"It's not far from here, only about ten miles away," Su Tang estimated the distance.
Following the address left in her father's letter, Su Tang rode her worn-out old bicycle through the winding streets of Shanghai.
We finally found the detached villa hidden behind the sycamore trees.
This place is secluded, with its own private courtyard; it's truly a perfect spot to keep a mistress and do shady things.
She parked her bicycle behind a large tree some distance away and quietly slipped over the courtyard wall.
The curtains of the Western-style building were drawn tightly shut, but a dim light shone through a crack in a window on the second floor.
Su Tang was agile and quickly climbed onto the second-floor windowsill, where she listened intently.
Voices came from inside; it was Jiang Sushuang and Su Dongcheng.
However, the expected heated argument did not occur; instead, the atmosphere was a bit strange.
"Dongcheng, you're saying... that brat really did what was in the bank safe?"
Jiang Sushuang's voice was filled with disbelief and a slight tremor.
Su Tang raised an eyebrow. Oh, these two scoundrels have actually made up? And they're even targeting her now?
Su Dongcheng snorted coldly, "Who else could it be but her?"
"Think about it, that day at the bank, she was the only one with you from beginning to end."
“Manager Wang and the others are all veterans of the bank; they would never dare to embezzle funds. But... at the time, we were looking for a contact to buy our escape tickets.”
Jiang Sushuang raised her voice: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"That girl Su Tang has always been a quiet, timid girl, as stupid as a pig!"
"Does she really have the ability to empty a bank safe deposit box? Dongcheng, are you out of your mind?"
Jiang Sushuang felt a pang of heartache at the thought of her precious gold bars and jewelry disappearing into thin air.
She would rather believe that Su Dongcheng was the thief crying "stop thief!" than believe that it was Su Tang, her stepdaughter whom she had always looked down upon.
That girl wouldn't dare even if she had a hundred lives!
Su Dongcheng's voice turned serious: "Su Shuang, don't forget, times have changed."
"Ever since Su Henian died, this girl has become a completely different person."
"Do you remember that day in the study? The lock on Su Henian's study was such a complicated German-style lock, and she said she picked it with a hairpin. Do you believe her?"
Jiang Sushuang was speechless when asked the question.
Indeed, when Su Tang came out of the study that day, both she and Su Dongcheng were surprised and uncertain by her questions.
So I didn't think about it that way at first.
Looking back now, I feel a chill. How could Su Tang, a delicate young lady, have opened it so easily?
“But…but she’s just a little girl. Even if she could unlock the study, a bank safe deposit box is heavily guarded. How could she possibly…” Jiang Sushuang still found it unbelievable.
"What if she's not as simple as we think?" Su Dongcheng asked in a low voice.
"What if she's been playing dumb all along?"
"Think about it, she took the initiative to suggest going to Tibet, asked for her dowry, and it was such a coincidence that she opened the bank safe deposit box with you..."
"Could all of this have been part of her plan?"
Jiang Sushuang felt colder and colder as she listened, and a layer of cold sweat seeped out from her back.
"You mean...she knew about us all along..."
"Hmph, her father took her into that secret room in Su Henian's study countless times since she was a child. How could she not know what's inside?"
Su Dongcheng sneered, "We thought she was a fool, someone we could manipulate at will. But maybe she's already been playing us for fools!"
"That...that secret room in Su Henian's study..." Jiang Sushuang's voice trembled, "We have to go back and check it out right away!"
Her mind was now filled with images of the mountains of gold and silver treasures hidden in the Su family's secret chamber.
She couldn't even bear to think about what would happen if all those things were gone too!
"Let's go! Back to the Su family's old residence immediately!" Su Dongcheng made a decisive decision.
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