Opening the inner door, they found it indeed led to a secret chamber.
With a click, the old lady turned on the light.
Bathed in the light, the secret chamber was bare, with display shelves installed on three walls.
On the shelves, various items were placed.
Not too many, perhaps twenty or thirty in total.
There were calligraphy scrolls, paintings, porcelain, and jade artifacts – all antiques.
Under the light, these items appeared well-preserved, many of them exquisite.
“Grandma, why are these antiques hidden here?”
Su Yingxia asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
“Your grandfather feared you would steal them to sell for money!” Madam Su said slowly. “These are the ancestral heirlooms of the Su family, which your grandfather painstakingly retrieved.”
“Retrieved?”
Su Yingxia was a little puzzled. She opened a glass door and examined the old objects.
She didn't understand antiques, but she could tell that several pieces were likely very valuable.
“Yes, retrieved!” Madam Su took a deep breath and said, “According to your grandfather, the Su family’s ancestral home should be in Jinling City!”
“When your grandfather was just born, the Su family was a prominent clan in Jinling. But during that turbulent era, war broke out, and the Su family, due to their wealth, was annihilated!”
“Ah?”
Su Yingxia exclaimed, her expression filled with surprise.
Madam Su continued, “Your great-grandfather was from a collateral branch of the Su family. He was sent to Hangzhou to manage the family business and managed to escape with his wife and children.”
“After the war ended, your great-grandfather returned to Jinling, but he couldn't re-establish himself. He had to sell off his land and houses and settled in Hangzhou!”
Su Yingxia felt a surge of astonishment, never imagining her family had such a history and origin.
“But your great-grandfather was unwilling to accept this. He always wished to return to Jinling once he became prosperous, but he never achieved it before his death. His last wish was to gather as many of the Su family's treasures and antiques from his memory as possible!”
Madam Su sighed and continued, “Your grandfather earned money later and kept doing this. However, so much time had passed, and so many of the Su family's treasures were scattered and lost. He spent his entire life, and only managed to retrieve this much!”
Su Yingxia couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
If the Su family hadn't been annihilated during the war, she might be the pampered daughter of a top magnate now.
Of course, while she felt regret, she didn't blame her ancestors for failing to preserve their immense fortune.
“It’s useless to talk about this now. Your grandfather said these were originally left for you.” Madam Su looked at Su Yingxia deeply and said, “Of all the descendants, he had the highest hopes for you, and treated you the best.”
Su Yingxia, however, felt a tinge of resentment. She pouted and said, “If Grandpa loved me the most, why did he make me marry that good-for-nothing jinx, Chen Fan? Look at how that guy has ruined us now!”
“If he hadn’t gone to the West Mountain Cemetery, would we need to use these antiques and treasures?”
On this matter, her resentment towards Grandpa Su remained unquelled.
She didn't know that Grandpa Su had done the most heartless thing in his life precisely for her.
If she hadn't divorced, her current status would far surpass that of a magnate's daughter.
“On this matter, the old man was indeed senile.”
The old lady also cursed, “Alright, Yingxia, stop talking about it. Choose a few items to give to Miss Chen and save the Su and Jiang families first.”
“Okay!”
Su Yingxia knew that harboring resentment here wouldn't harm Chen Fan in the slightest, so she began to select items.
In her heart, she rather wished Chen Fan had also been captured by the Raptor Squad, but rationally, she knew that possibility was slim.
She picked up a scroll of calligraphy, a cursive script signed by Mi Fu of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Her eyes lit up with joy.
At the auction a few days ago, that good-for-nothing Chen Fan had bought the “Peace Scroll” for Mr. Long.
She had heard from Young Master Yuan that Young Master Xu had originally wanted to buy the “Peace Scroll” as a gift for Old Master Chen in the capital.
It was said that Old Master Chen was most fond of calligraphy.
With this connection, this calligraphy by Mi Fu would be a suitable gift and had a good chance of impressing Miss Chen.
Of course, it wasn't enough. She continued to search and selected an exquisite plum vase.
Thinking that these two antiques might be worth tens of millions, Su Yingxia felt a pang of pain.
For the Su family now, coming up with ten million was no easy feat.
She hoped it would be worth it.
But with just two items, it still seemed a bit lacking in sincerity, so she looked for a third item.
She felt that for this third gift, she should choose an antique that wasn't too high in value but was somewhat unique.
This way, it would show sincerity without incurring too great a loss.
After all, with the calligraphy and the plum vase already chosen, the last item didn't need to be too valuable.
After searching for a while, her gaze fell upon something rather peculiar.
It was a palm-sized, fan-shaped fragment of metal.
Picking it up, she found it surprisingly heavy, she couldn't tell what kind of metal it was.
The fragment was about half a finger thick, with an ancient, simple shape. Both sides were adorned with carvings that looked like dragons.
The edges were neat and regular, not appearing broken, but rather as if they were originally shaped that way.
Yet, it was evident that this object should have had other parts.
In the center were some inscriptions, none of which she recognized.
“Grandma, what is this?”
Su Yingxia couldn't help but ask.
“I don’t know either.” Madam Su looked at the dragon-patterned metal fragment and said, “Your grandfather used to often hold it and play with it, saying it was from the Su family’s old residence.”
“Old residence?” Su Yingxia asked, confused.
Madam Su nodded. “Yes, this Su family old residence isn’t here; it was the old residence of the Su family in Jinling back then!”
“Oh!”
Su Yingxia suddenly understood.
“Right, this thing originally had a pair,” Madam Su seemed to recall something else and said, “Your useless third uncle stole one of them.”
“That scoundrel stole several particularly valuable antiques!”
Su Yingxia knew about her third uncle, who was said to have gone abroad and had been unheard of for many years.
Carefully stroking the mysterious fan-shaped dragon-patterned metal, Su Yingxia said, “It will be this one, Grandma. Let’s use these three items as gifts. I’ll go and plead with Miss Chen first thing tomorrow morning!”
“Good, good!”
Madam Su nodded and said, “Yingxia, you must earnestly beg Miss Chen for her help. Our Su family will forever remember her great kindness.”
Su Yingxia had little confidence, but at this point, she could only try her best.
The grandmother and granddaughter then found a box, packed the three items, and took them out.
Throughout the rest of the night, the two remained worried, wondering if the people of the Su and Jiang families were suffering.
If they were confined to a dark room like Young Master Jiang Long last time, it would be truly miserable.
The next morning, Su Yingxia immediately took the items and drove to the hotel.