Chapter 647: You're still too green to go up against me

Chen Yan chatted with Li Shimin for a long time; seeing that it was almost noon, Li Shimin suddenly remembered something.

"Right, your daughter isn't turning one today? A few days ago, I heard Lizhi inviting some friends and relatives to your house for a meal—why haven't you gone back?"

Chen Yan froze, then slapped his forehead: "Oh no, we got carried away chatting—I forgot about that."

"Holy crap, what time is it? Your Majesty, I need to head back first—you go about your business."

Li Shimin: "......"

He waved his hand helplessly: "If you go back yourself, it'll be too slow; I'll have Wushe give you a ride."

"Besides, last time you made a bet with Guanyin Maid—she admitted defeat—so bring Sizi back for two months."

Hearing this, Chen Yan blinked: "Your Majesty, I was just joking—Her Highness the Princess really took it seriously?"

Li Shimin said with a straight face: "Who's joking with you? My Guanyin Maid already admitted defeat—you lost the bet, fair and square—what else do you want?"

"But you need to make it clear to Sizi yourself, so they don't say it was our idea and later go complain to the Retired Emperor."

Chen Yan: "......"

Damn, making it clear to Sizi.

Can that be made clear?

How to say it?

You can't just go back and tell Sizi, 'I made a bet with your mom, she lost, and the penalty is you have to come live here for two months,' can you?

Wouldn't Sizi run off and spread gossip everywhere?

"Your Majesty...... this......" Chen Yan hesitated: "Why don't you talk to Her Highness the Princess and just forget it?"

"Anyway, I just want to tell Her Highness the Princess the true nature of the temple; the bet isn't important."

"Besides, Sizi is getting older and harder to fool."

"Not easy to fool?" Li Shimin snorted coldly: "I see you lot didn't manage to fool her last time—she was left bewildered."

"How could it be hard to fool?"

"I don't care about your excuses—Guanyin Maid is the Empress; since she accepted the bet, she must follow through, or else once it gets out, how will the world view Guanyin Maid?"

"No need to say more—Wushe, hurry up and take our Lord Bo back."

Wushe lowered his head and came up beside Chen Yan: "Lord Bo, please follow me."

Chen Yan: "......"

Watching Chen Yan leave with a resentful look, Li Shimin smirked, lifting his little mustache, his mood instantly improving.

"Hmph, kid, you're still too green to go up against me."

"........"

"What have you been up to? Don't you know what day it is today?"

As soon as he got home, Gao Yang saw Chen Yan and instantly flared up: "Just a moment ago you were talking, and the next you vanished."

"How come? Our Minister of Revenue has nothing on his mind but state affairs, completely ignoring his own daughter."

"All those guests kept arriving one after another, and yet you, the head of the household, are nowhere to be seen."

"What am I supposed to do with my sister?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Chen Yan, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't argue with Gao Yang; he pushed her shoulder to go inside: "Isn't today a special case?"

"Your Father Emperor specially sent an attendant to summon me, and we talked about many important matters—I really couldn't help it."

"Besides, the people we invited aren't strangers—they're all friends."

"We're just using this chance to get together; no need to stand on ceremony—don't be angry."

Seeing Chen Yan unusually speaking gently to her, Gao Yang's expression softened considerably, though she was still a bit upset:

"Couldn't you have done this earlier? Important doesn't mean urgent—you could have seen off the guests and then gone to see your Father Emperor this afternoon."

"My sister and I can't make the decisions......"

"You can decide." Chen Yan laughed: "You're Princess Gao Yang—how could you not be in charge?"

"Around the house, big or small, everything goes as you say."

Gao Yang pouted and muttered: "Your Father Emperor really is something—he knows you'll have guests at home today, yet he doesn't talk to you during court, and after court he doesn't seek you out."

"When you got home and were ready to receive the guests, he summoned you away."

"All right, all right." Chen Yan soothed: "Let's not talk about that—let's go inside."

"The guests should have arrived by now, right? Has Aunt Zhang prepared the food?"

"They did come......" Gao Yang first said that, then grew worried: "But your position is different now—you're the current Minister of Revenue, and many things require special attention."

"I see Du Gou, Ma Zhou and the others brought their wives and kids—that's fine, after all they're people you brought yourself—but Han Zhongliang also brought his family, and on top of that Chu Mo and the others......"

"We're just holding a first‑birthday party for our daughter, inviting a few close friends—these people all hold official posts; if word gets out, could it reflect badly on you?"

"Don't worry about that." Chen Yan waved his hand indifferently: "We're not forming a faction; we're just eating and gathering."

"Besides, don't try to hide this—the more you conceal it, the more suspicious it looks; better to do it openly."

"Anyway, we have a clear conscience—what's there to fear?"

Gao Yang glanced at him: "As long as you know what you're doing, I'm just giving you a heads‑up."

"Don't worry—we have a legitimate reason, His Majesty knows about this, so there's nothing to worry about." Chen Yan reassured him again, saying:

"All right, I'm heading over first........"

"Huh." Chen Yan noticed another guest arriving, smiled, and said: "Vice Minister Kang, and Lady Kang...... this must be Young Master Kang, right? Come on in."

Gao Yang almost reflexively clasped her hands, putting on a proper smile.

"Minister of Revenue."

Seeing Chen Yan, Kang Chong beamed: "I heard your daughter just turned one today; I've prepared a modest gift—nothing special—but I hope the Minister of Revenue will accept it."

As he spoke, he furtively jabbed his seemingly slow‑witted wife beside him with his hand.

Su Zhi only just regained her composure, stepping forward with the gifts looking very uneasy, and timidly said, "Grand Secretary, please… may I ask where these should be placed?"

Chen Yan was slightly startled, glanced at Kang Chong, whose eyes showed an apologetic look, and then examined Kang Chong's wife closely.

On the surface, Su Zhi's appearance was not outstanding, at best ordinary; her clothing was of decent material, but it did not suit her temperament. It was evident that she had dressed carefully before coming.

She seemed not very old, probably younger than Kang Chong; her skin was somewhat dark, and on the hand holding the gifts one could still see many old calluses.

It must be that she endured many hardships in her youth; even though Kang Chong later rose to the Fifth Rank and his life improved, those marks could not be erased.

Chen Yan smiled, stopped Qing'er from taking the gifts, and personally received the gifts from Su Zhi:

"If you're coming, come; next time don't bring so many gifts, I'm already having trouble carrying them."

"Also… Kang Chong, you have a good wife!"

"Come, please enter."

"......."