bookbashuk Chapter 38 A New Alliance Under the Moonlight
Chapter 38 A New Alliance Under the Moonlight
The air in the study was somewhat still. Li Qingge took a deep breath, breaking the suffocating silence.
"Grandpa," his voice was still a little unsteady, but he tried to keep it clear, "Please sit down. What you saw... is all real. Yiyi... can go to a special place."
He didn't directly mention "Tang Dynasty" or "time travel," but used more gentle wording. He helped his slightly swaying grandfather sit back down in the rattan chair and quickly poured him a glass of warm water.
Li Minghua didn't take the water glass; his hands were still trembling slightly. His gaze passed over his grandson, fixed on his granddaughter, who was hiding behind her brother, only half her face visible. Countless thoughts clashed in his mind: Appearing out of nowhere… Where did this child go? What happened to her? Is she in danger? And that jade pendant, those strange "nonsense"…
"A special place?" The old man's voice was dry, trembling with suppressed emotion. "What place? How could... how could she go like this?!" He grabbed his grandson's arm suddenly, so hard that Li Qingge winced in pain. "Qingge! You knew all along? You just let her... go like this? What if... what if she doesn't come back?! What if that place is a den of dragons and tigers?!"
This was a grandfather's most instinctive and extreme fear of his grandchildren's safety, which instantly overwhelmed all surprise and curiosity.
"Grandpa, don't worry, listen to me." Li Qingge grasped her grandfather's cold hand, trying to convey a sense of calm. "The place Yiyi went to... was during the Tang Dynasty, in the Zhenguan era. The place she went to was the Eastern Palace."
"The Tang Dynasty? The Eastern Palace?!" Li Minghua gasped, his eyes widening as if he had heard something even more absurd than his granddaughter's sudden appearance. The Zhenguan era? The Eastern Palace? That means… the emperor is Li Shimin, and the crown prince is… Li Chengqian?!
"Yes. The people she saw were Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Princess Changle Li Lizhi, Prince Jin Li Zhi, and... Princess Jinyang, who had just fallen ill, Sizi." Li Qingge presented her grandfather with the more specific and astonishing historical coordinates hidden behind the bizarre phenomenon, word by word.
Li Minghua was completely speechless, staring intently at his grandson as if trying to find even the slightest trace of a joke on his face. But Li Qingge's eyes held only solemnity and sincerity.
Seeing that her grandfather was no longer so frightening, Xiao Qingyi dared to interject in a low sob: "Grandpa... Yiyi saw Crown Prince Brother, and Sister Lizhi. Sister Sizi is sick, and Yiyi gave her medicine... Crown Prince Brother also gave Brother a letter and a gift..." Her words were incoherent, but they provided the most direct "evidence".
"A reply? A gift?" Li Minghua suddenly turned to his grandson.
Li Qingge knew that hiding anything now was useless and might only deepen his grandfather's worries. He turned around, took out the blue cloth package that had been stored for many days from the bottom drawer of the desk, which was locked, and carefully opened it in front of his grandfather.
The first thing that catches the eye is the warm, smooth jade inkstone, which seems to shimmer softly in the moonlight. Even with Li Minghua's expertise, he can tell at a glance that this is no ordinary piece. The jade is delicate and oily, top-grade Hetian jade, and its understated nobility and sense of age cannot be faked.
Next came the neatly folded letter. Li Qingge unfolded the letter and gently placed it on the desk in front of her grandfather. The traditional Chinese characters were neat and dignified, the writing style was simple and ancient, and the signature at the end was clear—"Written by Chengqian in the Zhenguan era."
Li Minghua's hands trembled even more violently. He almost held his breath as he leaned closer to read the contents of the letter. From "Respectfully written to Qingge" to the passages about taking care of Yiyi and instructing her to be careful, and then to the explanation of the accompanying poems, books, and inkstone... the composure and restraint revealed between the lines, as well as that strange solemnity and subtle concern that transcended time and space, could not be easily faked by a modern person.
In particular, the tone and word choice that belong to the ancient rulers, especially the crown prince, are not something that just any historian can imitate so naturally.
"This...this is truly..." Li Minghua's voice choked. He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock. As an elderly man with a deep understanding of traditional culture and history, he felt the weight of this letter and this jade more directly than his grandson. This wasn't an unearthed artifact; it was something from the present day, directly passed down from the hands of that prince who left a complex mark on history books 1,400 years ago!
After the initial shock, a deeper sense of unease washed over me.
"Qingge..." Li Minghua's voice was extremely heavy, "Do you...do you know how dangerous this is? The Tang Dynasty! That was a feudal dynasty! Imperial power was supreme, and the court was full of intrigue and treachery! Li Chengqian...he later..." He stopped halfway through his sentence. The historical outcome was too cruel, and he dared not speak frankly to Yiyi. But the meaning was clear: to have any contact with such a ill-fated crown prince, who was at the center of the power vortex, meant unpredictable and enormous risks.
"And there's more!" The old man's voice grew agitated as he pointed to the piece of paper on the table, which had been left untouched earlier and contained a sketch of the Eastern Palace. "All those things Yiyi brought! Those medicines! Those toys! What if... what if they cause some unexpected changes? History records that Princess Jinyang died young, but what if she survived because of Yiyi's medicine... what would that be like? And those strange modern gadgets, what if they attract the attention of someone with ulterior motives and are investigated..." The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, his face growing paler. The butterfly effect, a concept familiar to modern people, had become his most terrifying nightmare.
"Grandpa, I understand. I've thought about all of that." Li Qingge's voice was equally heavy. "That's why I've been so careful, choosing things to bring that were inconspicuous or whose workings were difficult to understand even if seen. This time, the medicine was really an emergency. Si Zi was..."
