Chapter 54

Time is like sand slipping through one's fingers, quietly slipping away. Just as the eastward-flowing river never pauses for anyone, the river of time will not stop, no matter how beautiful the scenery on the journey may be, it will eventually fade before the power of time.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the ninth year of Wude. The scorching sun hung high in the sky, baking everything on the ground. All the animals became quiet during this afternoon, for the weather was too hot, making them unwilling to move. Only the cicadas on the trees continued to call tirelessly.

These insects, praised by the ancients for drinking morning dew and night from the Yellow Springs, were now facing a catastrophic disaster. Last night's heavy rain had softened the ground, making it easier for the cicada nymphs to crawl out from underground, and also for those who caught cicada nymphs.

Li Kuan lay on a reclining chair by the small lake in the garden of the princely mansion, dozing off with his eyes half-closed. The reclining chair, one of the many novel items he had created over the past two years, creaked softly, inducing sleep. On the lake, floats bobbed on the water. Li Kuan was fishing, but the fishing line was already taut, indicating that a fish had taken the bait. However, the owner of the fishing rod was almost asleep and didn't notice.

Just as there is always a fat character in novels, at this moment, a fat boy came to disturb Li Kuan's afternoon rest.

"Second Brother, come and look! We dug up some cicada nymphs, enough to fry two plates. Can Mother help us fry them?" A little boy, actually a fat boy, ran over from a distance. His brocade robe was tight on his body, the fat bulging out in circles like swimming rings around his arms, legs, and waist. In short, this was a child who had grown poorly!

It was now afternoon, not the best time to catch cicada nymphs, but the two girls had overslept in the morning, and the little fat boy had to go to school, so they could only choose the afternoon. Fortunately, unlike the future, there were no fertilizers or pesticides everywhere in the Tang Dynasty, so there were still many cicada nymphs, even though the harvest was a bit less. However, the few children were just doing it for fun, treating it as an interesting game.

"Qingque, how can you still want to eat those fried foods! You're already so fat!" Li Kuan opened his eyes and looked at the 'rolling' little fat boy, saying helplessly. He was indeed troubled by this fat boy who was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics. Li Tai had a physique that gained weight from drinking water. Li Kuan had spent a lot of effort to exchange for a weight loss formula for him, but it turned out that even drinking the medicine made him gain weight, breaking the guarantee that anything from the system was of high quality. This made Li Kuan speechless about his physique.

"Second Brother, I just have this kind of physique! I gain weight from eating anything!" Li Tai was also very depressed. He didn't want to be so fat, but it was beyond his control. Even if he only ate one meal a day, the only consequence was hunger!

"Let Second Brother think about it. How can you keep getting fatter like this! It seems we need to seek the help of a professional, like Daoist Sun Simiao!" Li Kuan was really at a loss. The weight loss medicine didn't work, and dieting didn't help either. So, only exercise was left, but could Li Tai stick to it? After all, he was only a six-year-old child, and Li Kuan was worried about his perseverance.

Actually, Li Tai's fat body wasn't entirely useless. At least no one dared to bully him anymore. This had to be traced back to half a year ago. That day, Li Chengxun and his gang were bullying the brothers of the Qin王府. Li Chengqian, Li Ke, and Li You were all bullied badly. Li Tai, who was very good at the Four Books and Five Classics, was called by the old scholar Kong Yingda for a special class and thus escaped the bullying.

But when Li Tai returned and saw his brothers being bullied, with the youngest Li You even having a bruised nose and face, he immediately remembered his own past experiences of being bullied. The fat boy's anger erupted, and he directly tackled his older cousin Li Chengxun to the ground, then pressed him down with all his weight, causing him to faint. Since then, the boys from the Crown Prince's residence would avoid Li Tai whenever they saw him.

Li Kuan was woken up by Li Tai and saw that his fishing rod was already taut. "Ha... I caught a fish!" Li Kuan reached out to grab the fishing rod stuck in the ground and pulled hard, pulling a large grass carp out of the water. It was a big fish, almost half a meter long. If Li Kuan's fishing rod hadn't been stuck in a crevice in the rock, it might have been pulled away by the fish.

As Li Kuan struggled with the big fish, two little girls walked out from the nearby woods, one big and one small, both wearing floral dresses, with similar twin-tails and red ribbon bows on their heads. They wore delicate embroidered shoes and looked delicate and graceful, walking as if the wind was gently blowing through the willows, very elegant.

But when they saw Li Kuan pulling up the big fish, the two little girls shed their pretense of being well-mannered: "Second Brother, put in more effort, pull up the big fish, and our dinner will be settled with the cicada nymphs we dug up!" The older little girl waved her hands and shouted loudly.

"Second Sister, Wei'er supports you, the fish should come up!" The little one, who was just learning to speak, was held by her sister and spoke in a baby voice, showing her support.

"Li Zhi, take Wei'er a bit further away. If the fish goes wild, it will splash water everywhere, and it won't be good if it gets on you!" Li Kuan called out to Li Lizhi, telling her to take the little sister further away.

