Chapter 2: Emptying the Duke’s Mansion
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The commotion outside grew louder and louder. Chi Yoe began to panic so badly that she almost burst into tears. She placed her hands on her head in despair, then, out of an old habit, tried to hold a pen between her fingers.
Suddenly, she remembered—she was no longer in the modern world!
But in the next moment, a pen appeared in her hand out of thin air—the pen her father had left her before his death!
It was an old-style pen, elegant and simple, made entirely of pure white jade.
Because she missed her father so much, she had always kept it by her side all these years. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—a special ability!
Could this be the magical advantage she gained after traveling through time?!
She raised the pen and waved it a few times, but nothing obvious happened.
Then she remembered a novel she had read before, where the heroine obtained a hidden magical space after dripping a few drops of blood onto a jade pendant.
Without hesitation, she bit the tip of her finger until a drop of blood appeared, then tightly grasped the pen.
In an instant, a miracle happened—
the pen gradually began to disappear until it completely vanished!
She shouted anxiously, “Where is the space?!”
In the next moment, she suddenly found herself standing in the middle of a familiar courtyard.
In front of her stood a two-story wooden house, its walls built from blue-and-white bricks.
In the middle of the courtyard was a small pavilion containing several tea tables that looked extremely familiar.
Beside the pavilion, a mountain spring flowed through the courtyard and extended toward the backyard. On the left side was a large warehouse, and beside it a wide carriage parking area.
Behind the courtyard were a vegetable garden, a fruit orchard, and pens for pigs and sheep.
This… wasn’t this her peaceful countryside clinic?!
She had obtained a personal magical space!
The pen her father left behind had only activated the ability to summon her entire rural clinic and turn it into part of her portable space.
Chi Youe felt extremely excited.
Since she would soon be exiled, if she could store everything inside this space, she would never have to fear poverty or hunger again!
Immediately, she murmured in her heart, “Return to the room.”
In an instant, the scene before her eyes changed. She was back in her room, filled with red candles and crimson curtains.
She immediately began testing her new ability.
She tried collecting all the furniture in the room into the space—and in the blink of an eye, the tables, chairs, and even the bed disappeared!
Then she tested the same thing with silver, jewelry, and other valuable items she wanted to hide—and they all vanished instantly.
When she opened the space to check, she found that everything had been automatically arranged in the warehouse on the left side with astonishing precision. On the right side were large quantities of medical bottles and treatment supplies that had originally been in the clinic.
Now everything was clear—this magical space could be completely controlled by her consciousness, and she could freely enter and leave it.
Wonderful!
With money and medical supplies, her chances of surviving exile would be greatly increased!
No… that still wasn’t enough. She needed to fill the space with food and supplies—the more, the better!
Aren’t they coming to confiscate the Duke’s property?!
Then she wouldn’t leave them even half a coin!
All the gold, jewelry, and valuable items in the Duke’s mansion would become hers!
A faint smile appeared on Chi Youyi’s lips, while a cold light flashed in her eyes. She pushed open the door and walked out.
Following the long corridors, she tried to recall the locations of the main halls in the mansion.
In Beiyuan, there were three famous estates built by order of the Imperial Construction Bureau, and one of them was the Duke’s mansion.
Fortunately, when the heroine was five years old, she had once visited this place with her grandmother, so she still remembered some of the important locations.
After passing through several corridors and turns, she finally saw a separate building with a sign bearing three characters—
Treasure Pavilion (藏宝阁).
Normally, this place would be heavily guarded, but now the doors stood wide open.
As soon as Chi Youe reached the entrance, a guard rushed out in panic, trying to flee. Several necklaces of jewelry hung around his neck, and he was clutching a wooden box tightly in his arms.
But the moment he saw Chi Youe, his whole body trembled in terror. He threw the box onto the ground and ran away as fast as lightning.
Looking at the ground full of gold ingots, Chi Youe didn’t bother with the guard. She simply raised her hand slightly—
and in an instant, all the wealth disappeared into her magical space.
She entered the room and firmly shut the door. When she looked around at the contents of the treasure pavilion, she gasped in shock.
No wonder the Duke’s family had prospered for three generations—this enormous wealth was not something ordinary families could possess!
On the lower floor were luxurious fabrics, gold and jade ornaments, precious gemstones, antique artifacts, and rare ancient paintings.
