Yin Weiyue grabbed the wrist of the hand Huo Anmin was holding the boot with, then twisted hard—*crack*, the wrist snapped. She then grabbed his right forearm and flung him aside; with a loud *thud*, the man’s head slammed against the doorframe.
Yin Weiyue was far from finished. After dragging Huo Anmin back, she flung him out once more, and his head slammed into the doorframe again.
Seventh Sister-in-law is magnificent!
Standing behind her all this time, Huo Dong watched Yin Weiyue single-handedly fight off an entire room of people, his admiration for her instantly off the charts. He swore he would learn martial arts from Seventh Sister-in-law so he could protect his family in the future.
Meanwhile, the members of the second and fourth branches, who had never witnessed Yin Weiyue’s physical prowess, all looked as though they had seen a ghost. The eldest daughter of a Grand Secretary, pampered since childhood, actually knew martial arts!
How could this be possible?
Could she be possessed by a night demon?
Yin Weiyue had no idea that in everyone’s eyes she had already become a night demon. With a series of quick, ferocious moves, she directly helped the first branch reverse the situation.
Seeing that the fourth branch had no intention of speaking up for the second branch, Little Lady Liu could no longer sit still. She hurriedly rose, fell to her knees at the Old Lady’s feet, and kowtowed repeatedly, completely stripped of the domineering aura she had when she first arrived.
“Stop hitting him! If this goes on, Anmin will surely die! I beg you, Old Lady—no, I beg you, Elder Sister, quickly tell the Yin girl to stop!”
Yin Weiyue’s tactic of beating the master to intimidate the dogs was immensely effective.
Seeing the situation, Lady Peng knew they were at a disadvantage and could no longer sit idly by. She fell to her knees along with her. Even the Second Master had been beaten up, so naturally, the male descendants of both branches standing behind them all dropped to their knees as well.
With red-rimmed eyes, the Old Lady silently stared at these people for a long while. These were the very people her son and grandson had risked their lives to protect—what a bitter irony!
She raised her head to choke back the tears filling her eyes, finally fixing a cold gaze on Little Lady Liu and saying softly, “I am afraid I can no longer bear to hear you call me ‘Elder Sister’.” She then waved at Yin Weiyue. “Your hands must be tired from all that hitting. Come to Grandmother and let me rub them for you.”
Everyone: “…”
The corners of Yin Weiyue’s mouth twitched upward. “Not tired at all. Dealing with these parasites is child’s play.” She tossed aside the blood-covered Huo Anmin and walked over to the Old Lady’s side. Only then did the onlookers dare to run over to check on his condition.
Little Lady Liu slumped over Huo Anmin, weeping bitterly.
When Huo Wangyu came to deliver the silver yesterday, she already knew the third branch was planning to use them as cat’s-paws. But as long as they could leave this terrible place, they were willing to be used.
The two branches had discussed it all night yesterday and believed nothing could go wrong, yet they had overlooked only the Yin girl.
Little Lady Liu had never expected the Yin girl to stand up for the first branch. Ever since she married into the family more than two years ago, not a single day had passed without her causing trouble for her mother-in-law, Lady Feng. Even less expected was that she actually knew martial arts, and high-level ones at that—neither her son nor her grandson were a match for her.
Aside from Huo Yuan and Huo Jian who were in prison, the most capable fighters in the Huo family were Huo Kai, Huo Qiu, and Huo Qiang. Yet, the first two bastards failed to show up, and the last one came but refused to lift a finger—it truly infuriated her to no end.
The Yin girl had the Yin family backing her up, and currently, Yin Jianzhang was highly favored by the Emperor, so she must not be offended under any circumstances. However, there was one thing she could not figure out. Although Yin Weiyue was Huo Jun’s wife, the person she was enamored with was Huo Kai—a matter that had already caused a massive scandal. Why on earth was the Yin girl suddenly acting in unison with the first branch at such a critical juncture?
Regardless of the reason, they had miscalculated their move and lost.
Little Lady Liu said, “Elder Sister, I was blinded by greed. We won’t divide the family estate anymore; I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life. For the sake of our shared bloodline and kinship, I beg you, Elder Sister, please ask the guards outside to fetch a doctor for Anmin and the others!”
Fetch a doctor? Dream on!
It was written clearly in the novel that even if every single member of the Huo family died out, the guards outside would never let a doctor in.
Yin Weiyue said in an indifferent tone, “Auntie Old Lady, you worry too much. These minor injuries won’t kill them; there is no need for a doctor. Third Brother is merely deaf in his left ear, but he still has a working right ear, doesn’t he? Third Sister-in-law only has a cracked rib on her left side—it’s neither broken nor did it damage her lungs; I even showed mercy. As for Second Uncle, his wrist is broken, but once we return, fixing it with a tree branch will allow it to heal in three to five months. Although his head is bleeding a little, applying some plant ash after returning and resting for two days will set it right. As for the other aunts and sisters-in-law, they merely took a few kicks to the stomach, which is even less of a concern.”
