One advantage of living in such a remote corner of the estate was its proximity to the back gate.
After returning to her courtyard, Shen Xia picked up her veiled hat and put it on before slipping out through the rear entrance.
She did not believe that her earlier words alone would be enough to convince Shen Duancheng that she was valuable. She needed to add fuel to the fire.
She first visited a pawnshop and pawned several belongings left behind by the original owner of the body. After obtaining some silver, she went to a pharmacy to purchase medicinal herbs.
As the granddaughter of a traditional Chinese medicine hospital director, she could not claim to be an expert physician, but she was highly familiar with basic medicinal principles.
She needed to properly nurse this body back to health.
With the remaining silver, she bought several flatbreads.
“Come here. Do you want something to eat?” she called out to a group of little beggars in an alley.
“You’re going to buy food for us?”
The children were so excited that they could barely contain themselves, rubbing their hands together eagerly.
“I have some information that needs to be spread through your mouths. If you’re willing to help me, these flatbreads are yours.”
“Yes, yes, we’re willing! We all are!”
The little beggars nodded frantically.
Shen Xia spent quite a while wandering outside afterward, gathering more information about the island. Only after night had fallen did she return to the Shen Family estate.
Although her courtyard was shabby and dilapidated, it did have one advantage: there were many rooms.
It was said that the courtyard had been haunted many years ago, which was why it had remained vacant ever since.
Otherwise, given how neglected the original owner had been, she probably would not even have had a roof over her head.
One of the rooms even contained a kitchen. After a quick cleaning, the stove would still be usable for brewing medicine.
But before preparing any medicine, she needed to fill her stomach.
With that thought, Shen Xia headed toward the estate’s main kitchen.
At this hour, everyone in the kitchen was busy preparing the Shen Family’s evening meal.
The moment they saw her enter, they immediately began driving her away.
“Go, go, go. This isn’t the time for you to be here. You’ll have to wait until everyone finishes eating. If there are leftovers, then they’ll be yours.”
Someone nearby let out a mocking laugh.
“Leftovers? Keep dreaming. She offended Third Miss Shen. Third Miss Shen specifically ordered that no leftovers be saved for her from now on!”
“Some people really don’t know their place. Does she actually think she’s a master of the household now? How dare she offend Third Miss Shen?”
“Exactly. Hurry up and get out. Don’t dirty the kitchen.”
“…”
Their taunts were sharp and unpleasant.
Shen Xia laughed in anger.
So this was the original owner’s daily life.
Simply because her mother had come from a brothel and she was an unloved concubine-born daughter, these people looked down on her and treated her as less than human.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped back several paces. When no one was paying attention, she shoved a storage rack with all her strength.
A series of loud crashes rang out.
Before anyone could react, everything on the rack came tumbling down.
In an instant, the floor was covered in chaos.
Soon, panicked screams erupted throughout the kitchen.
“Those are the bird’s nest soups prepared for Old Madam Shen and the others!”
“What about Master’s medicinal tonic?”
“We’re finished! That’s Concubine Tang’s dish, and those are the young masters’ soups!”
“It’s all gone, all gone! Something terrible is going to happen!”
“…”
While everyone was losing their minds, Shen Xia calmly stuffed several large meat buns into a bag and quickly left the kitchen behind.
On her way back, carrying the buns, she came across several people pinning Li Xiao to the ground and forcing him to eat rice that had been scattered onto the dirt.
“Hahaha! Look at him. Doesn’t he look just like a dog?”
“You little bastard, hurry up and lick the ground clean for this young master.”
Shen Xia recognized the loudest of them.
His name was Shen Pingjin, the Ninth Young Master and the son of Concubine Wang.
Shen Duancheng placed great importance on sons and bloodlines. As a result, despite Shen Pingjin being short, fat, and covered in layers of flesh, a complete wastrel and fool, he still enjoyed a comfortable life.
He also took great pleasure in bullying Li Xiao.
Li Xiao had nearly been beaten to death that very morning. Now, pinned to the ground again, he had no strength left to resist.
Fresh blood once more stained his clothes red.
His fingers dug into the dirt, veins bulging violently as he stubbornly refused to eat the rice scattered on the ground.
Smack!
Shen Xia strode over and slapped the back of Shen Pingjin’s head.
“Who? Who dares hit me?” Shen Pingjin roared in fury.
By then, Shen Xia had already grabbed his hair and shoved his face directly into the bowl.
Though her body was still weak, dealing with trash like Shen Pingjin was more than easy enough.
“N… Ninth Young Master…”
The servants were terrified. They wanted to rush over and save him, but Shen Xia’s ferocious appearance frightened them into retreat.
When had Seventh Miss become so fierce?
After holding him down for quite some time, Shen Xia finally released him when her hand began to ache.
Clutching the buns tightly, she turned to leave.
Then her gaze fell upon Li Xiao, and her tone became somewhat complicated.
“Why aren’t you following me? Do you want to stay here and keep getting beaten?”
Li Xiao gripped his sleeve tightly.
After hesitating for a long while, he finally limped after her.
“Shen Xia! You crazy woman! Are you looking to die? You wrecked the kitchen and assaulted Ninth Young Master. Do you believe the Master will throw you out of the family immediately?”
Qianxue, who had witnessed everything from hiding, rushed out from the shadows. Thinking she had finally caught evidence against Shen Xia, she spoke with extreme arrogance.
But the moment Shen Xia replied, “Do you want a beating too?” Qianxue immediately recalled what had happened that morning. Even now, her cheeks still burn from the memory.
This woman had definitely gone mad.
Otherwise, why would she hit people so recklessly?
A chill ran down her spine, and she quickly retreated to the side.
Back in her room, Shen Xia sat down and looked up at Li Xiao, who remained standing by the doorway.
He was twelve years old this year, but because of the years of abuse he had endured, he looked no older than eight or nine.
He was terribly thin and undersized.
Messy strands of hair obscured half his face, yet they could not conceal his delicate features.
It was said that Consort Jin had once been the greatest beauty in the capital. Naturally, her son had inherited her looks.
But in his current state, with no ability to protect himself, possessing such a face was hardly a blessing.
“Come here,” she beckoned.
Yet Li Xiao remained full of caution and refused to take even a single step forward.
Shen Xia sighed softly to herself.
It was true that she intended to “use” him, but she also genuinely wanted to help him.
In her previous life, she had already been twenty-four years old and had a younger brother around Li Xiao’s age.
He had grown up surrounded by love and care, obedient and sensible.
She could not imagine how heartbroken and guilty she and her parents would feel if her brother had suffered even a fraction of what Li Xiao had endured.
Because of that, she could not simply ignore his injuries.
She soaked a handkerchief with water and walked over to him.
“Give me your hand,” she said softly.
Li Xiao refused, so she simply took hold of his hand herself.
The warmth of her fingers made him stiffen slightly.
Lowering her eyes, Shen Xia patiently wiped away the blood and dirt covering his hands.
Unable to stop himself, he stole glances at her from the corner of his eye…
Her attentive concern did not seem fake.
That expression, he had seen it only on his mother’s face.
Why was she suddenly treating him so well?
What exactly was she plotting?
Could it be that she intended to lower his guard with this kindness before finding an opportunity to harm him?
At that thought, a sinister aura once again surfaced around Li Xiao.
Back in the peach blossom grove…
He should have killed her then.