My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 55 Destiny?

It was already quite late.

However, neither Li Yuan nor Li Jiancheng rested. The two of them stayed in the study to continue discussing important matters, while also waiting for those troublemakers to return.

Li Yuan gave many instructions, and finally added, "Just keep this in your heart, and don't tell anyone, cough cough, not even your mother."

“Your mother is always very cautious. Every time I mention that fortune teller, she scolds and advises me.”

They waited for a long time before they finally heard footsteps outside.

Manager Liu strode into the study, bowed to Li Yuan, and then gestured to the people behind him to bring those guys in.

A moment later, the second, third, and fourth brothers, along with a bewildered Li Fengci, a total of four people, were led into the house by the warriors.

"It wasn't me, eldest brother! It was all fourth brother!"

Before even entering the door, Li Er started yelling in his loud voice, but after saying just one sentence, he saw his elderly father sitting in the seat of honor.

The second brother was stunned, swallowing back all the rest of his words.

Several people walked in and all saw Li Yuan.

"Grandma!"

Li Xuanba's eyes lit up, and he shouted happily as he rushed towards his elderly father.

Li Yuan, who had been keeping a stern face, couldn't help but smile when he saw his son rushing over, and he pulled his son into his arms.

"Grandpa, you're finally back."

Li Yuan looked his son over and asked, "They said you fell off your horse. How are you? Are you still in pain?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, Grandpa! I'm not coughing anymore! I've even started practicing martial arts again, look at me!"

Li Xuanba was very happy and quickly rolled up his sleeves to show off his small arms.

"Wow! He really has been practicing martial arts! His arms are several sizes bigger than before! Great! My son will be a magnificent general in the future!"

Li Shimin cleared his throat and mustered his courage, "Father."

Li Yuan's smile froze instantly. He looked at the other three kneeling men in front of him, then glanced at the smug Li Jiancheng beside him, and said, "You get over there and kneel down too."

"what?"

Didn't you just praise me?

Li Jiancheng dared not refute, stood up, walked to Li Shimin's side, and knelt before his father.

"You bunch of brats!"

"I've only been gone a few days, and they've all caused me so much trouble!"

"Second brother, did you instigate your younger brother to form a local militia? Did you instigate your younger brother to fight with others?"

"I"

The second son dared not deny it in front of his father; he simply lowered his head and said, "I know I was wrong, and I will never do it again."

"And you, you're the eldest in the family, and you don't care about these things happening? Can't you even control your younger brother?"

"I know I was wrong!"

Li Yuan then looked at the fourth son, "At such a young age, you spend all your time fooling around with your second brother! You don't study, and you haven't even mastered martial arts!"

The fourth brother lowered his head pitifully.

Li Yuan finally looked at Li Fengci, who was still in a daze. He was playing games at home when he was suddenly dragged out by Steward Liu and his men and headed towards the city without saying a word. He had no idea about the local militia or the fighting.

"Uncle, I don't know anything."

"You're older than the second son and are in charge of looking after the farm, why didn't you know? What were you doing all this time?"

Li Yuan grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his curses became increasingly vicious.

The four men were thoroughly berated, but Li Xuanba remained standing beside Li Yuan, completely unharmed.

The brothers were already used to this scene.

The third child seems to have never been punished. Not only his parents, but even his eldest brother couldn't bear to punish him.

Hearing Li Yuan's fierce scolding, Li Shimin felt much more at ease. He wasn't afraid of Li Yuan's scolding; the harsher the scolding, the less likely he was to be beaten. On the contrary, if Li Yuan stopped scolding him and just stared at him, he was probably going to get beaten.

As expected, Li Yuan only reprimanded them and didn't lay a hand on them. After the reprimand, Li Yuan smiled and said, "Come closer, all of you!"

The children then smiled and rushed forward to greet them affectionately.

Actually, the children were more afraid of their mother than Li Yuan. Li Yuan would usually just scold them and wouldn't lay a hand on them unless they committed a serious crime. On the contrary, their mother would lay a hand on them without hesitation and beat them until they cried out. Even Li Jiancheng was no exception.

Li Yuan would sometimes pat his second son's head, and sometimes rub his beard against his fourth son's face.

