Chapter 140 -

Chapter 140: Chapter

Liu Feng quickly walked over to Yimei, looking flustered. "Young Madame, I didn’t mean to spy on you or follow you! It was the Young Master... he was worried about your safety."

Yimei didn’t even act like she was listening. She walked straight up to the heavy wooden doors and pulled out the small brass key that had come attached to the deed. With a loud click, the old padlock gave way, and she pushed the doors open.

Liu Feng followed slowly behind her as they both entered the old building.

The inside was dim and dusty, and a couple of small rats scurried across the wooden floorboards, startled by the sudden light. Cobwebs hung thick from the ceiling beams, but the heavy wooden pillars and structure remained sturdy.

"The place isn’t that bad," Yimei said, looking around calmly. "It just needs some cleaning and it will do good."

Liu Feng stepped forward and offered, "Madame, do you need help in cleaning? I am very good at cleaning."

Yimei almost laughed at his words. "I don’t want either you or Qinqin cleaning this whole building, nor do I want to pay anyone to clean it."

Liu Feng looked completely confused. "Then how will it get cleaned if you aren’t going to clean it yourself, or hire any cleaners?"

Yimei turned to him with a slow, almost creepy smile. "Don’t think too much about it. By tomorrow, this place will have plenty of people sweeping it clean."

She turned toward the wooden staircase at the back of the room. "Let’s go upstairs."

They spent another ten minutes walking through the second floor, testing the floorboards and checking the light coming through the wooden shutters. Once Yimei was satisfied, they stepped back outside, and she locked the heavy iron padlock back into place.

"Where are we going now, Young Madame?" Liu Feng asked, falling into step beside her.

"To the market," Yimei said smoothly, her eyes scanning the colorful street ahead. "I am going to make some delicious food today to reward Zhengyu."

"The Young Master will like that," Liu Feng replied, a small smile appearing on his face.

They walked through the busy rows of market stalls, where the rich scents of fresh meat, dried spices, and sweet fruits filled the air. Yimei moved with purpose, picking out tender pork belly, fresh ginger, garlic, vegetables, and small jars of sauces.

"Hold these," Yimei said, handing over a large paper package.

"Yes, Young Madame," Liu Feng said, taking it.

Every time they stopped at a new stall, Yimei added more items to Liu Feng’s arms. By the time they reached the end of the street, Liu Feng was carrying two heavy baskets of vegetables, a sack of fine rice, and several packages of meat. His hands were completely full, leaving Yimei to carry only a small bundle of sweet fruits herself.

"Are you alright carrying all that?" Yimei asked, glancing back at him.

"This is nothing, Young Madame! I am strong," Liu Feng said proudly, though his nose twitched from the heavy scent of fresh pork belly right under his chin.

When they finally walked through the outer gate of the Bai family compound, the courtyard was far from peaceful. Loud, shrill voices echoed across the stone path.

"You stole it! I know you did!" Bai Xuiying yelled, pointing her finger right in Bai Wenxui’s face. "My silver hairpin was on my dresser this morning, and now it’s gone!"

"I didn’t take your stupid hairpin!" Bai Wenxui shouted back, cross arms over her chest. "You probably lost it yourself or sold it to buy face powder! Don’t pin your bad luck on me!"

"You thief! Give it back!"

Yimei walked straight past them without slowing her pace, carrying her bundle of fresh fruit. Liu Feng followed right behind her, burdened with all the groceries.

The moment the rich scent of raw meat and fresh spices swept past the two arguing girls, their voices cut off instantly. Both Xuiying and Wenxui froze, their eyes widening as they stared at the massive pile of food in Liu Feng’s arms. Their mouths literally hung open.

Xuiying was the first to snap back to reality. Her angry face instantly melted into a fake, overly sweet smile, and she rushed over to Yimei.

"Sister Yimei!" Xuiying squeaked, reaching out with hands ready to grab the food packages. "Look at how much you brought back! It must be so heavy for you and Liu Feng. Let me help you carry these inside!"

Before Xuiying’s hands could touch a single package, An Yulan stepped out from the main hall, frowning heavily as she shoved Xuiying out of the way.

"Get your hands off!" An Yulan sneered, glaring at her. "You sneaky wench! Just because Yimei came back with fine food, you suddenly want to act like a dutiful sister? You just want to steal some for yourself!"

Xuiying scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You are acting like you are any better than me! You were just sitting inside doing nothing!"

"I am her sister and her sister-in-law!" An Yulan declared proudly, puffing out her chest. She turned toward Yimei, her fake smile widening as she reached out to gently clasp Yimei’s arm. "Yimei, my dear sister, ignore this leech. It is obvious that all these wonderful ingredients belong strictly to the first branch, unlike the likes of her..."

Yimei stopped, looking down at An Yulan’s hand on her sleeve, her dark eyes completely cold and expressionless.

"Let go," Yimei said softly, her voice flat.

An Yulan’s smile froze slightly, but she didn’t loosen her grip. "Oh, Yimei, don’t be like that! I can help you cook all this in the kitchen. We can make a feast for everyone!"

"I said," Yimei repeated, her tone turning razor-sharp, "let go of me."

An Yulan stumbled backward, losing her balance as Yimei shoved her hand away with a cold, firm flick.

"Ah!" An Yulan gasped, landing flat on her rear against the dusty courtyard stones.

"Sister-in-law!" Wenxui and Shishi yelled together, rushing forward from the porch to grab An Yulan’s arms and haul her back up to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Wenxui asked, dusting off An Yulan’s skirts before turning to glare weakly at Yimei. "Yimei! How could you push her like that?"

Standing off to the side, Xuiying let out a loud, satisfied snort, crossing her arms over her chest. "Serves you right! Acting like a fake kiss-ass just to get a bite of pork belly. You look ridiculous, An Yulan!"

"Shut up, Xuiying!" An Yulan barked, her face turning bright red with shame as she smoothed out her wrinkled clothes. "At least I tried, you greedy brat!"

Over near the corner wall of the main hall, Madame Zhao’s children, Bai Kang and Bai Shu, were leaning against the wooden pillars. They watched the dramatic scene unfold with amused grins, enjoying every second of the chaos.

"Look at them," Bai Kang whispered to his sister, shaking his head. "Now that Yimei is back, those fools think they can just sweet-talk their way into a free feast."

"They never learn," Bai Shu giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yimei isn’t the type to hand over meat to people who treated her like trash."

Bai Kang smirked, pulling two small copper coins from his pocket and tossing them up in the air. "Five copper coins say An Yulan gets slapped first if she tries to touch those grocery bags again."

"Deal," Bai Shu whispered back with a sneaky grin. "I say Xuiying gets hit first for opening her big mouth!"

Yimei didn’t give any of them a second glance. She turned her head toward Liu Feng, whose hands were still completely full of heavy packages.

"Liu Feng," Yimei said smoothly, her voice cutting straight through the noisy bickering in the courtyard. "Follow me to the kitchen."

"Yes, Young Madame!" Liu Feng replied instantly, stepping past the group without looking left or right.

An Yulan opened her mouth, wanting to shout after them, but the ice-cold look Yimei threw over her shoulder stopped the words right in her throat. She swallowed hard, taking a step back as Yimei and Liu Feng walked straight into the hallway leading to the kitchen.