Fearing she might hurt the child, Yu Qiutao turned away to avoid her.
The maidservant stepped forward, holding an umbrella, to block Aunt He's path.
"The bandits are attacking; we need to take refuge in the old lady's courtyard."
"What are bandits?" Aunt He asked, tilting her head and looking completely bewildered.
Yu Qiutao glared at the maid and scolded, "Why are you talking so much to a madwoman? The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and you'll make the young lady cold. Hurry up and leave!"
The maid quickly pulled Aunt He aside and escorted Yu Qiutao and the child away.
Even after the two had walked away, Aunt He could still hear the maid muttering to herself.
"After the Second Miss died, Aunt He went more and more insane. Now she stuffs a pillow under her clothes and calls out for the Second Miss all day long."
"Aunt He is also a pitiful person." Putting herself in her shoes, Yu Qiutao sighed and hugged her fragrant daughter tightly.
"..."
Aunt He tilted her head and listened blankly for a while, not caring at all as the snow fell on her and soaked her hair. She laughed without a care in the world.
Aunt He seemed frozen by the ice and snow. After a long while, her eyes finally moved, and then, holding her belly, she followed the two people in the direction they had left.
Upon arriving at the old lady's courtyard, a nanny stood outside the house and smiled when she saw Yu Qiu and her servant.
"Just now, the old lady asked me why the young lady hadn't come yet, even though she had sent someone to call her earlier. Aunt Tao has already arrived."
"You can't hit someone who's smiling," Yu Qiutao said with a smile. "I ran into Aunt He on the way, which delayed me for a while."
"Oh, is the young lady alright?" The nanny looked the child in Yu Qiutao's arms up and down.
"It's nothing, we just exchanged a few words."
"It's cold outside, come inside and warm up."
The old woman lifted the curtain to let the mistress and servant into the room. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw Aunt He, with disheveled hair, running towards the main house, avoiding the two rough old women outside the courtyard gate.
"Quick, quick, stop her!"
No sooner had the old woman finished speaking than Aunt He rushed over with lightning speed, shoved the old woman aside, lifted the curtain, and darted into the room.
Everyone in the room was startled by Aunt He's sudden intrusion.
The old lady sternly looked at her, "What are you doing here, you who don't know the rules?"
"Bad guys are coming! Lily's scared!"
Aunt He shrank back, not daring to look at the old lady's face, and patted her stomach.
Then, the old nanny and two rough-looking women came in and tried to pull her away, but Aunt He nimbly dodged them and ran into a corner of the room to sit down with her hands wrapped around her knees.
"Don't send me away! There are bad people outside, and Li'er will be scared!"
Thinking of the wrongfully deceased Miss Yu, the old lady glanced at Aunt He with disdain, exhaled a breath of stale air, and waved her hand at the nanny.
"Fine, let her stay here."
The two rough-looking old women respectfully withdrew.
The room fell silent again, and the old lady watched with loving eyes as the wet nurse fed her grandson egg custard.
Yu Qiutao was feeding her daughter with a spoon when she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Aunt He out of the corner of her eye.
She looked up, her face hidden by her hair smiling strangely. Yu Qiutao's heart tightened, and she quickly turned her back to her, no longer looking at her.
In the front yard, Yu Xunmei, dressed in armor and holding a knife, led her men to fend off wave after wave of attacks.
The Yu family owned the largest estate in the entire Nanzhou Prefecture, with courtyards one after another, all filled with members of the Yu family.
They needed to guard against the bandits' attack at the main gate. Before Yu Shida left, he left her with a lot of weapons, equipment, and personnel. With the help of the clan's members, Yu Xunmei felt that they should be able to defend against the bandits' attack.
She sat in the reception room, watching the guards, servants, and clansmen stand on ladders and use thick wooden sticks to knock down the bandits who had climbed over the wall.
Those defending the walls were frequently injured and fell down by stones and swords thrown in by the bandits outside.
Many bandits came from outside, their shouts of battle deafening, while the Yu family members gradually showed signs of exhaustion.
After repelling another attack by the bandits, everyone got a short rest.
After dinner, it was completely dark.
Just as everyone was preparing to rest, a shrill scream came from the backyard.
Immediately afterward, a guard rushed in to report, "Young Miss, the bandits have breached the backyard defenses and scaled the wall!"
The Yu family's backyard was guarded by Yu family members, because it was a narrow alley outside, so the defenses were relatively weak. Unexpectedly, the bandits took advantage of the situation.
Yu Xunli stood up and looked at the deputy general left behind by Yu Shida. She knew nothing about leading troops and fighting battles, and now all the personnel in the Yu family were under his command.
"Lieutenant, what do you think?"
"Don't worry, sir. Leave everything to me."
The deputy general then quickly allocated manpower, dividing the team into two groups: one to plug the gaps and prevent more bandits from entering, and the other, led by Yu Xunmei, to the backyard to rescue the women.
In the backyard, in Madam Yu's room.
The crowd, who had been disturbed all day by the terrifying shouts of battle outside, fell into a deep sleep during the rare brief moment of peace.
Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the night.
Yu Qiutao was sleeping on the low couch in the outer room with her daughter in her arms. She quickly got up and wrapped the child in a blanket.
The child, awakened by the noise, opened his sleepy eyes and, hearing the sounds outside, whispered fearfully, "Mom, I'm scared!"
"Don't be afraid, Juan'er, your mother is here for you." Yu Qiutao kissed her forehead.
She picked up the child, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and just wanted to find a place to hide.
Turning around, she saw that Aunt He, with her hair disheveled, had emerged from the corner. Her eyes were wide open, the pillow that had been tied under her clothes was gone, and she was holding a dagger in her hand. Like a walking corpse, she slowly moved toward the inner room where the old lady was resting.
The wet nurse came out to check the situation and bumped right into Aunt He.
Upon seeing the dagger gleaming with a chilling aura in Aunt He's hand, the wet nurse gasped and turned to run into the inner room.
Aunt He, like a predator spotting its prey, chased after it inside.
Yu Qiutao was so frightened that she quickly hugged her daughter and hid in a dark corner.
"Be good, Juan'er, don't make a sound, okay?" she whispered in her daughter's ear.
Juan'er nodded obediently.
Yu Qiutao was hiding in this corner and could see what was happening inside the room.
In the dim candlelight, Aunt He was frantically stabbing the wet nurse in the back with a knife. The wet nurse staggered forward and fell to the ground with a scream.
Aunt He numbly pulled out the knife.
The old lady, who had already been awakened, came out from behind the screen with the help of her nanny, and just in time to see this scene.
The old lady hurriedly let go of the nanny's hand, "Nanny Cui, Madam He has gone mad! Quick! Go and take Zheng'er away!"
Ignoring the old lady, Granny Cui rushed to another small bed and picked up Zheng Ge'er, who was crying loudly from being frightened by the wet nurse's screams.
Turning around, she saw that Aunt He had already tackled the old lady to the ground and was wildly slashing at her with a dagger.
"Die! All of you die!" Aunt He muttered, her hands still busy, "I'll make your Yu family pay with their lives for Li'er!"
"May your Yu family line end!"
"Hahaha! Li'er, did you see that? Your aunt has avenged you!"
Aunt He has gone completely mad.
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