Qi Yihan and Ah Qi departed silently.
Li Man'er couldn't figure out how they had infiltrated the yamen and then managed to be assigned as her guards. She was a thorn in the Xiao family's side, someone they couldn't afford to be careless with. Anyone chosen to monitor her must be incredibly trustworthy.
This indicated that the two had been placed in the yamen long before and had gained the Xiao family's recognition and trust.
Was this Ninth Prince truly so unfathomable, playing such a grand game?
However, with everyone in the room under the influence of the calming incense and sound asleep, it was the perfect time for her to explore her space.
With a thought, Li Man'er vanished from the couch.
Inside her space, a stout and a thin figure lay side-by-side, both completely unconscious, much like Li Shu's current state.
The stout one was Dang Nu. Back at Medicine King Temple, Miss Qian Er had brought Dang Nu to kill her, but Li Man'er had seized the opportunity to absorb Dang Nu into her space.
Dang Nu wasn't born this way. She had been raised as a "medicine slave" through some secret method. Her mind was no different from a wild beast's; she possessed immense strength but no technique. To ordinary people, Dang Nu was a deadly threat, but to someone like Li Man'er, Dang Nu was merely a meat shield, and not even a very effective one.
Li Man'er didn't intend to save her out of kindness. She was merely curious about how someone could become like this and wanted to experiment on her, to see if she could be cured.
In her past life, she had encountered similar cases, but their lifespans were short, and very few were ever cured.
The thin one was Feng Jue. He looked deathly pale, more like a dried corpse than a living person, his gauntness distorting his features. Like Dang Nu, he had been force-fed herbs until he was this way. They were both remarkably resilient to have survived.
The stark contrast in their physiques was like the difference between a drought and a flood.
Li Man'er decided to ignore their fate for the moment. She took stock of the items she had brought from Feng Jue and discovered quite a few treasures.
The bottles and jars contained various pills and powders, some were poisons, others antidotes, and a few were sordid items designed to cause harm.
This old man was wealthy, possessing tens of thousands of taels in banknotes alone, not to mention the rare treasures he had amassed. Among them were several stalks of hundred-year-old ginseng, and precious medicinal herbs like reishi mushrooms and snow lotus.
"Hmm, what's this?"
Li Man'er found a very old purse hidden at the bottom of a small chest. The purse was faded and looked quite ancient.
A fiery blaze of gossip ignited in Li Man'er's eyes. Could it be that this old man had a romantic past in his youth?
Why in his youth, though! He looked so terrifying now, capable of scaring anyone to death. What woman could possibly have had feelings for him? Unless she was blind.
The purse was about the size of an adult man's palm. It felt light, as if empty. Li Man'er squeezed it through the fabric and found the contents to be soft, feeling like leather.
Soft and thick. Not like silk, nor paper.
Li Man'er opened it, and her pupils contracted. She took out the item and examined it closely.
It was a map drawn on sheepskin, very detailed, depicting mountains, rivers, and vast stretches of desolate Gobi Desert. It looked like a treasure map, but not quite.
The purse was old, but the sheepskin was new, still carrying a faint scent of lamb.
This meant that the map was a recent acquisition, likely from the northern desert.
Did the Xiao family's intense interest in Feng Jue have anything to do with the map he possessed?
Li Man'er studied the sheepskin map several times and indeed found something suspicious. One edge of the map was very neat, not appearing natural but as if it had been split in two, deliberately cut.
Could it be that the sheepskin map had been divided, with one half in the hands of the Xiao family and the other with Feng Jue?
He was so careless, hiding this purse in a chest. Wasn't he afraid of it being stolen? Logically, it should have been kept on his person for maximum safety.
Well, perhaps not. Feng Jue was clearly not a normal person. He suffered from mental episodes, during which he would become disoriented and lose consciousness. If someone had managed to get their hands on it then, he would have suffered a great loss.
Conversely, his room could be booby-trapped and filled with poisons. Ordinary people who obtained it wouldn't be able to leave alive.
Now, this map had fallen into her hands for free.
Li Man'er set the sheepskin map aside, drank some spirit mist spring water, and then exited her space.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, Liu Ya and Jiao Niang woke up late, but Li Man'er rose earlier than usual.
The outside was a vast expanse of white. Snow had fallen at some point, painting the entire world in white.
The guards at the door were indeed two unfamiliar faces. Li Man'er didn't recognize them. As she stepped out, she subtly observed the two men. They kept their gazes straight ahead, not even lifting an eyelid.
"Miss, why are you up so early?"
"It's not early. The sky is too bright; I couldn't sleep."
Liu Ya quickly said, "It's too cold outside. Hurry back inside. It would be bad if you caught a cold."
"Mm. Has Jiao Niang not woken yet?"
"She's probably tired from last night, but she'll be up soon."
As the mistress and maidservant returned inside, Xiao Qiniang's maid, Xing'er, arrived.
"Greetings to the Eldest Miss."
"Miss Xing'er." Li Man'er was full of curiosity. "What brings you here? Has the sun risen in the west? My place is like a prison, yet for Miss Xing'er to grace me with a visit is truly a rare occasion."
Xing'er seemed not to hear her barbed words. "Seventh Miss requests that you join her for breakfast."
Join for breakfast?
"Certainly!" Li Man'er said, "I've been dissatisfied with your family's food for a while. It's a good opportunity to see what Seventh Miss eats for breakfast. I imagine it's far more refined than mine."
Xing'er immediately replied, "Eldest Miss is joking. You have traveled far; you are our guest. Naturally, the finest delicacies are reserved for you."
"Oh, is that so!" Li Man'er snorted. "You don't even have small dishes like 'Eight Treasures Duck Tongue,' yet you claim to be reserving the best for me. I wonder if Seventh Miss is being too stingy with her hospitality, or if this remote corner of yours is simply too poor."
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Xing'er's face turned red with anger at Li Man'er's arrogant words. This Eldest Miss of Iron Brave Marquis's mansion was indeed not a good person. It was no wonder her reputation was so terrible and that people spoke of her that way; it was truly not unfair.
Li Man'er rose, put on her cloak, and then imperiously ordered, "You, lead the way."
Xing'er suppressed her displeasure and led Li Man'er to the main courtyard.
Xiao Qiniang was already waiting for her in the flower hall.