Whether it was out of guilt or pity, it was one of Liu Hanyan's daily routines to have the maid deliver breakfast every morning.
Hearing the footsteps beside her, the girl stood up, rubbed her eyes, and said in surprise, "Young Master Li, you're back …"
Li Mu picked up the food box on the steps and asked, "Did you buy too much breakfast again?"
The young maidservant nodded in a daze.
Li Mu smiled and said, "Come in and eat together."
Li Mu was already used to eating breakfast with her every day. After finishing a tray of buns and a bowl of porridge, he was already seventy percent full. He looked at the young maidservant who was still hungry and asked, "You're not full?"
Wanwan rubbed her stomach and shook her head slightly.
The maid's appetite was bigger than his. This was something Li Mu had long realized. He packed up the food box, shook his head, and walked into the kitchen.
Five grams of lard, a spoonful of soy sauce, a spoonful of salt, and a spoonful of chopped green onions. He added boiling water and boiled the noodles. When they were done, he took them out and put them in a bowl. Then, he put a poached egg in the bowl. A simple bowl of Yangchun noodles was ready.
Li Mu carried the noodles outside and put it in front of her. "Eat."
Seeing her eat the noodles, drink the soup at the bottom of the bowl, and lick her lips, Li Mu even wondered if he should tell Liu Hanyan not to deliver breakfast in the future.
Originally, he could have bought a few steamed buns from the street for a few copper coins. But now, he had to cook by himself. If it wasn't a bowl of Yangchun noodles, it would be a bowl of Egg-Fried Rice. One had to know that eggs weren't cheap. It wasn't easy for Li Mu to make up his mind to nourish himself …
The maid finished eating and wiped her mouth. She picked up the food box and said, "Young Master Li, I'm going back …"
"Go, go …"
Li Mu waved his hand. After she left, he closed the door and prepared to go back to sleep.
Yesterday, Zhang Shan and the others had nothing to do, but Li Mu had been busy for most of the night. In order to save Lin Wan, his body was seriously overdrawn, and he didn't know how long it would take for him to recover.
On the other side of the courtyard, Liu Hanyan looked at the oil stains on the corners of the young maidservant's mouth. She tapped her forehead and said, "How many times have I told you to come back after you deliver the food? Don't always eat and drink at other people's place …"
The young maidservant lowered her head and whispered, "Young Master Li's noodles are delicious …"
Liu Hanyan said in exasperation, "What else do you know besides eating …"
The young girl looked at her feet and pinched the corner of her clothes, not saying a word.
Liu Hanyan looked at her like this, and no matter how big the anger in her heart was, she could only say helplessly, "But you can't eat other people's food every day. Their monthly salary is not much, and you eat all of it …"
The girl thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give him the money I saved up …"
Liu Hanyan said, "Isn't that the dowry you saved up for you?"
The young girl whispered, "The dowry can be saved up in the future …"
"Okay, okay, you win …" Liu Hanyan sighed helplessly. She turned and walked out of the house, knocking on the door of the courtyard next door.
Li Mu had just fallen asleep when he heard the knocking outside.
These days, he had absorbed a lot of joy, and his spiritual sense was much stronger than that of ordinary people. When the first soul was completely condensed, who knew how sharp his five senses would be.
He got out of bed, walked through the courtyard, and opened the door. When he saw Liu Hanyan standing at the door, he said in surprise, "Lady Liu, is there something you need?"
Liu Hanyan looked at Li Mu's "weak" appearance and felt more sympathy in her heart. Then she said somewhat embarrassedly, "There is something I want to ask of Young Master Li."
"What is it?"
Li Mu was suddenly energized. He was worried that he wouldn't have a chance to repay her for taking care of him, and she asked for it at the right time.
Liu Hanyan said, "It's like this. I have to work on the shop during the day, and Wanwan is alone at home. She doesn't know how to cook. Can you let her eat here? I can pay you …"
Li Mu thought it was something serious, so he said without thinking, "There's no need for the money. In the future, I'll cook for one … several people …"
"No, no." Liu Hanyan's attitude was very firm. She said, "Wanwan can eat a lot by herself. I'll give you ten taels of silver every month. Just treat it as the money for her meals …"
Li Mu really couldn't understand the life of the rich. He only earned five hundred coins a month, and he had to save every coin. They only had ten taels of silver a month for their meals.
Even if a fifteen-year-old girl could eat a lot, she couldn't eat ten taels of silver a month. Obviously, Liu Hanyan was pitying him.
Those who knew would think that she was pitying him, but those who didn't know would think that Li Mu was being kept by her.
