bookbashuk Chapter 33 Confession and Testimony
Chapter 33 Confession and Testimony
modern
Li Family Old House
The setting sun cast a warm golden glow on the courtyard, but it couldn't dispel the anxiety in Li Qingge's heart. He looked at the clock on the wall for the umpteenth time, then gazed out the window at the path leading to the ancestral hall.
Yiyi had been "in the past" for almost a whole day. Although he kept telling himself that perhaps his sister was just being playful—after all, they had visited several times already—this was, after all, ancient times, a feudal dynasty. What if something unexpected happened? What if others in the palace discovered it? Would those carefully prepared gifts actually cause trouble?
Feeling restless, he got up and walked through the courtyard, which was growing darker with dusk, to the secluded courtyard where the ancestral hall was located. He didn't go in, but leaned against the moon gate, gazing at the tightly closed, mottled wooden door, as if this would bring him closer to that incredible time-space passage and allow him to sense his sister's return more quickly.
Just as Li Qingge couldn't resist the urge to push the door open and go in to take a look—
On the bluestone pavement at the entrance of the ancestral hall, the air seemed to distort very slightly, like a visual illusion caused by the summer heat.
Then, without warning, a small figure wearing a bright yellow Psyduck onesie and tightly clutching a blue cloth bundle appeared out of thin air, as if stepping out of an invisible curtain of water!
It's Xiao Qingyi!
She seemed a little dazed. After regaining her balance, she blinked her big eyes twice, looked around at the familiar courtyard, and a relieved and joyful smile immediately spread across her face.
Li Qingge, standing outside the door, froze, his breath caught in his throat, his pupils dilated, and he stood frozen as if struck by lightning! He saw it! He clearly saw the entire process of his sister's "appearance"! It wasn't her running out of the door; it was a true "appearance out of thin air"! Although he had mentally prepared himself, witnessing this scene that defied the laws of physics was a shock far beyond anything he could have imagined. His heart pounded violently in his chest, and a wave of trembling mixed with shock and bewilderment swept through his entire body.
"elder brother!"
Little Qingyi saw him too, her eyes lit up, and with a joyful shout, she hugged the bundle and ran towards him on her short legs, "tap tap tap!" She grabbed his leg, tilted her little face up, and proudly held up the blue cloth bundle like a treasure: "Look! The letter and gift from the Crown Prince to my brother! Qingyi didn't lose it!"
The soft touch and the familiar baby voice pulled Li Qingge back from his extreme shock. He abruptly knelt down, hugging his sister tightly in his arms, feeling her real presence and warmth. Only then did his heart, which had been hanging in suspense all day, finally settle down. Then, he took the blue cloth bundle that carried a slightly unfamiliar scent, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Yiyi, be good... It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." His voice was a little hoarse as he carefully looked his sister over, making sure she was all right, not even a single strand of hair was messed up, before he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze then fell on the package, and his heart started racing again.
This is... a handwritten reply and gift from Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, 1,400 years ago?
He picked up his sister, hurried back to his room, and locked the door. Carefully placing the package on his desk, he untied the cloth clasp under his sister's expectant gaze.
Inside were two things: a neatly folded letter with slightly antique paper, and a smaller brocade pouch.
Li Qingge held his breath and picked up the letter. Unfolding it, he saw familiar classical Chinese sentences, but the handwriting was upright and dignified, possessing a certain air of refinement. He read it word by word, from the opening "Written by Emperor Chengqian," to the passages about caring for Yiyi and admonishing her to be careful with her words, and finally to the accompanying explanation of the copy of *The Collected Works of Tao Yuanming* and the imperial inkstone…
The restraint and rigor in the letter, the composure befitting a superior, the unspoken yet ever-present concern, and the solemnity that transcends time and space, weighed heavily on his heart through the pages. In particular, when he read the line, "My bloodline has been able to continue for a thousand years, a fact that fills me with both awe and joy," an indescribable sense of historical vastness and a strange, visceral connection to his blood left him speechless for a long time.
He put down the letter and opened the brocade pouch. A finely crafted, smooth inkstone came into view; its top was plain, and its sides were undecorated, yet it exuded an understated nobility. Was this what they called "royal possessions"? And the copy of Tao Yuanming's poems mentioned in the letter—these were all antiques!
Li Qingge carefully folded the letter and put it into her treasured storage box along with the gift.
On the other side...
