Volume 2 Chapter 33 / Chapter 120: Li Qianjin is Very Worried
The palace was quiet. In the side hall of the Chi Dragon Mansion, Li Qianjin sat alone at the desk, her fingers lightly sliding over the pages of account books, reading the contents by the different texture of ink and paper.
Since she was nine years old, she had been managing the household affairs of the Chi Dragon Mansion. This included recording the daily expenses of the guards, the monthly stipends of the servants, and the funds needed for repairs in the mansion. In a typical noble family, these tasks would be handled by the wife of the family head. However, Li Qianjin's mother had passed away when she was born, and Li Feng, her father, had not remarried, so these responsibilities fell on Li Feng himself.
At the age of nine, Li Qianjin, upon learning of this, took the initiative to take over these tasks to help her father. At first, Li Feng, considering her blindness, arranged a maid to recite the contents of the account books to her and to write down her instructions. However, one day, Li Qianjin noticed discrepancies between the accounts and her memory. After questioning the maid, she discovered that the maid had been taking bribes from some people in the mansion, occasionally failing to report certain expenses to her, thereby aiding the embezzlement.
It was from that incident that Li Qianjin gradually learned to manage things through touch. She personally dealt with all matters involving documents. However, fingers could never replace eyes. While an ordinary person could read a document in the time it took for an incense stick to burn, she needed fifteen minutes or even more.
Now, just dealing with the household affairs of the Chi Dragon Mansion consumed most of her time. If her father were to pass on the position of the mansion head to her in the future, what would she do?
Li Qianjin pondered this question almost every day. The solutions she came up with were essentially two:
The first solution was for her father to remarry and have a son or daughter, who would then succeed as the next master of the Chi Dragon Mansion. She had mentioned this to her father before. However, after hearing her suggestion, her father flew into a rage and even made her kneel in front of her mother's memorial hall for three days and nights.
As for the second solution...
She would marry and manage the Chi Dragon Mansion together with her husband. This was indeed a good solution. But who could guarantee that the man she married would always treat her and the Chi Dragon Mansion well?
Perhaps, just like the maid who falsified accounts back then, someone who is normally very attentive to her, calling her "Miss" all the time, could still deceive her because she can't see. Anyone could easily deceive a blind person like her...
Thinking this, Li Qianjin lightly bit her lip, wanting to pick up the teacup and wash away her worries with a sip of tea.
However, as she reached out for the teacup in the direction she remembered, there was a crash— the sound of porcelain shattering.
Li Qianjin knew she had broken the teacup again, feeling a bit helpless, she pursed her lips and called out, "Ling'er."
No one responded.
"Ling'er..."
Still, no response.
Li Qianjin bit her lip lightly, hesitated for a moment, then stood up, leaning on the armrest of the chair, wanting to go out and call someone. But just as she took a step, she felt she had stepped on a piece of porcelain, and her sole suddenly felt a sharp pain.
"Ah—"
The instinct to dodge caused by the pain made her unable to stand steadily, and she fell backward, tilting her head back.
"Oops!"
Li Qianjin gritted her teeth and quickly raised her hand to protect the back of her head.
However, the next moment, she felt herself falling into someone's arms. The person's hand was around her waist, while the other hand was supporting her shoulder.
Li Qianjin was stunned for a moment, softly calling out, "…Ling'er?"
She slowly reached out to touch the hand of the person holding her, and found that the back of the person's hand was smooth as silk. She realized it was not Ling'er who was holding her.
Ling'er, as a maid, had to do a lot of rough work every day, so both the palms and the back of her hands were rough, and she had no time to take care of them.
"Who are you?"
Feng Yudie looked at Li Qianjin with a playful smile. She had wanted to make her guess for a moment, but suddenly felt it was not too polite, so she answered honestly, "It's me."
"Se-Senior Sister Feng?"
"Yes, hehe."
