Chapter 248 - 43: Targeted

Chapter 248: Chapter 43: Targeted

The Lin Family owned a fishery located at the foot of North Mountain in Qing State Prefecture City.

A stretch of lake was nestled between green mountains, its surface as calm as a mirror. Occasionally, a plump fish would leap out, sending ripples spreading in circles. Gulls and herons flocked together, creating a truly tranquil scene.

Bai Ruo stood on the fishery’s dock, her simple white dress fluttering slightly in the lake breeze. A silk ribbon of the same color was tied around her waist, accentuating her slender, willow-like figure.

She wore no heavy makeup, only a touch of rouge on her lips. Her black hair was held up by a single Jade Hairpin, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears, which made her oval face seem all the more ethereal.

At this moment, she was gazing at the several fishing boats slowly approaching the shore, her willow-like brows slightly furrowed.

"Miss, Young Master Lin Xiao is causing a scene at the counting house again. He says last month’s fishery accounts don’t add up and wants to do a full recount."

The steward came jogging over, his forehead beaded with sweat, and spoke in a hushed voice. "But he just looked at those accounts a few days ago and said everything was fine. Now he’s digging them up again, claiming there’s a discrepancy..."

Bai Ruo didn’t turn around. Her gaze remained on the lake’s surface as she asked coolly, "How does he want to recount it?"

"He wants to interrogate everyone who handled the books, and he wants to audit all of our fishery’s accounts from the past year."

Bai Fu’s voice was trembling. A year’s worth of ledgers, interrogating people one by one... it would take at least ten days to half a month to finish. This wasn’t an audit; it was clearly just harassment.

Most importantly, how could there not be some minor discrepancies in all of that?

The Martial Artists guarding the fishery taking one or two fish out of every thousand catties and recording it as a loss—this was a perfectly normal occurrence.

Everyone works hard all year; they should get some kind of reward.

If those who guarded the fishery and raised the fry couldn’t even get a single fish for themselves, it would be an embarrassment to the master’s family if word got out.

But now this Young Master Lin Xiao wanted to go through everything entry by entry, even demanding to inspect the bones of fish reported as dead. He was clearly targeting their Bai Family.

"Miss Bai, do you think we should notify Young Master Lin Yan?"

"No need."

Bai Ruo finally turned her head. On her exquisitely, almost flawlessly beautiful face, her almond eyes were as tranquil as water, yet they held a hint of unquestionable decisiveness.

Her eyelashes were long, casting a fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids when she looked down, making her jade-like skin appear even fairer.

"First, we investigate why Lin Xiao’s attitude has changed so drastically. We’ll decide what to do after that."

The steward opened his mouth as if to speak, but hesitated. In the end, he just sighed and turned to relay the message.

Watching the steward leave, Bai Ruo’s brows furrowed a little tighter.

She raised a slender, pale hand and tucked a stray strand of hair, tousled by the wind, behind her ear. The movement was gentle and natural, yet it possessed an indescribable grace.

’Lin Xiao accepted the mission to guard the fishery three months ago. In all that time, he never caused any trouble for the Bai Family, content to just stay in his courtyard and focus on his Cultivation.’

’He hasn’t even finished inspecting the seven fisheries our family is responsible for. And we’ve treated him just like all the previous Lin Clan Members sent to guard this place, sending him a thousand silver banknotes each month without fail or favoritism.’

’Why would Lin Xiao’s attitude change so dramatically in just a few days?’

’Before I ask Young Master Lin Yan to intervene, I need to at least find out the reason for all this.’

As Bai Ruo was lost in thought, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from a distance. The steward, having left, was now running back. This time, his expression was even more panicked. He didn’t even bother to wipe the sweat from his brow as he shouted from afar, "Miss, this is bad! The eldest young master has been injured by Lin Xiao!"

A cold glint flashed in Bai Ruo’s eyes. Her usually gentle face was instantly covered by a layer of frost, her red lips pressed into a thin line.

...

Inside the fishery’s counting house, Lin Xiao sat with his legs crossed in a grand armchair, flipping through a yellowed ledger. A faint, almost imperceptible smile hung on his lips.

"Young Master Bai, do you still have a problem with what I said?"

He tossed the ledger onto the table. His tone was light, but his gaze was mocking.

In a corner of the room, Bai Feng was pushing himself up from the floor. His face was pale, and the spot on his stomach where Lin Xiao had kicked him still throbbed with a dull pain.

All because he had talked back when Lin Xiao demanded to see the books.

"If Young Master Lin Xiao wants to audit the books, then let him."

"If you’d been this cooperative from the start, you wouldn’t have had to take that kick."

Lin Xiao stood up and brushed non-existent dust from his robes. His tone was contemptuous. "Remember, this fishery belongs to the Lin Family. Your Bai Family are merely servants of the Lin Family. You don’t have the right to say no."

Bai Feng’s face was a mask of anger and humiliation, but feeling the pain in his stomach, he ultimately grit his teeth and said nothing.

Lin Xiao walked to the doorway, then stopped. He glanced back at Bai Feng, his lips curled in a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.

"Oh, right. Tell your little sister that I’ll be inspecting the fishery by boat tomorrow. She is to arrange a vessel and accompany me." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

With that, he strode out, his face full of smug satisfaction.

’When Bai Ruo chose Lin Yan, it had filled him with resentment. But after witnessing Lin Yan’s strength at the branch competition, he had immediately suppressed that resentment deep in his heart.’

’His strength was no match for Lin Yan’s, so all he could do was curse him in his heart.’

’Even after accepting the mission to guard the fishery, he hadn’t dared to make trouble for the Bai Family, afraid that Lin Yan would step in on their behalf.’

’But to his surprise, Lin Yan had actually dared to offend Brother Minghao!’

’This time, it was Brother Minghao who had sought him out and told him to cause trouble for the Bai Family.’

’The Bai Family had bet everything on Lin Yan, giving him all the Contribution Points their family had accumulated.’

’Although the Bai Family hadn’t announced it publicly, there are no secrets that can be kept forever. The transfer of Contribution Points had to be registered at the Contribution Hall, so the matter was already an open secret within the clan.’

’It wasn’t uncommon for an affiliated family to bet on a talented young member of the main family, so the situation hadn’t attracted much attention.’