drink wine
Chapter 8
Once I regained my composure, I noticed that besides his eye-catching attire, the second prince's hair was no longer tied up like the eldest prince's. Instead, it was parted into two strands and braided into thick braids resembling horsewhips, hanging down to his shoulders.
Its skin is brown, and it's hard to say whether it can compete with the yellow-skinned prince in terms of fertility. Perhaps one can grow wheat while the other can grow rice.
But upon closer inspection, this Prince Asahi is actually quite handsome. His face is slightly long, but the strong jawline and the hair hanging down on both sides make it not look out of place. His thick eyebrows are like the tip of an ink brush, and his slightly sunken eye sockets outline a pair of almond eyes. However, he has the appearance of "eyebrows pressing down on eyes" as described in physiognomy books. His nose is arrogant, and his lips are as thin as blades. He is much more pleasing to the eye than the eldest prince who looks like a bear at first glance and turns his head away upon second glance.
It wasn't that I had any romantic feelings for Prince Asa, but rather that after we met, the prince unceremoniously pulled Lan Feiyu to his side, stretched out his long arm, and wrapped it around Lan Feiyu's slender waist.
Lan Feiyu lowered her eyes, then quickly returned to normal.
It's not that I'm being paranoid; I do have older brothers, but no matter which one they are, they are all gentle and treat me like a newborn kitten. They would never act like Prince Asa did. Coupled with his and Lan Feiyu's appearances, I couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Xian Asa seemed not to notice me. As the host, he invited my older brother and me into the house. My older brother deliberately pulled me to the back and whispered a complaint, "Xiao Xi, be careful. You are now a princess of Dong Chu. Pay attention to your manners!"
I immediately forgot all about etiquette, stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then gasped and whispered as low as I could, "What's going on?"
Before coming here, I told everyone I was a commoner, a slave, so no wonder no one in the clinic believed me.
I rose to prominence overnight, and everyone knew it, except myself, who was kept in the dark.
The older brother noticed my frown and prompted, "Smile."
I quickly put on a smile, and then I heard the older brother continue, "Since this happened so suddenly, I have to give you an identity so that people won't dare to do anything reckless."
However, the bestowal of titles is the emperor's prerogative. For the elder brother to do this is absolutely "disrespectful to the emperor." Even if the emperor doesn't blame him when they return, someone will definitely use this matter to stir up trouble, and it might even implicate the uncle...
I couldn't help but bite my lower lip. The older brother was remarkably calm, and it seemed that the matter was really urgent—what was this person's "reckless behavior"?
"Xiao Xi!" My older brother's slightly harsh voice came from above. I quickly curled the corners of my mouth and once again used my clumsy skill of forcing a smile.
But my eyes couldn't leave Xian Asa and Lan Feiyu in front of me. They were standing so close together, it was obviously very jarring, but I just had to look. I stared at Xian Asa's arm around Lan Feiyu's, wishing I could prick it with a needle so that it would feel pain and back off.
After passing through the lobby and walking along the winding corridor, we arrived at a hall with two large square tables in the center. At the head of each table was a golden armchair, flanked by neatly arranged chairs. The tables and chairs were made of some unknown wood, which was cool to the touch and showed the grain of the wood.
First, Asa invited his older brother to sit in the golden chair of honor, and then sat on his left. I sat next to my older brother, while Lan Feiyu sat a long way below me, with at least three or four seats between us.
Although I was unhappy that she was so far away from me, at least this way, Asa wouldn't cling to Lan Feiyu.
Asa clapped his hands a few times, and immediately a young man who was also scantily clad came over, carrying a large plate of fresh fruit and several jars of wine. The last one was a drinking vessel, which he placed in front of Lan Feiyu. Lan Feiyu immediately got up to take it and set it out for the remaining three of us.
Looking at Lan Feiyu, whose smile remained unchanged, I felt a strange unease. Perhaps she was also practicing her ability to force a smile? No matter how I looked at it, that smile wasn't pleasant at all.
