abcnovels
Chapter 235
Chapter 235
Li Xia received a letter from Xu Xinyue at the border. Xu Xinyue had mentioned that Xu Yiyou had married a cousin of her sister-in-law, Madam Wu. The man had passed the provincial examination and had a bright future ahead of him.0
"What did she want from you?" Xu Xinyue felt somewhat uncomfortable, unsure how to explain to Li Xia.0
"Mother, is there anything we can't discuss between us?" Li Xia's words made Xu Xinyue sigh, and she proceeded to explain the situation.0
Xu Yiyou's husband, Wu Feng, had failed the imperial examination three years ago. After three years of hard work, he failed again in this year's spring examination.0
Wu Feng no longer wanted to waste time on further examinations. He applied for an official position abroad. With his status as a provincial graduate, it was difficult to become a seventh-rank county magistrate, but it was possible to become an eighth or ninth-rank assistant magistrate, county captain, or instructor.0
He planned to first obtain an official position and then work his way up. Li Xia nodded, thinking that Wu Feng had a good plan. Xu Xinyue continued:0
The court quickly arranged a position for him as the county captain of Yu'an County, south of the capital. After taking office, Wu Feng handled affairs well. However, five days ago, a group of men suddenly arrived and arrested all the officials of Yu'an County, big and small, and took them back to the capital.0
Upon receiving the news, Xu Yiyou, unsure of the situation, rushed back to the capital with her child overnight. Both the Xu and Wu families couldn't find out what was happening. With no other option, Xu Yiyou came to seek help from Xu Xinyue, carrying her child.0
After finishing her explanation, Xu Xinyue looked at Li Xia, who was slightly frowning. "If this matter is too troublesome, just pretend I didn't mention it."0
Although Xu Xinyue was fond of her niece, her daughter was more important.0
Li Xia hadn't expected Xu Yiyou to be involved in this matter.0
"Xia'er, do you know what happened?" Xu Xinyue couldn't help but want to understand what was going on.0
"It's a complex situation that can't be explained quickly. Mother, don't get involved in this. Stay here and rest easy. If Xu Yiyou comes again, I'll handle it," Li Xia didn't intend to discuss this matter further with Xu Xinyue.0
Seeing that Li Xia was unwilling to talk about it, Xu Xinyue didn't press further. Instead, she asked about Lu Liucheng's situation.0
"That boy? When he's not fighting with his classmates, he's being punished by the teacher. In short, he doesn't like studying and is quite mischievous." Talking about this, Li Xia felt both helpless and proud.0
"Weren't you the same when you were little, always finding ways to avoid studying?" Xu Xinyue gave Li Xia a look that said 'you're getting your comeuppance now'.0
"Was I really that naughty when I was little?" Li Xia remembered herself as being quite well-behaved as a child.0
"Sleeping in class every day, not listening to the teacher - isn't that naughty enough?" Xu Xinyue remembered it all clearly. As a child, Li Xia loved to lie around lazily and would fall asleep listening to the teacher read in class.0
"That's because I had already learned everything. Cheng'er behaves like this before even learning anything. He must have learned it from his father," Li Xia insisted that her son's mischievous behavior was inherited from his father.0
"Don't blame everything on Xuanning."0
In the afternoon, Qiu Chan went to pick up Lu Liucheng, while Lu Xuanyu and Wang Hong returned.0
Wang Hong and Lu Xuanyu got along particularly well, discussing articles together. Lu Liucheng, not fond of such topics, sat next to Qiu Chan and discussed how to hit people without leaving marks but still causing pain. The two enjoyed their conversation, both fond of this topic.0
Qiu Chan even promised to take Lu Liucheng to meet Jiang Chong next time and visit the military camp to see how soldiers train.0
Lu Liucheng was so excited he wanted to jump out of the carriage and run around. As they were talking, they were approaching the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South when suddenly someone stopped the carriage.0
Qiu Chan pulled the carriage to a halt in time, recognizing the person standing in front of it. "Miss Yiyou."0
"Qiu Chan, is my cousin home?" Xu Yiyou's face showed urgency mixed with a hint of hesitation and farewell.0