But it was better not to say anything. This only made the two little girls more excited. Not only did they not move back, but they came closer. Li Lizhi, holding the two-year-old little sister, watched her second brother struggle with the big fish and laughed, her voice like a wind chime, clear and loud.

"Hehe..." Seeing her sister laugh happily, the two-year-old Li Nianwei also laughed, her small hands slipping out of her sister's and clapping, her face beaming with a pure smile: "Fish, Wei'er, want!"

"Wei'er, move a bit further away, Second Brother is about to put in more effort, the fish will fly up!" Li Kuan, to save energy, had planned to tire the fish out a bit before pulling it up, but the two little girls came and caused trouble, so he had to act quickly.

"Okay! Wei'er will watch the fish!" The little girl nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice, but she didn't take a step back. Instead, she took another step forward, the peony embroidered on her shoes looking as if it were blooming right in front of her. This was done by Lady Bian in the last two years of her life for her daughter.

Yes, this little girl would become the future Princess Yuzhang, but now she was just a naive, curious, and bold little girl who would put anything in her mouth, regardless of whether it was edible. Her tiny mouth and newly grown baby teeth could handle anything with great enjoyment.

"Li Zhi, hold her back, don't let her come any closer, or Second Brother won't have room to gather strength!" Li Nianwei was only a few steps away from Li Kuan, her big eyes fixed on the big grass carp thrashing in the lake, her small mouth drooling: "Fish, Wei'er, eat, want to eat the big fish!"

"Wei'er, you can only eat the fish after Second Brother catches it!" Li Lizhi stepped forward to hold back the little girl who was trying to walk into the lake, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her back. At this moment, Li Tai couldn't help, as his physique made it difficult for him to carry the little girl.

"Wei'er wants the fish!" The little girl was strong, and Li Lizhi almost couldn't hold her, so she had to strain to pull her back, her big eyes looking to Li Kuan for help. She was always close to Li Kuan, and as for Li Tai, he was too engrossed in watching to notice anything else.

Seeing Li Lizhi's eyes, Li Kuan knew these three little troublemakers were his bad luck. Li Lizhi was a delicate-looking but violent little girl; Li Tai was a glutton and a rising star among the fat; and the most troublesome was the bold little girl Li Lizhi was holding back. She was fearless, daring to urinate on Emperor Li Shimin, step on Li Chengqian's head, and tear up the "Rules for Women" that Empress Changsun had written over three years. The entire princely mansion was her playground, and everyone in it was her playmate. Her baby voice was her trademark, and her fearless and bold style was her character.

Li Kuan once suspected that the historical records were incorrect. Such a girl, could she be Yuzhang? Wasn't Yuzhang Princess known for her virtue and gentleness? How could she be a little girl who dared to jump into the lake to catch fish? It was hard to believe. Perhaps it was the influence of her sister Li Lizhi, who was also bold and fearless. And because little Yuzhang was young and didn't know how to hide her true nature, she appeared so violent and fearless. Li Kuan thought this was very likely.

Over the past two years, Li Kuan's greatest gain was that his body was almost fully recovered, and his Xinyi Quan had reached the initial stage of Mingjing, making him much stronger. Although he couldn't sustain it for long, his sudden bursts of strength were not to be underestimated.

The muscles in his arms began to tense, forming a knot. His body leaned slightly forward, his feet standing in a stable stance. He used his toes to drive his calves, then his thighs, waist, back, shoulders, and finally his arms, and with a sudden backward pull, the grass carp flew through the air, like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate, its fins spread out, flying over the heads of the little children. Li Kuan used this method not only to catch the fish quickly but also to test his recovery over the past two years. This method used most of his muscle groups, and if there were any hidden injuries or problems, he would feel them. Li Kuan did this periodically to monitor his condition.

Li Lizhi was distracted by the fish flying through the air and let go of her hands. As a result, the little girl, who had been pushing forward, ran directly toward Li Kuan, like a fledgling bird flying into the nest.

Li Kuan had just let go of the fishing rod and heard the little girl's "ah ah ah" cries. Turning his head, he saw her running toward him. This wouldn't do. Not only would the reclining chair be damaged, but she would also get a big bump. So, he quickly squatted down and reached out to catch her.

But Li Kuan had just used all his strength to throw the fish, and he was now weak. When the little girl collided with him, he fell backward, but fortunately, she stopped.

Just as Li Kuan was relieved, he forgot that the lake was behind him. The clear lake water was rippling, welcoming him.

And so, Li Kuan fell into the lake in a graceful manner. The three little children on the shore were stunned, especially the little girl: "Wei'er is strong, Second Brother, she knocked you down!" She covered her wide-open mouth with her little hands, her eyes watching her second brother flailing in the lake, muttering.

PS: I couldn't find the name of Yuzhang, so I made one up. Please bear with me! Also, thank you to Saint Mediflower for the support!!!