Ziyu rubbеd hеr hаnds hеаvilу agаinst the wаll behind her, then brought them bаck to sсrub her smаll fаcе befоre lоwering her head and blеnding into the сrowd оf laborers in the backyard.
She toоk over а baskеt of freshlу wаshеd vegеtаblеs from аn auntie аnd саrriеd it into the bustling main kitchеn.
At the еntrаnсe, а long table wаs pilеd high with frеshlу сoоked dishes, whilе servеrs rushed baсk and forth in а сhaotiс frеnzу.
А row of large роts simmered on the inner stovеs, еmitting clouds of stеаm. In the swеltеring kitchеn, evеrуonе was irritable from the heat, and their voices boomed unusually loud.
After setting down the vegetables, Ziyu turned and walked past the row of large pots, her swinging hand briefly brushing against the edges of two of them.
“You there! Stop wandering around the kitchen when you should be washing vegetables. Get out now!” a menial worker barked arrogantly.
Ziyu didn’t utter a word, pretending to be frightened as she hurried out, hearing dissatisfied mutters behind her.
“Poor folk really have no sense of rules. How dare they enter the kitchen—a restricted area!”
Once outside the back door, Ziyu dropped the slop bucket she was carrying, took two running steps, and vaulted into the neighboring courtyard. She borrowed a quilt and some clothes from one of the rooms, vanishing without a trace.
…
The bedroom, with its windows covered by a bedsheet, was dim. On the exposed, yellowed cotton padding lay two large gowns and a few pieces of clothing.
Beside them, on a clean garment, rested the rice and stew she had taken.
Ziyu crouched in front of a pile of scattered straw and gently patted the little figure curled up in a ball, saying:
“Xiao Luo, time to eat!”
Startled from his sleep, the child trembled, scrambled up, and threw himself into Ziyu’s arms. He hugged her joyfully, looking up at her face.
“Sister, you’re back!”
“Good boy, eat first, then sleep!” Ziyu sat Xiao Luo down on the bedding and pointed to the steaming food in front of them.
“My hands are dirty!”
Ziluo spread open his grimy little hands for Ziyu to see, his face unable to conceal his delight, a trace of silver drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
“Dirty eating won’t give you sores. We’ll wash them when Sister finds water.”
Ziyu pulled out two chopsticks made from twigs and handed them to Xiao Luo. She gave him one of the only two sea cucumber stews, mixing it with rice.
Overcome by hunger, Ziluo hugged the slightly warm stewpot and clumsily scooped rice with the twigs.
While eating, Ziyu glanced sideways at Xiao Luo, who wasn’t crying, and quickened her own pace. Yet, despite sitting on the bedding to eat, there was not a trace of disarray or roughness in the siblings’ demeanor.
After eating about eighty percent full, Ziyu stopped Xiao Luo from having more, then held the little one and began to probe for information.
“Xiao Luo, do you remember Grandpa and Grandma, or your maternal grandparents?”
“No!” Ziluo shook his head, drowsy after the meal, struggling to keep his eyes open as he squirmed uneasily.
“Sister, I need to pee!” the little one blurted out, his face flushing red.
Realizing this was her first time caring for a young child, Ziyu vanished from the bedroom in an instant.
In the pitch-black, silent alley, the night wind whistled, chilling their bodies. The small shadow with his back turned fumbled urgently to relieve himself.
His little face, clutching his pants, scrunched up, though no one could see his expression in the dark.
“Sister, it’s so dark!” his low, timid voice was heartbreaking.
“Sister will take you back to sleep, but you have to be alone! Close your eyes!”
Ziyu vanished from the spot, tucking the eyes-closed Xiao Luo into the old quilt. She patted him gently until he fell soundly asleep before leaving.
…
Tong’an Street, Jimin Pharmacy.
At the hour of Hai, the curfew-enforced streets were empty, with only the distant sound of the night watchman’s clapper echoing.
Dressed in sleek black clothes, Ziyu stepped off the wall and flew up to remove the Mei Family Pharmacy’s signboard.
Hidden in the shadows, Ziyu ran her right hand over the plaque, pausing at a small character ‘peace’ in the upper right corner.
