Chapter 15

Li Kuan walked down from Li Lizhi's small building and found that the servants who had been bustling around earlier were now nowhere to be seen. He couldn't help but feel speechless: Could this be what they call confidentiality? Indeed, the master's secrets should not be peeked at by the servants.

Stepping on a thin layer of snow, he slowly made his way back to his own courtyard. As he strolled through the small garden of the Qin王府, the trees around him were all covered with snow, as if they were wearing white down jackets. After rounding the rockery in the middle of the courtyard, he noticed that a few plum trees had actually started to bloom.

The faint fragrance of the plum blossoms wafted with the cold morning breeze, improving Li Kuan's mood. Looking at the few branches of plum blossoms in full bloom, he privately thought that if he could break off one branch and place it in his room, it would be wonderful. However, thinking of the little girl who had secretly kissed him earlier, he had to abandon this idea. If the little girl Li Lizhi found out about this, she would surely mock him.

He took a long breath, the cold air filling his lungs, making his chest and abdomen feel icy. Li Kuan no longer hesitated and quickly walked back. But when he returned to his courtyard and picked up the ledger brought by a servant, he felt cold again after reading it for a while. He put on the brocade quilt he had changed into last night and carefully reviewed the monthly expenditure report of his brothers and sisters.

"Someone!" Li Kuan stopped after reading for a while and called out. A servant quickly walked in from outside, bowed, and asked, "What does the Young Master need?"

"Why did Chenggan and Li Ke spend so much this month? It's twice as much as last month!" Li Kuan pointed to the two large red entries in the ledger.

"Because His Highness Qin Wang will return to the capital tomorrow, so the First and Third Young Masters decided to go out of the city to welcome him. They bought saddles, longbows, capes, and other ceremonial items. I also reported this to the Qin Wang Fei," the servant replied respectfully.

Hearing this, Li Kuan frowned. In recent years, Changsun had managed the entire mansion so tightly that even the servants thought of the Qin Wang Fei first when something big happened, rather than himself, who was now in charge of this area. This made him a bit conflicted, but he didn't stay depressed for long. After all, Li Kuan never intended to rely on these servants for anything, and it wasn't shameful to be outmatched by Changsun. She was a legendary empress, and her skills far surpassed those of a modern person who had only watched a few palace dramas.

Putting aside the frustration caused by Changsun, Li Kuan thought about the two young boys, Chenggan and Li Ke. He didn't expect them to do this, going out of the city to welcome Li Er. They had even prepared those items, showing that they understood the intricacies of court politics at such a young age!

Li Kuan waved his hand to dismiss the servant and then pondered whether he should do something. If he didn't show any response, would Li Er have any thoughts? After all, Changsun had already written to the future emperor two months ago about the inexplicable things that had happened to him. It was hard to say whether Li Er would suspect that there was someone with ulterior motives behind him. If this couple had any doubts about him, Li Kuan might find himself in a difficult position in the Tang Dynasty.

"No, I have to think of a way. I also need to do something tomorrow!" Li Kuan clenched his right fist and hit his left palm, lost in thought as he gazed out at the snow. The snow started again, not heavy, but very dense, drifting freely in the sky like little winged fairies.

That night, Li Kuan didn't sleep well, as he had to think about how to outdo Chenggan and Li Ke the next day. Of course, this was a secondary reason. The main reason was that he had sent both of his quilts to the little girl, and on this snowy night, he could only shiver on his carved bed.

"Once this is over tomorrow, I must set up a kang. Otherwise, the winter in the Tang Dynasty will be my end!" Li Kuan's teeth chattered from the cold, with two fire pots burning in front of his bed. The window was half-open to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. In the cold winter night, he huddled in a corner of the bed, looking forward to the next dawn!

On the other side, in Li Lizhi's small building, the little girl was sleeping soundly, her little mouth pouting as if she was enjoying the delicious picnic promised by her second brother in her dream. Changsun stood by her bed, staring at the thick quilt covering Li Lizhi, lost in thought.

After a while, she came to her senses. "What is this? Why is it so different from the brocade quilt?" She had just finished a pile of affairs in the mansion and came to see her sick daughter, only to find her daughter sleeping soundly under two quilts she had never seen before. She reached into the quilt, and it was very warm, even making her daughter sweat a little. This was unimaginable, as her eldest daughter had always found winter the hardest to endure, needing several fire pots in the room to fall asleep.

