Chapter 9: Laying Out the Foundation and Taking Inventory of the Family Assets
The next morning, as dawn was breaking.
Su Wantang had just finished washing up when she heard the familiar engine sound of a jeep coming from downstairs.
She walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and Lu Jingyan's tall and upright figure stepped out of the car, dressed in a crisp military uniform, the epaulets reflecting a cold, hard light in the morning light.
He's here.
Su Wantang smiled slightly, changed into a proper dress, and gracefully went downstairs.
Lu Jingyan was already in the living room, with Su Zhenhong and Liu Liyun smiling politely, the atmosphere both courteous and distant.
"Jingyan, why are you here so early? Have you had breakfast?" Liu Liyun greeted him warmly.
"No need." Lu Jingyan's voice was cold, and his gaze passed over them, landing directly on Su Wantang who was walking down the stairs. His focus made the smiles on the Su couple's faces freeze.
"Awake?" he asked her, his voice unconsciously softening.
Su Wantang nodded, walked to his side, and said naturally, "Perfect timing, I have something to tell you."
Without even glancing at the other two, she said directly to Lu Jingyan, "We just got married, so I need to buy some new clothes. I can't let you down when we go back to Beijing. Lend me your car for a day, and also lend me a driver."
Upon hearing this, Liu Liyun's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.
This is a slap in the face to her, implying that she, as a stepmother, mistreated her stepdaughter.
Lu Jingyan stared intently at her with his dark eyes, his gaze seemingly able to see right through her.
Su Wantang met his gaze without flinching, her eyes clear and open, even carrying a hint of the coquettishness and self-righteousness of a newlywed wife.
She paused, then added, her tone slightly domineering, "You're not allowed to follow me today."
This sight caused a fleeting, almost imperceptible smile to flash across Lu Jingyan's eyes.
"Okay." He didn't ask a single question, took out his car keys from his pocket and handed them to her. "Xiao Zhang will be with you; let him do whatever he needs."
He then turned to the guards waiting outside the door and instructed them, "Listen to Madam today."
"Yes, sir!" Guard Xiao Zhang stood at attention and saluted, his voice loud and clear.
"And what about you?" Su Wantang asked casually as she took the keys.
"Me?" Lu Jingyan's gaze swept over Su Zhenhong's slightly guilty face, his tone indifferent, "Settling some old scores."
Old grievances?
It seems that the person who plotted against him is going to be in trouble.
And she, too, must begin to settle her own accounts.
A guard named Xiao Zhang was taciturn and unintelligent, but had excellent driving skills.
The jeep drove smoothly on the relatively wide roads of Shanghai.
Su Wantang didn't rush to their destination. Instead, she directed Xiao Zhang to drive around the busiest commercial streets.
She went into two of the largest department stores and visited three of the most famous fabric stores.
Like any girl her age, she lingered enthusiastically in front of the counter.
Look at the color of this piece of Dacron, feel the material of that piece of foreign cloth, and even haggle with the salesperson for a long time with great interest.
Xiao Zhang carried two small paper bags and followed behind her at a distance, dutifully playing the role of a tool.
Su Wantang kept an eye on her surroundings out of the corner of her eye.
No one was following them.
Those idiots in the Su family are probably still fretting over yesterday's events and have no time to pay attention to her.
very good.
After leaving the last fabric shop, she looked at the sky and said to Xiao Zhang, "Young man, let's go to the west of the city. I heard we can find some good things at the secondhand market there."
Xiao Zhang didn't say anything, just nodded and started the car.
As the car drove westward, the streetscape became increasingly desolate.
Finally, we stopped in a warehouse district that looked somewhat dilapidated.
Su Wantang pointed to one of the oldest warehouses and said to Xiao Zhang, "My friend said the good stuff is inside. Wait for me here, I'll go in and take a look and come right back out. It's dusty inside, don't get your clothes dirty."
Xiao Zhang glanced at the row of locked warehouses, then at Su Wantang. Although he had some doubts, he obeyed orders and waited in the car.
Su Wantang walked alone towards the old warehouse that looked the most inconspicuous.
The high heels made a "rustling" sound as they stepped on the gravel.
She took the unremarkable iron key out of her pocket and inserted it into the rusty keyhole.
“Clatter.”
The lock is open.
Pushing open the heavy iron door, a musty smell that had been sealed for many years wafted out.
The warehouse was dimly lit, with rows of wooden crates, each more than half a person tall, stacked neatly, covered in a thick layer of dust.
She walked straight to the innermost wooden box and opened the lid.
In an instant, the light shimmered.
The finest Yun brocade lay quietly in the box, still shimmering with iridescent light and retaining its original beauty even in the dim light.
She then opened a box next to her.
Beneath the thick layer of oiled paper are pieces of antique-style imperial porcelain, with warm and lustrous glazes, priceless in value.
Su Wantang felt much more at ease.
The things my mother left behind are intact.
Without further hesitation, she walked to the center of the warehouse and closed her eyes.
A thought crossed my mind.
"receive!"
The scene before her eyes remained unchanged, but she could clearly "see" that in her Begonia Space, on the empty wooden floor on the first floor, heavy wooden crates appeared out of thin air and were neatly stacked.
In just a few seconds, the entire warehouse was completely emptied.
