The Emperor's Beloved: My Ancestor is the Crown Prince?

Chapter 49 Lychee Feast

Inside the pavilion in the Imperial Garden, the light gauze curtains swayed gently in the morning breeze.

Today, Xiao Qingyi wore a light green, high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress)—specially made by the Imperial Clothing Bureau at the behest of Empress Zhangsun. It was made of moon-shadow gauze, carefully prepared by Li Chengqian. The gauze was light and airy, shimmering with a soft, pearly luster in the sunlight. Several adorable little rabbits were embroidered in silver thread at the hem of the skirt. Her hair was styled in two buns, and she wore a pearl brooch given to her by Empress Zhangsun.

She carried a pink backpack, her hand held by Li Lizhi, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the arriving crowd.

"Yiyi, come here." Li Lizhi gently led her to recognize the people. "That's Prince Wei, Li Tai. You can call him Fourth Brother. That's Chengyang, and that's Little Sizi Sister."

Li Tai looked up from his book, his gaze pausing when it fell on Xiao Qingyi, a look of inquiry typical of a scholar. Chengyang shrank behind his wet nurse, only peeking out with his round eyes.

"Hello, Brother Wei Wang! Hello, Sister Chengyang!" Xiao Qingyi greeted them sweetly, then took a fluffy little panda plush toy out of her bag and ran over to Chengyang. "This is for you! It's called Tuantuan, it's so soft you can hug it to sleep!"

Chengyang took it blankly, touching the soft texture he had never felt before, and looking at Xiao Qingyi's bright smile, he finally whispered, "Th-thank you..."

"You're welcome!" Xiao Qingyi pulled out another identical doll. "Look, Yiyi has one too! They're a pair!"

As the two little girls huddled together examining the dolls, an eunuch announced their arrival. Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun took their seats; both the emperor and empress were dressed casually today, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

"Please sit down." Li Shimin took his seat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over Chengyang, who was holding a panda plushie, and then looking at Xiao Qingyi. He smiled slightly and said, "Yiyi certainly knows how to make friends."

As if suddenly remembering something, Xiao Qingyi carefully took out an object wrapped in silk from her schoolbag and ran to Li Shimin's seat: "Uncle Emperor, Yiyi also has a gift for you!"

The silk cloth was untied, revealing a portable LED table lamp. The lamp body was milky white with smooth lines, and the base had a small solar panel. It seemed even more exquisite than the lamp seen in the East Palace. With a gentle press, soft, warm light spilled out.

"This is an eye-protecting reading lamp!" Xiao Qingyi introduced earnestly. "My brother said that Uncle Emperor and Brother Crown Prince both have to work at night, and the flickering candlelight hurts their eyes. This lamp doesn't flicker, the light is very gentle, and you can adjust the direction like this—"

She stood on tiptoe to demonstrate how to adjust the lamp head angle, her movements clumsy but earnest.

Li Shimin took the lamp; its surface felt warm and smooth to the touch. He pressed the switch, and the steady, soft light was indeed quite different from the flickering candlelight. Even more remarkably, there was a small groove on one side of the lamp, in which a thin plate was embedded.

"These are solar panels," Xiao Qingyi explained, pointing. "You can put them in the sun during the day and they'll light up at night! No oil or wax needed!"

Li Tai had already put down his book, his eyes fixed on the lamp, his breathing slightly rapid: "Automatic light storage? This...this principle..."

"Qingque," Empress Zhangsun gently reminded, "Since it's a gift from Qingyi to Father Emperor, we can look at it later."

Li Shimin placed the lamp on the table, its soft light illuminating his thoughtful face.

He looked up at Li Chengqian, who was sitting below him, and said with a half-smile, "Chengqian, you've certainly gained a good younger sister. Qingyi is indeed a thoughtful child. Unlike some people who clearly have something good but hide it, she's much more considerate."

Li Chengqian: …(￣▽￣")…

Empress Zhangsun noticed something amiss and rolled her eyes at Li Shimin. "How old are you? Arguing with a child."

Li Shimin finally smiled and said, "Never mind, it's the thought that counts. Qingyi, I accept this gift; you've put your heart into it."

Xiao Qingyi completely missed the veiled meaning in his words, simply nodding happily. She then pulled a flat wooden box from her schoolbag and ran to Li Tai, saying, "Brother Prince Wei, this is for you!"

The wooden box opens to reveal a mini stationery set: a push-button ballpoint pen, a palm-sized notepad, and a small magnifying glass. The pen is transparent, revealing its intricate internal structure; the notepad paper is crisp and white; and the magnifying glass is clear and bright, capable of clearly magnifying even the smallest characters on a book.

