It turned out that these people had arrangements in Hongxi County, specifically keeping an eye on passing merchants. If anyone was hiring a boat, they would secretly observe to confirm the other party's strength and possessions. Li Hui was going to the Capital City this time, and naturally, he brought along many valuable items with his family, making him the target.
Some of these river bandits would pretend to be passengers and board the ship. Others would masquerade as temporary workers hired by the boatmen, blending in among the crew. After a few days of travel when everyone on board was relaxed, they would seize the opportunity to drug them.
Li Hui was meticulous in his actions. He did not share meals with the boatmen; he had arranged for separate cooks and escorts to ensure nothing went wrong. The bandits only managed to drug the boatmen, which was one of the reasons why the boatmen suffered heavy casualties. Auntie Mei was very dissatisfied with the boatmen for not checking the passengers and temporary workers.
"It's good that they were caught," Li Xia breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the bandits had been captured. "Auntie, how are Qiu Shui and Qiu Ling?" Qiu Ling's performance that night was a surprise to Li Xia.
"Qiu Ling wasn't injured, but Qiu Chan got her leg scratched while trying to protect your belongings. Luckily, she's a bit plump and it didn't hit any major veins. The doctor said she'll be fine after a few days of rest. Qiu Shui and Qiu Kui also didn't get hurt, they all performed quite well, and the young master gave each of them a silver reward."
"Auntie, have Qiu Kui take extra care of Qiu Chan," Li Xia had not expected Qiu Chan to be so foolish. No belongings are worth more than a life.
"I've already arranged it," replied Auntie Mei, who was previously unsatisfied with Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling.
But when compared to Li Xin's maidservants, the two had exceeded expectations and proved their loyalty to their master. Having such devoted maidservants by Li Xia's side brought Auntie Mei much relief.
Li Xia, unable to move due to her back injury and unable to wear thick clothes, had Auntie Mei order a few more braziers to keep the room warm. Bored, Li Xia had Qiu Shui bring some sweet potatoes and bread slices to roast.
"The bread slice is getting burnt, flip it quickly!" Li Xia, anxious, wished she could jump up and do it herself. She leaned out of the bed.
"Miss, be careful not to catch a cold," Qiu Kui quickly flipped the bread slices, then turned to look at Li Xia and pulled her blanket up.
"There are seven or eight braziers in the room. I'm not cold at all, Qiu Kui, don't worry about me. Check if the sweet potatoes are roasted yet." Li Xia, who had been eating bland food while recovering, longed for something different.
When Li Hui and Li Xia walked in, they found a scene of Li Xia directing from her bed, while those beneath her were busily flipping bread slices and roasting sweet potatoes.
Seeing the two come in, Qiu Kui quickly bowed, "Young Master, Young Miss."
Li Xin went over to pull up Li Xia's blanket, telling her to keep warm and not catch a cold. Li Hui, looking at the food roasting on the braziers, couldn't help but laugh. He reached out to grab a crispy, golden slice of bread, taking a bite, "It's crispy and tastes great."
"Xin, try it, it tastes good," he said, handing another well-roasted bread slice to Li Xin.
Li Xin took it and after a bite, agreed that it was indeed delicious. She hadn't expected roasted bread slices to taste so good.
"Brother and sister, did you two come in just to steal my food?" Li Xia watched as the two ate the bread slices she had been eyeing, swallowing hard.
Li Hui and Li Xin laughed, finishing their buns in a few bites. Li Hui took out his previous dagger and handed it to Li Xia, who looked at him in confusion.
"Mother agreed, this dagger is yours now," Li Hui said, recalling the previous incident. If Li Xia had a weapon, she wouldn't have been injured so severely. Auntie Mei regretted her decision to stop Li Xia.
"Thank you, brother," Li Xia took the dagger and played with it in her hand.
Seeing that Xia was happy, Li Hui and Li Xin both smiled.
With the situation mostly handled and Li Xia able to move again, they prepared to continue their journey. The weather was getting colder, and it would be more difficult to travel after the snowfall.
Considering Li Xia's seasickness and the water bandit incident, Li Hui decided not to take a boat. They would travel by land. Although the difficult mountain road was behind them, and the journey on the official road might take a bit longer, they would arrive in about half a month.
They rented an extra carriage for the injured Qiu Chan to lie down in. Qiu Kui was taking care of Qiu Chan. Qiu Ling had also demonstrated her abilities during this incident. Li Xin remembered how her maid could only scream in the face of the water bandits and felt she had a problem with her judgment of character.
When she discussed this with Li Xia, she asked if Li Xia could help her choose people the next time. Li Xin had completely moved on from the Zhang Qiming incident. In the face of life and death, everything else was trivial. Only survival was important. Li Xin wanted to find a more powerful helper for herself.
