After finishing the last jar of Knife Spirit Wine, Su Qing's speech became increasingly slurred. Before Su Qing collapsed, Cang Xuan passed out drunk on the chair first. Seeing Cang Xuan close his eyes and fall silent, Su Qing pointed at him and laughed:
"You brat, you're already... already down? Burp. It seems... it seems I'm still the... the most capable one."
After saying that, he too slumped face - first onto his seat.
Seeing this, the attendant summoned the servants to help the two men up and send them back to their respective courtyards.
Directing the servants of the Prince Qing's Mansion to place Cang Xuan on the bed, after they left, Tian Shu stepped forward to remove Cang Xuan's shoes and socks. But his hand was caught. Looking up, he met Cang Xuan's perfectly sober eyes.
Tian Shu was startled and said, "My lord, weren't you... drunk?"
Cang Xuan sat up straight, tidied his clothes, and said, "I took an antidote pill in advance. This little bit of wine is no match for me."
Tian Shu replied with an "oh" and then said, "Since you're awake, shall we head back home?"
Cang Xuan got up and strolled around the room casually, sizing up the furnishings. He looked quite at ease and even picked up a small trinket from the cabinet and played with it in his palm.
"No. Since this is the wish of my foster parents, we'll stay in the Prince Qing's Mansion for the night."
Tian Shu looked at his master's somewhat lazy back and grumbled silently in his heart: Isn't he just eager to be closer to Miss Yuanbao? And he still comes up with such high - sounding excuses.
The courtyard prepared by Su Qing and Lady Mo for Cang Xuan was called "Junyi Pavilion". The size of the courtyard and the furnishings inside were all modeled after Su Huaichen's room. Although it couldn't compare to the Prince Cang's Mansion, it was still warm and comfortable.
After taking a stroll around, Cang Xuan returned to the bedside and said to Tian Shu, "Go and rest. We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."
Tian Shu replied with a "Yes" and then retreated.
Cang Xuan leaned against the cushion, resting his head on his arms. Remembering what Su Huaibin had said about how men and women in the Northern Desert expressed their feelings for each other, he couldn't help but laugh. Turning his head to look at the window lattice bathed in moonlight, his eyes flickered. He got up and walked out.
This was the first time he had walked through the Prince Qing's Mansion openly at night. After leaving Junyi Pavilion, Cang Xuan seemed to be wandering aimlessly, but actually, without realizing it, he got a bit closer to Su Yuanyuan's Mingzhu Garden.
However, Mingzhu Garden was right next to Moyi Pavilion, separated only by a corridor. To get to Mingzhu Garden, one had to pass by Moyi Pavilion. Cang Xuan had originally been heading towards Mingzhu Garden, but from afar, he saw a familiar figure lying in front of the main house of Moyi Pavilion, seemingly eavesdropping on something. Finding it amusing, he immediately changed direction and walked towards that figure.
When Cang Xuan stepped into Moyi Pavilion, the dark figure hiding in the corner wanted to pounce on him at first, but after a mere glance from Cang Xuan, the figure immediately tucked its tail and shrank back into its hiding place.
Cang Xuan's steps were extremely light, so Su Yuanyuan, who was lying in front of Lady Mo's door, had no idea that someone was behind her. Although Xiao Ba knew that Cang Xuan had come, since it had noticed the ambiguous atmosphere between the two of them, it was even less likely to make a sound to remind her.
"Those who disturb others' love affairs will be struck by lightning."
Xiao Ba remembered what its master had once said to it. Anyway, it was a mature system and knew very well how to behave.
When Cang Xuan approached, Su Yuanyuan was intently peeping through the crack of the door at the situation inside the room. Suddenly, she felt a pat on her shoulder and heard a familiar voice call out, "Yuan..."
Without having time to think about how Cang Xuan had appeared behind her, Su Yuanyuan was so frightened that her complexion changed. She quickly turned around and covered Cang Xuan's mouth tightly, putting her finger to her lips: "Shh!"
The frightened young girl's round eyes were wide open like a rabbit's, filled with panic, which made Cang Xuan involuntarily smile with his eyes curved.
Teasing the rabbit was really fun.
The night was cold, and the young girl's fingers were cold. When they touched Cang Xuan's face, the sensation was very distinct.
But a man's body temperature was slightly higher than a woman's. Cang Xuan's breath on her palm soon made Su Yuanyuan's palm feel hot.
Cang Xuan's gaze shifted downward, and Su Yuanyuan stupidly followed his gaze. She then realized that she was almost in his arms.
She quickly withdrew her hand and distanced herself from him a bit. She lowered her voice and said, "Be careful. Don't make a sound. Mother is scolding big brother."
Raising his eyebrows, Cang Xuan bent down slightly and whispered in Su Yuanyuan's ear, "He seemed fine during the banquet just now. Why is your mother scolding him now?"
Su Yuanyuan didn't say a word. She just pointed inside the room and then continued to lie on the door.
Cang Xuan... just like her, lay on the door and peeked through the crack.
Su Yuanyuan didn't notice at all that Cang Xuan was standing behind her. From behind, their postures made it look as if Cang Xuan had encircled her in his arms. Cang Xuan's mind was not on what was happening inside the room but on Su Yuanyuan. Discovering this lively side of the little girl, that she would even eavesdrop, made him feel extremely fresh.
Forcing himself to shift his attention, Cang Xuan also turned his gaze towards the room.
He saw Su Huaichen kneeling in front of Lady Mo, with his head down, firmly saying, "No matter what mother says, your son only wants Linlang in this lifetime. I don't need any concubines or maidservants!"
Cang Xuan raised his eyebrows. It seemed that a big drama had just taken place here.
Two quarters of an hour ago.
Lady Mo directed the maids to send the drunk Su Huaibin and Su Huaisheng back to their respective courtyards. Just as Wei Linlang was about to help Su Huaichen leave, Lady Mo called out to her and said, "Linlang, take Chen'er to mother's courtyard."
Wei Linlang always listened to Lady Mo the most. Hearing this, without thinking, she helped Su Huaichen and followed behind Lady Mo.
After entering the main house of Moyi Pavilion, Lady Mo asked Wei Linlang to seat Su Huaichen on a chair and then dragged Wei Linlang behind the screen.
Wei Linlang didn't know what Lady Mo was up to, so she asked, "Mother, what are you doing?"
The hand Lady Mo placed on Wei Linlang's shoulder was extremely strong, so strong that it made Wei Linlang feel a bit uncomfortable, and she also felt a strange sense of uneasiness in her heart.
"Stay here and take a good look." Lady Mo didn't say anything else, just this sentence to Wei Linlang.
Since Lady Mo wanted her to look, then she would take a good look. Wei Linlang told herself in her heart and then peeked through the crack in the screen at Su Huaichen sitting outside.
The next moment, she saw a maid come out from the side and walk towards Su Huaichen.
The maid was holding a bowl of hangover soup. She stepped forward and softly said to Su Huaichen, "My lord, you've drunk too much. This servant has prepared some hangover soup. Please get up and drink some."
"Wife..." Su Huaichen murmured and opened his hazy eyes. He couldn't see clearly who was in front of him. He only vaguely knew that someone was holding a bowl of hangover soup and offering it to him. He took it and drank it all in one gulp.
The next moment, the maid reached for his robe.
"My lord, let this servant help you change your clothes."