Isn't that a pointless question? Where else could the lady be at this time? Qiu Chan thought to herself.0
"Cousin, why are you blocking the carriage?" Hearing the voice, Wang Hong lifted the carriage curtain.0
"I..." Xu Yiyou wore an expression of hesitation, unsure how to explain.0
"Miss Yiyou, let's discuss this inside the mansion," Qiu Chan frowned as Xu Yiyou remained motionless in front of the carriage.0
"Why have you stopped here?" Li Xia's voice came from nearby.0
"Mother/Sister/Sister-in-law," the three children called out to Li Xia as they got off the carriage.0
"Yiyou is here. Let's head back to the mansion first. Don't stand in the road blocking others," Li Xia said, inviting Xu Yiyou into the mansion. The three young people responded and started walking towards the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South. Lu Liucheng was just about to suggest a race with his uncle and cousin to see who could reach home first.0
Suddenly, the sound of arrows cutting through the air was heard.0
Li Xia reacted incredibly quickly, taking off her cloak and using it to create a whirlwind that wrapped around all the incoming arrows, protecting the three children from harm. The quick-thinking Lu Liucheng pulled his uncle and cousin behind a stone lion statue for cover.0
Qiu Chan and the servants from the nearby mansion, who had noticed the commotion, quickly drew their weapons and rushed over to protect their young masters.0
The attackers seemed to cease fire after the first volley of arrows, which Li Xia found strange. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her back. She whirled around, striking out with her palm. The person behind her crashed into the carriage and then into the wall.0
"Xia Xia!" Lu Xuanning called out with a trembling voice, catching Li Xia as she stumbled.0
"The hunter becomes the hunted, it seems," Li Xia chuckled as she leaned into Lu Xuanning's embrace.0
"Mother!" Lu Liucheng tried to break free from Qiu Chan's grip to run over, but Qiu Chan held him tightly, unwilling to let him go as they were still unsure if the hidden enemies had left.0
Another round of arrows flew towards Li Xia and Lu Xuanning. Lu Xuanning kicked the carriage, breaking it, and rolled under it to shield them from the arrow attack.0
Leaning in Lu Xuanning's arms, Li Xia prepared to use wind blades to take out the hidden archers.0
Lu Xuanning grasped Li Xia's hand. "Xia Xia, don't use your power. I can protect you."0
Looking at Lu Xuanning, Li Xia relaxed her hand and closed her eyes.0
"Mother/Sister/Sister-in-law!" The shouts of Lu Liucheng, Wang Hong, and Lu Xuanyu were cut off as servants dragged them back into the mansion and closed the main gate. Protecting the young masters was paramount.0
Jiang Chong led a team carrying shields to charge out. Under their cover, Lu Xuanning carried Li Xia back into the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South.0
Having failed in their attempt, the hidden assailants retreated.0
"Mother/Sister/Sister-in-law!" Lu Liucheng, Wang Hong, and Lu Xuanyu tried to rush forward to check on Li Xia but were stopped by the intense aura emanating from Lu Xuanning. Lu Xuanning carried the injured Li Xia into a room. Xiao Changning, who was staying at the mansion, was pulled over by Qiu Ling.0
Xiao Changning had moved to the mansion to attend to the old Marquis Lu, but in reality, he wanted to see more of his fiancée.0
"Quickly, check on the lady!" Qiu Ling urgently pushed Xiao Changning into the room. Li Xia was lying face down on the bed with a dagger stuck in her back.0
Qiu Shui was carefully cutting away Li Xia's clothes around the dagger.0
Xu Xinyue, who had been in the kitchen preparing dinner for the children, rushed over upon hearing the news. She pushed open the door and saw this scene. Her body swayed, fortunately caught in time by a nearby maid.0
"Mother," Wang Hong came forward to check on Xu Xinyue's condition.0
"What happened? Hong'er, your sister just went to the gate to welcome you all back, how did she get injured? Where's Cheng'er?" Xu Xinyue grabbed Wang Hong's arm and asked urgently.0
"It was Xu Yiyou. She tried to assassinate sister," Wang Hong's words left Xu Xinyue stunned.0
"Why would Yiyou do such a thing?" Xu Xinyue couldn't understand.0
"Mother, you can't be soft-hearted now." Wang Hong now harbored a deep hatred for Xu Yiyou and the entire Xu family.0