Chapter Thirty-Two: The Small Man and the Great Ghost

  Qin Yu said this naturally didn't want to be discovered by Cheng Huailiang, and also didn't want to explain why Princess Chang Le was crying.

  "Alright, let's go." As soon as Cheng Huai-liang heard about drinking, his eyes lit up and he immediately headed towards the rear residence. Qin Yu hastily pulled him back, joking that Long Le Gong Zhu was hiding there, how could they drink in the rear residence?

  "There's no wine there either, let's go, you and I will head to Chang'an." Qin Yu said with a smile.

  "Chang'an? I'm telling you, brother-in-law, what time is it now to go to Chang'an? The city gates can't even be entered." Cheng Huailiang looked at Qin Yu with suspicion and asked.

  "Ah, look at my memory, I didn't even remember this." Qin Yu was already feeling guilty, and being stared at by Cheng Huailiang's suspicious eyes made him even more nervous. He quickly patted his forehead to cover it up, and then said self-deprecatingly.

  Cheng Huailiang didn't see anything, thinking that Qin Yu really just couldn't remember. After all, Qin Yu had said he was living in the mountains for a long time, and it was also plausible. He immediately spoke up, "Can't go to Chang'an, no big deal, we can drink here too." After finishing speaking, he wanted to head to the back residence again.

  Qin Yu's heart was racing, but he couldn't shout and could only pretend to be helpless, opening his mouth to say, "Second uncle, I haven't been living here for long and didn't prepare any wine. What can we do about this?"

  Cheng Huailiang was taken aback for a moment, then stopped in his tracks, looking at Qin Yu with some disappointment. "I thought you had brewed new wine and were hiding it from me," he said. "It's just wine, isn't it? I've brought over quite a few bottles myself. Although they can't compare to the wine you used to brew, they're still wine, aren't they? Wait, I'll call someone to bring them over."

  Cheng Huai Liang finished speaking and left, Qin Yu let out a long sigh of relief and hurried towards the rear residence. As long as Princess Chang Le didn't notice her crying appearance, things wouldn't be too bad. But who knew, just as Qin Yu had stepped into the rear residence, Cheng Huai Liang came back.

  "Brother-in-law, I've called for someone to come and get us. Also, tell the cook in your house to stir-fry a few more small dishes. Today, we won't leave until we're drunk!" Cheng Huailiang shouted loudly.

  Qin Yu sighed in his heart, "This is a mess, I knew it, it would have been better if she hadn't gone into hiding."

  Qin Yu and Cheng Huai Liang arrived at the back house, sitting on the stone pedestal in the courtyard pavilion. Before long, the maids of Qing Feng Ju brought up wine and dishes one after another. Qin Yu took a look at those ten jars of wine weighing over 10 kilograms each and felt a bit dizzy. It was clear that Cheng Huai Liang was really prepared to have a big drink.

  Qin Yu guessed that Cheng Huailiang had been holding back for too long, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten so drunk on wine, let alone water.

  The sun sets in the west, and the maids hang lanterns around the pavilions, creating a pleasant atmosphere. However, Qin Yu's heart is filled with bitter thoughts that are hard to express. His drinking capacity is greater than Cheng Huai Liang's, but he is constantly worried about Princess Chang Le being discovered, and even more worried that she will return late and be detected by Emperor Taizong of Tang. How can he not feel distressed?

  Drinking a bowl of wine, not moving his chopsticks for half the day, keeping a smile on his face at all times, pretending to listen, and occasionally responding, Qin Yu finally understood what it meant to be tormented.

  Time passed bit by bit, three jars of wine were drunk, Cheng Huailiang was not drunk at all, Qin Yu occasionally frowned, and after a moment, Qin Yu spoke up, "Second uncle, I just returned to Chang'an, my body really can't take it, how about we stop here for today?"

  The longer it dragged on, the more trouble there would be, and Qin Yu naturally didn't want things to go on like this.

  Cheng Huai Liang was slightly taken aback, then pouted and said somewhat discontentedly, "Brother-in-law, don't try to fool me. I know your drinking capacity, and those who are weaker than you physically haven't complained of fatigue after walking this short distance."

  Qin Yu was taken aback, and just as he was about to speak, Cheng Huailiang suddenly said, "Huh? Not right, not right, brother-in-law, you're hiding something from me. You didn't used to talk like this before, and I just saw you glancing at the house repeatedly. Are you hiding a beauty in there?" His words were laced with a hint of anger.

  Qin Yu's heart suddenly skipped a beat, "Damn, does this count as being rough but with finesse?"

  Qin Yu dared not admit it, and hastily shook his head, denying it with a straight face. "Second uncle, what are you talking about? How could I wrong Lingyun?" He said as he stood up, picked up a jug of wine and placed it in front of Cheng Huailiang, then poured another one for himself.

