The old lady, who was originally bedridden, was able to sit up immediately upon hearing that the shop had been sold so quickly.

Deng Qiao was still sulking because of what happened yesterday, so Lu Mingqian took the initiative to go and make up with her. At first, he scolded her a couple of times, but when he took out a wooden box from his pocket and opened it, Deng Qiao saw the gold-inlaid jade agate necklace inside. The anger that had been stuck in her chest instantly dissipated.

The Liang family gave a deposit of ten thousand taels of silver, so generous that Lu Mingqian signed the contract without a second thought.

The thirteen shops could fetch nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver, enough to support their family for a lifetime without worrying about anything.

Deng Qiao admired the necklace in her hand, reluctant to put it down.

"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and tell Mother to give the land deed and house deed to them."

The old lady hadn't expected it to sell so quickly. She was initially reluctant, but now she had no choice but to accept it.

"If our ancestors knew, they would be furious."

"Since he is our ancestor, he should think about the future generations. We should just be happy and not worry about anything else."

Every time Deng Qiao opened her mouth, she could infuriate the old lady to the point of rage.

This time, the family was unusually united. The old lady sighed and told them to bring out the land deed and house deed first thing tomorrow morning.

Just as Lu Mingqian was about to nod, Deng Qiao pinched him.

"We're all family now, what's the point of hiding anything? What's ours will still be ours after you're gone, what's the use of hiding it now?"

Upon hearing this, the old lady's previously conciliatory attitude became extremely firm.

"I said tomorrow morning, so it's tomorrow morning!! Stop talking nonsense! This family is not your place to be in charge!"

Lu Mingqian stopped Deng Qiao, who still wanted to argue.

"Tomorrow it is. I've arranged with Prince Liang to come to my residence first thing tomorrow morning to pick it up. Just give me the land deed and house deed before they arrive."

"Don't worry, your mother has hidden those things in the safest place. No one but me will know."

Deng Qiao pursed her lips, too lazy to argue with her anymore.

The old woman won't live much longer anyway, and the power to manage the household will be hers sooner or later, so there's no rush.

She wanted to see where the old man could hide all those things when they moved!

That evening, just as Deng Qiao had fallen asleep, the old lady's maid came to the study to invite Lu Mingqian.

"The old lady summoned you to the Buddhist hall and told you to be careful and not to let her know."

Lu Mingqian immediately understood and, after a moment's hesitation, quietly went to the Buddhist hall.

The old lady was kneeling in front of the Buddha statue when she heard Lu Mingqian arrive, and said slowly.

"Kneel down and kowtow to Buddha."

"You called me here just for this? Why are you praying to Buddha in the middle of the night?"

"He guarded your family fortune for so long, isn't it appropriate for you not to pay him a visit of respect?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingqian's gaze towards the Buddha statue immediately became devout. After he kowtowed deeply to the statue, the old lady slowly rose and walked behind the Buddha statue to activate the mechanism.

The next second, the giant Buddha in front of him slowly moved. This scene made Lu Mingqian's eyes widen and his mouth open. He couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.

The seemingly ordinary Buddhist hall turned out to be a hidden paradise!

“Back then, I had people repair this Buddhist hall and left a hidden compartment under the Buddha statue. No matter what treasures I had at home, I could safely store them here. No one would guess that there was something under the Buddha statue.”

Lu Mingqian couldn't wait any longer and quickly ran over, craning his neck to peek into the dark hole.

Three seconds later, he looked up at the old lady with a puzzled expression.

"Mother, are you sure the thing is hidden in here?"

"Of course, nothing has changed over the years."

"But I can't see anything."

Lu Mingqian was worried that his eyesight was bad, so he specially lit a candle and shone it inside, but he still couldn't see anything.

At first, the old lady thought her son was just fooling around and joking with her again, until she realized that Lu Mingqian's expression didn't seem to be acting. In an instant, alarm bells rang in her heart, and she rushed up to look inside the Buddha statue without thinking.

Empty! !

It's really empty!!

All the gold, silver, jewels, land deeds, and house deeds she had stuffed to the brim are now gone!

"Oh my god!!!"

Upon seeing this, the old lady suddenly let out a sharp scream, startling Lu Mingqian. Before he could even figure out what was happening, he saw his mother fall straight backward, and he quickly reached out to catch her.

"Mother, where are the things?!"

At this moment, he was more concerned about where the things inside the Buddha statue had gone than his mother.

However, seeing the old lady's ashen face, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his voice filled with a hint of fear and expectation.

"Mom, did you put the things somewhere else?"

The old lady lay in his arms, her eyes wide open, her teeth clenched, her body stiff and rigid like a dried-up salted fish, a truly terrifying sight.

Lu Mingqian suddenly sat down on the ground, using the last bit of strength to ask.

"Could the things have been stolen?"

Upon hearing this, the old lady coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Lu Mingqian was numb and collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself.

"What should we do? Mother, tell me, what should we do next?"

"Mom, you certainly wouldn't have hidden everything in one place, would you? What about the treasures you've hidden elsewhere? Hurry up and bring them out. We need to leave tonight; we can't afford to waste a single moment."

Seeing that the old lady was still staring blankly at him, Lu Mingqian suddenly roared angrily.

"Where are the things?! Where is the Lu family's wealth accumulated over the years?! Speak up!!"

Just then, the door to the Buddhist hall was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Deng Qiao rushed in, breathing rapidly and with a solemn expression.

"Mom, it's one thing for you to hide things from us, but now you're not going to tell me that everything has been stolen?!"

Nobody had time to argue with Deng Qiao about the eavesdropping anymore.

The scene descended into unparalleled chaos.

Lu Mingqian: "Mother, say something!! Mother, what should we do?!"

Deng Qiao: "All you do is call me 'Mom'! Your mom is driving us to our deaths! We're finished, we're doomed!"

Lu Mingqian: "What right do you have to say these things here? What does this have to do with you?"

Deng Qiao: "I gave birth to your son and now you're saying this to me? What do you mean? Even at a time like this, you're still protecting your old mother?!"

The people inside the house were tearing each other apart like animals.

Lu Gu stood outside the door listening to everything inside. He took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, then went back to pick up the already packed package and left the Duke's mansion under the cover of night.