After returning home, Cui Qingshu immediately asked her mother about the martyr’s certificate.
Just as she had expected, Lin Weihua knew absolutely nothing about it.
She had only been ten years old when the Cui family took her in. She was too young and ignorant back then—how could she possibly have thought about applying for something like a martyr’s certificate?
The moment Qingshu heard this, she made up her mind.
“Mom, this is really important. Let’s go ask at the police station tomorrow.”
Though puzzled, Lin Weihua agreed without hesitation.
She had realized that after years apart, her daughter had changed tremendously. She was far more sensible and steady than before.
But instead of feeling relieved that her daughter had matured, all she felt was heartache.
She could tell that Qingshu now lacked any sense of security. She was no longer the carefree little girl who relied completely on her father.
It was as though she had wrapped herself in a thick shell, keeping everyone at a distance.
Late at night, Lin Weihua gazed at Qingshu’s sleeping face. Even in sleep, her brows were faintly furrowed.
Carefully, she smoothed the crease between her daughter’s eyebrows, as though tending to a priceless treasure.
Sleep well, my daughter.
Your mother will fight with everything she has to leave the very best for you.
The next morning, by the time Cui Qingshu and her mother headed out, Cui Yuanwei and Su Ran’yue had already left home as usual.
At breakfast, Aunt Wang was holding a rag and preparing to clean Cui Yuanwei’s study.
“Aunt Wang, don’t bother cleaning today. Isn’t your grandson’s one-month celebration today? That’s important. Just leave the rag—I’ll wipe things down later.”
The gray-haired Aunt Wang smiled kindly.
“Alright then, Miss Qingshu, I’ll head back first. Just leave the dishes soaking in the basin—I’ll wash them tomorrow. I’ve already prepared lunch too, all cold dishes for this hot weather.”
Aunt Wang lived not far from the Cui residence and was technically a neighbor. She came daily to cook and clean. Publicly they called it neighbors helping neighbors, but privately it was an employment arrangement.
As soon as Aunt Wang left, Cui Qingshu hurriedly finished breakfast in a few bites. Taking advantage of the empty house, she headed straight into her father’s study.
After soaking the dishes, Lin Weihua curiously followed behind.
Qingshu poked around everywhere in the study, examining every corner.
For a long time now, she had wanted to fill the empty storage space she possessed. Naturally, the first thing she set her sights on was the Cui family fortune.
Rather than letting Su Ran’yue benefit from it, she’d much rather take it all herself.
As the Cui family’s only biological daughter, she felt fully justified.
Unfortunately, after searching the entire house these past few days, she still hadn’t found where the gold, silver, and jewelry were hidden.
That left only three possibilities: the study, Cui Yuanwei’s bedroom, or somewhere buried beneath the courtyard.
Walking in, Lin Weihua asked softly:
“Nannan, what are you looking for?”
Qingshu was currently feeling along the bookshelves, half-hoping a secret door would suddenly pop open. She didn’t bother hiding it from her mother.
“I’m trying to figure out where Dad hid all the family money. Maybe there’s a secret room in the study full of gold and jewelry.”
Lin Weihua froze for a moment, then amusement filled her eyes.
“Why are you fumbling around by yourself? Why not ask me?”
“I’ve lived here for over twenty years. I know every corner of this house.”
Qingshu’s eyes instantly lit up.
That’s right! Why hadn’t she thought to ask Mom? Her mother obviously knew this house far better than she did.
“Mom, is the family fortune really hidden here in the house?”
Lin Weihua nodded.
“Part of it is in a secret room. The other half is buried beneath the banyan tree in the courtyard.”
“Mom, take me to see it!”
Finally—after being transmigrated into this novel for so long, she was finally going to see the Cui family’s wealth.
Lin Weihua smiled and agreed.
“It’s good for you to see it. These things will all belong to you eventually anyway. But it’s not in the study. Come with me.”
Following behind her mother, Qingshu left the study and headed toward the storage room.
The storage room was crammed full of junk, almost impossible to walk through.
“Careful not to trip,” Lin Weihua reminded her over her shoulder.
