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"Nothing," Lu XuanNing said, trying to hide the object in his hand. However, Li Xia was quicker, and the box in Lu XuanNing's hand ended up in hers. Li Xia opened the box and sniffed it - it was the scar-removing beauty cream developed by Zhou Heng. Previously, when the scars on Lu XuanNing's face had faded considerably, he had been unwilling to apply it anymore. Why was he using it again now?0

She thought back to what she had said earlier that day at the Snow Cyan shop about admiring beautiful people.0

"You're not applying it evenly. Let me do it." His fingertips were wrapped up. Li Xia used her palm to scoop up some of the ointment and gently spread it on Lu XuanNing's face.0

Lu XuanNing's eyes were fixed on Li Xia. In her eyes, there was only him, and in his eyes, there was only Li Xia.0

In the morning, Qiu Kui unwrapped the cloth from her hands and washed them clean. The deep green nail color accentuated her slender jade-like fingers, making them appear even more flawless.0

"I never thought green nail dye could be so beautiful," Qiu Kui marveled.0

"You should go dye yours too. Snow Cyan has four shades of green," Li Xia recommended to Qiu Kui.0

"Alright," Qiu Kui was very tempted and decided to go later.0

Li Xia got seasick, so she declined Lu Liucheng's suggestion for a family boat trip. Instead, she sat upstairs watching Lu XuanNing and Lu Liucheng as they sailed on the river.0

At noon, they had lunch in Ten Mile Town before the family returned to the Capital City. They had come without Qing Niang and were returning without Qiu Kui, so the number of people was just right.0

As soon as they arrived at the Marquis Mansion, a eunuch from the palace was waiting at the door. Lu XuanNing followed the eunuch to the imperial palace.0

"Mother, will Father come back?" Lu Liucheng asked Li Xia, watching the departing carriage.0

"This is his home. He will definitely return," Li Xia said, leading Lu Liucheng into the Marquis Mansion. Qiu Chan took Qing Niang to stay in the guest quarters.0

After putting Lu Liucheng to bed, Li Xia returned to her room to wait for Lu XuanNing. It wasn't until late at night that he finally returned.

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Lu XuanNing told Li Xia the emperor's intentions: he wanted Lu XuanNing to go to the south, to Hai City, to establish a naval force to resist the increasingly rampant pirates.0

"I've never seen the ocean before. It would be nice to experience it," Li Xia said with a smile after hearing this.0

The climate there was hot, completely different from the northern frontier that Lu XuanNing was familiar with. Lu XuanNing was worried he couldn't take good care of Li Xia. "Xia Xia, perhaps I should go alone this time."0

"You want to abandon me?" Li Xia wasn't comfortable with Lu XuanNing going alone.0

"I would never abandon you." How could Lu XuanNing bear to? But Li Xia got seasick, and they would have to travel by water for much of the journey. Lu XuanNing was concerned that Li Xia's body couldn't withstand it.0

"Then let's go together. You can't stop me from seeing the ocean," Li Xia insisted.0

Unable to persuade her otherwise, Lu XuanNing had to agree to Li Xia accompanying him.0

This time, the emperor had given them ample time, requiring them to arrive by the end of August. They had plenty of time to say goodbye to their family.0

When Lu Liucheng learned that his parents were setting off again without him, he protested. He argued that he was older now and should be allowed to go too.0

Lu Liucheng insisted on going. After discussing it, Li Xia and Lu XuanNing decided to take Lu Liucheng along, feeling it was time for him to see the outside world at his age.0

But what about Old Marquis Lu? They were both very worried about leaving him.0

Old Marquis Lu waved his hand dismissively, saying he would be fine. However, he did ask Marquis Lu to have Lu Xuanyu go to the southern frontier to gain experience as well. With the northern frontier developed, the emperor was uneasy about the Lu family. He replaced them with more trusted personnel and agreed to Marquis Lu's resignation request, allowing the Lu family to completely withdraw from the northern frontier.0

