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

Chapter 12 A Sweet Burden

Little Qingyi looked up with her innocent cat-like eyes, trying hard to think about her father's question.

Features?

She racked her brains, trying to recall the appearance of the "uncle" and the "ancestor".

"That big uncle... he has two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and... two ears!" She counted on her fingers, feeling that she had described him in great detail.

"Our ancestor also had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and two ears!"

Li Qi: "..."

He rubbed his temples, feeling helpless that he had actually harbored a sliver of expectation. What difference did it make whether he said it or not?

"The first uncle I met, he had two more..."

Seeing that his daughter was about to continue this "everyone has" organ inventory survey, Li Qi quickly interrupted, "Okay, okay, Dad knows."

After all, no useful information can be extracted from these "clues".

"Daddy," Xiao Qingyi immediately seized the opportunity, her little face scrunched up into a pitiful bun, her little hands rubbing her rumbling tummy, "You've asked all the questions you wanted to ask, can I drink milk now? My tummy is so hungry, I feel like I'm about to get hungry again!"

Just as she was immersed in feelings of hunger and distress, Xiaoling happened to walk over with a warmed milk bottle. "Miss, your milk."

Xiao Qingyi's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had seen a savior. She eagerly took the bottle and took a big, satisfying sip.

Ah—finally, I can drink the familiar and sweet milk tea!

"I heard my dear granddaughter has been found? Where is she? Let Grandpa see her!" A loud and urgent voice came from the entrance hall.

Grandpa Li strode briskly into the living room, showing no signs of being over seventy. He immediately spotted his little granddaughter nestled in his son's arms, happily drinking from her bottle, and tenderly went over to her.

"Oh dear, Grandpa's sweetheart! Where have you been all this time? I was so worried about you! Look at your face, it's gotten so thin from hunger!"

Li Qi glanced silently at his daughter's chin, which trembled like waves as she drank milk, and chose to remain silent.

Yes, there's a kind of thinness that only your grandpa thinks you've lost weight.

Upon seeing her grandfather, Xiao Qingyi's eyes immediately crinkled into crescent moons, and her lips curved upwards, revealing a few small white teeth. Her smile was so sweet it could melt honey: "Grandpa~"

That soft, sweet voice instantly melted Old Master Li's heart. "Oh! My dear granddaughter, how can she be so adorable? She'll definitely grow up to be a little fairy!"

"Grandpa, have some milk!" Xiao Qingyi generously handed over the bottle.

"Grandpa won't drink it. This is for my good granddaughter. Grandpa won't take it." Old Master Li smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared.

"Okay!" Upon receiving the affirmative reply, Xiao Qingyi immediately took back the bottle and continued to enjoy her milk with satisfaction.

Looking at his adorable granddaughter, Grandpa Li felt a surge of warmth in his heart, but he still had to ask the questions he needed to: "My dear granddaughter, tell Grandpa, who took you away? When Grandpa heard you were missing, he was so worried he couldn't eat, fearing my precious girl had encountered bad people. Luckily, you're alright..."

Seeing the genuine fear and worry on her grandfather's face, a small sense of guilt welled up in Xiao Qingyi's heart. "Grandpa, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have run off like that."

"Oh dear, my little darling, it's not your fault." Grandpa Li sat down on the sofa next to him, his eyes full of affection. "Then tell Grandpa, why did our little princess 'run away from home'?"

Xiao Qingyi looked at her loving grandfather, then stole a glance at her father beside her, and whispered, "I...I don't want to lose weight, and I don't want to run..."

Upon hearing this, Old Master Li became furious and immediately turned his anger towards Li Qi, slapping him lightly on the arm.

Li Qi: "..."

"Look at you! It's all your fault as a father! If you hadn't forced my precious granddaughter to lose weight, would she have run away in fear?" The old man glared, putting on a great show.

Li Qi was speechless: "Dad, the doctor said she's overweight and needs to control her diet and exercise more. I'm doing this for her health. The child is so naive, how could you..."

"You dare talk back!" Old Master Li stomped his cane on the floor in anger, blowing his beard and glaring.

He understood these principles perfectly well, but looking at his little granddaughter's pitiful eyes, he couldn't bring himself to be hard-hearted. Anyway, with his son as the "strict father," he, the "kind grandfather," was happy to put on a show, which would also earn him points in his granddaughter's eyes.

After giving his son a few perfunctory "reprimands," Grandpa Li turned to Xiao Qingyi triumphantly and said, "My dear granddaughter, look, Grandpa stood up for you! Next time Daddy 'bullies' you, just come to Grandpa, and Grandpa will beat him up for you!"

Little Qingyi looked at her father's seemingly "wronged" (but actually expressionless) face, then at her grandfather, her eyes immediately filled with admiration: "Wow~ Grandpa is so awesome!"

Grandpa Li coughed twice, feigning surprise, and accepted his granddaughter's admiration without batting an eye: "That's right! Your grandpa was very capable back in the day. Dealing with your father was a piece of cake!"

"Grandpa is the most amazing person I've ever seen!" Little Qingyi jumped into her grandpa's arms, rubbing her little head against him.

Grandpa Li was overjoyed by her coaxing. Looking at the soft little dumpling in his arms, he suddenly felt like lifting her up high, just like he had done when she was a child.

He cupped Xiao Qingyi's armpits with both hands, focused his energy in his lower abdomen, and lifted her up forcefully—

"Snap!"

A soft, teeth-grinding sound.

The next second, Old Master Li cried out "Ouch!" and, stiffening his body, slowly and painfully collapsed onto the sofa.

Xiao Qingyi:? ? ?

What?

Although she didn't understand what had happened, seeing her grandfather lying on the sofa groaning, Xiao Qingyi immediately went over worriedly: "Grandpa, where does it hurt? Let me pat it on for you!"

To maintain his grandfather's dignity, Old Master Li forced a smile despite the dull pain in his lower back: "Grandpa...it's...it's nothing..."

Li Qi, watching from the side, was both annoyed and amused. He quickly stepped forward and picked up his daughter, saying, "Dad! Why are you carrying her? She's as heavy as a little weight. Her mother's arms shake after carrying her for a few minutes. Can your old back compare to a young person's? What are you trying to prove?"

As he berated him, he expertly gave instructions: "Butler! Quickly call the family doctor! Be careful, help the old man onto the stretcher, and be careful not to bump his back!"

"Grandpa!" Little Qingyi, held in her father's arms, watched longingly as the servants carefully surrounded her grandfather.

Grandpa Li lay on the stretcher, still managing to wink at his granddaughter, trying to keep his tone relaxed: "Don't be afraid, my dear granddaughter... Grandpa's fine, I'll rest for a bit and then... I'll come down and play with you..."

Before she could finish speaking, the servants carefully carried her out of the living room and took her to the bedroom.

Little Qingyi hugged her father's neck, gazing in the direction her grandfather had left, her little face filled with confusion and worry. Li Qi sighed, gently patting his daughter's back. This commotion caused by "weight loss" had finally come to a temporary end with the old man straining his back. However, the mysterious "ancestor" and "big uncle" mentioned by his daughter still hung over his heart like a dark cloud.