Chapter 4: Lu Zhicai Grows Suspicious

The moment she heard “investigation team,” Aunt Wang became nervous again.

“Alright, alright, there’s no time to waste. Come with me quickly!”

Jiang Tangtang helped her carry the black cloth bag in her hand.

“Auntie, you lead the way. I’ll carry this for you so you can walk faster—time is tight.”

“Okay, okay, then hurry up!”

With her hands freed up, Aunt Wang quickened her pace.

She led Jiang Tangtang around the back mountain behind their villa area. The main path gradually disappeared, and after walking a few more minutes, they turned into a small trail hidden behind a rock wall.

The trail was clearly newly formed, likely from recent foot traffic, and with the rain earlier, it was muddy and slippery. Still, neither of them cared—they trudged through the mud toward the pit.

After walking about ten minutes along the trail, they passed through a pear orchard—whoever owned it was unknown. As they continued, more people began appearing.

From their faces, Jiang Tangtang could tell they were all neighbors from her area. A few more steps forward, and they arrived at the location.

Just as Aunt Wang said, the spot was hidden behind the orchard, where a large pit had been dug. Despite the rain, everyone looked grim. No one spoke, all too busy hiding things.

If someone didn’t bring you here, this place would be hard to find.

Jiang Tangtang stepped forward and looked into the pit. By sheer coincidence, she saw her scumbag father inside, sweating as he buried things.

So this was where all the treasures from the upstairs study and basement had gone! No wonder she couldn’t find them.

Those antiques were her maternal grandfather’s collection, many of which had been smuggled out of the palace during wartime. Her grandfather had cherished them deeply, spending time and money to collect them and intended to leave them to his granddaughters.

It was impressive how much effort they had gone through to hide everything. All of it was packed into burlap sacks, tied tightly with hemp ropes, and labeled with names.

Just under Lu Zhicai alone, there were at least six sacks labeled with his name. Jiang Tangtang roughly memorized their positions, using the big tree beside her as a landmark.

After committing it to memory, she exhaled and returned the black bag to Aunt Wang.

“Aunt Wang, please don’t tell my dad I came here. Some of those things were secretly left to me by my mom and grandpa. I don’t want him to know, okay?”

They were neighbors, and Aunt Wang was somewhat aware of her family’s mess. She didn’t want to get caught up in their internal drama.

Thinking of this, Aunt Wang quickly nodded.

“I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. If you need to take anything but are worried your dad might find out, you can hide it at my place—in my trunk. Don’t worry, Auntie won’t touch your things.”

Jiang Tangtang smiled in thanks.

“Thank you, Auntie. I don’t have much stuff anyway. I won’t trouble you more. You get back to what you were doing—I’m heading home to pack up.”

She bid Aunt Wang farewell and walked home along the same muddy trail.

Back home, she first observed from outside cautiously, then leaned against the window to peek inside.

Only after confirming no one was home did she run to her room, quickly changing her clothes and shoes and stashing them into her space.

She then changed into clean clothes and pretended like nothing had happened, lying down on the bed to rest.

Soon, she heard noises downstairs.

At first, it was Lu Zhicai’s footsteps. Then came the sound of a door opening and voices.

Unfortunately, they were speaking in low voices, so Jiang Tangtang couldn’t hear clearly and simply didn’t bother to listen.

She already knew they were planning to flee. Since she couldn’t stop them, she didn’t care anymore—it wasn’t worth the trouble.

After a while, she heard Lu Zhicai coming upstairs. From the sound of the footsteps, he was likely heading to the bedroom or study.

Those rooms had already been cleaned out by Jiang Tangtang—there was nothing left.

After rummaging through the study, Lu Zhicai realized there really was nothing left. He scratched his head in confusion.

There should have been some cash in the study. Yet after all the packing, he had only managed to bring some antiques—and not even all of them.

Who had taken the cash?

Even the large decorative vases on the shelves were gone. Suspicion crept in.

Everyone else had gone out—only Jiang Tangtang was still at home. He couldn’t help but suspect her.

After some thought, he walked straight to Jiang Tangtang’s door. After hesitating, he knocked.

Hearing the knock, Jiang Tangtang immediately pretended she’d just woken up and rushed to open the door.

“Dad? What’s the matter?”