Feng Yudie grinned and helped her back to her seat, then squatted down to tidy up the broken teacup, asking, "Junior Sister Li, why didn't you call for a servant to accompany you? It's so dangerous. If I hadn't come, you could have been seriously injured."
Li Qianjin turned towards Feng Yudie's voice and smiled bitterly, "Ling'er should be here. I don't know where she went. By the way, Senior Sister Feng, why did you come over?"
Feng Yudie grinned, brought over a chair, and sat down, replying, "I came to visit the ethereal Junior Sister Li. Is that not allowed?"
"...Senior Sister Feng is joking." Li Qianjin showed an awkward smile, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Senior Sister Feng, do you need to borrow something like the Spirit Gathering Array? You don't need to come specially to tell me, you can find..."
"I came specifically to tell you. Those two who found the demonic cultivator in the Chi Dragon Mansion, they said they would meet you the day after tomorrow in the forest outside Du Chun City."
Li Qianjin was slightly surprised, "The day after tomorrow? Then why didn't Senior Sister Feng bring them to the Chi Dragon Mansion?"
"Because the Chi Dragon Mansion is not safe, of course."
Li Qianjin frowned slightly, thinking that Feng Yudie was complaining. She pursed her lips and quickly apologized, "Senior Sister Feng, please rest assured. With my father in the mansion, even if those demonic cultivators are rampant, they will not be able to enter the inner mansion. The Chi Dragon Mansion will definitely protect you and Senior Sister Pei."
"Huh?" Feng Yudie waved her hand, "I'm not complaining, it's not your fault."
"It's the Chi Dragon Mansion's responsibility to let demonic cultivators enter the mansion. Senior Sister Feng, please speak frankly."
"I'm really not blaming you. You can't help it."
"I can't help it?" Li Qianjin slightly frowned, tilted her head and asked, "Does Senior Sister Feng already know how those demonic cultivators infiltrated the Chi Dragon Mansion?"
"I do know..."
Li Qianjin quickly clasped her hands and bowed her head, interrupting, "Please speak frankly, Senior Sister Feng."
"After you meet my junior brother and junior sister the day after tomorrow, they will tell you. Not now."
"Why?"
"There's no particular reason."
Feng Yudie looked at Li Qianjin, her eyes helpless. Although Ye Anping had not told her whether she could tell Li Qianjin first, she didn't feel comfortable repeating Ye Anping's words to Li Qianjin right now.
"Junior Sister Li, I only have one thing to say."
"Um, Senior Sister Feng, please speak."
After a moment of silence, Feng Yudie grabbed Li Qianjin's hand and said seriously, "We will always stand by your side."
Li Qianjin was startled and recoiled her neck, "Senior Sister Feng, what do you mean?"
"I'll come to pick you up the day after tomorrow to meet my junior brother. I'll go back first."
"..."
After leaving these words, Feng Yudie gently pinched Li Qianjin's cheek and then ran out.
Li Qianjin sat on the chair in a daze for a while, raising her hand to touch her cheek.
"What does that mean?"
At that moment, footsteps approached the room. Wu Yue passed by Feng Yudie at the door and was a bit puzzled by how quickly she was running. She walked into the room and asked, "Miss, did something happen just now with Miss Feng?"
"Senior Sister Feng said they found the two Profound Star Sect disciples who caught the demonic cultivator. She said she would take me to see them the day after tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Wu Yue's eyes widened slightly, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. However, she quickly took a deep breath, suppressed her excitement, and replied as calmly as possible, "I see. Then, I will accompany you the day after tomorrow."
"No need. Senior Sister Feng will take me there."
"That won't do. I am ordered by the master to protect you, Miss. What if this is a trap?"
Trap... Li Qianjin frowned slightly, suddenly recalling Feng Yudie's words just now—"We will always stand by your side."
She felt like Feng Yudie's words were reminding her of something. But... no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out the hidden meaning behind Feng Yudie's words...
"Hmm..."
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