Xue Shengjing glanced around and asked, "Where is Li Chenzhou? Aren't you two always as inseparable as a balance and its weight?"
Xue Daohong smiled. "I did invite him, but he said he had to keep his wife company over a game of chess tonight."
Xue Shengjing chuckled. "This General Li really is a devoted lover."
"How could a man without affection be a true hero?" Xue Daohong said. "I'm rather envious of Chenzhou and his wife myself." Lowering his voice, he said to his uncle, "Those two maids beside you are exquisite beauties, Uncle." His face was filled with covetous admiration.
Xue Shengjing smiled. "If you like them, I'll give them to you." In this male-dominated society, nobles giving maids to one another was nothing unusual. It had become a means of cultivating relationships.
Xue Daohong laughed. "That wasn't what I meant, Uncle."
"I'll have someone send two even better ones to your residence later," Xue Shengjing said.
Uncle and nephew exchanged smiles. Just as they were about to enter and take their seats together, another arrival was announced outside: Eldest Princess Xue Lingjun.
Hu Xiaotian was surprised to hear that Xue Lingjun had come, and even Xue Shengjing was rather taken aback. This imperial younger sister of his was not among the guests he had invited to tonight's banquet. Why had she come uninvited?
Xue Lingjun made a dazzling entrance. Her exquisitely crafted golden gown accentuated her shapely curves, putting all the seductive charm of a mature woman on display. The moment she entered the Treasure-Gathering Palace, she captured the gaze of every man present.
Hu Xiaotian was a man too, and naturally her glamorous entrance drew his attention. Even as he marveled at what an extraordinary beauty she was, he could not help feeling indignant. Apparently, no