Chapter 296: Father-in-law and Son-in-law Meet

After bidding farewell to An Lushan, Li Qingan’s carriage continued on its way. Soon, it entered Wuben Fang and headed toward the Du Gu family’s residence. He needed to have a serious talk with Du Gu Haoran—since he intended to marry the family’s daughter, their relationship couldn’t remain too strained.

Since the last family banquet at the Du Gu household, they had been busy preparing for the wedding. Lady Pei, in particular, was extremely busy, handling everything from arranging the banquet and guest list to wording the invitations and preparing the daughter’s wedding dress. Her husband, Du Gu Haoran, didn’t get involved at all throughout the process.

Fortunately, the Du Gu family had many women, and women naturally had an interest in matters related to marriage. Lady Pei had people to consult with on many matters. After lunch, she discussed the guest list with her mother-in-law, Lady Wang. Lady Wang was the widow of the late Du Gu Shi. She too had faced misfortune—she had originally wanted to remarry Ma Rong, the governor of Yuanzhou, because Ma had wanted to marry her when she was only sixteen. But due to circumstances, Lady Wang married someone else.

More than twenty years later, she remembered this past affection. Meanwhile, Ma Rong’s first wife also died by chance, allowing them to renew their youthful love. Yet just as they began to consider this, Ma Rong died of a heart attack due to excessive excitement, shattering Lady Wang’s hopes. Thankfully, they hadn’t yet exchanged marriage vows, so she still remained the widow of the Du Gu family. But after this incident, her status in the family plummeted, and she submitted to her daughter-in-law, Lady Pei, becoming her assistant in managing household affairs. She also worked tirelessly to ensure everything went smoothly for the wedding, hoping to earn back Lady Pei’s tolerance.

“Madam, I went to see the main hall of the Gao family’s residence. It’s truly magnificent—capable of accommodating at least three thousand people for meals. There are also two smaller halls, each holding a thousand people, totaling five thousand. Lady Gao said Li Qingan doesn’t have many family members; his distant relatives are in Suiye, and his subordinates are in Anxi, so they can’t make it. Thus, the guests from the groom’s side are mainly government officials and their families, numbering about seven or eight hundred. The invitations have already been sent out.”

Lady Pei thought for a moment and said, “On our side, the guests will mainly be our clan members, long-time friends, and relatives of the Pei family. I’ve calculated that there are over four hundred people. But since one invitation per household is sufficient, I think around two hundred invitations will be enough. Please go to Zhang’s Printing House again to check if our three hundred invitations are ready. They need to be printed today.”

“Good! I’ll go right away.” Lady Wang stood up to leave when Lady Pei called her back. “I just remembered—the owner of Zhang’s Seal Workshop writes very beautifully. Let’s pay a bit more and ask him to write down the guests’ names as well.”
Lady Pei handed her a notebook. “This is the list. Give it to them if they agree to write.”
“I understand. I’ll go now.”
Just as Lady Wang left, a maid came in and reported, “Madam, the new son-in-law has arrived and wants to see the master!”
“Oh! Go and inform the master right away.”
Lady Pei gave a few more instructions before heading to the front yard. Although Li Qing’an was still considered a prospective son-in-law, his status was extremely high; he had already become the main pillar of the Du Gu family. Now, whenever people talked about the Du Gu family, they would say it was Li Qing’an’s family, with Li Qing’an acting as their backer.
The servants also fawned over him greatly, inviting him to the guest room to wait, preparing the best tea and finest snacks for him.
Soon, Lady Pei hurried over. As soon as she entered, she said with a smile, “It’s unfortunate that Seventh Brother has come at this time—Mingyue and Mingzhu have just gone to their uncle’s house.”
Mingyue’s uncle was Pei Min, who had just been promoted to Deputy Minister of War. He was in Chang’an on official business and immediately took up his new position. Li Qing’an hadn’t met him since returning to Chang’an. Pei Min had originally been one of the members of the Eastern Palace faction. After Li Heng was deposed, he was also demoted, but later became the governor of Qizhou. Now that Li Yu entered the Eastern Palace, Pei Min, with his noble background, was naturally reinstated.
Li Qing’an quickly said with a smile, “Auntie, I’m not here to see Mingyue. I want to talk to my uncle.”
“Hmm! You do need to have a proper conversation to clear up some misunderstandings. I’ve already sent someone to inform him.”
Lady Pei asked Li Qing’an to sit down. While Du Gu Haoran hadn’t arrived yet, she whispered, “Seventh Brother, have you thought about how to take Mingzhu away?”
This was what Lady Pei was most worried about. If Mingyue stayed in Chang’an, Li Longji might not spare her. Even though she was now a subject’s wife, Li Longji, as the emperor, wouldn’t hesitate. Lady Pei was even concerned that Li Longji might target her son-in-law to get his daughter.
Li Qing’an smiled and said, “I’ve already asked Gao Lishi to ask the Imperial Concubine for help. In this matter, our interests align with the Yang family’s. I believe they will consider this for us.”
Lady Pei sighed. “Though that’s true, we need a reason!”
“Auntie, the reason is actually very simple!”
Lady Pei was stunned for a moment. Her eyes gradually lit up, and she quickly asked, “Go on, what’s the reason?”

