ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 67
The hall was silent, with not even the sound of a crow or sparrow. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Xiao Yan sat upright in the flower hall, using a handkerchief to wipe his lips. He probably touched a wound, his brows furrowed as he drew in a sharp breath.
Xiao Rulei was anxiously peering from the side, expressing concern, “Brother, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
As she spoke, she approached and said, “A’yang will help you blow on it.”
Xiao Yan quickly leaned back, pointing his index finger at her forehead, preventing her from getting closer. He disdainfully said, “Stay away from me.”
Xiao Rulei obediently sighed, lowering her head in disappointment, “Alright then.”
Li Zhizhi stood by, watching. She didn’t seem to be affected much by the fall; her forehead was just a bit sore. On the other hand, the Crown Prince’s lower lip was bruised, with a hint of blood. It looked somewhat different…
Li Zhizhi glanced a few more times, and just as Xiao Yan looked over, she cleared her throat and asked, “Your Highness, are you okay?”
Xiao Yan pulled the corner of his lips, with a smile that was neither genuine nor fake, “Luck is still on my side, I didn’t get knocked two miles away. I also want to thank you for your mercy.”
Li Zhizhi: …
This sarcastic tone seems to suggest that even if his lip is cut, it doesn’t affect the Crown Prince’s performance in the slightest.
This time, it was Li Zhizhi who admitted fault, honestly saying, “It’s my fault. Your Highness, please forgive me this time. I won’t dare to do it again next time.”
Xiao Yan glanced at her, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said, “Where’s your sincerity?”
Coincidentally, a maid arrived with medicine, and Li Zhizhi quickly took it, smiling, “I’ll apply the medicine for Your Highness. How about turning my mistake into a merit? ”
Xiao Yan made a sound from his nostrils and waited for Li Zhizhi to come and attend to him with the medicine.
The box contained ointment, with a slightly white color, like translucent oil. Li Zhizhi used a clean silver spoon to pick a little and gently applied it to the wound at the corner of Xiao Yan’s lips. It seemed a bit painful, and he made a soft sound. Li Zhizhi instinctively blew gently.
The gentle breath came over, reminiscent of the morning mist in the mountain ravines, incredibly soft. Xiao Yan froze, motionless. Beside him, Xiao Rulei blinked and accused, “Brother, you won’t let me blow, but you let Sister Zhizhi blow. You’re biased!”
Only then did Li Zhizhi react and sighed softly, saying, “I overstepped the rules.”
Xiao Yan looked at his younger sister and coldly said, “She is applying medicine. What blowing? Which eye of yours saw me being biased?”
Xiao Rulei stretched two hands, pointing at her own eyes, confidently saying, “Both eyes of A’yang saw it! Hmph!”
Xiao Yan spoke with a calm tone, “That’s just your imagination.”
Xiao Rule pursed her lips and turned to Li Zhizhi, complaining, “Brother scolded me.”
Li Zhizhi handed the medicine box to the servant, touched her head, and said, “It’s not true. Our Ayang’s eyes are fine.”
She was easily comforted, and soon became happy again. Li Zhizhi glanced at Xiao Yan again, who was applying ointment to his wound. He seemed very uncomfortable, occasionally pursing his lips, spreading the ointment evenly. His thin lips carried a hint of moisture, unexpectedly showing a touch of charm.
Just then, a group of people entered from outside, led by the Grand Princess. Seeing Xiao Yan’s condition, she was stunned for a moment and asked with concern, “What happened to Xiao Wu?”
Xiao Rulei was about to enthusiastically explain the ins and outs, but Xiao Yan said quickly: “It’s nothing, I accidentally bumped into something earlier.”
The Grand Princess is still wondering, how can the lower lip be injured like that with such a kneading method? Could it be a fall resembling a dog chewing on the mud?
With this thought in mind, she looked at Li Zhizhi again, only to find a small red bump on her forehead. She was surprised and said, “Zhizhi, what’s wrong with your forehead?”
