Third Lady set down the Kao Lao Basket and picked up a calcium milk biscuit with one hand.
She looked at it before taking a tiny bite.
Her originally dull eyes suddenly lit up.
She looked at Xiao Ran in astonishment.
“Do you like it?”
Third Lady nodded like a pecking chick. “I do. It’s sweet and really delicious.”
With that, she took another bite.
Xiao Ran gave Third Lady all the remaining calcium milk biscuits. “Eat slowly. I’ll help you pick them up in a moment.”
It was clear that Third Lady felt rather embarrassed.
However, the taste of the calcium milk biscuits made it impossible for Third Lady to refuse.
How could a child who struggled even to eat her fill possibly refuse something so sweet?
Third Lady looked at the calcium milk biscuits, and in that moment, the way she looked at Xiao Ran changed completely.
“Thank you, young master!”
Xiao Ran rubbed the little girl’s head. “There’s no need to thank me.”
Taiji Palace
After seeing Li Shimin set down the final memorial, Zhang Anan said, “your majesty, I went to the Ministry of Justice to check the travel permits from the past two years. There are no records whatsoever of Young Master Xiao Ran.”
Li Shimin furrowed his brows. “None?”
“I checked all the records of the travel permits afterward. There were none.”
Li Shimin nodded. “Hmm, I understand.”
Li Shimin left Taiji Palace and returned to Lizheng Palace.
He could hear the laughter of the two little princesses from far away.
“Sizi, Second Lady!” Li Shimin called out.
“It’s father~”
“Father is back~” The little princess ran toward Li Shimin.
Empress Zhangsun and Li Lizhi, who had been sitting in the front hall, also rose to welcome Li Shimin.
The little princess threw herself into Li Shimin’s arms. “Father~ Take me to play~”
Li Shimin picked up the two little princesses. “All right, all right. Father will take Sizi to play!”
“Father, can we go play with the Little Gentleman~” The little princess wrapped her arms around Li Shimin’s neck. “And big doggy too~”
“There are lots of fishies~”
The little girl wanted to go see Xiao Ran, and in truth, Li Shimin wanted to go as well.
“Father is busy right now. When father has time, I’ll take Sizi there, all right?”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm~”
“Father, me too. I want to go play as well.” Little Princess Chengyang hurriedly spoke up.
“All right, all right. We’ll all go. We’ll all go.”
Having received Li Shimin’s promise, the two little princesses were delighted, even though Li Shimin had not specified when.
“Xiao Ran said before that he had returned from the western regions, but Anan couldn’t find any record of his travel permit at the Ministry of Justice.” Li Shimin led Empress Zhangsun to sit down.
“It seems the young master is withholding something, or perhaps he returned secretly.” Li Lizhi pondered.
Either he had returned secretly, or he was lying.
“Indeed! He’s quite interesting!” Xiao Ran’s cooking, fishing technique, and all the other things he possessed had greatly interested Li Shimin.
“Father, if the young master returned secretly on his own, what should we do?” Li Lizhi asked Li Shimin.
“That depends on whether he has value. If he has talent and can be useful to the Great Tang, then even if he has no household registration or is of low status, I won’t mind employing him.”
Li Lizhi nodded. She could now sense that Xiao Ran’s fishing technique and cooking were astonishing, but they were not enough for Li Shimin to employ him heavily.
To make Li Shimin take him seriously, he would have to display abilities and value in other areas as well.
Li Lizhi returned to her own study in Fengyang Pavilion.
“Yushu, grind the ink!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Everyone now knew that Xiao Ran had either lied or slipped back secretly.
This matter was actually quite serious. At best, he had no household registration and was a Refugee; at worst, Xiao Ran might even be deceiving the emperor.
It could be treated as either a serious or minor matter. The key was how Li Shimin wished to handle it.
Even if Xiao Ran had no other talents, Li Lizhi wanted to protect him based solely on his cooking.
Li Lizhi could only remain in the imperial palace because she was not yet married. Xiao Ran could not enter the palace to follow Li Lizhi, but as the eldest legitimate daughter, Li Lizhi still possessed considerable power. She could arrange a reasonable identity and a suitable place for Xiao Ran.
