A nightmare last night prevented Li Xi from getting up early for morning training. In her dreams, she kept replaying the scene of falling off a cliff. She experienced the original owner's pain of falling off the cliff again and again.
Seeing Li Xi looking so listless, Ling'er felt a pang of heartache. "Xiao Xi, are you sick? You look terrible. Come and have some breakfast." While busy with things in the kitchen, Ling'er also cooked ginseng chicken soup for her.
"You've been busy lately, haven't seen you in the kitchen for days," Ling'er said, handing her a bowl of ginseng soup. "Yes, I have. I haven't been able to help you for a while," Li Xi replied, deeply touched by Ling'er's concern. Meng Zhelan and Ling'er treated her like a younger sister, even though they weren't much older than Li Xi.
Ling'er is now very thorough in her work, and with enough manpower, she is mainly responsible for everyone's tasks. "Ling'er, in a while, I'll make you the head manager," Li Xi thought, planning to have Ling'er take charge of technical guidance for the workshop later.
"Okay, whatever you say," Ling'er said as she prepared the side dishes. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "Xiao Xi, those three children you and Lan'er brought back yesterday were working in the front room. They looked so pitiful, so thin and small. What are your plans with Lan'er?"
"Oh dear, I almost forgot about this," Li Xi hurriedly returned to the backyard to find Meng Zhelan, who was searching through medical books.
"Lan'er, what are your plans for the three siblings you brought back yesterday? Are they helping out in the front hall?" Li Xi had originally intended for Yu Meng to make handicrafts.
She gave a whole bunch of the Luban locks she had bought from Li Yi before. When he came to see her during his break, he asked where she bought them, saying that many of his classmates wanted some too. Li Xi also gave a few to Headmaster Xu and Elder Sun, and kept asking her if she could buy some for the academy.
Later, she went to the ancient city but couldn't find anyone, so the matter was dropped. She told Meng Zhelan about her thoughts. "Hmm, Xi'er, I think what you said is feasible. Yu Yin's health still needs to be properly taken care of," Meng Zhelan asked Li Xi to arrange for the three of them to rest well, as she hadn't had a chance to talk to Yu Meng properly that morning.
When Li Xi arrived at the front hall, the three of them were cleaning. "Xiao Meng, take Yin'er and Xiao Song to the backyard, I need to talk to you," they said, a little nervously, since they were a burden to each other.
"Don't be afraid, I don't mean to send you away. After all, it cost a hundred taels," Li Xi glanced at the three of them. "Your sister is still very weak, let her rest well. When she has nothing to do, she can sunbathe in the yard and help Sister Ling'er pick vegetables. Xiao Song is still young, let him play for a couple of years first, no rush to do anything, just feed the horses occasionally." The three horses they bought on their way to the capital were still being kept in the stable, and Tian Tian was in charge of taking care of them.
"Okay, I'll listen to Sister Xi," Yu Meng said, her voice choked with emotion. She hadn't thought about what the future held, and it had been a long time since she had heard such caring words from someone.
"By the way, I actually have something to tell you," she said, after arranging for Yu Yin and Yu Song, she pulled Yu Meng into the house.
"What kind of woodworking can you do?" Li Xi took out a few sketches. "Can you draw these?" She drew some trinkets from later generations, such as bamboo dragonflies, educational building blocks, Tetris, wooden animals, and so on.
“It doesn’t look difficult, but actually my maternal grandfather was a descendant of Lu Ban. However, not long after my mother passed away a couple of years ago, he also fell ill from grief and followed her. He always taught me as his successor,” Yu Meng’s eyes gradually dimmed.
“Okay, I understand. Here’s what we’ll do: you come with me to buy some handy tools. You can make some Luban locks first. Yours were very popular last time. I was thinking of ordering some from you, but I couldn’t find your stall for several days.” Li Xi led Yu Meng to the timber market.
When she returned, Meng Zhelan had already gone to the clinic. She had searched through medical books and finally found a recipe for a sleeping potion. So she rushed to the clinic to prepare the medicine.
Li Xi transformed a storage room in the backyard into a carpentry workshop, and together with Tian Tian, they put away the purchased wood and tools.
"Xiaomeng, you can work here for now. If you need anything, just tell Tiantian and she'll take you to buy it." After giving a few instructions, Qin Xiaolin happened to walk in from the doorway.
"Brother Li, I was in a hurry to talk to you, so I came in as soon as I saw the door was open. Please forgive me," Qin Xiao said, feeling a little embarrassed and somewhat presumptuous.
"Sigh, it's a small matter, why bother?" Li Xi told Tian Tian to find Meng Zhelan.
Night fell, and the faint moonlight pierced through the clouds, gently caressing the earth like a tender kiss from nature.
It was the first time Meng Zhelan had ever walked through the streets at night dressed in all black. After parking the carriage in the backyard of an inn and paying a storage fee, the three of them headed to the Gao residence, which was located on another street.
Looking at the high wall before him, Meng Zhelan felt a little dizzy. "Brother Li, the guards here have left, hurry up and come up," Qin Xiaolin said, glancing at the two people below the wall. Li Xi put his arm around Meng Zhelan's waist, and with a burst of energy, leaped onto the high wall.
Qin Xiaolin found a secluded spot in the courtyard and beckoned the two of them over.
This Gao Mansion is one of the properties owned by a wealthy merchant surnamed Gao. It was used to house his mistress, and it is said that a family of relatives of the mistress also lived there. That's what was said to outsiders, but whether they were actually relatives is unknown.
It was past midnight, and the candles in all the rooms of the mansion had gone out. All was quiet except for the faint glow of the lanterns under the porch. The night patrol occasionally passed by the hiding place of Li Xi and his companions.
Qin Xiaolin had gone out for some fresh air, while Li Xi, along with Meng Zhelan, lit sleeping powder in the courtyard, corridor, and windows. The three of them had already taken the antidote. A quarter of an hour later, the patrolling guards were knocked unconscious and collapsed in the courtyard, while the maids on night watch inside the house had also fallen into a deep sleep.
The intelligence Qin Xiaolin's men received indicated that the Gao family had purchased a large quantity of medicinal herbs within a few days. They obtained a list of the herbs from the herb merchants, and Meng Zhelan, after reviewing it, concluded that those herbs were very likely the ones her father frequently used.
The three searched for a long time without finding anything, and finally went to the backyard, where there was a dilapidated little courtyard. As they entered the courtyard, Meng Zhelan smelled a faint scent of herbs.
"Perhaps it's because of the medicinal smell here," Meng Zhelan said in a low voice.
"There are two guards at the door," Li Xi gestured to Qin Xiaolin, and the two quietly approached the guards. The guards spotted them, but before they could react, they were knocked unconscious by a single palm strike from Li Xi and Qin Xiaolin.
The lights were still on inside. "Someone, bring some tea," Meng Zhong said, hunched over the table writing something, unaware that Meng Zhelan and the other two had entered. "Hurry up, I'm dying of thirst," Meng Zhong urged impatiently. These people's attitude was getting worse and worse; perhaps they realized he was bluffing them. It seemed he had to show them some real skills. He muttered to himself.
"Father," Meng Zhelan cried, tears welling up in her eyes as she saw Meng Zhong, whom she hadn't heard from in months.
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