Chapter 279: The Du Gu Family Banquet

In the study, Du Gu Haoran appeared deeply preoccupied. He had just returned from Xingqing Palace and locked himself in the study, refusing to see anyone. Something extremely strange had happened today—after soothing him for a while, Li Longji praised his eldest daughter, Mingyue, as having unparalleled beauty. For an old man to compliment another man’s adult daughter on her beauty carried a certain degree of ambiguity, especially since it was the current emperor doing so. What did it mean when he praised a woman’s beauty?

Li Longji simply said those words inexplicably and then dropped the subject, not even mentioning that Li Qingan was to become his son-in-law. As a man in officialdom, Du Gu Haoran naturally had to understand the emperor’s intentions. He had already grasped that Li Longji was interested in his daughter. Yet his daughter was supposed to marry Li Qingan. Of course, Li Longji wouldn’t want to offend Li Qingan, so he passed this tricky problem onto him, forcing him to offend Li Qingan and have his family regret this marriage.

But Du Gu Haoran was well aware of the consequences of breaking off the marriage—it would not only turn him against Li Qingan but also anger the Yang family, and his family might bear a shameful reputation for hundreds of years. Yet the benefits were clear as well: Li Longji had promoted him to Minister of Agriculture—wasn’t that partly because of his daughter? If his daughter entered the palace as a concubine and gained favor, his family would surely become another Yang family, and he, Du Gu Haoran, would be promoted to prime minister. The cost of breaking off the marriage was high, but the future prospects were so tempting that he truly couldn’t decide. Of course, Li Longji hadn’t made anything explicit, and he could pretend not to understand and let the matter drop. But Du Gu Haoran was already tempted.

With his hands behind his back, he walked to the window and gazed at his daughter’s pavilion in the distance. Although the Du Gu family was part of the imperial relatives, their kinship was already very distant. A hundred years ago, Gaozu’s empress was from the Du Gu family and gave birth to Taizong; they were the maternal relatives of the Li family. But aside from his eldest daughter being sent as a princess for marriage and dying tragically, they had never reaped any benefits from this kinship. He had once served as prime minister for a short time before being mercilessly dismissed.

If things continued as they were, he, Du Gu Haoran, would never have a chance to rise. Yet now, suddenly, he saw hope of becoming the emperor’s father-in-law. How could he not be tempted?

At that moment, the door creaked open, and his wife, Lady Pei, entered.
“Sir, I heard you need to see me urgently?”
“Nothing serious. I just wanted to ask how things are progressing,” Du Gu Haoran said with a forced smile.

“Everything is ready. My third brother’s family has arrived. Sir, you should go out now too!”
“Oh!” Du Gu Hao Ran responded, but showed no sign of moving.
Madam Pei glanced at him. She had already noticed that something was wrong with her husband since his return from the palace. He shut himself in and wouldn’t see anyone. Before leaving for the palace, he was busy preparing a banquet, but upon returning, he ignored everything. After decades of marriage, did she not know her husband well? Something must have happened.
“Sir, tell me, what exactly happened? Is it because you took on the position of Minister of Agriculture that something went wrong?”
“Not exactly. It’s just that…”
Du Gu Hao Ran hesitated before continuing, “It’s just that the Emperor inquired about our family’s Mingyue.”
“What!”
Madam Pei’s expression changed drastically. The thing she feared the most had finally happened. Li Longji truly wouldn’t let go of her daughter. She stepped back and asked in a trembling voice, “Sir, you’re not going to agree to it, are you?”
Seeing his wife’s changed expression, Du Gu Hao Ran suddenly realized that she had already known. Something must have happened while he was away in Chang’an.
“Madam, so this is true then?”
Du Gu Hao Ran still had a concern. If Li Longji hadn’t meant it that way and he had misunderstood, the consequences would still be severe. His wife’s reaction now meant he hadn’t misunderstood—something indeed was going on.
“Sir, Mingyue’s marriage date has already been set. You can’t create more problems now!”
“Actually, it’s not fully set yet. Haven’t we not told Li Qingan yet?”
“Absolutely not!” Madam Pei firmly rejected her husband’s unreasonable idea. She stared into Du Gu Hao Ran’s eyes and said angrily, “Sir, there’s only one outcome to this. You’ll drive Mingyue to death. Have you forgotten? She’s already died once. Do you want her to die a second time?”
“Madam!”
Du Gu Hao Ran stretched out his voice in displeasure, “The Emperor didn’t say anything about our daughter. I also didn’t say I wanted her to go to the palace. I was just discussing it with you. Why are you so upset? Is it only you who cares about your daughter? Don’t I care about her too?”

