General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

Actually, this list is quite interesting; it was Zheng Lin'er who discovered it.

She was hiding in the box when she accidentally tapped on the side of the box and noticed a muffled sound coming from underneath, which seemed odd.

After Jiang Qiqi found out about this, she and Xiang'er searched the box thoroughly and finally found the list of items in a hidden compartment.

They searched through the other nine boxes, but they were all ordinary boxes with no hidden compartments.

Jiang Qiqi didn't quite understand this.

Did Mother already foresee that Jiang Qianzhong would embezzle her dowry? Is that why she hid the gift list in such a secluded place so that she could easily get it back?

Jiang Qiqi secretly glanced at Shen Luo, who was chatting casually with Jiang Qianzhong about national affairs.

"Last year, Shanxi suffered a severe drought, resulting in a complete crop failure and the starvation of many people. This also led to some unrest. We are hoping that this year will be a bumper harvest."

"Yes, last year the Ministry of Revenue spent so much money on disaster relief, yet those unruly people still plotted a rebellion. In my opinion, there must have been some malicious instigation by reactionary forces involved."

"I heard from Lord Shen a few days ago that there hasn't been any rain in the Northeast since spring began? The court should make plans as soon as possible."

"His Majesty has been troubled by this matter these past few days. Last year's severe drought resulted in less tax revenue and more expenditure on disaster relief. In recent years, there have also been constant battles, large and small, on the borders, leaving the national treasury empty. If another natural disaster occurs, we will have no choice but to increase taxes in other areas."

"The people are already under a heavy burden, and I cannot agree with Lord Jiang's suggestion."

"General, you are unaware of..."

Well, Shen Luo isn't entirely useless except for being handsome.

It's a bit of a pity that the gold and silver jewelry in those twenty-odd boxes were wasted. Although they weren't hers, Jiang Qianzhong still felt it was a waste to give them to her.

The two chatted for a while, and then Nineteen returned.

"Reporting to Master and Madam, all items have been inventoried according to the list. A total of 322 items have been packed."

Upon hearing this number, Jiang Qianzhong nearly fainted.

She left behind 322 items.

None of these were left for him.

"Alright, in that case, Lord Jiang, it's getting late, so we'll take our leave now."

Jiang Qianzhong, with a smile that looked more like a grimace, watched the group and dozens of large boxes leave.

It hurts, it hurts too much.

Those things are priceless, not to mention they contain clues to the treasure he's been longing for.

He had originally planned to sell all those items after finding clues, but now he has nothing left.

Fortunately, he had the gifts from the courtyard for returning to his parents' home.

Thinking of those twenty large boxes, he felt a little more at ease.

"Master Jiang."

Nineteen went and then returned.

"Our master forgot to mention earlier that he was deeply moved by the profound father-daughter bond between Lord Jiang and our lady, so the return gifts were prepared according to the standards of our lady's dowry."

Jiang Qianzhong was stunned.

"Master, Master." Madam Jiang patted him twice.

"Quickly, open all the boxes!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the way back to the General's Mansion.

Nineteen: "After cleaning up like this, the mansion is much cleaner."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next day, Jiang Qiqi woke up feeling refreshed.

She hadn't been this happy since she came here.

Yesterday, she and Shen Luo worked together to force Jiang Qianzhong to hand over his real dowry.

After returning, I heard from Twelve that they had made a big show of bringing twenty boxes of gifts back to their parents' home and making a grand entrance around the capital twice. Now the whole world knows about the General's Mansion's "generous spending".

She could already picture Jiang Qianzhong with a dark, unspeakable expression on his face.

Hahahahahaha!

Court.

Jiang Qianzhong, his old face dark with anger, was surrounded by people in the middle.

"Lord Jiang, congratulations! I heard that our General Zhenguo brought you twenty boxes of gifts for your return visit."

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, but as soon as he did, Jiang Qianzhong remembered the entire yard of junk that had been piled up yesterday.

I almost couldn't catch my breath.

"Lord Li, you know about this too? I saw it too. Those dozens of carts from the General's Mansion passed right by my house."

"I heard about it; it's said to be a return gift prepared according to the standards of a dowry."

"General Zhenguo truly respects Lord Jiang too much."

"Lord Jiang is so lucky."

"Lord Jiang, you must treat us to tea after court today."

......

Shen Luo!!! Jiang Qiqi!!! You two just wait!!!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Since Shen Luo had helped her yesterday, Jiang Qiqi, unusually for the first time, brought some pastries to visit Shen Luo in the study today.

In the study, Shen Luo stood in front of the desk, on which was a floor plan of the General's Mansion.

"Master, according to the accurate information from Sixteen, besides those two, there is another spy in the manor. We haven't found him yet," Nineteen reported.

"Any clues?"

"Your subordinate is dull-witted and has not found any clues yet."

"Go ahead, keep an eye out for now. If you can't find it, wait for Sixteen to come back."

"Who's outside?!"

Jiang Qiqi had just walked to the side of the study.

"It's me, Jiang Qiqi. Is now a convenient time, General?"

Shen Luo walked to the wheelchair and sat down, gesturing for Nineteen to open the door.

Jiang Qiqi didn't do any complicated makeup or styling today; she simply put her hair up in a bun and secured it with a hairpin. She wore a blue dress with a few red flowers embroidered on the hem. Her skin was already fair, and in the bright blue dress, she almost shone in the sunlight.

Such a simple outfit doesn't look perfunctory on her; instead, she looks like a fairy who can only be admired from afar—noble, elegant, and pure.

Shen Luo couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Did I disturb you?" Jiang Qiqi came in carrying a small basket. "The new pastries made in the kitchen are quite nice, would you like to try some?"

Shen Luo opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the words lingered on his tongue before he swallowed them back, finally only managing to say, "Okay."

Jiang Qiqi didn't ask any more questions. When the pastries were placed on the table, she saw the floor plan on them.

On the floor plan, a small character for "Liu" was written in red ink next to the garden, and a character for "Zhao" was written next to the main hall.

Jiang Qiqi placed the small basket on the desk and casually asked, "Aren't those spies in the manor being kept?"

Shen Luo: "???"

nineteen:"???"

Did this person just say something casually, like they were just chatting?

Jiang Qiqi arranged the two plates of pastries.

A plate of chestnut cake, a plate of almond cake.

Don't ask why there are only two plates of pastries, because she loves the other two.

She looked up and found the two men staring intently at her, their gazes... not like they were looking at a kind and beautiful woman who had kindly brought them pastries.

Did they discover she secretly ate osmanthus cake and pear blossom cake? That can't be.

"who are you?"

Has her time travel been discovered? Did she reveal something?

Shen Luo narrowed his eyes and sized her up: "Are you a spy too?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Jiang Qiqi felt a cold touch on her neck.

Nineteen long swords were placed against her neck: "Madam, please forgive me."

This scene would have terrified anyone else.

But Jiang Qiqi has seen all sorts of dangerous situations over the years; even if a gun were pointed at her head, she wouldn't blink an eye.

So she walked straight to the side as if she hadn't seen the sword.

Sat down.

Nineteen was startled to see the person walk away from his sword so nonchalantly, and immediately wanted to chase after her and put the sword to her neck again.

Shen Luo waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need it.

Can't you see? They don't even take his sword seriously.