Chapter 143: The Prince Qing’s Invitation

Dong Yanguang finally understood Zhang Yun’s intention—to ask him to seek help from the Yang family, who were currently the most influential in the Tang Dynasty. It was as if he had been struck by a blow, suddenly waking up. Indeed! His fate was in the hands of the Tang emperor—what could be more effective than appealing to someone in such a position?
Realizing this, Dong Yanguang rushed home in a hurry. He had no connection with the Yang family, but now that he needed their help in an urgent matter, he would have to invest heavily. Dong Qing’s residence was located in Baoning Fang, a vast mansion covering dozens of acres. As soon as he reached the entrance, his gatekeeper rushed out, “Master, you’ve returned just in time!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Half an hour ago, someone from the Prince Qing’s palace came, saying the prince wants to see you and asks you to go to the palace immediately upon your return.”
Dong Yanguang glanced at the sky. Yang Zhao might not have left court yet. That was good—asking the Prince Qing for help could mean more chances of survival. Though extremely tired, he mustered his strength and headed toward the Prince Qing’s palace.
…
Since the Yangzhou incident last year, Prince Qing Li Cong had become much more low-key. It wasn’t until the impact of that incident began to fade that he became active again. Last New Year’s Eve, his father allowed him to recruit talented people, so Li Cong spent a fortune building a library—essentially a place for storing books. This library not only had a vast collection of books but also provided lodging and meals. It attracted renowned scholars to conduct research and teach students. After half a year, Li Cong gradually gained a reputation for seeking talent.
During the campaign in Longyou, Li Cong, like all people in the Tang Dynasty, paid close attention to its progress. Among the various warlords involved, Li Cong also had his own representative—Dong Yanguang.
Ten years earlier, when Dong Yanguang was still a lieutenant general in the Jinwu Guard, he became Li Cong’s trusted aide. Under Li Cong’s careful guidance, Dong Yanguang rose step by step, eventually becoming a general of the Left Guard. Last year, he was even appointed governor of Shanzhou, holding significant power and becoming one of the core figures in Prince Qing’s faction. During this campaign in Longyou, Dong Yanguang’s reckless decision caused a huge disaster. Li Cong was both angry and anxious—if Dong Yanguang was demoted, his influence in the military would be severely weakened.
Li Cong had already heard that someone saw Dong Yanguang return to Chang’an. At that moment, he was anxiously waiting in his study.
“Your Highness, General Dong has arrived!”
Li Cong perked up. “Hurry! Let him in at once!”
As soon as Dong Yanguang entered the room, he fell to his knees and cried bitterly. “Your Highness, I am guilty! I have failed you. Please punish me!”

Zhang Yun refused to get involved, and he wasn’t close to the Yang family. Now, Dong Yanguang could only cling tightly to Prince Qing for help.
“Enough! Enough! A great general like you—why cry?”
Li Cong was annoyed by his crying and waved his hand, saying, “Sit down first and explain to me in detail what happened. What exactly is the situation?”
Dong Yanguang wiped away his tears and recounted everything that had happened in detail, ending with, “I was foolish and fell for Abu Si’s scheme of using me as a pawn. It’s too late for me to regret it now. I beg Your Highness to save my life.”
“Are you some three-year-old child? To fall for the tricks of the barbarians—what a shame!”
Li Cong paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, truly angry. This Dong Yanguang was extremely stupid—didn’t he know that the battle in Longyou was of utmost importance to his father?
Dong Yanguang lay on the ground, not daring to make a sound. He watched Li Cong’s walking pace and, from his hurried steps, deduced that Li Cong wanted to protect him. Overjoyed, he pleaded again, “I also intended to preserve Your Highness’s strength. I beg you, considering my efforts despite having no merits, to save me once more.”
“I understand. I’ll find a way to intercede for you. Go now! Stay at home and reflect honestly. Don’t cause me any more trouble.”
“Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you!”
Dong Yanguang kowtowed three times before retreating in tears. Li Cong slowly sat down. At that moment, his son Li Qiu came out of the inner room and said with a smile, “Father, are you really going to get involved in this?”
Li Cong sighed and said, “My son, you don’t understand. I really didn’t want to get involved at all. But if I ignore it, the others in Prince Qing’s faction will feel abandoned and accuse me of not caring for my subordinates. That would put me in a difficult position too!”
“But have you considered the pros and cons? Everyone in Chang’an is angry with Dong Yanguang. If you stand up for him, won’t you become his shield and an enemy of the Anxi Army, ruining the good reputation you’ve worked so hard to build this year? Besides, even if you save Dong Yanguang, the other members of Prince Qing’s faction may not be grateful.”
Li Cong was stunned. He had thought about the issue too simply and hadn’t realized he might become the target of everyone’s anger. He looked at his astute son and smiled, “Do you have any good suggestions?”
Li Qiu smiled faintly and said, “Father, my suggestion is to take a low-profile approach—try not to show involvement directly, but exert influence behind the scenes. It might even achieve two goals at once.”