Auntie Mei laid out an extra quilt and told Li Xia to lie down and not move easily to recover. Li Xia was almost moldy from lying down. When she heard Li Xin's words, she thought of someone, "Sis, if you want a powerful person by your side. There's one right now."
"Who?" Li Xin followed Li Xia's gaze to see Escort Li, who was riding a horse outside the carriage with a not-so-good look on his face. Escort Li had injured his wrist this time. The doctor said he wouldn't be able to wield a knife in the future. Although Li Hui said he would compensate them more, Escort Li couldn't wield a knife and couldn't be an escort. "You mean Escort Li, would she be willing?"
"Just ask and you'll know." Li Xia thought Escort Li would agree. From their previous interactions, Li Xia didn't think Escort Li was the type who would willingly live a life filled with danger.
Li Xin thought about Escort Li's abilities. Although she couldn't use a knife, her martial arts were quite good. She privately asked for Escort Li's opinion.
Escort Li, whose real name was Li Ermei, learned martial arts from her father, who was an escort. After her father died on a mission, she had to take care of her sick mother and younger siblings.
With no other options, Li Ermei asked Escort Chief Wang if she could join them on their missions to earn money for her family. Escort Chief Wang admired Li Ermei's determination to support her family on her own, and it was beneficial to have a female escort when escorting female clients.
Escort Chief Wang agreed and taught Li Ermei knife skills, horse riding, and escorting knowledge. At the age of 13, Li Ermei started escorting with them, supporting her mother and siblings. She even managed to pay for her brother's wedding and her sister's dowry.
Now that their family was doing well, they began to look down on Li Ermei for continuing to escort with men at her age. To outsiders, it looked like Li Ermei, a woman, was traveling with a group of men, which could lead to all sorts of rumors.
Li Ermei cared little about the gossip of outsiders. However, her disappointment deepened as her mother, brother, and sister began to adopt the same attitude, ignoring who she had transformed herself for over the years. The only time they showed her a smile was when she brought home money.
Li Ermei was profoundly disillusioned with her family, and unless necessary, she generally avoided going home. The escort mission this time was at Li Ermei's behest. She never anticipated that an accident would occur, leaving her unable to continue such tasks due to her injured hand.
Li Ermei worried about how she would get by in the future. Upon hearing Li Xin's proposal, she agreed without a second thought. When Li Xin suggested signing a life-long contract, Li Ermei insisted on a death pact instead. She didn't want any further entanglements with her family. The money from selling herself would serve as her final act of filial piety and care.
It turned out that these people had arrangements in Hongxi County, specifically keeping an eye on passing merchants. If anyone was hiring a boat, they would secretly observe to confirm the other party's strength and possessions. Li Hui was going to the Capital City this time, and naturally, he brought along many valuable items with his family, making him the target.
Some of these river bandits would pretend to be passengers and board the ship. Others would masquerade as temporary workers hired by the boatmen, blending in among the crew. After a few days of travel when everyone on board was relaxed, they would seize the opportunity to drug them.
Li Hui was meticulous in his actions. He did not share meals with the boatmen; he had arranged for separate cooks and escorts to ensure nothing went wrong. The bandits only managed to drug the boatmen, which was one of the reasons why the boatmen suffered heavy casualties. Auntie Mei was very dissatisfied with the boatmen for not checking the passengers and temporary workers.
"It's good that they were caught," Li Xia breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that the bandits had been captured. "Auntie, how are Qiu Shui and Qiu Ling?" Qiu Ling's performance that night was a surprise to Li Xia.
"Qiu Ling wasn't injured, but Qiu Chan got her leg scratched while trying to protect your belongings. Luckily, she's a bit plump and it didn't hit any major veins. The doctor said she'll be fine after a few days of rest. Qiu Shui and Qiu Kui also didn't get hurt, they all performed quite well, and the young master gave each of them a silver reward."
"Auntie, have Qiu Kui take extra care of Qiu Chan," Li Xia had not expected Qiu Chan to be so foolish. No belongings are worth more than a life.
"I've already arranged it," replied Auntie Mei, who was previously unsatisfied with Qiu Chan and Qiu Ling.
But when compared to Li Xin's maidservants, the two had exceeded expectations and proved their loyalty to their master. Having such devoted maidservants by Li Xia's side brought Auntie Mei much relief.
Li Xia, unable to move due to her back injury and unable to wear thick clothes, had Auntie Mei order a few more braziers to keep the room warm. Bored, Li Xia had Qiu Shui bring some sweet potatoes and bread slices to roast.
"The bread slice is getting burnt, flip it quickly!" Li Xia, anxious, wished she could jump up and do it herself. She leaned out of the bed.
"Miss, be careful not to catch a cold," Qiu Kui quickly flipped the bread slices, then turned to look at Li Xia and pulled her blanket up.
"There are seven or eight braziers in the room. I'm not cold at all, Qiu Kui, don't worry about me. Check if the sweet potatoes are roasted yet." Li Xia, who had been eating bland food while recovering, longed for something different.
