CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49 LV PING LOSES FAVOR

Nezha’s mastery of the Five Elements Escape Technique grew even more proficient. He first visited Mr. Fan in Bailing Town and found the elderly gentleman in good health before hurrying home.

Without landing, he looked down from midair to see the dozen or so courtyards of the General’s Mansion clustered together, with servants and maids bustling through them, busy but orderly.

Among the prominent families in Chentang Pass, the Li Family of the General’s Mansion was renowned for their household management. However, outsiders didn’t know that all this was due to the virtuous Lady Yin inside the mansion.

Cui Yu, Hong Fei, Huang Jin, and Qing Lan, the managing maids of the family, were all personally trained by Lady Yin from a young age.

Though they had signed contracts to work at the house and receive pay, Lady Yin treated them like her own daughters, and they sincerely managed the household affairs as their own, never being negligent. It was indeed a stroke of good fortune for the family.

On normal days, when living at home, everything was arranged so neatly that it was barely noticeable. Only today, looking at the household matters from above, could Nezha glimpse a few insights.

Nezha muttered to himself, "Mother puts in so much effort, it’s truly exhausting."

But then he suddenly frowned. He noticed a pretty girl, without any makeup, who had changed into a coarse cloth dress and was washing clothes with a group of elderly women in the backyard. He wondered what kind of fit Li Jing was throwing this time.

Nezha picked a secluded corner to land and pushed open the oak door that hadn’t been oiled for a long time.

This courtyard was a place where the household workers operated. Upon seeing Nezha, the elderly ladies warmly greeted him, as if they had never been harsh or sarcastic with him behind his back.

Nezha responded with a smile, not because he bore no grudges, but because, as he had once told Lv Zhu’er, whenever he was willing, he was happy to play along with these people.

But of course, only when he was willing.

He squatted down in front of the water basin.

The girl did not look up at him.

She knew Nezha was there, but she continued to mechanically pull out a piece of clothing from the mountainous pile of dirty laundry beside her and scrub it in the basin. Her once tender fingers were soaked white and covered with blisters because she wasn’t used to such hard labor.

Nezha sat there, listening to the familiar, fragmented mutterings around him.

It seemed that these elderly women, whenever gathered, would always talk about their family’s children and grandchildren, how they bought a good piece of cloth today, snatched a bargain yesterday, and of course, they talked mostly about the gossip heard from around Chentang Pass, as if revealing something shocking would elevate their status.

They used to often gossip about Nezha.

But today, their subject had changed.

"That little brat, working in the mansion from a young age, refuses to act as a proper managing maid and is so greedy as to seduce the master. She deserves it!"

"Sister Wang is right. I just said, how can such a wise master be fooled by a little fox spirit like her for so long? She really thinks she’s Lady Daji of Zhaoge, doesn’t even bother to take a piss and see her reflection."

"Such a person, if she were in our village, the elders of the clan would surely dunk her in a pig cage!"

"That’s right, dunk her in a pig cage! Sister Sun, you take the lead. Tomorrow, let’s all go find the clan elders, just call your fourth uncle! Dunk her in a pig cage!"

"Dunk her in a pig cage!"

Their voices weren’t loud but weren’t hushed either. The little maid heard clearly, and her originally numb body shivered slightly, her hands pausing in their work.

She lifted her head and saw Nezha in front of her, forcing a bitter smile that looked more like a grimace.

This girl was none other than Li Jing’s concubine, Lv Ping.

Nezha squatted there in front of her, also wearing a faint smile on his face, though his heart felt not a ripple.

He lowered his voice, pretending to be concerned, and gently said, "Sister, don’t worry. They’re just talking, they don’t have the guts."

Realizing that it was Nezha, who she’d never taken seriously, now trying to comfort her, Lv Ping felt a pang of sorrow.

She didn’t know what Li Jing was thinking, but she knew what kind of person Li Jing was.

So Lv Ping was well aware of one thing: she had no chance of turning things around.

But what did this have to do with Nezha?

He was just a seven-year-old child who, at the root of it all, didn’t understand anything and even came with a foolish kindness to comfort her.

But now, there were not many people willing to show her such kindness. Those sisters she once had, since she made this choice, had also become strangers.

Lv Ping returned a gentle smile and said, "Nezha, you’re so kind. Sister doesn’t want to wash clothes here. This soapy water, soaking from morning till night, has ruined my hands."

While saying this, Lv Ping made a gesture as if to touch Nezha’s little face. Just when her fingers were about to reach Nezha, Nezha spoke.

He squinted his eyes with a smile, full of childish innocence, and said, "They may not have the guts, but I do. I’ve often heard these elderly women talking about dunking someone in a pig cage, but I’ve never seen it."

Lv Ping’s whole body tensed, and looking again at Nezha’s smiling face, a chill ran through her heart.

Nezha laughed and said, "What you’ve said and done, if you can’t remember it yourself, someone will help you remember, Sister Lv Ping."

Lv Ping’s face turned deathly pale. She forced an ugly smile and stammered, "Wha... what did I say?"

Nezha’s smile gradually faded, and he said, "You were right; perhaps I really am a reincarnated demon."

Just at this moment, seeing no one paying attention here, Nezha suddenly reached out and pinched Lv Ping’s face, saying, "Looking closely, you’re not that pretty, no better than Hong Fei or Cui Yu. When Little Piggy grows a few more years, she could probably leave you far behind."

Lv Ping’s expression became extremely unpleasant. No matter how thoughtful she was, she was still just over ten years old.

Nezha’s words pushed her further into despair, as if nudging her toward an irretrievable abyss.

Nezha seemed to remember something and said, "You must hate Li Jing."

Lv Ping hung her head and whispered, "This servant doesn’t dare."

Nezha laughed lightly, thinking that there might be a time when Lv Ping could be useful. He stood up and said, "If you want to hate, keep on hating. Live well with this hatred."

The wind carried a chill, as September arrived, the blazing summer secretly covered its face with a veil, hiding somewhere unknown.

Not only did summer hide in the shadows, but so did Lv Zhu’er.

Nezha searched all around the house, the kitchen, and every corner, but he couldn’t find the little girl who usually came running at his call.

It wasn’t until he saw Hong Fei, who had just returned from collecting rent with Lady Yin, that he learned what happened.

Hong Fei said, "Lv Zhu’er, ah, that poor child, she went home for a funeral."

Nezha raised his eyebrows and said, "A funeral, what happened, who died?"

Hong Fei said, "You remember, Lv Zhu’er’s father, Li Cunxin from Lizhu Village. He went out to sea to dive for pearls and never returned, not even his bones were found. It’s too tragic."