Only Chong was drunk
On the Spring Equinox, the sky is clear and the air is crisp.
Wu Qi slept soundly through the night without any dreams, a rare occurrence. When she opened her eyes, Yi Shen was sitting beside her. She had to admit that seeing Yi Shen the moment she opened her eyes made her feel much more at ease.
Yi Shen took her hand and said softly, "Happy birthday, Xiao Qi."
"Thank you, Young Master Yi."
Birds chirped outside the window, and faintly, there were a few laughs. The laughter sounded very familiar. Wu Qi listened intently, momentarily incredulous. She looked at Yi Shen, about to ask something, when Yi Shen kissed the corner of her lips and said, "Comb your hair and get dressed first, no rush."
He skillfully did her makeup and drew her eyebrows, picked up a comb to style her hair, and placed the flowers he had prepared in her hair. Then he picked up two hair ribbons of different colors and asked, "Which color hair ribbon should I wear today?"
The laughter and chatter in the courtyard grew louder, as if someone had arrived and everyone went to greet them. Wu Qi took a deep breath and looked down at the hair ribbons in Yi Shen's hand, one light pink and the other light blue.
She hesitated for a moment, unable to decide, "Yi Shen, what color clothes should I wear today?"
Yi Shen said, "I'm ready. Go and choose for yourself, okay?"
Wu Qi nodded and stood among five or six dresses, choosing one. These dresses were all personally selected by Yi Shen; the dark-patterned fabrics were soft and smooth, in colors and styles she usually liked to wear. She touched the fabrics and finally chose a light pink dress from among the five or six dresses.
The collar and cuffs were adorned with a string of small pearls.
She said, "I want to wear this today."
“Okay,” Yi Shen replied.
After getting dressed, Wu Qi started choosing a hairband. After hesitating for a while, she picked up a light blue hairband and said, "I'll wear this color hairband today."
"Can."
Once everything was ready, Yi Shen hugged Wu Qi and said, "It's your birthday today, be happy." Wu Qi had just finished her makeup, and not wanting to ruin it, he kissed the back of her hand, his expression full of affection and his eyes full of tenderness, and said, "Go."
Go ahead.
Open the door and cheer up.
Wu Qi asked, "Aren't you coming with me?"
Yi Shen said, "You go first, I'll be there in a bit."
The laughter and chatter outside the door grew louder than before, and judging from the sounds, there were more people. Wu Qi stood at the door, his hand pressed against it, but he simply couldn't muster the strength to open it.
She turned around to look.
Yi Shen was still standing there, wearing his nightgown, which was soft and smooth, and his hair was shiny.
He said, "Xiao Qi, I'm here."
At that moment, Wu Qi understood the meaning behind Yi Shen's words.
Walk forward, push open the door, don't be afraid, no matter what happens, I'm behind you.
—Turn around, and I'll be there.
Wu Qi turned around, and there was only a door in front of him.
Opening a door doesn't require much strength, but it does require immense courage.
At this moment, she cannot be said to possess unparalleled courage; she merely possesses the original courage of Wu Qi.
She had forgotten—she was Wu Qi.
With a little effort, the door opened.
She stepped out the door.
Light and laughter, flowers and birdsong rushed to Wu Qi's side, surrounding her. The past, the past she tried to avoid, followed, but before it could get close to Wu Qi, it was driven away by her friends.
"Oh my, who is this? It's our Xiao Qi!"
"Haven't seen you for days, you've lost weight!"
"That's right, that's right, what's wrong with Weichong? Can't he take good care of our Xiaoqi?"
"What? I think Xiao Qi is still as beautiful as before."
"Little Seven, Little Seven, your dress looks so beautiful today!"
Wu Qi was surrounded by people, like a star surrounded by many moons, or a small firefly surrounded by many fireflies. Her radiance was not as bright as before, but these people, these friends from Ci Zi Pavilion, had come from afar to be by her side, just as before.
"Excuse me, excuse me." Ning Xunxu came up to Wu Qi and hugged her without saying a word. When they were little, he liked Wu Qi, his older sister, the most. He always felt that she was different, always dressed up beautifully and going out to cause trouble. He and Wu Qi were also very close.
Without realizing it, he had already grown taller than Wu Qi.
The moment Ning Xunxu actually hugged Wu Qi, he realized just how thin she was. In his memory, Wu Qi would never constantly talk about losing weight, yet she seemed to never gain weight, always maintaining the same figure. Seeing her today, he realized how thin she had become.
He genuinely treated Wu Qi as an older sister, and now he truly feels sorry for her.
"Sister Xiaoqi, I miss you so much."
Before Wu Qi could react, Lin Kuo pulled Song Yinxing forward and hugged the two of them. He glanced at Wu Qi but couldn't bear to look at him any longer, turning his head away and saying casually, "What? Are you the only one who misses Xiao Qi? Don't we miss her?"
