Mo Sang – CH 090

Chapter 90. Floating Wine Cups on a Winding Stream

Li Sangrou and Princess Ninghe arrived a little earlier.

Leading Princess Ninghe, Li Sangrou took a side road at a fork in the road more than a li from the main gate of Xiliu Garden. They crossed a large wooded area and stopped beside a winding stream.

The stream was not wide, but the current was quite swift. Li Sangrou dismounted, looked around, and gestured for Princess Ninghe to follow her.

She could easily jump across such a small stream, and Hei Ma and Jin Mao would be fine too, just getting their shoes wet and, at most, half their trousers.

But with Princess Ninghe, this small stream became a raging torrent.

Li Sangrou ignored everything else and walked forward. After a while, she jumped onto a large rock, looked around, clapped her hands, and gestured to Hei Ma and Jin Mao, “There’s a fallen tree over there; let’s move it over.”

Hei Ma and Jin Mao, having been with Li Sangrou for so many years, understood perfectly. They rushed over, kicking and shoving, pulled the tree out, and, holding it, threw it across the stream. Li Sangrou jumped up, walked back and forth twice, and stood in the middle of the tree, gesturing to Princess Ninghe.

“Come here.”

Princess Ninghe, clutching her long robe with one hand, walked up the tree with shaky legs. She took Li Sangrou’s hand, but before she could catch her breath, her foot slipped.

Li Sangrou quickly pulled her back. “It’s alright. Watch the tree; just keep going.”

Princess Ninghe’s face turned pale with fright, but she obeyed, holding her breath and taking two or three steps forward, crossing the single-tree bridge.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao happily hopped and skipped across.

A head maid and a palace maid beside Princess Ninghe hurriedly gave instructions: leave one person here to guard, and the rest take the horses and wait at the main gate. Then, the two of them, steeling their nerves, rushed across the single-tree bridge with shaky legs.

“Why do we not go in through the main gate?” Princess Ninghe asked, pressing a hand to her chest, after crossing the single-tree bridge and following Li Sangrou into some unknown part of the Xiliu Garden. Her heart was still pounding, a strange, inexplicable excitement coursing through it.

“Through the main gate…” Li Sangrou’s heart skipped a beat.

Right, she was with the princess; how could she have forgotten to come in through the main gate? Sigh, she was really used to playing the thief.

“What’s the point of coming in through the main gate?” Li Sangrou said calmly. “Besides, everyone knows you. Coming in through the main gate would definitely be a hassle.”

“Mmm-hmm!” Princess Ninghe nodded repeatedly. “I did not think it through. If we come in through the main gate, just the greetings and all that would be incredibly annoying.”

“Exactly!” Li Sangrou nodded with a flourish. “How annoying! Let’s go that way.”

Li Sangrou, with Princess Ninghe behind her, Hei Ma and Jin Mao flanking her, and a maid and a palace maid dressed in men’s clothing following closely behind, trotted up a small, lush hill.

Li Sangrou stopped and looked around.

Below the hill should be the place where the wine cups were to be served. At this moment, it was already filled with scholars in twos and threes.

Except for a few bolder ones who turned to glance at Li Sangrou and Princess Ninghe, the rest only dared to make feigned movements or glance sideways without turning their heads.

No matter how they looked, even those few who dared to turn their heads tried their best to appear nonchalant, pretending not to have seen anything even though they clearly had.

The fact that Du Ruian, the nephew of Prime Minister Du, had been severely scolded by Li Sangrou at the previous literary gathering and had been given a mirror around his neck by King Rui’s heir, and had fled Jianle City early yesterday morning to travel and study, was known to everyone with even a little social standing in Jianle City.

Now, who dared to step forward? Who knew if the princess’s anger had subsided?

After all, this Princess Ninghe was notoriously pampered.

“Boss! Boss!” Behind a vast expanse of rose bushes, Pan Dingbang, followed by his brother-in-law Eleventh Master Tian, waved and shouted as they rushed over.

“Oh! You are here too!” Li Sangrou smiled immediately upon seeing Pan Dingbang.

