"Yuebai and I depend on Gu Zheng for our livelihood. If he's unhappy, he can send me out of the manor at any time. Rather than ending up empty-handed, it's better to get what we need now."

Madam Tu wiped away her tears: "What's your idea?"

Gu Chengyan looked at Guan Yingying and said, "Why don't you talk to your mother about it?"

Guan Yingying looked at Tu Shi and said, "What's the point of being so particular about etiquette? Too much talk will only lead to trouble. Let's just go all the way and have someone break into Xie Zhaozhao's storeroom and take away the valuables first."

Madam Tu said, "There is a dowry list."

"So what? Chengyan said that after marriage, she can take her dowry with her if she divorces, but if she is abandoned or dies, the dowry belongs to her husband's family."

As the mistress of the house, you can naturally keep her dowry list to yourself; who can interfere?

Didn't they say she bought grain and donated it to the imperial court? Anyone who asks says she ate it all and donated it all before she died."

Guan Yingying said, "Why think so much? Cash is king, and it's always safe to be in the pocket."

Gu Chengyan nodded and said to Madam Tu, "That's what I meant too, Mother. We usually overthink things. Even if Grandmother and Father knew about the property, could they really sue me?"

After all, he is still the eldest grandson of the old lady and the eldest son of Gu Boyu. Are we really going to send him to jail? At worst, we'll just scold him and beat him up.

Without further ado, Madam Tu secretly summoned Zhang Qing, the gardener in the courtyard, and seven or eight other servants. At midnight, they changed into soft-soled cloth shoes, took hammers, and quietly headed towards Qingpu.

They had only walked a short distance from Qingpu Courtyard when they saw another group of people, carrying small lanterns, sneaking towards the courtyard.