The Li Residence didn’t have many servants, and even fewer served in the West Side Courtyard. Apart from Binglu and A’Zhu, the two personal maids, there were only two rough-work servant girls.

Qiao Zhao treated her servants generously. Now that lunch had just passed, the two rough-work servant girls had finished clearing the dining table and gone for their customary afternoon rest as usual. The courtyard was empty and quiet, with only the increasingly verdant banana leaves swaying gracefully in the wind.

Qiao Zhao stood outside the window beside the banana grove, coldly watching the woman inside the room rummaging through her belongings.

After about half an hour, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law seemed to begin worrying about being discovered. She looked around nervously, restored the disturbed items to their original positions, and tiptoed out of the room.

Qiao Zhao returned to her room with an expressionless face.

A’Zhu threw herself down and knelt before Qiao Zhao.

Qiao Zhao’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she smiled faintly. “A’Zhu, get up.”

A’Zhu silently stood up.

Binglu couldn’t contain her anger. “A’Zhu, why are your sister-in-law’s hands so unclean?”

A’Zhu’s face flushed red with shame.

“Enough, Binglu. This isn’t A’Zhu’s fault.”

“Miss, please don’t say that. This servant truly has no place to hide her shame.” A’Zhu hung her head very low. “This servant shouldn’t have let her enter the residence to work.”

“This is her sixth time coming here, isn’t it?” Qiao Zhao asked.

A’Zhu’s entire body trembled.

The West Side Courtyard was only so large. A’Zhu had noticed her sister-in-law the first time she snuck in. Just as A’Zhu was about to step forward to stop her, Qiao Zhao held her back.

From then on, whenever A’Zhu’s sister-in-law found an opportunity, she would sneak into the West Side Courtyard. Under Qiao Zhao’s instructions, not only could A’Zhu and Binglu not interfere, but they had to deliberately avoid her to provide her with convenience.

“A’Zhu, what exactly does your sister-in-law want to steal?”

“I don’t know.”

Binglu stamped her feet and looked toward Qiao Zhao. “Miss, why do you allow that shameless woman to sneak in again and again? This servant is truly furious watching this!”

Qiao Zhao smiled slightly. “Because I also want to know what exactly she’s trying to steal.”

She had once thought that A’Zhu’s sister-in-law wanted to enter the Li Residence because she was unwilling to struggle for a living outside. After entering the residence, she might take advantage of A’Zhu’s position to be lazy and cunning. But from the moment A’Zhu’s sister-in-law first snuck into her room, she understood that her sister-in-law’s purpose for entering the residence was not simple.

What exactly did she possess that someone would covet?

Could it be the chest of medical books that Grandfather Li had left her?

So Qiao Zhao casually took out a medical book to read during her leisure time, and after reading, she placed it beside her pillow. When A’Zhu’s sister-in-law snuck in again, she completely ignored the medical books.

Or perhaps among the gifts Shao Mingyuan had given her, there was something that attracted attention?

Qiao Zhao then tried placing some of the gifts Shao Mingyuan had given her in conspicuous places around the room.

When A’Zhu’s sister-in-law snuck in and saw those gifts, her eyes lit up. She lovingly caressed them, picking them up and putting them down. After struggling for a long time, she ultimately didn’t take anything.

This time, Qiao Zhao was truly frustrated. She stared at the gifts that A’Zhu’s sister-in-law had touched, biting her lip in annoyance.

Just now, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law had drooled on them, which was simply infuriating.

Qiao Zhao picked up those gifts intending to throw them away, but thinking again, she couldn’t bear to part with them. She had no choice but to take out a soft cloth and carefully wipe them clean.

What exactly was A’Zhu’s sister-in-law looking for? Or rather, what did the person behind A’Zhu’s sister-in-law want to obtain from her?

Qiao Zhao gradually became lost in thought.

Binglu vented her anger on A’Zhu. “Now are you satisfied? Miss doesn’t even have the heart to eat! I don’t know what you were thinking, bringing any random cat or dog into the residence. Do you think Miss runs a charity hall?”

