After saying that, Cao Ren whispered a few words to the officials behind him. The officials immediately ran away.
Soon, those officials came back with several fierce-looking old women.
Each old woman was holding a large parcel in her hands.
Cao Ren ordered, "Search their bodies carefully. If anyone dares to be lenient, bring me their heads."
"Yes!" The old women answered in unison and walked towards the women.
Qin Hanyue shrank behind Old Lady Qin in fear.
"Mother, Hanyue is scared."
Old Lady Qin sternly said, "Stand up straight; don't lose face for the Qin family ancestors."
Hearing this, Qin Hanyue stood up straight with trembling courage, tears streaming down her face.
The old women showed no mercy at all. To search more thoroughly, they took those women to a nearby room and asked them to remove their clothes for inspection.
This way, the pockets sewn into the undergarments, according to Li Xinyue's method, could not be hidden either.
Without exception, all the banknotes hidden in the pockets of the undergarments were found, along with the jewellery on their heads, all confiscated.
Seeing this scene, Li Xinyue was relieved that her clinic had crossed over with her, allowing her to take away those assets without any pressure.
Finally, those old women did not even spare the silk dresses of the Qin family women and made them all change into the coarse linen clothes they had brought.
Looking at these clothes, not only were they gray and shabby, but they also had many patches on them. The sisters-in-law were very troubled.
The eighth sister-in-law complained unwillingly, "Our clothes aren't worth much. You can't take them away!"
The old woman bared her big yellow teeth and sneered, "Look at your current situation. Having clothes to cover your body is already good enough. What more do you want?"
The eighth sister-in-law wanted to say more but was stopped by Old Lady Mo.
"Zhao Shi, no need to say more."
After saying that, Old Lady Qin casually took a patched dress and put it on herself.
Li Xinyue didn't care either and quickly followed Old Lady Mo's actions, randomly putting one on.
Seeing this, the other sisters-in-law and Qin Hanyue could only forcibly endure the anger in their hearts, each picking up a dress to wear.
Fortunately, the shoes they were wearing were still their original ones.
Only after they had put on the clothes did the old women turn and leave the room with the "spoils of war".
They handed over all the banknotes and jewellery to Cao Ren without any less.
Seeing the banknotes of just over a thousand taels handed over by the old woman, Cao Ren disdainfully put them in his arms. As for the jewellery, he placed them in a prepared wooden box.
With the hidden banknotes searched away, the sisters-in-law all felt hopeless.
Without money, it would be tough for them to survive the journey to the northwest.
Old Lady Qin had also lost her previous composure. Without money in hand, what could they use to grease the palms of those greedy officials on the road?
Just when the women were highly disappointed, the people who had searched the other courtyards of the Marquis Who Protects the State mansion also returned one after another.
The news they brought back almost made Cao Ren furious.
"Report to General Cao, the treasury of the Marquis Who Protects the State mansion is empty."
"What did you say?" Cao Ren looked incredulous.
The official timidly repeated, "General Cao, there is nothing in the treasury."
"General Cao, not only is there nothing in the treasury, even the kitchen is empty." Another official added.
Cao Ren was furious and looked at the women, "Say, have you transferred the assets of the Marquis Who Protects the State mansion in advance?"
Old Lady Qin replied in a deep voice, "General Cao, His Majesty issued the confiscation decree today. Does my Qin family have the foresight to transfer assets in advance?"
Hearing Old Lady Qin say this, Cao Ren also knew it made sense.
But he did not believe the prestigious Marquis Who Protects the State mansion could be so poor.
No wonder Qin Yichen wore black robes all day and was never seen changing clothes.
It turned out to be because of poverty.
How could he know that ever since Qin Yichen was sensible, the family had often held funerals for his elder brothers?
Qin Yichen also wore black robes every day in memory of those elder brothers who died for the country.
It wasn't that he only had one black robe. It was just that the styles were the same!
Thinking of this, Cao Ren suddenly felt superior in front of the Qin family.
"I didn't expect the prestigious Marquis Who Protects the State mansion to be an empty shell. No wonder how can a group of women earn money?"
An official immediately echoed, "General Cao is absolutely right."
Cao Ren liked this feeling of being flattered. He swept his eyes around and saw that the search was over. He ordered,
"You guys watch over the seized assets and servants first and wait for the emperor's decree."
"The rest are responsible for escorting the prisoners to the suburbs."
After saying that, Cao Ren did not forget to look at Li Xinyue again, reluctantly leaving.
Li Xinyue was disgusted by this look again.
Taking advantage of the officials seeing Cao Ren off, she quickly left the crowd.
She went where people could not see her, briskly lifted her skirt, and climbed onto a thick tree.
With her mind entering her storage space, she took out a sniper rifle she had stored there.
Bullets loaded, aim taken.
The sight stayed steadily aimed at the back of Cao Ren's head.
Not until Cao Ren had left the Marquis Who Protects the State mansion and got on the tall horse did she finally pull the trigger.
With a loud bang, Cao Ren, who had just been arrogant in front of the Qin family, tilted to one side and fell off the horse instantly...
At the same time, Li Xinyue immediately entered her storage space.
This gunshot was like thunder; people would follow the sound to find the source.
She planned to temporarily hide in her space and reappear after people's attention moved away from here.
If not for Cao Ren repeatedly touching her bottom line, Li Xinyue would not have wanted to cause trouble at this time.
Every minute more he lived, such a person was a waste of air.
But how could she know that Qin Yichen, hiding in the dark, saw all of Li Xinyue's actions?
Who was this woman, and why did she have such a powerful weapon?
Not only that, she could also disappear on the spot...
Could she be a goddess?
Qin Yichen shook his head hard, feeling that Li Xinyue's actions in the past two days had far exceeded his cognition.