Republic of China Era: Entering the Dao through Divine Strike.

"Master Li! Urgent news from the capital! Miss Cheng sent me here by fast horse to deliver a message... The follow-up to the reform in the capital is out. The Six Gentlemen have been sentenced to beheading, in the next two days."

Chief镖头 Wang came to our house seeking help, Miss Cheng, please return immediately..."

This is the second group of people, the second urgent letter.

Li Xin glanced at Sun Liancheng beside him, his eyes becoming somewhat cautious.

The situation in the capital city indeed changed three times a day.

It wasn't much different from the reform process recorded in the book from my previous life.

Li Xin read the letter, folded it, put it in his pocket, and glanced in the direction of the capital.

The sky over there was overcast, and dark clouds were gathering.

"Lin Si, Sun Qi, you two take a few men and stay behind to bury the villagers' remains. Erect a monument with the names of forty-nine people on it."

Li Xin took out a few silver ingots from his pocket and threw them to Lin Si, saying, "After you've buried them, go back to the capital."

Lin Si took the silver and said, "Don't worry, Master Li."

It took quite a while to get everything sorted out.

"Let's go, we need to get to the capital today."

Li Xin turned his horse around, and the chestnut horse neighed loudly, its four hooves flying as it headed north.

Wang Jingya spurred her horse and followed.

Ali poked her head out of the carriage and glanced back at the newly built graves on the hillside.

The tender green grass swayed gently on the grave mound, growing ever more distant.

Finally, it turned into a tiny green dot and disappeared around the bend in the official road.

....................................

Requesting monthly votes.

Chapter 195 Hidden Knife (Please Subscribe)

When the chestnut horse stepped onto that familiar street in Huashikou, it was already getting dark.

Most of the shops on both sides of the street were closed, and notices announcing the arrest of reformers were posted on the doors, with a corner torn off by the wind, making a whooshing sound.

Several men in long robes were gathered in front of the bulletin board, whispering among themselves. When they saw Li Xin riding over, they all fell silent, only speaking again after he had gone some distance.

The lanterns at the entrance of Li Garden have already been lit.

The dim light shone on the bluestone steps, casting long shadows of the gatekeepers.

The guard saw the long procession from afar, his gaze falling on the tall, chestnut-red horse. He paused for a moment, then shouted at the top of his lungs into the courtyard, "Master Li is back! Master Li is back!"

His voice was so loud that it made the flame inside the lantern shake three times.

The first one to rush out was Li Xiaoyue.

The little girl was probably practicing her kung fu in the backyard. She was holding a wooden stick in her hand and ran out barefoot, her slippers nowhere to be seen.

She saw Li Xin dismount, paused for a moment, then threw away the wooden stick and ran towards him.

"Second Brother!" She bumped into Li Xin's arms, her head hitting his chest. She looked up, her eyes sparkling, but she complained, "You said you'd be back in a few days, how many days has it been? Sister Hongxiu said you'd arrive today, and I've been waiting since this morning."

As she spoke, her voice changed, and she buried her face in his chest, adding in a muffled voice, "I thought you were out fighting with someone again and weren't coming back."

"We're done playing." Li Xin ruffled her hair. "Where are your shoes?"

Xiaoyue looked down at her bare feet, feeling a little embarrassed, but still stubbornly insisted, "I was practicing so hard that I forgot to put them on."

A soft laugh came from behind. Zhuang Hongxiu emerged from behind the screen wall, carrying a pair of small cloth shoes. She knelt down in front of Xiaoyue and helped her put them on. "You, you've been practicing your kung fu so much that your shoes have flown off."

She stood up, her gaze falling on Li Xin, and smiled gently, "It's good that Young Master is back safe and sound. The hot water is ready, and the food is prepared. Would you like to wash up first or have some food?"

"Let's prepare the meal first."

Zhuang Hongxiu responded and then took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it over.

"Young Master, the Qinglong Chamber of Commerce has sent some more medicinal herbs these past two days. We're just waiting for the pearls from Guangping. The quality of the Great Nourishing Spirit Herbal Soup will be greatly improved."

