NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 147
Li Xia felt helpless. She had merely gone to the outhouse, and Xu Xinyue didn't need to be so overly cautious.
"I'll go with you," Xu Xinyue said, fearing that if she let go of Li Xia's hand, she might return injured again. The three days in Liuzhou had truly frightened her and successfully made her develop a phobia of temples. If it weren't for Mrs. Lu's annual custom, Xu Xinyue wouldn't have wanted Li Xia to come and burn incense at all.
"Don't worry, Mother. I have Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling with me. They're quite capable," Li Xia said, giving a knowing look to Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling.
"We will stay with Young Miss at all times," Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling repeatedly assured they would look after Li Xia.
Only then did Xu Xinyue release her grip. Li Xia withdrew her hand, noting that her mother's palm was sweaty from holding on for so long. She took the handkerchief Qiu Ling offered and wiped the sweat from her hands.
After leaving the outhouse and washing her hands, Li Xia suddenly stopped on the way back.
Seeing Li Xia halt, Qiu Ling looked around and asked, "Young Miss, what's wrong?"
"I smell blood."
"It's probably from the kitchen slaughtering—" Qiu Chan's words were cut short by Qiu Ling's piercing glare.
"Temples forbid killing; how could they be slaughtering animals?" Qiu Ling was exasperated by Qiu Chan's words.
"This isn't animal blood, it's human blood," Li Xia said. Having smelled blood most often in the post-apocalyptic world, she could distinguish it without careful examination. Her words prompted Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling to quickly surround her, one in front and one behind, worried that an assassin might suddenly appear.
"There's no one else here," Li Xia's words slightly reassured the two. She walked towards the source of the blood smell.
"Young Miss, shouldn't we inform Young Master Li first?" Qiu Ling, concerned for Li Xia's safety, suggested notifying Li Hui to bring people.
Qiu Ling's words reminded Li Xia. "Qiu Ling, go notify my brother and the temple masters. Qiu Chan and I will go check it out first."
Qiu Ling glanced at Qiu Chan and then at her own build before quickly leaving.
Qiu Chan walked in front, allowing Li Xia to follow behind, ready to block any danger. Having learned martial arts from Li Yu and Li Guang, Qiu Chan was confident she could handle seven or eight small-time thieves now.
As they approached and pushed aside the bushes, they saw a young woman lying in the thicket. "Young Miss, there really is a dead person here."
The location was secluded and obscured by bushes. If Li Xia hadn't smelled the blood, no one would have discovered the young woman lying there.
Li Xia felt she had what her past life's uncle called a "Detective Conan constitution" - encountering incidents wherever she went.
The temple masters and Li Hui quickly arrived. Li Xia hadn't let Qiu Chan touch the body, instead standing six feet away waiting for everyone. Li Hui hurried over to examine Li Xia.
"Brother, I'm fine," Li Xia spread her hands to show she was unharmed.
"Are you certain it's...?" The abbot asked, his voice trembling. Qingan Temple was a renowned large temple. With its flourishing incense offerings, how could someone die here? And to be discovered by worshippers no less. If this news spread, would people still come to their temple?
"It's definitely a pretty young girl," Li Xia said. Before she could finish, the abbot's face grew even paler.
Li Hui ordered people to secure the scene and sent others to report to Shuntian Prefecture. This kind of ordinary case wasn't under their jurisdiction. Shuntian Prefecture quickly brought people and took away the deceased.
They couldn't continue offering incense, so the group returned. On the way, when no one else was around, Qiu Ling revealed that the dead girl was the maid of a concubine in the Fourth Prince's Mansion. They had been unable to find her before, only to discover she had been killed here. What a coincidence.
Why was this girl here? The authorities would investigate, of course, but they would only scratch the surface. They wouldn't dare to probe too deeply into the real truth.
Sure enough, in less than five days, the case was solved. It was said that a monk and the deceased were lovers. He had brought the girl into the temple, and later they had an argument resulting in her death. He then dumped her body in the bushes.
