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

Chapter 34 Little Sizi Suddenly Falls Ill

Since their deep conversation in the study that day, Li Lizhi had a shocking secret in her heart, but her face remained increasingly composed. On this fine day, she took Yiyi to that side hall and warm pavilion.

Xiao Qingyi's backpack was bulging more than usual. She first took out a red "magic drawing board," and the marks on it disappeared with a push, which made Li Zhi study it endlessly. Then she took out a box of brightly colored handmade stickers. Si Zi happily stuck the little flowers on her clothes, while Li Zhi had a blue star on his cuff. The contrast between seriousness and childlike fun made Li Lizhi smile.

Finally, she took out a small, portable fan, no bigger than the palm of her hand. Xiao Qingyi pressed the switch, and the soft fan blades spun, bringing a cool breeze that blew towards Sizi, who was particularly sensitive to heat.

"How refreshing!" Si Zi smiled, her eyes narrowing, a blush of pleasure spreading across her pale cheeks.

Li Zhi was completely captivated. He put down his drawing board and took the fan: "It generates a cool breeze without human intervention... The ingenuity of this thing is almost divine!" He examined it over and over, trying to find the hidden mechanism.

The warm room was filled with laughter. Li Lizhi watched with a smile, noting in her heart: the stickers should be removed after playing, and the fan should not be left to blow on the rhinoceros for too long.

While they were having a great time, Si Zi suddenly coughed a few times. At first, she didn't pay attention, but as the coughing became more frequent, the blush on her face quickly turned into a sickly flush, and her breathing became shallow and rapid, with a faint wheezing sound.

"Sister Sizi?" Xiao Qingyi was the first to notice something was wrong.

Si Zi clutched her chest, her other hand weakly gripping Li Lizhi's sleeve, her lips turning slightly blue: "Sister... I feel... suffocated..."

Li Lizhi's face changed drastically, and her hand felt burning hot—her illness had flared up! "Summon the imperial physician! Quickly go to the Lizheng Hall to report to the Empress!" The warm pavilion was instantly thrown into chaos.

Xiao Qingyi was terrified. Seeing Sizi's painful, panting appearance, she remembered her brother casually mentioning that "medical conditions were poor in ancient times, and attacks of qi ailments were very dangerous." A thought grew stronger and stronger: Her brother must have a way! Her brother knows everything!

A strong desire to go home and ask her brother for help overwhelmed everything.

The moment the imperial physician rushed into the warm chamber—

With her backpack in hand, Xiao Qingyi vanished into thin air in a corner where no one was watching. Only a few crookedly pasted stickers and the red drawing board remained on the ground.

Li Zhi turned his head and saw that there was no one beside him. He was stunned for a moment, then looked at the solemn-faced crowd and hesitated to speak.

In the Li family compound, the curtains in Li Qingge's room were half-drawn, and the afternoon sunlight cut out alternating patterns of light and shadow on the floor. He was facing the computer screen, his brows slightly furrowed.

Ever since confirming that his sister could indeed travel to and from the Tang Dynasty, he began consciously researching historical records about the Tang Dynasty. Partly to gain a deeper understanding, and partly to see if he could offer any further assistance to his ancestors.

"Knock knock".

A gentle knock interrupted his thoughts, and then the door was pushed open a crack. Xiao Qingyi stood in the doorway, her usual cheerful face missing, her eyes red-rimmed, and the tip of her nose red as well.

"Brother..." Her voice was muffled from crying.

Li Qingge's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately stood up: "Yiyi? What's wrong?" He quickly walked over and squatted down, only then seeing that his sister's eyes were still brimming with tears that hadn't yet fallen.

"Sister Sizi...she's sick..." Little Qingyi's tears fell in a patter. "She can't breathe, her face is so red and hot...Sister Lizhi called the imperial physician, but...but Yiyi is scared..." She couldn't continue, and threw herself into her brother's arms, her small body trembling slightly.

Li Qingge's heart sank instantly.

