Chapter 537 - 540: Simply Incredible
Li Xun waited and waited for his mother, but she never came back.
Li Ji told him to go home, but he refused.
He clung to the leg of a table, refusing to leave no matter what.
"What if Mother comes back and can’t find me? I’m not leaving!"
Li Ji couldn’t be bothered to argue. He pried the boy’s hands off, picked him up, and tucked him under his arm as he walked out.
It was no use no matter how much he flailed and struggled.
Against such overwhelming strength, Li Xun’s struggles were utterly futile.
He shrieked in anger.
"Let me go! I want to wait here for my mother to come back!"
The other patrons in the restaurant all turned to look at them.
If it weren’t for Li Ji’s extraordinary air and the uncanny resemblance between father and son, onlookers might have mistaken it for a kidnapping.
Li Ji tossed him into the carriage and ordered the trusted aide at the reins.
"Take him home. Don’t let him wander off."
"Yes, sir!"
Li Xun pushed open the window, intending to jump out.
Li Ji watched him with a cold gaze. "If you dare try anything, you’ll never see your mother again."
The threat struck a nerve, and Li Xun froze.
He clung to the window frame, his eyes red and puffy, looking like an abandoned puppy.
Yet his expression was exceptionally stubborn, even revealing a hint of ferocity.
"You’ll bring Mother back, won’t you?"
He looked as if he would pounce and bite Li Ji if he dared to say no.
Li Ji gave a soft affirmation.
"Mm."
The carriage set off.
Li Xun was sent back to the Prince Mansion.
But he refused to stay put in his room.
He stood at the front gate for a while, but his parents didn’t return.
Then he snuck off to the back courtyard.
This was where his father had flown with him over the courtyard wall.
He remembered that if he could just get over this wall, he would see his mother.
But he didn’t know Qinggong, so he couldn’t fly like his father.
He would have to use a tool.
Li Xun had a servant bring a wooden ladder from the storeroom.
He pointed to a spot near the courtyard wall.
"Put the ladder right here."
The servant hesitated. "You’re not thinking of climbing the wall, are you? The Yu Royal Mansion is on the other side. You can’t do something so reckless!"
Li Xun’s small face hardened, and he stared at the servant expressionlessly.
"Are you telling me what to do?"
The boy hadn’t learned much else, but he had perfectly mastered his father’s intimidating act.
The servant was too frightened to say another word and quickly set the ladder in place.
Li Xun started climbing the ladder.
The servant stood below, holding the ladder steady and calling out constant reminders.
"Slowly, Your Highness, slowly!"
When he reached the top, Li Xun grabbed the coping of the wall and carefully shuffled over.
The sight made the servant’s heart pound. He didn’t dare to breathe, terrified the young prince would fall.
Li Xun finally managed to get on top of the wall, only to find the ground on the other side was completely bare. There was nowhere for him to land.
All he could do was straddle the top of the wall, too scared to move.
Just as he was caught in a dilemma, he saw his mother rush out of the house.
His eyes instantly lit up.
"Mother!"
Hua Manman called out anxiously, "Don’t move! I’ll come up and get you!"
Li Xun remembered the time his mother had held him and flown into the air.
He asked joyfully.
"Are you going to fly with me, Mother?"
Hua Manman said helplessly, "I’m not a bird. How could I possibly fly?"
With that, she hurried off to get a ladder.
Her palms were injured, so to avoid irritating the wounds, she had already wrapped them in silk handkerchiefs.
Even so, the wounds on her palms throbbed with pain as she carried the wooden ladder.
She furrowed her brow, pushed through the pain, and propped the ladder securely against the wall before climbing up.
"Here, give me your hands."
Seeing his mother coming to hold him again, Li Xun was overjoyed.
He practically threw himself into her arms.
Even after so many years, the feeling of his mother’s embrace was just as he remembered—warm and soft.
If he sniffed carefully, he could also smell the faint scent of medicine.
Li Xun hugged his mother tightly, like a priceless treasure he had lost and found again, unwilling to let go for even a second.
Even after they were safely on the ground, he still refused to let go.
Hua Manman sighed and patted his head.
"Let’s go inside."
Li Xun always listened to his mother. Though reluctant, he obediently let her go.
The two of them went inside.
Hua Manman poured him a glass of warm water and brought out some snacks.
"Help yourself to whatever you’d like."
Li Xun noticed that both of his mother’s hands were wrapped in silk handkerchiefs and couldn’t help but ask.
"Mother, what happened to your hands?"
"It’s nothing," Hua Manman said, changing the subject. "That wall is so high. How did you get over it all by yourself?"
Li Xun’s eyes remained fixed on his mother’s hands as he muttered under his breath.
"It’s not that high, actually. You can just use a ladder to climb over."
Hua Manman frowned. "Didn’t I tell you not to climb walls? That’s very dangerous. What if you had fallen? And where is your father? Why isn’t he looking after you?"
Li Xun hung his head like a schoolboy being scolded.
"I was wrong."
Seeing his pitiful expression, Hua Manman didn’t have the heart to scold him any further.
She stressed, "Don’t you ever do something so dangerous again."
Li Xun obediently replied, "Mm-hm."
He carefully glanced up at his mother. Seeing that she still seemed angry, he quickly explained.
"I didn’t mean to make you angry. I was just scared.
"You said you were going to buy oranges, but then you never came back. I thought you were going to abandon us again."
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt. His eyes reddened, and he started to cry. "SOB... SOB..."
"Please don’t leave, Mother, okay? Gou Dan will be good from now on! WAHHH!"
His crying made Hua Manman’s heart ache.
’What is it about this child?’ she wondered. ’He always manages to pull at my heartstrings so easily.’
She reached out, wiped away his tears, and comforted him in a soft voice.
"There, there, don’t cry. I wasn’t going to abandon you. I just ran into a little trouble, that’s all. See? I’m back now, aren’t I?"
Li Xun looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Really?"
"Of course it’s true. Have you forgotten? We made a pinky promise."
As she spoke, she held out her pinky finger.
Remembering their promise, Li Xun relaxed a little.
Then his gaze fell back to his mother’s hands.
He remembered the faint scent of medicine he’d noticed on her earlier.
He might be young, but he was not stupid.
On the contrary, he was sharper and more clever than most.
"Mother, are your hands hurt?"
Hua Manman smiled. "No, you’re imagining things."
She tried to lower her hands.
Tears immediately welled up in Li Xun’s eyes again.
"You’re lying! You are hurt, I know it! Why didn’t you tell me? D-do you not like Gou Dan anymore?"
Hua Manman was left speechless by his barrage of questions.
’Kids these days are so formidable, aren’t they?’
’Not only are their instincts sharp, but they can cry at the drop of a hat.’
’It’s really something else!’