Everyone looked at one another. Li Sushu gave a light cough and suggested, “Why don’t we bury it again?”
“Mark the spot and report it to the post-station officer when we get back so he can handle it.”
Li Yueyue was puzzled. “Why bury it again? Wouldn’t it be fine to take it back with us and look for the post-station officer directly?”
“Carrying this thing back with us—aren’t you worried about the bad luck?” Li Ming agreed with Li Sushu’s suggestion.
Li Sushu did not actually think it was unlucky. She wanted to bury it again because she was afraid that wild beasts in the mountains would carry the bones away.
If they took it back, she was also afraid they might damage the crime scene, although they might have already damaged it.
In any case, the most appropriate solution she could think of at the moment was to bury it again.
After they finished burying it, Li Sushu silently apologized. She was sorry for disturbing the senior’s rest, and hoped the senior would be magnanimous toward the offense of a small person. The child had not known better and had not meant to offend, and so on.
Li Yueyue and her elder brother, however, looked completely untroubled by taboos. They did not feel in the slightest that digging up a human skeleton while digging a trap was in any way offensive.
Li Sushu silently marveled. Had the ancients simply seen so much that nothing surprised them anymore?
The group returned in silence. A servant carried the roe deer Li Ming had hunted, so at least they would not be returning empty-handed.
After they got back, they told Steward Li about what had happened, and then they no longer needed to concern themselves with it. Steward Li would naturally handle it properly.
The three of them soon shook off their gloomy mood and began discussing with great enthusiasm how best to eat the roe deer.
Li Sushu suggested, “How about roasting it?”
They dismembered the roe deer, took the most tender meat, sliced it thinly, placed it on an iron grill, and sprinkled it with secret seasoning.
Just imagining it made one’s mouth water!
Before long, thinly sliced roe deer, fresh vegetable leaves, oil, salt, and various seasonings had all been laid out in the courtyard.
They also built a grill out of piled stones. The three of them did not need anyone to serve them and instead roasted meat for themselves, enjoying the activity.
The remaining meat was either stir-fried or stewed by Nanny Zhang, while the household servants and attendants gathered together for a lively meal.
While things were happy and bustling on their side, Heir Lin, Lin Ce, in the neighboring courtyard was suffering terribly.
He was allergic and should have been eating a light diet, yet the neighboring courtyard was filled with the enticing fragrance of food. It was practically inhumane.
Lin Ce had the urge to dig up the cook from the neighboring household.
He viciously bit into the pastries the neighboring courtyard had sent over at noon, only to discover that they tasted quite good as well.
Tingyu felt that something might have gone wrong with her master. Their usually composed Heir had refused to listen to the physician’s instructions at dinner and drink porridge.
As for the pastries sent over by the neighbors, no one knew whether they contained ingredients that could trigger the Heir’s allergies, yet the Heir had eaten them anyway.
After finishing them, he had even climbed onto the neighboring wall and sat on top of it, watching the people there eat, drink, and amuse themselves.
The Heir’s brain might have broken.
It was all the allergies’ fault!
Li Sushu vaguely felt that something was watching her. She looked around, then suddenly met the eyes of someone on the wall, startling her heart into pounding!
The gentleman on the wall probably did not know that frightening people could frighten them to death!
Taking a closer look, she saw that the young man on the wall had a tall, straight bearing and handsome facial contours. Wasn’t he the neighboring Heir Lin?
After staring at each other for several seconds, Li Sushu awkwardly greeted him. “Young Master Lin, would you like to come down and have something to eat?”
It was over. Beauty had led her astray, and she had forgotten that Heir Lin was supposed to be eating a light diet these days.
Why did this wretched mouth of hers speak without thinking first?
Lin Ce did not feel awkward in the slightest. With a light and nimble movement, he jumped down and walked over at an unhurried pace.
He did not answer. Instead, he expressed his opinion through his actions: he, this Heir, found the suggestion excellent.
The three of them immediately froze where they stood. Li Ming looked at Li Sushu reproachfully.
Li Sushu blinked innocently. She had only been making a polite offer. Who could have known that Heir Lin would actually come over?
