Chapter 69: Awakening from Drunkenness
"Divorce?" Xie Pei knew he was very drunk, but he didn't expect that his drunkenness would also inspire him to talk nonsense.
He gripped Zhu Mingyue's chin with his index finger, forcing him to face him directly: "Zhu Mingyue, look carefully, who am I?"
Zhu Mingyue blinked: "Xie Pei, I guess."
It seemed he hadn't mistaken him for someone else. He leaned down, his face very close to Zhu Mingyue's, and his warm breath brushed against her face as he spoke: "And who is Xie Hong?"
"Get away from me, it tickles." Zhu Mingyue pushed his face away in disgust and began to seriously think about who Xie Hong was. After a while, he tentatively replied, "Is he your father?"
He even nodded to himself after speaking, indicating his high level of approval for his answer. His memory was hazy, and he couldn't recall this person at all. But he was clever; since they shared the same surname, they must be father and son. Could it be a son? But he didn't seem to have any children yet.
Xie Pei gritted his teeth, realizing that his tolerance for Zhu Mingyue was still too high.
Zhu Mingyue, oblivious to everything, turned over and said, "I'm going to sleep. Remember to say hello to your dad when he comes over."
Ah, the seventh day after his death has passed, Xie Hong can only lie in his grave and is destined never to come.
Xie Pei didn't know what he was thinking. He tucked the blanket around him and, as if possessed, blurted out, "Say it again, who am I?" After saying that, the corners of his mouth seemed to curve even more than before.
Zhu Mingyue was almost asleep with her back to him. When she felt someone tucking her in, she instinctively snuggled deeper into the blanket, mumbling indistinctly, "Brother Cui."
Xie Pei's smile froze: ...
Who is Brother Cui, and where did he come from?
He must have met him before they fled. He had never heard of him from Zhu Mingyue before. He thought bitterly that he was probably dead like Xie Hong.
...
In a mansion in the capital, tall servants walked hurriedly, and dark red lanterns illuminated everyone's extremely tense faces. No one spoke among the people coming and going, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn.
Two men stood under the eaves: one was a slightly hunched old man, and the other was tall but somewhat thin.
The old man stroked his beard: "I sent people south to Ningjiang a few days ago, but the city gates of Ningjiang are sealed off. The leader of the Southern Barbarians has stationed people in the city to guard it. My men have not yet figured out a way to get into the city."
The young man said calmly, "It's alright, it won't make a difference. Thank you for your help, Grandfather."
The old man sighed, "Zishu, don't be too tense. The situation in the capital hasn't reached that point yet. For now, we just need to wait and see what that person does next."
The man named Zishu's brows did not relax at all. "That's not what I'm worried about. The Southern Barbarians won't be satisfied with just Ningjiang. As the weather warms up after the New Year, they will probably launch another offensive after resting for the winter. At that time, if Suiyuan and Jizhou are taken into their hands again, they will also be able to invade Ganzhou and its surrounding areas along the Ji River."
Upon hearing this, the old man paused slightly in stroking his beard. He knew that his grandson's concerns were not unfounded. Ganzhou had many waterways, one of which was the Jizhou River. The river was wide, and the local government and merchants used this waterway to transport goods, with cargo ships coming and going in an endless stream.
After thinking for a long time, he could only offer words of comfort: "That person will not stand idly by. I heard that the imperial edict has been issued to several prefectures. After this year is over, I'm afraid that local militias will soon be conscripted."
The man scoffed. The elite troops in the north remained stationed motionless at the northern border, and all the generals of note in the capital had been left behind in the city. Meanwhile, the south had been successively conquered by the southern barbarians, and the people were suffering terribly, with many fleeing or dying.
That person, however, was unwilling to part with a single penny of his own money, and instead sought to exploit the common people below him.
It's easy to imagine that with the situation tense in the south, the new recruits conscripted after the New Year lacked training and were sent to the battlefield without sufficient equipment. Apart from serving as human shields to delay the enemy's northward advance, they were of no use whatsoever.
It wasn't that no one offered advice, but all their suggestions were rejected by that person.
How could he not know that this was a waste of the people's lives? He knew it better than anyone else, but he was simply muddle-headed and tyrannical, and didn't value the lives of the common people below him.
Thinking of this, the man suddenly clenched his fist, but then relaxed it. He turned his head and asked, "Grandfather, how much is left?"
The old man said, "It will be soon. Apart from what's in the manor, the rest has already been moved to the two estates that were part of your mother's dowry to avoid attracting attention. They're far from the capital, but fortunately, they're very close to each other."
The man bowed to him and said, "I'm grateful for your help, maternal grandfather."
"Alas, there's no need for us, grandfather and grandson, to treat each other with such formality now." Although they are grandfather and grandson, aren't they just like grasshoppers tied to the same rope?
After seeing the old man off, the man stood quietly under the eaves, gazing at the twinkling stars in the night, lost in thought for a long time.
"Young master, the servants have cooked some soup. You haven't eaten all day, you should eat something." The woman who spoke was wearing a light-colored cotton-padded jacket with small flowers embroidered on the cuffs. If Zhu Mingyue were present, he would recognize her at a glance as Aunt Huayi, who had saved his life.
In less than a year, his once plump figure, which he had been able to conceal when he fled, had shrunk considerably.
The man nodded and accepted the soup, absentmindedly uncovering the lid.
At least he was willing to eat. Aunt Huayi saw this and couldn't hide her joy. She had been worried all day. The young master was working tirelessly day and night, and when he was busy, he would forget about eating. His body was getting thinner and thinner.
