Chapter 31: A Crowd Shows Up at the House Early in the Morning

The next day.

Chen Yan, half‑asleep, heard a door open, then heard Xiao Sizi shouting in her level‑ten baby talk right into his ear: "Sis, seven‑bed~".

"Sun's drying my butt~".

"Sss!"

Chen Yan covered his ears and inhaled a breath of cool air.

A child's voice is no joke; that shout almost made his soul scream out.

He turned his head and saw Xiao Sizi standing on tiptoe, tilting her little head up to look at him.

After the hangover, Chen Yan still had a headache; seeing the cute little princess, he forced a faint smile and said, "It's Xiao Sizi, huh? Why are you here?"

"Sis, I'm calling you seven‑bed duck~" Xiao Sizi swayed the two little tufts on her head, looking in a good mood.

At that moment, Qing'er entered carrying a bowl of soup, came to the bedside and said, "Young master, you were drunk yesterday; have a bowl of sobering soup first."

"Drunk?" Chen Yan was startled, recalled what happened yesterday, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

In fact, at first he wasn't drunk at all; he only wanted to use Li Shimin's presence to coax Li Chengqian into saying something.

He never imagined the after‑effects of the wine would be so strong, and gradually he truly became drunk.

Chen Yan, his head still throbbing, said, "Qing'er, I didn't say anything reckless yesterday, did I?"

At the mention of it, Qing'er's eyes lit up, eyebrows dancing as she said, "Young master, you were impressive yesterday; you even composed a poem, and the Crown Prince said it could be passed down for ages."

"A poem? What poem?" Chen Yan was stunned; he truly didn't recall writing any poem.

The only thing he remembered was that he said he would take Li Chengqian to earn money; after that his memory cut off.

"How many, how many!"

Before Qing'er could answer, Xiao Sizi excitedly gestured, "Big river some water licking toward me, clumsy six to the sea not plump!"

Chen Yan: "......"

Qing'er: "......"

Well, even though Xiao Sizi was using baby talk, Chen Yan could still make it out.

Copying… ahem, a scholar's work, how can that be called copying?

What he wrote should have been Invitation to Wine.

Chen Yan asked again, "After I finished the poem, I didn't say anything reckless, right?"

"No." Qing'er shook her head. "After you finished the poem, His Majesty and Her Majesty left, leaving the little princess here."

"Um… because you said the little princess must not eat anything randomly, I didn't dare give her breakfast, and I was waiting for you to get up."

Chen Yan suddenly understood, sat up, pinched Xiao Sizi's nose and said, "You gluttonous little brat, you only came to wake me up because you had no food, right?"

Xiao Sizi wasn't embarrassed, giggling as she patted her belly: "Sis, my tummy is super hungry, want seven‑seven duck~"

"Alright, then let's eat meat!"

"Really? Thanks sis, sis is really good duck~"

At the mention of meat, Xiao Sizi was overjoyed, her big eyes seeming to have tiny stars twinkling inside.

Chen Yan, getting out of bed, instructed, "Xiao Sizi, just eat something light. Let Aunt Zhang steam dumplings for breakfast today."

"By the way, what time is it now?"

"Young master, it's the Chen hour." Qing'er replied, placed the sobering soup on the table, and handed Chen Yan the clean clothes.

The Chen hour actually corresponds to 7 a. m. to 9 a. m.

"Fine, you handle the arrangements; I'll take care of the rest myself."

Chen Yan took the clothes from Qing'er's hands and dressed himself.

Qing'er didn't say much after that, just reminded him to remember to drink the sobering soup, then left the room.

Dressed, Chen Yan first took Xiao Sizi to brush their teeth with a clay toothbrush and toothpaste, then returned and drained the sobering soup in one gulp.

Just as he was about to go to the backyard to play with Xiao Sizi for a while, Xiao Shunzi suddenly came over.

"Lord Bo, among the distinguished guests who came yesterday, two of them are back today; you should go take a look."

"Back again?"

