“Madam, there’s no need to be angry. Once we find a similar corpse, we can simply say the person is gone and bury it. After all, the second young lady’s marriage is already settled. With your father backing it, even the Noble Consort cannot oppose this marriage.”
The speaker was Nanny Fang.
“Good, you handle this matter. During this time, spread the word that we received news from a human trafficker—she was sold to a filthy place and then resold who knows where. By then, even if someone could find her, I don’t believe such a reputation would still qualify her to be chosen as a princess consort.”
The woman sneered. Dressed in a red gown and adorned with hairpins and jewelry, she looked exceedingly wealthy. However, in memory, her face was mostly filled with anger—punishing the original host, locking her in a dark room, withholding food. Now, her smiling face seemed even more terrifying.
So, the original host was the eldest young lady of the Shen residence, abused since childhood and later sold off by a maidservant of this household.
Could she really be their biological daughter? Shen Xixi doubted it.
“By the way, Shen Zhiqiu has arrived, and he brought a little girl who looks somewhat like the eldest young lady, but her face is covered in scars. Should we take her in?”
“Shen Zhiqiu is troublesome. If that girl were to die here, we might be blamed for it. It’s better to buy someone without any relatives to ensure nothing goes wrong.”
Upon hearing Madam Shen’s words, Shen Xixi felt a chill run through her body. Madam Shen wanted to find a corpse resembling the original host, and just then, Grandpa had brought her here. Was this a coincidence?
The rest of the conversation was nothing more than recounting how Shen Zhiqiu’s father and Prefect Shen’s family were neighbors back in the day, and their fathers were cousins.
During the famine years, Shen Zhiqiu’s family gave two pieces of flatbread, saving the lives of Prefect Shen’s entire family.
Over the years, Shen Zhiqiu would occasionally visit to reminisce and remind them of this debt of gratitude.
This time, it was unclear what he would ask for.
“What else could it be? The newly appointed county magistrate sent a letter a few days ago, testing the waters to see if we should take care of this distant relative!”
Nanny Fang curled her lip.
“Hmph, what use is this person? Back then, he ruined his reputation over a courtesan and lost the qualification to continue the imperial examinations. For so many years, he has been of no use to the master, yet we still owe him a favor. Fine, I’ll go meet him!”
The woman said, leading Nanny Fang out.
Shen Xixi’s expression darkened. Even after six years, she dared not appear directly before Prefect Shen’s wife, Chen Xue.
After the two had walked away, Shen Xixi activated the System.
“System, scan the entire Shen residence for valuable items!”
“Understood, Master. Initiating scan of the Shen residence!”
In just a few moments, a map of the entire Shen residence appeared on the system panel.
Apart from the Shen family’s treasury, there were many valuable items in the rooms of each of the masters.
Especially in the room of the Shen matriarch, Chen Xue, there was a hidden chamber storing numerous treasures.
In Prefect Shen’s study, there was also a hidden chamber filled entirely with books. However, the walls inside were hollow, large enough for a person to pass through, and they were packed to the brim with gold, silver, and various rare treasures.
“Take it all, take it all, take all these hidden items!”
Shen Xixi left behind the various rare antiques, calligraphy, and paintings in the treasury but took away the vast amounts of money and treasures the Shen residence had truly hidden away.
She would have liked to take everything cleanly, but she worried that the theft of the money would soon be discovered, and both she and Shen Zhiqiou would inevitably be suspected.
Pursing her lips, she thought, “Consider it a bargain for you all—I’ll leave some family assets behind!”
Shen Xixi was overjoyed. “System, tally up the value of these items!”
“The total value is 1.25 million taels of silver, Master. You’ve struck it rich! In the system panel, you can exchange for many things. Now that you have money, don’t hold back on yourself!”
The crisp, youthful voice of the little boy was filled with delight. On the control panel, the adorable two-dimensional boy happily tumbled and leaped about, brimming with joy.
