“You don’t need to worry about what’s happening at Zhang Mansion!” Su Baozhu threw the knockout powder onto the table. “This time I’m giving you a chance to make up for your mistake. This is knockout powder. Tonight you’ll go to Su Wanxing’s house again. When she’s asleep, blow the powder into the room. Once she passes out, tie her up and take her to Zhang Mansion. If you mess this up again, not only will you get no money, neither Zhang Mansion nor I will spare you!”
Li San, Wang Wu, and the others stared at the knockout powder on the table, both afraid and greedy. They feared another mistake, but they also wanted the remaining three taels of silver. After weighing their options, they finally nodded.
“Alright! Miss Baozhu, this time we’ll be careful. We guarantee we’ll bring Su Wanxing to Zhang Mansion!”
Su Baozhu nodded in satisfaction, reminded them of several details, and then returned to the old residence. What she didn’t know was that her conspiracy with Li San and the others had already been transmitted word for word to Su Wanxing through the miniature cameras.
At this moment, Su Wanxing had just lulled Su Wanfeng and his younger sibling to sleep. Leaning by the bedside, she watched the entire conspiracy at the Su family’s old residence through the monitoring images in her mind. Her eyes were as cold as ice.
“They really never learn. After kidnapping the wrong person last time, they still didn’t learn their lesson. Now they even want to use drugs?”
A cold smile appeared on Su Wanxing’s lips.
“Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll fulfill your wish.”
She stepped into the courtyard and, under the moonlight, checked the gate and windows. Then she took out several items from her space: a small gas mask, a bottle of powerful anesthetic spray, a set of black coarse cloth clothing, and a pair of cloth shoes with hidden height boosters—things she had prepared long ago just in case.
Su Wanxing hid the anesthetic spray at her waist and placed the gas mask somewhere easily accessible. She knew Li San and the others would definitely come tonight. There was no need for her to take the initiative—she only needed to wait for them.
Late at night, everything was silent. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, and the world was shrouded in darkness. Li San, Wang Wu, and the others arrived as expected. They crouched low and quietly approached the wall outside Su Wanxing’s courtyard.
Wang Wu took out a small shovel and carefully began digging the soil at the base of the wall, planning to make a hole to crawl through. Li San held the knockout powder Su Baozhu had given him, ready to blow it into the room once the hole was opened.
Just as Wang Wu had dug halfway through, Su Wanxing suddenly pushed open the door and stepped outside.
“You sneaked into my home in the middle of the night. What are you trying to do?”
Her voice was cold and clear, especially sharp in the silent night.
Li San and Wang Wu jumped in fright. When they turned around and saw that Su Wanxing was alone, they immediately relaxed. Li San said viciously:
“Su Wanxing, if you know what’s good for you, come with us. Otherwise don’t blame us for being rude!”
“Rude? What can you possibly do to me?” Su Wanxing sneered with disdain.
Seeing this, Wang Wu raised his shovel and charged forward.
“You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Brothers, get her!”
But before they could rush forward, Su Wanxing had already put on the gas mask. She quickly took out the anesthetic spray from her waist and pressed it lightly toward them.
A colorless and odorless mist spread instantly. Li San, Wang Wu, and the others had barely inhaled once before they felt dizzy and weak. One by one, they collapsed onto the ground with dull thuds and quickly lost consciousness.
Su Wanxing put away the spray, removed the gas mask, and walked over to kick them lightly. After confirming they had all fainted, she nodded in satisfaction.
Concentrating her mind, she collected Li San, Wang Wu, and the others into the Intelligent Myriad Space. The space could not only store objects but also temporarily imprison living people. When dawn came, she planned to throw these thugs deep into the mountains and let them fend for themselves.
After dealing with Li San and the others, Su Wanxing’s eyes darkened as she turned toward the direction of the Su family’s old residence.
Since Su Baozhu had repeatedly tried to harm her, she would personally “invite” Su Baozhu and let her taste the consequences of her own schemes.
Because the people in the Su family’s old residence were waiting for news from Li San and the others, none of them slept deeply. Under the cover of night, Su Wanxing easily climbed over the courtyard wall and headed straight for Su Baozhu’s room.
Su Baozhu was lying on her bed, fantasizing about the wealthy life she would have after getting the 200 taels of silver, completely unaware of the danger approaching.
Su Wanxing quietly pushed open the door and walked to the bedside.
Hearing the sound, Su Baozhu suddenly opened her eyes.
“Who’s there?”
Before she could react, Su Wanxing had already taken out the anesthetic spray and sprayed it at her. Su Baozhu felt her vision go dark and fainted before she could even cry for help.
Su Wanxing placed the unconscious Su Baozhu into her space and silently left the old residence. After returning home, she placed Su Baozhu in the courtyard and quickly changed into the prepared black coarse clothing and the height-boosting cloth shoes, making herself appear much taller.
She covered her face with black cloth, leaving only her eyes visible, and deliberately lowered her voice to make it sound rough and hoarse, like a fierce kidnapper.
After everything was ready, she headed toward the county town.
She knew someone from Zhang Mansion would be waiting to receive the person. All she needed to do was deliver Su Baozhu as “Su Wanxing” to them and then find an opportunity to sneak into Zhang Mansion and investigate.
By the time dawn was approaching, Su Wanxing finally arrived at the gate of Zhang Mansion. Sure enough, the steward from last time stood there with two guards waiting.
When he saw Su Wanxing carrying someone, the steward hurried forward.
“You brought the person? You didn’t kidnap the wrong one again, did you?”
Su Wanxing deliberately answered in a hoarse voice:
“Don’t worry. This time it’s definitely Su Wanxing. We used knockout powder. She hasn’t woken up yet.”
The steward stepped forward and looked at Su Baozhu’s face in the morning light. Since Su Baozhu was young and fair-skinned, and because she was unconscious and pale, the steward didn’t examine her carefully. Her figure also looked like that of a young girl, so he nodded.
“Good! Hand her over to us. You can leave.”
“Wait,” Su Wanxing said. “We took a big risk kidnapping her. What about the reward we were promised?”
“You’ll get it!” the steward said impatiently. He took three taels of silver from his sleeve and tossed it to her. “Take the money and leave quickly. Don’t cause trouble here.”
Su Wanxing caught the silver, weighed it in her hand, and said:
“Alright. Since we’ve received the reward, we’ll take our leave.”
The steward then ordered the two guards:
“Take her to the woodshed in the back courtyard and lock her up. We’ll deal with her after Master Zhang wakes up.”
Watching the two guards carry Su Baozhu toward the back courtyard, the steward turned back to the gate and kept watch outside.
Su Wanxing took a deep breath. In a flash, she moved like a nimble cat, quickly climbing over the wall, passing through the front courtyard corridor, and slipping toward the middle courtyard.
She wanted to investigate Master Zhang and learn more about Zhang Mansion. After all, this man not only bought women as concubines but was also domineering and tyrannical. It was likely she would have dealings with him again in the future.
At this hour, most people in Zhang Mansion were still asleep. The courtyard was quiet, with only a few early-rising servants sweeping the ground. Using the pillars of the corridor and the rockeries as cover, Su Wanxing carefully moved forward, watching her surroundings cautiously as she slowly approached the middle courtyard.
A greater storm was quietly brewing inside Zhang Mansion.