Chapter 73: Wei Xiaowan Gets Drunk
Mianhua Lou (Sleeping Flower House – a brothel).
Inside a private room.
Six martial artists stood outside the door, hands behind their backs, their chests as firm as iron.
Another six martial artists stood inside the room, their expressions solemn, their eyes fixed on the official Bai Lianrong.
Bai Lianrong was listening to Xiao Ji reciting a poem, a love poem called “Bamboo Branch Song,” Xiao Ji’s voice was clear and elegant, like a gentle breeze passing through bamboo forest:
“Green willows, calm river flow,
I hear my love’s song’s gentle flow.
Sun rises east, rain falls west,
No sun, yet sunshine I possess.”
Although Bai Lianrong appreciated the poetry, his hands weren’t idle. He was touching Xiao Ji’s leg, repeatedly and blatantly:
“Xiao Xiao, your singing is so beautiful, like a nightingale among willows, sweet and enchanting. I wonder if your mouth is as sweet?”
Xiao Ji felt like dying. These two lines were completely irrelevant; he wondered how this lecher could make such a connection.
Xiao She thought, a gentleman uses words, not violence. To prevent the young emperor from sacrificing himself, for his future as a Grand Minister, and for the people of Luoyang.
I… must endure.
But Bai Lianrong became bolder, moving his hand higher, three inches above the leg.
Xiao Ji almost jumped off the embroidered stool!
Even the scholar wanted to curse.
Damn it.
“Quickly save him, quickly save him, QAQ!”
On the roof of the private room.
Wei Wanlan’s fingers were tightly clutching Fu Jun’s sleeve, his fingers gripping Fu Jun’s wrist through the sleeve, somewhat anxious: “You can’t let the scholar suffer such a great loss during the initial stages. The questioning hasn’t even started, and he’s already touching him?”
Fu Jun frowned and snorted coldly. He thought, if I hadn’t come to Luoyang and insisted on stopping him, it would have been you, little fool, being groped.
Who would you cry to then? Would you cry your eyes out? Do you understand the danger now? Little crybaby?
However, Wei Wanlan, secretly called a crybaby, was unaware of this.
Seeing Xiao Ji’s expression becoming increasingly unsightly, Wei Wanlan couldn’t sit idly by. His watery large eyes stared at Fu Jun with increasing urgency:
“Mmm.”
Fu Jun frowned. He couldn’t stand the little fool’s whimpering. He flicked a peanut with his fingers, hitting one of the martial artists in the face.
With a pop, it was accurate and crisp.
The martial artists hadn’t noticed the attack from the roof.
Only on the table where Bai Lianrong and Xiao Ji were drinking and singing were peanuts.
The martial artists showed displeasure. Martial artists have short tempers. One of the six clenched his fist and shouted:
“We are ordered to protect you, risking our lives. What do you mean, Master Bai?!”
But Bai Lianrong, hearing the word “protect,” showed no gratitude, instead, an oily expression of sarcasm appeared on his face:
“Protect to the bedroom? Interfering with my good time?”
“It’s the Governor’s orders. It’s safer inside than outside; if you go out, we must follow you every step of the way.”
“Oh, good! Good! You’re using the Governor to pressure me!”
“It’s an order. Even if the Governor himself came, it would be the same…”
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Bai Lianrong was angry. His chest heaved violently. Xiao Ji quickly offered him a drink, continuing his plan to get him drunk.
Wei Wanlan knew this script.
Wei Wanlan nodded from the roof, sorting out his thoughts:
This was Yuan Xizai, under the guise of protection, ordering the martial artists to closely monitor his official Bai Lianrong.
The reason was simple.
Yuan Xizai knew that Bai Lianrong knew too much about him, so Bai Lianrong couldn’t act alone. These twelve martial artists were guarding him inside and outside to prevent anyone like himself from trying to obtain information.
Therefore, these martial artists needed to be removed.
Retreat!
Wei Wanlan shook Fu Jun’s hand, begging: “Wuwu, a few more, a few more.”
The little fool also knew how to sow discord.
What a cute act, the Regent King found it very effective.
But the Regent King made the discord even smoother, striking east and west, south and north. After a few unknown maneuvers, chaos erupted in the room.
Originally, Bai Lianrong, to save his life, fearing that he would be spat to death by the people of Luoyang if he went out, still had some trust in the martial artists. Now, he was estranged:
“Damn it! You are all bastards! Get out, you scoundrels!!!”
