The night was deep as Bai Sheng and Zuo Ye materialized in the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom.
Their first destination was the Grand Princess's mansion.
Since Yu Zi was not affected by the tranquilizer, Bai Sheng worried that if Yu Zi stayed at the Grand Princess's mansion, her own identity would be exposed. Thus, she had Radar, whom she called Hengheng, meticulously search the premises beforehand.
Once Hengheng confirmed Yu Zi was not there, the two of them phased inside and administered the tranquilizer.
The Grand Princess and Meng Liangyuan had crossed the river and burned the bridges, breaking their promise and deliberately causing Bai Sheng to be disfigured, inflicting agonizing pain, and furthermore, had been relentlessly hunting her entire family.
As Bai Sheng infiltrated the Princess's mansion, she embarked on a retaliatory "plundering" spree.
After she was done, the vast estate was left without a single wall or roof tile. All the inhabitants of the Princess's mansion lay naked on the cold, bare earth.
It was bare earth because Bai Sheng hadn't even spared the tiles on the ground.
These tiles could be taken back to pave the roads in Fengcheng, which would be quite good.
Satisfied, she then took Zuo Ye and phased into the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace was vast, with great distances between the various courtyards. As it was late at night, it proved even easier to operate than the Princess's mansion.
The two decided to start by "plundering" the new Emperor.
The biggest prize was the national treasury. They had expected mountains of gold and silver, but upon phasing inside, they discovered that the Great Xia treasury was quite "hollow." The money within was less than a fraction of what Bai Sheng possessed.
"Truly poor," Bai Sheng muttered in disdain.
Zuo Ye chuckled, "Most of the silver in the treasury has gone into the pockets of corrupt officials. The Emperor has many concubines in his harem and lives a life of extravagance. Very little is actually spent on the common people."
"In the future, our Qing Huang must not harbor corrupt officials," Bai Sheng sighed softly.
"With my darling by your side, corrupt officials will have nowhere to hide," Zuo Ye said proudly.
Bai Sheng clenched her fist, filled with determination, "I will work hard!"
Seeing her expression, Zuo Ye couldn't resist planting a kiss on her cheek.
Bai Sheng naturally wanted to make the Great Xia treasury even "hollower," to the extreme, so that they would have no energy to deal with Qing Huang.
Therefore, without a word, she began to plunder! She stripped the treasury completely bare of its wealth.
Leaving the treasury, Bai Sheng phased into the sleeping quarters of the new Emperor, Xia Hongqian, to plunder his private vault.
Xia Hongqian was only 14 or 15 years old? Yet, there were two naked young girls lying beside him!
Bai Sheng and Zuo Ye exchanged astonished glances. This Xia Hongqian, who appeared intelligent and composed, turned out to be a debaucher. His life would likely be ruined by women.
Bai Sheng noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the pale lips, clear signs of excessive indulgence.
Alas, Great Xia was finished. Starting from the former Emperor's ruin of the Baili family, to the Grand Princess's aiding her nephew in seizing power, they had forcefully pulled down a great nation that had been striving for prosperity.
However, the Great Xia royal family's self-inflicted chaos was beyond anyone's help. Bai Sheng only felt some sympathy for the common people.
Looking at the pale youth embracing the maiden-like girls on the bed.
Bai Sheng unceremoniously collected the bed made of golden phoenix wood they were sleeping on.
This bed would surely fetch a good price if sold abroad.
Bai Sheng plundered the new Emperor's sleeping quarters so thoroughly that it was cleaner than a eunuch's face.
When the new Emperor woke up the next day, he would discover he was too poor to even have clothes or shoes to wear, and the highly skilled imperial chefs wouldn't even have a grain of rice to cook.
Leaving the sleeping quarters, Bai Sheng went directly to the Emperor's office, collecting all the books, brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, tables, chairs, and decorative items into her spatial dimension.
Even the place where the Emperor held his morning court was plundered by Bai Sheng, leaving only a few bare pillars, creating a desolate scene.
After plundering the Emperor, the two went to the palaces of the imperial concubines and conducted another whirlwind search and seizure.
Finally, they moved on to the capital's Imperial Guard camp, plundering weapons, warhorses, and provisions, leaving nothing behind.
As they phased back to Qing Huang, dawn was approaching. Bai Sheng sent Zuo Ye to the western border and returned to Fengcheng herself.
She told Uncle Ding that she had been a thief last night and would need to catch up on sleep during the day, asking him not to wake her.
As for the dramatic reactions that would occur in the Grand Princess's mansion and the Great Xia Imperial Palace after dawn, Bai Sheng couldn't be bothered to think about it. In any case, Great Xia would be too occupied to bother with Qing Huang for a long time.
Bai Sheng slept for the entire day. In the evening, Granny Wu excitedly came to find her, stating that the construction site for the new Imperial Palace had been decided and asked Bai Sheng to accompany her to inspect it the next day.
The sunlight was bright, with verdant trees and green bamboos. Everywhere she looked, it presented a picturesque scene.
Granny Wu had indeed chosen an excellent location: backed by mountains and facing water, with slightly higher terrain than its surroundings. If built into an Imperial Palace, it would undoubtedly be magnificent.
However, Bai Sheng decided to rely on superstition before making a final decision. She brought her fourth son, Yiyi, to sense the place. If Yiyi felt it was good, then it was truly good.
Granny Wu also agreed. After all, she only considered the current state of the terrain and mountains when assessing feng shui. From the perspective of historical depth, they could not see the distant past.
"Yiyi, Mother is planning to build the new Imperial Palace in this location. We will live in the new Imperial Palace from now on. What do you think of this place?" Bai Sheng pointed to a large area in front of them and asked Yiyi seriously.
Yiyi looked at the mountainous area Bai Sheng indicated and frowned, "Mother, this is indeed a very, very good place, but it's already been used by someone."
"Already used by someone?" Bai Sheng exclaimed in surprise. She exchanged a glance with Granny Wu, who was equally taken aback, and took a deep breath, "By... whom has it been used?"
Yiyi gently scratched his temple with his index finger, appearing to be in thought, "A long, long, long time ago, very powerful people, that mountain was their tomb!"
"What did those people look like?" Bai Sheng asked cautiously. She had browsed through the history books of Qing Huang. This mountain had existed for thousands of years, and the historical records did not mention any important figures being buried there.
Yiyi shook his head, "Mother, I don't know, but they were people from a long, long time ago, very powerful people."
Granny Wu pondered for a moment, "Sheng'er, some auspicious feng shui sites, while appearing excellent, are simply unsuitable for construction. In that case, let's find another place. We have many auspicious feng shui spots around our Fengcheng, after all."
"Yes, Master, as you say," Bai Sheng nodded.
Granny Wu shifted her gaze to Yiyi and suddenly bent down, asking gently, "Yiyi, where do you think is suitable for us to build the Imperial Palace?"
Yiyi pointed to a mountain, "That mountain next to it will do. Mother, they are neighbors, and those powerful people will protect us. Moreover, there are many mountain springs on that mountain."
Both Granny Wu and Bai Sheng looked at the adjacent mountain. Its base was wide and sturdy, and its slopes were high but not steep. It was indeed a feng shui treasure spot, though the terrain was a bit high. If a palace were built there, it would give a sense of overlooking the surroundings.