After their initial shock at such a surreal scene, the six sons-in-law could only smile. Maybe only the deepest love could let you witness something like that!
"Let's see if there's any clue here. At the very least, we can bring these keepsakes to Ivy," Adrian Night suggested.
Hearing this, the other five nodded and walked further inside. But to their disappointment, there didn’t seem to be much left in this little residence. You could see the whole place at a glance—the furnishings were old and broken, but you could still feel the warmth from long ago!
“Huh? Why is there a door here?” Butterfly Rogue’s comment made the other five pause in surprise. A door?!
The five immediately hurried over to Butterfly Rogue. At that moment, the so-called door was already blocked by a toppled bookshelf. If you didn’t look closely, you’d never notice it was there.
“It’s locked!” Caleb Miles kicked aside the troublesome cabinet and found a lock on the door. But for him, that was no big deal. He raised his foot, ready to smash it open—only to be stopped by Butterfly Rogue.
“Wait!” Butterfly Rogue quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. “This place is remote, but it’s still the imperial palace. If we make a racket and attract enemies, that’s bad.” With that, he reached into his hair bun and pulled out a hidden silver needle. Eyes closed, he poked it into the keyhole, twisted it gently, and with a little ‘click,’ the lock popped open.
Butterfly Rogue was just about to brag about his lockpicking skills—even with his eyes closed—when suddenly...
“Knew it, you’re a flower thief. Bet you break into other people’s rooms just like this, huh?” Lucian Vane propped his chin, looking thoughtful.
Hearing that, Butterfly Rogue spun around furiously and yelled, “You damn demon, you—you’re the one, you’re the real thief here!”
“Alright, enough arguing, cool it!” Ethan Chu quickly grabbed the fuming Butterfly Rogue and tried to calm him down.
Just then, Caleb Miles stepped forward with a grin. “Let me see, I wanna know if there’s gold and silver in there!” Emperor Song Jing was loaded—no way he’d leave his mother-in-law with nothing valuable, right?
Thinking about it, his eyes practically turned into dollar signs. Wow, he’d get to sleep in treasure piles from now on! Ahhh, what to do—he wasn’t even mentally prepared yet!
“Hey, Abacus, could you be any more tacky? You’re a crown prince, for crying out loud. How are you this obsessed with money?” Lucian Vane kept up his infuriating commentary.
“What? Who doesn’t love money? I’m a prince but I’m still human, okay? And look, with so many people in our family, if I don’t plan ahead, we’ll have to support all our aunts, grannies, and every single one of your parents too. That’s gonna take a ton of cash! I’m just—”
Before he could finish, there was a creak—Little White, the white crane, had already pushed the door open and strode out first.
Seeing this, Caleb Miles snapped, “Hey, Seven, just because Ivy likes you doesn’t mean you can act like this! I’m Number Three, you need to show some respect, got it? I said I’d open—” He took a deep breath, trying hard to hold back a roar. “Ugh, did any of you five even hear a word I said?!”
But the other five were already outside. He was the only one left inside. The next second, he rushed out too, elbowing past them, shouting, “So, is it treasure or not? Huh?”
“Huh? What’s this?” Caleb Miles froze at the scene before him. Treasure? Oh no, it’s... a little garden?!!!
“This really is a treasure spot!” Lucian Vane smiled and walked over to the long-neglected little garden. Even though no one had watered it for years, maybe thanks to the rain, the plants were thriving. And the real treasure? The flowers weren’t ordinary—they were medicinal herbs. Right now, in front of them were honeysuckle, plantain, wild chrysanthemum, herringbone, mulberry leaves, fangji, smilax, cow’s strength, five-finger fig, houttuynia, chicken bone grass, wolfberry greens, star anise, and more.
“These must have all been planted by Mother-in-law herself,” Butterfly Rogue sighed.
“Ivy once told me her parents met because her mom was a physician. Her dad was out of the palace inspecting the people and ran into her mom. Just like Grandpa Sai, her mom was obsessed with difficult illnesses—the harder the case, the more she wanted to solve it. Naturally, that’s how they started to fall in love,” Eli Crane said softly. As he spoke, they could almost picture the scene.
