Chapter 69: A Grand Banquet at the Hu Family (Part 2)

As soon as the host finished speaking, many people were astonished. Some whispered, “Prince Qing has given away all his farmlands.”
“You’re too uninformed. Prince Qing owns far more than tens of millions—ten thousand mu is just a drop in the bucket for him.”
Yang Xian and Yang Qi expressed their deep gratitude. At that moment, An Lushan stepped forward with a smile, bowing and saying, “Your servant pays his respects to Your Highness.”
“Oh! It’s Marshal An. Long time no see. I heard your son was injured—how is he now?”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. He’s doing much better now.”
The two overweight men started chatting below the steps. “When two people share a common enemy, they often become friends or even allies.” This saying applied perfectly to An Lushan and Li Cong—they both shared a common enemy: Crown Prince Li Heng.
As for Li Cong, there was no need to explain further. An Lushan’s hatred toward Li Heng didn’t stem from any personal grudge but from a simple fact: it was Li Longji who forced his father to ascend the throne. Such a person would never tolerate the threat posed by the crown prince. An Lushan saw through the conflict between the emperor and the crown prince, so he was arrogant and rude toward the crown prince but spoke firmly to Li Longji, saying, “I only know Your Majesty; I know nothing about the crown prince.”
This was why An Lushan’s relationship with the crown prince had deteriorated so much. Now, encountering Li Cong, who still harbored feelings for the crown prince, the two became like Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi—their relationship quickly warmed up.
…
Li Qingan stepped forward quickly, bowing and saying, “I’ve come specially to congratulate the Third Lady on her birthday.”
He handed over an invitation. By tradition, after the host gave the invitation, the guest would write down the details of the gift on the blank space behind it and return the invitation when leaving. The host would then read it aloud to express gratitude.
But this was Li Qingan’s first time attending such a Tang Dynasty banquet, so he didn’t know this custom. He had given a gift but hadn’t written down its details on the invitation.
The host glanced at it and saw no mention of the gift. Frowning, he asked Yang Qi in a low voice, “Sir, there’s no mention of the gift here. How should I read it?”
Yang Qi was also at a loss. It seemed awkward to ask what gift had been given. Yet he recognized that this invitation was one of the twenty-five personal invitations sent by his younger sister, with her signature on it. But Li Qingan was just a minor general—why would his sister send him a personal invitation?
“There’s no need to mention the gift. Just state your name,” he said.
The host cleared his throat and announced loudly, “Li Qingan, Middle General of Anxi, congratulates the Third Lady on her birthday.”

The people around immediately started gossiping. How could Li Qing’an not know the rules? He came unprepared at all.
King Qing, Li Cong, frowned and asked those around him, “Who is this?”
An Lushan quickly whispered, “This is Li Qing’an from Anxi. He was promoted to Lieutenant General this time. With a little achievement, he becomes arrogant and opportunistic.”
Li Qing’an also heard the murmurs and quickly took out a gift list, saying, “This is the gift list. The items were delivered at noon.”
Yang Qi took it and saw that it listed “a set of the four treasures of the study and a jade hairpin.”
He couldn’t help but smile and laugh, saying, “General Li, you’re too kind. Please come in.”
Just then, someone in the distance called out, “Seventh Brother! Wait a moment.”
Nearly a hundred guards escorted a large carriage over. Two attendants helped Gao Lishi out, and everyone gasped in surprise as they stepped forward to greet him, “Grandpa Gao has arrived!”
An Lushan and King Qing, Li Cong, also rushed forward to greet him, smiling obsequiously, “Sending our regards to Grandpa!”
Yang Xian and Yang Qi also stepped forward with smiles, “Your presence truly brings honor to our humble home!”
Gao Lishi nodded at An Lushan and Li Cong with a smile, then walked up to Li Qing’an, squinting and saying, “Seventh Brother, I sent someone to your place. I wanted to come with you, but it seems you arrived first.”
Li Qing’an apologized, “Grandpa Gao, I’m truly sorry. I went to the Western Market to buy birthday gifts today and didn’t return to my place. I came straight here.”
“Hehe! What gifts did you give?”
Yang Qi quickly handed Gao Lishi Li Qing’an’s gift list. After taking a look, Gao Lishi laughed and said, “Seventh Brother, this kind of gift isn’t enough!”
As the two chatted casually, King Qing, Li Cong, was astonished. Who exactly was this Li Qing’an to win Gao Lishi’s favor?
Gao Lishi returned the gift list to Yang Qi and said with a smile, “Magistrate Yang, General Li is a hero who made great contributions in the Battle of Xiaobolü. Having been in Anxi for so long, he isn’t very familiar with the ways of the Central Plains. So, let me add another thousand strings of coins as a gift for Lady San’s birthday.”
“Grandpa Gao, thank you very much.” Li Qing’an felt moved by Gao Lishi’s thoughtfulness.
Just then, An Lushan suddenly interjected with a smile, “How can we let Grandpa spend money? I’ll cover this cost. I’ve always felt guilty toward General Li. This is a good chance for me to atone. Grandpa, would you give this young man a chance?”
“Since that’s the case, I won’t take it away from him.”
Gao Lishi smiled faintly. He patted Li Qing’an’s shoulder and said, “Seventh Brother, you should get to know more of the high-ranking officials in our Tang Dynasty.”
……

The group entered the gate together, crossed a vast square, and arrived at the main hall. From here, they separated to rest. Gao Lishi smiled at Li Qing’an and said, “Qilang, would you like to rest with me for a while?”
Seeing An Lushan and Prince Qing Li Cong following beside him, Li Qing’an bowed and said with a smile, “Please go ahead, Master Gao. I’d like to take a walk around.”
“Very well, then go ahead!”
Gao Lishi smiled and turned to Li Cong, saying, “Your Highness, I heard your son plans to marry the eldest daughter of the Changsun family. Congratulations.”
“Please forgive me, Master. My wild horse has long needed to be tamed.”
“Master, I’ve prepared a proposal regarding farmland cultivation in Fanyang. Could you please take a look at it?” An Lushan took the opportunity to say.
“I’ll go check it out tomorrow! Today, let’s talk about pleasure, not official matters. Haha!”
The three of them walked into the guest room to rest, chatting and laughing.
…
Li Qing’an visited Yang Huahua’s new residence with great interest. It used to be Princess Taiping’s home, covering hundreds of acres with numerous halls, resembling a small palace. Although Princess Taiping had been dead for decades, her presence could still be felt everywhere in the house. The exotic flowers and plants she had planted had grown into tall bushes, and despite the cold winter, there was still plenty of greenery.
The best part was the hot spring in the backyard, which steamed in the cold winter. The male guests couldn’t see the spring but could see steam rising above it through the wall, along with the sounds of young women playing.
After exploring around, Li Qing’an came to a small bridge. Due to the hot spring, the river beneath the bridge hadn’t frozen, with clear water flowing and a faint scent of perfume in the air.
In the distance, a young girl stood on the bridge, gazing thoughtfully at the water’s surface. She was dressed in a green silk dress, looking especially graceful and full-figured.
“Dugu Mingyue!”
…