Wanyan Liexin said, "I was delighted to hear the wonderful news of your engagement to Her Highness Princess Yongyang, Your Highness. Congratulations! Has a wedding date been set? I must come in person to offer my congratulations!"
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "It will probably be next spring. Nothing would please me more than having you attend in person, Brother Wanyan."
Wanyan Liexin said, "Your previous wedding celebration is still fresh in my memory. It is no exaggeration to say that it was the most refreshing and memorable wedding feast I have ever witnessed."
Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily. He believed Wanyan Liexin was doing more than merely flattering him. Never mind Wanyan Liexin-even counting every guest who had attended that wedding, Old Madam Xu was probably the only one who had ever seen such a spectacle. Hu Xiaotian said, "Every woman deserves a wedding of her own."
Wanyan Liexin smiled. "Beauties belong with heroes, and you are the foremost hero in the world today, Your Highness, drawing countless beauties to bow before you!"
Hu Xiaotian said, "You flatter me far too much, Brother Wanyan." Still, Wanyan Liexin's lavish flattery left him feeling rather pleased.
Wanyan Liexin said, "I heard that all of Yuchi Chong's former troops have joined you, Your Highness. Is that true?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded. "It is. Yuchi Chong's adopted daughter, Huo Shengnan, is my wife. After he sacrificed his life for righteousness, the three hundred thousand soldiers under his command were left suffering from hunger and cold, on the brink of ruin. Shengnan naturally could not bear to watch them perish without help, so she turned to me. I offered them the Ankang Grassland as a place to settle. To repay my help, they conquered the Yulan Kingdom and presented it to me as a gift."
Wanyan Liexin deliberately