The atmosphere in the dining room was naturally tense during dinner that evening.
But Xia Yuhuan paid it no mind, focusing solely on her own meal.
Even so, Xia Jianyong couldn’t stand her behavior and snapped irritably, “Eat, eat, all you do is eat! Your sister is about to go to the countryside, and you’re enjoying your meal this much? Do you even have a conscience?”
Xia Yuhuan: “???”
Seriously, was Xia Jianyong out of his mind? She hadn’t provoked him—why was he lashing out at her?
Xia Yuhuan sneered, “Educated youth going to the countryside to help villagers build rural areas is a policy set by our leaders. Dad, you’re calling it ‘suffering’—seems like you have quite the opinion about our leaders.”
Hearing this, Xia Jianyong turned pale and scolded, “Stop talking nonsense! Do you realize how much trouble your words could cause me if someone overheard?”
Xia Yuhuan curled her lip, “I don’t know about that. I only know that if someone heard what you said, you’d be in just as much trouble.”
Xia Jianyong: “…”
She wasn’t wrong.
In the end, Xia Jianyong didn’t want to argue with Xia Yuhuan anymore and could only shut his mouth.
Seeing that he had quieted down, Xia Yuhuan peacefully finished her meal.
After dinner, Xia Yuhuan went straight to her room, clearly wanting nothing to do with them.
That night, Xia Jianyong sneaked out of the house, rode his bicycle to a residence deep in an alley.
Watching Xia Jianyong sneak into the courtyard, Xia Yuhuan quietly climbed onto the wall, peeking inside with just her eyes visible.
She saw Xia Jianyong fumbling around in a corner of the yard.
He actually lifted a floor tile and reached inside to retrieve something.
Xia Jianyong pulled out a wooden box.
He took two gold bars from the box, then stuffed it back into its hiding place.
Seeing signs that he was about to leave, Xia Yuhuan quickly pulled back and hid.
After locking the door, Xia Jianyong left the courtyard.
Xia Yuhuan waited a while, making sure he was truly gone and wouldn’t return, then climbed over the wall into the yard.
She went to the spot where Xia Jianyong had taken the gold and searched around.
Lifting the floor tile, she saw the hidden box inside.
She took out the top box and opened it—it was full of gold bars.
There were several more boxes underneath. Without hesitation, Xia Yuhuan hauled them all out.
Each box was packed to the brim, all filled with gold.
Xia Yuhuan was nearly blinded by the sheer amount of gold she saw.
“That bastard Xia Jianyong is truly inhuman. He took so many treasures from Xia Qingqing, yet he didn’t treat her well. Heartless scumbag.”
Xia Yuhuan muttered under her breath, then resolutely stored all the gold in her dimension.
These originally belonged to the original host’s mother, which meant they were the original host’s possessions.
Even though the original host was dead, since she now occupied her body, these items naturally belonged to her. There was no way she’d leave such treasures for Xia Jianyong to squander.
“In the original story, Xia Zhuyu later used the initial funds Xia Jianyong gave her to expand her business massively. That startup capital was huge—definitely worth more than just these few boxes of gold. There must be other items too.”
“I need to find a way to locate the rest and not leave a single penny for that scumbag.”
With that thought, Xia Yuhuan began searching the courtyard.
Unfortunately, after looking for a long time, she found nothing unusual.
Xia Yuhuan couldn’t help but grit her teeth. “If only I had some kind of foresight or treasure-hunting ability.”
If she really possessed such an extraordinary power, what treasure could she possibly fail to find?
She had merely complained offhandedly, yet she vaguely sensed something peculiar.
Xia Yuhuan abruptly turned her gaze toward the center of the courtyard.
Though it was pitch black at night, she felt as if her eyes were filled with dazzling jewels and treasures.
Instinctively, she walked toward the tree in the middle of the courtyard.
After stopping, she crouched down and tapped on the bricks on the ground.
She tapped each brick one by one and, sure enough, a few of them felt different from the others.
Xia Yuhuan’s eyes lit up, and she immediately began prying up the bricks.
Soon, she had removed them.
Beneath lay another wooden chest.
This time, however, the chest was noticeably larger. Xia Yuhuan had to remove several bricks before she could lift it out.
When she opened it, it was filled with jewelry and ornaments.
Xia Yuhuan couldn’t help but gasp.
“My God, could my luck really be this good? I just casually complained, and now I actually have a treasure-hunting ability?”
Xia Yuhuan hurriedly stored all the chests away, replaced the bricks, and then focused her attention on other parts of the courtyard.
Soon, she spotted several more glowing areas.
She dug them up one by one and, as expected, found hidden treasures in each.
Xia Yuhuan was overjoyed.
Now she was certain she could empty everything Xia Jianyong had hidden in this place.
By then, Xia Jianyong would be utterly heartbroken!
After clearing out the gold, silver, and jewels from the courtyard, Xia Yuhuan still felt unsatisfied and went to search the rooms.
She discovered two basements, from which she retrieved numerous cultural relics, antiques, and other valuable items.
Only after confirming that she had emptied the place did she stop.
At first, she had considered restoring everything to its original state after taking the items, but eventually, she couldn’t be bothered.
After all, if things vanished into thin air, it was clearly a theft. What thief would bother restoring the scene after stealing?
She certainly wouldn’t.
Thus, after Xia Yuhuan left, the courtyard was left in complete disarray.
Xia Yuhuan wasn’t sure if this was the only place where Xia Jianyong had hidden his belongings, as the wealth she had uncovered was already substantial.
But aside from following Xia Jianyong here, she didn’t know of any other locations. Even if there were more, she would have to take things one step at a time and deal with them later.
Xia Yuhuan stealthily returned to the Xia residence.
As she was going upstairs, she happened to run into Xia Zhuyu, who had gotten up in the middle of the night.
“Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? What are you doing here?” Xia Zhuyu asked with a frown.
Xia Yuhuan was grateful that, before coming upstairs, she had specifically gone into her dimension to tidy up and change into her pajamas. Otherwise, with her disheveled appearance from moving bricks and looting the treasure trove, she would have been exposed instantly.
“I went downstairs to get some water. Got a problem with that?” Xia Yuhuan retorted.
Hearing this, Xia Zhuyu frowned but said nothing more as she watched Xia Yuhuan return to her room.
Back in her room, Xia Yuhuan had no intention of sleeping. She slipped into her dimension to take stock of her gains from the night.
Earlier in the courtyard, afraid of being discovered, she hadn’t opened every chest to inspect its contents. Later, she had simply stored any chest she saw directly into her dimension, without bothering to check.
Only now, in a completely safe environment, did she have the peace of mind to examine her loot.
Among the collected items, they could roughly be categorized into gold, jewelry, antiques, and cultural relics—covering almost all types of valuable objects.
Xia Yuhuan rummaged through the items, growing angrier with each passing moment.
“Hmph, Xia Jianyong is utterly shameless. How dare he use his deceased wife’s inheritance to support his mistress and illegitimate daughter? It’s disgusting.”
“No way. I absolutely cannot let Xia Jianyong get promoted smoothly as in the original storyline. I must find a way to block his promotion.”