The two of them hung up the iron plaque and went inside.
Li Qingxian took out a large handful of Spirit Talismans. He first stuck them up in various places around the room, then distributed the rest to the four of them.
"These Talismans are the kind used by high-ranking officials in the Night Guard. Keep them close to your body, and they’ll protect you. Don’t let anyone know about them. Sis, this is a special Talisman I prepared just for you."
As he spoke, Li Qingxian handed over a Yellow Talisman with blue edges and red patterns. "This Talisman Paper is one of a pair. I have the other one on me. If there’s any major emergency at home, just tear it, and I’ll be able to sense it immediately."
"Okay!" Chen Xiang took the Talisman Paper curiously and carefully tucked it away against her body.
Zhang Fang teased, "Look at you, doting on your big sister."
"What about me?" Chen Yuanpeng came over, craning his neck.
"You get nothing. When I have some free time, I’ll take you around to the Academy, the Martial Arts Hall, the Daoist Record Department, and places like that. We’ll see if you have any talent. If you do, I’ll ship you off right away instead of letting you sit around at home doing nothing but play."
"Mom, big bro is bullying me again!" Chen Yuanpeng yelped, hiding behind Zhang Fang.
Zhang Fang shot her son a look, then turned to Li Qingxian and asked eagerly, "Can you really do that?"
"Of course. It’s a piece of cake."
"But the tuition fees..."
"I’ll take care of it all. You don’t have to worry about a thing, just relax," Li Qingxian said.
"Qingxian, you’ve really made something of yourself. This air about you... it’s just like your father when he was young. If your mother could see you now, she’d be overjoyed..." As Zhang Fang spoke, her eyes reddened.
Chen Xiang quickly cut in, "Mom, didn’t you say you were going to braise the pork? Are you still going to let little bro have his braised pork and bamboo-tube rice?"
"Right, right, what a scatterbrain I am..." Zhang Fang turned, wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, and deftly started preparing the braised pork.
Chen Yuanpeng sidled over cautiously, wringing his hands. He looked up and whispered, "Big bro, I’ll never curse you behind your back again. From now on, my sister is your sister. Please don’t send me away, okay?"
Li Qingxian sneered, "This is your punishment for cursing me!"
"You’re a bully... WAH..." Chen Yuanpeng ran into the house, wiping away his tears.
The three adults didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The two cousins had been squabbling like this since they were little, neither ever giving the other an inch.
Li Qingxian glanced at Chen Zhu and went over to lend a hand, helping to carry things. Chen Zhu walked with a limp, but he was exceptionally deft in his work. He was well-known in the area for everything from carpentry and odd jobs to cooking.
As evening approached, Chen Zhu brought out both roasted and steamed bamboo-tube rice and set them on the table. The mingled aromas of rice, meat, and bamboo, carried on billowing steam, filled the small courtyard.
The family of five sat around the stone table in the courtyard. There were four smiling faces, and one pouting one.
Li Qingxian glanced at the little grump and said, "Look at that face, your chin is practically scraping the floor. Give me a smile, call me ’big bro,’ and I’ll give you some candied haws."
"Do you think I’m an idiot? Where are you going to get candied h... haws in the middle of summer?"
Chen Yuanpeng’s mouth fell open. A skewer of bright red candied haws had appeared in Li Qingxian’s hand, the sugar coating transparent and the hawthorn berries gleaming.
"Big bro!" Chen Yuanpeng jumped off his stool, his face tilted up in an incredibly sincere smile as he gulped.
Li Qingxian handed it over.
"Thanks, big bro!" Chen Yuanpeng’s voice was crisp and clear as he took the candied haws and started munching on them.
"Is that real, not some kind of trick?" Zhang Fang asked curiously.
"It’s real. Things I put in this Treasure stay fresh no matter how long they’re in there," Li Qingxian said.
"Tsk, tsk, well I’ll be..." Zhang Fang clicked her tongue in amazement.
Li Qingxian suddenly looked toward the outside and called out loudly, "Uncle Xiaozhou, come have a meal with us! You can meet my family."
The others jumped, not understanding what was happening.
A moment later, the main gate creaked open, and Zhou Henn walked in.
The Chen Family hurriedly stood up.