A’Zhu lowered her eyes and remained silent, allowing Binglu to scold her.

Seeing that she couldn’t provoke an argument, Binglu stamped her feet in anger and left.

On this day, the sky was overcast. A’Zhu’s sister-in-law had probably become anxious from never finding what she wanted, and snuck in three times within a single day. This caused Binglu, who was in the room, to have nowhere to hide and had to bend down and hide under the bed.

At this time, Qiao Zhao was resting on her side on the bed.

Having come so many times, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s fear had unconsciously diminished considerably. She even dared to stand beside the bed and carefully observe Qiao Zhao for a moment.

Qiao Zhao casually turned over, revealing most of her pillow embroidered with blooming crabapple flowers.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s gaze fell on the exquisitely embroidered pillowcase. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and she reached out to tap the wooden board at the head of the bed.

Light “tap tap” sounds came, and A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s eyes brightened. After feeling around for a long time, she opened the hidden compartment at the head of the bed.

It was called a hidden compartment, but because it was located at the head of the bed, it didn’t contain any precious items. Most were small trinkets that Qiao Zhao used casually. The most valuable item was the string of agarwood prayer beads that Master Wumei had given her.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law directly picked up the string of agarwood prayer beads and examined them carefully in the light for a moment, then quickly tucked them into her bosom and turned to leave.

Just then, the raised window curtain suddenly dropped, and the light in the room dimmed abruptly.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law was so frightened that she stopped in her tracks. Behind her came a calm voice: “So this is what you’ve been looking for all along?”

Qiao Zhao had somehow sat up and was staring expressionlessly at A’Zhu’s sister-in-law’s back.

She had thought it through carefully. If the person behind A’Zhu’s sister-in-law wasn’t interested in the gifts from Physician Li and Shao Mingyuan, then the most likely target was this string of agarwood prayer beads given by Master Wumei.

Unfortunately, the thief was too stupid, so she had to actively place the prayer beads in a conspicuous location.

“Ah—” A’Zhu’s sister-in-law screamed in fright and ran toward the door.

The room door suddenly closed by itself.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law rushed over to push the door, but found that it wouldn’t budge.

“You can’t take that with you,” came the young lady’s light laughter from behind.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law spun around abruptly, her back against the door, and her face turned pale as death when she saw Qiao Zhao sitting properly on the edge of the bed.

Qiao Zhao stood up and walked toward A’Zhu’s sister-in-law.

In the dim light, though the young lady was beautiful as a flower, to A’Zhu’s sister-in-law, she looked like a ghost. She quickly turned around and pulled hard at the door, but it remained completely motionless.

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law quickly broke out in a cold sweat. Seeing Qiao Zhao approaching, she ran toward the window.

She had already obtained the item. Even if discovered, it didn’t matter. She just needed to leave this place!

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law silently comforted herself, but stumbled and fell to the ground. Because she fell hard, her head hit the table leg.

Binglu withdrew her foot, straightened her clothes, and sneered coldly. “I’ve had enough. Made me covered in dust!”

“She’s unconscious,” Qiao Zhao said, bending down to look.

“Miss, did this servant cause trouble again?”

Qiao Zhao smiled slightly. “No, half-conscious and half-awake is just right.”

In her sleep, A’Zhu’s sister-in-law felt somewhat cold and curled up her body. She thought groggily: This late spring cold is really severe. It’s almost summer, so why is it still so cold?

At this moment, a gentle and soft voice came: “Sister A’Xiang, you’ve already obtained the item. Won’t you wake up?”

A’Zhu’s sister-in-law drowsily opened her eyes. Everything was dim before her, and she couldn’t see who was speaking. Only the regular sound of the water clock became increasingly clear in this environment, though she had long grown accustomed to the existence of this sound.

“It’s raining. The raindrops from the eaves are falling and forming a curtain of pearls. You’re holding an umbrella, walking in a dark alley. The alley is very long, very long. You walk slowly forward… You’ve finally reached the end of the alley. Now tell me, what do you see?”