When the war broke out in Anping Prefecture, three donkeys marched happily along the road, stepping on the fallen apricot petals all over the ground, and arrived at a water gate in the northeast corner of Gaojing.

"Wow!"

On the back of a donkey, two cute little girls with bright eyes, white teeth and pigtails were staring in amazement at the huge cargo and passenger ships as big as mountains on the spacious canal outside the water gate.

There was a lot of noise all around.

There are strong men soliciting business.

There were vendors shouting their wares.

Some passengers and merchants on the boat were shouting something towards the shore.

There were also many small boats as nimble as silver carp, with red flags hanging on them and the word "tax" written in the middle. They shuttled nimbly between the huge cargo ships, and from time to time they would lean against a cargo ship and shout a few words at the owners.

The pier beside the watergate was bustling with people and cars. Men and women of all kinds, young and old, were running back and forth, their clothes flying like clouds and sweating profusely, which was truly dazzling.

The air is filled with the aromas of stinky tofu, snail noodles, soy milk, and grilled skewers.

Not far away, a horse-drawn carriage carrying goods overturned, and dozens of huge wine jars were smashed to pieces. The air was filled with a strong aroma of wine. The owner of the goods jumped to his feet and cursed at several sad-looking porters.

"Sister, sister, this is Haojing, the capital of the world. It is so prosperous!" The two girls looked to the left with their left eyes, and their right eyes could not help but look to the right. From time to time, they looked forward and backward. After a while, their eyes were almost cramped from moving around.

On another donkey, a beautiful girl who was a year or two older than the two girls and a little more experienced was also staring with wide eyes, looking at the people, cars and boats coming and going in front of her with an incredible look on her face.

"Oh, really, really... In this short period of time, we have seen more living people than in the past ten years." The older girl let out a long breath: "How can there be so many people in this world? It's really, incredible!"

Seeing the three girls' childish appearance and hearing their childish words, several men who were bumping and swaying in the crowd started laughing.

With malicious smiles, they quickly approached the donkeys of the three girls, bowed to them repeatedly and smiled attentively: "Three girls, is this your first time in Haojing? You..."

The two girls with pigtails had their faces slightly changed. The small horsewhips in their hands, which were wrapped with gold threads and inlaid with small pearls, turned into countless afterimages and whistled down. Several men let out sharp howls as they were whipped by the small two-foot horsewhips and spun like tops. They spit out blood, flew dozens of feet away, and plunged into the canal beside them.

"Hey, let's go!" The older girl laughed and shouted, and the little donkey jumped and leaped, and rushed into the water gate like the wind, and rushed into the city of Haojing with a "tick-tick" sound.

The two girls with pigtails laughed and hurriedly followed.

The three donkeys ran very fast, and before the patrol officers who were maintaining law and order at the dock could react, the three women had already disappeared without a trace.

"Sister, this is what the nurses said, that those who show kindness for no reason are either traitors or thieves, right?"

"I guess so, but it's really strange. How can villains be so weak? What right do they have to do evil?"

Entering from the water gate at the northeast corner of Gaojing, crossing two artificial canals, you will find Jiuqu Garden, where the emperor resides. A little further south from Jiuqu Garden are Guotai, Min'an, and Anlefang.

Three donkeys were galloping along the bank of the canal with the sound of "tick-tick-tick". Just as they were heading towards Anlefang, Mrs. Hu, with a gloomy face, was rummaging through boxes in her private storehouse.

Two sets of glittering fine porcelain tea sets were taken out from a large nanmu box. Mrs. Hu frowned as she looked at the tea sets, which were as white as snow on the inside, with delicate landscapes carved on the outside and filled with fine gold threads, making them look extremely 'expensive'.

"Hey, the master always says that these porcelains with gold thread that I ordered are too vulgar... Tsk, how can it be called vulgar when it's so shiny and golden? This is called richness!"

"However, Master doesn't like it. He won't use it anyway, so let's send it to my eldest brother's house."

She asked two trusted old women to put the nanmu box aside, and then Mrs. Hu took out a set of more than a hundred pieces of green jade tableware from another box.

This set of beautifully polished lotus-shaped tableware includes soup bowls, rice bowls, dinner plates, fish plates, etc., and is extremely functional.

The tableware itself is made of green jade with extremely fine water content and is very valuable.

Like the two sets of tea sets mentioned earlier, the surface of this set of tableware was also carved with fine flower patterns and was also filled with gold threads. The jade and gold lights mixed together, and the gorgeousness of "a house full of gold and jade" could really blind ordinary people.

"Likewise, Master doesn't like this set of tableware. He hasn't used it once since he bought it. Master can't use it, so he'll give it to my second brother's family."

She asked the old woman to move the tableware aside and continued to rummage.

Soon, she dug out a set of large colorful enamel fruit basins. The set consisted of seven fruit basins of different shapes, some large and some small. They were specially used by wealthy families to display various rare fruits and to "smell the fragrance of fruits."
The colorful enamel craftsmanship is already gorgeous enough, and the edges of the seven fruit bowls are inlaid with a row of thumb-sized multi-colored gems, which make the seven fruit bowls even more glittering and "extraordinary".

