Lady, escort the emperor! 18
Chapter 18: Twins
Li Nuo felt a little strange being told he needed protection by a six or seven-year-old girl. But remembering how she had bravely stepped forward, he felt a slight pang of emotion. Children’s thoughts are often the purest; this adorable little girl genuinely considered him a friend.
He smiled, indicating he didn’t mind, and said, “Let’s continue playing shuttlecock.”
“Mm!”
Song Mu Er nodded, tossing the shuttlecock to him. Li Nuo executed a skillful overhead kick, sending it back. Song Mu Er gracefully leaped, her little skirt swirling. Li Nuo didn’t even see her movements clearly before the shuttlecock was flying back again.
Soon, Li Nuo realized the little girl was also a shuttlecock master. Not only was she fast and accurate, her movements were incredibly graceful, and her learning ability was astonishing. The techniques Li Nuo subconsciously used, she quickly replicated, even executing them better and more beautifully.
If Li Nuo guessed correctly, she must have a foundation in martial arts, because many of her moves were simply impossible for ordinary people to perform.
Song Mu Er was truly happy that evening. At home, besides a few maidservants, nobody was willing to play with her. But those maidservants were too unskilled; they couldn’t even catch the shuttlecock she kicked. Unlike this older brother, they had played for a long time without the shuttlecock ever touching the ground once.
“No more, no more…”
After a short while, Li Nuo stopped the shuttlecock on his foot, bending over and panting, “I can’t do it anymore…”
The weakness of this body was beyond his expectation, and he still had a shoulder injury. After just a short time playing, the wound on his shoulder began to ache. In contrast, the little girl, apart from her slightly disheveled hair, didn’t even have a drop of sweat on her forehead, making Li Nuo feel a little embarrassed.
“Okay…”
Although Song Mu Er wanted to play a little longer, seeing Li Nuo so tired, she obediently nodded, put the shuttlecock away, and placed it back in her small bag.
While playing shuttlecock, her hair ribbon came loose, and she couldn’t tie it herself. She looked at Li Nuo for help. Li Nuo took the ribbon from her, about to tie her hair up in a bun, when countless methods of hair braiding and styling flooded his mind.
This was certainly not Li Nuo’s own memory. Li Nuo looked again at Zhang Xiaoyun’s portrait in the Treasured Tome.
He originally thought the Treasured Tome would only allow him to master a single skill of the criminal, like the assassin’s calligraphy or the thief’s thievery. But the reality seemed different. Shuttlecock kicking, hair braiding, and the skills of the Zheng family’s concubine – he had already mastered two.
The skills the Treasured Tome deemed important were extraordinary.
The assassin’s calligraphy was praised by the Chang’an County Magistrate as “rarely equaled.”
The goat-bearded thief’s skills were so subtle that even Wu Butler and his wife, both at the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts, were completely unaware, proving him to be a top-tier thief.
As for the adulterer named Cui Ze, he was too ordinary to even have his portrait illuminated by the Treasured Tome.
But the Zheng family’s concubine had two skills recognized by the Treasured Tome, indicating that she had reached the pinnacle of both shuttlecock kicking and hair braiding.
However, whatever the skill, it would expire by tomorrow. To avoid wasting the skill, Li Nuo said to Song Mu Er, “How about I style your hair again? I can create a more beautiful hairstyle than before…”
Which girl wouldn’t want to be more beautiful, even if she was only six years old?
Song Mu Er didn’t doubt Li Nuo at all, immediately nodding, “Yes, yes…”
Li Nuo put the ribbon aside and moved his hands quickly through her hair. He didn’t need to see or even think; everything felt like thousands and tens of thousands of repetitions of muscle memory. Soon, a beautiful flying fairy bun appeared on Song Mu Er’s head.
Undeniably, hairstyle greatly impacts a person’s appearance and temperament. Before, Song Mu Er looked like a simply pretty young lady, but after changing her hairstyle, she instantly exuded elegance and grace. Two hair loops gently trembled with her slight movements; with a few more hair ornaments, she would truly be a little fairy.
Song Mu Er left Li Nuo, eagerly running back to her room to admire her new hairstyle. At that moment, Li Nuo saw Song Jia Ren and a beautiful woman walking towards them.
The woman was strikingly beautiful, appearing to be in her early thirties, but the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes suggested she was actually older.
Song Jia Ren brought the woman to Li Nuo and said, “This is your aunt; you’ve met her before.”
Li Nuo bowed respectfully to the woman, “Greetings, Aunt.”
Madam Song had four sons and one daughter. Her only daughter, Song Zhen, was her third child.
The woman stared at Li Nuo, her eyes filled with surprise and even more delight. She looked at Song Jia Ren and asked uncertainly, “He’s really not stupid anymore?”