Pan Dingbang and his brother-in-law were excellent companions at literary gatherings, but both were extremely reluctant to attend. She had not expected them to come.

The “winding stream gathering” involved composing poetry whenever a cup stopped in front of someone.

Pan Dingbang had told her about this.

According to Pan Dingbang’s summary, “The winding stream gathering is the most boring thing. Under the blazing sun, there are insects everywhere, and the food is all cold snacks. The only good thing is the wine, but even good wine without a beautiful woman is meaningless!”

In short, it was boring!

She really had not expected them to come.

“Why are you here? And you two, were you not the least fond of this ‘Floating Wine Cups’ gathering?” Li Sangrou spoke most casually to Pan Dingbang.

“Sigh!” Pan Dingbang let out a long sigh.

Eleventh Master Tian looked even more miserable. “You still ask! You are the one who brought this all out.

You are always bringing your brothers along; look, you brought two more today, saying you wanted them to absorb some literary atmosphere.

His Second Brother, his Third Brother, my Fifth Brother, and my Seventh Brother, all used this ‘absorbing literary atmosphere’ thing to give us a good scolding.

They said you, Boss Li, a roughneck from the martial world, at least know that whether you understand literature or not, you should regularly attend literary gatherings to absorb some literary atmosphere, while we two always avoid them!

Sigh!” Eleventh Master Tian pointed at Li Sangrou, letting out a long, sorrowful sigh.

“For days now, whenever we have free time, we have to come to the literary gathering to absorb some literary atmosphere. My Second Brother even makes us write articles, write reflections, sigh; it’s so hard!” Pan Dingbang’s face was full of resentment.

Princess Ninghe was initially surprised, then burst into laughter, unable to stop.

“Today, Jin Mao is here to absorb some literary energy. I do not need any! I am radiating literary energy from head to toe, inside and out. I am a scholar from a distinguished family,” Hei Ma earnestly argued, leaning forward.

Pan Dingbang laughed heartily, patting Hei Ma vigorously as he spoke. “Right, right, right! In the entire Jianle City, if we are talking about who has the most literary energy, it has to be you!”

Eleventh Master Tian also laughed and patted Hei Ma.

Princess Ninghe stared wide-eyed at Pan Dingbang and Eleventh Master Tian standing on either side of Hei Ma, one leaning forward and the other backward, laughing heartily as they patted him. Then she looked at Hei Ma: standing in the middle, hands on hips, head held high, smug and self-satisfied.

Princess Ninghe could not hold back any longer and clutched her stomach with laughter.

Hei Ma was truly hilarious! Seventh Master was truly hilarious!

“Hey,” Pan Dingbang chuckled, standing next to Princess Ninghe, “that Thirteenth Du guy, last time he spouted nonsense, I was thinking…”

Li Sangrou patted Pan Dingbang on the shoulder. “Everyone’s having such a good time; can you please not mention that green-headed fly?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Pan Dingbang reacted, bursting out laughing. “A fly is a fly, but a green-headed fly? Boss Li, when it comes to cursing, I admire you the most! Only you! Completely convinced, utterly impressed. I am in awe; you are truly amazing!”

Eleventh Master Tian, remembering Li Sangrou’s curse, laughed again, giving her a thumbs-up as he laughed, “Count me in! I admire you the most, Boss Li!”

“You two arrived early? Have you looked around yet? Which spot is the best? It’s best to have a convenient view and avoid the sun; it’s too sunny here.” Li Sangrou, too lazy to pay attention to the unreliable Pan Dingbang and his brother-in-law, put her hand in front of her eyes and looked around.

“Over there! Over there!” Pan Dingbang hurriedly pointed in the direction they had come from. “Eleven and I have been here four or five times. We came early today to secure a good spot. Perfect, you are lucky.”

The group walked along the small hill, circling halfway around it.

The spot Pan Dingbang had secured early was indeed excellent. It was on a high ridge, downstream of the winding stream, offering a view of the entire stream that was about to be used for the floating wine cups.

