NOVPUBChen Lan and Fan Jian had just been sent away when the toasts started flowing toward Chen Xi. Cups from military generals, civil officials, and noble families—it wasn’t long before Chen Xi was already feeling dizzy before even leaving the main hall.
"Lil’ Bro, go help Zichuan block some toasts. We can’t let Zichuan’s lady spend her wedding night alone," Liu Bei said, spying Chen Xi swaying slightly. He slapped Zhang Fei on the back, signaling him to hurry over.
"Sure thing." Zhang Fei laughed heartily as he lugged over a jar of wine and rushed over. There was nothing he enjoyed more than blocking drinks for Chen Xi, after all, both Chen Xi and Liu Bei restricted how much he could drink.
"Ah, third brother, I’m counting on you, I can’t handle it anymore." Chen Xi’s face was flushed red and slightly swollen; he reached out to lean on Zhang Fei’s shoulder, feeling somewhat nauseous.
Zhang Fei’s forthrightness made Liu Bei feel almost unable to look directly. As others toasted with a bowl, Zhang Fei would pick up the jar and gulp down several mouthfuls. When a cup was raised, he followed with more gulps. A goblet of wine, well, not many were so shameless as to toast with a tiny goblet anyway.
"Wen He, what are you doing?" Li Youu noticed Jia Xu seemed distracted, so he asked curiously, "You’re quite generous, actually giving Zichuan a pair of Jade Bi Discs. You even have such treasures in your collection."
"You’re not too shabby yourself, with two Luminous Pearls," Jia Xu responded listlessly to Li Youu, his voice lackluster, "They were just spoils of war, sent is sent, there will be more in the future."
"You’re also pondering over that auspicious sign from earlier, aren’t you?" Li Youu whispered, so that only the two of them could hear.
"Got a clue?" Jia Xu grabbed some food and began to struggle internally to hide his expression.
"I did a stint as a Ritual Officer before, and Qu Hanmo and Zhao Zilong just happened to be absent during that time," Li Youu murmured while sipping his soup.
"How did the peaches and peach blossoms come about? They aren’t even from the same season, let alone this one. Both the peaches and the blossoms were fresh," Jia Xu whispered to Li Youu with his sleeve covering his eating.
"I don’t know about that, but I can assure you that Qu Hanmo and Zhao Zilong are involved, as well as Fa Xiaozhi, who is also a Ritual Officer." Li Youu shook his head and then pointed to the somewhat dazed-looking Fa Zheng.
In an instant, Jia Xu understood the situation. Unlike Zhuge Liang, Li Youu, and Lub Su, Fa Xiaozhi’s cultivation in restraining his emotions couldn’t match those three. Besides, he was indeed intelligent and naturally would question the authenticity of the matter, seeking confirmation when alone was inevitable.
"We three are just waiting for Xiaozhi to speak up." Li Youu sighed on the side. He found it strange—Zhuge Liang was clearly younger than Fa Zheng, but his temperament and maturity seemed far too advanced for a youth.
Even with Zhang Fei blocking drinks, there were some toasts that Chen Xi simply couldn’t refuse, like the wine cup beamingly presented by a lady from the Zhang Clan. Even Zhang Fei, the blockhead, knew he couldn’t intercept that one.
Then there were others, like the smirk-filled Guo Fengxiao who approached with a little wine jar to toast Chen Xi—something Zhang Fei wouldn’t dare to intercept if he wasn’t stupid. Same went for the wine from Zhao Yun, Qu Qi, and Guan Yu. Okay, Guan Yu offered a cup, Chen Xi drank a cup, and under his second brother’s stern gaze, Zhang Fei guzzled down a jar.
Essentially, Chen Xi was knocked out by the drinking, but at least he knew enough to tell Guan Ping and Fa Zheng to carry him to Fan Jian’s room before getting completely plastered.
After all, Chen Lan was somewhat older and had been through a lot, having also suffered with Chen Xi in the past. So, she understood many things. But with Fan Jian, forget about understanding—she’d be causing a scene if she just gave Chen Xi the cold shoulder.
Guan Ping and Fa Zheng carried Chen Xi to Fan Jian’s door, not even needing to knock before they heard a cold voice from inside, "Come in."
Seeing Fan Jian in the room, along with four maids that came as part of her dowry, Guan Ping and Fa Zheng placed Chen Xi on the bed and slowly withdrew.
After expelling her four accompanying maids, Lady Chen carefully closed the door and, seeing Chen Xi lying on her own bed, couldn’t help but feel a thrill of joy as she reached out to caress his face.
Chen Xi, still in a haze, swatted at the itch-inducing mosquito and turned over to continue resting.
"Hee hee." Lady Chen laughed joyfully, removing the phoenix crown from her head and taking out the phoenix hairpin entwined in her hair. She shook her head, allowing her black tresses to fall loose—a task that should have been her husband Chen Xi’s job, but Lady Chen did it herself instead.
Lady Chen laid down next to Chen Xi slowly, already content with his presence. The Lady’s Writs from Chen Lan had instilled too much insecurity in her, yet sometimes a young girl’s satisfaction can be so simple.
Time passed unknowingly, and just as Lady Chen was about to drift off to sleep, she noticed someone watching her.
"Falling asleep?" Chen Xi murmured while twirling her long hair around his fingers.
Lady Chen’s cheeks flushed, and she nodded weakly, "I fell asleep waiting for my lord, am I that useless?"
"I also drank too much." Chen Xi said gently, "I neglected your feelings, there’s no need to be so hard on yourself."
"My lord..." Lady Chen drew out the word.
"Jian’er, sleep now." Chen Xi soothed, patting her back gently.
For some reason, the same nickname ’Jian’er’ felt so much warmer this time to Lady Chen, and she felt a warm wave wash over her heart. After blushing and hesitating for a moment, she whispered to Chen Xi with a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
"My lord, let’s rest."
"Mmm."
Seeing that Chen Xi made no move to do so himself, Lady Chen silently reached out to undo his clothes and whispered in his ear, "My lord, allow your concubine, Lady Chen, to attend to you as you rest..."
"Do you understand..."
Lady Chen pouted, speaking discontentedly to Chen Xi, "When you took me to Mount Tai, the elders of my family had already instructed me, but you have been resisting me all this time, preferring to seek pleasure in the red-light districts rather than touch me." If there had been discontent at the beginning, the resentment in her words towards the end was enough to truly intimidate Chen Xi.
Having said her piece, Lady Chen seemed to have let go of all her burdens and quietly helped Chen Xi out of his clothes.
A gust of wind blew past, and the once bright room was consumed by darkness. The sound of the wind carried faint whispers which then dissipated into the vast courtyard.
In another courtyard, shrouded in darkness, a sigh was heard. Although Chen Lan had known that Chen Xi would visit Lady Chen first, she didn’t have the slightest inclination to compete. In fact, upon returning to her own courtyard, she removed her bridal gown and phoenix crown, extinguished the lights, and tried to sleep. On her wedding night, which should be unique in her life, she couldn’t achieve perfection. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
