哈哈漫画

Chapter 31

Li Ming freshened up, drank a strong tea to stay alert, and headed to the Songtao Courtyard. He first checked on the unconscious Lu XuanNing, then turned to the pale-faced Li Hui.

Li Hui had not slept all night and lost blood from his injury. But out of concern, he refused to rest. Li Ming felt pity for his son, "Go get some sleep for a couple of hours."

"Father, I'm fine," Li Hui tried to persist.

"I'm here, go sleep for a bit," Li Ming patted Li Hui's shoulder. Li Hui swayed unsteadily.

Li Ming hurriedly supported him, "Go rest quickly, you and I will face the battle together as father and son."

Hearing this, Li Hui grunted and went into the inner room. Without even removing his clothes, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Wang Butler entered, "Master, Commander Wang has arrived."

Li Ming was delighted, as this was a fortuitous opportunity. He had been wondering how to find Commander Wang. With Lu XuanNing being hunted, those men in black would undoubtedly come to the magistrate's office sooner or later. He needed men to protect Lu XuanNing and his own family.

The magistrate's officers were more focused on investigating the cause of the fire. Li Ming was currently short-handed, so Commander Wang, a military officer with troops under his command, was just the person he needed. Moreover, the Wang family had long been entrenched in Liuzhou, essentially the local power.

Li Ming entered the guest hall, and Commander Wang, upon seeing him, stood up and greeted him with a deep bow.

Li Ming quickly stepped forward to support Commander Wang, his face puzzled, "What is the meaning of this, Commander?"

"I am here to express my gratitude to the honorable Li. My youngest daughter was saved by your esteemed family's maiden, sparing me the grief of burying her while I still live," Commander Wang insisted on expressing his gratitude with bows.

Li Ming had spent the night fighting the fire and rescuing people. Upon returning, he had been preoccupied with Lu XuanNing's situation and was unaware of other matters, including Li Xia's rescue of Wang Lan. Only Li Hui and Li Xin knew about it.

Seeing Li Ming's lack of knowledge, Commander Wang elaborated on the circumstances. Commander Wang and his wife Xu had four sons and one daughter, Wang Lan, whom they doted on. The previous night, Wang Lan and her half-sister Wang Shi had gone to the lantern festival.

During the fire and explosion, they became separated from their servants. Taking advantage of the chaos, Wang Shi had pushed Wang Lan. Fortunately, Li Xia had saved her life. After the Li family sent Wang Lan back home, she had told her mother Xu the truth. Xu was furious and immediately had Wang Shi locked in the woodshed.

Commander Wang had been out on the streets fighting the fire. Upon returning home and hearing Xu's account, he questioned the servants. After verifying the facts, he sent Wang Shi's wet nurse to the nunnery and confined Wang Shi, intending to marry her off to a strict family.

Commander Wang had changed into clean clothes and, without resting, brought gifts to express his gratitude at the Li residence.

Only then did Li Ming learn that Li Xia had saved Wang Lan. Although he did not have much affection for Li Xia, he was still pleased that his family's maiden had brought them honor, "This was the right thing to do, Commander need not be so courteous."

"The honorable Li is too modest. It is thanks to your excellent guidance that your maiden is so virtuous. Your family's maiden is indeed a good girl, unlike mine," Commander Wang sighed regretfully, wishing he had placed his daughter under Xu's tutelage instead of allowing her wet nurse to lead her astray.

"Commander, I have found the arsonist responsible for last night's fire," Li Ming did not wish to dwell on the matter further and changed the subject.

Commander Wang perked up at this, "Who started the fire?" The previous night's blaze had destroyed dozens of buildings and injured dozens of people, making it the most severe incident in Liuzhou in the past decade.

"My eldest son and his men captured these people last night. They were a group dressed in black with formidable martial arts skills. My son suffered severe injuries in apprehending them. Only one survivor is now locked in the prison cell," Li Ming's brow furrowed as he spoke.

"Have you interrogated them and found out their motive?" Commander Wang inquired with great concern.

"The man in black remains unconscious. My concern now is that someone might attempt to break him out," Li Ming voiced his worry.

"Rest assured, sir, I will arrange for men to guard the magistrate's office. These criminals will find no escape," Commander Wang promised resolutely.

"I leave everything in your capable hands, Commander," Li Ming bowed to Commander Wang.

"You are too kind, sir. I will make the arrangements immediately," Commander Wang returned the bow and took his leave.

After Commander Wang departed, Li Ming summoned Wang Butler and issued quiet instructions. He then directed someone to take Commander Wang's gift of gratitude to the Orchid Courtyard.

Li Xia received the gift, a box of lustrous pearls, clearly a thoughtful selection. Li Xia took a handful of pearls and put them in a pouch, then headed to the Elegant Refinement Pavilion.

Since Li Xin had sprained her ankle, the maids would not allow her to do anything and insisted she rest. Li Xin was feeling bored when Li Xia entered, and she motioned for her to sit.

"Sister, Father had someone send me a box of pearls as a gift of gratitude from Commander Wang. I've brought some for you," Li Xia said, handing the pouch of pearls to Li Xin.

Seeing Li Xia's completely clueless expression about Commander Wang, Li Xin smiled, "Do you know who the maiden you rescued last night was?"

"Who was it? I just saw a pretty young lady push her down," Li Xia had witnessed the incident clearly.

"Whenever you go out with Mother, you can't just focus on food. You should also observe the young ladies from different families," Li Xin tapped Li Xia's forehead, this girl only thought about food. She then introduced Wang Lan's background, emphasizing that Wang Lan's mother Xu's family was near the sea, renowned for their fine sea pearls. Li Xin offered the sea pearls to Li Xia.

"But these can't be eaten," Li Xia showed little interest in the sea pearls and pushed the pouch back to Li Xin.

Seeing this, Li Xin accepted the pearls and asked, "Xia Xia, do you know how Brother got injured?" Li Xin remembered that Li Hui had been fine when she returned the previous night, but he had been severely wounded by the time she saw him again shortly after.

Li Xia had her suspicions, but she simply replied that she did not know.

"I want to go check on Brother's condition, but my foot is immobilized," Li Xin lamented, lightly pounding her foot in frustration and wincing in pain.

"Sister, it's rare to see you make such a childish gesture," Li Xia's remark made Li Xin realize her uncharacteristic behavior, and she laughed.

"Xia Xia, chatting with you always lifts my spirits. You seem happy all the time," Li Xin imitated Li Xia's posture, hugging a pillow by the window.

Hearing this, Li Xia thought of her short life of less than twenty years in her previous incarnation, "Life is short, shouldn't one try to be joyful?"