47 Eccentricity
◎Captain Yan is truly devoted to protecting his wife◎
Wei Tingzhou turned around and saw Yu Sugong and Yan Qizheng. He quickly saluted, "Master Yu, Commander Yan."
"Chao Fenglang." Yu Sugong returned the greeting.
"Lord Yu." Wei Ziyan bowed slightly.
"Young Madam, how are you?" Yu Sugong greeted her with a faint smile. He then turned to look at Yan Qizheng and whispered meaningfully in his ear, "What the Imperial Court Official said is true. There are so many flowers. It's truly a feast for the eyes."
Hearing the hidden meaning in his words, Yan Qizheng left him in disappointment, took two steps forward and stood side by side with Wei Ziyan.
"Master Yu, Imperial Court Assistant, please come in and admire the flowers."
The two stood together, the man handsome and the woman beautiful, with flowers blooming behind them. The sunlight was brilliant, and the couple looked so extraordinary that Wei Tingzhou was stunned.
"Chao Fenglang, please come in."
Yu Sugong's voice reminded Wei Tingzhou. He hurriedly withdrew his gaze, said "Please come in, Lord Yu", and walked forward with him.
When the two of them walked to the front, Yan Qizheng turned sideways and faced Wei Ziyan.
When I went out earlier, I didn't see her dressed up. But when I caught a glimpse of her just now, I was struck by her delicate makeup, bright eyes, white teeth, and her smile that made me unable to take my eyes off her.
No wonder Wei Tingzhou said she looked so good, a feast for the eyes...
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Wei Ziyan was puzzled as he stared at her face without blinking.
How could she know what Yan Qizheng was thinking? She just thought it was a mistake in her makeup. Just as she was about to go in for a checkup, she heard him say calmly, "No."
Then another sentence: "It's on my hair."
After saying that, he looked up and raised his hand to take a fallen petal from her bun.
When Yu Sugong and Wei Tingzhou arrived, they split up the tea tables, east and west. Yan Qikuan and Qifeng went to the west end, while Wei Ziyan, Wei Tingshuang, Yan Qizhu, and Wu Guanshu remained in the east corner.
"That's the Minister of Justice?"
Yan Qizhu had never seen Yu Sugong, but had heard some rumors about him, so he curiously stretched his neck to take a look.
"He does have a somewhat romantic look, and he doesn't look very old."
Wu Guanshu was also looking over there, echoing, "He's almost thirty, right? I heard from my father that Minister Yu's first wife died four or five years ago."
"It's been four or five years?" Wei Ziyan unconsciously joined in the gossip, "I don't think I've heard that he married another woman."
"Not only did he not remarry, he never even took a concubine." Wu Guanshu whispered what she knew. "It is said that he swore at his first wife's grave that he would never marry again."
"So persistent..." Yan Qizhu was amazed, "He must have loved his late wife very much."
"Yes!" Wu Guanshu sighed, "It's a pity that his wife was unlucky. She fell ill and died at such a young age."
Wei Ziyan hadn't expected this either. While sighing, she caught a glimpse of Wei Tingshuang sitting between them, silent as ever. Seeing her gloomy expression, Wei Ziyan suddenly remembered her choice of concubine and handed her a piece of Ruyi Cake.
"Have you tried it? It's delicious."
"Yes, this Ruyi Cake is delicious." Wu Guanshu turned her attention back, "It also has a good meaning, wishing everything will go well."
Wei Tingshuang glanced at both of them, with a complicated look in her eyes.
"Thank you." Finally she took it, put it to her mouth and took a small bite.
"The cake tastes good, but unfortunately..." Wei Tingshuang sighed softly, "How can anyone really have everything they want?"
"That's right."
Wei Ziyan and Wu Guanshu replied in unison. Wu Guanshu couldn't help but smile and asked Wei Ziyan, "What's the source of your emotion? You've married a man you like, and he treats you well. What else could you not want?"
"I……"
The phrase "marrying a perfect husband" made Wei Ziyan feel really ashamed.
