My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

"You did a good job. From now on, you must report to me immediately if anything happens around Ling'er."

Li Xuancang cared most about his family. The thought of Li Ling'er's constant forbearance for his sake made him feel uneasy.

He got up and walked towards his sister's courtyard. When he pushed open the door, Li Ling'er was sitting by the window, her fingertips gently stroking an ordinary rouge box in her hand.

Her face was full of disappointment, and her usual smile was gone; she looked particularly aggrieved.

"elder brother."

When Li Ling'er saw him come in, she quickly got up and forced herself to stay alert.

Li Xuancang stepped forward, reached out and gently patted her head, his eyes filled with heartache.

"Ling'er, did you have fun today?"

Li Ling'er's fingers tightened slightly, and she forced a weak smile onto her face as she spoke softly.

"Brother, I bought a lot of rouge, I'm so happy!"

Not wanting Li Xuancang to worry, she chose to keep the matter of the rouge shop a secret.

Li Xuancang squatted down and looked tenderly at his younger sister.

"Silly girl, I've never been afraid of anyone, and our Li family has never needed to be so accommodating."

"Remember this, you are my younger sister, Li Xuancang's own sister."

"I am a commander of a thousand men appointed by the imperial court, commanding a thousand elite troops to guard this area. I have earned my position through military merit and established myself through strength. There are few people in Anzhou City who can make my sister suffer."

"Go for what you like; you don't need to give way to anyone."

"If someone bullies you like they did today, you don't have to tolerate it, you don't have to be afraid, and you don't have to worry about anything. Just fight back hard."

He patted Li Ling'er's head, giving her enough confidence.

"Even if the sky falls, your brother will hold it up for you."

Li Xuancang's words were not sharp at all, but every word exuded confidence.

He crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the border and rose to the position of commander of a thousand men, all for the sake of his family. He would not allow anyone to wrong his family.

Hearing her brother's words, Li Ling'er's eyes reddened slightly. The disappointment and grievance in her heart vanished instantly, leaving only a sense of peace.

She looked at her brother, whose eyes were firm, nodded vigorously, and whispered, "Brother, I understand."

Li Xuancang looked at his sister's relaxed expression, raised his hand to wipe away the moisture from the corner of her eyes, and gently comforted her.

"If you want that box of rouge, your brother will send someone to the shop tomorrow to fetch you the best of it. From now on, no one will be able to wrong you again."

With her brother supporting her, she no longer needed to constantly give in and compromise herself.

After calming Li Ling'er down, he immediately summoned the steward of the mansion and Zhang Cui'er, and also selected two tall and imposing guards, and gave them his orders in a deep voice.

"Immediately go to all the cosmetic shops in the city and prepare one of each of the finest rouge, perfume, hair ornaments, and hair oil, and send them to the young lady's courtyard."

"Especially that box of rouge today, no matter how much is left in the shop, buy it all. If they make any new ones, bring them all as well."

"Yes."

The two guards solemnly agreed and followed the steward straight out of the Li residence, heading directly to the city's main market.

Before long, the manager and his personal guards arrived at the rouge shop they had started with. The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised to see that they were soldiers.

However, he was not worried. The owner behind the largest rouge shop in Anzhou City was no ordinary person either.

"Shopkeeper, bring me all your best rouge."

Steward Liu walked up to the shopkeeper and said something surprising that immediately drew the attention of the people in the shop who were choosing rouge.

"Who is this person? What a boastful tone."

"Judging from their attire and the fact that they are soldiers, they should be from the residence of some military general."

"People in the military, they're not simple characters!"

"..."

Those who are able to enter the rouge shop to select rouge are naturally not ordinary people. They recognized the identities of the two guards at a glance and had some guesses.

In times of chaos, the army is of paramount importance, and most powerful and wealthy people dare not offend military commanders.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll have someone fetch it right away."

The shopkeeper, a man who had seen his share of ups and downs, hurriedly ordered his servants to bring the rouge.

All the finest rouge in the shop, especially the box of peach blossom rouge, were packed up.

Let's go!

Manager Liu packed up the things and turned to leave.

"Go and find out who they are."

As soon as the group left, the shopkeeper ordered his men to find out the identities of Steward Liu and his companions.

"Things seem to be getting a bit complicated."

No one noticed that the man who had been eyeing Li Ling'er earlier was muttering to himself as he watched Butler Liu and the others leave.

When a table full of exquisite rouge was placed in front of Li Ling'er, the little girl's eyes were filled with surprise, her cheeks flushed, and her previous grievances disappeared without a trace.

Seeing his sister's happy expression, Li Xuancang smiled gently.

As dusk settled, a home-cooked dinner was laid out in the main hall of the Li residence.

The food wasn't extravagant, but everything was exquisite and warm. The family sat around the table in a cozy and harmonious atmosphere.

After Li Xuancang took his seat, the family began to eat.

Li Ling'er sat to the side, occasionally serving food to her brother, her face beaming with the joy of receiving a table full of rouge.

The parents sat in the main seats, watching their two children live peacefully and smoothly, their eyes full of contentment.

During the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Li looked at their son, who was sitting upright to the side, and exchanged a glance.

Li's mother was the first to put down her chopsticks and bring up the important matter at hand, her tone earnest.

"Xuan Cang, now that you have established yourself in Anzhou and become a commander of a thousand men, with a government office and military power, it's time to start thinking about your marriage."

Li Xuancang paused in his chopsticks, then looked up with a hint of helplessness.

Li's mother continued, "Your father and I have inquired these past few days, and we found that there are many girls from scholarly and virtuous families in Anzhou City who are of good character, gentle and virtuous."

"Don't worry, we will carefully select a good marriage for you, one that is suitable for you and beneficial to you, so that you can start a family and have children as soon as possible."

Mr. Li nodded in agreement, "Your mother is right. A real man should settle down before building a career. Now that your career is stable, you absolutely cannot delay your marriage any longer. You need to hurry up."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancang quickly put down his chopsticks and gently declined.

"Father, Mother, I have just taken command of the military camp, and military affairs are very complicated. I really have no time to attend to marriage matters."

"Besides, I'm still young, so let's put the marriage on hold for now!"

He was focused on making contributions and getting promoted, and besides, women would only affect his punching speed. He had no intention of considering marriage and just wanted to postpone it.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Li's mother, who always doted on her son, immediately frowned, and Li's father also frowned. The two of them spoke up and scolded him at the same time.

"Young? You child, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Li's mother spoke with a hint of reproach, and reached out to tap him.

"Any man your age isn't already married with children, their kids are already running around and calling out 'Dad' and 'Mom'! And you, you're saying you're too young and not in a hurry!"

Mr. Li added in a deep voice, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Marriage is a serious matter, not a game. You are the only son in our Li family. It is only right that you marry and have children as soon as possible."

"No matter how busy you are with military affairs, you can't let your life's important matters get in the way. Your mother and I have decided on this matter, and we will arrange for you to meet a suitable girl another day. You can't refuse."

Li Ling'er sat to the side, covering her mouth and secretly laughing, watching her brother being scolded by their parents, her eyes full of amusement.

Seeing that his parents' attitude was firm and there was no room for negotiation, Li Xuancang was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

With a helpless expression, yet not daring to argue with her parents any longer, she could only silently lower her head and let them nag her, never daring to utter another word of refusal.

A simple home-cooked dinner turned into a series of heartwarming and down-to-earth admonitions from the parents to get married.