Candlelight flickered through the room, fine wine and delicacies abounded, the entire room filled with luxury. Xie Queshan had his hair bound with a jade crown and changed into wide robes and formal attire for the banquet—white fabric with cloud patterns, green bamboo embroidered at the collar and sleeves, making his entire person appear even more handsome and upright, with an open bearing.

Nanyi was accustomed to seeing Xie Queshan only in dark everyday clothing, unsmiling and prematurely aged. This was the first time she saw him at a banquet with gentle smiles and pleasant conversation, as if he were merely an elegant young master from a noble family, and she was somewhat dazed.

Their gazes met unexpectedly.

Nanyi was so startled she nearly shook her hand and spilled the wine from the tray, but fortunately she immediately steadied her composure and didn’t cause any commotion.

Xie Queshan’s gaze only lingered for a moment among the singing girls, without any excessive reaction.

Nanyi thought to herself that she still had the tasseled veil covering her face, which could conceal most of her features. Feeling fortunate, she lowered her head and hid herself behind the gaudily dressed singing girls, hastily glancing at the banquet table.

At the table sat Xie Queshan, Gusha, and several Qi army generals. Xie Zhu was seated somewhat apart from the others, his hands bound behind his back, spine straight, eyes blazing with anger, but unable to say a word—he had apparently been given a silencing drug.

Earlier on the streets she had heard quite a few slanderous words about Xie Zhu, saying he had already surrendered to the Qi. Nanyi hadn’t been sure of the truth, but seeing him now, she realized that scholars too could have unwavering integrity, remaining fearless even in a den of dragons and tigers. If it were her, her knees would have given way long ago, and she would have knelt faster than anyone.

And this move by the Qi people, placing Third Uncle in an unjust position, could truly be called killing someone and destroying their heart. Nanyi couldn’t help but feel angry. But in Li Du Mansion, the Qi people controlled everything with one hand. Even if she had the heart for it, now was not a good time to rescue Third Uncle.

Xie Zhu’s seating position was quite subtle—he sat in front of a half-open window. If someone came to rescue him, this position would be most convenient for escape, but in Nanyi’s eyes, it looked even more like a trap to lure prey into a jar.

If Xie Sui’an had come prepared, she was very likely hiding outside the window, waiting for the right moment to strike.

But the Qi people’s ambush must also be nearby!

Gusha waved his hand, beckoning the singing girls to take their seats, laughing: “You must serve Master Xie well, let all the pedantic scholars in the city see that under our Great Qi’s care, the Master enjoys fine food and drink, living such a carefree life.”

Xie Zhu’s expression was extremely angry, but he was completely helpless.

The singing girls skillfully sat beside the guests in twos and threes. Just as Nanyi was about to go to Xie Zhu’s side to secure the window position, she was stopped by a voice.

“You come here—” Xie Queshan seemed to casually call for a singing girl, happening to point at Nanyi. He lowered his eyes to indicate the wine cup in his hand. “Pour wine.”

Nanyi had wanted to go to the window to take the opportunity to pass a message to Xie Sui’an while closing the window, but was abruptly interrupted by Xie Queshan. She had no doubt that she had definitely been recognized, and her life was probably in danger, let alone thinking about saving Xie Sui’an.

She moved extremely reluctantly to sit beside Xie Queshan and poured wine for him as instructed.

After the wine was poured full, Xie Queshan didn’t reach for the cup but sent another faint look her way.

Nanyi found it inexplicable, but scanning around she discovered that the other singing girls were practically pressing against their guests, feeding wine to some, picking up food for others, being extremely attentive.

Nanyi’s slowness made her seem a beat behind. To avoid appearing too out of place, she could only pick up the wine cup and, learning from the other singing girls, stiffly feed it to Xie Queshan’s lips.

Xie Queshan cooperatively opened his mouth to drink, his expression still maintaining its composure.

Drink up, drink yourself to death—Nanyi sensed the mockery and felt somewhat angry but dared not make a scene. She simply developed a reckless attitude and used more force, pushing the cup forward.

Xie Queshan was suddenly force-fed the wine, choked, and coughed repeatedly in low tones.

Seeing his embarrassment, Nanyi finally felt a tiny bit of vengeful satisfaction. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, Xie Queshan grasped her wrist and stared coldly into her eyes: “Is the little lady afraid of me? Your hand is shaking so badly.”

Nanyi struggled to pull her hand back, pretending to look pitiful: “Master, please stop teasing this servant. I just feel a bit cold… On this winter day, may I go close the window?”

Xie Queshan stared at the jade bracelet on her wrist. Instead of releasing her, he used the leverage to pull her over, letting her fall into his lap.

“Could it be that the little lady is blaming me for not knowing how to cherish tender beauty?”

Laughter erupted throughout the hall. Nanyi only felt herself crashing into a burning embrace, his breath enveloping her entire body. Her mind immediately went blank, and when she looked up in panic, she saw his face close at hand.

It was as if freshly shaved, with barely perceptible blue stubble still at the root on his chin, clearly visible at such close distance. She inexplicably found it jarring, yet also felt it made him seem more like a living, breathing person.

His slender fingers loosely grasped her waist, warmth passing through his palm. Nanyi was currently in complete chaos, as if countless colorful threads were flashing through her mind, and even her breathing became disordered.

Sitting on his lap like this, she always felt precariously balanced and was forced to clutch at his sleeve.

Xie Queshan remained unmoved despite having a beauty in his arms, his face showing three parts mockery as he raised his chin toward the delicacies on the table.

“Feed me.” He commanded, with the practiced manner of one accustomed to patronizing courtesans.

Since they had to act, Nanyi threw caution to the wind. She grabbed the chopsticks and whatever was in front of her, she picked up and stuffed into his mouth. Only then did she notice the banquet spread on the table—various delicacies from land and sea, honeyed treats and food sculptures, dazzling to behold. Even in such a tense situation, she couldn’t help swallowing.

Every minute reaction of hers fell completely under his observation, though he remained expressionless.

A singing girl beside them joked: “How is the master so partial? This servant is sitting in the draft, and I’m cold too.”

Xie Queshan raised his eyebrows with complete indifference: “Then you go close the window.”

The singing girl got no response and could only get up to close the window, but Nanyi immediately became clear-headed—if someone else closed the window, she would lose this only possible excuse for communicating with Xie Sui’an.

At this moment, Xie Sui’an was indeed hiding under the eaves against the wall, having observed about seventy to eighty percent of the situation in the room.

These Qi people in the room plus one Xie Queshan—although it would be difficult to fight them, as long as she fought quickly and decisively to take Third Uncle away, she could still handle it.

Her inside contact at Huachao Pavilion had already drugged the wine. Once the banquet had gone through three rounds of drinking, it would be her time to strike.

But she didn’t know that the inside contact had long been caught by the Qi people. There was no drug in the wine at all, and what she needed to deal with wasn’t just the visible Qi people in the room—the entire Huachao Pavilion was filled with ambushes from top to bottom.

If Nanyi didn’t pass a message to Xie Sui’an, she would become a turtle in a jar.

Just as the singing girl was about to close the window, Nanyi suddenly cried out in terror: “Ah—there seems to be someone outside the window!”

While crying out, Nanyi wrapped her arms around Xie Queshan’s neck, pretending to be frightened and burying her head in his chest, actually to make him unable to move at this moment, giving the person outside the window more time to escape.

Except for Xie Zhu, Xie Queshan was closest to the window. Gusha, who was sitting by the door, immediately walked to the window and leaned out to look. Outside the window was already empty.