The Prince of Travelers

Just go! Don't Bother Me

Li An sat alone in a quiet room. The room had three adult-high shelves filled with books and scrolls. In the center there is a round table made of wood. The smell of old wood smelled fragrant there. The image of a mighty dragon flying in the sky was engraved on it. The books and scrolls that Li An took lying around covered some of them.

“Hah …! Bored,” Li An put the book that he had only stared at earlier. He also pressed his cheek against the old table that had accompanied him. His index finger tapped on the surface of the wooden table without making a sound. His feelings are bad. He came here to comfort and calm down. However, he was unable to find that inner tranquility at all.

“For that sister. What say? Third Princess? Then he's my brother?” grumble Li An annoyed, “What did he come for? I don't have anything.”

After a while Li An was silent, he remembered his mother. The memories that appeared in Consort Ai's Residence when it came back greeted her. Li An did not reject him at all. He even allowed himself to drown in those beautiful, dark memories. Unknowingly, the little prince closed his eyes. His memory became clearer. Eve drowsiness little by little enveloped him. Before he actually fell asleep, he muttered a word, “Bunda.”

Li Huanran came to a halt upon hearing that. She stood on the spot while covering half of her face with her big dress sleeves. His narrow eyes scanned Li An closely. His wise wits sought ways not to disturb the boy's sleep, but to improve his sleeping position. It is not good to fall asleep while sitting with both hands on the table so. It will make his body tingling and sore when he wakes up later.

With grace and silence, Li Huanran stepped slowly to approach his sister. He knelt beside the boy and stroked his back gently. After a while there was no response, then Li Huanran confirmed Li An's sleeping position. The poor little prince's head rested on his lap.

Looking at the cute and adorable baby boy's face, Li Huanran smiled warmly and spontaneously stroked his sister's head gently. He had never felt this beautiful feeling while still living in the Eternal Happiness Palace. The luxurious mahligai was full of intrigue and political interests. Just a little bit of standing out without any supporting party would only be a disaster like what happened to Consort Ai and her son.

“Mother Ai, yes? It sounds so friendly,” muttered Li Huanran while continuing to stroke his sister's head. Occasionally he felt anxious and pinched slowly Li An's chubby cheeks. Li An would shake his head if he was disturbed. What an interesting entertainment. There was no harm in following the advice of Madam Lu this morning.

“Hm? Is this the book he used to read? I'm sure this is hard to understand even for my intelligent siblings. It's only fair that the Empress of the Palace is eager to cut you off before it blooms. You are a special lotus bud,” Li Huanran noticed the old book that Li An was about to read. The book contains historical records of previous dynasties in the form of verses. Most of them are written messages, but not a few are implied. “If the Emperor's father knew this, what would he do, huh?”

Li Huanran raised his little sister's head for a bit. He straightened his legs under the table, then put Li An back into his lap. Throw away a bored breath. While waiting for Li An to wake up, he read the books lying on the table.

Those books were books that Li An had and would read. Several picture scrolls also lay there, there was even an intricate map of the power of the previous dynasty. No less the records of scholars and war journals of the commanders. Li Huanran could only shake his head when he saw her. She doubted her little brother could understand all that.

“Please enjoy, Princess. This is an herbal tea with honey,” Grandpa Ma came to serve a cup of tea complete with his teapot and some sweet snacks, “Pardon me. This is all I have.”

“What, it was enough to keep me company,” Li Huanran reviewed her beautiful smile without looking at the old man. He focused more on the last book his sister read. Before Grandpa Ma left, the girl asked, “Librarian Ma, has the Eighth Prince read all these books?”

Grandpa Ma came to a halt and frowned. The white eyebrows above his narrowed eyes lifted slightly. Today, he was greatly shocked by the visit of the Third Princess. In fact, usually only the Eighth Prince came. After paying close attention, Grandpa Ma realized that the Third Princess had come for her sister who looked depressed. This was a sight the old man rarely saw.

“He has read some of it. The archives placed under the dragon's feet are the archives he has read, while those still placed on the dragon's shoulders are the archives he will read,” clear Grandpa Ma complex. He had very much memorized Li An's habits. The boy won't put his book back on the shelf until he completes all his targets. If he has devoured everything, then he will look for other books.

“Really? Those hard books?” Li Huanran still could not believe it.

