Chapter 405: Truth After Drinking?

“Brother Xue, have you had too much to drink?” Yan Lao’er asked tentatively.

“I, Old Xue, can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!”

Hearing this, Yan Lao’er thought, My word, since you’re so capable, I’d better get you some more.

“There’s still meat in the pot, scoop some more out. Give me your bowl, I’ll mix up some more dipping sauce for you.” He had to say it twice before Banner Commander Xue dizzily handed his bowl over.

Yan Lao’er dumped a generous amount of salt into it, then added vinegar, chive flowers, green onions, garlic…

It was incredibly salty.

Banner Commander Xue actually managed to scoop out a few more slices of meat. He rolled them in the bowl and stuffed them into his mouth. Having drunk quite a bit, the heavy saltiness actually tasted good to him. After eating, he felt thirsty. A drinker wouldn’t ask for water at this point; once they reached a certain stage, they treated wine like water to quench their thirst.

Without anyone prompting him, he gulped down another bowl.

“Brother Xue, when are you going to move the military camp next to our village?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Banner Commander Xue waved his large hand. “Can we just move it whenever we want? Before troops and horses move, food and fodder must go first. Hic, you think I’ve never read a book?”

“Then don’t move it. Is the area near Xiao’an Village really that good?” Yan Lao’er set a trap for him.

“It was just casual talk at first, but after I went back, heh, the more I thought about it, the better it sounded. We have to defend Crouching Tiger, but we also have to defend Yongning!

Xiao’an Village is in a great location. It’s close to everywhere.

What do you think the most important point is?” Banner Commander Xue asked, staring straight at Yan Lao’er.

“What is it?” Yan Lao’er cooperated.

“It’s close to my nephew! I have to protect him.” Banner Commander Xue still felt thirsty. He looked around, spotted the wine jar, and bent down to reach it, nearly tumbling under the table in the process.

Yan Lao’er gave him a hand and pulled him upright.

Yan Yu watched as Banner Commander Xue graduated from a bowl to a jar, drinking straight from it, spilling nearly half of it in the process.

But at this point, they couldn’t worry about his wastefulness.

Yan Yu unsealed a second large wine jar and placed it next to her father.

Yan Huaiwen saw that the father and daughter wanted to get Banner Commander Xue drunk today to pry some information out of him.

After a moment’s thought, he raised his wine and called out, “Banner Commander Xue, please.”

Yan Lao’er took the opportunity to fill Banner Commander Xue’s bowl, reminding him, “Brother Xue, my elder brother is offering you a toast!”

Hearing someone offering a toast, Banner Commander Xue downed it loyally.

Magistrate Tian thought, Since Tianyou and Xiao Er both want you to drink, then I should also…

“Xue Wang, let’s drink together. Bottoms up!”

He raised his already empty wine bowl. To say he took a sip would be an exaggeration; he tilted the bowl high, but not a single drop of wine came out.

Banner Commander Xue, filled with heroic spirit, downed another bowl.

Yan Lao’er felt it was about enough. If he drank any more, he would pass out.

“Brother Xue, what exactly is the situation over at the Prince’s Manor? You have relatives there, why don’t you tell us? The Princess Consort’s people… why are they like that?” Yan Lao’er finally revealed his true intentions, asking the question he wanted answered.

Yan Huaiwen glanced at him, continuing to eat the food in his bowl.

Magistrate Tian, feeling drowsy from the steam rising from the hot pot, closed his eyes.

Yan Yu nibbled on a cabbage leaf while pricking up her ears to catch the gossip firsthand.

…

“…Banner Commander Xue said that the current Princess Consort Zheng’s ancestors were once wealthy and influential, being founding nobles. However, starting a business is easy, but maintaining it is hard. After two or three spendthrifts, the family estate was ruined. Without any capable descendants to support it, the family was on the verge of ruin. If not for this, the imperial marriage wouldn’t have fallen to the Zheng family back then.

“Think about it, Mother. Guanzhou is cold and poor, and Prince Ying was deeply devoted to the late Princess Consort Gong. With a son and a daughter already established before her, marrying in could really only be treated as a business venture. If she was worried about the Prince’s Manor’s expenses, she had many ways to handle it, yet she chose the most foolish and malicious method.

“However, Banner Commander Xue did say that while Princess Consort Zheng’s love for money is real, she might not actually dare to collude with the enemy. It doesn’t suit her status or interests. Most likely, her subordinates were tricked. Those Northern Rong are extremely cunning. Princess Consort Zheng isn’t smart, and the intelligence of her subordinates is easily imagined.”

Yan Yu and Li Xuemei lay on the kang bed. The blankets were warm and cozy. Without lighting the oil lamp, mother and daughter chatted in the dark.

Li Xuemei frowned and said, “No matter how poor Prince Ying’s Mansion is, they still live better than ordinary citizens. How many families can’t even get enough to eat?