Seeing Lin Kuo say this, the others followed suit, saying, "What? Only you noble families are allowed to think about Xiao Qi, but we aren't? I want to hug her too." After saying that, the person stepped forward and hugged the others.
Seeing this, the others exclaimed, "I want a hug too! I want a hug too! No, leave me some space!"
"I'm free now, why don't you come over!"
"I see it! I see it! I'm here! I'm here!"
Before long, a dozen people huddled together, surrounding Wu Qi in the middle.
These people were much taller than the children. The only child had lost his composure and was gently tugging at someone's clothes, his face showing a rare childlike eagerness.
He said, "Brother, I want to hug you too."
The person whose clothes had been tugged turned around, saw no one, glanced down and chuckled, saying, "Little Jingzhu is here too? Where did you go earlier? I didn't see you."
Jing Zhu replied, "I was a little sleepy just now, so I went inside to take a short nap."
As he spoke, his eyes lit up, and he stared intently at a person who came out of the house.
The man was dressed in light blue clothes, and unlike in Lanbing City, he was no longer wearing a veil. He stood in front of the door, not coming down the steps, looking at the people who were huddled together.
For some reason, Jing Zhu saw a kind of relief in Yi Shen's eyes. He was too young to see through Yi Shen's gaze.
However, upon seeing Yi Shen, Jing Zhu regained some of the composure unique to him. He coughed lightly, bowed to Yi Shen, and said, "Greetings, Brother Weichong."
Seeing Jing Zhu's expression, the person whose clothes Jing Zhu had pulled earlier laughed in exasperation, "Little Jing Zhu, why do you only know to bow to Weichong?"
When he was exposed on the spot, Jing Zhu's ears turned bright red, feeling ashamed of losing face in front of someone he admired. He lowered his head and hurriedly bowed to the person, saying, "Greetings, brother."
"Alright, alright, little Jingzhu is alright." The man was afraid of making the child cry, so he stopped while he was ahead.
Yi Shen picked up Jing Zhu and said gently, "Didn't you want to be carried? You can carry me now."
"Thank you, brother." After saying that, Jing Zhu leaned over and hugged the person in front of him, becoming the youngest person in the "group".
They hugged each other for a long time before separating.
Wu Qi said, "Thank you."
She and Yi Shen fled the capital. The students of Cizi Pavilion were already being secretly monitored. Wu Qi had no idea how many difficulties they had gone through and how many places they had traveled to finally arrive in Changru Town to celebrate her birthday.
"There's no need to thank us. We already owed Weichong a birthday gift, so this is a good opportunity to give it to him at the same time."
"Yes, yes, I have had a very pleasant trip here."
"The fruit from Changru Town is really delicious!"
"This courtyard is quite nice! I'll stay here for the next few days!"
"I want to stay here too! I want to stay here too!"
Fortunately, Yi Shen's mansion was large enough to accommodate so many people. Each person happily chose a room they liked, saying, "Great! I like it! I want to stay in this room!"
Their arrival in Changru Town was not easy. Some made excuses to travel, some pretended to be sick at home and refused to see anyone, and some even claimed that they wanted to become monks. They packed their bags and quietly left the capital under the cover of night. Some wandered around and drifted at sea for several days before finally arriving. They vomited as soon as they got off the ship and their faces were pale for several days.
Yi Shen knew all of this.
Although he was in Changru Town, he had secretly worked with Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu in the capital to cultivate his own power. This was no easy task, and it required the help and maneuvering of the students from the Pavilion Academy.
Yi Shen once wrote a letter explaining the dangers involved: a slight misstep could lead to the execution of the entire family and eternal infamy. However, the students of Gezhong replied: "Without justice in the world, birds die and people perish. How can we live in peace for more than a few years? If we remain indifferent and ignore injustice today, then tomorrow we will be the ones kneeling and begging for justice."
Yi Shen carefully put away the letter, picked up his pen and wrote: "Everyone, I have one more request."
His request was to invite many of his friends to Changru Town to celebrate Wu Qi's birthday.
The gathering had been arduous, and Yi Shen had taken care of the aftermath. After a hurried journey, they finally reunited on the Spring Equinox. They kept quiet about Wu Qi's moldy state, laughing and joking as usual, drinking and eating meat, playing drinking games, playing music and dancing... and spending the day in a lively and cheerful atmosphere.
When the mood struck him, he didn't eat dinner indoors but instead set up a table in the courtyard. After only a few bites, he started clamoring for a drink.
They had drunk quite a bit of alcohol earlier that day, but they still wanted to drink more, so they replaced the alcohol on the table with fruit wine.
Wu Qi had a decent alcohol tolerance, but Yi Shen did not. After three cups, both Wu Qi and Yi Shen remained as before.
One person said, "Wei Chong's drinking capacity has improved."
Lin Kuo said, "Is that so?" He asked Yi Shen, "Wei Chong, how many cups of wine do you want to drink today?"
After a moment's thought, Yi Shen replied, "Ten thousand cups of wine."
