Chapter 4: The Scoundrel Kneels

Zhong Xiao's eyes instantly lit up. She casually picked up a gold bar from the pile. The gold gleamed with a rich luster, heavy and substantial in her hand. Zhong Xiao bit into it. It was real gold! She ran her fingers over the bar in disbelief, and suddenly felt a rough, uneven engraving. Turning the bar over, she saw a line of words: “Made on the tenth day of the third lunar month, 1699.” 1699... Zhong Xiao lowered her gaze. As she had suspected, it was from the Kangxi or Qianlong era.

If this was the case, then the true value of the jade pendant lay not in the pendant itself, but in the space created after it was consecrated by a master. So in her previous life, Zhou Yongxin hadn’t sold the jade pendant for money; he must have stumbled into this space and found the treasure inside.

Zhong Xiao bit her lip in secret. Since gold could appear inside this space, it was obviously not conjured out of thin air. Someone must have placed it there. This meant the space was connected to the real world!

She attempted to close her eyes. Sure enough, she could see her bedroom in the real world, every object clear as day. Zhong Xiao fixed her gaze on the jade pendant lying on the table. The pendant floated up, and as she opened her eyes again— the pendant was inside the space!

Excitement nearly made her cry out. She quickly covered her mouth, unable to contain her joy. She had thought this new life would be fraught with difficulty and subjugation, yet she had stumbled upon this space by sheer accident. From now on, all her gold and silver had a safe haven; no longer did she need to fear being stripped of her assets.

And yet...

Zhong Xiao turned to look at the vast expanse of rich, black soil that stretched as far as the eye could see. The true worth of this space was not just the gold. Land and resources—these were the most important things in this era.

She placed the jade pendant and the jadeite box inside the space, closed her eyes, counted to three, and cautiously opened them again. Her familiar bedroom appeared before her. Overjoyed, she jumped up—she had mastered the secret of entering and leaving this mysterious space!

Just then, Zhou Yongxin’s voice came from outside her door.

“Xiao Xiao, could you open the door? Uncle asked me to bring you some money.”

—

Elsewhere, Yang Yuehe and Du Yinger had just returned to their room. As soon as the door closed, Du Yinger erupted.

“Mom! Why does Dad have to give her ten thousand yuan? That watch was the first birthday gift I ever received, and she had to fight me for it!” Du Yinger was both angry and aggrieved. “All these years, you’ve always acted humble in front of her and told me to be patient. How long am I supposed to keep swallowing this?”

Yang Yuehe let her true, sharp and caustic nature show in front of her daughter—there was no need to pretend. She glared at Du Yinger. “You have some nerve! You can’t even push someone properly—she barely had a scratch. Worse, you handed her leverage. If I hadn’t taken that slap for you today, do you think the matter would be over just like that?”

Just the thought made Yang Yuehe furious. That wretched Zhong Xiao looked so frail, yet had surprising strength! The slap had left Yang Yuehe seeing stars, and her cheek still throbbed with pain.

With a stony face, Yang Yuehe opened a drawer, took out a jar of jade ointment, and began applying it to her face while listening to Du Yinger muttering behind her.

“I did use force! If I’d used any more, it would’ve been impossible to explain, but I really did push her hard. I saw her leg hit the stairs and floor as she fell—I thought she’d at least be bedridden for a month or two, but all she got was a scratch on her forehead!”

Du Yinger was cursing in her heart as well. Damn Zhong Xiao, always whining about dieting and skipping meals, thin as a cornstalk, yet so resilient. She tumbled all the way down the stairs and came out unscathed!

Yang Yuehe glanced at her through the mirror. “We have to swallow our losses for now. We still need her. If there’s a reckoning, we need someone to take the fall so we can escape. Suffering a little now is nothing. When our good days come, she’ll rot away in the countryside.”

Du Yinger’s eyes lit up and she asked, “You’ve arranged everything in the countryside? Make sure you find some rough men to teach her a lesson!”

Yang Yuehe replied, “Don’t worry, it’s all arranged. But you’ll need that Zhou family brat to put in some effort and lure her there.”

At the mention of Zhou Yongxin, Du Yinger’s expression shifted.

She remembered how Zhou Yongxin had just sworn to Zhong Xiao that he only loved her, and the pain gnawed at her heart. She truly loved Zhou Yongxin. He was handsome, charming, and always found new ways to please her. She had planned to marry him as soon as they reached Hong Kong.

But if Zhou Yongxin made such ruthless oaths to Zhong Xiao, what would become of her own child?

The thought made Du Yinger angry. “Mom, I’m going out for some air.”

Yang Yuehe warned impatiently, “Don’t get into it with the young lady again! Be careful!”

“I know!”

...

Meanwhile, in Zhong Xiao’s bedroom, Zhou Yongxin was soothing her gently.

“All right, Xiao Xiao, don’t be upset anymore. My heart belongs only to you. I only see Ying’er as a younger sister. If you don’t want me to talk to her, I won’t anymore, okay?”

Zhong Xiao replied, “Where’s the money?”

Zhou Yongxin was momentarily stunned, but smiled. “The money’s right here—Uncle just gave it to me...”

“Then why haven’t you given it to me?” Zhong Xiao frowned.

Zhou Yongxin was baffled.

Give it to her?

Hadn’t Zhong Xiao always handed over her money and valuables for him to “keep safe”? The only thing missing was the family heirloom, which she insisted was her grandfather’s keepsake and would only be handed over on their wedding day.

Why was she suddenly asking him for money?

While Zhou Yongxin was puzzling over this, Zhong Xiao caught a glimpse of Du Yinger coming down the stairs on the third floor. Zhou Yongxin had left the door open when he entered. At that moment, Zhong Xiao’s eyes shifted, and, as if in a fit of pique, she said coquettishly to Zhou Yongxin,

“My hand hurts from earlier. Blow on it for me.”

Zhou Yongxin bent down to blow on her hand.

But Zhong Xiao frowned impatiently. “What’s this? You used to kneel and massage my feet—now you have a backbone, is that it?”

A wave of resentment welled up in Zhou Yongxin’s heart. It used to be romantic, but now, being ordered to kneel before her...

But he dared not defy her. Zhong Xiao already suspected something between him and Du Yinger. If he didn’t prove his loyalty now, and she refused to hand over the family heirloom, he would be in trouble!

So Zhou Yongxin did kneel before Zhong Xiao, gently blowing on her palm with a look of tenderness.

Zhong Xiao suppressed her revulsion.

But soon enough, Du Yinger did just what she wanted—

Her voice sounded from the doorway:

“You! What are you two doing—ah!”

Du Yinger saw Zhou Yongxin kneeling before Zhong Xiao, and the shock and rage overwhelmed her so much that she missed a step and tumbled down the stairs!

Ironically, the broken step was the very one Du Yinger had damaged yesterday when she pushed Zhong Xiao—and it hadn’t been fixed yet today.

Retribution, swift and just, had arrived.