Chapter 20

Li Eke didn't notice the subtle changes in the expressions of the two people closest to him. He was still immersed in his own joy. It must be said that Li Eke was not very sensitive to emotions; he had always locked himself in the fantasy world within his heart. This can be seen from history: he obtained the throne after a tragic event. However, he did not wish to be a role model for his children, so he put a lot of effort into educating his several sons. The result, however, was that his sons stabbed him deeply in the heart!

This is a story for later, but at least for now, the little ones were still innocent, and Li Eke's fantasy could continue.

Li Lizhi lay in Li Kuan's arms, unwilling to come out. Li Kuan had no choice but to hold her helplessly. However, Li Kuan's body was not as strong as an ordinary person's. After fully dedicating himself to playing "The General's Order," he was already exhausted. Now, holding the little girl who weighed several dozen pounds, he gradually felt his strength waning.

"Lizhi, Second Brother is tired. Come down!" Li Kuan gently said to Li Lizhi, who was determined to act like an ostrich.

"Has Father left?" The little girl was still worried about Li Eke seeing her current state.

"He's gone!" Li Kuan was extremely tired, and with Li Eke and Changsun Wujì watching him like hawks, he had no choice but to lie to the little girl.

"Then I'll come down!" The little girl, believing her favorite Second Brother, released her grip.

Li Kuan put her down, and the little girl stretched out her small hand to rub her eyes. Just as she was about to lift her head, Li Eke, who had been waiting for a long time, grabbed her: "Ha ha... Got you! Little one, you didn't want Father to see you, but now I can see you all I want!" Li Eke laughed as he looked at the little girl struggling in his arms.

"Second Brother, you big bad guy, you dared to trick Lizhi! Lizhi will bite you to death!" The little girl struggled in Li Eke's arms, glaring at Li Kuan helplessly standing to the side, and made a threat. Her small hands formed tiny fists, waving at her Second Brother, her eyes wide open, as if she wanted to eat Li Kuan.

"The little girl is quite strong; it seems her body is also very good, not bad!" Li Eke, regardless of all this, turned Li Lizhi around to face him: "Let Father take a good look. You're really beautiful today, Lizhi!" As he said this, he rubbed his face against the little girl's face.

"Annoying Father, let go of Lizhi! Lizhi isn't beautiful anymore; she cried and became a little flower cat!" The little girl dodged Li Eke's affection, pushing his face away with all her might. Li Eke's heroic face was twisted, his mouth pulled to one side, and his eyes deformed. But Li Eke was not angry at all; instead, he enjoyed it.

"This is the joy of family, isn't it?" he thought to himself.

Finally, Li Eke let go of the little girl, allowing her to escape his embrace. The little girl immediately ran over to Li Kuan.

Seeing Li Lizhi's posture, Li Kuan knew it was going to be bad. But with Li Eke and the Changsun siblings watching, he couldn't use his usual methods to deal with her. Otherwise, the two dragons and the smiling fox on the scene would tear him apart. So he had to summon the spirit of feeding the tiger and endure the little girl's anger.

The little girl Li Lizhi ran to Li Kuan, grabbed his hand, and opened her mouth, biting down. This bite was really vicious, and even Li Eke, who had seen life and death on the battlefield, felt pain for Li Kuan.

Li Kuan endured the pain, his voice trembling: "Lizhi, be a lady! Our little princess should be the most ladylike girl in all of Tang, and biting is not allowed! Let go of Second Brother!" Li Kuan's face twitched, his features contorted. He had only learned during his first encounter with an angry Li Lizhi that the gentle and virtuous Chang Le Princess, who was a model of Tang, could actually bite, and very viciously.

"No, Second Brother tricked Lizhi, he's not a good child, and bad children need to be punished! Admit your mistakes and stand still when you are hit!" The little girl released her mouth, repeating the twisted logic she had heard from Li Kuan.

Li Lizhi's actions surprised Li Eke and the others. When she suddenly bit Li Kuan, they were taken aback: Was this still the Li Lizhi they knew? Where was the gentle and well-mannered Li Lizhi? How could she be like a little tiger, so fierce and even biting! It must be an illusion! The three of them thought this, making Li Kuan suffer even more.

Only when they heard the conversation did they realize that the little girl who bit was indeed Li Lizhi. Changsun quickly stepped forward, holding the little girl who was about to bite again: "Lizhi, how can you bite people? How does Mother teach you?" Changsun was really angry. Her usually well-behaved daughter had become so wild today, as if she had turned into a different person.

"Mother!" The little girl immediately changed, now appearing as a gentle girl: "Lizhi is wrong! Second Brother tricked Lizhi, and Lizhi was very angry. I hope Mother forgives me!" The little girl's face was full of regret and委屈, making Changsun's heart soften. She had intended to teach her a lesson, but now she realized that Li Kuan had indeed tricked the little girl, and being deceived by someone she trusted was indeed upsetting, and a moment of anger was understandable.

