The moment those words fell—
The entire hall fell silent.
Cold sweat instantly broke out across Gu Yucheng’s forehead.
“Gu Lao’er, what is the meaning of this? Even if Lu Rao’s identity is in question, she has not yet been stripped of her status as heir. Who gave you the audacity to pressure her like this?”
One of the clan elders slammed his palm onto the tea table beside him, furiously berating Gu Yucheng.
Another elder immediately sneered, “Gu Lao’er, I call you ‘second brother,’ and you really think you’re the Second Master of the Lu family?
“Don’t forget—you’re just a burden who followed your mother into this family. You have nothing to do with the Lu family. What, after playing the Second Master for so long, you want to seize the magpie’s nest?”
Lu Rao raised an eyebrow.
There it was—the very line she had been waiting for.
At the perfect moment, she revealed just the right amount of shock, taking a frightened step back and staring at Gu Yucheng.
“Second Uncle, you’re not a member of the Lu family? But you clearly told me you were also one of the heirs. That’s why I handed those things over to you.”
“Rao Rao, how can you be so naive? Before today, the clan only recognized you as the sole heir. Do you even understand what ‘sole’ means? With your father missing, you alone represent the Lu family.
“And yet you foolishly believed Gu Yucheng was also an heir… honestly…”
One elder pointed at Lu Rao in disappointment.
The others shook their heads as well.
Lu Rao lowered her head, pretending to humbly accept the reprimand.
How could she not understand?
What she hadn’t mentioned earlier was that when Gu Yucheng asked her for those things, he had claimed he’d found news of her father and needed them.
That was why she handed them over.
At the time, she truly believed he was her real second uncle. And over the past ten years, he had indeed treated her well.
That was how she had been deceived.
Now that she knew the future plot, even she found her past self laughable.
The moment the elders heard that Lu Rao had given everything to Gu Yucheng, they immediately turned on him as a group.
As for whether the true heir of the Lu family was Lu Rao or Qiao Shuxin, they no longer cared.
In the face of the Lu family’s immense fortune, that last bit of respect for the heir vanished instantly.
Even before awakening, Lu Rao knew that the Lu family was already divided—very few truly cared about the family anymore.
So she would muddy the waters completely and let them fight first.
Gu Yucheng’s expression had already turned extremely ugly.
But he didn’t dare provoke these elders, each of whom had blood on their hands. Faced with their humiliation, he could only swallow his anger.
“All for a smooth departure in five days!”
He comforted himself inwardly, forcing his usual humble smile onto his face.
“You elders misunderstand. I simply saw that the situation outside is getting worse and feared that Rao Rao, being young and inexperienced, might cause trouble holding onto those items. I was merely safeguarding them for her temporarily.”
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’ll return them to Rao Rao later.”
Later?
When exactly was “later”?
Lu Rao had no intention of waiting. She immediately revealed a grateful smile and said with relief, “Second Uncle, there’s no need to return them to me.”
Gu Yucheng’s heart stirred.
Had this girl suddenly come to her senses?
But before he could feel pleased, Lu Rao continued with an innocent expression:
“Second Uncle, just hand the items directly to the clan elders. Since it’s already been proven that I’m not a daughter of the Lu family, I no longer have the right to hold them.”
“Let the elders keep them for now. Once the true heir of the Lu family is decided, they can naturally pass them on.”
Gu Yucheng nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
His intention had been to stall—once Qiao Shuxin’s identity was confirmed, everything would naturally go to her.
And since Qiao Shuxin was his daughter, whatever belonged to her would ultimately belong to him.
By the time the truth came out, he would already be overseas—who could touch him then?
But now Lu Rao was forcing him to hand everything to the elders, completely blocking his path.
“What, Gu Lao’er—you’re unwilling?”
Seeing no response, the elders’ expressions immediately darkened.
Gu Yucheng’s heart trembled.
Every one of these old men had blood on their hands—if he truly angered them, he might end up floating in the Huangpu River tomorrow.
Grinding his teeth, he clenched his fists and forced out, “Of course not. I’ll have them brought here immediately.”
He shot a glance at one of his subordinates, signaling him to fetch the items.
