Xi Qingyue carried Xi Weilan straight toward the Grand Tutor’s residence. When they arrived, the officials had not yet come to search the estate.
The two of them crouched on the roof of a secluded courtyard within the residence, but did not act immediately.
Xi Qingyue was waiting for the officials to arrive. Since the Emperor had issued the order, no residence in the capital could escape the search. They would all be inspected.
“Big Sis, aren’t we going to move the things now?” Xi Weilan asked in confusion from her place on the roof. Why weren’t they doing anything now that they had arrived?
Xi Qingyue smiled and patted her head. “The officials will be here any moment. If we start moving things and they arrive halfway through, we’ll only be delayed. Wait a little longer—they’re already at the entrance. Once they finish searching, we’ll knock everyone in the residence unconscious. Then we can move whatever we want without anyone disturbing us.”
Xi Weilan grinned when she heard this. “Big Sis, are we taking everything inside? They look so rich!”
Xi Qingyue nodded in agreement. “Of course. We’re taking everything we see. That rockery is even prettier than the one in the Fourth Prince’s residence. We can put it in our space and build a little artificial garden. And all those precious flowers—we can plant more of them in there. We might even be able to sell them for silver in the future.”
She was already thinking long-term. The flowers and plants cultivated in the capital’s various estates were truly rare. She could grow them faster and better in her space, and when those residences wanted to buy flowers again, she could sell them some.
While the two were talking, a squad of soldiers from the Capital Prefecture arrived at the Grand Tutor’s residence. No one inside tried to stop them. Instead, they welcomed them in politely.
The Grand Tutor was the person most eager to find the culprit, so he was more than willing to search the various residences in the capital. He certainly would not be the first to object.
As for the valuable belongings in the residence, they had always been kept in a secret chamber. The family’s true wealth would never be exposed, and the things displayed openly were not worth worrying about.
The soldiers from the Capital Prefecture did not conduct a thorough search. On the one hand, they wanted to show consideration because the Grand Tutor was ill. On the other, they were certain that the culprit could not be someone from his household. As long as the Grand Tutor was of sound mind, he would never attack the Fourth Prince.
The soldiers left after only fifteen minutes, and Xi Qingyue began to act.
Using the same method as before, she whipped up a powerful gale throughout the residence. Everyone inside promptly fell unconscious.
The next moment, she carried Xi Weilan down into the courtyard.
After setting Xi Weilan down, she took her hand and smiled brightly. “Lan’er, this place belongs to us now. Come on.”
Xi Weilan’s eyes narrowed with delight, and the two of them began wandering around the Grand Tutor’s residence together. They did not split up.
Whenever they encountered someone lying unconscious on the ground, Xi Weilan would run over and search the person for silver. Whenever they found anything else, Xi Qingyue would put it away. The two worked together perfectly.
“Big Sis, that pavilion is so beautiful! Can we move it away?” Xi Weilan asked, pointing at a pavilion with an expression of delight.
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. “Sure. If you like it, we’ll take it. It isn’t very big, anyway.”
She could not move an entire residence, but taking a small pavilion was no problem.
Immediately, she activated her earth-element ability and collected the entire pavilion, along with the stone table and stools inside it, into her space. In an instant, only a small earthen pit remained where the pavilion had stood.
Previously, the only things stolen from the various residences had been movable objects such as rockeries. This was the first time a small building like a pavilion had disappeared. No one knew what conclusions people would draw when they discovered it.
Xi Weilan clapped happily at the side. “Wonderful! Now we’ll have a pavilion in our space too. We have a rockery and a lake as well. Big Sis, we have our own little garden!”
Xi Qingyue thought so too. The space already contained a modern villa, and it would be even better if she could add an ancient-style residence. If she could not get one, a garden would be nice enough.
The sisters happily held hands and headed toward the storeroom. There were not many gold and silver valuables inside; most of them were hidden in the secret chamber. Xi Qingyue already knew where it was, and they would collect everything there shortly.
She put away every single item in the storeroom. She also took all the wooden furniture from the various courtyards, as well as every teacup and piece of porcelain, without leaving a single one behind.
After that, the two of them arrived at the secret chamber hidden inside the Grand Tutor’s study.
The chamber was more than twice the size of the storeroom. There were over two hundred thousand taels of gold alone, including several golden trees taller than a person. There were also several million taels of silver, along with more antiques and calligraphy paintings than they could count. The sight left the sisters dazzled.
Xi Weilan ran over to one of the golden trees and stared at it curiously. “Big Sis, this tree is so hard on the eyes. It’s making me dizzy!”
Xi Qingyue laughed and rubbed her head. “Do you still want it, then?”
“Yes, of course! It can buy lots of chicken legs and pastries.” As she spoke, Xi Weilan spread her arms and hugged the tree, glancing toward Xi Qingyue with her cheek pressed against it, as if afraid her sister might truly decide not to take it.
“Don’t worry. How could Big Sis leave it behind? It’s gold. We can buy all kinds of delicious food with it, and lots of big houses to live in.”
Only then did Xi Weilan release the glittering golden tree with a smile. With a thought, Xi Qingyue collected everything into her space.
The entire secret chamber was emptied in an instant, including the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain stored inside.
After stripping the residence bare, the two left happily, leaving unconscious people scattered across the grounds.
The next time Lu Jinshuang saw them, nearly an hour had passed since they had left.
She studied the sisters’ faces suspiciously. “Did you two sneak off to eat something?”
The mention of food made Xi Weilan feel hungry. She ran over to Lu Jinshuang, hugged her leg, and began to wheedle. “Sister Jinshuang, Little Lan’er is hungry. Do we have anything to eat?”
The moment Lu Jinshuang saw her like that, she completely forgot her earlier question. Smiling, she picked the girl up and carried her into the room. “Dongxue, have them bring out the food.”
Before long, the table was covered with all kinds of delicious dishes. Xi Weilan picked up her chopsticks and began eating in great gulps, soon getting grease all over her mouth.
Xi Qingyue was hungry too, and she also started eating one bite after another. The sisters devoured the food like two starving wolves, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Lu Jinshuang watched them with great curiosity. If they were this hungry, hadn’t they bought anything to eat while they were out?
Only after the two had eaten their fill did she ask with a smile, “Yue, Little Lan’er, where did you go to play just now? Didn’t you even buy something to fill your stomachs?”
Xi Qingyue took a sip of tea before calmly replying, “Sister Jinshuang, we originally planned to go out and buy you a present, but after looking around, we couldn’t find anything nice. We were afraid you’d be waiting too long, so we hurried back. Alas, I suppose we’ll have to bring you a gift next time.”
Xi Weilan quickly chimed in from the side, “That’s right. We’ll definitely bring Sister Jinshuang a beautiful present next time.”
After hearing them, Lu Jinshuang fell silent. Why did the sisters’ explanation sound less and less believable? When had they ever remembered to buy her a gift?
Just as she was growing suspicious, Dongxue entered with a delighted expression.
“Princess, there’s fresh news from outside again. I just heard that the Grand Tutor’s residence has been completely looted. This time, it wasn’t just the ornamental rockery that disappeared—even the famous pavilion in their estate is gone, leaving nothing but a pit in the ground. Everyone is wondering who dismantled the pavilion.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Jinshuang immediately turned her gaze toward the Xi sisters, only to find them acting as though nothing had happened. One was drinking tea, while the other was eating a snack to aid digestion.