"Why is it noodle soup?" The man frowned slightly; he didn't like this kind of food.
Aunt Huayi nodded. "It's soup dumplings." She hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Young master may have forgotten that today is the Spring Festival, and the servants have made soup dumplings according to the northern custom."
The man seemed to have just remembered, and was somewhat surprised. The servants in the mansion were carrying boxes back and forth under the pretext of the festival, but he had completely forgotten that today was the Spring Festival.
He took a couple of bites, but still couldn't get used to the bland soup with a slightly sour taste: "My father and mother have already eaten."
"Reporting to Young Master, the offerings have already been made, in accordance with the customs of Ningjiang."
"Hmm," the man handed the bowl back, his brows already showing signs of fatigue. Aunt Huayi, seeing that the soup noodles had only been touched a few times, was about to speak, but he waved his hand, "It's getting late, Granny, you should go and rest too."
Aunt Huayi stammered, "Yes."
She turned and left, her mood growing heavier. The capital was a place that devoured people, not only taking lives but also people's hearts!
Perhaps it's because human joys and sorrows are not shared, Zhu Mingyue slurped up the drool that had spilled from the corner of her mouth and slept unusually soundly. Feeling a bit cold, she pulled the blanket over herself.
Xie Pei, standing to the side, looked at his body exposed to the cold air and helplessly got up to get another blanket to cover himself.
Although the two slept in the same bed, they each had their own bedding. When Zhu Mingyue was drunk, she acted like a robber, sometimes trying to snatch the bedding, and sometimes holding onto his arm tightly and refusing to let go.
Zhu Mingyue was completely unaware of his thoughts and slept soundly, clutching two thick quilts.
When I woke up the next day, I felt a heavy pressure on my chest and couldn't breathe. When I looked down, I saw that I was covered with two blankets. A moment of confusion appeared in my eyes.
What did he do last night? He can't remember anything. He only remembers drinking some baijiu (Chinese liquor), and then, probably because of the alcohol, he felt dizzy, lightheaded, and his thoughts were wandering. He couldn't speak clearly and just wanted to go to sleep.
He could still taste a faint hint of alcohol in his mouth. He rubbed his head in frustration and muttered to himself: I will never drink again. It tastes bad and can easily cause me to miss my New Year's Eve dinner last night because of that glass of alcohol.
Zhu Mingyue went to the kitchen and found Xie Pei tending the fire. He smiled broadly and immediately uttered auspicious words.
"Make sure you say something nice as your first words to someone you meet at the start of the new year!"
Xie Pei paused for a moment and then said auspicious words to him.
It hardly counts as the first sentence. Last night, Zhu Mingyue was making a ruckus until the early hours of the morning, muttering to herself almost constantly, but she didn't utter a single auspicious word.
Zhu Mingyue was somewhat self-aware. She lifted the lid of the pot, ladled out two bowls of glutinous rice balls, and casually asked, "Xie Pei, I think I was drunk last night."
Xie Pei: "Hmm." It's not that it seems so.
Zhu Mingyue scratched her face, her tone becoming much more cautious: "Then, I shouldn't have been fooling around, right?"
Xie Pei looked up at him.
Zhu Mingyue's heart pounded uncontrollably under his direct gaze. Oh no, was he really going to mess around?
He had seen how drunkards acted when they were drunk before; they would urinate, roll around on the ground, cry and make a scene. None of these behaviors were acceptable to Zhu Mingyue.
It's over, it's really over. His image in Xie Pei's eyes is probably completely ruined.
Xie Pei seemed to have seen enough, and suddenly shook his head: "No."
Zhu Mingyue breathed a heavy sigh of relief. For the first time, she found Xie Pei's voice so pleasant. It was good that he wasn't there, otherwise she wouldn't be able to hold her head up in front of people for the next year. It would be too embarrassing.
"So I didn't say anything wrong, did I?" he asked casually.
Xie Pei resolutely chose to lie to him: "No, I'm very obedient." In addition to calling him husband, she also helped him recognize a father.
Zhu Mingyue suddenly felt a little smug; it seemed his drinking manners weren't so bad after all!
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, villagers went out early to visit each other and exchange New Year's greetings.
Xie Pei and Zhu Mingyue both chose to stay at home and not go out. There was nothing to worship. In the eyes of the villagers, he had a sensitive identity and it was not appropriate for him to go out and show his face at this time. Xie Pei, on the other hand, disdained to communicate with people.
He placed a stove in the main room, and once the fire was lit, the room was warm. On the table were some snacks and fried meatballs from yesterday, along with a pot of hot tea.
Xie Pei carefully wiped the blade, while Zhu Mingyue flipped through the storybook she hadn't finished reading. The only sound in the room was the rustling of turning pages. Although the two were silent, the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.
This continued for some time until the brothers Li Zhengyang and Li Zhengming arrived.
Zhu Mingyue poured them tea and offered them some snacks, saying, "Why did you come over at this time?"
Li Zhengyang chuckled, took a piece of pastry and stuffed it into his mouth: "Every year at this time, the threshold of my house is almost worn out by people. My family goes through a lot of snacks and tea just to entertain guests."
Zhu Mingyue smiled. After all, it was the village chief's house, so it was normal for people from the village to come and visit.
Li Zhengming smiled and said, "The meatballs you sent yesterday were delicious. My parents couldn't get away to visit, so they asked me to thank you on their behalf."
Li Zhengyang got excited when he talked about glutinous rice balls: "Mingyue, how are those glutinous rice balls made? One bite and the sesame filling is revealed, they smell so good."
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