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Chapter 148
Suddenly, a more powerful force destroyed this mass of energy. The force was so strong that Li Xia's body couldn't help but tremble. As the power dissipated, Fourth Miss Lu vanished completely. Li Xia breathed a sigh of relief; she had been worried that if she killed Fourth Miss Lu, her spirit might possess someone else, which would have been troublesome.
But what was that terrifying force that made her heart quake? Was it the conscious energy of this world? Was it monitoring this realm? After much thought, this seemed to be the only answer.
Knowing that this world had consciousness, Li Xia became slightly more cautious in her actions, but not much more than that.
When the Third Prince received news of Fourth Miss Lu's death, he muttered "Bad luck" and ordered people to carry her body out and dump it in the mass grave.
Li Xia brought Fourth Miss Lu's body to her cenotaph on the outskirts of the city. Zhou Heng had already dug open the grave and was standing by it, looking quite exasperated.
"Now you're making me do the grave-digging work too."
"The capable should do more," Li Xia's words made Zhou Heng laugh in frustration.
They opened the coffin and placed Fourth Miss Lu's body inside. This way, at least the original Fourth Miss Lu would have a resting place.
On the way back to the city, Zhou Heng discussed the reforms for the Tian Yi Pavilion with Li Xia. In the future, they would verify missions before accepting them. If the target was an evildoer, Tian Yi Pavilion would take the job; if not, they wouldn't.
The information network that Qiu Ling had developed in the capital had been taken over by Zhou Heng and repurposed as Tian Yi Pavilion's intelligence division. From now on, selling information would be Tian Yi Pavilion's main business.
When she decided to hand Tian Yi Pavilion over to Zhou Heng, Li Xia had resolved not to interfere with how he developed it.
The entire Li household was overjoyed upon receiving a letter from Liuzhou: Li Ming had been promoted and was coming to the capital. Before sending the letter, Li Ming had already set out for the capital. By their calculations, he should arrive in the capital within the next few days.
Mrs. Lu led the household in thoroughly cleaning the Li residence from top to bottom. She also sent people to wait at the city gate every day. Just as they finished cleaning the mansion inside and out, Li Ming's carriage arrived. Mrs. Lu led a group of people standing at the main gate, waiting for the return of the family's patriarch.
The happiest among them was Aunt Wang, who felt that with Li Ming's return, she would have someone to back her up.
Li Ming alighted from the carriage and saw his family. Noticing Mrs. Lu's teary eyes, he quickly stepped forward and took her hands. "My dear, you've worked hard."
"It is you who have worked hard, my lord. Your hair has turned white," Mrs. Lu said, her nose tingling with emotion as she noticed Li Ming's graying hair, tears falling down her cheeks.
"It's normal to gray with age," Li Ming said. Having gone through that life-and-death battle, merely graying hair seemed insignificant to him.
"My lord," Aunt Wang and Auntie An also came forward, crying.
"Alright, stop crying, all of you. I've returned safely to the capital; we should be smiling. Come, let's go inside," Li Ming said, his heart filled with excitement.
Li Xia followed behind, entering the house and sitting next to Li Xin.
Mrs. Lu and Li Ming sat in the main seats. Li Ming surveyed the house; everything was new, clearly arranged specially for his return.
Li Hui had told him about Mrs. Lu's previous actions when he returned to Liuzhou. He knew how much his wife had sacrificed. When alone, Li Ming had reflected a lot. He and Mrs. Lu were husband and wife who had grown up together. For so many years, Mrs. Lu had managed the Li household, allowing him to focus on his career outside. This time, she had even risked her life to save him.
The more Li Ming thought about it, the more he felt he had neglected his principal wife. He secretly decided to spend more time with Mrs. Lu in the future. This was also one of the reasons he ignored Aunt Wang's resentful glances. More importantly, the incident with Li Shan had made Li Ming very dissatisfied with Aunt Wang, feeling she lacked understanding of the bigger picture.