"Some things...are not what you think."
"What do you mean?" Wu Guanshu asked.
Wei Ziyan couldn't tell the truth and was just thinking about how to put it when Wei Tingshuang interrupted indifferently, "What she meant was that they were just being affectionate on the surface."
"Ah?" Wu Guanshu was surprised.
Wei Tingshuang glanced at Wei Ziyan with a hint of sympathy: "No matter how shiny a pair of shoes looks, only you know whether they fit you or not. No one else can tell whether they are comfortable or not."
Wei Ziyan's mind flashed back to Wei Tingshuang's confident words from the day before: "You are just like the scenery outside, unloved and uncared for, dull and lifeless."
Obviously, Wei Tingshuang still firmly believed that she was not living a good life, and today's "flower viewing banquet" was just a superficial appearance.
However, what Wei Tingshuang said was half right. She and Yan Qizhen were indeed "on the surface in love."
"Sister Wei's words are very insightful. One knows one's own feelings and sorrows, and one's own happiness and sorrows."
"I'm glad you know."
Seeing that she understood, Wei Tingshuang said no more and continued to eat the cake, but Wu Guanshu kept shaking her head.
"While that makes sense, there are indeed many couples in the world who pretend to be in love, but why can't I believe that you and Captain Yan are the same?"
Wei Ziyan still had no answer for this question, so she could only curl her lips slightly, but smiled without saying anything. Unexpectedly, she remained silent, and Yan Qizhu suddenly appeared.
"Of course not my eldest brother and sister-in-law."
"Sister Wei, you sound sour when you say that! My eldest brother and his wife are so loving and affectionate, and our whole family has seen it, but how come Sister Wei says it's just superficial?"
Wei Ziyan was surprised that Yan Qizhu would speak up for her. She was even more surprised that Wei Tingshuang, who was always so blunt, would not bother to argue after hearing Yan Qizhu's questioning.
"True or falsehood has nothing to do with me. I'm just speaking from the heart." Wei Tingshuang continued indifferently, "If you find it uncomfortable, just think of me as jealous."
She had already given in during the conversation, and Wei Ziyan didn't want Yan Qizhu to continue the verbal argument, so she quickly handed her a cup of tea.
Yan Qizhu took it with a pout, and whispered to her, "Why weren't you so easy to talk to when I scolded you before?"
Wei Ziyan couldn't help but smile and picked up the teapot to pour water for her.
"You didn't think highly of your brother and me before, so why do you believe we're in love now?"
"Of course I believe what Big Brother says." Yan Qizhu rolled his eyes. "Big Brother said he likes you, so how could it be false?"
“…”
The hand pouring the tea trembled suddenly, and the hot water overflowed onto the table.
"Be careful!" Wu Guanshu shouted.
Wei Ziyan quickly put down the teapot and stepped back. After calming herself down, she turned around and called Qiu Luo to clean the table.
After this episode, Wei Tingshuang was bored and asked when the dinner would start. This reminded Wei Ziyan that she had prepared some games before the dinner.
The courtyard was limited, so the long, narrow corridor would be enough for the game of pitching pots. Wei Ziyan invited the three young ladies to move over, so she could discuss the rules and punishments while the maid prepared.
The rules are well-organized and follow the most common format. After four arrows are thrown, a round is considered a round. The shooter sets a horse for the winner. Three rounds are played in total. Whoever sets three horses wins, and the loser is penalized.
There were different opinions on how to punish the three. Wu Guanshu wanted to make them drink wine, Yan Qizhu suggested making them jump like frogs, and Wei Tingshuang suggested making them imitate the sounds of animals.
Wei Ziyan was not good at the first two, so she supported Wei Tingshuang.
"Learn to bark like a dog?" Wu Guanshu smiled and frowned, "I can't learn anything else."
"Learn to quack like a duck." Yan Qizhu said as he actually quacked twice, causing several people to laugh.