“Yes, yes, yes, let them go, let them go…”
Wei Wanlan on the roof enjoyed the chaos, even vigorously waving his hand.
The Regent King couldn’t help but raise the corner of his lips in secret amusement.
But although the martial artists were scolded by Bai Lianrong, they remained unmoved, mocking Bai Lianrong:
“Master Bai is very angry. Why not vent your anger on the pretty boy you ordered, but on us brothers?”
“Too bad Master Bai’s physique isn’t up to it.”
“In front of us brothers, Master Bai is the bottom!”
“Brothers, after Master Bai is done having his fun, shall we have some fun with Master Bai?”
“Hahahahaha!”
Bai Lianrong’s face turned red, furious and ashamed; the oil on his face almost became fuel for the fire.
What kind of people become officials?
Usually unsuccessful scholars, who had taken the imperial examinations repeatedly, most were scholars, generally cultured, and cared about their reputation.
Even though they all colluded with Yuan Xizai to extort money…
Bai Lianrong still couldn’t tolerate such humiliation from these roughnecks!
Moreover, this pretty boy was to his liking today. Though not a young boy, his charm and talents in poetry, music, chess, and calligraphy were unmatched, making Bai Lianrong feel like he’d found a kindred spirit. How could he lose face at such a crucial moment?!
Bai Lianrong angrily pulled Xiao Ji’s hand:
“Xiao Xiao, let’s go inside.”
Xiao Ji was terrified: —No!!!
Bai Lianrong wanted privacy. Entering the bedchamber, closing the curtains, the group outside wouldn’t be able to see them.
But this meant the original plan to get him drunk would be prematurely halted.
Bai Lianrong hadn’t revealed the location of the account books yet!
Wei Wanlan sensed danger. His ears twitched slightly. They couldn’t go to the bedchamber. He had experience; they could be pressured into it, perhaps even bitten, the scholar was in danger! QAQ
Wuwu, save my friend!
“Regent King, you big baddie.”
【Login successful.】
Fu Jun inexplicably sneezed beside him.
Wei Wanlan searched the Sage Emperor Cultivation System for something to help his friend.
The golden screen unfolded. Fortunately, they were on the roof, Fu Jun didn’t talk much, and no one disturbed him now. Wei Wanlan could quickly find what he wanted.
It was probably the fastest time he had ever selected an item.
Wei Wanlan dragged a wine pot icon.
The item’s name was—Truth-Telling Sweet Dew Liquor.
Judging by the name, it must be a truth serum that would make people blurt out the truth after drinking it. It was rare for the Sage Emperor Cultivation System to have such a straightforward name for an item.
The Truth-Telling Sweet Dew Liquor was a bottle of emerald green liquor, about the size of a palm, sealed with a cork.
No one knew that he was bound to the system. Wei Wanlan took it out of his sleeve while Fu Jun wasn’t paying attention. Even if Fu Jun saw it, he would likely think it was prepared in advance.
Wei Wanlan: “Manor Lord Fu, could you please take this to my friend?”
“What is this?” Fu Jun asked.
“Truth serum,” Wei Wanlan replied.
He was afraid that the ancients wouldn’t understand the meaning, so he had to explain clearly, lest Fu Jun, being taciturn, omitted some details. If the message to Xiao She was unclear, something would go wrong:
“It’s liquor that makes people tell the truth. Please give it to my friend to save him some effort.”
Quickly finish the task and go home.
Fu Jun frowned. He genuinely cared about this useless scholar.
However, he still took the bottle, prioritizing the overall situation. Fu Jun’s slender fingers pinched the neck of the bottle, shook it, and prepared to leave.
Coo-coo—
They had agreed on a signal.
A cuckoo call meant a pause; Xiao Ji needed an excuse to go out and revise the plan.
But Wei Wanlan quickly stopped Fu Jun: “Please wait a moment!”
Fu Jun immediately stopped and turned to Wei Wanlan:
“What?”
“Don’t send it yet. I need to test if it works.”
Wei Wanlan quickly took back the truth serum. He pulled out the cork, and the aroma of the liquor immediately filled the cool spring air. A surge of emotion unexpectedly arose because of the scent.
Fu Jun also smelled the liquor and his expression changed.
But he was good at concealing his emotions, only tightening his lips, his eyebrows slightly raised.
Wei Wanlan urgently pleaded, “Could you bring another bottle of liquor and find someone to test it?”
“Why?”
“Because…”
—Because the Sage Emperor Cultivation System had screwed him over so many times!!!
