Chapter 104 -

Chapter 104: Chapter

One by one, the terrified members of the Bai family began to clear out of the wreckage of the grand dining hall.

Madame Liu wiped the blood from Second Uncle’s mouth, her hands shaking violently. She leaned in close to her daughter Xiuying and her son Ruizhe, her voice dropping into a desperate, panicked.

"Listen to me carefully," Madame Liu hissed, her eyes darting around the empty hall. "Go back to our courtyard right now! Grab every piece of gold, every silk dress, every silver hairpin, and all the private savings you can find! Pack it all into chests tonight! If Old Madame wakes up tomorrow, only the Heavens know what she will do to our branch!"

Xiuying and Ruizhe nodded furiously, their faces pale with fear. They didn’t need to be told twice. They turned around and hurried out through the side doors as fast as their legs could carry them. Madame Liu grunted, slinging her husband’s heavy, bruised arm over her shoulder to help him up off the floorboards, and slowly dragged him out into the cold night.

Third Uncle Bai Chenghao stood frozen for a few seconds longer, his mind thoroughly shaken by Zhengyu’s dark threat. His knees were shaking so badly he could barely stand straight.

Seeing her husband trembling like a leaf, Madame Zhang quickly stepped forward, taking his arm. "Come, husband," she said in a hushed, nervous tone, ushering their loud son Bai Jun along. "Let’s call it a night before any more trouble starts." She pulled him out of the room, leaving the First Branch alone in the empty, silent hall.

Madame Zhao, who always kept her head down and minded her own business, quietly gathered her fifteen-year-old twins, Kang and Shu. She didn’t say a single word, shooting only a cautious glance at Zhengyu before leading her children out. Madame Chen followed right behind her, grabbing her drunkard son Wenliang by the sleeve and calling her daughters, Wenxiu and Shishi, to head back to their quarters.

An Yulan was the last of them to move. She smoothed down her expensive dress, her face twisted with a mixture of resentment and bitter envy. She stopped right beside Yimei, leaning in slightly with a sharp sneer.

"Enjoy your little victory while it lasts, Yimei," Yulan spat softly, her voice full of spite. "You think you’ve won because the Second Branch fell? This family is a snake pit. The higher you climb, the harder you will fall when someone cuts you down."

Yimei didn’t bother wasting a single word on her. She simply turned her head and rolled her dark eyes, completely unbothered by the empty threats.

Yulan huffed loudly, turning on her heel and marching out into the courtyard.

Finally, the grand dining hall fell completely quiet. The only sound left was the flickering crackle of the lantern flames against the cold drafts.

Yimei walked over to the back of Zhengyu’s wheelchair, placing her hands smoothly on the dark wood handles.

"Everyone is gone," Yimei said softly, looking down at his quiet, calm expression. "Should we head over to Grandmother’s courtyard to check on the physician’s report?"

Zhengyu leaned his head back slightly, a faint, dark glint in his eyes. "Hmm.. we should."

Before Yimei could turn Zhengyu’s wheelchair toward the courtyard doors, a soft voice called out from the darkness near the hall’s side entrance.

"Wait, both of you."

Madame Bai stepped into the lantern light. Behind her stood her two daughters Bai Rulan and Bai Meiling, holding her older sister’s sleeve with wide, nervous eyes.

Zhengyu didn’t say a single word of greeting. He didn’t even look up at his mother, his face remaining as cold and distant as stone.

Madame Bai walked over, looking at Yimei with tired eyes, completely ignoring her son’s icy silence. "It is best if you two do not go to your grandmother’s courtyard right now. Your father is already there with the head physician. I will go check on her instead and take Rulan and Meiling with me to help."

Yimei looked at her mother-in-law and agreed silently. Going there now with your father in such a fiery mood would only bring more trouble.

"Understood," Yimei said clearly.

As Madame Bai turned to leave, Yimei remembered Second Uncle’s crazy screams from earlier. Curiosity filled her mind, and she stepped forward.

"Is it really possible for Second Uncle and Third Uncle to separate from the main family like that?" Yimei asked directly. "Just because he shouted it in front of everyone?"

Madame Bai paused in her tracks. She let out a long, heavy sigh, shaking her head slowly.

"It is not that simple, Yimei," Madame Bai explained, her voice dropping low. "For a branch to legally break away from an ancestral estate, the Great Uncles must be called to witness and approve it."

"Great Uncles?" Yimei asked, completely confused. "Who are they?"

Madame Bai motioned for her daughters to wait by the door. She walked closer to Yimei, sitting down on a nearby rosewood chair to explain.

"Many people in the capital think the Bai family was born rich," Madame Bai began, looking up at the high wooden pillars of the hall. "But long ago, our ancestors were nothing more than a humble fishing family living far in the southeast. Our great-great-great-great-grandfather was a twin. He and his brother worked the waters every single day just to survive."

Yimei listened carefully, learning the real history of the house.

"The twin brother loved the sea, but our ancestor saw something else," Madame Bai continued. "He saw massive potential in farming. He saved every copper coin he made from fishing, packed up his small family, and moved far away to the East Market. He bought a small plot of empty land, worked the dirt with his own hands, and started farming."

Madame Bai paused for a moment,

"The dirt was rich and fertile," she said. "As years passed, his small plot grew into massive fields. He became the most successful farmer in the whole East Market. Generation after generation, the wealth grew, passing down all the way to your grandmother’s time."

Madame Bai’s voice then turned sad and bitter.

"Your grandmother was the youngest child of her generation," Madame Bai said softly. "She had several older brothers, and she was the only girl. But as a young child, she watched in horror as her own brothers fought, plotted, and even killed each other just to take full control of the farming business and land."

Yimei gasped softly, glancing over at Zhengyu. Zhengyu sat completely still in his wheelchair, his face expressionless and dark, ignoring them both.

"By the time your grandmother was only seventeen years old, her last surviving brother passed away," Madame Bai revealed, her tone heavy with grief. "She was the only one left to inherit the entire Bai legacy. At such a young age, she had to step up, learn every single thing about farming, trade, and business, and run the whole estate by herself."

"Seventeen..." Yimei whispered, truly shocked by how strong the old matriarch was.

"Yes," Madame Bai nodded. "She worked night and day, and under her sharp leadership, the Bai family grew three times richer than before. When it came time for her to marry, she chose a quiet man. the son of one of her farm workers. She brought him into her own home as a live-in husband so she would never lose her family name or her father’s land."

"After giving birth to her three sons, Tianming, Second Uncle Chengbang, and Third Uncle Chenghao, your grandmother created the Three Branches," Madame Bai finished, looking right at Yimei. "She split the management of the estate so each son would have his own work, his own responsibility, and his own source of wealth. She built this system hoping there would be peace, harmony, and no jealousy between her boys."

Madame Bai let out a sad, bitter laugh, looking out toward the dark, snow-covered courtyard.

"She wanted to prevent the same bitter war her own brothers fought," Madame Bai whispered quietly. "But you can never change the deep greed inside human hearts, can you?"