Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was asleep, Hua Zhiyun repeated her old trick.
She put on her invisible raincoat, lifted the carriage curtain, and quietly headed toward Huanzhou City.
Her target tonight was the Su family’s local lackeys.
She intended to clean them out completely, not leaving them with a single coin.
Once she was far enough from the exile camp, Hua Zhiyun released the yellow horse from her space.
The horse woke up almost instantly.
Recognizing Hua Zhiyun, it eagerly trotted over and tried to lick her face.
She stuffed a piece of rock candy into its mouth instead.
The yellow horse’s ears perked up happily.
“Big Sister, you’re so beautiful!”
Fortunately, it had said “beautiful,” not “gorgeous.”
Otherwise, she’d have suspected that shameless flirt from her previous life had somehow reincarnated into a horse.
Being reborn as a horse would be pretty unfortunate.
Ignoring the horse’s attempts to flatter her, Hua Zhiyun swung herself onto its back.
She didn’t have much time.
If she failed to return to the exile route within an hour and a half, the cursed map would empty her entire storage space.
Luckily, with the yellow horse’s incredible speed, there was more than enough time.
The horse took off at a gallop toward Huanzhou.
When the city walls came into view, it began accelerating from far away.
Then—
It leaped.
Under the cover of darkness, horse and rider flew cleanly over the towering city wall before landing steadily inside the city.
Hua Zhiyun gave the horse a thumbs-up.
She had already known how powerful crystal cores were.
She just hadn’t expected them to have such an incredible effect on animals.
With this horse’s ability to leap over walls and rooftops, she no longer needed to climb city walls herself.
On the city wall, one of the guards rubbed his eyes.
“I… I think I just saw a horse fly over the wall.”
His companion burst into laughter.
“Have you gone crazy? No matter how good a horse is, it can’t jump over walls this high and this wide. Flying horses don’t exist. You’ve been drinking.”
The first guard was gradually convinced.
That was true.
Even the finest warhorse couldn’t accomplish something like that.
Never mind an ordinary horse.
He shook his head.
“I must be so sleepy that I’m seeing things. Come on, let’s patrol a round before the captain catches us slacking off.”
If either guard had looked toward the main street, they’d have seen the truth.
The yellow horse had cloth wrapped around all four hooves to muffle the sound of its horseshoes against the stone road.
Before long, horse and rider arrived outside the Su residence.
Following the map’s guidance, Hua Zhiyun headed straight for the hidden vaults.
The secret chambers.
The underground treasury.
The kitchens.
Even the ladies’ dowries.
She emptied every last one.
Since everything they possessed had been obtained through corruption, bribery, and exploiting the common people…
She collected it with a perfectly clear conscience.
To cover her tracks, she also started a fire.
That way, no one would realize their storehouses had been emptied.
The rice, flour, cooking oil, and other food from the kitchens…
Gone.
The gold, silver, jewels, and treasures buried underground…
Gone too.
Hua Zhiyun had discovered that people in ancient times loved hiding valuables in studies and underground vaults.
One search was usually enough.
Of course…
She didn’t even need to search.
The map pointed out every hidden cache for her.
When the fire broke out, the Su family had no time to worry about anything except escaping with their lives.
Some people valued money over survival.
They frantically searched for their jewelry boxes, trying to carry them out.
Ironically, they couldn’t find them.
One woman nearly burned alive before someone dragged her outside.
The flames spread ferociously.
The entire residence descended into chaos.
Fortunately, the family themselves survived.
When the fire was finally extinguished, they looked at their burned estate with hearts full of grief.
The family head secretly comforted himself.
At least everything underground is still safe.
The buildings above might be gone…
But the underground vault couldn’t possibly have burned too, could it?
Later…
He unlocked the entrance to the underground treasury.
The moment he stepped inside—
His face froze.
There were burn marks.
But that wasn’t the important part.
His hidden treasures…
The bribes he’d accumulated…
The priceless valuables he’d cherished…
Everything…
Was gone.
Every last piece.
He was so furious that he suffered a stroke on the spot.
Extreme joy.
Extreme sorrow.
Either could kill a person.
Thus, after Grand Secretary Su, another member of the Su family became bedridden by a stroke.
Yet he couldn’t dare tell anyone the truth.
Outwardly, he’d always maintained the image of a poor, honest official.
Behind the scenes, he squeezed every drop of profit he could from the people.
If the Su family in the capital found out how much wealth he’d secretly accumulated…
They’d realize he’d been keeping too much for himself instead of sending enough tribute back.