With his cooking skills alone, Li Lizhi was willing to keep Xiao Ran and support him as an advisor.
Yushu spread the xuan paper on the medical table before Li Lizhi. Li Lizhi picked up the chinese brush and gently dipped it into the ink.
After thinking briefly, she began to write:
【Dear young master, may this letter find you safe and well:】
【Yesterday, we met by the water but had no chance to speak at length. Yet my younger sister mentioned you several times, and her cheerful laughter and lively manner still seem vividly before my eyes.】
【I recall how, when you went fishing, your rod’s shadow stretched across the rippling water and fish entered the basket. My father once remarked as well, “This young man’s culinary skills are exquisite, and his fishing technique displays exceptional craftsmanship.” Clearly, your refined interests are far from ordinary.】
【The biscuits you gave us were sweet but not cloying, truly unlike anything I had tasted before. Their lingering fragrance still remains between my teeth and cheeks; the flavor of your dishes lingers on my tongue, and even now, when I think of them, their aftertaste seems to echo through the halls.】
【You treated us generously despite our chance acquaintance, and I often feel apologetic about it.】
【If there is ever anything for which you need assistance, please do not hesitate to tell me.】
【Although I am merely an inexperienced woman confined to the inner chambers, I will certainly do everything within my limited ability to repay your kindness the other day.】
【As the autumn winds begin to rise, I sincerely hope you will take good care of yourself.】
After finishing, Li Lizhi set down the chinese brush. Only after the ink had completely dried did she place the letter into the envelope.
She wrote on the envelope: 【To be opened personally by Young Master Xiao Ran!】
“Yushu, arrange for someone to deliver it. The sooner, the better. The location is rather unusual, so they may not be able to find him. Eastern village of kaolao village; there is a water pool near the village.”
Li Lizhi also described Xiao Ran’s appearance. Xiao Ran was rather distinctive, so he was actually easy to identify.
Yushu accepted the letter with both hands. “Yes, Your Highness. I’ll arrange it immediately!”
“Don’t let anyone else know about this!” Li Lizhi remembered to add.
“Yes, I’ll remember!”
Because of the calcium milk biscuits, Xiao Ran and Third Lady had grown much closer.
Although she still did not say much, she was no longer as afraid of Xiao Ran as before.
She really liked the calcium milk biscuits, but could not bear to eat them, so she kept them inside the kao lao basket.
Xiao Ran also accompanied the little girl in gathering millet ears from fields that others had already harvested.
Third Lady would occasionally glance at the Samoyed beside Xiao Ran.
“Xiao Hei isn’t fierce. He’s very obedient. Would you like to pet him?” Xiao Ran knew what Third Lady was thinking.
“Young master, may I?”
“Of course.” The Samoyed beside them wore an auntie-like smile, its long tongue hanging out.
Only then did Third Lady cautiously reach out and stroke him.
“He’s so soft and white!”
Sensing someone approaching, Xiao Ran turned around.
A young man was holding a sickle.
He appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, yet his shoulders and back were already slightly hunched. His coarse cloth short outfit had been darkened by sweat, and the exposed muscles of his forearms were sharply defined, clearly the physique of someone accustomed to years of hard labor.
Most conspicuous was the strip of coarse hemp cloth wrapped around his forehead. Its edges had already frayed, yet it was tightly tied at his hairline, as though he meant to bind it into his flesh.
The wind between the field ridges lifted dust and made him narrow his eyes. His face, tanned to the color of ancient bronze, had originally possessed the simple honesty typical of a farmer. But now his brows were high and prominent, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his pupils seemed tempered in ice. When his gaze swept over Xiao Ran in particular, it suddenly sharpened like two knives.
Xiao Ran was startled. It seemed the young man was hostile!
“Elder brother!” Third Lady called out.
“Third Lady, come here!” Zhang Dalang beckoned.
Third Lady glanced at Xiao Ran before walking over to Zhang Dalang.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Zhang Dalang shielded his younger sister behind him and stared fixedly at Xiao Ran while gripping the sickle.