Chapter 54: Du Gu’s Arranged Marriage (Part 1)

“What? Things were fine this afternoon—how did things change again? No, I’ll go and bring her here.” Du Gu Shi was furious. Ignoring Li Qing’an, he strode straight toward the inner chambers.
Li Qing’an wanted to call him back, but it was too late. He watched helplessly as Du Gu Shi walked away. Standing awkwardly by the central gate, he felt stuck—was it really that hard to have a drink of water or wine?
“How old are General Li this year?”
The noblewoman beside him took over Du Gu Shi’s task with a smile. Near forty years old, still beautiful despite her age, she had a round face painted snow-white with makeup, her hair piled high at the back like clouds, adorned with a hairpin. Her arms were covered in jewelry. She wore a short jacket with narrow sleeves on top and a long green skirt that trailed on the ground, with a red cloth draped over her shoulders and a red belt tied around her waist.
Yet Li Qing’an couldn’t help but glance at her chest. She wore a yellow bandeau underneath, revealing most of her full, snow-white breasts. Suddenly, he remembered a line from a poem: “Slowly tying up the skirt to reveal half the chest.” He never thought he’d actually see such attire.
Such revealing clothing wasn’t for everyone—it symbolized status. Only noblewomen in the Tang Dynasty could wear it, though famous singers and dancers could as well, usually to please high-ranking officials.
It had been two years since Li Qing’an arrived in the Tang Dynasty, and this was the first time he’d seen a woman in such clothing. No wonder—western regions generally wore barbarian-style clothing. Among Han women of status, he had only seen Gao Wu once. But this young lady…
“General Li, you haven’t answered my question yet.”
The noblewoman glanced at Li Qing’an, noticing his frequent glances at her chest. She smiled, unfazed. Her family surname was Wang, and she came from one of the powerful families in Guanlong. Her husband had died seven years ago, leaving her a widow. After Du Gu Shi’s first wife passed away five years earlier, he married her again through matchmaking.
Li Qing’an pulled his gaze away and smiled. “I’m twenty-five years old.”
“Oh! Twenty-five—full of youth. I wonder if General Li is married?”
Du Gu Shi had learned from the Ministry of War that Li Qing’an was unmarried. But women were suspicious, so Lady Wang wanted to ask more.
Li Qing’an guessed that perhaps the Du family had their eyes on him! The third daughter had refused to come, and Du Gu Shi had left in a fury. If that was the case, things might get troublesome.
“I was engaged since childhood, but the family moved to Shu. We’ve had no contact for many years.”

Li Qing’an left himself a backdoor: if that third daughter was tall and strong, as rough as Dugu Shi, then his childhood fiancée would appear. But if she was delicate and beautiful, then his own “fiancée” would naturally marry someone else.

As they talked and walked, they unknowingly arrived at a side hall. Lady Wang waved her hand gently and said with a smile, “General Li, please come in and wait a while. I’ll go urge the master.”
“Please, madam!”

Li Qing’an felt quite frustrated—how could the host leave and abandon the guest at the dining table? Yet he didn’t understand the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty; perhaps they didn’t care about such things.

The room was quite spacious, large enough to hold hundreds of people. Inside, there were two rows of a dozen or so low couches, each with a small table covered in fine wines, delicious dishes, and fresh fruits rare at this time of year. Behind each couch stood a maid. Thankfully, the room wasn’t completely deserted.

Suddenly, Li Qing’an noticed a problem: among those dozen couches, which one should he sit on? There must be some rules to it. Ordinary people might know them, but he wasn’t ordinary.

Standing there in confusion, he finally couldn’t help but ask a maid standing by the wall, “Excuse me, which couch should I sit on?”

No one paid him attention. The dozen maids stood motionless like wax figures.
“Hey! Where should I sit?”

Li Qing’an tried a different tone, but still got no response.
“Damn it! They’re pretty enough, but they’re all wooden statues.”

He cursed under his breath. As soon as he finished speaking, a snicker was heard.
“Li Qing’an, haven’t you seen the names written on the tables?”
“Oh!” Li Qing’an blushed. He then noticed a jade plaque on each table, with names written on them. His name was the first on the left.

He looked around, but aside from the dozen wooden maids, there was no one else in the room. Could it be from…?

His gaze fell on a white jade screen in the corner.
“Li Qing’an, you guessed right. This young lady is right behind the screen.”

The screen moved, and a young woman dressed in a dance dress dyed with pomegranate flowers stepped out, her hair styled in a double-looped bun. But when Li Qing’an saw her face, he was shocked. Was this really the Tang Dynasty?

The young woman was quite attractive—her skin was snow-white, her nose delicate, and her eyes large and round, lively and expressive. Yet her makeup was far from impressive. Her eyebrows had been shaved off, with two red lines drawn above her eyes and two purple lines below, the same on both eyes. Moreover, her lips were not red but purplish-black, reminiscent of anime characters from later Japanese culture.

Seeing Li Qing’an staring at her in surprise, she grew somewhat proud. She jumped onto a wooden cot, sat down cross-legged carelessly, picked up a tangerine, peeled it, and began eating it, murmuring, “Is my makeup nice? This is the newly popular ‘blood blush’ makeup.”

Li Qing’an smirked. So even in the Tang Dynasty, there were such trendy styles of makeup. He also sat down and said with a smile, “I’ve never seen it before, that’s why I was surprised.”

“You’re really a country bumpkin who’s seen nothing in the world.”

The young woman rolled her eyes disdainfully. “It’s no wonder my sister disdains you—you have no sense of style at all.”

“Wait! Wait!”

Li Qing’an quickly waved his hands. “Your father invited me just for drinks; he didn’t mention anything about your sister.”

Li Qing’an had already decided to bring his ‘fiancee’ back to life. With this young woman dressed up like that, he wondered what kind of shocking appearance her sister would have. He preferred clean faces.

“Ha! Ha!” The young woman almost laughed herself breathless. Pointing at Li Qing’an, she said, “You still don’t believe I’m a country bumpkin? My father is an official in Yangzhou—has he ever invited you? It was my grandfather who invited you.”

“Oh! So General Dugu is your grandfather. What’s your name? Are you nine or ten years old?”

“You’re talking nonsense! I’m ten this year…”

Suddenly, she bit her lip and laughed. “What a sly guy, trying to figure out my age.”

She suddenly puffed out her chest, pulling her shirt back to reveal fully developed breasts, and said proudly, “See? Could this be a nine-year-old girl?”

“Hehe! I get it now. You’re twenty-five years old,” Li Qing’an teased her.

“Am I that old?”

The young woman rolled her eyes. “Never mind. I’ll tell you! In half a month, I’ll be fourteen.”

“Then what’s your name? Shall I guess?”

“No! You’ll just make some random guess like ‘Ah Cat’ or ‘Ah Dog.’ I’ve been scolded by you before—I know. My name is Dugu Mingzhu.”

Her eyes sparkled as she asked again, “Can you guess my sister’s name?”

Li Qing’an raised his wine cup and said with a smile, “I guess her name is Dugu Mingyue, right?”

The young lady was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, she stretched out her thumb and praised, “You’re really smart. You’re not Second Master Bing.” Just then, a cough from Du Gu Shi came from outside the door. The young lady jumped up as if shocked, placed the peeled tangerine peel on Li Qing’an’s table, and immediately sat down properly again. She adjusted her skirt, lost all trace of a smile from her face, and didn’t even glance at Li Qing’an—transforming from a little wild cat into a gentle and serene lady.