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"No, that's not allowed," Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling both objected to letting Li Xia go by herself.

"My lady, the General instructed before we left that you must not leave my sight," Jiang Chong stepped forward to state his position.

"I'm going alone. If anything happens, I can return quickly. You'll only be a burden if you follow," Li Xia said bluntly without beating around the bush. Everyone on the ship except Qing Niang knew that Li Xia was the most capable. There was no arguing with her words.

"Go ahead then," Zhou Heng spoke up.

"Zhou Heng, what are you saying?" Qing Niang objected to Zhou Heng's words. Although she disliked the close relationship between Li Xia and Zhou Heng, letting a woman go into danger was completely unexpected coming from Zhou Heng.

"Two hours. If you're not back by then, we'll attack," Zhou Heng set a time limit.

"That's plenty of time," Li Xia told everyone to stay behind and disembarked.

Following Yu Yao, she walked to the tall building at the center of the island. Li Xia's attire stood out completely from the island, and more importantly, her beauty made people unable to look away.

At the entrance to the building, Yu Yao stopped and said, "My mother is waiting for you inside."

Li Xia entered the building and went to the second floor, where she saw a woman leaning by the window. The woman's appearance was 90% similar to Xu Xinyue - they could have passed for sisters.

"I never expected my daughter's child to look so much like me," the woman's hoarse voice carried a hint of excitement.

"My mother would be overjoyed to know you're still alive," Li Xia said. Xu Xinyue had always thought of her birth mother. Though elderly now, the Madam Xu before her looked middle-aged.

"Are you sure she'd be happy? After all, I'm now known as the infamous Poison Madam of the seas," Madam Xu, now the Poison Madam, spoke with a touch of sarcasm.

"Have you met with your two brothers from the Xu family?" Li Xia asked instead of answering.

"I sent people to the capital, but they didn't acknowledge me," the Poison Madam didn't hide it.

"You didn't go find my mother," Li Xia stated with certainty that Xu Xinyue didn't know, otherwise she wouldn't have refused to acknowledge her.

"She didn't dare, afraid of causing you trouble." Xu Xinyue would have recognized her if they'd met, but feared it would affect Li Xia. She gave Yu Yao a sum of silver to return. It was thanks to that silver that her predicament was resolved and she developed such a large force.

"That's just like my mother. I'm the most important thing to her," Li Xia said proudly.

"Hmph, you certainly know how to defend her," the Poison Madam wasn't displeased by this.

"She's my mother," Li Xia would defend Xu Xinyue no matter what she did.

"You have my temperament," the Poison Madam liked Li Xia's attitude. She relaxed her guard, moved away from the window to the center of the room and invited Li Xia to sit.

Li Xia sat in the rattan chair and accepted the tea poured by the Poison Madam, taking a sip. It was Xu Xinyue's favorite pre-Qingming rain tea.

The Poison Madam recounted her story from years past.

Madam Xu's maiden name was Yao Niang. When the Xu family fell into trouble years ago, Yao Niang was rescued and gave birth to a daughter in the countryside. Worried about her husband and son, she entrusted her daughter to others and set out alone for the northern frontier to search for her husband.

She fell ill on the journey and was near death in the wilderness when passing merchants saved her. But those merchants weren't good people. Seeing that Yao Niang had some beauty, they sold her to human traffickers.

The traffickers brought Yao Niang to the border and sold her to a small fishing village in Hai City, where she became the wife of a fisherman. Yao Niang wanted to escape, but she was unfamiliar with the place and had no one to help her.

Fortunately, an old doctor living next door took pity on Yao Niang and taught her some knowledge of herbal medicine, allowing her to earn money by gathering herbs.

Later, pirates attacked the fishing village, and Yao Niang was captured and taken to Crescent Moon Island, becoming the woman of the pirate leader. After being sold several times, Yao Niang's mentality changed. She knew deeply that without power, all that awaited was being trampled upon by others.

To survive better, Yao Niang actively said she knew medicine and studied with the island's physician. However, while organizing looted books for the physician, she discovered a poison manual.

This delighted Yao Niang greatly. Relying on this poison manual, Yao Niang developed formidable poisoning skills. After establishing a firm footing in the pirate group, she poisoned the pirate leader and his confidants, taking control of the pirate group.

With power in her hands, Yao Niang wanted to find her children. The news she found both elated and saddened her. She was happy that the Xu family had been cleared of charges and held official positions in the capital. But she was grieved to learn her younger daughter had died.

After much consideration, unable to suppress her longing for her children, Yao Niang secretly sent people to the Xu residence to meet Xu Xincheng and Xu Xinyong. The two sons only showed disdain and fear towards the people she sent.

Xu Xinyue was happy to know her birth mother was alive, but feared her mother's current identity would bring trouble to her daughter. She sent 30,000 taels of silver, asking for no further contact.

Yao Niang would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed in her three children. But they were still her own flesh and blood. She said nothing more, but used this sum of silver to purchase new ships and develop the island.

After gaining complete control of the island, she adjusted its business model, no longer relying on piracy and plunder for a living.

Taking advantage of Crescent Moon Island's geographical location, she established a large seaport. Ships could resupply and undergo repairs here. Later, she also built a shipyard. The ships Yao Niang sold were of high quality and business was good.

The islanders could live well without resorting to killing and plundering. The residents trusted Yao Niang, and those who didn't were poisoned to death by her. This earned her the title of "Poison Madam".

"You're very impressive," Li Xia sincerely praised. Yao Niang had been through so much. Most people would have broken down long ago. But not only was she not defeated, she became a fearsome Poison Madam.

"You're not weak either, becoming a female general at such a young age," Li Xia's willingness to give up everything with her own hands displeased Yao Niang. She believed women should keep power in their own hands.

"You think too highly of me. Achieving feats and establishing a career is too troublesome and tiring. It doesn't suit an idle person like me," Li Xia's attitude was unexpected to Yao Niang.

"If you're willing, you could be the ruler of my Crescent Moon Island," Yao Niang's tone was full of temptation.

"I told you, I just want to live freely and easily. Being an island ruler is too much trouble," Li Xia had no interest in such things.

"Aren't you afraid I'll turn on you?" Yao Niang said, wiping the smile from her face and looking sternly at Li Xia. Years in a position of power had given Yao Niang a strong presence. Few could withstand her piercing gaze.

"But I'm more afraid of being tired," Li Xia's answer made Yao Niang laugh out loud. Yu Yao, standing guard outside the door, was surprised to hear the laughter inside. This general's wife seemed to be very much to the island ruler's liking.

"Among the descendants of Youshan and me, at least one turned out to have some guts," Yao Niang's tone carried pride and a hint of nostalgia. It was clear she missed her long-deceased husband dearly.