On the other side, Yan Qifeng had already noticed that they were going to play pot-throwing, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but want to join in. So, before Wei Ziyan's side even started, several people over there all came over to join in the fun.
When there are more people, the rules have to be changed.
We can't compete one-on-one; we have to form groups. There are nine people here, divided into three groups. Instead of four arrows per round, we change it to three arrows per round, so each group of three can throw once.
After deciding the rules, they began drawing lots. Wei Ziyan had Ping'er bring out a bamboo stick tube, and everyone drew one. Those with the same color on the bottom of the sticks were in the same group.
After the first round of drawing lots, everyone showed their bamboo sticks together.
Wei Ziyan holds a red one and is in a group with Wu Guanshu and Wei Tingshuang;
Yan Qizheng holds a blue pennant and is in a group with Wei Tingzhou and Yan Qikuan;
The remaining siblings Yu Sugong and Yan Qizhu happened to draw green and were in the same group.
Tou Hu is a game suitable for both men and women, but men are generally better at it than women. Furthermore, Yan Qizheng and Yu Sugong's skills are beyond the reach of ordinary men. Wei Ziyan's team is clearly at a disadvantage, and after three rounds, they haven't won a single time.
"Hurry, hurry, punish! Punishment!" Yan Qifeng shouted the loudest.
Since they were learning animal sounds, the winning team would choose the topic. Yan Qizheng's team had won two games, so it was naturally their turn to come up with the questions.
"You can imitate the crowing of a frog or a rooster." Yan Qifeng was still cheering on the side. Wei Tingshuang's eyes were almost rolling up to the sky with regret.
Wei Ziyan could have risked her life in private, but it would have been too funny to imitate the crowing of a rooster in front of so many people!
Yan Qi was standing in front of her. How could he not understand that her tender eyes said "please forgive me"? Even if she didn't ask, he couldn't bear to embarrass the young lady.
"What does Bai'er call?" Yan Qi was thinking of an easy one.
Before Wei Ziyan could learn, Wu Guanshu asked, "What are white ears?"
Yan Qizhu answered her: "It's a Persian cat raised by my eldest brother."
"So simple?"
Wei Ziyan was so familiar with Bai Er that the first thing she did was meow. It was so gentle and adorable that Yan Qizheng nodded in satisfaction.
"Um."
I’ve passed the test! Wei Tingshuang’s eyes widened.
Next, Yan Qikuan asked a question. He walked up to Wu Guanshu and, as she put her hands together in a begging gesture, he also asked a question she said she knew: "How does a dog bark?"
Wu Guanshu's face was filled with joy, and she barked twice. Yan Qikuan nodded in agreement.
Yan Qifeng couldn't bear to watch it any longer and shouted, "It's too easy!"
Yu Sugong, who had been watching the fun with his arms crossed, reminded him: "If you shout so loudly, be careful it will be your turn next time."
Wei Tingzhou then gave Wei Tingshuang a test. How could a brother embarrass his sister? Wei Tingzhou gave her a simple, sheep-like bleating, which Wei Tingshuang passed with ease.
This round of punishment ends and the second round begins again.
It would have been fine if he had been secretly partial to one side just now, but in the new situation, Yan Qizhen actually helped his wife openly.
Wei Ziyan had only hit one of her three shots in the previous round, so her accuracy was really poor. This time, before she threw, Yan Qizheng walked up behind her and helped her correct her aim.
"Use some force and throw it like this."
Wei Ziyan raised her right hand holding the arrow, and Yan Qizheng held her wrist, demonstrating the direction and strength of throwing.
With this feeling, Wei Ziyan threw the arrow with all her strength this time, and it really fell into the pot.
"good!"
Wu Guanshu applauded her teammates, while the others smiled more or less helplessly.
"Frank cheating" set a precedent, and when it was Wu Guanshu's turn, Yan Qikuan also stepped forward to give her advice. However, he could not do it himself like his elder brother did to his elder sister-in-law, so he just stood by and suggested the throwing angle.
