Xiao Shuju could hear the trace of worry in her words, and her eyes changed color slightly as she said: "This is our fate." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Fate?"

"The fate of being our parents’ children. Why can’t we directly face the challenges of destiny? Instead, we just dodge and hide. Fourth Sister, think about your sister-in-law. Her fate is far more trying than ours, yet she has never evaded it."

Thinking of Gu Nuan, Xiao Shuzhu couldn’t help but slowly nod: "You’re right."

"Alright. Since we’ve confirmed there is a problem with the painting, what do you plan to do next? Continue to hide it here?" From the bottom of her heart, Xiao Shuju admired her family’s youngest for her clever mind, but unfortunately, Xiao Shuzhu was too lax in nature. Otherwise, with her brain, she could have accomplished great things.

Xiao Shuzhu said: "I asked Third Sister to look at it, and of course, with some ulterior motives, hoping to see if Third Sister might take out her painting too, to see if there might be any clues."

Actually, after sensing Xiao Shuzhu’s intentions, Xiao Shuju already understood that’s how it was. Now, she couldn’t help but mention the youngest’s foolishness: "Do you remember after I married Lin Jiale, I turned into a fool? He deceived me and used up all my money. I still haven’t recovered it. At that time, my mind was entirely filled with thoughts of him. Did I know he used my dowry? I just thought my things were his things."

A chill thus passed across Xiao Shuzhu’s heart: "So you’re saying?"

"Let me be honest with you. Second Sister’s situation is probably similar to mine. Although Second Sister seems smart, she also gets muddled sometimes, always duped by her pretending-to-be-foolish husband. Her husband happened to be close to Lin Jiale. After Second Sister had her incident, I was tasked with tidying up the things she left behind. Besides some assets needing to be auctioned to repay her debts, when I searched through Second Sister’s home and office, I couldn’t find a single thing that appeared to have been taken from the Xiao Family."

Xiao Shuzhu couldn’t quite believe it: "You’re saying Second Sister threw away the Xiao family’s belongings? How is that possible?!"

They all knew Xiao Shulan had a strong ambition for the Xiao Family, considering herself the master of the Xiao Family. Therefore, the Xiao family’s belongings should be very important to Xiao Shulan.

"So, this matter is quite mysterious." Xiao Shuju whispered to the youngest, "I don’t know if Second Sister hid those things somewhere or if Lin Jiale got them through her husband. Anyway, one thing’s for sure, if my things, that painting exists, it must be in that girl’s hands now."

"You’re talking about Lin Yishan?"

"Yes, my husband left everything to her."

As Xiao Shuzhu listened, her expression grew increasingly serious: "So you mean your things can’t be recovered for now. Second Sister’s, we’d need to get a hold of first. But where did Second Sister hide those things? Haven’t you thought about finding Second Sister to ask her?"

Xiao Shuju sighed, not knowing whether she was pretending to be ignorant or truly unaware, and said: "You forgot about Second Sister’s mental state—"