When she poured me the wine, I stood up and took it with both hands. She gave me a deep look, her eyes crinkling into a smile.
The spoilsport, Xian Asa, interrupted again: "It seems that Sister Xinan and Feiyu get along very well. Feiyu is a magnanimous person and would never care about titles. Your Highness, can't you really make this decision yourself?"
The older brother raised an eyebrow and smiled, holding the cup with both hands towards Asa: "Come on, let's drink!"
Asa's laughter was deafening, almost a roar: "Come!"
Then I watched a drinking contest unfold. My older brother and Prince Asa were full of bravado, and in the blink of an eye, they had finished two jars of wine while chatting and laughing. As for me, I hadn't even finished my first glass.
Lan Feiyu kept pouring wine attentively, her smile seemingly frozen on her face, neither diminishing nor increasing.
I was left out in the cold, so I had no choice but to pick up a pink fruit the size of an egg that I had never seen before. I carefully bit into it and chewed it. It tasted sweet and sour, and the juice flowed over my tongue and down my throat, bringing a tingling sensation.
Wow! This is delicious!
I took a couple more bites, glancing occasionally at the two men who were flattering each other and drinking from large bowls. My eyes met Lan Feiyu's, and she smiled at me again. I could actually see the reassuring intention in that very measured smile, and my heart warmed. I put the fresh fruit on the table, picked up my wooden wine cup, and deliberately raised my voice to Lan Feiyu, saying, "Yu'er, would you like to have a couple of drinks with me? You can leave the pouring to someone else!"
With my voice almost shouting, only the deaf could hear me. The three of them stopped what they were doing and looked at me at the same time. I forced a smile, telling myself that I must not back down. I looked at Lan Feiyu and repeated my request, while turning my face away to look at the older brother and Xian Asa, deliberately giggling like a puppy begging for food.
The older brother frowned slightly but didn't say anything, while Xian Asa was beaming. He tossed his head at Lan Feiyu, who then came to me with the wine jar and whispered, "Xi'er, let's sit a little further apart while we drink, so as not to disturb the men's serious conversation."
What important matter is it? My curiosity was piqued, but seeing the older brother's expression, I didn't dare to be presumptuous and quickly nodded in agreement.
Soon, two elegantly dressed maids came to take Lan Feiyu's place. Lan Feiyu quietly tugged at my sleeve, but I continued to giggle, and with an innocent air, I bowed to the two men who wanted to discuss serious matters and took my leave. I then walked out with Lan Feiyu...
Hall.
Huh? I thought the furthest I could go was to the other end of the long table. This "slightly far" was much farther than I expected. I was completely confused. I followed Lan Feiyu, who was still carrying the wine jar, and we arrived at a courtyard. She turned around and smiled at me, and placed the wine jar on the stone table in the courtyard that was built up to my waist.
It was only then that I noticed that the houses here looked like straight cylinders from the outside, but inside they weren't just one story. Lan Feiyu led me through two iron gates before we arrived at the courtyard.
"I'll go find someone to get the drinking utensils," Lan Feiyu said.
I stopped her and laughed, "No, no, it's just the two of us here. I've been wanting to try... something rough for a while now!"
She frowned in confusion, but I didn't explain. I jumped up, grabbed the wine jar, pulled it down, broke the clay seal, held it with both hands, tilted my head back, and poured it into my mouth—
I took a big gulp of wine, and I could even taste it. It rolled straight down my throat with the force of "the Milky Way falling from the heavens," and I choked so badly that I bent over and coughed repeatedly.
I heard Lan Feiyu's "plop" sound, and then I felt a hand gently but firmly supporting me, and another hand gently stroking my back from top to bottom.
Before I could even thank her, Lan Feiyu said, "Xi'er, would you... would you like to be my sister? You're the older sister, okay?"
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