abcnovels
Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Hua Steward was holding the payroll ledger for the Embroidery Room workers from last month. It was a regulation in the Li Manor that at the beginning of each month, the stewards would evaluate their subordinates' work performance in the previous month - those who performed well would receive rewards, while those who underperformed would be penalized. Hua Steward had already compiled the records and brought them to Li Xia.
"Why are you giving this to me?" Li Xia made no move to take it. Hua Steward usually handled these ledgers herself and reported to the accounting department. Li Xia only listened to her once in a while and had no intention of taking on this task.
Hua Steward opened the ledger and pointed out two names she had circled. "These two did not perform well last month."
Li Xia glanced at the insistent Hua Steward and took the ledger to look at the circled names. Good heavens, it was not just "not well" - it was very poor performance. Hua Steward had the authority to dismiss people, so why was she bringing this to Li Xia instead?
"What are their backgrounds?" Li Xia closed the ledger and inquired.
Seeing that Li Xia understood her intent, Hua Steward thought to herself that having a perceptive mistress was indeed a good thing. "Wang Embroidery Lady is the granddaughter-in-law of Wang Butler, and Zhao Embroidery Lady's brother is Ban Zhu, who serves the Young Master."
"Their connections run deep. If I recall correctly, Wang Butler only has one grandson, whom he doted on and specifically sought to marry Xia Yin Aunty's younger cousin. Ban Zhu is the son of the Young Master's Wet Nurse, so Zhao Embroidery Lady must also be the Wet Nurse's daughter. Why didn't she enter the Young Master's courtyard?" Li Xia spoke of their backgrounds, causing Hua Steward to be astonished at how well-informed Li Xia was about the affairs of the Li Manor.
"Zhao Embroidery Lady has a lame leg," Hua Steward explained the reason. With her physical disability, she could not perform the duties of a maid.
Li Xia set the ledger aside. "What do you want to do, Hua Steward?"
Hua Steward wanted these two dismissed. They had been acting arrogantly and disrespecting her authority in her own domain.
Seeing Hua Steward's expression, Li Xia knew what she wanted but pondered how to handle this. It was not an easy matter - Wang Butler was the head steward of the manor and held a higher position than Li Xia, who was merely a concubine's daughter. The Wet Nurse who raised Zhao Embroidery Lady also held great favor with Mrs. Lu.
Li Xia gave Hua Steward a wry smile. "You've presented me with quite a difficult problem."
Hua Steward also knew this would not be easy to resolve. She remained silent, awaiting Li Xia's decision.
Li Xia picked up the ledger again and came up with an idea. She beckoned Hua Steward closer and whispered softly.
Hua Steward felt it was an excellent plan. "Rest assured, I'll handle it properly."
After advising Hua Steward, Li Xia returned to the Orchid Courtyard feeling light and relaxed. She squeezed into a reclining chair, finally able to rest comfortably. She quickly fell asleep and dreamed of Qiu Shui bringing her three plates of braised pork, which she happily ate.
Upon waking, Li Xia saw that Qiu Shui had already set the table, with a plate of braised pork on it. Li Xia washed her hands and ate, devouring two bowls of rice along with the braised pork. After the meal, she took a stroll in the courtyard to aid digestion.
Qiu Shui had someone bring in some wood, unsure of what Li Xia wanted it for. Li Xia inspected the cut wood and nodded approvingly - the quality was acceptable, though not outstanding.
She took out the set of carving knives gifted by Li Hui. She could not use her Wind Blade ability to carve in front of others, so she had asked Li Hui to help her purchase a set of carving knives. She had expected Li Hui to refuse, but to her surprise, he sent over a set of high-quality knives the very next day.
Li Xia tested the feel of one of the knives. It was not as easy to use as her Wind Blade. A carving that would take her an hour with the Wind Blade took her an entire afternoon with the knives. The resulting piece was so ugly that Li Xia destroyed it with her Wind Blade, not wanting anyone to lay eyes on such an unsightly work.
In the depth of night, Li Xia opened her eyes, made the necessary preparations, and left the Li Manor, heading towards the desolate mountains outside Liuzhou. Earlier that day, upon seeing the wood delivered from the Embroidery Room, Li Xia had thought of the several century-old trees in those mountains.
Upon entering the mountains, Li Xia first went to the former hideout of the Mountain Bandits to investigate. The area had already been flattened, but using her Wind ability to sense the area, Li Xia detected one remaining survivor. She approached a short tree stump and felt around the base until she found an airflow, revealing a hidden passage when she pulled on a ring.
Li Xia sent a whirlwind into the passage to circulate the air before descending the stairs into the cave. Despite the late hour, she could see clearly. Inside were more than a dozen crates. Upon opening them, she found they contained military-grade weapons. These Mountain Bandits seemed to have connections with the army, or perhaps this was a hideout belonging to Prince YongKang.
Li Xia opened a few smaller crates, which were filled with gold bars, silver ingots, and jewelry made of precious gems and jade - far more valuable than what she had seen in the bandits' previous hideout.
She had not expected to find a treasure trove while simply looking for wood. Since she had discovered it, it rightfully belonged to her now. Li Xia wished she had spatial ability, as she could not carry all these riches away.
"It would be great if Tian Jiu were here," she thought. He could help her guard this treasure. As she contemplated this, she heard the sounds of combat not far away. After concealing the cave entrance, Li Xia flew towards the source of the noise.
Upon arrival, she realized it was indeed due to her own idle musings that this had occurred. There was Tian Jiu himself, the very person she had just mentioned.
Tian Jiu felt he had terrible luck. While carrying out a mission, he had encountered Li Xia, this witch. Although Li Xia had spared him, she had also forced him to betray his organization and kill many of his fellow assassins. This had prompted the organization to dispatch a large group of punishers to deal with Tian Jiu.
Fortunately, Tian Jiu's mastery of poisons allowed him to evade multiple attempts on his life and kill many of the punishers in return. With his subordinates being killed, the leader of the punishers, Heaven Punishment, took matters into his own hands.
Heaven Punishment had once been the number one assassin before becoming a punisher. Tian Jiu was no match for him. Upon receiving news that Heaven Punishment was coming after him, Tian Jiu fled towards Liuzhou, hoping to find Li Xia before Heaven Punishment found him. On one hand, he wanted Li Xia to save him, and on the other, he was curious to see who was more formidable between Li Xia and Heaven Punishment.
Just as he was about to enter Liuzhou, Heaven Punishment blocked his path. Tian Jiu collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood profusely. He could not bear the thought of dying here, after having tasted freedom for only three months. His intense unwillingness to die allowed him to struggle back to his feet.
As Heaven Punishment's sword descended, a gust of wind swept by, causing the strike to miss. Tian Jiu found himself sitting on a tree branch, while a young woman blocked Heaven Punishment's path.
"Are you an accomplice of Tian Jiu's?" Heaven Punishment stepped back, evading three Wind Blades that Li Xia sent his way.
Heaven Punishment was the first person Li Xia had encountered here whose abilities made her feel threatened, as they were not inferior to her own. Without saying a word, Li Xia launched another series of Wind Blades.
Heaven Punishment dodged and swung his sword towards Li Xia, who evaded it and sent a Dragon Whirlwind his way. Heaven Punishment sliced through it with his sword, silently marveling at this peculiar technique. Li Xia was then struck on the arm by Heaven Punishment's sword aura, unable to fully evade it.