【Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the female lead’s four rosewood dowry boxes.】
Lu Rao immersed her consciousness into the space and checked. As expected, the four boxes that Qiao Shuxin had taken were now inside.
This was triggered by the system’s “loot pickup” effect right when she slapped Qiao Shuxin earlier.
Lu Rao couldn’t help but praise the system a few times.
It was seriously too capable.
This saved her the trouble of sneaking over in the middle of the night to retrieve them.
She checked the contents—everything was intact.
Only the dragon-and-phoenix jade pendant was placed on top of the boxes.
【Qiao Shuxin must have taken the jade pendant out earlier or stored it somewhere else. The system considered the entire set as one bundle, so it was all transferred together.】
The system analyzed.
“So that’s how it is. Looks like Gu Yucheng failed to snatch it from Qiao Shuxin back then. Since they care so much about that jade pendant, then they should keep fighting over it.”
A cold glint flashed in Lu Rao’s eyes.
【Host, you’re plotting something bad!】
Lu Rao raised a brow, checked on Lu Fengtang and the four unconscious men, and seeing that they were still out cold, withdrew her consciousness.
At this moment.
Her room floor was filled with items Qiao Shuxin had moved in.
All familiar things—belonging to the Lu family. Some were even taken from her father’s room.
Lu Rao didn’t hesitate and stored them all into the space.
“System, now that the treasure is secured and Dad is found, we’ll leave the Lu family tomorrow. The longer we stay, the more dangerous it becomes.”
【Agreed! We leave tomorrow?】
“Yes. Tomorrow morning. Before we leave, we’ll take everything we need.”
Lu Rao already had a plan.
Sleep early tonight, and move at dawn when everyone’s vigilance is lowest.
Tomorrow morning, before anyone in the manor wakes up, she would also restore the missing pear tree in the backyard.
Worried that keeping Lu Fengtang in the space too long without visible recovery might raise suspicion, Lu Rao decided to first release him from the space.
She did not intend to tell anyone about the space. Otherwise, she would have to explain it—and that might lead her father to deduce the “storyline,” and realize she was destined to die tragically in it.
Her father would go insane if he knew that.
Not a single word could be revealed.
No choice—Lu Zhenxing, the old fox, raised Lu Fengtang, a smaller fox. The father-daughter pair were infamous nationwide.
Lu Rao knew very well—she couldn’t outscheme her own father.
Inside the secret chamber, Lu Rao carried Lu Fengtang out along with the bed.
He was still unconscious, breathing steady, showing no signs of waking.
She fed him more ginseng soup and porridge, then brought out another bed and decided to stay there overnight to guard him.
Outside.
Qiao Shuxin had been standing outside Lu Rao’s room for a long time, but no one opened the door. Her eyes turned red with anger.
“Miss…” Li Jianye looked at her with pity.
Qiao Shuxin glanced at him. Thinking of how he was slapped earlier, a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes.
She had thought someone raised in the Lu family might be capable—but he couldn’t even take a single slap from Lu Rao.
Still, she quickly put on a soft, pitiful expression and wiped the blood from the corner of Li Jianye’s mouth.
“I’m sorry, Brother Li. I dragged you into this.”
Li Jianye’s face immediately turned red. “It’s not your fault.”
After a pause, he added, “Miss Lu may have a bit of a temper, but she doesn’t usually hit people. She was probably just in a bad mood today.”
Qiao Shuxin lowered her eyes, hiding the coldness in them, and nodded gently.
“I understand her.”
Yes, she understood perfectly.
That fake young lady was just lashing out helplessly.
If she were the one being kicked out of the Lu family, she would lose her temper too.
“Luckily, I still have four boxes of dowry. Lu Rao is just an empty shell—she has nothing.”
Qiao Shuxin secretly felt relieved that she hadn’t moved the boxes into Lu Rao’s room earlier.
Otherwise, getting them back would’ve been troublesome.
“Brother Li, could you please help me ask Lu Rao to return my things? I’ll move rooms after she leaves the Lu family,” she said pitifully.
Li Jianye was immediately moved. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you get them back. Go rest first.”
Qiao Shuxin nodded and returned to the guest room.
Only a few seconds later—
A scream erupted from inside.
“My things?! My four boxes of dowry are gone?!”
Downstairs.
Gu Yucheng had finally climbed out of the secret passage. After getting mocked by Xu Jia about Lu Fengtang’s missing corpse, he was already furious.
Then he returned to the Lu house—and heard Qiao Shuxin screaming upstairs.
“Damn it, she’s gone crazy!”
He rushed upstairs.
A few seconds later—
Another scream came from the guest room.
“What did you say?! It’s gone?!”
Gu Yucheng was about to lose his mind.
First, Lu Fengtang’s corpse disappeared from the underground chamber.
Now, the four treasure boxes that had been safely stored in the guest room were also gone.
He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Something was very wrong.
But in Qiao Shuxin’s eyes, his reaction looked like guilt.
“No… I can’t fall out with him yet.”
She forced herself to stay calm.
From this moment on, she suspected everyone in the Lu family.
“How did the things disappear? Was it Lu Rao? Has she come back?” Gu Yucheng asked urgently.
The moment Qiao Shuxin heard Lu Rao’s name, anger surged.
But she quickly suppressed it.
Lu Rao had already returned and argued with her in the hallway—there was no chance she had gone into the guest room.
Qiao Shuxin gritted her teeth.
“She came back a long time ago.”
Gu Yucheng frowned at her tone, then looked at her swollen face. His expression darkened completely.
“You fought with Lu Rao? Didn’t I warn you not to provoke her before she leaves the Lu family?”
He was almost ready to strangle her.
Qiao Shuxin’s anger also flared.
“I was just taking back what belongs to me—what’s wrong with that?”
“What belongs to you in the Lu family?” Gu Yucheng lowered his voice. “Don’t forget—you’re just my illegitimate daughter. Do you really think you’re the young lady of the Lu family?”
The word illegitimate hit Qiao Shuxin like a knife.
Then she suddenly remembered Lu Rao’s words earlier—Go ask your father why I dare hit you.
Suspicion flickered in her mind.
“Why does Lu Rao have so much confidence? You’re the one who keeps saying she’ll definitely be kicked out—so why are you so afraid of her?”
A killing blow to the heart.
Gu Yucheng’s face turned ashen with rage.