The woman took a few breaths to calm herself before saying coldly, "No matter what you want, you have to listen to me today."

"mother…….."

"Shut up!" the woman snapped. "Zheng'er, I've already inquired for you. Mr. Liu has no children. A teacher for a day is a father for life. When the time comes, be sincere and tell him you're willing to take care of him in his old age. He'll definitely be moved!"

After that sentence, Lili heard no more noise. After a while, she heard hurried footsteps fading into the distance.

"Huh, where did it go?"

Lili's gossip instincts were already burning brightly. Wasn't Mr. Liu from Moxiang Academy the one she met at noon?

Qi Jia?

Or were they from a merchant family?

Um……..

Given her luck, could this Qi family be the same wealthy merchant, Master Qi, who had lunch with Magistrate Qin this morning?

Lili is incredibly anxious right now. She just said this morning that she would bankrupt someone, and this afternoon she ran into their family. How rude of her!

For some reason, Lili felt that the young man next door probably hadn't left yet.

Lili simply tied a bow to make sure her skirt wouldn't fall down, then lifted the curtain and walked out of the cubicle. Looking left and right, she noticed a closed window on the right.

Seemingly to prevent the child from climbing out, the window was locked shut and positioned quite high.

Even if Lili jumped, she couldn't reach it.

Lili had no choice but to find a chair in the corner, lift her skirt and climb onto the chair, then stand on the chair to fasten the buttons on the window.

With great effort, Lili used every ounce of strength she had when gnawing on bones, and finally managed to pry it open.

Lili blew on her reddened palms and glanced out the window. Outside was a small alley filled with miscellaneous items, and Lili saw several wooden crates at the end of the alley.

However, the window was a bit high off the ground, and Lili was still a little scared.

Fortunately, the window of the next room was right next to hers, so Lili simply leaned out a little and stretched out her arm to reach the window.

"Knock knock knock".

Lili knocked on the window with her fist.

The boy in the other room paused, stopped folding clothes, and looked out the window with some confusion.

"Knock knock knock".

Another sound.

Qi Zheng now knew he hadn't misheard; there was a small fist visible through the window paper, clearly indicating that someone was knocking on the window.

Qi Zheng walked in that direction, somewhat curious and hesitant.

Is anyone there?

Qi Zheng was taken aback when he heard a soft, delicate female voice.

"Open the window for me, please."

Qi Zheng instinctively replied, "Wait a minute!"

Having said that, Qi Zheng took a low stool, stood on it, and then pried open the window latch.

Qi Zheng propped up the window and saw a pink fist waving. He walked a little further and saw a beautiful little girl with half her body hanging out of the window, swaying precariously, looking like she might fall out at any moment.

But when the little girl saw him, she gave him a bright smile, completely unaware of her predicament.

"Hello, little brother!" Lili greeted the handsome young man with great joy.

Qi Zheng's gaze was instantly drawn to the little dumpling, which suddenly appeared like a window opening in the darkness, letting in a ray of sunlight.

Lili tilted her head: "Big brother, what are you looking at?"

Qi Zheng was startled and quickly went to help her: "Don't move, it's dangerous!"

I'm coming to find you!

Pear made a move as if she was about to climb out.

Qi Zheng was so frightened that he quickly grabbed her. If such a small dumpling fell down, her bottom would be in big trouble!

Qi Zheng noticed the wooden box at the end of the alley and said, "Don't move, hold on tight, I'll go get you the box to stand on!"

With that, Qi Zheng braced himself with his hand and laboriously flipped himself over.

Lili was perched on the windowsill, watching.

This Master Qi's son looks quite different from Master Qi.

Master Qi is quite pot-bellied, but this young man is rather handsome.

Although he's not as handsome as His Highness the Crown Prince, hehe.

Qi Zheng carefully jumped down, pushed a wooden box over, and placed it under the window.

Lili turned her back, clung to the window, and slowly jumped down.

Qi Zheng was right next to her, supporting the little dumpling, afraid that she might lose her balance and fall.

Pear stepped onto the wooden box and landed safely.

Lili jumped off the wooden box, looked up at him and thanked him, "Thank you, big brother."

Qi Zheng waved his hand, somewhat embarrassed: "It's alright."

Lili's fair skin makes her look good in any color. This smoky blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) may not be fancy, but it makes her look neat and cute.

This was the first time Qi Zheng had ever seen such a beautiful child. He was quite fond of him, and the annoyance he had just felt from arguing with his mother seemed to vanish.

"Little sister, that's dangerous. Don't do that again."

Lili grabbed him: "Brother, Lili heard you arguing with Mother! Lili is here to comfort you."

Qi Zheng was taken aback.

Lili grabbed his hand and shook him: "Lili will treat you to candied hawthorns, Lili has money!"

Yang sewed a small pocket into her undergarment and would put ten coins into it every day for emergencies.

Qi Zheng smiled, feeling a warmth in his heart at Li Li's silly smile: "Your name is Li Li? My name is Qi Zheng. Where are your parents? You were also brought here to buy clothes, right? Your parents must be so worried."

Lili shook her head: "But Lili hasn't invited brother to eat candied hawthorns yet! My mother said that it's most important for me to be happy, because being unhappy will affect my health, so Lili can't see brother unhappy."

"Making yourself happy is the most important thing...?"

Qi Zheng murmured.

"Um!"

Qi Zheng lowered his head and said dejectedly, "My mother... never tells me these things."

His mother would only tell him every day which concubine his father had slept with, how his half-brothers were getting in her way, and how much harder he needed to work...

He knew that his mother was not favored by his father. His mother only hoped that he would be successful and make his father look at them with new respect.

But... she never asked him if he was willing.

Lili sighed inwardly. Considering what her mother had said and thinking about Master Qi's eighteen concubines, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of life he was living.

What a pitiful kid.

"Did brother and mother quarrel?" Lili asked.

What a fairy!

Despite the danger, she climbed out of the window to comfort him!

Looking into Lili's clear eyes, filled with worry and unease, Qi Zheng's heart softened, and he blurted out, "My mother wants me to visit a very famous teacher and ask him to take me as his student."

“That’s a good thing! Does your brother not like reading?” Lili asked again. “It’s okay, Lili doesn’t like reading either. Seeing those densely packed words annoys me!”

Qi Zheng shook his head: "No, actually I quite enjoy reading."