However, Wu Guanshu had good understanding and she adjusted her position and hit the target with one strike.
As a result, in this round, Wei Ziyan's group won all three games and tied with Yan Qizhen's group, while Yu Sugong's group came in last place.
Yan Qizheng didn't even bother playing rock-paper-scissors, simply handing the chance to pose a question to Wei Ziyan's group. Yan Qifeng sensed something was wrong and was about to hide behind Yu Sugong when Wei Tingshuang blocked his way.
"It's the crowing of a rooster, isn't it?" Wei Tingshuang's face was filled with pride. "Then please ask Young Master Yan to imitate you, my brothers and sisters. If you don't imitate him, it won't count."
Yan Qifeng looked at his elder sister with a bitter face. Yan Qizhu bit her lip to suppress a smile, and she was helpless. Yan Qifeng then looked at Yu Sugong, who was still watching with his arms folded, and raised his eyebrows helplessly.
“Hurry up! Hurry up!”
Amidst the urging of the crowd, Yan Qifeng closed his eyes, stretched his neck, and let out a series of loud and long rooster crows: "Cock, cluck, cluck~~~~"
“Okay, okay!”
“You’ve learned it so well!”
“Hahahahahaha…”
Everyone cheered and laughed, Wei Tingshuang's laughter was especially loud. Yan Qifeng blushed, and grumbled with her that the game was unfair and that they had won unfairly.
Wei Ziyan covered her stomach and laughed so hard that the pearl flowers on her head trembled.
Yan Qizhen turned his head inadvertently and happened to see the cheerful smile that he hadn't seen for a long time. The curve of his lips that was originally slightly upturned couldn't help but deepen quietly.
The next moment, he turned around and saw Wei Tingzhou across from him. He was looking in the same direction as him, and even more focused than him.
Yan Qizhen's smile faded slightly, and he took two steps towards Wei Ziyan, blocking the scorching gaze behind him.
Wei Ziyan was completely unaware. Seeing him coming over, she smiled and asked, "Would it be too much for me to ask my third sister to imitate a frog?"
"Won't."
He answered without any reservation. Yan Qizhu immediately cried out in dissatisfaction: "Big brother is biased!"
"I'm happy."
Wei Ziyan: "..."
Yan Qizhu: "..."
Not only Yan Qizhu, but everyone else also felt as if they had eaten sour green tangerines.
Yu Sugong came out with a smile to smooth things over: "Never mind, today I will help the little girl learn to be a frog."
"Really?" Yan Qizhu's face turned from anger to joy.
"Of course." Yu Sugong nodded. "I can't stand seeing them bullying our team members one by one! Isn't it just the croaking of frogs?"
As he spoke, Yu Sugong spread out his ten fingers and really started to learn.
“Quack~~Quack~~~”
Yan Qifeng's rooster crowing was hilarious, but Yu Sugong's imitation of a frog with his handsome face added a bit of humor to the scene, which caused laughter again.
Yan Qizheng couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Master Yu, I will never see a frog again in the future."
Yu Sugong rolled his eyes at him, and Wu Guanshu jumped out with a smile: "Master Yu, you were punished for the little sister of the Yan family just now, now it's your turn to be punished!"
"Right, right, right. Come up with a hard one." Wei Tingshuang was also in the mood for fun. "How about horses?"
"Jackal?" Wei Ziyan chimed in.
Yu Sugong held his forehead with his hand: "Young Madam..."
“Hahahahahaha…”
Amidst the cheers, Yu Sugong was forced to become a jackal again...
Everyone was having a great time playing pot-throwing and was still enjoying themselves when they ate. Wei Ziyan suggested playing drinking games to liven up the atmosphere, and everyone agreed and asked how to play it.
Wei Ziyan asked the maid to fetch the dice and tokens prepared in advance and explained the rules of the drinking game.
"I'll roll the dice first, and then count the first person who makes the pair. Then the person who makes the pair will roll the dice, and then count the second person who makes the pair."
