Drunk (Revised)

The news of the invitation from the Princess's residence quickly spread throughout the entire mansion. As dusk fell, Lin Xu sat in a round-backed chair, sipping her freshly brewed Seven Treasures Lei Cha (a type of tea). Bai Shi, wearing a headband, looked at her gently and said:

"Does the Princess's residence have any other explanation this time? Such a sudden invitation and banquet are quite alarming."

The soft, sticky glutinous rice and red beans were incredibly delicious, leaving a sweet and fragrant taste on the palate. Lin Xu put down his tea and respectfully replied:

"Replying to Mother, the letter did not mention the reason, but only the banquet. I suppose it is a banquet held by the Princess's residence for the winter, and it is just a regular invitation to some women. Zhuoyan once studied at Zhiqiong Hall. Perhaps Princess Kunrou is thinking of her old friendship with her classmate and has not seen her for some time, so she sent the invitation along with the banquet."

Bai Shi brushed his fingertips along the texture of his robe, and said slowly and deliberately:

“That makes sense, but you haven’t been in the family for very long. If you’re only inviting family members and ladies of the nobility, the eldest son’s wife is cheerful and intelligent, so she should be on the list. If the princess is thinking of our friendship, it shows that the eldest princess is indeed kind and compassionate. However, Yu Se is now Princess Kunrou’s personal companion and usually serves by the princess’s side, so she has received a lot of care from the princess on a daily basis.”

Lin Xu understood Bai's implied meaning perfectly, and nodded in agreement:

“Mother is absolutely right. In fact, I am quite uneasy about going alone. I feel that it would be better to have someone by my side. My third sister is now very familiar with the princess and is also very intelligent. I believe that I will feel more at ease if she goes with me.”

Bai's expression indeed relaxed a lot. The two talked for a while, and then a series of footsteps sounded outside the door. It was Fu Lian reporting that Aunt Guo from the backyard had come to pay her respects with her child.

The Dou family was extremely disciplined, and the morning and evening greetings were an indispensable part of their daily routine. Lin Xu respectfully bowed to Madam Bai before leaving with Zhu Ling.

As expected, Aunt Guo was already waiting outside the door. When she saw Lin Xu come out, she smiled politely.

She walked home through the cold wind, and even though she was holding a hand warmer, she still felt the biting cold, making it hard to open her eyes.

After turning through several corridors, all that remained was a desolate silence, except for a few bare branches. Zhu Ling tilted her head and whispered:

"I heard Nongyu say the other day that this fifth young lady is eccentric and does not please the old lady at all."

She stepped on the fallen leaves, making a soft, rustling sound under her feet. Her delicately drawn eyebrows furrowed slightly, a hint of thought hidden between them.

On the day of the Lower Yuan Festival, she had met Aunt Guo and the Fifth Miss. At that time, Dou Chu was wearing a brand new embroidered jacket and auspicious clothes. Her eyes were full of curiosity. Perhaps because she was unfamiliar with her, she couldn't help but stare at her for a while.

At the New Year's Eve family dinner that followed, Dou Chu's words were rather blunt, directly causing suspicion between her and Dou Yanxun that night. However, children speak without thinking, and she couldn't blame the child for it. Apart from that, they had no further interaction.

When they left Bai's place, they saw that Dou Chu was hanging his head and looked very listless, completely different from his previous innocent appearance.

Even though Aunt Guo greeted her politely, she looked somewhat nervous, as if she was afraid that her daughter's behavior today would be inappropriate and she would be scolded by the mistress.

However, it was only a fleeting glance, and she was preoccupied with attending the banquet at the Princess's residence three days later, so she didn't take the matter to heart.

As evening fell and darkness deepened, Lin Xu nestled on the hibiscus-patterned couch, initially engrossed in her book, but gradually losing sight of the words. She casually turned a page, not even looking up:

"Qingmo, light the lamp."

Before long, the surroundings suddenly brightened. She read the pages of the book in her palm. Some passages were obscure and difficult to understand, so she couldn't help but read them aloud, but she still didn't fully understand their meaning.

Liao Yan was well-versed in literature and history, and thinking that she could ask her in person at the banquet, she reached out to touch the pen holder next to her. After searching for a while, she could not find the wolf hair brush that had been placed on the pen holder with the character "山" (mountain) on it, so she looked up.

But then she saw Dou Yanxun walk in at some point, lying on his side next to the gold-inlaid kang table, casually playing with her brush.

Dou Yanxun glanced at her sideways before tossing the wolf-hair brush aside and propping his head up to look at her. The blue gauze lamp on the table illuminated half of his face, and he lazily stared into her eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"Madam is so engrossed in her studies that she didn't even notice me coming in for quite some time."

"He must have been the one who got up to light the lamps just now," Lin Xu thought, seeing his teasing and cheerful demeanor. He put down the book in his hand and smiled.

"My husband came home early today. Have you finished dealing with everything at the yamen?"

Dou Yanxun's eyes showed a slight relaxation. He casually unbuttoned a few cufflinks and said indifferently, "It's just flipping through documents and doing odd jobs. It's nothing important."

There was a plate of longans on the table. He leaned over and grabbed a few. A faint fragrance immediately wafted into her nose. It was neither the pine and bamboo fragrance that Dou Yanxun usually used, nor the sandalwood that was burned throughout the Huiya Residence.

She frowned slightly, feeling that the fragrance was quite familiar. Upon closer inspection, it resembled the scent from that day in Yuehuan Lane. She was always sensitive to smells and would not confuse them.

So after finishing those trivial official matters, he went to meet Fu Qing before returning to his residence.

She bent down and picked out a few large longans, peeling them carefully. The freshly picked longans had thick flesh and emitted a unique fragrance. She placed the peeled flesh in a glass cup next to her and pushed it in front of him.

