Chapter 29

Last time, we talked about the conversation between Li Yuan and Li Er. To prevent his sons from fighting each other, Li Yuan even offered half of his kingdom, asking Li Er to leave Chang'an. However, Li Er did not agree, as he had already conquered more than half of the Tang Dynasty. The two left on bad terms.

After Li Er left, Li Yuan opened his tightly closed eyes, raised his head to look at the blue sky, and remained silent for a long time.

Li Yuan stood there for a long time, seemingly making a decision: "Someone!"

A eunuch who had been waiting nearby hurried forward to listen to his orders: "Your Majesty, your servant is here!"

"Give me an imperial edict, to be sent to the Crown Prince, Prince of Qin, and Prince of Qi. Order them not to start any more conflicts until the country is pacified. Those who violate this will be stripped of their titles and demoted to commoners!"

This edict from Li Yuan was extremely severe. He was afraid that his sons would engage in fratricidal conflicts in front of him. Therefore, this edict was like a mountain pressing down on the three of them. Whoever dared to violate it would have no one to blame but himself!

After leaving the palace, it was already late morning, around eight or nine o'clock. Li Er got on his horse and headed directly to the Imperial Medical Institute. The palace gate was empty except for him, as the others had already left after the court session.

He galloped down the Zhuque Street, the hooves clattering on the cobblestones. The few pedestrians on the street made way for him, as those who could ride horses on Zhuque Street were not ordinary people. Commoners dared not provoke them, and the nobles recognized the Prince of Qin, so he passed without any hindrance.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Medical Institute, seeing Li Xiuning lying on the sickbed, the anger that Li Yuan had stirred up in Li Er gradually subsided: at least there was still someone in this family who truly cared for him. This made him determined to do whatever it took to heal Li Xiuning's injuries.

After talking with his third sister for a while, Li Er hurried home, as Changsun must still be anxiously waiting for his news.

From a distance, he saw a figure waiting at the gate of the Qin王府. The cold northern wind blew her long hair and lifted her skirt, but it could not stop her expectant gaze. Although she knew he would return safely, she could not help but stand there waiting.

Hearing the urgent sound of hooves, Changsun turned her head, looking at the galloping horse and the figure sitting on it. A breathtaking smile appeared on her pale face: he was finally back.

"Mother, what are you looking at? Can Lizhi see too?" A pair of small hands grabbed the hem of Changsun's dress, and a soft, coquettish voice asked.

"Lizhi, why did you come here?" Changsun turned to look at the little girl holding her skirt, asking with great affection.

"Lizhi went to play with Second Brother, but he was building a wall with those servants and ignored Lizhi. Lizhi won't play with him anymore!" The little girl pouted, remembering how Li Kuan ignored her and decided not to play with him, well... for just an hour!

"Is that so? Mother has something to do. Can you play by yourself for a while?" Changsun smiled and gently rubbed the cute little head, saying.

"No! Father has returned, and everyone is ignoring Lizhi. Second Brother is like this, and Mother is like this too. It would be better if Father didn't come back!" The little girl tilted her head, her black eyes twinkling, and her lips pouting.

"Is that so? Lizhi doesn't like Father coming back? Father is very sad!" Li Er had come up behind the mother and daughter, and hearing the little girl's words, he felt a bit jealous: this little one actually didn't want him to come back because of such a small matter!

"Father!" Li Lizhi heard Li Er's voice and quickly turned her head. Seeing him smiling at her, she hurriedly bowed, placing her hands together on her left thigh and squatting slightly. Her movements were very graceful, making her look very ladylike.

"Um!" Li Er accepted the little girl's bow with a clear conscience, smiling at her.

"Father is mean, eavesdropping on Lizhi! Lizhi is angry..." She turned and mimicked her second brother, pretending to be angry, her nose making a snorting sound to show how angry she was. These were all Li Kuan's usual antics, which he used to play with the little girl, but she had learned and used them right away.

"Ha ha..." Li Er finally laughed out loud for the first time that day. Since he had left for the court session in the morning, he had not felt at ease. The political struggles with Li Yuan and others had left him feeling extremely tired. He hadn't even entered the house when his little daughter made him laugh.

He picked up the little girl and spun her around, laughing heartily, as if trying to laugh away all his troubles. The little girl was also giggling, enjoying her father playing with her, something she couldn't do with her second brother, as Li Kuan was not well enough to carry her and spin her around.

