Chapter 48: Has Another Storm Stirred Up?

Little Yun was truly exhausted. Although Xinniang carried him back to his room intending to have him eat some dinner before sleeping, he could not be woken up no matter how much she called him. Midway through, Xinniang and a maid wiped Little Yun's body down with warm water, yet he merely rolled over in a daze and continued sleeping.

He slept all the way until the afternoon of the following day.

The moment he opened his eyes, Little Yun could feel that he was once again lying on his familiar bed. The room was somewhat dim because Xinniang had specially closed the windows and blocked out some of the light, hoping to let Little Yun sleep better.

Stretching lazily beneath the covers, Little Yun scrambled up with a huff and a puff, only to see Xinniang and Madam Bu busy doing some needlework, while two maidservants occasionally handed over wool threads or scissors. Meanwhile, little Yi'er, whom he hadn't seen for ten days, and Bu Hong were both draped over the edge of the bed, staring at him with eager, wide eyes.

"You scared me to death! What are you all doing?"

"Oh my goodness, is Little Yun awake?" Xinniang immediately put down what she was holding, came over with a smiling face to stroke Little Yun's little cheek, and said, "You've lost weight! Are you hungry? Mother Pan has been keeping things ready all this time, I'll have a maid bring you something to eat."

Yi'er was being lifted up with great effort by Bu Hong.

He was still short, and the distance from the edge of the bed to the top of his head was quite high, so it was still rather difficult for him to see Little Yun.

"Hold... Yun-ge hold." Yi'er was a normal toddler; at this age, he could speak, but clear, lengthy sentences were certainly beyond his expression.

Even though his speech was not yet smooth, Yi'er truly missed Little Yun.

In his tiny world, the playmate he saw and spent every day with had suddenly vanished for many days, and he didn't have many other people to play with in the inner courtyard. He simply missed Little Yun terribly.

"Yun-ge hold!" Yi'er waved his arms in an attempt to reach past Xinniang, kicking his little legs as well. He was quite strong, and Bu Hong almost couldn't hold onto him.

In the end, Madam Bu came forward to take her son over, and then smilingly patted Yi'er's little head. "Aren't you ashamed? You are Little Yun's older brother, yet you want your younger brother to hold you."

Yi'er pursed his lips in displeasure, but quickly began struggling toward Little Yun again with an excited expression.

Unfortunately, he didn't succeed. Xinniang felt deep affection and pity for Little Yun, so she wanted him to rest well for a couple of days. Yi'er was also quite a handful when he played, so she preferred not to let Little Yun wear himself out taking care of him. Madam Bu understood Xinniang's intention, and halfway through, she smilingly carried away Yi'er, who was wailing and refusing to leave.

By the afternoon, once things grew quiet, Little Yun found himself somewhat unaccustomed to it. Although those past few days had been busy running around everywhere, it had stirred up Little Yun's wild and active nature.

Now, telling him to eat and sleep just as before made his whole body feel uncomfortable. Bored in the room, Little Yun wandered around for a few rounds before his urge to show off and listen to flattery surfaced once more.

"Mother, come with me to Father's room."

Li Fu had his own separate living quarters in the inner courtyard. Like his study, people were normally not allowed to enter casually.

Even though Madam Bu and Xinniang currently had a decent relationship with Li Fu, their marital bond had only gradually grown closer after they had children. The original Li Fu had always kept them at arm's length, and the stern, didactic nature of a scholar within him was far too strong, making him feel rather difficult to get along with.

Therefore, Xinniang and the others were somewhat afraid of Li Fu as well, usually staying indoors and hardly ever stepping past the second gates, for fear of accidentally displeasing him in some way.

That was how it used to be, at least.

Now, Little Yun had dragged Yi'er along to strip away Li Fu's scholarly arrogance, causing him to start learning how to take care of children and even letting himself be pulled by Little Yun to sit down and eat. He was much more down-to-earth now, and as the people sleeping beside him, Xinniang and Madam Bu could feel his changes the most.

Unlike his previous sternness, the family had grown warm and harmonious. As a result, Xinniang and Madam Bu would now occasionally visit his study and bedroom, primarily to help tidy things up for him.

"What are you going there for?"

Little Yun declared that he wanted to give Xinniang a surprise and refused to say what it was right away. Once they reached Li Fu's room, he had the maidservants wait outside. As soon as she stepped inside, Xinniang saw more than twenty large chests piled up in Li Fu's room. These had been brought back along with Little Yun yesterday, and she had no idea what was inside them.

"Mother, open this one! Open this one!"

Little Yun specifically pointed to one particular chest. Fortunately, this one happened to be placed right on top, otherwise, Xinniang's strength wouldn't even have been able to move the heavy boxes stacked above it.

Seeing Little Yun's impatient look, Xinniang put the little lucky boy down, checked left and right to make sure no one was around, and decisively rolled up her long sleeves. She even took off her shoes, brought over a chair, and climbed straight up onto it to pry open the wooden chest.

Little Yun was momentarily stunned.

His mother was usually so gentle and refined, with an air of classical elegance in the way she ate, spoke, and acted. This was the first time he had ever seen his mother display such a lively and joyful side.

Oh dear, truth be told, his mother wasn't even that old. Li Fu was getting on in years, but both Xinniang and Madam Bu were still under twenty.

To Little Yun, who possessed the soul of a college student, they were both still basically "children."

However, he had now abolished the head tax and poll tax for Lengdi Xiang; the phenomena of female infanticide and marrying off young