23: The literary saint who died before the Li family could grow!

A look of emotion appeared on Divine Phoenix Empress's jade-like face, and then she looked up at Li Shengyuan and smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, Shengyuan..."

Although those who become emperors are often people with extremely complex hearts and shallow emotions,

at this moment, Divine Phoenix Empress's gaze towards Li Shengyuan was filled with tenderness...

At this time, Little Fatty Li Ruotang, who was already full to the brim, lay contentedly on the imperial throne, looking at Big Brother and Her Majesty the Empress, who were gazing at each other tenderly, and curiously asked:

"Big Brother, why are your and Her Majesty the Empress's faces red? Tangtang doesn't feel hot here!"

"Her Majesty the Empress, why are you touching my Big Brother's face? I want to touch it too!"

After speaking, Little Fatty got up, wanting to extend her greasy hands towards Big Brother's face.

The tender atmosphere between Li Shengyuan and Her Majesty the Empress was instantly broken by Little Fatty.

Her Majesty the Empress calmly withdrew the hand that was gently caressing Li Shengyuan's cheek, turned and sat upright, though her flushed earlobes revealed that her heart was not as calm as she appeared.

Looking at his excited little sister and her greasy hands, Li Shengyuan swatted Little Fatty's hand away with a look of disdain.

"Whose child is so messy? You don't even wipe your mouth after eating."

"Big Brother doesn't love Tangtang anymore; he's not even willing to help Tangtang wipe her mouth and hands."

Little Fatty Li Ruotang pouted, looking at Big Brother with a wronged expression.

Seeing this, Li Shengyuan's heart softened instantly, and he smiled helplessly, sitting unreservedly on Her Majesty the Empress's imperial throne, pulling out a tissue to wipe his little sister's mouth and hands.

Her Majesty the Empress, who was beside them, gently pointed out where it hadn't been wiped clean yet.

Little Fatty squinted her eyes, enjoying Big Brother's service with a contented expression.

Normally, she wouldn't eat so messily with greasy hands and mouth.

It was only when she ate with Big Brother and Her Majesty the Empress that she would eat so sloppily.

Because Little Fatty greatly enjoyed the affection of Big Brother and Her Majesty the Empress.

Although her mother was not by her side, and there was no mistress in the Grand Secretarys Courtyard, with only the grandfather and grandsons in charge on a daily basis, Little Fatty's upbringing was still very proper.

"Alright, it's clean now. You can't eat with a greasy face anymore, understand?"

As Li Shengyuan spoke, he even lifted Little Fatty's face to check it from all angles.

After confirming it was clean, he nodded contentedly and even reached out to rub Little Fatty's slightly rounded cheeks.

Little Fatty was already used to this; she nodded and agreed verbally, but in her heart, she was thinking that next time she would still want Big Brother to wipe her mouth.

Li Shengyuan then looked at Her Majesty the Empress and said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. If there's nothing else, Tangtang and I will head back first."

"I will depart immediately for the matters concerning the Northern Border Three Prefectures."

"..." Her Majesty the Empress looked directly at her junior brother, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Li Shengyuan didn't know why, but Her Majesty the Empress's attitude towards him had been strange ever since he arrived.

"Your Majesty, is there anything else?"

Her Majesty the Empress shook her head slightly and said softly, "Nothing..."

"Junior brother, be careful on your journey north."

"Hmm, don't worry." Li Shengyuan nodded with a smile.

After bidding farewell to Her Majesty the Empress, Li Shengyuan led Little Fatty by the hand and left the imperial palace.

Divine Phoenix Empress watched Li Shengyuan's departing back for a long time, finally saying coldly:

"Zixuan, follow junior brother in secret. You must not let him suffer any harm!"

The black-dressed maid, Zixuan, stood behind the Empress, bowing respectfully.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"It's just... Lord Li's cultivation is profound. It might be very difficult to follow him secretly without being noticed!"

"It doesn't matter if he knows. Regardless of what method you use, what I want is for him to return safe and sound!" The Empress's expression was indifferent.

"You may withdraw."

"Yes."

After Zixuan withdrew, Divine Phoenix Empress sat on the imperial throne, unmoving for a long time.

Finally, she let out a faint sigh, and her entire figure vanished from the imperial throne.

She knew of her imperial uncle, Prince Yan's ambition, and her junior brother Li Shengyuan also knew some things.

It was just that before, they thought Prince Yan's worst-case scenario was merely to raise an army, rebel, carve out a territory, and declare himself king...