It turns out that Miss Zhang had already made arrangements before going to Guangping…

Li Xin glanced back at Zhang Yourong, who had just gotten off the carriage, and smiled, "Yourong is still so thoughtful. There's no rush. Let's prepare a meal first. I guess everyone is hungry."

Xiaoyue immediately grabbed Li Xin's hand and pulled him towards the backyard: "There's braised pork today! Sister Hongxiu made it herself." As she spoke, she saw Ali looking over timidly.

"who is she?"

"He's my second brother's newly accepted disciple," Li Xin chuckled.

Ali poked her head out of the carriage, still holding the basket of dried fish in her arms.

She looked at Xiaoyue's bright eyes, feeling a little lost, and glanced back at Zhang Yourong.

Zhang Yourong smiled and nodded at her. Only then did Ali jump down from the carriage, walk up to Xiaoyue, and timidly say, "My name is Ali."

Xiaoyue tilted her head and looked her over, then turned to Li Xin and shouted, "Second Brother, this sister is so thin!"

Then she grabbed Ali's hand and ran to the backyard. "My name is Li Xiaoyue, and I'm seven years old. Let me tell you, my second brother's horse is named Hongzao. It's very picky. If you feed it hay, it won't pay attention to you. You have to feed it this..."

She took half a carrot out of her pocket and wiped it on her clothes.

"I stole them from the kitchen. Sister Hongxiu said that carrots could be used to feed horses, so I would take one each time and hide it in my pocket."

When you feed him, keep your palm flat and don't stick your fingers up.

Liancheng got bitten on the finger the first time he was fed, not by a red date.

He withdrew his hand too quickly, and the jujube, thinking he was going to snatch it back, chased after his hand and took a bite.

When they reached the Moon Gate, Xiaoyue suddenly stopped, took out a grasshopper made of straw from another pocket, and stuffed it into Ali's hand.

"Here you go. Sister Hongxiu taught me how to knit this. I spent several days knitting it, and this one is the most similar."

Ali looked down at the grasshopper in her palm for a long time.

The grasshopper was woven from withered grass stems; its legs were slightly crooked, and its antennae were of different lengths, but the weave was very sturdy. She suddenly looked up and asked, "Will it get hungry?"

Xiaoyue paused for a moment. "It's made of straw, so you won't get hungry."

Ali looked down at the grasshopper and gently touched its belly with her finger: "I used to raise a cricket, but it starved to death."

Xiaoyue was silent for a while, then reached out and flicked the grasshopper's antennae with her finger. The antennae bounced back and swayed gently.

"There's a vegetable garden in the backyard, so we can feed it vegetable leaves."

Ali nodded.

Two little girls squatted by the vegetable patch, placed a grasshopper woven from straw on the largest vegetable leaf, and watched it "eat" attentively for a while.

The vegetable leaves swayed gently in the wind, and the grasshopper's shadow swayed along with them, as if it were alive.

Zhuang Hongxiu watched their retreating figures, a smile playing on her lips. "Young Master has picked up another one. Xiaoyue has been talking about it countless times these past few days, saying that Second Brother will bring back another older sister this time."

“She’s not the older sister. Ali is a few months older than her. Xiaoyue started practicing earlier than her, so she has to work hard. Otherwise, she’ll be sad if this junior disciple who just started can surpass her.”

"Anyway, she, as the nun, has been saddened many times." Zhuang Hongxiu blinked and couldn't help but laugh.

"Pressure can be a motivator," Li Xin said as he walked towards the backyard.

Cheng Yuanhua stood at the entrance of the Bamboo Garden, his hands behind his back, looking at the clump of bamboo next to the artificial hill.

He turned around when he heard footsteps, his gaze lingered on Li Xin for a moment, and then he nodded.

"You're back. Are you alright?"

"No."

"Feiyan told me about the Guangping incident." Cheng Yuanhua's tone was indifferent, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today. "The Wang family has more than 300 members, as well as Prefect Qian Bojun. You killed them all."

You sank those foreign merchant ships and gunboats at sea. Tsk tsk, what power, what murderous aura…”

"There are too many people in this world who deserve to die." Li Xin shook his head.