Thinking that her husband was after all the head of the family, Lady Pei restrained her anger and spoke in a gentle tone, “My lord, there are some things we can discuss privately. After all, the emperor is already quite old; how many more years can he live? Even if Mingyue isn’t married yet, once she enters the palace, it will only be a few years before the emperor passes away. It’s unnecessary to think about what will become of Mingyue’s fate! Just look at those thousands of old concubines in the Taiji Palace and Daming Palace—while the emperor is still alive, they’re like living dead. If Mingyue enters the palace and ends up without children, we’ll carry the guilt of her miserable fate for life! My lord, listen to me—since the emperor hasn’t spoken clearly, let’s pretend we don’t understand. Hurry and arrange Mingyue’s marriage before things get worse.”

“Madam, I actually don’t think it’s as terrible as you say for Mingyue to become a concubine. The Yang family is so favored—which family in Chang’an doesn’t wish to have a daughter? I’m sure that once Mingyue enters the palace, she’ll be just as favored as the imperial concubine. Then she’ll be noble and honored, second to none. She might even be grateful to us, and our Du Gu family will benefit from her glory. That’s a good thing!”

“My lord, how can you be so shameless!”

Lady Pei never expected her husband to be such a shameless person. For his own glory and wealth, he was willing to sacrifice his daughter’s happiness for life, not caring even if it would lead her to ruin. She was utterly disappointed. Needless to say, she knew he had already made up his mind, but as long as she was still alive, he wouldn’t succeed!

At that moment, a maid’s voice came from the door, “My lord, madam, the guests have arrived one after another.”

Lady Pei held back her anger and said, “My lord, our family members have arrived. Are you going?”

“What am I going to do? Announce my daughter’s wedding date? Hmph!”

Du Gu Haoran let out a heavy snort, hands behind his back, gazing out the window with a gloomy expression. Lady Pei said nothing more and left.

“Women’s opinions!” came Du Gu Haoran’s dissatisfied voice as the door closed.

……

Starting in the afternoon, Du Gu Mingyue began to get ready. Among the noblewomen of the Tang Dynasty, makeup could be simple or elaborate. For everyday use or outings, simple makeup was applied, taking about half an hour. But for major celebrations or important banquets, elaborate makeup was required—applying makeup to the face, styling hair, and dressing all took at least two to three hours, with every step done meticulously.

Tonight’s family banquet will have the bright moon as the star, and Li Qing’an will also be there. Of course, Mingyue must present herself in her most beautiful guise to her beloved. Sitting in front of the grape-shaped mirror given to her by Li Qing’an, she carefully examined her own face. She was in high spirits today, feeling particularly cheerful.

She had styled her hair into a cloud-like bun, securing it with a green feather hairpin, and adorned it with green ornaments and gold decorations. It took her nearly an hour just to arrange her hair. Her makeup was also complete—she applied powder, rouge, drew her eyebrows, stuck floral decorations on her forehead, dotted her cheeks, and shaded her temples. Her lips were painted beautifully, giving her a highly refined appearance.

She then checked all her jewelry—rings, bracelets, armlets, jade pendants, and sachets—ensuring none was missing. She changed into a long dress made of silver-gray silk, along with a green short-sleeved top, draped with red fabric over her shoulders. She wore a delicate necklace of plump pearls around her neck, which, combined with her snow-white skin, made her look utterly stunning and radiant.

“Mingzhu, do you think this is okay?” Mingyue turned around and asked her sister with a smile.

Mingzhu had been accompanying her sister the whole time. Unable to bear the long time it took for her sister to get ready, she had fallen asleep. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she glanced around and suddenly frowned. “Sis, your chest is showing too much. Brother Li won’t like that.”

Mingyue had a fuller figure, with breasts as round and full as a full moon. The upper part of her silver-gray silk dress was made of sheer fabric, which didn’t cover much of her chest. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she confirmed that it was indeed too revealing and somewhat inappropriate. She shook her head and said, “Forget it. I’ll just wear a looser dress.”

The last time she saw Li Qing’an, she wore a six-layered loose dress. Wanting to give him a fresh impression, she changed into the silver-gray silk dress. But its main feature was its sheer, translucent fabric. It might not matter indoors, but at a family banquet with many relatives, she needed to be more careful. After thinking for a while, she changed into a yellow six-layered loose dress. She had never worn yellow before, so Li Qing’an probably hadn’t seen it either.

