Chapter 13 Madam, come here
If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. For a moment, Dai Li thought that Qin Shaozong knew what she had done, but she quickly realized that it was impossible for him to know.
Yan San and she entered the main hall at the same time. Even if he had seen through her plan, he wouldn't have had time to report to Qin Shaozong, so this person must have just said it casually.
No, it wasn't all just a casual remark. Given her current public image, it's quite reasonable for her to frequently cause minor trouble.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dai Li noticed Yun Rong looking at her, her face tense. She knew what Yun Rong was worried about.
Their secret cooperation has been reached. Yunrong is worried that she will use this as a way to bow down to Qin Shaozong. Once the two reconcile, she, as the Lady of the Prefecture, will have nothing left to do.
Whether we'll have a chance to get her to whisper sweet nothings in his ear depends on now.
Dai Li raised her hand to press against Qin Shaozong's chest, preventing him from getting closer: "What are you saying? In your eyes, am I the kind of person who will cause trouble if I'm not kept in sight for a moment?"
After saying this, Dai Li suddenly changed her hand from pushing to grabbing, grabbing his collar, standing on tiptoe and sniffing with a frown: "The banquet hasn't even started yet and you already smell of alcohol. How much have you drunk? Drink less. Drinking on an empty stomach will make you drunk and harm your health. If you get drunk tonight, I won't serve you."
Qin Shaozong chuckled contentedly, completely unconcerned about being lectured in public by a concubine. "What you say is true, Madam."
Yunrong exchanged a glance with Jiang Chonghai, who sat at the head of the table, and the former nodded slightly. Knowing that he had finally found an opportunity to whisper sweet nothings in his husband's ear, Jiang Chonghai was immediately delighted and ordered his servants to bring several wine jars to the table.
All the distinguished guests have arrived, and the banquet begins.
Qin and Jiang sat at the head of the table, while Dai Li and Yun Rong sat in the first position corresponding to them at the lower end.
The banquet featured a feast of delicacies, including steamed lamb tripe, roasted deer tail, braised crucian carp, and chestnut chicken. In addition to hot dishes such as wild garlic and asparagus salad, there were also thinly sliced, translucent fish fillets, sweet soup, and candied fruit snacks. It was a complete feast of three kinds of sacrificial animals and five kinds of delicacies.
Of course, in addition to all kinds of delicious food, there were also mountains of wine jars at the banquet.
The women were chatting and laughing, while the men were drinking.
Dai Li noticed a detail: they drank very heavily and barely touched the food on the table. Whenever Qin Shaozong picked up his jade chopsticks to pick something up, three out of five times he would be stopped by various circumstances and then give up and go back to drinking.
Dai Li picked up a piece of chestnut chicken and ate it slowly, guessing that Jiang Chonghai probably wanted to get Qin Shaozong drunk.
Many military generals enjoyed drinking, but countless others made mistakes because of it. For example, Dian Wei was drunk and had his weapon stolen, ultimately dying in battle. Later, Zhang Fei lost Xuzhou due to excessive drinking. This shows that while a little alcohol is fine, excessive drinking leads to disaster.
She and Qin Shaozong are currently in a relationship based on shared interests. The search of Nankang County has not been completely completed, and she does not know if her son is there. He cannot be allowed to get into trouble at this critical juncture.
"Smack!"
Dai Li suddenly slammed the jade chopsticks onto the table.
She took the photo at the perfect moment, just as they were talking, so everyone heard it.
All eyes fell on Dai Li, but she looked directly at the brown-eyed man at the head of the table, her tone quite dissatisfied, "Qin Changgeng, I feel uncomfortable from the smell of alcohol."
The entire room fell silent.
Jiang Chonghai was so surprised that the wine spilled out of the glass.
She dared to call Qin Shaozong by his full name in public, and with such arrogant and spoiled language. It seems that, as his wife said, this Lady Dai is indeed spoiled and lacks manners.
The man whose name was called showed no anger whatsoever, but simply chuckled in a muffled voice, "Since Madam is not pleased, then we will not drink. It would be bad if we angered Madam and prevented me from entering the room. Men, take these wine jars away."
Jiang Chonghai's brow twitched, startled by Qin Shaozong's submission, yet secretly anxious. Today's banquet was all about drinking; in fact, it was to take advantage of Qin's drunkenness to ascertain some extremely important information.
Two days ago, Madam Yun went to chat with Madam Dai every day. In addition to getting closer to her, she also received an unexpected surprise.
According to Lady Dai, Qin Shaozong has recently taken in a strange strategist. This man is skilled in making decisions, but he also hates being in the spotlight. He prefers to stay in the shadows like a damp mushroom, rarely showing his face, but he has a great influence on Qin Shaozong.
For example, the famous spy scheme that made him famous was actually his idea. As for this campaign to crack down on the salt smugglers, Mr. Junzi was originally ordered by Qin Shaozong to accompany him, but he unfortunately fell ill halfway through the journey and had to be left to recuperate.
This is why there were no strategists among the group entering the mansion; it wasn't that they had no companions, but rather that they were delayed along the way.
This information wasn't obtained all at once; rather, the wife gradually extracted it from Madam Dai by following a clue, piecing together the fragmented information.
Jiang Chonghai's paranoia made him worry that this was a trap, but he couldn't help wondering if there really was a Mr. Mushroom.
Powerful clans possessed immense wealth, which, in times of chaos, enabled them to amass military power and establish their own independent regimes. The sons of these clans became lords, recruiting strategists and military commanders; the former were known for their wisdom, the latter for their courage.
As the lord who plays the game, he only needs to be good at accepting strategies and have a certain amount of courage to do well. After all, his political background and military resources are a natural advantage that is far beyond what ordinary people can match.
