Chapter 125 -

Chapter 125: Chapter

An Yulan turned her head and saw Yimei taking the keys. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head in shock and rage.

"You!" An Yulan shrieked, pointing an angry finger at Yimei. "An Yimei! Where did you get that silver?! Why didn’t the bandits take your money?!"

Yimei looked at An Yulan’s bruised, hysterical face, her voice low, cold, and smooth.

"And how is that any of your business?"

An Yulan’s mouth fell open in total humiliation. She quickly pulled herself together, stepping forward with a fake, self-righteous glare. "How is it my business?! You are the First Young Madame of this family! Since you brought silver, it is your duty to book rooms for everyone! We are suffering while you hoard money like a greedy swine! Have you no shame?!"

Madame Chen’s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded along, her sharp voice echoing through the inn. "That’s right! You are our daughter-in-law! How can you buy hot tea and warm buns for yourself while your elders freeze on the floor?! Hand over that pouch right now!"

Bai Wenxiu and Bai Shishi chimed in right behind their mother with ugly sneers.

"Sister-in-law is so selfish!" Wenxiu spat out.

"She probably hid that money on purpose just to watch us suffer!" Shishi added.

A few feet away in the corner, Wenliang stood trembling, pale and parched. He wasn’t even listening to his wife or mother. His eyes wandered desperately toward nearby tables where other travelers were drinking jar after jar of wine, looking like he might faint on the spot if he didn’t get a drink soon.

Hearing the endless garbage spilling from their mouths, Madame Bai’s face turned dark with disgust. "What nonsense are you talking about?! Yimei earned her own silver! Why should she pay for everyone after you foolishly flaunted your wealth and lost everything to bandits?!"

Second Uncle Bai Chengbang cut her off with a loud bark. "Shut your mouth, Sister-in-law!" He puffed out his chest and looked straight at Master Bai. "It is her duty as a junior! In fact, she should surrender every single copper and silver piece directly to her father-in-law so he can manage the family funds!"

Third Uncle Bai Chenghao pitched in with a subtle smirk. "Brother, tell me you haven’t lost control over your daughter-in-law. You are her father-in-law and the head of the Main Branch. Surely you have authority."

Master Bai stood frozen as every eye in the hall landed on him. Madame Bai grabbed his sleeve, shaking her head frantically to signal don’t do this, but his fragile ego swelled with foolish pride. He slapped her hand away.

Stepping right up to Yimei, Master Bai pointed a stern finger straight at her face. "Hand over the money pouch, Yimei. I am your father-in-law. Give it to me now, and I will decide how to handle the rooms."

Madame Chen and An Yulan burst into smug, triumphant smiles behind him.

"Father, what are you saying to Sister-in-law?!" Meiling spoke up in worry. Rulan instantly tightened her grip on Meiling’s wrist, pulling her back before their father’s anger could turn on her.

Total silence fell over the front desk.

And then, a sound broke through the room.

Laughter.

Clear, bright, and ringing out, Yimei threw her head back and laughed as if she were watching a troupe of cheap clowns perform a ridiculous circus act. Yet beneath the sound, her dark eyes remained ice-cold, completely devoid of emotion.

A collective chill ran through the room. Far from the commotion, sitting quietly in his wheelchair near the entrance, Zhengyu froze. Even he got sharp goosebumps from her empty laugh.

"This girl is actually laughing?" Madame Zhang muttered under her breath, stepping back behind her husband.

Master Bai’s face flushed a furious red, feeling utterly humiliated. "You ungrateful brat! What are you laughing at?!"

An Yulan frowned deeply, stepping around Master Bai and shouting at the top of her lungs, "How the hell are you laughing?! Have you no respect for your elders?! Give me that pouch!"

Driven by greed, An Yulan reached her clawed fingers out, lunging to snatch the silver pouch from Yimei’s waist.

SLAP!

A sharp, violent crack echoed off the wooden beams.

The force of the blow sent An Yulan flying sideways, crashing hard onto the dirty floorboards with a heavy THUD.

The entire inn went dead quiet.

An Yulan lay sprawling on the floor, her cheek swelling purple in seconds as blood trickled from her swollen lip, staring at the ceiling in complete shock.

Yimei slowly pulled her hand back into her plain sleeve, her face perfectly calm as she looked down at An Yulan like dirt.

"Respect?" Yimei whispered, her voice cutting through the silence like steel. "Before you ask for respect, ask your hands if they have the right to touch my money."

Yimei bent down, her fingers coiling tightly into An Yulan’s hair, yanking her head up with vicious force.

"Now you listen very carefully to me," Yimei spat out, her voice dangerously quiet. "From the moment we all stepped out of that mansion, every stupid title—First Branch, Second Branch, Head of this, Head of that—is gone! Do you hear me?!"

SLAP!

Another sharp blow cracked across An Yulan’s bruised face, leaving her jaw hanging in absolute shock and pain.

Madame Chen gasped in sheer terror, instantly ducking behind Master Bai’s back like a cowed dog. Second Uncle’s son, Bai Ruizhe, took two quick steps back, his face pale, while Third Uncle Chenghao shrank into the crowd.

Yimei released her grip, letting An Yulan’s head drop onto the cold, dirty floorboards. She slowly stood tall, smoothing down her brown and white robes, completely unbothered after almost disfiguring her sister’s face.

She turned around, her icy gaze sweeping over the frozen faces of the entire Bai family.

"It seems like someone still needs to spell it out for all of you," Yimei said, her voice cutting through the silent room like a razor. "Now let me make it clear. We are all in a competition. Don’t even dare to dream that what is waiting for us in the southeast is a beautiful mansion with daily food and servants. Grandmother will not change her mind, and she will not call us back. For a whole year, we are stuck as commoners! So if you know what is good for you, you better start thinking about how you are going to survive! No one here is your brother, and no one here is your friend!"