"Today is a 'Flower Feast'. The couplet maker will use the flowers in this yard as the first line of a couplet, and the next person will come up with the second line. If you can't match, you will be fined a glass of wine."
Yu Sugong leaned close to Yan Qizheng's ear and whispered with a rather gloating tone, "Young Madam is taking the literary test this time. As a military commander, I'm afraid you'll have to drink a few more cups."
Yan Qizheng glanced at him calmly: "You should worry about yourself first."
"What if we meet?" Yan Qizhu asked.
"Then I'll punish him by drinking a glass of wine."
Wu Guanshu then asked, "What if the couplet maker can't come up with the first line?"
Wei Ziyan smiled and shook the cylinder containing the tokens: "Then let's have the drinking game. Draw a token and drink according to the rules indicated on it."
As soon as the words fell, discussions broke out.
"The meaning of the drinking chip order doesn't necessarily mean that the person who draws the card drinks. Whoever is written on it drinks?"
"That's what I mean! So if you run into someone who can't come up with the first line of the couplet, it doesn't necessarily mean he'll suffer."
“It’s kind of exciting.”
"It's even more interesting..."
Yan Qi was silently looking at his young wife who was not good at drinking.
"No, you have to join in!" Wei Tingshuang's voice came from the women's table opposite. "How can the host not drink with you?"
It turned out that Wei Ziyan claimed that she was only an official and would not participate in the game. Wei Tingshuang was the first to disagree.
"Yes," Wu Guanshu disagreed, laughing and saying, "It doesn't matter whether there are commanders or not. The most important thing is that we all share the hardship."
"That's right." Yan Qizhu also chimed in: "Besides, Big Brother is here, so I can give him the wine he can't finish."
Wei Ziyan: ...
Yu Sugong leaned close to Yan Qizheng's ear again: "Your third sister understands you very well."
All the rules explained, the game began. Wei Ziyan rolled the dice first, and the first number was seven. Counting clockwise from her to the men's table, it was Yan Qikuan. Wei Ziyan handed the dice to him, and Yan Qikuan rolled an eight, counting to Wu Guanshu.
That is, Yan Qikuan wrote the first couplet and Wu Guanshu wrote the second couplet.
There are many kinds of flowers in the courtyard. Wei Ziyan chose chrysanthemum, the most common flower in autumn, to make couplets, and the first line must contain the word "chrysanthemum".
Yan Qikuan pondered for a moment and came up with a simple sentence: "The fragrance of autumn is inferior to that of chrysanthemums."
Sure enough, Wu Guanshu quickly thought of the second line: "A myriad of romantic scenes come to the wine."
"good!"
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Yan Qikuan picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. Wu Guanshu politely said to him, "Thank you, Second Master Yan."
Seeing how simple it was, Yan Qizhu gained confidence: "I think I can do it too."
Wu Guanshu then rolled the dice, and the dice landed on Yu Sugong's head.
Then Yu Sugong shook his head and unexpectedly shook Yan Qizhu. She immediately became nervous again and hurriedly bowed to Yu Sugong: "Master Yu, please be merciful."
Yu Sugong smiled slightly: "My words, young lady, will definitely match."
Then, he slowed down his speech and said the first line: "Clear frost and wine together in flying chrysanthemum cups."
This sentence was indeed not difficult. Yan Qizhu frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly an idea flashed through his mind: "Leng Yue and Shi Shang Guan!"
Everyone cheered again, and Yan Qizhu bowed to Yu Sugong with a smile.
"Miss, you are right!" Yu Sugong praised and consciously picked up the wine glass and drank it all.
Next, Yan Qizhu rolled the number nine, which circled back from the men's seat and landed on Wei Tingshuang, who sat above her. Wei Tingshuang then rolled another nine, which landed on Wei Ziyan, who sat above her.
"Ha, that's not easy for me to say right."
Wei Ziyan thought to herself that this was not good, and sure enough, Wei Tingshuang looked at her with a smug look on her face.
"Sister Wei, please."
