CH 36.2

Chapter 36.2 – This Wine Is Too Strong (2)

Wei Ting carried a jug of wine and unceremoniously poured three glasses of them in front of her. “Drink up, and what’s past is past.”

Lu Qipei was stunned by the situation. She subconsciously raised her head and asked, “What was there in the past between you and me?”

Wei Ting’s face immediately showed a hint of shame, and he didn’t answer Lu Qipei’s question. After giving her a fierce glare, he downed the three glasses of wine as if in a fit of anger, then turned around with the jug and left.

Kong Jie immediately stood up and took Lu Qipei to sit down at the banquet as if to calm her down. It seemed like he had forgotten what he said before about only drinking one cup.

Qi Yang didn’t come today, and Lu Qipei actually had nothing to do. She had gradually gotten a handle on the stuff she had to take over in the Lu family, and would at least no longer get a headache from the pile of account books. So, she had some time to drink wine – she just didn’t want to drink with these people.

When the banquet started, Lu Qipei didn’t insist on leaving. She sat near the window holding a cup of wine, but she only held it and never had it touch her lips. As for the chatting and laughing in the room, it had nothing to do with her. She didn’t participate and just looked outside the window – the House of Happiness was built by the water, and when she looked up, she could see the sunset and the glistening waters.

Lu Qipei had no intention to do anything, plus she had something on her mind today. She was lost in her own mind when she saw the scenery outside the window.

Sometime later, someone in the banquet suddenly said, “I heard that the barbarians in the north established a country. Have you heard any news?”

Not everyone who took the imperial examination came from poor families; some of them were also born from a family of officials. Immediately, someone said, “What was it again? I heard that the barbarian’s country sent a letter of credence. It’s said that envoys will come to the capital in a few days.”

“This… a letter of credence shouldn’t need an envoy to come personally. Is it that serious?”

Someone answered those words immediately, but their voice was turned down a lot, “I’ve heard some rumors about this. Didn’t the previous Emperor set a precedence for sending a princess to the barbarians for a marriage alliance? Thanks to General Ji guarding the border, things aren’t so ugly nowadays. But now that the barbarians have established a country, their momentum would become stronger. For the sake of the friendship between the two countries, I’m afraid that it’s necessary to discuss a marriage alliance again…”

Everyone understood the implication. Because he desired to marry a princess, he sent a letter of credence to Liang State in advance so they can prepare her dowry!

Regardless of whether the speculation was actually true or not, this attitude sounded arrogant enough.

The group of literati in the gathering were all in their youth. When they heard this, everyone suddenly became angry.

Only Liu Chen held his cup of wine without saying anything, just looking straight at Lu Qipei in the opposite direction. The youth sat by the window, his face looking sideways at the scenery outside. The sunset covered his jade-like face, as if painting it with a layer of golden red brilliance, making her look too beautiful to be a mortal.

But these were not the important point. What was important was when she listened to what everyone said, the hand holding the wine cup shook slightly, making some of the wine spill down.

His speculation was confirmed further, making it worthwhile coming here. Liu Chen pulled back his gaze with satisfaction. When he raised his cup for a sip, the corners of his lips rose slightly, but darkness flashed within his eyes.

A while later, the voices cursing the barbarians inside the room finally stopped. After all, it was just a rumor, and no one knew whether it was true or not. It was over once everyone vented their emotions, and the topic soon changed and made the room lively again.

Someone finally remembered about Lu Qipei after Wei Ting proposed a drinking game. It was an activity everyone had to participate in, including those who were just watching the scenery.

Lu Qipei was pulled back to the wine table. Since she didn’t drink the cup of wine she promised before, she was pulled over to the wine drinking game. At that time, she looked up and saw Wei Ting sitting in front of the table, looking at her with smug eyes. His plan was pretty clear.

Wasn’t it just a drinking game? It’s just a group of newbies scholars, who was afraid of them!?

Lu Qipei was suddenly a little irritable, and didn’t want to be entangled any longer, so she simply accepted the other party’s provocation.

The end result was easy to imagine. The champion who crushed everyone in her previous life would not lose her knowledge just because she didn’t participate in the imperial examination. After several rounds of the drinking game, Lu Qipei still hadn’t drunk a single cup of wine. On the contrary, the people who were already thirty percent drunk were given another seventy percent by her.

Wei Ting already drank a lot, but he was still unconvinced. He almost shouted “again” when he was already under the table. He looked at the person in front of him with drunken eyes and gnashed his teeth, as if he would not give up until he had his fill of Lu Qipei.

There was no reasoning with a drunkard, especially a persistent one.

Lu Qipei felt bored after crushing the crowd. In the last round, she purposely lost and drank the cup of wine she had promised to.

The drinks prepared during the banquet were unexpectedly strong. Lu Qipei felt a burning sensation from her throat all the way to her stomach after drinking one cup. It was warm, but not uncomfortable. But she seldom drank strong wine, so she choked and coughed a little.

When the coughs subsided, there was a bit of laughter, but Lu Qipei didn’t feel angry. She just thought that the wine was too strong, that it would go to her head after just one cup.

But everyone had also drunk a lot. Was she really that bad at drinking!?