This little girl Situ Jing’er could actually drink alcohol—and drink it fiercely at that!
Ziqing looked at her in disbelief, her gaze as if she’d found a kindred spirit—this little troublemaker reminded her so much of herself back in the day!
“Does your father and mother know you drink like this?” Meng Duo’er couldn’t help but ask. Baili Weisheng, however, burst into laughter. “Little girl, impressive! Come, come, let uncle here have a drink with you! Tonight, we drink till we’re drunk or don’t go home!”
Situ Jing’er loved drinking and had a fairly good tolerance, having secretly practiced with her mother since childhood—her father didn’t even know about it to this day!
“Come! Bottoms up! You’re so young, I won’t call you uncle, I’ll call you brother!” Situ Jing’er said, boldly filling her cup and raising it to clink with Baili Weisheng’s.
That single word “brother” set everyone off laughing heartily, and Baili Weisheng was even more delighted. “Good, call me brother then, I like it!”
Baili Weisheng was in good spirits and didn’t bother arguing with Jun Buli, drinking heartily with Situ Jing’er, thoroughly enjoying himself, which made even Ziqing’s fingers itch to join in.
Her years as a mercenary had trained her to avoid drinking casually for the sake of safety. Now that she was finally completely safe, she could have let loose—except she was pregnant and forbidden from drinking.
After much deliberation, she nudged Jun Beiyue with her elbow. “Drink on my behalf with them! Tonight we don’t stop until we’re drunk! No one’s allowed to leave early!”
Jun Beiyue wasn’t fond of alcohol, and was even less accustomed to drinking with so many people, let alone with several women and a young girl. But since Ziqing had already spoken, if he declined, wouldn’t that show he was afraid of this crowd?
He could only grit his teeth and accept.
“Uncle Beiyue, this girl offers a toast on behalf of Father and Mother! I’ll finish mine, you drink as you please,” Situ Jing’er said—worthy of being a princess, playful as she was, she still knew her manners.
Jun Beiyue wouldn’t do it halfway either—he downed his cup in one go, matching her.
Seeing this, Baili Weisheng knew this fellow intended to really drink tonight. A cunning glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately fetched two large jars, setting one down in front of Jun Beiyue.
“Jun Beiyue, remember that time we drank at Liuxian Island?” Baili Weisheng said with a laugh. That had been their first meeting—he’d tried to get Jun Beiyue drunk, and Jun Beiyue had tried to do the same to him. In the end, though neither had truly gotten drunk, he’d still come out on the losing end.
This time, he was determined to get his revenge!
In his entire life, Baili Weisheng had genuinely never once gotten drunk.
Jun Beiyue, already gradually warming up to the mood, saw Baili Weisheng’s provocation, glanced at the large jar, and without a word, grabbed the jar’s mouth with one hand and raised it in a toast to Baili Weisheng.
Baili Weisheng immediately raised his own jar too, and with a loud clink, both men tilted their heads back and drank, while everyone around them couldn’t help but cheer them on loudly.
Somehow, everyone ended up rooting for Jun Beiyue’s side, even Meng Duo’er cheering for him. Fortunately, Baili Weisheng was too absorbed in the wine to notice, or he’d have been furious enough to keel over.
Gradually, even Jun Buli, who hadn’t been particularly sociable before, grew more cheerful, taking the initiative to pull Guxi over to drink with him.
The courtyard grew lively, filled with laughter and cheers—Prince Yao’s manor had never been this lively since it was first built!
But then, suddenly, an urgent announcement brought all the laughter to an abrupt halt.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty, Eunuch Xu requests an audience—he says something has happened in the palace, something terrible has happened to Consort Li!”
…
The announcement itself hadn’t been loud, but the two words “Consort Li” were enough to instantly cool the boiling atmosphere. Everyone froze, as if doused with cold water, especially Ziqing, whose reaction was particularly noticeable.
Amid the sudden silence, Jun Buli stood up.
And almost simultaneously, everyone turned to look at him, seeing the barely-concealed urgency on his face.
The messenger guard came rushing over, panting, and seeing Ziqing and Jun Beiyue present, hastily dropped to his knees, still urgently reporting, “Your Majesty, Consort Li has been suffering from unstoppable diarrhea for two hours now. The imperial physicians are at a complete loss—they say she’s been poisoned and they can’t find an antidote.”
The moment these words landed, Jun Buli abruptly turned and glared at Situ Jing’er, his voice cold. “You just got back from the palace?”
A laxative again—no one in the palace currently had the ability to poison Consort Li except this troublesome girl!
Situ Jing’er, being straightforward by nature, didn’t try to hide it and said directly, “Don’t worry, it won’t kill her. Give it another half hour and she’ll be fine!”
“Having fun?” Jun Buli asked coldly, his voice nearly devoid of warmth. If Situ Jing’er weren’t the Princess of Xijing, she’d probably already be nothing but bones by now.
“Well, whose fault is it for blocking my way in the imperial garden!” Situ Jing’er wasn’t afraid either. Though there’d been some unpleasantness between them, and she didn’t like Consort Li, she wasn’t so bored as to go out of her way to bully her!
Consort Li wasn’t even that important a figure—it wasn’t worth making a special trip just to torment her!
Seeing that Situ Jing’er had a point, Ziqing immediately spoke up, demanding, “She dared block my precious girl’s path? Since when does she get to call the shots in the harem?”
Situ Jing’er clearly had no idea how much unpleasantness existed between Ziqing and Jun Buli over Consort Li, and having had quite a bit to drink, she said rather obliviously, “Aunt Ziqing, it’s fine, it’s fine, I already taught her a lesson! We’re even now!”
These words undoubtedly gave Jun Buli a graceful way out.
“It’s probably just a misunderstanding, and she’s learned her lesson too. Mother, don’t dwell on it,” Jun Buli said, then, without giving Ziqing a chance to respond, continued, “Father, Mother, everyone, please enjoy yourselves. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won’t stay longer.”
With that, he simply turned and walked away, knowing that overly frequent diarrhea could be quite dangerous for Consort Li—why did this troublesome girl have to use a laxative of all things?
The moment Jun Buli left, Situ Jing’er too was left stunned, realizing something was off.
The once-lively atmosphere vanished instantly—not just Ziqing, but even Jun Beiyue looked displeased, and the whole gathering fell into silence.
Before long, a figure landed lightly nearby—none other than Baili Xiaosheng.
She had explored every corner of Prince Yao’s manor and simply couldn’t find a way out. The manor looked ordinary on the surface, but was in fact heavily guarded everywhere, an impenetrable fortress.
She hadn’t even needed to wait until tomorrow evening—tonight already, she knew she wasn’t getting out!
Exhausted and hungry, and seeing everyone sitting in silence, she didn’t bother paying them any attention either, uninvited, choosing a seat far from the others, loudly slurping her soup and gulping down her food.
Gradually, Ziqing’s gaze turned toward her, and she said coldly, “Hongyi, go fetch my father. Tell him there’s an amnesiac patient who needs him right away.”
At these words, Baili Xiaosheng finally looked up, noticing that not just Ziqing, but everyone was staring at her—except Situ Jing’er, everyone else’s expressions were extremely complicated, as if they were scheming something about her!