Free Web NovelChapter 226: Chapter 226: One for One, the Emperor’s Drinking Contest
Ji Qingwu couldn’t make out what it was either.
But one thing was for sure—it wasn’t a large-headed pear.
Mo Lingling stared at the dagger. "But back then, the only person who could have saved me was Li Chengxun. With the Mo family’s relatives dead or exiled, no one else would have cared if I lived or died."
Ji Qingwu reminded her of the facts once more.
"Li Chengxun has now denied saving you. You should take some time to think back on it carefully when you can."
She pushed the clothes beside her over, her tone still gentle.
"What you need to do now is freshen up, change into some clean clothes, and leave the Princess Mansion as soon as possible."
"There’s no need to rush to figure out what happened all those years ago right this second."
Mo Lingling suppressed her chaotic thoughts and picked up the dress.
But the room wasn’t large and had no private space set aside for changing.
But since they were both women, Mo Lingling wasn’t shy. She simply turned her back and rustled out of her dirty clothes.
Ji Qingwu looked at the dagger’s hilt on the table. Its intricate pattern was carved from sturdy jujube wood.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Mo Lingling, who had just stripped herself bare, flinched.
Ji Qingwu calmly made a "shh" gesture at her.
She walked toward the door. Through the crack, she could vaguely make out a man dressed in black.
The person at the door asked in a low voice, "Miss Ji, are you in there?"
The timbre of his voice was like the sigh of the wind in the night.
Ji Qingwu, slightly surprised, confirmed the person’s identity. "Mr. Duan?"
Mo Lingling’s hands, in the middle of putting on her clothes, stopped uncontrollably.
The reason she had believed from the bottom of her heart that her savior had to be Li Chengxun was because when her father met with disaster, only the Li family had lent a helping hand.
On the boat, as the bandits tore at her clothes, her hands and feet were bound, and her eyes were covered with a black cloth. She had screamed ceaselessly, hoping someone would come to her rescue.
But who could have come? No one could.
She could only place this faint hope on Li Chengxun, her childhood sweetheart. She had called his name a thousand times in her heart, never imagining a second person would come to save her.
Now, on Li Chengxun’s wedding day, a face-to-face confrontation had overturned everything.
And now, hearing Duan Mingfeng’s voice...
Mo Lingling felt a string in her mind snap completely.
’He clearly detested me the most.’
’He once pushed me into a pile of gravel, and even when my knees were scraped raw and bloody, he didn’t help me up.’
’Duan Mingfeng only ever bullied me and never gave me a kind look. How could he possibly risk his life to save me?’
’And even promise to help me avenge my father?’
After the string in Mo Lingling’s mind snapped, it tangled and twisted into a knot.
Seeing it was Duan Mingfeng outside, Ji Qingwu opened the door a crack.
But a glance from the corner of her eye revealed Mo Lingling still in a daze. She had been trying to get dressed for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and she still wasn’t done.
She reacted instantly, slamming the door shut with a BANG.
It was so fast it nearly hit Duan Mingfeng’s prominent nose.
Ji Qingwu said, "Mr. Duan, please wait a little longer."
Through the door, Duan Mingfeng rubbed his nose and said, "Miss Ji, I won’t come in. Could you come out for a moment?"
Ji Qingwu asked, "Is it urgent?"
Duan Mingfeng thought for a moment. "Not particularly."
Ji Qingwu waved a hand, urging the still-dallying Mo Lingling to hurry up and change.
She asked casually, "How did you know I was here, Mr. Duan?"
Duan Mingfeng looked down. There was a trail of muddy footprints left by Mo Lingling at the doorway.
He was silent for a moment before saying, "The Duan family has an exclusive secret technique, the Tracking Technique."
Hearing his words, Ji Qingwu paused as well.
Then she said, "...I’ve heard that families with secret techniques usually have something like a family crest. Does your family have one?"
Duan Mingfeng replied, "We do."
’Tracking Technique, Secret Emblem...’
Ji Qingwu gazed at the dagger on the table, at the two interlocking circles.
She asked, "What does your family crest look like?"
Duan Mingfeng didn’t understand why she was asking this, but he answered, "It’s the Qiankun Ring, from the character ’Xuan’."
Ji Qingwu nodded with a profound expression.
’I knew those two circles weren’t simple.’
Mo Lingling: !!!
They exchanged a look. Ji Qingwu felt that Mo Lingling would need more time to process this second shock of the night.
Ji Qingwu asked through the door, "Mr. Duan, what did you come looking for me for?"
Duan Mingfeng explained his purpose. "His Majesty is drinking in the front hall. Eunuch Li is attending to him and can’t get away, so he sent me to find you."
Ji Qingwu didn’t sense anything amiss. It was Princess Qingyun’s wedding, so it was only natural for her Imperial Brother to have a few extra drinks to celebrate.
She asked, confused, "Why did Eunuch Li send you to find me?"
Duan Mingfeng recalled the scene before he left and said tactfully, "His Majesty has already drunk all the military generals at his table under the table. He’s now drinking with General Wei."
Ji Qingwu flung the door open, her eyes wide with astonishment.
’No wonder Li Yuzong had wanted her summoned as reinforcements.’
First, he drank the military generals under the table, and now he was drinking with Wei Ting.
Princess Consort Wei in the palace could hold a thousand cups without getting drunk. No one in the Wei Family was a lightweight.
Ji Qingwu said, "The Prince Consort and Princess Qingyun are also in the front hall. Didn’t they try to talk some sense into His Majesty?"
With the door open, Duan Mingfeng’s gaze shifted away for a moment. He shook his head. "He simply won’t be persuaded."
’That’s true.’ Princess Qingyun trembled if she said more than a few words to her Imperial Brother, and Li Chengxun was even less likely to speak up.
’There should be one other person in the front hall who can persuade the Emperor.’
Ji Qingwu continued, "He has to hold court tomorrow morning, and drinking is bad for his health. Didn’t Princess Hua Chang go over to talk to him?"
Duan Mingfeng said, "The Eldest Princess left her seat and went back long ago."
Ji Qingwu asked again, "What about Prince Yong? Didn’t he go and run interference?"
’Every little bit helps. Prince Yong is a regular at all sorts of hedonistic gatherings; his alcohol tolerance should be fine.’
Duan Mingfeng said, "Prince Yong has already passed out drunk."
He added an explanation, "The Prince drank himself into a stupor."
’Just when there was a rare chance for him to shine, Zhao Minghong had to be so useless.’
Ji Qingwu glanced around to make sure no one was there, then pulled Duan Mingfeng inside.
"Mr. Duan, please watch Miss Mo for me for a little while. Don’t let the Princess’s people find her. I’ll go to the front hall. How does that sound?"
A one-for-one trade. Duan Mingfeng had no objections and quickly agreed.
"Perfect."
*
The atmosphere in the front hall was lively.
No one had expected Emperor Wu Su to get into such high spirits. He ordered Eunuch Li to bring wine cups, wanting to drink to his heart’s content with the guests.
The Emperor sat directly at the head of the table where Wei Ting was seated. Many of the men at this table were Wei Ting’s subordinates.
These military generals were a bit reserved at first, but one or two of them grew restless and began to whisper amongst themselves.
"I’ve never had a drink with His Majesty before. Back in the Northern Border Army, I never once saw him touch alcohol."
"You go make a toast first. It’s not right to not drink at a wedding banquet."
"I’ll start us off. You’d better follow my lead."