Without hesitation, she waved her hand and stored everything into her space.
Then she noticed a second floor where a dim golden glow reflected off the walls. She quickly moved her plump legs and ran upstairs with surprising agility.
“Wow!”
What she saw almost blinded her.
Mountains of glittering gold ingots and piles of shining silver were scattered throughout the room! There was even a huge chest filled with night pearls as large as fists.
Without wasting a second, Chi Youe raised her hand and swept everything into her magical space.
Treasures like these were far safer inside her private dimension.
Leaving them outside for even a second would be an unforgivable loss in her eyes.
After completely emptying the treasure pavilion, she headed straight to the Duke’s courtyard.
Inside, she took all the paintings hanging on the walls and the expensive antiques displayed on the old shelves—she left nothing behind.
After all, she came from the modern world and knew these antiques could sell for an enormous fortune.
Whenever she saw something valuable, she immediately touched it and sent it into her space.
By the end, she had completely cleared out the Duke’s study—not even leaving a single sheet of paper.
After that, she headed to the Duke’s wife’s courtyard.
She took everything: the jewelry box, the personal belongings on the bedside table, even the new clothes, shawls, and luxurious blankets.
Everything was carefully stored inside her space.
Finally, she arrived at Zhao Shiyan’s courtyard.
Compared to the rest of the mansion, the place was much quieter. There were not many items—just a few books and a jade box.
Annoyed, Chi Youe decided to take the table as well!
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a long spear hanging on the wall.
The spearhead gleamed with silver light, while its handle—nearly two meters long—was made from black wood engraved with ancient patterns.
At that moment, an image suddenly appeared in Chi Youe’s mind.
A young man in white robes stood tall and confident, holding the long spear as if he dominated heaven and earth. With a single shout, the enemy general fell from his horse in terror.
Clearly, this had once been her husband’s weapon during the peak of his glory.
It looked like a valuable piece… so why not take it too?
With a simple wave of her hand, the spear disappeared into her magical space.
Satisfied, Chi Youe continued toward her next destination—
the kitchen.
Today was the Duke’s wedding day, so the kitchen had to be filled with delicious food.
Sure enough, when she arrived, she found a wide variety of luxurious dishes: braised duck flowers, cooked pork kidneys, crispy triple-delight soup, roasted lamb tongues, steamed beef tripe, goose tripe soup, crispy chicken pieces, duck stuffed with three kinds of vegetables, blood soup, pork kidneys with vinegar and wine, mushrooms cooked with fat chicken, and a special roasted duck dish.
The Duke’s mansion had clearly prepared this wedding feast with great care.
The banquet was enormous!
After collecting all the food into her space, she realized she wouldn’t have to worry about hunger during her exile journey.
Satisfied, she looked at the storage inside her magical space.
But suddenly, she remembered something.
“Wait… I haven’t visited the Duke mansion’s warehouse yet!”
Normally, warehouses were located in the backyard of the kitchen for easy storage and transport.
And sure enough, when she turned the corner, a huge black warehouse gate appeared before her.
As soon as she pushed the door open, her smile widened.
Rice, flour, oil, and other staple foods were piled inside.
There were also unopened boxes containing bird’s nests, reishi mushrooms, ginkgo, ginseng, stone herb, and other rare medicinal ingredients.
All of them were excellent materials for medicinal cuisine.
She also noticed dozens of jars of fine wine sealed with clay—clearly aged and precious drinks.
Without hesitation, she waved her hand and said, “Collect.”
In an instant, the warehouse became completely empty.
After all that work, Chi Youe’s plump body was drenched in sweat.
But when she looked at the storage area inside her magical dimension, she noticed that two-thirds of the space was still empty!
Excitement ignited in her heart once again.
If possible, she wanted to keep collecting—more and more!
Her magical space was enormous.
Compared to its size, everything she had gathered so far was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
“It’s said that my bridal dowry was worth millions, but my wicked aunt seized all of it.”
How could she possibly allow that?
Since she had now become Chi Youe, she would definitely reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to her!
This would also count as revenge for the original owner of the body.
Just as she was leaving the warehouse and thinking about heading to the General’s residence, she suddenly heard the sound of steady, organized footsteps rapidly approaching the backyard courtyard!
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