Wu Caiwei arrived a bit late; the silly girl had already handed over the other half of the family fortune to Bai Jinxiu.
Since she had become Bai Xue, she had to fulfill her wishes: first, for her younger brother to live a peaceful life and inherit the Bai family, and second, for those who had hurt her to receive their just deserts.
What Wu Caiwei wanted to do most now was to move out of the Zheng family's residence, but she suspected Bai Jinxiu would not allow it.
Given that the original owner's heart was set on her brother, she decided to visit him in the afternoon. When her parents were alive, they often quarreled because of him, so Bai Xue instinctively found it hard to get close to him. Everyone around her knew this, and they rarely mentioned him.
In the years she had been at the Zheng family's residence, she had met him only a handful of times. She didn't know how he was living or if he was doing well in his studies.
After finishing lunch, she walked towards the courtyard in her memory. Before she reached the entrance, she heard a wet nurse's disdainful mockery: "Eat, eat, eat, all you do is eat. Don't you know your place? You're a neglected, wild child, not even fit to feed to dogs, yet you're still getting food!" With that, she spat into the bowl of food.
Hearing this, Wu Caiwei could no longer restrain herself and kicked open the courtyard gate.
She saw a scruffy little boy sitting on the ground with a bowl of rice in front of him, mixed with sand. Beside him stood a plump wet nurse, hands on her hips, looking down at him.
Wu Caiwei felt a shock in her heart, recognizing it as the original owner's emotions. The original owner had never known her brother lived in such conditions. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and apart from this wet nurse, there were no maids. A child of six or seven was as thin as a four- or five-year-old.
Hearing the sound of the gate being kicked open, the wet nurse instinctively turned around. Upon seeing Wu Caiwei, a look of terror flashed in her eyes. Wu Caiwei did not give her any more time to react, walking quickly and delivering a kick to her chest.
Looking at her brother's vacant eyes, her chest ached. What kind of immense suffering had led him to this state?
"Bai Yang, don't be afraid. Sister is here," Wu Caiwei gently said, carefully helping him up.
After a moment, his pupils began to move. He glanced at Bai Xue and then looked away again. In his memory, his sister disliked him, so he held no expectations.
Wu Caiwei knew that for her brother to become lively and cheerful, it would take time; she couldn't rush it. It was also the original owner's fault for being too negligent. Each time she saw her brother, he was thinner than the last. Bai Jinxiu's lighthearted words about missing her parents and being unable to eat or sleep had made her foolishly believe it.
Looking at the wet nurse, who had already gotten up and was trembling by the side, Wu Caiwei walked over and kicked her a few more times, still feeling unsatisfied.
Leaving one maid to look after her brother, and disregarding the wet nurse's pleas for mercy, she had other maids escort her to the main courtyard.
Bai Jinxiu had just finished lunch, and the dishes on the table had not yet been cleared. Seeing Bai Xue with a dark expression and the servants escorting the wet nurse from Bai Yang's courtyard, she asked in confusion, "What is going on?"
"Aunt, please take a look. This is my brother's lunch, a stark contrast to yours. When we first arrived, we gave you half of our family fortune for our daily expenses. Is two thousand taels of silver meant for this?" Wu Caiwei would not give her any face. A servant would not dare to act with such audacity; it was clearly Bai Jinxiu's instruction.
"I ordered you to take good care of the young master, and this is how you carry out my orders? You have disappointed me greatly. Guards, give her twenty heavy strokes and expel her." Bai Jinxiu, seeing that the matter had been exposed, did not hesitate to shift the blame to her servants.
"Madam, have mercy," the wet nurse cried, begging for mercy. Knowing that her mistress was prepared to sacrifice her, she dared not say that she had been instructed by her mistress in front of so many people.
"Aunt, I know you are good to us, but in this household, we are ultimately outsiders. Today they can disregard my brother, and tomorrow they can mistreat me. I think we should move out," Wu Caiwei said with her head down, a hint of melancholy in her voice.
"How can that be? I was negligent for a moment and allowed these ambitious servants to take advantage. I promise such a thing will never happen again. You are my only family. If you leave me, I will not be at ease. If anything happens, how can I face my brother?" Bai Jinxiu's heart leaped when she heard her mention moving out. The money in the bank had not yet been secured, and she herself was unable to repay the other half of her family fortune.
"I have no money in hand at the moment, and I am unable to move freely. The servants in the household all think we are freeloaders. Why doesn't Aunt return my other half of the family fortune to me? I will manage it myself. I am old enough now and should learn how to manage household affairs." Wu Caiwei gazed at her expectantly, knowing that she would not hand it over easily, so she would take what she could get.
"How about this: I will give you one of the Bai family's shops to manage. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me or the steward." With things having reached this point, Bai Jinxiu knew she had to concede something today.
"Since it is to be managed by me, Aunt, please give me the land deed as well. Regardless, I need to earn some money. Otherwise, everyone in the household will look down on us as poor and sycophantic." Once it was in her hands, Wu Caiwei did not want Bai Jinxiu to interfere further, nor did she want to labor to build up a business only for someone else to benefit.
Bai Jinxiu hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. After all, it was Bai family property. If she refused now, after Wu Caiwei had said so much, it would indeed seem like she was hoarding others' wealth.
That evening, Wu Caiwei brought Bai Yang back to her courtyard and had someone make him clothes that fit him overnight.
Bai Yang seemed indifferent to everything around him. He ate when given food and wore what he was given, his quietness almost abnormal. The maids and wet nurses wept, their faces filled with heartache.
Although Bai Jinxiu had agreed, the land deed was still not delivered the next day. It was only after Wu Caiwei sent people to urge them several times that the steward reluctantly brought it.
The shop managed a cloth business and had been incurring losses for several months. Wu Caiwei personally led people to inspect the premises and discovered that the shop's location was not ideal, the storefront was small, the manager and shop assistants were arrogant and haughty, and the fabrics were old. It was no wonder business was poor.
Seeing her scrutinizing items for a long time without buying anything, a shop assistant looked at her with contempt and said unceremoniously, "Miss, if you can't afford it, don't look. Our fabrics are very expensive. If you damage anything, you won't be able to afford to pay for it."
"Call your manager out," Wu Caiwei said, too annoyed to bother with him.
"You're a strange person. You can't afford it yet you want to complain to our manager? Let me tell you, it's useless. The manager is my relative," the shop assistant said, looking at her as if she were an idiot.
"Open your dog eyes and see clearly. This is your employer," Bai Yang's personal maid, Lingshui, could no longer stand it. She had been brought from the Bai family by Wu Caiwei and had a deep sense of belonging to the Bai family. This was originally a Bai family shop, yet these people didn't recognize their owner. This made her extremely angry.