If I traveled back to the Tang Dynasty, all I really wanted to be was a carefree prince.

Li Ke's injuries have completely healed.

When Wang Yongzheng came to change the dressing for the last time, he carefully examined the wound and, unusually, smiled: "Your Highness's wound has completely healed. From now on, you can move around normally, riding horses and practicing martial arts will not be a problem." Li Ke let out a long breath, as if he was expelling all the pent-up frustration of the past month.

"Li An, prepare the horses. I'm leaving the palace," Li Ke said as he changed his clothes. "If I stay in the room any longer, I'll either be killed by assassins or suffocate."

Li An responded and went out to prepare the horses. Xue Rengui was already waiting outside the hall, dressed in the blue robe of a guard captain, a long sword at his waist, tall and imposing, with heroic features. For the past few days, he had stood guard outside the side hall every day, rain or shine, never late. Li Ke looked at him and nodded: "Rengui, come with me for a stroll outside the palace today." Xue Rengui clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes."

Li Ke, accompanied by Xue Rengui, Li An, and several guards, left the palace gates.

In the autumn city of Chang'an, the sky was high and the clouds were light. The leaves of the locust trees lining the streets were beginning to turn yellow, and they rustled down in the wind. Li Ke, riding on his horse, took a deep breath and felt that even the air was sweet. He had been cooped up for more than a month, and now he could finally come out for some fresh air, and everything seemed new and exciting.

"Your Highness, where are we going?" Li An asked.

"Just wander around. We'll go wherever it's lively," Li Ke said.

Ang Lee thought for a moment: "A new market has opened in Chongrenfang in the east of the city, it's quite lively, how about—"

"Let's go there."

The market in Chongrenfang was indeed bustling. Stalls lined both sides of the street, the sounds of hawkers' cries, haggling, and children's wailing mingling together, creating a lively and noisy atmosphere. Li Ke dismounted, letting his guards follow behind, and led Xue Rengui and Li An through the crowd. He stopped at a stall selling candied hawthorns, bought a skewer, took a bite, and squinted his eyes at the sweet and sour taste. Li An watched from the side, unable to suppress a smile. His Highness was still just an eleven-year-old child. Xue Rengui stood to the side, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding crowd, warily watching everyone who approached.

As Li Ke wandered deeper into the market, the crowd thinned out, and the stalls became less numerous. Just as he was about to turn back, he suddenly heard a sob. It wasn't a loud wail, but a suppressed, intermittent sob. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a crowd gathered at the street corner.

As they drew closer, they could see two people kneeling in the middle of the crowd. One was a boy, who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, broad-shouldered and burly, kneeling there like a small mountain. He wore tattered hemp clothes, patched all over, the fabric worn through at the knees. His head was bowed, his shoulders trembling slightly. Kneeling beside him was a girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, as thin as a cat, huddled next to the boy, also weeping. In front of them was a straw mat, on which lay a woman, already lifeless. Beside the mat was a straw marker—"Sold into servitude to bury her mother."

People around were talking about it.

"Poor Tie Tou and Qiao'er, their father was a good-for-nothing who ran away after accumulating a mountain of gambling debts. Their mother was sick but they had no money for treatment, and after a few months, she passed away."

"The house was also taken by the creditors, and the brother and sister have nowhere to stay."

"Tie Tou is an honest and strong kid. He can earn some money carrying bags at the docks, but he has a younger sister with him. Who would want him?"

"Qiao'er is only thirteen, and she's so thin. It's heartbreaking to see her like that."

Li Ke stood there, watching the brother and sister. The boy knelt on the stone floor, motionless. The sister huddled beside him, her small hands clutching the hem of her brother's clothes, her knuckles white. No one stepped forward, no one asked the price.

Li Ke was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Li An. "How much money do you have on you?"

Li An touched his waist, took out a money pouch, and counted the money: "Your Highness, there are more than ten strings of cash."

"That's enough." Li Ke took the money bag, walked to the brother and sister, and squatted down.

The boy raised his head, revealing a simple and honest face. His eyes were red and swollen, but his gaze was clear, like a mountain stream. He looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, but upon closer inspection, his features were still quite youthful. He looked at Li Ke without speaking. His younger sister beside him also raised her head, tears still glistening on her face, looking at him timidly.

"Your name is Tie Tou?" Li Ke asked.

The boy nodded. "Yes. My name is Tietou. This is my sister, Qiao'er." His voice was rough, with a local accent, and a little hoarse.

"How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," Tie Tou said.

Li Ke was slightly taken aback. Sixteen years old, but looked eighteen or nineteen; years of heavy labor and exposure to the elements had aged her prematurely. He looked at Qiao'er again: "And you?"

Qiao'er whispered, "I'm thirteen."

Li Ke nodded. Thirteen years old, two years older than him. But so thin, he looked much younger than his actual age.

"Your mother passed away?"

Tie Tou's eyes reddened again, and he nodded. "My mother has been sick for months, but we didn't have money to see a doctor, so it's been delayed until now..." He couldn't continue.

Li Ke placed the money bag on the straw mat. "Here's a dozen or so strings of cash. Take it to bury your mother. The rest should be enough for you and your brother to live on for a while."

Tie Tou was stunned. He stared at the money pouch, then at Li Ke, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word. The people around him were also stunned; more than ten strings of cash was no small sum.

"Young master, you..." Tie Tou's voice trembled.

"Get up," Li Ke stood up. "Don't kneel."

