Li Changxing paid his respects in accordance, saying, "Changxing has seen Grandfather Li."
Li Qidao took a big gulp of wine, looking at the handsome boy before him, and said,
"Is he the Mansion Master's grandson?"
The valiant man's smile was intoxicating as he added,
"The Imperial Grandson."
Li Qidao gave a thumbs up, saying, "Handsome indeed, with a pleasing appearance, and even the name is good. Changxing, truly a fine name, just like the name of Heaven Capital City itself."
the valiant man laughed heartily, quite pleased.
Li Qidao nodded, saying,
The man chuckled, and the two resumed their drinking. Without any appetizers, they drank just as merrily, brimming with hearty spirit, and in no time had polished off most of the liquor. The valiant man slammed the wine jug down on the table, a flush of tipsiness on his face that only added to his bold spirit, and asked,
"What's Tiance's child's name?"
"In the past, Tiance and I often stayed up late into the night talking, and more than once, I had him sprawled under the table drunk, agreeing that our children's names would be set and betrothed, but we haven't seen the children for many years. If the other child is currently unattached, it could still be possible."
"If he's already taken a liking to someone else early on, then let it be, no need to bind them with the decisions of our generation, but, is the child's name Anfeng?"
The man's eyes sparkled as he looked at Li Qidao, laughing,
"All birds have a place to perch, but the phoenix alone wanders without a place to settle."
"You mean to say like the swift horse seeks its return, the phoenix seeks its roost? Anfeng?"
Li Qidao let out a laugh, saying,
"It seems you already know, or perhaps you'll find out sooner or later, that there's never been a Wang Anfeng under heaven, only a Wang Anfeng. Though a phoenix might fold its wings and rest, how could any high wall or courtyard ever contain that swift, mile-traveling breeze?"
The man was unconcerned, merely laughing,
"I guess Wang Tiance named him that because it's a stroke less in 'feng,' saving some inner strength and a bit of ink."
Li Qidao took a swig of wine and roared with laughter, saying,
"Exactly, he's just that lazy."
"What can you do about him?"
The valiant man, as ever, said, "Of course, I can't do anything about him. From the day we met, I've never been able to deal with him; you know his temperament as well as I do."
Li Qidao laughed out loud, saying,
"His temperament is uninhibited, and yours is good? On the day that scoundrel Wang Tiance got married, everyone was there, except for him and Miss Ning Xin; no one knew where they went."
"Just the other day, Zhou Fengyue was saying that after you ascended the throne, you were supposed to hold a grand banquet for the officials, but you left the entire Imperial Court, taking the Imperial Granddaughter with you and disappearing, causing the old Secretary and Zhou Fengyue to cover for you and manage the situation. Despite that, it aggravated everyone's discontent, and the Supreme Former Emperor, who barely attended, even left in a huff."
"Are you saying there was no connection between these two incidents?"
The valiant man smiled without answering, simply gesturing with his eyes to Li Sheng standing by.
Li Sheng, smiling as always, led the somewhat perplexed and bewildered Imperial Grandson out of the courtyard. The Guard waiting in the carriage had seen the Sword Saint Pei Danding's graceful demeanor in the Imperial Palace and had already opened the carriage curtain.
Li Sheng assisted Li Changxing into the carriage. The Imperial Grandson, raised within the Imperial Family and with a discernment far surpassing his peers, grabbed hold of Li Sheng's sleeve and asked in a low voice,
"Is this Anfeng person the keeper of the archives we met in Fufeng?"
Li Sheng did not hide the truth and nodded slightly before turning to walk out.
The curtain of the carriage fell, and Li Changxing asked softly again,
"...Is it Aunt Qi Wu?"
This time, he did not get to see Li Sheng's response.
Li Qidao threw back his head and emptied the whole jug of wine, exhaling a breath full of alcoholic haze, and said, "Now that we've caught up, I've been in the Capital City for quite some time, and with your abilities, I don't believe you were unaware of my presence. Yet now you come looking for me, what for?"
The valiant man smiled,
"Not seeking you out because I feared you'd be annoyed to see me, thus I had the Imperial Censor accompany you in your daily drinking sessions. Otherwise, for the Prime Minister of Great Qin to be missing for several days in a row, how could the Imperial Censorate remain unconcerned? I have more mundane matters to attend to in the Imperial Palace."
"Today, however, I came to see you for two reasons. First, I wanted to share a drink with you, and second, just to let you know, Father Emperor has already found out about Tiance's offspring's whereabouts and even sent people after them."
Li Qidao sneered, almost unable to suppress his Qi Mechanism that coiled like thunder on his body. His eyes fixed on the man before him as he slowly sat back down, his face no longer relaxed, he said slowly,
"The Mo Family's Pei Yue, who was once known as 'a sword to startle Heaven and Earth, with steps that cut through demons and deities'?"
The valiant man nodded, saying,
"But you can rest assured, his appearance this time was with sword in hand."
"And he took a fine sword too."
"The Mo Family's mental method of universal love and non-aggression goes against the nature of carrying a sword, making it hard to exert full strength, and he likely had no intent to kill, just delaying the Master you mentioned. For some reason, after watching a play, he left."