Li Yueyue was so captivated by Heir Lin’s beautiful face that she stared at him blankly.
Lin Ce coughed. “What is this? It looks very fresh.”
Li Sushu came back to herself and explained, “This is roasted meat. It’s something we made ourselves for fun.”
Of course Lin Ce had seen roasted meat before. He had even roasted it himself.
But they had always roasted an entire animal or a large slab of meat over a fire. It was bland and tasteless.
As for why they had never thought of slicing the meat thinly, that was naturally because they were afraid of burning it.
They used charcoal rather than roasting it over open flames.
The method was simple, but no one had ever thought of it before.
The Li siblings had quite a talent for food.
Li Sushu’s first impression of Lin Ce was that this fellow had an allergic constitution.
She had lured him over with a moment of careless enthusiasm. Even after he fixed his burning gaze on her for quite some time, she still did not dare let Lin Ce eat the roasted meat.
She could only apologize sincerely. “I’m sorry, Heir Lin. I don’t think you can eat this yet. How about I send this grill and the seasonings over to you tomorrow? Once you’ve recovered, you can roast some meat for fun at home.”
Lin Ce had extremely thick skin and did not feel embarrassed in the slightest. He nodded and said with a grin, “Miss Li said she would treat me to roasted meat, but now she’s going back on her word. Remember, you still owe me a meal of meat roasted personally by you.”
Lin Ce was jokingly indicating that he would come over to collect the debt whenever he had free time.
For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with Miss Li, as though they had known each other at first sight.
The corner of Li Sushu’s mouth twitched. Her feelings were complicated, and she thought that Heir Lin’s style seemed somewhat off.
The Lin Ce whose style was off did not remain for long. After bidding farewell to the three of them, he vaulted over the wall and left.
Li Yueyue wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and continued eating the roasted meat.
Early the next morning, Heir Lin led his attendants over to bid them farewell.
An Heir’s time was precious as well. Since his health was no longer a serious concern, he naturally had to set out again.
Coming to bid farewell also served to inform them that the Li Family was no longer suspected of attempting to harm the Heir.
Steward Li, being tactful and understanding, presented the grill and his mistress’s secret seasoning to them.
He tactfully reminded them that the seasoning also contained chili peppers, so the Heir should use it with caution!
Heir Lin let out a sigh, then led his attendants away from the post station on horseback.
After Heir Lin left, Steward Li also began directing the attendants to pack everything up. Once their masters had finished breakfast, they would set out immediately.
After seeing off these two troublesome groups of guests, the post station breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he remembered the skeleton the Li siblings had dug up and frowned again.
A murder case and the like were not his responsibility. He had already sent one of his men to report it to the county yamen.
But in the end, the murder had taken place within his jurisdiction. He had been completely unaware of it, and although it was outside the scope of his duties, he was still afraid that his superiors would find fault with him.
Meanwhile, the Li Family traveled along happily.
At noon, Steward Li said that in order to reach the next post station before nightfall, the young master and young ladies would have to make do with a simple meal. They would set out as soon as the horses had eaten their fill.
The three Li siblings were not delicate or fussy people, and they expressed their support for Steward Li’s arrangement.
As they traveled until the sun had begun to slant westward, they encountered a group of soldiers from the prefectural army coming toward them and ordering travelers to clear the way.
They said that a Commandery Princess was traveling, and all unrelated people were to make way.
Li Ming quietly said, “I’ve heard that Commandery Princess Hejing has always been domineering. We should avoid provoking her.”
Making way was not a problem. The official road was broad enough for two carriages to travel side by side, so why did they have to be driven into the woods or sent back the way they had come?
They could simply pull over to the side and wait for the Commandery Princess’s carriage and horses to pass, thereby showing proper respect.
Moreover, the trees in this area were densely packed, and the carriage could not enter the woods at all. The Commandery Princess’s soldiers arrogantly raised their whips, urging the Li Family’s coachman to turn around and retreat.
There was nothing they could do. Steward Li could only instruct the coachman to turn around and go back.