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"The young lady has good taste. These red and green gemstone rings are cut from precious stones imported from the Southern Seas. Each one is unique and one-of-a-kind," Chacha said.

"Wrap them up," Xu Xinyue instructed Chacha without asking the price. Then she turned to Xu Yiyou, "Yiyou, take a look and pick a couple of pieces you like."

Xu Yiyou shook her head hurriedly, "No need, auntie. You've given me so many jewelry pieces that I haven't had a chance to wear them all yet."

"A lady should have plenty of jewelry. This one's nice, cousin, try it on," Li Xia picked up a pair of pink gemstone earrings and held them up to Xu Yiyou's ears, but then noticed Xu Yiyou didn't have her ears pierced. "Cousin hasn't gotten her ears pierced yet."

"This child is afraid of pain, so she hasn't had her ears pierced," Madam Jiang added from the side.

"A lady should get her ears pierced, otherwise she can't wear beautiful earrings," Li Xia said, picking up a pair of delicate orchid-shaped ear pendants.

"You didn't want to get your ears pierced back then either," Xu Xinyue recalled how Li Xia had even climbed a tree to avoid getting her ears pierced. In the end, Mrs. Lu had people drag Li Xia down and pierced her ears herself.

"The young lady hasn't had her ears pierced. She can try wearing clip-on earrings," Chacha suggested, picking up a pair of earrings that clipped onto the ears without needing pierced holes.

Li Xia took the clip-on earrings and clipped them onto Xu Yiyou's ears, nodding in approval, "Pretty."

"Sister, I don't need them," Xu Yiyou refused. Although Chacha didn't mention the price, from her excited expression when they decided to buy, Xu Yiyou could tell these items were not cheap. Xu Xinyue had already given her several sets of jewelry since arriving at the Xu household.

"A young lady looks best when she's dressed up prettily. Don't be like your sister, who never bothers with these things," Xu Xinyue said as she picked out a pair of small plum blossom ear studs and tried them on Li Xia. Li Xia's expression immediately changed, finding it too much trouble to wear such things, and she reached to take them off. But Xu Xinyue watched her sternly, so Li Xia left them on.

"Mother, you wear some too," Li Xia didn't want to suffer alone, so she picked out several pieces for Xu Xinyue, including an exaggeratedly large diamond-shaped pair of earrings that felt heavy on Xu Xinyue's ears when she put them on.

Madam Jiang watched them with amusement from the side. These two mother and daughter sometimes didn't seem like mother and daughter at all, but rather like sisters. On occasion, Madam Jiang even felt Li Xia was the older one.

The group spent the afternoon at Kaya, each picking out quite a few jewelry pieces. When Chacha saw them off, she could hardly hide her broad smile. From their purchases, she would earn at least two hundred taels of silver in commission.

The Xu family carriage dropped Li Xia off at the Li residence first, just as the Li family carriage was about to leave to pick her up. Li Xia got off and told them to go back.

Li Xia first went to Mrs. Lu's courtyard to pay her respects and inform her that Xu Xinyue would be visiting the next day.

Upon hearing Xu Xinyue was coming, Mrs. Lu smiled. Ziyi came in, "Madam, the Young Master sent word that he won't be coming home tonight."

Mrs. Lu's smile faded. Li Hui, who was handling his first case, had been working tirelessly for several days without coming home. "Have clean clothes and nourishing food been sent to him?"

"Yes, someone has taken them to him. They said the Young Master's complexion still looks alright. The Young Master asks you not to worry," Ziyi replied.

"How can I not worry when he's so busy he can't even come home?" Mrs. Lu was concerned both for Li Hui's health and that he might not be able to solve the case, which would affect his future prospects.

"Brother is intelligent and valiant. He'll definitely crack the case," Li Xia reassured her.

Mrs. Lu nodded. "You've been out all day too, you must be tired. Go rest."

Li Xia returned to her Orchid Courtyard. Qiu Ling had organized the information she gathered and handed it to Li Xia. Li Xia frowned as she looked at the materials. "Qiu Ling, have you been practicing your calligraphy from the copybooks I gave you?"

"Yes, Miss, I've been diligently practicing," Qiu Ling assured her.

"But your handwriting hasn't improved at all. It still looks like a dog's scrawl," Li Xia disdained Qiu Ling's writing and didn't want to look at it further.

To help Qiu Ling gather information more easily, Li Xia had asked Qiu Kui to teach her how to read and write. Qiu Kui's calligraphy was so good that even Li Xin admired it.

Qiu Kui's father was a county graduate. As the firstborn child, Qiu Kui had studied quite a bit under her scholarly father when she was young. Her father failed the county examination multiple times, spending all their family's money on his studies and neglecting to work, living solely for his books.

The family was so poor they could barely make ends meet. Qiu Kui's mother had to do needlework for others to feed the family. Seeing her younger brothers and sisters on the verge of starvation, Qiu Kui sold herself into servitude at the Li household behind her parents' backs. With the wages Qiu Kui earned at the Li residence, she was able to support her younger siblings, but her father looked down on her for selling herself into bondage.

"Next time, I'll have Qiu Kui watch over her and make her practice for twelve hours straight," Li Xia pointed at Qiu Ling's writing.

"Miss, Qiu Kui has a lot of work already. There's no need to give her extra tasks. I promise to practice for an extra half-hour every day until my handwriting improves," Qiu Ling said. Qiu Kui's way of punishing Qiu Ling was to make her eat the new improved pastries she made. Only Qiu Chan's iron stomach could handle them; no one else was willing to eat them.

"Take these materials to my brother," Li Xia handed the papers to Qiu Ling. Qiu Ling took them and went to deliver them to Li Hui.

Li Hui didn't expect Qiu Ling to bring him information. When he looked through the details she provided, he was delighted - finally, they had a useful lead.

Following the clues provided by Qiu Ling, Li Hui traced the evidence and discovered the residence of the person who had abandoned the body. He reported the evidence to his superiors and, upon receiving orders, went with his men to arrest the culprit - the son of the Minister of Works' steward.

After being apprehended, the man confessed that due to a long-standing grudge against the deceased, he had accidentally killed the person while drinking. Fearing the consequences, he dumped the body outside the city, not expecting the heavy rains to wash it into the moat.

Li Hui felt there was more to the story, that the steward's son was covering for someone else, but he lacked evidence. The man insisted he acted alone and was able to clearly explain the process and the murder weapon used.

The Supreme Court had no choice but to rule on the case based on the available information. Although Li Hui had made a name for himself by daring to investigate the Minister of Works' powerful household, the case was closed. After wrapping up the case, Li Hui took three days of leave to return home and rest.

Then she inquired about the preparation for Mrs. Lu's daughter Li Xin's coming-of-age ceremony. Learning that everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, only awaiting the formal ceremony in the coming days.

Li Hui came to the Orchid Courtyard, where Li Xia was tasting some okra pastries. She carefully took a small bite, then drank a large sip of tea to wash away the taste. Glancing at Qiu Chan, who was eating happily beside her, she said, "I should not have trusted your mouth."

"Young lady, the okra pastries made by Sister Qiu Kui are delicious, with just the right amount of saltiness," Qiu Chan remarked, finding the salty osmanthus cake in her hand quite tasty.

"My lady prefers sweet treats," Li Xia said, enunciating each word as she stared at Qiu Chan.