Qiqi had Hu Xiaotian help carry the chest out. It was not particularly heavy, so there could not have been much inside.
When they opened the chest, they found something wrapped in oilcloth. Qiqi made no attempt to hide it from Hu Xiaotian and unfolded the cloth right in front of him, revealing a roll of jade slips.
Although Hu Xiaotian did not know what the jade slips were, the two of them had endured a thousand hardships to find them. They had to be something extremely important.
"These jade slips aren't much of a treasure," Qiqi said, "but they're very important to our Long Family. What happened today stays between you and me. You must never let a third person know."
Hu Xiaotian deliberately asked, "Not even Eunuch Quan?"
"No one," Qiqi said.
"I thought there was a huge treasure vault hidden beneath Misty Mountain," Hu Xiaotian said.
"As long as you do your utmost to help me from now on, you certainly won't go unrewarded," Qiqi said.
Hu Xiaotian had heard words like these more than once, but this was the first time Qiqi had said them to him. He looked at her in some surprise, only to find an exceptionally solemn expression on the young girl's face. She did not seem to be joking.
"What rewards can you give me?" Hu Xiaotian asked.
"I can guarantee you wealth and honor, and help restore the Hu Family to its former glory," Qiqi said.
Hu Xiaotian chuckled. "Easy for you to say. You'll have to convince His Majesty first."
"He's my father," Qiqi said. "If I ask, of course he won't refuse."
Hu Xiaotian laughed inwardly. The girl was still too young and far too naïve. The emperor might be her father, but that did not mean he would