Free Web NovelChapter 69: Chapter 69; Su Wan
The mansion gradually fell silent again after Chairman Su’s final order.
"Seal the estate."
The call ended quietly in his hand while the cold darkness of the study seemed to deepen around him. Outside the massive windows, distant security lights had already begun shifting across the grounds below as internal patrol routes quietly changed direction throughout the Su estate. Someone had entered his study. Someone had taken the map. And for the first time in years, Chairman Su realized the situation was beginning to move beyond his control.
Slowly, he lowered his phone onto the desk before turning his gaze once more toward the empty space where the skin map had rested for so long. The room felt wrong without it there. Exposed. His expression darkened faintly.
Then finally, without another word, he switched off the desk lamp and left the study behind. The heavy door closed softly afterward, swallowing the room back into darkness.
—
Meanwhile, deep inside the Lu Residence, the estate remained asleep on the surface. But beneath that silence, tension had already started spreading quietly through every major faction connected to the household.
Second Madam had returned shortly before dawn in visible silence, her damaged vehicle escorted through the eastern gates without explanation. Servants lowered their heads immediately the moment they saw her expression. Nobody dared ask questions. Nobody dared speak at all. Because everyone inside the Lu Residence understood one thing clearly: when powerful people became quiet, something dangerous usually followed.
Second Madam disappeared directly into her private wing afterward without attending the remaining household meetings scheduled for the night. And that alone unsettled the estate further.
Inside the western guest room, Su Wan remained asleep beside the scattered financial files still spread across the bed. The room stayed quiet except for the soft sound of wind brushing faintly against the windows. Beside her, Lu Shaohan slept lightly in the darkness, one arm resting loosely against the edge of the blanket while his expression remained unreadable even in sleep.
Neither of them yet knew exactly what had happened across the city tonight. But by morning, everything surrounding the Lu family would begin shifting again. freewebnovel.cσ๓
—
Morning arrived quietly over the Lu Residence.
Soft gray light filtered through the curtains of the guest room while the estate outside remained wrapped in the cold stillness that came just before sunrise. The wind from the previous night had weakened, leaving the gardens outside damp beneath traces of early morning mist.
Su Wan opened her eyes slowly. For several seconds, she remained still beneath the blanket, her thoughts catching up gradually after only a few hours of sleep. The dull ache in her injured arm remained present beneath the bandage, though manageable now compared to yesterday.
Then her gaze shifted slightly beside her. Lu Shaohan was still asleep. The sight gave her pause for only a brief moment. Even sleeping, he carried that same controlled stillness surrounding him everywhere else. One arm rested loosely near the edge of the blanket while the faint early morning light softened the sharper edges of his features enough to make him appear less distant than usual. Because she still had not fully adjusted to the fact that he had followed her into the guest room at all.
Su Wan quietly pushed the blanket aside afterward and carefully slipped out of bed without disturbing him. Her movements remained light despite the soreness pulling faintly through her shoulder. Within minutes, she had changed into dark athletic clothing before quietly leaving the room.
The guest corridor outside remained almost empty at this hour. Most of the Lu family had not woken yet. Exactly what she preferred.
The cold morning air greeted her the moment she stepped outside into the estate gardens. Thin fog drifted lightly across the distant training fields while several security personnel moved quietly along the outer grounds during early patrol rotations.
Su Wan began jogging slowly along the stone pathway circling the lower field. Not fast. Measured. Enough to clear her thoughts. Yesterday’s chaos still lingered heavily beneath the surface of the Lu Residence. She could already feel it in the atmosphere this morning—even the servants she passed avoided eye contact more carefully than usual. The estate was unsettled.
Good. Fear made people cautious.
As she rounded the far training field several minutes later, two familiar figures came into view ahead. Li Chen and Mo Chen. Both men were already jogging near the outer perimeter road like ordinary morning exercise routines among the estate staff and security teams. Nothing about their behavior attracted attention. Exactly as intended.
Li Chen noticed her first. "Madam."
