The doctor sprinkled some Panax notoginseng powder on them and then wrapped it in gauze. Guards and maids stood in front of Li Yi, but Xiao Yuan still dared to step forward and call him "Father."

Does she even know how old Li Yi is? If she had a daughter like her, she'd probably be a father by the time she's thirteen or fourteen.

The onlookers began to chatter, recounting the story of the mother and daughter:

"Your Highness, this woman is utterly shameless. Just now, she had her daughter pestering a very beautiful lady, even saying she wanted to be the lady's son's older sister."

We thought they were pitiful, and the lady, annoyed to no end, called out, and we all gathered around. Everyone was offering them suggestions, but they didn't like any of them, saying the eldest wanted to be a princess, and the youngest wanted to be a princess too.

"That's right. The woman was very polite just now, but then she changed. She became even more overbearing when she saw you. I guess she's trying to attract Your Highness's attention with this kind of personality."

"That's right, this little one is a complete liar. She's already seven or eight years old. If Your Highness has a child, wouldn't she be a father at twelve or thirteen? That's utter nonsense."

Li Yi smiled and winked at the person next to him: "I'm really lucky. Every time I come to the street, I run into women and children who have improper thoughts about me."

Since you all like government affairs so much, and the government office is busy lately, just send them over and do whatever needs to be done.”

Before Xiao Yuan could even call out "Father~", she was slapped several times by the maid in front of her from a distance, and she stopped crying altogether.

"Good, that's how you deal with people like this! Our Great Zhao has a lot of rules!"

The people around were clapping. The woman had just been immobilized by pressure points. Two guards went over and first pulled her arm. They heard a snapping sound. This was a form of punishment for limbs, considered a relatively light punishment.

They tied her up with long sticks and carried the woman wrapped in the blanket away. This time, Xiao Yuan didn't need to shout; she ran after them without crying. It's likely the woman taught her to do this; this mother would do anything for honor.

Suddenly, screams rang out ahead, and the two guards carrying the woman collapsed to the ground, clutching their arms. Xiao Yuan held two silver needles in her hand, and the maid behind her jumped over, lifted her up, and began to treat her. The doctor and the maid closest to Li Yi also ran over, carrying a blanket in her hand.

People who were about to leave craned their necks to look ahead, but luckily my hand was close to Yu'er, and I covered his little ears in time. Yu'er kept turning around, so I picked him up and didn't want to look anymore.

Xie Yuancheng led us down from the other side into the alley. I turned around and saw Xiao Yuan stripped naked, tied up with rope, and thrown onto the woman.

It was indeed a bit rude. Xiao Yuan was cursing and shouting, and some constables had already run over. I felt a headache coming on, and Xie Yuancheng carried Yu'er over.

"Ying'er, let's not go out for the next couple of days. Let's go back to the manor."

"Daddy~" Yu'er also craned her little neck to look, and when she heard Xie Yuancheng couldn't speak, she quickly turned to look at him: "Yu'er wants to play~"

"Daddy will make you something nice, I'm sure you'll like it, okay?"

"Okay~" Yu'er stopped nagging about going out to play when she heard about the good stuff.

Xie Yuancheng came over and took my hand. He really did carry a red cloak with him. As soon as we put it on, we started running. This scene reminded me of the snow scene in the palace that year, when we were also running while wearing cloaks.

We returned to the manor in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. As soon as we entered the manor, I told Xie Yuancheng about how I had seen plum blossoms in the snow years ago and then ran to Heqing Palace.

"Ying'er~" Xie Yuancheng actually blushed. He snuggled against Yu'er's small body, and Yu'er looked up and laughed heartily.

"Okay, I'll hold my son now. If he laughs like a fool, I'll hold you responsible!"

"When it snows this year, we'll go see the plum blossoms too. You must turn around and look at me!"

I remembered that I had deliberately teased him that time. There was a lotus pond and a small boat in the mansion. I beckoned Xie Yuancheng to come closer.

"Let's go boating on the pond, I'll show you later~" I said very quietly, but as long as he was happy, he quickly pulled us back.

Yu'er ran around us. He must know we were going boating, so he would come around us whenever we moved.

"Yu'er~" Mother is so kind, she has come to find her beloved grandson.

"Grandma~" Yu'er jumped into her arms: "I saw the bad sister today, it was so scary~"

Even his mother was startled and quickly asked what had happened. Xie Yuancheng briefly explained what had happened on the street, saying that he was now only interested in going boating with me, and he spoke with a smile on his face.

"It's a good thing Ying'er has become smarter, otherwise with these two plagues in the manor, Yu'er would be in trouble in the future."

"Mother~ Are you really my mother? How could I do anything bad to Yu'er and the children!"

"Mother knows, it's just that we protected you too well when you were little, otherwise Yuancheng wouldn't have been able to coax you away with just a few words. Fortunately, Yuancheng is sincere to you, and after having a child, his mind isn't quite right anymore, so I'm even more worried."

My face turned red. Yu'er looked at us and chuckled. Xie Yuancheng came over to smooth things over and mentioned that we were going boating. Yu'er's eyes lit up. Knowing that we wanted to be alone, Mother took Yu'er back home.

"Grandma~" Yu'er started to struggle with his little hands, but his mother carried him to the other side and said some gentle words, and Yu'er stopped struggling.

When we get back from boating, I'll pick some lotus seeds for the little ones and make them some soup.

Xie Yuancheng pulled me outside. The pond wasn't very big, but we could row a boat among the lotus flowers, which was quite nice in the summer. I stood at the bow of the boat; when I was little, I loved having my parents take me boating.

After they got married, they never had time to take a boat ride back to the mansion. Today, Xie Yuancheng brought it up, which finally satisfied his little wish.

As long as we like each other, that's enough. I'm very careful when I look in the mirror. When I got back, I changed into a lotus-colored dress with a thin veil. As the boat glided into the lotus pond, I picked a lotus flower that was neither too big nor too small.

As I turned and smiled, I looked at him, holding flowers, using the angle I'd practiced in the mirror. Xie Yuancheng put down his oars and came over to pull me into his arms.

"Ying'er~ You're so wonderful~ You know how to make me happy~"

"You just happened to bring it up, and there are lotus flowers in the manor; you'll be most stunning when I turn around to see you among the flowers~"

Should I use the lotus flower to hit him? The boat may be small, but we can sit side by side without any problem. Xie Yuancheng hugged me tightly and wouldn't let go. I played with the lotus flower in my hand, letting him enjoy the feeling.

He has been working hard all these years. Although I can't help him with big things, I can help him in a critical moment, which makes me feel a little comforted.

“There’s a dragonfly on the lotus flower~” I pointed at the flower. Xie Yuancheng was not moving at first, but I tugged at his sleeve and he looked at it. He casually praised it and then continued to lie down with his eyes closed.