The chaos erupting in the Imperial Kitchen was none of Hua Zhiyun’s concern.
Following the map, she headed straight for the Dog Emperor’s private treasury.
The guards were dispatched with ease. She split the lock open with her bare hand and strode inside.
Compared to the Empress’s Fengyi Palace, the emperor’s private treasury was on an entirely different level of extravagance.
She wasted no time.
With a single thought, everything inside vanished into her space.
She flicked her sleeve.
Not even a single copper coin was left behind.
Since she’d already emptied the emperor’s private treasury, how could she possibly overlook the national treasury?
Guided by the map, she soon arrived there.
Compared to the emperor’s private vault, however, the national treasury was noticeably poorer.
The novel had described the state treasury as nearly bankrupt.
Seeing it with her own eyes, Hua Zhiyun found that description wasn’t exaggerated in the slightest.
She certainly didn’t mind making matters worse.
Other than the account books, she took everything.
Coarse grain.
Fine grain.
Collected.
Weapons and winter uniforms.
Collected.
Military provisions.
Medicinal herbs.
Collected.
Looking at the now completely empty treasury, Hua Zhiyun smiled in satisfaction. She casually stepped over the unconscious guards and swaggered out as though she owned the place.
There were still plenty of red resource markers on her map.
The largest concentration belonged to Grand Secretary Su’s residence.
The novel described him as the empire’s most corrupt official.
He was also Su Wanmei’s natal family.
Nothing delighted Hua Zhiyun more than robbing the rich.
She pointed at the red marker representing the Grand Secretary’s estate.
In the next instant—
She was teleported there.
“With this map in hand, the world is mine.”
It was infinitely more convenient than any GPS app from her previous life.
After Hua Zhiyun left, the imperial palace descended into utter chaos.
It started when the eunuchs of the Imperial Kitchen discovered that every last ingredient had disappeared.
Then the palace maids in Fengyi Palace awoke to find themselves lying inside…
…an empty palace.
Even the combs in their hands had vanished.
Apart from piles of hair left on the floor, not a single item remained.
The maids scrambled to their feet, thinking they’d been kidnapped. As they rushed outside shouting for help, they stared in disbelief at the plaque reading Fengyi Palace.
Could this stripped-bare shell really be the Empress’s palace?
“Where is Her Majesty?”
“Your Majesty?”
“Oh no! The Empress is missing!”
“Heavens! Even the floor tiles are gone!”
“Where’s the fish pond?”
“The plum tree Her Majesty loved the most?”
Everyone in Fengyi Palace stood dumbfounded before scattering in every direction to search.
The commotion quickly spread to the rest of the harem.
The consorts throughout the Six Palaces awoke to discover they were wearing nothing but their inner robes.
Even their quilts had disappeared.
Had Hua Zhiyun not worried about waking them while she looted, she wouldn’t have left them even a mattress to sleep on.
Looking around their palace halls—cleaner than a field after a swarm of locusts—and then opening their private storehouses…
They nearly fainted from rage.
“The audacity! Someone dared steal my possessions?”
“Guards!”
“Catch the thief!”
The entire imperial harem erupted into panic.
News of the Empress’s disappearance from Fengyi Palace could no longer be concealed.
Yet upon hearing it, the consorts instantly forgot their own losses.
Compared to losing a few valuables…
The Empress herself had disappeared.
How fascinating.
Whether she returned alive or not, the gossip alone would drown her.
Who knew whether she had been abducted by a rapist…
…or by an infamous master thief?
The emperor happened to be away from the palace.
With the harem in turmoil, the officials responsible for guarding the imperial treasury decided to inspect the emperor’s private vault.
The moment the door opened—
The steward’s legs gave out.
He crawled inside.
Staring at the utterly empty vault—not even a feather remained—
He fainted on the spot.
Meanwhile…
News also reached the national treasury.
The officials rushed over to inspect it.
Seeing the guards sprawled unconscious outside, their hearts immediately sank.
They pushed open the half-closed doors.
The official in charge spat out a mouthful of blood before collapsing to his knees.
“Heavens!”
“Who dared commit such an outrageous crime…”
“…and empty the national treasury?”
Only echoes answered him from the cavernous, empty vault.
At that moment…
Hua Zhiyun stood atop a patch of ground inside Grand Secretary Su’s estate.
According to the map, his hidden underground treasury lay directly beneath her feet.
Following the map’s instructions, she twisted an inconspicuous ornamental rock beside the artificial hill.
Click… Click…
A hidden mechanism activated.
A secret stone door slowly opened, revealing a staircase.
Without hesitation, Hua Zhiyun descended.
The underground treasury was even larger than both the national treasury and the emperor’s private vault.
It was as spacious as the underground parking garage of a shopping mall.
The first things she noticed were rows of sealed chests.
One label immediately caught her eye.
Dowry of the Princess Consort of Prince Chu.
Hua Zhiyun raised an eyebrow.
“Excellent.”
