CHAPTER 51: 51. QING GUAN’ER

Tang Yanqing entered the door, and Xue Ruke greeted him with a smile: "Qing Guan’er is back. The whole family is waiting for you."

Tang Yanqing handed his gloves and keys to Xue Ruke and whispered, "Uncle Xue, I’m begging you, don’t call me Qing Guan’er anymore; it makes me feel like a child prostitute."

Xue Ruke couldn’t help but laugh: "It’s an old habit in the family, passed down through generations, hard to change in an instant. How about changing it to Qi Guan’er?"

In the past, child prostitutes were called "Qing Guan’er," and although these two "Guan’er" have worlds of different meanings, they sound the same. Ever since Tang Yanqing read his first ancient banned book as a child, he wouldn’t let Xue Ruke call him that anymore.

Tang Yanqing first went to the bathroom on the first floor to wash his face and hands, and then asked Xue Ruke: "Is my brother back?"

Xue Ruke stood up straight: "Xi Guan’er is back too."

Tang Yanqing was helpless and had to laugh and say, "At ease." Then he threw the towel to Xue Ruke and quickly walked upstairs.

The old three-story mansion, the most exquisite part is not the façade but the open courtyard inside. The courtyard was constructed entirely from old Chinese red sandalwood materials, and upon entering, one is greeted by a refreshing fragrance. Looking from the railing, the elliptical courtyard on all three floors is adorned with slender red silk lanterns, creating a distant, misty red glow.

These old materials were all dismantled from China, original drawings made, and reconstructed here under the guidance of ancient architecture experts, every mortise and tenon joint fitted back to its original form, requiring a whole thirteen years of his grandfather’s time.

Only he dared to joke with his grandfather back then: "I didn’t know you liked to play with blocks at such an old age."

Before he could finish, he was "gently" embraced by his dad around the neck.

Tang Yanqing first went to look for his brother, naturally to remind him not to spill the beans. Tang Yanxi was in the study reading, engrossed in a book on ancient criminal law. Tang Yanqing entered with a smile: "Reading it won’t do you any good. The Anglo-American legal system and China’s ancient lawsuit law are completely different systems."

Tang Yanxi saw him trying to make conversation and snorted: "You don’t need to specially remind me; I don’t say more than necessary at home."

Tang Yanqing felt relieved and cozied up to him: "Brother, Dad met with you first, right? What did he scold you about? Give me a heads up."

Tang Yanxi chuckled: "I’m not like you; I never cause trouble for Dad. The Tang Dynasty entrusted to me has no issues. But you..."

Tang Yanqing stuck out his tongue. He knew he was sure to be scolded by Dad.

After hesitating for a while, Tang Yanqing had no choice but to go to Tang Mingyi’s study. Inside the room was his campaign team, with the chief of staff leading a group of advisors, replaying Tang Mingyi’s speech and analyzing it frame by frame.

When Tang Yanqing entered, everyone immediately halted their work. The chief of staff, Gu Jun, came up to gently wrap his arm around Tang Yanqing’s neck: "You know this move, right? I’ll do it to you first, so you won’t get shocked when your dad does it later."

Tang Yanqing laughed: "Uncle Gu, assaulting a police officer is a serious offense."

Everyone laughed and left the room, and Tang Mingyi finally raised his eyes to look at Tang Yanqing.

Despite being mentally prepared, Tang Yanqing still felt a chill run down his spine.