Qu Weiwei ordered a serving of braised pork, a bowl of vegetable soup, and a portion of eight-treasure rice. This little girl was only five years old. Normally, she ate very little, so there was no way she could finish all of this.
Looking at the glossy, tempting braised pork, Qu Weiwei couldn’t resist. She picked up a large piece and took a big bite, her eyes squinting in bliss.
It was so delicious. The layers of pork belly were distinct and glistening, rich without being greasy. One bite was pure happiness.
This was probably the best braised pork she had ever eaten. She gobbled everything down—the bowl of rice, the large plate of pork, and the vegetable soup—until her little belly became round and full.
Satisfied, she wiped her mouth with a tissue and glanced outside. Now she was brimming with energy—she didn’t want to let all that grain go to waste.
Carefully, she slipped out of the room, passed through the main hall, and returned to the front courtyard. The gate was still slightly ajar, just enough for her small body to squeeze through.
After getting out, she followed the route the steward had taken, climbing walls and checking house after house. When she reached the third house, she heard movement—the sound of the steward climbing over a wall.
This area’s courtyards were already abandoned, so many gates had been pried open. After everything inside had been looted, the doors were left loosely shut.
However, the gates of the third and fourth courtyards were tightly closed. She couldn’t see what was going on inside.
But since Butler Hu had climbed over without issue, there was probably no one inside. Qu Weiwei ran to the fifth courtyard, pushed open the half-closed gate, and nimbly slipped in. Once inside, she shut the door and secured the latch so no one would catch her halfway through her work.
She had just discovered that the tool room in her space contained everything—even several ladders of different sizes. That was why she decided to imitate Butler Hu and climb walls to collect grain.
She lay against the wall and listened carefully. After hearing no movement, she took out a ladder from her space—about the same height as the wall—and carefully climbed up to peek inside.
The layout was similar to the previous courtyard, but all the doors inside were tightly shut and locked.
Locked meant there were still valuables inside.
Seeing that dawn was already breaking, Qu Weiwei sped up. She quickly climbed over the wall.
Looking in the direction of the Qu residence, she saw that several courtyards had already collapsed. The fire crackled loudly, and amid the noise, she could even hear the voice of the First Madam, Zhang Sumei.
Who knew if the First Madam was aware of the grain stored here? She had to hurry—she couldn’t let Zhang Sumei come to her senses and rush over.
Her short legs moved even faster. After jumping down, she took out a master key from her tool room and unlocked the door.
Since this place supplied the Qu household, the grain inside was freshly harvested in June. The moment she opened it, the scent of wheat filled the air.
Qu Weiwei happily stored all the grain into her space. There were at least tens of thousands of pound piled up here.
After collecting the grain, she looked around the storage area. As she paced back and forth, her small feet suddenly triggered a hidden mechanism.
A secret underground chamber appeared, with more than a dozen steps leading down. The space was enormous—much larger than above—and judging by its width, it seemed that the ground beneath two houses and their courtyards had been completely hollowed out.
The chamber was about twenty-five to twenty-six meters long and wide, and roughly three and a half meters high—enough to stack three layers of large sacks. The entire space was packed full, leaving only a narrow area by the stairs, possibly for access.
Qu Weiwei clicked her tongue in amazement. How much grain would it take to fill such a place?
But there was no time to dwell on it. Dawn was approaching—she had to move fast, or she’d be in serious trouble if discovered.
After collecting all the grain, she collapsed from exhaustion. But she didn’t dare rest down there. Instead, she exited through another staircase. On the other side, she found even more grain in the courtyard—over six hundred sacks of freshly harvested rice.
This region belonged to the north, so people mostly ate wheat-based foods. The grain she had collected earlier included wheat, soybeans, and sorghum.
Now, these six hundred sacks were all rice—and even larger than the previous sacks. Each of those could hold about two hundred pounds, and these seemed to hold even more.
After storing everything, she returned through the underground chamber to the fourth courtyard, then climbed back into the fifth courtyard using a ladder.
One of the courtyards had already been looted. It was in complete disarray—anything of value had been taken. Only immovable items like stone tables, stools, and the well remained.
Qu Weiwei went to the back of the courtyard, found an empty room, tidied it up a bit, and then returned to her space.
This place didn’t belong to the Qu family, so she decided to rest first before figuring out what to do next. Earlier, from atop the wall, she had seen that people had already escaped—but she didn’t know how many.
She also wondered how much sedative He Youyou had been given—why hadn’t she woken up yet?
By now, the sky was fully bright. Along with the noise of people, the sound of police sirens filled the air.
The Qu family was the wealthiest in Pingcheng. The mansion had been filled with treasures—now reduced to ashes overnight. It was a pity to behold.
Standing at the gate, the First Madam was stunned. She hadn’t expected to be caught in the scheme as well. Fortunately, when Master Qu had instructed her to pack earlier, she had already sent all her dowry away. Otherwise, she would have been devastated.
Still, thinking of those vixens who had died, she couldn’t help but feel satisfied. She had long despised them—now they were all gone.
By noon, the police had determined that the fire was deliberate arson, though the culprit remained unknown.
A total of sixty-three bodies were recovered from the Qu residence, including thirteen children. The rest were adults, all burned beyond recognition.
Zhang Sumei didn’t bother identifying them. She left everything to the authorities and departed with her son, daughter, and personal maid.
The onlookers whispered among themselves. Everyone believed the Qu family had simply been too wealthy, attracting disaster.
In a single night, more than sixty lives were reduced to charred remains—along with all the riches and that once magnificent estate.