“What a clever scheme, seizing commoners’ property without even changing the name. The powerful have always been cruel and heartless since ancient times.”
Without any further hesitation, Ziyu stored the plaque away, snapped the copper lock on the door, and pushed it open. Suddenly, images of the original owner playing as a child flashed through her mind.
The adorable little snowball was deeply cherished by her parents. As a child, she often sat on her father’s lap reciting the Medical Formula Song, while her gentle mother smiled and attended to them nearby.
Until Xiao Luo was born, the original owner treasured her younger brother like a precious gem. Yet, she couldn’t withstand the heavy blow of losing both parents and passed away like a fading fragrance.
Ziyu blinked away the moisture in her eyes, a surge of overwhelming anger rising in her heart. A harmonious family of doctors, dedicated to doing good, had been destroyed because of the filthy hearts of certain powerful individuals.
What a fine Marquis of Anguo’s Mansion, bullying others with their influence! Such immense power indeed!
Medicine cabinets, tables, chairs, storerooms—everything from the three large shopfronts and the five rooms in the backyard was collected by Ziyu into her Spatial Villa. She closed the door behind her and left.
A moonless, windy night was the perfect time for righteous deeds.
A slender black shadow headed toward the bustling streets of the western city, deftly avoiding patrolling soldiers along the way.
Xiangfu Street, the most prosperous street in Yun Capital.
This two-kilometer-long street gathered all kinds of shops owned by the upper-class nobility of Yun Capital, covering every aspect of daily life—clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
As Ziyu immersed herself in the scene, she recalled that shops with the ‘peace’ character on their signs accounted for half of this long street.
She noticed that patrolling soldiers passed through this street every half hour. Slipping into her dimensional space, she used the collected medicinal herbs to prepare a Potent Knockout Drug.
The abundant herbs allowed Ziyu to work with ease. While preparing a large jar of the knockout drug, she also casually made a bottle of antidote.
In her previous life, while carrying out missions abroad, Ziyu had often engaged in opportunistic theft. Otherwise, with her meager earnings from risking her life, how could she have accumulated such a rich storage spanning hundreds of square meters?
After taking an antidote pill, Ziyu, with a sense of ceremony, covered her face with a black cloth, shouldered a large scythe, and slipped out of her dimensional space.
Listening intently to the fading sound of orderly footsteps, the corners of her lips beneath the black cloth curled upward. It was time for her to get to work!
Every shop with the ‘安’ character—embroidery shops, fur shops, clothing stores, shoe stores, fabric shops, grain stores, pastry shops, general stores, porcelain shops, jade and silver buildings, antique shops, pharmacies, calligraphy and painting stores, bookshops, and pawnshops—was emptied in one sweep.
The goods sold by the Marquis of Anguo’s Mansion on Xiangfu Street were all premium items. Even the most inconspicuous general store sold only high-quality products.
Wherever she passed, it was like a plague of locusts leaving nothing behind. Who would have thought that behind tightly closed doors, everything had been looted?
Occasionally, she encountered shopkeepers or guards staying overnight. A handful of knockout drug easily resolved the situation.
For those who resisted, she wielded the scythe. Having witnessed life and death, Ziyu remained expressionless, her hands steady without a tremble.
When she infiltrated an ironware shop and heard faint clanging sounds from underground, she held her breath and tread lightly like a cat.
After collecting all the ironware in the shop, she quickly distanced herself, deeply sensing that the presence of a blacksmith shop here was peculiar.
But these matters were not for her, a traveler from another dimension, to meddle in. Keeping her distance was the best strategy.
Next door, in the carriage and sedan shop, ten luxurious carriage bodies were displayed. The corners and wheels were edged with copper and iron, while the decorated canopies and curtains were embroidered with gold and silver threads.
With ready-made means of transportation available, Ziyu gladly accepted them all, not even sparing an old, creaking cart in the backyard.
Two hours later, after sweeping through half of the bustling two-kilometer-long street, Ziyu quietly departed without leaving a single word.
Without stopping for a moment, she rushed to the small alley behind the Marquis of Anguo’s Mansion. The magnificent high walls and grand courtyard before her eyes stirred a deep fascination within Ziyu.