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    Lady, escort the emperor! 17

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    Chapter 17 Song Mu Er

    The carriage rolled along a wide street for about two quarters of an hour before stopping in front of a large residence. The old lady’s birthday banquet should be over by now, so for safety’s sake, Li Nuo would stay at the Song residence for the night. Manager Wu saw them to the Song estate and then returned, promising to pick Li Nuo up the next morning.

    A sixtieth birthday was a most significant milestone in ancient times. Even ordinary families would celebrate lavishly, much less a powerful and influential one like the Song family.

    This wasn’t Li Nuo’s first visit to the Song residence. Manager Wu had mentioned that his father had brought him here once before their marriage, but that was a memory belonging to the previous Li Nuo.

    The entire Song estate was adorned with festive red lanterns. The wide street was lined with carriages and palanquins, and elegantly dressed guests were queuing up at the entrance, steadily entering the estate.

    At the entrance, an elderly man smiled at Song Jia Ren, saying, “Miss, you’re back. The eldest Miss arrived a while ago and has been looking for you. Please, go inside…”

    On the way, Li Nuo had learned a little about the Song family. The “eldest Miss” the servant mentioned was Song Jia Ren’s aunt, the only daughter of the Song family’s second generation. She had been married for many years. The Song family matriarch had five children, and his wife was the daughter of the third son.

    Unlike the single-heir Li family, the Song family was large and prosperous, with many descendants.

    As the two entered the Song estate, a wave of whispers rippled through the queue of guests.

    “That’s Song Zhe’s daughter, isn’t it? She’s truly a stunning beauty, living up to her name.”

    “She’s not only beautiful; at such a young age, she’s already at the Fourth Realm of martial arts cultivation. Her future on the Martial Path is limitless.”

    “Such a pity, such an outstanding phoenix among women, yet she married a fool…”

    “Hush, hush…”

    “What’s to be afraid of? I’m a military officer; I’m not afraid of that Li Xuanying…”

    Inside the Song estate, the atmosphere was even livelier than outside. The courtyard immediately inside the gate was filled with colorful celebratory banners and screens. These banners and screens bore auspicious phrases like “Blessings as vast as the East Sea,” “Longevity like the Southern Mountains,” “Sun and Moon Shining Brightly,” and “Pine Trees and Cranes Living Long,”—all celebratory greetings for the birthday.

    The banquet hadn’t officially started yet. Guests were scattered throughout the Song estate, chatting and laughing in small groups. Li Nuo didn’t know anyone, so he followed closely behind Song Jia Ren.

    Song Jia Ren led Li Nuo to a table in the courtyard, saying, “I’ll go see my aunt. You wait here and don’t wander off. We’ll go see Grandmother together later.”

    Li Nuo nodded, watching her leave, and then picked up a piece of pastry from the table and ate it.

    Before the banquet began, fruit and pastries were placed throughout the Song estate for guests to enjoy.

    Not knowing a soul in the Song estate, Li Nuo leaned against the table, bored. He didn’t particularly enjoy large gatherings. On a late night like this, he preferred staying home to read or sleep, but his wife’s grandmother’s sixtieth birthday was a significant event, and it would have been impolite for him, as a junior, not to attend.

    He’d just picked up a second piece of pastry when he heard a crisp voice.

    “Oh, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You’re here!”

    Li Nuo followed the direction of the voice. A pretty little girl was looking at him with surprise.

    The girl, six or seven years old, was pretty and adorable. When she smiled at Li Nuo, two cute little canine teeth were visible.

    Li Nuo, however, was completely dumbfounded. Did he know anyone else in the Song family?

    Seeing Li Nuo’s bewildered expression, the little girl’s face fell. She pouted and said, “You don’t remember me? You forgot? Last time you came to my house, I gave you cookies!”

    The girl said “my house,” implying she was a member of the Song family and likely one of the main household members, possibly a child of his wife’s uncle or aunt.

    The little girl sighed, saying, “Forget it then. Let me tell you again, my name is Song Mu Er. You have to remember this time, or I won’t play with you anymore!”

    It seemed Li Nuo had known this little girl before and had been quite close to her, but he didn’t remember the previous encounters.

    The little girl, Song Mu Er, took Li Nuo’s hand and said, “Let’s go play shuttlecock…”

    Song Mu Er really liked this older brother she had only met once, not just because he was handsome, but because he was the only one who would play pretend and shuttlecock with her and help her with her homework (although his homework help was always wrong, resulting in her getting spanked by her teacher, she still forgave him for keeping her company).

    Her brothers at home never played pretend with her.

    Although he was ten years older than her, their interactions were natural. Li Nuo wasn’t surprised. While his previous self was eighteen, his intelligence might have been no better than an eight-year-old’s. He and this six or seven-year-old girl were perfectly matched playmates.

    Li Nuo didn’t follow the girl immediately. He said apologetically, “I can’t today. I need to go see Grandmother later.”

