The voice arrived before the person.
Li Man'er recognized it as Xiao Si.
The door was shoved open forcefully, and the wind, carrying the chill, surged into the room, as if sweeping away all the warmth.
Xiao Si entered with a grim expression. Upon seeing him, Gong Xiao's face contorted as if Xiao Si had ruined something good for him.
Li Man'er, however, remained composed, her expression giving away neither happiness nor anger.
Liu Ya was genuinely delighted. Regardless of the Xiao family's intentions, Xiao Si's arrival had at least extricated her young lady from an awkward situation.
Xiao Rudí continued to play dead, not even opening his eyes at Xiao Si's arrival.
Liu Ya, however, offered a slight curtsy, a gesture of thanks to Xiao Si.
Xiao Si first approached the bedside and examined his father, whose eyes were tightly shut. Then, with a stern face, he turned to Gong Xiao. "Uncle Gong, Miss Li is an honored guest of the Xiao family. With her here, there is hope for Father's leg ailment. Yet you show her disrespect and bark orders at her. What do you take her for?"
Gong Xiao was inwardly resentful, but outwardly he said, "Young Master, you misunderstand. I am a crude man and did not mean anything by it. It's just that someone poisoned the General's medicine earlier, which caused his leg to ache again. I thought, Miss Li is a doctor, after all."
"You need not say more. Even if you have a thousand reasons, speaking to Miss Li in such a manner is disrespectful. Apologize to Miss Li."
Gong Xiao naturally saw no fault in his actions. He was a man of honor who had faced death countless times for the sake of the nation, dedicating most of his life to the battlefield. How could he possibly look favorably upon a woman like Li Man'er?
Gong Xiao's face turned particularly unpleasant. He dared not confront Xiao Si, so he transferred all his resentment onto Li Man'er.
Having lived two lifetimes, Li Man'er had encountered all sorts of people and naturally perceived Gong Xiao's animosity.
Truly, birds of a feather flock together.
If Xiao Rudí was such a scoundrel, how could his subordinates be broad-minded individuals?
However, she did not take this minor issue to heart. She rose and said, "Young Master Xiao, you are too serious. It was not a significant matter to begin with. I believe General Gong was merely anxious and did not think things through. As he said, he is a crude man and did not consider the implications. It was merely a misunderstanding."
Gong Xiao thought to himself, *You're sensible enough.* He then seized the opportunity. "Yes, yes, yes. I hope the young lady will not hold a grudge against a rough fellow like me."
"How could I!" Li Man'er's face remained impassive, but in her heart, she had added this Deputy General Gong to her death list.
He looked down on her from the bottom of his heart and dared to insult her. To not seek revenge was not her nature.
Moreover, the hearts of men were treacherous. She had an obligation to teach him a lesson, to let him know that offending a physician, especially a highly skilled one, could lead to very tragic consequences.
"Let's go!"
Liu Ya followed Li Man'er with righteous indignation. The mistress and servant left the room without uttering a word, hurrying back to their own quarters.
Once the door was shut, Liu Ya began to complain.
"What kind of people are these! I think there isn't a single good person in this Xiao family. They're all plotting against you, do they think we're easy to bully?"
When Xiao Rudí had first invited her to treat his leg, he had ulterior motives, intending for her to marry his son.
As for Xiao Qiniang, she was even more audacious. To retaliate against her father, she even planned to target their young lady.
All in all, it was the Marquis's fault for being so incompetent. If it weren't for him, why would they have come to this man-eating place?
"Young lady, what do we do now?" Liu Ya's veins bulged on her forehead in anger. "We've saved the Marquis. I think we should just go back. We'd rather spend the New Year on the road than endure insults here."
Li Man'er, however, said, "Don't worry, your young lady is not someone who can be bullied at will. I will settle this score with them sooner or later."
"What do you plan to do?" Liu Ya's eyes sparkled.
The young lady was thinking the same thing as her. If people wanted to bully me, they must be prepared for me to bully them back at any time.
"You don't need to worry about that. In any case, that Gong Xiao is as good as dead." Li Man'er made a throat-slitting gesture with great authority.
"Young lady, let me do it!" Liu Ya whispered. "That Gong Xiao is quite skilled in martial arts. I am willing to try. If I happen to be caught, this matter will absolutely have nothing to do with you. It will be my own doing, unrelated to anyone else."
"Don't worry, killing him is very simple."
Very simple?
Liu Ya was perplexed. How could she not see it?
That evening, Li Man'er invited Xiao Qiniang for dinner.
Xiao Qiniang was puzzled by Li Man'er's sudden show of goodwill.
Having failed to scheme against Li Man'er, she was extremely annoyed and was looking for another opportunity when Li Man'er walked right into her trap. It was as if heaven was helping her.
Little did she know that Li Man'er had already discovered her secret through hypnosis and now intended to use hypnosis again to make Xiao Qiniang her witness!
Li Man'er paid out of her own pocket to have a table of delicacies ordered from an external restaurant.
When Xiao Qiniang arrived, the food was still hot, and even the wine had been warmed.
Fu Ling, fearing that Li Man'er was setting a trap, brought along six or seven maids and matrons.
Li Man'er chuckled upon seeing this. "Miss Qiniang, are you afraid I'll eat you? Do you need such a grand entourage in your own territory?"
Xiao Qiniang also disliked having people hovering around in the room. She scowled and said, "Fu Ling, you stay. The rest of you, leave."
No one dared to disobey her orders. They quickly left and hid in the adjacent side room.
"Miss Xiao Qiniang, please have a seat."
Xiao Qiniang sat down. "For no apparent reason, why has sister invited me for a meal? And ordered such a feast, it truly makes me feel flattered and extremely apprehensive."
"Miss Xiao Qiniang, you worry too much. It's just a touch of homesickness and a sudden craving for hometown dishes."
Xiao Qiniang looked down and indeed, several of the dishes were from the capital.
"The New Year is fast approaching, and I don't want to eat alone. I thought I'd ask you over to liven things up." Li Man'er poured a cup of wine for Xiao Qiniang and then for herself. "I'll drink this one first as a toast."
Li Man'er drained her cup, indicating it was safe.
"Young lady..." Fu Ling was still worried, suspecting a trick, and did not want Xiao Qiniang to drink.
"Nonsense, get out of the way! Sister Man'er is a skilled physician, and her use of medicine is also extremely potent. If she wanted to harm me, would she need to resort to poisoning the wine?"
Exactly!
Liu Ya glared at Fu Ling, thinking that the servants in the Xiao family were all the same. The last one, Xing'er, was also foolish and lost her life within two days.
Today, it was the turn of that Gong.
Xiao Qiniang also drank the wine.
Li Man'er picked up her chopsticks and smiled. "The maids around Miss Xiao Qiniang are the most capable. Let her serve the food!"
Fu Ling immediately stepped forward and used her chopsticks to serve Xiao Qiniang her favorite dishes. She secretly glared at Li Man'er, thinking, *Does she need to instruct me on such a minor matter? Am I, her head maid, just for show?*