Chapter 34: The Tiger's Kinship; Father and Son Take the Field
The sixth bowl went down, and Qin Lei felt his stomach churning like a stormy sea, as if one more move would make him vomit. But his mind was clearer than ever, and the faint warmth that had just arisen also vanished with his increasingly pale face.
Qin Lei stood for a while, under the worried gaze of the little palace maid, and picked up his seventh cup.
At this time, someone pressed down on Qin Lei's hand holding the wine glass.
Qin Lei's drunken eyes blurred and he looked sideways, it was the crown prince.
The crown prince looked at Qin Lei with some heartache, his face tense. He took the wine cup from Qin Lei's hand. Qin Lei didn't decline and handed it over to him.
The crown prince cleared his throat and said, "My fifth brother has had a long and tiring journey, and he is still young. He has already drunk a large amount of good fortune and prosperity, which is quite enough. As the ancients said, 'It's better to stop while one is ahead.' And also, 'When on the battlefield, even father and son become enemies, and when fighting a tiger, even brothers become enemies.' I will take these remaining three cups myself, what do you all think?"
The officials around looked at each other in dismay, thinking to themselves: You've already referred to yourself as 'Your Imperial Majesty', isn't that just a reminder of your regent status? Who among us would still dare to have any objections?
It thus claims to be good.
Qin Lei didn't want to yield, but it seemed like he would spit it out as soon as he opened his mouth, so he could only stand honestly on the side, with a grateful expression on his face.
Behind them, Old Three and Old Four stepped forward to hold the prince back. Old Three said seriously, "Second Brother, as the Regent, you have a great responsibility, it's better to drink less." Old Four also spoke with a solemn face, "We are also the elder brothers of Fifth Brother, and there is no important task at hand, so it's only right that we should drink this wine." With a look of gritted teeth and righteous indignation.
The crown prince narrowed his eyes and stared at the two of them for a while, making Lao San and Lao Si feel uneasy.
After a long time, the prince nodded with a complex expression and said in a low voice to the two: "Alright, it's just right to let the world know that we brothers have a deep relationship of mutual help and love." After finishing, he slightly glared at the two.
Lao San and Lao Si saw the prince finally agree, one took over the wine cup in the prince's hand, another picked up a cup from the table, two people frowned at the wine in the cup, gritted their teeth, and poured it down.
One gulp down, Lao San and Lao Si's faces suddenly turned bright red. The two people slowly tilted their heads to look at the last red-robed palace maid, Xuanxuan, holding the last cup. Just one glance, they looked like they had seen a ghost, turning their heads away. Both of them made bitter faces, exchanging glances with each other. Yet neither of them moved.
The crown prince couldn't help but step forward and say, "Let's leave the last cup for Second Brother." The third and fourth brothers exchanged a glance, smiled wryly, and turned to the crown prince with a forced smile. The third brother's voice trembled slightly as he said, "This one cup of wine isn't even enough for my younger brother to rinse his mouth with, why should older brother intervene?"
Lao Si also trembled and said: "Yes, we were just fighting for our last glass of belonging."
The crown prince suppressed his smile and asked with a straight face: "Have you reached a conclusion then?"
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, then turned to the prince and said: "Divide it equally!"
The crown prince frowned and asked: "Is there anything to say?"
Lao San and Lao Si's faces turned sour, knowing that Second Brother was trying to teach them a lesson. They could only stand there obediently, deep in thought, but unfortunately the wine had gone to their heads, their minds were muddled, and they couldn't think of anything.
This effort, Qin Lei's wine courage has passed, he clearly knows that these two brothers will not be able to get off the stage, and in the future they will not dare to provoke the prince, 80% will shift their anger to himself. He is new to this place, with no foundation at all, most afraid of being bothered by small ghosts, there is really no need to make enemies.
He suppressed the unpleasantness in his heart and whispered to Lao San, who was closest to him: "Parting is inevitable."
The three princes were stunned and heard a heavenly sound, he hastily said to the crown prince: "I've got it, I've got it."
The crown prince asked curiously: "Tell me, what is it?"