That would truly be courting death.
At this point…
He could only swallow the bitter truth.
Meanwhile, Hua Zhiyun returned to the exile route just before the deadline.
Her storage space remained intact.
And she’d earned another enormous fortune.
She hadn’t expected this seemingly insignificant official outside the capital to possess wealth almost comparable to Grand Secretary Su’s.
Among the loot were countless South Sea pearls.
Large.
Perfectly round.
Radiant with luster.
Clearly top-grade pearls.
“They’d make excellent pearl face masks,” she muttered happily.
Horse and rider made their way back in high spirits.
Neither of them knew…
That while they had been away…
Someone had nearly set Hua Zhiyun’s carriage on fire.
A vine silently emerged from the darkness.
It wrapped around the would-be arsonist, gagged them, and dragged them away.
Their mouth was stuffed with vines.
Not a sound escaped.
Soon afterward, Bai Zhu finished interrogating Li Shi.
The culprit had indeed been Li Shi.
She no longer wanted to live.
Before dying, she intended to drag Hua Zhiyun down with her.
Chu Linzhang had noticed her suspicious movements from the very beginning.
He deliberately hadn’t alerted anyone.
He wanted to see what she planned to do.
The moment he realized she intended to burn Hua Zhiyun alive…
He stopped her immediately.
As a result…
No one sleeping in the carriage ever woke up.
Something about the whole incident still didn’t feel right.
Just then, a shadow guard quietly approached the prison cart.
“Master.”
“We discovered a horse running toward Huanzhou with no rider.”
“Judging by its build, it’s no inferior to a thousand-li horse. It doesn’t seem to be wild.”
“No owner?” Chu Linzhang asked.
How could such a magnificent horse be wandering freely?
The shadow guard shook his head.
“I observed it for quite a while. There wasn’t anyone.”
Chu Linzhang fell silent for a moment.
“Keep watching.”
“If it truly has no owner…”
“Capture it.”
To Chu Linzhang, who had spent much of his life on horseback, horses were more than transportation.
They were companions.
Hearing of such an exceptional horse naturally tempted him.
He already had Hei Ci.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t own another.
If it happened to be a mare…
He could even breed it with Hei Ci and produce even better foals.
Soon, Bai Zhu returned after completing the interrogation.
“Li Shi bears a grudge against the Princess Consort.”
“She intended to perish together with her by burning the carriage.”
Chu Linzhang’s expression remained cold.
“Bury her.”
“Yes.”
Bai Zhu accepted the order without hesitation and withdrew.
From the moment Li Shi repeatedly provoked both the prince and princess…
She had already been marked for death.
Now…
She had finally gotten what she deserved.
Bai Zhu dragged her far away so the others wouldn’t be disturbed.
He dug a pit.
Then threw the terrified woman inside.
Burying someone alive was too cruel.
He covered her remaining eye with one hand.
His dagger pierced straight into her heart.
Fast.
Accurate.
Merciless.
She died with almost no pain.
Tomorrow, everyone would assume she’d abandoned her husband and children and fled.
No one would ask about her again.
Li Shi never understood…
Once exile began…
Human lives became worthless.
You either survived.
Or you died.
When Hua Zhiyun was close enough to the camp, she rewarded the yellow horse with another piece of rock candy and a crisp apple.
The horse finished the apple with loud, happy crunches.
It tried to rub its large head against her affectionately.
Hua Zhiyun immediately stored it back inside her space.
A horse acting spoiled?
Do you think you’re a cat?
Putting on her invisible raincoat once more, she returned unnoticed to her carriage.
No one could see her.
She lifted the curtain and was about to climb inside when a voice suddenly came from beside her.
“Where did you go?”
Without missing a beat, Hua Zhiyun climbed into the carriage and smiled.
“I went to relieve myself.”
“I didn’t invite you to come along.”
“Are you angry?”
Chu Linzhang: “…”
He had absolutely no desire to accompany her.
Nor had he wanted an invitation.
The moment the words left his mouth…
He regretted speaking.
If his hands had been functional…
He would have slapped himself.
Why couldn’t I just keep my mouth shut?
Having successfully silenced Chu Linzhang, Hua Zhiyun rolled over comfortably inside the carriage.
Her mood couldn’t have been better.
She crossed one leg over the other.
If not for the prison cart parked beside her carriage…
She might have broken into song.
Meanwhile…
While Hua Zhiyun was in excellent spirits…
Far away in the imperial palace of the capital—
Su Wanmei lay awake all night, unable to sleep.