Chapter Nine Enters Wine

  "Haha! It seems that the King of Qin is still polite after all! Unlike some people, who would treat an old friend like this. It looks like this friendship was a waste! Li Jing looked at Li Yunfei's performance and nodded in satisfaction, but then turned around to scold Cheng Yaojin, which made Li Yunfei want to laugh. I guess only these founding contributors can speak ill of the Duke of Lu!"

  "Hey, Li Jing! Don't complain to the King of Qin either. You're always being bossed around by Hong Fu Nü and then coming here to drink my wine. Since the King of Qin is here today, I'll let you off this time. Kids, bring out the good wine your old man has been saving, I'm going to have a good drink with the King of Qin today!" As Cheng Yaojin said this, his mouth twitched and his heart ached! This Li Jing didn't come early or late, but came at exactly this moment, this guy must be after his own good wine.

  It's better to take out the good wine myself than to let Li Jing expose it. This good wine was looted from Yang Guang's imperial palace, and it's all a hundred-year-old fine wine! That Li Jing is a scoundrel, he has been eyeing my good wine for a long time, thinking I don't know? Today, with the Qin king present, who knows what kind of story he will come up with? He will definitely take advantage of the situation to get his hands on my good wine.

  "Good wine!?" Li Yunfei was also confused, it turned out there was even better wine! Seeing the painful look on Cheng Yaojin's face, he knew this was his treasure. Looking at Li Jing again, with a triumphant expression, it seemed that this Wei Guo Gong knew what he was doing here, specially coming to squeeze Cheng Yaojin!

  "Your Majesty, you don't know!" Li Jing said, as if recalling: "When we attacked Luoyang that year, this Cheng Zhi Jie was the first to enter the imperial palace. However, after entering the palace, he lost his trace and then appeared last. The reason for this made everyone very curious. But when they found the wine cellar, they discovered that all the good wine had been moved away! I said, Duke Lu, is this true?" Li Jing said, still not forgetting to expose Cheng Zhi Jie's shortcoming. Watching Li Jing and Cheng Zhi Jie arguing, Li Yun Fei felt both amused and envious!

  Li Jing and Cheng Yaojin's friendship was forged on the battlefield, they would often bicker and joke around when there was nothing going on, but when it came down to life or death, I reckon they would both be willing to sacrifice their lives for each other, that's what true friendship is all about, that's what being good brothers means!

  "The emotions of these two uncles are really good! It's really enviable!" Li Yunfei said, looking at them with a dazed expression. Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing knew what kind of people they were, and they also knew that Li Yunfei was feeling emotional because of the scene in front of him. They knew about the life he had been living in the palace, especially in recent years.

  After the dispersal of the morning court, they were summoned by Li Shimin to a side hall, where he told them about Li Yunfei's situation in detail and said that he would arrange for Li Yunfei's residence to be next to theirs, hoping they could take care of him. This was also why Cheng Yaojin had insisted on inviting Li Yunfei over for drinks - he knew Li Yunfei lacked a mother's love, and although his father loved him too, due to various reasons, Li Shimin couldn't show him too much affection. The heartless imperial family, indeed!

  Li Yunfei's words left Li Jing and Cheng Yaojin momentarily speechless, but soon Cheng Jin had the good wine brought up. However, on his way to fetch the wine, a small interlude occurred.

  "Big brother! You're drinking Father's wine, just you wait and see if I don't tell him!" A fiery figure blocked Cheng Jin's path. Seeing the owner of this voice, Cheng Jin couldn't help but shake his head in a bitter smile. This younger sister was always so impulsive and fiery, not having even a bit of the demeanor of a young lady. In the Tang Dynasty, the restrictions on girls weren't that strict yet. Although some moral concepts had already been established, the Tang Dynasty was an open-minded era, so at this time women could attend school just like boys, and talented scholars and beauties filled the streets.

  "That sister, you misunderstood! This is Dad's order today to invite others to drink wine, so he told me to take it!" Cheng Jin knew that he had to pass this level of his sister in order to take the wine away, and this sister was being spoiled by her father too much!

  "Hum! You're talking nonsense! When has Father ever invited others to drink? Every time, we go to other people's homes to freeload on their wine. Except for Wei Guo Gong Li Jing occasionally coming to our home to drink, there's no one else. Especially when Li Jing comes, Father always uses ordinary wine to deceive him. Where would he get good wine from?" The girl spoke with a clear conscience, and even if Cheng Jin's face was thick-skinned, it couldn't help but turn slightly red. This old father's actions were indeed a bit unscrupulous.

