At his words, the others followed him into the room, then worked together to shut the door.
At the same time, the gate of the seemingly unnoticed little courtyard suddenly swung open.
Two men dressed like servants peered inside, cautiously looking around.
“There’s nobody here. Are you sure you heard something inside?”
“Maybe I was mistaken?”
“You must have been! When we came, the lock on the courtyard gate was still hanging in place, and the door was closed. How could anyone else have gotten in?”
Their conversation rang especially clearly across the empty courtyard.
Inside the little house, Zhao Yushu stood cautiously by the window, keeping herself hidden and barely daring to breathe.
Someone was actually assigned to watch over this shabby little courtyard!
That meant she hadn’t come to the wrong place. It had to be here.
But if it wasn’t kept in the house, where could the thing be?
Zhao Yushu fell into thought.
Just then, the two men outside suddenly came into the courtyard. Zhao Yushu was startled.
But they didn’t seem inclined to search the house. They merely walked around the willow tree in the courtyard, drew closer to take a look, then nodded to each other and left again, locking the gate behind them.
Their actions gave Zhao Yushu a clue: First Madam’s hiding place must have something to do with the tree.
At that moment, Xiaohe’s ears twitched. “Master, those two have gone far away.”
“Good!” Zhao Yushu looked at him approvingly. “Thanks to you, we avoided them. I’ll give you credit for this!”
Xiaohe blushed. “This slave wouldn’t dare take credit. It’s only what I ought to do!”
But Zhao Yushu’s attention had already been drawn to the willow tree outside. She went over and, just like the two servants, looked up at it.
Then she noticed the soil beneath her feet. This earth…
Zhao Yushu crouched and pinched some of it between her fingers. It seemed unusually loose.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She knew where First Madam’s private assets were hidden!
“Xiaohe, all of you, come over here and dig around this tree! There has to be something buried beneath it!”
The other four immediately did as she said. To their delight, they found tools in the courtyard, apparently left there for digging. There were exactly four.
Each took a tool and began digging in the soil beneath the willow. Before long, their tools struck something hard—a chest.
They dug with renewed vigor, and soon unearthed three chests.
Zhao Yushu’s heart leaped. They’d found it!
There were three chests, two large and one small. One of the big ones was filled to the brim with gold ingots!
The other held fine jewelry and jade, gleaming with a warm luster. The last chest was small, but its contents were the most valuable of all: it was stuffed with house deeds and land deeds!
Zhao Yushu kept the deeds herself, then had the four men conceal the jewelry on their persons before leading them out of the courtyard.
After nearly being caught by those two servants earlier, she was even more cautious this time. They climbed over three walls on their way out, exhausting the four men, but successfully evading the guards.
After that, they went straight to the moneylender’s and the pawnshop, exchanging everything for silver notes.
When they counted the final sum, it came to more than a hundred thousand taels of silver! Over ten times Concubine Liu’s savings!
Zhao Yushu didn’t hesitate. The moment she had the notes, she went to the largest rouge shop in the area. After haggling, she spent most of the money on spices.
Then she rented a cart and ordered the four men to transport all the spices to the docks, where temporary warehouses were available for rent.
Once everything was done, Zhao Yushu wiped the sweat from her brow, earned from all the running around, and handed Xiaohe ten taels of silver.
“Take this. Find somewhere for the three others and yourself to stay. Have a bath and change into clean clothes. Come back here to wait for me first thing tomorrow morning.”
That was all she could do today.
The sky overhead had already darkened from dusk into evening.
It was time to return to the residence. Concubine Liu was waiting for her, and if she didn’t get back soon, her mother would start to worry.
After seeing the four men settled, Zhao Yushu set off again, hurrying back toward Zhao Residence.
When she reached Zhao Residence, she slipped into the latrine and changed back into women’s clothes. As soon as she came out, a maid came running toward her. It was Lüqiao, who served Concubine Liu.
She was in such a panic that, when she saw Zhao Yushu, she seemed to have found someone to rely on. She ran up in tears.
“Third Miss, thank goodness I found you! Please hurry back to the courtyard and see for yourself. Second Miss brought people to look for you, and when she couldn’t find you, she got angry and insisted on taking it out on Concubine Liu!”
Zhao Lubai was bullying her mother?
Zhao Yushu’s gaze turned sharp. Gathering up her skirt, she ran toward her courtyard.
“All right. I’m going back now!”
She had only just rounded the covered walkway when she heard Zhao Lubai’s commanding voice in the distance.
“Kneel properly. Keep your back straight. Your posture is so disgraceful—and who are you trying to seduce with that vixenish air? Nanny, teach her a lesson!”
The sound of a ruler striking someone followed.
Then came Concubine Liu’s quiet apologies.
Zhao Yushu’s eyes turned cold. She quickened her pace and ran into the courtyard.
“Stop! Stop right now!”
In the hazy moonlight, Zhao Lubai stood with her chin held high. Her dignified, delicate face was spoiled by the arrogance and domineering look in her eyes. Concubine Liu knelt before her, bent low and utterly humble.
An old nanny stood behind Concubine Liu, still striking her with the ruler in her hand.
