"Go tell her I'm going to invite Lily Bai over to take a look. Maybe Lily Bai can cure her." Evan Xiao rubbed his forehead as he spoke.
"Yes, sir." The maid withdrew.
Evan Xiao took a deep breath, turned around, and walked out. "Let's go."
"Where are we going, General?" Louis Lin asked.
"Lily Bai's mother!"
......
Evan Xiao and Louis Lin rode to Lily Bai's house and saw her and her younger sister brewing medicine in the yard. The air was thick with the scent of herbs.
"Sister, Mom's medicine is so expensive. One dose costs twenty taels of silver. Even with the two hundred taels you brought back, it won't last long!" her sister said worriedly. "What are we going to do next?"
"Don't worry." Lily Bai, looking every bit the responsible big sister holding the family together, replied, "The Prime Minister's Residence is hiring maids. I heard that a first-class maid there can earn ten taels of silver a month! I've already made an appointment with the boss from the broker. He'll take me to the Prime Minister's Residence for an interview this afternoon."
"Sister, you're so pretty, so hardworking, and you even know medicine. You'll definitely get into the Prime Minister's Residence," Claire Bai said.
"Mm!"
......
"Um, Lily."
The two sisters looked up and saw Louis Lin standing outside the fence, grinning and greeting them.
"Eh? Why are you back again?" Claire Bai asked, clearly annoyed.
"The General is here," Louis Lin said.
Lily Bai practically felt fireworks go off in her heart, but her face showed disbelief: "Who are you trying to fool? The General is so busy, why would he come to my house?"
"It's true!" Louis Lin said respectfully, making a welcoming gesture.
Just then, Evan Xiao, dressed in black, stepped out from the side.
His gaze was sharp, his face cold, his figure tall and imposing—he looked like a living King of Hell straight from the battlefield.
A very handsome King of Hell.
"General!" Lily Bai looked shocked and excited. "General! You really came to my house?"
Evan Xiao walked into the yard, gave Lily Bai a cold look, and said just two words: "Your mother."
"What?" Lily Bai looked confused, but in her heart she muttered, "Your mother!"
"Here's the thing," Louis Lin quickly explained. "Didn't your mother say she wouldn't believe it unless the General came in person? So, the General came himself."
"Oh, I see! The General coming to our house—no, to our Crane Hill—really brings us honor!" Lily Bai looked moved.
She glanced at Evan Xiao's frosty face and looked troubled. "But Louis Lin, why didn't you say the General was coming? I... I might not be able to go! I have to start working as a maid at the Prime Minister's Residence. I already made an appointment."
Seeing Evan Xiao's expression darken, she pinched her thigh hard, tears springing to her eyes. "General! I know I'm desperate to find my brother, and I did something wrong! I'm sorry! You came in person, so I should go with you right away and help cure Miss Shishi's face! But my mother's illness can't go without medicine! For her sake, I have to work for a big family as a maid. The pay is better, and I can support my mother—"
"I'll give you one thousand taels." Evan Xiao interrupted her.
"Huh?" Lily Bai's tears hung in her eyes, stunned for a moment.
"If one thousand taels isn't enough, then two thousand." Evan Xiao added. "Come with me."
Lily Bai sniffled and shook her head. "General, I know you're wealthy, but my parents always taught me: never accept rewards you haven't earned! If you give me so much money for nothing, I can't take it! I, Lily Bai, could never go against my parents' teachings—that would be unfilial!"