NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 109
As soon as Li Shan saw Auntie Mei about to leave, she panicked; she couldn't let her go. She rushed towards Auntie Mei, trying to grab her. But somehow, she slipped, her body unstable, her hands frantically trying to grasp something to prevent her fall. In her panic, she grabbed a nearby stool. The stool, unstable, toppled over, and Li Shan fell onto it, her hands landing amidst the broken dishes.
"Ah, my hands, my hands!" Li Shan screamed in agony.
Aunt Wang, pained by her daughter's suffering, hurried forward, ignoring the soup on the floor. Maid Cuifang, standing behind Li Shan, screamed in fright and stepped back, afraid of getting hurt herself.
Cuihong hesitated, then carefully moved forward to help Li Shan up. As soon as she touched Li Shan, she was pushed away by the severely pained girl. Cuihong slipped and fell face-first into the dishes, her cries of agony heard by Mrs. Lu and Li Hui who had just entered.
"Li Hui, go back to your room and rest; I'll check what's happening," the cries from the backyard made Mrs. Lu frown.
"Alright, mother, take care of yourself," Li Hui replied, recognizing the voices came from the Plum Blossom Pavilion, a place not suitable for his status.
Mrs. Lu, with her entourage, headed towards the Plum Blossom Pavilion, her mind troubled by the irresponsibility around her. Qiu Ju, leading some people towards the front yard, saw Mrs. Lu and hurriedly greeted her, "Madam."
"What happened?" Mrs. Lu, hearing the ongoing cries, furrowed her brows even more.
"The third young lady knocked over a table, spilling the food and cutting her hand. Maid Cuihong, while trying to help her, was pushed and injured her face. Aunt Wang instructed me to find House Steward Zhao to call the doctor," Qiu Ju reported.
"Knocked over a table," Mrs. Lu scoffed coldly. Li Shan had been complaining all the way to the Capital City and still hadn't learned to restrain herself. Truly, Aunt Wang had not taught her any manners.
Arriving at the Plum Blossom Pavilion, Mrs. Lu heard Li Shan's cries, "It hurts, Auntie, my hand hurts, will it be useless now? It's all Auntie Mei's fault, she did it on purpose. I will tell father to punish Auntie Mei severely."
Li Xia, standing in the courtyard, listened to Li Shan's cries with a smirk. Daring to falsely accuse her aunt, Li Shan's injury seemed too light.
Auntie Mei, feeling a sudden intense heartbeat upon seeing Li Xia's changing demeanor, glanced at Mrs. Lu approaching and greeted, "Madam." Li Xia, suppressing her emotions, also stepped forward to greet.
Mrs. Lu acknowledged with a nod and entered the house. Hearing Mrs. Lu's arrival, Aunt Wang threw herself in front of Mrs. Lu, "Madam, please quickly call a doctor to see the third young lady. Her hand is severely injured."
"Mother, you must stand up for me, it's all Auntie Mei's fault," Li Shan glared hatefully at Auntie Mei and Li Xia who followed inside.
"How did she harm you?" Mrs. Lu asked indifferently, which Li Shan failed to notice. Aunt Wang, however, caught the dissatisfaction in Mrs. Lu's tone and signaled Li Shan not to make unfounded accusations.
But Li Shan, consumed by the pain in her hand, ignored Aunt Wang's warning and blurted out that the dinner sent over was not fresh, the fish was too salty. Li Shan disliked salty food; it was clearly meant to embarrass her.
Mrs. Lu glanced at the food set aside and then at Auntie Mei.
Li Xin walked in from outside, "I'm in charge of the kitchen. The meals are set as usual with four dishes and one soup: green vegetable shrimp skin egg soup, stir-fried winter melon, braised cured fish, and stir-fried peas with minced meat." Speaking of this, Li Xin glanced at Li Shan, "I didn't know my younger sister disliked cured flavors. But I can assure you, except for the cured fish, everything else is fresh."
Li Xin had mentioned donating money during the day and had instructed the kitchen to reduce two dishes per meal to save more money.
"We are also having the same for dinner. The cured fish is delicious and particularly good with rice, and the stir-fried peas with minced meat are also very tasty," Li Xia regretfully looked at the food on the ground, "How did these fish pieces end up as pig feed?"
"Madam, Shan is naive, please spare her this once," Aunt Wang knew something was wrong as soon as she heard Li Xin.
"She's naive, and you're not? Have you forgotten why we left Liuzhou? Causing trouble on our first day in the Capital City." It was a troublesome time, and Li Shan's tactless actions were annoying Mrs. Lu.
Li Shan felt incredibly wronged. They weren't poor, so why be so frugal? It was clearly Auntie Mei giving them a hard time. "Mother, you are being unfair, I won't accept this. You're just jealous because father favors Auntie Mei and me."
"Shan, shut up," Aunt Wang wished she could cover Li Shan's mouth at that moment, wondering where she got the courage to speak like that. Not minding the dirty floor, she knelt directly before Mrs. Lu, "Madam, considering Shan is still young, please forgive her this once."
"Aunt," Li Shan tried to get up from the bed, crying out in pain from her hand.
Aunt Wang continued to kneel and plead with Mrs. Lu, who ignored her and addressed everyone in the room, "Let me make this clear, the Li family is at a critical point of survival. Anyone else daring to do this, get out of the Li family."
Mrs. Lu's voice was not loud, but everyone felt the chill in her words.
Li Shan was also frightened by Mrs. Lu, sobbing quietly, not daring to say anything more.
"The doctor has arrived," someone broke the tense atmosphere in the room.
The doctor came in to clean Li Shan's wounds, applied medicine, and bandaged them. He then went to treat Cuihong's face in the servant's quarters, gasping at the severity of the injuries, "This is too harsh."
"Doctor, save me, I don't want to be disfigured," Cuihong pleaded, grabbing the doctor's clothes.
The injuries were too severe to avoid scarring, the doctor sighed internally, "I'll do my best." A maid brought water. The doctor asked Cuihong to bite on a piece of softwood, "It will hurt, you must endure," Cuihong bit down on the softwood as the doctor slowly cleaned the wound.
Auntie Mei and Li Xia returned to the room to find the food had gone cold. Auntie Mei had lost her appetite, but Li Xia was still hungry. Accompanied by hot tea, he finished off the cured fish and rice.
"Why does the third young lady keep blaming me? I didn't provoke Aunt Wang and the others," Auntie Mei was utterly baffled.
"Li Shan's brain must be waterlogged, how could Auntie Mei understand," Li Xia said.
"What are you talking about?" Auntie Mei stood up and approached Li Xia, "Madam has handled the matter. Aunt Wang and the third young lady have been punished. I haven't suffered any loss, so don't worry about it." Auntie Mei remembered the look in Li Xia's eyes in the courtyard, worried about what he might do.
"Auntie, I won't do anything," Li Xia reassured that she wouldn't harm Li Shan, but if Li Shan was seeking her own downfall, she couldn't be blamed.
Assured that Li Xia was not deceiving her, Auntie Mei went back to her room to rest. Li Xia turned around and glanced at Qiu Kui.
Qiu Kui stepped forward, "Miss."
"I remember you were quite close to Cuihong before."
"Cuihong's father is also a useless pedantic scholar," Qiu Kui said sarcastically.
"I had injured my hand before, and I still have some scar removal cream left. Take it and give it to Cuihong. It's a pity for a pretty girl to have scars on her face," Li Xia said with some regret.
Qiu Kui understood Li Xia's intention, "Alright, I will deliver it tomorrow."