The “Imperial Reassurance Pill” turned out to be a sleeping pill, and the “External Consultation” directly teleported Xiao Ji to his bed, not to mention the time he wanted to summon an army, but got a flag…
The broken system had a long history of failures.
Wei Wanlan thought that this kind of thing couldn’t be used carelessly. What if the truth serum was similar to Jade Dew Spring? Then the scholar would be finished.
So Wei Wanlan had to find a way to test the liquor’s true effect: it couldn’t be misused, nor could ineffective items be used.
Fu Jun fired a signal flare toward Mianhua Lou.
The Heaven Sword Manor disciples who were waiting downstairs immediately leaped onto the roof. Receiving the Manor Lord’s orders, they quickly disappeared into the night, then quickly brought a wine pot and two identical cups.
The sword-bearing disciple knelt down: “I am willing to serve the young master!”
“No, no, no need to be so polite, thank you, thank you.”
If it weren’t for the secret of his three main tasks, Wei Wanlan, fearing that he couldn’t keep it a secret, would have long tested it himself.
Wei Wanlan planned to do a comparative experiment.
One cup with truth serum, one with regular wine, then he and the sword-bearing disciple would drink them simultaneously to see the difference in effect. This was the simplest verification method.
But he didn’t dare to pour too much truth serum.
Because system items couldn’t be reused; the truth serum, a good thing, only came in a small bottle.
Therefore, Wei Wanlan’s fingers trembled as he only added two drops to the empty cup, diluting it with regular wine. But the proportion was too different, like a drop of water in the ocean.
The little fool was being stingy.
Fu Jun chuckled, the corner of his lips raised. He found the little fool cute. He said teasingly, “I see that those who sell fake wine in the city share your mindset.”
Hey! How could you say I’m stingy!
Wei Wanlan raised his head, but his hand stopped pouring, a little embarrassed. I, the wealthy emperor, would never be stingy with a cup of wine!
Let me show you, I’ll pour a little more.
Wei Wanlan poured the cup of truth serum, the content of which was now almost negligible. He decided to be bold and test it thoroughly.
So one cup was filled with truth serum, the other with regular wine. He gave one cup to the sword-bearing disciple, and they both drank it down.
Gulp.
As soon as the wine touched his lips, he didn’t react.
But the sword-bearing disciple’s reaction was much more obvious.
The disciple suddenly knelt before Fu Jun:
“Manor Lord, forgive me! Two years ago, I was ordered to buy watermelons for all the disciples in the branch temple. I told the disciples that two watermelons broke on the way, but I actually ate them myself…”
“It was too hot in the summer, the watermelons were too sweet, and I was too greedy. Manor Lord, forgive me, Manor Lord, forgive me!!!”
Fu Jun coldly narrowed his eyes, never having inquired into such matters, and didn’t want to deal with this apology.
Wei Wanlan thought the experiment was successful: the truth serum really worked.
Otherwise, who would admit to such things, risking public humiliation?
Happy, joyful, as if victory was already in sight.
However, shortly after, Wei Wanlan felt a tightness in his chest, a warmth in his chest cavity.
He forgot that he couldn’t drink much.
But, stranger than the dizziness was the feeling of wanting to blurt out everything.
Why is this happening…?
Wei Wanlan didn’t understand.
He blinked his deer-like eyes, suddenly looking at Fu Jun, who was looking at him. He couldn’t control himself, blurting out:
“The moonlight is so bright.”
“You’re so handsome!”
Fu Jun froze.
“Really,” Wei Wanlan seemed to have opened up, his fingers waving, previously suppressing his voice for fear of disturbing Bai Lianrong in the room, but now, due to the alcohol, he was slightly out of control, “Like someone I know.”
At these words, the Regent King’s throat tightened.
He even forgot that Xiao Ji was downstairs, waiting to meet him. His gaze was unprecedentedly flustered.
Xiaowan might be drunk…
Perhaps he used the cup from which he had poured the first cup of wine, which still had traces of the truth serum.
The little fool always had strange mishaps. The Regent King shook his head.
But if Wei Wanlan had really drunk the truth serum, he wanted to ask Wei Wanlan if he was still angry, angry about the time in the Zi Chen Palace when he had bullied him due to misunderstandings.
But when the words reached his lips.
He was afraid of getting Wei Wanlan’s true feelings, what if Wei Wanlan was really angry with him, or said he hated him, how would he deal with that?
The Great Wei Regent King’s thin lips moved, hesitating for a rare moment, the words turning on his tongue:
“Xiaowan, are you still…”
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