Chapter 145 -

Chapter 145: Chapter

At night, everyone in the compound was already asleep. Xuiying stood up quietly from where she was laying, stepping over her sleeping sisters so no one would hear her. She was smiling from ear to ear in the dark. Tonight, she was going to go and steal the silver from Qinqin’s room and teach Yimei a lesson she would never forget.

She crept past the cold stone walls and silent rooms until she finally arrived at the back of the pavilion where Qinqin’s small room was located. She lightly pushed the wooden door open, slipped inside, and closed it quietly behind her.

The room was pitch black, so she could barely see anything. If I had known it would be this dark, I would have brought a small lantern, Xuiying thought, annoyed.

She was just about to turn around to go back and get a light when her head suddenly felt heavy. A wave of intense weakness rushed through her legs. She didn’t know what was happening to her. Shaking her head, she staggered forward, trying to keep her balance, but her body wouldn’t listen. She found herself stumbling directly toward the bed. Her knees gave out, and before she even realized what was happening, she collapsed onto the mattress and fell fast asleep.

Almost thirty minutes passed after she passed out. The wooden door creaked open again, and two dark male figures stepped into the room.

"Is that the maid? You grab her," Second Uncle Chengang whispered urgently to Third Uncle Chenghao.

They both rushed over to the bed, grabbing Xuiying and covering her completely with the heavy coarse blanket they had brought along. Because the room was so dark, they were totally unable to see her face.

"Careful, don’t let her scream!" Chenghao grunted, throwing the wrapped bundle over his shoulder.

"She isn’t even moving, she must be terrified," Chengang chuckled under his breath, sweating with greed. "Quick, let’s take her to the black market buyer outside the village before sunrise! Once we sell this little maid, we’ll have enough silver to buy fine wine, fresh meat, and clear all our debts!"

They tiptoed out through the back door, dragging their heavy prize through the tall grass and out into the cold night, completely clueless that Chengang had just helped kidnap and sell his own daughter.

The next morning, the compound was bustling early. Yimei was in the kitchen, casually cutting fresh meat and vegetables to make food for Zhengyu and the rest of the household. Bai Shu, Rulan, and Meiling were all in the kitchen assisting her, washing rice and stirring the steaming pots.

Just then, Madame Liu’s loud, hysterical voice echoed through the whole house.

"Xuiying! Where on earth is Xuiying?! Does anyone know where she is?!" Madame Liu screamed as she stomped into the main hall where everyone was busy doing one thing or another.

Madame Zhang was sitting near the corner trying to chop onions, while Madame Chen sat nearby with her daughters, resting lazily. Almost everyone was gathered in the main hall.

"Who knows where Xuiying is?!" Madame Liu shouted, her face flushed with anger and worry. "Where is she?! I haven’t seen her all morning!"

Bai Shishi rolled her eyes, scoffing softly. "Maybe she went out to do something... why are you shouting so early in the morning?"

Madame Liu frowned deeply, glaring at her. "Shut up! How dare you talk to me like that?!"

Ruizhe walked over to his mother, pulling her arm casually. "Mother, calm down. She probably made friends with some people in the village and went to see them. She will come back when she gets hungry."

Madame Liu let out a heavy sigh, crossing her arms, but she couldn’t shake off the bad feeling in her chest.

Just then, the main front doors swung open. Second Uncle Chengang and Third Uncle Chenghao walked into the compound, strutting with their heads held high and smiling broadly from ear to ear.

Madame Liu ran straight toward her husband, yanking his sleeve and shouting at him, "Where have you been all night and all morning?! I’ve been looking everywhere for Xuiying!"

Chengang simply shoved her hands away, puffing out his chest with a huge, arrogant grin. "Go get ready! We are going to the market to buy good food, fine wine, and new clothes!"

Hearing that, Madame Liu’s eyes lit up, and her sour face instantly turned into a massive grin. "Really?!"

Third Uncle Chenghao walked proudly over to Madame Zhang’s table and smirked. "You should get ready too. Today we eat like royalty!"

Madame Zhang raised her brow in complete confusion, exchange uneasy looks with the others.

Sitting in his wheelchair near the corner, Zhengyu watched his uncles boast with a cold, suspicious glare. He turned his head slightly toward Yimei, who was just walking out of the kitchen carrying heavy plates of fresh food and setting them down onto the table. Zhengyu knew something big had happened, but he wondered what trap his wife had sprung this time.

Just at that exact moment, the courtyard gate creaked open.

Qinqin walked into the hall right beside Liu Feng. They had both gone over to Grandmaster Zhang’s house early in the morning to fetch some heavy firewood that the old master had offered them.

"Young Madame! We are back with the wood!" Qinqin called out with a bright, cheerful smile.

Yimei looked up, smiling softly at her maid. "Good. Keep the wood by the kitchen door."

The rest of the family didn’t react much to seeing Qinqin return. But the second their eyes fell upon her standing there safe, sound, and completely unharmed...

Second Uncle Chengang and Third Uncle Chenghao froze dead in their tracks.

The bright, arrogant smiles wiped clean off their faces. Every single drop of color instantly drained from both of them until they looked like hollow corpses standing in the middle of the room. Their eyes bulged wide, their knees trembling violently under their robes.

If Qinqin is standing right there... then who on earth did they just drag off in the dark and sell to the black market buyers?!