Collecting Silver

Qibao suddenly realized that this dagger wasn't an ordinary one—it was something special, given that it came with her space.

She pulled out the dagger and easily sliced along the outline. It required very little force.

Holding the cut piece in her hand, Qibao took a closer look—it was a wooden board covered in white lime.

After removing the wooden board, Qibao discovered it was indeed a secret chamber, with all the walls also painted white.

The wooden board had clearly been used to block off this passage, blending seamlessly with the wall—it was a well-hidden secret.

"This secret chamber is underground, just as Magistrate Feng mentioned earlier. These chests must contain what we're looking for." Qibao said with a grin.

She noticed each chest had two white seals, crisscrossed over it.

Qibao peeled off the seals and opened the chests. To her surprise, inside were neatly stacked ingots of silver.

A smile spread across Qibao's face. Since these were ill-gotten gains acquired by Magistrate Feng, she felt no qualms about taking them.

With a wave of Qibao's hand, all the silver inside vanished into her space. After a moment's thought, she took out a few large rocks from her space and placed them in the chests. She then closed the lids and resealed them with tape.

After examining each chest one by one, Qibao found three chests of silver ingots, one chest of gold ingots, and another chest filled with various necklaces made of agate and pearls.

Qibao didn't hesitate to take everything into her space. She also put some rocks in the empty chests, resealed them, and then erased all traces of her visit before heading back down the passage. However, she carefully reattached the piece of wood she had cut earlier, ensuring it wouldn't be noticed unless examined closely.

Following the passage, Qibao returned to the well and jumped up, finding herself back in the courtyard.

Qibao had spent a considerable amount of time on this trip, afraid that her eldest brother might worry. She immediately hastened to reunite with the others.

When Qibao arrived at their meeting place, she saw Su Chenyu's anxious face and Jing Chen's slightly furrowed brow. Only her eldest brother remained composed.

When the three friends saw Qibao, they breathed sighs of relief.

"Qibao, why did you come so late?" Su Chenyu asked: "If you didn't show up, I was going to come look for you."

Jing Chen's face relaxed as he gently inquired: "Are you alright?"

Qibao nodded and said: "I'm fine. Let's talk about it on our way back."

The four of them headed towards the inn.

Meanwhile, Wen Yuan was incredibly anxious, pacing back and forth in his dark room.

When he heard a soft knock at the window, he opened it with a look of relief.

Seeing it was indeed the four friends, he let out the breath he was holding.

They entered the room, and Wen Yuan poured each of them a cup of water: "How did it go? Was it smooth?"

Su Chenyu picked up his cup and took a sip: "They three went inside. I was just keeping watch. I don't know if they found out anything."

Xu Wenwu spoke up: "We didn't find out anything about Uncle Wen, but we did overhear some other things."

Wen Yuan, not discouraged, asked: "What things?"

"This Magistrate Feng seems to be secretly robbing people with his mistress's brother." Xu Wenwu said: "The Feng Manor is much bigger than the Wen Manor. It's full of fancy decorations and expensive stuff."

Su Chenyu agreed: "Right. Even though I haven't explored much, what I've seen is way too much for a mere Magistrate to afford. He must have stolen tons of treasure from others."

Jing Chen said: "From what I heard, his mistress plans to send someone to inform her brother tomorrow. We should see if we can follow them and find out more."

Xu Wenwu agreed: "Good, but we can't go as a group. If there are too many of us, we'll be noticed."

Su Chenyu jumped up: "I'll go! I'll go! They won't notice me at all."

Jing Chen said: "Great. You go then."

Everyone agreed. After they finished discussing, they went back to their rooms to rest.

The next morning, Qibao woke up and found that Su Chenyu had already left.

Qibao decided to go for a walk. Master Qian mentioned wanting to open a new branch before. She figured she'd look around for a good store to buy.

She knocked on her brother's door and told him about it.

Xu Wenwu said: "I'll go with you!"

Qibao thought about it for a moment. She didn't refuse and nodded instead.

After telling Jing Chen and the others, she stepped out.

Jing Chen wanted to come too, but someone had to stay at the inn. If Su Chenyu returned, he'd have no way to find them otherwise.

The sister and brother hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so they found a place to eat before starting their walk.

"Qibao, when you left by yourself last night, I was afraid that..." Xu Wenwu didn't finish his sentence, just smiling at his sister.

Qibao chuckled: "Nothing escapes my dear brother's eyes. I made a fortune last night."

Xu Wenwu asked: "Did you check the silver? Are there any special marks on it?"

"Relax." Qibao said: "I checked. There are no special marks. It's just like regular money."

When he heard this, Xu Wenwu stopped asking more questions. As long as his sister was happy, he didn't care what she did, as long as it didn't harm her.

As they walked along, many people they passed were discussing what had happened at the government office the previous night.

Some people laughed with glee when they heard that Feng Zheng couldn't be a man.

"It seems like the news has spread far and wide." Qibao observed: "The people from Feng Manor probably won't be making any trouble during this stormy time."

Xu Wenwu nodded: "Sister, since we don't know Xuanyang Town very well yet, we'll probably need to find a real estate agent who specializes in shops to buy one." He said.

Qibao agreed. This was certainly better than wandering aimlessly.

After asking a passerby for directions, they found a real estate office. The people inside first secretly sized up the brother and sister. Seeing they were well-dressed, they quickly approached them with enthusiasm: "Young master, are you here to buy people or property?"

Xu Wenwu replied: "Boss, do you have a shop that is suitable for a restaurant business? It should be big, preferably with two floors."

The shopkeeper's ears perked up. This could be a big sale! He quickly smiled and said: We do have something like that. But we only have one unit. You know how good business is in Xuanyang Town—the shops are in high demand. This one just became available yesterday when an acquaintance left town and asked me to sell it for him. I hadn't even spread the word, and look, you two came knocking! Arriving just in time beats being early any day!"

Xu Wenwu asked: "Could you show us the shop?"

"Absolutely!" the shopkeeper replied: "I'll take you there right away."

On the way, the shopkeeper asked: "Are you two planning to open a restaurant here? Let me tell you, this location is great—you can't go wrong with it for business."

Xu Wenwu nodded and said: "Shopkeeper, do you have any suitable houses for sale? We need a bigger one."

The shopkeeper smiled: "Yes, yes, yes! Young sir, are you looking to buy another house?"

Xu Wenwu said: "If the shop's price is right and we're satisfied with it, then we'll also buy another house."

Hearing this, the shopkeeper understood the situation. He said: "Don't worry, gentlemen. My prices are fair and reasonable—I won't rip you off."