My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

"That's right." Li Ying nodded and said, "Originally, this New Year's Day banquet only invited the prime minister and officials of the third rank, as well as a few princes. The rest were ordered by my father based on his mood."

"So, could it be that His Majesty suddenly had a whim this time and directly called my name?" Chang An said.

Li Ying shook her head and said, "That's not the case."

"That's good."

"It was a decision my father had carefully considered, not made based on his mood."

"Cough cough..."

Chang An was relieved at first, hoping against hope that the Emperor would stop letting him attend various grand banquets because he saw that his wife had been pregnant for a long time.

I didn't expect that I would underestimate this famous emperor.

"Is Chang Lang okay?" Seeing Chang An like this, Gu Li thought he choked because he was talking while eating.

"It's okay, it's okay," Chang An took a sip of tea and said, "So, just like the last Winter Solstice Banquet, I was personally nominated by His Majesty to go?"

Li Ying nodded, then picked up the bowl and chopsticks on the table, rinsed a piece of mutton and continued, "I don't know why, but I feel like my father likes you very much."

Chang An waved his hands quickly, then placed a plate of meat in front of Li Keer, and continued to say to Li Ying: "Don't say that, there are many adults here, who isn't..."

Then he lowered his voice and said, "Everyone is as fierce as a wolf and a tiger. Today is New Year's Day, and it is not easy for us to investigate who is who, let alone chase them away."

"So, Your Highness, at this moment, there are so many people around, so you don't have to say some things. It's okay to say them in private."

Li Ying nodded and continued to eat her own food. Then Chang An suddenly raised his head and said, "Oh, I forgot!"

Gu Li saw Chang An like this, put some meat into his bowl, and then asked: "What's wrong, Chang Lang? Have you forgotten something important again?"

"It's about the eldest princess."

Li Ke'er frowned slightly at this time and asked, "What's going on with me?"

Chang An nodded, and then said to Gu Li: "Mother Gu, I forgot to tell you that the eldest princess is now Xiaoguai's aunt. His Highness told me this when I attended the Winter Solstice Banquet last time."

"Oh, as long as Chang Lang has made the decision." Gu Li nodded.

Seeing that Gu Li had no objection, Chang An nodded, breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Li Ying and asked again: "When do I need to attend the New Year's Day banquet?"

"Don't worry about that, because I will take you there." Li Ying waved her hand and said, "You don't have to worry either, it won't be so soon."

Chang An thought for a while, then asked, "By the way, Your Highness, will we have a lot of wine to drink at today's New Year's Day banquet?"

"Not much," Li Ying said vaguely, shaking his head as he ate something. "Because there is no need to hold a drinking ceremony like during the winter solstice, there is no need to drink a lot. It's just to deal with some ministers."

"What's wrong? Are you afraid you've had too much to drink?"

"Yes, I drank too much last time and my mother Gu disliked me." Chang An said with a smile.

When he mentioned himself, or a private matter, Gu Li's face turned red. He wanted to pinch him, but he gave up in the end because of Li Ying's face.

Li Ying also nodded in agreement and said, "It's okay, your New Year's Day banquet..."

Li Ying suddenly stopped talking halfway, then leaned close to Chang An's ear and whispered, "Your seat at the New Year's Day banquet will still be next to me, don't worry. I'll protect you, and no one will dare to force you to drink--"

"Except my father and several of my uncles."

"I have another question for Your Highness: Does this banquet have a specific start and end time?" Chang An asked again.

Li Ying thought for a moment and said, "It will be the same as the last time during the winter solstice. It will start at You hour and end around Xu hour. And don't you have Eunuch Cheng to escort you? Eunuch Cheng is the fastest in the palace in escorting people."

"Well...thank you very much, Your Highness." Chang An's mouth twitched - what exactly does this "giving someone away" mean?

It makes people feel a little scared.

As they chatted, they ate a lot more. It was time to serve the dumplings. When Li Ying saw these white and tender dumplings, she said, "I'm just craving for a bite of yours!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness. There are still a lot of dumplings being cooked in the kitchen. Don't worry and eat them."

"Then I won't be polite!" Li Ying's eyes lit up, and then she picked up a piece of dumpling and put it into her mouth.

"Sir, Mr. Song is here."

At this time, Huaiqin came to Chang'an and whispered. Chang'an raised his head again and looked towards the door. As expected, Song Jing and Su Ke were standing at the door at this time. They must have just arrived not long ago.

