Chapter 101 -

Chapter 101: Chapter

One by one, the members of the Bai family walked into the huge dining hall.

When Yimei had returned to the manor earlier, she and zhengyu did not waste a single second. They went straight to Old Madame Bai’s private courtyard and told her everything that Second Uncle had done at the southern farm. Hearing the serious news, Old Madame Bai immediately called an urgent family meeting, commanding every branch to make their way to the main hall for dinner.

Inside the warm, lantern-lit room, everyone was seated around the big wooden tables.

Old Madame Bai sat right at the head of the main table, holding her carved wooden staff tightly in her hand. Beside her sat Old Master Bai Tianming, whileMadame Chen, sat close to him, pouring his warm wine nervously.

The moment Zhengyu’s wheelchair rolled inside, every single eye in the room turned toward him.

Yimei walked calmly right behind Zhengyu with her head held high. Behind them, Liu Feng walked in like a silent shadow, carrying the heavy wooden box under his arm.

Second Uncle Bai Chengbang and his wife, Madame Liu, sat on the right side of the main table. The moment Second Uncle saw the wooden box in Liu Feng’s hands, his face went pale, and his eyes twitched nervously. He quickly took a big gulp of tea to hide his fear, but his wife Madame Liu just sneered out loud.

"Look who finally showed up," Madame Liu said loudly, glaring right at Yimei. "The whole family has been waiting in the cold for an hour! The First Young Master and his wife think they are so important, making Grandmother wait for dinner!"

"That’s right!" spat Bai Xiuying, Second Uncle’s snarky daughter, giggling behind her handkerchief. "A wife who spends all day running around the dirty streets of the East Market clearly has no manners!"

Yimei did not even look at them. She kept a calm, cool smile on her face and pushed Zhengyu’s wheelchair straight past Second Uncle’s table, stopping right beside Old Madame Bai.

"Grandmother, Grandfather," Zhengyu said, his deep voice calm and cool. "Forgive us for being late. We were taking care of urgent family business at the southern farm. We came straight here the moment our carriage arrived."

Old Madame Bai looked up, her strict eyes softening a little as she looked at her eldest grandson. She tapped her heavy wooden staff on the floor with a loud thump.

"Sit down, both of you," Old Madame Bai commanded in her loud, raspy voice. She pointed to the empty seats right next to her. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin."

Just as Yimei sat down next to Zhengyu, the side doors opened again.

Wenliang and An Yulan walked inside, looking angry and flushed. Yulan’s wrist was still red from where Wenliang had grabbed her earlier, and Wenliang’s hair was slightly messy, his face full of frustration.

An Yulan didn’t even glance at her husband. She marched straight over to sit beside Bai Wenxiu and Bai Shishi.

"Look at her," Bai Wenxiu whispered loud enough for others to hear, rolling her eyes at Yimei. "Yimei comes back from the dirty farm and still gets to sit right next to Grandmother! It’s ridiculous!"

"Hush, sister," Bai Shishi giggled softly. "Maybe she brought back some rotten vegetables from the farm to show Grandmother how hardworking she is!"

A few young cousins laughed quietly, enjoying the drama. Third Uncle Bai Chenghao and his wife, Madame Zhang, sat quietly on the side, choosing not to join in the noisy talk while their young son, Bai Jun, stuffed his mouth with sweet rice cakes.

Yimei ignored the snickering completely. She sat smoothly in her chair, her sharp eyes locked onto Second Uncle, who was sweating under his heavy silk robes.

Old Madame Bai set her chopsticks down on the table, her loud voice shutting everyone up instantly. She looked straight across at Second Uncle.

"Chengbang," Old Madame Bai said coldly. "Tell the family how the spring planting is going. You claimed last week that the southern farm needed five hundred silver coins from the main treasury for new seeds."

Second Uncle instantly straightened his back, trying to put on a worried, hardworking look.

"Ah, Mother!" Second Uncle sighed loudly, shaking his head with fake sadness. "The weather this winter has been terrible! The river dried up completely, and a bad drought hit the First Branch fields. The crops rotted in the dirt, and Manager Zhao told me the land is ruined!"

Madame Liu quickly joined in, wiping a fake tear from her eye. "Yes, Mother! It is such a shame! My husband has been working day and night to save the family’s money, but the First Branch land is just cursed! If we don’t send five hundred silver coins right away to buy new seeds, the whole family will go hungry this year!"

Wenliang slammed his cup onto the table, his face turning red with rage. "Five hundred silver coins?! Second Uncle, those fields belong to my father’s branch! How come your private fruit orchards on the next hill are doing fine, but our wheat fields are dying?!"

"Watch your mouth, Wenliang!" Second Uncle barked back, slamming his hand on the wood. "I am your uncle! Are you saying I am lying to your Grandmother? Ask anyone on the farm, Manager Zhao himself said the river went dry!"

The whole room burst into noisy arguments as family members began throwing angry words back and forth across the tables. Madame Chen glared at Second Uncle, while Madame Liu yelled right back at her. The young cousins giggled, and Old Master Bai Tianming just drank his wine in silence, letting them fight.

Right in the middle of all the loud screaming, Zhengyu lifted his teacup and took a slow, quiet sip.

Clack.

Zhengyu set his small teacup back onto the saucer. The sound was soft, but the icy cold look in his dark eyes made the people nearest to him shut their mouths instantly.

"Second Uncle," Zhengyu said, his voice quiet, calm, and crystal clear, cutting straight through the noise in the room. "You said the main river dried up because of a drought?"

Second Uncle frowned, looking at his crippled nephew with anger. "That is what I said! You stay in your room all day, Zhengyu, what do you know about farming?!"

Zhengyu didn’t get angry. Instead, a cold, dangerous smile touched his lips. He raised his hand slightly and signaled to Liu Feng.

"Yimei and I visited the southern farm today," Zhengyu said smoothly. "And we found something very interesting."

Yimei stood up slowly from her chair, her sharp eyes sweeping across every face in the room.

"Liu Feng," Yimei commanded clearly. "Open the box."

The entire hall fell dead silent. Everyone stopped talking, their eyes glued to the heavy wooden box as Liu Feng stepped forward, popped the iron lock open, and set the lid back right in front of Old Madame Bai.