After finishing his meal, Hu Jiuchi shook the wine flask at his waist and said, “Girl Shen, I need to slip out and take care of some business today. But don’t worry, this old man always keeps his word. Since I promised to teach this boy, I won’t run away.”
Shen Xia nodded.
“Senior Hu isn’t our servant. You’re free to come and go as you please. Coincidentally, I’m taking Li Xiao out today as well, so do whatever you need to do.”
Hu Jiuchi had deep ties to the martial world and many private matters to handle. He never stayed in one place for long, so Shen Xia completely understood.
Only after watching him effortlessly vault over the Shen Family’s wall and disappear outside did Shen Xia wipe her mouth with a handkerchief and turn toward Li Xiao.
“Finished eating?”
“Mm.”
Li Xiao sat unusually close to her, making him feel as though he were sitting rigidly at attention. With his hands neatly resting on his knees, he gave a stiff nod.
Could she really be planning to buy him clothes?
“If you’re full, then come with me.”
Shen Xia rose to her feet.
She led him toward the front courtyard. Qianzhu wanted to follow, but Shen Xia refused.
Along the way, numerous maids and servants stepped aside the moment they saw them, their expressions filled with awkwardness.
After all, before this, Shen Xia and Li Xiao had held lower status than even the servants of the household.
Yet overnight, the master had issued an order forbidding anyone from provoking Shen Xia, and even Li Xiao’s treatment had improved.
Ignoring all those strange looks, Shen Xia arrived at the storeroom.
Steward Huang Jia was busy calculating accounts. When he looked up and saw her, a glint flashed through his eyes before he asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes,
“Seventh Miss, what brings you here?”
“I haven’t received my monthly allowance for three full years. Isn’t it time for Steward Huang to pay me what I’m owed?”
Shen Xia got straight to the point.
Huang Jia was one of Shen Ying’s mother’s people. Over the years, he had withheld plenty of allowances meant for the concubine-born daughters.
The others at least had their mothers or concubines making a fuss on their behalf, allowing them to receive something. But the original Shen Xia had received absolutely nothing.
Hearing her purpose, Huang Jia’s smile faded considerably.
“Seventh Miss, what use would you have for silver in the residence? The Madam only withheld your allowance because she worried you couldn’t manage money. She merely kept it for you so she could save up a dowry on your behalf.”
“After all, your birth mother died early, so Madam has had to make extra plans for your future, hasn’t she?”
“I’ve heard the Master has been paying more attention to you lately. Your life in the residence should become much more comfortable, so you need even less silver now.”
“If there’s nothing else, Seventh Miss, please leave. I still have accounts to settle.”
With a flick of his sleeve, he attempted to dismiss her.
He was, after all, the Madam’s distant cousin and followed her orders. Just because the Master had instructed others to treat Shen Xia better did not mean he intended to show her any respect.
A chill entered Shen Xia’s expression.
She had known collecting her allowance would not be easy.
The moment Huang Jia turned around to leave, she suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Crack! Crack!
Several sharp sounds rang out.
“Ah! It hurts! It hurts!”
The arrogant steward from moments ago immediately burst into agonized screams.
“My hand! My hand is broken! My hand is broken!”
He repeated the words in panic.
“Only the left one is broken. You still have the right.”
Standing beside him, Shen Xia looked down coldly at his miserable state.
Huang Jia nearly burst into tears.
He had never imagined that a simple squeeze from Shen Xia could break his wrist.
When he saw her reaching toward his other arm, he scrambled backward in terror.
“S-Seventh Miss, I was wrong! I’ll get your money right now!”
“Then why aren’t you hurrying?”
There was little patience left in Shen Xia’s voice.
Trembling, Huang Jia used his uninjured right hand to unlock the storeroom and retrieved thirty taels of silver.
“A concubine-born daughter’s monthly allowance is five taels. Three years have passed, and Steward Huang is only giving me thirty taels?”
Shen Xia’s gaze swept over the silver, and her expression turned cold again.
“T-Taking out too much money at once requires Madam’s approval. She’s still at the temple and hasn’t returned yet. I don’t dare make that decision myself.”
He swallowed nervously as he answered.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay more.
The Madam had given strict orders that Shen Xia’s life must remain difficult.
If he hadn’t been trying to save his remaining hand, he wouldn’t even have handed over these thirty taels.
Shen Xia lowered her eyes and noticed his legs trembling.
Such little courage?
Her gaze briefly shifted toward Li Xiao before she reached out and took the thirty taels from Huang Jia.
“Fine, I’ll take these thirty taels for now. I’ll come back another day for the rest.”
After Shen Xia and Li Xiao left, Huang Jia collapsed onto the ground in a heap, looking utterly disheveled.
The aura Shen Xia had displayed just now had genuinely frightened him.
How had a once-soft pushover suddenly become so aggressive?
“Hiss… it hurts… it hurts so much…”
He tried to pat his chest and calm himself, only to remember that one of his hands was broken.
The pain nearly brought tears to his eyes.
He hurriedly struggled to his feet, intending to find a doctor.
“Right, I also need to inform Madam. The Seventh Miss’s temperament has changed completely. It’s downright unsettling.”