Zhou Heng followed Li Xia's gaze towards the map. "What's wrong?" Li Xia approached the map and pointed to a location with her finger. Zhou Heng stepped forward - it was Meng County.
"The first county the black-clad men reached after leaving was Meng County. When the Li family came to Liuzhou to take up their post, they encountered a group of black-clad men..." Li Xia recounted the incident they had encountered before.
After hearing Li Xia's words, Zhou Heng pondered, "Is there a problem with Meng County Magistrate Song Rushan?"
"I'm not sure," Li Xia only suspected that the black-clad men might be related to Song Rushan.
"I'll get to the bottom of this." Zhou Heng intervened in the matter.
Li Xia didn't need to use the special hemostatic formula. She took the formula and went to Songtao Courtyard. Li Hui had just returned from the provincial capital and heard that Li Xia wanted to see him. He changed his clothes and came to the study.
"I brought back a few new travel journals from the provincial capital," Li Hui took a few new travel journals from the bookshelf and gave them to Li Xia.
"Big Brother, I didn't come to look at the travel journals," Li Xia took the travel journals and put them aside. She took the hemostatic formula from her pocket and handed it to Li Hui.
Li Hui took it and glanced at the prescription, not understanding why Li Xia gave it to him.
"A special hemostatic formula," Li Xia said, then ran her finger along the edge of a paper knife, causing her finger to bleed.
"What are you doing?" Li Hui's tone was stern as he stepped forward to examine the wound.
Li Xia stopped him. "It'll be fine soon." She then took the hemostatic powder from her pocket and sprinkled it on the wound. The bleeding stopped quickly, and the wound could be seen healing.
The effect was truly remarkable, but Li Xia's casual self-injury was unacceptable. Li Hui scolded her sternly.
"I understand, I won't do it again," Li Xia verbally promised.
Seeing Li Xia's familiar attitude of admitting her mistake, Li Hui guessed that she often tricked people like this.
"Where did this formula come from?" Such an excellent special medicine could not have been conceived by a young lady like Li Xia.
"I can't tell you, but I can assure you that the source of this formula is absolutely reliable, and there won't be any trouble," Li Xia could solve any trouble that might arise.
"You just give me the formula, not afraid that I'll keep it for myself?" This hemostatic effect was better than any on the market. If this formula was contributed to the court or cooperated with the military, the benefits would be incalculable.
"I gave it to you, Big Brother, so it's yours. You don't have to say it was from me." Li Xia had no intention of taking credit for it. She had considered this comprehensively before giving it to Li Hui.
Li Xia's complete trust in him warmed Li Hui's heart. He reached out and ruffled Li Xia's hair, "I won't ask where this formula came from. But remember, I'm your big brother, and you can come to me for anything."
"Isn't that why I came to you, Big Brother?" Li Xia didn't mind Li Hui ruffling her hair. It felt good.
Li Xia didn't ask how Li Hui would handle the hemostatic formula, but afterward, Li Hui sent her silver notes every month, which made Li Xia not lacking in money.
The day before the banquet, the Lu family had finally finished preparing the flowers from various places, and they were placed in the flower garden corridor. On the day of the banquet, the weather was fine, and the flowers were in full bloom.
There were many guests. Li Hui was the son of the Provincial Governor, and he had an official position in the capital city. As a young man who had passed the county-level imperial examination, with a handsome appearance that combined the best features of the Li and Lu families, he was an ideal candidate for a worthy husband. The ladies brought their beautifully dressed daughters in the hope of leaving a good impression on the Lu family.
The Wang family also had this idea, and Madam Wang looked at her daughter Wang Lan with satisfaction. Not to mention the previous Lantern Festival incident, Li Hui's status alone made Madam Wang satisfied.
Wang Lan felt a little shy under her mother's gaze. She was grateful to Li Xia, but she was more fond of Li Hui, who had later helped her avoid the problem of her reputation. She just didn't know if Li Hui also had feelings for her. She worried about the Lu family not approving of her while her thoughts were in a jumble.
In the garden, Li Xin brought Li Xia and Li Shan to welcome the guests. Li Xia took the opportunity when no one was watching to fidget with her clothes, finding the heavy outfit very troublesome. She just wanted to go back and lie down.
Hearing footsteps, Li Xia plastered a business smile on her face and turned around, hearing someone call "Second Young Miss Li."
It was the young lady from the Lantern Festival night. "Miss Wang, your dress today is so beautiful, this style is rare in Liuzhou, is it a new fashion in the capital city?" Li Xia had gained some knowledge about clothes since taking over the sewing room, and she knew the current popular styles in Liuzhou.
"Second Young Miss Li, your eye is truly good, you immediately recognized this as a new fashion from the capital city this year. My mother has a shop that specializes in capital city business." Delighted that Li Xia had seen through the style of her dress, Wang Lan replied.
The other young ladies nearby also came over.
"Miss Wang's skirt is embroidered with gold thread, it looks so beautiful."
"Yes, yes, the new fashion from the capital city is really nice. Can we order a set from your family's shop, Miss Wang?"
"I want a pink set, I like the color pink."
The others echoed their agreement.
"You can order them from the shop," Wang Lan responded to their questions.
Li Xia was pushed out of the circle, but she didn't mind. She listened from the side and chimed in at the appropriate times to prevent any awkward silences.
"The clothes look good, but it also depends on who is wearing them," a discordant voice interrupted the discussion. Looking back, they saw a group of people approaching from the other end of the corridor. Leading them was a graceful and beautiful young woman, known as the number one beauty of Liuzhou, Sun Yiliu.
Sun Yiliu led her entourage as they walked over. Next to her stood a delicate and charming young lady, who, when she spoke, sounded sharp and unpleasant, not at all likable. "Even the most beautiful clothes will lose their luster if the wearer is not good-looking."
"Who is she?" Li Xia, who had retreated to the corner, asked Qiu Ling beside her. To prevent Li Xin, Li Xia, and Li Shan from accidentally calling the wrong names and causing embarrassment at the banquet, Mrs. Lu had especially trained the maidservants, including Qiu Ling, on the names and appearances of the young ladies of Liuzhou and their family relationships.
"Her name is Zhou Tingting. Her father is an subordinate of Prefectural Judge He. Zhou Tingting has always flattered Sun Yiliu, and she is usually the first to speak ill of others, while Sun Yiliu then plays the role of the good person.
Sun Yiliu's good reputation is partly due to Zhou Tingting's efforts." Qiu Ling whispered Zhou Tingting's background, then added her own observation, "I've found that Zhou Tingting has a crush on Sun Yiliu's brother, Sun Yifeng. But the Sun family doesn't look highly upon Zhou Tingting, and they plan to have Sun Yifeng marry into the Jiang family in the provincial capital instead. Zhou Tingting's brother also recently caused a commotion, and it took a lot of money to smooth things over."
