Chapter 627
Drunkenness
Inside Bianyifang.
Like any wedding banquet in the world, Chen Ji went from table to table toasting, drinking bowl after bowl, the wine being vaporized by the fire in his body into the aroma of alcohol.
Unlike other brides, Zhang Xia didn't wait in her boudoir with her head covered by a red veil. Instead, she joined Chen Ji in toasting and drinking heartily.
Her method of drinking didn't work; after a dozen or so bowls, she was tipsy and her face was as red as the evening glow.
Chen Ji told her not to drink anymore, so she followed behind him. Chen Ji drank two bowls by himself, finishing Zhang Xia's bowl as well. When the bowl was empty, Zhang Xia poured wine for Chen Ji.
Zhang Zheng's brother-in-law arrived late.
He gritted his teeth and drank more than ten bowls with Chen Ji, but Chen Ji was still not drunk, while he got drunk first.
Seeing that Guo Buzui had failed to get drunk, the Imperial Guards suddenly started making a fuss.
Qi Zhenzhuo shouted, "Where are the wedding candies? The bride and groom are getting married, why aren't the hosts even giving them any wedding candies?"
Duo Bao chimed in, "Why eat wedding candy? I want to see the groom and bride eat 'heart-to-heart noodles'!"
Chen Ji turned to look at Zhang Xia and asked curiously, "What is Lianxin Noodles?"
Zhang Xia rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Xiaoman sat down beside Wuyun, smiling, and said, "Young Master, how come you don't even know about Lianxin Noodles? It's when you and Sister Xia share a noodle. You eat one end, and Sister Xia eats the other end. It only counts if you finish eating it together..."
Chen Ji raised an eyebrow; no wonder Zhang Xia rolled her eyes at him.
Inside Bianyifang, the ghostly howls of the Imperial Guards echoed: "Lianxin noodles, Lianxin noodles!"
Chen Ji looked around, and Qi Zhenzhuo asked in confusion, "What is Master looking for?"
Chen Ji said nonchalantly, "I'm looking for the Whale Blade. Has anyone seen it?"
Qi Zhenzhuo shrank his neck: "Tch, if you can't handle it, fine... Come on, let's drink, let's drink, let's ignore him! Li Cen, you old codger, you've always been saying you want to go to Guyuan and not suffer this humiliation in the capital. Now that you're really going, shouldn't you drink a big bowl?"
Li Cen muttered as he drank a large bowl of soup: "My plan was to go to the Eight Great Hutongs to have a drink with my old flame before going to that godforsaken place, Guyuan. Who would have thought I'd end up drinking with you guys?"
Qi Zhenzhuo put his feet on the chair again and pointed at Duobao: "You little brat, you bet that I'm not willing to give up my position as the commander of the Five Cities Garrison and go with you. If you lose the bet, do you have to drink three bowls?"
Duo Bao grinned and said, "You've got guts this time, kid."
After saying that, Duobao tilted his head back and gulped down three large bowls in a row, to the cheers of the Imperial Guards.
After getting drunk, Qi Zhenzhuo put one foot on the chair and the other on the table: "Tell me, what are we going to Guyuan for?"
Duo Bao sneered, "Of course it's to kill the thieves!"
Qi Zhenzhuo tapped the rim of his bowl with his chopsticks: "Tell me, how many do you want to kill?"
Duo Bao thought for a moment: "Kill at least ten."
Qi Zhenzhuo glanced at him sideways: "Then I'll kill a hundred of them."
Duo Bao laughed and cursed, "Go to hell! Why don't you just say you went and killed the Xijing Circuit Governor of Jingchao?"
Qi Zhenzhuo downed a bowl of strong liquor: "What if I really kill that damn military governor?"
Duo Bao laughed heartily, stood up, and stepped on the table: "If you can really kill, I'll polish your boots!"
Qi Zhenxue said seriously, "It's a deal!"
Duo Bao also said seriously, "It's a deal!"
