Chapter 002
The Lu family’s second wife was once a renowned Peking Opera performer; the third wife was the adopted daughter of a powerful figure in the underworld; and the fourth wife, a noble-born young lady who nearly lost her entire inheritance to her clan before securing her vast fortune by attaching herself to Father Lu. None of them lacked for money.
Lu Mingzhu’s father was immensely wealthy, strikingly handsome, refined and elegant, with a graceful demeanor that easily won women’s hearts.
All three concubines were extremely fertile; as people outside would say, they bred like sows, resulting in Lu Mingzhu having sixteen half-siblings from her father. However, only ten survived, while six died in early childhood.
Including Lu Mingzhu, Father Lu had eleven living children.
Among the sisters, Lu Mingzhu was the youngest, ranked eighth, and thus known as Miss Eight.
Except for the married sisters who no longer lived in the Lu household, everyone else’s room was lavishly decorated, none inferior to that of the legitimate daughter; indeed, due to receiving even greater favor from Father Lu, some rooms were furnished with more precious items, including countless treasures of immeasurable value.
Just the second floor alone allowed Lu Mingzhu to discover several pieces of jewelry, gold bars, cash, silver coins, and foreign watches. Among these, the gold items alone included over a dozen large and small gold ingots, plus more than twenty gold bracelets, hairpins, chains, and rings, not to mention the bulky antiques left behind.
Not everyone was as meticulous as Father Lu and Grandmother Lu in tidying their rooms; the buttons on the Second Mistress’s clothes had never been removed.
Lu Mingzhu found a pair of scissors and began cutting off those precious buttons when she suddenly heard footsteps. Looking up, she asked, “Ping’an, what brings you here?”
“I heard noises upstairs and came to check,” replied Lu Ping’an, whose room happened to be directly beneath the Second Mistress’s bedroom.
Lu Mingzhu let out an “oh,” pointing to the gold, silver, and valuables not yet stored in her space, and said to him, “I found some overlooked treasures. Take a bedsheet and wrap them up; we’ll use them to exchange for money.”
Lu Ping’an obediently did as he was told.
“Auntie, are we really short on money?” he asked Lu Mingzhu.
Lu Mingzhu smiled. “Short? Not really. The old man left me some gold bars and silver coins, but no one ever complains about having too much money! Later, we’ll go to the third and fourth floors; whatever we can find there will be ours.”
Lu Ping’an murmured an assent and joined her in action.
Because he was present, Lu Mingzhu could not use the metal detector, so the aunt and nephew searched even more meticulously, working until well past midnight before carrying several heavy bundles back to the first floor to rest in their respective rooms.
The bundles were placed in Lu Mingzhu’s room, where she conducted the final inventory.
The total amount of cash gathered was 55.67 million, including the 10 million left by Lu’s father for Lu Mingzhu and the cash found in the study; only 5.34 million belonged to the old lady, while the rest came from the second, third, and fourth branches of the family. The main reason for the relatively small amount of cash was its rapid devaluation; they placed greater trust in gold bars and silver dollars.
Indeed, worthy of a wealthy family, everyone had money.
While examining the belongings of her predecessor, Lu Mingzhu suddenly noticed something very strange.
The gold bars and silver dollars left by Mrs. Lu to her predecessor were surprisingly few: only 23 large gold bars, 50 small ones, and 5,000 silver dollars. As for the four small boxes of jewelry, they contained a total of eighty-one exquisite pieces. Although every item was a masterpiece among masterpieces, there was no gold jewelry inside—only a five-carat “fire-oil” diamond ladies’ ring and other adornments made of pearls, gemstones, jadeite, and Hetian jade.
This was highly unbecoming of Mrs. Lu’s status as the matriress of the household.
It should be noted that although jadeite was favored by the elite during the Republic of China era, diamonds imported by foreign merchants were even more sought after.
Inside the jewelry box were none of the top-tier jewels the original owner had often seen Mrs. Lu wear, such as a lavish necklace set with a 200-carat diamond, featuring an emerald-cut center stone weighing 88 carats, with each accompanying diamond no less than 2 carats; meticulously designed and crafted by the renowned jeweler Cartier, it sparkled beyond compare and was worthy of being a family heirloom.
That necklace had been Mr. Lu’s fiftieth birthday gift to his wife, once causing a tremendous sensation across the bustling十里洋场 (Shili Yangchang).
Her original self had been particularly fond of this necklace as a child, leaving a deep impression.
In her memories, Mrs. Lu came from an affluent background, brought a substantial dowry, possessed exceptional skills, spoke foreign languages, and excelled in song and dance. Before liberation, she operated her own textile mill, flour mill, and clothing store, collaborated with foreigners, and even traded penicillin and various weapons. She frequently accompanied Mr. Lu to social events to conduct business, handling sums of money comparable to mountains of gold and silver. Merely from transferring various businesses and private properties before liberation, her accumulated wealth equated to half of the entire Lu family fortune. How could only these few gold bars and silver dollars remain?
Yet, these were indeed all the assets Mrs. Lu personally handed over to her original self on her deathbed, designated as her dowry.
Where had the true immense fortune gone?
It couldn’t have just vanished into thin air, could it?
Mrs. Lu had never been the kind of virtuous wife and mother who would entrust her private savings to her husband’s management.
Lu Mingzhu pondered for a long time, but since she couldn’t figure it out, she simply stopped trying.
After all, the original body’s savings were several times greater than the dowry her mother had left her. Counting carefully under the lamp, the total amounted to 23,685 silver dollars, 55 large gold bars, 254 small gold bars, over 300 pieces of jewelry, and more than 100 antiques and calligraphy paintings.