"Your Highness, these were brought over by the Second Young Master this morning when he visited the young princess. He said they are called cotton quilts!" a maid hurriedly replied.

"Again, this boy! It seems he has many secrets!" Changsun said with a knowing look. "Send someone to check on him. With such good things, he doesn't even think to show respect to his mother! He's far behind his sister Shao Hua in this regard!" Changsun seemed to recall some old memories, her tone a bit low and tinged with regret.

"Your servant obeys!" A maid quickly left the small building, heading towards Li Kuan's courtyard. The snowflakes flying in the air obscured her figure, blocking Changsun's gaze.

Not long after, the maid's figure reappeared in Changsun's line of sight, but her expression was a bit strange.

"How is it?" Changsun asked when the maid climbed back up the small building.

"There are no such cotton quilts at the Second Young Master's place. When I went over, the Second Young Master was warming himself by the fire!" The maid was puzzled. Was this strange Second Young Master now really that foolish? He gave all the good things he got to the young princess and froze himself. She couldn't understand it.

Not only was she puzzled, but Changsun was also puzzled. She really couldn't see through this orphan left by her sister Shao Hua. But thinking of that extraordinary woman, she seemed to understand something: This child's personality is very similar to his mother's! When he is sure you are genuinely good to him, he will wholeheartedly repay you. But if he feels you are suspicious or hostile, he will unconsciously distance himself from you, and even take the opportunity to retaliate. It seems this child has noticed my caution towards him! I wonder where such a young child gets such heavy thoughts!

Thinking about this, a smile appeared at the corner of Changsun's eyes as she looked at the sleeping Li Lizhi. "Little one, you are blessed. Even if your mother is not by your side one day, you will not be wronged, because your second brother will always protect you!" She gently said, tucking Li Lizhi in, and then quietly walked down the stairs.

When the next day dawned, the little girl climbed out of her quilt. She stretched her little lazy body, raised her hands over her head, and yawned widely. "Lizhi slept so well, the quilt from my second brother is so warm!" The little girl was still half-asleep, rubbing her blurry eyes, her hair disheveled on her shoulders, looking very lazy. Children recover quickly; after lying in bed all day yesterday and sleeping soundly under the cotton quilt, her fever had subsided, and her cold had healed without medicine.

"Get up... Father is coming back today, Lizhi needs to prepare to welcome him! Yes, and I need to call my second brother too!" The little girl got out of bed, called the maid who had been waiting by the side, and had her help her wash up. She then found a padded jacket that her mother Changsun had made for her a few days ago, put it on happily, and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Although the mirror was very blurry and couldn't clearly show her reflection, the little girl still nodded her head in satisfaction: Lizhi is the cutest!

After a struggle with the cold, Li Kuan finally fell into a deep sleep. However, this sleep was not very comfortable, which strengthened his resolve to change his current life. Woken by the cold wind in the morning, he washed up and went out, as he still had to go to the kitchen to find breakfast. The frugal Wang Fei of the Qin王府 made Li Kuan and the others eat only two meals a day, and the food was not very good. Millet, which Li Kuan called "full of residue," often appeared on their menu. Although Li Kuan didn't like these foods, he had no choice.

Just as Li Kuan walked out of the courtyard, Liu Jin was sneaking into the kitchen; on the other side, Li Lizhi bounced into Li Kuan's room, saying, "Second brother, Lizhi has come to find you to welcome Father!"

After searching the room, the little girl pouted. "Sweet second brother, stinky second brother, you went out to play early in the morning without calling Lizhi!" Her big eyes, with their rolling black pupils, revealed the little schemes in her mind. It seemed someone was about to be extorted again, as this person had no resistance to the little girl, loving her unconditionally.

Without mentioning the commotion these two siblings caused in the mansion, Changsun had already led the rest of the family members to prepare and left the city early in the morning! Her entourage was very large, with a group of beautiful women and a few little girls and boys. Everyone in the family, except for the sick Li Lizhi and the independent Li Kuan, was there, along with the servants.

Chang'an was a large city, at least in the Tang Dynasty, there was no city larger than this. The towering city walls guarded the capital of the Tang Dynasty. This city, expanded from the Daxing City of the Sui Dynasty, covered an area of 83 square kilometers. It was built in a square shape, with the Mingde Gate, facing the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City and the Chengtian Gate of the Palace City, occupied by the Qin王府's group. The surrounding open spaces were filled with onlookers.