  "Second uncle, you know my capacity for liquor. Drinking one bowl at a time is too boring, and it's not like I brewed the wine myself. Drinking like this is too feminine. Since second uncle has spoken, let's change to a more masculine way of drinking. Let's use a vat to drink. This is the true way of men. Come on, bottoms up!"

  Qin Yu finished speaking and hugged the wine jar, "gulugulu" poured it down.

  Cheng Huailiang saw Qin Yu drinking so boldly, and was momentarily stunned. Adding to the stimulation of Qin Yu's words, after a moment, he slapped his thigh, shouted loudly, "Good!", then got up, hugged the wine jar and followed suit in drinking.

  Qin Yu's eyes flickered with a hint of relief as he saw that Cheng Huai had really taken the bait, and he silently breathed a sigh of "close call".

  Qin Yu's drinking method was just a trick, but the two of them drank away four jars of wine. Cheng Huai Liang finally showed signs of intoxication, mainly because he was drinking strong liquor quickly; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to drink so much.

  After chatting for a few more sentences, Qin Yu pulled Cheng Huailiang again to drink another jar of wine. Finally, with the intoxicating effect, Cheng Huailiang couldn't hold on anymore and fell asleep on the ground as soon as he finished drinking.

  Qin Yu also had a bit of intoxication, but was still sober. The effects of the wine wouldn't set in for a while, so he hastily ordered the maids to carry Cheng Huaiyang to the guest room and then rushed to his own quarters, where there was another Long Le Gong Zhu hiding.

  Qin Yu entered the house and saw Princess Chang Le sitting on the edge of the bed with a shy face, although her eyes were slightly red and swollen, and there were still tears on her face, at least she was no longer crying. Without thinking much, he hurried forward and said, "Princess, let's hurry back to the palace."

  "Big brother, the city gate is closed, I won't be able to go back." Li Li said softly.

  Qin Yu's heart suddenly tightened, and he secretly cried out, "Something is wrong." He hastily opened his mouth to ask, "Aren't you the princess? Don't you have some special permit?"

  Li Li and Qin Yu waited for a while, naturally understood Qin Yu's meaning, shook her head and said, "No."

  Qin Yu's eyebrows furrowed instantly, apparently Li Lijie's answer caught Qin Yu off guard, if this couldn't be taken back, then things would get out of hand.

  Li Li saw the situation and hastily said, "Don't worry, big brother, Father Emperor and Mother Empress love me very much, they won't bother you."

  Qin Yu's mouth twitched, thinking to himself, "You said you wouldn't bother me if I didn't find trouble, but accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger - it's not something to be taken lightly. If the emperor gets unhappy and chops off a few heads, that's not an uncommon occurrence."

  "Alas." Qin Yu let out a long sigh. It was too late to rush, yet not rushing wasn't an option either, which had put Qin Yu in a difficult spot. After a moment of contemplation, Qin Yu spoke up, "Never mind, Your Highness can stay here for now. I'll go sleep in another room. Qin certain bids farewell."

  Qin Yu nodded and took a big step back, at this moment Qin Yu didn't have any good solution, he could only take it one step at a time.

  The main house in the backyard can't be lived in, but there's still a side house. Qin Yu came to the side house and heavily lay down on the bed, tossing and turning for a while, feeling very hot and dry, then took off everything except his underwear.

  The underpants were brought by Qin Yu from modern times to the Tang Dynasty, fortunately it was hot weather, every day when sleeping, wash them once, and they would dry before dawn, but today they were destined not to be washed.

  *Sigh* After a while, he finally got drunk and fell asleep.

  Qin Yu's body was modified, his alcohol capacity increased, but not infinitely so. In order to get Cheng Huai drunk, Qin Yu had gone all out, unfortunately, he got drunk, but the princess didn't leave, her belly was still bloated, and she urinated for a good while.

  Before long, Qin Yu's snoring sounded, at this time, a ghostly shadow appeared in front of Qin Yu's door, a slightly trembling small hand gently pushed, "creak" sound, the door opened with a creak, but Qin Yu did not lock the door.

  Through the moonlight, the owner of this shadow was surprisingly Princess Chang Le. The sound of opening the door startled Li Li Zhi, and upon seeing that Qin Yu was still snoring, Li Li Zhi finally let out a silent sigh of relief. She then walked into Qin Yu's room, casually closing the door behind her and inserting the bolt.

  Li Li's face was flushed with shame as she came to Qin Yu's bedside, looking at Qin Yu who was sleeping soundly. After a while, she let out a long sigh and then got into bed, lying down gently beside Qin Yu and pulling the silk quilt over both of them.