But now he intended to become a traitor, collaborating with the Northern Barbarians and the Demonic Cult, attempting to partition the territory of Great Qian, and that impact would be far from ordinary!

If that were truly the case, she would never tolerate Prince Yan's existence.

But before dealing with him, there must be sufficient evidence; otherwise, those in the imperial court who sided with Prince Yan, as well as the nobles, would certainly not allow him to act against Prince Yan without cause.

If Prince Yan, those Demonic Cult bandits, and the Northern Barbarians knew Li Shengyuan's objective, they would never let him go!

And all of this depended on Li Shengyuan...

At this moment, Li Shengyuan was holding his little sister Li Ruotang's small hand, walking on the street back home, when Little Fatty looked up at Big Brother in confusion and asked:

"Big Brother, did you just tell Her Majesty the Empress that you're going to the North to see Uncle and Aunt? Tangtang wants to go too! Can you take Tangtang with you?!"

Li Shengyuan smiled and rubbed his little sister's head, saying:

"Big Brother can't take Tangtang with him this time. When Big Brother comes back next time, Big Brother will take Tangtang and Xinghe Second Brother to Qingzhou to see Second Uncle and Second Aunt, okay?!"

Hearing that Big Brother was going to take her to see her parents, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, Little Fatty's face immediately lit up with excitement.

She nodded repeatedly and replied, "Mm-hmm, then Tangtang will study hard and wait for Big Brother to come back!"

"Tangtang is so good!"

Li Shengyuan smiled and rubbed his little sister's chubby cheeks.

On the way back, Li Shengyuan bought some small pastries and barbecue for Little Fatty, who was hungry again, before she finally returned home contentedly...

When the two returned to the Grand Secretarys Courtyard, as they passed through the front hall, Li Shengyuan was momentarily stunned to see that Grandfather Chief Assistant had not yet rested.

He quickly realized that Grandfather was specifically waiting for him.

After having the servants take Little Fatty, who was tired from playing and already drowsy, to rest, Li Shengyuan came before Grandfather Chief Assistant and respectfully bowed:

"Grandfather, are you waiting for your grandson so late for something?"

Grandfather Chief Assistant, as a second-rank Grand Confucian, also immediately noticed the progress in Li Shengyuan's cultivation.

A satisfied smile appeared on his benevolent face.

"Not bad, your cultivation has improved again. You're much stronger than your good-for-nothing second uncle."

Li Shengyuan smiled helplessly, "Second Uncle is a scholar; improving cultivation isn't like us crude people who just need to bury ourselves in hard training. We can't compare."

Grandfather Chief Assistant, upon hearing this, sighed faintly and said with regret, "Actually, Grandfather saw that you were a natural scholar from a young age. The poems you wrote at six years old far surpassed ancient and modern literati. I even thought my Li family was about to produce another generation's Literary Sage..."

"Who would have thought you'd follow your parents and become a crude martial artist and a deceitful old Daoist!"

Li Shengyuan had long grown accustomed to Grandfather's tone of disappointment.

When he was six years old, at the beginning of his enlightenment, in order to show off... bah, to make a grand display, he 'borrowed' a few lines from the poem 'Hard Is the Road to Shu' by Li Bai, the immortal poet of his previous life's Blue Star.

Unexpectedly, it instantly caused a sensation in the Great Qian literary world. Many Grand Confucian masters eagerly wanted to take him, the little immortal poet, as their disciple, but Grandfather Chief Assistant politely declined them all. After all, he himself was the top Grand Confucian in Great Qian, having already reached the third-rank realm at that time!

Grandfather Chief Assistant, who was incredibly excited, thought the Li family was about to produce a poetic immortal and literary sage. However, he never expected that Li Shengyuan was startled by the grand spectacle and, from then on, dared not plagiarize poems casually.

A generation's 'copy-paste' poetic immortal thus fell...

Grandfather and Second Uncle often beat their chests and stamped their feet over this for a long time, secretly resenting the injustice of the Heavenly Dao, wondering why the Li family's Wenqu Star, a generation's Literary Sage, had fallen and become a crude martial artist...

Grandfather Chief Assistant continued with a sigh, "Fortunately, your talent in martial arts and Daoist arts is not weak; it doesn't bury the scholarly talent you displayed back then."

Li Shengyuan maintained a smile throughout, offering no opinion.

The more he said, the more unwilling Grandfather would become.

But then, Grandfather Chief Assistant said with a serious expression:

"Although your current cultivation is very strong and your progress is rapid, it will still be somewhat dangerous if you go to the Northern Border Three Prefectures!"

"You must not be careless; be careful in all matters!"