“Mingzhu, aren’t you going to change your clothes?” Mingyue asked as she adjusted her dress.

“Why should I change? It’s not my engagement. If I look a bit uglier, won’t that make you look more beautiful?” Mingzhu replied lazily.

“You little girl, why do you always speak so sourly? It’s you who doesn’t want to get married. To be honest, how many times have you gone on blind dates? How many times have you taken them seriously?”

“That’s because I haven’t met a man like Brother Li. If I had, you’d see how anxious I’d be!”
“Alright! I’ll talk to Brother Li later and ask him to find you a young general.”
“Never mind, we’ll discuss it later!”
Mingzhu jumped up from her sister’s bed. “Let’s go!”
“Wait a moment; Mother will send someone to call us soon.”
As soon as Mingyue finished speaking, a maid at the door said, “Miss Mingyue, Madam wants you to come over.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
Mingyue checked her appearance one last time and smiled at Mingzhu. “Let’s go!”
The two sisters left the room and headed to the main hall.
…
The Du Gu family’s banquet was held in the main hall, the largest room in their household, capable of accommodating 500 people at once. The hall was already bustling with activity. It was a family gathering, with relatives from near and far attending—Du Gu Haoran’s uncles, aunts, siblings, nieces, and nephews, along with their families and children. In total, there were over 200 people. Additionally, many others were still away, such as Du Gu Haoran’s son, Mingyue’s elder brother, who was serving as a county official elsewhere and couldn’t make it back.
Since it was a family gathering, many children were also brought along. The hall was filled with children running around and laughing.
Du Gu Haoran’s third uncle, Du Gu Yuan, looked around but couldn’t see him, so he went up to Lady Pei and asked, “Madam, where is my nephew Haoran?”
Lady Pei sighed inwardly and forced a smile. “He’s not feeling well; he’s a bit sick and might arrive later.”
“I thought since he became the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, he’d become pretentious, hehe!”
“Sister-in-law, I saw him fine this afternoon. How could he suddenly fall ill?” asked one of Du Gu Haoran’s cousins.
“Well… I don’t know either. I went to see him just now, and he said he was very unwell. Everyone, please sit freely! Since we’re all family, there’s no need for formalities.”
Everyone took their seats. The maids from Du Gu’s household brought out platters of food and drinks. At that moment, someone outside shouted, “Duke Tingguo, General Li, the Governor of Anxi, has arrived!”
The main guest of the day had arrived. Lady Pei hurried to greet him. Li Qing’an stepped in quickly, dressed in new robes. He had already handed his gifts to the butler. Seeing Lady Pei approaching, he bowed deeply and said, “Li Qing’an pays his respects to Madam!”

Madam Pei glanced at Li Qing’an and saw that he was tall, heroic, and outstanding in appearance. Over the past few months, she had been busy arranging matches for Mingzhu, having met countless young men who paled in comparison to Li Qing’an. She grew extremely fond of him and secretly resented her husband for refusing such an excellent son-in-law and instead wanting to send their daughter to the palace—how selfish and foolish of him!

“Seventh Brother, we’ve been waiting for you. Come in and sit!”

Madam Pei led Li Qing’an into the main hall, where immediate murmurs arose. Although Li Qing’an had disappeared from Chang’an over the past two years, his appearance always caused a sensation. He had only been in Chang’an for a short time yet already stirred up a great deal of excitement, especially after his debate with Yang Guozhong in Xingqing Palace—news of this had spread throughout Chang’an. It was astonishing that someone as prominent as Yang Guozhong had been defeated by him; many who disliked the Yang family cheered at the thought.

Not only that, but he had become the Governor of Anxi, Duke of Tingguo, and Grand General Champion before even turning thirty, commanding a large army and governing vast territories. How could Mingyue not choose him as her husband? Many women present had attended Li Qing’an’s first matchmaking session, where his simple request to use the restroom had made them look down on him. But now, they regretted not seeing his true worth earlier and wished they had given their daughters to him. They all said they had taken a liking to Li Qing’an at first sight, it was just a shame that Lord Dugu hadn’t approved—what a pity! Anyway, Lord Dugu was dead now, so he couldn’t argue with them.

Li Qing’an didn’t see Dugu Haoran either, so he asked Madam Pei with a smile, “Where is my uncle?”