Overhead and all around were flower trellises, covered with grape leaves at their greenest and densest. Wavy roses hung down on all sides, leaving a few gaps for people to enter and exit.

Princess Ninghe sat down, looking around. “This place is wonderful! The scent of roses is the best, so fragrant. You really know how to pick a spot.”

“Of course, I am not much of a scholar, but I am good at everything else.” Pan Dingbang accepted the compliment without ceremony. He sat down next to her and gestured with his lip towards the scholars standing or sitting on either side of the winding stream. “Can you see clearly?”

“See clearly what?” Princess Ninghe did not understand.

“Were you not here to choose a son-in-law? To look at people.” Pan Dingbang looked like he was asking for a second.

“That’s right!” Eleventh Master Tian snapped his fan shut. “I forgot about that. We cannot just sit here; we have to go over and look at them carefully, one by one—their personality, their talent, and most importantly, their character.”

“The most important thing is not character but appearance,” Li Sangrou interjected before Princess Ninghe. “The first thing is how good-looking they are.

You two, and you two.” Li Sangrou gestured from Pan Dingbang and Eleventh Master Tian to Hei Ma and Jin Mao.

“Your opinion on their looks is useless; it has to be the princess who thinks they are good-looking.

You take a look around first. If you find someone good-looking and agreeable, then we will have someone inquire whether they are married or engaged. If not, then we will discuss the next step.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Pan Dingbang and Eleventh Master Tian nodded repeatedly.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao had been nodding incessantly since Li Sangrou began speaking; whatever their boss said was right!

“The most important thing is not looks, is it? My brother says character comes first.” Princess Ninghe was a little dizzy from the constant nodding and agreeing around her.

“Your brother is right about everything, except this one thing. You have to believe me; looks come first!

As for character, until someone dies, that’s the final verdict. Who knows if they are good or bad? You two, tell me, is that not right?” Li Sangrou pulled up a chair, sat down on the other side of Princess Ninghe, and, looking past her, pointed at Pan Dingbang and asked.

“Yes, yes, yes, what the Boss said is profound! It makes perfect sense! My father said the same thing, and my Second Brother said the same thing.

Like Duke Tao, he was upright for almost his entire life, his virtue unparalleled, a model!

But in his old age, he encountered a little vixen, and his old house caught fire, tsk! He went mad, and his reputation was completely ruined. Alas, even in death, he was worthy of the title ‘Upright,’ but less than a year before his coffin was closed, it was all destroyed! Alas, what a pity.”

Pan Dingbang clicked his tongue in approval.

“That’s exactly right. How can you truly see a person’s character? Whether they are good or bad is a gamble. A major life event, we cannot gamble on, right?

Therefore, good looks are the most important thing.

Think about it: even if you gamble badly on character, at least you have someone good-looking, pleasing to the eye. Even a pretty face is still good-looking, right?” Li Sangrou said seriously.

“The Boss is right. Even if you know that beauty is lying to you, she’s so pretty; so what if she lied?” Eleventh Master Tian sighed as he spoke, seemingly lost in thought.

Princess Ninghe blinked repeatedly, looking from Li Sangrou to Pan Dingbang, then to Eleventh Master Tian. Something felt off, yet it all made perfect sense!

“What if I do not find either of them pretty? Do I have to pick one?” Princess Ninghe asked, still somewhat dazed.

“Hey! Look at what you are saying!” Li Sangrou exclaimed in surprise. “Jianle City hosts hundreds of literary gatherings every year. We are not just attending for one year; let’s say five or ten years. How many gatherings would that be? At least eight hundred, if not a thousand!

If you pick just one each time, how can that be allowed? How many do you want to pick?”

Pan Dingbang burst out laughing, nearly doubled over. Eleventh Master Tian chuckled and patted Princess Ninghe’s chair back with his folding fan. “The boss is just teasing you; do not mind her!”

Princess Ninghe sighed and patted her chest. “Well, I did not find any I liked!”

“Then let’s enjoy the show. Do we have any good wine today?” Li Sangrou turned to Ting-Xi and asked.