This was called not a concern? Listening to this, the blue veins on Little Lady Liu’s forehead bulged out. She continued to plead with the Old Lady, “Elder Sister, for the sake of us being born of the same mother, I beg you to save them! I know my words carry no weight, but you are the Old Master’s primary wife—the guards outside will surely listen to you!”
Yin Weiyue grew annoyed by Little Lady Liu’s noise. It was impossible for the outside guards to let a doctor in anyway. Since she hadn’t stopped the third branch’s Lady Chen from stirring up trouble this time, it would be better to simply adjust the strategy according to the current reality—to carry out the family division through to the end.
However, this time it couldn’t be done the way it was written in the novel; how the family would be divided was up to her to decide.
Just as Yin Weiyue was about to speak, Huo Jun stepped forward, his face covered in bloodstains. He said in a flat tone, “We lack the ability to summon a doctor, but as for dividing the family estate, we can fulfill your wish. Grandmother, please write the family division deed and separate the second and fourth branches out. As for how to submit the deed to the Emperor, we cannot manage that; once the family is divided, whether they can get it out or not is up to them to figure out on their own.”
What a coincidence—they both thought of the same thing this time.
Sensing Yin Weiyue’s gaze, Huo Jun turned his head and met her clear eyes, and the scene from last night intruded into his mind without warning. The man’s breath hitched, his heart skipping a beat. Unwilling to let others notice anything unusual, he feigned indifference and softly averted his eyes.
Yin Weiyue reasoned that the current Huo family was a complete heap of loose sand, with everyone harboring their own selfish motives; binding them together into a single rope was absolutely impossible.
There were still six months left before the exile.
If they did not divide the family, according to ancient traditional etiquette, they would be forced to eat and sleep alongside this group of people all along the exile route. Furthermore, the supplies she prepared would have to be shared among so many people upon reaching the exile destination. She had confidence in supporting just the first branch, but if fifty or sixty more idle, useless parasites were added, it would be hard to say.
Besides, a large reason she was willing to support the first branch was that her life was bound to Huo Jun, coupled with her deep admiration for the people of the first branch while reading the novel. However, she had zero interest in acting as a wet nurse for the other branches.
It would be better to take this opportunity to divide the family, so that from now on, each party would go their separate ways and mind their own business, without troubling one another.
Moreover, it was written in the novel that the guards outside had only beaten Huo Jun when he went to deliver the family division deed back then, while as for who wrote it or who advocated for the division, they did not investigate deeply and simply let it pass.
Therefore, as long as the first branch did not go out to deliver the family division deed after the separation, there would be no danger.
Yin Weiyue immediately made the decision right then and there. “Grandmother, I also agree with Seventh Brother’s decision. Since these people do not regard us as family, holding onto them forcefully is meaningless. It would be better to divide the family completely.”
Huo Jun looked at the woman in astonishment. She actually took his side, and more importantly, she called him “Seventh Brother” again. The man’s heart warmed up, yet this time, just as his eyes were about to meet hers, he withdrew his gaze like a thief.
Now it was Little Lady Liu’s turn to disagree.
“No, we won’t divide the family! Your younger sister knows her mistake now; I beg you, Elder Sister, to please fetch a doctor for Anmin no matter what—he is your concubine-born son too!”
With more than half of the second branch injured, how could Little Lady Liu possibly be in the mood to discuss dividing the family now? Even if the family division deed were written, whether the Emperor would agree was another matter entirely. The most important thing right now was to convince the Old Lady to step forward immediately and ask the guards to fetch a doctor for her children and grandchildren—saving their lives was the top priority.
“We want to divide the family!” At this moment, Lady Peng, who had been kneeling at the back, stood up. “Old Lady, we agree to divide the family. Please preside over it.” Today, all the casualties belonged to the second branch; the fourth branch merely had a few concubines who took a few kicks, which was of no great consequence.
Lady Peng was simple-minded, acting as if as long as the Old Lady wrote the family division deed, they would definitely be able to walk out of the Huo Manor immediately.
“Peng, get back on your knees! From now on, do not ever mention such treacherous words again!” Little Lady Liu turned around and berated her fiercely. Currently, the main priority was to appease the Old Lady and make her fetch a doctor right away.
Although both of them were concubines of the Old Master, Little Lady Liu had always held a slightly higher status than Lady Peng, so she felt no pressure in scolding her now.
Lady Peng sneered, “Regarding the matter of dividing the family, you discussed it with me all night yesterday, Elder Sister, yet now you hypocritically claim that dividing the family is treacherous. I wonder which of those is your true thought?”
“You!” Little Lady Liu had not expected to be stabbed in the back by Lady Peng.