Ning Que deliberately chose the darkest and most unnoticeable position upon entering the courtyard. However, he did not expect Sangsang’s drunken voice to give them away like a firefly in the night despite how low-key he was being.
He felt extremely uncomfortable facing the questioning and shocked gazes and even more so when he spotted the Princess’s baleful glare. He thought to himself, “Lee Yu, you idiot, don’t drag me into these muddied waters. No matter what a genius I am, I cannot go against Prince Long Qing.”
Reality never does quite match up to ideals. There would always be a difference between the two. One would always attract something they are trying to escape from. The next moment, Ning Que heard Lee Yu’s deliberately unconcerned question.
“Ning Que, are all the four bottles of wine beside you empty?”
Ning Que glanced at the four bottles and scratched his head, answering, “It seems so.”
Lee Yu smiled, “The bottles may look small, but there must be more than 10 bowls of wine in those bottles. This is really strong liquor, how did you manage to drink them all? You are indeed a drinker.”
Ning Que looked at her from afar and knew that Lee Yu was secretly happy even though she was scolding him by all outward appearances. However, he would flare up, leave and take Sangsang with him if she dared say anything else. He replied honestly even while he thought about that, “Sangsang drank them all.”
“Sangsang is only a girl of 13, I did not expect her to be able to consume such strong liquor.”
Lee Yu twirled the little wine glass between her fingers as she said that with a spurious smile. She did not look at Prince Long Qing nor say anything against him. However, everyone in the crowd knew that there was an underlying meaning behind her words.
It is said that those good at combat will fight, and those who are good at drinking will drink. The girl had drunk over 10 bowls of strong liquor and was still not drunk. Is that considered being good at drinking? Your Highness, would you drink with a commoner?
Priest Moli looked at the shadows and focused on the two. He saw that Sangsang, who was behind Ning Que, was wearing the uniform of a handmaiden. He asked unhappily, “Is the girl a student of the Academy?”
The truth will always prevail. The students from the Academy and Ning Que were mere acquaintances. In fact, there existed competition between them. As such, no one would try to hide the truth. Someone answered, “That is Ning Que’s handmaiden.”
Priest Moli was enraged and yelled, “This is an important farewell feast for the Crown Prince of Yan. It was difficult enough for us to allow the students of the Academy here. How could you let a little handmaiden in with you!”
This anger was not staged, but a revelation of his true feelings. The West-Hill Divine Kingdom had always been strict about hierarchy. Attending the same feast and drinking the same wine as a handmaiden was the ultimate insult to those who lived in the divine palace throughout the year.
However, this was Chang’an and not the West-Hill Divine Kingdom. Lee Yu looked at the Assistant Headmaster of the Revelation Institute indifferently and said blandly, “I’m close to the young lady, she is a friend of mine.”
“The royal family of Tang is indeed gracious. They don’t even care about etiquette and rules. However, Your Highness, there are two royals from the Yan Kingdom and myself from West-Hill. Did you not consider how we’d feel?”
Priest Moli said angrily, “Is this how the Tang treats their guests?”
Lee Yu’s face darkened at his words, “The feast today is to bid farewell to an old friend of mine. Who knew that there would be people who would show up uninvited. Unless this is how West-Hill guests behave? There are two kinds of guests, good and bad. If someone thinks that the Tang Empire is a bad host, they should first think about which kind of guests they belong to. If they still do not know, they should show themselves out.”
This was the strength of the Tang Empire. Everyone, including Lee Yu, could bite their lips and bear it when they lost to reason. However, no one could compete with the Tang if they had the upper hand, or if pressed. Priest Moli turned red with rage but did not dare say anything to the Princess of Tang who looked ready to unleash her anger on him.
This battle of wits and words sounded more like a one-sided argument. Some had stopped their discussions upon noticing the change in the atmosphere. Prince Long Qing did not seem to have noticed Priest Moli’s rage, nor did he feel any of that strength exuding from the Princess. He looked at the corner silently, smiled, and raised the bowl of wine to his lips.
The celebrations came to a halt as everyone looked towards the corner. Sangsang hid her face behind Ning Que and asked, “Young Master, what’s happening?”
Ning Que looked at his wine glass and the wine bowl that Sangsang used. He drummed his fingers on the table silently before saying, “Is the wine good?”
Sangsang nodded, “It is.”
“Do you want more?”
“…Yes.”
Ning Que raised his head, turned around and smiled at her, “Then continue to drink.”
Sangsang looked a little shy and said, “There are so many people looking, how I can sneak a drink?”
“You don’t need to drink sneakily.”
Ning Que raised his head and smiled brilliantly. His left dimple was so deep, and it could hold bottles of liquor. He pulled Sangsang from behind his back and said, “Sit beside me and drink openly. Drink as much as you wish until you can drink no longer.”
Sangsang hurriedly crossed her legs together and sat beside him. She smoothed down the front of her shirt and lowered her head to avoid the gazes. She spoke in a soft voice, “How can I do that?”
