Chapter 10: Old Madam Qin Faints

Qin Lang finally realized his head felt cold, and he couldn’t help but reach up to touch his scalp.

He immediately felt weak in his heart and didn’t care about his mother or family anymore. He ran back to his room to check his reflection in the bronze mirror.

But when he entered, he found the room empty. Not only was the mirror gone, but even his writing desk had disappeared.

The entire room only had a bed left.

And in the corner… a chamber pot!

He called for a servant. “Go get me a basin of water.”

The servant had already seen Qin Lang’s state and dared not even breathe. He quickly ran out to fetch water.

When the water was brought in, they found the room too dark to reflect anything.

“Light the lantern.”

The servant did not move. “Master, there are no lamps in the room.”

Qin Lang could no longer hold back. He overturned the basin of water, shouting angrily, “Who did this?!”

Today was supposed to be his joyful day, the day he married He Jiaojiao, and now he was in this miserable state, likely unable to even leave the house.

Qin Lang ordered the servant to help him put on his outer garments.

At this point, he didn’t care about appearances; at least having something on was better than nothing.

But without his hair, what was he supposed to do?

At that moment, the servant spoke up, “Master, why don’t you wear this soft head cloth of mine?”

The soft head cloth was something worn by the servants, made from rough material.

Not only now, but even before Qin Lang passed the exams, he had never worn such a coarse cloth. In his eyes, it was the attire of the lowest servants, commoners, and fit for the menial workers, not someone of his status.

But now, if he didn’t wear it, he would be completely bald.

At this point, he had no choice but to compromise.

After putting on the soft head cloth, Qin Lang went to the inner courtyard.

“Mother, what happened to your face?”

When he saw Old Madam Qin’s face, his expression darkened, and a strong wave of anger filled his eyes.

Old Madam Qin had sensed the pain on her face earlier, but with the loss of her gold bracelets, she had been too angry to notice what was wrong with her face.

Upon Qin Lang’s reminder, she touched her face and winced in pain.

Only then did she realize there were injuries on her face.

And everyone also noticed Qin Lang’s injuries. Qin Sanlang asked, “Second Brother, what happened to your eyes?”

“My eyes? What happened to them?”

“They’ve been beaten.”

Seeing his second brother in this condition, Qin Sanlang couldn’t help but cover his mouth and laugh.

Qin Lang touched his face and felt the pain, finally realizing he had been beaten as well.

Clenching his fists, his breath shallow with anger, he kicked Qin Sanlang, who quickly jumped back, shouting, “Second Brother, I didn’t beat you! Why are you hitting me? Haha, look at you… hahahaha.”

Seeing the fire in Qin Lang’s eyes, the terrifying expression on his face, Qin Sanlang immediately stopped laughing.

Qin Lang suddenly thought—if the Qin residence had truly been robbed, and even his room had been emptied, then the private treasury and He Jiaojiao’s dowry…

He didn’t dare to think further. He rushed to the main courtyard, heading straight for Lin Zhiyi’s private treasury, hoping to kick the door open. But when he kicked it, the pain made him grimace, hopping around, clutching his sore foot.

He ordered the servants to fetch the key from Old Madam Qin.

The key to the private treasury was always with Old Madam Qin, and Lin Zhiyi hadn’t taken it.

Upon hearing that Qin Lang wanted the key, Old Madam Qin immediately understood. She couldn’t care less about her face hurting and rushed over.

When the private treasury was opened, they saw the large chests were still in place, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It was still there!

Old Madam Qin quickly walked up and opened one of the chests, shouting, “How could this be? Where are my things? Where’s my dowry?”

She wasn’t giving up and opened chest after chest, but after opening seven or eight, they were all empty. She panicked.

Finally, she realized that all the chests were empty, and collapsed to the ground.

“It’s all gone… all gone…”

She rolled her eyes and fainted.

