Chapter 153 Sworn Brotherhood, Four Eccentric Brothers

The private room at Tonghelou was bustling with activity, and three wine jars had already been overturned on the floor.

Zhou Jun held his wine glass and chuckled foolishly, wiping away tears as he laughed. "Waaah... Ah Chu is so good to me. I can work at the Inspectorate from now on. I will definitely do my job well and not let Ah Chu down."

He'd been repeating those words all night; he was obsessed.

Li Chengxuan rolled up his sleeves, stood on the chair, and was playing a drinking game with Luo Heng with a flushed face.

"Good buddies, three stars shine, four joys bring wealth, five champions..."

In contrast, Luo Heng remained upright and dignified even after drinking a whole jar of wine. His face had soft features, and his eyes were clear and bright. His movements while playing the drinking game were as smooth as water, without the slightest hint of rudeness.

Shen Chu couldn't help but take a second look.

Tonight's banquet was a resounding success, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Although Luo Heng was only two years older than her, he had been in charge of the household since childhood and had traveled all over the country to do business, gaining extraordinary experience.

Since she was ten years old, Shen Chu had been traveling around with her master. After talking with her, she discovered that Luo Heng had also been to many of the places she had been.

They chatted about everything from West Lake in Yangzhou to the snow and wind in the north, from Sichuan and Chongqing to sailboats at sea, and they got along very well.

Luo Heng speaks slowly and deliberately, and always has a smile on his lips when listening to others, making people feel as if they are bathed in a spring breeze.

Shen Chu hadn't met such a compatible friend in a long time. Originally, she had deliberately made friends with him, but after the meal, she felt a sense of appreciation for him instead.

"Sigh, I lost again." Li Chengxuan tilted his head back and downed another cup, his gaze towards Luo Heng practically spitting fire.

“I, Li Chengxuan, have drunk my way through the most dissolute circles in the capital, and I’ve never lost a drinking game. You’re the first person to beat me.”

He jumped off the chair, looked excitedly at Chen Chu, and racked his brains to come up with two elegant phrases:

"As the saying goes, it's easy to find a catchy tune, but hard to find a good friend to play drinking games with. Ah Chu, how about we become sworn brothers with Brother Luo?"

Shen Chu rolled her eyes. "That's called being too sophisticated for the masses, and finding a kindred spirit is difficult."

Li Chengxuan waved his hand, "Anyway, that's the gist of it. You know I get dizzy when I see books, so tell me, how about we become sworn brothers?"

Zhou Jun chuckled and raised both hands in approval, "It's good to become sworn brothers, it's good to become sworn brothers."

Shen Chu looked at Luo Heng, "Shouldn't you ask Young Master Luo for his opinion?"

Luo Heng smiled and said, "It is my honor to be able to become sworn brothers with the three of you."

Li Chengxuan excitedly slammed his hand on the table, “Alright, let’s rank ourselves by age. I’m the oldest among the three of us, and A-Chu is the youngest. Brother Luo, how old are you this year?”

"Just turned nineteen."

"Ah, so you're the eldest brother, I'm the second brother, Ah Jun is the third brother, and Ah Chu is the youngest brother."

Li Chengxuan cupped his hands in greeting and excitedly addressed Luo Heng, "Big Brother."

"Second brother!" Luo Heng returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Both of them looked at Zhou Jun at the same time.

Zhou Jun blushed and said, "Big brother, second brother."

Then, all six eyes of the three people fell on Shen Chu at the same time, their gazes incredibly bright.

"Achu, call me brother."

Chen Chu....

Sigh, men really do lose their brains when they're drunk.

"Have you forgotten that we haven't officially become sworn brothers yet?"

Li Chengxuan slammed his fist on the table and declared, "Let's swear an oath of brotherhood now!"

After saying that, he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

He pulled Chen Chu down to kneel as well, and the four of them knelt in a row.

Luo Heng smiled and spoke first: "Heaven above, earth below, I, Luo Heng!"

"I am Li Chengxuan."

"I am Zhou Jun."

“I am Chen Chu.”

Luo Heng: "Today we become sworn brothers, sharing both good times and bad!"

Li Chengxuan, intoxicated, shouted, "Anyone who is heartless and treacherous, I will surely break their ribs."

Zhou Jun: "From now on, we will be interdependent in times of fortune and misfortune, and support each other in times of trouble."

Shen Chu said loudly, "Heaven and earth bear witness, mountains and rivers are our pledge, we will never break our promise."

