Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

She was very familiar with each and every item the servants brought out.

These things still belonged to her during the first month after she married into the Marquis of Anshun's household.

Before she got married, she didn't even know what her dowry would consist of; it was all sent to her by her uncles from Jiangnan.

At that time, she and Zhiyi carefully organized her dowry, remembering even the smallest detail, such as a pair of earrings.

But now, looking at her dowry being carried out of the old lady's room, everything has changed compared to then.

Just as she was feeling sentimental, Zhiyi's shout interrupted her.

As I walked over, I saw Zhiyi sticking her butt out and moving around under the bed.

"What did you discover?"

"Madam, there's a hidden compartment under the bed. Please wait a moment while I open it to see what's inside."

He coughed a few times right after he finished speaking, clearly choked by the dust under the bed.

"Why don't you come out and find someone else?"

"I'll be right there, no need to change people."

After a while, Zhiyi finally managed to drag a sandalwood box out from under the bed.

The wooden box wasn't very big, and it had a lock on it. The lock was a little different from ordinary locks, and it looked much more complicated.

"Go and call in the maid who serves the old lady personally."

A maid went out and soon called the person back in.

"lady."

"I'm asking you, does the old lady carry anything with her at all times, like a key?"

For example, this lock.

Ji Yueru pointed to the sandalwood box on the ground.

"Reporting to Madam, the old lady does not have a key on her person; she simply wears the gold hairpin in her hair every day."

The servants and mistresses all knew about the hairpin; it seemed that the old lady had never taken it off her head. Ji Yueru had heard her say that it was a token of love given to her by the old Marquis.

"Go and get the hairpin."

The maid went out and, without asking any questions, simply took the gold hairpin that was pinned to the old lady's head.

The old lady's eyes were wide open, her movable hand stretched out as far as it could, and she was making muffled noises, the meaning of which couldn't be more obvious.

The maid ignored her completely; she was the mistress's person, so why would she listen to this old man?

As soon as Ji Yueru took the hairpin, she sensed something was wrong.

One end of the hairpin was carved into the shape of auspicious clouds, but it didn't feel solid in the hand, even though the old lady had said before that the hairpin was solid.

Upon closer inspection, traces of a circular joint were indeed found on the hairpin head.

When I held it in my hand and twisted it to the left, nothing happened. When I twisted it to the right, the hairpin loosened, and the head and body of the hairpin could actually be separated.

After unscrewing it, the hairpin was hollow, and the contents were poured onto the table.

The master and his two servants all huddled around the table to watch.

What emerged from the hairpin were three small, auspicious cloud-shaped jade ornaments.

Knowing and curious.

"What's this for?"

The meaning of the book is clear – the face is certain.

"I don't know, but something that the old lady could hide so well must be something extraordinary."

[Mother, there are auspicious cloud-shaped indentations on the left, right, and back sides of the box. Try putting the three small jade ornaments in them.]

With An'an's hint, Ji Yueru took the three small jade pieces in her hands and went to the sandalwood box. Sure enough, she saw a cloud-shaped indentation on the left, right and back sides of the box.

When the last jade piece was placed on top, the box opened automatically with a click.

The three servants never expected that the large lock hanging on the front box lid was just for decoration, and the real key was these three small jade pieces.

The box was opened, and it was filled with silver notes.

The box was half the size of a dowry box, and it was full of silver notes, worth at least two hundred thousand taels.

Zhiyi was overjoyed. "Madam, we've struck it rich! I didn't expect the old lady to be so wealthy."

Ji Yue Ru was in a good mood when she received a box of silver notes, which was just enough to offset the dowry that the old lady owed her.

Some of the dowry items from Anju Courtyard have been lost; they were undoubtedly either given away by the old lady as gifts or converted into banknotes.

"Zhiyi, get another box and put the silver notes in. As for this box, since the old lady likes it, let's keep it for her as a keepsake."

"Yes, madam."

The box was left to the old lady, who would probably be reminded of the box of silver notes she had lost every time she saw it, and she probably wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully.

When the silver notes were being carried back, they passed by the old lady, and Zhiyi kindly opened the box lid to show the old lady.

"Oh dear, how can my wife possibly spend all this money?"

It has to be said that Zhiyi knows how to infuriate people to death.

The old lady, unable to move or speak, fainted from anger.

Zhiyi was startled and quickly checked her breath with her hand. She still had breath and patted her chest.

Thankfully, I'm still alive.

"Go and get the old lady's medicine and give it to her."

The maidservant next to her quickly went to get the medicine.

Having obtained a box of silver notes, Zhiyi searched even more diligently.

The saying "a cunning rabbit has three burrows" is absolutely true. In addition to the box of silver notes found under the bed, Zhiyi also found a box of gold under the tree in the yard.

After finding a box of gold, they stopped the search and dug up the entire Anju Courtyard grounds, even the area behind the outhouse. Finally, they found a box of silver not far behind the outhouse.

After working until nightfall and confirming that nothing had been found, the master and servants left with their men, looking regretful.

…………

Inside the Chen residence, Chen Zhen would never return to the main courtyard to rest on the night he attended a poetry gathering. Instead, he would stay in his study to organize the poems recited by various celebrities and scholars that day, copy them out, and compile them into a book.

This is a habit he has developed over the years.

Inside the main courtyard, after all the maids and servants had gone to rest, Huan'er, who was on night watch, sneaked onto the lady's bed.

"Madam, I've arrived."

"You damned devil, you dare to cause trouble while the master is still here."

"What's there to be afraid of? If the master likes his poems, then let him go with the poems, and the two of us will live together."

Madam Chen reluctantly agreed.

It was late at night. Chen Zhen had been organizing the poems for half the day and was about to lie down when he remembered the note he had received during the day. He sat up again.

The servants, who had been serving him for most of the night, were just about to go and rest when they saw the master sit up again.

"Sir, are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing, I'll go back to the main courtyard to rest tonight."

The attendants are unknown; why does the master want to return to the main courtyard to rest so late at night?

But he didn't ask any more questions and followed the master back to the main courtyard.

"No need to bring a lantern."

The attendant had no choice but to put the lantern he had just picked up down again.

The master and servant walked towards the main courtyard by the moonlight. The moonlight tonight was not dim, and after a while, they could see the way clearly.

When we arrived at the main courtyard gate, it had already been locked from the inside.

"Sir, should we knock on the door?"

"No need. You climb over the wall and open the door for me, and while you're at it, knock out the gatekeeper."

Chen Zhen loved to travel, and his entourage naturally included people skilled in martial arts.

Although puzzled, the attendant still climbed over the wall and opened the courtyard gate.

"Go back to sleep."

The courtyard gate opened, and Chen Zhen dismissed his attendants before tiptoeing to the master bedroom window.