Chapter 13: The Real Purpose

"It's all Grandpa's fault you got hurt, Xiao Jie. Does it still hurt?" Seeing his grandson drenched in sweat, Grandpa Mu felt a pang of heartache.

"Grandpa, it doesn't hurt anymore." Mu Jie tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but the movement pulled at the wound on his face, and he couldn't manage it.

"Good boy, don't move. Get some rest. Who knows what hardships await us grandfather and grandson next."

He hadn't never heard of this place before—easy to enter, impossible to leave.

He didn't care about himself, but he didn't want Xiao Jie to be trapped here too.

The Mu family's treasure had given the people here a taste of sweetness. Some disbelievers thought the Mu family must have more. That very night, Zhang Gouzi brought men to the Mu residence and turned the place upside down, digging three feet into the ground. Unfortunately, they found nothing.

Apart from the main courtyard, the rest of the compound had its walls knocked down by Zhang Gouzi's men. They gained nothing and exhausted themselves half to death.

"Damn bad luck." After spitting a mouthful of thick phlegm, Zhang Gouzi led his men away from the Mu residence.

But Zhang Gouzi didn't know that others with the same idea had also been keeping watch nearby for most of the night.

"Looks like the Mu family really has nothing left. What a pity about that chest of gold and silver ingots." Watching Zhang Gouzi and his group leave, Feng Yuanshan entered through the collapsed outer wall with his daughter, Feng Miaomiao.

Feng Miaomiao didn't care about those things. She only cared about the few books that had brought the Mu family to its peak. "Father, were any books taken during the day?"

Feng Yuanshan didn't understand why his daughter asked this, but he answered honestly with a nod. "Yes, more than half a chest."

Upon hearing this, Feng Miaomiao grew anxious. "What kind of books? Father, can I see them?"

Feng Yuanshan was puzzled. His daughter wasn't one to enjoy reading, so why was she so interested in the Mu family's books now? "Are you hiding something from me?" Feng Yuanshan's gaze deepened.

He felt that ever since his daughter fell ill last time, she had changed completely, becoming a stranger to him.

She harbored hostility toward her parents and deep resentment toward her brothers and sisters, especially the youngest son. Sometimes he caught the look in her eyes when she looked at the youngest—it was terrifying.

Like she wanted to kill him.

He asked himself if he had wronged any of the children in the family, so why did she harbor such emotions?

And this matter with the Mu family—how did she know the Mu family had treasure?

Or did she know long ago that this day would come for the Mu family?

Thinking back to how she had urged him to recommend the Mu family back then, anyone who didn't know better would think she had a deep blood feud with them.

This daughter... something was wrong.

At this moment, Feng Yuanshan suddenly felt a fear of his own daughter.

"No, nothing." For some reason, Feng Miaomiao's heart raced. She could only force herself to calm down.

"Why would Father ask that? I just think since the Mu family treasured those books so much, there must be secrets inside." She hurriedly changed the subject.

Feng Yuanshan stared at her for a long while before the strange feeling in his heart slowly faded.

"If you want to see them, I'll take you tomorrow. Those things aren't my share anyway. If you can find something different in them, it might be an opportunity for our Feng family."

"However." There were still things he needed to warn her about. "There are things you must not touch, and are forbidden to touch. For example..." Feng Yuanshan listed some banned books and sensitive texts.

It wasn't for her sake, but for his own. He didn't want to be implicated by her.

"Father, rest assured. I understand this."

With only father and daughter in the living room, after finishing this topic, Feng Miaomiao asked how the things they had discovered previously had been handled.

This story had to start from that night.

After returning empty-handed from the Mu family, they encountered a sneaky figure. Following him, they discovered he had hidden quite a few good things.

It seemed to be the secret cellar of that previous family.

"Don't meddle in this. I'll handle it myself. You are not allowed to go near that place either." Thinking of those things, a dangerous glint flashed in Feng Yuanshan's eyes.

Those things were too precious. He didn't want his daughter touching them. They all belonged to him, Feng Yuanshan.

"Father, I want to take some money to buy myself a job. What do you think?" Feng Miaomiao naturally knew what kind of person her father was. If she didn't make demands now, once things were settled, she would become the overlooked one in the family again.

Feng Yuanshan initially wanted to say why waste that money, but thinking of the benefits this daughter had brought him recently, his mind shifted.

"Alright, I'll talk to your mother tomorrow and have her help you ask around." Now, going to the countryside was the trend. There were countless rumors outside. If possible, he naturally didn't want to send his daughter down there.

That way, the benefits couldn't be maximized.

If she stayed in the city, everything would still be under his control.

The Minister's family happened to have a son. Feng Yuanshan sized up his young daughter, noticing she seemed to have grown prettier recently. Perhaps...

Father and daughter each harbored their own calculations.

"Good. Thank you, Father. Once I have a job, I'll definitely be filial to you and Mother." Feng Miaomiao was sharp; she knew exactly what to say to please the man before her.

"Alright, it's late. Go to sleep early."

Feng Yuanshan didn't even wash up, returning directly to his room.

Inside, a woman slept on a five-foot-wide bed, her hair loose, her features exquisite, bearing a five-point resemblance to Feng Miaomiao.

The moment Feng Yuanshan finished undressing and moved to get into bed, the woman on the bed opened her eyes.

"What were you talking about out there? Couldn't it wait until daytime?" She didn't look like someone who had just woken up; it was obvious she had been eavesdropping on the conversation outside.

Feng Yuanshan wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and pressed himself onto her.

"You've given me a good daughter, wife. Tell me, will she really be our family's lucky star?" Feng Yuanshan kissed the person beneath him.

Their family had a secret, never told to outsiders.

Back when Feng's mother was pregnant with their third child, due to special reasons, the child in her womb was stillborn. Afraid of gossip, and because her natal younger sister had also met with misfortune—having given birth to a child out of wedlock—they brought that child into the Feng family.

Besides the two of them, no one else knew. Her sister had also died young.

Why say Feng Miaomiao would be the couple's lucky star? Because when they were in the countryside, an old Taoist priest had read Feng Miaomiao's fortune, saying she would bring the Feng family to the pinnacle.

"Belief makes it real; disbelief makes it void. All these years, we've never mistreated her, but the family hasn't seen the prosperity that priest spoke of." Feng's mother pushed at the man on top of her. "You're crushing me. Get off."

"But recently, because of her, I might get promoted. I've been a deputy for years, never able to move up. Now she's given me an opportunity." Speaking of this, Feng Yuanshan was exceptionally excited.

"You know, that night because of her, I also found an extraordinary thing. If that thing enters our family, our future can't be described by mere 'wealth and comfort'."

How could he not be excited?

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(End of Chapter)