Seeing this, Wei Shuwan immediately stepped in to stop her: "A little wine is good for the soul, but too much wine is bad for your health. Besides, isn't Sister Pan also a young lady?"
Pan Wenjun realized she had spoken out of turn, so she had no choice but to accept the fruit wine that Wei Shuwan handed her and drink a glass with her.
Afterwards, Wei Shuwan refilled the wine cup several times, chatting about gossip while drinking with Pan Wenjun. After three cups, she smiled and rubbed her forehead, saying, "Sister Pan, I can't drink anymore. I need to save some energy to toast my uncle, your future husband!"
Caught off guard by the teasing, Pan Wenjun gave Wei Shuwan a light shove, just a playful gesture typical of young women. Wei Shuwan didn't take it seriously, and unsteadily got up, picking up her wine jug and heading to Sun Xingjian's side.
When she spoke, Wei Shuwan was already clearly drunk: "Uncle, it is fate that we, uncle and nephew, have the opportunity to meet in the Jiying Hall of Daye Palace... Come, let's have a drink."
Although Sun Xingjian had already drunk quite a bit with the others, and it was strong liquor, he was still very clear-headed. Seeing Wei Shuwan swaying and barely able to sit up, he frowned angrily and said, "You're a young lady, who told you to drink so much?!"
"Your Majesty..." Wei Shuwan's words were somewhat unclear, but she still managed to argue: "Didn't Your Majesty say earlier that everyone would drink until they drop tonight?"
Sun Xingjian was speechless, unable to go against the Emperor's decree. Seeing that Wei Shuwan was about to refill his wine, he snatched the wine pot from her hand and poured the rest into his own bowl.
Military officers don't drink in such a refined manner. While civil officials use small cups, they are more accustomed to using large bowls, which can hold all the remaining wine in the pot, leaving Wei Shuwan with nothing to drink.
Sun Xingjian tilted his head back and drank the entire bottle of fruit wine, which tasted like a fragrant beverage, but couldn't taste any alcohol at all. He looked at his obviously tipsy niece, somewhat confused, and wondered, "This stuff can actually make people drunk?"
Setting down his wine bowl, Sun Xingjian sighed and said in an elder's tone, "Alright, I've drunk my wine. You should go back now. There are still at least two hours until the banquet ends. If you get tired, you can rest on the table for a while. Women have a low tolerance for alcohol, so His Majesty won't blame you."
Wei Shuwan nodded obediently, then turned and returned to her seat.
Li Qingchen had been summoned by Emperor Pingjia to drink with him and was not in his seat. Wei Shuwan felt unwell and slumped over the table, wishing she could just take a nap. But she knew she couldn't; she had completed two steps, and there was only one last step to take.
Before that, she had to force out the wine she had drunk earlier. Yes, she had laced that wine with aphrodisiac.
Time was short and the idea was impromptu, so she didn't have time to prepare any special teapots or any other clever methods. She could only use the simplest and most direct approach: drink with them and get poisoned together.
It's like risking my life to accompany you, but as long as I can induce vomiting in time, I'll be fine.
To avoid arousing suspicion from her uncle and Sister Pan, Wei Shuwan sat in her seat for a while before pretending to go to the toilet and leaving the hall. She then walked to the lakeside that Li Qingchen had led her to earlier.
She first forced herself to vomit behind a tree, then squatted by the lake, stretching out her arms with difficulty, trying to reach some water.
The water level was indeed quite low. She tried to touch the water, but could only gently paddle with her fingertips, unable to scoop any water up. Just as she was getting frustrated, a pair of long arms suddenly came into her view, casually scooping up a handful of water from the lake and bringing it to her eyes.
Wei Shuwan squatted on the ground, looking up blankly, "Young Prince, it's you again..."
It seemed that this person would appear just in time whenever she was in trouble, and she began to wonder if he had a pair of third eyes, watching her all day long without doing anything else.
Li Qingchen ignored her question and said calmly, "If we don't use it, all the water will be wasted."
Wei Shuwan looked down and realized that the handful of water that was full earlier was now only half full. So she stopped dawdling, quickly took some with both hands and put it in her mouth, rinsing her mouth a few times.
Li Qingchen repeated several times, asking her to clean herself up, and then Hou Shuwan took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth and said, "Okay, that's enough, thank you."
"There's no need to keep those three words on your lips all the time."
Wei Shuwan was taken aback, realizing he was referring to the words "thank you." Yes, she had just said that to him in Consort Wen's bedchamber. Going back further, she had also said it when he helped her interrupt Prince Awuge.
In just one night, within an hour or two, she had thanked him three times.
"I... I didn't want to either, but you're always helping me..." Wei Shuwan lowered her head uncomfortably. She didn't know if it was the night breeze that made her feel the effects of the alcohol or if she hadn't vomited up all the medicine from before, but she felt her face getting hot.
Li Qingchen noticed her unusual behavior and lowered his gaze to ask her with concern, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"No, no!" Wei Shuwan waved her hands and head frantically, denying it in a panic, afraid that Li Qingchen would misunderstand.
But seeing her flushed face when she looked up, Li Qingchen felt something was wrong. He sighed inwardly and had no choice but to change the subject: "By the way, how are your plans for the next round?"
Wei Shuwan knew that Li Qingchen knew about her stealing medicine tonight and drugging her uncle and Sister Pan. Since she couldn't hide it from him no matter what, she might as well not hide it at all and could even ask him for help.
After all, she needed a quiet place to settle her uncle and sister Pan. She had thought about the Cold Palace before, but when she went there just now, she found that there were guards around the Cold Palace tonight, so it would be difficult for her to complete the plan on her own.
Having figured this out, Wei Shuwan said, "I know you must have questions in your mind about why I would do something so immoral, and why you insist on forcing me to agree..."
Before she could continue, Li Qingchen interrupted, "You have your reasons, you don't need to explain these things to me. Besides, it's not like they forced each other."
Last time at the hunting grounds in the northern suburbs, he clearly saw the affection between Sun Xingjian and Pan Wenjun. Pan Wenjun, needless to say, never hid her feelings, and Sun Xingjian, who clearly also had feelings for the girl, just pretended not to care. As for why he pretended, it was probably inseparable from his upcoming experience of facing death on the battlefield.
Li Qingchen not only did not think that Wei Shuwan was doing something wrong, but also thought that she was helping others achieve their goals. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, your uncle won't blame you. He just lacks the courage to take this step. You are helping him, not harming him."
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