[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er":3,"chapter-great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-chapter-10":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Great Tang: Starting Off by Vindicating Li Er",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2351141,4596,"Chapter 10: Double Ninth Festival, Visiting Pingkang Again","great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-chapter-10",10,"\u003Cp>A quarter of an hour later, both were drenched in sweat and finally stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang took the towel handed over by Ruyan, wiped his sweat, and asked, \"Ruyan, have the living arrangements for Uncle Fu and the others been settled?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ruyan giggled and said, \"I had the maids prepare them several days ago. Not only that, I specifically prepared several rooms so that Uncle Fu and the others could choose for themselves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha...\" Su Liang chuckled, pinched Ruyan's small, delicate nose, and said, \"Things are always worry-free when left to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Fu watched their intimate interaction and said with a beaming smile, \"It seems it won't be long before I can drink to the Young Master's wedding.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang laughed, \"Soon, by next spring. When the time comes, we will invite all the familiar elders and folks from Jiangning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then turned his gaze to Erhu and said, \"Erhu, have you set your eyes on any young lady? The Young Master will go and propose marriage for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erhu scratched his head in embarrassment, gave a silly laugh, and said, \"Not yet. Having grown up by the Young Master's side since I was young, my standards have become high. The daughters of wealthy families don't look at me, and I haven't met a suitable girl yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang looked at the blushing Erhu and laughed, \"No matter, no matter. Now that we have arrived in Changancheng, there are plenty of daughters from wealthy families in the city. If you fancy any young lady, just tell the Young Master, and if it's suitable, I will go and propose for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Su Liang noticed Ruyan lowering her head, her expression clearly looking a bit unpleasant, and he immediately understood her thoughts. Although Ruyan was a woman of the red-dust world, she had remained pure before Su Liang. Now that Su Liang had Princess Changle, she did not ask to be his legal wife, but she hoped to be a concubine by the Young Master's side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang saw through Ruyan's mind, then reached out his right hand, pinched her cheek, and said, \"Alright, Princess Changle is a marriage bestowed by His Majesty, so she can only be the primary wife. Let's marry you into the house together next year; I'll have to wrong you by making you a concubine. To the Young Master, you are all the same.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing her Young Master finally speak, Ruyan immediately wept with joy, smiled, and threw herself into Su Liang's arms. Su Liang wrapped one arm around her slender waist, stroked her hair, and comforted her continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, alright, why are you so fond of crying? If you cry until your face is ruined, the Young Master won't want you anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Ruyan quickly wiped away her tears, then pounded Su Liang's solid chest with her chubby little fists, feeling incredibly shy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle Fu and Erhu, who were on the side, were stunned for a long while before they realized—their Young Master was... he was going to marry a Princess!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was the eldest daughter, the one most cherished by the current Emperor of the Great Tang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, he was going to marry two at the same time!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang turned his head to see Uncle Fu and Erhu frozen in place and was quite speechless; it was just marrying a princess, was it really that big of a deal?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Laozi even wants to marry a few more princesses. As a proud son of heaven who traveled to the Great Tang, if I don't marry a few princesses, wouldn't people laugh their heads off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then stared at Erhu and teased, \"How about I ask His Majesty to bestow a princess upon you one day?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erhu instantly snapped back to reality, shook his head hurriedly, and waved his hands, \"No, no, I don't have the great ability of the Young Master to have His Majesty bestow a princess; it's better not to be a son-in-law who marries into the royal family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hahaha...\" Su Liang couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, tomorrow we will go to Lantian County.\" He then turned to look at Uncle Fu and Erhu and said, \"Uncle Fu, Erhu, you two come along tomorrow as well to see the Young Master's fief.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, Su Liang met an old friend in a strange land and was rarely this happy; that night, everyone drank until they were dead drunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Ruyan drank a little less, and that night, she exhausted all her skills and used every trick in the book to keep Su Liang completely submissive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lantian County, Su Liang's fief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang pointed to a piece of land by the mountains and water in front of him and turned to Erhu, \"Erhu, how about we build a villa at the foot of this mountain?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, good, good...\" Erhu laughed, \"The Young Master wants to build a paradise on earth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang smiled as if bathed in a spring breeze and continued, \"As expected of someone who grew up with me, Erhu knows me best.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival. Wait for the Young Master to think it over carefully and finish the villa blueprints first. After the festival, you will be responsible for this matter, and for money, just go find your Sister Ruyan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Young Master gives you two months; by then, we will move in together to spend the winter. The villa shall be called Taoyuan Villa!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Erhu scratched his head and laughed, \"Understood, I'll make sure to arrange the heated brick beds for the Young Master too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After many days of thinking, Su Liang had already figured out how to proceed. Salt workshops, sugar workshops, clothing workshops, pig-raising workshops, cement workshops, glass workshops, coal workshops, porcelain workshops, and so on—a series of workshops were already planned in detail in Su Liang's mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group stayed in the fief for a whole day, inspected the terrain of the fief, and only returned to the Hibiscus Garden in the evening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ninth year of Wude, the ninth day of the ninth month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This year's Double Ninth Festival seemed exceptionally lively. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, facing the Turkic army stationed at the Wei River, they hadn't been able to have a peaceful holiday. Now that the enemy had been wiped out, Li Er had lifted the curfew in Changancheng today and was hosting a banquet in the palace to treat the officials, admire chrysanthemums, and compose poems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, Li Er had sent people to invite Su Liang to the banquet many times, but was ruthlessly rejected by Su Liang. Honestly, this kind of gathering was meaningless; it was nothing more than a group of sycophants flattering and sucking up to Li Er. With this time, it would be better to go to Pingkang Ward to listen to music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unable to withstand Li Er's repeated invitations, Su Liang finally sent out a hundred dou of Drunken Tang to satisfy Li Er's vanity, and only then did Li Er stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the winery had not yet opened, nor had the restaurant; only Su Liang had the Drunken Tang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In another ten days, the newly brewed Drunken Tang would be ready, and by then, the restaurant could open, and the chefs had been trained well enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today's dinner at the Hibiscus Garden was very rich: hot pot, grilled fish, whole roasted lamb, steamed crab, stir-fried dishes, fruits... everything was available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After eating dinner early, Su Liang took Ruyan and Yu'er into Pingkang Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Pingkang Ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang was sitting on the floor, leaning against a table and drinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former top courtesan of Pingkang Ward, Liu Ruyan, was serving him on the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, the news of Su Liang being in Pingkang Ward swept through Changancheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young masters of noble families and young ladies of prominent households came one after another, just to catch a glimpse of Su Liang's demeanor. Many of them had only recently returned to Changancheng and admired Su Liang greatly. Having missed Su Liang's \"hundred poems while drinking\" a while ago, they were determined to see Su Liang compose poetry in person today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, Pingkang Ward was overcrowded, and many people without prominent backgrounds were squeezed out of the ward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Incredibly, in Pingkang Ward, which was meant for men's entertainment, the number of young ladies from prominent families who came today was several times that of the men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if the place had been booked by the young ladies...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of this was because of Su Liang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Su Liang came to this Pingkang Ward, it was a paradise for many men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Su Liang arrived, being peerlessly handsome and hailed as an immortal descended to the world, especially on a special day like today, it naturally caused a sensation in Changancheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, the visitors and the young ladies who came for his reputation all focused their eyes on Su Liang; even the procuress and the attendants of Pingkang Ward were the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing those burning gazes, Su Liang naturally understood their meaning and felt quite helpless, so he borrowed a poem by Wang Wei, \"Thinking of My Brothers in Shandong on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month,\" to dismiss them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A lonely stranger in a strange land, I miss my family all the more on every festive day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar I know my brothers are climbing high, wearing dogwood, but one is missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the crowd refused to give up, and the girls of Pingkang Ward crowded around, forcing Su Liang to compose a few more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang was quite helpless, so he recited more than a dozen poems in a row, and only then did the crowd stop bothering Su Liang while he drank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The east wind blows, blooming flowers on a thousand trees. It blows down stars like rain. Fine horses and carved carriages fill the road. The phoenix flute sounds, the jade pot light turns, all night the fish and dragon dance. Moths, snow-willows, and golden threads. Laughter and chatter, the faint fragrance drifts away. I search for her in the crowd a thousand times. Suddenly looking back, that person is there, where the lantern light is dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thin clouds weave skills, flying stars convey hate, the silver river crosses secretly. When the golden wind and jade dew meet, they surpass countless people in the world. Tenderness is like water, the beautiful date is like a dream, how can one bear to look at the magpie bridge return path. If the two hearts are lasting, why do they need to be together day and night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After many days, everyone finally heard Su Liang recite poetry again, and it was still a deep shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, the girls went crazy, their eyes sparkling with starlight, staring at Su Liang with deep affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang had long been accustomed to such a scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the day he was born, the system had been transforming Su Liang's body; his appearance and temperament had already reached the limit. Even sitting still could make women infatuated and intoxicated, and men who saw him would feel inferior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today he plagiarized many poems again, so having such a reaction was perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is no exaggeration to say that tonight, all the women here, as long as Su Liang was willing, anyone could accompany him to sleep, and they would not only be willing but also ecstatic. This damn charm was truly impossible to contain; wherever he went, he would become a heartthrob.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The person on the path is like jade, the Young Master is peerless in the world... Young Master Su is truly an immortal descended to the mortal world...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Master Su's smile makes me addicted...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No matter what, I must climb onto Young Master Su's bed...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pah, you are delusional... are you as beautiful as Miss Ruyan...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Floating and otherworldly, looking like an immortal, and even more talented, Young Master Su is truly perfect...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I could become the beauty by Young Master Su's pillow, I would die without regrets...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pah, you are dreaming...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How can there be such a peerless and otherworldly man in the world? I have fallen for Young Master Su, and no one else can enter my eyes...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pah, Young Master Su wouldn't look at you...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Searching for him a thousand times in the crowd, that person is there where the lantern light is dim. Is Young Master Su looking for me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If two hearts are lasting, why do they need to be together day and night... Young Master Su will understand my heart one day...