Li Eke and Changsun Wujì, who had been watching, also nodded slightly, accepting the little girl's explanation. But they didn't think about it: if they hadn't been threatening Li Kuan with their eyes, would Li Kuan have tricked his favorite sister? Now, they were all clean, leaving Li Kuan to bear the anger of the little girl, which was truly inhumane.

Li Kuan inwardly despised Li Eke and the others' behavior but did not show it on his face. After all, he was the youngest here!

"Even if you're angry, you can't bite people! How can a girl do such an ungraceful thing? And Second Brother is your brother; how can you bite him? Go and apologize to Second Brother!" Changsun looked at the little girl seriously and said.

"Yes, Mother. Lizhi knows she was wrong. Lizhi shouldn't have bitten anyone, and she shouldn't have bitten Second Brother! Lizhi will apologize to Second Brother!" The little girl's voice was very low, as if she was really sad. Her eyes began to mist over, slowly filling her bright eyes. Lowering her head, the little girl walked towards Li Kuan step by step.

Li Kuan's heart ached. He hadn't resisted, causing his best sister to be scolded, which made him feel very conflicted. In the past, when the little girl said she would bite him and ran towards him, Li Kuan would reach out to pinch her cheeks, preventing her from opening her mouth. This was a game between the two siblings that had brought them a lot of laughter over the past two months.

"Second Brother, I'm sorry! Lizhi shouldn't have bitten you!" The little girl stood in front of Li Kuan, her head lowered, her voice very low, as if she was really sad.

"Second Brother doesn't blame Lizhi. It was Second Brother's fault. Second Brother shouldn't have tricked Lizhi. Second Brother should be punished. Admit your mistakes and stand still when you are hit! Lizhi didn't do anything wrong!" Li Kuan didn't know what to say. With the three adults watching, what could he say? Although he had thought about showing his extraordinary side, he didn't want to be seen as a rebel. In this ancient country where propriety was prevalent, challenging propriety would not end well.

Li Eke couldn't stand it anymore. He had been very happy, but a small matter had made him so low and depressed, which made him very uncomfortable: "That's enough. Let's go back! By the way, Kuan, let Father see if your hand is hurt."

"Yes, Father!" Li Kuan obediently walked to Li Eke, allowing him to roll up his sleeve and examine the bite mark.

"I didn't expect the little girl to be so vicious; it's bleeding!" Li Eke looked at the bite mark on Li Kuan's arm, a bit surprised. He had been watching the whole time and noticed a kind of默契 between his children, so he didn't stop the little girl when she ran over. It turned out that his presence had made the boy hesitant. Li Eke immediately understood the reason and gave Changsun Wujì a look.

"It's just a little blood! What's the big deal? A man can't avoid bleeding! On the battlefield, a soldier who hasn't been injured isn't a good soldier. So, it's good for the Second Prince to see some blood, to stimulate his bloodline." Changsun Wujì understood Li Eke's hint and continued: "And not just men, women can also go to war. Like your aunt, Princess Pingyang, who was also seriously injured in this campaign!"

"Right, Xiuni! Guanyinbi, you go down and take the children back to the palace. I need to take Xiuni to see the imperial physician!" Li Eke said, leading Changsun Wujì down from the city wall. Changsun, understanding their intention, also comforted Li Kuan a few times and went down. The city wall was left with the two little ones. Li Kuan, with his mature mind, understood that the three had deliberately left, but Li Lizhi didn't understand.

"Wah... Father... Mother, do you not like Lizhi anymore? Don't leave Lizhi behind!" Li Lizhi, being just a little girl under five, was panicked when she saw her parents and uncle leave, and she started crying.

Hearing the little girl's cries, Li Kuan quickly went to her: "Be good, Lizhi, don't cry! Father and Mother have something to do. Second Brother will take you home!" He picked up the little girl and gently patted her back.

Li Kuan's comfort only made the little girl cry harder, and she blamed him: "It's all because of Second Brother, making Father and Mother angry. They don't want Second Brother anymore, and they don't want Lizhi either!" She patted Li Kuan's chest, as if venting her frustration: "Why didn't Second Brother dodge? You always dodged before, and now Lizhi was scolded by Mother. Lizhi isn't a little lady anymore!"

Li Kuan didn't say anything. He just listened to her complaints. Children need to vent their frustrations; otherwise, it can easily lead to psychological trauma or even personality distortion. He gently patted the little girl's back and hummed a nameless tune his mother used to comfort him when he was a child. Li Kuan felt unusually calm. Having a sister who could act spoiled and angry with him was a blessing. At this moment, Li Kuan didn't need to pretend, calculate, or fear anything. In this moment, the two of them were the entire world, and Li Kuan enjoyed this ease the most.