Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 144

Chapter 144 Be A Guest
Because Jiang Zhou was still some distance away from Jin Zhou, Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang set off one day before Li Daozong’s birthday. It was noon when they arrived at the palace. Apart from some of the Li Dao Sect’s relatives, most of the other officials hadn’t arrived yet. Some of them had arrived early, so they wisely went to the city to find a place to stay, not daring to disturb them in advance.

Jiang Xia King, Li Daozong, brought up Jin, Bing, Pu, Jiang, and several other provinces to control the Taiyuan Prefecture, the northern capital of the Great Tang Dynasty. He could be said to be a top figure in the northern region. As the premier of Bing Prefecture, most of the troops in Beijiang, Li Ji strictly obeyed his orders. Actually, the two of them were side by side, and they had the aura of restraining each other. Naturally, Li Shimin could not hand over half of the vast northern region to someone.

Zhui Suiliang and Qin Mubai were only rank five officials, but their identities were special. In other words, they were the emperor’s military and political spokesmen in the Jin-Bing area. Hence, when the secretaries and governors of the third and fourth grade saw that they were still half a waist short, Li Daozong also treated them differently and emphasized in the invitation that the two of them should come to the manor to drink and chat in advance.

When the carriage stopped at the palace, a government official warmly welcomed it. Seeing Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang get off the carriage, he hurriedly cupped his hands and asked, “Are you General Qin and Mr. Zhui?”

“It’s us.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “Thank you for coming out.”

“Your Highness has been waiting for you two for a long time. Please, distinguished guests!” The manor official hurriedly extended his hand to extend the invitation, showing great courtesy.

Qin Mubai had already come to the palace once, so he was familiar with the road. Zhui Suiliang walked in and looked around. He smiled slightly and said, “King Jiangxia is living a simple life. A dignified mansion is probably not as good as the residence of a wealthy family in Chang’an.”

The manor official hurriedly said, “Your Highness often taught us to be vigilant in times of danger and to guard against poverty. Therefore, we never build large-scale construction projects.”

Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang looked at each other and smiled. They coincidentally thought to themselves, This is indeed the style of the Li Dao Sect. They are greedy, simple, and have a bit of a miser’s taste. It was interesting for such a great hero to have such a problem that made one unable to laugh or cry.

The two of them followed the manor officials to the main hall. Just as they turned around a flower garden, they heard a hearty laugh coming from ahead. “Haha! This prince got up early this morning and heard Wenxi Que Ming Zhi. Indeed, an honored guest has arrived! General Qin, Mr. Chu, this prince has been waiting for you for a long time!”

“Greetings, King of Jiangxia!” The two stepped forward to greet him.

“There’s no need to be too courteous, please!” Dao Sect Li waved his hand and invited the two of them into the hall.

Two tables had already been set up in the hall, and there were more than ten people standing beside them who did not take their seats. Upon closer inspection, there were men, women, and children, most of whom looked like Li Daozong’s family.

“Gentlemen, these are all members of this king’s family. Today is a family banquet. You two don’t need to be formal.” Dao Sect Li laughed heartily, “You two are truly punctual and trustworthy. This king estimates that you will arrive at noon. I specifically instructed my family to wait for you to have dinner together. Please take a seat!”

Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang hurriedly cupped their hands and bowed, “How dare you be so kind as a prince?”

Letting his family wait for them to have lunch together was indeed a very high-class treatment. The implication was that they were treated as the most respected guests or even relatives.

“You’re welcome. This king’s army has always been used to going straight to and fro. Just sit down!” Dao Sect Li laughed heartily and sat down at the main seat.

Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang no longer prevaricated and sat down on the left and right of the Li Dao Sect.

“Alright, the guests are here. Everyone, sit down, serve and eat!” Dao Sect Li was in a good mood and laughed repeatedly.

Everyone sat down in separate seats. A group of servants and maidservants entered and presented dishes and wine. The family banquet began. Most of the people present were Li Mubai’s brothers or juniors who had come to congratulate him on his birthday. Many of them were also considered relatives of the Duke and Marquis. They only toasted and said polite words to each other during the banquet. Li Mubai and Zhui Suiliang were often toasted by Li Daozong. The atmosphere was harmonious and warm.

Forget about the banquet, Li Daozong instructed the manor officials to arrange a good guest room for Qin and Zu. They first went to take a rest to get rid of the tiredness of the journey and agreed to go fishing in the small lake in the manor’s backyard at dusk.

Apart from loving money, fishing was Li Daoist Sect’s second hobby.

Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang went back to their rooms. After sitting in the carriage for a long time, they were indeed a little tired. They also drank a lot at noon and were slightly drunk. After washing up, they lay down and took a rest.

Half asleep and half awake, Qin Mubai seemed to hear a knock on the door.

“Are you asleep?”

Chen Yan?

Qin Mubai rolled over and put on her clothes, replying, “Coming.”

Opening the door, it was indeed Chen Yan standing outside. She had already changed into her black chivalrous outfit and wore a simple menswear robe. Her hair was tied up casually, and she was carrying a wooden basin with a bowl of hot soup on it.

“I only asked if you were asleep or not, but you directly opened the door.” Chen Yan smiled and said, “I’m afraid that you’ll get drunk. I’ll serve you a bowl of sober soup.”

