Chapter Four: The Warehouse

Rubbing her chin, Chao Chao took two steps back and waved at Huahua, who was fluttering silently in midair.

“Foolish bird, come here. Go inside and see if my father is there.”

Under her owner’s stern command, Huahua dared not act recklessly. Obediently, she quickly flew in to scout around. Confirming no one was there, Huahua hurried back out.

“Good bird, no one’s here, no one,” Chao Chao said.

“Just as expected!” Chao Chao sighed deeply, feeling utterly drained.

But then she thought, if her foolish father was out drinking and not at home, could that mean they’d avoid the house raid?

Well, whatever. Since her foolish father wasn’t home, maybe she should take advantage of the chaos and run away herself.

Chao Chao’s thoughts were simple as she called the foolish bird and prepared to retrace her steps to escape through the dog hole.

Passing by the Mingxin Hall, she noticed the chaos inside was even worse. From afar, she saw the maids clutching valuables, their faces panicked as they fled.

An internal struggle, then? But she didn’t care. The little girl made a swift getaway.

It turned out that after Chao Chao left earlier, the wicked nanny was discovered by the maids. Spotting the valuables peeking from her chest, the clever maids were immediately tempted and fled with the loot.

When the wicked nanny woke and saw the mess inside the lady’s chamber, everyone was in a frenzy, scrambling for goods. Unable to stop it, the nanny’s eyes darted around, and she decided to join the fray, scooping up a sack full of treasures before making her escape.

Thus, this wave of plundering swept rapidly through the inner courtyard even before the Jinyiwei arrived to raid.

Of course, what did all this have to do with Chao Chao?

Right now, she and the foolish bird were passing over the kitchen’s rooftop chimney, still puffing smoke. At this hour, the household should be serving breakfast; the large kitchen should be bustling with steam and voices. Instead, it was strangely quiet.

Chao Chao felt puzzled but was in too much of a hurry to flee to care. She stepped forward, but the foolish bird suddenly flapped its wings and squawked loudly.

“Seeds, seeds, bird’s food, bird’s food…” it flew straight toward the kitchen with practiced familiarity, moving so fast Chao Chao couldn’t catch it.

Fuming, she stomped her foot and gritted her teeth. “You foolish bird! Glutton! Always causing trouble for me.”

But what could she do? After all, the foolish bird was a birthday gift from her mother. Despite her anger, she resolutely followed.

Inside the kitchen, which should have been lively, there wasn’t a single soul.

“Could everyone have already fled?” she wondered.

As she entered, she saw the kitchen was steaming and warm. The stove still held embers, and many prepared dishes were neatly arranged on the counter—breakfasts for the household’s various members. Chao Chao even spotted her own portion.

There were her favorite osmanthus steamed cakes and fresh shrimp dumplings, which she had instructed Sister Qiuxiang to order with silver coins just yesterday.

This cost her private savings, so even if she fled, she couldn’t leave it behind!

She quickly scanned the food with her wristband and stored it in a special food compartment in her backpack, which still had plenty of space. Without hesitation, she scanned and saved all the hot food she could eat.

Scanning too hastily, she accidentally swept up the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar from the counter as well. Just as she was about to remove them, the foolish bird suddenly darted out from somewhere, urgently calling, “Chao Lai! Chao Lai!”

Chao Chao hurried over, looking up at the bird. “What’s wrong?”

The bird anxiously turned and led the way. “Chao Lai, Chao Lai.”

Following, Chao Chao saw the bird hover near a large basket hanging from the rafters inside the kitchen pantry, peering intently with its beady green eyes.

“Bird’s food, bird’s food,” it repeated.

Ah, it had found its own rations.

Chao Chao, too short to reach, called out, “Step aside.”

The foolish bird obediently flew back and circled Chao Chao, continuing to chirp, “Bird’s food, bird’s food!”

“All right, all right, I get it. Move out of the way quickly or I’m leaving,” she said.

Only then did the bird quiet down. Chao Chao swiftly scanned and stored the basket’s contents. Seeing the room filled with bottles, jars, sacks, and pots, she couldn’t resist.

Well, since she was here, wasting food would be a sin! She decisively scanned everything.

After emptying the pantry, she completely forgot about the oil and condiments and hurriedly left with the foolish bird.

Along the way, they encountered many frightened maids, servants, and footmen scattering in panic. Using the foolish bird to secure aerial advantage, Chao Chao evaded them by taking detours.

Unexpectedly, the farther she went, the more isolated she became, until she unknowingly arrived at the household’s storage yard.

Having passed the courtyard gate outside the storage, Chao Chao suddenly realized something and stopped, then ran back. She glanced at the heavy black lacquered door secured with three large bronze locks and rubbed her chin again.

Among her many gadgets, she recalled having a transforming key. Her mother had said that when she bought it, the merchant claimed there was no lock in the world it couldn’t open.

Chao Chao bent down and searched. “Ah, found it!”

With a joyful face, she pulled from her backpack a silver-white strip about two fingers wide, not very hard. She inserted it into the keyhole, and the rectangular piece immediately flowed like liquid into the lock. Though still somewhat soft, the silver strip quickly hardened.

With a twist, the bronze lock clicked open.

“Ha! Small bronze lock, conquered!”

Following the same method, she quickly unlocked the other two locks, happily pocketed the key, and carefully stored the bronze locks like a miser. The little girl smiled brightly as she pushed the door open.

The Bo family’s storage yard was within a large courtyard surrounded by high walls, containing five large warehouses arranged side by side.

The middle one was the silver treasury, flanked by miscellaneous storage rooms. Normally, these were heavily guarded. It was clear that treasures were kept here, while everyday items like grain, furniture, and fabrics were stored in the outer courtyard.

The outer gate had three bronze locks crafted by master artisans, difficult to duplicate. The keys were held by the housekeeper, the steward, and the mistress in tandem—three people needed to open it together.

Besides the outer gate, each warehouse door also had three locks, making theft nearly impossible under normal circumstances. Today, however, because of the household’s chaos, this little troublemaker managed to slip through.

Facing the five warehouses, Chao Chao took out her transforming key again and headed straight for the middle treasury.

“This one’s for you.”

She swiftly unlocked all three locks, pocketed the locks, and pushed the door open. Inside, silvery gleams glittered, and Chao Chao’s heart exclaimed, “Wow!”

She quickly scanned the contents with her wristband, growing more and more excited.

“Making money, making money, the kid’s making money…”

Boxes upon boxes of silver—wasn’t this striking it rich?

After finishing with the treasury, Chao Chao wiped her mouth and casually chose one of the adjacent warehouses.

Unlocking and entering, the room smelled of herbs. She opened two embroidered boxes randomly, finding dried radishes with long tendrils and a pair of plump, pitch-black dolls about the size of her toy dolls.

No matter, although unfamiliar, she had no time to linger. Time was pressing, so she quickly stored everything, planning to have Xiao Yi explain it all later.

Having finished this warehouse, Chao Chao hurriedly moved on to the next connected one.