Chapter 210

Leaving the Wild Goose Pavilion, Li Xia arrived at Songtao Courtyard. Li Hui was already waiting in the study.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Li Hui didn't want Li Xia to take risks, but he also knew that once Li Xia made a decision, his objections would be useless.

"Big brother, I'm leaving Tian Yi Pavilion to you." Tian Yi Pavilion's main business now was selling intelligence, which was very useful for Li Hui's cases. At the same time, without someone watching over it, Tian Yi Pavilion could easily go astray.

"Isn't Zhou Heng there?" Tian Yi Pavilion had previously been under Zhou Heng's management.

"Before Zhou Heng returned to his hometown, we talked. He decided not to interfere with Tian Yi Pavilion's affairs anymore and went off to wander the world." Although Li Xia said this, she knew that Zhou Heng did so to have more time to develop new formulas to save her.

"I will take good care of Tian Yi Pavilion until you return. I'll look after Liucheng too. As for Aunt Xu, I'll have someone keep an eye on her as well." Li Hui understood Li Xia's concerns. As her older brother, he would protect the people and things his sister cared about.

"Thank you, big brother. I'm sorry for the trouble." Li Xia's words made Li Hui reach out and ruffle her hair, just like he used to do before she got married.

That evening, when Lu XuanNing returned home, he saw Li Xia with her packed luggage. "Xia Xia, you..."

"If you're going, I won't stop you, but I must go with you," Li Xia's words moved Lu XuanNing, who reached out and held her tightly.

The next day, Li Xia went to the Wang family and met with Xu Xinyue. Upon hearing the news, Xu Xinyue knew that Li Xia would definitely follow along. She prepared two large boxes, tears streaming down her face.

"I heard that the border region is cold and harsh, so I had people make thick leather coats and big cotton jackets overnight. There are always injuries on the battlefield, so I prepared medicines for knife wounds, frostbite, and insect bites. I've labeled all the bottles so you don't mix them up," Xu Xinyue said, her tears flowing nonstop.

"Mother, thank you for your concern," Looking at the two large boxes of clothes and medicines, Li Xia's eyes also turned red.

Xu Xinyue hugged her, "Li Xia, you must come back, you must return safely."

"Mother, don't worry, I will definitely return safely," Li Xia promised.

After leaving the Wang family, Li Xia went to the Chengen Marquis Residence. Li Xin was comforting her child and was surprised by Li Xia's arrival.

"Xia Xia, why did you come today?" Previously, when Li Xin gave birth to her baby, Li Xia didn't come because she was in mourning. Her sudden visit now confused Li Xin.

"Thank you, sister."

"We're sisters, no need for thanks. But you must promise me to return safely."

Li Xin held Li Xia's hand, very reluctant to let her go.

"Alright, I promise I'll come back safely." With her son and family in the capital, she was determined to return safely.

On the day of departure, Li Xia sat in the carriage, saying goodbye to her family.

Lu Liucheng, held in the arms of Lord Lu, watched as his parents didn't hold him and stood far away. Seeming to sense something, he reached out for Li Xia and Lu XuanNing to hold him. Seeing that neither of them reached out, he cried and screamed to be held.

Madam Zhou stepped forward and took Lu Liucheng, with Qiu Shui and Qiu Kui following beside, trying to comfort him. But Lu Liucheng ignored them all, only crying for his mother and father. It wasn't until Wu Auntie brought out Li Xia's favorite snacks that he stopped crying so much, sniffling as he ate. Tired from crying, he fell asleep, occasionally twitching his little nose and calling for his parents in his sleep, breaking everyone's hearts.

Lu XuanNing had prepared two carriages for Li Xia, one for her to ride and rest in, and another loaded with her luggage, medicines, and food, afraid she might suffer.

As the army set out, other commanders were unhappy about Lu XuanNing bringing his wife along, worried it would slow them down. They were marching quickly, needing to rush to the border.

However, after a few days of urgent marching, they found that Li Xia didn't show any signs of being delicate or weak. During rest times, she would even hunt for food herself. The two maids with Li Xia were also skilled in martial arts. Especially Qiu Chan, who was very strong, making the vanguard exclaim what a pity it was that she wasn't born a man, otherwise she would have been a great warrior in the vanguard.

Lu XuanNing listened without commenting, only coming to Li Xia's carriage at night to check on her condition. Every day, he had Xiao Changyou take Li Xia's pulse.

Before leaving, Qiu Ling had found Xiao Changyou and told him they should separate and go their own ways. This made Xiao Changyou realize that although he seemed to have made a choice, he had been stringing Qiu Ling along, causing her pain.

Xiao Changyou applied to the Imperial Academy of Medicine to follow the army to the border. He then returned home and requested to be removed from the family register, saying he would only love Qiu Ling in this life and couldn't marry a daughter-in-law his family approved of.

Xiao Changyou was resolute, ignoring his family's objections as he requested to be removed from the family register and left the Xiao family. He followed Qiu Ling. Qiu Ling was moved by Xiao Changyou's actions, but also felt that Xiao Changyou would regret it in the future. At that time, they would become a resentful couple.

Qiu Ling was clever and quick-witted, but because she had experienced too much, her personality also harbored many pessimistic thoughts. She was the type who would rather not start something than regret it later.

That Qiu Ling would think this way about her relationship with Xiao Changyou was partly due to her own reasons, and partly related to Xiao Changyou's previous displays of regret and hesitation.