He's not some kind of killer.

It's fine if you don't see the scum who harm the people, but if you do, just get rid of them; it's not much trouble anyway.

Cheng Yuanhua was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled. There was a hint of relief, a hint of helplessness, and a hint of something else that was hard to describe: "Let's go eat first. Hongxiu started preparing a long time ago."

"Master, please..."

The dining room was steaming hot.

Zhuang Hongxiu's cooking skills are as good as ever.

The braised pork belly is stewed until tender and juicy, not greasy at all, with the sauce reduced to just the right consistency. The skin is so soft that it trembles when picked up with chopsticks, and it melts in your mouth.

The steamed sea bass is so tender it's like tofu; it falls apart at the slightest touch of chopsticks.

Finely chopped scallions and ginger slices are laid on the fish, and hot oil is poured over them, releasing an aroma that fills the nose.

Li Xin added extra garlic to the stir-fried vegetables, just to suit his taste.

When Li Xin sat down, Xiao Yue had already pulled Ali to sit down as well.

Two bowls were placed in front of the two little girls, each bowl piled high with rice.

Xiaoyue was introducing the dishes on the table to Ali, pointing to each one and saying, "My second brother loves this," "This one too," "This one is the best made by Sister Hongxiu."

Ali listened attentively, nodding occasionally, as if she were reciting a text.

Li Cheng sat at the other end of the table, not saying much, just silently eating his rice.

When Xiaoyue and Ali were sharing meat, he secretly put some braised pork from his bowl into Xiaoyue's bowl. Xiaoyue noticed and put it back, saying, "Big brother, you should eat too."

He smiled and didn't refuse again, but he still only reached for the green vegetables with his chopsticks.

Li Xin glanced at him, then picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in his bowl.

Li Cheng paused for a moment, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Li Xin was speechless.

Even though their families are so wealthy, these people still eat like ordinary people.

They haven't learned even a fraction of extravagance or pomp.

He didn't say anything; all of this was arranged by Zhuang Hongxiu.

The meals, including those in the east and west wing and the front yard, were enough to fill one's stomach, and included meat and vegetables, but in Li Xin's opinion, they were somewhat meager.

However, they are not particular about food.

The medicinal soup was extremely particular, especially for Li Xin himself.

These things are impossible to talk about.

I picked up a piece of braised pork, chewed it, and it was indeed cooked for a whole day.

Xiaoyue watched him take his first bite before picking up her chopsticks and placing another piece on Ali's plate. She whispered, "Sister Hongxiu said that Second Brother has a big appetite and will have an extra meal later. He'll eat a lot."

He's just trying a little now, let's not hold back.

Ali nodded and put his piece of braised pork into Xiaoyue's bowl: "Then you should eat more, you're growing." Xiaoyue was stunned for a moment, then picked out a piece from her bowl and put it back into Ali's bowl: "You're growing too."

The two women kept passing the food back and forth, until Zhuang Hongxiu finally put a piece on each of their plates, and the refusing finally subsided.

When Cheng Feiyan returned from outside, she had already eaten half of her meal.

She strode into the dining room, two swords hanging at her waist, her face showing signs of travel fatigue.

But when he saw Li Xin sitting at the table, his eyes lit up immediately.

Zhuang Hongxiu served her a bowl of rice. She sat down, took it, and ate a couple of mouthfuls before she could catch her breath.

Xiaoyue was just coming out of the kitchen with a plate of osmanthus cakes, and she tiptoed to put it on the table.

Cheng Feiyan glanced at her, then at Li Xin, and said in a low voice, "The streets are plastered with arrest notices. There are six portraits on the bulletin board at Xuanwu Gate, the top one being Mr. Tan."

Xiaoyue was placing the osmanthus cakes on the table when she heard the words "Mr. Tan" and paused.

She still remembered that day, the scholar uncle who had argued with her second brother until their necks turned red.

He wears glasses, and when he's not talking, his smile is very friendly, but when he starts talking, it's a bit intimidating.

She looked up at Cheng Feiyan, then at Li Xin.