Luo Xueyao used the Spatial Dimension to slip out of her cell, donned her Invisibility Cloak, and hurried toward the men's wing. The men of the Luo Family were held in the deepest cell, with no one else around. Luo Xueyao snuck inside, removed her cloak, and offered them a sweet smile. "Father, brothers, I've brought you some food!"
Luo Jingran was so startled he nearly cried out. Luo Qingyu immediately stood up and pressed against the cell door, keeping his eyes on the direction of the guards; if anyone approached, they would have to cover for their sister.
Luo Xueyao produced roasted bamboo shoots with duck, chicken slices with lotus, assorted shark fin soup, braised lamb head, four-joy meatballs, sesame oil bok choy, as well as a pot of rice and a small jar of wine. "Father, brothers, you must eat your fill. We might be sent into exile tomorrow morning. I’ll try to find a way to bring you more food then."
Luo Jingran refused firmly. "If we are to be exiled tomorrow, wouldn't it be far too dangerous for you to come back? This is plenty for us. You are not to come back tomorrow, do you hear me?"
Luo Xueyao did not insist. She pulled on her Invisibility Cloak and slipped out of the cell.
She did not hurry back to her own cell. Instead, she used the Spatial Dimension to pass out of the Ministry of Personnel dungeon and did not stop until she reached the main street. Then, standing tall like a cold-blooded assassin, she raised her hand and summoned: "Mengmeng!"
"I'm here!"
Mengmeng was a spirit pet from the Spatial Dimension, capable of appearing only when summoned. It leaped out, all four paws light as air, landing gracefully before Luo Xueyao. It was a massive, majestic, and intimidating tiger with white fur and black stripes, standing over a man’s height. The great tiger turned its head and stuck its tongue out at Luo Xueyao with a goofy grin. "Let’s go! Time to cause some trouble!"
Luo Xueyao vaulted onto Mengmeng’s back, their figures perfectly hidden by the Invisibility Cloak. "Mengmeng, have you memorized the map I gave you?"
"Rest assured, I’ve got it all down!"
"Good. Then let’s go and settle accounts with them, one by one!"
Mengmeng stretched its limbs and bounded forward, darting effortlessly through the alleys and main streets of Shengjing. The first stop was the residence of that sycophant, Eunuch Wang.
"Yaoyao, look at how excessive he is! Your father is a first-rank official, and his house isn't even this luxurious... Good heavens, he’s a fake man, yet he has so many concubines! Truly disgusting!"
Luo Xueyao observed the scene from above and whispered, "These women were all forcibly taken by that eunuch. Look, they all bear marks of abuse."
Luo Xueyao did not waste words. From the moment she stepped inside, she stayed busy. She took everything into her Spatial Dimension: gold, silver, and treasures that Eunuch Wang had hoarded for over a decade, filling four entire rooms. The firewood shed and kitchen were the most important, but she did not spare the bedrooms either. She used medicinal powder to knock out the patrolling eunuchs and deliberately unlocked the doors to the women's quarters. Seeing the guards at the door unconscious, the poor women wiped away their tears and fled, running from this den of evil without once looking back.
Luo Xueyao smiled with satisfaction. She swept all the furniture from their rooms into her space, along with the antique paintings, calligraphy, and carved tables and chairs in the parlor. She even uprooted the trees in the garden.
"Ningguta is freezing; you can never have enough firewood!"
"Yaoyao, let’s take the roof beams too! I see some high-quality wood there!"
"Alright!"
With a wave of Luo Xueyao's small hand, Eunuch Wang’s residence was left as nothing more than bare, skeletal walls.
"Let’s go, next one!"
She wouldn't let a single one of those corrupt officials who slandered Luo Jingran as a traitor go unpunished!
These officials were all working overtime at the imperial palace that day, conspiring with the new Emperor on how to wipe out the Second Prince’s faction and neutral parties like Luo Jingran. When they returned home, they discovered their families had been drugged and their homes completely cleaned out. However, since most of their wealth was ill-gotten, even if they reported the crime, they dared not tell the truth about exactly how much they had lost.
Of course, that was a matter for another day; Luo Xueyao didn't care.
After raiding a dozen houses, Luo Xueyao, still feeling invigorated, said to Mengmeng, "Let’s go, let's take a spin around the Six Ministries!"
