Chapter 129 -

Chapter 129: Chapter

The snow slowed down to a soft dust as the carriages pushed south. The icy mountain air slowly turned into a damp, muddy chill.

Inside the carriage, the wooden wheels creaked against the rough dirt road. A small jar sat open on the low table, filled with a thick herbal paste that smelled sharply of mint and bitter roots.

Zhengyu sat back against the wall, his pant leg rolled up to his knee. His leg rested across Yimei’s lap.

Yimei sat cross-legged, focused on her work. She scooped up a bit of the cool paste and rubbed it gently over his calf.

Earlier, when the carriage hit a bump on the icy road, Zhengyu’s jaw had clenched from a sudden spike of pain. His leg muscles had cramped up from the freezing cold. Yimei hadn’t missed it. Without a word, she pulled out the herbal salve and got to work.

Zhengyu leaned his head back, his dark eyes fixed entirely on her.

The soft light from the small window caught her side profile. Her long lashes cast small shadows over her cheeks. Her hair was held neatly by a single silver hairpin. Everything about her was plain, and clear.

What caught his attention most was her expression. Whether she was slapping An Yulan, insulting her father-in-law, or massaging his leg, she did it with the same focus. She never hesitated.

A faint smile touched Zhengyu’s lips. The proud First Young Master of the Bai family was now sitting quietly while his wife treated his leg like a piece of work.

"Are you done staring at me?" Yimei asked smoothly, without looking up.

Zhengyu’s smile widened slightly. "Is a husband not allowed to look at his wife?"

"Not when he looks like he’s planning something evil," Yimei said flatly.

She wiped her fingers clean on a cloth, lifted his heavy leg gently, and set it back down on the footrest. She closed the small jar with a quiet snap and tossed it back into her bag.

"Your leg is tight because you hold your breath when you feel pain," Yimei said, smoothing her plain brown skirt. "If you want to walk again, stop acting like suffering in silence makes you strong. It just makes your muscles stiff."

Zhengyu let out a soft laugh, pulling his pant leg down. "First Young Madame, your tongue is sharp."

"It keeps foolish people away," Yimei said, looking out the window. "And right now, we are surrounded by them."

Across from them, Qinqin was wrapped in her blanket, fast asleep.

Zhengyu’s smile faded, his eyes turning thoughtful. "My father was furious this morning. You took away whatever pride he had left."

"He had no pride to begin with," Yimei said cold and direct. "He lost it years ago. I just said what was true."

Zhengyu stayed quiet for a moment. "You told Bai Kang that if you raise the money, you will give it all to me."

Yimei turned her head, her dark eyes locking onto his. "I did."

"And do you really mean that?" Zhengyu asked softly. "Or was that just for them to hear?"

Yimei looked at him, her face calm and unreadable.

"Zhengyu," she whispered softly. "You worry too much about the money. First, let’s see if your family even survives this year."

Before Zhengyu could answer, the carriage came to a hard stop.

Outside, the driver called out. "First Young Master! First Young Madame! We have arrived! The old estate is right down the hill!"

The carriages rolled slowly through the busy village square of the southeast town. Market vendors shouted out prices for fresh vegetables, women carried baskets of dried fish on their heads, and children ran through the muddy paths. Because the Bai family was traveling in plain, undecorated wooden carriages, none of the villagers paid them any mind, assuming they were just ordinary merchants passing through.

The line of carriages finally turned down a quiet, weed-overgrown lane and came to a stop in front of a massive, weather-beaten wooden gate.

Inside the carriage, Yimei reached over and gently shook Qinqin’s shoulder. "Qinqin, wake up. We’re here."

Qinqin blinked her sleepy eyes, quickly sitting up and rubbing her face. "Are we there already, Madame?"

"Yes," Yimei said, tying up their two simple cloth bundles.

Outside, Liu Feng opened the carriage door, letting in the cool, damp air of the southeast. He reached in, carefully lifted Zhengyu into his arms, and placed him gently into his wheelchair, wrapping his dark blue cloak over his knees. Yimei stepped down right after them, her plain brown dress brushing against the damp grass, while Qinqin carried the bundles close behind.

All around them, the rest of the Bai family scrambled down from their carriages.

Second Uncle Bai Chengbang and Third Uncle Bai Chenghao stretched their stiff legs, groaning from the long journey. Madame Chen and An Yulan stumbled into the dirt, their faces pale, tired, and dirty from a full day of starving. Madame Bai, Rulan, and Meiling stepped down quietly, staying together near Madame Zhao and her twins.

Everyone stood in front of the tall, creaking wooden gates, staring up at the place that would be their new home for the next year, the old, abandoned Bai Manor of the southeast.

The heavy wooden gate creaked loudly as it swung open, revealing a short, plump old man and his round, smiling wife. Both of them wore simple, faded cotton robes and had friendly faces.

"Welcome, welcome!" the old man called out, bowing politely. "You must be the Bai family! Please, come inside out of the cold!"

The family picked up their bundles and filed through the gates into the courtyard.

The estate was massive, built generations ago by the first head of the Bai family. But years of neglect had taken a heavy toll. Tall, wild weeds pushed up through the cracked stone paths. The small decorative pond in the center was filled with murky, black water and floating dead leaves. Dust covered every pillar, and cobwebs hung thick from the wooden roof tiles. Everything smelled of old wood, rot, and damp earth.

The friendly couple introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Shen. Old Madame Bai had hired them weeks ago to watch over the property and help prepare it, though they were too old to do any heavy labor.

"We scrubbed two of the main halls as best as we could!" Mrs. Shen said with a warm, apologetic smile. "It isn’t grand, but it’s clean enough to sit down!"

Second Uncle Bai Chengbang spat onto the overgrown grass, his face twisted in utter disgust. "What kind of pigsty is this?!" he shouted, waving his hand at the dusty walls. "It looks like an abandoned graveyard! How are human beings supposed to live here?!"

Before anyone could reply, a tiny black cloud of mountain mosquitoes buzzed out from the dirty pond, drawn straight toward the warm bodies standing in the yard.

"Aah! Get them off me!" Madame Chen shrieked, violently slapping her own neck and arms.

An Yulan screamed beside her, swinging her dirty silk sleeves wildly in the air as two buzzing insects landed on her face. "Mother, they’re biting through my clothes! I’m literally dying out here! Somebody do something!"

While Madame Chen and her branch were fighting for their lives against the swarm of mosquitoes, Yimei stood calmly beside Zhengyu’s wheelchair, her dark eyes slowly taking in every corner of the vast, ruined estate.