NOVEL NEXT chapter 33
When Xu Qingwan stood in the secret room with a flushed face, she was completely stunned by the scenery before her!
Several night pearls illuminated the entire room like daylight, with rows of wooden shelves filled with jade and precious jewels, famous calligraphy and paintings, and boxes upon boxes of gold and silver ingots stacked carelessly, reflecting a dazzling light that made her heart flutter.
This was simply a dream come true!
“This… this…”
Her small mouth opened slightly, her breathing quickening, Xu Qingwan felt like her eyes didn’t know where to look.
Seeing her reaction, Wei Changtian couldn’t help but want to laugh.
This was the real reason he brought Xu Qingwan to the Zhang family’s estate today.
Previously, he had asked Wang Er to investigate why Xu Qingwan needed money so desperately, thinking that this woman must have some noble motivation, but the result was a huge letdown.
There were no sick parents in bed, no siblings who couldn’t afford to go to school, no poor people in need of help…
Nothing at all!
This woman was simply a money-grubber!
Isn’t that easy to deal with?
“Don’t just stand there, this is the Zhang family’s treasure trove, and it’s about to be confiscated soon.”
Wei Changtian urged, “Pick whatever you like, it’s all ill-gotten gains by Zhang Hongwen. If you don’t take it now, you’ll never have the chance again!”
“I…”
Xu Qingwan was still standing there in a daze, but Wei Changtian didn’t care about her anymore and hurried towards the deepest part of the dark room.
He wasn’t interested in ordinary gold, silver, and jewels, but there was one thing he had to get.
Among the scattered, precious medicinal materials, a certain wooden rack finally caught his attention.
A soft armor!
Its entire body was deep brown, with intricate lines densely packed. If you counted carefully, you’d find 1,080 horizontal and vertical lines.
It looked ordinary, but Wei Changtian knew this was the most valuable item in the entire Zhang estate.
The main material was from a 90-year-old mountain demon’s scales, which were ground into powder, mixed with mysterious iron and black gold stone, melted into a liquid, and then forged through thousands of hammerings to create these 2,160 fine threads.
Even an ordinary person wearing this would be invulnerable to attacks below the fourth rank!
Xiao Feng relied on this very thing to save his life in the early days!
Although Wei Changtian didn’t think Xiao Feng would really be killed without this soft armor, it was still a great treasure for himself!
With it, his personal safety was guaranteed.
With it, he could act more recklessly.
With it, his mom wouldn’t have to worry about him… ah, got a bit carried away.
Wei Changtian thought it was perfect, so he took off his clothes and put on the soft armor right away.
Not bad, it fit perfectly!
He put on his tiger-striped robe again, feeling delighted as he patted his chest. He glanced around with some regret.
What a pity.
The other treasures were valuable too, but they weren’t suitable for carrying around.
And things like silver notes that needed to be processed at a money exchange weren’t available here.
After all, it was too easy to leave traces, just like corrupt officials in his previous life who only hoarded cash and didn’t stash bank cards or deposit slips.
Wei Changtian didn’t plan to come back for more.
This place wouldn’t remain hidden for long, and the Suspense Mirror Agency would probably find it as soon as they investigated the Zhang family.
Oh well, one couldn’t be too greedy. He had already achieved his goal.
He casually grabbed a few exquisitely crafted jewelry pieces and stuffed them into his pocket, then remembered Xu Qingwan.
After searching around, Wei Changtian finally found her at the entrance.
“What are you doing here? We’ve already taken enough things?”
“Ah… I…”
Xu Qingwan clutched her clothes and whispered, “I didn’t take anything…”
“Didn’t take anything?”
Wei Changtian was surprised: “Why not? One item from here is enough to cover your salary for a year.”
“B-but this is stealing…”
Xu Qingwan, who was usually as cold as ice, rarely showed such a struggling expression, which was enough to prove that she was really torn.
However, it seemed that her moral bottom line had taken the upper hand for now.
“That’s fine, then.”
After looking at her for a while, Wei Changtian finally didn’t persuade her anymore: “Let’s go, or others will start to suspect.”
“Oh.”
Xu Qingwan responded with a sound, but her feet didn’t budge.
She gazed at a box of gold ingots not far away and suddenly asked timidly: “Do you… want to take one more… no, two gold ingots?”
“???”
Wei Changtian turned his head back with a questioning expression.
Wasn’t this woman unwilling to steal, yet she wanted him to steal more?
“I’ve already taken quite a few, and I don’t have space to carry them.”
He replied with a weird expression, but Xu Qingwan was not willing to give up, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, her sparkling pupils seeming to say – you don’t take them, and I won’t leave.
“…”
Wei Changtian was speechless, hesitated for a moment, and then had to walk over to pick up two gold ingots the size of half a palm.
Uniform standard, one was twenty taels, and two would be forty taels.
According to the 1:10 exchange rate at the Da Ning gold and silver exchange, it was worth four hundred taels of silver.
“Alright, can we go now?”
Wei Changtian waved the gold ingots in front of Xu Qingwan, preparing to turn around and climb the wooden ladder.
But he was called back again soon.
“Wait, wait a minute.”
Xu Qingwan lightly called out, stretching out a small hand with a embarrassed expression: “Give… give me the ingots.”
“What?”
Wei Changtian’s eyes widened in astonishment.
What kind of operation was this?
“Why should I give them to you? You want to take them yourself, don’t you?”
“I said I don’t steal things.”
“Then what are you doing? You don’t want to steal, so you’re directly taking from me?”
“I’m not taking…”
Xu Qingwan’s face turned red, and she didn’t dare to look at Wei Changtian, only lightly pointing to the empty scabbard at her waist.
The cowhide scabbard was empty because the willow-leaf knife inside had just been taken by Wei Changtian to stab the frog.
“You threw away my knife.”
“This… this is the knife money you owe me…”
Wei Changtian: “…”
Good guy!
This money-laundering operation, I’m impressed!
…
Wei Fu, at the hour of Zi.
“Cre-eak~”
The door creaked open, and Autumn Cloud and Yuan’er, who had been waiting in the hall for Wei Changtian to return, immediately stood up.
“Madam, why haven’t you slept yet at this late hour?”
“I…”
Lu Jingyao shook her head and asked softly, “Has the young master not returned yet?”
“Hehe, it turns out the lady is worried about the young master, huh!”
Yan’er covered her mouth and smiled, “You don’t have to worry, you married into this family, and the young master would always come back late every day. There would be at least ten nights a month when he wouldn’t return!”
“Ah? What does he do every night, then?”
“Of course, he goes to the brothels and taverns…”
“Cough!”
Autumn Cloud’s cough came a bit late, and by the time Yan’er realized her mistake, Lu Jingyao’s face had already changed.
Shame and annoyance surged to her heart, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say, so she could only softly scold, “Pfft, you shameless thing!”
“…”
Autumn Cloud and Yan’er exchanged glances, neither saying a word.
Lu Jingyao could scold Wei Changtian, but they couldn’t.
Moreover, they didn’t think the young master had done anything wrong.
After all, it was normal for men to visit those kinds of places, wasn’t it?