"My brother said that Prince Wei loves reading, so this stationery set is the most practical!" Xiao Qingyi enthusiastically introduced, "This pen doesn't need to be dipped in ink, it just dispenses ink with a press! This notebook is perfect for jotting down reading notes anytime! And the magnifying glass makes reading small print easy on the eyes!"

Li Tai took the wooden box and examined each item carefully. When he tried pressing the pen and the tip smoothly drew lines of ink, his eyes lit up noticeably. But he quickly restrained himself and said gently, "Thank you, Qingyi. This gift... suits me very well."

The banquet began in a subtly tense atmosphere. The lychees were sweet and refreshing, and the children quickly forgot the earlier tension. Xiao Qingyi handed out honeysuckle lozenges to everyone, earnestly instructing, "Your brother said that sucking these won't cause internal heat."

Chengyang held a panda plush toy in one arm and carefully peeled lychees with the other, occasionally stealing glances at Xiaoqingyi. When Xiaoqingyi took out the bubble solution again, Chengyang finally mustered up his courage, moved closer to her, and whispered, "This... how do you play with it?"

Xiao Qingyi immediately began to teach her. The two girls, one enthusiastic and the other shy, blew strings of colorful bubbles side by side. The bubbles refracted iridescent colors in the sunlight, drifting over the pavilion and over the flower bushes, making it seem as if a rainbow rain was falling in the Imperial Garden.

Even the palace attendants standing by wore smiles. Li Shimin watched this scene, seeing the rare relaxed smile on Chengyang's face, and looking at Sizi's healthy and rosy little face, his expression gradually softened.

As the banquet drew to a close, the fruit plates were nearly empty. Li Shimin suddenly put down his wine cup and instructed the eunuch beside him, "Go and summon the painter from the Painting Academy."

Everyone was taken aback.

"The family banquet today was very enjoyable." Li Shimin's gaze swept over everyone at the table, finally landing on Xiao Qingyi, who was tidying up Chengyang's hair. "We should leave a painting as a memento."

Li Chengqian's heart tightened slightly. Was his father... using the portrait as an opportunity to observe Xiao Qingyi further, or did he truly only want to keep a memento?

Before long, two court painters arrived in haste with their tools. A painting table was quickly set up in the pavilion, with silks laid out and brushes and ink prepared.

"Let's take this pavilion as the scenery." Li Shimin gestured for everyone to maintain their previous sitting posture. "No need to be so formal, just be natural."

The painter began sketching the outline. Little Qingyi curiously tiptoed to peek, but Empress Zhangsun gently pulled her back to her seat: "Qingyi, be good, sit still, the painter is drawing our portrait."

"Like...like Yiyi's camera?" Xiao Qingyi asked softly.

"A camera?" Empress Zhangsun asked, somewhat puzzled, but did not ask any further questions.

The children sat up with difficulty, while the adults remained relaxed. Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun sat side by side, Li Chengqian sat to the left of his father, Li Tai beside him, and Li Lizhi next to her mother. The children sat in the front row: Si Zi led Zhi Nu by the hand, Cheng Yang held a panda plush toy, and Xiao Qingyi sat in the middle, carrying her pink schoolbag.

The painter's brush moved swiftly, the charcoal pencil rustling across the silk. Outside the pavilion, the sun shone brightly, a gentle breeze stirred the light gauze, and the sweet fragrance of lychees lingered.

At first, Xiao Qingyi sat upright, but soon she couldn't help but tilt her head to watch how the painter was putting brush to paper. When she saw the painter sketch her outline on the silk and add that eye-catching pink schoolbag, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Really... I drew it..." she muttered to herself, subconsciously reaching out to touch her schoolbag.

Just then—

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Your Highnesses," the elder painter put down his brush, bowed, and said, "The first draft is complete. Please take a look."

The eunuch carefully presented the silk scroll to the table. It was a delicate charcoal sketch, with pavilions, figures, and even the expressions on each person's face beginning to take shape. Li Shimin stroked his beard and examined it closely, Empress Zhangsun smiled and nodded, while Li Tai stared intently at the miniature stationery set in his hand depicted in the drawing.

Xiao Qingyi slid off the chair and leaned closer to the painting. When she saw her tiny self in the painting, carrying a pink schoolbag and sitting among a group of Tang Dynasty people, her mouth opened slightly.

"This...this is Yiyi?" She pointed at the painting, then at herself, her eyes shining brightly.