Chapter 5: Emptying the Palace

Sitting in front of the dressing table, Su Qingyin pounded her chest and stomped her feet, sighing deeply.

“Ah—really… that divine figure, the warlord, has now ended up with that shameless Su Qingning!”

The maid quietly comforted her, “Miss, there’s no need to be sad. There will still be plenty of fine young men in the capital for you to choose from! The warlord is now paralyzed in both legs; once Su Qingning marries him tonight, the warlord’s residence will be raided tomorrow. The people in the warlord’s house will surely think of her as a harbinger of doom; how could she have a good life after this?”

Thinking about the miserable life Su Qingning would lead in the future, a malicious smile appeared on Su Qingyin’s face.

Not long after, however, her expression changed to one of sorrow: “But… Qiao’er… I… I can’t forget him…”

Xiao Huaishuo, a man of great military merit and unparalleled beauty, was the dream lover of many noble girls in the capital. Su Qingyin had used some tricks to obtain a marriage engagement with Xiao Huaishuo.

Recently, upon hearing that the emperor intended to punish Xiao Huaishuo, she reluctantly allowed Su Qingning to marry him in her place.

But now, her heart felt like it was being clawed at by a cat; she couldn’t forget the image of Xiao Huaishuo in his armor, gallantly leading the charge back to the capital amidst the cheers of the people years ago.

Qiao’er, with her pea-sized eyes, turned around and quietly suggested:

“Miss… after tonight, the warlord’s residence will be filled with criminals. In terms of status, they won’t even be as good as ordinary servants.”

“If you really can’t forget the warlord, why not wait until the exile convoy is far from the capital and have someone kidnap him? You could secretly keep him at your villa on the outskirts of the capital. Once his leg injury is healed, he can be your personal bodyguard…”

She emphasized the words “personal” deliberately. Su Qingyin imagined the once-high-and-mighty warlord becoming her exclusive possession, obediently following her orders.

Her face flushed with embarrassment. After twisting her body a few times, she pretentiously said:

“Then… let’s do as you say. There are always many officials and soldiers accompanying the exile convoy; our guards won’t be enough. Tomorrow, you take ten thousand taels to hire the Purple Robe Sect from the Jianghu. They often do this kind of thing, so they can definitely handle it.”

Hearing this from the roof, Su Qingning was so furious that her eyes seemed to blaze with fire, her back teeth grinding audibly, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.

This family truly had no limits; they only got worse.

Her father, Su Chengxiang, schemed to frame loyal ministers who fought for the country, while his daughter, Su Qingyin, dared to hire someone to kidnap Xiao Huaishuo, making the great war god of Da Qian her personal servant!

Not beautiful, yet so ambitious! Since you are all so malicious, don’t blame me for being ungrateful!

Su Qingning sprinkled a packet of potent sleeping powder into the room. She covered Su Qingyin and the maid’s faces with the same formula as she had used on Shen.

With a wave of her hand, she collected everything in the room into her space.

Still feeling unsatisfied, she stripped Su Qingyin of her clothes, undergarments, and shoes, and with a loud “bang,” threw her outside.

Su Qingyin’s face was a patchwork of red and green, her body completely bare, hanging on the courtyard wall like a plastic bag.

Since it was sweltering hot anyway, she wasn’t worried about her freezing to death and ruining her fun.

Let her wait to witness the surprise tomorrow morning! Who would be the first to discover her, the gatekeeper or the cleaning servant?!

In any case, neither would have a good time!

Seeing that it was getting late, Su Qingning quickly finished rummaging through the remaining room and headed to Su Chengxiang’s study.

Upon entering, Su Qingning felt that the arrangement here concealed hidden mechanisms.

At that moment, the screen of the space steward, Xiao Ai, also lit up excitedly.

“Su sister! There are important plot clues in the desk’s hidden compartment!”

Su Qingning quickly flashed to the desk and effortlessly opened the hidden compartment.

A thick stack of letter paper and accounts instantly fell into her palm.

Opening it, she exclaimed, “Goodness!”

These were all secret letters and details of bribes exchanged between her scummy father and some officials over the years!

This detail wasn’t mentioned in the novel; she hadn’t expected to stumble upon it by chance.

In an instant, the thick stack of letters was stored in her space, and a wicked smile flashed across her fair face.

Receiving stolen goods and corruption are serious crimes; it seems this exile journey won’t be lonely after all!

After emptying the Chancellor’s residence, Su Qingning went to the residences of the Crown Prince and several high-ranking officials involved in framing the warlord.

As before, she left no trace behind.

Unfortunately, time was too tight, and she didn’t find any dirt on the dog prince. Otherwise, she could have taken out all her enemies in one go.

But that was fine. Not long from now, a drought would occur in the north, and everyone would flee south. At that time, she would find the opportunity to deal with the dog prince and the old emperor!

Looking at the various treasures piled up in her space, Su Qingning felt completely satisfied. With another flash, she arrived at the palace and began a new round of locust-style looting.

Move, move, move! Empty it all!

The emperor’s private treasury, the imperial medical clinic, the wardrobe department, the granary… all emptied!

When Su sister strikes, nothing is left intact. Wherever she went, even the walls and floors were stripped!

If the old emperor could still have a warm meal tomorrow, it would count as a loss for Su Qingning!

What donkey-hide gelatin, deer antler, bird’s nest, Qianshan snow lotus… all taken away!

Feeling tired, she directly tore the dragon robe to wipe her sweat and ripped a piece from the phoenix robe to clean her shoes!

The old emperor’s house raid and exile implicated his entire clan. She simply looted all the little masters of the various palaces; wasn’t that too much?!

Collect, collect, collect! Any undergarments were directly thrown into the toilet; all of the old emperor’s other clothes, even if they weren’t worn, were taken away!

Huh? What is this Western thing?!

Su Qingning’s eyes lit up as she unexpectedly discovered a huge box at the back of the old emperor’s wardrobe.

Pulling it out to take a look…

Surprise! A whole box of lace garments from the West!

She hadn’t expected that the old emperor, over fifty years old and quite plump, was actually a cross-dresser!

Just imagining the old emperor’s large frame in a pure white lace garment, with thick body hair poking out through the lace seams, made Su Qingning feel like her eyes had suffered a thousand points of damage.

Too lazy to look at it any longer, she directly tossed it into the garbage area of her space.

Su Qingning quickly swept through the entire palace, leaving no corner untouched.

Seeing that the lights in the council hall were still on, she thought that the emperor probably hadn’t finished dealing with the Xiao family’s treason. With a flash, she appeared in a concealed spot on the roof of the council hall.

As soon as she landed, she heard a loud “bang” from inside, followed by the sound of shattered porcelain.

Su Qingning thought it was not good, quickly crouched down, lifted a tile, and looked inside to check the situation.