She was indeed a genuine little wealthy lady.
Of course, not all the jewelry and antiques were fine pieces; most were inexpensive items commonly found on the market. For instance, among the hundred or so exquisite gold ornaments, their value did not compare to that of gemstones and jade diamonds.
Lu Mingzhu stored the finest pieces and gold bars in her space, leaving the rest outside to avoid suspicion.
In particular, the four boxes of exquisite jewelry given by Mrs. Lu must be taken along.
Lu Mingzhu slowly exhaled, then selected a dozen or so fine items from what the third branch had missed and placed them into her space; the remainder, including the silver coins given by Father Lu and Mrs. Lu as well as those from her predecessor’s savings, she simply piled in the corner.
She planned to sell off all of the latter before departing.
Wait, let’s first check if any of these silver dollars are rare pieces that would fetch high prices at future auctions!
Sleep was out of the question anyway.
There were simply too many silver dollars; Lu Mingzhu worked until dawn and managed to identify only thirteen rare ones, all from her own collection. Her father’s chest of silver dollars remained unopened.
The thirty thousand silver dollars were all neatly rolled and stacked inside the chest.
Lu Mingzhu stopped rummaging altogether; she decided to seek help from her godfather.
Though her original self had never been favored by her grandparents or father in the Lu family, she was nevertheless born into a prestigious lineage. From childhood, she possessed delicate features and an ethereal elegance. Fluent in English, French, German, and Japanese, she could sing, dance, and play the pipa. With a shrewd and formidable mother backing her, she moved effortlessly within high society. Outsiders, unaware that Mr. Lu held her in low regard, always assumed otherwise.
Now at eighteen, she had three godfathers and seven godmothers!
A significant portion of the jewelry and antique paintings and calligraphy came from their regular gifts.
However, in these chaotic times, some of my godparents have fled while others have passed away; currently, only one godfather remains in Shanghai.
This godfather, surnamed Wang and named Xingcai, was also a major capitalist who shared a close friendship with the Lu family. Before liberation, he had fled Shanghai for Hong Kong. After the founding of the People’s Republic, persuaded by government envoys, he returned to Shanghai with most of his assets to contribute to national development, assuming an important position within the government. Meanwhile, his wife, children, and grandchildren remained in Hong Kong to conduct business, ostensibly serving as a bridge for foreign trade.
He too was an exceptionally shrewd and capable tycoon.
Lu Mingzhu wanted to go to Hong Kong, and seeking his help was the most reliable option.
The Wang family lived right next door to the Lu family. After breakfast, Lu Mingzhu took Lu Ping’an directly over. Arriving before Wang Xingcai could leave, she dismissed the servants from the living room and said to him, “Godfather, save me!”
Wang Xingcai was startled. “What’s wrong with Mingzhu?”
“My father took the entire family and all our assets abroad; he left yesterday, even bringing his most trusted servants with him, leaving only Ping’an and me behind. He will surely ignore us from now on.” Lu Mingzhu’s expression was one of grievance, her tone filled with sorrow and indignation as she directly lodged a serious complaint against her father. “He must have fled because he sensed the situation deteriorating. Godfather, I am terrified.”
Wang Xingcai knew about Lu’s father’s plan to go abroad but had never expected him to abandon Lu Mingzhu alone.
Such a wonderful child, yet he failed to cherish her!
Among the dozen or so children in the Lu family, Lu Mingzhu was by far the most striking, with snow-white skin, flower-like beauty, raven-black hair, and crimson lips. Still retaining a touch of childish innocence, she would undoubtedly grow into a woman of breathtaking, kingdom-toppling allure.
After her fifteenth birthday, she had hundreds of suitors, many of them scions of prominent families.
“Mingzhu, don’t be afraid.” Wang Xingcai gently patted his goddaughter’s head, his gaze soft. “The chaotic times are over. With your godfather here, you needn’t worry about food, clothing, shelter, or travel. Just wait peacefully for school to begin.”
Lu Mingzhu shook her head. “I don’t want to attend school in Shanghai.”
Wang Xingcai was taken aback as she whispered, “Godfather, although my father had his flaws, his instincts were always sharp, and he accurately gauged the political situation; otherwise, he wouldn’t have evacuated our entire family. Therefore, I wish to go to Hong Kong.”
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Xingcai slowly replied, “You are you, and your father is your father; this should not affect you.”
“How could it possibly have no effect? The stigma of being a capitalist cannot be erased.” Lu Mingzhu had no desire to be regarded as inferior after class classification or to endure the inhuman torment that would come more than a decade later. “As the saying goes, ‘the son pays the father’s debts.’ If they cannot find him in the future, won’t they hold me and Ping’an responsible for his debts? Godfather, please help us!”
Upon hearing these words, Lu Ping’an, who had accompanied her quietly all along, suddenly widened his eyes.
Wang Xingcai asked Lu Mingzhu, “Have you truly made up your mind?”
Lu Mingzhu nodded vigorously. “Absolutely certain.”
Wang Xingcai then said, “In three days, a passenger ship bound for Hong Kong will depart. It belongs to a shipping company based in Hong Kong, jointly owned by your eldest brother and others, so safety is assured. I’ll have someone deliver two tickets to you. Since no one outside yet knows of your father’s departure, keep a low profile when you leave. Once you arrive in Hong Kong, go directly to your eldest brother.”
Overjoyed, Lu Mingzhu exclaimed, “Thank you, Godfather!”
I knew he would be able to help.