Grandpa Ma nodded politely, then explained, “Eighth Prince always asks whenever he encounters things he does not understand. When told, he quickly understood it.”

“How is the Eighth Prince according to Librarian Ma?” Li Huanran tried to dig deeper information about his sister. The more he got, the more detailed his estimation of the boy's future became.

“Eighth Prince is very polite and virtuous,” replied Grandpa Ma honestly. His heart was a little worried. He began to doubt the motive of the visit of the Third Princess. As if he knew what the girl was looking for, Grandpa Ma said, “He was eager to become a scholar and distance himself from the throne. Therefore, he always plays here every time.”

Li Huanran let Grandpa Ma go after answering a few more questions. He then read the verse again from the history books of previous dynasties. The girl lived so much that she unconsciously stopped stroking Li An's head. Shortly thereafter, his fingers were held in the tiny hands of the little prince as if asked to re-shake.

The Third Princess spontaneously covered half of her face as usual. He was a little surprised by the tiny grip. He saw a hue on Li An's face that looked deteriorating. He also stroked his sister's head again while chanting a piece of family affection.

Her voice is soft and sweet. The rhythm flows smoothly. There is a sadness there. The lyrics contain a deep meaning of longing for a mother whose child left behind to go far to gain knowledge. A sense of heaviness, anxiety, and happiness mixed in one song.

A mother …

Time after time through it. Since the new spirit was contained in her womb, her love was embedded instantly. When the first cry of the tiny baby was heard in his earlobe, happiness flowed in his chest. He loved ananda, kissed her, and frothed her. Time after time passes. Her cute and cute baby was also rannum, growing charming and beautiful like a butterfly growing up.

A mother …

When he drove the departure of the baby who was good at talking, on his shady face only a sincere smile, even though the bottom was crying sobbing. His mind was agitated, unable to leave Ananda struggling alone. A cry broke out in his solitude, longing for the beloved son.

A mother …

His love is sincere. Although a thousand months wait, his love will not be extinguished for his beloved baby. Season by season. Even if Ananda never returns, in heaven the place will be eternal.

“Where did you learn that verse from?” li An asked suddenly. His voice sounded cold and stifled. His face was facing the floor against Li Huanran. Tears welled up in his veins. He was also embarrassed to show his sad figure.

“From Aunt Hien, your birth mother. Beautiful right?” li Huanran replied with a fluffy smile. He knew that his brother was crying. His hands continued to stroke Li An's head so that the boy knew he was not alone.

“You know?” Li Huanran then said, “Your mother is a gentle and shy woman. Very similar to you. I used to visit him a lot. He was always with Aunt Ai. Therefore, he entrusted you to him. Your mother loves you as much as Auntie Ai loves you. Me too ...”

“True once!” Li Huanran rattled Li An's hair in anxiety. The girl hugged her sister affectionately. He even kissed the boy for a long time. I don't know why Li An didn't refuse even though he didn't like it. It felt as if he was immune to this kind of action from his relatives.

“Kakak why come here?” li An asked flatly. He was still trapped in his half-brother's arms. However, he had absolutely no intention of breaking away. His tiny hands were just stirring up the herbal tea that had just been brewed.

“Not told you, call me ayunda. Come call me right,” pinta Li Huanran half whining, “Later, I give you a special gift.”

“No!” reject Li An firmly. He also threw away the face of the mark. Li Huanran so pinched his cheek out of anxiety. His nature was very similar to Li Mei who could not hold her fingers to pinch Li An's chubby cheeks. Li An could only resign and was astonished to see that.

“Enough!” Li An got up from her brother's lap and ran quickly outside. He does not want to suffer any longer. So, he hid under Grandpa Ma's desk so as not to be followed. The old scholar was so agitated by it.

“Ah! I made another mistake,” muttered Li Huanran while covering half of his face as usual. He took a breath and got up to catch up with Li An. When he was about to exit the door, he saw Grandpa Ma looked nervous and strange. But he doesn't care. To him, catching up with Li An was more important now. He said goodbye, “I go first, Librarian Ma. Thanks for the herbal tea.”

“Grandfather, Grandpa,” call Li An down, “Has he gone?”

“Already, Prince. However, what exactly happened?” asked Grandpa Ma curiously. He was very surprised to see the appearance of the Eighth Rooster's face that looked lame. Since Li An did not answer him at all and just returned to his room, the old man did not question him anymore.