Li Cong was very interested and quickly asked, “What’s this method of killing two birds with one stone?”
“I heard that Li Qingan is very close to the crown prince. If he gets promoted this time, it means the crown prince’s influence is growing. My idea is that Father might as well invite Li Qingan to the palace for a banquet. On the surface, it’s to reconcile his feud with Dong Yanguang, showing Grandfather that Father is open-minded and considers the bigger picture. But secretly, it’s to undermine his relationship with the crown prince.”
“Brilliant!”
Li Cong clapped his hands in approval. “With Li Heng’s suspicious nature, he will surely be dissatisfied. My son is truly clever!”
…
After returning to his residence, Li Qingan wrote a letter to Gao Xianzhi, detailing everything that had happened recently. This competition for merit was not just about his own honor or disgrace but also about the honor of the Anxi Army. He had to report to Gao Xianzhi.
After finishing the letter, he put down the pen, dried the ink, sealed the envelope, and handed it to Jiang Xiaonian. “Take this letter to the Anxi Reporting Office and have them deliver it to Anxi immediately. Also, go to the Jinyiwei barracks and ask General Li Siye to come to my place tonight.”
“I’ll go right away!” Jiang Xiaonian took the letter and left in a hurry.
Just then, butler Luo asked from outside, “Is General Li here?”
Li Qingan stepped outside and smiled. “What’s the matter?”
“General Li, come to the door and take a look! Someone is looking for you.”
“Who is it?” Li Qingan was puzzled by his strange smile.
“You’ll know once you go,” Butler Luo finally couldn’t hold back and started giggling.
Even more puzzled, Li Qingan hurried outside and froze in surprise.
There stood forty or fifty young women at Gao Lishi’s gate, most around fifteen or sixteen years old. They were all dressed flamboyantly, with each wearing a unique makeup style. Some had peach-colored faces and wore moon-white dresses, looking like fox spirits emerging from the mountains; others had green eyes, purple lips, and loose hair, resembling evil women. Each woman was uniquely dressed. Ten carriages were parked nearby, clearly brought together. The forty or fifty women were chattering loudly at the gate, vying to speak first.
One beautiful woman with blood-red makeup had the loudest voice. She waved her hand and shouted, “If you don’t believe us, wait until my elder brother Li comes out. I’ll hold his hand and show you. But those who lose can’t deny it.”
“Mingzhu, we want to see Li Qingan. Don’t just pick some random Li to pretend to be him.”
“Don’t you believe us? I’ll go in and find him right now.”

Naturally, the young lady in question was Dugu Mingzhu. In recent days, Li Qing’an’s deeds had spread throughout Chang’an, making him a hero admired by countless young girls. Mingzhu was extremely proud and announced her relationship with Li Qing’an to her group of fashionable friends, which immediately sparked numerous doubts. To defend her dignity, she brought them all to see Li Qing’an.

When she turned around, she saw Li Qing’an standing on the steps, smiling at her. Her face turned red instantly.

Seeing her, Li Qing’an was as if a breeze had scattered the gloom in his heart, filling it with brightness.

“Brother Li!” Mingzhu was too shy to even lift her eyes.

“Mingzhu, are these all your friends?” Li Qing’an asked with a smile.

“Mm! They all wanted to see you.”

Mingzhu glanced back at the young ladies. All of them stared at Li Qing’an with bright eyes, filled with uncontrollable admiration. Feeling extremely proud, she shouted, “See? This is Li Qing’an, the hero of the Battle of Longyou!”

She bit her lip lightly and shot a quick glance at Li Qing’an, then whispered, “Brother Li, I made a bet with them. Can you…”

“Can I what?” Li Qing’an stepped forward with a smile and took her hand. Mingzhu was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. With a soft cry, she threw herself into his arms.

Suddenly, screams from the young ladies erupted outside Gao Lishi’s mansion. Unable to contain their excitement any longer, they rushed forward, lifting their skirts, and surrounded Li Qing’an.

Frightened, Li Qing’an raised his hands high and shouted, “I’ll give you each the same thing.”

His shout protected his wound on his back, and the young ladies immediately calmed down, looking at him expectantly. Li Qing’an stepped back two steps, pressing his back against the door, before smiling and saying, “I’ll give each of you an arrow with my name carved on it.”

The young ladies cheered. At that moment, Li Qing’an suddenly saw a young man in a brocade robe standing at the bottom of the steps, smiling at him. It was Li Qiu, the son of Prince Qing. They had met in Yangzhou before.

Li Qing’an smiled at the young ladies and said, “Wait a moment. I need to see a friend first.”