After Chang An said "Excuse me" to Li Ying and Li Ke'er, they came directly to the door, bowed and said, "My dear sir, I greet you. Happy New Year, sir."

"Happy New Year, Mr. Su."

"Yonghe, Happy New Year." Song Jing said with a smile, "I am not too late. My family was arranging the banquet earlier. There were many guests, so I came a little late."

"It's okay, because the dumplings are ready to be served now, and the ingredients for the hot pot will be replaced later. So, sir and Mr. Su are not late, but just right." Chang An said with a smile.

"Sir, Mr. Su, please come in."

Song Jing originally wanted to ask to sit next to Chang An, but after seeing Li Ying and Li Ke'er, he swallowed his words back. Chang An was not ignorant of the ways of the world, and directly arranged Song Jing and Su Kang to sit closest to him.

"Greetings to Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Your Royal Highness the Princess. Happy New Year to both of you." Song Jing and Su Kang both bowed and greeted them politely.

Li Ying said, "No need to be so polite. We are all here to eat today, so why are we so polite? I am also Chang Yonghe's guest."

"Yes."

Then Song Jing and Su Qiang sat down, and a new set of bowls and chopsticks were brought up.

"Your house seems to be more lively this year than last year. Even I haven't seen some of the faces here." Song Jing said with a smile.

Chang An just smiled and said nothing. After all, he knew what these people were thinking. Even if he didn't completely guess it, he at least understood it.

"I'm just afraid that it will get even busier after spring..."

......

After finishing the meal, the banquet was almost over. Chang An and Gu Li sent all the guests away, and then arranged for Li Ying and Li Ke'er to drink tea in the main hall, and then returned to the house.

Originally, Li Ying also wanted to follow Chang An to his room, but Li Ke'er tactfully stopped him and kept him in the front hall on the grounds of "don't disturb the lady's rest."

Chang An helped Gu Li sit on the bed, then took off her shoes and socks and said, "I will be going to the palace to attend the banquet again later. Gu Niang, remember to eat well."

"Well, I remember it, but it doesn't mean it will taste good." Gu Li said, and then he felt a pressure on his ankle.

"Okay, okay, even if you can't eat well, you have to eat enough. Leave the rest for me when I come back in the evening, and we will eat together." Chang An said with a smile, "Then after I finish massaging Gu Niang's feet, she will take a nap."

"When will Chang Lang leave?" Gu Li asked at this time, "I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep by then."

"It should be between 5 p.m. and 1 p.m." Chang An said, "They should set out after Gu Niang falls asleep, or even after she wakes up."

Gu Li nodded.

After Chang An carefully massaged Gu Li's feet, he helped her take off her outer coat, helped her lie down on the bed, reached out and pulled the folded quilt over Gu Li and covered her with it.

Gu Li was young and pregnant, so she fell asleep quickly. Chang An sat on the edge of the bed, reading the book he had written, "Anohana". While reading, he would occasionally check Gu Li's breath to see if she was awake.

After an unknown amount of time, Huaiqin knocked on the door gently, and after a breath or two, she pushed the door open and came in. Chang An glanced at Gu Li lying beside him and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"Sir, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that the time has come and we should go to the palace to attend the New Year's Day banquet."

Huaiqin was still holding Chang'an's court dress in her arms, presumably she had just brought it from next door.

Chang An nodded and said, "I understand. You and Zhen'er will stay here to take care of Gu Niang for the time being. When Gu Niang wakes up, tell her that I have gone to the palace."

"Yes, sir." Huaiqin handed the court dress to Chang'an and left the room.

After changing into court clothes, Chang An came to the front yard. At this time, Li Ying and Li Ke'er were already waiting inside the house. Seeing Chang An standing outside in court clothes, Li Ke'er asked:

"Is the county lady settled?"

Chang An nodded and said, "She has fallen asleep, but she will wake up soon after I leave."

"Your Highnesses, let's set off this way."

"Well, let's go."

......

Li Ying's carriage was used by the royal family, and was one level higher than the one used by Eunuch Cheng to pick up Chang An. It could enter the palace directly without getting off. The carriage quickly stopped in front of the palace where the banquet was to be held. Li Ying and Li Ke'er got off the carriage first, and Chang An was the last one.

"Okay, it's still early. Chang Yong, come in with us and have some rest." Li Ying said, looking at the few people in the hall.

"Okay, Your Highness, please."

Chang An tidied up his clothes one last time, and after making sure there was no problem, he followed Li Ying in.