When Li Hui and Li Xia walked in, they found a scene of Li Xia directing from her bed, while those beneath her were busily flipping bread slices and roasting sweet potatoes.
Seeing the two come in, Qiu Kui quickly bowed, "Young Master, Young Miss."
Li Xin went over to pull up Li Xia's blanket, telling her to keep warm and not catch a cold. Li Hui, looking at the food roasting on the braziers, couldn't help but laugh. He reached out to grab a crispy, golden slice of bread, taking a bite, "It's crispy and tastes great."
"Xin, try it, it tastes good," he said, handing another well-roasted bread slice to Li Xin.
Li Xin took it and after a bite, agreed that it was indeed delicious. She hadn't expected roasted bread slices to taste so good.
"Brother and sister, did you two come in just to steal my food?" Li Xia watched as the two ate the bread slices she had been eyeing, swallowing hard.
Li Hui and Li Xin laughed, finishing their buns in a few bites. Li Hui took out his previous dagger and handed it to Li Xia, who looked at him in confusion.
"Mother agreed, this dagger is yours now," Li Hui said, recalling the previous incident. If Li Xia had a weapon, she wouldn't have been injured so severely. Auntie Mei regretted her decision to stop Li Xia.
"Thank you, brother," Li Xia took the dagger and played with it in her hand.
Seeing that Xia was happy, Li Hui and Li Xin both smiled.
With the situation mostly handled and Li Xia able to move again, they prepared to continue their journey. The weather was getting colder, and it would be more difficult to travel after the snowfall.
Considering Li Xia's seasickness and the water bandit incident, Li Hui decided not to take a boat. They would travel by land. Although the difficult mountain road was behind them, and the journey on the official road might take a bit longer, they would arrive in about half a month.
They rented an extra carriage for the injured Qiu Chan to lie down in. Qiu Kui was taking care of Qiu Chan. Qiu Ling had also demonstrated her abilities during this incident. Li Xin remembered how her maid could only scream in the face of the water bandits and felt she had a problem with her judgment of character.
When she discussed this with Li Xia, she asked if Li Xia could help her choose people the next time. Li Xin had completely moved on from the Zhang Qiming incident. In the face of life and death, everything else was trivial. Only survival was important. Li Xin wanted to find a more powerful helper for herself.
Auntie Mei laid out an extra quilt and told Li Xia to lie down and not move easily to recover. Li Xia was almost moldy from lying down. When she heard Li Xin's words, she thought of someone, "Sis, if you want a powerful person by your side. There's one right now."
"Who?" Li Xin followed Li Xia's gaze to see Escort Li, who was riding a horse outside the carriage with a not-so-good look on his face. Escort Li had injured his wrist this time. The doctor said he wouldn't be able to wield a knife in the future. Although Li Hui said he would compensate them more, Escort Li couldn't wield a knife and couldn't be an escort. "You mean Escort Li, would she be willing?"
"Just ask and you'll know." Li Xia thought Escort Li would agree. From their previous interactions, Li Xia didn't think Escort Li was the type who would willingly live a life filled with danger.
Li Xin thought about Escort Li's abilities. Although she couldn't use a knife, her martial arts were quite good. She privately asked for Escort Li's opinion.
Escort Li, whose real name was Li Ermei, learned martial arts from her father, who was an escort. After her father died on a mission, she had to take care of her sick mother and younger siblings.
With no other options, Li Ermei asked Escort Chief Wang if she could join them on their missions to earn money for her family. Escort Chief Wang admired Li Ermei's determination to support her family on her own, and it was beneficial to have a female escort when escorting female clients.
Escort Chief Wang agreed and taught Li Ermei knife skills, horse riding, and escorting knowledge. At the age of 13, Li Ermei started escorting with them, supporting her mother and siblings. She even managed to pay for her brother's wedding and her sister's dowry.
Now that their family was doing well, they began to look down on Li Ermei for continuing to escort with men at her age. To outsiders, it looked like Li Ermei, a woman, was traveling with a group of men, which could lead to all sorts of rumors.
Li Ermei cared little about the gossip of outsiders. However, her disappointment deepened as her mother, brother, and sister began to adopt the same attitude, ignoring who she had transformed herself for over the years. The only time they showed her a smile was when she brought home money.
Li Ermei was profoundly disillusioned with her family, and unless necessary, she generally avoided going home. The escort mission this time was at Li Ermei's behest. She never anticipated that an accident would occur, leaving her unable to continue such tasks due to her injured hand.
Li Ermei worried about how she would get by in the future. Upon hearing Li Xin's proposal, she agreed without a second thought. When Li Xin suggested signing a life-long contract, Li Ermei insisted on a death pact instead. She didn't want any further entanglements with her family. The money from selling herself would serve as her final act of filial piety and care.
