Liu Qingyu didn’t immediately go to see who was crying. Instead, she decided to check on her mother first.
But when she entered the room, she found it empty.
The things inside, however, had all been packed up. Her mother had sorted everything into categories and wrapped them neatly in coarse cloth bundles.
“Aotian, if things are wrapped in coarse cloth, can they be considered the same type of item?” Liu Qingyu asked, a gleam appearing in her eyes.
The still-inexperienced system, Liu Aotian: “…”
It might not have been working for long, but even it knew this wasn’t exactly reasonable.
Still, who told her she was its host?
There was no helping it. A system could only spoil its own host.
[Host, the Main System conducts random inspections of system data from time to time. I can only secretly bend the rules for you for one day. Any longer than that wouldn’t be safe. I could be sent back for reformatting.]
Liu Aotian’s mechanical voice sounded in her mind.
Liu Qingyu nodded in understanding.
“I know. Thank you, Aotian. You’re such a good system. Help me unlock another backpack slot with points.”
Having been completely fooled by her repeated praise of “good system,” Liu Aotian happily started doing some under-the-table work for her, completely unaware that its host was practically a modern-day exploitative landlord.
Feeling a little guilty, Liu Qingyu quickly stored away the things her mother had packed and hurried toward the direction from which the crying had come.
She wondered whether her mother was there.
But before she reached the main gate, she heard an enormous crash.
Bang!
Creak!
The gates of the Liu Residence were kicked open.
From a distance, Liu Qingyu saw soldiers in armor rushing into the estate.
The leader raised an imperial edict in his hand and shouted sternly,
“The Imperial Guards are carrying out official business! Unrelated persons, stand aside! All female members of the Liu family are to remain here!”
Then he ordered his men,
“Split into two groups. One group will gather all the women and children of the Liu family and throw them directly into prison. They will be exiled in a few days. The rest will follow me and confiscate the family property.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers quickly dispersed.
One of the soldiers responsible for arresting people looked at the crowd near the gate and shouted,
“The women of the Liu family in one line! The servants in another! Move and line up immediately!”
At his command, the people around the gate scattered in panic.
Liu Qingyu then saw Old Madam Liu lying unconscious on the ground, Third Madam Liu Shi still crying bitterly, and her own mother, as steady and calm as a mountain.
She hurried over, pulled her mother to her side, and asked softly,
“Mother, why are you here? And who let out that scream just now? I could hear it all the way from our courtyard. It was terrifying.”
“You silly girl, where did you run off to just now? I went to your room looking for you, but you weren’t there. Do you know how worried I was?”
Instead of answering immediately, Tian Chunzhu looked her daughter over anxiously.
Only after confirming that she was unharmed did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Hearing her mother’s loving scolding, Liu Qingyu scratched her head awkwardly.
She certainly couldn’t tell her mother that she had been busy stirring up trouble and treating the mother-daughter pair of the Second Branch to a round of beatings.
So she quickly changed the subject and said in a spoiled tone,
“Mother, I know I was wrong. I definitely won’t do it again. Now hurry and tell me what happened here!”
“There.” Tian Chunzhu pointed toward the still-unconscious Old Madam Liu. “She’s the one who screamed just now.”
Then she explained what had happened.
It turned out that someone had come to the Liu Residence to announce the imperial decree.
Old Madam Liu, who had just awakened from her earlier fainting spell, had led the female family members out to receive the edict.
But when she heard the news that the family was to be stripped of its property and exiled, she let out a shrill scream and fainted again on the spot.
As for Liu Qingyu, because she hadn’t been in her room and Tian Chunzhu couldn’t find her, she had missed the entire spectacle.
As for the mother and daughter of the Second Branch…
They were probably still unconscious.
The Imperial Guard captain responsible for escorting the prisoners glanced at Old Madam Liu on the ground and then at Tian Chunzhu and her daughter.
He shouted,
“Are these all the women of the Liu family? Are there no others? You should know the consequences of sheltering criminals!”
As he spoke, he shook the iron sword at his waist and drew it from its scabbard, the blade gleaming threateningly.
“Reporting to you, sir, everyone from the Eldest Branch is here. The Second Branch’s madam and young miss haven’t arrived yet, and there are also several concubines missing. As for the young masters, they should still be at school.”
A servant answered with a fawning smile.
The captain frowned.
This operation had been carried out too hastily.
They hadn’t chosen a time when everyone in the Liu family was present before surrounding and raiding the residence, and now they had to hunt everyone down one by one.
“Xiao Gao, take a few men and go to the school to bring them back. And bring that servant with you, so you don’t arrest the wrong people.”
He then pointed to several others.
“You, go bring back the missing women. And check whether they’ve hidden any valuables.”
“Yes, sir!”
Aside from the clinking of armor as the soldiers moved about, there was no other sound.
Liu Qingyu and Tian Chunzhu quietly watched the soldiers coming and going, witnessing the gradual downfall of the Liu family.
“Report, sir! We’ve brought back all the male members of the Liu family.”
The younger boys looked normal enough, obviously having been dragged back from school.
As for the two older ones…
Their clothes were disheveled, and one even had traces of a woman’s lipstick on his face. It was obvious he had been hauled directly out of a brothel bed.
Still unaware of the situation, he continued cursing loudly, apparently thinking he was still the young master of the household.
One Imperial Guard soldier finally lost patience and slapped him twice across the face, instantly shutting him up.
“Sir, we’ve also brought back the missing women, but there are two of them…” The reporting soldier looked conflicted.
The captain waved dismissively.
“Fine, as long as everyone’s here. Once everyone’s gathered, we’ll take them to prison. No need to worry about so much.”
That was what he said.
But when he saw the mother and daughter of the Second Branch—both bruised and battered, without a single uninjured spot on their bodies—he couldn’t help but frown.
If someone thought the Imperial Guards had beaten them, that would be troublesome.
What bad luck.
By this time, Old Madam Liu had already regained consciousness.
When she saw her precious granddaughter’s swollen face, she asked painfully,
“Yao’er, who did this to you?”
But Liu Jinyao merely covered her face and sobbed.
The matter was simply too humiliating.
How could she possibly tell anyone?
Their family was already being stripped of everything and sent into exile. There was no way to seek revenge now.
She could only swallow her bitterness in silence.
Those who commit many evil deeds will eventually destroy themselves.
Isn’t this karma?
Liu Qingyu silently watched the scene.
Just as the group was preparing to leave the Liu Residence, Third Madam Liu Shi, who had been crying all this time, suddenly spoke.
“Sir, if someone isn’t a member of the Liu family, then they don’t have to be imprisoned and exiled, correct?”
The captain glanced at her.
“That’s true. Are you asking for a divorce?”
“A divorce? Liu Shi, how dare you!”
Old Madam Liu shouted furiously.
But Liu Shi couldn’t be bothered to pay her any attention.
Did she really think she was still the lofty Old Madam of the Liu family?
She had endured enough over the years.