Chapter 47

Last time, we mentioned that Li Er took Li Kuan and Li Lizi to visit Li Xiuning, and Li Kuan suddenly felt a special feeling towards this aunt.

In fact, when Li Kuan was only three years old, his mother, Yin Shaohua, fell seriously ill, and Li Xiuning stayed at the Qin王府 for a while to take care of her close friend. During this time, Li Kuan's predecessor, who had already passed away, was tormented by this aunt. With his mother bedridden and his own weak body, the carefree Princess Pingyang actually put Li Kuan and her own son, Chai Lingwu, together for convenience.

Li Xiuning's treatment of her son can be described in one word: brutal! Chai Lingwu was trained by his mother like a little soldier. As a military person, Li Xiuning did not want her child to be a weak and effeminate boy, so Chai Lingwu started his harsh training as soon as he could walk. Now, he had to take care of his young cousin, Li Kuan.

Li Kuan was inherently weak and frail, which was no secret in the Qin王府. However, Li Xiuning believed that this was precisely why he needed more exercise, thinking that only through rigorous training could he become strong. But she forgot another saying: "To forge iron, one must be strong oneself." Li Kuan's frail body could not withstand such treatment. Once, Li Xiuning made Chai Lingwu and Li Kuan fight each other on a thick carpet, which was an important part of soldier training. However, the two little boys were not soldiers! Chai Lingwu, trained by his mother, easily knocked Li Kuan to the ground, hitting him with his small fists, causing Li Kuan to cry loudly. This left a deep scar in Li Kuan's heart.

"Come here! Let Auntie take a look. It's been half a year since we last met, and you've grown so much! When you were beaten by your cousin Chai Lingwu, you were only this big!" Although Li Xiuning was injured, her military background made her indifferent to life and death. This minor injury did not affect her mood. She had been sad earlier because she was worried about what would happen to her son if anything happened to her. Now, seeing the two little ones, her sorrow was greatly alleviated, and she felt more spirited.

Although Li Kuan could not remember the past, he instinctively felt that getting close to this aunt was not a good idea. But since Li Xiuning had spoken, he had no choice but to approach.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Kuan reached the bedside, Princess Pingyang stretched out her hands, grabbed his cheeks, and pulled them to the sides: "Hmm, not bad, you've put on some weight. You're not as skinny as a monkey anymore. Your complexion has also improved. It seems Brother Li Er hasn't mistreated Shaohua's child!"

"Third Sister, it's not good to speak ill of Second Brother behind his back!" Li Er walked into the room and heard this, smiling at Li Xiuning.

"Second Brother, would you really hold a grudge against me? Besides, I'm not saying anything bad, I'm saying something good!" Li Xiuning smiled at Li Er and then turned to look at Li Kuan: "Look how much Kuan resembles Shaohua. His eyebrows, his nose, if he were dressed as a girl, he would look just like Shaohua!"

Li Kuan felt a headache. Although he was handsome, inheriting the genes of Li Er and Yin Shaohua, and looked like a pretty little girl due to his young age, his aunt shouldn't say such things directly! He was still a boy, after all, and couldn't wear women's clothes!

"Lizhi is the prettiest! Second Brother isn't as pretty as Lizhi! Second Brother said so!" The little girl, seeing her aunt praise her second brother but not her, pouted and said.

"Right, right, our little Lizhi is the prettiest!" Li Xiuning laughed and patted the little girl's head.

"Um! Lizhi is the prettiest, and when she grows up, she will be as beautiful as her mother!" The little girl nodded seriously, making Li Xiuning laugh. However, Li Er, standing to the side, felt a headache: Was this still his sweet and adorable daughter? How could she be so lacking in modesty?

After laughing, Li Xiuning turned to Li Er and asked, "Second Brother, do you have any news to tell me? You look so happy, it must be good news!"

"Indeed, I have good news for you! Daoist Sun Simiao has been found and is on his way to Chang'an! He should arrive in two or three days. Once Daoist Sun arrives, I have a hundred percent confidence in curing your injuries!" Li Er did not mention that he had obtained the "Qing Nang Jing" from Li Kuan. He planned to give it directly to Sun Simiao, not through anyone else, and would only give it to him if Sun Simiao promised not to reveal the information. Li Er firmly believed that for a doctor, the medical books written by the divine physician Hua Tuo were a tremendous treasure, and even Sun Simiao would not be an exception!