“See?” Lin Kuo said, “He’s already drunk…”
Others might not understand, but Wu Qi knew very well that Yi Shen could only drink two cups of wine at most. The reason he could drink three cups today was because the wine was fruit wine. If it were a stronger wine, he probably wouldn't be able to drink even one cup.
Even when he's drunk, he doesn't blush or act crazy; he just sits there, reacting slowly, and occasionally utters a few nonsensical words.
For example, at this moment, he asked, "How many more cups of wine do I need to reach ten thousand cups?"
Lin Kuo said, "Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven."
Yi Shen seemed a little confused after a moment, remaining seated for a long time before finally saying, "Then do I need to drink until dawn?"
Lin Kuo and Ning Xunxu exchanged a serious glance, pretended to ponder for a moment, and nodded solemnly, "More or less."
Yi Shen gave a soft "hmm," picked up the empty wine glass in front of him, and drank it without realizing it. After finishing, he put the glass on the table and said, "I'm done drinking."
Everyone was dumbfounded.
He continued, "How many more cups do I need?"
Wu Qi replied, "Not a single cup less."
Yi Shen turned to look at Wu Qi, and thought for a while slowly, "But, it seems like I only drank one cup just now."
Many people stared blankly at the empty wine glass in front of Yi Shen, wondering: One glass?
Did you just have a drink?
That's clearly an empty glass...!
Wu Qi said softly, "One is nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven. You've drunk ten thousand cups of wine."
Everyone was stunned once again.
Yi Shen pondered slowly again before asking, "Is one nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven?"
“Hmm,” Wu Qi replied.
"Then I don't need to drink until dawn?" he asked.
"No need."
“Okay.” Although Yi Shen had some doubts, he accepted the explanation.
Wu Qi, fearing he would continue drinking, took away his wine cup.
A moment later, Yi Shen hooked his little finger around hers and asked, "Little Seven, are you sleepy?"
If Wu Qi hadn't known he was drunk, it would have been very difficult to tell whether he was drunk or not just by looking at his face. He didn't seem drunk at all when he said those words, and they came out of nowhere.
It's like a habit.
Wu Qi grasped his hand and said, "I really am a little sleepy."
Yi Shen nodded, first greeting everyone, then sending a maid from the manor to bring them wine, saying that accommodations had been arranged for everyone and there was no need to worry. After doing all this, he said, "I'm a little sleepy and need Xiao Qi to keep me company for a while. Excuse me, everyone."
Yi Shen showed no signs of drunkenness, only a slight sluggishness.
He slowly took Wu Qi's hand, slowly led her back into the house, slowly changed into his nightgown, and slowly lay down on the bed. Not only that, he continued to hold Wu Qi's hand.
Wu Qi watched from the side, amused, thinking to himself: How come he needs to hold hands to fall asleep when he's drunk?
Yi Shen had been drinking and fell asleep holding Wu Qi's hand. After a while, he suddenly woke up, not quite fully awake, but still pulled Wu Qi tightly into his arms. Wu Qi was startled and hurriedly hugged him, afraid he was having a nightmare. Just as he was about to comfort him, he heard him say:
"Don't cry, Xiaoqi, have a good sleep."
Wu Qi knew she couldn't sleep well; sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night and remember crying. But now she realized—because she couldn't sleep well, Yi Shen couldn't sleep well either.
Even when he's drunk, he thinks about her all the time.
To Wu Qi's surprise, Yi Shen cried.
The alcohol he drank didn't make him do anything outrageous; instead, it amplified his fears and the things he had been deliberately avoiding.
If you don't touch it, if you avoid it, it won't happen.
But he also knew that this was absolutely impossible.
Yi Shen held Wu Qi in his arms, silent, tears streaming down his face.
It was as if he had held onto a wisp of the spring equinox breeze, but as soon as he let go, the breeze was gone. The thought of the breeze leaving made him burst into tears, but he was afraid that his tears would trap the breeze or cause it to leave prematurely. So he could only cry silently so as not to disturb it.
Wu Qi wiped away his tears, silently hugged Yi Shen, and comforted him. Before, when she couldn't sleep, it was Yi Shen who held her in his arms and comforted her; now that Yi Shen couldn't sleep, it was she who held him and comforted him.
She found it absurd; what had they done wrong to be unable to sleep for so long?
She found it ridiculous that justice and ethics had been turned upside down.
In the end, seeing Yi Shen's tears fall again, she felt only heartache.
"Yi Shen, I'll be alright," she said.
"I will be alright, and you will be alright too."
Wu Qi knew that if this continued, not only would she get moldy, but Yi Shen would too, and it would only get worse.
Why not just kick over the chessboard and become the one playing the game?
“Xiao Qi,” Yi Shen said.
"I'm here."
Wu Qi waited for his follow-up, but nothing came. He simply called out to her to see if she was by his side.
"Brother Weichong." She kissed the corner of his mouth. "I'll stay with you tonight. Have a good night's sleep."
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