Compared to the imperial palace, the guards at the Xu residence were practically nonexistent. Qu Qingxi easily scaled the wall and began wandering around inside, as she was unfamiliar with the Xu residence.
However, it is also easy to find Xu Ding's residence here. The most luxurious place is where the person who lives is of the highest status and is most favored.
Qu Qingxi went to Xu Ding's study first, but after searching for a long time, she didn't find anything there. It seems that the valuable things are not here.
After leaving the study, Qu Qingxi went to the courtyard closest to it. This courtyard was the most luxurious place in the entire Xu mansion and should be Xu Ding's residence.
Pushing open the window, one could see a middle-aged man and a beautiful woman sleeping inside. The middle-aged man was probably Xu Ding, and the woman looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, so she was likely Xu Ding's concubine.
Qu Qingxi didn't know much about Xu Ding's background or whether he had any martial arts skills, so she lit a sleeping incense stick.
After a while, Qu Qingxi went inside and, after seeing the furnishings, confirmed that this should be Xu Ding's courtyard.
Without hesitation, Qu Qingxi put everything she could and couldn't take into her spatial storage. Looking at the beautiful concubine, Qu Qingxi felt a pang of longing. What a pity for such a lovely young woman.
Oh well, what if it's consensual? The concubine even has a smile on her face.
After leaving Xu Ding's courtyard, Qu Qingxi went to several other courtyards that looked grand and spacious, taking everything inside with her, leaving nothing behind.
In an instant, most of the Xu family's belongings disappeared. However, Qu Qingxi was still not satisfied. Xu Ding was the Empress's own brother, and he must have accumulated many valuable possessions over the years.
She wanted to find the Xu family's treasury; that was her goal for the day.
Qu Qingxi searched the Xu residence for a long time but found nothing, and was somewhat discouraged. She should have had Shen Shuyan's people check first.
Just as Qu Qingxi was about to leave, she suddenly noticed light footsteps coming from the direction of the artificial hill.
Qu Qingxi carefully walked over there, concealing herself, and saw a servant-like person press a groove in the artificial hill. Instantly, a heavy sound came from the side of the artificial hill, revealing that there was a mechanism there.
The man was very careful. After opening the mechanism, he cautiously glanced around to make sure there was no one around before walking into the opened mechanism.
Qu Qingxi had a strange premonition that perhaps there was something good hidden in this mechanism.
Qu Qingxi did not rush in, but waited quietly to the side. The person came out quickly, turned off the mechanism, and left in a hurry without any hesitation.
Qu Qingxi noticed that the person was holding a small box, but she didn't pay much attention to it.
Step forward, open the mechanism, and slowly walk inside. What appears before Qu Qingxi is a passageway, one meter wide, with luminous pearls embedded in the walls on both sides, illuminating the originally dark passageway as bright as day.
After walking about ten meters inside and then turning right, Qu Qingxi was instantly shocked by what was displayed in front of her.
The room was densely packed with many things: boxes and boxes of enormous luminous pearls, gleaming silver, glittering gold ingots, and countless other obviously precious items.
Qu Qingxi estimated in his heart that the entire national treasury combined probably didn't contain as much as these things. The items here weren't as numerous as those in the national treasury, but most of them were extremely rare.
Seeing this, Qu Qingxi couldn't help but shake her head. This Xu Ding was really amazing. She wondered if the emperor knew that his brother-in-law was richer than him, the emperor.
After all, the national treasury belongs to the entire Ling Dynasty, while the Xu family's treasury belongs only to Xu Ding.
If the emperor knew that his ministers were so wealthy, he would surely be very upset.
Xu Ding must have been living in constant fear of being discovered, possessing so much.
Why not be a good person today and help them solve this thorny problem at the same time?
A mischievous smile crept across Qu Qingxi's lips. With a gentle wave of her hand, everything in the entire treasury vanished. The once glittering treasury was now pitch black.
Turning back, Qu Qingxi noticed the luminous pearls inlaid on both sides of the passageway and took them all without hesitation.
Stepping out of the Xu residence, Qu Qingxi was in high spirits. The grievances she had suffered at the hands of Xu Cheng and the Empress today had vanished without a trace.
Qu Qingxi couldn't even imagine how interesting Xu Ding's expression would be when he saw the empty treasury, his face changing colors—red, yellow, green.
Qu Qingxi returned home laden with spoils, only to find the candlelight flickering in her room, indicating that someone was inside.
Qu Qingxi put away her smile and slowly stepped forward. At this hour, the only person who would dare to come to her room and light candles could be He Liufeng.
What is he doing here in the middle of the night?
After finishing his official business, He Liufeng was worried that the weather would get colder in the next couple of days, and Qu Qingxi was very afraid of the cold, so he thought he would come over and sleep with Qu Qingxi. However, when he tiptoed into Qu Qingxi's room, he found that Qu Qingxi's bed was empty and Qu Qingxi was not in the room at all!
Moreover, the bed was cold, indicating that someone had been away for a long time.
He didn't know where his princess would go in the middle of the night, and he knew she could easily evade the surveillance of the palace's guards, so he could only sit here and wait.
Qu Qingxi pushed open the door, and sure enough, He Liufeng was sitting in front of the table, his right index finger bent and tapping the table surface rhythmically.
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, He Liufeng subconsciously stood up and walked towards Qu Qingxi. Just as he took a step, he suddenly remembered that it was Qu Qingxi who was coming back so late, so why was he still going up to greet her?
So he stopped again, turned around and sat back down in the same spot on the mountain, turning his head away from Qu Qingxi.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Qu Qingxi asked He Liufeng in surprise as she closed the door.
Why did he stand up and then sit down again? What's going on?
"Where did you go?" He Liufeng turned to look at Qu Qingxi, who was wearing a tight-fitting outfit, clearly indicating that she had gone to do something secret.
"I went out to take care of some things." Qu Qingxi stepped forward, sat down next to He Liufeng, and poured herself a cup of tea. She was so thirsty after being busy for so long.
"The tea is cold." He Liufeng snatched the cup that Qu Qingxi was about to drink from and couldn't help but ask, "Why drink this cold tea on such a cold day?"
"I know, but I'm thirsty." Qu Qingxi pushed He Liufeng's hand away, tilted her head back and gulped down the cup of tea. Although the tea was cold, her heart was warm, so she was fine.
Qu Qingxi was about to pour herself another cup when He Liufeng took the teapot away, saying, "Don't drink cold tea, it's bad for your health. I'll have someone prepare hot tea for you."
"It's the middle of the night, everyone's asleep." Qu Qingxi shrugged slightly. On such a cold day, is it really appropriate to wake someone up just to make her a cup of hot tea?
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