As soon as she opened the door, Chaochao saw that this storeroom was filled with crates. Inside were all kinds of fabrics her Silly Dad often procured for her, as well as some fine furs.
Red, white, and yellow, large and intact, gleaming and smooth, soft and fluffy. Chaochao stared at them and sighed inwardly. How many little cuties must have died for these? But they were already dead, so with the mindset of not wasting anything, she scanned them all into her backpack.
After finishing three storerooms, she remembered that there were still two untouched on the other side. Chaochao hurried out of the empty storeroom, ready to continue her battle. Unexpectedly, just as she reached the doorway of the central storeroom, a familiar figure appeared outside the courtyard gate.
The other person spotted her from far away, his eyes filling with surprise and his voice full of astonishment.
“Chaochao?”
The beloved daughter he had searched everywhere for had actually appeared alone in the storerooms.
Li Zelin was greatly shocked, but he did not think too much about it. His daughter was what mattered. He hitched up his robes and, nearly missing her, swiftly turned around and hurried toward her.
“Baby, your dad has been looking for you for so long. How did you end up here?”
Huh? What did he mean by that? He actually had the nerve to say that to her? She had been desperately looking for him, all right! Silly Dad really was Silly Dad!
Chaochao rolled her eyes. Silly Dad did not notice at all. His face was full of delight at finding his daughter, and he quickened his steps even more. He crossed the courtyard gate and ran through the yard. Just as he was about to reach her, Li Zelin opened his mouth.
“Good girl, you weren’t frightened—”
Bang!
“Ow!”
Chaochao…
Her Silly Dad had been right in front of her, yet had suddenly performed a grand salute by falling flat on his face.
Chaochao stared blankly.
With her little mouth hanging open, she looked at the foolish-looking man in front of her, utterly bewildered. How could he have fallen? How could he have fallen on perfectly level ground? As expected of Silly Dad? Right?
Afraid that he had frightened her, her Silly Dad hurriedly lifted his head before even getting up and looked at her with a reassuring smile.
“Hehe, good girl, Dad’s fine. Hehe, it doesn’t hurt. Hehe…”
Chaochao simply could not bear to look. She deeply doubted her mother’s taste.
Was this really the man her mother had painstakingly chosen after making countless selections?
What talent that surpassed others? What cool, handsome, magnificent bearing? What irresistible Third-Ranked Scholar? Heh!
Chaochao had absolutely no doubt that her mother had chosen Silly Dad solely because of this face of his!
“Silly Dad, Silly Dad, silly, silly, silly…”
Seeing his daughter’s dazed expression, Li Zelin could not help feeling heartbroken.
Ever since his wife had passed away, his daughter had lost her mother and become dazed and foolish. His heart ached terribly.
Because of his parents’ attitude and for the sake of his daughter’s reputation, he had no choice but to use grief as an excuse to drown himself in alcohol, going out every day to search everywhere for famous physicians. Unfortunately, there had never been any results. And now that the Earl Wending’s Residence was being confiscated, he was afraid that… No, he could not think about it!
Li Zelin’s eyes dimmed. He waved away Huahua, who was darting around overhead and squawking, then put on a smile and hurriedly got to his feet, reaching out to pull his daughter up.
“Good girl, Dad doesn’t hurt. Good girl, Dad will take you…”
“Who goes there? The Earl’s residence is being confiscated. Everyone is to be taken into custody. Who are you? State your name!”
They had come so quickly!
His hand had only just reached his daughter when a sharp shout came from behind him.
Immediately afterward, the sounds of numerous approaching footsteps followed one after another. Li Zelin was secretly startled. As he instinctively pulled his daughter tightly into his arms, he saw the open storeroom doors behind her. His heart gave a sudden leap, and he thought, This is bad.
Could his beloved daughter have inherited his wife’s secret technique?
Otherwise, how could one explain why the child had appeared here while the residence was in chaos? And why the storerooms that should have been packed full were now completely empty?
Thinking of how strange objects would constantly appear and disappear from his wife’s hands, Li Zelin instinctively held his only daughter tighter. His thoughts flashed rapidly, and his eyes shifted. Then, holding his daughter, Li Zelin began to wail loudly.
“My child, my child, it’s all your dad’s fault! Your dad was a fool! I shouldn’t have done it! If I hadn’t gotten drunk and indulged in pleasure every day, been cheated, and squandered our family fortune!
