The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Li Ji was inwardly mortified.

He had boasted so confidently before, as if he could whip up a feast with no effort at all.

But reality had slapped him hard in the face.

What was even more infuriating was that brat Gou Dan intentionally sighing with exaggerated praise.

"This meat is cooked so well! It’s not too salty, not too bland—it’s just right!"

Li Ji sneered.

’As if I can’t tell.’

’That little stinker is doing it on purpose to mock me!’

When Manman was nearly finished eating, she suddenly heard Li Ji ask a question.

"How is Gou Dan’s homework coming along? Bring it here for me to see."

Hua Manman paused mid-bite.

Li Xun, completely oblivious to his mother’s strange reaction, immediately stood up and said proudly.

"Mother helped me write several lines of poetry this time! Her literary talent is amazing!"

With that, he dashed out, giving Hua Manman no chance to stop him.

Hua Manman could only watch helplessly as he vanished in a flash.

A single thought surfaced in her mind—

’I’m doomed!’

’Another epic scene of social suicide!’

Soon, Li Xun came pattering back.

He was holding a homework book.

"Look, this is the poetry Mother taught me to write!"

Li Ji held out his hand. "Come, let me admire your mother’s masterpiece."

Hua Manman: "Maybe not..."

Li Xun shoved the homework book directly into his father’s hands, then turned to his mother.

"Mother, you don’t have to be modest! Your writing is so good, more people should see it!"

Li Ji gave her a half-smile. "Gou Dan is right. More people *should* see it."

Hua Manman did not want anyone to see the poems she had written.

She stammered.

"I-I need to use the privy. I’ll be right back."

Li Ji said leisurely, "Fine. We’ll wait for you to come back and admire the homework together."

Hua Manman: "..."

It seemed there was no escaping this disaster.

She could only hang her head in resignation.

"Never mind, I don’t have to go anymore."

Li Ji slowly opened the homework book to the first page.

"Let me see what poetry you’ve written. ’May we all be blessed with longevity...’"

Li Ji was surprised and raised an eyebrow at the woman across from him.

"This poem is quite good. Did you write it?"

So embarrassed she could feel her toes curling, Hua Manman said, "No."

Li Ji chuckled. "Right. I didn’t think you could write a poem with such profound meaning."

His gaze moved down the page.

May we all be blessed with longevity, and not gain a pound over a thousand miles.

Li Ji: "..."

His expression gradually grew strange.

He turned another page.

Once you’ve seen the great ocean, no other water is worth seeing; Yuxiang shredded pork goes best with a chicken leg.

He turned yet another page.

It takes more than one cold day for a river to freeze three feet deep; it takes more than one day of gluttony for a paunch to get three layers deep.

...

The moment Li Ji put down the homework book, Li Xun asked impatiently.

"Isn’t Mother’s writing amazing?"

Li Ji looked at the woman before him with that same half-smile and offered some sincere advice.

"From now on, read more books and eat less food."

Hua Manman was mortified.

’I really don’t know how to write poetry!’

’I had to borrow classic poems from the ancients and give them a little twist to try and bluff my way through.’

But Li Xun didn’t think there was anything wrong with the poems.

He was very unhappy with his father’s reaction.

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying Mother’s poems aren’t good?"

Li Ji patted his head. "You too. Read more books from now on, so you don’t end up just like your mother."

Li Xun was so angry he flailed his arms. "Don’t you dare talk about Mother like that!"

While the family of three was bickering, Chen Wangbei walked in.

"Reporting to the Prince, something has happened to Li Yu."

Li Ji grabbed his rowdy son to stop him from making a scene and looked at Chen Wangbei.

"What happened?"

Hua Manman also pricked up her ears to listen.

Chen Wangbei: "This evening, Li Yu suddenly began vomiting and had diarrhea. At first, they thought he simply wasn’t acclimatized, but by nightfall, he had fallen into a coma and his breathing was faint."

Li Ji: "Has a doctor seen him?"

Chen Wangbei: "Yes. They said it’s food poisoning. Because it was discovered late, Li Yu is deeply poisoned. The doctor said there’s nothing he can do."

As he finished, his voice instinctively lowered, and he became very anxious.

Li Yu is the Heir of Prince Qing.

If anything were to happen to him, the Prince Qing Mansion would definitely not let the matter rest.

If this isn’t handled properly, it could trigger civil unrest in the Great Zhou.

Li Ji was not the least bit flustered.

He gave his orders with calm composure.

"Have Li Yu sent back to Shangjing and let Feihua Zhenren take a look at him. Take all the other princely heirs who were with Li Yu into temporary custody. I want to find out if this was a coincidence or deliberate."

"Understood."

Chen Wangbei accepted the order and left.

That night, Li Yu was rushed back to Shangjing for treatment.

After Feihua Zhenren’s emergency treatment, Li Yu’s life was finally saved.

The next morning, Li Ji returned to Shangjing with Hua Manman and Li Xun.

Li Ji had originally planned to send Hua Manman and Li Xun back to the Prince Mansion first while he went to the Prince Qing Mansion alone to check on Li Yu. But Hua Manman insisted on going with him.

She had a feeling Li Yu’s poisoning was no coincidence.

’There might be a conspiracy at play.’

If the poisoner was only after Li Yu, that would be one thing. But if they were targeting all the heirs of the vassal kings, then things were very bad.

After all, she was currently using the title of Heir of Prince Yu.

’I have to figure out what’s really going on.’

Li Ji said nonchalantly.

"Come along if you want."

Li Xun always followed his mother wherever she went. Seeing that she was going to the Prince Qing Mansion, he naturally wanted to go too.

So, the family of three took a carriage directly to the Prince Qing Mansion.

The people of the Prince Qing Mansion were already resentful over their heir’s poisoning. They felt the Regent King was surely involved, so seeing him arrive in person set off alarm bells. They feared he was there to finish the job.

The chief steward of the Prince Qing Mansion bowed to the Regent King and his two companions.

When the Regent King proposed seeing Li Yu, the chief steward demurred with a dry laugh.

"Your Highness the Regent Prince, please forgive us. Our Princely Heir is not yet awake and cannot receive visitors for now. Perhaps you could come back another day."

Li Ji couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him and simply had his men drag the chief steward aside.

He then strode into the Prince Qing Mansion with Hua Manman and Li Xun as if he owned the place.

When Feihua Zhenren heard the Regent King had arrived, he hurried out to greet him.

He noticed two people behind the Regent King. The small one was the young prince, but the taller one was a stranger he didn’t recognize.

But now was not the time to worry about such details.

Feihua Zhenren spoke quickly.

"Your Highness, you’re finally here! This humble Taoist clearly detoxified the Heir of Prince Qing, but the people from the Prince Qing Mansion still refuse to let me leave. Tell me, where is the sense in that?!"

Li Ji glanced at the crowd from the Prince Qing Mansion that had followed them and said with a half-smile.

"Pay them no mind. How is the Heir of Prince Qing?"

Feihua Zhenren: "He has woken up, but his body is still very weak."

"Take me to see him."