"Let's go home!" Li Er placed the little girl on his shoulder and walked towards the house. However, after just a few steps, his hair was pulled: "Father, put Lizhi down quickly! Do you want to take Lizhi to see the goldfish?"

Li Er was confused, not knowing what was going on. Did Lizhi want to see goldfish? But all the ponds in Chang'an were frozen, so where could she see goldfish? "Lizhi, where can we see goldfish now? We'll go when spring comes!"

"But Second Brother said that anyone who wants to take Lizhi to see goldfish is not a good person. Is Father not a good person, but a bad guy?" The little girl asked innocently.

If Li Kuan were here, he would probably have sprayed himself with salt water and slapped himself: 'For your foul mouth, for telling the story about the strange uncle and the goldfish!' Li Kuan's mind had been drained of stories by the little girl, so he had made up some stories. The story about seeing goldfish was one of them, and he never thought that the first to fall for it would be his own stepfather, Li Er.

Li Er carried Li Lizhi and held Changsun's hand as they went home. The servants started to prepare breakfast.

Meanwhile, Li Kuan was working hard with a group of servants, building a wall and setting up a kang (a heated bed) in his room. He wanted to say to the cold Tang Dynasty winter: "Li Kuan brand kang, making winter warm! Yay..."

This time, Li Er made an exception and came to pick up Li Kuan for the meal. He wanted to ask the mysterious people behind Li Kuan if they had a way to cure Li Xiuning. He was not sure if Li Kuan could contact them in time, but he believed that there must be informants among Li Kuan's entourage to pass messages. Otherwise, they would not have entrusted such new and unique knowledge to a child like Li Kuan.

So, he needed to show Li Kuan that he was important. Regardless of the intentions of those people, they were closely tied to his identity as the Prince of Qin. Otherwise, they would not have approached his son and taught him those things.

Li Er always thought that those people wanted to get close to him to achieve their goals. They would use his identity to do something. He did not know that everything was actually done by his sickly son, who indeed wanted to use his identity, but not to do anything major, just to open a small coal mine.

When father and son met, they went through the usual formalities, which Li Kuan disliked but could not resist. He was too young and weak to go against the tide of history, so he had to comply.

They returned to their usual dining place, where a table was already set with two small porcelain bowls of white rice, made from the grains of the water caltrop (Zizania latifolia).

The water caltrop rice was very delicious, but it disappeared from history because it was difficult to harvest and was later replaced by rice. So, it was not easy to find this delicacy now. Wang Wei once wrote: "The rice of Yun is lush, and the water caltrop of Chu is fat," showing that in the Tang Dynasty, it was a food comparable to rice.

Of course, Wang Wei had not been born yet, and Li Kuan did not have the literary talent to appreciate it. He only smelled the aroma and felt his stomach rumbling, eager to pounce and devour it. However, he had to consider etiquette: "In eating or drinking, or sitting or walking, the elder goes first, the younger follows. If the elder stands, the young do not sit; if the elder sits, the young sit only when ordered." Living in such an era was a kind of torture, but it was also a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, something every Chinese person should learn and practice. In today's restless society, these things might bring a bit of peace to our hearts.

Hearing Li Kuan's stomach rumble, the little girl laughed: "Shame, shame, Second Brother, shame! Hehe..." She extended her delicate finger and drew it across her tender cheek, laughing at Li Kuan.

"Alright! You little brat, daring to laugh at Second Brother! Come here, let Second Brother give you a couple of taps on your little bottom, or I'll tickle you to death!" Li Kuan had decided the day before not to hide his true self, at least in front of Li Lizhi, so he no longer cared about etiquette and went to catch the little girl.

The little girl screamed and ran away: "Second Brother can't catch me, can't catch me, you're too slow... Wah!" She ran around the table, sticking out her tongue at Li Kuan.

Because of school, Li Chenggan, Li Ke, Li Tai, and the other siblings had not returned yet. At this moment, the room contained only Li Er, Changsun, and the two siblings playing and chasing each other.

At this moment, Li Er felt a great sense of peace and enjoyment. He looked up and saw the woman who understood him the most. She was also looking at him, and they smiled at each other. They both thought: Is this what it feels like to have a family? It's really nice!

To have the people he loved most, to have a lively and adorable child, without the intrigue and the battles, like an ordinary family, about to have a meal, with the children playing around the table and the adults watching with smiles.