Xue Rui and Yu Shu are accompanying a group of people in a private room at the back of Wangji Tower. Dishes and wine are served one after another. Liu Jiong thinks it's boring to just eat and drink, so he proposes to play a drinking game. He asks Xue Rui to bring ten jars of wine over and change them into big cups. Feng Zhaomiao agrees.
Seeing this, Xue Rui knows that this group of people wants to draw lots. He is not afraid of anything, but he has to take Yu Shu into consideration. Others don't know Yu Shu's background, but Xue Rui knows it very well. He thinks that she 'doesn't know a word' before, but now she has to play with elegance. What's more, this group of people play without limits, and she will get drunk.
So he cleverly takes the lead before they make a scene. He asks someone to get the dice and coaxes this group of people to play 'Dice Token' without using poetry. Some people are willing, but some are not. They are all suppressed by Xue Rui's sneer: "You usually read the Four Books and Five Classics all day and recite poems, don't you find it a headache? Today, if you want to play, let's play more relaxed. If not, let's play with luck. If you want to admit that you are unlucky, leave first. Otherwise, don't blame me for making you drink later."
Everyone present at the table refused to admit defeat, and none of them were willing to admit that they were unlucky. When they were provoked by Xue Rui's words, their interest was aroused, and all of them urged for the competition to begin quickly. There were even some who laughed and said that they would teach Xue Rui a lesson later.
Yu Shu heaved a sigh of relief in her heart when she saw that she didn't have to play around with words, and she guessed that Xue Rui was trying to excuse her, so she seized the opportunity when Xue Rui wasn't paying attention to send a grateful gaze over. Xue Rui smiled lightly when he saw this, and he said in his heart, How could she suffer a loss with me here?
But he doesn't know that their interaction is seen by one person at the table. He thinks that they are exchanging flirtatious glances, which makes him even more unhappy.
Yu Shu had never played dice before, but after listening to Xue Rui's intentional explanation of the rules, she had an idea. To put it bluntly, she just had to guess the numbers.
Everyone pushed the Ninth Prince to be the official, and he was in charge of throwing the dice. Everyone at the table guessed. Those who guessed correctly would be exempted from drinking, and those who guessed incorrectly would be punished. To make things interesting, they also set up a checkpoint. Those who guessed correctly could choose anyone at the table to be punished or exempted from drinking.
The two dice had a total of twelve points, and the smallest number was two. There were eleven people at this table, not counting the Ninth Prince, so even if everyone guessed different points, there was bound to be one that was missed.
At the beginning of the game, Yu Shu guessed wrongly. The number of points added up to seven, and she guessed ten. But there were not many people who guessed correctly, only Xue Rui and Rui Lin. Xue Rui of course exempted Yu Shu from punishment, which caused a series of complaints. Xue Rui disapprovingly said, "You don't want me to exempt from punishment, and you want me to punish you with a cup of wine?"
Everyone drank wine. Yu Shu was happy to escape, but something caught her attention. Young Lord Rui Lin exempted the girl sitting next to the Ninth Prince from punishment. This girl was the only one at the table that Yu Shu had not seen before. It seemed that she was accompanying the Ninth Prince, and Rui Lin was acting as an escort for someone else.
This girl's appearance was not outstanding, at least compared to the beautiful Princess Xi Wen beside her, and the gentle and lovely Miss Xie beside Liu Jiong. The only thing that could be praised was that this girl's skin was extremely white, and her skin was like ice and bones like jade. It made people want to reach out and touch her to see if she was real or not.
"Again, again, see if I won or not punish you!" Feng Zhaomiao shouted, and the Ninth Prince shook the dice again.
After more than ten games, Yu Shu had to admit that her luck was really bad. In the past hour, she had not guessed correctly even once. If it wasn't because Xue Rui had guessed correctly five times, Feng Zhaomiao had helped her drink twice, and no one at the table had deliberately won to punish her, she would have been the first to be knocked down at this table.
Even so, she was still punished with five or six glasses of wine. Fortunately, her alcohol tolerance was good, so it didn't show on her face. However, there was someone who was slightly luckier than her. Young Lord Rui, except for the first game, didn't win again. Someone deliberately punished him, and he drank more than ten glasses in a row. His face was already red.
While they were drinking, the door suddenly opened a small gap. Yu Shu saw Xue Rui coming in with a difficult expression. She didn't know what he whispered in Xue Rui's ear, but Xue Rui waved his hand and let him go.
Yu Shu asked him with her eyes, but Xue Rui shook his head and pointed to the Ninth Prince, telling her to pay attention to the dice.
Seeing the Ninth Prince knock the dice box, Feng Zhaomiao stood up and looked around: "Yes, yes, what is it?"
"Five, six, it's eleven! Haha, I got it, I got it. " Feng Zhaomiao happily clapped her hands. Yu Shu's face was bitter. She guessed six. She looked up at Xue Rui. If she remembered correctly, he guessed eleven and got it again. How could this person's luck be so good?
This time, there were a lot of people who got it. Feng Zhaomiao, Xue Rui, Xie Miaoyun, and Princess Xi Wen.
The rest of the people who lost looked back and forth at them. Some were afraid of being punished, some were trying to please them.
"Come, Brother Rui, two glasses." Feng Zhaomiao picked up the glass and filled it for Rui Lin. This guy was determined to get one drunk first.
Xue Rui raised his hand and pointed at Yu Shu: "Pass."
Yu Shu pursed her lips and smiled.
