It was only then that Zhou Heng realized he had openly used his private nickname for Li Xia. Seeing that Li Xia wasn't angry, Zhou Heng cleared his throat and handed her a bottle of medicine from his pocket.
"You were injured before and your abilities have increased. There are now significant risks to your health, be careful not to overuse your strange abilities." Li Xia hadn't deliberately concealed her abilities from Zhou Heng, and he naturally discovered that they were different from ordinary martial arts.
Knowing that Zhou Heng meant well, Li Xia listened to his nagging, took the bottle of medicine from him, and swallowed a pill. The faint pain in her body dissipated. "The medicine works quite well."
"It's only a temporary fix, I'll adjust and refine the prescription when I get back." The changes in Li Xia's body exceeded Zhou Heng's original expectations.
"There's no need to rush, I can handle it." For Li Xia, this bit of pain was nothing.
After discussing Li Xia's health, Zhou Heng began to talk about Prince YongKang.
He had secretly sent a message to Li Ming about the issue with Song Rushan, the county magistrate of Meng County. Li Ming had now suppressed Prefectural Judge He and, with the support of the royal guard, had taken control of Liuzhou. Li Ming was investigating Song Rushan's situation and was expected to have results soon.
"Actions have also started in the Capital City, and many people have been arrested." Li Xia nodded.
Knowing that someone was handling it, Zhou Heng didn't ask further. He continued to caution Li Xia, "Remember my words, if you can avoid using your abilities, then avoid it." He didn't want to be left picking up her body one day.
"I still want to live, I won't let myself die prematurely." She had to keep Auntie Mei in her care. She couldn't bear to leave Auntie Mei alone in this world.
"You said the same thing before." Zhou Heng obviously didn't believe Li Xia's words.
Li Xia noticed that Zhou Heng had become more talkative, and she raised her hand to stop him, "How many days can you stay in the Capital City?"
"I'm leaving tonight." Zhou Heng was worried about Li Xia's health and decided to return as soon as possible to develop a better prescription.
Li Xia pulled out a stack of silver bills from her pocket and handed them to him. Researching a new prescription would be expensive. She didn't want Zhou Heng to bear the cost. Zhou Heng didn't refuse and accepted the silver bills, tucking them away in his pocket before leaving.
Watching Zhou Heng disappear into the distance, Li Xia kicked Zhang Hu with her foot, "He's gone, stop pretending."
Zhang Hu opened his eyes, "Miss, I'm not pretending, I really did faint."
"Let's go, back home." Li Xia ignored him and turned to leave.
Zhang Hu quickly got up and followed behind Li Xia. When they returned to Osmanthus Alley, Li Xia instructed Zhang Hu, "Don't tell Big Brother about tonight's events." The most important thing for Li Hui now was to prepare for next year's Spring Examination.
Zhang Hu understood, but as a subordinate to the young master, he couldn't hide anything from him.
"I didn't ask you to hide it, just not to mention it for now."
Zhang Hu watched Li Xia leave and remained silent for a while. When he arrived at the study, Li Hui was reading. Seeing Zhang Hu enter, he put down his book and waited for Zhang Hu to report on the evening's events.
Zhang Hu reported that they had gone to the haunted house to build courage and he had fainted from fear. He didn't mention anything that happened afterwards.
Li Hui could see that he was hiding something and walked up to him, "Did something else happen that Xia Xia doesn't want you to mention?"
Zhang Hu's continued silence confirmed Li Hui's suspicion. Li Hui didn't question him further, "You can go now."
"Young Master," Zhang Hu looked up at Li Hui, afraid that he might be angry.
"Alright, you can go now," Li Hui said, not looking at Zhang Hu anymore and returning to his seat to continue reading. Since Li Xia didn't allow Zhang Hu to speak, Li Hui decided to wait for Li Xia to tell him herself.
On New Year's Eve, Li Xia woke up early without anyone waking her. Auntie Mei, who usually had to rouse her, was somewhat surprised. "How come you're up today? Normally, I can't get you out of bed no matter how much I call."
"Auntie, you complain when I don't get up early, and now when I do, you still complain. You're making it hard for me," Li Xia said, making a face as if she were having a tough time.
