After they left, only Empress Changsun, Fang Er, and a palace maid named Wushuang remained in the Hall of Sweet Dew.
The atmosphere quickly became somewhat awkward.
Seeing Fang Er looking somewhat constrained, Empress Changsun chuckled.
"What, so nervous with your aunt? It’s not like the uninhibited Fang Anzhi that Yue’er describes."
Fang Er grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I just felt a bit stuffy in the hall. I’ll go out for some air. If you need anything, just send for me."
With that, he fled the Hall of Sweet Dew as if escaping.
Heh heh heh heh!
As soon as he reached the doorstep of the Hall of Sweet Dew and sat down, he heard the crisp laughter of Empress Changsun and the palace maid Wushuang from inside.
Woof woof!
Not long after sitting down, Fang Er heard a dog bark. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Haha, that rascal of a dog. Haha stood in the distance, wagging its tail at Fang Er, followed by two other Siberian Huskies and three Alaskan Malamutes. After a long time, all six dogs had grown into adults, especially the three Alaskan Malamutes, whose size was comparable to Big Horn.
Woof woof woof!
As Haha was about to run towards Fang Er, it suddenly stopped and cried out in pain.
"Haha! No going to the Hall of Sweet Dew!"
Fang Er looked closely and saw Changle behind Haha, tugging at Haha’s tail, trying to stop it from going into the Hall of Sweet Dew.
"Your Highness Princess!"
Two palace maids ran over from a distance, seemingly chasing after Changle and the dogs. Seeing Changle pulling the dog's tail, they quickly said nervously, "Your Highness Princess, please let go quickly, don't let Haha bite you."
"Of course not, Haha is the best behaved, right, Haha?"
Changle let go of Haha's tail, stepped forward, and hugged Haha's head. Girls develop faster than boys, and the ten-year-old Changle already had two small hills on her chest. As Haha’s head pressed against them, her chest shifted and changed shape.
Unintentionally seeing Fang Er standing at the entrance of the Hall of Sweet Dew, smiling at her, Changle instantly released Haha and happily ran towards him.
"Brother Fang!"
Reaching the door, she shyly called out to Fang Er.
"Where have you been playing, Changle?" Fang Er asked. He hadn’t seen her in the hall earlier, and with her leading six dogs now, she clearly didn't know that the Empress had just fallen ill.
"I went to see Brother Qingque, but it was too boring there, so I came back." After answering Fang Er's question, Changle looked at him curiously and asked, "By the way, Brother Fang, why are you here? Has Sister Yue'er also entered the palace?"
"No, I came to attend the Grand Court Assembly. The Empress just fell ill..."
"Mother fell ill?" Changle became instantly anxious and interrupted Fang Er.
"Don't worry, she’s fine now and resting. I'm going in to see her!"
Changle rushed into the Hall of Sweet Dew, clearly worried. A moment later, the voices of mother and daughter could be heard from inside.
"Haha, come here!"
Fang Er, feeling bored, beckoned Haha over. He took out a foot-long, cured ham sausage, peeled off the casing, broke it into small pieces, and fed a piece to Haha. He threw the rest to the other five dogs.
"Shanshan?"
While feeding the dogs, Fang Er suddenly heard Li Tai’s voice. He looked up and saw the young man standing beside him.
"Changle said you were studying. Why are you out here?"
"This student came to pay his respects to Mother."
"Then go quickly. The Empress just had an episode of qi sickness and has only just calmed down." Fang Er said briefly, pointing towards the hall.
"Then Shanshan, please rest. This student will come later to listen to your teachings." After saying this, Li Tai entered the hall to pay his respects to Empress Changsun.
When he came out, he bowed deeply to Fang Er and said, "Thank you, Shanshan, for your great kindness!"
"It's nothing, just a small matter." Fang Er waved his hand.
Li Tai walked over and sat on the doorstep, imitating Fang Er.
"Shanshan, can you take me and Third Brother with you when you return to Shenyang this time? He even found me privately a few days ago, saying he was too bored in the palace."
Fang Er smiled slightly. "If you want to go, you can. As long as the Emperor permits it, I have no problem." Fang Er knew that Li Tai's intelligence was wasted in the palace; Shenyang was where he could best utilize his abilities. As for Li Ke, his situation in the palace was awkward, so leaving together was the best option.
The master and disciple chatted idly on the doorstep until Li Shimin returned from court, marking the end of their conversation. When Li Tai conveyed his and Prince of Han, Li Ke's, ideas to Li Shimin, Li Shimin readily agreed. Both boys were more intelligent than the Crown Prince, and it wasn't good for them to stay in the palace forever. If they were to collude with ministers someday, it might lead to a repeat of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, something Li Shimin absolutely would not allow.
After bidding farewell to Li Shimin and bringing Li Tai and Li Ke along, Fang Er left the Hall of Sweet Dew. The three of them walked towards the palace gate.
Outside the Chengtian Gate, Fang Er retrieved his motorcycle from the guards and smiled at the two young men.
"Let’s test if your physical fitness has declined."
"Attention!"
The two brothers quickly stood at attention upon hearing his command.
"Target: Fang Village. Run! Go!"
One-two-one! One-two-one! One-two-three-four!
Hearing the command, the two brothers reflexively began marching in unison towards Fang Village. Fang Er, meanwhile, started his motorcycle and slowly followed behind them.
By the time they returned to Fang Village, Chai Shao and Li Xiaogong were already waiting by the helicopter. Besides them, a woman stood beside the helicopter.