哈哈漫画

"Miss Li, Second Miss Li, I came to see my son's wife. I'm leaving now," Auntie An said upon seeing Li Xin and Li Xia. Feeling unlucky, she quickly departed.3

Seeing Auntie An finally leave, Zhang's two maids breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the two ladies.0

"You may rise. You must be tired after a busy day. Qiu Chan, please take these two to get something to eat," Li Xia instructed. The two maids hesitated, concerned about their mistress, unsure whether they should go.0

Qiu Chan paid no mind to their hesitation. Following Li Xia's orders, she pulled them along. Unable to break free, the maids were dragged away by Qiu Chan.0

Li Xin and Li Xia entered the room. Zhang sat inside, extremely nervous. She had overheard the conversation in the courtyard.0

As footsteps approached, she saw two young women enter – one with a married woman's hairstyle, the other unmarried. Just as she was about to stand, Li Xin quickly said, "Jiarui, please remain seated. Xia and I are here to see you."0

"Elder sister, second sister," Zhang addressed them, realizing they were the eldest and second daughters of the Li family. While still at her maiden home, Zhang had inquired about the important figures in the Li household.0

"Second sister-in-law must be hungry. Qiu Shui," Li Xia called. Qiu Shui stepped forward and set down a tray with a bowl of chicken noodle soup.0

Zhang hadn't eaten all day. Now truly hungry, she didn't stand on ceremony and thanked the two, "Thank you, elder sister, second sister." She picked up the bowl and began eating in small bites.0

After Zhang finished her meal and they chatted for a while longer, Li Xin and Li Xia took their leave.0

Zhang's two maids returned after having their meal. They approached Zhang to report what they had learned.1

Firstly, the Li family compound was more than twice the size of the Zhang residence. Moreover, through chatting with Qiu Chan, they discovered that each master's courtyard had its own small kitchen. The expenses for these small kitchens were covered by the individual occupants. Meals from the main kitchen were considered communal.0

Zhang was surprised that every courtyard had this arrangement, as it differed from what she knew of other wealthy households.

0

Usually, only favored legitimate children would have their own small kitchen. In the Li family, however, every master and concubine had a small kitchen. The main kitchen would provide a set amount of charcoal. Although they had to pay for their own rice and grain, this arrangement was still quite generous.3

The two maids had gleaned this information, which was common knowledge in the Li household, from their chat with Qiu Chan. When they tried to inquire about Auntie An, Qiu Chan claimed ignorance, and even if she did know anything, she wouldn't have divulged it.0

Li Xia and Li Xin returned to the Orchid Courtyard. Li Xia dismissed everyone, leaving only herself and Li Xin in the study.0

Seeing Li Xia's expression of already knowing, Li Xin didn't hide anything and recounted her encounter at the Cao family's home.0

"How dare Cao Fugui!" Li Xia lost control and slammed her palm down, leaving a handprint on the table surface.0

"Xia!" Li Xin gaped at the table. Li Xia delivered another chop to the table. Hearing the noise, Qiu Shui and the others entered.0

"This table is old and broken. Qiu Chan, carry it to the kitchen to use as firewood. Qiu Shui, go to the storeroom and bring a new one," Li Xia instructed.0

Qiu Chan hoisted the table and left, while Qiu Shui went to the storeroom and returned with others carrying a new table. The matter was resolved in less than a quarter of an hour.2

During this time, Li Xin carefully examined Li Xia's hands, finding not even a hint of redness. Li Xia's strength was astonishing.1

"My hands are fine," Li Xia withdrew her hand.0

"When did you become so strong?" Li Xin stared at Li Xia in amazement. She had no idea about this.2

Li Xia had no intention of discussing her strength with Li Xin. She continued to inquire about the Cao Fugui incident, "Sister, how do you plan to handle this? Should I find someone to teach Cao Fugui a lesson?"0

Remembering the previous incident with Zhang Qiming, when Li Xia had made a similar suggestion, Li Xin smiled. "Don't worry, Xia. I've already taken care of it."0

Li Xin didn't want to dwell on the matter. She brought up Zhang's dowry instead. "The Zhang family's dowry is a bit meager. I remember that mother prepared 24 loads of betrothal gifts and an additional 6,000 taels of silver. When the dowry was displayed, it didn't even total 1,000 taels."0

"The Zhang family still has three sons waiting to be married. It's already quite good that they could send our second sister-in-law with a thousand taels as dowry," Li Xia said. She had already had Qiu Ling investigate the Zhang family's situation thoroughly.

0

"The Zhang family marries off one daughter to fund marriages for three sons?" Li Xin could hardly believe it.3

From birth, Mrs. Lu had always provided Li Xin with the best of everything. Of the betrothal gifts from the Cao family, Mrs. Lu hadn't kept any, and had even given Li Xin the majority of her own dowry. This was in addition to a separate gift of 20,000 taels of silver. Li Xin strongly disliked the Zhang family's practice, which seemed like selling their daughter.0

This was common practice among ordinary families. Brothers' marriages often relied on the betrothal gifts received from their sisters' marriages. Li Xia didn't find it particularly strange.0

Zhang Liao had been a Hanlin Academy scholar for nearly thirty years. His family's main monthly income came from his salary, supplemented by Zhang's wife and Zhang Jiarui leading the women of the household in embroidery work. The Zhang family's three sons were all studying at the academy, which consumed a large portion of their expenses. Despite years of frugality, the Zhang family hadn't been able to save much.1

Hearing this, Li Xia sighed, "The Li family is fortunate to have mother."3

Li Xia agreed on this point. Among all the women she had met or heard of, few had Mrs. Lu's business acumen. Mrs. Lu was one of the women Li Xia admired most.0

"Auntie An will have plenty to say about this," Li Xin said, understanding Auntie An's temperament.0

"With father and mother here, Auntie An can't cause much trouble. For our second sister-in-law to establish a firm footing in this family, it will depend on our second brother," Li Xia observed. If Li Chou himself didn't respect his wife, Zhang's life wouldn't be easy.1

Li Xin nodded, now being a daughter-in-law herself, she understood this deeply. In her husband's family, it wasn't enough to be liked by just the mother-in-law or just the husband. The key was to satisfy both.1

"Sister, do you have enough help in the Cao family? I can arrange two more people for you. They can handle discreet matters that might be inconvenient for others," Li Xia said. Qiu Ling had spent these years in the Capital City not only gathering information but also training a few operatives.0

This was exactly what Li Xin needed, so she didn't refuse. Li Xia instructed Qiu Ling to hand over the prepared individuals to Li Yu, who would further train them before putting them to use.0

As the banquet ended and Li Xin left, Li Hui approached Li Xia with a piece of jade.0

"An'an's birthday is coming up. I want to give her a jade pendant for peace and safety," Li Hui said as he handed the jade to Li Xia.0

Li Xia took the jade and examined it carefully. "It's a fine piece of jade. It would be a shame to carve it into just a simple peace pendant."0

"Do as you see fit," Li Hui said, completely trusting in Li Xia's skills and giving her full authority to handle it. This pleased Li Xia greatly, as she disliked when people offered too many opinions.0

"If there's anything not good for Xin at the Cao Family, you must tell me," Li Hui said, noticing the occasional flashes of silence on his younger sister Li Xin's face.0