Liu suddenly looked up, trying to snatch the key back, but Shen Weiwan got there first and grabbed her wrist. The girl's fingertips were cold, yet she held on with irresistible force: "Aunt, didn't you say the warehouse was in disrepair? How come you still have the spare money to make a key? Could it be..." She deliberately dragged out her voice, "you want to secretly empty the warehouse at night?"
The servants around her gasped at the words. Liu was anxious and angry, but the spicy smell in her nose was still playing tricks on her. She sneezed, and her snot almost dripped onto the back of Shen Weiwan's hand.
"Aunt, look at you," Shen Weiwan let go of her hand, took out a handkerchief and wiped her fingertips in disgust, "the sneeze is so earth-shattering. I think you should go back to your room and wash up, otherwise if the servants see you tomorrow, they will think that the elder of the Beggar Gang has entered the General's Mansion."
Liu was so angry that she was shaking all over, but she couldn't even utter a complete sentence. She glared at Shen Weiwan fiercely, and under the servants' stifled laughter, she stumbled away, covering her face. The new key was still in the old housekeeper's hand, and her fingerprints were clearly imprinted on the wax.
“Miss, this…” The old housekeeper looked at the key in his hand, then looked at Shen Weiwan, his eyes full of confusion.
Shen Weiwan took the key and roasted it over the torch. After the wax melted, the chili powder residue inside was revealed: "Butler, please smell this."
The old housekeeper took a closer sniff and immediately took a step back, choking: "Is this... chili powder?"
"And mustard." Shen Weiwan handed the key to Chuntao, "Go, keep this thing, it will be good evidence in the future." She turned to look at the old housekeeper, a cold light flashing in her eyes, "Since Liu wants to enter the warehouse so much, why don't we 'help' her?"
The old butler stroked his beard, thinking: "Miss, what you mean is..."
"I'll spread the word tomorrow that the warehouse ceremony needs my aunt to preside over it." Shen Weiwan raised the corner of her mouth with a hint of "asking for a beating", "When the time comes, we'll prepare the account books and invite her to check the accounts."
The moonlight shone brightly on the copper lock of the warehouse, and the remaining chili powder in the keyhole shimmered a subtle red light in the morning light. Shen Weiwan looked up in the direction of the Liu family courtyard. The lights there were still on, and she could hear the faint sound of things being thrown. She knew that this was just the beginning; the next "surprise" was just beginning.
When I returned to the room, Chuntao was holding a porcelain jar and laughing secretly: "Miss, how did you come up with the idea of stuffing chili powder into the keyhole? I'm afraid Liu will have to use eight jars of water to wash her nose when she goes home tonight."
Shen Weiwan poured herself a cup of cold tea to rinse her mouth; the pungent aroma seemed to linger in the air. She recalled the winter night in her past life when Liu had given her a mute potion; her throat still burned with pain. Her fingertips traced the account book on the table, which recorded every penny Liu had embezzled. Every single figure pierced her heart like a needle.
"Chun Tao," Shen Weiwan suddenly said, "go get those two rotten eggs."
Chun Tao was stunned for a moment, but she still took out the rotten eggs wrapped in oilcloth from the cabinet. Shen Weiwan took it, put it under her nose and sniffed it, and immediately frowned: "Hmm, it stinks quite a bit. Send it to Liu tomorrow and tell her that she worked hard last night, so I specially prepared this good thing for her to 'replenish her body'."
Chuntao burst out laughing, then said worriedly, "Miss, Liu has suffered such a loss, I'm afraid she will be desperate and do something desperate."
"The more anxious she is, the more chances we have." Chen Weiwan placed the rotten egg on the windowsill. Moonlight shone through the window lattice onto the eggshell, casting a faint green light. "Tell the kitchen to add more leeks to the breakfast sent to Liu tomorrow. I want to see how she can gossip with those noble ladies with such a bad breath."
As the night deepened, the General's Mansion gradually quieted down, save for the curses from Liu's room. Shen Weiwan blew out the candle, but she had no desire to sleep. She knew that Liu would never give up, and what she had to do was to advance cautiously in this invisible war until all her enemies were trampled underfoot.
Outside the window, a night owl crouched on the roof, its emerald green eyes fixed on the direction of the Liu family's courtyard, a low purring sound coming from its throat, as if foreshadowing something. Shen Weiwan raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a sneer in the darkness—the chili powder keyhole was just an appetizer; preparations for the "big meal" to come were just beginning.
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