The morning after the disastrous banquet dawned over the Lin estate, but the heavy atmosphere of shame and suppressed fury persisted.
Lin Yue, confined to her room by her father's order, woke early, well before the sun fully crested the horizon.
The sound of muffled, anxious footsteps and hushed servant chatter confirmed that the house was already vibrating with unspoken panic.
Lin Yue locked her door, ensured her movements were silent, and with a focused mental command, she slipped into her spatial realm.
The air inside the space was warm and fragrant with rich soil. She was greeted instantly by the tiny, shimmering figure of Xiao Ai.
"Master, you are early this morning," Xiao Ai chirped, flying around Lin Yue.
"Good morning, Xiao Ai. I need to move quickly today," Lin Yue replied, her voice soft and she carry a gentle smile on her face. "Are vegetables ready for harvest?"
"Yes Master! The second batch plots are at peak harvest maturity," Xiao Ai reported, projecting a holographic status screen.
Lin Yue nodded, walking deliberately toward the Spiritual Spring River. The water, warm and invigorating, flowed silently over polished white stones.
Lin Yue carefully removed her clothing and stepped into the flow, allowing the purified energy of the Spiritual Spring to wash over her.
It was a baptism of sorts, clearing the residual mental fatigue and emotional toxicity from the night before, replacing it with cold clarity.
After bathing, refreshed and dressed in a simple, soft inner tunic, Lin Yue approached the field plots. Using the space screen panel, she initiated the harvest.
The ripe plants glowed, and with a silent whoosh of energy, the second massive harvest materialized in the [Warehouse].
Lin Yue checked the inventory yield numbers in the [Warehouse]. The sheer volume was staggering:
The red, plump [Crimson Tomatoes] and the glossy [Purple Eggplants] both yielded exactly 50,000 catties each like previous harvest.
The new varieties were equally prolific:
[Green Beans] (10,000 catties)
[Cucumbers] (100,000 catties)
Lin Yue accessed the [Space Market] terminal to proceed with the points exchange, confirming the current rates:
[Crimson Tomatoes] (1 point per 1000 catties)
[Purple Eggplants] (2 points per 1000 catties)
[Green Beans] (5 points per 100 catties)
[Cucumber] (1 point per 1000 catties)
Lin Yue decided on retaining exactly 1,000 catties of each vegetable type in the warehouse for her next plan and sold the rest.
[Crimson Tomatoes] (49,000 catties) = 49 points
[Purple Eggplants] (49,000 catties) = 98 points
[Green Beans] (9,000 catties) = 450 points
[Cucumbers] (99,000 catties) = 99 points
[Point Balance: 696]
Lin Yue immediately made new purchases. First, she acquired the next available piece of land, costing 100 points.
Next, she returned to the [Space Mall] to restock her seeds, she again bought seeds of Tomatoes, Eggplants, Green Beans, Cucumber, and add new type of vegetable, Chinese Cabbage, in her vegetable plot, costing 10 points each.
Lin Yue checked her remaining points balance. Though the number was high, a slight frown appeared on her face.
"If I still rely only on exchanging harvest for points here, I have a long, slow road ahead to unlock all the advanced facilities in this space," Lin Yue mused.
The exchange rate is too high for true rapid expansion. Lin Yue solidified her next plan, she needed a source of external income.
The vegetables she grows are nutritious and valuable, far more potent than the vegetables she ate usually.
Selling them outside would generate capital far faster than the [Space Market] exchange, providing both ready cash for her departure and funds to be converted back into points to unlock more facilities inside her spatial realm.
Lin Yue then control the space panel screen and initiated the planting for the three plots.
The first plot gonna be planted with Tomatoes and Eggplants. The second plot gonna be planted with Chinese cabbage and Cucumbers. And the third plot gonna be planted with Green Beans only.
After planting and irrigating the seeds, Lin Yue drink spiritual water from the river and exited the space, ready to execute the first steps of her plan.
Back in her room, the sunlight was now streaming through the curtains. Lin Yue sat at a small desk and began plotting her next moves.
I first need to secretly sell these vegetables to establish funds outside of the Lin Family. Lin Yue thought.
