From the Northwest to Hong Kong, it would take at least several days.
So even if she rushed back now, it would already be too late.
A few days were more than enough for Pei Yanshen to read every single word on the divorce agreement clearly—perhaps even memorize it by heart.
If she didn’t want a divorce, all Zhong Qing could do now was pray that Pei Yanshen hated her so much that he wouldn’t even bother looking twice at anything she left behind.
The thought gave her a splitting headache. Annoyed, she kicked each of the three unconscious figures once more.
As she moved, her gaze fell on the jade bracelet she had just taken from Zhong Yuening’s wrist.
This bracelet had originally been her mother’s keepsake for her. Lin Huijuan had secretly kept it for herself and then gifted it to Zhong Yuening.
In the original plot, after marrying the young heir, Zhong Yuening gained access to a storage space.
With that space, she helped the heir expand his business bigger and bigger, and their love grew ever stronger.
Zhong Qing already had her suspicions.
Without hesitation, she cut her fingertip with a knife.
A drop of blood fell onto the jade bracelet.
The next instant, her vision blurred.
And she appeared inside a space.
Just as she had guessed—the key to entering the space was the jade bracelet!
Though furious, Zhong Qing knew this wasn’t the time to let emotions cloud her judgment.
Since she was already here, how could she leave empty-handed?
She had been regretting that she wouldn’t be able to take what was rightfully hers. Now, that problem was completely solved.
Before the traffickers contacted by Zhong Zhihong and Lin Huijuan arrived, Zhong Qing immediately began looting the house.
They probably assumed that since she was already married, she would never track them down in Hong Kong.
So many valuables were placed openly.
Zhong Qing naturally spared nothing, sweeping everything into the space.
In Zhong Zhihong and Lin Huijuan’s bedroom, all the gold and silver jewelry on the dressing table, an entire cabinet of watches—into the space!
Three full cabinets of gold bars—into the space!
Foreign exchange certificates used to buy scarce goods—into the space!
She didn’t even spare the wardrobes and the bed.
Even if she burned them for firewood, she wouldn’t leave the Zhong family’s wealth behind.
She then entered Zhong Yuening’s room.
The first thing she saw was a Nie Er-brand piano.
On the table were various old Shanghai skincare products and imported cosmetics—Shuangmei brand, Pehchaolin tin boxes…
With the resolve to leave nothing behind, she collected them all.
In Zhong Yuening’s jewelry cabinet, Zhong Qing found a locked box.
She had assumed it would contain gold bars like in Zhong Zhihong’s room.
But after smashing the lock open, she discovered it was filled with letters.
She hesitated, then opened them.
The more she read, the wider her eyes grew.
Zhong Yuening had really cast a wide net!
The handwriting and signatures differed, but the content was consistently sickeningly sweet.
Apparently, the so-called young heir was just the most satisfactory “fish” Zhong Yuening had selected after comparing many options.
She wondered how the heir would feel if he found out.
Zhong Qing packed up the letters as well.
Zhong Yuening had not a single drop of Zhong family blood, yet she bore the Zhong surname and enjoyed the Zhong family’s wealth.
It was time to pay it back.
In the kitchen, Zhong Qing found a stash of scarce medicines—penicillin, Korean ginseng, wild mountain ginseng, deer antler, cordyceps, and more.
They were neatly sorted, almost as if specially prepared for her to harvest, and in generous quantities.
After storing all the visible items in the space, the entire house looked almost empty.
But Zhong Qing knew the Zhong family’s wealth didn’t end there.
Given Zhong Zhihong’s personality, he would never leave all his money in plain sight.
After some thought, she returned to his bedroom, her eyes falling on the spot where the bed had originally stood.
Logically, that corner should have been the hardest to clean.
Yet when she moved the bed, there wasn’t a speck of dust on the floor.
She stomped on it a few times and compared the sound.
Sure enough—the floor underneath was hollow.
After some searching, she found a seam hidden in the floor pattern.
Carefully, Zhong Qing descended the stairs.
She didn’t even need to turn on the lights. The golden glow alone was dazzling.
Compared to the bedroom upstairs, this was on a completely different level.
Because of the political purge, when they moved to Hong Kong, many belongings were inconvenient to transport, so most had been converted into gold bars.
And those gold bars were stacked here neatly.
Without hesitation, Zhong Qing collected them all.
There were also famous paintings and porcelain pieces Zhong Zhihong couldn’t bear to part with.
Though difficult to sell openly, they held their own value.
From the plot, Zhong Qing knew these would be extremely valuable in the future.
She emptied the entire basement—items and shelves alike.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard the sound of the door opening.
Someone had arrived!
Zhong Qing froze.
She faintly heard voices above.
“Didn’t they say it was just one young woman? Why are there an extra man and woman? Since when does our line of work come with buy one get two free?”
“Boss, what do we do?”
The man addressed as boss pondered briefly.
“They said a young woman would be unconscious here and we could just take her. But they didn’t say there’d only be one person, did they?”
“…Boss is brilliant!”
A deal delivered to their doorstep—only a fool would refuse.
Though the two were older and not as good-looking, meat was meat, even if it was mosquito-sized.
Soon enough, they stuffed the unconscious Zhong Zhihong and Lin Huijuan into sacks.
They did find things strange.
Like the obviously odd situation, the empty house, and the slap marks on the couple’s faces.
But—
Great undertakings don’t fuss over trifles.
They were already engaged in shady business. Why bother asking too many questions?
They sneaked in quietly and left just as quietly with their captives.
To be safe, Zhong Qing waited a while longer before emerging.
Looking at the now-empty floor, she finally felt a sense of satisfaction.
This was karma.
Taking advantage of the lack of attention, she slipped away silently.
Zhong Qing booked the earliest train ticket back to the Northwest.
She then went to the post office and wrote two letters, requesting that they be mailed seven days later.
One was addressed to a newspaper, the other to the Public Security Bureau.
She wanted revenge on Zhong Zhihong and Lin Huijuan—but that didn’t mean the traffickers were innocent.
Fortunately, knowing the plot meant she knew their contact methods and base of operations—enough for the police to catch them.
Seven days would be sufficient to send the three deep into the mountains.
Even if they were lucky enough to be rescued, the materials she sent to the newspaper would be enough to ruin them completely and make it impossible for them to remain in Hong Kong.
At the same time, in the Northwest Airport Residential Compound—