Chapter 47 Gu Qianhan
Hearing his good brother's undisguised praise, Xiao Qingyuan couldn't help but glance at Chu Yanluo, who was sitting upright on the stone bench.
A faint smile played on her lips, her eyes were crystal clear. She maintained both politeness and her aloof and refined demeanor, showing no pride at being praised, nor any sense of inferiority in front of his friends because of her status.
Her ethereal beauty captivated Xiao Qingyuan once again.
He loved her aloof and proud demeanor, neither vulgar nor timid, and her gaze towards men was open and honest, unlike those young ladies in the capital who would panic and blush at the sight of men, acting as if they had never seen the world or men before.
Especially when they saw him, the young ladies would all look at him shyly and timidly, always trying to strike up a conversation with him, but they would pretend to be reserved. Sometimes they would pretend to have lost their handkerchief and bump into him by chance, sometimes they would pretend to have lost their sachet and ask him to help them find it, and sometimes they would pretend not to have seen anything, bump into him lightly, and then apologize in a pretentious manner.
During his years in the capital, he encountered countless similar scenarios, to the point that he went from disliking them to becoming numb to them.
When Chu Yanluo first met him, she showed no shyness whatsoever, nor did she try to talk to him. Even when he spoke to her, she was arrogant and completely ignored him.
He was immediately struck by her beauty and realized that she was very different from other women.
Now, Chu Yanluo is still the same as before, showing no restraint or intimacy with men. She is simply being herself and will not try to please any man.
In high spirits, Xiao Qingyuan, encouraged by Yuan Zheng, tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Seeing how readily he drank, Yuan Zheng burst into laughter. He pulled Xiao Qingyuan to sit down at the stone table and poured him cup after cup of wine.
Xiao Qingyuan accepted all the drinks offered, one cup after another. By the end, he almost forgot why he had called these two men over: "Yuan Da, Gu Er, you two, lend me some money to spend!"
Gu Qianhan twirled the wine glass between her long, slender fingers without saying a word.
Yuan Zheng immediately agreed: "Sure, it's nothing. We're brothers, no need to talk about lending. It would be too formal to ask for a loan. Just tell me how much you need, and I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow."
Hearing Yuan Zheng agree to give him the money so readily, Xiao Qingyuan barely regained his senses: "Are you serious? You'd give me ten thousand taels too?"
"Of course I'll give it to you. But how much you want me to give is up to you."
Xiao Qingyuan's brain reacted much, much slower than usual: "What skill?"
"His drinking skills are something else!"
Yuan Zheng smiled and placed a jar of wine in front of him: "If you drink one jar, I'll give you ten thousand taels of silver, how about it?"
Xiao Qingyuan burst into laughter: "Fine! You said it yourself, I'm going to drink you until you're bankrupt today!"
Yuan Zheng still laughed: "With your meager drinking capacity, you think you can bankrupt my family? My mother's wedding was a real grand affair, with a dowry so much that it would take ten lifetimes to spend it all! Drink as much as you want, I, Yuan Zheng, may lack many things, but I certainly don't lack money!"
Xiao Qingyuan knew he wasn't short of money, which was why he specifically invited him. Seeing how readily he agreed, Xiao Qingyuan was deeply moved: "Zishang, you truly are my best brother, cheers!" Zishang was Yuan Zheng's courtesy name.
After Xiao Qingyuan finished speaking, he picked up a jar of wine and gulped it down.
"good!"
Yuan Zheng clapped his hands and cheered loudly, while also throwing a provocative look at Gu Qianhan: "Did you hear that? Qingyuan said I'm his best brother! Qianhan, do you have anything to say?"
Gu Qianhan merely glanced at the drunken Xiao Qingyuan and completely ignored Yuan Zheng's words.
Gu Qianhan is twenty years old this year. As his name suggests, he is handsome and cold-hearted. He has an icy aura that keeps strangers at bay. His features are also very sharp, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Even when he sits there without saying a word, he makes people feel intimidated.
Moreover, Gu Qianhan was born into the powerful Duke Zhenguo Mansion. Her grandfather and father were both great contributors to the late emperor's conquest of the country. Her aunt was the current empress, her younger sister was a popular candidate for the crown prince's wife, and her elder brother was the crown prince's companion in his childhood. After adulthood, he directly entered the Zhan Shi Mansion and is now the young Zhan Shi Mansion's youngest son, holding the fourth rank at a young age.
Gu Qianhan himself was a once-in-a-century genius, able to recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently at the age of three, and able to answer the emperor's deliberately difficult questions with ease at the age of five. At the age of twelve, he participated in the imperial examinations, ranking first in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations. He did not participate in the palace examination because he found answering the emperor's questions uninteresting.
Any one of his accolades could easily eclipse Yuan Zheng, who came from a merchant family, leaving him utterly insignificant.
But ironically, Gu Qianhan always felt inferior to Yuan Zheng when it came to Xiao Qingyuan, and Yuan Zheng only found a little bit of confidence in Xiao Qingyuan.
Therefore, every time Xiao Qingyuan praised him, he would provoke Gu Qianhan with a word or two.
However, so far, Gu Qianhan has never responded to him. She only drinks with him out of respect for Xiao Qingyuan.
His provocation failed, and Yuan Zheng felt as if he had punched cotton, so frustrated that he almost vomited blood.
Just then, Xiao Qingyuan was clinging to him, wanting to drink. He picked up a jar of wine and poured it into Xiao Qingyuan's mouth, shouting, "Drink another jar, and I'll give you twenty thousand taels!"
Xiao Qingyuan was never short of money, and Yuan Zheng had no way to flaunt his wealth. Now that he finally had a chance, he was not about to let it go easily.
Mo Ji was extremely anxious. His master hadn't eaten a single thing, yet Yuan Zheng had forced him to drink so much wine. How could his body possibly withstand it? And Chu Yanluo didn't even try to persuade him; she just sat there eating by herself, showing no concern for her master whatsoever. She truly was a heartless wretch.
Mo Ji knew he shouldn't speak up while his masters were drinking, because there was no place for a servant like him to speak here.
But he had followed Xiao Qingyuan since he was a child, and all the discipline he received was to give everything for Xiao Qingyuan. The mark of protecting his master was deeply engraved in his bones. He felt sorry for Xiao Qingyuan and couldn't help but step forward and say, "Uncle Yuan, drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health. Let our young master have some meat and vegetables to fill his stomach first!"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Zheng, who had nowhere to vent his anger, kicked him away.
With excruciating abdominal pain, Mo Ji collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale, but he clenched his teeth tightly and remained silent—this was a discipline he had been taught since childhood, that no matter how much pain he was in, he could not utter a sound.
Yuan Zheng seemed unsatisfied and was about to kick him again, but Gu Qianhan grabbed him and said in a calm but authoritative tone: "Yuan Zheng, that's enough. This is Qingyuan's man. You shouldn't touch him."
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