Chapter 5: Mu Ruxue’s System Gets Downgraded — Only Three Uses a Day

The blinding golden light nearly dazzled Yun Ruoxi’s eyes. She quickly scrambled down from the ladder and stepped into the secret chamber.

Inside, rows of gold bricks were neatly stacked. She picked one up and tested its weight—it was at least five catties (about 2.5 kg).

The chamber was enormous—so vast that Yun Ruoxi couldn’t even see where the golden expanse ended.

That the Marquis of Wu’an’s estate had assigned this storeroom to her meant one thing: they were completely unaware of this hidden chamber’s existence.

If they had known, how could they have let her use this room? Would they really risk her discovering such a secret?

Besides, judging by the dust and the sensitive mechanism, no one had stepped foot in here for at least ten years.

No matter who the original owner of this gold was—now that she had found it, it was hers.

With that thought, she gave a wave of her hand. In an instant, all the gold bricks vanished into her space.

After double-checking for any missed pieces, she finally left the secret chamber.

Back in the main storeroom, she carefully restored the mechanism to its original state before leaving.

She’d been in the storeroom for quite a while. The maids waiting outside were getting nervous. When they finally caught sight of her, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to the main hall, Yun Ruoxi found Mu Ruxue sprawled unceremoniously on her chaise, munching on pastries.

“Ruoxi! Where’d you go? I’ve been waiting forever.”

“You just left—why are you back so soon?”

Mu Ruxue narrowed her eyes. “Wow, it’s only been a little while and you’re already sick of me? You heartless woman.”

Yun Ruoxi chuckled. “Weren’t you calling me a ‘damn mutt’ this morning?”

“When did I… Wait, I didn’t say that out loud—can you read my thoughts?!”

Yun Ruoxi picked up a cup of tea and took a graceful sip. “You’re not entirely hopeless.”

“You must be the protagonist of this world, right? Why did you get all the cheat skills? My system downgraded the second I got here—I can only use it three times a day!”

“Downgraded?” Yun Ruoxi blinked.

“Yeah! My space got nerfed the moment we crossed over. I used to run on soft girl coins back in the modern world. Now it’s been adapted to this world’s currency—silver and gold. But I can recharge it. I tested it just now. I put in all my silver notes—10,000 taels—and got back 20,000!”

Yun Ruoxi raised an eyebrow. “So you already used one of your three chances today?”

“Exactly! I didn’t dare test it anymore after that.”

Yun Ruoxi thought of how much silver she had—but she didn’t want to break out the heavy silver ingots. Instead, she handed over her entire stack of 500,000 taels in silver notes to Mu Ruxue.

“This is all the silver I have in note form. Recharge it first, then withdraw.”

Mu Ruxue grumbled and swore under her breath, but followed Yun Ruoxi’s instructions anyway—spending her second daily use.

Her balance shot up to 1.02 million taels. She used her last daily use—bringing it to 2.04 million.

“With this much silver, we’ll never have to worry about food or clothing again!”

Yun Ruoxi, remembering the secret chamber, lowered her voice and said,
“I went to the warehouse just now, planning to store my dowry in the space… but I accidentally discovered a secret room.”

“Secret room?” Mu Ruxue perked up, suddenly excited. “Like the kind in those TV dramas?”

“Exactly. It was full of gold bricks—it was so overwhelming, I got excited and stored them all.”

Mu Ruxue was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.
“HAHAHA! You’re killing me! You’re totally a gold-digging maniac!”

Yun Ruoxi rolled her eyes. “You already knew that, so why bother asking?”

“Alright, alright—besties in our hearts forever. Come on, show me one. What does a gold brick look like?”

Without hesitation, Yun Ruoxi retrieved a gold brick from her space and handed it to Mu Ruxue.

Mu Ruxue weighed it in her hand. “This is so heavy—no wonder you called it a gold brick. But seriously, who do you think hid all this gold? Why would there be so many bricks hidden in the Marquis’s estate?”

That made Yun Ruoxi recall a scene from the original novel. The female lead, Su Lingling, was an illegitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s household. She had just been acknowledged by her birth family and, thanks to memories from her past life, knew that the Marquis of Wu’an had a secret gold vault—private treasure of a former Grand Chancellor from the previous dynasty.

Later, when the Marquis’s estate was raided, it was discovered to contain massive quantities of gold. Su Lingling used her “prophetic” knowledge to earn the Crown Prince’s favor.

Eventually, she became the Crown Princess, helped the Crown Prince survive the brutal struggle for succession, and ultimately ascended the throne.

Su Lingling, by virtue of her contributions, was crowned Empress—mother of the nation.

“If I’m not mistaken, the treasure vault I discovered is exactly the leverage Su Lingling used to gain favor with the Crown Prince in the book.”

Mu Ruxue suddenly realized, “So this is the so-called ‘treasure of the previous dynasty’ mentioned in the novel. No wonder the Marquis Manor was raided—this must’ve been reported by the female lead. Otherwise, how could they not find the disaster relief silver but end up with the treasure of the former dynasty?”

“The book never did explain where the disaster relief silver went. It ended up being a loose thread the author never tied up. But now it seems the female lead is truly heaven’s chosen daughter—either she has the silver, or the Crown Prince does.”

Mu Ruxue was fuming. She suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “Sis, I can’t take this! We just got married and Su Lingling already played us like pawns. We can’t just let this go.”

Yun Ruoxi smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Everything’s ready—we’ll head out shortly.”

With the unspoken understanding built over two lifetimes, Mu Ruxue immediately knew what Yun Ruoxi meant.

“Take out the invisibility talismans. Let’s go clean out the female lead’s and the Crown Prince’s mansions.”

They recalled that in the book, the Marquis of Wu’an’s household was raided, and that the Ministry of Revenue and the General of the Escort Banner were also involved. So none of those households could be spared either.

Night had fallen. Yun Ruoxi sent all the maids in the courtyard away and shared a room with Mu Ruxue.

Their “husbands” weren’t around anyway, so they might as well keep each other company.

Nanny Fang wanted to say something, but seeing Yun Ruoxi’s gentle yet decisive demeanor—someone not easily swayed—she held back.

Thinking that the first and second madams simply got along well, she didn’t press further. Instead, she dismissed all the remaining maids, leaving not a single one behind.

Yun Ruoxi felt a slight wave of relief. She had thought Nanny Fang would oppose her plan, but to her surprise, the nanny agreed readily.

Once the courtyard was empty, the two best friends tore open their invisibility talismans and stuck them onto themselves before striding out confidently.

Invisibility talismans from the cultivation realm were unique—not only did they render the user invisible, but they also allowed them to pass through walls.

So the two didn’t need to open doors or pick locks; they could slip silently into any place they wanted.

While invisible, they could still see each other—but no one else could see them.

After leaving the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence, Yun Ruoxi followed the original host’s memory and made her way to the Prime Minister Su’s mansion.

She had attended a flower-viewing banquet there once, so she quickly located Su Lingling’s courtyard.

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue stood in front of the rundown courtyard, momentarily unsure—was this really where the female lead lived?

Mu Ruxue asked hesitantly, “Ruoxi, are you sure this is the place?”

Yun Ruoxi nodded. “I’m sure.”

“Okay, if you say so, then I believe it. Let’s go take a look.”

With invisibility talismans on them, they stepped forward and passed straight through the wall into the courtyard.

Yun Ruoxi frowned at the dilapidated walls, feeling slightly uneasy. Would they even be able to find anything here?

Before she could act, Mu Ruxue came running back, visibly excited. “I found it! I found it! Quick, follow me!”