Little Sizi came to my house and became the family's darling, and Li Shimin got anxious.

"Later, it turned out that Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother was actually a martial arts master. As soon as the Big Bad Wolf walked in, she knocked him unconscious with a slipper. Then, the grandmother skinned the wolf and made a vest, which Little Red Riding Hood wore to school. She looked so cool!"

Li Yinxun closed the book "Selected Grimm's Fairy Tales" in her hand and said without changing her expression.

Si Zi sat to her left, laughing so hard he leaned against her: "The Big Bad Wolf is a big bad guy, a big idiot, hehehehe... Little Red Riding Hood's grandma is so awesome!"

Princess Chengyang sat to her right, her little brows slightly furrowed. She looked at Li Yinxun, then at the book in Li Yinxun's hand, and pointed to the words on it with her little finger.

"Sister, what's written here doesn't seem to say that."

Li Yinxun looked down at her: "Hmm?"

"These words are a little different from the ones I know, but I can roughly understand a bit of them. The story my sister just told doesn't mean this in the book." Chengyang looked puzzled.

Li Yinxun was stunned for a moment, not expecting that Chengyang, who was only 5 years old, already knew so many characters.

"Well," Li Yinxun reached out and ruffled Chengyang's hair, "the version my sister told was an improved version, which is... a more fun version. My sister didn't like the original story."

Chengyang nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Li Yinxun put the book down. "Alright, story time is over. Chengyang, if you want to read more stories, go to that bookshelf over there and pick one you can read, or one with lots of pictures."

"Little Sizi, come with me, I'll find you some nice picture books, the kind with few words and lots of pictures."

Si Zi immediately scrambled to his feet, exclaiming, "Oh dear!"

Chengyang also stood up and walked to the row of low bookshelves, tilting his head back to carefully read each book.

Li Yinxun led Sizi to the comic book section and picked out a few full-color comics about small animals or elves. The illustrations were cute, and the text in the speech bubbles was large.

"Here, look at these." She handed the books to Sizi. "As long as you can understand the pictures, that's fine."

Sizi took the book, sat down on the spot, opened the first book, and was immediately attracted by the round panda inside.

Li Yinxun walked to the side, found a low stool to sit down, and glanced at her phone.

It's almost eleven o'clock.

They spent almost two hours in the children's area.

Li Lizhi hasn't come down yet, and he hasn't called her.

Li Yinxun stood up and said to Chengyang, who was engrossed in reading, "Chengyang, I'm going upstairs to find your older sister. You and Sizi stay here and read quietly. Don't wander off. I'll be right back."

Chengyang looked up from his book and nodded obediently, "Mm."

Sizi didn't even raise her head, she just waved her little hand.

Li Yinxun took the escalator up to the second floor.

The second floor is the social sciences and history section, which is much quieter and less crowded than the first floor.

Follow the signs to the Chinese history area, turn past two bookshelves, and you'll see Li Lizhi.

Li Lizhi stood in front of a bookshelf, her back to the book, holding a thick book in her hands. The spine of the book read "Those Things of the Tang Dynasty (Vernacular Version)".

She stood very straight and motionless.

Li Yinxun walked over and stood to her side before she could see her face clearly.

Li Lizhi's face was pale, her lips were pressed tightly together, and her eyes were a little red.

Li Yinxun saw the contents of the book.

The title of that page was "Empress Zhangsun: The Early Death of a Virtuous Empress".

Below is smaller print: "In June of the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, Empress Zhangsun passed away in the Lizheng Palace at the young age of thirty-six."

There is also an accompanying illustration, a portrait of the empress as imagined by later painters.

Li Lizhi's gaze lingered on that page for a long time.

Then she slowly flipped down.

She turned a few more pages, then stopped.

The title of that page was "Heaven is jealous of beauty: Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi".

The smaller characters read: "In the fourteenth year of the Zhenguan era, Princess Changle passed away at the young age of twenty-three."

Li Lizhi's fingers trembled violently, causing the pages of the book to rustle.

She slammed the book shut, turned around, and saw Li Yinxun standing beside her.

Li Lizhi's eyes were very red, and something seemed to be shimmering inside them, but she held back with all her might, preventing it from falling out.

"Sister," her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, "I...want to go home, I miss Grandpa and Mom."

Li Yinxun opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"It's time to eat." That was all she said at the end. "Let's go eat first, and if you still want to watch this afternoon, you can come back."

Li Lizhi shook her head, "I don't want to watch anymore, I want to go back now."

She hugged the book "Those Things About the Tang Dynasty" tightly in her arms: "Can I buy this book? I'll take it home."

Li Yinxun nodded: "Yes. Of course."

"Then let's go pay the bill now. Then go back, right away."

As she spoke, she started to walk downstairs, her steps a little hurried, and she almost bumped into the bookshelf next to her.

Li Yinxun quickly grabbed her: "Don't rush, Lizhi, don't rush. Sizi and Chengyang are still downstairs, we have to take them with us."

"And look," she pointed out the window, "it's already noon. You've come all this way, you should at least have lunch. After you eat, I'll take you home, okay?"

Li Lizhi stopped and looked at her, her chest heaving a few times.

"My mother..." Her voice choked, "My mother has less than a month left..."

She didn't say anything more, and hugged the book tighter, as if the book could give her some support.

"I know," Li Yinxun said softly, "so it's no big deal to waste a meal, right? If you go back like this, your parents will worry even more. Calm down first, have a meal, and then we'll go back together, and take the books with us, okay?"

Li Lizhi looked at her for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

"it is good."

They went downstairs and found Sizi and Chengyang still reading.

Chengyang's eyes lit up when he saw Li Lizhi: "Sister!"

But when she saw Li Lizhi's expression, the light dimmed again, and a hint of confusion and unease appeared on her small face.

Sizi, oblivious, ran over, holding a comic book: "Sister! Look at this bear, it's useless!"

Li Lizhi forced a smile at her, patted her head, and said nothing.

Li Yin went to the cashier to pay the bill, put the thick book "Those Things of the Tang Dynasty" into a paper bag, and handed it to Li Lizhi.

Li Lizhi took the paper bag and hugged it to her chest, as if she were holding something fragile yet important.

The four of them took a taxi back to Li Yin's home.

Throughout the journey, Li Lizhi kept looking out the window without saying a word.

Chengyang sensed Li Lizhi's sadness and felt uneasy.

Only the little princess was still excitedly talking about the flying bear in the comic book.

When she got home, Li Yin went to the kitchen to prepare a simple lunch: frozen dumplings, which were quick and filling.

Li Lizhi sat on the small sofa in the living room, with a paper bag on her lap and her hand resting on it.

Chengyang sat down next to her and asked softly, "Sister, are you unhappy?"

Li Lizhi shook her head, then nodded, and finally said only, "It's nothing."

Sizi ran up to Li Lizhi and tugged at her sleeve: "Sister, are we going to the bookstore this afternoon? I still want to see that useless, flashy bear!"

Li Lizhi took a deep breath. "Sizi, we should go back."