Xuan Qiong stared wide-eyed, momentarily unable to react. After a long pause, she said, “Senior Brother, what’s wrong with you?”

She pushed a box toward him. Guihai Sheng’s gaze drifted over to see a box full of thumb-sized pearls, half of which had already been ground into powder. He became so angry his vision blurred, and without answering her question, he said coldly, “I’m asking you – where did you get these pearls?”

Xuan Qiong froze, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Guihai Sheng prided himself on his status and had all affairs handled by her, including dealings with the naval forces. After accomplishing those tasks, she had always maintained an image of being indifferent to fame and profit before Guihai Sheng, never asking him for money, and Guihai Sheng wouldn’t think to give her any either.

However, a woman’s beauty required money to maintain. She could only hint to the naval side, and fortunately Admiral Xiao was someone who understood such matters, always giving her generous additional gifts. These pearls were among them.

But if she said this, how would Senior Brother view her? Would someone indifferent to fame and profit ask for kickbacks?

Would Senior Brother think she harbored resentment toward him, finding him stingy?

Xuan Qiong was used to maintaining her persona and would always consider whether something might damage it when situations arose. But her silence appeared as guilt to Guihai Sheng.

He originally didn’t believe Xuan Qiong would embezzle his wealth – after all, she had followed him loyally for many years. If she had ulterior motives, she would have had them long ago. Why would she not leave when young, only to cause trouble in her old age?

But from leaving his courtyard, to hearing the maids’ conversation on the road, to seeing the luxurious use of pearls for face masks, to seeing this box of pearls so similar to his own, his doubts immediately vanished.

A woman’s heart could change.

She had promised all the money would go to him, promised she didn’t love jewels or money – then how to explain this box of pearls?

He was extremely disappointed and furious. The crackling sounds in the air were continuous, nearly making Xuan Qiong’s hair stand on end from the electricity, while curtains throughout the room moved without wind.

Xuan Qiong also sensed something was wrong and hurriedly stood up, saying, “Senior Brother, are you misunderstanding something? These pearls were given to me by Admiral Xiao, they are…”

Before she could finish speaking, Guihai Sheng had already started laughing.

“Good, good! So you really are involved with someone. Sending pearls by the boxful – what a grand gesture. Who would have thought that even as a middle-aged woman, you could still command such prices, still have men willing to spend heavily to court you. No wonder you refused to let me touch you all these years! You were saving that chaste and pure body to sell for a good price!”

A flash of lightning passed, and the dressing table silently split in half. Xuan Qiong, who had been leaning on it, nearly fell.

The pearl box tumbled down and was snatched up by Guihai Sheng. He stuffed the box into his robes and said coldly, “First return my pearls. What else is there?”

“Senior Brother, what do you mean! Are you saying I stole from you? How is that possible!”

“How is it not possible! You shameless woman who eats from one bowl while eyeing another! Taking my wealth to go marry someone else – what a fine scheme you’ve calculated!”

“What marriage? Senior Brother, are you misunderstanding something?” Xuan Qiong took a deep breath, stood up, wiped the pearl powder from her face, quickly arranged her usual gentle smile, and reached out to support Guihai Sheng. “Senior Brother, sit down first and listen to my explanation properly. I’m not getting married, and there’s nothing else either. I still don’t understand what’s happening – could there be some misunderstanding? Come, sit. Senior Brother, my dear Senior Brother, you know what kind of person I am after all these years, don’t you? Won’t you listen to your Qiong’er explain even once?”

She understood Guihai Sheng’s temperament well, displaying her most patient and touching smile, removing the irritating pearl powder, and carefully avoiding any mention of money that might provoke him. Sure enough, Guihai Sheng’s furious emotions slightly subsided. He allowed her to help him sit on a stool, muttering, “Still saying you’re not getting married – if you’re not getting married, why would Xiao Bi’an give you such precious pearls…”

Xuan Qiong had lost her earlier bewildered anger and smiled as she prepared to explain slowly.

She was confident in her ability to manipulate him.

Guihai Sheng suddenly paused.

His gaze moved downward.

Xuan Qiong instinctively looked down at her own skirt and saw tiny red fragments at the hem, flickering with faint light.

Before she could understand what this was, a great wind suddenly roared up around them again. Another flash of lightning passed – Xuan Qiong tilted her head as the lightning shot through the bronze mirror behind her, shattering it to pieces with a crash. This wasn’t the end – Guihai Sheng’s fist also arrived fiercely, crackling with sparks: “I’ll beat you to death, you thief full of lies!”

Xuan Qiong flipped backward sharply. As her sleeves flew, seven ice pillars rose in succession before her. The ice pillars continuously shattered under Guihai Sheng’s fist, ice shards flying throughout the room like a blizzard, until the seventh ice pillar finally managed to stop that fist.

Xuan Qiong was both shocked and aggrieved. Guihai Sheng’s attack had left little mercy – how had he suddenly gone so mad?

Remembering what Guihai Sheng had just cursed, she exclaimed in alarm, “Senior Brother, you were robbed? Who? Who dares steal your wealth?”

“Playing dumb? Who dares steal? Right, on this entire island, besides you, who would dare steal?”

“I… how could I steal your money? Senior Brother, I wish I could tear out my heart for you – how could I steal your money!”

“If not you, then who? Only you know the mechanisms of my secret chamber!”

Xuan Qiong was stunned, and finally couldn’t help shouting, “No, someone else knows too – Sister knows, Chi Fengli knows!”

“Bullshit!” Guihai Sheng flew into a rage. “Fengli hates discussing worldly wealth most of all. She never manages monetary matters – she’s the truly indifferent one. All these years she’s left even household accounts to you. Even when I offer her money she refuses it. Unlike you, pretending to be simple while loving silks and satins, loving jewels and gold, loving to work the abacus – didn’t you tell me all this yourself? I’ve long known you’re a hypocrite!”

Xuan Qiong choked. She had always been the one putting labels on others, making them suffer in silence like mutes eating bitter herbs. Now she was tasting this feeling for the first time herself.

Chi Fengli was truly noble, Chi Fengli didn’t love money, Chi Fengli wouldn’t open the secret chamber – so only she who loved money and working the abacus would steal, was that it!

She had indeed said she loved working the abacus, but that was all to create the image of a devoted household manager before him!

As she stood there stunned, Guihai Sheng suddenly became somewhat calmer, looking her up and down suspiciously before sneering, “Don’t you usually go on about ‘Sister this, Sister that,’ how Sister is so indifferent, Sister doesn’t love gold and silver, how you arrange only plain things for your Sister? How is it that when something like this happens, you immediately push out your dearest Sister? So your usual kindness to Fengli was all an act too?”

Outside the courtyard, Tie Ci let out a long breath and said, “This man – say he knows and he seems unable to think of it; say he doesn’t know and he understands immediately when pointed out. He clearly knows in his heart but doesn’t want to think it through, right? He really disgusts me.”

At a more distant spot, Chi Fengli’s face was pale and expressionless.

On the other side atop the wall, Feiyu watched with great interest while Pingzong sat with a dazed expression, clearly unable to accept everything unfolding before her eyes.

Feiyu smiled in her ear, “This is just the beginning – the show isn’t over yet.”