After Fang Tianluo and Xiao Lingling left, Li Huaike thought about going down the mountain to open his free clinic. Li Huairou refused to go, saying, “Liu-jiejie will go with you, I won’t go. I’m tired and want to get some rest.”
Li Huaike felt helpless. “What are you doing to make you tired?”
“Do you think the antidote was such an easy thing to make? It requires a lot of thinking and energy. I don’t care, and I won’t go,” Li Huairou said, snuggling on the swing.
Seeing that she was so lazy, Li Huaike had to let her go.
“I can do it all by myself, so you can rest here in the valley too!” Li Huaike said, turning his head to Liu Sike. Running the free clinic was very hard and tiring, especially for girls.
Liu Sike shook her head. “I’ll go with you. I want to learn more.”
In fact, during this period, Liu Sike had been studying medicine with Li Huaike. She was very smart and careful.
“Okay,” Li Huaike said with a smile.
Li Huaike and Liu Sike went down the mountain, leaving Li Huairou, Uncle Zhang, and Aunt Zhang in the valley. Apart from taking care of the herbs every day, they used the rest of the time to make various foods.
Eating and drinking all day, Li Huairou lived a very carefree life.
Suddenly, one day, Li Huairou felt that her conscience was being a littleoverwhelming. So she asked Aunt Zhang to make some delicious food and then went down the mountain, wanting to share it with Li Huaike and Liu Sike.
But what greeted her was nothing but empty air.
Upon inquiring, she realized that Li Huaike and Liu Sike had disappeared the night before. Someone had spotted their being taken away by a carriage.
Li Huairou was a little uneasy. Who had taken them away? She didn’t have time to think, inquiring about the direction of the carriage and hurrying back to Happy Valley. She asked Uncle Zhang to change Happy Valley’s defense mechanisms again, packed some things by herself, and prepared to go down the mountain to find them.
Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang were a little worried. There was a huge crowd—where to find them?
Li Huairou smiled, holding the bell on her waist. Fortunately, she was prepared.
Liu Sike also had a bell like this. There was a mother-child gu insect hidden in it. The child-gu was with Liu Sike, and the mother-gu was with her. As long as the distance between the child and mother gu was under a hundred miles, they would respond to each other. As long as Liu Sike was smart, she should be able to find it.
But the assumption was that Liu Sike had nothing to do with the person who kidnapped them. I hope I didn’t believe in the wrong person.
Li Huairou hurried to catch up on her horse. But in only one day, her legs got blisters. As she applied medicine at night, Li Huairou thought that when she found Li Huaike, she’d settle the account with him.
After chasing for around three or four days, the bell suddenly stirred and made a sound. Li Huairou was overjoyed—it seemed that she was getting closer and closer.
On the sixth day, the mother-gu in the bell became more and more restless, and Li Huairou knew that she was probably very close.
Then she saw a black carriage and the dozens of people in full force surrounding it. Li Huairou calmed the mother-gu down and walked over graciously.
“Who is it? Please stop!” one of them asked sharply, spotting Li Huairou. The sword in his hand was also unsheathed.
“It’s your great aunt!” Li Huairou said loudly. At the same time, she raised her hand, and a burst of white smoke drifted past.
[Gu nai nai (姑奶奶) literally means “grandfather’s sister”, sometimes used as a slang word to mean “troublemaker”. Here, it means “you should treat me with respect”]
Those people immediately held their breaths. All of a sudden, they all fell to the ground, one after another.
Their leader seemed to have a stronger internal strength, and he was still conscious. “What are you going to do?!”
Li Huairou stretched out her hand and gave him a light push. The person fell to the ground, but his eyes were still fixed on Li Huairou. Li Huairou clapped her hands. “This ** poison is this great aunt’s personal concoction. Once exposed to the skin, the poison will kick in. You think it will be fine if you hold your breath? How naive.”
After finishing speaking, ignoring the man, she walked to the carriage and lifted the curtain. Inside, Li Huaike and Liu Sike were tied up and unconscious.
Li Huairou quickly untied the ropes for them. The two of them were still unconscious. Li Huairou searched Li Huaike’s belongings, finding all the medicine he was carrying.
Li Huairou pulled a hairpin from her head, opened its mechanism, and dug out some ointment with her hand, putting it under Li Huaike’s and Liu Sike’s noses. The two slowly woke up, and when they saw Li Huairou, they both looked happy. “Huairou! You’re here!”
“Can you move? Let’s go quickly.” Li Huairou jumped out of the carriage and looked at the people lying on the ground, thinking about whether to cut the grass and remove the roots.
[Eliminate the problem at its roots]
Liu Sike seemed to have guessed her thoughts. Ignoring her sore limbs, she grabbed Li Huairou. “No!”
Li Huaike also said, “Forget it, Huairou, let’s go back first!”
The three of them took the horses, planning to go back.
The leader said, “Wanqing, the prince and the princess were not bad to you. Now that the princess is in danger, do you really want to let her die?”
Liu Sike stopped.
Li Huaike turned to look at her. “Your name is Wanqing?”
Liu Sike raised her head. “No, I don’t know them.”
“Xiang Wanqing! The princess is dying!”
Liu Sike trembled, biting her lips until they bled.
Seeing this, Li Huaike sighed. “Let’s go take a look. It’s alright!”