"Does Second Brother really have confidence?" Li Xiuning's eyes changed. Although she had long put life and death out of her mind, who wouldn't want to live a few more years if they could? Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many emperors in ancient times seeking immortality, refining elixirs, and reciting scriptures. Even the First Emperor of Qin, Ying Zheng, sent Xu Fu to the East Sea to find the immortal mountain, which later became Japan!

"Of course!" Li Er said confidently, but as he spoke, his eyes involuntarily glanced at Li Kuan standing by the bed.

Li Xiuning did not notice Li Er's unintentional action. She only knew that she didn't have to die, her child wouldn't be an orphan, and she could continue leading her sisters in battle!

The surprise was too sudden, and Li Xiuning couldn't believe it at first. She reached out and pinched Li Kuan.

"Ouch! It hurts, Auntie, what are you doing?" Li Kuan, who was suddenly pinched, cried out, forgetting all about etiquette. He realized that his aunt was actually a little demon. Of course, "little" was relative to Li Kuan's mental age. Li Xiuning, a young woman in her mid-twenties, was still a girl compared to the older men of the future. Li Kuan also understood that the feeling he had earlier was actually this body's instinctive reaction to someone who had caused him pain in the past: cherish life, stay away from Xiuning!

However, it was too late to realize this now. Li Kuan knew that the place Li Xiuning had pinched would definitely be bruised. Even with her injuries, Li Xiuning's strength had not diminished much, and in the excitement of the surprise, she had no control over her actions. If Li Kuan hadn't been practicing the Heart Intent Fist and strengthening his body, the consequences might have been worse.

"Don't shout so loud, Auntie can hear you. It's just a test to see if it's a dream. Why shout so loudly?" Li Xiuning grabbed Li Kuan's ear with her left hand and said.

"Auntie, don't bully Second Brother!" The little girl, seeing Li Xiuning pinch and pull Li Kuan, thought she was bullying him and said, "Bullying others is not good, you'll get a spanking! Auntie is an adult, how can you be so undisciplined?"

The little girl scolded her aunt like a little adult, her mouth chattering away, leaving the two adults speechless.

"Moreover, Auntie is injured. How can you move around so freely? Don't you know that it's not good for your wounds to heal? If you don't listen, how can I feel at ease? Lie down properly, and I'll bring you some candy later. The medicine won't taste bitter, be a good girl!" Li Lizhi pulled Li Xiuning's hand from Li Kuan's ear, placed it by her side, and covered her with a brocade quilt. She looked at the half-bowl of medicine on the table and said to Li Xiuning.

Li Xiuning stretched out her hand, pointed at the chattering little girl, and looked at Li Er, her mouth open, not knowing what to say.

Li Er didn't speak either. He was confused. What was going on? The little ones were not acting like little ones. Li Kuan's change could be explained by his mysterious teacher, but how did Li Lizhi become like this?

In fact, these words were what Li Kuan had said to the little girl when she was sick. He didn't expect her to have such a strong learning ability, remembering and using them directly, just changing the title. It seemed that the little girl's IQ was at least 120, a genuine little genius.

"Little girl, you're quite bold! To speak to Auntie like that, come here, I'll spank your little bottom!" After a while, Li Xiuning reacted and said fiercely to the little girl.

"No way! Auntie, you can't catch me!" The little girl took a few steps back, out of Li Xiuning's reach, and made a funny face at her.

"You little brat, Auntie has pampered you in vain! I took you to see the big sisters, took you horseback riding, and caught little rabbits. You don't remember these? Now you dare to speak to Auntie like this, Auntie is so sad..."

Li Xiuning didn't feel that the little girl was being disrespectful; instead, she felt happy and glad. This was the family feeling she wanted.

The reason Li Xiuning was so good to Li Er was mainly because Li Er had always been good to her, unlike the Crown Prince and others who appeared very kind on the surface but had all sorts of ulterior motives. Li Xiuning saw and remembered all of this. Therefore, she firmly supported Li Er in the face of Li Jiancheng's attempts to win her over.

"Auntie, don't be sad! Don't cry, be a good baby!" The little girl, seeing Li Xiuning pretend to cry, ran over, thinking she was really sad, and comforted her.

"Haha... Caught you! Now you can't run away!" Li Xiuning grabbed the little girl and held her in her arms.

The little girl, not expecting Li Xiuning to trick her, struggled in her arms, her small body, dressed in thick fox fur, rolling around in Li Xiuning's embrace. In the struggle, she accidentally touched Li Xiuning's bandaged wound.

"Ouch..." Li Xiuning grunted, released the little girl, and let her run away.