“I’ll take you back and bandage your wounds.”
Seeing that blood was still seeping from Li Xiao’s injuries, Shen Xia’s heart tightened slightly. Grabbing his wrist, she started leading him outside.
“How did you come back?” Li Xiao asked in a strange tone as she pulled him along.
How could this vicious woman be completely fine?
He had even been planning to escape just to see how she died.
“Don’t worry, I’m not dying anytime soon,” Shen Xia replied calmly.
After returning to their small courtyard, she immediately fetched medicine.
“Don’t move, I’ll apply the ointment.”
Using scissors, she cut open his clothes. The dried blood had already stuck to the fabric, causing Shen Xia’s brows to knit tightly together.
“Bear with it. It’ll stop hurting soon.”
Li Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say that these injuries were nothing. Compared to the wounds he had suffered in the past, they were hardly worth mentioning.
In the end, however, he swallowed the words.
Stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye, he noticed the injuries on her face. Yet she seemed completely unaware of them, focusing solely on treating his wounds.
This woman…
Why was she pretending to be a good person again?
It was so irritating.
He hated this feeling.
Though his expression remained calm, his thoughts had already become a tangled mess.
Only after every wound on his body had been treated did Shen Xia finally relax.
“Get some rest first. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow.”
“I…” Li Xiao parted his lips, wanting to say something, but could only watch helplessly as she walked out.
Annoyed with himself, he slammed a fist onto the table.
Wasn’t he supposed to question her harshly and stay far away from her?
After all, she had been scheming against him the whole time.
Then why…
Why had he been unable to shake off her hand earlier?
Had he become too attached to her warmth?
…
While washing her hands beside the well in the courtyard, Shen Xia suddenly noticed a figure appear beside her.
Hu Jiuchi sat down on a nearby stone, swaying his wine gourd while crossing one leg over the other. He looked at her with a probing gaze.
“Are you really just a teenage girl?”
Shen Xia had already sensed his presence. Hearing his question, her hand paused briefly.
Looking up, she smiled and replied, “What do you mean by that, Senior Hu? Do I look old to you?”
“No.” Hu Jiuchi shook his head, wearing a mysterious expression. “This old man simply thinks that your mind and schemes are far beyond what someone your age should possess.”
“Today, I heard in town that you injured Young Master Tang and were later thrown out of the Shen family before being taken to the Murong Residence for questioning. I thought you were as good as dead, so I risked sneaking into the residence to save you.”
“Want to guess what I saw?”
“I witnessed quite a performance!”
“In the Shen family, you were composed and fearless, directing everything from behind the scenes. Yet in front of Murong Ke, you acted timid, submissive, and terrified of death. Honestly, you almost fooled even me.”
After taking a large gulp of wine, Hu Jiuchi said meaningfully, “This was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?”
Thinking back on everything he had learned about the Shen family over the past few days, he became even more convinced.
Although there were many details he did not know, his eyes were sharp enough to see the bigger picture.
She had been laying out a scheme all along.
Taking Li Xiao out into town, causing a public disturbance, and drawing Murong Ke’s attention had all been deliberate.
“You seem to understand everyone very well. You know Murong Ke’s ambition and arrogance, so you intentionally revealed your hatred toward the Shen family and made him want to use you to monitor them.”
“You also told him that you were close to Li Xiao. You understood perfectly that Murong Ke cared greatly about the value Li Xiao held.”
“Earlier at the woodshed, I saw it from afar. Someone from the Murong Residence was watching you. They only left after confirming that you and Li Xiao truly appeared close. You intended for them to see that.”
“With all of this combined, Murong Ke would naturally view you as a useful chess piece. Not only would he spare your life, but he would also give you opportunities.”
“What I cannot understand is how a mere concubine-born daughter of the Shen family knows so much.”
Furthermore, her courage was astonishing.
She had deliberately offended the Tang family, forced Shen Duancheng into driving her out, and created the impression that she had nowhere left to turn.
Even the matter of Inspector Qin taking her as a concubine was suspicious. If he remembered correctly, when he had overheard her conversation with her maid the previous day, the idea had originally come from him and Shen Duancheng. Yet somehow it had become a story of coercion.
Perhaps even Inspector Qin was merely another piece on her chessboard.
But every step of her plan had been connected to the next. Had anything gone wrong, she likely would never have walked out of the Murong Residence alive.
“So you saw through everything, Senior. How embarrassing.” Shen Xia dried her hands, her tone remaining calm.
His deductions were completely correct.
Everything had been part of her plan.
She had already realized that proving her worth to Shen Duancheng alone was not enough. On this island, he possessed very little real authority.
If she wanted to establish her value, she had to prove it to Murong Ke as well.
Only then would her future plans proceed more smoothly.
“Now that I think about it, perhaps I was one of the people you manipulated too. You saw through my identity and even knew how to use wine against me. Poor old me, falling right into your trap because of a few jars of liquor.” Hu Jiuchi sighed and shook his head.
Shen Xia chuckled softly.
“This junior is grateful that Senior was willing to join the game and overlook my clumsy tricks.”
The plans she had made might have been enough to fool Shen Duancheng and Murong Ke, but Hu Jiuchi was an old fox. There had been no hiding them from him.
“Fine, for the sake of the wine, this old man won’t hold it against you. But there’s one thing I can’t figure out. You wanted me to teach Li Xiao. Are you really that confident in me? I’ll only remain on Nanli Island for a short while. What do you think I can teach him in such a short time?”
“In truth, my real goal is for you to take Li Xiao away.”
Shen Xia met his eyes calmly.
A flicker of surprise crossed Hu Jiuchi’s gaze.
“You want me to take him away?”
“Yes. There is only one sea route off the island, and it is heavily guarded. Entering the island is easy, but leaving is difficult, especially for someone with Li Xiao’s identity. But you are different, Senior. You have your own methods. You come and go as you please.”
After hearing her explanation, Hu Jiuchi gripped his wine gourd and nearly jumped in alarm.
“You little girl! So this was what you were after all along. You… you…”
He leapt off the stone.
“This old man may indeed have a way to leave the island, but bringing another person with me is not nearly so simple. What makes you think I’d take such a risk just because of a few jars of wine?”
“That’s why I’m only taking a gamble.” Shen Xia shook her head helplessly.
“I wanted you and Li Xiao to spend time together first. He’s an exceptional talent. Perhaps after getting to know him, you might change your mind.”
Hu Jiuchi fell silent.
No wonder this girl had always encouraged Li Xiao to spend more time around him.
She had been planning this from the start, hoping the two of them would build a connection.
“Senior, as compensation, I can help you resolve the knot that has troubled your heart for many years.”
Taking a deep breath, Shen Xia finally revealed her bargaining chip.