Li Zhizhi touched it and said, “I just bumped it earlier, it doesn’t matter.”
The Grand Princess quickly asked her servants to boil an egg. She looked at Xiao Yan and then at Li Zhizhi. What a coincidence. One knocked her lips and the other bumped her forehead. However, since they did not confess, the Grand Princess also didn’t press further. She just smiled and said to Li Zhizhi: “Speaking of which, I remembered something early this morning. The Qianshan hunting ground will open in a while. I plan to go hunting. Would you like to come along, Zhizhi?”
“Hunting?” Li Zhizhi was somewhat surprised and said, “But I don’t know how to.”
The Grand Princess chuckled, “I’m just taking you to play. Other people will do the hard work of hunting.”
Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhi naturally agreed, and the Grand Princess continued, “If you have good friends, you can invite them to join us, like that child from the Pei family.”
Li Zhizhi didn’t expect the Grand Princess to talk about Pei Yanchuan. She hesitated for a moment before responding, “Alright.”
Although she was not too familiar with Pei Yanchuan, since it was the Grand Princess’s request, she would naturally find ways to fulfill it.
On the side, Xiao Yan listened to their conversation. After a moment, a smile appeared on his face, and he deliberately said, “Auntie is going hunting but you’re not taking your nephew along?”
“You want to go hunting too?” The Grand Princess was very surprised. Scrutinizing him, she said, “I wouldn like to take you, but your legs…”
Xiao Yan calmly replied, “I’m just going for fun. Leave the hard work of hunting to Xu Tingfeng.”
The Grand Princess: …
Personal guard Xu Tingfeng: …
…
Early in the morning, at the Li Residence.
As Li Xingzhi was about to board the carriage, Li Suwan stopped him, hesitatingly asking, “Brother, are you going to the Grand Princess’s residence today?”
Li Xingzhi was stunned for a moement and said, “Yes, didn’t Mom and Dad discuss it yesterday? They want me to bring Zhizhi back.”
Li Suwan bit her lip and said, “Then… what if she refuses to come back?”
Li Xingzhi thought for a while and said, “It won’t happen, right? Although the Grand Princess’s residence is nice, our home is here at the Li Residence. She won’t stay there forever. I’ll persuade her a bit, and I believe she’ll agree.”
Li Suwan couldn’t wait for Li Zhizhi to never come back. Anxiously, she said, “But didn’t she refuse Mom last night and say she prefers the Grand Princess’s residence? What’s the use of you going today? It’s just a shame.”
Li Xingzhi thought and replied, “I still have to try.”
Extremely unwilling, Li Suwan retorted, “You insist on going, trying to go press your warm face against a cold butt.”
“Suwan!” Li Xingzhi’s tone slightly hardened as he stared at her, saying, “Actually, you really don’t want Zhizhi to come back, right?”
Li Suwan, caught off guard, panicked and denied, “No, I don’t.”
“If you don’t, then what do you want to say?”
In the face of his questioning, Li Suwan couldn’t help but feel a bit at a loss, stammering, “I, I just feel… she is too disrespectful to Mother. Didn’t you hear what Mother said yesterday? Li Zhizhi even sent someone to drive her out, saying how good the princess’s mansion is. I… I’m a little angry.”
Li Xingzhi remained silent for a moment and said, “It’s precisely because both you and Mother treated her that way before that she doesn’t want to come back.”
Li Suwan looked surprised, her eyes slightly widened. Li Xingzhi continued, “Zhizhi is a person, not a piece of wood. Where she is treated well, she naturally goes there. Now that she doesn’t want to come back, shouldn’t you all reflect on yourselves?”
After speaking, he said no more and got on the carriage. The coachman shouted, and the carriage gradually moved away, leaving Li Suwan alone standing there. She lowered her head, looking at the ground, clenched her hands, with deep imprints on her palms.
