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Chapter 12

Auntie Mei watched Li Xia leave and shook her head, sighing, "I wonder who this girl takes after?" Qiu Ju, who was working silently with her head down, had an expression that clearly conveyed understanding, just like you.

The new county magistrate arrived in Bailang County. Li Ming handed over the duties to the new magistrate and boarded a carriage with his family, heading to Liuzhou.

Li Xia and Auntie Mei sat in the same carriage. The carriage was filled with food, and the mother and daughter reclined while eating. They ate Li's roasted meat cakes and sighed, knowing they wouldn't be able to eat them anymore. Li's preserved meat cakes in Bailang County were the most famous and delicious. Both Li Xia and Auntie Mei loved these cakes. Every two days, someone would be sent to buy two of them to eat.

Li Xia sighed in her heart, wishing she had spatial abilities. Then she could buy hundreds of them and store them in her space to eat slowly. In this era, aside from fighting, there weren't many uses for wind-based abilities. It would be great to have plant-based abilities or spatial abilities. Plant-based abilities could accelerate plant growth, making it convenient to grow whatever one desired to eat. And spatial abilities could store food, allowing one to buy a lot of food and put it inside to eat whenever they wanted.

Qiu Ju pushed aside the curtain and saw the mother and daughter's appearance, her mouth twitching. "Auntie Mei, Auntie An wants to come onto the carriage."

Setting down the meat cake in her hand, they glanced at each other. Why would Auntie An, who had her own carriage, come over and squeeze with them?

When arranging the vehicles, Mrs. Lu made sure each auntie had a carriage with their child. Since Auntie An had two sons, in this era where boys and girls were segregated after the age of seven, a mother and her two sons wouldn't share a carriage. Li Chou and Li Guang shared one carriage, and Auntie An sat in a separate one. At first, Auntie An was happy with this arrangement, but after two days, it became unbearable. It was too boring, and she wanted to chat with someone.

Aunt Wang was not pleased with the situation and certainly wouldn't bring her child along. Mrs. Lu was the head of the family and was never free. Even if he had free time, Aunt Wang didn't want to go over. Auntie An didn't have anything in her heart to chat about with the head of the family. The only person she could chat with was Auntie Mei. Thinking of this, she had the coachman drive the carriage to Auntie Mei's carriage.

Auntie An believed she had two sons, while Auntie Mei only had a daughter. Without sons, after Li Xia got married, she wouldn't have anyone to rely on in the Li household. Auntie An felt even more disdainful towards Auntie Mei, thinking she had no ability and couldn't win people over. She only knew how to flatter Mrs. Lu all day, but what was the use of that?

Auntie An came to Auntie Mei's place to pass the time and have a chat. Her purpose was twofold: to deal with Aunt Wang first, and then with Mrs. Lu's family. Together, they wanted to win over the master's favor. Auntie An couldn't help but feel uncomfortable whenever she thought about Aunt Wang giving birth to a son and receiving such generous rewards from the master.

Auntie An had a good plan, but unfortunately, Auntie Mei didn't cooperate as she had hoped. Over the years, Auntie Mei had gained some understanding of Mrs. Lu's character. As long as she remained honest and obedient, staying in the backyard and taking good care of Mrs. Lu, not only would Mrs. Lu treat her well, but even Young Master Li Hui would also look after her. Li Hui had been well nurtured by Mrs. Lu.

Auntie Mei found it amusing to see Auntie An enter the room. She didn't want Li Xia to interact too much with Auntie An, so she said, "Xia, go sit in the young lady's carriage for a while."

Li Xia obediently nodded and got off the carriage.

Li Xin was reading a book when she saw Li Xia open the curtain and come in. She put down her book and sat up straight. "Have you finished eating?"

When they set off, Li Xin had invited Li Xia to sit in the same carriage and have a conversation. However, Li Xia declined, saying that she had bought a lot of food and wanted to eat. Li Xin had only made the invitation on a whim, and seeing Li Xia's obsession with food, she couldn't help but find it amusing.

Li Xia got on the carriage, took off her cloak, and sat down. She took the damp cloth that Qiushui handed to her and wiped her hands clean. She picked up the pastries on the table and took a bite. "The chef's skills are getting better and better. These pastries are sweet but not greasy, and they go down smoothly."

In response to Li Xia's comment, Li Xin smiled and poured her a cup of tea. Li Xia took a sip of the tea and replied to Li Xin's question, "I haven't finished eating. Auntie An went to find Auntie Mei, and Auntie Mei sent me to the eldest sister's carriage."

As for Auntie An's hidden motives, apart from herself, she thought no one else could see through them. But who in the mansion couldn't see through it? Li Xin couldn't be bothered to mention this person. She opened her book and continued reading.

Li Xia glanced at the book and exclaimed, "Eldest sister, why are you still reading the Three-Character Classic?" Wasn't that the book they read when they were young? Why would she still be reading it after finishing it?

Li Xin looked at Li Xia's expressions written all over her face and chuckled. Li Xia was like a child, everything was written on her face, simple and easy to understand. She was much better than the other sister, Li Shan, who had inherited Aunt Wang's temperament. At the age of 8, she followed Aunt Wang and learned all sorts of schemes, but her scheming couldn't be hidden. It made people dislike her.

These were all Li Xin's fleeting thoughts. She regained her composure and looked at Li Xia, who was lying lazily, not showing a trace of a proper young lady.

"Let's play chess," she said, putting down her book and taking out the chessboard, arranging the pieces.

Li Xia had no choice but to sit up and play chess with Li Xin. The whole afternoon passed in their chess game. Li Xia lost every game. She felt dizzy and overwhelmed by the end. Li Xia had no interest in playing chess. Occasionally playing a game was fine, but playing the whole afternoon was driving her crazy.

Li Xia had to admit that Li Xin, despite her young age, had great patience. She enjoyed playing chess, practicing calligraphy, and reading books. Li Xia admired her for being such a well-rounded young lady, although she herself couldn't achieve the same. Li Xia was content with indulging in a life of eating and drinking, without much concern for anything else.

Li Xin also had some knowledge of Li Xia's chess skills. While Li Xin understood the basic rules of the game, Li Xia seemed to disregard them completely when playing. Li Xin felt that this approach wouldn't suffice. After all, they were both getting older, and in the future, they would have to accompany their mother to social gatherings and parties.

Especially in Liuzhou, there were many prominent local families, and there was no shortage of noble young ladies. As the second daughter of the Li family, Li Xia needed to possess a skill that could impress others. Li Xin's idea was to help Li Xia improve her chess skills before they arrived in Liuzhou, so that at the very least, she could surpass Li Xin herself.

With this in mind, Li Xin went to Auntie Mei's room one night during their stay and shared her thoughts.