The autumn sun streamed through the three-hundred-year-old sycamore tree in the General's Mansion, tinting its palm-sized leaves with a translucent tint of gold. The filtered light shattered into dancing stars on the blue brick floor. Chen Weiwan squatted in the mossy cracks of the bricks in the northwest corner of the courtyard, cradling a sheet of parchment with frayed edges, her nose nearly brushing against the cracked cinnabar ink. Chuntao squatted nearby, using a thin twig to fiddle with the procession of moving ants. The hem of her skirt, embroidered with lotus flowers, brushed against the dew-soaked grass tips, startling a few dormant crickets.

"Miss, is this really the treasure map left by the old general?" Chuntao poked the fuzzy cinnabar circle on the paper with a branch. "It looks like the stove diagram that Chef Li drew in the kitchen yesterday. It's all crooked and twisted."

"Go away!" Chen Weiwan slammed the parchment shut, startling the pink butterfly that was perched on the corner. The phosphorus powder on the butterfly's wings clung to the edge of the paper like scattered silver coins. "This crooked handwriting is exactly the same as the way I learned to write the word 'Wan' when I was five years old. It must be my father's handwriting!" She shook out the parchment. There was a circle with a hole drawn on it with cinnabar, and the four big characters "Ten Thousand Pieces of Gold" next to it were blurred by the years. A winding red line, like a drunken earthworm, meandered from the circle to the cracked Taihu stone in the depths of the courtyard.

The old housekeeper, leaning on a jujube wood cane, came tremblingly, his silver beard fluttering in the draft. Seeing the paper in Chen Weiwan's hand, his cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and the end of his cane slammed down on the brick floor, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Miss, are you holding...the remains of the old general that were locked in the sandalwood box before his death?"

"Exactly!" Chen Weiwan waved the parchment in front of the old housekeeper. The silver bells in her hair rang softly with the movement, startling the swallows on the beams into flight. "I found it yesterday when I was rummaging through the bottom of the box. Dad told me in the letter that he had left me a treasure at the bottom of the box, right here in the mansion, and told me to follow the map to find it!" She pointed at the cinnabar circle, her nails tapping the paper, making a crisp sound. "Look how round this circle is. It must be the pit where the gold ingots are buried!"

The old butler squinted closer, and suddenly, as if struck by lightning, his cane dropped to the ground with a clang. He stumbled back half a step, his face paler than the peeling plaster on the wall. "Miss... I'm afraid this wasn't a joke the old general played on you back then?"

Chen Weiwan didn't care. She yelled for four burly servants. She stood with her hands on her hips beside the Taihu stone at the end of the cinnabar line, her parchment rustling in the wind, her pearl headband tilted to one side. "Listen up, everyone! Dig till you drop! If you find a gold ingot, you'll get a ten-ounce reward. If you find a poisonous snake... you're out of luck!"

As soon as the servants heard about the reward, they rushed forward with their hoes and shovels. The sound of the shovels digging into the soil startled sparrows dozing in the trees. Shen Weiwan squatted by the pit, rubbing her hands, her eyes bright as a cat's at the sight of a candy cake. The hem of her skirt brushed the dirt at the edge of the pit, leaving a brown mark. Suddenly, there was a clang, and the foremost servant's hoe trembled, almost dropping it. "Miss! I think I've dug up something hard!"

"I dug it up!" Shen Weiwan jumped up and almost fell into the pit. The corner of her skirt swept across the wet soil on the pit wall. "It must be a gold ingot box! Dig gently, don't break my gold!"

Chuntao clung to the edge of the pit and looked down. Suddenly, she screamed, and the velvet flower in her hair fell into the pit: "Miss! This is not a gold ingot! It's a stone!"

Everyone worked together to dig through the dirt, revealing a half-man-high bluestone stele. Moss covered its surface, and a few withered leaves were stuck in the grooves carved by rain. The old butler leaned in to examine the inscriptions. He plopped down on his knees, his silver beard trembling like a reed in the autumn wind, and his cane pounded the ground. "My dear young lady! This is your great-grandfather's cenotaph! The old general guarded Mobei, and his remains have never been returned, so he specially erected a cenotaph here in the mansion..."

Chen Weiwan squatted in front of the stone tablet, picking at the moss on the corner with her fingers. The scraps she picked off fell onto her shoes. The corners of her mouth twitched: "Dad, this map is too abstract, isn't it? I thought this circle was a mark for burying gold, but it turns out it's a grave? Is this 'million ounces of gold' really about my great-grandfather's noble character?"

The old butler beat his chest and stamped his feet, his cane making a loud thump on the blue brick floor. "The old general loved to tease you when he was alive. He must have painted the cenotaph as if it were a treasure trove to trick you! Look at this red line. It's not pointing to the gold, it's clearly the path from the ancestral hall to the cenotaph..."

When the news reached the Seventh Prince's residence, Xiao Yu was lost in thought, staring at the military report. After listening to the servant's vivid description, he slammed his teacup onto the table, splattering scalding tea onto the back of his hand without even noticing. When he arrived at the General's residence, the setting sun was gilding the stone tablet. Chen Weiwan squatted before it, clutching the incriminating parchment in her hand, her shadow stretched far out.

"What are you thinking about here?" Xiao Yu squatted down, the hem of his dark uniform brushing the fallen leaves in front of the tombstone. Seeing the five mottled characters "Tomb of the Shen Family Ancestors", the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch. "I heard you 'moved' the grave of my great-grandfather?"

Chen Weiwan hung her head, the pearl headband in her hair tilted to one side, revealing her smooth forehead. "We've dug up my great-grandfather's grave while treasure hunting. Do you think my father is the worst person in the capital at cheating his daughter?" She handed over the parchment. The cinnabar circle on it looked like a mocking mouth in the sunset. "Look at this picture. How does it look like a grave? It clearly looks like a sesame seed cake!"

Xiao Yu took the paper, his fingertips rubbing against the blurred inscription "Ten Thousand Pieces of Gold." He suddenly laughed, startling a ladybug perched on the corner of the stele. "Don't be sad. At least it proves the old general loves you and left you this 'surprise.'" He pointed at the moss covering the stele. "Look how solidly this stele is carved. It holds its value better than gold ingots and can be passed down to future generations."

As they were talking, Chuntao came running over, holding a greasy piece of oil paper. She hadn't noticed a velvet flower had fallen from her temples, and her skirt was still stained with mud. "Miss! The storyteller in the West Market has a new story! Even the tofu pudding vendor is singing it!"

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!