“Thank you for your trouble.” Qin Mubai smiled and welcomed her in. “Just now, I was wondering why I didn’t see you at the banquet. When did you arrive at the palace?”

“I came to Jinzhou yesterday.” Chen Yan put down her bowl and said, “Although I have adopted the prince as my foster father, I am not accustomed to the life of the prince’s mansion and I do not want to meet too many people. Therefore, I came to Jinzhou to stay in an inn. I entered the mansion a long time later than you. I did not disturb you when I saw you drinking. Drink while it is hot, Jianghu Secret Recipe, sobbing alcohol is extremely useful.”

“I believe that. If people who walk in Jianghu get drunk from time to time, it will definitely be easy for them to do bad things.” Qin Mubai picked up the bowl and drank it clean. It was slightly sour and sweet, and it tasted pretty good.

“Aren’t you afraid that I’ll put medicine in the bowl? This is also the usual trick used by people traveling in Jianghu.” Chen Yan laughed mockingly.

“That’s Xiao Xiao’s trick. A heroine like you definitely won’t use it.” Qin Mubai also smiled.

“Where’s your little princess? Isn’t she His Highness’s niece? Why didn’t you bring her to celebrate her birthday?” Chen Yan suddenly asked.

Qin Mubai rolled her eyes twice and smiled, “I forgot even if you didn’t mention it. Should I bring her here to celebrate her birthday?”

“Pretend.” Chen Yan sneered.

“She’s gone. She’s hurrying back to the capital to get her punishment.” Qin Mubai chuckled and said, “She escaped from the palace privately, so how dare she come to congratulate the king of Jiangxia on her birthday?”

“You escaped from the palace to see you?” Chen Yan couldn’t help but knit her brows.

“Not all of them.” Qin Mubai squeaked as she spoke of him.

“Then it must be.” Chen Yan smiled and shook her head. “Your troubles are coming. Take care of yourself.”

“You’re so direct. Just like your sword, you’re trying to hit the nail on the head.” Qin Mubai smiled helplessly and said, “It seems that you can’t hide anything from me. Your eyes are like your sword, able to pierce through people’s hearts.”

“After traveling in Jianghu for so many years, I have seen many people. Naturally, this is the case.” Chen Yan said, “There’s no need for you to hide anything. I can tell at a glance that the little princess has her own feelings for you, but you may not agree with her. It’s better not to force things between men and women. If you don’t like her, just say it directly and don’t deceive her. I’ve always hated people who deceive their feelings the most. I don’t want my friends to be like this.”

“What if I like her?” Qin Mubai smiled awkwardly.

“That means you’re in more trouble.” Chen Yan sneered and said, “I used to be the same as her, risking my life to pursue my own feelings. In the end, you saw the result.” Actually, if you like a person, you may not necessarily be with him … If he can live a good life, it is enough. Unfortunately, Gaoyang did not understand. She likes you, but she is destined to bring you trouble and even disaster; If you really like her, this trouble and disaster will only get worse. Don’t think I’m talking nonsense. I’m just learning from the past. ”

“Thank you for your good intentions. I am very grateful.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “You’re the only one who knows what I’m talking about. Actually, I know all these things very well in my heart. I’ll take care of them myself.”

“That’s good.” Chen Yan smiled relaxedly. “I hope you don’t mind saying so much. This is your personal matter. I shouldn’t have interfered in it. Since I treat you as my friend, I can’t help but remind you a bit more. However, I didn’t mean to break you up. Instead, I hope that there will be a good outcome between you two. Alright, you can rest and go fishing together later.”

“You like fishing too?”

“Why don’t we get along so well with His Highness?” Chen Yan smiled charmingly as she turned around and walked out of the room to close the door for him. The sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.

Qin Mubai couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Chen Yan, this woman, was really a hot-tempered saber-mouthed tofu heart.

Shortly after, Qin Mubai and Zhui Suiliang agreed to the Li Dao Sect’s agreement and went to the back garden of the mansion to fish.

Although the Jiang Xia Royal Palace was simple, its area was not small. There was a pretty good artificial lake in the backyard. There was also a boat on the surface of the lake. There was a simple dock made of wood and bamboo. There were some lotus planted in the lake. Autumn wind blew, the lake surface with some broken branches and leaves, occasionally wild heron kingfisher across the lake, but also quite a bit of autumn sky long color of the countryside flavor.

There were only five people in the group, Li Daozong, Qin Mubai, Zhui Suiliang, Chen Yan and a servant boy. Dao Sect Li was obviously in the dark. After reaching the center of the lake, the ship sat down steadily and swung its rod, not moving a hook like a bell. Qin Mubai used to be a fishing enthusiast, but he wasn’t particularly proficient in it. This kind of simple fishing gear made by the Great Tang wasn’t very good at tossing and turning. Thanks to Chen Yan’s help, he successfully took the bait. Zhui Suiliang, on the other hand, was a pure layman. It was difficult for him to successfully fall the hook into the water, causing everyone to tease him.

The few people present were all in a good mood and enjoyed the leisure and entertainment of fishing, as it was rare for them to be as relaxed as they were today.