“I just came back…”
Qiao Shuxin stammered, trying to act weak first so they would understand she currently had no authority.
But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Gu Yucheng.
“What do you mean by ‘country bumpkin girl’? If the one standing here now was Lu Rao, would you dare say any of that?”
Gu Yucheng glared at the group of overbearing clan relatives, a mocking smile curling at his lips.
These people only bullied the weak and feared the strong. What, did they think his Gu Yucheng’s bloodline was something they could just control?
He refused to accept it.
As expected, once he spoke, the clan relatives looked awkward and their momentum immediately weakened.
They were only daring because Qiao Shuxin had not been raised in the Lu family and they assumed she was an inexperienced country girl.
Lu Rao, however, was someone they did not dare to provoke.
She had been raised within the Lu family, shaped by its influence. Even though they said she had been “ruined” by Gu Yucheng, she still held the Lu family’s network in her hands.
No one knew how many hidden arrangements Old Master Lu and Lu Fantang had left behind—only Lu Rao knew.
“But she can’t make decisions, right?” someone glanced at Qiao Shuxin and muttered weakly.
Not far away, Xu Zhengyang had originally intended to step forward to help Qiao Shuxin.
But when he heard them mention Lu Rao, he subconsciously stopped.
He looked at Qiao Shuxin again, comparing her to Lu Rao.
Finally, he reached a very fair conclusion in his mind.
“Miss Qiao is indeed somewhat inferior to Lu Rao. Lu Rao has the temperament of a young lady—somewhat naive, yes—but she was clearly raised in luxury.”
At the very least, Qiao Shuxin could not control this situation.
Qiao Shuxin noticed all of their reactions and clenched her fists.
“Am I really worse than Lu Rao? Just because of that useless good-for-nothing? She stole my life and made me suffer in the countryside for so many years!”
The more she thought, the more unwilling she felt. Then she suddenly looked toward the courtyard entrance.
“Lu Rao hasn’t handed over the Lu family keys yet—she’s right over there. You all go get her to hand them over to me, and I’ll open the vault…”
She suddenly froze.
There was no sign of Lu Rao anywhere.
The clan relatives immediately erupted.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Where is Lu Rao?”
“We thought you had some ability, but you don’t even have the keys? Don’t you know that in the Lu family, you have to seize power yourself?”
“A girl who knows nothing—didn’t your second uncle just say the Lu family was completely robbed? Now it’s exposed!”
“Stop pretending! Hurry up and give us something—we’re starving!”
Gu Yucheng squeezed forward. “The Lu family really was emptied out! I already said you can go in and see for yourselves!”
“What do you mean ‘emptied out’?” Qiao Shuxin turned sharply to him.
Something felt wrong.
Her gaze landed on Gu Yucheng’s ragged cotton coat, and a bad premonition rose in her heart.
Gu Yucheng glared at her. “I should be asking you! Where did you go last night? Was this related to you?”
Qiao Shuxin’s mind went blank. She nearly collapsed, then suddenly shoved past the crowd and ran inside.
The others exchanged glances.
“Doesn’t look like she’s acting…”
“Could it be real? Should we check?”
“No way, they’re just pretending to be poor!”
But deep down, some of them were already starting to believe something had really happened.
Still, they couldn’t admit it.
They insisted the Lu family still had wealth.
“Don’t forget, the Lu family still has a treasure hoard.”
“Exactly. Even if the house is empty, the treasure can’t be gone—that was personally hidden by the old master.”
Qiao Shuxin came out again, her face pale as death.
“Impossible… nothing is left? When I left this morning, everything was still there…”
“How could someone empty such a big house in just a few hours?”
She muttered to herself, then suddenly rushed at Gu Yucheng, grabbing his collar.
“Was it you?! You hid everything, didn’t you?! Everything was still there this morning! You moved it all! Those four dowry boxes from yesterday—you stole them too! The dragon-phoenix jade pendant is with you, isn’t it?!”
Gu Yucheng froze completely.
His own daughter was grabbing his collar and accusing him?
“You rebellious girl!” he roared.
He slapped her hard.
Qiao Shuxin staggered back and fell to the ground, ears ringing violently.
“How dare you hit the young mistress!”
“He’s guilty—he must have hidden everything!”
“Everyone, the Lu family treasure must be with him!”
The clan members swarmed Gu Yucheng.
“You’re talking nonsense!”
Gu Yucheng swung back and punched them.
But he was quickly pinned down.
“You sons of bitches—let go of me!”
He struggled wildly, eyes bloodshot, then suddenly bit down like a mad dog.
Screams erupted instantly.
“Has he gone insane?”
Qiao Shuxin stared at the chaos, her initial impulse for revenge cooling rapidly.
In her past life, she had seen Gu Yucheng lose his temper when drunk.
But this was different.
His eyes were bulging, bloodshot, his expression completely feral—like a rabid dog.
Fear crept into her heart and she instinctively stepped back, trembling.
But no one paid attention to her anymore.
The courtyard descended into complete chaos.
“Waaah, they’re fighting!”
“I love watching dogs bite dogs the most!”
“Qiao Shuxin really shifted blame fast—she even threw her own father under the bus.”
“Is she deaf now? Her ear is bleeding.”
“Xu Zhengyang is actually trying to break it up? Is he that righteous?”
“Master, something seems wrong with Gu Yucheng’s condition.”
The system buzzed excitedly.
Lu Rao walked slowly out of the alley toward the Lu residence across the street, unhurried.
In her eyes, Gu Yucheng had already been a dead man the moment she blew that powder into him this morning.
“Mad God Powder—hallucinogenic and rage-inducing, destroys the central nervous system. It gradually strips a person of sanity, starting with irritability and violent outbursts, then hallucinations and loss of control, and finally death by total bodily decay.”
A slow-acting poison.
It would take up to a year.
She had chosen it specifically for Gu Yucheng.
He dying too quickly would not be enough to repay what he did to her father.
She would never forgive what happened in the original timeline.
And Xu Jia—she wouldn’t spare him either.
The courtyard noise grew louder as Xu Zhengyang tried to intervene, making everything even more chaotic.
Lu Rao watched calmly.
Unhurried.
At that moment—
“Ring—ring—”
Across the road, a mailman rode his bicycle toward the Lu residence, carrying a thick bundle of newspapers.
Lu Rao glanced over.
The two of them exchanged a brief nod.