My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

After Chang Wenmeng left, Chang An returned to the room. Just as he closed the door, he suddenly heard a faint "hum" sound coming from the direction of the bed.

He hurried to the bedside, and Gu Li on the bed also opened her eyes at this time. After waking up, she immediately looked at Chang An who was still by the bed, and confirmed that Chang An was still sitting by the bed, then she yawned.

"Awake?" Chang An stretched out his fingers and tidied up Gu Li's temples.

"Hmm..." Gu Li sat up from the bed and asked, "Chang Lang, did you go out just now?"

Chang An nodded and said, "My father just came to tell me something and said Aunt Qing will come to our house for dinner tonight."

"What's wrong? Did I wake you up?"

"No," Gu Li shook his head, sat down on the bed, and said, "I vaguely felt that there was something empty around me, so I woke up."

Chang An smiled. He didn't expect that his young wife could sense him even when she was sleeping.

"Get up, let's prepare for tonight." Chang An touched the top of Gu Li's head and said.

Gu Li said "hmm", quickly got out of bed, tidied up, and followed Chang An to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the servants were preparing tonight's meal. When they saw Chang An and Gu Li coming in, they stopped what they were doing and waited for Chang An's instructions.

Chang An looked at the ingredients on the chopping board and ordered, "Pick out two or three people to make some dumplings for the banquet tonight. Then make some glutinous rice balls and keep them warm in advance."

The servants all agreed, and when they saw that Chang An had no other instructions, they continued with their work. At this time, Huaiqin came in and shouted:

"Young Master, Sanniang."

"What's wrong?" Chang An turned around.

"Mr. Gao Shi is here and is standing at the door," Huaiqin said.

Chang An looked at Gu Li beside him, exchanged glances with him, and said, "Bring Mr. Gao in, so we can have a meal together."

At this time, Gu Li also instructed the servants in the kitchen: "Make more dumplings tonight and an extra bowl of glutinous rice balls."

After giving the order, Gu Li felt his sleeve being pulled, and then heard Chang An whispered, "Mother Gu, you won't be unhappy, will you?"

"Why am I unhappy?" Gu Li was a little confused at this time.

"Just... doesn't Mrs. Gu dislike Brother Gao?" Chang An was afraid that Gu Li was holding back her anger, so he asked tentatively.

"No, I was just afraid that Chang Lang would go to compete with Gao Langjun again, so I said I didn't like it." Gu Li explained when he saw that Chang An misunderstood him again.

"My mother Gu is the best." Chang An smiled, took Gu Li's hand and said, "Then let's go and meet the guests."

Gu Li nodded obediently and followed Chang An back to the courtyard where they lived. At this time, Huaiqin had already brought Gao Shi in.

"Brother Gao."

"Brother Chang."

The two of them greeted each other briefly, and then Chang An and Gu Li took him into the house.

Gao Shi still had a basket in his hand. After he entered the room and sat down, he put the basket on the table and pushed it in the direction of Chang An.

"Brother Gao, what are you doing?" Chang An was a little surprised and asked, pointing at the basket.

"Today is the winter solstice, and I just came here to pay my respects. But it would be inappropriate to come empty-handed, so I brought some souvenirs."

As Gao Shi spoke, he opened the basket, and as usual, inside the basket were some eggs and two strings of bacon.

"Thank you very much, Brother Gao." Chang An smiled politely and said.

"I wonder if Mr. Gao has any important business tonight?" At this time, Gu Li also asked.

"Gao Shi has been reading at home during this period and has nothing to do," Gao Shi replied.

"Why don't you stay and have dinner together?" Gu Li said, "My father has already come to the palace to pay his respects. There aren't many people eating here, so it will be more lively with more people."

"This..." Gao Shi was a little at a loss. He looked at Chang An beside him.

Chang An also replied: "During the winter solstice festival, please do not reject my wife's kindness, otherwise I will turn against you, Brother Gao."

Since Chang An had said so, Gao Shi could no longer refuse and could only say, "Thank you, Brother Chang and Madam Gu, for the invitation."

As they were chatting, Huaiqin's voice sounded outside the door again: "Master, Third Lady, Second Lady are here."

"Please come in quickly!" Chang An stood up upon hearing this, said "Excuse me" to Gao Shi, and then took Gu Li to the outside of the courtyard to meet Chang Wenqing.