The Third Prince cleared his throat, scanning the crowd in the hall with his eyes. Seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, he couldn't help but feel a little proud and forgot that this idea wasn't his own. He said loudly: "Father's birthday has brought my seven brothers together, but fate has played tricks on us, and we have never been reunited before. Today I finally see my fifth brother, but our eldest brother is still out on a campaign, which is really unfortunate. Now, as I share wine with my fourth brother, it means that even though we are separated for a long time, we will eventually reunite. I pray that my brothers will ultimately come together, and I pray that the Great Qin will unify the world under one rule, with all nine regions returning to one."
Qin Lei was slightly surprised, this old three brains turned extremely fast, originally there was no thought at all. Once reminded, he could immediately grasp the theme of today and make a good impression on the officials who were thinking about unifying the world day and night, as well as the noble veterans. Given time and more experience, he would definitely be a formidable character.
Indeed, the words of the Third Prince caused a strong reaction in the court. The civil and military officials nodded their heads one after another, and the nobles and old ministers frequently nodded their heads, praising the Third Prince for his deep brotherly love and his unwavering attention to national affairs, making him a good pillar for stabilizing the country; those who nodded their heads sighed that the Third Prince was quite resourceful and comprehensive in his actions, definitely a good tree to take shelter under.
But no matter what the future holds, whether it's a pillar or a big tree, they are all still - saplings.
The prince was also very pleased, and that little unhappiness was thrown away. He said to Lao San in a warm voice: "Ling brother, it's rare for you to have this kind of intention, but there is room for improvement. You can divide the wine now, and when the time comes for us to unite in the future, I will definitely tell my older brother about it."
Lao San looked at Qin Lei, his eyes filled with gratitude and guilt. Qin Lei winked at him, and Lao San suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over him.
At this time, the palace maid brought up another cup. The old fourth, who had been silent all along, took it over and divided the wine in his original cup into two portions. He drank one portion first, then stood aside with a wandering gaze, seemingly lost in thought.
Lao San didn't think much of it, took over the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.
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After finishing the wind-receiving wine, the grand ceremony came to an end. By this time it was late in the day, and many people in the field felt hungry, so they began to pray for the princes to leave quickly, so that everyone could go home and eat.
Heaven grants what people desire.
The seven princes did not linger and each boarded their carriages, preparing to return to the city.
The prince invited Qin Lei to ride in the same carriage with him. Qin Lei pointed to his mouth and shook his head, so the prince knew he didn't want to be seen drunk. The considerate prince smiled and gently patted Qin Lei's shoulder, saying softly: "We'll talk about other things later. After seeing Princess Jin tonight, go rest at my place."
Qin Lei nodded gratefully and slowly walked to his royal carriage with Shen Qing's shoulder, laboriously stepped on the velvet cushion, and got in.
Until Qin Lei disappeared into the carriage, the prince turned around and returned to his own royal carriage. The prince's royal carriage was also in a bright yellow tone, with the interior walls wrapped in bright yellow satin, and inside was a reclining chair, on which lay a comfortable silk quilt, to the left of the chair was a wooden bookshelf, holding dozens of books that were somewhat old. To the right of the chair was a small table of the same material, on which were placed fresh fruits, various honeyed dried fruits, and a teapot emitting hot steam.
The crown prince got into the carriage and two white-clad beauties with identical faces came forward to help him remove his outer garments and change into a more comfortable outfit.
The prince leaned back in his reclining chair, and the two girls knelt down, holding his calves to their chests, gently massaging them. Two more palace maids stood at one corner of the carriage, softly fanning the prince with feather fans.
The prince mumbled something and then closed his eyes comfortably.
Two palace maids vaguely heard the prince curse: "A fart that has been separated for a long time must reunite." They looked at each other, and then as if they had not heard anything, gently and carefully massaged the prince.
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Last night at 10 o'clock, I just knew that our "Quán Bǐng" actually went on the homepage hot works classification recommendation. Here to thank those who have been supporting me all along
Book friends, it is you who quietly clicked on recommendations that gave me this opportunity.
Haha, never mind, I'll just work hard on updates, and everyone please recommend them as much as possible!!!!!!!!!!
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