Chapter 26

Come, little Sizi, have some meat.

Chen Yan immediately picked out a piece of stewed tender beef from the pot and placed it in Xiao Sizi's bowl.

"Sis, I wanna eat meat~" Xiao Sizi stared at the meat before her, constantly swallowing her saliva.

Chen Yan encouraged, "Of course you can eat it; I'm the one treating your illness now, and I say you can eat, so you can eat~"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Sizi lifted her little head and gave Empress Changsun a pleading look.

Empress Changsun said gently, "Your brother-in-law is right, little Sizi can eat meat; Mother, shall I feed you?"

"Mmm, mmm, mmm! Want meat, want meat!" Xiao Sizi's big, shiny eyes instantly lit up at the prospect of meat, as if filled with stars.

She writhed excitedly in her seat, her little hands eagerly reaching for the meat bowl on the table, her torso leaning forward a bit.

Empress Changsun swiftly grasped her daughter's hand and softly said, "Be good, little Sizi, the meat is still steaming; you need to blow on it to cool it before eating."

"Mommy, mommy~" Xiao Sizi completely ignored her mother's words, her watery eyes fixed on the meat chunk in the bowl.

Seeing Empress Changsun stop her, thinking her mother might change her mind, Xiao Sizi's little face flushed red in panic.

"Mommy, can I have some meat, please?" Xiao Sizi pleaded with a choking voice, crystal tears welling in her eyes.

Empress Changsun felt heartbroken, quickly picking up a piece of stewed, melt-in-your-mouth beef with her chopsticks, blowing on it repeatedly until she judged the temperature right, then brought it to her daughter's lips: "Come, Sizi, try a taste."

Xiao Sizi immediately stopped crying and smiled, opening her little mouth and biting the meat chunk with an "ah-umm" sound.

This pot of beef, specially stewed soft and flavorful as Chen Yan had instructed, Xiao Sizi effortlessly took a big bite.

"Mommy, meat good~"

Xiao Sizi puffed her cheeks, mumbling while chewing, her brows and eyes curved like crescent moons, utterly satisfied.

Seeing Xiao Sizi so happy, the Li Shimin family all felt a sense of emotion.

They hadn't seen Xiao Sizi this happy in who knows how long.

Li Shimin let out a light sigh, then said, "Zi An, we have good dishes, but no good wine—how can that be?"

"Today I am happy; quickly bring the wine so I can drink heartily with you."

Chen Yan, hearing this, replied meaningfully, "Your Majesty, the wine in my household is different—very strong, and it gets one drunk easily; are you really sure you want to drink it?"

Li Shimin laughed heartily: "What strong wine haven't I drunk?"

"Back when I led your forefathers and your Uncle Cheng to conquer the realm, which time before battle did we not down three big bowls of wine?"

"Go ahead and serve it; I want to see just how strong your wine really is, and whether it can get me drunk!"

Having said that, Chen Yan stopped urging and bent down to take a jar of wine from under the table.

Drinking wine is already popular in the Tang Dynasty; with Li Shimin coming, how could he not have prepared in advance?

However, this distilled wine has a high alcohol content, and since Chen Yan's own tolerance isn't great, he had never brought it out before.

Now that Li Shimin has asked for wine, not taking it out is no longer an option.

As soon as the seal was opened, a rich wine aroma drifted out, filling the hall.

Li Shimin exclaimed, "Surely this is good wine—I just don't know if it's really as strong as you, Zi An, said!"

"Your Majesty, just try it and you'll know!" Chen Yan didn't elaborate further, pouring a bowl for Li Shimin, his two sons, and himself.

Li Shimin and his two sons looked at the wine before them with some surprise.

Even the imperial court's tribute wine is usually cloudy.

Yet this wine is clear as water; were it not for the aroma rising from the bowl, the three might have mistaken it for water.

Chen Yan warned, "Your Majesty, this wine is truly strong; if you drink it, you must sip lightly, or it will burn your throat."

Li Shimin, however, refused to believe it, thinking Chen Yan was underestimating him, and he lifted the bowl and took a big gulp.

As the wine entered his throat, Li Shimin's face instantly flushed red, feeling an intense spiciness in his throat.

But he was too embarrassed to spit it out, so he forced himself to swallow it.

"Good! Good wine!" Li Shimin, stubbornly enduring the burning sensation in his throat, loudly praised, "This is the strong wine a Tang man ought to drink!"

Having said that, he quickly grabbed a few pieces of meat and stuffed them into his mouth to suppress the fiery afterburn.

Li Chengqian, watching from the side, saw Li Shimin react like that and couldn't help swallowing his saliva, muttering softly, "Goodness, this wine might be even fiercer than firewater!"

He lifted his bowl, not taking a big gulp like Li Shimin, but merely took a small sip.

"Hiss, it's really good wine!"

Tang men all love wine, and Li Chengqian is no exception.

Li Tai, after finishing his drink, likewise sang its praises.

The four of them thus ate meat in big bites and drank wine in small sips while chatting freely.

By contrast, Empress Changsun's side was much more refined; she paid no attention to their drinking and leisurely enjoyed hot pot with the three princesses.

From time to time they chatted about the heavens and teased little Sizi, creating an indescribably warm atmosphere.

But as time passed, the chatter of Chen Yan's group grew louder and louder, gradually becoming noisy, and even their gazes began to blur.

Li Tai looked stout and sturdy, but in fact his alcohol tolerance was the worst; after a couple of grunts, he slumped over the table, unconscious.

"Zi Anxiong...... you have such fine wine, yet you never brought it out before—did you not consider me a brother?"

Li Chengqian, tipsy, slung his arm over Chen Yan's shoulder and couldn't help complaining.

Over the past year, Li Chengqian, Chen Yan, Cheng Chu Mo, plus Yuchi Baolin and Qin Huai Dao have practically forged a deep revolutionary friendship.

Whenever he got the chance, he would slip out of the palace under the cover of Crown Princess Su, go out with the four of them to play around, and release his usual stress.

Over this time, the five brothers have practically seen all the girls of Pingkang Ward, and they haven't stinted on good wine either.

But the wine they used to drink pales in comparison to what they're drinking today at Chen Yan's home; the two are simply not comparable.

Chen Yan's tolerance was never great to begin with; by now he was already about seventy percent drunk, and hearing Li Chengqian's words, he mumbled, "This, this wine gets one drunk too easily—if we get drunk...... wouldn't that interfere with checking out the girls?"

As Chen Yan's words trailed off, the atmosphere on Empress Changsun's side instantly fell into dead silence.

The mother and daughter trio stared in disbelief at Chen Yan and Li Chengqian.

Originally, when the three people heard that Li Chengqian seemed to know Chen Yan, even addressing each other as brothers, although they felt doubtful, they didn't have much reaction.

After all, Chen Yan's status is not low, plus the previous generation owed Li Chengqian a life-saving favor, their acquaintance is not hard to understand.

Although Li Shimin is very strict with Li Chengqian, Li Chengqian making some friends, he likewise does not pay too much attention.

However, now listening to the conversation between Li Chengqian and Chen Yan, how does it seem a bit off?

"......"