Chapter 406: Finishing Up
Chapter 406: Chapter 406: Finishing Up
Gu Xingyang watched her parents’ elaborate series of actions and blinked her large, innocent eyes. "Mother, why are you doing all this? Can’t we just go straight in?"
Gu Kaiyuan finally caught an opportunity. He pulled Gu Xingyang into his arms and began explaining all the potential dangers they might face if they charged in recklessly.
Gu Xingyang really wanted to tell him that she could already sense there was no danger here. But seeing Gu Kaiyuan so eager to teach her basic survival knowledge, she silently swallowed her words.
Forget it. If her father loved to lecture, she would just let him. He was her father, after all, and all she had to do was listen. She would remember the useful parts and let the useless parts go in one ear and out the other. However, as she listened, her eyelids grew heavy. Whatever. Her parents could handle the rest anyway, so she might as well just sleep peacefully.
Gu Kaiyuan was right in the middle of his passionate speech when he noticed Gu Xingyang’s little head tilting back, her mouth wide open in a yawn. "...She fell asleep just like that?"
Bai Suihe had been holding it in for a long time, but she couldn’t help bursting into laughter. "Your lecture turned into a lullaby. The child is still young. How could she possibly understand all this? You can teach her slowly in the future."
Gu Kaiyuan was speechless. "Madam, do you hear what you’re saying? Are you just lying through your teeth?" he wondered. He quickly recovered and said, "You’re right, Madam. The child is indeed still young, and she needs to sleep more to grow. We should try to leave her at home more often so she can catch up on sleep." He meant they shouldn’t always give in and bring her out with them.
Bai Suihe smiled and didn’t reply. It seemed the father and daughter had developed a taste for bickering, clashing like this every few days. She decided it was best not to take anyone’s side.
Gu Kaiyuan wrapped the baby blanket a little tighter and carefully handed her to Bai Suihe. "You and the baby wait up here. I’ll go down and see what’s going on."
"Then be careful," Bai Suihe said. "If you aren’t sure it’s safe, we’ll just retreat."
If they didn’t check it out today, neither of them would be able to sleep tonight. Bai Suihe knew her own limits. Gu Kaiyuan had martial arts skills; if he encountered danger, he could still retreat. As for her? Better to forget it, be obedient, and avoid dragging him down.
Gu Kaiyuan went inside for a short while, soon emerging with a grave expression. Seeing his face, Bai Suihe’s heart skipped a beat. "Is something wrong down there?"
Gu Kaiyuan pursed his lips. "There’s nothing wrong, but there are far too many things inside. Let me take you down to see."
Bai Suihe followed him into the hidden room. Gu Kaiyuan had already lit the candles hanging on the walls, bathing the entire chamber in bright light that made the opened chests of jewelry sparkle. Inside, gold, silver, jewelry, jade, and precious treasures were haphazardly piled into chests without any categorization.
It was obvious this wealth had been accumulated bit by bit, though it was a mystery where it had all been plundered from. Clearly, these treasures had been offered up by many different owners, though it was impossible to tell whether they were given willingly or taken by force.
"For a lowly frontier County Magistrate to accumulate such massive wealth is clearly abnormal," Gu Kaiyuan said, pointing to the chests in the corner. "Those are entirely filled with gold and silver."
Bai Suihe walked over to take a look, instantly understanding why Gu Kaiyuan’s expression had been so grave. This was truly not something a mere County Magistrate could ever possess.
"Where do you think he got all this silver? Lingnan doesn’t seem like such a wealthy place."
"There are two possibilities. Either they were secretly running maritime smuggling operations, or officials were colluding with bandits."
Bai Suihe casually picked up two pieces of jewelry, both of which bore signs of having been worn. "I’m afraid it’s collusion with bandits."
Gu Kaiyuan nodded. "Who knows how many people suffered for this."
Although he was no saint, he couldn’t help but feel enraged seeing this. He had no idea how many families had been ruined or lives lost to fill these stacked chests of gold, silver, and jewels.
"Then won’t buying this house bring us a lot of trouble later?" Bai Suihe now felt these items were like hot potatoes. Even holding onto the property itself felt like a disaster waiting to happen.
"You stow these things away into your pocket space first, and I’ll figure out a way to cover our tracks."
"It won’t be that easy," Bai Suihe said. "Why don’t we just leave this place exactly as it is and pretend we never found it?"
As for taking the loot and then flipping the house to someone else, Bai Suihe simply didn’t have the heart to do such a thing.
"You stow these away first, and I’ll handle the rest." Gu Kaiyuan also felt it was a dangerous burden, but they had no way back now.
The broker at the agency knew he was buying the house. The only saving grace was that the property transfer hadn’t been completed yet. They had agreed to finalize the official deed tomorrow, but looking at the situation now, that wasn’t going to happen.
"We can’t hide this from anyone," Bai Suihe shook her head, not immediately doing as he asked. "As new faces, we attracted attention the moment we entered the city, and then you went and bought so many properties and shops...
"If he was that beheaded County Magistrate, and he still hadn’t confessed to having this place before his execution, then he must have left it as a backup plan for his family.
"I’m afraid they’ve already made arrangements. It might not be long before someone comes, and once they investigate, it won’t take much to track us down."
"Stow the items away, then we’ll go find some dirt and fill this place up." Gu Kaiyuan knew that whether they took the treasure today or not, they would be targeted regardless.
Since that was the case, they might as well play the game.
Bai Suihe’s pocket space would be incredibly useful right now. Once they transported some dirt over, whoever came looking could dig three feet deep and still find nothing. As for any trouble that might come their way, as long as they were prepared, it was still up in the air who would emerge victorious.
Bai Suihe said no more and cleared everything out of the hidden room. She originally could have drawn some dirt from the hillside inside her space, but she couldn’t bear to part with a single blade of grass or tree from there. Instead, the two of them went to the adjacent courtyard, another property they had purchased earlier.
Bai Suihe placed her hand directly on the ground, storing all the soil she could gather into her space. She repeated this process over and over until she felt it was enough. By the time she stopped, a small pit had formed in the backyard.
"I’ll have someone come clean this up later. We can use it as a fishpond," Gu Kaiyuan said.
Bai Suihe surveyed the small backyard. If they turned this place into a fishpond, how could anyone live here? Even if they tried to sell it, she feared no one would want it.
"Maybe we should build a cellar instead, so there’s still room to walk around the yard." Bai Suihe looked at the large pit. It was the fruit of her hard labor, and it shouldn’t go to waste.
If they built a fishpond, the yard would be ruined. Besides, what normal family would build such a huge fishpond in such a tiny yard? It would only draw more attention.
"That works too. I’ll find someone to handle it later." Gu Kaiyuan also agreed that building a cellar was a more reliable and practical idea than a fishpond.
Not daring to delay, they carried the soundly sleeping Gu Xingyang back to the first courtyard. Bai Suihe slowly released the dirt she had stored, making sure to pack every corner as tightly as possible. Only when it was seamlessly filled did she stop, thoroughly satisfied.
Gu Kaiyuan felt around above the hidden room and tinkered for a while. The large water vat originally placed outside the kitchen could finally be moved away, as the mechanisms securing it had been forcibly dismantled.