“All good wine! Or, should I have someone bring over a jar of each? The boss can try them all. There’s plenty of wine anyway,” Ting-Xi replied with a smile. He really liked this boss and was happy to be at her beck and call.

“Alright!” Li Sangrou waved cheerfully.

Ting-Xi directed seven or eight servants, some carrying, some lifting, running back and forth three or four times, bringing over twenty or thirty jars of wine of various sizes.

Princess Ninghe’s eyes widened in disbelief. “So much!”

“This is not much! The boss has a high alcohol tolerance! Eleven and I are also quite good drinkers; Hei Ma and Jin Mao can drink too! Not much, not much!” Pan Dingbang waved his hand heartily.

“When you drink with Third Brother, you always end up drunk and have to be carried back,” Princess Ninghe bluntly pointed out.

She had known Pan Dingbang since she was four or five years old. Although they had not exactly grown up together, they would see each other once or twice every six months or a year and exchange a few words.

Besides, there were so many jokes about Pan Dingbang and his brother-in-law, Eleventh Master Tian, that even though she rarely left the palace, she often heard them, making her feel very familiar with both Pan Dingbang and Eleventh Master Tian.

As for Pan Dingbang, he felt that his relationship with Princess Ninghe was like his relationship with the Shizi—a bond forged since childhood.

“What kind of drinking capacity does the Shizi have? Who can outdrink him? Hmm, maybe the Boss can.

By the way, did you not say you drank together when you were on the same boat as the Shizi? Who had a better drinking capacity?” Pan Dingbang craned his neck, looking past Princess Ninghe, to speak to Li Sangrou.

“When we were on the same boat, was he more daring to drink, or was I? What a stupid question you asked!” Li Sangrou gave Pan Dingbang a disdainful look.

“Exactly! Stupid? Back then, they were all exhausted from running around; who had a better drinking capacity? I tell you, you were thoughtless!” Eleventh Master Tian immediately patted Pan Dingbang and mocked him.

“Boss, can we have a few more drinks?”

Smelling the aroma of the wine, Jin Mao licked his lips, while Hei Ma asked with a drooling expression.

“Just do not get so drunk that you cannot get back. Nobody’s going to carry you around here.” Li Sangrou waved to the two of them.

“Do not worry, boss, I will not get that drunk!” Hei Ma leaped up and rushed to the pile of wine jars with Jin Mao. They bent over, sniffed the jars, and started to drink.

Jin Mao rushed over and grabbed two wine jugs and two cups. He stood to the side, patiently waiting for Hei Ma to identify a good wine.

Li Sangrou ordered several famous wines from Jianle City, including Jade Soul. She poured a small half-cup of Jade Soul and handed it to Princess Ninghe.

“Try this one.”

Princess Ninghe took it and carefully sipped it. “It’s really strong.”

“Then try this one.” Li Sangrou took the cup of Jade Soul from Princess Ninghe and handed her another one.

“Hmm.” Princess Ninghe carefully sipped it, tasted it, and nodded.

“Try this one too.” Li Sangrou handed her another cup. Princess Ninghe tasted her sixth cup, nodding and smiling. “What kind of wine is this? It’s delicious.”

“This is peach blossom wine from Qingfeng Tower. Ting-Xi, bring over a jar of peach blossom wine.”

Li Sangrou beckoned to Ting-Xi, who poured a jar of peach blossom wine for Princess Ninghe and placed it beside her. She poured herself a jar of Jade Soul wine, sipping it as she watched the lively flowing wine cups.

Hei Ma and Jin Mao, each with a jar and a cup, squatted beside Princess Ninghe and Li Sangrou, drinking and commenting on the flowing wine cups with Pan Dingbang and Eleventh Master Tian, each according to their own standards.

The four were always amiable, and now, with each comment complementing the others, their opinions were perfectly aligned. Coupled with the wine, their confidence and charisma soared like a rainbow.

Princess Ninghe sipped her wine, listening to the four men’s comments. At first, she argued a few points, but later she just laughed, her laughter becoming distorted.

The banquet was peaceful and joyful, except that Princess Ninghe drank too much and fell asleep in the carriage, completely drunk.