Li Xia didn't believe this conclusion one bit. That night, she went to the Third Prince's Mansion, easily finding Fourth Miss Lu's courtyard. Li Xia landed on the roof as quietly as a falling leaf, listening to the conversation inside.
"Useless, useless, all of you are useless!" Fourth Miss Lu's voice came from inside. Li Xia observed the current Fourth Miss Lu; although still beautiful, the viciousness on her face revealed her to be a venomous beauty.
Mei Saniang knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing. "Mistress, please calm down. It's all this servant's fault for not handling things well." After venting, Fourth Miss Lu regained her composure and looked at Mei Saniang on the ground with disgust. If she had other people at her disposal, she wouldn't use this incompetent fool who couldn't even handle such a small matter. But now, Mei Saniang was all she could rely on.
"Get up. I was just upset earlier."
"It's all because this servant failed in her duties. Please punish me, Mistress," Mei Saniang remained kneeling, asking for punishment.
Fourth Miss Lu's suppressed anger flared up again. She picked up a cup, intending to throw it, but put it down, controlling her temper. "I told you to get up, so get up. Let's forget about this matter this time."
"Thank you, Mistress," Mei Saniang kowtowed before leaving.
Watching Mei Saniang depart, Fourth Miss Lu muttered something. Although her voice was low, Li Xia heard it clearly. The corpse was meant to frame the Lu family. This Fourth Miss Lu intended to ruin the Lu family, and she didn't plan to spare the Li family, who had marriage ties with the Lu family.
Several consecutive nights of investigation led Li Xia to find a notebook recording Fourth Miss Lu's subsequent plans to deal with the Li family. She planned to arrange false evidence to prove that the Li family was in contact with the rebel prince, with the Lu family as inside agents. The Cao Family supported this plan.
The Cao Family supporting a rebel prince? Fourth Miss Lu must be out of her mind. The Crown Prince was the legitimate heir; there was no need for this. Li Xia couldn't understand why this element was included in the plan. However, Fourth Miss Lu had become obsessed with targeting both the Lu and Li families.
Li Xia decided she wouldn't let her off. Since Fourth Miss Lu wanted to go after the Li family, she would make Fourth Miss Lu fall first. Leaving the Third Prince's Mansion, Li Xia went to Tian Yi Pavilion to get something from Zhou Heng before returning to Qingyue Street.
She went back to the Third Prince's Mansion and administered some drug to Fourth Miss Lu.
After returning from Qingan Temple and careful consideration, Uncle Lu and Old Madam Lu announced that Fourth Miss Lu had suddenly fallen ill and passed away. Because Fourth Miss Lu wasn't married, Lu family rules dictated that unmarried deceased couldn't be buried in the ancestral grave. They erected a cenotaph for her on their private hill in the suburbs. As she was just a minor official's illegitimate daughter, it didn't cause much of a stir.
Fourth Miss Lu, who had been closely watching the Lu family, received news that they had announced her death. She was so angry she coughed up blood.
"Fine, very well. If the Lu family treats me without kindness, they can't blame me for being ruthless," she said, coughing up more blood. The maids around her were frightened and hurriedly called for a doctor.
The doctor came to examine her and said it was a sudden attack of anger that caused her condition. He advised Fourth Miss Lu not to get angry and to rest quietly to recuperate.
But how could Fourth Miss Lu rest quietly? Whenever she thought about how the Lu Family had left her to die, she was reminded of that night's events. Fourth Miss Lu couldn't relax; her heart and eyes were filled with hatred. She hated the assassin, hated the Fourth Prince, and hated the Lu Family even more.
After several days of such intense anger, Fourth Miss Lu's health rapidly deteriorated, and within a few days, she passed away. Li Xia, watching from the shadows as Fourth Miss Lu breathed her last, sensed a strange energy emanating from her body.