Although Li Mu was poor, he was poor with dignity. He refused Liu Hanyan's proposal of ten taels of silver and said, "One tael of silver is enough. If you can't spend it all, I'll refund it to you."
He didn't pretend to be generous and refuse all of them. Li Mu knew better than anyone how big Wanwan's appetite was. With his salary of five hundred coins a month, he really couldn't afford to feed her.
Liu Hanyan said gratefully, "Thank you, Young Master Li. If it's not enough, you can ask again."
Asking Wanwan to stay for dinner was just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks. Besides, Liu Hanyan didn't want to be a freeloader. Li Mu didn't lose anything and treated it as repaying her kindness.
After sending Liu Hanyan away, Li Mu closed the courtyard door again and returned to his room. Before he could lie down, there was another knock on the door.
Li Mu opened the courtyard door and asked doubtfully, "Lady Liu, is there anything else?"
Zhang Shan stood outside the door and asked in surprise, "Who is Lady Liu?"
"Nothing, just a neighbor …"
Li Mu explained. When he looked at Zhang Shan, he was stunned at first and then asked in surprise, "What happened to your face?"
They hadn't seen each other for less than an hour, but Zhang Shan's face was a lot bigger than before. There were a few bloody marks on his left cheek and he looked very miserable.
"Don't mention it …"
Speaking of this, Zhang Shan didn't ask about Liu Hanyan anymore. He sighed and said, "I didn't go home last night. When I went back in the morning, my wife asked me about it, so I told her what happened last night. I said that we met a demon and fell into a coma. We spent the night in the mountains and only woke up in the morning …"
Li Mu asked, "She didn't believe you?"
Zhang Shan said, "She asked me to prove it."
Li Mu asked, "How?"
Zhang Shan sighed and said, "She asked me to prove that I didn't go to the brothel with Li Si last night …"
Li Mu looked at Zhang Shan with pity. He finally understood how the bloody marks on Zhang Shan's face came about. Last night, he was immersed in the illusion and played with more than ten girls in the illusion. He lost a lot of Profound Qi. He wouldn't be able to squeeze out even a drop of Profound Qi in this month …
Zhang Shan looked at Li Mu and said expectantly, "You have to go to my house with me. Now only you can prove my innocence …"
Li Mu originally wanted to catch up on sleep, but he had to change his plan helplessly.
In any case, he couldn't forget the kindness of a meal. Li Mu also couldn't forget that when he was at his lowest, it was Zhang Shan and Li Si who lent him money to survive.
He closed the door and said helplessly, "Let's go …"
A quarter of an hour later, in an ordinary house in the county, Li Mu looked at the woman in the yard and explained, "Sister-in-law, you really wronged him this time. Yesterday, when we went out to investigate a case, we encountered a powerful ghost and got hit by the ghost spell. It wasn't easy to save our lives. How could he go to the brothel to fool around again?"
The woman obviously believed Li Mu's words, but she still looked at Zhang Shan with suspicion and asked, "Then what happened to you down there?"
Li Mu coughed and explained, "His Yang Qi was sucked dry by that female ghost. In this month, they can't do the deed as husband and wife …"
Seeing the woman's face soften, Zhang Shan let out a long sigh of relief and said, "How many times have I told you that I didn't fool around with Li Si? You still don't believe me …"
The woman glared at him and said fiercely, "Li Si is not a good person. Look at Li Mu. They both have the surname Li, but why is the difference so big? You'd better stay away from Li Si in the future …"
After solving Zhang Shan's problem, Li Mu planned to go out of the city to investigate Lin Wan. Just as he walked to the door, Zhang Shan grabbed his arm.
Zhang Shan looked at him and asked nervously, "Where are you going?"
Li Mu said, "There's a case to investigate."
Zhang Shan hurriedly said, "I'll go with you."
Li Mu shook his head and said, "You'd better stay at home and rest."
Lin Wan's case involved the Zhao family and the county premier. The reason why Li Mu carried out the investigation was not only to carry out the justice in his heart, but also for the sake of his family's lives. Zhang Shan had no reason to be involved.
Zhang Shan gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "You don't know. This matter is not over yet. Once you leave, she will ask me to prove it again. I really can't prove it, not even a bit …"
Li Mu said helplessly, "I really have a case to investigate."
Zhang Shan said firmly, "I'll go with you."
"This case is very dangerous. If you follow me, you might lose your life." Li Mu looked at him seriously and said, "I'll give you two choices now. First, stay at home and explain to your wife. Second …"
"Second, I choose the second!"
As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, Zhang Shan immediately spoke without hesitation.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