This was her brother, the brother she had called for over ten years…
In his eyes, there was only Li Zhizhi, that bitch, and no longer her. The entire Li Mansion is looking forward to Li Zhizhi’s return, and no one cared about Li Suwan. Now, she found herself completely isolated and helpless.
After a long time, Li Suwan took a deep breath, wiped away the tears on her face, and said to the gatekeeper, “Get another carriage, I want to go to Mingyuan for class.”
Half an hour later, the carriage from Li Mansion arrived at Mingyuan. The entrance was quiet. Li Suwan got off the carriage and looked around. It was already late, and she was obviously late today.
With her book bag in her arms, she arrived at the Mingde Hall. Inside, the sound of reading aloud was heard. Wu Jiaoshu read a sentence, and the students read a sentence after him. When Li Suwan stood at the door, she felt all eyes in the hall were on her. Immediately, the students began to whisper and gossip.
Wu Jiangshu looked at her sharply and asked, “Why haven’t you come to school for so many days?”
Li Suwan lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly as she replied, “There have been some family issues for the student, please forgive me, Teacher Wu.”
Wu Jiangshu scolded her a few more times before allowing her to enter. All the students stared at her, their eyes filled with surprise, confusion, and mostly curiosity as if watching a lively show. Someone whispered, “Zizhi, your cousin is here.”
Li Zhizhi looked up from her book and met Li Suwan’s gaze. Seeing her red eyes, Li Zhizhi only smiled slightly, silently mouthing, “Sister, how have you been?”
Li Suwan stared at her intensely. Li Zhizhi seemed to be living well, adorned with golden hairpins and pearls, wearing clothes made from the finest fabric, and adorned with exquisite jewelry around her neck. She looked like a beautiful jade, carved and polished to shine brightly at a glance.
The jealousy in Li Suwan’s heart almost swallowed her whole, and she couldn’t help but exert her strength with her fingers. There was a tearing sound, and the book bag in her arms tore open. Several books fell down and hit the ground in a mess, making everyone laugh.
Li Suwan crouched down to pick up the scattered books when she felt something hit her forehead. A sheep-hair brush rolled and fell to the ground. She looked up to see Wang Lingyue looking over, instructing in a commanding tone, “Liar, pick it up for me.”
The students all laughed quietly, and Wu Jiangshu, sensing something, turned around, saying, “Silence!”
Looking back at Li Suwan, he scolded, “What are you doing crouching there? Hurry back and sit down.”
Li Zhizhi, resting her head on one hand, watched Li Suwan return to her seat by the desk. She thought, fortunately, this is Mingde Hall. If it were Shanshe Hall, she might not even have a desk left today.
After all, in her past life, Li Zhizhi was not as lucky as Li Suwan, who could lean on the table and cry.
Li Zhizhi withdrew her gaze and met the eyes of Su Tangyu. She was slightly stunned and asked, “Why are you looking at me like this?”
Su Tangyu glanced in the direction of Li Suwan and said, “You won’t pity her, right?”
Li Zhizhi supported her snowy cheeks, made a sound, and said, “After all, she is my cousin. I can’t help but feel a little sorry for her.”
“She brought it upon herself,” Su Tangyu rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t think she is pitiful now. In a few days, she’ll bounce back and start causing trouble again, just like last time.”
Li Zhizhi’s eyes turned, suddenly remembering the morning instructions from the Grand Princess. She asked Su Tangyu, “In a few days, we’re going hunting at the Qian Mountain hunting ground. Will you come and join us?”
Su Tangyu was momentarily stunned and asked, “Who else is going?”
Li Zhizhi counted and said, “My mother, the Crown Prince, and Lord Pei.”
Upon hearing that Pei Yanchuan would also be there, Su Tangyu suddenly felt a sense of crisis and immediately said, “Then I’ll go too!”
She paused and asked, “Can I bring my second brother with me?”