*Smack*

Li Chengxuan pulled out a dagger and poured a bowl of wine, saying, "Come on, brothers, let's swear an oath of blood."

After saying that, he cut his own finger and dripped a drop of blood into it.

Chen Chu, Zhou Jun, and others followed in turn, with Li Chengxuan finally handing the dagger to Luo Heng.

Luo Heng's face stiffened, and he hesitated, saying, "Sworn brotherhood is about sincerity, so let's skip the blood oath."

Li Chengxuan pushed the dagger forward again, "How can we show our sincerity without swearing a blood oath? Brother, we're just missing you."

Luo Heng took the dagger and gestured with it on his slender fingers for a long time, but still didn't bring himself to use it.

Seeing his fingers tremble slightly, Shen Chu's heart stirred. "Brother, are you afraid?"

Luo Heng's body trembled. "Who said I'm afraid?"

Shen Chu said with a somber expression, "Brother, your voice is trembling."

Luo Heng closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and slashed down hard.

Li Chengxuan next door let out a wail, "Big brother, you cut my hand!"

"Huh?" Luo Heng turned his head and saw that Li Chengxuan's left hand was bleeding profusely.

His face paled, and he murmured, "Oh God, blood..."

Glug.

Luo Heng tilted his head to the side and bent over.

She actually fainted!

Zhou Jun immediately rushed over with red eyes, "Waaah... Big brother, what's wrong?"

With quick reflexes, Shen Chu reached out and pinched Luo Heng's philtrum hard.

Luo Heng slowly woke up and opened his eyes to see Li Chengxuan's blood-stained hand. He then bent over and pulled it away.

"Oh no..." Li Chengxuan jumped up and shouted, "Waiter, quickly prepare some water for me, my older brother is afraid of blood."

Listening to Li Chengxuan loudly washing his hands and bandaging his wounds outside, and then looking at the unconscious Luo Heng and the sobbing Zhou Jun, Shen Chu had only one feeling.

That's outrageous!

There are four brothers. The eldest brother is afraid of blood, the second brother is afraid of books (a poor student), and the third brother is a crybaby.

And the fourth brother, she, is a woman!

This marriage was arranged for her, and it turned out to be a complete mess!

Li Chengxuan came in with his hands bandaged, peeking out from outside the door. "I'm still bleeding, so I won't go in. Ah Jun, I'll take you back. Ah Chu, you take your older brother back."

He gestured for Zhou Jun to leave.

Shen Chu called Luo Heng's servant in, carried him to the carriage, and took him all the way to Rongbaozhai.

Luo Heng lived in the backyard of Rongbaozhai.

As soon as he was brought in, Luo Heng woke up. "Huh? How did I get back? A-Chu, did you bring me back?"

Chen Chu nodded and asked with concern, "Big brother, are you... alright?"

Luo Heng sat up, a blush rising on his pale face. "I've always fainted at the sight of blood since I was little. I'm sorry to have made you laugh, A-Chu."

Shen Chu blinked and smiled slyly, "I was wondering how there could be such a gentle and refined gentleman as my elder brother, and I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of myself."

"Oh, so that's great. Turns out my older brother's afraid of blood. Now it'll be so easy to scare him; all I have to do is prick my finger and squeeze out a drop of blood."

Luo Heng had prepared himself to receive Shen Chu's sympathetic gaze, but Shen Chu's words surprised him for a moment.

From childhood to adulthood, people around him, knowing he was afraid of blood, would either laugh at him behind his back for not being a man, try to find out why he was afraid of blood, or pretend to sympathize with him and comfort him.

This is the first time someone has jokingly claimed to have grasped his weakness and that it can be used to their advantage later.

Just as in Shen Chu's eyes, his fear of blood was not a weakness to be ridiculed, but rather a characteristic that made him a more real person.

For the first time, Luo Heng didn't know what expression to wear on his face.

Don't you think it sounds like a man is weak and unmanly to be afraid of blood?

Chen Chu waved his hand, "Hey, I often feel that because my hands are whiter than a woman's, my ears are soft, and my waist is slender, I have no masculine energy at all. If that's the case, wouldn't I be even less like a man?"

Luo Heng couldn't help but look at Shen Chu's fair face and chuckled, "Who's so outrageous as to dare to make fun of A-Chu like this?"

"Tell me, and I'll beat him up for you. Is he the Sixth Prince?"