Jia Min had just finished her newly prescribed medicine, still pondering the chest of gold and Lin Qi Xiao's bizarre transformation, when a servant stumbled in, breathlessly reporting that the cousin had returned with enough purchases to fill several storerooms, had booked an entire restaurant, and had tipped servants with untold amounts of silver and gold...

Jia Min saw black spots before her eyes, nearly fainting on the spot.

"Preposterous! This is utterly preposterous!" she trembled with rage. "Where did she get that much money?! Ruizhu, help me outside! I must see this for myself!"

When Jia Min, supported by her maid, arrived at the front courtyard, the sight stunned her into silence.

The courtyard was piled high with chests and boxes of all sizes, filled with silks and satins, antiques, jade pieces, spices, medicinal herbs, and even live peacocks and antelopes!

Lin Qi Xiao was in the midst of it all, loudly directing the frantic servants.

"Oh, this bolt of satin is too plain. Not suitable for me. Go drape it over the stone lion at the gate!"

"This jadeite cabbage looks fresh. Put it in my room... as a paperweight!"

"Those peacocks, take them to the lotus pond in the back garden. Let them keep company with those koi fish that ate the spirit stones!"

Listening to Qi Xiao's jaw-droppingly wasteful declarations and seeing her 'money lets me do anything' arrogance, Jia Min felt blood rush to her head.

"Lin! Qi! Xiao!" she ground out through clenched teeth.

Qi Xiao turned, spotting Jia Min, and immediately flashed a brilliant smile. "Aunt! Perfect timing! Look at all the things I bought! Aren't they magnificent? They'll be perfect for upholding the Lin family's prestige from now on!"

Clutching her chest, Jia Min felt a pang of angina. "Do you... have any idea how much silver you've spent?!"

"Silver?" Qi Xiao tilted her head, feigning innocence. "Silver exists to be spent! My parents are earning plenty up there and told me to spend freely, no need to save. They'll just send more via dream!"

Jia Min: "..."

Dreams again! She was going insane! Were the official kickbacks in the afterlife really that generous?!

This level of corruption rivaled that of He Shen!

"You... such reckless extravagance! Have you no virtue? Do you not know that 'Frugality nurtures virtue'? Do you not..." Jia Min tried to lecture her with traditional feminine virtues.

Qi Xiao cut her off directly, planting her hands on her hips and announcing loudly for all to hear: "From today onward, the Lin family has a new rule!"

"Rule One: No saving money! Anyone who saves money has a problem with me!"

"Rule Two: Only buy the most expensive, not the most practical!"

"Rule Three: If I catch anyone living stingily or shortchanging the servants, don't blame me for crushing them with silver!"

The servants listened, dumbfounded, then erupted into ecstatic joy.

Could such a thing be true?!

Jia Min felt her vision darken, swaying on her feet until Ruizhu steadied her.

She pointed a trembling finger at Qi Xiao, unable to form a single word.

She was a modern woman who had seen consumerism, but never anything this deranged!

"You... you..." she stammered, finally collapsing into a helpless moan. "Ancestor... You are the true ancestor of this Lin family..."

Qi Xiao nodded in satisfaction, patting Jia Min's shoulder with profound gravity. "Aunt, you need to relax. Life is short. Seize the day and enjoy it. Look at you—you think too much, you worry too much, that's why you're so sick."

"From now on, learn from me. Eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and don't fret over trifles! Leave the money matters to me!"

With that, she ignored the nearly catatonic Jia Min, turned back to the servants, and yelled, "Did you all hear the new family rules?! From now on, anyone who does good work gets rewarded with gold leaves! Anyone who gets wronged, I'll use silver to get you justice!"

"We hear you! Thank you for your grace, Cousin!" The servants' thunderous, ecstatic reply shook the courtyard. Their looks towards Qi Xiao were filled with fervent worship.

This cousin was no cursed star! She was a goddess of wealth! A living bodhisattva!

Watching the instant 'defection' of the entire household's staff, then looking at Lin Qi Xiao, who was now humming a tune and inspecting her 'spoils' with her hands behind her back, Jia Min felt a deep, profound powerlessness for the first time, and...

A sliver of absurd doubt.

Could it be... that my modern way of thinking is actually outdated here?

In this world where gods might be real... is squandering wealth the true path?

Meanwhile, the instigator, Qi Xiao, was making mental calculations:

Hmm, today's spending spree was very effective. My cultivation improved a lot.

What to do tomorrow?

I heard there's a famous old temple in Gusu with a pretty big Buddha statue. Maybe...

Donate one made of solid gold?

Or maybe... buy myself an official title to play with?