Qiao Shuxin was about to explode with anger.
She couldn’t understand where she had gone wrong.
She had clearly seen Lu Rao cry like that before.
So why, when it was her, did it become weakness? She had long heard that Lu Rao had always been like this—so why had no one ever questioned whether Lu Rao was fit to be the Lu family heir?
Feeling the daggers Qiao Shuxin shot her way, and seeing her alternating pale and flushed expression, Lu Rao found it amusing.
“So she’s trying to imitate me? A clumsy imitation. Does she even realize I’ve been shaped by the Lu family’s foundation day by day? And now just any stray thinks she can compare herself to me?”
Lu Rao did cry.
But everyone in the Lu family had also seen her cry while biting back—like even a passing dog would get snapped at.
Even if everyone believed she had been raised into uselessness, they still had to admit—deep in her bones was the ruthlessness cultivated by the Lu family. No one dared provoke her lightly.
Otherwise, with the worsening situation in recent years, a “naive and sweet” girl like her would have been bullied to death long ago.
Qiao Shuxin flushed red with embarrassment from the scolding, while Gu Yucheng nearly lost control and slapped her on the spot.
After her display, the clan elders had already formed their judgment of Qiao Shuxin—she wasn’t worth their attention.
Not a single feather from those four chests would be left to her.
But just as Lu Xiong was about to have the chests carried away, a clan elder who usually opposed him suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Lu Xiong’s nose and cursing him, demanding that the dowry be returned to Qiao Shuxin—the “sole heir.”
The situation flipped.
Even Qiao Shuxin herself was stunned.
Gu Yucheng almost burst into tears of joy.
【Host, see? This is the darling of Heaven. Qiao Shuxin’s protagonist halo is too strong.】
The system muttered in Lu Rao’s mind.
Lu Rao silently agreed.
But this was fine too—since the chests hadn’t been moved out of the residence, leaving them with Qiao Shuxin actually made it more convenient for her to retrieve them later that night.
Otherwise, she would have had to sneak all the way to the south side of the city to break into Lu Xiong’s residence.
And nights in the city were far from peaceful these days.
Seeing that things were settled, Lu Rao turned and left.
There was less than an hour before nightfall.
She needed to make preparations before it got dark.
Then—she would go rescue her father, Lu Fengtang.
Thinking about how, in the novel, her father had been imprisoned and tortured in a basement by Gu Yucheng, she wished she could fly there immediately.
But she couldn’t rush.
That basement was guarded by Gu Yucheng’s men, and Lu Xiong’s people were secretly watching as well.
Lu Rao wasn’t afraid of Gu Yucheng.
But for now, she still had to be wary of Lu Xiong.
Moreover, the Lu residence was currently under intense scrutiny—not only from within the family, but also from outsiders waiting to “clean them out.” There was hardly a safe place left.
She could only act after nightfall.
Lu Rao wandered through the courtyard, looking at the place she had grown up in, consciously recalling memories.
Her steps suddenly halted.
She remembered something her father once said while playing hide-and-seek with her in the basement as a child.
“Rao Rao, remember—no matter what kind of household it is, if they dig a basement, it’s definitely to hide things.
“Take a look—how many passages does this basement have?”
Lu Rao took out the tiger tally from her space and held it in her palm, feeling its cold texture.
Her gaze lifted toward the old pear tree in the courtyard.
It was already November—the tree had long since shed all its leaves.
Its sprawling branches now stretched wildly, stark and obvious, with one cluster even extending beyond the wall.
The Lu family had always had a rule—the branches of this pear tree were never to be trimmed.
Ever since Lu Rao could remember, one branch had always stretched beyond the courtyard wall.
“What if… the Lu family’s treasure was never in the Lu residence at all?”
Lu Rao thought silently.
After taking one last look at the branch extending beyond the wall, she turned and ran toward her room.
…
The Lu residence was the only remaining mansion the Lu family had in Shanghai. The others had already been donated years ago.
There had long been criticism about them living in such a residence—accusations of capitalist indulgence. Later, this would become one of the charges used against the Lu family.
Once the Lu family was exiled, this mansion would be confiscated.
It was ancestral property—Lu Rao couldn’t bear to see her grandfather’s life’s work vanish like that. As she ran upstairs, she pondered how to handle it in the future.
Passing by the kitchen, she saw Wang Ma and called out to her.
“Wang Ma, prepare more meat dishes for tonight.”
She needed to eat well—she had a big night ahead.
After a pause, she added, “Also prepare some porridge, and brew a bowl of ginseng tea—use the century-old ginseng stored in the warehouse.”
Her father’s condition must be terrible.
This was for him.
“Alright, Miss, I understand,” Wang Ma replied, wiping her hands on her apron as she turned to get to work.
Just then, Qiao Shuxin arrived with people carrying the four sandalwood chests. Seeing this, she frowned and glanced at Lu Rao before turning to Wang Ma.
“I am now the Lu family’s young lady. You don’t need to listen to her.”
Wang Ma rolled her eyes and walked back into the kitchen. “Why should I listen to you? Are you the one paying my wages?”
Her wages had always been paid by Lu Rao.
“You—!” Qiao Shuxin clenched her fists in anger and turned to glare at Lu Rao. “I am the Lu family’s young lady now. Everything in this family belongs to me. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t keep using Lu family resources.”
She really thought she was something.
Lu Rao looked her up and down, then let out a scoff.
“Where did this lowly thing crawl out from? Just hearing about a century-old ginseng makes you this jealous? Let me tell you—my household registration is still with the Lu family, and your status as heir hasn’t been confirmed. The entire Lu family still belongs to me. Doesn’t that drive you mad? You can’t even get your hands on a single key to this house.”
With that, she turned and headed upstairs.
She was busy—no time to deal with her now.
“Damn brat!” Qiao Shuxin gritted her teeth, glaring at Lu Rao’s retreating figure.
In her previous life, Lu Rao had been sent away shortly after she arrived—they had barely interacted. She hadn’t realized this imposter had such a nasty personality.
She was no longer the Lu family’s young lady—so what was she so arrogant about?
Qiao Shuxin’s gaze grew colder.
“Lu Rao, I am the true young lady of the Lu family. You stole the life that should have been mine—I’ll make you repay it a hundredfold, a thousandfold! Once you’re sent to the countryside, every bit of suffering I endured, I’ll make you experience it all!”
Thinking of the hardships she had suffered in the countryside for fifteen years, and the torment she endured overseas in her previous life, her entire body trembled with hatred.
“The Lu family—and anyone connected to you—I won’t spare a single one!”
【Host, she’s glaring at you… her expression is so scary, wuwu.】
Just as Lu Rao reached the second floor, she heard the system’s voice.
She suddenly turned her head—
And met Qiao Shuxin’s twisted, hatred-filled gaze before she could hide it.