Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 408 Brothers
Today, Physician Liu was on leave at home when, unexpectedly, the Imperial Guards came to his door and conveyed the Emperor's decree to him.

Physician Liu quickly changed his clothes, slung his medical kit over his shoulder, and prepared to go out to make house calls, but was caught up by Chaolu.

"Grandpa, is Aci sick?"

Physician Liu replied, "His Majesty said Ning Ci is not feeling well and asked me to go and take a look. It may not necessarily be an illness."

"I was just thinking of going to see Aci, I'll go with you."

Physician Liu thought to himself that he was going to Qingping Residence for a house call this time, not to the palace, and the person he was going to see happened to be Chaolu's friend, so he nodded and said, "Alright."

The two boarded a carriage and rushed to Qingping Residence as quickly as possible. When they arrived, they found that Qingping Residence was engulfed in flames!

Worried about Yan Ciwan's safety, Chaolu jumped off the carriage and tried to rush into Qingping Residence, but was stopped by the guards outside the door.

"Let me go, I need to save Aci!"

One of the guards explained, "Ning Ci isn't in here. She was injured and has already been taken back to the palace by the Emperor."

Chaolu was startled and quickly asked, "Is she badly injured?"

"There was a lot of bleeding, it must be quite serious."

Chaolu grew increasingly anxious, but she couldn't enter the palace, so she could only plead with her maternal grandfather: "Grandpa, please go into the palace to treat Aci, you must cure her."

"I understand. I'll head back to the Imperial Hospital now. You can go home first."

"Okay, go ahead and be careful on the road."

Chaolu stood there watching her maternal grandfather ride away in a carriage to the palace.

She glanced back at Qingping Residence, which was still emitting smoke, stamped her foot, and turned to head towards the Xiao family's location. Xiao Wang was Xiao Gong's grandson; perhaps he could find a way to enter the palace and see Aci.

……

Yan Ciwan felt lightheaded, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself transformed into a ghost again.

It's become a habit, and now she's very calm about it.

She knew that her dissociative identity disorder had flared up again.

Now, who knows which time and place she has drifted to?

A woman's gentle voice came from ahead.

"A-Zhou, starting tomorrow, you will be going to Hongwen Academy. Once you get there, you must listen to your elder brother, the Crown Prince, and never cause him any trouble. Do you understand?"

Yan Ciwan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful woman in a light green dress talking to a little boy.

The little boy looked to be about five years old, short and small. His appearance was very similar to Li Baizhou. Considering the woman's address to him, Yan Ciwan immediately realized that this child must be Li Baizhou in his infancy.

Li Baizhou nodded obediently and replied, "I've got it."

There was a knock on the door, and the beautiful woman straightened up: "Come in."

A palace maid pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a tray with a neatly stacked pile of books on it.

"Consort Jiang, these are books sent by Her Majesty the Empress. They were used by His Highness the Crown Prince when he was learning to read and write. They also contain annotations left by His Highness the Crown Prince. If Your Highness does not mind, please take a look."

"It is the Fifth Prince's honor to receive His Highness the Crown Prince's calligraphy." Consort Jiang accepted the tray with both hands. "A-Zhou, quickly thank Her Majesty the Empress with me."

Li Baizhou clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty."

After the palace maid left, Consort Jiang placed the tray on the table. She picked up a book, opened it, and found that every page had annotations. With these books, her son would surely be able to study much more efficiently.

She handed the books to Li Baizhou and instructed him, "These are the Empress and the Crown Prince's good intentions towards you. You must remember them well. When you grow up, you must be your Crown Prince's right-hand man and help him govern the country." Although Li Baizhou was young, he was quite precocious. He replied earnestly, "I understand."

Jiang Meiren patted his head and said softly, "It's getting late, go to sleep. You have to get up early for school tomorrow."

"Your son takes his leave. Mother, please rest early as well."

Jiang Meiren looked at his serious little face and smiled helplessly.

Yan Ciwan saw this scene and felt strange. Li Baizhou seemed to be well-behaved and sensible when he was a child, and Jiang Meiren's education of him was also very gentle. How could he become so suspicious and ruthless when he grew up?

The scene before my eyes vanished in a white mist, and then new people and scenery appeared.

"A-Zhou greets His Highness the Crown Prince." Li Baizhou clasped his hands in a salute.

Prince Renxian's full name is Li Xuanhe. He looks about twelve years old. He is dressed in fine clothes but does not appear arrogant or extravagant. His figure is as upright as a bamboo.

His face was fair and handsome, especially his clear and gentle phoenix eyes and naturally smiling lips, which made people feel close to him at first sight.

"Let's go to the Hongwen Hall together."

"Ok!"

Li Baizhou followed quietly behind Crown Prince Renxian.

After walking a few steps, Crown Prince Renxian suddenly stopped. He turned around and looked at the child following behind him, and said gently, "Don't always follow me. It's inconvenient for me to talk to you like this."

Li Baizhou was somewhat reserved: "But my elder brother is the crown prince, and I cannot walk alongside him, as that is against the rules."

"There are no outsiders here, so we brothers don't need to stand on these formalities."

Li Baizhou was still a child after all. Upon hearing his elder brother say this, he immediately forgot all about the rules and ran over.

Li Xuanhe took his hand and led him forward, saying, "Besides you, my second brother, and me, there are several princes in Hongwen Academy. You are the youngest among us. Today is your first day of school. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me. We'll go back together after school."

Originally, Li Baizhou was a little uneasy about going to school, but after hearing what his elder brother said, he immediately felt like he had found a backer and felt much more at ease.

He raised his little face and happily replied, "I remember."

Looking at Li Baizhou's fair and adorable chubby face, Yan Ciwan simply couldn't connect him with the Li Baizhou who had killed his brother and seized power.

She became increasingly curious about what caused Li Baizhou to change so much as he grew up.

The two brothers walked further and further away, while Yan Ciwan could not take another step. She stood there and watched helplessly as the two disappeared.

A moment later, the scene before Yan Ciwan changed. A palace appeared before her, with a plaque hanging above the palace gate bearing the three characters "Hongwen Hall".

Li Baizhou was standing on the steps outside the Hongwen Hall when a young eunuch ran over to him and said something.

"Sir, please keep His Highness the Crown Prince for a moment. Fifth Prince, please wait here for a moment."

Li Baizhou agreed.

Not long after the young eunuch left, three richly dressed young men emerged from the Hongwen Hall, the leader of whom was none other than the Second Prince, Li Mingguang.

Li Mingguang is eleven years old now, only one year younger than Crown Prince Li Xuanhe.

He wasn't very tall, but he had a commanding presence, and his speech carried the arrogance of someone in a superior position.

The two princes followed behind him, one on each side, and the three of them walked and talked, clearly showing a close relationship.

Li Mingguang glanced at Li Baizhou standing beside him, suddenly stopped, and shouted in an exaggerated tone.

"Xiao Wu, why aren't you going home after school? What are you doing standing here like an idiot?"