Mother…
The word nearly escaped Zhao Yushu’s lips, but Concubine Liu suddenly looked back, as if sensing her, and shot her a warning glance.
Zhao Yushu understood what that look meant. The word caught in her throat, going round and round until it almost brought the taste of blood to her mouth.
“What did she do wrong? What right do you have to treat her like this?”
“Oh, who do we have here? It’s my Third Sister.”
Zhao Lubai deliberately circled Zhao Yushu, then pretended to sniff at her.
“You went to the latrine and took ages to come back. Did you fall into the pit and climb out again? Why do you smell so strange?”
Zhao Lubai and Zhao Yushu had never gotten along. Zhao Lubai had been picking on her from time to time for ages.
Before that, Zhao Yushu had fallen ill and missed the Spring Flower Banquet. Zhao Lubai had been pleased about it at first.
But at the banquet, several young ladies from official families had caught the eyes of princes and nobles and received marriage arrangements, while no one had paid Zhao Lubai any attention. Her resentment had flared up again.
Especially when she heard someone say that if Third Miss had attended the Spring Flower Banquet, she certainly wouldn’t have come away empty-handed like Zhao Lubai had. Her heart twisted with hatred.
In private, she had hoped Zhao Yushu would never recover—that she would die of her illness in that bed.
“Stop changing the subject!” Zhao Yushu had changed clothes in the latrine, and wasn’t sure whether she smelled strange, so she simply refused to discuss it with her.
“What terrible thing did Concubine Liu do? What gives you the right to make her kneel and have the nanny beat her?”
“You said it yourself: she’s a concubine. When it comes down to it, she’s just a servant in my eyes. I’m in a bad mood, so I wanted to punish her. Do I really need to come up with a reason?”
Zhao Lubai suddenly remembered that Zhao Yushu was apparently this Concubine Liu’s biological daughter.
That only made her more eager to torment her. She went over to Concubine Liu, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face.
“She’s a servant in my household. I can hit her or scold her whenever I want. What, does it hurt you to see?”
“Zhao Lubai!” Zhao Yushu charged forward, eyes red, and shoved her away. She raised her hand, ready to return the slap.
“Third Miss!” Concubine Liu cried, trying to stop her. “Second Miss is right. I’m only a lowly servant. If Second Miss is unhappy and takes it out on me, that’s only natural. Don’t let a moment’s anger ruin the harmony between sisters!”
“Mother!” Zhao Yushu couldn’t bear it any longer and finally let the word escape.
“Even if she wants to punish you, she needs a reason. How can she just pick on you for no reason at all?”
“Silence!” Concubine Liu’s eyes flashed as she rebuked her in a rush. “How many times have I told you? In this household, you have only one mother!”
Seeing the mother and daughter quarrel, Zhao Lubai finally felt some of the anger lodged in her chest dissipate. She lifted her chin and laughed.
“Zhao Yushu, now I know where your weakness lies. So you really care about this servant!”
“What did you just call her? You called her Mother? What does that make my mother, who raised you?”
“I always knew you were an ungrateful little monster, impossible to raise right. Now I’ve finally heard what you really think. Nanny, let’s go. We’ll tell Mother all about this!”
Concubine Liu’s face changed at once. She crawled on her knees to Zhao Lubai and grabbed her skirt, trying to stop her.
“Second Miss, Third Miss didn’t mean that. In her heart, she loves and respects First Madam as if she were her own mother. Please don’t misunderstand her!”
“Get away from me! What are you, to block my way?”
Zhao Lubai kicked out, striking Concubine Liu squarely in the chest. Concubine Liu toppled sideways to the ground, her face deathly pale.
But the pain in her body was nothing compared to the anguish in her heart.
Her daughter was nearly old enough to marry, and she still had to rely on First Madam’s connections to find her a good match.
If she angered First Madam now, and First Madam deliberately arranged a bad marriage for her, her daughter’s whole life would be ruined. What hope would she have then?
She couldn’t let Second Miss leave. She absolutely couldn’t let her go just like that!
She struggled back to her feet and clung to Zhao Lubai’s foot. Even after being kicked several times, she refused to let go.
“Mother! Let go of her! Let her go and tell on me—I’m not afraid of her!”
Seeing this, Zhao Yushu panicked and ran over, trying to pull Concubine Liu out from under Zhao Lubai’s feet.
Tears welled in Concubine Liu’s eyes, and her words turned pleading.
“Third Miss, please apologize to Second Miss. It wasn’t such a big deal to begin with. Why disturb First Madam over it?”
Zhao Yushu felt both heartbroken and distressed. She had thought Concubine Liu treated her poorly, so she had never paid attention to how she fared in the household.
Only now did she realize how difficult her situation was.
Zhao Lubai bullied her so brazenly. How many times had this happened before?
When Zhao Lubai moved to kick her again, Zhao Yushu finally couldn’t bear it. She rushed forward and shoved Zhao Lubai, sending her sprawling.
“Ah!” Zhao Lubai cried out, landing flat on her back. Before she could even get up, she cursed, “Zhao Yushu, you bitch! How dare you hurt me?”