Chapter 97 -

Chapter 97: Chapter

By noon, two wooden carriages stood outside the First Branch courtyard.

Yimei helped Zhengyu settle onto the soft cushions of the main carriage. She climbed in after him, pulling her warm fur cloak close against the cold wind. Outside, Liu Feng and two guards mounted their horses, while Qinqin got into the second carriage with the medicine boxes.

The driver whipped the horses, and the carriages rolled smoothly over the snow, heading toward the southern farm.

Inside the carriage, it was quiet and warm. Zhengyu leaned back with his eyes closed, while Yimei quietly organized her small notebook. They didn’t speak, but the morning tension was gone, replaced by a calm, easy silence.

Back inside the Bai estate, things were not peaceful.

In the Second Branch study, Second Uncle Bai Chengbang sat behind his rosewood desk, sipping dark tea while looking over a ledger. Across from him, Madame Liu paced back and forth, her fine silk sleeves fluttering with her angry moves.

"I cannot take it anymore!" Madame Liu hissed, her face dark with hatred. "Did you see how arrogant that girl was? She smiles like she owns this entire house!"

Bai Chengbang didn’t look up. "Sit down. Your pacing is giving me a headache."

"How can I sit down?!" Madame Liu cried out, slamming her hand on the desk. "That girl humiliated me and our daughter Xuiying in front of everyone! She ruined his name with the Prime Minister’s family, and now she is helping her crippled husband steal our farm money!"

She leaned over the desk, her eyes full of anger. "She gets away with everything! Every time we set a trap, she turns it around and gets praise from Old Madame Bai! She is a giant block in our path. If we don’t get rid of her, she will ruin us!"

Bai Chengbang set his cup down with a soft clatter, his dark eyes looking up at his wife.

"Watch your tongue," Bai Chengbang warned in a low, cold voice. "You foolish woman, do you think screaming will fix anything? Mother already likes the girl because she brought Zhengyu out of his dark room. If you show your hatred openly, Mother will suspect you the moment something happens to them."

Madame Liu gritted her teeth. "Then what are we supposed to do? Watch them take control of the farms?"

Bai Chengbang sneered, leaning back in his chair. "If you want to bring down someone like Yimei, you don’t attack blindly. You do it slowly, step by step, until she has nothing left to defend herself with."

He picked up a small note from his desk and tossed it to his wife.

"I already sent word to Manager Zhao at the farm," Bai Chengbang said with a cold smile. "Let them travel all the way to the fields. By the time they arrive, Manager Zhao will have a very special welcome waiting for them."

Hearing her husband’s words, Madame Liu smiled from ear to ear. She quickly walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

"My dear husband, let me pour you some tea," she said smoothly. She poured hot tea into his cup and handed it to him, still smiling creepily as she asked, "What exactly are you planning to do to them? Surely you won’t leave me out of your plan."

Bai Chengbang took a quiet sip of the hot tea, a cold smirk touching his lips.

"Manager Zhao has already hidden the real harvest books," Second Uncle said softly. "When Zhengyu and Yimei arrive, Zhao will take Zhengyu to the cold storehouse to look at broken farm tools. That will keep a crippled man stuck in one place for hours."

Madame Liu’s eyes lit up with excitement. "And what about that girl Yimei?"

"Manager Zhao will send her up to the high south ridge alone, claiming the main water gate is broken," Bai Chengbang explained, his voice low and dark. "The path up the ridge is narrow, slippery with winter ice, and sits right beside a steep cliff. Once she is up there away from the guards... a simple accident can easily happen."

Madame Liu let out a quiet, cruel laugh, clapping her hands together. "A slip off the icy cliff! Even if Old Madame Bai asks questions later, no one can blame us for a tragic accident on a slippery mountain path!"

"Exactly," Second Uncle sneered, setting his teacup down. "Let us see how clever she is when the ground gives way beneath her feet."

Meanwhile, after two long hours of travel, the two carriages finally pulled up outside the main gates of the southern farm estate.

The cold winter wind blew across the vast, frozen fields. As soon as the carriage doors opened, a heavy-set man wearing a thick wool coat rushed forward, bowing low with a fake, overly eager smile on his greasy face.

It was Manager Zhao.

"Welcome, First Young Master! Welcome, Young Madame!" Manager Zhao called out, bowing so low his forehead almost touched the muddy snow. "We were informed by the main house that you were coming to inspect our spring setup! This humble manager has everything prepared for you!"

Yimei stepped out of the carriage first, her sharp dark eyes instantly sweeping over Manager Zhao’s nervous face, taking in his fake smile and trembling hands.

Beside her, Liu Feng carefully lowered Zhengyu down in his wheelchair.

Zhengyu sat tall in the cold wind, his face completely expressionless, his dark gaze locking onto Manager Zhao like an eagle eyeing its prey.

"Manager Zhao," Zhengyu said, his deep voice cutting smoothly through the freezing air. "Where are the farm account books for the past three years?"

Manager Zhao wiped a drop of cold sweat from his forehead, smiling nervously. "Ah, First Young Master, the books are inside the storehouse! But before we check those boring papers, wouldn’t you like to inspect our wooden plows first? They are stored in the north storehouse right over here!"

Yimei looked at Zhengyu, catching the quiet, knowing glint in his dark eyes. Manager Zhao was doing the exact same move they had planned for at breakfast, trying to steer Zhengyu straight into the north storehouse to waste his time.

"My husband will inspect the tools in the north storehouse with you, Manager Zhao," Yimei spoke up smoothly, her voice sweet and unbothered. "Meanwhile, I will take Liu Feng and walk up to the south ridge to check the main water channels."

Manager Zhao’s eyes flashed with a split second of dark delight before he quickly hid it with a bow.

"As you wish, Young Madame!" Manager Zhao said quickly. "The south path is a bit muddy, but it goes straight to the water gates!"

Zhengyu turned his head slightly, his dark eyes meeting Yimei’s calm gaze. He didn’t say anything out loud, but the silent warning in his eyes was crystal clear: Be careful.

Yimei gave him a subtle, confident nod in return. She pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders and began walking toward the high south ridge, ready to step straight into the Second Branch’s trap.