Chapter 131 He doesn't like me, and I don't like him either.
The Anping Marquis's Mansion has been passed down for five generations from the founding of the dynasty to the current Anping Marquis.
The rows of memorial tablets in the ancestral hall appear gloomy and eerie even during the day.
Especially after the ancestral hall doors are closed, the light inside becomes even dimmer.
Li Mu placed Li Nanke on the prayer mat, then picked up a tinderbox from the offering table and lit the candles around him.
The firelight dispelled the darkness, and the entire ancestral hall became bright.
"Ke'er, wait for your father."
Li Mu lifted his robe and bent down to crawl under the offering table.
A moment later, he took out a small bundle.
"Father, what is this?"
Li Nanke asked, puzzled.
Li Mu placed the bundle in front of him, opened it, and chuckled.
"These are all the medicines that Father hid here. There are medicines for wounds, medicines to repel mosquitoes, and medicines to refresh the mind."
Li Mu casually agreed, rummaged through a pile of medicine packets, and then took out a medicine packet wrapped in yellow oil paper.
"Found it, this is wound medicine."
"Come here, Ke'er, let Daddy apply the medicine for you."
Li Nanke was injured on his left arm, and the sleeve over the wound was torn apart, so he could only tear it open little by little.
Li Mu moved gently, tearing the paper while looking at Li Nanke's face. Seeing that her face was pale and cold sweat was seeping from her forehead, he felt even more heartache.
"If it hurts, just cry it out. Don't hold it in."
Li Nanke did feel pain.
If this had happened in the past, she would have definitely buried her face in her parents' arms and cried her heart out.
But since experiencing those scenes in her dreams, she seems to have cried much less these days.
Hearing her father's warm and caring words, she felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welled up with tears.
But she didn't cry; instead, she puffed out her cheeks and said, "Father, it hurts."
Seeing her like this, Li Mu felt so sorry for her that his eyes turned red.
Suppressing the bitterness in his throat, he applied medicine to Li Nanke, then took out a clean white cloth from his bundle, tore it into a strip, and bandaged her wound.
Then he hugged her and patted her gently, and couldn't help but complain, "You've grown up like this, and your mother and I have never laid a finger on you. Your grandfather was too ruthless."
"It's one thing for you to punish me so easily when I was a child, but why can't you show even a little bit of kindness towards me?"
The wound was treated with medicine, which felt cool and relieved the pain considerably. Li Nanke leaned against her father's warm embrace, and the unease that often lingered in her heart faded a little.
My gaze fell on the bundle of medicines on the ground, and I remembered my father's skillful bandaging movements. I vaguely recalled that my father was often punished by my grandfather to kneel in the ancestral hall.
She looked up at Li Mu and asked softly, "Father, if Grandfather is punishing us to kneel, can we not kneel?"
Li Mu sighed and gently stroked her hair.
"Ke'er, let me tell you, these are the ancestors of my Li family. We offer incense to them every year and respect them in our hearts."
The formalities are just for show; they're not important! Of course, our ancestors truly cared for us and wouldn't have wanted us to kneel.
Li Nanke blinked, unable to refute for a moment.
Father must have knelt many times before he came to this understanding.
She gently nuzzled her little head against Li Mu's chest. "Daddy, Grandfather has always favored Second Uncle's family. You must be very sad, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she keenly noticed that Li Mu's hand, which was on her head, paused.
He then scoffed and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Well, you get used to it. He's never liked me since I was little, and his favoritism isn't new."
But just because he doesn't like me doesn't mean I'm bad. Look, I still have your grandmother, your mother, and you like me.
Perhaps your grandfather and I were not destined to have a strong father-son bond.
"Ke'er, let me tell you, the most important thing in life is to be happy. I have your mother, you, and your grandmother who likes you. I can compose poems and paint every day, and that makes me very happy."
Whether your grandfather likes me or not is no longer important! He doesn't like me, and I don't like him either!
This was the first time Li Nanke discussed this topic with Li Mu.
She could sense that although her father paused for a moment, he wasn't pretending to hide it.
He was genuinely happy when he talked about his mother and grandmother, and about composing poems and painting.
To be so optimistic and open-minded, my father must have gone through a lot of suffering.
She moved her lips, "The reason why Grandfather favors my second uncle's family is actually because..."
She wanted to reveal the real reason why Marquis Anping was biased, but Li Mu interrupted her as soon as she opened her mouth.
"I know, he thinks your second uncle is more like him in personality and appearance, so he has always favored your second uncle."
"Sigh, let's not talk about that. Tell your father what you and your mother have been doing these past few days. Why did you steal your grandfather's seal?"
Li Mu asked with great interest, seemingly not at all bothered by the issue of Marquis Anping's favoritism.
Li Nanke swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Well, perhaps now is not the time to talk about these things.
She recounted why she had stolen the Marquis of Anping's seal and how she had rushed to harvest grain during the torrential rain.
Li Mu exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.
"I never expected you and your mother to be so capable. Not only did you manage to retrieve your grandmother's dowry on your own, but you also saved many people."
He also received His Majesty's commendation, and incidentally, I was rescued as well.
Li Mu patted his chest, his face beaming with smiles.
"Oh my, my wife and daughter are so amazing, does that mean I don't have to work anymore? It would be nice to just stay home and live off my wife."
Li Nanke...
Daddy, are you getting too excited?
"Actually, using my grandfather's seal was just a momentary impulse. I could have had better ideas, such as getting my grandfather's permission or having someone forge the seal."
But at the time, I was resentful because my grandfather was so focused on getting me to establish a connection with the Prince of Xuan's family...
She admitted that she harbored resentment towards Marquis Anping.
Whenever she thought about what happened in her dream, she couldn't treat him like an elder at all.
So when she saw the seal right in front of her, an opportunity that was within her grasp, she didn't hesitate to use it.
She hadn't even considered how she would deal with it if things were exposed.
Shen Cong was right; she had indeed acted rashly.
Li Nanke pursed her lips, looking somewhat dejected.
"Father, do you also think I did something wrong?"
Li Mu gently pinched her little face.
“Who said my Ke’er is wrong? Ke’er is not wrong at all. If anyone is wrong, it is your grandfather who is wrong first.”
"Silly girl, don't blame yourself. You're still a child. If you think about everything carefully now, wouldn't I, as your father, be ashamed to the point of wanting to disappear?"
"You managed to protect our family during the raid, helped Mother with so many things, and even saved Father. You're already the most amazing girl in the world!"
Li Nanke's eyes sparkled as he praised her, and the frustration in her heart instantly dissipated.
"Really? Father really thinks I'm amazing?"
"Of course, in my heart, Ke'er is the most amazing person in the world!"
Li Nanke couldn't help but reveal two sweet dimples.
Unlike the warm father-daughter relationship at the Marquis of Anping's residence, the situation at the Zhao family was quite different.
Song Hui received a letter from Zhao Hong, who had come from Changyuan.
When she read the contents of the letter, she was so shocked that she jumped up from her chair.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