"We can't take that risk!" Li Minghua interrupted him, his chest heaving. "What if the medicine is used incorrectly, or the imperial physician discovers something is wrong and traces it back to Yiyi? Have you thought about the consequences? In ancient times, what would happen to a child of unknown origin who possesses extraordinary abilities?!" He dared not think too deeply about it. Weren't there countless examples in history of people being treated as "monsters"?
Silence fell again in the study, broken only by Grandpa's heavy breathing. Little Qingyi seemed to understand that Grandpa was afraid, and whispered, "Grandpa, don't be afraid... Crown Prince and Sister Lizhi are very good to Yiyi, they protect Yiyi... Empress Grandma is also very good, she's not angry..."
The child's innocent yet resolute words were like a basin of warm water, gently extinguishing some of the flames of fear in the old man's heart caused by the unknown. He looked into his granddaughter's pure and innocent eyes, which were filled with complete trust and reliance towards those "ancient people." Perhaps... things weren't all conspiracies and dangers as he imagined? After all, his lineage was also a descendant of Li Chengqian, and there was still some thin blood relation between them.
Thinking of this, his gaze involuntarily drifted back to the desk. The jade inkstone there gleamed alluringly in the moonlight, seemingly silently recounting the splendor of the imperial court a thousand years ago. As a lifelong collector, Li Minghua's fingertips began to itch.
This is a return gift personally prepared by the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of the Tang Dynasty! It is genuine Tang Dynasty court jade with a clear provenance and legendary status! Its historical value and cultural significance far exceed any item he has collected before.
He coughed lightly, trying to make his tone sound less eager, attempting to change the subject to calm himself and conceal his restless thoughts: "Um... this jade is of the highest quality, and perfectly preserved. This letter... the handwriting is also quite good, with the air of a crown prince." He reached out and carefully picked up the jade, gently stroking it in his palm, feeling its unchanging warmth and smoothness, his eyes revealing the pure fascination of a connoisseur. "These Tang Dynasty imperial palace artifacts are of immense research value... Qingge, look, if you leave this here, you young people are clumsy and don't know how to properly store it. If it gets bumped, scratched, or damp, it will be an irreparable loss. How about... I let Grandpa keep it for you? Grandpa has professional storage cabinets and constant temperature and humidity equipment, it's absolutely safe!"
He spoke with a serious tone, full of concern for his grandson, but the way he tightly gripped the inkstone and the longing in his eyes as he kept glancing at the letter completely exposed his "intentions."
Watching his grandfather's rapid transformation from worry to a professional habit flaring up as he tried to "steal" the artifact, Li Qingge was both amused and exasperated. Just moments ago, he was on the verge of a heart attack, but now he was completely captivated by the antique. However, he also felt a slight sense of relief. His grandfather's composure meant the most intense shock had passed, and he was beginning to accept and process this miracle.
"Grandpa," Li Qingge suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "this gift and letter are a return gift from the Crown Prince over there to 'Qingge, a descendant of the Li family,' so they have special significance. Moreover, this is currently our only direct proof of establishing contact with them, and it may... be useful in the future." He politely declined his grandfather's request to "keep" the letter.
A clear look of disappointment flashed across Li Minghua's face, much like an old child who had his eye on a toy but was refused by his parents. He awkwardly put down the inkstone, but couldn't help touching it a couple more times, muttering, "I was just worried you wouldn't take good care of it... Keep it safe, don't break it, it's truly priceless..." His worry had unconsciously shifted from simple safety to a deep appreciation for these "priceless treasures."
He looked at the letter that had traveled through time on the table, then at his innocent-looking granddaughter and his grandson with complex expressions, and let out a long, deep sigh. Worry remained, fear lingered, but a more complex and profound emotion took hold—acceptance after the initial shock,感慨 about the incredible connection, and a heavy sense of responsibility, as if his family had suddenly become genuinely linked to a grand historical period.
"Enough, enough..." Li Minghua waved his hand, sat back down in the rattan chair, looking as if he had aged several years in an instant, or as if he had been relieved of some heavy burden. "You two little devils... who else knows about this?"
"Right now, it's just the three of us," Li Qingge said softly. "What about our parents..."
"Don't rush to tell your parents," Li Minghua said decisively, his eyes regaining their usual shrewdness and composure. "Your mother is timid; if she knew, she'd be on edge all the time, which would likely give her away. Your father... he's a businessman, his mind is complex; knowing too much might not be a good thing. This matter is limited to the three of us, and..." He paused, his gaze distant, "...that Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, and his sister."
He had already accepted this premise and began to consider, as a protector, how to minimize the impact of this earth-shattering secret.
"Qingge," the old man's voice turned serious, "you must be more careful in the future, and not be as reckless as you were this time delivering the medicine. Also, try your best to find out whether the change in that spacetime will affect us here."
He looked at Xiao Qingyi, who was already lying on her brother's lap and almost asleep, his eyes incredibly gentle, yet filled with an iron will: "I don't care about the Tang Dynasty or whether the Crown Prince is the right one. Yiyi is my precious granddaughter, and no one can hurt her. Since we have this strange fate, we must find a way to turn it into a blessing, not a curse."
The moonlight shifted, and the night grew deeper.
Li Qingge's worries did not disappear, but with her grandfather as a steadfast mountain to rely on, she felt that the burden on her shoulders seemed to have lightened a bit.
Li Minghua's fingers were still unconsciously tapping lightly on the armrest of the rattan chair, his gaze occasionally drifting to the jade inkstone. In his mind, besides his granddaughter's safety, he was probably also thinking about how to "reasonably" "borrow" that treasure from his grandson for a few days to properly examine it...