Living a life of drunkenness and dreams
That year might not have been a good one for Xiangping. Not long after the Xiao family case was concluded, the emperor fell ill.
Su Maoyi was summoned to the palace to attend to the sick. Before leaving, he instructed General Steward Su to take good care of Su Musong. But how could General Steward Su take good care of Su Musong? The Duke's Mansion was so big, he could just find an unguarded wall and fly out without much use of advanced lightness skills.
Su Musong walked on the street, wandering aimlessly among the crowds, like a walking corpse without a soul. He didn't want to stay at home. Xiao Luochen had set foot in every corner of the Anguo Mansion. Whenever Su Musong passed those places, he could always hear Xiao Luochen calling him over. He followed the voice to find Xiao Luochen as if under a spell, but always found nothing.
But even after escaping home, Xiao Luochen's voice didn't fade away. They had met in this city, grown up together, bathed in the spring rain and apricot blossoms, admired the pink lotus leaves and green leaves in summer, admired the ginkgo trees on the Western Hills in autumn, and admired the red plum blossoms on the snowy bank in winter. This city held the carefree years they had spent together. But now, these memories had turned into steel needles, each one piercing Su Musong's heart, piercing it with holes and bleeding.
Su Musong could no longer bear it and just wanted to escape. He stumbled into a winery, hoping that alcohol could stop the pain. With this thought in mind, Su Musong downed two jars of aged Huadiao wine. He felt dizzy and threw away the man who came to help him. He rolled out of the winery and collapsed drunkenly on the street like a puddle of mud.
In the West Market, where peddlers and street vendors gathered, it was common to see one or two drunks lying in front of a wine shop, so Su Musong didn't attract the attention of passersby. Instead, the owner of the wine shop, seeing Su Musong's unusual clothing, was worried that his presence would attract the attention of criminals, which would cause trouble for the wine shop. So he called his staff and prepared to carry Su Musong inside the shop and send him away after he sobered up.
The boss and his waiter were about to carry Su Musong when they were stopped by someone. It turned out to be Ji Ziming who happened to be passing by.
"Boss, leave this young man to me. I will take him back home."
The boss looked carefully and recognized that this young man was the newly crowned number one scholar. He had seen the number one scholar riding a horse in the parade that day. So he did not think anything of it and handed Su Musong over to Ji Ziming. He also saw that Ji Ziming had no carriage or entourage, and it would be difficult to send the drunk Su Musong back. So he asked kindly:
"Would you like me to hire a carriage for you two?"
Ji Ziming glanced at the unconscious Su Musong, hesitated for a moment, and finally refused.
In Su Musong's current state, it is not appropriate to reveal his identity. He seldom came to Xishi before, so few people knew him. But if he hired a carriage to take him back home, then the whole Xishi would probably know tomorrow that the eldest son of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was drunk on the street.
Although the Xiao family case has been settled, the aftermath has not subsided. The entire Yongjing City knows that Su Musong and Xiao Luochen are close friends. If people knew that the eldest son Su, who was once considered dignified and elegant by outsiders, was drunk on the street in West Market, it would be hard not to suspect that this was due to the Xiao family case. If someone with ulterior motives adds fuel to the fire, Yongjing City is likely to be in turmoil again.
Therefore, you cannot hire a carriage, at least not here.
Ji Ziming had a hard time carrying Su Musong, but fortunately he met an acquaintance after turning the corner.
Princess Duanmin went to visit the family of a personal soldier who died in battle with Marquis Wuning. On her way back, she passed by this place and saw Ji Ziming supporting someone walking forward. She asked the coachman to stop and only then saw clearly that it was Su Musong who was being supported.
"Come up, I'll take you back."
"Then thank you, Princess."
Ji Ziming didn't bother to be polite with Duan Min and helped Su Musong into the carriage.
The two had met before at the Lantern Festival. Although Duan Min was wearing men's clothes at the time, Ji Ziming saw through her disguise at a glance. Just as Su Musong said, he really wanted to give up the lantern riddle competition. That day, Xiao Luochen, Su Musong, and Duan Min
He could hear the conversation clearly from the side, and at that time he felt that the princess was straightforward, generous and sensible, without any of the arrogance of the ordinary dukes and noble ladies.
Su Musong reeked of alcohol, and Duan Min knew without asking that he was drunk.
"I didn't expect their relationship to be so deep. Looking back now, I was just wishful thinking back then."
Duan Min sighed. She thought that her admiration for Xiao Luochen was already deep, but now she realized that compared with Su Musong, her love was nothing.
"Knowing that lust is the root of youth, the princess's thoughts are merely human, not wishful thinking. It's just that the two of them were childhood sweethearts, and before they even realized it, the bond had already taken root, entwining them for the rest of their lives. Now that one of them has suddenly passed away, the other must pull out the roots if she wants to live well. Otherwise, the dead roots will rot, gradually infecting the living one, and eventually dragging the living one into death."
Ji Ziming has been a classmate of Su Musong since childhood. Over the years, as an observer, he has seen through things earlier than the people involved.
Duan Min naturally understood what Ji Ziming meant, but given the current situation, it would be extremely difficult for Su Musong to let go of the past.
The two of them listened to Su Musong mumbling Xiao Luochen's name, and they felt sad in their hearts. They didn't say anything else along the way.
Su, the steward of the Anguo Mansion, was anxious because he couldn't find Su Musong, so the doorman carried him to the backyard. Duan Min and Ji Ziming escorted Su Musong to the door and handed him to the servants who came out to greet him, but they did not enter the mansion and left directly.
Seeing the drunk Su Musong, Steward Su felt a little scared. Fortunately nothing happened today, otherwise he really didn't know how to explain it. So more than a hundred maids and servants in the Duke's Mansion received an order to keep an eye on the eldest son.
Su Musong lived under surveillance from then on, but he didn't feel it. Since the day Ji Ziming picked him up from the street, drunkenness had become his normal state, rarely sober. With the master of the house away, the servants could watch him but couldn't restrict his movements.
It was not until the Duke's wife returned home with her children that the servants of the Duke An's Mansion felt relieved.
Changsun Qinan looked at Su Musong soaked in wine, feeling both distressed and angry. He first issued a house arrest order to Su Musong, and then ordered people to dispose of all the wine in the mansion, leaving not a drop. He also gave Su Musong enough tranquilizers and forced him to sleep peacefully for a few days.
After all this, Changsun Qinan began to seriously consider Su Musong's future. She knew very well that Su Musong's stay in Yongjing must have been filled with emotion, which was why he was drunk all day. Facing reality was never easy, especially at Su Musong's age, facing the separation of life and death.
The emperor's condition finally improved after treatment, and Su Maoyi was finally able to return home.
The Duke of Anguo and his wife could not think of any way to cheer Su Musong up, nor could they bear to force him to face the pain. After discussion, they decided to send Su Musong to Wanhua Castle. Perhaps after leaving Yongjing, he could slowly heal his heartache in a paradise like Wanhua Castle.
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