Chapter 1: Father and Daughter Team Up to Rob the Storehouse
In the outskirts of the Marquis of Guo An’s secondary courtyard in the capital, the crowing of chickens outside awakens Yu Luo, who has been unconscious for a full day and night.
Yet even her heavy eyelids struggle to lift as her head feels dizzy.
At that moment, a familiar burst of arguing reaches her ears.
“Yu Haojie, it’s all your fault! If you hadn’t bought that crappy dressing box, how could the three of us possibly end up in this wretched ancient era?”
“Wife, since we’re here, we might as well make the best of it. As long as our family stays together, who knows? We might just make a splash even in ancient times…”
“Transmigrated or not, couldn’t the door to transmigration have been opened another hundred meters forward? Then our family could at least arrive as legitimate heirs in a big house! The house I lived in the countryside twenty years ago in my previous life was a hundred times better than this!”
“The more you say it, the more I grow resentful!”
In the twenty-first century, Ye Jiamai was promoted to head of surgery at just forty, a model of modern womanhood in the entire city. Who would have thought that fate would be so cruel, and that the three of them would transmigrate like this?
Although her husband Yu Haojie is the young master of the marquis’s household, being an unloved illegitimate son means he now lives a life even worse than that of the servants—constantly bullied and forced to share a shabby, cramped courtyard while eating leftovers.
“Old Yu, look at that maid in the next house—is she our little Luo? With our status, if outsiders find out, we’d be taken away like monsters to be burned!”
Hearing her mother’s booming voice, Yu Luo immediately flips out of bed and rushes to the main house to stop the complaints.
“Mom, Dad, please stop shouting! I can hear your loud voices through the hall—don’t you worry that the servants on the neighboring wall might overhear?”
Seeing Yu Luo standing at the doorway, disheveled with uncombed hair and an unkempt outfit, the couple suddenly pause, then break into wild joy!
“Good daughter, you’ve come! So, how do you feel after transmigration—any aftereffects or discomfort?”
Yu Haojie, excitedly leaping out of bed, joyfully pulls Yu Luo toward the bed inside. In this bitter winter, with the cold wind blowing outside, he’s terrified his precious one might catch a chill.
Seated on the bed with most of her body under the quilt, Ye Jiamai surveys Yu Luo from head to toe. The expression of grievance on her daughter’s face vanishes completely, replaced by tears of happiness.
“Mom, Dad, calm down and think—what are we going to do now? Dad’s just an unloved illegitimate son, and even this humble courtyard borders the area where the servants keep their chickens. Our status in this household is hardly any better than that of a servant.”
“Daughter, how about we pack up and go to the countryside to start a business? I’ve seen those transmigration novels—the heroines earn plenty just by farming!”
Thinking quickly, Ye Jiamai’s eyes suddenly light up as she comes up with a brilliant idea!
Just a moment ago they were overjoyed at the family reunion, but in the next instant Yu Luo can’t even smile as a mechanical voice rings in her mind:
[Ding dong, host Yu Luo—system binding successful]
[Special Alert: At the palace banquet, the Marquis of Guo An, drunk, harassed Consort Rong, enraging the emperor. The emperor has already begun drafting orders to confiscate properties and exile the household—delivery imminent to the Marquis’s mansion!]
“Mom, Dad, big trouble! This Marquis’s mansion is about to have its property confiscated and the family exiled! I just inexplicably bound with a system, and it told me so!”
One moment they were joyfully reunited, and the next Yu Luo’s smile vanished completely.
“Little Luo, don’t scare me! What are we going to do? Should we… should we just run away?”
“Mom, stop fooling around—the confiscation and exile in ancient times is no joke. There’s no way we can escape. For now, we must prepare ourselves!”
Hearing Ye Jiamai’s voice, Yu Luo snaps back to reality. In a flash, the quilt covering them on the bed vanishes into thin air.
Ye Jiamai’s worried face freezes for a moment, while Yu Luo’s eyes gleam with delight. It seems the system is extremely useful—she must load up on supplies with it so that even in exile they won’t have to worry.
“Mom, Dad, hurry and gather all the valuable items in this room—plus food and clothes. I’ll store everything in my space. I have to take a quick look around the mansion’s storehouse. If our family gets confiscated and exiled, with nothing to our name in this bitter winter, we’re as good as dead out there.”
With that, Yu Luo dashes back to her room. Regardless of whether her parents understood, she quickly dresses, puts on a face veil, and using the big tree by the courtyard wall, climbs out.
Surveying the area, she’s surprised to find not a single servant in sight.
With a flick of her hand, she transports all the chickens and ducks from the coop into her storage space. Then she heads out through a side door, sprinting straight toward the storehouse of the Marquis’s mansion.
Today, aside from their family, everyone in the Guo An mansion has gone to the palace banquet. This is the perfect opportunity for her to loot the storehouse.
Arriving at the storehouse, she’s stunned to see two guards stationed outside the door.
How could she have forgotten—there are still guards here?
Just as Yu Luo is unsure how to deal with the two, suddenly a great fire erupts behind the storehouse!
Somebody shouts, and the two guards dash toward the back wall of the storehouse.
Yu Luo’s eyes light up. While running toward the door, she doesn’t forget to remove the hairpin from her head, planning to use it to pick the lock.
After tremendous effort, she finally forces the door open. Without hesitation, she rushes inside. Not even bothering to look at the various items on the shelves, she waves her hand along the way, transporting the shelves and all their contents into her storage space!
Cotton quilts, fine silks, snow lotuses, gold and silver jewelry, antique calligraphy and paintings…
Yu Luo has no time to marvel—she knows the two guards who went to check on the fire will surely return soon.
In less than three minutes, she has completely looted the storehouse.
As soon as she comes out, she notices a sneaky, familiar shadow lurking at the door.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
“Dad couldn’t bear to leave you alone. Thanks to the fire I secretly set, little Luo, you managed just fine!”
As soon as the father and daughter step out, Yu Haojie, holding a torch, goes on to ignite the large kitchen.
Next to the kitchen is the storeroom where the Marquis keeps the winter food supplies.
Inside, there are grains, flours, oils, and various seasonings, along with dried fish, cured meats, sausages, and vegetables—none of which Yu Luo lets escape.
With a grand gesture, everything falls into their sack. Now, on the journey into exile, they’ll have food and drink.
After raiding several courtyards in succession, nearly half of the Guo An mansion has been burned by Yu Haojie. Father and daughter return to their small courtyard, sweating profusely!
“Dad, you really came through! If you hadn’t shown up in time, nothing would have gone so smoothly today.”
“Hmph! Of course—after all, Dad’s been through more salt than you’ve eaten rice, so he’s naturally more resourceful than you. By the way, did you gather all the furniture I told you to collect?”
“Collected, collected! What time is it now? I can’t believe you’re still fussing over these useless trinkets.”
