Chapter 7: The Golden Age (7)

Gao Xiuyan’s body jolted suddenly, and he instinctively stepped back.
The corners of his mouth twitched for a moment before he sneered, “So, Lieutenant Li doesn’t intend to give me a chance?”
Li Kuo met Gao Xiuyan’s gaze fearlessly and said slowly, “Some grudges can’t be resolved with just an apology. I think General Gao understands this better than I do.”
Annoyed, Gao Xiuyan laughed bitterly. “Good, good! You’ve got guts—truly worthy of being Li Shizhi’s son. Let’s go!”
With that, he led the way out of the room.
“General Gao, are you just going to let them go? With just one order from you, my men…”
The bodyguard, with his thick facial muscles, clearly resented this and reached for the sword at his waist.
That fool dared to reject General Gao’s kindness—clearly too impatient to live! With just one order from General Gao, he could be torn to pieces.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Gao Xiuyan’s dark gaze fell on the bodyguard, who panicked and hurriedly replied, “I heard it, I heard it!”
“I hope Lieutenant Li will remember what he said today. Don’t say later that I didn’t give you a chance!”
Gao Xiuyan glanced at Li Kuo once more before walking away.
“Hmph, let’s go!”
The bodyguard glared at Li Kuo before following his commander out of Yicui Tower.
“Phew!”
Once Gao Xiuyan and his group disappeared from the young people’s sight, Du Jingtian let out a sigh of relief.
“Those guys are pretty fierce.”
The young woman forced a smile despite her pale face, taking a sip of fruit wine to suppress her fear.
“They’re just cowards in disguise.”
Li Kuo sneered and shook his head in disdain.
“Brother Kuo, well said. I was actually afraid you’d be intimidated by that guy’s presence.”
Zhang Yanji handed Li Kuo a glass of wine, expressing his admiration.
“How do you know he wouldn’t dare act?”
Du Jingtian was puzzled. The other side had armed men and a clear numerical advantage. If a fight broke out, they would surely be at a disadvantage.
“Firstly, this is under the emperor’s rule. Even if Gao Xiuyan is arrogant, he wouldn’t dare start a fight here. He dared plot to harm me in Tubo but wouldn’t do it in front of everyone.”
Li Kuo took a sip of fruit wine and sighed. “Secondly, Yicui Tower belongs to the prince. Even if he has malicious intentions, he wouldn’t cause trouble here.”
“The prince? Which prince?”
Du Jingtian clearly didn’t understand what Li Kuo meant, her face full of confusion.
Li Kuo smiled bitterly and looked eastward. “Who else but the crown prince could make Gao Xiuyan fear him so much?”

In the Yang residence of Xuanyang Fang, the Lady of Guo State was enjoying tea and snacks with her beloved son Pei Hui and her daughter-in-law, the Lady of Yong’an County.
Yang Huahua was clearly in a good mood today; she even went out of her way to invite her daughter-in-law to share the lychees sent from the palace. It must be said that the Emperor truly cared for his fourth sister—once the lychees from Lingnan ripened, he would send people to transport them via the imperial road, and their flesh was filled with a fresh taste. (Note 1) A woman, just like a lychee—no matter how tightly she’s wrapped up, it’s still the flesh that matters. Only by taking good care of one’s appearance can one outshine those cunning women and capture a man’s heart. What good is extraordinary talent then? When you grow old and lose your charm, which man will have the leisure to appreciate your poetry? Isn’t the Lady Mei the best example? Skilled in poetry and song, yet she lost out to his fourth sister due to one careless mistake.
After all, women are nothing but playthings in men’s hands. Playing the role of a romantic figure or showing off one’s talents ultimately won’t win favor.
Peeling a lychee and putting it in her mouth, Yang Huahua felt a sense of delight, with a smooth taste on her tongue.
Mm, a woman, just like a lychee—the better you taste her, the more you appreciate her.
“Mother, you’re in such a good mood today that you even asked for the lychees reserved for the Empress.”
Seeing Yang Huahua’s rare good mood, Pei Hui joked.
Yang Huahua rolled her eyes at him. “Look at you! I really raised a ungrateful son. If your fourth aunt can eat lychees, can’t I?”
To be honest, Yang Huahua really didn’t care about this box of lychees. Whenever there were new and interesting items from the palace, the officials in the procurement department would prepare an identical copy and send it to Xuanyang Fang without delay.
“Of course not. I was just trying to keep you company since you seem in a good mood, Wei-er.”
Since getting married, Pei Hui had become much more mature. Although his relationship with his wife wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t awkward either. It seemed that Wei-er and his mother never liked each other.
Pei Hui wanted to take this opportunity to improve their relationship, so he nudged his wife Wei-er with his elbow and cleared his throat slightly.
How could Wei-er miss such an obvious hint? Though dissatisfied with her husband’s favoritism, she had no choice but to cover for him in front of her mother-in-law.
The Lady of Yong’an County personally picked a lychee, peeled it, removed the stem, and placed it in a small jade dish before handing it to Yang Huahua. “Mother, eat more of these. I heard from the old ladies in the palace that they’re great for keeping the skin youthful and smooth.”

