Chapter 6: Emptying the Prime Minister’s and Crown Prince’s Mansions – Returning to the Duke of England’s Estate

Yun Ruoxi was dragged forward by Mu Ruxue, stumbling as they passed through several walls before stopping in front of a hidden chamber.

Inside, rows upon rows of red camphorwood chests were neatly arranged, each sealed with an official stamp that was still clearly visible.

Yun Ruoxi casually chose a box and lifted the lid. Inside, it was packed full of ten-tael silver ingots. A rough count revealed at least a thousand ingots in that one box—equal to ten thousand taels of silver.

Glancing around, she saw the room packed with three hundred such chests.

By that estimate, there were a full three million taels of silver hidden here.

They didn’t know the exact amount of disaster relief silver that had gone missing, but faced with these mountains of government-stamped silver ingots, it was impossible not to suspect that this was the misappropriated relief fund.

Mu Ruxue’s hands went to her hips, brows raised high in fury, face flushed with anger. “Unbelievable! That Su Lingling is shouting ‘thief’ to cover her own thievery! She embezzled the relief silver and then framed our Marquis of Wu’an’s household for it!”

Yun Ruoxi frowned deeply, her expression turning serious. After a moment of thought, she said, “Something’s not right. With such a massive amount of silver, moving it into the Prime Minister’s estate without drawing attention wouldn’t be easy.”

Mu Ruxue’s eyes lit up with a bold guess. “Could it be the Crown Prince is behind this—he’s the one who had the silver hidden here?”

Yun Ruoxi nodded slightly. “That’s very possible…”

She didn’t finish the sentence before her ears caught voices outside the chamber.

“Open the door—I need to double-check. I won’t be at ease otherwise.”

Soon after, the heavy door creaked open.

Thanks to the invisibility talismans they were wearing, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue remained completely calm, standing openly in the chamber as Su Lingling walked in.

Leading the group was Su Lingling in a plain lake-blue dress.

Though she had dressed down deliberately, Yun Ruoxi could still see the smoldering hatred burning in her eyes like fire.

In the original novel, Su Lingling had died in the harem due to palace intrigue. Upon rebirth, she tightly clung to the Crown Prince as her lifeline.

Using knowledge from her previous life, she climbed toward the position all women dreamed of.

Everyone who had ever wronged her suffered terrible fates—some died by sword, others were thrown into beggar slums, humiliated and abused. Her cruelty was infamous.

At this moment, the Su Lingling before them had clearly just been reborn—her eyes were filled with nothing but vengeance.

As soon as she stepped into the chamber, Su Lingling felt something off. But after carefully inspecting everything, she couldn’t find anything wrong. Reluctantly, she left with her people.

“Miss, maybe you’re just overthinking. This chamber is full of traps—if anyone got in, we would’ve noticed right away,” her maid whispered.

Su Lingling seemed to accept this, nodding. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid. After all, this is something the Crown Prince entrusted me with. Nothing can go wrong.”

With that, she activated the mechanism and left with her maid.

Mu Ruxue let out a breath and was about to speak when Yun Ruoxi swiftly covered her mouth, shaking her head.

Mu Ruxue immediately understood, nodded, and held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

As expected, about fifteen minutes later, Su Lingling returned again from a different entrance with her maid.

“See, Miss? There’s clearly no one here. You really are overthinking it.”

Still cautious, Su Lingling double-checked every corner of the chamber before finally leaving for good.

Having learned from that close call, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue patiently waited another half an hour, just in case she returned again.

Fortunately, this time Su Lingling did not come back.

Once they were sure it was safe, the two girls acted swiftly, sweeping every last ingot into their space. All that remained were rows of empty chests.

After clearing out the silver stash, they didn’t rest—they headed straight for all the warehouses in the Prime Minister’s estate.

Whether it was the public treasury or private storage, anything valuable in sight was taken.

By the time they were done looting the Prime Minister’s residence, the time had reached a quarter past midnight.

With the deep night around them, they exchanged a glance and headed to the Crown Prince’s mansion.

Unlike the Prime Minister’s estate, the Crown Prince’s wealth was flamboyantly displayed—his extravagant lifestyle was jaw-dropping.

Even the wine cups were made of solid gold.

Yun Ruoxi couldn’t help but be stunned. She had once considered herself well-acquainted with wealth—when she was favored, she had seen plenty of silver. But compared to this, it was nothing.

Mu Ruxue was practically dizzy with excitement, her eyes sparkling as she admired everything. She wanted everything. If she could, she would’ve packed up the entire Crown Prince’s estate and taken it home.

If it weren’t for the fact that the floorboards and beams were too difficult to move, she probably would’ve started dismantling the place.

