Li Shan was upset when Li Ming refused to let her go. She felt that Li Ming was biased. Why could Li Xin and Li Xia go, but she couldn't? "Dad, you're biased. Why can't I go?"
Li Ming was already annoyed, and Li Shan's complaints only made it worse. "You're out of line, how dare you talk back to me. Send the third miss back and confine her for a month."
Feeling even more wronged, Li Shan couldn't understand why she couldn't go to the capital city and had to be confined. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, still crying when she returned to her residence.
Li Yao, who came to see Li Shan, listened to her grievances and felt upset as well. Why did he have to listen to all this? Li Shan couldn't stop shouting, "Why? Why can't I go when they can? We're all daughters of the same father, why can't I go?"
Just because Li Shan was Aunt Wang's daughter, this was not allowed, Li Yao screamed in his heart.
At the same time, he was puzzled that this was not an issue in his past life. Li Xin did not have any engagement with anyone surnamed Zhang in Liuzhou. The marriage arrangement for Li Xin was only finalized after Li Ming went to the capital city for official duties. Li Yao wondered if this had something to do with him as well.
It was mentioned before that Li Yao managed to keep Aunt Wang in check to avoid causing trouble in the mansion. Mrs. Lu was pleased and agreed to take them to see the Lantern Festival. Saving the son of Lu, the Li family gained a lot of attention.
Although things were fine in Liuzhou, the Zhang family, who had just returned from the capital city, knew that the future of the Li family was promising. The Old Madam Zhang warmly welcomed Mrs. Lu, thinking of arranging a marriage between the two families for Zhang Qiming's future.
As they were about to leave Liuzhou and Mrs. Lu, Li Xin reluctantly came to the Lu Mansion. She spent the morning and noon accompanying Mrs. Lu. Mrs. Lu also didn't want to part with her daughter, but there was no other choice.
Although it was the fault of the Zhang family, the impact on Li Xin's reputation was not insignificant. Going to the capital city and leaving Liuzhou was the best choice. Mrs. Lu repeated the information she knew about the capital city to Li Xin over and over again, afraid of missing anything. Li Xin listened attentively.
"It's still better to have the nanny go with you," Mrs. Lu thought, still worried.
"Mother, Aunt Liu Mian is here, she will take care of me. Besides, if Spring Green Granny goes with me to the capital city, you will be left alone. Mother, you worry about me, and I worry about you too," Li Xin hurriedly refused.
Mrs. Lu held Li Xin's hand tightly, cursing the Zhang family and Zhang Qiming in her heart once again. They were the ones who caused the separation of mother and daughter.
Just then, Chunlu Granny hurriedly walked in, unable to contain her excitement. "Madam, Zhang Qiming of the Zhang family was hit by a falling tree branch."
"Really?"
"Yes, it's true. I heard it was Zhang Qiming and..." Chunlu Granny saw Li Xin looking curiously and stopped talking. However, Mrs. Lu understood what she meant from the unfinished words. It was nothing more than the consequences of the maidservants being jealous.
"Mother, I'm going to see if Xia Xia is ready," Li Xin got up to leave. She was thinking about what Li Xia said a few days ago. Could it be that Li Xia actually had someone hurt Zhang Qiming?
Seeing Li Xin leave, Mrs. Lu inquired about the situation carefully. Then she clasped her hands together, "May Buddha bless us, fortunately, Xin'er did not have a formal engagement with the Zhang family." Otherwise, Li Xin's future would have been ruined.
Li Xin arrived at the Orchid Courtyard and saw Li Xia lying on a recliner, dozing off. She realized that she had been overthinking things. How could a young maiden like Li Xia, who hadn't even married yet, possibly accomplish such a thing?
As Li Xin approached, Li Xia quickly got up to greet him and gestured towards the nearby reclining chair, "It's so comfortable to sunbathe like this."
Li Xin closed his eyes at the words and lay down, truly feeling comfortable. However, he wasn't here to relax. He sat up and looked at Li Xia, "Xia Xia, you didn't go find someone to deal with Zhang Qiming, did you?"
Li Xia knew there was a situation at hand and sat up, "I didn't find anyone," she found a tree.
"That's good, that's good," Li Xin relaxed.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to Zhang Qiming?" Li Xia asked eagerly.
Li Xin hadn't figured out how to explain yet when Qiu Ling hurriedly walked in, "Miss, Zhang Qiming had his family jewels crushed by a tree branch. It's said he might become a eunuch." Qiu Ling's words made both Li Xin and Li Xia look at her.
Li Xin only knew that Zhang Qiming was injured, but he didn't expect it to be this serious. Li Xia was surprised as she had only planned to scare Zhang Qiming. How could it have escalated to such a severe injury? Seeing Li Xia's surprised expression, Li Xin truly believed that she hadn't done anything.
Qiu Ling then noticed Li Xin was also present, with Dan Mo glaring at her from behind Li Xin. Why was she saying everything in front of the master?
"Quick, Qiu Ling, tell us what happened? How did it escalate to such a serious injury?" Li Xia was too curious. This turn of events was beyond her expectations, but someone like Zhang Qiming deserved it.
However, Li Xia didn't know that the tree she manipulated had also been tampered with by someone else. With the dual effects, the situation had surpassed anyone's expectations.
Since Zhang Qiming reached puberty at 15, he had many maidservants by his side. Zhang Qiming also paid attention to his reputation. He appeared as a modest gentleman in public, so his reputation was good.
Once the maidservants got married, they were sent away with no issues. So, these maidservants weren't considered much by Madam Zhang. Zhang Qiming's mother, Madam Zhang, had wanted to intervene several times, but she was hindered by her mother-in-law's protection and the matter was left unresolved.
With the support of Madam Zhang and his generosity, any maidservant in his courtyard who reached the age of 13 was taken advantage of by him. As the number of women increased, conflicts arose due to competition for favor, leading to various schemes and strategies.
As a beneficiary, Zhang Qiming was happy to see them plotting against each other for his attention. One maidservant, Luo Ying, in her quest for favor, bribed a gardener to loosen the soil around a tree Zhang Qiming often passed by. She then encouraged Xiao Tao, the most brainless but most beautiful maidservant, to intercept Zhang Qiming halfway.
Knowing Zhang Qiming's thrill-seeking nature, he would definitely be unable to resist. During the encounter, the swaying tree would ruin the mood, and Zhang Qiming would return disappointed. Luo Ying would then dress up and be able to captivate Zhang Qiming.
Luo Ying's plan was well thought out, but she chose the same tree that Li Xia had chosen. With both actions combined, the tree was very unstable. When the tree fell, Zhang Qiming had his back turned and didn't see it. However, Xiao Tao, who was scared, pushed Zhang Qiming away and ran off. Zhang Qiming fell and was hit by the tree.
Zhang Qiming let out a donkey-like scream. This attracted the servants, who quickly came over to see what happened. Upon seeing it was the young master, they rushed to lift the tree off him. The doctor examined the injury and diagnosed that his reproductive organs were damaged, making it difficult for him to have offspring.
The doctor's words made Old Madam Zhang unable to bear and she fainted. As a result, chaos broke out in the mansion, and the news spread uncontrollably, quickly reaching everyone in Liuzhou.
Zhang Zhong originally went to Liuzhou, staying at Green Mountain Temple to listen to the abbot's teachings, living a comfortable life. Upon receiving the report from the servants at home, he hurried back. He managed to control the chaos in the mansion, then personally investigated the situation. Upon learning about the series of events that his wife and second grandson had done during his absence in Liuzhou, Zhang Zhong was so angry that he didn't know what to say, repeatedly muttering "confused."
