Chapter 497 "...Let him think I'm already dead!"
(Thanks to "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you" for casting 7 monthly votes.)
When Li Shigui came out of the noodle shop, it was already close to noon.
He took Li Wangtian to a large inn, and after seeing that Li Wangtian had settled in, he returned to the academy.
"Dad, you wait here for a bit."
Li Shigui stood at the entrance of the inn, his voice low, "Wait for me to go... to tell Mother."
Upon hearing this, Li Wangtian abruptly raised his head, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes.
Li Wangtian opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded and said nothing.
Li Shigui turned and walked away quickly, his pace increasing until he was almost jogging.
The cold wind felt like knives on his face, but he couldn't feel any pain.
At this moment, Li Shigui felt as if something was blocking his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
"how so......"
He muttered to himself, "Why did he come back...why..."
Winter days are always short; it was only late afternoon when the shops along the streets began to light up their lanterns.
After leaving the academy, Li Shigui turned several streets and finally stopped in front of a house with blue bricks and gray tiles.
This house was much more impressive than the surrounding residences, with a plaque reading "Chen Residence" hanging above the door.
He took a deep breath and then raised his hand to knock on the door knocker.
The door was opened by a well-dressed middle-aged maid. Upon seeing Li Shigui, the woman immediately smiled and said, "Young Master Li has arrived. Your mistress has been thinking of you."
"Aunt Liu, how is my mother today?"
"I haven't dared to go out these past two days because of the snow."
The mistress is terribly bored at home and is eagerly awaiting her husband's arrival.
As she led Li Shigui, Liu's mother said this.
Is Uncle Chen home today?
"The Lord went to the Sanshan Port dock to settle accounts today and will not be back tonight."
After passing through two corridors, Li Shigui arrived at a secluded courtyard in the backyard.
Once inside the courtyard, through the carved window lattice, you can see a charcoal brazier burning inside, and a woman dressed in a lake-blue dress is reclining on a soft couch.
"Mother."
As soon as Li Shigui entered, he went to the side hall. Standing at the entrance of the side hall, he called out to those inside.
The woman—it was Qin Tao—turned her head at the sound.
Approaching forty, Qin Tao still possessed fair skin, and with only a single jade hairpin adorning her hair, she appeared exceptionally elegant and beautiful.
Seeing her son arrive, Qin Tao immediately smiled and said, "Gui-ge'er, come in quickly, it's cold outside."
Li Shigui walked in, and the heat from the charcoal brazier hit him, but it couldn't dispel the chill in his heart.
He sat down on the embroidered stool next to Qin Tao, who was leaning against the soft couch and was having a maid make tea for Li Shigui.
Li Shigui, however, noticed Qin Tao's already protruding belly—there was a five-month-old baby there, who would be his future younger brother or sister.
"How did you end up here today?"
"Didn't they say the academy would close for the holidays after the fifteenth, and we could come back then?"
Qin Tao looked at Li Shigui with loving eyes and asked him this question.
Holding the steaming cup of tea, Li Shigui suddenly didn't know how to answer Qin Tao's question.
Eight years! Eight years!
Li Shigui took a sip of hot tea, his fingers tracing the rim of the teacup as he pondered how best to phrase his words later.
"Mother, there are some things I want to say to you alone."
Seeing the solemn expression on Li Shigui's face, Qin Tao sat up halfway and waved for all the maids in the room to leave.
"What's wrong?"
"Brother Gui, why are you behaving so strangely?"
"mother......"
Li Shigui forced himself to speak to Qin Tao, "Father, my father, my father has come looking for us!"
After saying this, as if he felt that he hadn't been accurate enough, Li Shigui quickly added, "My own father, Li Wangtian, has come looking for me!"
Qin Tao froze on the soft couch, the color draining from her face instantly.
The room was eerily quiet, with only the occasional sparks from the burning charcoal brazier.
"Who? Who did you say?"
Qin Tao's voice was so soft that Li Shigui could hardly hear it.
"My father... Li Wangtian."
Li Shigui lowered his head. "He came all the way from Youzhou."
Now I'm just waiting for news at the car dealership.
He told me he wanted to see you and Liniang.
Qin Tao reached out and touched her protruding belly; her fingertips trembled slightly.
She turned to look at the darkness outside the window, and after a long while, she finally asked, "Is he still alive?"
"Alive, but..."
Li Shigui recalled Li Wangtian's striking white hair, "He's aged a lot, and his legs... are lame."
Silence fell in the room once again.
Li Shigui looked up at Qin Tao and found that there was not a trace of joy in her eyes, only deep fear, anger, and... disgust.
"What does he want with us?"
Qin Tao suddenly raised her head, and her voice became sharp.
"Eight years! A full eight years!"
What's the point of him showing up now?
ah?
Eight years!
How come he didn't die on the battlefield!
"Mother, Father says he's been looking for us..."
Li Shigui tried to explain to Qin Tao.
Looking for us?
Qin Tao sneered, stepped off the soft couch, and stood up. "If he really wanted to find it, he would have found it long ago!"
What does he want from us?
What can he do?
I clearly see that he is...
Her words came to an abrupt halt as she raised her hand to touch her stomach, her face turning deathly pale.
Li Shigui quickly got up and stepped forward to support Qin Tao: "Mother, don't get agitated, take care of yourself."
Despite the pain, Qin Tao shook off Li Shigui's hand and carefully sat back down on the soft couch.
"I can't see him! Absolutely not!"
Qin Tao gritted her teeth and said, "If the Lord finds out... I won't be able to enjoy this good life I have now!"
Li Shigui's face darkened, and his heart sank.
He already knew.
Qin Tao is living a good life now, so why would she want to have anything to do with the past?
What's more, she's currently pregnant with the Chen family's child!
"Mother, my father... he just wants to see you one last time."
Li Shigui said in a low voice, "My father said he had met with them once and then left. He already knows from others what our family is like now."
Dad said he wouldn't interfere with our lives.
"Let's meet?"
Qin Tao's eyes flashed with anger. "What does he think he's doing?"
Are you visiting relatives?
Brother Gui, do you know how much effort I put into getting into this Chen residence?
ah?
"You've also gotten into the academy. We've finally managed to..."
Qin Tao choked back tears, raising her hand to wipe the corner of her eyes: "I can't see him!"
I don't want to see him!
I don't want to see him!
Go back and tell him... tell him to pretend I'm dead!
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