Drinking only two glasses less than Rui Lin, Liu Jiong was a little drunk. He patted the table with dissatisfaction and pointed at the two of them: "Pass again. How many glasses have been passed? Why don't you help me pass one?"
Xue Rui raised his eyebrows and said: "I'll call you Little Sister. If you agree, I'll pass you this glass."
Hearing this ridicule, the group of people at the table rocked back and forth in laughter. Even the Ninth Prince, who was a man of few words, curled his lips. Liu Jiong silently raised his head and drank a cup of wine. At this time, a voice laughed and said, "Brother, don't be angry. I will help you vent."
Yu Shu raised her head and saw Princess Xi Wen, who was sitting across from her, stretch out a white finger and point at her. "Miss Lianfang, please drink a cup."
This was the first time Yu Shu was called out as a penalty. She was stunned for a moment, then picked up the glass and drank. She didn't refuse. Who knew that just as she drank one glass, another voice said: "Lotus Room, drink another glass."
Sitting next to Xi Wen, Xie Miaoyun also called Yu Shu's name.
Yu Shu glanced at the two young women that sat together and smiled, and then she asked Feng Zhaomiao to pour another cup for her. Xue Rui didn't say anything when he saw this scene.
However, after a few rounds, those who were still in high spirits at the table realized that something was not right. Whenever Xi Wen and Xie Miaoyun guessed correctly, they would definitely point at Yu Shu and punish her with drinking. Xue Rui couldn't guess every single time, so after three to five cups, Yu Shu drank almost as much as Ruilin. Her plain and clean face was completely red, and anyone who looked at her would think that she was slightly drunk. However, in the next round, those two girls still didn't let her go and gave her another two cups.
The first to speak was Feng Zhaomiao: "Xi Wen, what's wrong with you and Sister Miaoyun? You just caught a person and bullied her."
Everyone at the table quieted down and looked at Xi Wen and Xie Miaoyun sitting together. The atmosphere was a bit stiff.
Xie Miaoyun smiled and said, "Lotus Room hasn't said anything yet, but you're the first to speak up. Let me ask you, which eye of yours saw that we bullied her?"
Xi Wen pursed her lips and said, "Zhaomiao, don't talk nonsense. The two of us wanted to get closer to Miss Lotus Room, so we let her drink a few more glasses. You men drink a thousand glasses when drinking with friends, but can't we girls? If you really want to bully someone, just ignore her. Is there a need to play with her? "
Hearing their words, Feng Zhaomiao didn't back down. "Stop trying to bluff. I think you're just bullying people. Why don't I see you 'getting closer' to the one next to His Highness?"
Feng Zhaomiao's words caused the people at the table to frown.
After Yu Shu recovered from the alcohol, she realized that they were quarreling because of her. She glanced at everyone's faces and felt that this little girl wasn't speaking up for her, but was trying to attract hatred for her. She coughed loudly and frowned as she interrupted, "Have any of you ever seen me so unlucky? It's been more than twenty rounds, and I haven't won a single one yet. I guess everything correctly. Why don't you guys do me a favor and let me drink a few more cups of wine next round? Let me guess a few more numbers, at least let me guess correctly once."
With a 'pu chi' sound, the girl sitting next to the Ninth Prince laughed. The Ninth Prince looked at her and also curled his lips. Everyone at the table looked at Yu Shu's bitter face and immediately laughed. Xi Wen looked at Yu Shu and then turned to whisper a few words to Xie Miaoyun. She didn't continue looking for trouble.
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Yu Shu made a fool of herself. She scolded in her heart, 'It's not easy for me. I've suffered losses and still have to make you ancestors happy.'
Seeing that Yu Shu had helped him out, Xue Rui, as the host, said, "Alright, we've been drinking for half a day and it's getting late. You guys should stop and fill your stomachs. When the street lights are turned on, we'll go out for a walk. Then we'll see if we can continue drinking here or go somewhere else."
The Ninth Prince also said, "Let's try the dishes."
So the group of people put down their glasses and changed their chopsticks. After playing for the whole afternoon, it was already dusk. It was still early in the first month of the lunar calendar. Xiao Qing and Xiao Die came into the room to light the lamps. A servant came in to change the dishes. Yu Shu glanced sideways and saw Lin Fu coming in. She moved closer to Xue Rui and whispered to him. This time, Xue Rui frowned.
Everyone at the table saw that his expression wasn't right. Liu Jiong asked, "What happened?"
Xue Rui looked at them and shook his head, "There's a troublemaker."
This aroused everyone's curiosity and they all asked him what happened. Xue Rui was too lazy to explain and let Lin Fu explain, "It's like this. Our restaurant is open for business today. In order to celebrate the festival by guessing the lantern riddles, those who answer correctly will be exempted from a table of food and wine. Because the limit is fifty taels per table, the extra dish is one riddle and one dish, just for the sake of popularity."
As Lin Fu spoke, his face suddenly turned bitter, "Who would've thought that there would be two insensible people. From noon until now, they have ordered nearly fifty dishes. Each dish was sent in and they only tasted it before putting it down. If they answered correctly and guessed correctly, they would then ask someone to send it over. The price of the dishes has already exceeded a thousand taels. Seeing that they have no intention of leaving, it looks like they're going to stay until closing time. Since it's the first day of business, we can't chase them away. Left with no choice, I came to Young Master for advice. "
Hearing that there was a troublemaker, everyone at the table laughed. Liu Jiong took the opportunity to tease Xue Rui, "Guessed correctly. Whoever you asked to come up with the riddle, it won't be difficult."
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