go and get that girl out.”

Her hand, raised to knock, inexplicably froze. Get her out???

Liu Yan hadn’t grasped the meaning of those words yet; she just felt something was wrong. Cautiously, she withdrew her hand, thought for a moment, and then quietly crouched down to peek through the crack in the door. When she saw the scene inside, her eyes widened in astonishment.

What she saw was unsettling. Liu Yu’s hands were tied behind his back, her mouth was gagged, and she was being pulled out by the elder brother. She was pushed and shoved to get onto the mule cart. Liu Yu seemed inexplicably weak, unable to stand on her own and fell down like soft noodles. She was almost being dragged and stuffed into the cart by the elder brother. Meanwhile, their mother, Wang Shi, followed behind, just crying.

It finally dawned on Liu Yan that the girl her father mentioned was Liu Yu.

Her mind buzzed. Where were they taking Liu Yu? Vaguely, an answer emerged in her mind. Liu Yan’s face turned pale, and she stood there as if nailed to the spot.

In the presence of Wang Shi, Liu Kangsheng pulled Liu Dalang aside and whispered, “Tell the Yapo²human trafficker to find a good family for Ah Yu. Whether as a concubine or a maid, it doesn’t matter. Just make your mother feel at ease.”

Liu Dalang was momentarily stunned. Liu Kangsheng continued, “I swore to your mother that I would instruct the Yapo to find a good family for your eldest sister as a concubine or maid. Otherwise, I would sever the family line³no more children or grandchildren.”

Although he had used some manipulation when making the vow, he was determined to tell the Yapo. Even though it wasn’t guaranteed, when it came to this sworn promise, Liu Kangsheng couldn’t hide his resentment.

Liu Dalang’s face also changed, and he suddenly understood. His eye twitched before he said, “That’s right, I will definitely explain.”

Turning to Wang Shi, he reassured her, “Mother, don’t worry.”

Thick-skinned to the extreme! Very Shameless!

Wang Shi stared tightly at her stepson, clenching her teeth to restrain the impulse to rush forward and tear him apart.

In the carriage, upon hearing the oath, Liu Yu understood the trick played by Liu Kangsheng. It seems he was afraid of taking the oath. Well, it’s a case of cutting off future generations. A touch of ruthlessness flashed in Liu Yu’s eyes.

Wu Jin signaled to Liu Dalang with his eyes, and Liu Dalang spoke, “It’s getting late, and we need to hurry to the county. Dad, I’ll leave first.”

After a nod from Liu Kangsheng, Liu Dalang entered the back carriage. Staring at Liu Yu, Wu Jin led the mule cart to turn around.

Liu Yan knew she should leave; she should turn around and run immediately.

But she was shocked by everything she saw, unable to move, completely immobilized. When Liu Kangsheng walked over with a smiling face to close the door, Liu Yan finally snapped back to reality. With a pale face and trembling legs, she swiftly ran along the courtyard wall.

The azure cloth-covered mule cart meandered through the village’s twists and turns until it disappeared at the end of the dirt road outside Liujiacun. Liu Yan hid behind an old tree, revealing half of her face. With trembling teeth and cold sweat on her forehead, she was scared out of her wits.

Outside Liujiacun, Master Li⁴the third candidate, the widow, who had an appointment with Liu Yu yesterday and was pressured by his elderly lady to get married urgently, came to inquire about the situation after completing his household and farm affairs this morning. Coincidentally, the first person he encountered was a terrified Liu Yan sitting under a tree.

Unable to learn much from a young girl, he inquired if there was a person named Liu Kangsheng in the village.

Hearing Liu Kangsheng’s name, Liu Yan trembled. Without saying a word, she turned and ran towards the fields and the mountains to hide.

Master Li was puzzled but thought that a teenage girl might be shy. He continued into the village, planning to enter any household, ask for some water, and use the opportunity to inquire.

Little did he know, the person he was waiting to rescue had already been taken out of Liujiacun. He had found out that Liu Yu had a good character, and it seemed he couldn’t wait any longer for news from that girl in the embroidery shop.

~

Near the entrance of the village, at the Liu Langzhong’s house, Wu Shi was originally waiting to intercept Liu Sanlang and Wen Shi. When she saw her elder brother, Wu Jin, driving the mule cart into the village and leaving shortly afterward, she couldn’t contain her smile. Ignoring Wen Shi’s presence, she went straight back to the Liu’s house.

Eighty taels, Wu Shi seemed to see a prosperous future waving at her in the distance.

Wen Shi calculated the time, estimated that it would be enough time for Wang Shi to discover them, rescue the person, and then pretend that nothing’s wrong. Seeing that it was almost time for the Liu family to have dinner and feeling uncomfortable using the excuse of taking a break, she let Liu Sanlang return the ox cart and headed to the Liu family’s courtyard.

Upon returning home, she found only her father-in-law Liu Kangsheng, mother-in-law Wang Shi, and sister-in-law Wu Shi. Liu Kangsheng maintained his usual stern expression, but hints of laughter lines could be seen at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows. Wang Shi had red eyes, and Wu Shi was trying hard to suppress her joy.

Among these three, Liu Dalang, who should have been at home with Wu Shi, was nowhere to be found, and there was no sign of Liu Yu.

Wen Shi’s heart skipped a beat.

After greeting everyone and mentioning that she needed to rest in the house, she hesitated and asked Wang Shi, “Where’s my younger sister? Hasn’t she come back today?”

Wang Shi seemed disoriented. After Wen Shi called her several times, she absentmindedly responded, “Yes, she hasn’t returned yet.”

This afternoon, not only Liu Yu but also Liu Yan was missing.

During this lunch, except for Wu Shi and Liu Kangsheng, along with an uninformed Liu Sanlang, neither Wang Shi nor Wen Shi had any appetite.

Claiming discomfort due to pregnancy-related issues, Wen Shi excused herself and stayed inside without coming out.

Wang Shi sat in the main room, sulking. She didn’t speak, didn’t cook, and didn’t eat.

~

On the mule cart rushing along the road, Liu Dalang looked at Liu Yu, who seemed to have no strength left, slumped half-dead on the seat of the cart. A hint of relief appeared on Liu Dalang’s face, as if the dust had finally settled.

As the cart traveled, Liu Yu remained in the same position as when Liu Dalang pushed her onto the cart. Her head was against the cart window, and the cart was an old one rented by Wu Jin from the county for transporting passengers. The window curtain was dirty and hadn’t been washed for who knows how long. With each swaying motion of the cart, it slapped against Liu Yu’s face, but she had no strength to move. With every jolt of the cart, Liu Yu’s body also moved uncontrollably, looking quite disheveled.

This state of disarray seemed to amuse Liu Dalang. He enjoyed watching for a while, seeing that Liu Yu was indeed powerless like a dead fish. He calmly closed his eyes to rest.

Little did he know, in the hands tied behind her back, Liu Yu held a small, sharp pair of scissors. The sharp edge of the scissors was repetitively cutting and grinding against the hemp rope binding her wrists.

She had the skill to untie knots with her bare hands, having practiced it on the way to Yangzhou in her past life. However, she still couldn’t use this skill at the moment. Holding the small scissors in her hand, Liu Yu’s expression became extremely complex for a moment.

The mule cart swayed for a long time, and from midday to the late afternoon, even Liu Dalang, who had been on the road the whole time, was on the verge of falling asleep several times. Finally, they approached the county city of Anyi.

Sansukini: There’s a second update.

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