"Father doesnt have to work hard." County Magistrate Li took the chicken soup, lovingly looking at his eldest daughter, "You quickly sit down and eat, let Qionghua and the others serve you, Shan Ge, bring over that plate of pickled vegetable shoots, I remember your younger sister likes this dish the most."

  Li Dong was favored and surprised, as the second of four children, also a daughter, plus her introverted personality, among the four children, she was the least valued one.

  "Sister likes to eat this the most!" Li Xia stood up, holding the plate of braised pork in front of her sister. "Sister doesnt like to eat pickled vegetables or salted vegetables at all! Everyone likes to eat braised pork, and sister also likes to eat braised pork, right sister?"

  "Really? I like..." Li Dongs face suddenly turned red.

  "Every time you scrape out the meat sauce from the plate and mix it with rice to eat, its so delicious." Li Xia further teased her sister.

  "Ah!" exclaimed Li Wenlan, "No wonder you ate the braised pork and then quickly passed it over to others. You wouldnt eat it yourself but also didnt let others eat it. Were you saving it for your sister?"

  Mrs. Xü gently stroked Li Xias head, "Our Ah Xia is the most considerate and thoughtful."

  Magistrate Lis face turned red, "Dong Jieer, your father has been too neglectful of you. Dont worry, from now on... Father will never let anyone bully or humiliate you! No one is allowed to do so!"

  Li Xias eyes widened and then slowly curved downwards, curving into a smiling expression. She looked at Fifth Brother and winked at him.

  Li Wenshan didnt see her wink, he was staring at his father in shock and surprise. Father loved them the most, this he knew, but to say such a thing to his children, it was the first time! What trick did Ah Xia use?

  Mrs. Xus eyes turned red and tears fell down uncontrollably, "What the old master said... whats wrong with him now."

  Li Dongs tears fell one by one, nodding vigorously, but she couldnt say a word, she was too moved.

  After dinner, the family chatted for a while over tea before dispersing.

  Li Wenshan and Li Xia slipped quietly into Li Wenshans small study, the two of them with their heads together whispering to each other.

  "Ive found Father Lis weak point!" Li Xia said with great satisfaction, "Its us, heh heh."

  Li Wenshan looked puzzled, "How did you find out? ... Is this something that needs to be found? Ive known for a long time, didnt you know? You go ahead and say it, whats going on? Dad was acting strange just now."

  Li Xia leaned in close to Li Wenshans ear, speaking in a hushed tone, "Ive been keeping a close eye on her, Fifth Brother. Shes too wicked, wicked... Alas, shes both foolish and wicked, and has no patience. Now, Im telling you, we dont have to be afraid of her at all. At most, itll take half a year... No, thats too long. Three months, at most three months. I must drive her away!"

  "Axia, I think, in our past life... even if it was our past life, you must have been more capable than me, you..." Li Wenshan couldnt help but admire.

  Li Xia covered his mouth, "Not at all, Fifth Brother is the most formidable. From now on, lets not mention this again, I dont want to bring it up, and what if someone else hears...its too terrifying."

  "Brother Wu, dont worry, Ive got it!" Li Wenshan nodded hastily. "Right, you asked me to tail her and see where she went, and I did. Zhao Da came to find me and said that early this morning, she left and went to the third house from the north end of Yaodong Alley. The familys surname is Yang, with eight people in total: Mr. and Mrs. Yang, five children, and an old lady who is supposedly Mr. Yangs aunt. She went to find Mrs. Yang, and the two of them were chatting and drinking wine in the courtyard. All the food and drink were brought by her."

  Zhao Da said that he had inquired about it, and she was going for the third time today. On the day you mentioned, she also went to Yang Pozis house. Moreover, Yang Pozi is not a native of Yangzhou, but a local from Hengshan County. It is said that she left for Yangzhou when she was very young and returned alone to Hengshan County last year, relying on her nephews family to make a living. It is also said that Yang Pozi brought back a lot of silver money, and the two-story house was bought by Yang Pozi with her own money.

  Li Wenshan paused for a moment, then added another sentence, "Ive already asked Zhao to investigate Yangs affairs in Yangzhou... and you specifically mentioned last time that she was from Yangzhou..."

  "Have you asked Zhao Da?" Li Xia looked at Wu Ge with a tilted head.

  "No, I asked Mr., Mr. said that Yangzhou has thin horses." Li Wenshan looked at Li Xia, with an inexplicable sadness in his heart.

  "She doesnt seem like a good person, probably not even her own mother. " Li Xia looked at Fifth Brother with an indifferent expression.

  Li Wenshan hung his head down, looking very dejected and sorrowful. After a while, he nodded slightly and murmured in agreement.

  "Have you told Father about Mr. Qins matter?" Li Xia poked Wu Ges shoulder with her finger.

  "Not yet!" Li Wenshan said as he stood up and picked his sister off the table, "Im going now, its just the right time!" Li Xia looked up at her brother with a smile, nodding continuously. Her brother was still the same, so sensitive to timing.

  ………………

  Li Xia returned to the back house, pushed open the door and entered. Her sister Li Dong had already come back and was sitting on the couch doing needlework.

  "Is the fifth brother making trouble again?" Seeing Li Xia come in, Li Dong hurriedly put down the needle and thread in his hand, stood up to pull her to sit down, and took over the wet towel handed by Su Ye to wipe her hands.

  "I wont make a fuss, Ill just watch Fifth Brother write." Li Xia turned around and leaned her back against her sisters chest.

  "No, not without you watching, Fifth Brother cant write well." Li Dong smiled and gently tapped Li Xias forehead. "At dinner time, Father said that Sister likes to eat pickled vegetable stems, why did you say those things again? Its not good, fortunately it was Father, if it were someone else, wouldnt they be annoyed with you?" Li Dong softly instructed Li Xia, who tilted her head and looked at her. "Does Sister really like to eat pickled vegetable stems?"

  "What I liked before, Dad still remembers." Li Dong felt a bit uneasy.

  "But you dont like it now, and yesterday when choosing fabric, Auntie Hong said you liked red, you just agreed, but I remember you didnt like red at all. And before dinner today, Mother said to wrap zongzi, everyone said sweet zongzi is delicious, salty zongzi is not good to eat, you also said sweet zongzi is delicious, but I remember you actually liked eating salty zongzi the most."

  "These are all trivial matters, why make everyone unhappy because of these small things." Li Dongs face turned red with anger as his sister spoke.

  "Its not a small matter." Li Xia hesitated for a moment, these words were quite precocious for her age, but her sister was already thirteen this year, and if she didnt hurry up and change her temperament, her future days would be difficult to get by.

  "Sister, you obviously like that one and dont like this one. When others ask you, you deliberately say you like this one. This is telling a lie." She circumvented as much as possible.

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