A healer’s heart. She cured so many people, but probably never imagined her own heart would get swept away in the process!
“You and Ivy are that close? Why didn’t my wifey tell me anything? Come on, Seven, spill it—when did Ivy tell you all this?” Butterfly Rogue grumbled. Out of all of them, he felt like he knew the least about her! Why did everyone else get special stories?
At that, Little White coughed awkwardly and ducked his head. Uh, do I really have to say when? It was after their first time together—afterwards, when they couldn’t sleep, Ivy told him...
“Ahem, anyway, since we know the flowers were a gift from Mother-in-law to Father-in-law, let’s not mess anything up—even if no one’s been here in ages,” Adrian Night said quickly. He’d definitely noticed Little White’s blush, and figured Ivy must have shared that story in bed!
“Yeah, let’s head back. We have to preserve this place, and once Ivy takes over, we’ll restore it to how it was. This was Mother-in-law’s home!” Caleb Miles said urgently. Sure, it wasn’t gold or silver, but if it’s related to Ivy, it’s treasure to him!
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“Alright, let’s talk about the rescue plan for the day after tomorrow. Of course, I think we should meet up with Ivy first to confirm things. But... with all those guards around, it’s gonna be tough!” Adrian Night frowned.
“We’re not scared!” the other five chimed in at once.
“No, that’s not the point. Don’t forget, Ivy said none of us are allowed to get hurt. We can’t make her worry!” Adrian Night reminded them.
“Then how are we supposed to meet up with Ivy?” Lucian Vane frowned. With all those guards around her, even if they wanted to behave, there was no way to get close!
“Cluck—cluck—” Just then, a strange noise came from outside the door.
At the sound, everyone tensed up. Adrian Night gripped his sword. Who was making noise outside?
“Don’t be scared!” Little White stood up and spoke, then walked over to the window. He opened it—and instantly, something white appeared before them all.
“What is that?” Caleb Miles frowned.
“A wild chicken?” Butterfly Rogue guessed.
“Are you blind? That’s obviously a big white goose,” Lucian Vane scoffed.
“You guys have no sense,” Adrian Night said with disdain, then added seriously, “That’s a white duck!”
Thud—all of them collapsed to the ground. Seriously, Iceman, can you not joke like this?
“That’s just a white crane,” Ethan Chu said with a little smile. Seriously, could this group get any more ridiculous?
At that moment, the white crane fluttered in after Eli Crane, landing right in front of everyone.
“Hey, Seven, is this crane yours?” Butterfly Rogue asked, nosy as ever.
“Wait, isn’t that Ivy’s hair ribbon?” Caleb Miles, sharp-eyed as always, blurted out. He immediately reached out to take the ribbon from the crane’s neck, but before he could, Little White darted away, glaring at him with pure hostility.
Eli Crane just smiled. “These are all my friends.” With that, he gently took the ribbon from the crane’s neck and asked, “Did you see Ivy?”
“Cluck-cluck-cluck!” Little White flapped its wings energetically.
“Ah, so that’s how it is. Thanks for your hard work,” Eli Crane said, patting the crane’s head with a gentle smile.
“Seven, you can actually understand it? What’s it saying?” Butterfly Rogue asked, super curious, and the other guys all stared, just as intrigued.
“Little White says it’s already seen Ivy. She sent it to tell us she’s safe and will leave soon,” Eli Crane replied coolly.
“Wait—so you can actually talk to animals? You have a spirit power?” Butterfly Rogue gasped, totally shocked.
Eli Crane just chuckled, “We’ve been together since I was a kid. After so long, you just understand each other.” Then, as if struck by inspiration, he grinned. “I know exactly who should go see Ivy—it’s safest this way.” He patted Little White. “This mission’s all yours!”
“Cluck-cluck-cluck!” Little White craned its neck and let out a proud cry.
The five others exchanged looks. Seriously? They were really trusting a white crane with this mission???