Hearing those familiar, pretentious words, Liu Qingyu didn’t even need to turn around to know who had spoken. It was Liu Jinyao, that white lotus.
She finished the last bite of her meat pie and said without raising her head, “Liu Jinyao, why didn’t I ever see you caring for your younger siblings and uniting the family before? Now you suddenly want to? Too late.”
Liu Jinyao clenched her fists in anger. She wanted to stand up and argue, but a wave of pain coursing through her body forced her to give up.
Meanwhile, Liu Qingyu used the oiled paper from the basket to divide the remaining pies into two portions. One part she kept for herself and her mother, while the other part…
The hungry people in the cell heard the rustling of the paper and casually glanced over. When they saw that she had divided the pies, they all stirred and instinctively began to expect that she would share them.
In their hearts, they mocked her for being just a little girl. As expected, her heart was too soft.
“Oh my, Girl Yu, this is the right thing to do. From now on, you’ll be Grandmother’s good granddaughter.”
Old Madam Liu stared fixedly at the divided pies. When she saw Liu Qingyu stand up, she instinctively reached out to receive them.
Who would have thought that Liu Qingyu didn’t even spare her a glance and even stepped on her favorite brocade robe as she walked by?
Seeing that the fierce-looking prison guard was still standing outside the cell, Liu Qingyu’s eyes lit up. She hurried over and said with a smile,
“Sir, could I trouble you to deliver these meat pies to Liu Hongyi?”
The guard had already accepted money from the Ning family to take extra care of Tian Chunzhu and her daughter. He had stayed behind earlier because he was worried they would be bullied.
Now that Liu Qingyu was asking him for a favor, he thought of the heavy silver ingot in his pocket and nodded.
“Thank you, sir. Could you also pass along a message? Tell my father that Mother and I are both fine, and that I haven’t forgotten the military boxing.”
The guard nodded at Liu Qingyu and left with the pies.
Watching him depart, the corners of Liu Qingyu’s lips curled upward.
Things were becoming more and more interesting.
The novel had never mentioned the Ning family providing any assistance to the eldest branch of the Liu family during their exile.
This guard could temporarily be considered someone useful. She just didn’t know what Madam Ning wanted in return for going to such lengths.
“Liu Qingyu, you’ve gone too far! You know to share the pies with Eldest Uncle, but not even one for Grandmother? She’s already so old—how many more years can she possibly live?”
Liu Qingyu looked up and discovered that the speaker was in the cell opposite theirs. Judging by his appearance, it was probably the eldest young master of the Liu family, Liu Sichen—the grandson Old Madam Liu loved the most.
“Big Brother, it’s easy to talk when you’re not the one suffering. Grandmother isn’t my real grandmother, but Father is my real father. Can’t you tell which relationship matters more?
“And listening to what you just said, it almost sounds as though you’re cursing Grandmother to die soon. Big Brother, you’re being unfilial! She’s your own grandmother!”
With just a few words, Liu Qingyu deftly sowed discord between grandmother and grandson right in front of everyone. Yet they had no way to refute her, because what she said was the truth.
“Bah! You little bitch! How dare you slander my son? Everyone knows my son is the most filial!” Madam Jiang, her face swollen and bruised, charged at Liu Qingyu in fury, looking ready to fight to the death.
Liu Qingyu easily caught the hand thrust toward her. Then, with a handsome shoulder throw, she slammed Madam Jiang onto the ground.
“Do you really think I’m still the same person you could bully at will?”
She dusted off her hands as though brushing away nonexistent dirt, stepped over Madam Jiang’s body, and returned to the corner, leaning against her mother once again.
She was still her mother’s good little girl.
In truth, ever since she was young, she had been trained by her father, who was a soldier. Even after he retired, her training never stopped. His philosophy had always been:
You can pretend to be weak, but you must never truly be weak.
Only after Liu Qingyu walked away did Liu Jinyao cautiously move over to Madam Jiang and carefully inspect her injuries.
Then she shouted toward Liu Qingyu,
“Liu Qingyu, after doing so many wicked things, aren’t you afraid that Heaven will punish you?”
“My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven’s!”
The words of Long Aotian’s quotes had become so deeply ingrained in her mind that Liu Qingyu replied without even thinking.
Instantly, the entire prison fell silent.
The people in the surrounding cells who had been watching the commotion were all startled.
In an era where imperial authority was said to be bestowed by Heaven, and even the emperor was called the Son of Heaven, Liu Qingyu had dared to utter such rebellious words.
Wasn’t she afraid of having her entire clan executed?
Then again, when they looked at their current circumstances and thought about their impending exile, it seemed only marginally better than the extermination of nine generations.
Besides, those words really suited the situation.
People who had been dejected and dispirited suddenly felt their blood boiling with passion.
Compared to the adults’ concerns, the children’s thoughts were much simpler.
“‘My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven’s.’ That’s so cool!”
“Second Brother, hurry and ask me, ‘Aren’t you afraid Heaven will punish you?’ Then I’ll answer!”
Liu Jinyao was rendered speechless by Liu Qingyu’s retort. She shrank back in fear.
This Liu Qingyu was truly outrageously unconventional.
As for the person who had caused such a sensation, she had her eyes closed, listening to Long Aotian chattering away in her mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! The task ‘My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven’s’ has been completed (30/10). You exceeded the task requirements and have been awarded 30 Long Aotian Points. Total points: 513.]
[Host, you’re amazing! This is the first time you’ve exceeded a task’s requirements! I’m the happiest system in the entire Main God Space~]
At this point, Liu Qingyu no longer needed to paint grand visions for Long Aotian.
The system had thoroughly brainwashed itself.
At that moment, Liu Qingyu’s father, Liu Hongyi, was looking at the meat pies delivered by the guard with delight.
“These were really sent by my wife and daughter?” Liu Hongyi asked.
The guard nodded.
“Miss Liu also asked me to pass along a message. She said they’re both fine, and that she hasn’t forgotten the military boxing.”
Liu Hongyi, who had been about to eat, froze.
The next instant, tears streamed down his face.
Wonderful.
Their family hadn’t been separated.
“Big Brother, if you don’t want to eat, your little brother can help you with that,” Third Master Liu said as he sidled over with a flattering smile.
But Liu Hongyi simply wiped his face with his sleeve and began devouring the pies, completely ignoring his cheap younger brother.
Though the pies had cooled somewhat, their aroma was still irresistible. Everyone in the cell stared at Liu Hongyi.
It wasn’t that no one wanted to snatch the pies, but after comparing physiques, they all gave up.
No one knew how Liu Hongyi had grown up. Despite being a civil official, he was even taller and more imposing than most military officers.
After eating his fill, Liu Hongyi looked at the remaining pie in his hand, carefully wrapped it back in the oiled paper, and tucked it into his robes.
Third Master Liu glared at him resentfully.
Why did Big Brother have someone bringing him food while he had no one?
What on earth was that bitch Liu Shi doing?
In truth, the branch of the Liu family with the most concubines wasn’t the legitimate second branch but the illegitimate third branch.
Liu Shi had never been favored by her husband, and after years of marriage, she still had no children.
Yet because her natal family relied on the Liu family to make money, she had no choice but to endure it all and continue playing the role of a virtuous wife.
“Who is Liu Lao San?”
A prison guard walked over.
Third Master Liu immediately stood up and said with a smile,
“Sir, that’s me. Did my wife send me something?”