Warm medicine emits fragrance

Days passed by, and a month quickly went by.

Several major events occurred this month.

Prince Rong won a battle on the border, and his morale soared. Upon hearing of a rebellion, he volunteered to quell it.

During this period, Li Chenxin from the neighboring East Courtyard became increasingly smug and began to openly and secretly sabotage Li Chenbi.

He used Prince Rong to pressure Li Chenbi, and under the guise of donating grain and fodder to Prince Rong, he seized the money and grain stores that originally belonged to Li Chenbi, and even attempted to interfere in the affairs of the Northern Court.

Li Chenxin was the head of the Li family. In the past, apart from the North Courtyard, all the other courtyards in the Li family were under the management of Li Chenxin and his wife.

Now that Li Chenxin had gained power, he began to try to break the balance that had been maintained in the mansion for many years.

Li Chenbi was naturally unwilling, and the two had another big argument over it. In the end, Li Chenbi left with a sullen face.

That very evening, upon hearing that Li Chenxin had acquired several of Li Chenbi's thriving shops, he took them over.

When Siqing returned from her trip, she overheard the servants in the mansion talking about how the shops were given to Li Chenxin in exchange for independent control of the North Courtyard.

There were many rumors circulating in the mansion, but it had no effect on Fan Liuer in the North Courtyard. She continued to live her life as usual, without any reduction in her food, clothing, or other necessities.

Fan Liuer asked Li Chenbi privately. She wasn't worried about Li Chenbi, but given his intelligence, she felt there was something seriously wrong.

Perhaps all of this was designed by Li Chenbi.

However, she didn't get any answers. Li Chenbi only told her not to worry and to just live her own life.

With Li Chenbi handing over his affairs, he had more and more free time each day and spent more and more time at home.

Fan Liuer didn't even have a chance to find some time to ask Siqing about the specific address of her hometown.

Let alone thinking about escaping.

In early March, another major event occurred at the Li residence.

Fighting on the front lines incurs enormous expenses every day, and the imperial treasury has long been running a deficit. These expenses are supported entirely by increased taxes and donations from wealthy gentry.

As the family of the concubine of Prince Rong, the Li family naturally had to provide strong support.

One month into the war, the Li family's warehouse had been emptied by more than half.

Li Chenbi went to persuade Li Chenxin to stop blindly sending money to the front lines and to at least take care of the household expenses.

During times of war, the economy is sluggish, and the businesses under the Li family's name are not as good as before. The war is a bottomless pit, and if this continues, the Li family will be dragged down sooner or later.

In front of all the servants, Li Chenxin berated Li Chenbi, invoking the title of Prince Rong, leaving Li Chenbi no chance to retaliate.

The servants all said that this was the most humiliating time Li Chenbi had ever experienced since taking over the family business.

Not satisfied with scolding Li Chenbi, Li Chenxin wrote a letter to Prince Rong, informing him of Li Chenbi's obstruction.

Years of resentment clouded Li Chenxin's mind after he gained power, causing him to harbor murderous intent towards Li Chenbi.

At this time, Prince Rong needed money, and preventing Li Chenxin from sending him money was tantamount to hindering his great cause. Naturally, he was furious and immediately wanted to send someone to Li's residence to eliminate Li Chenbi.

When Li Chenshu, who was accompanying Prince Rong to the front lines, learned of this, she pleaded with Prince Rong to spare Li Chenbi's life. Instead, she removed him from the Li family genealogy and expelled him from the Li residence.

Before the news reached the Li residence, Li Chenbi had already anticipated what would happen and instructed Fan Liuer two nights in advance.

"Something bad is about to happen. There will be some chaos in the manor in the next few days. I will arrange for someone to escort you out of the manor tomorrow night."

Afraid that Fan Liuer would worry, he hugged her and gently coaxed her, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just wait for me outside."

Fan Liuer was indeed somewhat worried.

Li Chenbi's words implied that he would arrange for someone to escort her out of the mansion, meaning that Li Chenbi would not personally accompany her.

That was her best chance to escape.

but...

Li Chenbi had been too good to her during this time. She was a living, breathing person with flesh and blood, and after spending so much time together, it would be a lie to say that she had no feelings for Li Chenbi at all.

Although she had always wanted to leave, she hesitated when the day actually came.

Is she really guaranteed a good life without Li Chenbi?

Following Li Chenbi, she might not necessarily be unhappy; isn't her life pretty good now?

She couldn't make up her mind, but when she packed her bags the next day, she secretly hid the money she had prepared in advance on her person.

Li Chenbi usually gave her too many things. She didn't touch the big, conspicuous items that couldn't be sold, but she had Siqing secretly take away and sell a lot of the smaller pieces of jewelry that wouldn't be noticeable if there were a few left.

She didn't tell Siqing why she did it, but only told Siqing not to be discovered, especially not to Li Chenbi. If Li Chenbi found out that she had sold the things he had given her, both she and Siqing would be punished.

But she didn't let Siqing run errands for nothing, and would always give Siqing a little reward.

The two had known each other for so long, longer than Fan Liuer and Li Chenbi had. Si Qing had long guessed Fan Liuer's purpose, but she never asked Fan Liuer any questions and silently handled the matter perfectly.

At Fan Liuer's request, large amounts of silver ingots and some jewelry were exchanged for silver notes, while gold ingots and gold ornaments were melted down and hammered into small circles the size of a fingernail.

Each circle was independent and without gaps. Fan Liuer strung these small circles together with silk thread to make a gold chain.

Now that chain can be wrapped around her waist several times.

This was a plan she had been thinking about for a long time. If she really wanted to escape, it would be very dangerous for a woman to carry too many valuables.

You definitely can't bring gold, silver, jewelry, or other valuables, and you can't bring too many banknotes either, as they're easy to spot.

But this gold chain was different. She wrapped it around her waist and then wore a thick cotton-padded coat over it. Even if she was searched, unless her clothes were taken off, no one could find it at all, and it wouldn't fall off.

When they were short of money, they would take off a small gold ring and pawn it.

It's more discreet to pawn a small gold ring, no bigger than a fingernail, than to pawn an expensive gold hairpin. It won't attract attention and make you a target for thieves.

That night, Fan Liuer didn't sleep a wink.

Li Chenbi slept soundly, holding her tightly in his sleep, using his warm body as a heater to dispel all the chill from her body.

Fan Liuer looked at him, reached out and gently stroked his eyebrows and eyes, then slowly slid her hand down.

Compared to a life of luxury and wealth, what she was most reluctant to part with was Li Chenbi's constitution.

Without him, the winters to come won't be so pleasant.

After all, no matter how rich you are, you can't buy a human heater.

A wave of inner turmoil and hesitation washed over her, making her feel unsettled.

Is she really leaving?

She was starting to have doubts.