"Father, how can you do this? I am your daughter!" Leng Ruoshuang said aggrievedly.
"I am not your father, so don't call me that," Leng Jinyu said mockingly.
"If you are not my father, then why am I the second young lady of the Leng family?" Leng Ruoshuang asked, confused.
"You'll have to ask your mother about that," Leng Jinyu said heartlessly, his sharp gaze fixed on her, a cold smile playing on his lips. An oppressive, suffocating atmosphere permeated the entire outer courtyard.
"Father, I know you've never liked me, but you can't insult my mother like this," Leng Ruoshuang said, crying.
In truth, she had long known she wasn't Leng Jinyu's biological daughter, which was why he showed them no affection. However, hearing Leng Jinyu say it so bluntly still made her heart ache. Tears, like two little worms, crawled down her cheeks.
She truly did not want to lose her status as the second young lady of General Leng. If she lost this identity, she would lose much honor and be ridiculed by those who were snobbish.
Seeing Leng Ruoshuang in this state made Leng Jinyu feel utterly disgusted. He thought to himself, This Leng Ruoshuang is becoming more and more like her shameless mother. He couldn't even be bothered to look at her.
Just then, Leng Ruoli suddenly spoke, "Father, just let her go in and collect her things."
After speaking, Leng Ruoli winked vigorously at Leng Jinyu, signaling him to allow Leng Ruoshuang into the back courtyard.
Leng Jinyu looked at his mischievous daughter, puzzled. But after a few seconds of hesitation, he still agreed to let Leng Ruoshuang in.
"Steward Qi, let her go in," Leng Jinyu said indifferently.
Upon receiving Leng Jinyu's permission, Leng Ruoshuang pushed away Steward Qi's hand and hurried into the Yu Hua Courtyard, where Concubine Liu had once resided.
"Li'er, why did you let Father allow her in?" Leng Jinyu asked, very puzzled.
"Father, your daughter wants to know how much money these two mother and daughter have embezzled from our General over the years," Leng Ruoli said, looking up at Leng Jinyu and smiling.
"Mm-hmm, Father is also very curious. Then, this matter will be left to you to handle. I'll just stand by and watch the show."
Leng Jinyu nodded approvingly at his daughter. His Li'er had truly grown up, considering some matters more thoroughly than he did.
Immediately, Leng Ruoli said to Steward Qi, "Uncle Qi, please summon the household accountant for me as well."
"Yes, Consort, this old servant obeys!"
Upon hearing this, Steward Qi replied respectfully and hurried off to find the household accountant.
Meanwhile, Leng Ruoshuang entered the back courtyard of General Leng and went straight to the Yu Hua Courtyard where Concubine Liu had lived. She reached the door of the master bedroom, glanced around furtively, confirmed she wasn't being followed, then pushed the door open and went inside. She quickly closed the door again.
She stayed in the room for a moment before cautiously searching for the hidden compartment her mother, Concubine Liu, had told her about.
Today, Concubine Liu had told her that this hidden compartment was under the floor of her dressing table. Leng Jinyu was very influential in the capital, so his mansion was certainly not lacking. Not to mention, the wooden planks used for the floor were made of golden nanmu, with excellent craftsmanship, making it difficult for anyone to find a flaw.
So, Leng Ruoshuang slowly moved the entire dressing table and carefully searched for a hidden compartment in the floorboards. However, no matter how much she looked, Leng Ruoshuang couldn't find anything special about the floorboards beneath her dressing table.
Alas, perhaps Concubine Liu had lied to her.
As she thought about it, Leng Ruoshuang became increasingly angry. She stomped on the wooden planks on the floor a couple of times. Suddenly, she noticed something amiss. The sound of the floorboards beneath her feet was very strange, as if they weren't solid.
So, she cautiously squatted down and tapped the wooden plank beneath her feet forcefully with her finger. It immediately produced a "bang, bang, bang!" sound. Her eyes lit up; this plank was indeed problematic. But then she faced another difficulty: how was she supposed to pry up this floorboard, which was about the size of two palms?
After much thought, Leng Ruoshuang took out a golden hairpin from her hair and used it to slowly pry open the floorboard. After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to pry up the wooden plank.
As expected, the space beneath the floor was hollow, containing a small wooden box. Leng Ruoshuang, with no other choice, opened the small box, and her eyes immediately lit up. She was stunned.
"My heavens!"
Her mother had hidden so many banknotes, and each one was for a thousand taels. She counted them: there were thirty banknotes of one thousand taels each, totaling thirty thousand taels. She quickly hid these banknotes in her sleeve pocket and then swept clean every jewelry box on Concubine Liu's dressing table.
After Leng Ruoshuang finished collecting all these valuable treasures, she was extremely excited.
Haha—
Her mother was too clever, hiding so many valuable things.
Then, Leng Ruoshuang, still smiling, walked out of the Yu Hua Courtyard and retraced her steps. When she reached the entrance of the courtyard she had lived in before, she stopped. She glanced at the entrance of her former residence. Although all the valuable items in her courtyard had been taken with her the day she married into the Prince Qing's mansion, she knew this was the last time she would see the place where she had grown up. A sense of sadness was unavoidable, and tears involuntarily flowed.
A moment later, Leng Ruoshuang wiped the tears from her face, carrying a large jewelry box, and walked out of the outer courtyard.
At this moment, Leng Jinyu and Leng Ruoli were sitting on chairs in the outer hall, waiting for her.
"Oh, our 'Second Young Lady Leng' has finally deigned to come out after being inside for so long," Leng Ruoli said teasingly.
"What? What do you want?"
Leng Ruoshuang, protectively holding the jewelry box in her hands, looked at Leng Ruoli and Leng Jinyu with great caution.
"Since you are taking things out of our mansion, I, as the host, must inspect them. What if you stole something from our mansion?"
Leng Ruoli said, a smile with an unknown meaning appearing on her face.
"These jewels and ornaments are my mother's dowry. I'm taking them. They don't contain anything belonging to General Leng," Leng Ruoshuang said, her eyes darting nervously. She was very worried that Leng Ruoli would snatch the money and valuables she had.
"Is that so? But Father just mentioned that when Liu Ruyi married him as a concubine, she didn't bring much dowry! I heard she only brought a few gold hairpins and not even a single shop. What do you mean by taking such a large box of jewelry from our General Leng today?" Leng Ruoli said sarcastically.
"You're talking nonsense! My mother was also the young lady of a prominent family. How could she not have a dowry?" Leng Ruoshuang's heart was pounding nervously.