Qu Weiwei forced herself to pull away from the tempting aroma of meat and hurried out of the room.
After leaving the storage area, she carefully tried to recall how she had gotten in, how long she had been there, and what was happening outside. The situation outside was extremely dangerous—she knew that not long after they fell unconscious, the main wife would set the place on fire. She had to find a way back quickly.
The moment she thought about going back, she suddenly returned to the room where she had first awakened. She was still sitting in the same spot, and the concubine across from her remained unconscious.
Qu Weiwei quickly jumped down from the chair and rushed over to shake her. Just as she was about to call out, she heard faint, rustling footsteps outside.
Wait… that sounded like the steward.
That meant they were currently moving the family’s valuables.
Qu Weiwei grew anxious. She couldn’t let those people discover that she was awake, but she also couldn’t just watch them take all the money away. If all the wealth was gone, how would she and her mother survive once they escaped?
Wait… that place just now?
The moment she thought of it, she was instantly transported back to the courtyard where she had first entered.
This must be a personal storage space!
As a seasoned novel reader, she had always dreamed of having such a space. Had her dream really come true? She tested it by going in and out a couple of times and confirmed her guess.
Good. That made things much easier. She definitely couldn’t let that steward get away with everything.
Carefully pressing herself against the door, she listened to the movements outside. When everything suddenly fell silent, she didn’t immediately go out but instead counted the time meticulously.
Because the Qu family possessed a vast amount of wealth—gold, silver, and jewels—the two of them didn’t want to share it with anyone else. So they personally transported the valuables out of the residence, chest by chest.
The steward owned a small courtyard not far from the Qu residence, secretly purchased long ago. After moving everything there, they would store it in that courtyard.
What she needed to do now was follow them, locate that courtyard, and then take everything they moved into her space. Once the fire started here, she would figure out a way to get her mother out.
Once she made up her mind, she acted immediately.
After figuring out their pattern of moving goods, Qu Weiwei found a black cloak in one of the empty rooms in her space. Taking advantage of the gaps between their trips, she slipped out of the Qu residence while wearing the cloak and quietly followed them.
Afraid she might lose her way in the dark, she sprinkled a little rice along the path so she could find the place again later.
To make transportation easier, the courtyard gate wasn’t fully closed—just loosely shut so it could be pushed open with a foot.
All the neighboring households had already evacuated, leaving only the Qu residence. They weren’t worried about anyone else appearing, which conveniently worked in Qu Weiwei’s favor.
After reaching the place, Qu Weiwei followed them back. She needed to familiarize herself with the route before taking further action.
The two men carrying goods didn’t notice at all that a small girl in a black cloak was cautiously following behind them. Only after returning to the Qu residence’s storage room did Qu Weiwei quietly slip back into her mother’s room.
After removing the cloak, she finally let out a sigh of relief. Still, she couldn’t help thinking—no matter how careful they were, moving things back and forth like that would require passing by the main hall. There was no way the people inside hadn’t heard anything.
Either there was no one in the main hall, or everyone there had already fallen victim to the steward and Fourth Concubine’s scheme.
Looking at He Youyou, who was still unconscious, Qu Weiwei felt uneasy. Since they were going to set the fire soon, leaving her here wasn’t safe. She decided to try putting her into the space instead.
Carefully, she reached out and held He Youyou’s hand, thinking about placing her on the sofa in the living room of the space.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit—and the two of them appeared together inside the space’s living room.
Good. As long as she could bring her in, she would be safe.
But Qu Weiwei still had one more trip to make—the study.
There were definitely many valuable things there. In her memories, the original girl had gone to the study twice, and both times she had seen her father coming out from behind a screen—from a hidden room.
There must be something important inside. Someone as cunning as her merchant father wouldn’t hide all his wealth in one place.
In the novel, her father, Qu Qingqing’s richest-man father, was only briefly mentioned. He didn’t go to the small town with them. After returning and finding the entire house burned down, he left on his own. Where he went was never mentioned, even by the end of the story.
Fortunately, the girl had a good memory.
Following the paths in her memory, Qu Weiwei made her way toward the outer courtyard, crossing a corridor bridge and a moon-shaped gate before quickly arriving at the study.
The study was pitch dark.
She carefully tried to push the door open, only to find it locked. However, there was a small gap underneath. An adult wouldn’t be able to squeeze through—but a tiny child like her could manage.
After squeezing inside, she followed her memory to the screen. Behind it, she saw a chaise lounge and a soft silk quilt. The satin surface carried a faint smell of tobacco, making her frown slightly.
Looking around carefully, she noticed a small square table behind the couch, with a desk lamp placed on it.
For some reason, her intuition told her the lamp was unusual.
She wasn’t sure if her instinct was correct, but there was no time to hesitate. The walls were completely smooth—there were no visible mechanisms.
So she gave the lamp a twist.
Suddenly, a hidden door appeared in the previously seamless wall. Beyond it was pitch black, and for a moment, she hesitated to go down.
But thinking that if she didn’t take the items now, they would either be burned or taken by the main wife’s group, she couldn’t accept it.
Though her heart pounded nervously, she gathered her courage, took out a candle from her space, lit it, and carefully walked down the stairs.
Counting in the dark, there were only six steps.
At the bottom was a spacious underground chamber.
By the dim candlelight, she saw it was filled with chests—completely packed. Along the walls were rows of cabinets.
Curious, she carefully opened one of the cabinets.
Inside… were medicinal herbs.
Because of her small height, she could only open the lower three levels. Inside were large boxes filled with bird’s nest, fleeceflower root (He Shou Wu), and ginseng.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
In her heart, a little voice was shouting wildly—
I’m rich! I’m rich!