Auntie Mei stuffed a bun into her mouth. "Eat."
Li Xia took a bite of the bun, chuckled, and then lowered her head to eat the porridge heartily.
Seeing Li Xia eating so happily, Auntie Mei also had an extra small bowl of bean porridge. After breakfast, Auntie Mei needed to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner in the kitchen and was worried that Li Xia would make a mess if she followed.
Auntie Mei sent Li Xia to read in Li Hui's study. Li Xia didn't insist on going to the kitchen this time and obediently went to the study, which was somewhat unusual for Auntie Mei.
When she arrived at the study, she found Li Hui writing. Li Xia continued to read the "Great Zhou Geography" that she hadn't finished reading the day before. New Year's Eve dinner was the highlight, so they had a simple lunch.
The New Year's Eve dinner maintained the flavors of both the Capital City and Liuzhou. The main course was roast duck, which Li Xin had personally roasted after consulting Old Madam Lu.
At the dinner table, Li Xin started rolling roast duck for Li Hui and Li Xia. Seeing Li Hui and Li Xia take the rolled duck and eat it, she couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? Is the taste okay?"
Li Hui carefully tasted it and then commented, "The duck meat is crispy on the outside and tender inside, rich but not greasy."
Li Xia agreed, "Yes, this is the best roast duck I have ever eaten."
Their generous praise made Li Xin smile satisfactorily. All the hard work was worth it at this moment. "It's delicious, you guys eat more," she said, rolling a few more pieces for them.
"Sister, you should eat too. Don't just serve us," Li Xia used the public chopsticks to give Li Xin a serving of stir-fried bean sprouts.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, the four of them went to Li Hui's study to stay up late.
Li Hui was reading, Li Xia was reading travel logs, Li Xin was reading storybooks, and Auntie Mei was sewing. To prevent their masters from straining their eyes, several more lamps were lit in the study, making it as bright as daylight.
The sound of firecrackers outside woke them up. Li Hui took Li Xin and Li Xia outside to set off firecrackers. This year, without the adults around, all three of them set off firecrackers themselves. After setting off the firecrackers, Auntie Mei brought dumplings. Each of them had a small bowl of dumplings before they went back to rest.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Xia got up even earlier than the day before. She stood outside Auntie Mei's room waiting. When Auntie Mei opened the door, Li Xia stepped forward and said, "Auntie Mei, happy new year."
Auntie Mei, who was startled, clutched her chest and patted it twice. "You scared me to death, you naughty girl."
Qiu Ju, who was standing by, quickly interjected, "Auntie Mei, it's New Year's, we shouldn't use the word 'death'; it's not auspicious."
Regaining her senses, Auntie Mei repeatedly said, "spit, spit, spit" to ward off the bad luck.
Li Xia, who didn't believe in such things, extended her hand towards Auntie Mei. "Auntie Mei."
Auntie Mei swatted away Li Xia's hand and said grumpily, "There is no red envelope."
"Auntie Mei," Li Xia held on to Auntie Mei's hand, not letting go. In previous years, there had always been a red envelope. Why was there none this year?
Having enjoyed Li Xia's coquettishness, Auntie Mei took out a red envelope from her bosom. Li Xia took the envelope, which was quite heavy, and found a ten-liang silver ingot inside upon opening it.
After breakfast, Li Hui took his two younger sisters to pay a New Year visit to Old Madam Lu at the Lu residence.
Old Madam Lu, dressed in a deep red brocade robe, was waiting for their arrival. As the trio entered, they bowed to Old Madam Lu.
"Get up, get up," Old Madam Lu said, accepting the red envelopes handed over by the three. "Here, a New Year's red envelope for each of you. May the New Year bring peace and safety."
After receiving their red envelopes, they paid their New Year respects to their uncle and aunt from the Lu family, and similarly received a red envelope.
After leaving the Lu residence, they visited the Marquis Beining, Gongshun Marquis Manor, Cheng'en Marquis Residence, and others. By the end of the round, each of them had collected quite a few red envelopes. On the way back to Osmanthus Alley, Li Xia and Li Xin sat in the carriage, opening their red envelopes.
