Su Wanxing stepped out from the storage partition, pausing for a moment. She had originally planned to just slip out over the back wall, but then she thought: Zhang Mansion was incredibly wealthy. The main treasury surely contained vast amounts of gold, silver, and jewels; the madam’s private vault even more so. The kitchen had fresh ingredients too—all of this could provide extra security for her and the siblings’ life. Since she had already earned Master Zhang’s wrath, why not take this opportunity to “clean up” a bit and avenge the women he had harmed?
With her decision made, Su Wanxing used the lingering morning mist as cover and crept along the shadows of the corridors toward the mansion’s treasury. Through her spatial interface, she had already located it—a side courtyard on the west of the front yard, guarded by two men taking turns. At that moment, the two guards were dozing at the door, unaware of the unusual activity in the mansion.
Su Wanxing moved silently behind them, took out her anesthetic spray, and pressed lightly. A colorless, odorless mist instantly enveloped them, and without a sound, they slumped unconscious. Confirming they were completely out, she retrieved tools from her spatial pocket and pried open the treasury’s heavy lock.
The door swung open, and a strong mix of mold and precious metal scent hit her. The room was piled with crates, and the floor was stacked with silk, satin, porcelain, and jade. Her eyes lit up. Concentrating, she waved her hand, and the objects—crates, fabrics, jade—all vanished as if guided by an invisible hand, safely stored in her spatial interface.
Just then, a notice popped up: “Non-modern items detected. Cannot store in modern area. Spatial storage capacity increased; modern area item refresh disabled.” Su Wanxing realized the modern and ancient areas of her spatial interface were separated. Ancient items could only go into the ancient section, and this prevented modern items from refreshing—but she didn’t mind. As long as she could fit everything, that was enough.
After clearing the treasury, she headed to the madam’s private vault in the central courtyard. The vault, in a side room, had a finely crafted bronze lock and a maid guarding the door. Su Wanxing hid behind a column and, during the brief moment the maid turned to fetch water, quickly sprayed her with the anesthetic, then used her universal lockpick to open the bronze lock and enter.
Inside, the private vault was even more luxurious than the main treasury. Jewelry adorned the dressing tables, and boxes contained high-quality silks and silver notes. Su Wanxing made no hesitation—everything went into her spatial interface. Looking at the mountain of loot accumulating inside, she nodded with satisfaction. This trip to Zhang Mansion had been worthwhile.
Next was the kitchen. By now, it had come to life with servants preparing breakfast. Fresh ingredients—chicken, duck, fish, vegetables, fruits, rice, and flour—covered the tables. Su Wanxing used the kitchen’s chaos to slip in unnoticed, taking all the ingredients from the counters and storage into her spatial interface.
With her task complete, she felt no attachment. She scaled the back wall and headed toward Su Family Hollow. She didn’t know that behind her, Zhang Mansion had descended into total chaos.
First, the treasury guards awoke to find the doors wide open and all the contents gone. Panicked, they ran to report to the steward. Then the madam’s maid discovered the private vault had been emptied and wept as she informed her mistress. Kitchen staff reported all the ingredients missing.
The steward received these successive reports, pale as a ghost, and hurried to Zhang Mansion’s master’s bedroom. Knocking repeatedly, there was no response. A bad feeling gnawed at him. He forced the door open—and what he saw nearly made him collapse.
The bedroom was a scene of chaos: clothes scattered, three people tearing at each other, making disturbing noises. The steward quickly retreated, covering his nose, horrified.
After a while, the commotion subsided. Master Zhang lay on the floor, dizzy and weak. Struggling to rise, he felt excruciating pain below.
The madam arrived, furious after learning of the private vault robbery. She froze at the scene and trembled with rage, pointing at Zhang: “Zhang Wancai! Shameless old man! How could you do such vile acts!”
Already weakened, Zhang’s anger flared. “Shut up! If I hadn’t married concubines, it would be because you never bore me a son! Don’t think you can scold me here!” The steward reminded him of the treasury and private vault theft.
Hearing that both had been looted, the madam panicked and stopped yelling at him, ordering people to assess the losses. The steward reported—gold, silver, jewels, silks, jewelry, and silver notes from both the treasury and private vault were gone. The conservative estimate: over a million taels of silver.
Zhang Mansion’s master was furious, spitting blood. He tried to summon the doctor. When the doctor arrived and took his pulse, her face grew increasingly grave.
“Master Zhang, your body… is failing. The lower body has suffered irreversible damage. You can never have offspring again, and may even struggle to walk normally in the future.”
“What?” Zhang Wancai collapsed, staring blankly. “Impossible! How could this happen?” Suddenly, he recalled the strange events in the bedroom the day before—the odd smell—and realized, “That woman! Su Wanxing! She did this!”
But then he realized it was Su Baozhu brought, not Su Wanxing. He glanced at the barely conscious Su Baozhu and Li Cuihua on the floor, and his fury boiled over. It was these two scoundrels! They had caused this!
“Bring them out! Sell these two wretches to the lowest brothel! They shall never rise again!”
Su Baozhu and Li Cuihua slowly regained awareness. Hearing his words, they were terrified, kneeling and begging: “Master Zhang, please spare us! We didn’t do it on purpose! Forgive us!”
But Zhang was unmoved. The servants dragged them out like dead dogs. Su Baozhu screamed as she struggled, “Zhang Wancai! You’ll die a horrible death! I won’t forgive you even as a ghost!” Li Cuihua muttered incessantly, “Sin… sin…”
Zhang immediately ordered the steward to send people to Su Family Hollow to demand revenge.
Meanwhile, Su Wanxing had returned to Su Family Hollow. Standing at the village entrance, looking at the familiar village, her expression was calm. She knew Zhang Mansion’s people would soon come seeking revenge, and Su Family Hollow would descend into chaos.
Su Wanxing realized that Li Cuihua and Su Baozhu likely carried hidden cash and the family’s money. Since these funds were already ill-gotten, she decided to retrieve them before Zhang Mansion’s people arrived. Otherwise, the money would fall into their hands.
Decision made, Su Wanxing moved toward the Su family’s old residence. Inside, the first and second uncles’ households were still arguing over Zhang Mansion’s pursuit the previous day, unaware that Li Cuihua and Su Baozhu had been sent to the brothel, and unaware that the mansion would soon come back to settle scores.
Hiding outside the courtyard wall, Su Wanxing confirmed everyone was in the main hall. A cold smile curved her lips as she slipped over the wall and headed for the room of the malicious mother and daughter.