Chapter 206: Favor Kin Over Reason

If a man doesn't look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him!

A glint of dark light flashed in Wu Yong's eyes. His face hardened, and he turned to whisper something in Wang Cai's ear.

"How about this—we buy a large quantity of knockout drug, and then…"

Hearing this, Wang Cai broke out in a cold sweat. His teeth chattered "clack-clack," and he asked in a trembling voice.

"Do we really have to do this?"

Wu Yong shot him a cold sideways glance.

"Either way, I'm going to do it. If you really can't bear to part with those people, you can stay behind in the Capital and keep them company!"

Miserable-faced Wang Cai suddenly lit up.

"Actually, there's another way!"

"We can have the womenfolk of our households leave the city under the pretext of going to a temple to pray for blessings!"

Wu Yong smacked him on the back of the head without hesitation.

"Before you speak, could you think it through first?!"

"This is a critical period right now. The City Gate is under martial law—every commoner going in or out is interrogated!"

"Our households have so many womenfolk. Setting aside whether they can even get out of the city, His Majesty's side will definitely notice!"

"If we're caught, no one will escape!"

Wang Cai was scolded until he couldn't even lift his head.

"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Wu speaks reason."

He wore a troubled look, clutching his head and shrinking into a corner of the horse carriage.

"But… others I could let go, I just can't leave my mother behind."

Wu Yong didn't look at him again.

"That's your own business, nothing to do with me."

"One last warning—no matter what you all plan, if a single word of this leaks, don't blame this official for disregarding years of camaraderie!"

Having said that, he called for the horse carriage to stop, flung open the curtain, and strode away.

Afterwards, the other three families received the news and had another round of squabbling.

Meanwhile, Wu Yong's group was making intense arrangements, destined for a sleepless night.

……

On the other side, after returning to his own room, Cheng Chengxuan sent An Luo a video call request.

The moment the video connected, An Luo saw someone's visibly unhappy face.

She extended both index fingers and poked two little dimples into Cheng Chengxuan's cheeks.

"Still upset?"

Cheng Chengxuan's eyes brimmed with indulgence as he let her poke his face at will.

Hearing this, he pressed his lips together, his tone a little sulky.

"I promised to cook for you every day. It wasn't convenient while we were traveling, but now that we've settled down for the time being, you actually wasted the chance to have a meal delivered for the sake of outsiders."

An Luo thought for a moment, deliberately teasing him.

"By your logic, I'm the one who got stood up, and I'm not even angry—what do you have to be upset about?"

Cheng Chengxuan folded his arms, turned his body to the side, and looked away. He neither spoke nor looked at her, sulking with a cold face.

"Pfft!"

An Luo held back and held back, but still couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Haha!"

"Fine, actually I'm a little annoyed too. Not getting to eat your cooking makes me feel like something's missing."

Hearing this, someone slightly raised an eyebrow, his expression warming. The pleasure between his brows and eyes was clearly more than a smidge, but he still kept a pridefully pouty face and said nothing.

"Smile for me."

Seeing his still tightly clenched jawline, An Luo's fingertip poked it again, manually installing two dimples for him.

Cheng Chengxuan finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He laughed, caught her two mischievous fingers, and spoke softly, negotiating with her.

"Alright, then I'll buy you pastries from eighteen shops tomorrow, alright?"

"Sounds good!"

With that topic concluded, he didn't know what came over him, and suddenly lowered his head.

The person on the screen's mood suddenly dropped. An Luo asked with a worried face.

"What's wrong? Is there some kind of trouble?"

Cheng Chengxuan gave her a forced smile.

"In three days, Muyuan Kingdom's soldiers will leave the Capital. The few families that participated in framing the Pingnan Marquis Residence will also slip out of the city mixed in with the troops."

"Lu Xing and I have discussed it—once outside the city, we'll find a chance to kill them for revenge!"

"Among those hundred people, there may be innocents, but when cutting the grass, one must remove the roots."

As he spoke, he looked at An Luo seriously, a wariness in his eyes he himself hadn't even noticed, and asked softly.

"Do you think I'm being very cruel?"

Would you, because of this, fear me, loathe me?

The thought that one day he might see fear and revulsion toward himself in An Luo's eyes made his heart feel as if it were being gripped tight by a large hand—every breath was agony.

An Luo lowered her eyes to look at the tabletop.

Having not walked their path, she had no right to say anything.

But let people say she was biased, let them say she was cold-blooded—she truly felt from the bottom of her heart that those who had harmed the Cheng Family deserved to die!

Her silence caused Cheng Chengxuan on the other side of the screen to gradually sink into despair.

But the next moment, he heard:

"No."

"The Cheng Family was harmed — the direct and branch-line males, whether white-haired elders or wailing baby boys, were all beheaded. Were they not innocent?"

"And haven't you already decided to let the women and dependents of those families go? Since they're mixed in with the soldiers' ranks, the children would have to be sent out separately by some other method, and you let those people off once already."

"You went there to avenge, not to release horses."

"Huh?"

Cheng Chengxuan was slightly stunned, clearly unable to follow her train of thought, not getting the joke.

Thinking it over carefully, he suddenly understood and couldn't help but laugh.

Come to think of it, that's actually quite fitting?

An Luo continued.

"Anyway, I think someone who can forgive anything and let everything go can only mean everything they've experienced is what they deserved!"

Saying so, she patted her chest.

"I'm the most protective type — a classic case of siding with my own people regardless of right or wrong. Don't worry, I'm definitely on your side!"

Cheng Chengxuan smiled and nodded.

"Mm."

He repeated those two words silently in his mind, his ear tips flushed completely red.

Side… with their own people?

……

In other places in the Capital, the atmosphere was not so relaxed and pleasant.

Especially the Wu Family.

Wu Yong brought a few medicine bottles back to the residence, and the moment he returned, he heard the steward say:

"Sir, the Old Madam's side gave instructions — when you return to the residence, she wants you to go over."

Hearing this, Wu Yong's footsteps paused. He silently tightened his grip on the medicine bottles in his hand, his eyes filled with struggle.

"Good, this official understands."

First putting the medicine bottles away properly, Wu Yong walked with heavy steps, and in the end still stepped into the room of the Wu Family's Old Madam — his grandmother.

"Grandmother, why are you still not resting at this late hour?"

The Wu Old Madam extended a withered, wrinkled finger covered in age spots and pointed at the stool beside the bed.

"Come sit."

Wu Yong struggled to maintain his usual expression on his face as he walked over and sat down.

"How are you feeling today? Grandson heard from the steward that you've had no appetite these past few days. Tomorrow your grandson will invite the Imperial Physician to take a look at you."

The Wu Old Madam closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.

"No need. My own body, I know it well myself. It's only a few months at most — why waste the effort and time?"

Hearing these words, Wu Yong's eyes stung.

"Don't say that. Tomorrow the residence is still holding a birthday celebration for you. We'll celebrate this year, next year, and every year after."

Saying this, he lowered his eyes to hide the dark glint within.

This had been planned several months in advance. They had just discussed it earlier — they could use tomorrow's birthday banquet to let the elderly and children from several families who couldn't conveniently be mixed into the group leaving the city disappear from everyone's sight in a reasonable manner.

The Wu Old Madam's aged, cloudy but still sharp eyes scrutinized him.

"Ayong, have you arranged everything?"