“I remember there are four large sandalwood chests, along with an inventory list. Bring everything—and get a few more people to carry them,” Lu Rao called out, standing on tiptoe.
Gu Yucheng closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his fury before waving his hand.
“Get two more people. Bring all four chests from my room. Now!”
The subordinate quickly ran off.
Seeing this, the elders finally relaxed, sitting back down to drink tea and even resuming discussion of Qiao Shuxin’s identity.
Lu Rao concealed the coldness in her eyes.
According to the plot, Gu Yucheng would later take all these items abroad and squander them.
Now that she had forced him to bring them out, she intended to retrieve that one small item inside.
As the elders debated Qiao Shuxin’s eligibility, Lu Rao seized the moment. Without drawing attention, she walked over to Qiao Shuxin, slipped her arm around hers before she could react, and guided her to sit on a long bench.
Her system had been quietly reminding her the whole time—getting close to the female lead might yield gains.
【Host, the earlier awakening of consciousness was originally a benefit meant for the female lead. We scavenged it.】
【Before the successful scavenging, you happened to approach her to check the birthmark on her arm. There’s a chance that contact with her may allow further scavenging.】
This was the scavenging system she had been bound to since birth—nicknamed Jianjian.
Though for the past fifteen years it had been rather useless—timid, prone to crying, and mostly capable of picking up small change on the street—
After so many years together, they were already the closest of companions.
Lu Rao trusted its judgment.
At this moment, Qiao Shuxin was still processing her returning memories, her brows tightly furrowed, completely unresponsive to her surroundings, looking pale enough to faint at any moment.
So when Lu Rao suddenly helped her sit down, no one in the hall found it strange.
In their eyes, Lu Rao had always been a naive fool—simple-minded, the type who would help count money even after being sold.
Gu Yucheng thought the same.
Seeing Lu Rao take the initiative to get close to Qiao Shuxin, he even felt smug.
Qiao Shuxin was his daughter.
The Lu family had never acknowledged him—now his daughter would inherit everything!
But the thought of returning those four treasure chests immediately soured his mood.
“Damn it, I still haven’t figured out which one is the real token!”
No matter how unwilling he was, his subordinates soon returned, carrying the four large chests.
Lu Rao didn’t step forward. She simply pointed to the first chest.
“The inventory list is inside. Please have the elders verify it.”
At her words, the clan immediately invited the most senior elder—Fourth Uncle—to step forward.
Fourth Uncle Lu showed no hesitation, rising while casually rolling two walnuts in his hand as he walked over.
The moment Lu Rao saw Lu Xiong, a trace of coldness flashed through her eyes.
This old bastard was the most insidious of all.
From the plot, she knew that Lu Xiong had been aware from beginning to end that Gu Yucheng was connected to her father’s disappearance, yet he had remained silent, waiting to profit.
A traitorous parasite!
Not a single one of these Lu family worms would escape her.
“I haven’t touched any of these items—you don’t need to inspect them so thoroughly just to humiliate me!”
Gu Yucheng snapped in anger from the side.
Lu Rao glanced at him.
Seeing his face twisted in indignation, as though he’d suffered great humiliation, she sneered inwardly.
So easily angered—he really couldn’t hold himself together.
Good thing he wasn’t truly of Lu blood. Otherwise, he would have completely disgraced the family.
The elders began checking the items one by one against the inventory list.
Lu Rao sat quietly to the side, watching.
Her dowry.
All of this had been saved by her parents—for her dowry.
“These are just to give our Rao Rao some face. Your mother and I have stored away so much more for you elsewhere.”
“When the day comes for you to marry, we’ll retrieve everything and send it all to your husband’s family.”
Her father’s words echoed in her ears.
It was as if she could see him again, holding her under the pear blossom tree in full spring bloom, pointing at the blossoms while telling her about how her mother had prepared her dowry after her birth.
Hidden within her sleeve, Lu Rao’s hand slowly clenched into a fist.
It’s fine. Just wait.
Everything that belongs to her—she will take it all back, not a single piece missing.
Suddenly—
A familiar system notification rang beside her ear.
【Ding. Scavenging activated.】