At daybreak, the First Madam of the Lin household rose early. After tidying herself, she attended to Master Lin as he got up.
“Dear, my younger brother has already sent over the ship tickets. It’s just that he’s never paid much attention to that girl Suyu and bought one ticket too few. I’m afraid Suyu won’t be able to go.”
The First Madam dared to say so openly because the Lin family’s chance to leave the country relied heavily on her natal family’s efforts.
“If she can’t go, then so be it,” Master Lin said indifferently. “After we leave, I’ll leave a letter and have the neighborhood office send her to her birth mother in the capital.”
She was only a concubine-born daughter—Master Lin hadn’t cared in the slightest. Moreover, with the Lin family indebted to his wife’s family, he certainly wouldn’t embarrass his wife at a time like this.
Hearing that Master Lin didn’t care whether Lin Suyu stayed or left, the First Madam was satisfied. Her movements grew gentler as she continued calmly outlining the next few days’ arrangements.
“Tomorrow I’ll dismiss the household servants. I’ll give the steward and Lin Ma some extra money so they can return to the countryside in peace. As for Suyu, give her a sum of money as well.”
“Fine. You handle it,” Master Lin replied. “Pay attention to the carriages the day after tomorrow. We have a lot of things—whatever we can’t take, hide it for now. As for the portable valuables and gold bars, bring them all.”
He had no patience to listen about Lin Suyu. At this critical moment, all he wanted was to plan their escape flawlessly.
“Dear, do we really have to hand over all the grain in our warehouses outside the city?”
During a famine, grain meant life. It was precisely because the Lin family had several full granaries that someone was willing to guarantee their departure.
“Yes. Hand it all over—leave not a single grain,” Master Lin said firmly. “As long as we make it out safely, countless good days await us. What’s a little old grain compared to that?”
People like them—capitalists—had it hard these days. Even families of third-generation poor peasants ranked higher socially. They had once believed that with factories and workshops, things would improve—but after public–private partnerships came full nationalization.
He had a strong premonition: if they didn’t leave now, they might never get another chance. With overseas relatives to rely on, their life abroad would surely be no worse than it was now.
“These next two days, have the women sew money belts to hide the gold bars. When we leave, everyone wears one. Once we arrive, we’ll put them away.”
Master Lin was about to give more instructions when frantic shouts came from outside.
“Something’s wrong, Big Brother—something’s wrong!”
The door creaked open. His second brother rushed in, panting.
“Big Brother, our—our house has been robbed. The underground vault… the vault’s been emptied. It’s all gone—all of it!”
At the end of his words, tears streamed down the Second Master’s face. Generations of the Lin family’s wealth had been stored in the secret garden vault. Now it was gone—the sky had fallen for the Lins.
Master Lin’s first thought was that his brother had gone mad. How could the secret vault possibly be emptied? With so many chests, it would take at least a full day of noisy work.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Have you lost your mind?”
“Come see for yourself!” The Second Master grabbed him and dragged him toward the garden, paying no heed to his brother’s stumbling steps.
When they arrived, all the Lin men were gathered around the rockery. Some were unaware of the secret and merely shocked to see a hole in the rockery; others—like Master Lin’s brothers—knew exactly what it meant.
“What’s going on?”
“Uncle!”
“Second Uncle!”
The clamor confirmed the truth: the Lin family’s wealth was really gone. Master Lin’s mind raced for solutions.
“What are you all crowding here for? Disperse. Third Brother, stay.”
After sending away the younger generation who didn’t know the truth, Master Lin hurried into the rockery. Inside, the vast underground vault was completely empty. Even the dust on the ground had been wiped clean.
Damn it—no traces left at all. How were they supposed to investigate now?
“Who discovered this first?” Master Lin asked, mentally reviewing possible suspects.
Originally, only he had known about the secret vault. Recently, because they needed absolute trust to move assets, he had told his two brothers.
“Big Brother, it was Xinyao,” the Second Master said. “Her shout drew us over. When we went in, the vault was already empty. I went to inform you, and Third Brother sent the unconscious Xinyao back to her room.”
The mention of Lin Xinyao being at the rockery early planted a seed of suspicion in his mind—but he wisely kept it to himself. Master Lin doted excessively on that daughter.
“Seal everyone’s mouths. No one in the Lin household is to discuss this again. Third Brother, question anyone who might have approached this area—find all suspicious people. Thieves couldn’t have emptied the vault silently overnight. Second Brother, take men and search the entire residence thoroughly.”
After issuing orders, Master Lin immediately went to see Lin Xinyao. He had cherished this daughter since childhood. Hearing she had fainted, his anxiety rivaled the pain of losing the treasure.
As for Lin Xinyao, the moment she shouted in the vault she regretted it. She had placed so much hope in that treasure—discovering it gone was a blow she couldn’t take.
“Damn it. This never happened in my previous life.”
By the original timeline, the Lin family wouldn’t move the vault’s contents until the night after tomorrow. She had gone early this morning merely to skim a portion and hide it away.
What she hadn’t expected was the rockery entrance standing wide open—and every chest inside gone. Worse, her outcry had drawn others over.
Before long, her father would come asking questions. She had to think carefully about how to answer without exposing her selfish intentions.
In her past life, the Lin family’s business empire had only succeeded because of her—yet in the end, the men took all the credit. If… if she could have capital of her own this time and act independently, could she avoid repeating that ending?
But now the capital she’d planned on was gone. Tonight’s transfer would have to be canceled.
Why was nothing going smoothly since her rebirth? She wanted Lin Suyu’s identity jade pendant—lost. She wanted the Lin family’s secret fortune—gone.
If the wealth couldn’t be recovered, after going abroad with her family, could she still carve out a golden road with money like she did before?
Before she could think further, hurried footsteps approached. The First Madam rushed in.
“Xinyao, my precious daughter! What’s wrong with you?”
Seeing her daughter lying pale on the bed, the First Madam’s heart ached. She ordered one daughter-in-law to fetch water, another to bring food.
“My girl, how did you faint? Come—have some bird’s nest porridge. I had your eldest sister-in-law make it specially for you.”
While doting on her biological daughter, she remembered Lin Suyu.
“Has Lin Suyu woken up? Tell her to come serve Xinyao. She only fell into the water—how can she be so delicate, lying in bed all day?”
“Mother, no need,” Lin Xinyao said softly. “I don’t want to see her before we leave. Just seeing her annoys me.”
She had no mood to see Lin Suyu. What she wanted was quiet—to think through her future path.
When Master Lin arrived and saw his daughter lying pale in bed, his heart softened. He asked a few questions about the vault. Lin Xinyao answered selectively and then refused to speak further.
Seeing how shaken she looked, Master Lin couldn’t bear to press her. And just like that, the matter was left unresolved.