Su - scrape the ground three feet - late crabapple.
She dusted off her hands, acted as if nothing had happened, opened the warehouse door, locked it again, and strolled back to the jeep.
When Su Wantang returned to the Su family home at noon, she saw Wang Ma hanging out the bedding in the yard as soon as she entered the door.
She walked over and asked, seemingly casually, "Aunt Wang, are you the only one busy at home?"
When Wang Ma turned around and saw it was her, she quickly wiped her hands and said in a low voice, "Miss, you're back. Madam and Second Miss went out early this morning, saying they were going to attend some kind of tea party hosted by Madam."
Su Wantang nodded, then asked, "Just the two of them?"
"She also brought Zhang Sao along." Wang Ma curled her lips, clearly not liking that wicked servant. "She said she was going to help the Second Miss find a husband, so she had to bring someone clever to help her."
Su Wantang smiled.
Want to see others? You're probably just showing off how you've hooked up with the Lu family in Beijing.
As she helped Wang Ma into the house, she said casually, "Speaking of which, Sister Yuting is almost of marriageable age. Her stepmother must have prepared a lot of nice things for her dowry, right?"
Mentioning this, Wang Ma seemed to remember something, and a trace of resentment flashed across her face.
"It's more than just a lot! Madam gave all her most treasured possessions to the second young lady! I saw her take out a set of full-green jade jewelry just a couple of days ago. The color was so green it looked like it was dripping with water! She said it was for the second young lady's dowry, to make her look good in her husband's family!"
Wang Ma paused, then lowered her voice even further, "That set of jewelry, the second young lady treasures it like the apple of her eye, taking it out to look at it every day."
Su Wantang paused slightly in her steps.
She patted Wang Ma's hand: "Wang Ma, I know. You go ahead and do your work, I'm going upstairs to rest for a while."
The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon.
Su Wantang had timed it perfectly; Liu Liyun and the others' tea party wouldn't end anytime soon.
She even timed it perfectly, taking advantage of the moment when the maid was cleaning, and using the excuse of looking for an old book, she deftly slipped away from everyone and entered Su Yuting's room on the second floor.
Unlike the original owner's elegant boudoir, Su Yuting's room was filled with all sorts of luxurious but tacky decorations. There was a dressing table imported from France, bright red velvet curtains, and a large artistic portrait of herself hanging on the wall, all exuding an air of vanity and impatience.
Su Wantang's gaze immediately fell upon the exquisite rosewood jewelry box on the dressing table.
She stepped forward and effortlessly pried open the lock.
He simply reached out, his fingertips lightly touching the lid of the box, and closed his eyes.
receive!
The next second, the entire jewelry box, along with all the jewels inside, vanished without a trace from the dressing table.
Clean and efficient.
After doing all this, she did not leave immediately.
She took out a glass marble she had picked up on the roadside, worthless, from her spatial storage and casually tossed it back into the spot where the jewelry box had originally been placed.
In the sunlight, the glass marbles refracted a cheap light.
It is extremely insulting.
Then, she walked to the window and subtly pried open the latch inside a crack.
They fabricated the illusion that a thief had sneaked in through the window, and in the rush, only managed to steal the most valuable jewelry box.
Not a drop of water leaks.
At the same time, at Mrs. Zhang's garden tea party.
The socialites and ladies sat together, their elegant clothes and graceful demeanor mingling with laughter and conversation.
Su Yuting sat among them, like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, enjoying the open and subtle praise and inquiries from the crowd.
"Oh my, Yuting, your sister is so lucky! She married into the Lu family in Beijing right away. That's a family we can only dream of!"
"Yes, yes, I heard that Lieutenant Colonel Lu is young, promising, and handsome. You'll be his sister-in-law in the future, how amazing!"
Hearing these words that were ostensibly praising but actually criticizing, Su Yuting was consumed by jealousy, but she still had to maintain a polite smile on her face.
"Not at all, it's all Wan Tang's own destiny. As her older sister, I'm naturally happy for her."
She picked up her black tea, took a sip, and then, feigning shyness, touched her temple: "Speaking of which, my mother also prepared a dowry for me, including a jade hairpin from the previous dynasty's palace. I'll wear it out for you to see another day and give you some advice on which cheongsam would look best with it."
She fantasized about wearing that set of gorgeous jewelry, marrying a man even more powerful than Lu Jingyan, and the glorious scene of trampling Su Wantang under her feet.
Unbeknownst to her, her beautiful dream had been shattered by a glass marble.
...
Su Wantang returned to her room and locked the door.
She slipped into the space, her eyes cold as she looked at the antique mahogany jewelry box on the ground.
Open.
The dazzling array of jewels almost blinded her.
Diamond necklaces, ruby earrings, pearl brooches... a dazzling array of items.
Her gaze finally settled on a jade bracelet that was entirely blood red and translucent.
Phoenix Blood Jade Bracelet.
She remembered that her mother used to wear this bracelet, holding her gently and telling her stories.
Now, it's back.
Su Wantang picked up the bracelet and slowly slipped it onto her fair wrist; the size was just right.
The jade bracelet felt warm to the touch, as if it still carried the warmth of a mother's body.
Liu Liyun, Su Yuting...
This is just the first interest payment.
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