He stepped down the steps and bowed to Li Qiu, saying with a smile, “Young Prince, long time no see!”

Li Qiu glanced at the young ladies and replied with a smile, “General Li is famous throughout Chang’an, and since he’s unmarried, many noble ladies wish to marry him. If it weren’t for the same surname preventing marriage, I would have wanted to give my sister to him as well.”

“You’re joking, young prince.”

Seeing Li Qiu holding an extremely exquisite invitation, Li Qingan smiled and said, “What brings the young prince to see me?”
“It’s this: My father has long admired General Li and has wanted to meet him for a while, but never had the chance. Today, he sent me here to invite General Li over for a drink.”
With that, he handed the invitation to Li Qingan and said earnestly, “This is an invitation written by my father himself. It’s the first time in five years that he’s written an invitation by hand to invite a minister to a banquet. The last time was in the third year of Tianbao, when he invited Gao Lishi. Please, General Li, do give him this favor.”
Li Qingan took the invitation and saw that it indeed was written in Li Cong’s own hand, with his signature at the bottom. Apologetically, he said, “How could I dare refuse the prince’s request? But could the young prince change the time? My back is severely injured, and I need to receive treatment tonight; I really can’t go out.”
Li Qiu had used a foolproof strategy, blocking all of Li Qingan’s options—unless summoned by the emperor or the crown prince. But he had already checked, and neither Xingqing Palace nor the Eastern Palace had any plans to summon any ministers that night. If Li Qingan dared to use this as an excuse, it would be a grave crime of passing down imperial orders illegally. Besides, what could be more important than the Prince of Qing writing an invitation by hand for the first time in five years?
Li Qiu was very proud of his clever plan, but to his surprise, Li Qingan claimed to be seriously injured, which he hadn’t expected at all. He hesitated for a moment. Before he could speak, Li Qingan added sadly, “Actually, today is the tenth anniversary of my grandfather’s death. I need to keep vigil for him to fulfill my filial duties. I’m truly sorry, young prince. Let’s reschedule. I will definitely come to your place another day.”
Li Qiu blinked, unable to say a word. Only then did he realize his own plan wasn’t so brilliant. After a long pause, he sighed and said with a grim face, “Then tomorrow, General Li must come.”
“Sure! I will definitely keep my promise tomorrow. Except for one thing, I will never break my word.”
Li Qiu was stunned. Li Qingan had added conditions. He hesitated and asked, “What is it?”
Li Qingan looked him straight in the eyes and said coldly, “I, Li Qingan, am clear about gratitude and resentment. If the Prince of Qing also invites Dong Yanguang to the banquet, then I’m sorry, but I’ll make sure that scoundrel dies right there!”
Li Qiu’s face turned extremely unnatural. His face twitched, and he forced a laugh, saying, “What are you talking about, General Li? How could my father invite Dong Yanguang? That’s impossible. At most, there will be a few scholars from the Library accompanying him. General Li, don’t worry.”

“Well then, since the young prince has given me his promise, I will definitely attend the banquet on time tomorrow evening.”
Li Qiu had no choice but to take his leave. Li Qing’an watched his retreating figure and snorted coldly.
“Brother Li, are you done?” Mingzhu, who was behind him, finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
Li Qing’an turned to look at the group of elaborately dressed young women, all stretching their necks to gaze at him. He chuckled and said, “Done! Done! I’ll have someone bring them to you right away.”
He spoke a few words to one of his guards, who immediately ran back and brought two pots of arrows. Li Qing’an pointed at the arrows and said to the young women, “These are all my arrows. I’ll engrave names on them for everyone. Don’t rush; line up and take one by one. I guarantee everyone will get one.”
The young women rushed over excitedly, quickly forming a long queue, crowding and shouting. Li Qing’an sat on the steps, drew out a dagger, and began engraving names on the arrows. Smiling, he asked the first woman in line, dressed like a fox spirit, “What’s your name?”
The woman bowed shyly and said, “My name is Song Lian’er.”
“I see.”
Li Qing’an engraved the words “Li Qing’an” on the arrow and handed it to her, smiling, “I really like your makeup. I’m giving you this arrow.”
…
After engraving for half an hour, he finally finished. Even the gatekeepers at Gao Lishi’s mansion each got one arrow. The young women left happily, and Li Qing’an stood up, somewhat tired. Seeing that Mingzhu was still there, watching him eagerly, he smiled and said, “Mingzhu, are you free tonight?”
Mingzhu was both surprised and delighted and quickly replied, “Yes! Of course!”
“Good. In a moment, come with me to one place first, and then I’ll treat you to dinner.”
“Brother Li, where are we going first?”
Li Qing’an smiled faintly and said, “I need to go to the Eastern Palace first.”