The Emperor's Beloved: My Ancestor is the Crown Prince?

Chapter 32 The Sudden Disappearance of Xiao Qingyi

"These...these are rare clothes that were given to my brother, the Crown Prince, by foreign lands. Seeing that the child likes them, we gave them to her to wear." Li Lizhi suppressed the slight turmoil in her heart, maintained a proper smile on her face, and gently tucked Xiao Qingyi behind her. "Mother, the sun is setting, I'll take the children back first."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun's gaze lingered for a moment on the bright yellow "strange attire," her expression calm and unwavering. She simply nodded and said, "Go, don't let Sizi get too windy."

Having received permission, Li Lizhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Not daring to linger any longer, she quickly took Yiyi's hand, called to her younger siblings, and the group left the garden where the atmosphere had suddenly become tense.

---

Holding Yiyi's soft little hand, Li Lizhi walked along the long corridor leading to the East Palace. The bright afternoon sunlight shone on the vermilion palace walls, which should have been warm, but Li Lizhi felt her fingertips were a little cold.

Her mother's seemingly casual yet sharp question, "I wonder where these are from?" echoed repeatedly in her ears. Had she responded reasonably well? She'd said they were novel garments from overseas merchants, which should have been a temporary excuse… but did her mother's discerning gaze truly believe her?

She couldn't help but look down at Qingyi, who was innocently kicking pebbles on the road beside her. The child was naive and carefree, but her clothes were completely out of place with everything around her, like a walking, enormous question mark.

What worried Li Lizhi even more was the hidden unease. The Crown Prince was growing older, yet he had not yet married a principal wife. If a young child of unknown age were to suddenly appear by his side and be seen by those with ulterior motives, the unsavory rumor of her being an "illegitimate child" would likely spread like wildfire in an instant. This was no small matter; it could shake the reputation of the Crown Prince and even give others ammunition to criticize him. She absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen.

Thinking of this, she tightened her grip on Yiyi's hand and quickened her pace. She had to inform her brother immediately; things were starting to look suspicious, and they needed to prepare accordingly.

---

Inside the study of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian had just put down his pen when his younger sister hurriedly arrived with a small dumpling. Li Lizhi dismissed her attendants, leaving only her trusted confidants to guard the door. The worry on her face eased slightly upon seeing her brother, but then tightened again due to the urgency of the situation.

"Brother," she said, her voice barely audible, before she even sat down, "I ran into Mother in the Imperial Garden just now."

Li Chengqian's expression turned serious, and he stood up and walked around the desk: "Explain in detail."

Li Lizhi recounted the events quickly, emphasizing especially her mother's seemingly casual yet subtly pointed question about clothing, and her hasty response using "novel clothing from overseas merchants" as an excuse. She spoke faster than usual, her fingers unconsciously fidgeting with her cuffs.

"...Although Mother didn't press the matter further, she only instructed me to take good care of her and send her back as soon as possible, but that look in her eyes..." Li Lizhi frowned and lowered her voice, "I think she didn't quite believe me. Brother, if someone with ulterior motives sees what's going on with Yiyi here and makes up some unsavory rumors, it might damage your reputation." Li Chengqian instantly understood what she meant. His gaze darkened slightly, and he nodded.

"You handled it quite cleverly," Li Chengqian said calmly, his gaze turning to Xiao Qingyi, who was peering curiously from the edge of the bookshelf. Her bright yellow stood out starkly against the solemn black of the room. "The Empress Dowager is very perceptive. It's already quite an achievement that you managed to smooth things over for now. The fact that she didn't investigate further on the spot shows that she left room for maneuver."

He knelt down beside Xiao Qingyi, his gaze level with hers, and spoke with an unusual gentleness and seriousness: "Yiyi, remember, if anyone asks where you came from in the future, just say what Sister Chang Le said today: 'The little sister of an old friend of the Crown Prince,' and nothing else. Do you understand?"

"Yes! I've got it!" Xiao Qingyi nodded vigorously, accepting her new identity well.

After calming Xiao Qingyi down, Li Chengqian stood up, picked up an inconspicuous blue cloth package from the table, and handed it to her: "Take this to your brother Qingge. Inside is my reply and a small gift. Don't forget it when you go back later, okay?"

"Yes!" Xiao Qingyi immediately hugged the package, her little face serious, as if she had received a great mission.

Seeing this, Li Lizhi felt somewhat relieved. Her brother was always like this, seemingly able to handle even the most serious matters with composure. She then whispered a few more details with Li Chengqian, and seeing that her brother seemed to understand, her tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Time slipped by unnoticed, and the sun began to set. Li Lizhi, estimating the time, rose to take her leave: "I should go back now; I still need to check on Si Zi." She bent down and gently ruffled Xiao Qingyi's hair. "Qingyi, be good, listen to your Crown Prince brother."

"Goodbye, pretty sister!" Xiao Qingyi said sweetly, clutching her package.

Li Lizhi turned with a smile and walked towards the door. Li Chengqian nodded slightly and followed her with his gaze.

Just then—

Perhaps it was the impending departure of Li Lizhi that stirred her emotions, or perhaps it was because she had been playing for most of the day and was feeling homesick, but as Xiao Qingyi watched Li Lizhi's retreating figure and glanced at the sky outside the window, she suddenly muttered softly, her voice filled with a childlike dependence and grievance: "Yiyi wants to go home too... I miss Daddy..."

The whisper was soft, yet it clearly reached Li Lizhi's ears as she reached the door and was about to turn back to say something more. She instinctively turned her head, a gentle smile still lingering on her lips.

However, in the instant she turned her head to look back!

The vibrant little figure, clutching a blue cloth bundle and dressed in bright yellow, vanished from the canvas of reality without warning, right before Li Lizhi's wide-eyed gaze, as if erased cleanly and without warning by an invisible eraser. There was no sound, no distortion of light or shadow, no process whatsoever; it simply vanished before her eyes.

Where there was no one, only a bare floorboard shining in the sunlight remained.

The smile on Li Lizhi's face froze instantly, turning into an incredulous blank. She abruptly raised her hand to cover her mouth, forcibly silencing the scream that almost escaped her lips. Her pupils constricted in extreme horror, her body stiffened, and even her breath stopped. She looked at the empty space, then abruptly turned to her brother, her eyes filled with a tidal wave of questioning and fear.

A helpless, bitter smile flickered across Li Chengqian's face. This little troublemaker—he'd been warned countless times not to "disappear" so easily, and now, at this most critical juncture…

Li Lizhi's fingers trembled slightly as she slowly lowered them from her lips. She opened her mouth, her voice dry and tight, trembling uncontrollably:

"Big...Big Brother? Yiyi...she..."

She saw it. Really, not a hallucination. A living child, right before her eyes, vanished in an instant.

Li Chengqian took a deep, extremely slow breath. When he opened his eyes again, the turbulent emotions in them had been suppressed, leaving only a solemn expression. He knew that now, facing his most trusted sister who had witnessed this extraordinary scene, all concealment was meaningless and unnecessary.

He looked at Li Lizhi, who was pale-faced and still speechless with shock, and spoke in a low but clear voice:

"Lizhi, close the door..."