"The green sleeves are like chrysanthemums by the inkstone." Wei Tingshuang threw out the first couplet he had already thought of.
Influenced by her brother since childhood, she has read a lot of poetry and books, and is best at making couplets.
In fact, this first couplet was indeed more tricky than the previous two. Wei Ziyan frowned and pondered, while Yan Qizhu and Wu Guanshu were also thinking about the second couplet.
Yan Qizhen next door could only see the butterfly bun on the back of Wei Ziyan's head, and the second line of the couplet came to his mind: "Butterflies on flowers and hair on the temples."
Afraid that his wife couldn't figure it out, he was about to get up and whisper it to her when Wei Ziyan shouted happily, "Got it!"
Yan Qizhen sat back in his chair.
"Green sleeves and chrysanthemum cheeks by the inkstone, red skirt and lotus leaf clothes by the stream."
"good!"
"That's right!"
As soon as Wei Ziyan finished speaking, the others cheered. Yu Sugong chuckled at Yan Qizheng, "Young Madam's response was very neat. Captain Yan was worrying too much."
Yan Qizheng also smiled.
He was worrying too much. His wife's answer was even more neat than his.
"Let's drink!" Wei Ziyan proudly raised the wine glass in front of Wei Tingshuang.
"Drink it!" Wei Tingshuang took it and drank it all in one gulp.
The game continued, and for some reason, Wei Ziyan rolled the dice, and as luck would have it, the dice fell on Wei Tingshuang again.
"I won't make a pair this time. Draw a token." With that, Wei Tingshuang casually pulled a token from the cylinder. Everyone in the room watched in silence as she read the words on the card: "Recite a line of poetry, two cups for each of the two."
Wei Tingshuang clapped her hands in delight: "Wine chips are still the best!"
Isn’t it simple to just write a poem?
“It’s not that I prefer chrysanthemums among flowers, it’s just that when this flower blooms, there are no other flowers left.”
After quickly reciting the poem, Wei Tingshuang immediately urged Wei Ziyan and Yan Qizhu, who were sitting above her, to drink: "Hurry up and drink! Hurry up and drink!"
Therefore, Wei Ziyan and Yan Qizhu had to drink two cups each.
After two drinks, the next round finally went to the men's table, and Wei Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to take a bite of food to subdue the alcohol in her mouth, she heard Wei Tingzhou say, "I'll have a drink too," and she almost choked on her food.
Wei Tingshuang quickly handed the pipe over. Wei Ziyan turned around, watched Wei Tingzhou draw out the token, and said, "I will write a poem now and drink two cups with the host."
Wei Ziyan: ...
How could it be so difficult for a court official to write poetry and compose fu? Wei Tingzhou almost thoughtlessly recited a five-character poem:
"Zhuangzi dreamed of a butterfly, bewitching before a flower.
The path is deep and the new clothes are stained with fragrant flowers."
"good!"
"Chao Fenglang is indeed very talented in writing!"
Wei Tingshuang was very proud: "That's right, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince often praises my brother's documents."
After saying this complacently, he urged Wei Ziyan to drink: "You are also the host, you must drink with us!"
Wei Tingzhou had already stood up and picked up the wine glass. Wei Ziyan had no choice but to take the wine and stood with Yan Qizheng.
Wei Tingzhou raised his glass: "Wei pays tribute to Commander Yan and Young Madam."
Yan Qizheng: "You are too polite, Mr. Chaofeng."
Wei Ziyan: "Master Wei, there's no need to be so polite."
After finishing one glass, when it came to the second glass, Wei Ziyan's glass was blocked by Yan Qizhen.
"My wife can't hold her liquor well, so I'll take her place."
As he spoke, Yan Qizhen had already taken the wine cup from her hand and drank it all in one gulp.
Yu Sugong clapped his hands and joked, "Captain Yan is really protective of his wife!"
Wei Ziyan's heart moved when she heard this, and she lowered her head slightly. She didn't know if it was due to the alcohol, but her face was hot all the way to her ears...
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