“These belong to the original owner.”
After Prince Chu had been framed and imprisoned, his estate was confiscated.
As his princess consort, the original Hua Zhiyun’s dowry had naturally been confiscated as well.
It should have ended up in the national treasury.
Yet here it sat…
Inside Grand Secretary Su’s private vault.
There was no need to ask why.
The answer was simple.
Embezzlement.
No wonder he was the greatest corrupt official in the empire.
If she didn’t empty his estate completely, her surname wasn’t Hua.
She had no time to inspect every item.
With a thought—
The entire underground treasury disappeared.
Not a single thing remained.
After leaving the underground vault, the map revealed another hidden warehouse elsewhere on the estate.
Every courtyard also contained its own private storeroom.
Like a typhoon sweeping across the land, Hua Zhiyun looted everything within a hundred-meter radius.
Her ability saved an enormous amount of time.
Grand Secretary Su’s residence was enormous.
She cleared one courtyard after another.
The ladies’ dowries.
The betrothal gifts prepared for the sons.
The dowries prepared for the daughters.
She took every last one without hesitation.
Passing one elegant courtyard, she found it particularly pleasing.
The plaque read:
Evening Breeze Courtyard.
The novel had mentioned it before.
It had been Su Wanmei’s residence before her marriage.
When it came to infuriating people…
Hua Zhiyun considered herself an expert.
She casually lifted one hand.
The entire courtyard vanished.
All that remained was a gigantic bare pit.
Having an infinite storage space was wonderful.
No matter how much she collected, she never had to worry about running out of room.
Not long afterward, servants making their rounds passed by Evening Breeze Courtyard.
One elderly nanny accidentally stepped into empty air.
She fell straight into the pit, splitting her head open.
After painfully climbing out, she stared blankly at the enormous crater.
“When… when did they dig such a huge pit here?”
“Wasn’t this Her Majesty’s Evening Breeze Courtyard?”
Realizing something was terribly wrong, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Madam!”
“Master!”
“Something terrible has happened!”
By the time the main household was roused from sleep…
Hua Zhiyun had already used the map to reach another of Grand Secretary Su’s hidden treasure locations—
His study.
Unlike the other places, the study was heavily guarded.
The instant she appeared—
Someone spotted her.
“Who’s there?!”
A blade shot toward her.
Hua Zhiyun’s eyes turned cold.
A gleam flashed through her beautiful eyes.
The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
The dagger aimed straight at her chest abruptly changed direction under the effect of her psychic ability—
Reflection.
Instead of striking her…
It flew back toward the guard who had thrown it.
Thud!
It pierced directly through his heart.
The guard let out a muffled grunt before collapsing.
The remaining guards instantly became even more murderous.
Arrows rained toward her from every direction.
Yet Hua Zhiyun remained perfectly calm.
Wherever her gaze landed—
Every incoming arrow rebounded.
Whoever had fired an arrow…
Was struck by his own arrow.
Without exception.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One after another, guards tumbled from rooftops and tree branches, crashing to the ground.
She had no time to waste fighting them.
After quickly dealing with the guards, Hua Zhiyun pressed herself against the study window, preparing to collect the treasures inside.
Then she heard voices.
“Prince Chu is as good as dead.”
“Make sure he never reaches the place of exile alive.”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty,” another voice replied. “This old minister will make the necessary arrangements.”
“There’s no need for such caution, Grand Secretary.”
The emperor, Xiao Lian, laughed softly.
“No outsiders know the truth.”
“But surely you and I do.”
“I am not of imperial blood.”
“My veins carry the blood of the Su family.”
The revelation was earth-shattering.
Grand Secretary Su’s expression filled with excitement.
“Your Majesty! Please don’t say such things aloud.”
Xiao Lian smiled.
“Thanks to you, Grand Secretary.”
“You switched me with Prince Chu all those years ago.”
“That allowed me to become a prince of the imperial family…”
“…and eventually sit securely upon this throne.”
“It is this old minister’s greatest honor to serve Your Majesty.”
How could Grand Secretary Su not be thrilled?
The one ruling the empire carried the Su family’s blood.
This entire realm…
Belonged to the Su family.
Hua Zhiyun never expected to overhear such a shocking secret.
Fortunately…
She had a voice recorder stored in her dimensional space.
She immediately took it out and started recording.
Evidence.
This was irrefutable evidence.
It would prove incredibly useful.
So…
Prince Chu was the true heir to the imperial bloodline.
And the reigning emperor…
Was actually a member of the Su family.
They had switched the princes at birth.
A cuckoo occupying another bird’s nest.
What a masterful scheme.
Just as Hua Zhiyun was about to switch off the recorder, she heard Grand Secretary Su ask,
“What should we do with Princess Consort Chu?”
“To help Your Majesty frame Prince Chu, she personally brought those items into Prince Chu’s residence.”
“If not for her, this plan wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”
Hua Zhiyun blinked.
“…What?”