  The palace, Li Lijun's maid knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. Only to see Li Shimin's face was ashen, Empress Longsun had a worried look, and an ominous atmosphere spread from the Lizheng Hall.

  However, when Qin Yu and Cheng Huai Liang were drinking, Li Li Zhi's maid came to find her. Li Li Zhi didn't want to return to the palace, so she immediately handed over her waist card to the maid and told the maid to go back first, and then make up a lie at that time.

  Unfortunately, the maid was no match for the cunning and wise Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. She was exposed after just a few questions.

  "Come in." Li Shimin shouted loudly.

  "Hold on." Empress Changsun hastily spoke out to stop him, and then walked over to Li Shimin's side, whispering a few words in his ear.

  Li Shimin listened and frowned, sighed, walked back and forth several times, nodded, put on casual clothes, brought trusted guards, left the palace at night, soon Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin came to Li Shimin's side, then twelve people rode horses out of the city, rushing to Qingfengzhai.

  Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin, neither of them knew what Li Shimin wanted to see them about at such a late hour, but after leaving the city, they felt more and more uneasy as they walked in this direction, which seemed to be heading towards Qingfengju. In an instant, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin's hearts were suspended.

  The clear wind was outside, twelve horses stopped under the stone steps, Li Shimin led the way up the stone steps with a gloomy face, followed by Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin.

  The guards wanted to follow, but were stopped by Li Shimin's raised hand. Jokingly, how could Li Shimin possibly be willing to spread such a royal scandal?

  Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin looked at each other in surprise, they had no idea what kind of relationship Qin Yu and Li Shimin had, yet Li Shimin was summoned to the palace for half the night without anyone knowing.

  Li Shimin arrived at the door and signaled Qin Qiong to knock on it. After Qin Qiong knocked, the large gate was soon opened by a household servant holding a torch. Upon seeing Qin Qiong's appearance, he was immediately startled. When they were first purchased, Qin Qiong had inspected them, so naturally, he remembered Qin Qiong's looks.

  Jia Ding was about to pay his respects, but was stopped by Qin Qiong. The three of them arrived at the courtyard, and Qin Qiong signaled for Jia Ding to close the gate.

  Li Shimin asked about Qin Yu's residence as soon as he returned home, and after getting the answer, Li Shimin directly ordered Qin Qiong to lead the way, while ordering all the servants in Qingfeng Residence to retreat.

  Qin Qiong naturally came here before, and it was not difficult to recognize the road. Before long, he arrived at Qin Yu's door.

  "Knock on the door." Li Shimin said in a low voice, Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin both heard the almost uncontrollable anger in Li Shimin's words.

  "Your Majesty, where is Yun Fei?" Qin Yong finally spoke up to ask. Previously, Li Shimin had been silent and expressionless, looking displeased, and since he didn't know where they were going, it wasn't easy to ask questions. But now that it involved Qin Yu, Qin Yong naturally wanted to get to the bottom of things.

  Li Shimin's eyes widened and he said in a low voice, "Knock on the door."

  Cheng Yaojin saw the situation and hastily went forward to knock on the door. This was not a good time to provoke Li Shimin, no matter what. Whatever it was, he would be able to see clearly once he saw Qin Yu, and then he could make plans accordingly.

  At this time, the humming sound that Qin Yu had just disappeared again sounded, and Li Shimin and others all heard it. Cheng Yaojin knocked on the door with a "dang dang" sound.

  "Ah." A cry of surprise, "Who?" It was a woman's voice.

  Li Shimin's face turned black, his body trembling all over, while Cheng Yaojin's face stiffened, and with a burst of anger, he kicked the door open with a loud "bang".

  Qin Qiong saw Cheng Yaojin about to enter the house and hastily pulled him back. Cheng Yaojin was too angry to notice, but Qin Qiong did. The voice sounded very familiar, and thinking back to Li Shimin's visit to Qingfeng Residence in the middle of the night, a frightening idea suddenly appeared in Qin Qiong's mind, and he involuntarily let out a low shout: "Rebel!"

  "Ah." A shrill cry rang out, finally startling Qin Yu awake, who softly murmured "Hm?"

  Li Shimin heard Qin Yu's voice and finally lost control of his anger. With a "swoosh" sound, he drew out the long sword from his waist.

  "Your Majesty." Qin Qiong hastened to bow and shout, with a strong plea in his words.

  Cheng Yaojin's face turned black with anger, but in the end he let out a sigh and followed suit, making a plea for Qin Yu.

  Qin Yu heard Qin Qiong's voice and Cheng Yaojin's voice, originally thought it was a dream, but that one word "Your Majesty" thoroughly scared Qin Yu awake, suddenly sat up, only to see a small servant girl shivering beside him, taking a closer look, if it wasn't Princess Chang Le who else could it be.