When Mrs. Lu had wanted to register Li Xia under her name, Li Ming had considered doing the same for Li Shan. But Aunt Wang had privately written a letter disagreeing, which changed Li Ming's opinion of her. He realized she truly wasn't very clever.
In the evening, when Li Hui, Li Chou, and Li Guang returned, Li Ming questioned his two younger sons about their studies. He also discussed the current political situation with Li Hui.
After briefly recounting the events of the past few months, Li Hui said, "Father, to be honest, I didn't want you to return now."
Li Ming actually didn't want to come to the capital either. He had developed Liuzhou well, and given more time, it could have become even better. Although coming to the capital meant a promotion in rank, Li Hui was already in the capital, and there was no need for both father and son to be there.
But the imperial edict had been issued, so Li Ming could only happily come to the capital to take up his post.
"The Emperor plans to make Liuzhou a military garrison," Li Ming said. Naturally, not being one of the Emperor's confidants, he couldn't be allowed to remain in Liuzhou.
"What's the purpose of stationing troops there?" Li Hui didn't understand.
"To guard against the likes of Prince YongKang," Li Ming's words made Li Hui think more deeply.
Surely there was more to it than that. Although Liuzhou seemed far from the capital, the latest news from the court spoke of plans to open a canal.
Once the canal was completed, it would only take ten days to travel by boat from the capital to Liuzhou. Although the Emperor had long ago named a Crown Prince, the other princes hadn't given up hope.
"These are not matters for us to discuss. It's getting late, go and rest," Li Ming said.
"Father, when do you report for duty?" Li Hui changed the subject. Li Ming was to work in the Ministry of Works this time, taking up the position of Vice Minister of Works.
"Tomorrow," Li Ming answered quickly; he remembered the date very clearly.
"Father, you should rest early," Li Hui didn't want to disturb Li Ming further.
Li Xia left the room and returned to her quarters.
The next day, the family had breakfast together at the same table. The women stayed home to manage household affairs, while the men went out to work or study. Li Ming quickly assumed his new post.
Li Ming's return had the greatest impact on Xu Xinyue. She was deeply afraid that Li Ming might regret his actions, or do something harmful to Li Xia. Worried about Li Xia, she sent a card requesting a visit.
Mrs. Lu understood Xu Xinyue's concerns and after a brief chat, let her go see Li Xia.
Li Xia stood at the entrance of Orchid Courtyard waiting for Xu Xinyue. Seeing her approach, she went forward to greet her.
"Mother, you didn't have to come. I was planning to visit the Xu Mansion in a couple of days," Li Xia said, linking arms with Xu Xinyue as they walked into Orchid Courtyard. Xu Xinyue surveyed the courtyard; everything remained largely unchanged from before.
"Are you reassured now?" Li Xia asked, amused by Xu Xinyue's expression.
Xu Xinyue revealed a relieved smile. "I'm reassured. As long as you're doing well, that's all that matters."
"Mother, do you really think Father is so petty?" Although Li Xia didn't particularly like Li Ming, she had to admit that he was a decent person.
"As a mother, no matter how good the child is, there will always be worries," Xu Xinyue knew Li Ming's character, but no matter how well she knew it, she would still worry until she saw for herself. This was simply a mother's concern.
"If you don't trust Father, you should at least trust Mother," Li Xia said.
Xu Xinyue knew that Mrs. Lu treated them both well. After discussing this matter for a while, Xu Xinyue looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered her voice and said, "Now that your father has returned, your elder brother and the others are worried. They want to find me a new husband."
"Mom, what do you think about this yourself?" Li Xia wasn't concerned about what others might do; she only cared about Xu Xinyue's thoughts on the matter.
"What do I think? I haven't really thought about it at all," Xu Xinyue replied. She genuinely felt that her current life was quite good. However, her older brother and younger brother hoped that she would remarry, have a happy family, and children of her own. She didn't want to cause difficulty for her brothers, but she also didn't want to have more children. In Xu Xinyue's heart, having Li Xia as her daughter was more than enough.