People with both wisdom and courage are extremely rare in this world. Qin Shaozong was born into a family with exceptional talent, and his martial arts skills are already outstanding. How could he possibly have all the good things in life?
"Three men can make a tiger," and rumors can be a powerful force. Perhaps Qin Shaozong's reputation was all fabricated to create hype for himself. Jiang Chonghai speculated maliciously.
After much deliberation, he arranged this dinner to test the waters. Now that his objective had not yet been achieved and the plan was about to be interrupted, he was unwilling to give up. He immediately gave Yunrong a wink.
Dai Li was initially worried that Qin Shaozong would get drunk and cause trouble, but after hearing what he said, she understood.
Oh, he's still so sober. He must have an excellent alcohol tolerance. We can proceed as planned.
"Sister, I'm feeling a bit bored too. How about we go out for a walk together?" Yunrong asked hesitantly.
She had no confidence in this matter. This ancestor had always done things his own way and never cared about the feelings of others, but this time he actually succeeded...
"Alright, I've almost finished eating anyway, it'll be good to go for a walk to digest." Dai Li put down her chopsticks, stood up, and said to Qin Shaozong, who was sitting at the head of the table, "You reek of alcohol, you should rest on your own tonight."
After the two women left the main hall together, Jiang Chonghai sighed and said, "When Madam Dai doesn't speak, she's like a peony or the bright moon; but once she opens her mouth, she becomes like ginger, very spicy."
“Her style is excellent; I wouldn’t find the ordinary kind exciting enough,” Qin Shaozong said with a smile.
Jiang Chonghai tried to encourage them, "Madam Dai has already left her seat, why don't we continue?"
Qin Shaozong remained silent.
Jiang Chonghai sighed, "Alas, my wife probably won't let me go back to my room tonight. We must drink and enjoy ourselves to the fullest. The night is long, so let's drink until we're drunk. Does Your Excellency dare to accept the challenge?"
"What is there to be afraid of?"
*
After leaving the main hall, Dai Li and Yun Rong wandered aimlessly around the mansion.
The prefectural governor's mansion was built in a luxurious manner, with pavilions and winding corridors. Every ten steps or so along the main road, there was an exquisitely carved white jade lampshade. Simply place a candle inside, and you would get a soft halo of light.
As the sun disappeared and the halo of light in the sky gradually faded, night fell. Dai Li watched the maids skillfully light the lamps and thought to herself that this prefectural governor's mansion was truly extravagant; they were even lighting candles outdoors.
"Sister Yun, I wonder if you could take care of the matter I asked you to do this afternoon, before tomorrow afternoon?" Dai Li said in a low voice.
If an ordinary person lost their bib and wanted to get a replacement, they had to first report the situation to the government, then submit proof, application documents, and other miscellaneous materials, and only after the review was approved could they receive a new bib.
However, if it is a powerful figure, especially someone like Lord Jiang, the top official of Nankang County, it is easy to severely punish him. It can be done with just a word. After all, if he gives the order, people will work overtime to get things done.
Yun Rong's eyes flickered slightly. "Why is my sister in such a hurry? Is it possible that Lord Qin will be leaving Nankang County soon?"
"Of course I'm anxious. If he finds out that I've accidentally lost the book again, he'll have plenty of reasons to hold me hostage." Dai Li sighed. "He didn't tell me when I'd leave, only that he'd take me to see the peach blossoms. I've never seen a continuous peach orchard before, so I'll definitely have to take a good look then."
Yunrong was stunned.
Peach Blossom Grove?
Lord Qin's mission was clear: to eradicate the salt smugglers. Nankang Commandery was located directly west of Ying Commandery, and there were three routes to take from there to Ying Commandery.
Firstly, march northeast and then southeast, bypassing from above; this is the first route.
Secondly, continue westward without changing direction, heading straight to Ying County; this is the middle route.
Thirdly, march southeast first, then northeast, and go around from below; this is the lower route.
Of these three routes, only the upper route passes through a mountain with peach orchards along the way. Locals call it Peach Blossom Peak, where peach blossoms bloom all over the mountain in spring, creating a spectacular sight.
"Sister Yun, will you agree to this?"
Yun Rong's mind was completely focused on Qin Shaozong's marching route, and she had no time to think about anything else, so she just nodded hastily.
Dai Li smiled with satisfaction.
After walking around for a while, Yunrong took the initiative to say, "Sister, let's go back. Although the wine was taken away in the end, men are always unpredictable and can't resist the temptation of alcohol. Who knows, they might accidentally mention it a couple of times and get their drinking bug back. It's better to go back and check."
"Your Excellency has a decent alcohol tolerance; you shouldn't go on a drunken rampage." Having achieved her goal, Dai Li no longer wanted to be outside feeding the mosquitoes.
The two left in the middle to later part of the evening, and by the time they returned to the main hall, the banquet was already coming to an end.
The magnificent main hall was filled with a lingering smell of alcohol. No matter how many wine jars were on the table and the floor, just the rich aroma of alcohol told you that they must have been drinking again.
A particularly intense gaze pierced her. Dai Li looked up to meet the gaze of the person above her and saw that it was Qin Shaozong looking at her.
His skin wasn't fair, so his cheeks only showed a slight flush, making it impossible to tell how drunk he was. Only his eyes held a heavy, dark color, like desire, or something else, which made one's heart tremble.
In full view of everyone, he beckoned to her: "Madam, come here."
A note from the author:
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There are two parallel storylines running at the moment: one is Dai Li's plan to escape, and the other is Qin Shaozong's trap for Jiang. Both are very important, so the progress won't be very fast. Sorry [heart emoji]. By the way, I'm begging for nutrient solution [cat paw emoji].
As for getting it to the paid version, it needs around 70,000 words, which won't happen anytime soon. Let's save some words for you guys first. [Let me see]
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