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the words of the crowd, Ruyan, who had drunk a little wine, blushed even more. Her heart couldn't help but ripple, and she couldn't help but shift her body to lean against Su Liang, her face full of infatuation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than a month ago, the two of them met just like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a private room on the second floor, Su Liang was drinking wine while listening to Ruyan playing music on the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu'er was outside, preventing anyone from disturbing them. After the previous poetry session, it was simply too noisy, so they had to move to a private room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, and Yu'er pushed the door open and said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Master, many more people have come downstairs. They all say they didn't hear the poems you just composed and want to ask you to compose a few more. Yu'er... Yu'er really couldn't stop them, so...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang said gloomily, \"Alright... alright, I know. Go tell them to wait a moment. The Young Master doesn't want to compose poetry today. In a while, I will play a tune for them to listen to. Also, have someone bring the Young Master's new instrument.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu'er teased, \"Which new instrument is the Young Master talking about? Is it the Phoenix Cry Zither the Young Master just made, or that big pot you spent several days tinkering with?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang said speechlessly, \"The Young Master has told you many times, that is not a pot. If you say it's a pot again, one day the Young Master will turn you into a pot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay, okay! Yu'er is waiting for that day, Yu'er wants to be ahead of Sister Ruyan.\" Yu'er giggled; she was becoming more and more mischievous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu'er left the private room, looked at the crowd, and said, \"Gentlemen, ladies, my Young Master says he doesn't want to compose poetry today. In a while, he will personally play a tune for everyone to enjoy. Please make way so I can let the driver go back and get the instrument.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little fairy stopped Yu'er and said, \"Miss Yu'er, there is no need for such trouble. There are many instruments in Pingkang Ward. I have a fine Phoenix Cry Zither here; if Young Master Su doesn't mind, he can borrow it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd on the side also shouted, \"That's right, there are plenty of instruments here, why go back to get one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu'er was also very helpless. Her Young Master wanted to use that broken pot to play music, and she couldn't help it. She patiently explained to everyone that it was a new instrument invented by her Young Master and that he wanted everyone to have a taste of something new, and only then did the crowd let Yu'er leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than an hour later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang got his new instrument, which he had spent several days of misery crafting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly tired of listening to the music of the Great Tang; he had to come up with something new to make it interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be said that the smelting methods of the Qin and Han dynasties were indeed awesome; the handpan crafted using this method had a sound quality far better than modern handpans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Su Liang walked to the high platform on the second floor, the crowd also saw the so-called \"new musical instrument\" in his hands; it looked like a pot, and they were all quite puzzled—could this thing really play beautiful music?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd did not dare to disturb him, for the Transcendent Immortal would surely not act without purpose, so they all waited quietly, though there were inevitably some murmurs of doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang looked at the crowd and smiled slightly; what Su Liang did not know was that this smile of his had once again captured the hearts of many young maidens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following Su Liang's gesture, the crowd fell completely silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Liang was seen sitting cross-legged, the pot-like instrument resting on his crossed legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accompanied by Su Liang striking the handpan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That ethereal and gentle melody instantly rippled outward...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone present was struck dumb, for they had never heard such ethereal and wonderful music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every strike of Su Liang's fingers seemed to strike at the hearts of the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At times vast and ethereal, at times delicate and warm, at times like a harp, at times like a great bell...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if they had been pulled into a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if in different times and spaces, their souls were connected, as if they could hear each other's heartbeats and breathing, and even converse with their souls, to the point of feeling one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was also as if they had left their hometown, or were revisiting an old place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The melody was continuous like flowing water, sorrowfully beautiful yet bright and warm. It gave people a distant yearning and purified and emptied the soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Su Liang was playing was precisely \"Longing Across Time and Space.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And only this piece, played on a handpan, suited the current Su Liang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He played for a full hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout the entire time, Su Liang kept his eyes tightly closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As that ethereal and gentle melody returned to that distant hometown, with each strike of his fingers, memories like a tide surged into Su Liang's mind...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unknowingly, there were also a few tears at the corners of Su Liang's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the song ended, the crowd remained unable to recover for a long time, and many had already burst into tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A full quarter of an hour later, the crowd finally awoke from the dream they were immersed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the Liangyi Hall of the Taiji Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Er was drinking and feasting with various Dukes and ministers, enjoying the sycophantic flattery of what Su Liang called \"bootlickers,\" his face glowing with health.\u003C\u002Fp>",3108,"2026-06-21T02:53:01.560Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","2b7dc50a11595e9ec2c78de937186aa7130d1a37efbf06069416eb68dbd7a16f","great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-chapter-11","great-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-chapter-9",63,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgreat-tang-starting-off-by-vindicating-li-er-cover.jpg"]