It's clear that he still really likes his kids.

Li Yuan also brought them gifts.

Everyone except the eldest gets a copy.

The second son's gift was a sword, which looked exceptionally exquisite and was made with first-class craftsmanship. The third son's gift was a yellowed ancient book, which looked quite precious. It was unknown where Li Yuan had obtained it. The fourth son's gift was a wooden mask, which Li Fengci also had. Li Yuan also gave him a set of gorgeous clothes.

These gifts varied in price, but they were all the children's favorites.

They were overjoyed.

After distributing the gifts, Li Yuan stroked his long beard and said, "Alright, it's getting late, everyone go back and rest."

The children stood up one by one, bowed, and took their leave.

Li Xuanba stood still, not moving, as he still had things to discuss with his father.

After Li Jiancheng left, Li Yuan looked at his third son with a smile.

"What, you don't like the gift I gave you?"

"No, I like it very much."

"So, I'll sleep with you?"

"No, Grandpa, I have something to tell you."

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw his son's serious expression. The small body, the tender face, and the serious expression were just funny. But he still gestured for his son to sit opposite him, intending to have a serious talk with him.

"Well, tell me."

"Grandpa, could you please not dismiss my local militia? I want to keep them."

"Now that I'm back, I'm going to deal with the local thieves. You know I have local militia in my county, right? They're much stronger than yours! With them on the job, these thieves are nothing to worry about, and there's no need to keep your local militia around."

"Besides, at your age, how could you possibly command an army in battle?"

Li Yuan still couldn't bear to point out his son's weakness, so he changed his words and said, "I have always hoped that my family could produce a great scholar who can study the classics. These dogs in the east have always said that we are ignorant of etiquette and that we are rude and barbaric. I am waiting for you to study well and persuade these people to let them know whether my family is truly polite or not."

"I'll handle the war."

“Grandpa, I know your soldiers are very strong, but their numbers are not many. Xingyang is a large prefecture, and I have seen what kind of people the local militia are. They are more ruthless than thieves and are not trustworthy. I can help you with your work.”

"Besides, I've been practicing martial arts these past few days, and since my brother gave me the jade pendant, I haven't coughed for many days. I feel completely recovered! I can now run very far in armor, and I can train every day. The first day I feel very tired, but after a good night's sleep, I feel fine again. My brother says I have the potential to be an invincible warrior."

Manager Liu had already told Li Yuan about the jade pendant, but Li Yuan didn't say anything.

However, upon hearing Li Xuanba's words, Li Yuan felt inexplicably surprised.

He knew about his son's condition; it had been like this since birth. He had sought treatment from countless famous doctors, but none of them could help. Whenever the child exercised, he would cough violently, and he would easily get a fever when exposed to wind. He had survived only thanks to medication.

Li Yuan was a person who believed in prophecy and was convinced of the so-called destiny, ghosts and gods.

Upon hearing Li Xuanba's words, Li Yuan hurriedly ordered Steward Liu to summon Physician Wang.

Doctor Wang had already fallen asleep, but was woken up and rushed over. He thought Li Yuan had drunk too much and had a headache, so he brought some hangover remedies. But as soon as he entered, Li Yuan grabbed his hand and asked, "How is my son?"

When Li Yuan returned, Physician Wang came to see him, but there was no time to talk about Li Xuanba.

At this moment, Physician Wang said happily, "Your Highness, the Third Young Master's condition has greatly improved. I have been taking his pulse for several days in a row, and his qi and blood are becoming more abundant and stronger. The Third Young Master has not taken any medicine for the past two days, but there have been no abnormalities."

Li Yuan was greatly surprised, "Is that really so??"

When Manager Liu told him that Li Xuanba's health had improved, he just thought it was his old brother comforting him, after all, he had heard such words many times before. But he didn't expect that this time it would actually be true!

Doctor Wang nodded, "If that's true, I also find it surprising. It must be because the Duke is benevolent and virtuous, blessed with great fortune, and protected by the gods, hence this."

Li Yuan looked at his third son with suspicion and clenched his fist again.

Could this be an omen?
(End of this chapter)