The two worked with clear roles and perfect coordination, significantly speeding up the process of looting.

Jewelry, precious herbs, ginseng, and other valuable items were swiftly collected and stored in the space.

By the time they finished looting the Crown Prince’s residence, dawn had already broken outside.

They had originally planned to try their luck at the General of Cavalry’s estate next, but due to the tight schedule, they had no choice but to abandon the idea.

Dragging their exhausted bodies back to their room, they collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

Madam Fang called for them several times after coming in, but received no response. Left with no other choice, she summoned the residence physician.

After a thorough checkup, the physician confirmed they weren’t ill, so they were left to sleep peacefully.

Today was originally the day for them to return to their maiden families. However, all the men of the Marquis of Wu’an’s household had been summoned to the palace, so only Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue could make the visit on their own.

The two of them slept straight through to lunchtime before groggily getting up and heading to their respective family homes.

Mu Ruxue’s family was located far from the capital, so whether she returned home or not didn’t make much difference.

But Yun Ruoxi’s case was different—she was the legitimate granddaughter of the Duke of Ying.

The Duke of Ying’s household had always been dominated by men and had longed for a precious girl like her for years. Naturally, she was doted on and cherished beyond measure.

The day she was supposed to return home had long passed, and by noon there was still no sign of her. The Duke’s household was already on edge and had sent someone to the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence to inquire.

Yun Ruoxi truly didn’t want to go back, but she also didn’t want her original body’s family to worry. So, gritting her teeth, she packed up and set out for the Duke of Ying’s estate.

As soon as her carriage stopped at the gate, she saw a large group of people eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Yun Ruoxi stepped down from the carriage and saw her five older brothers waiting at the door. Her heart swelled with warmth, her eyes misted over, and she softly called out, “Brothers, Ruoxi is back.”

Her eldest brother, Yun Ruoyang, was usually gentle and steady. But the moment he saw his little sister—whom he had doted on for fifteen years—return safely, his anxious heart finally settled.

He raised his hand and gently ruffled Yun Ruoxi’s hair like he used to when they were young, speaking softly, “It’s good that you’re back. Let’s go inside—the elders have been waiting for a long time.”

“I’m sorry for making you all worry, I just…”

“No need to worry, little sister. Everyone in the household already knows what happened. Let’s go inside first.”

After Yun Ruoxi respectfully greeted her other brothers, they all entered the estate together.

In Shou’an Hall, her grandfather and grandmother sat at the head of the room. Yun Ruoxi walked in gracefully, bowed deeply, and said in a clear voice, “Your unfilial granddaughter Yun Ruoxi greets Grandfather and Grandmother, and all elders present. Today is my return visit, but my husband was summoned by His Majesty and couldn’t come along. I hope the elders will understand.”

The Duke of Ying, her grandfather, quickly got up and helped her to her feet, his face full of affection. “Good child, we’ve heard everything about the Marquis of Wu’an’s household. It’s not your fault—you’ve suffered.”

Her grandmother’s eyes turned red as she grabbed Yun Ruoxi’s hand and looked her over from head to toe. Only after confirming she hadn’t been mistreated did she finally feel relieved. “My Ruoxi is such a sensible child. Don’t worry about the affairs of the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence. Your uncles have already gone to inquire about the situation. If anything truly bad happens, even if your grandfather has to risk everything, he will protect the Marquis of Wu’an’s household.”

Yun Ruoxi couldn’t help but worry when she recalled the tragic fate of the Duke of Ying’s household in the novel.

According to the book, when the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence was raided, the Duke of Ying entered the palace to plead for mercy.

But the Emperor was unmoved. In the end, the Duke was forced to use the Iron-Blood Memorial in order to barely save the lives of those in the Marquis of Wu’an’s household. They weren’t reduced to the status of slaves but were barred from holding government office for three years.

This was already considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Even so, the female lead, Su Lingling, wasn’t satisfied.

Because the Iron-Blood Memorial protected them, others dared not make a move against the people of the Marquis’s residence.

But eventually, the household was still tormented by officers who had been bribed by Su Lingling in advance, and most of them perished on the road to exile.

As for the Duke of Ying’s household, without the protection of the Iron-Blood Memorial, they fell into Su Lingling’s trap and began a steady decline, with one misfortune after another.

In the end, only Yun Ruoxi’s youngest brother, Yun Ruofeng, remained as the last surviving branch.

With no other choice, Yun Ruofeng joined Prince Duan’s camp and eventually led a rebellion.

Though he ultimately failed, he became the biggest obstacle to the female lead and the Crown Prince’s path to the throne, delaying the Crown Prince’s ascension by ten full years.