The Qin family members rushed over when they saw Old Madam Qin collapse. They quickly gathered around her, calling, “Mother, mother, what’s wrong…”

Qin Lang closed his eyes for a moment, his thoughts racing as he remembered He Jiaojiao’s dowry. Ignoring his mother and family, he ran to the outer courtyard.

He Jiaojiao’s dowry was in the main hall of the outer courtyard.

But he stopped in his tracks, unwilling to move any closer.

Could it also be empty boxes?

He quickly dismissed the thought.

The reason being that He Jiaojiao’s dowry had been under guard. The He family, worried about the safety of the items, had sent six maids to keep watch, taking turns and never leaving the area.

Even at night, someone was always watching, so the dowry couldn’t possibly be missing.

Just as he was about to open the boxes, he was stopped by one of the maids. “Stop!”

When the maid looked up and saw it was Qin Lang, she was momentarily shocked.

But this wasn’t their concern; their responsibility was to guard the dowry. “Young Master, you cannot open the boxes. It’s against the rules.”

Even if they were married, a husband couldn’t open his wife’s dowry without her consent.

Qin Lang clasped his hands together. “I just want to check if the dowry is still here.”

The maid looked at him and said, “What are you talking about, Young Master? We’ve been guarding it day and night. How could the dowry just disappear?”

They took turns guarding it, even resting in pairs and having others come to relieve them.

“You misunderstand. The Qin residence has been robbed, and many valuable items are missing. I’m worried the dowry might have been taken as well.”

The maid, though skeptical of the situation, still gave Qin Lang face. After all, he was the future husband of He Jiaojiao.

“Since you say so, we’ll check.”

When they opened the box, they were shocked to find it empty.

“How could this be? What’s going on?”

The maids were immediately in a state of panic.

“The dowry must have been stolen from your Qin family! It was definitely one of your own people!”

“Yes, it was your Qin family who stole it! I knew something was wrong when I accidentally fell asleep that night. It must have been you country bumpkins who plotted and stole the dowry meant for He Jiaojiao!”

“Let’s go and report this to the young lady!”

Seeing the maids preparing to leave, Qin Lang quickly stepped forward to stop them.

Once they left the Qin family’s gates, it would be impossible to control the situation.

“Ma’am, we’ve lost things in the Qin family as well. Please explain this to He Jiaojiao. Once the sun rises, we’ll go to the authorities.”

The maids scoffed, pushing Qin Lang aside and leaving the Qin residence.

Qin Lang, enraged, wanted to go explain to He Jiaojiao, but with his current appearance, he didn’t dare face her.

He stomped his foot and sighed, secretly thinking that He Jiaojiao wouldn’t make a scene. She would surely believe him.

Meanwhile, Old Madam Qin was carried back to her room by the servants.

Qin Da Lang firmly pressed on her pressure points, and Old Madam Qin finally opened her eyes.

Seeing her staring blankly, Qin Da Lang quickly called, “Mother, mother, wake up! Wake up!”

Suddenly, Old Madam Qin let out a loud, sorrowful cry, “My dowry, my dowry! Who stole my dowry? Lin Zhiyi, yes, it must be Lin Zhiyi…”

“Mother, He Jiaojiao’s dowry is also missing.”

Old Madam Qin turned her head, and when she saw Qin Lang enter the room, she nearly fainted again. “What? He Jiaojiao’s dowry is gone too?

“Go, go and bring Lin Zhiyi to me! It must have been her who stole it. She couldn’t accept being abandoned, so she took the dowry!”

Qin Lang had also suspected Lin Zhiyi. Although the Lin family had fallen, the Lin clan hadn’t been completely destroyed.

Could the Lin family have stolen the dowry to take revenge on Lin Zhiyi’s behalf?

But now, Lin Zhiyi had disappeared, and where could he go to catch her?

“Mother, I’ll send someone to report this to the authorities. We’ll catch her.”

Qin’s eldest daughter-in-law spoke up, “Yes, she’s dishonored the role of a wife, stealing from her husband’s family. We should catch her and bring her to justice.”