Since Dou Yanxun rarely returned home early, she instructed the kitchen to prepare more dishes. By the time dinner was ready, both of them were starving. Dou Yanxun was in a rare good mood and specifically requested a pot of winter wine.

The Tusu wine with honey is exceptionally refreshing and has a mellow aroma. Paired with several plates of steaming honey-glazed roasted pork knuckle, roasted mutton, and other meats, the colors are very tempting, making one's mouth water even more.

Dou Yanxun usually eats fresh river and seafood. However, he has been coming home late every night recently, and he had specifically told Lin Xu not to prepare dinner for him last time. Therefore, the small kitchen did not have time to prepare anything. The dishes served today were all Lin Xu's usual favorites.

She took a bite of the crispy roasted pigeon, glanced up at the person opposite her, and looked perfectly normal, as if she didn't seem to have any problem with the food.

When Dou Yanxun looked up, he saw Lin Xu smiling at him with narrowed eyes.

A quiet smile filled the corners of her eyes and brows; those eyes, which were usually wet and piercing, were now as gentle as a pool of spring water.

"how?"

Dou Yanxun raised his eyebrows slightly and asked her.

Lin Xu put down his chopsticks, glanced curiously at the white jade wine pot on the round table, his eyes full of eagerness:

"My lord, may I try this winter wine?"

Dou Yanxun was taken aback by her question, and his mind was suddenly distracted by the flickering candlelight.

Then again, Lin Xu always seemed to give unexpected, irrelevant answers, or simply avoid answering altogether, always managing to surprise people with his unpredictable and enigmatic responses.

For example, last night's unexpected kiss. When she leaned in, he didn't even have time to react before he felt his whole body freeze. By the time he realized what was happening, the one who started it had quickly pulled away.

Only a lingering warmth, accompanied by a sweet scent, remained on her lips.

For example, right now, although she asked for his permission, before he could answer, the man in front of her had already picked up the pot of wine on his own.

He always drank alone, and his servants, due to negligence, only prepared one wine cup for him.

Lin Xu thought for a moment, then simply poured the wine into his wine cup and carefully picked it up.

She leaned closer to smell it, and the next moment, tilted her head back and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.

Dou Yanxun was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She looked forward and saw that the cup was indeed empty; she had drunk it all.

Lin Xu savored the lingering fragrance in his mouth. It was indeed sweet and refreshing, with a unique flavor. He had rarely seen winter wine made with honey when he was at the Lin residence. After tasting it today, he found it to be quite remarkable.

She then picked up the wine pot again and filled the cup to the brim, her eyes sparkling with a captivating smile.

"My husband has excellent taste; the wine is fragrant and mellow, truly a fine product."

After saying that, he actually tilted his head back and was about to drink the cup to the last drop.

Dou Yanxun reacted quickly and reached out to stop him.

"This wine has been brewing for over a year. Don't let its clear appearance fool you; it's quite intoxicating. You should..."

He had just placed the glass of wine on the table when he saw that the person who had been perfectly fine a moment ago now had a flushed face and a dazed look in his eyes, yet still wore a smiling expression:

"Why won't my husband let me drink it?"

Is this winter-brewed wine really that delicious?

Before he could even grumble to himself, the person in front of him became increasingly unsteady.

Dou Yanxun didn't care about anything else and immediately stood up to help her. As soon as he put his arm around her, Lin Xu clung to him like an octopus, almost pushing him against the wall.

Dou Yanxun stood up and struggled to help her up. Sure enough, she was quite drunk and couldn't even walk.

He helped her to a soft couch nearby. Lin Xu's eyes were hazy, and she kept murmuring, "Delicious..."

During the struggle, the blue ribbon binding his hair almost came loose.

Dou Yanxun casually tossed his hairband behind him and was about to leave when his collar was grabbed by the person lying on the bed with a flushed face. He couldn't dodge in time and fell onto her.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and braced himself on the armrest with his right hand, thus preventing her from getting hurt.

I never expected her alcohol tolerance to be so low; it was practically nonexistent.

Dou Yanxun's gaze swept across Lin Xu's face. She was already extremely drunk, but there was still a smile on her lips. Was there something to be happy about?

Just before the meal, a hint of worry flashed across her face, which he noticed clearly and could not hide from his eyes.

So she clearly smelled the scent of Yuehuan Lane, but only frowned slightly before quickly looking away. She even had the leisure to peel a lot of longans for him one by one afterward.

She appeared completely unconcerned. Now, her smile was warm and gentle, and even when she was soberly eating just now, let alone now that she was drunk, her eyes and brows were full of smiles.

If you truly care about and love someone, how can you not care about their whereabouts, how can you so casually ignore it?

So... it was all just an act.

He had long suspected that Lin Xu was a cunning person, and that her so-called infatuation and desire to marry him were just a smokescreen to deceive others.

He had already guessed it.

With his mind churning, Dou Yanxun glanced at the person beneath him again, his expression instantly returning to its cold and clear state.

It was all just a clumsy trick; how dare she deceive and mislead him to gain his true affection? She was delusional. He would never believe her again if she ever put on an act for him.

He straightened up, but Lin Xu's eyes were half-closed, and he murmured something that smelled of alcohol, which drifted over and brushed against his neck. He couldn't hear it clearly, nor did he care to listen, but the warmth on his neck tickled him.

Dou Yanxun looked away impatiently, but caught a glimpse of her long, dark eyelashes trembling slightly, and a few glistening tears sliding down her slender, fair neck and disappearing into her clothes.

She opened her mouth, and her fragile sobs instantly echoed in his ears, lingering and sweeping throughout the entire bedchamber.

"...Dou Yanxun, please spend more time with me... Don't ask for anyone else, okay...?"