“He’s not feeling well. He’ll come later. Come, Seventh Brother, sit here.”

Madam Pei arranged for Li Qing’an to sit on her right, one seat away from her. Originally, Li Qing’an should have sat next to Dugu Haoran, but Madam Pei changed her mind. Although it seemed slightly improper for Li Qing’an to sit beside her, the events that had just happened made her ignore such formalities.

As soon as Li Qing’an sat down, the sound of jewelry rang out, and Mingyue and Mingzhu stepped forward. Seeing how stunning Mingyue was, Li Qing’an felt deep admiration and nodded at her with a smile. Mingyue’s eyes sparkled as she gazed affectionately at her beloved, her face flushing slightly.

“Ahem!” Mingzhu coughed softly to remind them to be mindful of their surroundings and not to be so affectionate in public.

The beauty of Mingyue also caused astonishment in the hall. It had been many years since Mingyue last saw her clan members. In the elders’ memories, she was still a quiet, tall, and slender young woman. To their surprise, she had grown into a graceful and beautiful woman, leaving everyone in the clan greatly astonished.

“She deserves it! She truly deserves it!” Many people nodded in agreement. They thought they were a perfect match—both talented and beautiful. Only Mingyue could be worthy of a young and accomplished official like Li Qing’an.

“Mingyue, sit here!”

Madam Pei pointed to the empty seat next to her. This choice surprised everyone. Wouldn’t that mean Mingyue would sit next to Li Qing’an? Mingyue was also surprised. Though she had long wanted to sit beside her lover, it was against etiquette. She shouldn’t sit there! Had her mother made a mistake?

“Mother!” she whispered to remind her.

But Madam Pei firmly shook her head. “Mingyue, this is your seat. Listen to your mother and sit down!”

Mingyue glanced at Li Qing’an, who smiled at her and secretly waved his hand under the table, signaling for her to sit down. A hint of shyness appeared in Mingyue’s eyes as she sat down beside Li Qing’an at the same table.

“Mother, where should I sit?” Mingzhu asked with pouted lips. As soon as she entered, she saw the empty seat next to Li Qing’an and thought it was reserved for her. She was secretly delighted, but was greatly disappointed when her sister took it.

Madam Pei looked around. She had indeed forgotten to arrange her younger daughter’s seat. She wanted her to sit next to herself, but that was her husband’s seat—it would be inappropriate for her to sit there. Just as she was about to ask Mingzhu to sit downstairs, Mingyue patted the seat next to her and said, “Mingzhu, sit here with your sister.”

The seat was spacious enough to accommodate her. Mingzhu hesitated for a moment. With a married couple sitting together, wouldn’t she be in the way? She secretly glanced at Li Qing’an, who pointed to his side, signaling for her to sit with him.

“As if!” Mingzhu pouted and sat down beside her sister in a huff. She didn’t care about such things!

Madam Pei was preoccupied and didn’t have the heart to worry about whether her younger daughter’s seat was appropriate. Seeing that everyone except her husband had arrived, she picked up her wine glass and stood up. “Dear elders, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, it was originally Mingyue’s father who was supposed to host this banquet, but he is not feeling well and may not be able to attend. So, I have to take over. I apologize for any shortcomings. Please forgive me!”

Moonlight felt a bit strange. When she arrived just now, she had seen her father standing by the window waving at her. Wasn’t her father fine? What could be wrong with him?
“Your father might have encountered something in the palace and is in a bad mood!”
Li Qing’an whispered in her ear. A strong male scent filled the air, and Moonlight suddenly felt Li Qing’an quietly taking her hand. Their table was large, covered with a tablecloth, and no one could see what was under it. Moonlight’s heart pounded—she felt both shy and sweet. Of course she wanted to hold her lover’s hand, but they were in public, and others might see. She gently pulled her hand away from Li Qing’an, picked up the wine pot, and poured him a glass of wine. With a soft smile, she said, “I’m pouring you wine. You held my hand—how can I pour for you?”
Li Qing’an happily took the glass and took a sip. Mingzhu, who was sitting next to them, saw it clearly. She curled her lips and thought to herself, “Flirting!”
She felt bitter—her hand was free, so why didn’t Li Qing’an hold hers?
Madam Pei didn’t notice any of this. She continued to speak loudly to everyone, “I invited everyone here today mainly to officially announce the wedding date between Moonlight and Young Master Li. I ask everyone to be witnesses!”
Just then, a loud coughing sound came from behind her. Dugu Haoran walked in.