Gao Shi didn't feel comfortable staying alone in someone else's room, so he had to go out with Chang An and his wife.

When Chang Wenqing arrived at the gate of Chang An and his wife's courtyard, he saw the couple and walked towards them with a happy face.

When Chang An saw Chang Wenqing, he raised his hand to salute. Unexpectedly, Chang Wenqing passed him by, walked quickly to Gu Li, took Gu Li's hand, and said happily:

"Li'er, how are you these days?"

Although Gu Li had already met Chang Wenqing, he still felt a little embarrassed facing her enthusiasm.

"Aunt Qing, I'm fine. Xiu Mu Chang Lang has been with me during this period." Gu Li replied.

"How dare he not accompany you!" Chang Wenqing glared fiercely at Chang An beside her, causing Chang An to chuckle in embarrassment.

At this time, Chang Wenqing also noticed Gao Shi standing behind them, and asked in confusion: "Who is this?"

"Aunt Qing, this is..." Chang An saw that he could speak now, and was about to introduce her, but was interrupted by Chang Wenqing:

"Did I ask you? I was asking Li'er."

Chang An's words were immediately held back. He laughed awkwardly twice and took a step back.

"Aunt Qing, this is Chang Lang's friend, Mr. Gao Shi. Chang Lang also introduced Mr. Gao to someone before."

Seeing Chang An being humiliated repeatedly, Gu Li couldn't help but laugh, but he still answered Chang Wenqing's question.

"Today is the winter solstice, and Mr. Gao came to pay his respects. Since there are only a few of us at home, I will invite Mr. Gao to join us for the feast, so that it will be more lively."

"Li'er, you are sensible."

Chang Wenqing patted Gu Li's hand tenderly, then looked at Gao Shi, who also quickly raised his hand to salute.

"Mr. Gao, this is the wife of Censor Zhou, and also the aunt of Chang Lang and me."

"Meet Mrs. Zhou."

"Today is the winter solstice, there's no need for so many formalities." Chang Wenqing looked at the young man and nodded slightly.

"Look at Li'er, she is so sensible and polite." At this time, Chang Wenqing turned around and looked at Chang An, "Li'er is such a good person. Marrying you is a blessing you have cultivated for many lifetimes."

"Aunt Qing is right." Chang An smiled awkwardly and quickly bent down to accept Chang Wenqing's "education".

"Aunt Qing," Gu Li felt a little distressed when he saw Chang An being scolded by Chang Wenqing, so he said, "Please stop talking about Chang Lang."

"Why? Are you feeling sorry for him?" Chang Wenqing smiled. "I said he did it for you, Li'er. Since Li'er is feeling sorry for him, Auntie Qing won't talk about him anymore."

"Okay." Gu Li smiled at Chang Wenqing.

Chang Wenqing kept talking to Gu Li for quite a while, until after the evening when it was almost time for dinner. In the middle of the conversation, the two of them even went to the pavilion and pulled down the curtain.

Chang An and Gao Shi could only sit aside, bored and talking about some classics and articles.

When it was time to eat, Chang An and the others were led by Huai Qin and Zhen Er to the main hall. As soon as they sat down, a servant came in with a basket and said:

"Sir, this is a gift from Lord Wang Wei."

"Where are the rest of my brother?" Chang An looked at the basket and raised his eyebrows.

"Lord Wang said that he didn't want to disturb you and Sanniang any more, so he handed the gift to me and left."

"Please bring the food over." There was no way, there was no chance to stay for dinner.

The servant put the basket in front of Chang'an and left. Chang'an opened the basket and found some snacks inside. They looked very good.

Chang Wenqing and Gu Li also came over to take a look at the snacks. Then Chang Wenqing said with some surprise:

"This is the snack from Nongxingtang!" Nongxingtang is a famous snack shop in the West Market. The snacks there taste good, but they are a bit expensive. Although there are not many in this basket, it is still a relatively expensive gift.

"Who is this Mr. Wang Wei?" Chang Wenqing asked.

"Mr. Wang is also a friend of Mr. Chang, and was introduced to Prime Minister Song by Mr. Chang." Gu Li explained.

"He introduced me to Prime Minister Song. This is a great favor." Chang Wenqing nodded.