Ning Que looked at Lee Yu, who was seated across the courtyard. He raised his hands at her in a show of helplessness. Lee Yu smiled and asked the students of the Academy, “Who are the ones who are preparing to enter the Course of magic skills on the Second floor? Are you all prepared?”
Since it was spoken by Her Highness, everyone had no choice but to answer. Much less the students of the Academy who could guess the thought that went behind her question. No matter whether they were shocked or curious, they could do nothing but to retract their gazes from the corner.
Sangsang did not comprehend what this meant. She only knew that no one was looking at her anymore and relaxed. However, the moment she did so, the faint aroma that floated from within the wine bottle became all the more enticing.
She looked at the bowl filled with wine before her. Noting that no one was paying any attention to her, she quickly grabbed the bowl with two hands and gulped it down before wiping her lips with her sleeves. Her hands quickly landed on her knees as if nothing had happened.
Prince Long Qing who had witnessed this scene from afar smiled. His gaze landed on the ground not far from himself as he lifted his bowl and drank.
…
…
It was a strange feast.
It was a farewell feast for the crown prince of Yan, but the gently smiling crown prince who did not speak a word had been forgotten. The princess and the students of the Academy were having a lively discussion about life in the Academy and various large-scale events in the future. However, no one really paid attention to the contents of this conversation. Every one was either thinking of or stealing glances at two spots.
The handsome Prince Long Qing drank the strong liquor silently, looking as if he was thinking deeply. The tanned handmaid, silent as a bunny, kept her head down even as she gulped the wine down.
Prince Long Qing looked as if he was upset, as his expression became graver as he continued drinking. Sangsang’s eyes got brighter as she drank. The pieces of conversations and stolen glances that scattered through the air felt as if they were slightly drunk too as they landed silently at these two spots. It seemed that no one was looking, but in fact, everyone was.
Due to orders, the boss of Victory House had to move all 30 casks of liquor from Gushan Commandery to the backyard before leaving them at the two uppermost corners.
Sangsang had stayed in the pile of bodies for too long as a child that rainy day, resulting in a cold constitution. When she got ill, she could keep alive only through the use of alcohol to raise her internal temperature. This was why Ning Que was used to carrying a wineskin with him at all times.
Sangsang had fallen in love with drinking as she had grown up depending on it for survival. She also found that it got progressively harder for her to get drunk. It was just that the two were really poor when they were little kids. They could not drink to their heart’s content even if they bought the cheapest burnt wine from Min Mountain or horse milk liquor of the lowest quality on the grassland. She had always enjoyed strong alcohol. However, the stronger the alcohol, the more expensive it was. Even after the two had become suddenly rich in Chang’an, they did not drink like how they were drinking tonight.
The Nine-river double-distilled wine from Gushan Commandery was the strongest liquor in the world and they did not have to pay a single cent to drink it. To Sangsang, who had led a hard life, this was the greatest pleasure in the realm.
The bottles by the table emptied one by one. She had forgotten why her Young Master had brought her here today. It was to see some prince or another. She had also forgotten what kind of occasion or how many people had looked at her. She just felt happier and her eyes got brighter with each drink.
Prince Long Qing did not drink any slower than Sangsang. The dark grave look on his handsome face gave way to an indescribable interest and excitement that he had finally met his match.
Over 30 casks of liquor had been drained.
Those present looked at the empty bottles and could not believe that the amount of wine that could kill a few horses had actually gone into the bellies of two people.
Prince Long Qing did not use his cultivation skills to dispel his drunkenness. The ten over bottles of liquor he had consumed had loosened up his usual aloof expression. There was also some slight confusion in his eyes.
Sangsang, who was sitting in the corner, was flushed and her belly was distended with liquor. Her eyes were way brighter than usual. However, other than that, she was as quiet as usual and showed no trace of being drunk.
Ning Que looked at Prince Long Qing and at Sangsang before bursting into laughter. He tapped his chopsticks heavily on the wine bottle, emitting a sharp clear sound. It was the sound of victory after a ceasefire.
All was silent.
…
…
The trace of haziness from the alcohol cleared from Prince Long Qing’s eyes. He looked at the corner impassively and asked, “Lad, are you Ning Que?”
Ning Que stood up and answered, “Indeed.”
“That’s your handmaid?”
“Yes.”
“Reward her.”
Ning Que and Sangsang looked at each other, noting the lack of hesitation in each other’s eyes. They smiled and replied politely, “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Prince Long Qing spoke to his attendants.
The Taoist child attendant from West-Hill walked before them and looked at Ning Que gently. He spoke with the air of one reading the royal decree, “The prince had come to Chang’an to pursue his studies and would like to hire people for his palace. Haotian has granted you this glory. You now have the opportunity to present your handmaid as a servant for the prince. Quick, thank him for his mercy.”