Chapter Sixty-Two: Nighttime Investigation of the Storeroom
That night.
With Qingzhu and Baimei by her side, Song Yiqiu arrived at the Song family's storeroom under the cover of night.
Unlocking the heavy warehouse door with a key, a pungent smell of dust wafted out.
The scene inside the warehouse was even more astonishing: various items were piled up haphazardly, covered with a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs were everywhere.
Bai Mei covered her nose and waved her hand in disgust:
"Holy crap... this isn't a warehouse, it's a giant garbage dump!"
Qingzhu was relatively calmer and reminded him:
"Bai Mei, stop complaining. The dowry left by the old lady is huge and clearly marked, so it certainly won't be mixed with these ordinary odds and ends. Let's look carefully; there might be a hidden compartment or secret compartment."
The three of them split up to search, but after searching for a long time, they found nothing but more old and broken items.
Song Yiqiu stood in the corner of the warehouse, her gaze sweeping over a pile of seemingly randomly placed old vases and porcelain.
She suddenly noticed that one of the dusty vases seemed unusually clean, as if it had been touched frequently.
A thought struck her, and she tried to hold the bottle and gently rotate it.
With a clatter, a heavy bookshelf next to it slowly slid to the side, revealing a narrow entrance behind it that could only allow one person to pass through at a time.
"No wonder Mother so readily relinquished some of the housekeeping authority; the real treasure was hidden here."
The dark room wasn't large, but the things inside were completely different from those outside.
Several large mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes were neatly arranged. The boxes were made of exquisite materials and were beautifully carved, making it clear at a glance that the contents inside were extraordinary.
Qingzhu excitedly opened one of the boxes and was immediately dazzled by the glittering jewelry inside:
"Miss! Look! So much jewelry! It must be the dowry that the old lady left for you! I've seen this box at Zhaohua Mansion before!"
Bai Mei also became excited:
"Quick! Quickly search for any letters or handwritten notes left by the old lady!"
The three of them immediately began rummaging through the box.
However, after carefully examining all the boxes, they found no written instructions or clues other than priceless gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, jade, and silk.
Song Yiqiu leaned wearily against the suitcase, then slowly slid down to the ground, giving a self-deprecating bitter smile:
"I was so... naive. If Grandmother had really left any obvious evidence, Mother would probably have found it and disposed of it long ago..."
Just as she was feeling somewhat discouraged, Bai Mei suddenly pulled out a leather item with charred edges from the very bottom of a box:
"Miss, look what this is? It looks like... a piece of leather? There seem to be words on it?"
Qingzhu leaned closer to examine it closely, and by the light of the tinderbox in her hand, she identified it as follows:
"Hmm...this material...it looks like treated sheepskin? There seems to be a list on it, but it's been burned and is no longer legible. It looks dirty and like it was deliberately damaged."
Song Yiqiu took the sheepskin, her fingertips touching the subtle texture on it. A thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately said to Qingzhu:
"Qingzhu, can I borrow your tinderbox?"
She held the tinder close to the parchment, carefully using the outer flame of the fire to evenly heat it.
A miraculous scene unfolded: as the parchment heated up, the burned writing gradually faded, and another layer of black writing, created with a special solution, slowly emerged.
However, this hidden writing also seems to have been damaged, with most of the content blurred and difficult to decipher, only a few broken words and names can be vaguely discerned.
Song Yiqiu strained to make out the name, murmuring the one that was clearest among them:
"Zhao...Meng...Rou?"
Standing beside her, Qingzhu gasped in shock the moment she heard the name:
“Zhao… Consort Zhao?!”
Song Yiqiu suddenly looked up:
"You know her?"
Qingzhu found it hard to believe:
“Miss… Zhao Mengrou… She is, is the current Emperor’s concubine, and also… is also Princess Xingrong’s birth mother!”
Song Yiqiu frowned slightly:
“Princess Xingrong? Come to think of it, it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve seen her at a palace banquet. That saves us some trouble.”
She didn't have much affection for this spoiled princess.
Upon hearing this, Bai Mei couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Song Yiqiu looked at her strangely:
"why are you laughing?"
Bai Mei suppressed a laugh and said in a low voice:
"Young Miss, you've certainly saved yourself some trouble, but some people have suffered terribly—it's a real pain!"
Song Yiqiu: "?"
Bai Mei explained vividly:
"It's Lieutenant Zhang! Do you remember him? He's the one who attended the flower viewing banquet last time. Princess Xingrong came, didn't she? I don't know why, but she took a fancy to our Lieutenant Zhang's unkempt and flamboyant appearance."
"Ever since that day, Princess Xingrong has been running to Dousheng Manor every few days, and we keep bumping into each other. Zhang, the adjutant, is so annoyed by her that he avoids her whenever possible, hiding here and there, and he's even dressed more conservatively now!"
Song Yiqiu imagined it for a moment and couldn't help but smile:
"That's really... tough on him. It certainly saved me some trouble in telling him to calm down."
Qingzhu, however, worriedly steered the conversation back on track:
"But Miss, Consort Zhao is a person from the inner palace. If we want to investigate her affairs, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky. It's impossible to even meet her. How can we make a long-term plan?"
Song Yiqiu nodded, her expression solemn:
"We definitely need to plan this carefully. In matters of the palace, one wrong step can lead to utter ruin..."
Before she could finish speaking, footsteps and hushed conversations suddenly came from outside the warehouse door.
The three of them immediately held their breath.
Bai Mei said very softly:
"Miss, someone's here!"
Song Yiqiu quickly scanned the dark room and whispered:
"Quick! Hide!"
She pulled the two of them and quickly hid behind the largest box in the innermost corner, barely managing to conceal their figures.
Just as I hid, the door to the darkroom opened, and light streamed in.
The sound of eldest brother Song Tianhan complaining came from outside the door:
“Sangyu, why are you here in this shabby warehouse so late at night instead of sleeping? It’s so creepy…”
The second brother, Song Wenbin, also yawned and chimed in:
"Yeah... Can't we talk about this during the day? I'm so sleepy..."
Song Sangyu glared at them, her anger blazing.
"Sleep, sleep, sleep! You guys are still in the mood to sleep! I heard you've been getting quite close to Song Yiqiu lately? What, do you think she's your real sister, so you don't want to acknowledge me as your sister anymore?"
Song Tianhan immediately pledged his loyalty:
"Oh, my dear sister! What are you saying? We'll always only have you as our sister! Our relationship with Song Yiqiu was just an act, to appease Father!"
Song Wenbin quickly tried to appease him:
"That's right! Song Yiqiu is just a crude and vulgar woman. How can she compare to you, Sang Yu? You are our precious little sister!"
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