Chapter 114: Ah Bao Opens the Blind Box

“Wow!” Ah Bao, who had been poking around the living room, looked here and there, then tapped on a wall, and a hidden compartment appeared.

Minister Wen froze. Where did this mechanism come from in the hall?

Madam Xu, realizing what was happening, bolted toward the hall. “Oh my heavens! Ten Princess, what are you doing? Get away from there!”

Madam Xu was strong and quickly grabbed Ah Bao, lifting her like a little chick and tossing her to the side.

Ah Bao landed on the floor with a thud.

“Sister!” Di Zian hurried over, his face stern as he looked at Madam Xu. “This is outrageous.”

Madam Xu quickly covered the mechanism and, seeing Di Zian’s fierce expression, hastily explained, “Your Highness, please don’t look at me like that. The little princess shouldn’t be touching things in our house without permission. I was just acting in a moment of urgency; I had no intention of hurting her.”

“There’s money.”

Amidst the tense standoff, Ah Bao’s little head peeked out from behind Di Zian’s leg, her round eyes fixed on the hidden compartment as she pointed at it. “There’s money.”

Madam Xu’s face twisted into a scowl, her tone cold, “Ten Princess.”

Di Zian let out a cold snort. “Well, Minister Wen, donations should be voluntary. You’ve claimed to have given all you have, and Ah Bao and I were deeply moved by your gesture.

But since it wasn’t everything, you only needed to tell the truth. Why put on a show?”

Minister Wen was horrified. “No, Your Highness, there’s been a misunderstanding. We truly have no more money.”

“Then what’s that?”

Minister Wen moved closer to Madam Xu and looked inside.

Madam Xu tried to block him.

But she couldn’t.

When Minister Wen opened the box, his face turned green.

A large chest of gold.

More gold than he’d ever seen in his life.

“My dear, whose is this?”

Madam Xu stammered, “I… It’s mine, of course.”

“Where did you get so many gold ingots?”

[They’re Madam Xu’s ill-gotten gains. If Minister Wen doesn’t figure this out soon, he’ll end up in prison because of his wife.]

[So much gold, hidden here, there, and everywhere.]

Di Zian: “…”

Little sister.

How do you know so much about the Wen family’s secrets?

Ah Bao waved over a little black dog crouched at the door. The dog trembled all over, wanting to retreat, but its legs wouldn’t cooperate, and it trotted inside against its will.

The little black dog wailed internally: !!!

This little girl is a goddess.

A true goddess.

It didn’t dare approach.

It wanted to leave.

But whenever it encountered the little girl, its legs wouldn’t listen to it.

Ah Bao stroked the dog’s fur gently, one stroke after another.

She could understand animal speech.

Meanwhile, Madam Xu and Minister Wen were crying and wailing.

But Ah Bao had already darted off and opened a hidden compartment in the floor.

Another little box!

There was even a small box hidden in a vase.

Ah Bao kept bouncing around the hall, finding black boxes one after another. When she finally stacked them all up, Minister Wen couldn’t even stand.

“What… what’s in all these?”

Ah Bao opened each box like she was opening blind boxes.

She was completely hooked.

One after another, she opened them with glee.

They were filled with gleaming gold, silver, and jewels.

And banknotes.

Minister Wen collapsed to the floor.

He had always thought his family was poor. He had lived an upright life, never taking a single bribe. So where did all this money come from?

“Finished, finished, it’s truly over now,” Madam Xu sobbed, slapping her thighs in frustration, overwhelmed with worry.

But she dared not stop Ah Bao.

She was, after all, the Tenth Princess, of royal blood, not someone a mere woman like Madam Xu could touch at will.

“Minister Wen, don’t you think you owe us an explanation?” Di Zian asked, pointing at the piles of gold and silver, equally stunned.

Judging by the looks of it, there had to be over ten thousand taels.

Minister Wen glared at Madam Xu, his expression harsh for the first time.

Madam Xu, already terrified, collapsed to the ground, saying, “I… Old Wen, listen to me, these were gifts from those who asked for your help. I… I couldn’t refuse.”

“Gifts? This is corruption!” Minister Wen was nearly driven to a fit of rage.

“I had no choice! People asked for our help; we couldn’t just do it for free. I only took a little something in return; it wasn’t excessive. Besides, my health isn’t good, and you’re getting old too. How will our son survive in the future on just your meager salary?

Old Wen, I know I was wrong, but the gifts were delivered to our door, and I couldn’t refuse them. I promise I won’t do it again. Don’t look at me like that; you’ve never been this harsh with me before!”

“And now you’re playing the victim? Do you realize that corruption can cost you your job and your head? You take these gifts, but do you think you’ll live long enough to enjoy them?” Minister Wen was so angry his chest ached.

What a disastrous wife!

No wonder people occasionally came by to visit him, saying all sorts of strange things.

It turns out his wife had been taking bribes behind his back!

No wonder some of his colleagues at court had been giving him strange looks after meetings.

They must have assumed he was just like them—corrupt!

Madam Xu, now truly frightened, burst into louder sobs, crying for Old Wen to save her, crying out for his help.

The once calm and orderly hall had suddenly turned into a scene of chaos.

Di Zian and Minister Wen both felt their heads buzzing.

Oh heavens.

Who could come up with a way to stop Madam Xu from crying?

When women started crying, they were at a loss.

“This is just the beginning; Madam Xu has more surprises in store,” someone commented.

“Minister Wen, hang in there, hang in there!”

“You’ll need to stay strong and take control of the situation.”

Di Zian swallowed hard, filled with dread.

Hiding things from her own husband, taking on bribes, this was no small matter.

“Seventh Prince, Tenth Princess, this… this official is terrified,” Minister Wen finally broke down and cried.

Out of sheer anger.

Meanwhile, Ah Bao was still playing with the little black dog nearby.

Di Zian rubbed his temples in exasperation and said, “We can talk about this.”

Minister Wen responded quickly, “I await the Seventh Prince’s orders.”

Di Zian winked at Ah Bao.

Ah Bao grinned mischievously.

Di Zian understood immediately, “These illicit gains are going to be confiscated anyway, but considering that Minister Wen was truly unaware of the situation, you might as well donate it all. When I return to the palace, I will report the facts to the Emperor.

Given your sincere donation this time, it might offset your mistakes. I believe the Emperor won’t make things too difficult for you.”

Minister Wen quickly bowed, “The Seventh Prince is right. I will donate everything, without a doubt.”

Madam Xu was stunned.

So, all the ‘savings’ she had painstakingly amassed over the years were going to be donated by Old Wen?

All her hard work over the years had gone to waste, and she gained nothing in return.

She had hidden it so well, just to keep Old Wen from finding it, and had stored it in the hall, knowing Old Wen would never think to look there.

Who knew that years of effort would be lost in a single moment?