"This is also of no use to the master, send it to the third brother's house."

Madam Hu took out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked at the sets of fine items she had carefully selected, stamped her feet heavily, and sighed, "Your master is really crazy... My brothers and nephews are all delicate and tender, and they are all noble people. How can they go to the battlefield to fight?"

"Oh, their family has been crying and begging these days... What can I do? Can I only use these things to stop them from bothering me?"

With one hand on her waist and the other swinging back and forth seductively by her side, Mrs. Hu walked out of the warehouse slowly with a group of old women and maids.

In addition to the nanmu boxes containing tea sets, tableware, and fruit basins, behind Mrs. Hu, there were several maids holding some small boxes containing beautifully cast gold ingots and silver ingots.

Those large utensils were intended to be sent to the homes of her three younger brothers.

And these gold and silver ingots are just extras - "We are all relatives, it's not good to give gifts that are too shabby"!

After leaving the warehouse, naturally there were confidants who sent these things to where they should go. After being busy for a while, Mrs. Hu suddenly became excited. This time she did not need the support of the maid, and climbed up to the tallest building in the mansion by herself. Taking advantage of the good day and the excellent view, she looked towards the west.

Although she still couldn't see any movement in the Duke of Lai's Mansion, Mrs. Hu, with a little saliva on her lips, could imagine the Duke of Lai's Mansion's storehouse that was like a mountain of gold and silver, and its extreme wealth with piles of brocade.

"Why isn't this great wealth yours, madam?" A chuckle came from behind Madam Hu.

"Who is the one trying to scare your mother?" Mrs. Hu was startled by the sudden voice. She turned around abruptly and looked over fiercely. Then, a bright smile suddenly appeared on her angry face.

"Oh, it's Miss Weishuang... You are truly a rare and distinguished guest. We haven't seen each other for a while... You, uh, I heard that something happened in your family a few days ago?" Mrs. Hu looked at Bai Lu, who was standing quietly behind her, wearing a flame-like bright red dress, with her hair tied up in a high bun.

Bai Lu had a set of nine phoenix-shaped hairpins inserted in her bun, which was extremely gorgeous; she was also covered with necklaces made of red gemstones, which matched her bright red palace skirt, giving her a breathtaking and strange beauty.

Her wrists and fingers were densely covered with various extremely precious pearls and gemstones, which almost made Mrs. Hu's eyes pop out of their sockets.

With both hands gently pressed on her lower abdomen, Bai Lu smiled at Mrs. Hu and said, "Yes, it's been a long time since we last met."

After a slight pause, Bai Lu walked to Mrs. Hu's side and looked into the distance: "Something happened at home, but it will be resolved soon, it's not a big deal. I remembered that I haven't greeted you for a long time, so I came to see you today. Hee!"

Mrs. Hu completely ignored how Bai Lu broke into her backyard without alarming any guards, maids, or servants.

How shocking it is that a delicate young lady of a wealthy family can freely come and go in a mansion covering thousands of acres, with thousands of servants running around and thousands of retainers and guards!

But Mrs. Hu really didn't take this matter to heart.

"You said, it would be a great thing if the wealth of the Duke of Lai's Mansion could be combined with the wealth of your family?" Bai Lu looked at Mrs. Hu with a smile.

"This, haha, Weishuang, you must be joking." Madam Hu looked at the direction of the Duke of Lai's Mansion with great longing: "This kind of thing... It's great to think about it, but to say it..."

Bai Lu was extremely white, so white that there was no trace of blood. Her almost transparent palm gently pressed on Madam Hu's shoulder: "Why not? If you have enough power, it won't be difficult to take the wealth of the Duke of Lai's Mansion... For example, what if everyone in the Duke of Lai's Mansion died?"

Madam Hu widened her eyes and looked at her in shock: "I have thought about this, but what about the tens of thousands of people in the Duke of Lai's mansion..."

Bai Lu smiled. She had indeed thought about it.

"Try it? Try it? How will you know if you don't try it?" Bai Lu smiled and took out an extremely exquisite hairpin from her sleeve. The hairpin was made of a strange four-winged bird and a datura flower and gently handed it to Mrs. Hu.

"It's a little gift. Try it on. Don't underestimate it. It's a treasure!"

Bai Lu looked at Mrs. Hu tenderly.

Outside the Tian'en Mansion, three girls riding on donkeys looked around all the way. By chance, they walked along the bridge into Anlefang and arrived near the Tian'en Mansion in a daze.

"Buzz!"

At the same time, low sword sounds came from the long bags beside the three girls.

The three girls' faces changed slightly, and the two girls with pigtails slapped the bags at the same time.

With a "swish" sound, two green sword rainbows, seven or eight feet long, whizzed out, circled, and flew straight into the Tian'en Mansion.