“It is highly improper for her to amass wealth like this behind the scenes. Leaving aside that slip of paper, she couldn’t possibly be completely ignorant of the grain tax issue. And then there are the sunken chests in the river, even targeting the Consort of the Heir Apparent’s wedding boat… She simply has no bottom line.”

Yan Yu remembered something and said, “Mother, did you know? When we were in Guiyuan, the Heir Apparent gave himself the fake name Zheng Yan. Later, when I found out the current Princess Consort’s surname was Zheng, I was stunned. Generally speaking, even for a fake name, one wouldn’t use their stepmother’s surname, right? But when I told Grandmaster and the others, Uncle said the Heir Apparent is either someone with a narrow mind or someone of deep calculation. When I asked further, he refused to say more…

“Mother, which kind of person do you think the Heir Apparent is?”

Li Xuemei recalled carefully and said slowly, “I think the Heir Apparent is quite smart. Whether he is open-minded or keeps everything hidden is hard to say, but from how he handled our village’s military merits, we can see he isn’t a selfish person. Otherwise, looking down from his high position, he wouldn’t need to care about our gains and losses. The current situation is a win-win, which is very rare.

“As for that Banner Commander Xue, we must tell your father to be careful around him in the future. That man is incredibly shrewd. There’s no such thing as truth after drinking for him; he was probably pretending to be drunk.”

“Hahaha!” Yan Yu rolled over, propping herself up with her small arms, and looked toward Li Xuemei in the darkness.

“Mother, you said the exact same thing as Uncle. Uncle was even funnier. He told Father…” She lowered her voice, mimicking her uncle’s speaking pace. “Tianyou, do not associate closely with him in the future.”

“Haha, Mother, doesn’t that sound like a parent telling their kid: ‘You’re not allowed to play with so-and-so’s child anymore’? Hahaha!”

Li Xuemei felt a wave of emotion. “Your uncle… is really good to your father.”

So good that she always felt she owed Heng’er and Daya, wanting to treat them even better.

“The Heir Apparent’s maternal family, which is the family of the late Princess Consort Gong, are civil officials. Banner Commander Xue’s mother is Princess Consort Gong’s maternal aunt, and the Xue family she married into is also a family of scholars. Counting all their relatives, Banner Commander Xue is the only military officer they produced. If he hadn’t said so himself, you really wouldn’t be able to tell at all. He doesn’t look like he comes from a scholarly family at all; he’s more like a rogue soldier.

But then again, Banner Commander Xue is truly loyal. When Princess Consort Gong followed the Prince to Guanzhou, he traveled thousands of miles to follow her here. Since studying didn’t work out, he joined the military. He said she is his only sister, so he has to become an official in Guanzhou, the higher the rank the better. That way, being close by, he, as the brother-in-law, can visit anytime to back his sister up…”

Li Xuemei listened for a long time without speaking. After a while, she said, “Xiao Er, your father and your eldest brother are taking the exam next February, right? It’s in Crouching Tiger, isn’t it? Will your grandmaster be the one writing the exam questions? Given his relationship with your father, will he have to recuse himself?”

Yan Yu said, “It’s in February. Crouching Tiger doesn’t have an education official, so Grandmaster should be the one presiding over the exam. Recuse himself? Probably not. Well, actually, it’s hard to say. Mother, Father has made huge progress in his studies lately. The notebooks Grandmaster bound for him are packed with dense writing. Since he’s only testing for Tongsheng, I think his chances are very good.”

“I looked at those notebooks too. I’ll bind some more for him later.” Li Xuemei thought for a moment, then added, “Next time you go out, if you see anyone selling pig heads, buy one and bring it back.”

“Mother, do you want to eat pig head?” Yan Yu asked.

“No, we’ll offer it as a sacrifice for a day first, then cook it for your father to eat,” Li Xuemei said.

It wasn’t that she believed in this stuff; she just felt that offering a quick prayer didn’t take much effort.

Yan Yu realized what she meant and burst out laughing, rolling right out of her blanket and thrashing about on the kang bed.

“Oh, Mother, you’re killing me! A pig head serves two purposes: praying to the gods and nourishing the brain! Ahahahaha!

“Don’t worry, Mother. I’m going to the Prefectural City tomorrow. I’ll make sure to pick out a huge pig head for Father!

“Ouch! Ow…”

Li Xuemei heard that something was wrong and asked, “What happened?”

“Hehe, I accidentally bumped my head against the wall.”

Li Xuemei: …

Author Note

Offering a pig head isn’t promoting superstition, haha~

It’s just like mothers wearing qipao during the college entrance exams, just for peace of mind~

Besides, back in my hometown, people really believe in eating things that resemble the organs you want to nourish. When my son takes the college entrance exams in the future, I’m going to buy him a big pig head too, hehehe~ (#^.^#)~

(End of Chapter)