    The little girl hugged his arm and gently shook it, saying, “Just for a little while, okay…”

    With such an adorable little girl clinging to his arm and pouting, Li Nuo couldn’t bring himself to refuse. However, he was also worried about wandering too far and his wife not being able to find him. So he said, “We can play, but we can’t go too far…”

    The little girl pointed to a nearby empty space and said, “Let’s go there!”

    Li Nuo glanced over. The empty space was only ten meters away. He could keep an eye on his surroundings and shouldn’t miss anything important.

    The little girl pulled Li Nuo, skipping towards the empty space. She pulled out an exquisitely crafted shuttlecock from a small bag she carried and said to Li Nuo, “Like last time, I’ll toss the shuttlecock to you, you kick it back to me, and I’ll kick it back again…”

    Although it was night, countless lanterns illuminated the Song estate, making it as bright as day. The girl tossed the shuttlecock. Li Nuo gently kicked it back.

    When the shuttlecock flew, Song Mu Er didn’t rush to kick it back. She gracefully sidestepped, and as the shuttlecock flew past her and was about to hit the ground, she lightly lifted her foot, using the sole of her foot to gently touch the shuttlecock. The shuttlecock changed direction, drawing a beautiful arc in the air before flying towards Li Nuo again.

    As he watched the shuttlecock fly toward him, Li Nuo felt a strange sensation.

    Then, the little girl opposite him gasped in amazement.

    The shuttlecock, guided by the older brother’s movements, continuously swirled and danced in the air, never touching the ground. Every one of his shuttlecock-kicking movements was elegant, graceful, and effortless; some techniques were completely new to her.

    Li Nuo was also surprised. The moment the shuttlecock flew towards him, he felt a sense of complete control. He didn’t possess such highly skilled and incredible shuttlecock-kicking techniques, and his former self likely didn’t either. Therefore, the reason was clear. Only the page depicting the Zheng wealthy man’s concubine was lit up in the Treasured Tome. Could her specialty be shuttlecock kicking?

    The women of this era had limited entertainment options. Cuju (a form of ancient Chinese football) and shuttlecock were the most common games. Wealthy young ladies and less affluent ones alike could play them. However, the fact that shuttlecock kicking could illuminate the Treasured Tome indicated that this woman was extraordinary…

    After playing for a while, Li Nuo kicked the shuttlecock back, but Song Mu Er, captivated by Li Nuo’s performance, forgot to catch it. The shuttlecock landed on the ground behind her.

    Before she could pick it up, several voices came from the side.

    “Hey, isn’t that the Li family fool?”

    “He’s here tonight too.”

    “Why is he here at the old lady’s birthday banquet? Isn’t he afraid of making a fool of himself…”

    Three young men walked over. One of them casually picked up a candy from the table, walked up to Li Nuo, and said jokingly, “Little fool, bark like a dog for us. If you do it well, you get the candy…”

    Li Nuo looked at him and asked, “How does a dog bark?”

    “You just learned it last time, and you already forgot? You’re really a fool.” The young man shook his head, then said without further thought, “Woof woof…”

    “Bark again.”

    “Woof woof, woof woof…”

    “Bark some more.”

    “Woof woof, woof woof, woof woof…”

    Li Nuo reached out, gently stroked the young man’s head, and smiled, “Good boy…”

    Many guests in the courtyard heard the commotion and turned to look, wondering what was wrong with this young Song master. Why was he inexplicably barking like a dog?

    The young man, after recovering from his shock, finally realized what had happened. Shame and anger flushed his face. He yelled, “Little fool, you dare to play me?”

    If it had been anyone else, he would never have barked like a dog, but who would suspect a fool?

    In a fit of rage, he reached out to grab Li Nuo’s collar, but at that moment, a small figure stood in front of Li Nuo.

    Song Mu Er held out her hands, stopping him. She said crisply, “Brother Yu, you can’t bully him…”

    Song Yu was furious at his cousin’s interference. “Mu Er, get out of the way! I’m going to teach this fool a lesson!”

    Song Mu Er clenched her small fists. “If you bully him, I’ll hit you, okay…”

    Song Yu’s body trembled, and he immediately backed off warily. Although Mu Er was only six years old, she possessed genuine Second Realm martial arts cultivation. She had been training with Song Jia Ren since she was two, and had already developed internal energy. Children were not gentle when they hit, and a few blows from her fists would break his bones.

    “Little fool, you just wait!” After leaving this threat for Li Nuo, he and his companions scurried away.

    Li Nuo watched them leave, thinking that he didn’t seem to be very popular in the Song family. However, he also understood that if he were a Song family member, he probably wouldn’t have a good opinion of the fool who had married the family’s pride and joy.

    At that moment, Song Mu Er picked up the shuttlecock, patted her small chest, and said to Li Nuo, “Brother Li Nuo, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you. I won’t let them bully you…”

    Thank you to “Bubuli” for their generous support! This patron has been a major supporter of multiple books, and we are immensely grateful.

    (End of Chapter)

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