Qingshu dodged obstacle after obstacle until they reached the deepest corner.
Lin Weihua fiddled with the innermost shelf for a while—three knocks, two turns of the vase on the shelf, then two more knocks.
A faint click of mechanisms sounded.
The wall slowly lifted, revealing a pitch-black passageway.
Qingshu stared in shock.
“What an ingenious mechanism.”
“Yes,” Lin Weihua said softly. “The Cui family managed to preserve its fortune during wartime because of this hidden mechanism.”
A complicated look flickered through her eyes.
Her father-in-law truly had treated her well. He had even entrusted her with the Cui family’s greatest secret.
But no matter how well he treated her, he still favored his own son in the end.
Even knowing she and Cui Yuanwei would never be happy together, he had still forced the marriage for the sake of the Cui family.
“This is the core of the Cui family fortune. Come on, I’ll take you inside.”
Holding a flashlight, Lin Weihua walked ahead while Qingshu followed closely behind.
Small boxes were stacked along both sides of the passageway, two layers high, stretching all the way inward.
After walking more than ten meters, the space suddenly opened up.
The ground was piled with boxes of every size, packed so densely there was barely room to stand.
Qingshu casually opened the medium-sized chest nearest her—and instantly nearly went blind from the gleam inside.
Rows upon rows of small gold bars were stacked neatly within, breathtakingly magnificent.
She forgot to breathe.
How much money was this worth?
Thinking about the tiny five hundred grams of investment gold she had struggled to save in her previous life—gold she had never even physically held—and then looking at this entire chest overflowing with gold…
Some people are born in Rome. Others are born to work like beasts of burden.
For the first time, Cui Qingshu genuinely felt that transmigrating into a novel wasn’t so bad.
In her previous life, even if she worked herself to death with perfect diligence, she could never have saved this much gold.
And there was far more than just one chest here.
She tried to count the boxes, but there were simply too many.
Her lips curled upward uncontrollably.
I want it so badly.
I want to move every last bit of this into my storage space.
Could all these boxes really contain gold? Then what was inside those larger chests?
Watching her daughter’s vivid little money-grubber expression, Lin Weihua’s eyes overflowed with gentle amusement.
She reached out and opened a large chest beside her.
Qingshu turned to look.
In the dim underground chamber, the fabric inside the chest shimmered with a soft radiant glow.
Lin Weihua gently stroked it, regret in her voice.
“What a pity. Such beautiful floating-light brocade, and we can’t use it to make clothes for you right now.”
Qingshu’s eyes widened abruptly.
Floating-light brocade!
The exact kind of luxurious brocade An Lingrong gifted Zhen Huan in Empresses in the Palace!
She could already imagine how breathtaking it would look made into hanfu or qipaos.
Even imperial consorts once coveted this fabric desperately, yet here there were more than twenty bolts packed into a single chest.
No wonder someone as selfish and self-serving as Shen Ziming had still married Su Ran’yue despite knowing the Cui family was trapped in the dangerous whirlpool of being capitalists.
The novel had used every beautiful phrase imaginable to praise their “perfect love.”
But now, staring at this mountain of gold, silver, and treasures, Qingshu mentally placed a huge question mark over that so-called perfect love.
A giant question mark.
Lin Weihua laughed softly at her daughter.
“I never realized our Nannan was such a little miser.”
“We can’t use these things now. Once the political climate loosens in a few years, I’ll give them to you. Every single bit of it is yours.”
“Alright. There’s nothing in here except gold, jewels, antiques, and paintings anyway. We still need to go to the police station, so let’s head out first.”
Qingshu looked back longingly at the mountain of treasures, turning her head repeatedly as she reluctantly followed her mother out.
Her mother had said over and over again that all of this belonged to her.
Quietly, Qingshu made a vow in her heart:
Just wait.
Since it’s all mine anyway, I’ll definitely find a chance to empty this place completely.
Not even a single strand of hair will be left for Su Ran’yue.
When the mother and daughter arrived at the police station and asked about martyr’s certificates, Cui Qingshu was stunned on the spot.
“What? You can’t apply for it at the police station?”