Volume One, Chapter 2: The Genius Daughter

The sound sent a shiver through Li Xian.

He looked at the daughter beside him and said with a smile, “Well then, how about I call you Yiyi from now on?”

“Okay! Daddy, let’s go back home, shall we? It’s too cold outside. Mommy told me that on snowy days, I must never stay out too long, or I’ll catch a chill!”

The little girl smiled sweetly, showing little trace of sorrow at her mother’s departure.

Do not be deceived by the fact that Gong Xinyi was only five; her quickness of mind already surpassed that of many ten-year-olds.

During the past few years in the palace, Gong Xinyi had been the most intelligent child in the entire imperial court, and the old scholars of the palace had praised her endlessly.

It was a pity that the empress seemed to have discovered the relationship between herself and her daughter, leaving her no choice but to send the child away.

Soon, Li Xian led the little girl back into the courtyard. A young boy of about ten, who had been sweeping in the yard, hurried over and closed the gate behind them.

The moment the gate shut, two figures appeared outside once more.

It was the empress, Gong Yuyan, who had returned, together with her personal guard, Qing Wei.

“Your Majesty, we should be going,” Qing Wei reminded her softly.

They had already left just now, but the empress had still been uneasy and turned back.

Just in time, she had seen Li Xian leading her daughter into the house. The scene looked peaceful enough, and only then did the empress finally breathe easier.

She nodded and sighed. “Xinyi is gifted with exceptional intelligence. I only hope she will not be wasted here...”

Qing Wei smiled. “In truth, even a small place can hold great wisdom. A princess cannot always remain shut away in the palace; perhaps this experience will do her good. As for that man... though somewhat idle and easygoing, and possessing a bit of cleverness, his nature is not bad. Otherwise, Your Majesty would not have spared his life six years ago.”

At last, the empress let out a long sigh. After casting one more glance at the modest country dwelling ahead, she turned and left.

She could only hope everything would unfold as planned. In a while, once the affairs of court and the troubles at the border had been brought under control, she would be able to bring her daughter back successfully.

As for that rustic fellow, she would make some compensation to him then as well.

By then, Li Xian had already brought his daughter into the courtyard.

From the outside, the place looked desolate, but once inside, it opened up all at once. The space was modest, but neat overall. The windows were pasted over with oiled paper, decorated with charming patterns. By the door were scattered little curios, such as crossbows, wooden aircraft carriers, airplane models, and dragon-shaped figurines. Beside them, on sheets of xuan paper tossed carelessly across the table, lay all sorts of strange design sketches...

These were all things Li Xian had made in his spare time, and the ones displayed outside were basically rejects.

Gong Xinyi looked curiously at the little wooden toys outside. Just as she was about to run over and tinker with the crossbow, Li Xian stopped her, so she could only puff out her cheeks and look at him.

Li Xian coughed awkwardly, picked up the wooden aircraft carrier, and while handing it over said, “Yiyi, play with this for now. That thing just now is a little dangerous; it’s not something you should touch. Later, Daddy will make you some things girls like, like Hello Kitty.”

“What’s Hello Kitty, Daddy? What a strange name!” Gong Xinyi asked, blinking with eyes bright as obsidian.

“It’s a cat, wearing pink clothes, with a bow on its head,” Li Xian described simply.

“Daddy, that’s something three-year-olds like. I’m already five, and I’m different from them!” Gong Xinyi said with a proud little pout.

“...”

Li Xian looked at his daughter in surprise, unsure whether she was telling the truth.

Before long, the two had entered the warm room.

Li Xian studied the little girl with delight all over his face.

Seeing how lovable his daughter was, he could no longer restrain himself and quickly held her close, kissing her several times. The milky fragrance on her body filled him with a deep sense of contentment.

This was the bond of blood. He had never imagined that the wish unfulfilled before his rebirth would be realized in such a muddled way after rebirth. Truly, fate toyed with men.

Gong Xinyi struggled free at once, ran to a distance, made a face at him, and said in a childish voice, “Bad Daddy, your beard is all scratchy on purpose! You’re poking me!”

Li Xian laughed heartily. “Daddy’s giving you a gift. Just wait!”

With that, he walked to the cabinet, unlocked it, and took out a very exquisite pale blue glass pendant shaped like a crescent moon, then brought it over to his daughter.

“Wow! Is this a gemstone? It looks just like a crescent moon. It’s so beautiful!”

At that moment, she was already completely drawn to the glass pendant, feeling that it was far better than her mother’s luminous pearl.

Seeing that his daughter liked it, Li Xian finally relaxed. At last, there was something she liked.

Before his rebirth, he had not even had a partner, yet he had always dreamed of having a daughter.

Now that wish had finally come true.

If he could not make his daughter like him, then he would truly be a failure.

Glass ornaments like this were extremely cheap in his own era. If anyone gave one to a girl there, they would probably not even remain friends.

But in this age, things were entirely different.

In truth, Li Xian had simply been tinkering in his spare time, wanting to make glass. Unfortunately, the environment was too poor, and the raw materials were difficult to control, so it took him more than half a year of fits and starts before he finally produced a few decent pieces, among them this glass pendant.

Li Xian said with a smile, “Daddy will give you another little toy. Try playing with it.”

As he spoke, he brought over a finished wooden three-tiered magic cube and said, “Just match the same colors to the same side. I’ll show you how. If you sort it successfully, there’s a reward!”

This novel little toy left Gong Xinyi, who was used to all kinds of playthings, standing there in a daze. What kind of toy was this? It looked so magical!

After a while, Gong Xinyi looked again at the semi-automatic flush toilet before her, her gemlike eyes widening.

She had just watched her father pour half a bucket of water into it, and the filth in the “toilet” was carried away completely with the water, leaving the place clean again.

“Daddy, hurry and explain how this works to me. It’s amazing!”

Gong Xinyi blinked her large eyes. She had originally thought this place was small and poor, but the short time she had spent here had already left her dazzled.

Even the most exalted royal household in the world still relied on maids and eunuchs to deal with filth at fixed times and in fixed places. She had never even heard of anything that could flush away waste like this. As a child hailed in the palace by the scholars as a little prodigy, she could only feel that everything she had learned before was utterly insignificant before this knowledge.

Li Xian smiled and said proudly, “Yiyi, these are just little things here, nothing worth mentioning. Follow Daddy, and you’ll learn great wisdom!”

Yet while Li Xian was still speaking, Gong Xinyi had already run off in play, inspecting the oddly shaped home. Now and then she picked something up and examined it with great curiosity. Before long, she had actually managed to reassemble the three-tiered magic cube he had given her earlier on her own.

Gong Xinyi came back to Li Xian with the cube in hand and said proudly, “Daddy, I want my reward!”

Li Xian was stunned.

A five-year-old girl, without being taught the steps, had managed to solve a magic cube in less than half an hour?

One had to know that many adults, if they did not know the steps, would likely be completely baffled and unable to solve it, let alone a five-year-old girl from ancient times.

This was simply too outrageous.

Could his daughter be a genius?