At that moment, loud coughing sounds came from outside the door, and a tall figure appeared at the entrance—it was Dugu Haoran who had arrived. Lady Pei and Li Qing’an immediately stood up. Lady Pei smiled at Dugu Haoran as he entered the room and said, “Sir, Seventh Brother came specially to see you today.” “Mm!” Dugu Haoran walked forward with his hands behind his back. He said to his wife expressionlessly, “Madam, go ahead! I’ll talk with Seventh Brother.” “Very well, then you talk. I’ll go check on the wedding dress.” Lady Pei left, and Dugu Haoran sat down. A maid brought him a cup of tea. He took a sip and asked, “There were riots among the hungry today. How was the situation when Seventh Brother arrived?” Discussing current affairs was the best topic among men, as it made it easy to forget mutual grievances. Although Dugu Haoran had no direct conflict with Li Qing’an, Li Longji had created an awkwardness and subtle distrust between them. After Wang Gong, Wei Huan, and others became prime ministers, Dugu Haoran gradually calmed down and began to realize his impulsiveness regarding his daughter. Without any promise from the emperor, he had rashly sent his daughter to the palace. What would be the consequences? It was possible the emperor might make his daughter a concubine, but more likely, he would send her back the next morning. The emperor wouldn’t risk offending a high-ranking official for his daughter’s sake; he only wanted her body. But would Li Qing’an tolerate such a humiliating fate? He was the governor of Anxi, commanding a large army—he surely wouldn’t take his own daughter, nor would the emperor. In the end, Dugu Haoran would end up with nothing, laughed at by everyone, and still be mocked for centuries to come. The outcome wouldn’t be as wonderful as he had imagined. The emperor wouldn’t promote him to prime minister. Every prime minister he suggested had deeper motives, even Li Qing’an’s appointment as prime minister served political purposes—his turn wouldn’t come. The emperor had already promoted him to Minister of Agriculture as an advance reward. Realizing this, Dugu Haoran felt ashamed of his greed. He was grateful for his wife’s persistence, but he wouldn’t be grateful to Li Qing’an. Being grateful to Li Qing’an would mean admitting his own foolishness, something he would never do. On the contrary, Li Qing’an’s attempt to pressure him into yielding by bringing so many high-ranking officials to the family banquet still weighed heavily on his mind. Today, Dugu Haoran also felt it necessary for Li Qing’an to visit, but it wasn’t for reconciliation—it was so that he wouldn’t get drunk and fight with Li Qing’an at his daughter’s wedding.

Although Li Qing’an came with sincerity, he didn’t expect a reconciliation between him and Du Gu Haoran like that between father-in-law and son-in-law. As long as Li Longji wanted to, he could easily strain their relationship—Du Gu Haoran was that kind of person, valuing personal advancement above everything else, even more than family ties.

Yet Li Qing’an still wanted to talk to him, not wanting any accidents to occur in the final days. Li Qing’an took a sip of tea and sighed, “By the time I arrived, the court had already started relief efforts, and the emotions of the disaster victims had stabilized. There won’t be major chaos for now.”

“For now? Why do you say ‘for now’?” Du Gu Haoran asked again.

Li Qing’an pondered for a moment and said, “From what I remember, there was a drought in Henan Province the year before last, and last year it was Hedong’s turn. With even minor disasters, the people were displaced and left without means of livelihood. What do you think is the reason for this, uncle?”

Du Gu Haoran also sighed. “There were disasters during the Kaiyuan era too, but they weren’t this severe. A single province or county could handle them on its own. It’s unbelievable that the disaster victims are coming to Chang’an.”

“It is indeed unbelievable, but it’s happening. Have you thought about the reasons?”

Du Gu Haoran shook his head, indicating he didn’t want to talk about it, not that he didn’t know. Any official or even farmer in the Tang Dynasty knew the reason. In the past, farmers owned their own land; after paying the tax, they still had some surplus. When a disaster struck, they could grow other crops to cope with the drought. But now?