Chen Yan, holding Xiao Sizi, thought Xiao Shunzi was referring to Li Shimin and his wife, and asked in surprise, "Where are they?"

"In the main hall, Lord Bo."

"You go down first… By the way, tell your mother to steam more dumplings."

Chen Yan gave the instruction and, still holding Xiao Sizi, hurried to the main hall.

But when he entered, he found that the visitors were not Li Shimin and his wife.

They were Li Chengqian and Li Lizhi, both seated on chairs, with a strikingly beautiful woman beside them, her hair styled in twin‑ring celestial hair.

"Brother Zi An!"

Li Chengqian's eyes lit up at the sight of Chen Yan, and he broke into a happy smile.

He immediately pulled the woman beside him over and said, "Brother Zi An, let me introduce you; this is Crown Princess Su."

"Ah brother, sister‑in‑law, hello duck~"

Xiao Sizi called out sweetly.

Chen Yan, realizing, held Xiao Sizi, bowed slightly and said, "I have seen the Crown Princess, Princess Changle."

Su smiled politely, "Marquis of Weinan, no need for formalities. I have often heard my husband speak of you, but unfortunately never had a chance to visit. Today, coming to your door, I hope I am not a great disturbance."

Li Lizhi rose gracefully, performed a standard ten‑fold salute, her face showing a hint of apology, "Sizi, this is your first time leaving the palace; I'm a bit worried. I come uninvited; please, Marquis of Weinan, do not mind."

Of course, that was just a polite front.

Li Lizhi recalled the repeated admonitions from Ah Ye yesterday, and an uneasy expression flickered on her face.

However, Chen Yan did not notice any of that.

Li Lizhi came to visit Xiao Sizi, Chen Yan wasn't surprised.

What surprised him was, how could Li Chengqian come? And he even brought the Crown Princess!

Chen Yan immediately asked, "Cheng Qian, you......"

He didn't say those words out loud, his gaze shifting back and forth between Li Chengqian and the Crown Princess.

Li Chengqian understood Chen Yan's doubt, gave a wry smile and said, "Zi Anxiong, I won't hide it from you, last night the two ofus...... sigh, Father suddenly gave me three days of leave and even ordered me to take the Crown Princess out to play."

"I didn't know where to go either, so I just came to find you."

"Ah?" Chen Yan blinked, somewhat bewildered, "His Majesty didn't hit you with the board, yet gave you three days of leave?"

Li Chengqian: "......"

Crown Princess: "......"

"Zi Anxiong, you seem to really want me to get hit with the board, huh?"

Li Chengqian spoke softly.

Chen Yan gave an embarrassed smile, about to speak.

Suddenly, two excited shouts came from outside.

"Zi Anxiong, we're here!"

"Old Chen, we've come to find you!"

Upon hearing those two voices, Chen Yan and Li Chengqian exchanged a glance, both knowing who had come.

"Please sit, please sit!"

Chen Yan ignored the outside voices, greeting Li Chengqian and his wife and Li Lizhi to sit down.

Just as they had sat down, two figures rushed in, one of them being Cheng Chumo.

Beside him followed a youth with a dark face and tiger beard, his appearance formidable.

"Yikes, the Crown Prince is here too?" The formidable youth, upon seeing Li Chengqian, was somewhat surprised.

Cheng Chumo was more sensible; upon seeing outsiders, he hurriedly paid respects to the Crown Prince.

Chen Yan curled the corner of his mouth, waved his hand, "Chu Mo, Bao Lin, how did you two get here so early?"

"And Lao Qin?"

The visitor was none other than the son of Duke Wu, Yuchi Gong—Yu Chi Bao Lin.

"Here!"

Yu Chi Bao Lin hadn't yet answered when another youth strode in from behind—eight chi tall, with a stern countenance yet bearing a gentle, refined aura.

This person was none other than the Lao Qin that Chen Yan had mentioned.

The son of Duke Yi, Qin Qiong—Qin Huai Dao.

Chen Yan couldn't help but rub his forehead.

Well, today is quite rare—early in the morning, all those brothers are already gathered.

"......"