She was still in her pajamas and didn’t look like she’d gone out. But Lu Zhicai wasn’t convinced. He stepped into her room.

“Nothing, just thought I might have accidentally left something in your room. Wanted to check.”

As he spoke, he rummaged through her nightstand and wardrobe but found nothing. He gave Jiang Tangtang a suspicious glance.

“You’ve been sleeping all afternoon?”

His tone was laced with doubt. Jiang Tangtang knew he was suspicious, so she immediately straightened her face and replied,

“I didn’t sleep at all yesterday, staying up just to guard the house. I only caught a few hours of sleep before you woke me up…”

She even looked aggrieved after saying it.

Lu Zhicai, being paranoid by nature, was hard to fool.

He even looked under the bed and lifted the comforter before finally calming down.

“Didn’t find anything. Maybe I left it in another room. You get some rest—I won’t bother you.”

There wasn’t much in the room—just a few clothes in the closet. After confirming there was nothing suspicious, he finally left.

He probably assumed his belongings had been dealt with by Bai Shuiniang.

Jiang Tangtang, who knew all about his tricks, smiled politely to avoid suspicion and saw him off downstairs.

Just then, Lu Mianmian returned from buying train tickets.

As soon as she got home, Lu Zhicai questioned her.

“How much cash did you take from upstairs?”

They weren’t being quiet, so Jiang Tangtang overheard them from the hallway.

“For the tickets, Mom and I each took a bit. Why?”

They had taken some, but the bulk of it was with Jiang Tangtang.

“Good. Did you get everything done?”

“Of course, Dad. Don’t worry—I’ve got it all here.”

As she spoke, Lu Mianmian pulled out four train tickets from her bag.

“Great. Give them to me. Your mom already gave me the ID papers. You go pack your things too—we’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

Jiang Tangtang didn’t quite catch the last line, but she could guess what he said.

In her previous life, this whole family had run off in the middle of the night while she was asleep, deliberately timing it to avoid suspicion.

By the time the investigation team arrived the next morning, they were long gone, and she was left behind—confused and helpless.

So this time, she had to prepare ahead of time and avoid falling into the same trap.

The rain had long stopped. Standing in her room, Jiang Tangtang watched as the sky slowly darkened.

To maintain the appearance of normalcy, Lu Zhicai even sent Lu Mianmian to call her for dinner. The door knocked again.

Jiang Tangtang opened the door.

“What now?”

“What do you think? Come eat. Eat or don’t—up to you.”

With that, Lu Mianmian went downstairs.

To avoid suspicion, Jiang Tangtang changed her clothes and followed.

The whole family sat around the dining table, eating as if nothing was out of the ordinary. No one paid her any special attention.

Only Bai Shuiniang, acting as fake-friendly as ever, picked up some food for her.

“Here, Tangtang. You’ve finally come home. Eat more, okay?”

Seeing her fake smile, Jiang Tangtang responded with a cold smirk.

“Put it down. I don’t need you to pick food for me.”

Lu Zhicai looked a bit angry at that, but he knew she was going to be the scapegoat left behind. So he held back.

Lu Mianmian, not as clever, was about to snap back at Jiang Tangtang. But Lu Zhicai, fearing the sisters would fight, stopped her in time.

“Your sister’s just blunt. Don’t say anything more.”

At this point, they couldn’t afford to upset Jiang Tangtang.

If she ran away in anger, their escape plan would be ruined.

So even though Lu Mianmian was fuming, she didn’t dare act out and could only stew in silence, casting hateful glances at Jiang Tangtang.

Lu Zhicai tried to smooth things over.

“You finally came home. Just stay in for a few days and rest.”

Then he bowed his head and resumed eating.

Watching this fake concern from the whole family, Jiang Tangtang felt utterly disgusted.

“Oh, Dad? I went to the study earlier to find a book. How come I didn’t see those antique vases? Did you put them away?”

As soon as she said it, the atmosphere dropped.

Of course she didn’t see them—they’d all been hidden.

After a moment, Lu Zhicai forced a smile and explained in a calm tone,

“The outside world’s too chaotic now. Keeping those things at home isn’t safe. I’ve hidden them away for the time being. Don’t worry—once things settle down, I’ll bring them back out.”

Jiang Tangtang rolled her eyes as if she didn’t know anything, forcing a polite smile while suppressing her disgust.