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“Madam, there is no need to be angry. Once we find a similar corpse, we will just say she is gone and bury her. In any case, the Second Young Lady’s marriage is settled. With your father’s backing, even Her Imperial Grace the Noble Consort cannot object to this union.”
The speaker was Nanny Fang.
“Fine, you see to it. Over the next few days, spread word that we heard from a human trafficker that she was sold to a filthy place and has been moved around so many times that her whereabouts are unknown. Even if she is found later, I refuse to believe she could still be selected as a Prince’s Consort with such a reputation.”
The woman sneered. Dressed in a long red robe and adorned with hairpins, she looked extremely wealthy. However, in the original owner’s memories, this face was mostly filled with rage—punishing her, locking her in dark rooms, and starving her. Seeing her smile now was even more terrifying.
So, the original owner was the Eldest Young Lady of the Shen residence who had been abused since childhood and was later sold off by the family’s maidservants.
Was she really their biological child? Shen Xixi expressed her doubts.
“By the way, Shen Zhiqiou has arrived. He brought a young girl with him who looks somewhat like the Eldest Young Lady, but her face is covered in scars. Should we take her in?”
“Shen Zhiqiou is a nuisance. If that girl dies here, he’ll probably try to extort us. It’s better to buy someone without any relatives to ensure nothing goes wrong.”
Hearing Madam Shen’s words, Shen Xixi felt a chill run through her. Madam Shen wanted to find a corpse that looked like the original owner, and Grandpa had just brought her here. Was this a coincidence?
The conversation that followed was nothing more than how Shen Zhiqiou’s father and the Prefect’s family had been neighbors, their fathers being cousins. During the famine years ago, Shen Zhiqiou’s family had given them two flatbreads, saving the lives of the Prefect’s entire family. Over the years, they would occasionally visit to reminisce and bring up this debt of gratitude. It was unclear what they were asking for this time.
“What else could it be? Didn’t the new County Magistrate send a letter a few days ago to test the waters, seeing if he should help look after this distant relative?” Nanny Fang curled her lip.
“Hmph, what use is he? Years ago, he ruined his reputation for the sake of a courtesan and lost his eligibility to continue the imperial examinations. After all these years, he hasn’t been of any use to the Master, yet we still owe him a favor. Fine, I suppose I should go see him.”
With that, the woman walked out, followed by Nanny Fang.
Shen Xixi’s expression was grim. Even though six years had passed, she didn’t dare appear directly before Chen Xue, the wife of Prefect Shen. Once the two had walked far enough away, Shen Xixi activated the System.
“System, scan the entire Shen residence for anything valuable!”
“Understood, Master. Beginning scan of the Shen residence!”
Within a few breaths, a map of the entire Shen residence appeared on the system panel. Aside from the Shen Family’s storehouse, there were plenty of treasures in the rooms of the various masters.
Specifically, in the room of the matriarch, Chen Xue, there was a secret chamber containing many treasures. Additionally, in Prefect Shen’s study, there was a secret room filled with books, but the interior of the walls was hollow and wide enough for a person to pass through. Inside, it was packed to the brim with gold, silver, and various rare treasures.
“Collect, collect, collect! Take all these hidden things!”
Shen Xixi left the various rare antiques, paintings, and calligraphy in the storehouse but swept away the vast amounts of hidden wealth and treasures. She wanted to strip the place clean, but she worried that the theft of so much money would be discovered too quickly. If that happened, she and Shen Zhiqiou would definitely be suspected.
She curled her lip. “Consider yourselves lucky. I’ll leave you some of your family assets.”
Shen Xixi was incredibly happy. “System, calculate the value of these items!”
“The total value is 1.25 million taels of silver. Master, you’ve struck it rich! You can exchange for many things in the system panel. Now that you’re wealthy, don’t mistreat yourself!”
The crisp voice of a young boy was full of joy. On the Control Panel, a cute 2D boy tumbled and jumped happily.