Yang Huahua was startled. Ever since she moved in, the lady of Yong’an County had not taken the initiative to speak to her, let alone call her “mother.” What was happening today? Was the sun rising in the west?

As the saying goes, don’t hit someone who’s smiling. Since the lady of Yong’an County had taken the initiative to lower her stance, Yang Huahua didn’t want to be too artificial. Taking the jade document, she smiled lazily and said, “It’s rare to see such filial piety from you. I accept your kindness, daughter.”

With these words, the rift between Wei Er and her mother was completely resolved, and Pei Hui was overjoyed. After all, when the two of them were at odds, it was he who suffered the most—unable to side with either or help either, which was truly infuriating.

“Mother, Wei Er… she’s pregnant.”

Wishing to seize the opportunity to further strengthen their relationship, Pei Hui gently spoke up with good news.

“What did you say?”

Yang Huahua was sipping some flower tea when the tea leaves, about to settle at the bottom of the pot, were suddenly stirred and floated upward.

“I said, Wei Er is pregnant!”

Pei Hui was clearly excited too, his palms clenching so tightly that his robe wrinkled.

“That’s great, wonderful news.”

Yang Huahua’s voice trembled, her cheeks filled with a smile. Her gaze toward her daughter-in-law now carried a hint more of care and tenderness. She cleared her throat lightly and said, “Now that you’re pregnant, you need to be careful about everything. There’s nothing lacking in this household, so don’t go out unless necessary. Hmm, if you want something to eat recently, just tell the chef to add some plums to the meals to make them more appetizing.”

The lady of Yong’an County hadn’t expected her husband to mention her pregnancy so soon, and she blushed with shame.

Biting her lower lip slightly, Wei Er replied softly, “Mm.”

“And you too, don’t go out so often these days. Spend more time at home with your wife.”

Yang Huahua tapped her son’s forehead as she gently rebuked him. After all, his wife was now a person who needed special care in the Yang family, and no one could neglect her even for a moment.

“Mother, don’t worry!”

Pei Hui nodded. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to come home often these days.”

“Why is that?”

Yang Huahua was clearly displeased. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have said anything, but now that her son’s wife was pregnant and he still wanted to be away so much, even she, as his mother-in-law, couldn’t speak in his defense.

“Don’t you know? Seventh Brother has returned!” Pei Hui exclaimed excitedly, waving his fist.

“Seventh Brother? Which Seventh Brother?”

“Well, who else could it be? It’s naturally Captain Guoyi, Li Kuo, the guest of the crown prince—Seventh Brother Li.”

Pei Hui shook his sleeves, his voice echoing softly.
“Ah!”
Yang Huahua’s complexion paled instantly as she slumped against the bed, murmuring to herself, “That little troublemaker—he’s back, he’s really back?”
Note 1: Litchis were mainly produced in Lingnan during the Tang Dynasty, with their harvest period roughly from June to July. Thus, even litchis harvested in July could be quickly delivered to the palace via the imperial roads.