The opening of this hidden compartment is very small, but it goes deep inside and extends to both sides to form a square.
It looks like a raised "凸" character.
Li Lanzhen used the available space to place everything on the ground.
"Listen to the rain, come and take a look."
Tingyu squatted down, her eyes sweeping over the silver notes and banknotes on the ground, as well as a box full of gold leaves.
Her gaze fell on a stack of papers, and she picked up a few from the floor.
"Grandma, can you take a look and see if this is the house deed and the land deed?"
Li Lanzhen picked it up and took a look. Although it was written in classical Chinese, she was able to guess the meaning by a combination of guesswork and deduction.
"Yes, Tingyu, it's the house deed and land deed for this courtyard, as well as a manor outside Youzhou City."
The deeds to the houses and land of three shops on the main street of Youzhou City.
"Listen to the rain, what should we do about this?"
The little girl stood up, stomped her foot, and said...
"Take it all away! Take it all away! Leave them nothing!"
Li Lanzhen thought for a moment and then said.
“Tingyu, how about this? We leave the house deed and land deed for this courtyard to them.”
The other grandmothers helped you sell them, and the money went to your father.
Seeing Tingyu's puzzled expression, Li Lanzhen explained it to her carefully.
“Your father will have to take the imperial examination in the future. If your father passes the exam and becomes a scholar, and then becomes an official, your grandfather and the others will have nowhere to live. They will still use filial piety to oppress your father.”
Getting entangled with them will only cause more trouble, so it's better to just keep this courtyard.
When the time comes, your father will say that this is the dowry courtyard left by his mother.
The reason we didn't take it back was because my father still needed to live there.
Tingyu's eyes darted around, she nodded, dusted off her hands, and said calmly.
"Fine, let them off easy! Let them stay here!"
Li Lan was thinking of taking the deeds to the manor and shop, then going to the manager of the Sifang Hotel to ask him to help sell them, and then giving the money to Lu Boyan.
Li Lanzhen put the deed for the courtyard back into the hidden compartment and closed the door.
Holding Tingyu's hand, they went out from here and entered the study.
The study is very large; it's a suite.
There was a bed and tea set in the inner room.
This place must have been specially arranged by Lu Boyan's mother, in case he studied late at night and could rest and drink tea here.
The outer study is also very large, with one wall lined with an entire wall of antique display shelves, filled with books, jade artifacts, and other antiques.
On the other wall, the entire wall was covered with bookshelves filled with books.
Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were arranged in sets on the table next to him.
Upon seeing the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, Li Lanzhen suddenly remembered the problem of writing a letter severing ties with her family and then having it archived at the government office.
"Xiaoyu, this is what Grandma thinks, what do you think?"
Tingyu raised her face, looked at her, and glared at her as she spoke.
"I want to write a letter severing ties between you, your family of four, and your grandfather."
Have your grandparents put their fingerprints on the document, and then take it to the government office for filing and archiving.
That way, if your grandfather and the others want to bother your father again in the future, they'll have something to say.
Tingyu clapped her hands happily.
"Grandma, you're so kind! Thank you for thinking of us so thoroughly!"
As he spoke, he quickly ran to the desk, skillfully took out a sheet of Xuan paper, spread it out, and began grinding ink.
At this point, Li Lanzhen was in a dilemma. She couldn't write traditional Chinese characters, though she could manage to write calligraphy.
Because there were all sorts of activities in the factory during her time, she didn't like moving around and preferred to stay still, so she joined calligraphy and painting classes.
The calligraphy is passable.
Tingyu watched as Li Lanzhen stood motionless.
As if waking from a dream, she patted her forehead with her little hands and said.
"Grandma, do you not know how to write?"
Grandma, don't worry, Tingyu will write it.
He turned around, picked out a pen from the pen rack, and said to Li Lanzhen.
Grandma said, "Write while listening to the rain."
Tingyu started learning to write with her father when she was three years old, and she studied for three years.
My stepmother tormented my mother all day long, making her do so much work.
"After listening to the rain, she stopped studying, writing, and reading; instead, she helped her mother with chores."
Li Lanzhen walked to the desk, affectionately patted her head, and said...
"Okay. Grandma said she'll definitely listen to the rain."
"A letter severing ties..."
The two of them worked together to write a letter severing ties with their family.
After finishing writing, Tingyu picked up the sheet of Xuan paper with both hands, blew on it, and handed it to Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen then realized that there should be Lu Boyan's seal, signature, or handprint below.
Listening to the rain, it seemed as if Li Lanzhen understood what was on her mind.
She chuckled and said, "Grandma, you don't need to worry."
I keep my father's seal safe.
As he spoke, he took out a seal with a red string tied to it from his neck, took it off, and gave it to Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen stamped Lu Boyan's name on the letter severing ties with her seal.
Tingyu quickly dipped one of her fingers in red mud and pressed a red fingerprint under Lu Boyan's name on the letter severing ties.
"Let's go, Xiaoyu, let's go and let your grandpa and stepmama put their fingerprints on the paper."
Tingyu walked around the study and saw that all the books and things were there undamaged, and grinned.
"Grandma, take them all away, don't leave a single sheet of Xuan paper."
Li Lanzhen silently recited, "Receive."
The study was completely empty.
The two went to the dining room together, and Li Lanzhen stepped forward and grabbed Lu Boyan's father's hand to press his fingerprint.
...
Li Lanzhen was busy pressing her handprints on the side, while Tingyu was busy beating people up!
Li Lanzhen glanced up and saw that it must be her grandma's chubby, domineering grandson.
Go ahead and beat him up, that'll vent your anger and make the kid feel better, otherwise you'll hurt him!
After they had all pressed their handprints.
Li Lanzhen asked Tingyu.
"Tingyu, is there anything else you need to take with you?"
Tingyu kicked the chubby boy a few times.
"Grandma, we haven't gone to the livestock shed yet. Let's take the horse-drawn carriage and donkey cart with us too."
That carriage and chestnut horse were a gift from my maternal grandparents to my paternal grandmother.
The two of them went to the livestock farm again and put all the horses, donkeys, and carts inside into their spatial storage.
They didn't even leave out the stacks of hay next to them.
"Tingyu, doesn't your grandfather's house have any servants or guards? How come there are only a few maids, old women, and servants?"
"Hmph! That wicked old woman, that witch, is so stingy!"
They sold all the servants, household staff, and many maids and servants. The money was used to buy silver.
Li Lanzhen suddenly remembered that she hadn't spotted Butler Wu, whom they had met on their way here, among this group of people.
She quickly asked Tingyu.
"Tingyu, where is Butler Wu?"
Tingyu's face froze for a moment, then she turned around seriously to look at herself and said.
"Grandma, something's wrong, Butler Wu isn't here."
"That guy is wicked; he's the old witch's cousin and he's always bullying my dad."
After a while, Tingyu remembered.
"Grandma, he's not in the manor right now. I know, he's probably at the gambling den. He loves gambling, and when he loses money, he comes to ask that old hag for more!"
Li Lanzhen's eyes lit up. He's a gambler, huh? That makes things easier. Perfect, everyone from the Lu family is here except for him.
At that very moment, the Lu residence was burglarized!
He has no choice but to take the blame!
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