Having too much money with nowhere to spend it was the normal state of things.
The gold bars and silver bricks in those boxes couldn’t be taken out casually in this era. Being poor and destitute was considered glorious; wealth was something to be hidden.
“We’ll go buy supplies tomorrow. The more we can get, the better.”
Lü Rao made her decision immediately. Once she went back up, she would visit every traitor in the Lü family who had turned their backs on them.
Whatever they had taken from the Lü family back then, she would make them return it all—piece by piece.
【Master, the floor here is paved with imperial palace–grade gold bricks. Should we dig them up too?】
Lü Rao didn’t hesitate even for a second.
“Dig.”
With Qiao Shuxin’s protagonist halo being so strong, who knew if she would somehow stumble upon this place again like in the original story?
Better to scrape the ground clean—leave not even a single brick behind.
Lü Rao didn’t just pry up the gold bricks on the floor. She even removed the decorative bricks from the walls and the ceiling tiles, all into her spatial storage.
By the time she walked out of the chamber, all that remained behind were three dusty, empty rooms.
But when she stood in front of the massive bronze gate, she paused, stroking her chin.
【Master… you’re not thinking of—】
【That’s too dangerous! What if the mechanisms inside activate?!】
“I’ll take my chances.”
As she spoke, she placed her hand on the bronze gate, closed her eyes, and focused all her attention on reconstructing the gate and the tree roots in her mind.
【Didn’t the Lü family’s ancestral rule say never to take reckless risks?!】
The system babbled nervously, terrified out of its mind, but still carefully monitored the surroundings for her.
One wrong move and it would immediately alert her.
Five minutes later.
Lü Rao suddenly opened her eyes. Her fingers curled like claws, gripping the patterns on the bronze gate as she silently commanded:
“Store.”
In an instant—
The towering bronze gate let out a deep hum and began to tremble.
The entire ground shook faintly.
Then, along with the ancient pear tree entwined around it—
Everything was pulled into her spatial storage.
A massive empty pit was left behind.
【Damn… that’s insane!!】
The system clapped wildly.
Lü Rao, however, was drenched in sweat, slightly dizzy from the mental strain. Using this ability still consumed a lot of her energy.
Just a test—but it actually worked.
She took out some pastries from her space to recover her strength, then frowned at the huge pit.
Leaving it like this would be practically announcing to the world that something was hidden here.
The safest option was to make sure no one realized the treasure had already been taken—and let them keep searching.
Lü Rao immediately moved a portion of the mountain from her space to fill the pit, then sealed it with soil.
She had plenty of earth and mountains inside her space anyway.
The system happily informed her that everything from her space was of superior quality.
“Good. Tomorrow I’ll go outside the city and dig some real soil to replace it properly.”
After that, she checked the tunnels again, taking everything she could from hidden compartments—she wouldn’t leave a single benefit for Qiao Shuxin.
By the time everything was cleaned up, over two hours had passed.
She returned through the same route, from Chaoyang Mansion back to the abandoned kitchen hut in the alley.
Changing back into her dress and wool coat with small leather boots, she packed the food box prepared by Aunt Wang, slipped in a short note, and filled it with pastries, two packets of brown sugar, a tin of malted milk, powdered milk for adults, plus a small bag of rice and millet.
Then she left the alley, walking toward the river.
At the back of the alley was a riverside path. Lü Rao followed it familiarly to a small courtyard’s back door, placed the food and grain outside, knocked lightly three times, and left through another exit.
As she turned the corner, the courtyard door quietly opened.
An elderly woman with half-white hair stepped out. Seeing the supplies, her eyes reddened immediately as she hurriedly brought them inside.
“Old man, the young miss sent things again.”
An old man barely sixty, already fully white-haired, struggled to sit up in bed. When he heard it was from Lü Rao, a faint smile appeared on his face.
“That child… she always remembers us.”
The old woman sighed. “She has the Lü family’s sense of loyalty. You only taught her for two years when she was young, yet she has never forgotten you. These past difficult years—she’s the one supporting us.”
Inside the food box, beneath the brown sugar, there was a note.
The old man’s expression turned serious after reading it.
“What is it?” the old woman asked quietly.
“She wants us to take the initiative to go down to the Northeast.”
“Relocate?” Her hand trembled.
The old man patted her hand gently.
“Don’t panic. She even left an address. It seems she herself will be sent there.”
The old woman’s heart tightened. “You’ve been investigating these past days for this? Has something really happened to the Lü family?”
The old man closed his eyes slowly and nodded.
“She has suffered a great injustice.”
After a long silence, he opened his eyes again.
“My rehabilitation is still far away. Eventually, I will be sent down anyway. If my student tells me to go there, then we will go.”
He looked at his wife. “I originally wanted to use my old connections to help her, but it seems unnecessary now. Tomorrow I’ll make arrangements. We’re going to the countryside.”
The old woman wiped her tears and nodded. “Alright. I’ll listen to you.”
Lü Rao walked out of the alley and headed back toward the Lü residence.
According to the plot she remembered, this couple would die in a labor camp half a year later.
Her teacher had once guided her in her childhood—only for two years, but he had taught her everything without reservation.
Her grandfather taught her survival; her father taught her strength. But this teacher had taught her morality, conduct, and how to be a proper person.
Once a teacher, forever a father.
And he had always been kind to her.
If she hadn’t awakened to the truth, they would have tried everything to help her during her downfall—and then ended up dying miserably in a labor camp without anyone caring for them.
【Master, don’t be sad. This time we’ll go to the same place—we’ll protect them.】
The system comforted her.
Lü Rao nodded.
Those who were good to her—she would never forget.
Anyone she wanted to protect, she would do everything in her power to protect.
At that moment, the moon hung over the willow tips.
The city was quiet, doors tightly shut, no one outside except those wearing red armbands.
Lü Rao avoided them carefully and noticed at least three groups of people secretly watching her along the way.
Near the Lü residence, even more people were hidden in the shadows.
Some were sent by Lü family relatives.
Others were from various forces in Shanghai.
All of them were after the Lü family treasure.
But none of them took her seriously—the “wasted former heir.”
“Go ahead and keep searching,” Lü Rao thought coldly, casting them a disdainful glance before pushing open the Lü residence gate.
The moment she stepped inside—
The courtyard was brightly lit and unusually lively.
The system immediately screamed:
【Holy crap, Master—HURRY—WE’VE BEEN ROBBED!!】