Qi Zhenzhuo laughed loudly, and in his drunken haze, pointed north: "While the pampered sons of the wealthy are engaged in cockfighting in brothels, we should turn our backs on them and march north!"
The Imperial Guards rose and drank their bowls in one gulp: "While the pampered sons of the wealthy are engaged in cockfighting on the brothel, we should turn our backs on them and march north!"
The sound shook the roof tiles, and the snow fell slanted down.
On the third floor of Bianyifang, Madam Lu, wearing a veiled hat, leaned against the shadows, silently looking down into the main hall.
Thirteen ran upstairs and whispered, "Boss, these people can really drink. They're going to finish all the wine in our cellar."
Mrs. Lu thought for a moment and said, "Go next door and buy some for them. Remember to buy the ones from Donglaishun that aren't diluted with water."
Thirteen was taken aback: "Huh? Go buy from another store? Wouldn't we lose even more money then?"
Lu said calmly, "Let them drink to their heart's content, drink until they're drunk and forget all the glitz and glamour of the capital, so that they can settle down in a place like Guyuan. After a year, two years, five years, or ten years there, they will understand what Guyuan really is."
Thirteen chuckled: "It's not surprising that they want to go to Guyuan. Third Master said that Guyuan is cursed, and any man who has been there will definitely return, even if he leaves."
Madam Lu chuckled, "Slaughter and roast those two sheep in the backyard for them too. Once they get to Guyuan, they'll be eating sand for the rest of their lives." Thirteen said, "I'll go buy some wine right now... but I really want to go back to Guyuan, and Third Master wants to go back too."
Lu's expression was obscured by her veil: "Third brother, you and Xiao Jiu went to deliver the betrothal gifts today, which was too conspicuous. If someone with ulterior motives targets you, it may ruin the foundation of the temple. You, Xiao Jiu, and Third brother should leave tonight. After transporting the grain to Guyuan, go to Jingchao via Longyou Road. Hu Junxian has already prepared identities for you."
Thirteen's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Madam Lu hummed in agreement: "Really."
Thirteen hesitated again: "Master, aren't you going this time?"
Looking at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia in the corner downstairs, Lu said, "I can't leave."
……
……
In a private room on the second floor of Bianyifang, Zhang Zhuo and Wang Daosheng were drinking together.
Zhang Zhuo was overjoyed and drank cup after cup without being urged to.
Wang Daosheng sized him up: "So happy?"
Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily: "My daughter originally couldn't stand seeing others ruin the old record, so she went to help him out. If my husband hadn't made a scene today, it would have been uncertain whether the marriage would have gone through. Now that you've publicly acted as matchmaker and the Imperial Guards have come to fetch the bride, my husband and my daughter can't back out even if they want to."
Wang Daosheng picked up his wine cup and took a sip: "You instigated me to act as a matchmaker, which caused me to be humiliated in front of Xu Yihong. Back then, no one dared to mess with her, but now she's come knocking on our door."
Zhang Zhuo suddenly sighed, "I can't go home for the next few days either. I need to find an excuse to leave the capital on official business and come back when she has almost finished cleaning up Chen Ji."
At that moment, the sound of guessing games could be heard again downstairs.
Zhang Zhuo leaned out from behind the railing, drunkenly looking down at the young men below: "Zitong, in this situation, I wish I could go to Guyuan with them, mount my horse and fight the enemy, and be buried in the green hills."
Wang Daosheng took a small sip of strong liquor: "You have more important things to do."
Zhang Zhuo sighed, "Yes, I have more important matters to attend to. Dissent is rising again in Yunzhou in the southwest. The Tantric sect, the Gelug school, is about to lose control of the Sakya school. The Sakya disciple Namo has gained the support of the chieftain and is unwilling to be subservient. He is determined to establish his own Buddhist kingdom. The court has received a secret report that there are spies from the Jing Dynasty in Yunzhou who are plotting a rebellion with the Sakya school. Next month, Namo will go to Larung Gar Monastery in Seda to debate scriptures. If he wins, I'm afraid Padmasambhava, the master of the Sakya school, will lose power. Even if he doesn't lose power this time, it's hard to say what will happen next time... Padmasambhava is getting old."