The southern frontier would be an opportunity for the Lu family's development. Lu Xuanyu was not young anymore, and it was time for him to experience more.0

The Zhou family wouldn't agree to have both their son and grandson go to the southern frontier. Unprecedentedly, she came to the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South several times to discuss this matter with Li Xia.0

Li Xia didn't have much patience to deal with Madam Zhou. Her mind was on Qiu Ling's marriage. This was the first wedding Li Xia would be organizing since marrying into the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South. Qiu Ling had been by Li Xia's side for many years, handling numerous matters for her.0

Li Xia announced that Qiu Ling would be married off from the Marquis Mansion as her sister. She sent out invitations asking people to attend the wedding.0

It was unprecedented in the Capital City for a master to personally arrange a servant's wedding. What shocked people even more was Qiu Ling's dowry. No one expected Li Xia to arrange 64 carriers of dowry. When the dowry was displayed at the Xiao family's home, each carrier was opened to reveal it was full to the brim. Everything inside was of high quality, with some pieces even being rewards from noble ladies in the palace.0

Giving such precious jewelry as dowry to a maid - people who saw the dowry thought Li Xia had gone mad to provide such a lavish dowry for a servant.0

What these people didn't know was that this dowry was already greatly reduced from what Li Xia had initially prepared. Li Xia had acquired many valuable items from her bandit-suppression missions. Although she had handed over most of it, she had still kept a considerable amount.0

Even Xiao Changning hadn't expected Qiu Ling to have such an extensive dowry. He felt that the betrothal gifts he had given were inadequate. Several sisters-in-law who had previously looked down on Qiu Ling due to her background no longer dared to show off in front of her after seeing such a rich dowry.0

Qiu Ling's dowry and the backing of the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South were her sources of confidence.0

On the third day after the wedding, when the bride traditionally returns to her maiden home, Qiu Ling brought Xiao Changning to the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South. Seeing Qiu Ling with her hair styled in a married woman's fashion, radiating a newlywed's joy, Li Xia thought back to when she first met the skinny, dark-skinned girl.0

"My lady, what's wrong?" Noticing Li Xia staring at her, Qiu Ling couldn't help but check herself. Her clothes were fine, and her hair was styled in a married woman's bun.0

"I was thinking about when you first came to the Li family," Li Xia's words made Qiu Ling recall her appearance back then, and she smiled. In fact, at that time, it wasn't just others who despised them; they despised themselves too. Qiu Ling remembered that back then, what she disliked most was looking in the mirror.0

It was Li Xia who chose them, giving them a new life and their own happiness.0

"My lady, I really don't want to leave you," The only downside to marrying Xiao Changning was leaving the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South and not being able to stay by Li Xia's side.0

"All good things must come to an end. Seeing you happy makes me happy too," Li Xia was also reluctant to part, but seeing those around her find happiness brought her joy.0

"My lady, Lord Jiang wants to compete with Qiu Chan in the training ground. Would you like to go watch?" Qiu Shui came in to inform them.0

"Alright, Qiu Ling, let's go take a look," Li Xia led Qiu Ling to the training ground, where they saw Old Marquis Lu, Lu XuanNing, Lu Liucheng, and Xiao Changning already present.0

Walking over to sit beside Lu XuanNing, Li Xia asked, "Has Jiang Chong figured out how to beat Qiu Chan?" Everyone in the mansion knew about Qiu Chan's declaration that anyone who wanted to marry her must defeat her in combat.0

Although Qiu Chan's appearance wasn't as beautiful as the other three Qiu sisters, her personality was genuinely fair to everyone. She was highly capable, and because of this, many soldiers in the mansion who were attracted to Qiu Chan had heard this rumor and came to challenge her.0

Jiang Chong was deeply afraid that his sweetheart might be married off to someone else one day. In order to be able to marry his wife, he had tried many methods to defeat Qiu Chan without hurting her, but to no avail.0