Tang Dynasty - Eastern Palace
The study door closed silently, and sunlight slanted into the room, causing dust to float slowly in the beams of light, yet it could not dispel the stagnant, almost suffocating silence.
Li Lizhi remained frozen in place, her face pale, her gaze fixed blankly on the empty space where Xiao Qingyi had disappeared, as if she could still see the afterimage of that bright color.
She slowly turned her head to look at her brother, her eyes filled with lingering horror, deep confusion, and a hint of barely perceptible bewilderment at being caught up in the unknown.
"Big brother... what exactly is it...?" Her voice still trembled slightly.
Li Chengqian did not answer immediately. He walked back to his desk and sat down, his long, slender fingers gently pressing his brow—a gesture rarely seen on him, revealing a complex mix of emotions. After a moment, he looked up at his sister, his gaze deep and calm, yet containing an immense weight.
"Lizhi, what I'm about to say is beyond reason and unbelievable, but every word is true." His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, with an undeniable solemnity. "What you just saw was neither a monster nor a magic trick, but... Yiyi 'went back,' back to where she originally was."
“Go back? To where she came from?” Li Lizhi murmured repeatedly, her delicate brows furrowed. “Isn’t she…not one of our Tang Dynasty?”
Li Chengqian slowly shook his head: "She is not a person of this world."
Then, under Li Lizhi's increasingly shocked gaze, Li Chengqian, in the simplest and clearest language possible, sketched out that incredible outline: a child from a thousand years in the future, perhaps related to the Li family by blood, was able to travel between two time periods through some incomprehensible opportunity. The "papa, mama, and brother" she mentioned were her relatives from the other world; her strange clothes, the glowing "watch," and the novel foods were all creations of the future.
"She initially called me 'Ancestor,'" Li Chengqian's lips curled into a very faint, almost helpless smile, "because in her family's ancestral hall, there was a... portrait of me hanging."
Li Lizhi gasped, abruptly covering her lips with her hand. A thousand years later? Ancestors? Portraits? These words, combined, shattered the boundaries of the world she had known since childhood. She recalled Yiyi's unusual speech and behavior, the unseen objects, and her brother's recent unusual attention and protection... All the fragmented doubts suddenly connected under this shocking yet logically consistent explanation.
"So, just now..." Li Lizhi pointed to the open space.
"Yes, she missed home. The thought came to her and she 'went back.' That's how it happened. In an instant, there was no way to stop her, and no trace to be found." Li Chengqian's tone was calm, but it revealed a sense of powerlessness as a person of "this world." "I don't know the rules either. I only know that she comes when she wants to and leaves when she wants to."
After the initial shock, the astute Li Lizhi immediately realized a more pressing issue: "Who else knows about this?"
"Before, it was just me. Du He might have sensed something, but she didn't know the whole story." Li Chengqian looked at her. "Now, there's you too."
"What about the Empress Dowager..." Li Lizhi's heart jumped again.
"The Empress Dowager's suspicion stems from her keen perception; she may not have seen the truth. The fewer people who know about Yiyi's origins, the better, especially Father and Mother." Li Chengqian's expression turned serious. "This matter is of paramount importance, involving anomalies of time and space. Once it becomes known to the outside world, whether it is seen as an auspicious omen or a demonic phenomenon, it will likely be a misfortune for Yiyi, for her family in the other world, and even... for us. The 'disappearance' you witnessed today is the biggest reason why we must keep this a secret."
Li Lizhi took a deep breath, trying to process the overwhelming information, and understood the pressure on her brother's shoulders. She recalled her previous worries—the rumors of a "bastard daughter" seemed insignificant compared to the truth, yet in another sense, they became an excellent cover-up.
"I understand, elder brother." When she spoke again, her voice was much more steady, and her bright eyes, which resembled Empress Zhangsun's, shone with determination and responsibility. "I will keep this matter to myself and will never utter a word to anyone. Yiyi... since she calls me 'elder sister,' I will do my best to look after her and protect her, just as you have done."
Li Chengqian watched as his younger sister quickly recovered from her shock and displayed admirable composure and responsibility, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes. He nodded and said in a deep voice, "With your help, things are certainly better. If she comes again in the future, you'll need to put in extra effort in the inner palace, especially around Si Zi and Zhi Nu..."
"I'll handle things carefully," Li Lizhi replied, her mind already racing to figure out how to more naturally cover up Yiyi's appearance and those "strange things." Knowing Yiyi's background gave her more confidence in dealing with many things.