In about two days, the Mu family thoroughly investigated all the accountants who had worked at Kuang Group. None of them reported any large unexplained income during their tenure. However, Mu Yanci still noticed some inconsistencies in their accounts.

For instance, after Kuang Hongxuan took over Kuang Group, he secured several bank loans to invest in emerging industries and expand traditional sectors. Those were turbulent years, and many investments failed. Luckily, a bank closely tied to Kuang Hongxuan kept funding his ventures, allowing Kuang Group to eventually thrive.

Mu Yanci immediately investigated the bank that had issued the loans, only to find it had since gone bankrupt. This seemed normal—once a bank collapses, its records disappear, and three million yuan could easily have been funneled into Kuang Group.

Yet, the accountants claimed that all the debts from those loans were fully repaid once Kuang Group became profitable.

Hearing this, Mu Jianhua’s eyes lit up. “The accountants say the loans were repaid, which means Kuang Hongxuan borrowed money to make more money but didn’t merge the illicit funds entirely into Kuang Group.”

Kuang Ye caught on. “So, the three million only passed through Kuang Group and eventually returned to his personal control.”

Mu Yanci nodded. It seemed Kuang Hongxuan either didn’t want dirty money to taint his family’s legacy or simply wanted to keep the fortune to himself. Either way, he still had the three billion yuan securely under his own name.

Mu Wan frowned. “But with all the ways to hide illicit money these days, if he deposited it in a Swiss bank, we might never find it.”

Mu Jianhua shook his head. “That generation is old-fashioned. They’d rather hide money under their own mattress than trust a foreign bank. So, the chances of it being in Switzerland are low.”

Mu Yanci added, “I’ve already checked all his known assets, but there’s no trace of the funds.”

Kuang Ye suddenly had a flash of insight, recalling the time he spent five hours catching bugs at the hillside estate to have a conversation with the old man.

He turned to Mu Jianhua and asked, “Uncle, in our elite circles, is there a tradition of eating cabbage that has to be natural and not tainted by stainless steel knife or scissor?”

The entire Mu family: “???”

Mu Yanci gave Kuang Ye a once-over, his expression implying disbelief at Kuang Ye’s supposed delicacy.

Even Wang Lan looked bewildered. “Xiao Ye, we don’t have such a custom, but if you do, I can arrange for a private garden to grow fresh cabbage just for you.”

Kuang Ye quickly waved his hands. “It’s not me. It’s Kuang Hongxuan. His estate has an acre of cabbage, and from planting to harvest, only wooden tools are allowed. So, I was thinking… could it be…” He pointed downward and gestured with three fingers.

While the oddity of it wasn’t entirely shocking, given the eccentricities of wealthy families, what made Kuang Ye suspect this was Kuang Hongxuan’s earlier attempt to entice him to become the heir. The old man had offered not just Kuang Group but also the hillside estate itself.

At the time, Kuang Ye found it strange. Could the estate be more valuable than Kuang Group? But if the stolen funds were hidden beneath the estate, it all made sense.

The family’s eyes widened, and everyone immediately stood up.

“Grab some tools. Let’s go dig up Kuang Hongxuan’s prison welcome gift.”

—

Under the cover of a dark, windy night, the silent estate loomed.

Five “farmers” wearing masks and carrying hoes scaled the estate’s iron fence, heading straight for the cabbage field. However, before they could start digging, the estate’s alarm blared.

Everyone froze.

Breaking into a high-profile estate in the middle of the night—would this land them on tomorrow’s headlines?

As the estate security rushed out, Kuang Ye quickly removed his mask, flashing a wide smile. “Don’t panic, don’t panic! Grandpa asked me to dig up some cabbage.”

The guards, who recognized him from before, were momentarily stunned by the group’s unusual attire.

“Digging cabbage at this hour?”

“Yes! Grandpa said he can’t sleep without fresh cabbage. I plan to take enough to make sauerkraut for him to eat for years.”

The guard hesitated. “For years?”

“Well, he’s not coming back to this estate for a while.”

The guards, noting their numbers and that this was the employer’s grandson, decided there was no harm in letting them dig. They even turned on the backyard lights, illuminating the entire cabbage field.

“Do you need help harvesting enough for a truckload?” one guard offered.

Kuang Ye quickly declined. “No, no, we’ll handle it ourselves.”

The guard glanced at the hoes and reminded them, “The old master is very particular about this garden. He doesn’t allow metal tools here.”

Kuang Ye replied smoothly, “It’s fine. He’s into cabbage with ‘blade energy’ now.”

The guard: “…” Blade energy? Did he mean wok energy?

After successfully fooling the guards, the group dove into the field like bandits raiding a melon patch, frantically digging.

This was something they could have hired professionals to do the next day, and sneaking out to dig in the dead of night was far from fitting for people of their status. But the thought of the stolen money buried beneath the ground made them impatient.

However, an acre of land was enormous. After two hours of relentless digging, the three men hadn’t found a trace of the stolen funds.

Suddenly, as Kuang Ye uprooted another cabbage and dug a meter deeper, his sweat-soaked brow caught the glint of something metallic.

“Clang!”

The sound of metal meeting metal echoed.

Oh, the grandson had found his grandfather’s prison welcome gift.