Chapter Three: The Plunder

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Resolutely, Chaochao stepped out the door, preparing to head toward the Zhanghui Courtyard in the front yard where her troublesome father resided.

Below the corridor, Huahua, seeing her mistress about to leave, fluffed her feathers and fluttered anxiously, hopping up and down: “Chaochao, Huahua, Chaochao, Huahua...”

Ah, she had forgotten about the bird.

Chaochao halted her small footsteps and turned back, allowing the chattering Huahua to perch on her shoulder. With a swift sweep of her hand, she cleared Huahua’s beloved Sichuan pepperwood rack beneath the corridor and decisively put it away.

Now the entire courtyard was utterly empty. As for the maids’ quarters, they had long since taken their belongings when leaving.

In fact, the morning pavilion where Chaochao had lived for seven years vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, so much so that when the Jinyiwei raided the household later, they believed it was an uninhabited, abandoned courtyard.

Chaochao’s footsteps quickened as she left her small yard, her destination clear, clutching Huahua’s feet tightly to warn her.

“Quiet down, or I’ll burn you.”

Fearful, Huahua covered her small head with her wings, nervously clawing at Chaochao’s plump hand. Satisfied, Chaochao hastened her pace.

To reach her biological father’s Zhanghui Tower, she had to pass by Mingxin Hall, where her grandmother resided.

At this moment, Mingxin Hall was noisy and chaotic. Thinking of her usually stern and gloomy grandmother, Chaochao couldn’t help but pause, crouching behind the open courtyard door to peek inside.

Seeing the maids and servants bustling inside, Chaochao yanked the parrot from her shoulder and tossed it into the courtyard.

“Let’s see if grandmother is here.”

Huahua knew well that the grandmother in this courtyard was a fearsome old lady who scared birds away.

The bird was frightened and reluctant, turning its head away. But when it met its mistress’s fierce gestures, Huahua rolled its eyes and flew swiftly into the courtyard.

Chaochao didn’t wait long. The bird returned, perched on her shoulder, calmly preening its feathers. Chaochao grabbed it by both wings without ceremony.

“Speak quickly, or I’ll pluck your feathers.”

The bird looked aggrieved, shaking its tiny head vigorously. “Not here, not here, Chaochao’s bad!”

Chaochao rolled her eyes. She was in a hurry and had no time to soothe a silly bird. Releasing the pitiful creature, she warned it once more to be quiet and slipped inside Mingxin Hall amidst the confusion.

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Thanks to the recent raid, the mansion was in disarray. With the rigid grandmother absent, it was the perfect opportunity for Chaochao to carry out her plan.

In the past, grandmother had only given the eldest uncle and brothers their calligraphy brushes and antique ornaments, and the elder sisters their hairpins, rings, pearls, and agates. As for Chaochao, all she ever received was scolding and disdain, a fact she kept carefully noted in her heart.

Although her mother and father never withheld their things from her, Chaochao couldn’t help but feel jealous!

Narrow-minded and defiant, she decided to secure a little benefit for herself. If grandmother wouldn’t allow it, she would take it herself.

Following the raid and exile, every brick, every blade of grass, and even the paper in the house belonged to the emperor. Since grandmother disliked her, her belongings would be worthless to others and better off with Chaochao, right?

Collecting them was effortless.

With the mistress absent and Mingxin Hall in chaos, no one noticed the little shorty sneaking around, allowing her to successfully enter her grandmother’s bedchamber.

The little girl wandered inside, seeing countless jewels on the dressing table—these were her grandmother’s regular possessions. Taking them risked being caught and having them reclaimed by the strict old lady, which was not worth it!

Her mother had warned her that if she was going to do bad things, she must be foolproof. Determined not to be a fool, Chaochao planned to smuggle out some gold ingots and gemstones from grandmother’s secret stash, hoping to make the old lady suffer deeply.

Confident, yet unfamiliar with Mingxin Hall—normally restricted during visits due to grandmother’s dislike—she couldn’t immediately locate the secret hiding place.

Chaochao rubbed her chin. Before her mother left, she had cleared the space bound to her spiritual sea, intending to leave all sorts of rare, strange toys and treasures for her.

However, her spiritual sea was underdeveloped due to her youth, unable to open a space. So her mother left her a smart bracelet, genetically bound to direct bloodline, instead.

The bracelet’s storage was limited to ten backpack slots, each holding only ten cubic units. Her mother had picked carefully, leaving her two small toy slots.

She remembered one toy called a detection scanner. Her mother had used it during a village visit when they encountered drought, teaching her to find water sources with it.

Her mother said the device could detect anything underground up to a hundred meters deep, including water and minerals, much like ancient CT scans.

Chaochao didn’t understand what a CT scan was but didn’t hesitate to use the device now.

Just as she linked to the bracelet’s backpack to retrieve the toy, a sharp, cutting voice rang out behind her.

“Fourth Miss, what are you doing here?”

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Chaochao turned, inwardly cursing. This was the grandmother’s harshest and most formidable old maid, who had even punished her with kneeling before.

Seeing the woman storming towards her fiercely, Chaochao’s eyes darted. Old grievances and new combined. She pointed behind the old maid and shouted, “Grandmother!”

The maid instinctively glanced back, and Chaochao immediately activated her bracelet, drawing out the electric stun pen her mother had left. She jabbed it into the old maid’s backside while she turned, setting it to the second power level.

Chaochao watched as the stout woman twisted, her hair standing on end, then collapsed with violent convulsions, frothing at the mouth. The bird, frightened, instantly quieted and obedient.

Satisfied with the result, Chaochao quickly withdrew the stun pen and retrieved the scanner. After a thorough scan, the little girl smiled, scampering toward the four-poster bed behind the screen in the bedroom, muttering to herself.

“Though I hate to admit grandmother is my real grandmother, this hiding spot shows she’s just like me! No wonder mom said genes are a mysterious thing!”

Muttering, she climbed onto the bed and lifted the bedding. Beneath the inner pillow, she successfully pried open a panel revealing a concealed compartment about fifty centimeters square, crammed full.

To be safe, Chaochao acted quickly, not even looking as she opened her bracelet and swept the contents into her backpack.

“Grandmother hid this so deep; it must be valuable!”

In a second, the task was done. She replaced the bedding haphazardly and, leading the foolish bird, prepared to leave. She noticed the faintly twitching, unconscious old maid still sprawled there.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she dashed back, grabbing handfuls of hairpins, rings, and jewelry from the dressing table, stuffing them onto the bad maid. Deliberately, she left a long strand of red coral and agate beads trailing outside the collar and stacked several jade and gold bangles on her arm.

Only then was Chaochao satisfied. She deliberately left the main hall door wide open and slipped away amidst the confusion.

Having successfully pulled off her heist, she exhaled sharply, feeling quite pleased. Her steps lightened considerably.

Joyfully, she rushed to Zhanghui Tower where her father was supposed to be. The courtyard door was tightly shut, and all was silent inside. Chaochao knocked urgently, but no one answered. Even her father’s close attendants were absent.

She frowned, thinking perhaps her foolish father had gone out drinking again and had not yet returned.