Lu Rao watched with great interest as Qiao Shuxin’s expression changed from anger to shock, then to guilt, and finally to humiliation.
“Your acting really isn’t bad. You’re practically like a movie star.”
Lu Rao curled her lips in provocation at Qiao Shuxin, then turned and walked toward her room.
“Lu Rao!” Qiao Shuxin was so humiliated she nearly coughed up blood.
She felt like she had just been a clown performing in front of Lu Rao.
But Lu Rao didn’t care in the slightest about her tantrum.
Once back in her room, she immediately locked the door and drew the curtains.
“Jianjian, is there anyone nearby?” Lu Rao asked the system in her mind.
【No.】
“Good. Let’s test the space first.”
She poured four cups of hot water into a thermos, then, holding the cups, had a thought—and her body vanished from the room.
Perfect. She could enter the space with her body.
She now stood inside the small wooden house within the spatial realm. It was empty, nothing inside.
She placed the four cups of hot water separately—inside the wooden house, on the farmland, on the grassland, and on the mountain—to test the preservation ability.
To her surprise, after she entered the space, the surrounding mist retreated significantly, revealing more than ten acres of farmland and a thousand-square-meter grassland.
Even part of the mountain range became visible.
“So this is the usable area right now?”
Lu Rao decided she would later bring in crops and small animals to test it further.
She walked to the spiritual spring in front of the wooden house. There was a tree there, and the spring water flowed from it like something from the heavens—but only in a thin stream.
It trickled into a wide-rimmed stone vat beneath the tree.
At present, the spring water only filled a tiny depression at the bottom of the vat—no more than half a bowl in total.
Thinking of her father’s condition, Lu Rao knew he was likely in poor health.
The spirit spring might be his only hope.
For safety, she scooped a small amount and tasted it.
The moment it entered her mouth, it was sweet and refreshing, sliding down her throat like nectar.
In the next second—
Her senses sharpened instantly. Her mind cleared, and her energy recovered at once.
“It refreshes the mind and restores energy.”
That was Lu Rao’s judgment.
As for other effects, she had only taken a small sip and couldn’t yet determine them.
In any case, this spirit spring was definitely something good.
After confirming everything, she exited the space.
Then she began collecting items in her room.
Her room was decorated like a dream—so delicate that even the bed curtains were embroidered with lace imported from abroad.
But at this moment, all these items branded with “bourgeois lifestyle” would become evidence used against her.
Lu Rao stored everything into the space.
Only the bed was left for two more nights of sleep. As for clothes, dresses, and bags in the wardrobe, she left only a few for appearance’s sake—the rest were all taken.
In these years, wearing jewelry and bright clothing was frowned upon. So her precious accessories and beloved cheongsams were also stored away.
On the dressing table, she left only a plum-blossom wristwatch, 2,000 yuan in cash, and a stack of rare coupons—mostly industrial ones. She had no need to buy groceries herself, so she didn’t even have food ration tickets.
She placed all of them into the space.
Then she pushed the wardrobe aside and tapped the wall three times.
A protruding brick appeared.
She pressed it.
After three seconds, a faint “click” sounded, and the white wall slowly rotated open, revealing a hidden chamber.
This was personally built by her grandfather, Lu Zhensheng. Almost every room in the Lu residence had such a secret chamber.
But only each generation’s heir knew about it.
In the entire Lu family now, only the imprisoned Lu Fengtang and Lu Rao knew these secrets.
This chamber had always been under her care, containing weapons her grandfather and father had prepared for her that couldn’t be openly displayed, as well as her favorite personal items.
She first stored her smaller belongings, then removed a row of blades hanging on the wall.
She had been learning martial arts since she could walk—trained by her grandfather until age three, then by her father after her grandfather passed away.
The Lu family thought she had been ruined by Gu Yucheng.
But only Lu Rao knew—she had never neglected her training for even a single day.
“Dad, I didn’t slack off.”
She gently touched the weapons on the wall: a dagger, a long halberd, a Tang saber as long as her arm, and her specialty—the black-gold nine-tailed whip.
All of them were stored into the space.
Finally, she pried open the floorboards.
Inside was a metal box.
When opened, it revealed a compact silver handgun, only the size of her palm but slightly heavy in her hand.
This was custom-made by her grandfather after she was born. Beside it was a full box of bullets—over a thousand rounds.
Lu Rao loaded the gun, then placed it in the wooden house of her space so she could summon it instantly with a thought.
Everything else was stored away.
After confirming nothing was left behind, she restored the chamber to its original state and pushed the cabinet back.
Then she quietly left her room and checked the unused rooms on the floor, collecting items from their hidden chambers as well.
Those rooms contained everyday valuables of the Lu family—ritual items used for ancestral ceremonies, all gold and silver pieces of art level craftsmanship. Lu Rao wasn’t about to let them fall into others’ hands.
There were also gold bars, silver bricks, antique furniture, and valuable fabrics.
After an hour and a half of work, the sky outside had already turned dark.
It was time for dinner at the Lu residence.
Lu Rao first checked the cups of water inside the space. The water in the wooden house remained exactly as it was when placed—proving time inside the house was frozen and could preserve items.
But the water outside had cooled, meaning time flowed normally outside, making it suitable for farming and raising animals.
“What a treasure. No wonder Qiao Shuxin lives so well in the story later.”
While chatting with her system in her mind, Lu Rao headed to the dining room. Gu Yucheng had just returned from somewhere and rushed upstairs without even noticing her standing nearby.
Lu Rao glanced toward the second floor and smirked.
“Looks like he’s going to ask his daughter for those four chests.”
【Yes, yes. Host, don’t go near them—they’re about to fight, you might get caught in the crossfire.】
“Mm.”
Lu Rao wasn’t foolish.
Besides, she didn’t have time.
She enjoyed a satisfying dinner prepared by Wang Ma.
Then she carried the prepared porridge and ginseng tea and left the Lu residence.
Right now, the entire household manager was out handling business, and she didn’t trust anyone else.
So she left alone, heading toward the adjacent alley and the Chaoyang Residence.
What outsiders didn’t know was that the Lu family’s pear tree had grown over the wall for years, its branches falling into the neighboring Chaoyang Residence—which had also belonged to the Lu family in the Republican era.
Since childhood, Lu Rao had been carried by her father through both residences, counting secret tunnels in the underground chambers of the two mansions.