Lin Yue already decided to leave the Lin Family but she also knows that she need a way to survive outside. So she decide to sell her crops secretly to earn money.
Lin Yue also thought about her engagement with Chen Hao. To break the engagement with Chen Hao cleanly, the scandal is the lever.
Lin Yue decided to speak to Old Master Chen directly, but she must also provide undeniable evidence of Chen Hao and Bai Lian's secret affair to ensure the Chens initiate the break, protecting her reputation.
Lin Yue also thought about how to obtain physical proof of Chen Hao and Bai Lian's intimacy. This requires a calculated risk. So she decide to initiate this plan along with her leaving the Lin Family.
Just as Lin Yue was considering how to obtain the evidence, the enraged, booming voice of Lin Aiguo from the hall downstairs shattered the quiet concentration of the morning.
Lin Aiguo was pacing wildly in the main hall. "...He called me personally! Old Master Chen is demanding an immediate, satisfactory explanation!"
"They are threatening to dissolve the contract! The Chen and Lin Family's pride is now a laughing stock!" Lin Aiguo's voice cracked with fury.
Bai Mei Ling and Bai Lian are trying desperately to calm him down.
Lin Aiguo stopped and look at Bai Lian with controlled rage. "The dress tearing, while humiliating, I can eventually clean up,"
Lin Aiguo stated, his voice dangerously low. "But Chen Hao embracing you, Bai Lian, in front of the entire elite—that is unforgivable!
That makes the Chen Family look like fools, and it makes me look like a poor manager of my own family affairs. I risked everything on this engagement!"
Bai Mei Ling immediately stepped forward. "Aiguo, listen to me. It was a purely compassionate act! Lian'er was exposed and weeping;
Chen Hao acted as any decent man would! He was protecting a family member from public scrutiny."
"We can easily spread the narrative that Lin Yue's refusal of the dance angered him, and he took Lian'er as a polite placeholder. He certainly was not… involved with her." Bai Mei Ling said like as a matter of fact.
Lin Aiguo slammed his hand down on the coffee table. "Involved? Mei Ling, do you think I am blind, or a complete idiot?"
Lin Aiguo's voice down to a dangerous whisper "Old Master Chen's face was green! His son, Chen Ling, could barely look me in the eye!
Chen Hao's reaction was not 'brotherly,' it was desperate. It was possessive.They saw what everyone else saw.
Their heir is secretly devoted to the wrong sister! Tell me the truth now, Bai Lian! Is there an affair?"
Bai Lian gasped dramatically, clutching her clothes closer. "Father! How can you accuse me of such a thing?
I am innocent! Brother Chen Hao and I have a pure, sibling-like bond! I only ever try to mediate between him and Yue-jie. She is so cold to him, he just confides in me."
Bai Mei Ling jumped in again, her eyes flashing with renewed fury. "It's Lin Yue's fault! She planted this suspicion in your mind on the drive home!"
"She is maliciously attempting to ruin the engagement so she can escape her duty! She even hinted to me that she was happy Lian'er's dress tore!" Bai Mei Ling lied without batting her eyes.
Bai Mei Ling insisted with anger, shifting the blame on Lin Yue. "It was Lin Yue who created the initial drama by refusing the dance!
She is deliberately creating problems to sabotage the alliance! We must focus on her insolence and show the Chens that we control Lin Yue!"
Yes, Father," Bai Lian chimed in, maintaining her tearful and innocent expressions. "Yue-jie is deliberately trying to sabotage the engagement because she is too proud to admit she is not worthy of Brother Chen Hao!
We must punish her publicly to prove to the Chens that we are dealing with her arrogance."
Bai Lian sobbed and wipe her tear "Yue-jie is trying to ruin me because she's jealous. She's cold and disrespectful to Brother Chen Hao, and now she is trying to push the blame onto me!"
Bai Lian looked at Lin Aiguo and continued with her venerable tone "She is a spiteful snake, Father! She is the one who didn't want the dress my mother prepared especially for her!
She caused the argument and angered Brother Chen Hao and she probably knew the floor was slippery and didn't told us before hand!"
"Oh, so I am now responsible for yesterday's scandal again?" The clear, confident voice, intrupts Bai Lian's fake innocent tone.