Song Jia Ren nodded. Based on his performance these past two days, he was indeed no longer stupid.
Not only was he not stupid, he was surprisingly intelligent.
The woman couldn’t help but reach out, pinching and touching Li Nuo here and there, muttering as she touched him, “I told you, Li Xuanying’s son couldn’t possibly be a fool…”
She tugged at Li Nuo’s cheek, exclaiming, “Say, he really does have some of your father’s youthful charm.”
Li Nuo was like a toy, being squeezed and poked, unable to say anything. After all, she was his elder, so he could only stand there awkwardly.
What was even more awkward was that Da Xia women wore more revealing clothing. She was wearing a qi-xiong dress (a type of dress that exposes the chest), with a necklace, revealing half of her fair neck and chest. Being so close to Li Nuo, he didn’t know where to look, trying to maintain eye contact only with his own nose, but a strange thought popped into his mind: they say nieces resemble their aunts. His own wife certainly didn’t take after this one…
“I don’t care, I don’t care, I want one too!”
A girl’s cry erupted from the distance, attracting everyone’s attention and rescuing Li Nuo. Seeing the woman and his mother both look in a certain direction, Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief, took a step back to maintain distance from the woman, and turned to look as well.
Sitting on the ground and crying was a little girl.
She was six or seven years old, pretty and cute, but crying quite sadly, kicking her feet as she cried.
Looking at the girl’s face, Li Nuo froze. Wasn’t that Song Mu Er, the girl he had just played shuttlecock with? Strangely, the flying fairy bun he had just styled for her had reverted to a simple bun…
Looking again, he saw another little girl standing next to her, arms akimbo, looking smug, with a beautiful and elegant flying fairy bun in her hair…
Two Mu Ers?
Li Nuo was bewildered.
By this time, the woman had quickly walked towards the crying girl, complaining, “Who styled Mu Er’s hair so beautifully? Doesn’t she know Ning’er will definitely throw a fit if she sees it? Last time Mu Er was sick, she even insisted on having her own bowl of medicine. This time, she’ll definitely raise hell!”
Li Nuo understood. There weren’t two Mu Ers; they were twins.
Li Nuo was very familiar with the situation of twins.
His university tutor had twin daughters, and as his tutor’s student, handyman, and nanny, Li Nuo sometimes had to take on the responsibility of driving the children to school.
In any household with two children, fairness must be observed. Twin families are even more demanding. It means: Whatever one sister has, the other must have. Not only must their clothes be identical, but also their hair ornaments, food, and toys – everything must be prepared in duplicate and exactly the same. If one sister coughs and takes a sip of cough syrup, the other must also have a sip to ensure fairness…
Any slight difference, and expect a household turned upside down.
Li Nuo shuddered just thinking about that experience.
If he had known Mu Er had a twin sister or brother, Li Nuo would absolutely not have helped her style her hair…
Song Zhen had already approached the crying girl and said to the woman beside her, “Who styled Mu Er’s hair? Quickly have them style Ning’er’s exactly the same. The Old Madam’s birthday banquet is about to begin; don’t delay the timing…”
The woman looked at the maidservants beside her and angrily asked, “Who did it?”
Several Song Family maidservants shook their heads. More than anyone, the maids knew both sisters well, and they wouldn’t do something like that.
Song Zhen waved her hand, “Forget who did it for now. Who knows how to style this kind of hair? Quickly style Ning’er’s the same, or we’ll be late.”
Even she, a young miss raised in luxury, wouldn’t be able to style this hair, she thought she would have to do it herself.
The maids looked at each other. Finally, an older maid spoke up, “Miss, Miss Mu Er’s hair wasn’t styled with an ordinary flying fairy bun. The person who styled Miss Mu Er’s hair made many complex modifications to the original bun. The modified bun looks more elegant, refined, and graceful. We don’t know how to do that kind of styling…”
To solve the problem, you need to find the person who created it. Song Zhen rubbed her temples and crouched down, smiling at the girl with the beautiful hairstyle, “Mu Er, tell your aunt, who styled our Mu Er’s hair so beautifully?”
Song Mu Er snorted at the crying girl and turned her head away.
From childhood to adulthood, Song Ning’er had always wanted to take everything from her. She was not willing to share Brother Li Nuo with her.
Brother Li Nuo could only style her hair; Song Ning’er couldn’t even dream of it!
At that moment, a guest in the crowd pointed in a certain direction, “I saw that young master style Miss Mu Er’s hair…”
The women immediately looked in the direction he pointed.
At the end of their gaze, a handsome young man was desperately trying to hide himself in the shadows…
(To be continued)
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