“It’s all Dad’s fault! I made you worry about making a living at such a young age!
“It’s all Dad’s fault. I shouldn’t have come to the storeroom to steal silver and made you worry yourself sick at such a young age!
“Dad was wrong! Dad won’t dare do it again! My child, when we go back, you have to keep this secret for Dad. Whatever you do, don’t tell your grandfather and grandmother. Otherwise, your grandfather and grandmother will probably break Dad’s legs!”
Huahua, who had flown high and far away the moment the atmosphere turned strange and was now hiding, poked its head out from the roof tiles. It could not bear to look at its male master’s foolish behavior.
The Embroidered Guards who had just arrived also turned away one after another, unable to look directly at the scene.
“What kind of person is this? He’s a grown man, yet he’s not even as sensible as a half-grown child!”
The Embroidered Guard commander could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth. He repeatedly sized up the man before him, who was clutching a child and crying so hard that his nose was running and tears were streaming down his face. He wondered whether this person might be putting on an act. How did he resemble the dashing and graceful Third-Ranked Scholar of years past in the slightest?
“Commander, the three storerooms are empty. Judging by the traces inside, there isn’t even any dust. They must have been emptied not long ago.”
Upon hearing this, the commander could not help clicking his tongue. He looked at Li Zelin and shook his head in pained disappointment.
What a wastrel! Who knew what those three emptied storerooms had once contained? Fortunately, the two storerooms next door still had their doors locked, so there ought to be something inside.
The commander glanced at the man crying miserably while holding the dazed little girl. Disgust flashed through his eyes. Seeing that there was nothing beside the father and daughter, he had no intention of making an issue of it.
After all, in his view, the father and daughter had nothing in their hands and could not have taken many valuables. There were no signs of disturbance in the storerooms either. Even if they had hidden something, it could not be much, and they would be searched later anyway. They could not escape inspection, so there was no need to waste time on them. The confiscation was more important.
Thus, the commander waved his hand and sent two subordinates to escort the father and daughter to the front courtyard, where they would join the other prisoners and await the commanding commissioner’s verification of their identities. At the same time, he ordered the remaining men to thoroughly search the two storerooms.
When Li Zelin saw this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Holding his daughter, he hurried away. Before they had even left the courtyard, the two storerooms behind them were opened one after another. The Embroidered Guards swarmed inside, and before long, they began carrying out valuable treasures.
Being carried along by Silly Dad, Chaochao watched helplessly as one fine item after another was brought out of the two storerooms she had missed. The little girl could not help baring her teeth in pain. When she saw two men carrying out a blood-red coral tree taller than a person, Chaochao instinctively covered her heart with one small hand.
Such a pretty red tree—and she had missed it?
By comparison, the silver, furs, and medicinal materials she had just collected suddenly did not seem appealing at all!
What terrible luck she had! Just as Mother had said, she had not inherited Mother’s koi-like good fortune.
Chaochao drooped her head dejectedly against Silly Dad’s shoulder. The moment she did, she unexpectedly met the gaze of the Embroidered Guard commander.
Chaochao instinctively tightened both arms around Silly Dad’s neck, puzzled. Why was this fierce-looking man staring at her like that?
The commander: Seeing that the remaining two storerooms were filled with such magnificent treasures, then looking at the three empty storerooms next door that had been squandered away, made his liver ache. What an enormous fortune that must have been!
The Earl Wending’s Residence was guilty of one more offense!
At the same time, the entire Earl Wending’s Residence, inside and out, was crawling with Embroidered Guards. Some were confiscating the residence, while others were arresting people. It could be said that, apart from Sister Qiuxiang and the others whom Chaochao had promptly sent away, every other servant had been apprehended.
The wicked nanny and the others who had believed they had successfully escaped through a side entrance were all seized by the Embroidered Guards surrounding the residence. Their possessions were confiscated, and they were dragged back like dead dogs. After their identities were verified and they had been questioned, they were each kicked a few times before being tossed into the group of female servants for company.
Meanwhile, Chaochao, who was being carried by Silly Dad and escorted toward the front courtyard by two solemn Embroidered Guards, knew nothing of this.
Because the maids and female servants had scrambled for valuables and fled in all directions, the Embroidered Guards carrying out the confiscation had instinctively assumed that people were concealing private belongings or escaping with valuables. By an ironic twist of fate, this had cleared away Chaochao’s loose ends for her and saved her the effort.