"Don't talk about this anymore, just eat." Chang An waved his hand, "Brother Gao, you can eat as much as you want, just treat it like your own home."

At this point, the six people, including Huaiqin Zhen'er, started to eat. Although Gao Shi was a little reserved at first, even Chang Wenqing, who was the oldest, enthusiastically asked him to be at ease, so he gradually relaxed.

"Brother Gao, eat slowly. There will be dumplings later." Chang An smiled and said when he saw Gao Shi eating too quickly.

At this time, a servant came in carrying a large plate. Chang An smiled and said, "The dumplings are here."

As he spoke, Chang An personally moved all the dishes on the table, leaving an empty space in the middle for the servants to place the dumplings.

Chang An pointed to the large dish and said to Gao Shi and Chang Wenqing, "This is a kind of food I made, called dumplings."

Chang Wenqing took out her chopsticks, picked one up and put it in her mouth, and nodded with satisfaction: "It tastes really good."

The banquet continued, Gao Shizhong added more rice, and the momentum of "sweeping away all the remaining food" made everyone else laugh. Only Chang An was afraid of annoying Chang Wenqing for half a semester, so he explained to Chang Wenqing:

"My friend is a martial artist and eats a lot."

"Yonghe, don't say anything. Your Aunt Qing has also gained an appetite after watching Mr. Gao eat." Chang Wenqing didn't mind, and then said, "Eat more if you can. It's good for your health."

After the food on the table was almost clean, the glutinous rice balls were served. After the glutinous rice balls were eaten, the banquet was completely over.

At this time, Gao Shi stood up and bowed to Chang An and the others, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality. I need to go back to study, so I'll take my leave now."

"Are you leaving now? Why don't you stay a little longer?" Chang An wanted to persuade him to stay a little longer.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Chang. We have already had the Winter Solstice Banquet hosted by Brother Chang today. How dare I bother you any further? Goodbye."

So Chang An did not stay any longer and let Gao Shi leave.

Chang Wenqing also chatted with Gu Li for a while and then left. Huaiqin also called the servants to clean the table, while Zhener went to the kitchen to get the medicine that Gu Li was going to drink.

Seeing this bowl of medicine, Chang An suddenly had an idea - he had not tasted Gu Li's medicine yet, so he asked: "Mother Gu, is this medicine you drink bitter?"

"It's bitter." Gu Li nodded, took the medicine bowl and blew it gently.

"Your Changlang said that he also wants to try it." Chang An said with a smile. Zhen'er, who was standing beside him, felt a little unbelievable when she heard this.

"No! This medicine is very bitter. My Changlang can't eat such bitter things." Gu Li didn't even think about it and simply shook his head to refuse.

"I don't believe it unless you let me taste it," said Chang An.

"I'm telling the truth, this medicine... this medicine..." When Gu Li saw Chang An acting like this again, he became so anxious that he became incoherent.

Gu Li struggled for a while, and finally he could only blame himself for being tongue-tied, so he had to compromise and said, "Then...then Chang Lang, just give it a try. Don't drink too much, it's really bitter."

As he said that, he handed the bowl in his hand to Chang An, who lowered his head and took a sip, holding it in his mouth. But soon, Gu Li and Zhen Er saw that Chang An's face wrinkled.

Gu Li knew immediately that Chang An was suffering, and hurriedly stepped forward with concern, and said with concern: "Is Chang Lang okay? Do you want some water?"

Chang An swallowed the medicine with great difficulty and took two deep breaths. He looked at Gu Li with a distressed look and asked:

"Mother Gu, do you feel it is bitter when you drink it on weekdays?"

"It was very hard before, but now it doesn't feel hard anymore." Gu Li smiled at Chang An.

Chang An immediately took the bowl of medicine from Gu Li's hand with heartache, pulled her into his arms, and fed the medicine to Gu Li himself.

After she finished drinking, he stretched out his fingers to wipe the medicine on her lips, kissed her and said:

"When you recover from your illness, my precious mother Gu won't have to suffer any more."

"Then, Mother Gu won't have to eat anything bitter anymore, and can just eat sweet food every day, okay?"

"No, eating too much sweets will damage your teeth, so eat less." Gu Li's eyebrows were slightly curved.

"Well...my mother Gu is really good, so I'll give her a reward--"