After Li Qingxian made the introductions, they all ate together.
Zhou Henn remained expressionless, just eating and picking up food with his chopsticks.
Chen Yuanpeng stared at the large, slanted scar on Zhou Henn’s face, licking and gnawing on his candied haws. After a long moment, he commented, "So cool!"
Then he added, "You can tell he’s a hero of the streets!"
Zhang Fang jumped and told Chen Yuanpeng to shut his mouth.
The little grump sullenly gnawed on his candied haws.
Zhou Henn didn’t speak, while Li Qingxian chatted with his aunt, uncle, and sister as they ate.
The three of them were all curious about what Li Qingxian had been up to recently. Li Qingxian thought for a moment, then selected some of the less frightening stories to share.
After listening, Chen Yuanpeng gave a thumbs-up and said, "Fucking awesome!"
Li Qingxian frowned. "Where did you learn that?"
Zhang Fang reached out and lightly tapped Chen Yuanpeng on the shoulder, scolding, "You little troublemaker! No more swearing from now on."
"Oh." Chen Yuanpeng lowered his head, his eyes darting around.
After dinner, Li Qingxian brought out some good tea, and they all chatted while drinking.
Chen Yuanpeng snuggled into his mother’s arms, listening wide-eyed to the adults’ conversation.
Zhang Fang hugged Chen Yuanpeng and looked at Li Qingxian. "Qingxian, your sixteenth birthday is coming up soon. What should we do about it? Normally, we shouldn’t make a big fuss this year, but you’ve just become an official, and you’ve been so ill. Since it’s your sixteenth, according to the customs from back home, we must hold a grand celebration to drive away bad luck."
Li Qingxian said, "Room Leader He will help with that. It won’t be a huge affair, but it won’t be small either. I was thinking we could just invite some friends from the Street Patrol Room, maybe a dozen or so people. We should also send invitations to the Capital City Li Family and some of my father’s old acquaintances. It doesn’t matter if they come or not, but we should observe the proper etiquette. Our other relatives are all back in our hometown, so we can’t notify them. I’ll invite a few more friends... I estimate thirty or forty people in total. Four tables at most. This courtyard should be able to fit them."
"What about the neighbors...?" Zhang Fang asked.
"I’m only turning sixteen. Is that really necessary?" Li Qingxian said.
"Sixteen is considered grown up," Zhang Fang said.
Li Qingxian had a flash of understanding. This was an old custom in the Daqi Empire: once you turned sixteen, you were considered an adult and could discuss marriage. A birthday banquet had to be impressive, a way to show off the family’s resources and pave the way for future marriage prospects.
Li Qingxian said, "Let’s invite the neighbors for the next day, then. Otherwise, it’ll be too chaotic."
"Alright, we’ll split it into two days," Zhang Fang said.
Chen Zhu said, "I think you should just make a list today so we can start preparing."
"Good point."
Li Qingxian took out a brush and paper. "Uncle Xiaozhou, Uncle Zhou probably won’t be able to make it back for my birthday, right?"
Zhou Henn said, "He won’t."
"Sigh. It’d be great if Uncle Zhou were here. He’d know who to send invitations to. Now that I’ve picked up my brush, I really don’t know who I should and shouldn’t invite. Like the Guard Commander, for example. Our relationship doesn’t seem to be at that level yet, but it feels wrong not to send one."
"Just send the invitations with the same shamelessness you usually have," Zhou Henn said calmly.
"Haha..." Chen Yuanpeng burst out laughing. Seeing Li Qingxian glare at him, he quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Li Qingxian nodded. "I might as well write a few extra, then. Worst case, we set up one more table. If they come, they’ll have a seat. If they don’t, it’s not a big waste."
Li Qingxian slowly began writing names.
Guard Commander Cowardly King...
Li Qingxian frowned and asked, "Uncle Xiaozhou, what was the Guard Commander’s name again?"
Zhou Henn thought long and hard for a moment, then said slowly, "You should probably just address him as Lord Guard Commander."
"Your words have enlightened me as much as if I had heard words." Li Qingxian’s remark made Chen Yuanpeng roar with laughter.
It would have been better not to start. Once he began writing, he couldn’t stop.