Little Sizi, the little princess who left a fleeting impression in history and died young, had the phrase "suffered from respiratory illness" stuck in his heart like a thorn. He had researched it and found that the so-called "respiratory illness" in ancient times likely included respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis in modern times. In those days when medical conditions were limited, each acute attack could be fatal.

"Don't be afraid, Yiyi, brother will think of something." He picked up his sister and placed her on the bedside, his voice as steady as possible, but his pace noticeably quickened. "Tell brother carefully, besides having trouble breathing and having a fever, is Sizi's lips a little purple? Does she make a loud 'whooshing' sound when she breathes?"

Xiao Qingyi nodded vigorously, gesturing to her lips: "Hmm! The color of your lips is strange... Your breathing sounds so rapid, like... like a kitten when it's uncomfortable."

Li Qingge closed her eyes. It was a typical acute asthma attack, possibly accompanied by infection and high fever. Time was of the essence.

He turned and rushed to his desk, pulling open the locked drawer—inside was a small first-aid kit he had secretly prepared. It didn't contain many items, but each one had been carefully considered. He quickly rummaged through it, his mind racing to weigh the pros and cons and their explainability.

Ambroxol Hydrochloride Oral Solution – Expectorant, promotes mucus discharge, specially formulated for children, with a clearly defined dosage, and its liquid form makes it convenient to use in small amounts.

Budesonide suspension—an inhaled corticosteroid with definite anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator effects—requires a nebulizer and is absolutely not recommended.

Salbutamol aerosol—a β2 receptor agonist, quickly relieves bronchospasm, a first-line treatment for emergencies… He picked up the small blue can, his fingers tracing its smooth surface. Without a doctor's guidance, the dosage control risk was too great. He gritted his teeth and put it back—he couldn't take the risk.

Finally, his gaze fell on a box of montelukast sodium chewable tablets. Leukotriene receptor antagonists, used for prevention and long-term control, are ineffective during acute attacks. But… perhaps they could offer some support? And since they're tablets, they can be crushed and mixed into soup or water.

Electronic thermometers and fever-reducing patches are also relatively "safe".

"Yiyi," he said quickly, stuffing the selected items—oral liquid, chewable tablets, a thermometer, and fever-reducing patches—into his sister's backpack, "When we get back, try to get Sizi to take a small sip of the medicine in this little blue bottle. Just one spoonful, like the small spoon you usually use for syrup. Don't give her more." He paused, "Give the rest to Lizhi and tell her how to use them."

He tore off a piece of sticky note and quickly wrote in traditional Chinese characters, as neatly as possible, with a fountain pen: "White plaster on forehead to lower fever, glass rod under armpit to measure temperature. Blue bottle medicine to clear phlegm, half a spoonful each time. White tablets may help relieve asthma, please consult the imperial physician. Do not let cold wind blow directly on you, keep the air circulating." He tried to use vocabulary that ancient people could understand, folded the note after writing, and stuffed it into the side pocket of his backpack.

After doing all this, he squatted down, placed his hands on his sister's shoulders, and looked directly into her eyes. Tears still clung to Xiao Qingyi's eyelashes, but the fear in her eyes had lessened, replaced by a bewildered determination.

"Yiyi, remember what your brother said." Li Qingge's voice was soft, but each word was enunciated clearly. "When you get back, find Sister Lizhi as soon as possible, give her the backpack, and show her the note. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Xiao Qingyi nodded vigorously, gripping the backpack strap even tighter with her little hands. "Yiyi will definitely do it!"

"Okay." Li Qingge ruffled her hair. "Now, close your eyes and think about how Sister Sizi needs your help, and think about going back. Just like you usually come back whenever you want."

Xiao Qingyi obediently closed her eyes, her brows furrowed tightly, her lips pressed into a thin line, her entire mind immersed in that thought: Go back, go back to help Sister Sizi...

The room quieted down, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner blowing air.

Li Qingge watched as her younger sister's figure flickered for an extremely brief moment, like a television screen with a poor signal, before disappearing from the spot...