Seeing this, Li Qing’an smiled and said, “That’s why I said ‘for now.’ I heard that there’s already a spring drought in the Hebei region—no rain or snow all winter. By summer, there will surely be another severe disaster. Yet the emperor refuses to face it and is instead focused on waging war against Tubo. With natural disasters compounded by human errors, how can the situation not be dire?”

“Seventh Brother, be mindful of your status when speaking!”

Du Gu Haoran’s expression darkened as he said unhappily, “The emperor has his own considerations. As a subject, one should not criticize the emperor.”

The atmosphere in the room immediately became awkward. Originally, when they discussed current affairs, it was easy to find common topics—cursing together, praising each other, exchanging smiles—which would ease their conflicts and resolve their grudges. That was the best outcome of a conversation. Unexpectedly, their mismatched views only strengthened their mutual distrust.

The two were at a loss for words for a moment. Du Gu Hao Ran was truly displeased—Li Qing An was his son-in-law, yet held a higher rank than him, preventing him from lecturing his junior in a condescending manner. It also stirred a hint of jealousy in him, especially when Li Qing An spoke in a tone of dissatisfaction toward the emperor, which further inflamed Du Gu Hao Ran’s anger.

Just then, Ming Zhu’s excited voice came from the courtyard, “Where is Brother Li? My sister and I were just talking about him! Please take me to see him quickly.”

Du Gu Hao Ran grunted heavily, walked to the door, and shouted angrily, “How dare you!”

Ming Zhu, who had rushed over excitedly, was terrified by her father’s outburst and stood there, not daring to move. She had tried to find Li Qing An twice in recent days but hadn’t succeeded, which had left her feeling frustrated. Hearing that Li Qing An had arrived, she immediately brightened up. She had so much to say to him that she rushed over without even waiting for the butler to finish speaking, only to be rebuked by her father.

“Look at you! Talking so loudly and recklessly—do you still act like a junior? A bride-to-be acting so wildly all day long! Go back to your room!”

Li Qing An realized that Du Gu Hao Ran was indirectly criticizing him. He was also unhappy and stood up, saying coldly, “Then I won’t disturb Uncle Du Gu. I’ll take my leave first.”

People are strange—if Li Qing An had continued to smile or pretended not to understand, Du Gu Hao Ran would have become even more arrogant and spoken even more rudely. But Li Qing An’s cold expression made Du Gu Hao Ran feel uneasy. After all, Li Qing An was a top official in the Eastern Palace faction, the Prince of Anxi, and also held a ministerial position—someone Du Gu Hao Ran couldn’t afford to provoke. His tone immediately softened.

“Well… hehe! Seventh Brother, why don’t you sit a little longer?”

He then asked Ming Zhu, “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s back there!” Ming Zhu replied timidly.

“It’s not easy for Seventh Brother to come by today. Let your sister join you.”

Only then did Li Qing An understand. He realized he didn’t need to be sincere or try to reconcile with Du Gu Hao Ran. It was easy enough to handle him—just by keeping a stern expression and adopting an attitude of a superior toward a subordinate.

Li Qing An sneered inwardly and said calmly, “I’m sorry, but I have matters to discuss with the crown prince. If it’s convenient, I plan to take Ming Yue to visit the estate tomorrow.”

“Oh! That’s good. Since you’ve only been in Chang’an for a short time, spend more time with Ming Yue!”

After saying that, he chuckled dryly and left. As soon as his father was gone, Mingzhu immediately jumped up, grabbed Li Qing’an’s arm, and exclaimed, “Big Brother Li, I want to go too tomorrow!”
“Where to tomorrow?”
Mingyue walked into the yard with a smile. She had also heard that her beloved had arrived and wanted to rush over right away, but unlike Mingzhu, she was more reserved and kept a bit of composure. She had actually been there the whole time and had heard everything. It was only after her father left that she pretended to walk in as if nothing had happened.
“Sis, Big Brother Li said he’ll take you to the manor tomorrow, and Dad agreed too. You must take me along too! Staying at home all day, I’m going to die of boredom.”
Li Qing’an just wanted to be alone with Mingyue and didn’t want to bring along this curious young sister-in-law. He secretly gave Mingyue a glance, but she acted as if she hadn’t seen anything and smiled at her sister, “As long as Big Brother Li agrees, I have no problem.”
Mingzhu then grabbed Li Qing’an’s hand and coaxed, “Big brother, please take me! When you guys are in trouble, I even ran to Anxi before—have you forgotten?”
The incident of Mingzhu running to Anxi alone was her trump card against Li Qing’an. Mentioning it always worked. Li Qing’an had no choice but to say, “Alright! I’ll come pick you up early tomorrow morning.”
……