"The Xu families of Jinling and Huqiu have joined forces, colluding with the eight major merchants and aristocratic gentry to control the finances of the south. I'm afraid the spring harvest and salt tax next year will not go smoothly. Qi Xianzhun has returned to Jizhou to take charge, and I'm afraid the new policies will be difficult to implement. Copper mines are being illegally minted and copper coins are being privately minted everywhere... The court is riddled with problems."
Looking at his friend's drunken state, which also showed signs of exhaustion, Wang Daosheng said, "You're too tired. Things need to be done slowly."
“I don’t have that much time,” Zhang Zhuo said listlessly, looking down at the energetic Imperial Guards below. “If I were twenty years younger, I would take my time too, but I don’t have that much time… But Jingchao isn’t much better. I just wish they would fight each other for the throne and kill each other, wiping out their own people. Let’s drink. I’m happy today, so I won’t talk about anything unpleasant. Today, let’s just drink.”
Wang Daosheng looked down at the corner where Chen Ji and Zhang Xia were sitting side by side: "Chen Ji has now been stripped of his title. I plan to send him to Taiyuan Prefecture to hone his skills for ten years. Perhaps there will still be a way out for him."
Zhang Zhuo didn't even turn his head and said, "Now that he's a member of the eunuch faction, how can the Hu family still use him? I know you want to give him ten years of peace and quiet to accumulate strength before making a big move, but your teacher, Grand Secretary Hu, is no pushover either. He might use him as a tool again. It's better to stay with me. I'll take care of everything, and he can achieve great things... Don't try to take my son-in-law away. You can't take him away anyway."
Wang Daosheng didn't argue, but simply followed Zhang Zhuo's gaze downwards: "It's good that you have a plan."
In the corner, Chen Ji and Zhang Xia sat side by side on a bench, neither of them speaking, silently observing the commotion. Neither of them paid attention to what others were saying, as if all the light in the world had been extinguished, leaving only one lamp shining on them.
Everything in Bianyifang was like a revolving lantern, a kaleidoscope, dazzling and bustling.
The thick curtains separated the heavy snow outside from the lively atmosphere inside into two different worlds, as if this place wasn't real, but only existed in their embellished memories.
A rare moment of tranquility.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xia, having drunk too much, felt drowsy. Her breath was warm with the smell of alcohol, and she slowly rested her head on Chen Ji's shoulder.
Chen Ji's body stiffened slightly.
Zhang Xia said softly, "Don't move."
Chen Ji slowly relaxed his shoulders.
Xiaoman sat in the other corner.
She placed the dark cloud on the table, letting it choose its own meat, while she picked up a bowl of wine, sipping it slowly as she watched the spectacle. As she sipped, she looked at Chen Ji and Zhang Xia across from her and grinned foolishly: "Do you think Young Master and Sister Xia will have a boy or a girl? It would be best if it were a boy, after all, he would have to carry on Young Master's family line, and the second one would have to be surnamed Zhang... No, no, it doesn't matter if the first one is a girl, we can just have more children."
Ignoring Xiaoman's nagging, the little monk secretly picked up a sip of wine and took a small sip himself. Not satisfied with just one sip, he took another, and before he knew it, he had drunk several bowls.
Xiaoman glanced over unintentionally and exclaimed, "How can a monk drink like that?"
The young monk hiccuped: "Back in Luocheng, I often went drinking with the young master. After drinking, I didn't have to think about overcoming my mental tribulation."
Xiaoman asked curiously, "What kind of tribulation are we going through?"
The young monk glanced at her, then quickly looked away: "A single extra stroke of the heart is a calamity." (End of Chapter)