If the new Emperor couldn't even wait for his enthronement ceremony to move against the Luo Family, she would ensure his ceremony was delayed indefinitely!
Luo Xueyao took every weapon from the Ministry of War, building materials like gravel, timber, and bricks from the Ministry of Works, and the winter clothes, grain, money, and charcoal from the Ministry of Revenue. She even took the sacrificial items and musical instruments from the Ministry of Rites. In short, she took everything of value. Of course, since she was there, she took all the wood as well. Ningguta was cold, after all!
After a satisfying sweep, Luo Xueyao felt a little tired. She gulped down some spiritual spring water and pointed toward the imperial palace. "Mengmeng, let’s go. Let's play for big stakes!"
You dog of an Emperor, you wanted to confiscate my family’s property? I’ll confiscate your palace first!
The first stop was the national treasury. It was so packed with gold and silver that it was overflowing. Luo Xueyao, being kind-hearted, decided to help him clear it out. With a wave of her small hand, it was instantly empty! Then there was the Emperor’s private treasury; it had even more gold, silver, and jade than the national treasury. That wouldn't do! A good, honest Emperor should have a private treasury as neat and empty as the national one!
There were so many memorials in the Imperial Study, all impeaching the Second Prince and her father. Tsk, tsk, those had to be taken—they’d be useful as kindling. "I remember a certain someone’s memorial should be in here..." Luo Xueyao spotted an unexpected name among the documents, her eyes flashing as she set that one aside.
The dragon desk and dragon chair? Taken. The imperial brush, robes, and crown? Taken. You want to hold an enthronement? I’ve taken your Imperial Seal!
Luo Xueyao rode her giant tiger around the palace like a bandit. So many large trees in the imperial harem—what a haul of firewood! Taken! The two qilin statues at the entrance of the Taiji Hall were nice—solid bronze—taken! The basins in each palace courtyard were gilded copper; she could scrape off the gold to sell and melt the copper for weapons. Taken! And the private treasuries of the concubines—why keep so much stuff? Taken! The glazed roof tiles were beautiful; even if she couldn't sell them, she could give them to the commoners to help them shelter from the rain. Taken! The gold-brick flooring was nice; taken! And the white marble steps and railings—she’d save those to use as floor tiles for her future basement!
The Imperial Kitchen had so much good food—endless rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish, and meat—that had to be taken! The Imperial Household Department was a gold mine, managing everything from the palace's clothing to housing; she took it all, not leaving even a single needle or thread! The clothes in the Laundry Bureau were still damp? No matter, the Spatial Dimension had plenty of bright sunshine—taken!
Luo Xueyao carefully dismantled the roof beams. Mengmeng asked, puzzled, "Yaoyao, why don't you just take all the beams at once like you did with those corrupt officials?"
Luo Xueyao laughed like a mischievous child, "If such a massive palace collapsed in the middle of the night, it wouldn't be nearly as fun! I have to leave a surprise behind so the people can watch a good show tomorrow!"
With medicinal powder in one hand and her spatial storage in the other, she turned the entire imperial harem into a hollow shell in less than an hour.
"Strange, where is the dog Emperor?"
Mengmeng sniffed the air and said, "The Emperor isn't here. He's at Ningshou Palace, where the Noble Consorts live."
Luo Xueyao raised an eyebrow. "Not sleeping in the middle of the night, and he's off visiting a consort?"
"No, he's there to sleep with a consort." Mengmeng covered its face with its left front paw, feeling awkward. "The dog Emperor is rolling in the sheets with Noble Consort Li."
Luo Xueyao was stunned. "What? He’s sleeping with his stepmother?"
It turned out that Noble Consort Li was Murong Fu’s inside agent. As the most favored consort in the late Emperor’s final years, she had stolen the imperial edict and helped Murong Fu change the name to his own.
"The dog Emperor had promised that once he ascended the throne, he would change Noble Consort Li's status and make her his Noble Consort. But... it looks like he’s planning to kill her tonight to silence her."
Luo Xueyao’s cunning eyes darted around, and she whispered, "Then we’d better go add some fuel to the fire; otherwise, this story wouldn't be half as entertaining!"