Li Huanran searched Li An for the whole place in Prince Zhizhe's Palace with uneasy feelings. He was assisted by his ladies-in-waiting to find the Eighth Prince. Madam Lu and Madam Chu even deployed her ladies as well after hearing that Li An had disappeared. Li Fengying's children became excited about it. That day, a small commotion broke out in Prince Zhizhe's Palace. Li Fengying as the ruler of the palace was only able to fling around with a smile of admiration.

“An’er …! An’er ..!” li Mei shouted wherever she stepped. His voice was loud and loud. In addition to fearing anything happened to Li An, he also felt annoyed with Li Huanran because it was the girl who put Li An in danger.

The voices of the call echoed throughout the Prince Zhizhe's Palace. The maids and and some of the soldiers' units were screaming for the Eighth Prince. So noisy they were, Li An was annoyed to hear it. However, he still did not want to come out of his room in the small Archive Pagoda. Let them be tired by themselves,

“Librarian Ma! Does An’er not come back here?” Li Huanran came until he made the old man waver. The breath of the girl is dull. It was obvious he was looking for Li An seriously. At that time, the clouds began to redden, a sign that the sun would soon return to its contest.

“Please Mr. Princess check in,” Grandpa Ma is kindly helping Li Huanran.

Li An immediately hid after hearing that. He went under the low round table until it felt impossible to enter. However, Li An's small body still fit there. While desperately holding back the air of his existence, the boy accused Grandpa Ma of being a traitor.

“An’er .. An’er ...,” call Li Huanran gently. His eyes swept across the room. She asked her ladies to check in the other room and upstairs. His voice sounded very agitated, but Li An did not care at all, “An’er ... Where are you? An’er.”

Li An shut his mouth tightly. From under the round table, he saw the end of Li Huanran's dress. The white dress that dangled until it was dragged on the ground became very dirty because it was taken everywhere all day.

After a while, Li Huanran left. The sound of his hasty footsteps quickly moved away. Just as Li An was about to come out of his hiding place, another sound of footsteps rang out.

His voice was very noisy and hunting. The longer the closer the sign that the owner of the move was heading towards Li An. Li An immediately abandoned her intention to leave. Not ready he dispelled the air of his existence, a loud call was heard, “Kakak An! I found you!”

Duok …!

Li An's head hit the table in shock. His eyes glared at the face of Li Chen who was peeking. Because he felt the situation was not safe, he also told the youngest to duck and immediately dragged him into the undercarriage.

“Ssst ... silence!” whispered Li An seriously. Li Chen nodded. He felt he had joined a hide and seek game that was not really a game. Her cute face restrained the laughter, imagining how stupid the adults out there could not find Li An here. Li An immediately told him to shut up again.

“Prince An, Prince Chen, it's afternoon. You two better finish this game. Lookie! The princesses and ladies have given up. You are the one who won,” said Grandpa Ma who also thought that the people in Prince Zhizheel's Palace were playing large-scale hide and seek. Hearing that, Li Chen immediately came out. He also exclaimed, “Kakak An, Brother An, let's go. We have won.”

“Hah ...,” Li An took a deep breath. He then obeyed Grandpa Ma's persuasion and came out from under the table. The boy sat down and shook his head while cleaning his hair. When he finished, Li Huanran suddenly hugged him. It turned out that the girl had yet to leave the Little Archive Pagoda.

“An’er, you are okay right? You still angry with me? My sister was just kidding. Sorry brother, yes,” said Li Huanran bertubi. The girl's eyes were puffy. His cheeks were reddened from being too anxious. He sobbed and cried while hugging Li An. Li An became confused and confused as to what was happening.

The problem was resolved quickly. The people who came looking for Li An were told to rest immediately. Princess Huanran and Prince Zhizhe's children returned to the central pavilion. Just before entering the house, Li Roulan who was irritated by Li An's actions sneered, “The evil basis. An’er made Brother Huanran cry. You should be ashamed.”

“Why do you blame me? I didn't do anything!” li An's reply did not accept.

“You are evil, An’er,” somehow Li Mei supports Li Roulan, whereas usually they are always at odds, “You make us all worried. Hmph!”

“Hah?” reply Li An did not understand. He still did not feel guilty in the slightest. After all, he did nothing. Make what care? Nor did he tell them to worry. The boy was silent after that.

“Basic insensitive!” scorned Li Roulan who then left in annoyance.