“What a slut. The older you get, the more charming you become. All these years, Lin Chennian really had it good.”
“Brother Qiang, how am I old? I’ve always belonged to you. Other than that one time when I drugged him, he never touched me again.”
“Tsk, maybe he just wasn’t capable. Still, he was lucky—one try and it succeeded. Otherwise the Lin family line would’ve ended.”
So all these years, the two of them had secretly been having an affair behind the Lin family’s back.
Not only had they eaten and lived off the Lin family, they were also utterly shameless.
No wonder Father had always kept the certificates and passbooks himself, only giving out money but never handing over the actual savings books.
Clearly, Father had never trusted Su Ya all these years.
It was only because she herself had been too foolish, never thinking deeply about it.
No wonder she had been deceived so miserably in her previous life.
After Father died, he had directly handed everything to her and repeatedly warned her never to give them to Su Ya or Su Yun.
“Brother Qiang, everything has already been arranged with that little bitch. Tomorrow, with everyone watching, she won’t be able to deny anything. Once we kick her out, the Lin Residence will belong to us, and so will the Lin family fortune.”
“Since the last plan failed, I even heard the newly appointed deputy director likes young girls. I was planning to send her over to him. But now… I suppose we’ll let her off easy.”
“That Wu Jianguo isn’t a good person either. I heard his previous wife was beaten to death by him.”
“That girl Yun’er really takes after you—equally vicious and ruthless.”
“Brother Qiang…”
“Since you’ve already arranged everything, then I’ll just wait for tomorrow. It’s still early now, so let’s do it again.”
“Mhm… Brother Qiang…”
Listening to the sounds coming from inside, Lin Zhitang truly wanted to ask Su Ya:
Is your heart made of stone?
No matter what, she was still Su Ya’s biological daughter—flesh from her own body.
Just because she wasn’t born to the man Su Ya loved, was it enough reason to scheme against her so cruelly?
Did Su Ya truly not feel even the slightest guilt toward her?
Perhaps not all parents truly loved their children.
To Su Ya, she was merely a tool used to achieve her goals.
And why would someone cherish a tool?
If that was the case, then why should she continue tormenting herself over it?
“In that case… how could I not fulfill the wishes of you two lovers?”
It was just that she wondered—
if the final result differed from what Su Ya expected, would she still be able to accept it?
Lin Zhitang lit the remaining small piece of sleeping incense and let the smoke drift inside through the crack in the door.
After a long while, she turned and headed toward the servants’ quarters behind the Lin Residence.
That’s right.
Lin Zhitang planned to use their own scheme against them.
Perfect.
It saved her the trouble of painstakingly plotting everything herself. Solving everything at once also meant she could leave Shanghai sooner.
She would not spend her entire life trapped in hatred.
They weren’t worth it.
Her future was still long ahead. In this life, she would never waste herself on people who did not love her.
The entrance to the secret chamber was hidden inside the old kitchen of the servants’ quarters behind the Lin Residence.
Back then, Grandfather had specially hired craftsmen to build it.
Grandfather and Father had both been intelligent men. Naturally, they understood the principle of “a cunning rabbit has three burrows.”
The Lin family truly had more than one hidden chamber.
There were three in total.
But this one was the most concealed and the largest.
The other two were already empty. The valuable items had all been transferred here long ago, while the rest had been donated.
Of course, the donated portion was only a fraction of the Lin family fortune.
Inside the chamber were around thirty large and small boxes containing gold bars, jewelry sets, raw gemstones, rare fabrics whose crafting methods had been lost, precious medicinal herbs, boxed tea leaves, fine liquor, and more.
Lin Zhitang did not examine them carefully.
She simply stored everything inside her space first and planned to sort through them later.
There was no immediate need to use them anyway. Keeping a low profile was safer for now.
These were all the remaining hidden assets of the Lin family.
The rest existed in the form of passbooks and factory dividend payments.
And this year happened to be the final year for receiving those fixed dividends.
Before the founding of the nation, Grandfather had already joined the revolution. Influenced by him, Eldest Uncle and Youngest Uncle also enlisted in the military.
Because of his weak health since childhood, Father became the only one left to manage the family business.
Father had continuously funded the revolutionary party, hoping Grandfather and the others would return safely.
Unfortunately, they ultimately sacrificed their short lives for the country.
After the founding of the nation, Father had also actively cooperated with government policies.
Although the Lin family were capitalists, they were considered Red Capitalists.
That was why, even after two years of political movements, nobody had yet dared openly target the Lin family.
To create the illusion that the house had been thoroughly robbed, Lin Zhitang spared no corner of the Lin Residence.
The study—
After Father’s death, she had locked it away.
Su Ya and Su Yun had repeatedly tried to enter, assuming treasures were hidden inside.
In truth, there were no treasures.
Only books.
Ironically, Father, Lin Chennian, had truly been a refined gentleman—elegant and scholarly.
Lin Zhitang’s eyes resembled his greatly.
The difference was that her eyes carried innocence, while Father’s always held wisdom.
If he had not been born in such troubled times, he surely could have achieved greatness.
What a pity.
So the most valuable things in Father’s study were the countless books and paintings.
Even the hidden compartment inside contained priceless forbidden books that could no longer be shown publicly.
As a child, Lin Zhitang had studied, practiced calligraphy, and grown up in this room.
Father once told her:
“Reading enlightens the mind. No matter what happens, never stop learning. Tangtang can study whatever she wants, but once she begins, she must never give up halfway.”
The only time Lin Zhitang had ever been beaten was because of her studies.
“Dad… you liar…”
“You promised you’d never leave Tangtang…”
“Tangtang misses you so much…”
Standing in the study, Lin Zhitang wiped away the tears that had unknowingly covered her face.
Her mind was filled entirely with memories of Father.
After a long while, she stored all the books and paintings into her space, hoping that one day these treasures could once again see the light of day.
Next was Father’s room.
Although none of the items there were particularly valuable, Lin Zhitang did not want Father’s belongings destroyed, so she stored everything carefully, even reserving a separate place for them within her space.
As for Su Ya’s room—
Father and Su Ya had slept separately for years.
Lin Zhitang searched every corner thoroughly.
There were several valuable jewelry pieces, even two complete jewelry sets.
Whether Father had given them to Su Ya or she had acquired them elsewhere, Lin Zhitang took everything.
Aside from cash, there were surprisingly two passbooks.
One containing five thousand yuan—Father had given that one to Su Ya.
But Lin Zhitang never expected Su Ya to hide another one containing eight thousand yuan.
Anything belonging to the Lin family—
not a single cent would be left behind.
That scumbag lover of hers wasn’t a good man at all. Without the Lin family fortune, how would Su Ya continue living happily ever after with her “white moonlight”?
In the kitchen storage room, she collected all the rice, flour, cured meat, oil, eggs, and other supplies.
Even the pots, bowls, coal stove, and coal briquettes were not spared.
Large household items such as the electric fan, television, bicycles, Lin Zhitang’s piano, and the valuable furniture were all taken away as well.
Leaving them outside might only result in them being destroyed anyway.
Finally, she thoroughly emptied her own room too.
Glancing at her watch, Lin Zhitang realized it was already past midnight.
She decided to rest briefly.
There were only a few hours left before the grand show would begin.
Su Ya…
This time, I am the hunter waiting behind the cicada.