Chapter 133: It’s Time to Move, Right?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“I’m not angry. I just wanted to clarify things. After this incident, your relationship with the Feng family might be ruined.”
“With the way they are, I never intended to get along with them. If they dare to harm Ruxin, I’ll make their family suffer.”
“Tsk tsk, you denied your daughter, but now you’re saying this. You are sharp-tongued but kind-hearted.”
“I can scold her and punish her, but they can’t. They didn’t raise my daughter, yet they spent her dowry. They have no right to touch even a strand of hair on her.”
Qiao Mai comforted her for a while and then went back. She hadn’t slept well the night before and instructed Yue Hong and the others before heading to her room to rest.
Time flew by, and a month had passed since the incident with Lu Ruxin. The Qiao family remained peaceful.
With only twenty days left until the exam, Yuan Jiaqi seemed confident. It appeared he was well-prepared for the upcoming test.
Qiao Mai hadn’t ventured outside during this time. During the day, she stayed in her shop or tended to her vegetable garden. She also checked on the musk deer, plum-blossom deer, and the progress of the musk secretion and antler growth.
Musk deer were best harvested for their scent in August and September, as that was when they secreted the most intense musk. The quality of musk harvested during this time was also the highest.
The Qiao family’s plum-blossom deer had just come of age. They wouldn’t produce their first set of antlers until the following spring.
The first antlers typically stopped growing after about a year, and the later sets grew larger. They could be harvested before the antlers hardened.
Seeing them grazing peacefully. Qiao Mai sighed. It seemed like she wouldn’t make any money from them this year and have to continue feeding them for another year.
“Just eat. Enjoy your grass.”
During her free time, she would lock herself in her room and enter her space as soon as she closed the door.
In the past month, she had planted all of the one million acres of land with spiritual herbs.
Although the seeds were the same type, she still had to put in much effort. She quickly harvested the herbs once they matured and stored them in containers in her space, each labeled to avoid confusion.
She was exhausted from planting and harvesting, especially since using her mental power to farm was mentally taxing.
After working in the fields at night, she felt like sleeping during the day.
Now, there were over 2,500 varieties of spiritual herbs in her space, each occupying one hundred acres of land. After planting these, she hadn’t touched the medicinal fields again.
As she continued planting, the land continued to expand. With over one million acres of remaining land, she decided to plant trees on all of it.
Qiao Mai knew the saying, “If you want to get rich, plant trees.” After a few nights of hard work, she managed to get it done.
Now, the land area in her space was approximately five million acres.
How big was Earth? It had an area of over five hundred million square kilometers. One square kilometer equaled about one and a half acres of land.
Her five million acres was just one ten-thousandth of Earth’s total land area. Thinking about the limitless expansion of her space, Qiao Mai couldn’t help but smile.
If she could expand her space to the surface area of Earth within her lifetime, she would be content.
In two years, she had barely rested at night. Qiao Mai decided it was time to take a short vacation and relax.
During the day, she stayed in her room and read through the Spiritual Herb Encyclopedia and the Alchemy Manual.
At night, she would surf the internet, read novels, and browse shopping websites. She added things she liked to her shopping cart.
She didn’t engage in buying or selling, nor did she continue planting crops. She just wanted to take a few lazy days for herself.
With idle time, Qiao Mai started to think about the Feng family. They used her recipe to make money and had the audacity to question her at home. She couldn’t tolerate this any longer. It was not her style to let this go.
She realized they would continue to take advantage of her if she didn’t take action. It had been over a month; it was time to act.
Late at night, a shadow quietly emerged from Qiao Mai’s room.
She looked up at the starry sky. Although it wasn’t the best time for her mission, she couldn’t wait any longer.
Qiao Mai took a step and pushed off with her energy, transforming into a shadow that shot into the distance.
Standing below the city wall outside the county town, Qiao Mai glanced around. Many people had failed at this hurdle, but for her now, it was just a small obstacle.
There was no military activity on the city wall at this hour, as the soldiers had gone to sleep. She leaped over the wall and moved stealthily among the buildings.
She quickly found the Feng family’s residence, though she couldn’t help feeling disdainful about visiting.
However, she couldn’t stand the Feng family’s hypocrisy.
From the rooftop of the Feng residence, she surveyed the area below. There was no one moving around at this hour. The Feng family had few servants, and with the masters resting, the servants had naturally gone to sleep.
Currently, she is only at the Ninth Level of the Qi Refinement Realm and can’t use her mental power outside yet. However, with her skills and experience, searching for the Feng family’s wealth was like child’s play.
Despite the Feng family’s ostentation, their possessions were disappointing.
Their decorations were not even as good as the ones Wang Jiaru had given her.
The only way to deal with such people was to make them run out of money.
Qiao Mai first targeted the Feng family’s treasury, followed by their personal treasury, and then the hidden wealth. Finally, she stole Ruxin’s dowry.
She didn’t want to take Ruxin’s dowry, but if she only stole from others and left Ruxin’s possessions behind, it would arouse suspicion.
Moreover, she had another motive: to teach Ruxin a lesson. So, she kept Ruxin’s dowry in a separate corner of her space, intending to return it to her later.
Thinking of the double-sided embroidery Ruxin had given away, Qiao Mai felt disgusted. She wouldn’t allow her possessions to be used by someone she disliked.
After searching around, she found the folding screen in Madam Feng’s room and two palace fans in Mr. Feng’s concubines’ rooms.
It made Qiao Mai sick. Ruxin can please her mother-in-law, but using her embroidery to please two concubines?
What does she take her for? Qiao Mai’s embroidery items are hard to obtain, and Lu Ruxin dared to use them to please two concubines.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Qiao Mai saw a dim candle nearby, and with a thought, she knocked it over onto the table. Soon, a fire broke out in Madam Feng and the two concubines’ rooms. The fire spread quickly.
Everyone inside managed to escape unharmed, and the people rushed to put out the fire. With a quick glance at the scene below, Qiao Mai turned and disappeared into the night.
After extinguishing the fire, the Feng family realized all their wealth was missing.
Mr. Feng and Madam Feng fainted on the spot. When Ruxin learned that her dowry was gone, she collapsed to the ground, crying hysterically.
Feng Yanshi wasn’t present; he was studying at the Windforest Academy in the Capital.
When Madam Feng regained consciousness, she rushed to Ruxin’s room to create a scene. Her usual gentle and dignified demeanor was nowhere to be found. She was like a shrew, not only scolding Ruxin but also physically attacking her.
“You wretched girl! All this trouble is because of you! After living in my family for so long, you haven’t even borne a child! You’re a disaster, a jinx! It’s you who brought calamity to my family! Give me back my assets!”
Ruxin felt miserable. When she first entered the family, her mother-in-law had been so kind to her, pampering and flattering her.
Until now, everything was fine. Madam Feng took her here and there, showing off and complimenting her whenever she met someone.
Now, all the blame was pinned on her. At this moment, Ruxin finally regretted not heeding her mother’s words. She was filled with remorse.
Her maid and two maidservants protected her and pulled Madam Feng away. Ruxin, who had developed resentment toward the Feng family, stopped crying and stood up, ready to confront her mother-in-law.
Unlike a proper young lady, she had grown up in a family of merchants and had a strong personality.
The two women fought fiercely, and in the end, Ruxin prevailed..
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