Li Hongfang greatly enjoyed working alongside Liu Chang'an. It was just that the Sect Master was accomplished in both civil and martial matters; he often viewed issues more comprehensively than Li Hongfang did, and his analysis was more cautious, meticulous, and thorough. There was basically no room for her to show what she could do.
That was somewhat regrettable. Who did not want to show off in front of someone they admired and revered, thereby earning their attention and approval?
Li Hongfang's formidable powers of deduction, information gathering, and logical analysis had nowhere to be put to use... And on the rare occasions they were used, things somehow would have been better off if they had not been.
Now, faced with someone like Third Mistress, Li Hongfang could not restrain herself from wanting to give full play to her abilities. Liu had even reminded her that afternoon that, so long as it did not involve him, she was free to offer Third Mistress some advice.
"That day, I went to deliver wine to Dandan, and Qin Yanan happened to be there too. She put on an act and insisted on paying me... I thought, I'm paying my respects to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager—what status do you have to pay for it? Were you looking down on me, thinking I wasn't qualified to bring Dandan wine?" Even now, Li Hongfang felt that Qin Yanan had been provoking her. She had only struck back because she had been left with no choice.
Su Mei nodded. Li Hongfang had good instincts, while Qin Yanan was exactly that sort of person... Back when she was still Ye Jijin, she would often cling to Ye Chenyu in front of Su Mei, making a point of showing that she was the real younger sister while