“Sir!” Liu Sike looked at Li Huaike and shook her head. “No, this matter has nothing to do with you, and you cannot be involved. ”
“Saving a life is a greater achievement than building a seven-level pagoda. What’s more, it also involves your life experience,” Li Huaike said softly.
Liu Sike was crying. She looked at Li Huairou, hoping that Li Huairou could persuade Li Huaike to change his mind.
Li Huairou touched her chin. “Princess? Prince? You aren’t talking about Prince Yan and Princess Baozhu, are you? What’s the matter? Is it not the case that Princess Baozhu has returned to Yancheng safely? Why do you say she is dying?”
Could it be that Liu Sike’s guess had been right? Did Xiao Lingling really do something to Princess Baozhu? This was a great opportunity for Li Huaike to know the heroine’s true face. She couldn’t miss it.
The man saw Li Huaike’s loosening attitude, and he quickly said, “The princess was nearly murdered by a traitor. She’s in imminent danger. The prince was anxious, and he asked famous doctors to treat the princess’s disease.”
“Who is the treacherous man you are talking about?” Li Huairou asked, kneeling down.
“Xiao Lingling and Fang Tianluo!” the man gritted his teeth and replied.
Li Huaike was taken aback. “What happened?”
The man told the story in detail, and it was almost as Liu Sike had guessed, but Li Huairou and Li Huaike knew deep down that Fang Tianluo probably didn’t know about it, and that it was probably Xiao Lingling who’d secretly started it.
Li Huaike sighed. It was no wonder that Tianluo had obviously saved the princess’s life, but was still chased by Prince Yan. With this Miss Xiao, it was really hard to tell. She was by Brother Tianluo’s side, and Li Huaike didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing!
The next time they met, he would remind Brother Tianluo!
“Huairou, detoxify them. Let’s not delay—let’s finish early and go back early!” Li Huaike said.
“No, ge, are you really going to treat the princess?” Li Huairou asked in surprise.
Li Huaike nodded, and then said, “Actually, if you’d made it clear earlier, I would have gone with you myself, and there wouldn’t have been so many complications. Huairou, hurry up and don’t waste time. If there is something wrong with the princess, the misunderstanding between Prince Yan and Brother Tianluo will never be resolved.”
Li Huairou had no choice but to detoxify those people. Then she got into the carriage and rushed to Yancheng.
On the way, Liu Sike was always silent.
Li Huaike thought for a while. “If you really don’t want to go back, with your parents consent, you can still go back with us. ”
Liu Sike raised her head excitedly when she heard the words. What did he mean?
“If your parents agree, I can accept you as a disciple so that you can return to Happy Valley justifiably,” Li Huaike continued.
Li Huairou lowered her head. She really shouldn’t have any expectations for Li Huaike.
Liu Sike’s expression was also a little stiff; she hadn’t meant that.
Li Huairou couldn’t stand it anymore. Expecting Li Huaike to enlighten himself would take until the next life! In the plot, Xiao Lingling was able to successfully subdue Li Huaike because it was the right time and place and because Xiao Lingling was proactive enough. But Liu Sike was obviously not such a temperamental person.
“Ge! Can’t you tell? Liu-jiejie likes you. She wants to stay in Happy Valley as your wife and my sister-in-law, not as your apprentice. Do you understand?”
Liu Sike looked scared. “Huairou!”
Li Huaike also looked surprised. “What do you mean?” Li Huaike looked at Liu Sike without saying anything else.
Li Huairou pushed Liu Sike a bit. “Hurry up and say it. If you miss this chance, there will be no second chances.”
After all these days of getting along, Liu Sike also knew Li Huaike’s character. She knew that if she didn’t make it clear, he may not know her heart until she died. She mustered up the courage and said, “Sir, I like you! I want to take care of you and stay with you for a lifetime!”
Li Huaike was a little dazed. She liked him? How was it possible?
“Ge, what do you think?” Li Huairou asked, approaching Li Huaike.
“I—I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it,” Li Huaike said nervously and vaguely.
“Then it’s not too late for you to think about Liu-jiejie, right?” Li Huairou said with a smile.
Liu Sike nodded. “I’ll be waiting for you. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be waiting for you!”
Li Huaike looked away uncomfortably. “I’m a very boring person. I don’t understand anything other than curing diseases and saving people.” With his being like this, would anyone like him?
“I don’t care. I like to see you treat illnesses and save people, and I’m willing to stay by your side,” Liu Sike said with courage.
Li Huaike thought for a while—she was indeed like that. “Let me think about it again.”
A gleam of joy flashed across Liu Sike’s face. It was great that he hadn’t directly refused! “Alright, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”
A tinge of red flashed across Li Huaike’s face. “It won’t take long. I thought about it, and I don’t dislike being with you. It’s just that if you didn’t have any parents or relatives, you’d be able to decide for yourself. If you have your parents and relatives, you have to get their consent.”
Liu Sike didn’t expect Li Huaike to say this, and she almost cried with joy. “Okay!” Would she finally be able to catch a glimpse of the moonlight?
Seeing that she was crying, Li Huaike’s heart was also moved. It was the first time he’d been met with such a passionate and strong love, and he was slightly at a loss. Li Huaike took a veil out of his sleeve and handed it to Liu Sike. “Don’t cry.”
Liu Sike took the veil and couldn’t help but smile.
Li Huairou felt that the carriage was full of pink bubbles and couldn’t stand it anymore, so she turned and got out.
