Chapter 113: After Hardship Comes Happiness

“Yes.”

When Lie Chang’an spoke of his grandmother, a faint light sparkled in his dark starry eyes.

A gentle smile like spring breeze curved his lips. “When I was young, I was the only one to receive the teacher’s praise, and grandmother would prepare a steaming bowl of fragrant noodles just for me. Even now, whenever I go away on official business for a few days, grandmother still makes a bowl of noodles, waiting for me to come back and eat.”

“That must be delicious.”

Seeing the rare smile on his face, Guli felt happy too. “When your injury heals, could you take me to the Lie Mansion to eat?”

Lie Chang’an was momentarily stunned.

“What’s wrong?”

Guli noticed his hesitation and asked softly, a touch of sadness in her voice, “Does your grandmother not want to make noodles for me? Or do you not want me to go to the Lie Mansion?”

“No,” Lie Chang’an replied with a smile. “Grandmother would be more than happy to prepare noodles for the princess. It’s just… would the princess really come to the Lie Mansion?”

The thought of her setting foot in his humble, ordinary home was something he had never dared to dream of, even if it was just for a bowl of grandmother’s noodles.

Someone of her noble bloodline seemed far too grand for a place like his.

Yet, he had secretly longed to share even a small, unique memory with her.

“Of course,” Guli smiled brightly, filled with anticipation and joy. “Not only that, when I leave the palace, you’ll have to show me around your mansion properly.”

“Alright.”

Lie Chang’an wasn’t sure if she was just caught up in the moment, but hearing those words, he couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope stir within him.

---

Their meal was exceedingly pleasant, filled with chatter and laughter. Lie Chang’an ate two full bowls, while Guli ate a small one.

Near the end of the meal, Guli blinked and asked, “What do you usually do when you’re idle in the mansion?”

Lie Chang’an thought for a moment and answered honestly, “I practice boxing, swordplay, and read military books.”

Boxing?

Swordplay?

None of that seemed fitting for his current condition.

Without hesitation, Guli dismissed the first two, leaving only reading military books.

Reading military books was fine.

She said no more. After Xiao Qiu cleared the table and left, Xiao Yan came in carrying the decoction of medicine.

Lie Chang’an sat on the bed and immediately frowned at the bitter scent wafting toward him.

Guli took the bowl of medicine from Xiao Yan’s hands and, as usual, picked up a spoon to feed Lie Chang’an.

Quickly, he snatched it back. “Princess, I can drink it myself.”

Though his hands were still injured, he still had enough strength to eat and take medicine on his own.

“Alright then, drink it yourself.”

Guli didn’t insist and nodded.

But Lie Chang’an held the bowl motionless in midair, frozen.

Guli bit her lip, trying not to laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of medicine because it tastes bitter?”

---

Lie Chang’an’s face stiffened slightly, silent.

Guli burst out laughing, shaking with mirth. “Ha ha ha! The fearless General Chang’an, unafraid of heaven, earth, or even death, is actually afraid of taking medicine! Afraid of bitterness! Ha ha ha…”

At last, Guli understood why he looked every bit as if he were facing an enemy whenever it was time to take medicine, and why he was so reluctant to eat—he dreaded the medicine after meals.

Lie Chang’an’s handsome face flushed a deep reddish-purple, utterly defeated. He closed his eyes, trying to gulp down the medicine in one go. Yet, the thought of the strong bitterness made his face sour and courage vanish.

Guli laughed until tears welled up. She had planned to tease him a little more but seeing his troubled and distressed expression, she refrained and quickly instructed Xiao Yan to bring some preserved fruit.

“Here, take this. After drinking the medicine, eat the preserved fruit, and the bitterness will disappear.”

Lie Chang’an glanced at the preserved fruit offered to him and finally realized the sweet taste lingering in his mouth when he first awoke was from preserved fruit.

Bitter medicine is good for curing illness; bitterness must give way to sweetness. That is the natural order.

With that thought, Lie Chang’an tilted his head back and braced himself to gulp down the medicine in one gulp. Immediately after, his brows furrowed tightly from the bitterness, and he hastily took the preserved fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.

He chewed a few times but felt the sweetness was different from the faint floral sweetness he had tasted that day.

That sweetness was delicate, like wisps of floral fragrance, whereas this sweetness was purely the taste of preserved dates, incomparable.

Could there be floral-flavored preserved dates after all?