Chapter 511: Handwritten Invitations from Li Lizhi

The next day, Li Lizhi finished taking care of everything after moving into the new house, then hurriedly took out the invitation cards she had prepared in advance while in Weinan County, intending to arrange for them to be sent out.

For those with whom she wasn't especially close, she would have Xiao Shunzi deliver the invitations; for close acquaintances, Li Lizhi planned to go invite them together with Chen Yan.

So early in the morning, after getting up, washing up and having a simple breakfast, she took out more than ten invitation cards and went looking for Chen Yan.

What puzzled her was that at this hour, Chen Yan usually had just finished breakfast and would either go to his study to read or lie in the backyard to bask in the morning sun.

But today his figure was nowhere to be seen.

Li Lizhi, puzzled, went to Gao Yang and said, "Sister, have you seen my husband? We need to deliver the invitations today, otherwise time is tight; the crown‑bestowing banquet is approaching."

Gao Yang was still feeding a child; hearing her words, she thought for a moment and said, "Go check the Martial Arts Hall; he should be there."

Hearing this, Li Lizhi blinked, her confusion deepening.

The Martial Arts Hall, in fact, is a facility that most noble families in Chang'an have, whether they are civil officials or military generals.

Because the Tang Dynasty values martial prowess, and even civil officials must practice the six gentleman arts, Chen Yan's household naturally has one.

However, Li Lizhi's puzzlement stemmed from the fact that the Martial Arts Hall in their home was merely a decorative piece.

She had only heard that Xue Li used to go there daily, and ever since Xue Li left, no one had been there for a long time.

Why would my husband, who is perfectly fine, go to the Martial Arts Hall?

Li Lizhi, full of doubt and curiosity, went straight to the Martial Arts Hall.

Upon arriving, she saw Chen Yan with beads of sweat on his forehead, standing in a proper horse stance, while Li Tai lay on the ground panting heavily.

"Brother Chen, does this thing really work? It's exhausting; I feel like my legs are no longer my own."

"Being tired is exactly right!" Chen Yan held his breath, focused, and said gravely, "The ancients said, 'One part tillage, one part harvest.' Every drop of sweat you shed now, every breath of foul air you exhale, will become a seed that will take root, sprout, grow strong, and eventually bear fruit."

"Comfort is for the dead!"

Li Tai paused, about to say something, but when he saw Li Lizhi arrive, he quickly fell silent.

"Husband… are you training in martial arts?"

Stancing in the horse stance is a basic skill in most martial arts, which Li Lizhi had naturally heard of, so she asked.

Chen Yan shook his head, "I'm not going to the battlefield, so why practice weapons? I just feel a bit lax lately, so I'm exercising my body."

"Oh~" Li Lizhi didn't think further, took out an invitation and said, "Then why not train tomorrow? Today we have to deliver the invitations; if we're later it won't be appropriate."

"Deliver the invitations?" Chen Yan heard that and finally remembered that there was indeed such a matter.

He stood up, massaged his sore thigh, took the invitation, opened it and glanced at the many characters, which roughly meant an earnest invitation for someone to come on the tenth day to the Duke of Wei's residence to attend Chen Yan's crown‑bestowing banquet.

Only… the handwriting on it felt rather familiar to Chen Yan.

After a moment of thought, Chen Yan found the familiar source in his memory and looked up, saying, "Did you write this invitation?"

"Mm." Li Lizhi's face flushed slightly, a little embarrassed, "I started preparing it back in Weinan County. I originally hired someone to write it, but I felt their handwriting wasn't as good as mine, so I took the liberty of writing it myself; that way it seems more sincere."

After speaking, she hurriedly added, "If my husband isn't satisfied, I also prepared a backup written by someone else."

Chen Yan was silent for two breaths, looking at the nervous young woman before him, at a loss for words.

If even this isn't satisfactory, what else would satisfy him?

Unconsciously, a wave of guilt rose in Chen Yan's heart.

Am I being too bad to Li Lizhi?

She really has done so much for this family, while I only took her out for a day, making her overjoyed.

Now that I think about it, Li Lizhi is only as old as I am.

In later generations, people of this age are just entering university.

"I'm not dissatisfied; let's use the one you prepared. You go get ready first; I'll take a shower, change clothes, and then I'll go with you."

Chen Yan truly didn't know what to say, softened his tone, handed the invitation back to Li Lizhi, and gently pinched her slender, well‑proportioned nose.

Her face flushed even more, and she instinctively glared fiercely at Li Tai, who was watching the scene nearby.

Li Tai was instantly speechless.

Not that, sis?

You pinch me, why are you glaring at me?

My very existence has been holding you up, huh?

Chen Yan gave a faint smile, took Li Lizhi's hand, and left.

Once everything was ready, the two, with the invitations and two maidservants, began the long journey of delivering the invitations.

First of all, of course, it was Cheng Yaojin and the others who were very close to Chen Yan; when they came to the door, they couldn't just hand over the invitation, they had to sit down and chat for a while.

Thus the delay was considerable, and by noon they had only delivered about half.

Coincidentally, the next invitation to deliver was to Du Ruhui's residence, and Chen Yan casually said, "Let's just go have lunch at Cai Duke's place instead of going back."

"Perfect, I have some questions to ask Cai Duke, and also some to discuss with Du Gou."

"If my husband decides, that's fine; I have no objection."

Li Lizhi did not refuse and went with Chen Yan to visit Du Ruhui's residence.

Their arrival made Du Ruhui very pleased; he waved his hand grandly and said, "Madam, hurry, hurry and slaughter that old ox; we'll have beef today!"

"Alright, got it!"

Madam Xiao smiled and immediately complied.

Chen Yan, seeing this repeat, quickly declined twice, hoping Du Ruhui wouldn't go to such trouble.

However, Du Ruhui's attitude this time was firm; Chen Yan couldn't argue, so he gave up.

"Alright, no need to say more; let's treat today as a small celebration, after all Du Gou has benefited a lot from you, so you have to show us some appreciation," Du Ruhui said earnestly, then invited the Chen couple to sit down.

"Then I'll humbly obey," Chen Yan sighed, smiling helplessly.

"However, Li Lizhi and I came today for two reasons: first, to deliver an invitation, and second, to ask you some questions."

Du Ruhui expressed understanding; Du Gou had already told him about the crown‑bestowing banquet.

What is being sent now is naturally the invitation to the coming-of-age ceremony; he is not surprised.

What he is interested in is that Chen Yan wants to ask me a question!

"According to rumor, you went into the palace yesterday; what did you discuss with His Majesty?"

Du Ruhui poured tea for Chen Yan while speaking.

"Indeed." Chen Yan said calmly: "His Majesty intends to put the Ministry of Revenue under my charge; I want to ask what you think."

"Ministry of Revenue?" Du Ruhui furrowed his brow slightly......

"......"