Chapter 103 Xiao Yan's Protection

Seeing the red plum blossoms on the handkerchief that Master Li used to cover his mouth, Xiao Yan knelt down.

"Let's ask Doctor Hu to take a look. When he examined Qi Niang and me, his predictions were always accurate. What Qi Niang said is true, but it makes sense. What if it works?"

Master Li helped him up and said, "I took those bitter medicines as food for a few years, but I really don't want to take them anymore."

"You have to take it, though! Old people are sometimes harder to manage than children. Children, for example, don't listen and won't take medicine. You slap them twice, and they'll behave themselves. Even after taking the medicine, they won't hold a grudge. But old people, you can't hit them or scold them. They make them mad, and their hearts are burning with anger. But he just won't listen."

Lu Qiniang came over with pheasant soup and scolded Master Li.

"Who doesn't know that medicine tastes bitter? How does the saying go? Good medicine tastes bitter, right, Xiao Yan?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan looked at her with a smile.

"I'm going to tell you something you don't want to hear. You're not even as good as San Ya! San Ya, eat some bitter melon for Master Li to see."

San Ya used to eat bitter melon as a snack, crunching it.

But today, she picked up a piece of bitter melon and put it in her mouth, then frowned because of the bitterness and couldn't help spitting it out.

Lu Qiniang: "...You kid, why do you betray me at the critical moment!"

"Mom, it's not tasty. I don't want to eat it." San Ya ran into the kitchen, "I want to eat chicken legs!"

Mr. Li burst into laughter.

Lu Qin's mother was a little embarrassed, but she was firm. "It's so late today. Since you're here, you won't leave, right? Squeeze in here. I'll ask Daya to get you three doses of medicine tomorrow morning, and I'll watch you take them. If you don't take them, Xiao Yan and I will force you to take them! You're really a worry for the young ones, and the old ones too. Can't you live two more years so that Xiao Yan and the other children in your family can have something to think about?"

"You do love Xiao Yan, but you don't know what it feels like to not have the love of an elder." Lu Qiniang said, "I dream of having an elder who loves me, someone I can talk to when I encounter difficulties or things I can't figure out. People say that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, but I don't have this blessing, and I hope Xiao Yan has it."

"When I get old, I have to work as hard as I can. For my three little girls, no one can compare to me. Even if I close my eyes and go to the underworld, I have to bless them. I can't let go!"

"You're so nice. If it really wasn't curable, we wouldn't say anything. I told you to just take the medicine, just take the medicine, so why did you turn a deaf ear to it?"

Teng Wenfu secretly pulled Xiao Yan's sleeve, signaling him to stop Lu Qiniang.

Xiao Yan remained indifferent.

Teng Wenfu didn't dare to speak, but just hoped silently in his heart that this girl would shut up quickly.

"I can't let it go either, but this is probably my fate." Mr. Li sighed.

"No matter how good your life is, you can't stand your own recklessness. The Book of Life and Death says you can live to be a hundred years old, but you refuse to eat or drink and insist on starving to death. Who can stop you? I told you that it can be cured, why do you listen to the juniors? Do you have no face?"

Xiao Yan cleared his throat and said, "Let's eat first. The food is getting cold. After dinner, I'll persuade Grandpa."

"Please advise, let Grandpa stay at our house. We'll watch him take the medicine for three days. We'll pay for the medicine, and if it doesn't work after three days, we'll stop. It's just nine taels of silver, and it'll buy you peace of mind."

She is rich now, very wealthy.

Nine taels of silver is worth it to buy Xiao Yan without any regrets.

"That won't do. I can't rest for a day." Master Li laughed, "Is this a green dumpling? I didn't expect you guys can make it. Let me try one—"

"Don't eat it tonight. It's made of glutinous rice flour and is hard to digest." Lu Qiniang snatched the green rice dumpling from his hand. "Don't worry about overeating. I'll give it to you tomorrow morning. Drink some chicken soup to moisten your throat first. No, you guys eat first. I'll go see if Lao Hu is home. If I can't find him tomorrow morning, I'll go get the prescription!"

After saying that, she took off her apron and rushed out.

Xiao Yan held her back and said, "Grandpa can't stay overnight tonight. He will eat tomorrow, don't worry."

"Can't stay overnight?"

"Well, no."

"Really?"

"I really can't."

"I don't understand. What else is more important than life?" Lu Qiniang muttered, then looked at Teng Wenfu, "Uncle Ting, please help persuade him. Old people are stubborn, and you can't just give in to him blindly."

Teng Wenfu felt a chill on his neck.

"Master Li, can you please promise me that you will stop making trouble and take your medicine obediently?"

Master Li laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll take it when I get home. If for no other reason than for Qi Niang's care and concern for me, I'll take this bitter medicine for three days."

"You have to take the medicine after three days. Don't stop! If it doesn't work, tell someone to tell me and I'll go find Lao Hu!"

"Okay, okay, okay, take a break and let me be quiet for a while." Master Li said with a smile, "Xiao Yan, how can you stand this shrew?"

"How fortunate." Xiao Yan looked at Lu Qiniang with light in his eyes.

Lu Qiniang didn't understand, but she was just worried that Master Li wouldn't obey, so she repeatedly reminded him, "Keep your word and eat when you get home. If not, I'll come to see you in a few days!"

Mr. Li's mouth never relaxed.

Everyone was slightly tipsy after drinking a jar of peach blossom wine; Mr. Li also drank half a cup and praised it repeatedly.

Daya stood at the kitchen door with a calm expression.

Mr. Li looked at her again and nodded slightly.

When Xiao Yan went to the toilet, Teng Wenfu followed quietly.

"Qi Niang is really..." Teng Wenfu didn't know what to say. "I know she is warm and kind-hearted, but she really lacks sense of propriety. You can talk about her later."

"Eunuch Teng, I don't think it's possible to ask someone to be both passionate and sincere, yet also possess just the right amount of discretion. Isn't Qi Niang's loveliness due to her sincerity? If she's confined by rules and regulations, is she still her?"

Sense of propriety, which girl from an aristocratic family doesn't have it just right?

But Xiao Yan felt that such beauty was only the scenery in the eyes of others.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

In his eyes, Lu Qinniang is even more rare and precious.

"Besides, I don't think she's lost her sense of propriety." Xiao Yan said calmly, "Master, isn't it also very useful?"

Teng Wenfu smiled and said, "I was too harsh. You are right."

The last thing the emperor lacks is people who know their limits.

However, he lacked Lu Qiniang's warm concern.

After dinner, Master Li looked at everyone and said, "I have to go back. All of you take care of yourself. Xiao Yan, I left something for you. You'll know when the time comes. I think you understand my feelings. Don't let me down. Be good to Qi Niang."

He looked at Yun Ting, who had been keeping his head down and pretending to be good, and said, "Don't be angry with your father. Hurry up and find a wife. Work hard and make progress. I have plans for you too. Ting'er, I miss your mother."

The little sister in his memory, who could almost be his daughter, soft and tender, drooling and stumbling into his arms, has been gone for more than ten years.

His little sister was waiting for him.

They are finally going to meet.

These deceased relatives can give people more courage when facing death.

Mr. Li once again looked around the small courtyard in the twilight, watching the lanterns swaying gently in the wind, the lush vegetation, the condor napping on its perch, the hushed stillness in the chicken coop...

This is probably the last time.

He probably won’t be able to leave the palace from now on, and may even not be able to leave the house.