I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: A Thief in the House

“Priority number one,” Li Qiaoqiao whispered, pointing at the two money bags hidden in the corner, “we have to transfer this ‘ill-gotten gain’ immediately! Deposit it all into the safe!”

Leaving it in this leaky, dilapidated shack made it impossible for her to sleep soundly. After tossing and turning for most of the night, a heavy exhaustion finally washed over her.

Wu Ya checked the doors and windows. Although they were old, his careful repairs from last time meant the door bolt was sturdy and the windows were tightly sealed; it wouldn’t be easy for someone to break in from the outside.

“Go to sleep,” he said, blowing out the dim oil lamp on the table.

The room plunged into darkness, save for the faint, cold moonlight filtering through the cracks. The two lay back on their respective sides of the kang, and soon, the sound of steady breathing filled the small wing-room.

…

Li Qiaoqiao slept exceptionally well. It wasn’t the fourth branch’s turn to cook today, which meant no one would be howling outside her window with a gravelly voice at the crack of dawn, and she didn’t have to drag herself out of bed while the stars were still out to touch the stove.

She slept until the sun was high. Even through the old hemp paper covering the windows, she could feel the bright glare of the morning. Stretching comfortably, she slowly crawled out of bed.

Strangely, the courtyard was silent. Usually at this hour, it was a chaotic mess of chickens flying, dogs jumping, and children crying specifically punctuated by Zhang Jinhua’s piercing shrieks and curses.

Why was it so quiet? It was quiet to the point of being… abnormal.

She shuffled out of the room in her slippers. The courtyard was empty. Hearing some movement over by the kitchen, she went to take a look.

Good heavens the eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Wei, was scurrying around the stove in a panic. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, her spatula was clanging against the pot, and a faint smell of burning was drifting through the air.

“Morning, Sister-in-law,” Li Qiaoqiao greeted her, peeking into the pot. “You’re making breakfast today?”

Mrs. Wei looked distressed: “Mother hasn’t gotten up, and Father hasn’t either. Look at the time! The children are screaming with hunger, so I figured I’d make something, but I just can’t get the heat right…”

The more she spoke, the more flustered she became. Seeing the millet porridge about to burn at the bottom, she hurriedly began to stir it.

The sense of unease in Li Qiaoqiao’s heart grew stronger. Who was Zhang Jinhua? She was the “Iron Lady” of the Wu family who woke up earlier than the roosters and slept later than the dogs, a woman who would split a penny in half and work her family like oxen. For her to sleep until the sun was mid-sky? The sun must have risen in the west.

As she was pondering this, the second sister-in-law, Mrs. Yuan, came out of her room carrying a basin of dirty water and dumped it in the corner of the yard.

“Second Sister-in-law, Father and Mother aren’t up yet?” Li Qiaoqiao asked.

Mrs. Yuan’s face was pale, showing the exhaustion of a late night: “No. Your second brother was unwell again last night and tossed and turned for half the night. I just finished looking after him. There’s no movement from Mother’s side, and I didn’t dare call her.”

She went back inside immediately, clearly having no mental energy to spare for the household affairs.

Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu, who had just stepped out of her room, exchanged a look. They saw the same suspicion in each other’s eyes. Mrs. Liu, being the observant type, whispered: “Fourth Sister-in-law, do you think Father and Mother are feeling unwell? This is too strange.”

“Let’s go take a look,” Li Qiaoqiao decided.

Based on her knowledge of Zhang Jinhua’s character from the original book, unless she was too sick to leave the bed, she would never allow the house to fall into such disarray without a word.

The two walked to the main room. The door was still closed.

Li Qiaoqiao cleared her throat: “Father? Mother? It’s getting late, are you up? Are you feeling poorly?”

There was a moment of silence inside before the sound of rustling reached them, followed by Wu Duofu’s gravelly voice: “Mmm… we’re up…”

The door creaked open, and Wu Duofu stepped out, draping an outer coat over his shoulders. He muttered vaguely: “Nothing’s wrong, we just overslept.” After saying that, he didn’t even look at them and headed straight for the backyard.

The doubt in Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu’s hearts deepened.

“Mother?” Mrs. Liu called out softly toward the room.

“What are you shouting for! You sound like you’re at a funeral!” Zhang Jinhua’s voice finally erupted from inside. She sounded energetic enough, though laced with irritation. “My head hurts! Can’t I sleep in for once? Has the sky fallen?”

Hearing that familiar cursing tone, Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu actually felt a slight sense of relief. At least she was okay enough to yell.

But soon, more rustling and fumbling came from inside, accompanied by Zhang Jinhua’s dissatisfied grumbling: “This damn key… it’s digging into me.”

Suddenly, all the noise stopped.

Li Qiaoqiao’s heart skipped a beat. Her bad premonition reached its peak. The keys! The ring of keys Zhang Jinhua kept tied to her waistband day and night!

A second later, a loud thud came from the room, as if she had bolted upright and hit something. Then came Zhang Jinhua’s voice, suddenly pitched high with terror: “No! This knot is wrong! Who touched my keys?!”

Before Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu could react, Zhang Jinhua tumbled off the bed like a madwoman, not even stopping to put on shoes. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were wide with shock, and she clutched the keys tightly as she lunged toward the large wooden grain chest in the corner of the room!

Her hands shook so violently it took several tries to get the key into the lock. With a click, she threw the lid open. Ignoring the grain inside, she began frantically digging through it, throwing rice and flour everywhere.

Clearly, she wasn’t looking for food.

After a few seconds of digging, she whipped her head around, glaring at Li Qiaoqiao and Mrs. Liu who were still standing at the door. She roared: “Get out! Close the door! No one is allowed in!”

Startled by her appearance, the two stepped back instinctively and pulled the door shut. As soon as the door closed, they heard even more frantic sounds from within.

And then

“AHHH—!!!”

A scream exploded from the room, so loud the entire courtyard seemed to shudder.

“Heaven curse them! That thief deserves a thousand cuts! My money! My money is gone! All of it! It’s gone! GONE!!!”

In the kitchen, Mrs. Wei was so startled her spatula hit the floor. Mrs. Yuan poked her head out in shock. Wu Duofu came scrambling back from the backyard. Even the men working in the fields, along with Wu Ya—who happened to be coming home to grab a tool—were alerted by the earth-shattering wail and came running back.

“What happened? What’s going on?” Wu Duofu was the first to reach the door, his voice trembling.

Inside, Zhang Jinhua had completely collapsed. She sat paralyzed on the floor, slapping the ground with her hands, her face smeared with snot and tears: “Thieves! A thief broke into the house! My chest was rifled through! The money is gone! All of it! Not a single one of the silver notes I was saving for an emergency was left! This is the end of the Wu family!”

Wu Duofu’s face turned deathly pale as he lunged into the room. The Wu brothers looked at each other, realizing the gravity of the situation. Wu Ya frowned, his eyes quickly scanning every corner of the courtyard before settling on the closed bedroom door.

“Eldest! Fourth! Get in here! Close the door!” Wu Duofu’s trembling voice called from inside.

Wu Tiezhu and Wu Ya exchanged a look and immediately entered the room, slamming the door shut behind them.