Gu Yucheng didn’t dare explain to Qiao Shuxin the truth—that even if Lu Rao was not of Lu blood, she could still inherit the Lu family.
But he, the so-called Second Master of the Lu family, was nothing more than an adopted son with no blood relation at all—he didn’t even have the qualification to inherit anything.
If he said that, would Qiao Shuxin still stay on his side?
What he feared most was that she would turn to Lu Rao instead and work against him.
He had been in the Lu family for over thirty years—he had seen this kind of thing too many times.
“This is none of your concern. Just stay away from Lu Rao as much as possible!” Gu Yucheng said sternly.
Qiao Shuxin, however, only became more suspicious the more he tried to shut her down.
“This scumbag is definitely hiding something from me. He probably just doesn’t want me to get my hands on the Lu family treasure.”
She silently made up her mind to investigate further.
The more Gu Yucheng tried to hide it, the more she would dig.
The two confronted each other for a while, when suddenly Gu Yucheng reacted—he grabbed Qiao Shuxin by the hair and snarled:
“Little bitch, are you deliberately changing the topic? Tell me—did you hide the things?”
He regretted not immediately reclaiming the boxes earlier while dealing with Lu Fengtang’s situation.
Now the items were gone—was he supposed to go overseas empty-handed?
Qiao Shuxin’s face turned pale from the pain as she struggled, swatting at his hand.
“I didn’t! If you don’t believe me, ask the people who helped move the boxes! They all saw it! When I left, everything was still in the room—when I came back, it was gone!”
Gu Yucheng studied her expression for a moment, then released her.
“Fine. You wouldn’t dare lie.”
Unwillingly, he summoned all the workers who had been upstairs earlier.
The others spoke honestly. Li Jianye even defended both Qiao Shuxin and Lu Rao a little.
But when it came to the two men who had just been fired by Lu Rao, one of them sneered:
“Who knows? Maybe it was internal theft.”
The other immediately echoed:
“Exactly. The new one’s got a very dark heart.”
“You!” Qiao Shuxin was both furious and panicked. She didn’t even dare look at Gu Yucheng’s face.
“You were fired by Lu Rao! Why are you taking it out on me?”
The two men laughed coldly and turned to leave.
One of them glanced back before leaving:
“Just wait and see.”
“Stop! Explain yourself—” Qiao Shuxin shouted unwillingly, but before she could finish, Gu Yucheng yanked her back by the hair into the guest room.
Lu Rao vaguely heard shouting from the guest room throughout the night. The chaos lasted until dawn.
Later, it seemed Li Jianye brought in a guard and forcibly stopped the situation, only then managing to rescue Qiao Shuxin.
That night, Qiao Shuxin ended up sleeping in the servants’ quarters.
Gu Yucheng spent the entire night chasing thieves.
And neither of them noticed that in the darkest hour before dawn, a graceful figure in black night clothes silently climbed out of the Lu mansion window.
Lu Rao’s first stop was the Gu family residence in the south of the city.
The collateral branches of the Lu family—aside from a few with actual blood ties—were originally sworn brothers of Lu Zhenxing, Lu Rao’s grandfather.
To show respect, they all changed their surnames to “Lu.”
After studying under Professor Tan, Lu Rao had always looked down on those who casually abandoned their ancestral names.
But these people had once fought alongside Lu Zhenxing in life-and-death battles. The Lu family acknowledged them.
So over the years, even though she knew they were making underhanded moves, she had turned a blind eye.
But now—
“Before leaving, I’ll clean house. Otherwise, leaving loose ends is just asking for trouble.”
【Exactly! We don’t keep pests!】
Lu Rao knew from the storyline that the Lu family would eventually return to Shanghai. When that day came, they had to return clean.
So these tumors had to be removed.
The Gu residence was a small Western-style house. Not as large as the Lu mansion, but still quite spacious, recently renovated a few years ago.
Lu Rao was very familiar with its layout from childhood visits with her grandfather and father.
She slipped in easily and began her “floor scraping” operation.
Gu Xiong had once been a beggar—he was the most dependent on the Lu family among all branches.
“Maybe he once had some integrity, but now he’s just a villain.”
Thinking of how Gu Xiong had turned a blind eye while Gu Yucheng imprisoned her father, and all the filthy things he had done behind the scenes, Lu Rao showed no mercy.
His family was no different—especially his son, who was even more vicious, already with blood on his hands.
【Exactly! Strip them bare! This whole family is rotten to the core!】
The system raged alongside her while also tallying the loot.
【Wow, they’ve stored so much grain! The warehouse is packed!】
【There are four refrigerators full of meat—beef, pork, lamb, chicken, duck, fish—all stocked! Vegetables too!】
【This is enough for the host to live comfortably for one to two years in the countryside!】
Lu Rao was slightly surprised, then quickly understood.
Gu Xiong grew up starving as a beggar—he feared hunger more than anything.
So he hoarded food obsessively.
Rice, flour, millet, beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes—everything was stacked in abundance. Even seafood filled an entire refrigerator.
Sugar, honey, spices, chili—another warehouse full.
The kitchen itself looked like a royal imperial kitchen. Huge stoves, four large iron woks forged by master craftsmen, all polished bright.
Iron cookware was rare nowadays.
Lu Rao took everything without hesitation.
Even bowls, plates, cookware sets, hotpot and barbecue equipment—everything was taken.
Gu Xiong’s kitchen was absurdly extravagant.
Finally, she even took both giant stoves.
He also hoarded clothing and materials—cotton quilts, silk blankets, military coats, leather boots, wool coats, mink coats—all brand new.
She emptied all of it.
Then she went to the backyard and uprooted the old pear tree.
It had been planted alongside the one in the Lu mansion, meticulously maintained to mirror it.
It was practically asking for trouble if she didn’t take it.
After finishing, she entered the sleeping quarters.
Using sleeping powder from the Lu family treasure stockpile, she gently blew it into each room.
These tricks were second nature to her.
She even prepared a severance document in advance and stamped it using Gu Xiong’s thumbprint.
“From today onward, you are no longer connected to the Lu family.”
She slapped Gu Xiong once.
That was on behalf of her grandfather and father.
By the time she left, the Gu household had been stripped down to underwear.
Not a single useful item remained.
Usable items were kept; worn items were discarded to poor families along the way.
She was very familiar with the slums from childhood and knew exactly who needed help.
Then she visited several other Lu-aligned branches.
She took nothing that belonged to their ancestors.
Only what they had profited from the Lu family.
By dawn, she had visited ten households.
She placed written reports into multiple government disciplinary offices.
A little “gift” to send them off early.
So they wouldn’t get to enjoy another week of freedom.
As for Gu Yucheng and Qiao Shuxin, she had also prepared their report.
That would be delivered when she left the Lu family.
“Oh, almost forgot.”
She released the four bound thugs from her space and dumped them at the disciplinary office entrance, each with a report pinned to them.
They were Gu Yucheng’s trusted men—dirty hands for years.
She wouldn’t spare them.
After that, she went to one of Xu Jia’s hidden stash locations.
It wasn’t in the original text, but the storyline mentioned it—Qiao Shuxin later accidentally found it and thought it belonged to the Lu family, while Xu Jia was forced to swallow the loss.
Following the clues, Lu Rao found the entrance behind a tavern alley and uncovered twenty-three boxes of treasure.
She also intended to go after the Xu family, but they lived inside a heavily guarded military compound.
She had clashed there before and didn’t gain anything.
For now, she didn’t want to alert them.
So she emptied all their external stash points instead.
By dawn, Lu Rao held the dragon-phoenix jade pendant and knocked on the door of an old jade artisan in the city.