Tie Tou didn't get up. He pulled his sister along and kowtowed three times heavily to Li Ke. Their foreheads thudded against the stone floor.

"My benefactor, I, Tie Tou, may not know how to speak, but from this day forward, my life belongs to you. I will do whatever you ask me to do. I don't want wages, just a meal will do." Qiao'er, standing beside him, also kowtowed.

Li Ke looked at them and remained silent for a while. "Li An, take them back to the palace. Settle them in the side room next to the side hall for now, and find them two sets of clean clothes to change into."

Ang Lee responded.

Tie Tou kowtowed again. "My benefactor, I—"

"Don't call me benefactor," Li Ke said, looking at him. "Call me young master."

Tie Tou paused for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Young master, I've got it."

Back at the palace, Li An led the brother and sister to a side room next to the main hall. The head maid found a coarse cloth short coat for Tie Tou and a blue cloth dress for Qiao Er, and then combed her hair and tidied her up.

After she was tidied up, Qiao'er seemed like a different person. Although she was thin, she had delicate features, an oval face, and almond-shaped eyes that shone with a lively spirit. At thirteen, she was at the age where buds were just beginning to bloom, but long-term malnutrition had made her look somewhat frail, and her complexion was a little sallow. She would recover with time.

Li Ke sat in the side hall, watching the brother and sister standing before him. Tie Tou, having changed his clothes, appeared even taller and more imposing, standing there like a wall. Qiao'er stood beside her brother, head bowed, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.

"Tie Tou, what kind of business did you do before?" Li Ke asked.

"Young master, I carry bags at the dock. Each bag weighs two hundred jin, and I carry dozens of bags a day," Tie Tou answered honestly.

Li Ke glanced at Xue Rengui. Xue Rengui was already naturally strong, with few rivals in the army. But Tie Tou's strength was probably no less than Xue Rengui's. Xue Rengui also noticed this, his gaze sweeping over Tie Tou before he remained silent.

"Iron Head, you're strong, but strength alone isn't enough. From now on, you'll train with Commander Xue. Whatever he teaches you, you'll learn," Li Ke said.

Tie Tou clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, young master."

Li Ke then looked at Qiao'er. The little girl stood there timidly, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands, not daring to look up.

"Qiao'er, you will stay in the side hall and be my personal maid. Can you handle the chores like serving tea and water and tidying up the room?"

Qiao'er nodded quickly: "I can do it, I can do it. Young master, I can do any kind of work."

Li Ke smiled. "Don't be afraid. No one will bully you here. You'll learn manners from the old lady and some basic martial arts to strengthen your body and protect yourself."

Qiao'er looked up, her eyes lighting up. "Young master, can I learn kung fu too?"

"Yes. Learn a little, not necessarily in fighting or killing, just be able to run fast and dodge."

Qiao'er nodded vigorously, knelt down and kowtowed: "Thank you, young master."

Tie Tou was assigned to work under Xue Rengui.

On the first day, Xue Rengui noticed something was wrong. Tie Tou had never practiced martial arts and didn't even know the basics of punches and kicks, but his strength was astonishing. There were stone weights on the training ground, the heaviest of which weighed eighty pounds. Several guards took turns trying to lift it over their heads, but none of them could. Tie Tou walked over, lifted it up with one hand, and did it as easily as lifting a chick.

Xue Rengui remained silent for a moment, then took down the heaviest iron spear, its shaft as thick as an egg and twice the weight of an ordinary spear. Tie Tou took it, twirled it twice in his hand, and shook his head again. "Commander, it's still too light."

Xue Rengui looked at him, his gaze now more serious. He himself was already naturally strong, and had never met a match in the army. But Tie Tou's strength was even greater than his. This man, if properly trained, would definitely be a capable bodyguard for His Highness the Prince of Shu in the future.

"Starting tomorrow, you won't need to train with the guards anymore. I'll teach you on your own," Xue Rengui said.

Tie Tou clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes, Commander."

Qiao'er stayed in the side hall and became Li Ke's personal maid.

She was clever and quick-witted, learning everything fast. The old woman taught her manners, and she memorized them in a day; she learned the etiquette of serving tea and water very well. In just a few days, she had kept the side hall in perfect order.

When Yang Guifei saw Qiao'er, she was also very fond of her. She privately told Li Ke, "This girl is clever. Keep her and I won't worry." Li Ke nodded. Qiao'er had come from humble beginnings and knew that opportunities were hard to come by, so she cherished them all the more. Although she couldn't do accounting, she did everything perfectly, from serving tea and water to attending to her daily needs.

Li Ke then had someone teach her some basic skills—how to run fast, how to dodge quickly, and how to protect herself in case of danger. Qiao'er studied diligently, practicing for half an hour every morning. Although she had a weak foundation, she was willing to endure hardship.

It was late at night, and Li Ke sat in a side hall, drinking tea brewed by Qiao'er.

Xue Rengui stood to one side, while Tie Tou stood guard outside the door. His tall figure was reflected on the window paper like a mountain. Li Ke put down his teacup and suddenly smiled. When he went out, he just wanted to take a stroll and get some fresh air. Unexpectedly, he picked up a strongman and a little maid. A few strings of cash bought two lives and two hearts.

He thought of Xue Rengui, Tie Tou, and Qiao'er. They were all people who had crawled out of the mud, without background or backing, only possessing exceptional skills. These were the people he nurtured from a young age; they were his true allies. They weren't after his status or his money; they were people he had pulled through when they were at their lowest point. This kindness was heavier than anything else. In the future, these people would be his strongest foundation.