Su Wan slowed slightly as they fell naturally into pace beside her. The three of them continued jogging calmly along the edge of the mist-covered field while distant gardeners and security personnel moved far enough away not to overhear conversation.
Mo Chen spoke first, his tone low enough to blend naturally beneath the sound of their footsteps. "We got inside."
Su Wan’s expression remained calm, though her attention sharpened immediately. "And?"
"The bedroom had already been searched before us." Li Chen glanced briefly toward her. "Recently." That confirmed her suspicion immediately. Someone else had already been looking for the watch long before yesterday’s attack spiraled publicly.
Su Wan remained silent, allowing them to continue.
Mo Chen lowered his voice slightly further. "We found more inside Chairman Su’s study."
Her eyes narrowed faintly. "How much more?"
Li Chen exhaled quietly through his nose. "Enough to confirm your father is involved in things far beyond ordinary business operations."
The morning mist drifted lightly across the field around them as they continued jogging. Political files. Hidden financial structures. Territorial mapping. Illegal operations. None of it surprised her completely anymore.
But what caught her attention most was the next sentence.
"We brought something back," Mo Chen said quietly.
Su Wan’s gaze shifted toward him. "A skin map."
The moment those words entered the cold morning air, something in her thoughts sharpened instantly. Because if Chairman Su had protected it personally inside his private study, then whatever that map connected to was important enough to kill over.
Su Wan slowed her pace only briefly after hearing about the map.
"Keep everything hidden," she said quietly as the three of them continued jogging through the mist-covered field. "Separate locations. Nobody touches the originals unless absolutely necessary."
Li Chen nodded immediately. "What about the recording?"
"Encrypted twice," Mo Chen answered before she could ask further. "No copies connected to the estate systems."
Good. Su Wan exhaled slowly, her thoughts already moving ahead. Chairman Su would discover the missing map by now. Second Madam too. Which meant the pressure inside both families would escalate quickly this morning.
The cold morning air brushed faintly against her face as she finally slowed near the lower pathway intersection. "Act normal today," she instructed quietly. "Especially around Second Madam."
Li Chen’s eyes darkened slightly. "She’ll start looking for who moved the money."
"Yes," Su Wan replied calmly. "Which is why nobody should look nervous."
A faint silence followed. Then she turned back toward the residence.
The Lu estate stood quietly beneath the gray morning sky while servants had already begun early preparations across the outer grounds. From a distance, everything still looked orderly. But Su Wan could already feel the instability underneath it.
By the time she returned to the main residence, more members of the household had begun waking. Servants moved carefully through the hallways carrying breakfast trays and fresh flowers while security personnel rotated shifts near the outer entrances. The atmosphere remained strained. Nobody spoke loudly. Nobody lingered unnecessarily. Good. Fear was spreading properly.
Su Wan walked calmly through the private corridor toward the master suite, intending only to retrieve fresh clothes before showering. But the moment she turned the final corner, she stopped.
The master bedroom doors stood wide open. And servants were dragging things out. Everything. Clothing. Sheets. Decorative items. Storage boxes. Even the mattress itself was already half removed from the room.
The corridor had become complete chaos beneath the sharp movements of household staff trying desperately not to look directly at anyone. At the center of it all stood Lu Shaohan. Cold. Immovable. One hand resting inside the pocket of his trousers while his gaze remained fixed toward the inside of the room. And near the doorway—Su Yao sat wrapped tightly in a blanket. Nothing beneath it. Her face had completely lost color. Humiliation radiated visibly from every inch of her posture as servants moved around her avoiding eye contact entirely.
For several long seconds, Su Wan simply stared. Genuinely surprised. Then finally her eyes shifted toward Lu Shaohan. "What happened?"
The atmosphere in the corridor tightened immediately. No servant dared slow down. No one dared speak first.
Lu Shaohan’s gaze moved toward her calmly. "She entered the wrong room," he replied evenly. The answer came so coldly that several nearby servants visibly stiffened.
Su Yao’s fingers tightened violently around the blanket wrapped across her body. "You threw everything out because I slept there for one night?"