  "Hmm! This time is different, this time it's the son of the Holy One, Qin Wang Gongzi. To say that this Qin Wang Gongzi is also a talented and handsome young man, very humble, but too weak! Still, your older brother me has more of a masculine charm!"

  "Oh!? Is that so! Then go ahead!" Little Chili Pepper watched her brother leave, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. She wanted to see what was special about this Qin Wang after all. Thinking of this, she skipped and jumped towards the side, where there was a small room adjacent to the main hall. From here, Little Chili Pepper could clearly see into the main hall!

  "Come on, my dear nephew, let's drink!" In the great hall, Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing kept toasting Li Yunfei with wine, which made Li Yunfei very anxious. His drinking capacity was not good, and he would get dizzy after drinking two bottles of beer in the past. Fortunately, the liquor in ancient times had a lower degree and was slightly sweet, so Li Yunfei could barely cope.

  But even if the wine is low in degree, it's still wine! Li Yunfei soon became dizzy and saw two blurry figures of Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing. On the other side, looking at Li Yunfei, Xiao La Jiao raised an eyebrow and thought to herself: This man really isn't reliable, although he looks good, but can't even handle this little bit of wine. Xiao La Jiao drinks with big men every day, watching them drink, who isn't a big shot? Especially Cheng Yaojin is a devil in wine, so looking at Li Yunfei getting drunk after just a few cups makes her look down on him!

  "I heard that my talented nephew is quick-witted and has written excellent poems. Your Majesty, would you be willing to share one with us today?" Li Jing saw that Li Yunfei was indeed unable to hold his liquor, so he changed the subject to avoid embarrassing him.

  "Hmm! Since Uncle Li has spoken, I'll compose a poem for the two uncles. Please give me a topic, Uncle Li!" Li Yunfei was that kind of person who became bold after drinking, thinking he could do anything and would agree to whatever others asked, but whether he could still remember it after sobering up was another story!

  "Hmm! Let's make wine the topic then!" Cheng Yaojin also became interested, and after taking a glance at the wine in his cup, he said to Li Yunfei, wanting to see what abilities the son who was endlessly praised by His Majesty possessed.

  "Ah! Good!" Li Yunfei slapped the table, downing the clear wine in one gulp. He stood up, swaying slightly, but his feet were still steady enough that he didn't fall over, so neither Li Jing nor Cheng Yaojin tried to support him. Li Yunfei's behavior had piqued Xiao La Jiao's interest - she wanted to see what this man was capable of! "Uncle Cheng, this topic is great! I just happen to have a poem, you two elders please listen!" Li Yunfei's demeanor suddenly changed, his cloudy eyes clearing up significantly. Everyone held their breath and watched him intently.

  "Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from heaven, rushing to the sea and never returning?"

  Don't you see that in high halls and bright mirrors, white hair is lamented? In the morning it was like black silk, by evening it had become snow.

  Life's joys should be savored to the fullest, don't let golden cups face the moon in vain.

  Heaven made me thus, and I am useful; a thousand ounces of gold can be spent, but still come back.

  Roast mutton and kill cattle, and make merry; they must drink three hundred cups at a meeting.

  Lu Guogong, Wei Guogong, will offer wine, you must not refuse.

  Sing a song with you, please lean in and listen for me.

  The feast of drums and bells is not worth much, but I wish to be drunk forever and never wake up.

  Since ancient times, all saints and sages have been silent, only drinkers leave their names behind.

  Chen Wang in former times feasted at Pingyue, ten thousand cups of wine were lavishly bestowed, and they rejoiced and laughed together.

  The host said, "Why so few words? Just buy some wine and let's drink together."

  A horse with a coat of five colors, a cloak worth a thousand pieces of gold.

  "My son will come out and exchange fine wine with you, together we'll dispel our eternal worries."

  Here, Li Yunfei replaced Qian Fuzi and Dan Qiusheng with Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing. It was a perfect match. When Cheng Yaojin and Li Jing heard the poem, they suddenly lit up, and Xiao La Jiao covered her mouth, staring at that handsome figure, not knowing what to say for a while. Before everyone could react, Li Yunfei burst out laughing and then fell to the ground!