Dongfang Heng nodded: "It's a wine specially made for women, and it has a very mild taste!"
“Then let’s have a drinking contest with this kind of wine.” Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow and looked at Dongfang Heng.
"Okay!" Dongfang Heng nodded.
“Dongfang Heng, you are a man and you are used to drinking, while I am a woman and I don’t drink often. Our drinking capacities are different. It’s not fair to compare us, one cup at a time!” Shen Lixue frowned, feigning dissatisfaction.
"Then what do you think is the fair way to drink?" Dongfang Heng looked at Shen Lixue, his dark eyes unfathomable.
"I'll drink one cup, you drink three, that's fair!" Shen Lixue said softly, a hint of mockery flashing in her cold eyes. This wine has no taste and is not easy to get drunk on. To get drunk, one must drink a lot. No matter how good Dongfang Heng's alcohol tolerance is, he can't withstand drinking one jar against three jars like this.
“Okay!” Dongfang Heng’s dark eyes narrowed slightly before he nodded in agreement.
"Then let's begin the competition!" Shen Lixue smiled slightly and, taking advantage of Dongfang Heng's inattention, secretly put a hangover pill into her mouth. With this hangover pill, she could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, and winning against the unsuspecting Dongfang Heng should not be a problem.
---Aside---
(*^__^*) Hehe...Guess who will win, everyone? Something new will happen tomorrow...
Chapter 088: The Prince Gets Li Xue Drunk
On the small bluestone table were two jars of fine wine, four white porcelain wine cups, four plates of delicate side dishes, and an exquisite wooden box containing the Heavenly Snow Lotus that had been used as the wager.
Under the beautiful magnolia tree, Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue raised their cups to drink. Shen Lixue drank one cup, and Dongfang Heng drank three. In the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the two had drunk more than half a jar of wine, and neither of them showed any signs of being drunk.
"Dongfang Heng, why do you like drinking so much?" When Shen Lixue dined with Dongfang Heng, she often saw him holding a wine glass and drinking one glass after another, but he rarely ate any food.
In this competition, Shen Lixue took an antidote pill beforehand, while Dongfang Heng did not take any measures to prevent drunkenness. He drank twice as much wine as her and was not drunk at all. His alcohol tolerance was truly admirable.
"The affairs at the border are many and troublesome, so I've developed the habit of drowning my sorrows in alcohol!" Dongfang Heng said calmly, picking up three wine cups and drinking them down in succession, his dark eyes slightly dimmed.
"Have you ever heard the saying 'drinking to drown your sorrows only makes them worse'?" Shen Lixue gently swirled her wine glass, the clear wine creating ripples on the white glass.
Of course I've heard of it! But hearing about it and doing it are completely different concepts. Dongfang Heng's eyes deepened, and a meaningful sigh drifted away on the wind as he looked at the wine glass in Shen Lixue's hand: "It's your turn to drink."
Shen Lixue frowned. She hadn't said she was going to renege on her debt. Her gaze fell on the box of the Tianshan Snow Lotus, her expression as calm and undisturbed as a still well: "Minister Zhuang and Zhuang Weicheng will definitely be furious when they discover that the Tianshan Snow Lotus is missing."
Dongfang Heng smiled and said, "They will be even more dissatisfied with Grand Commandant Lei!"
Shen Lixue was taken aback, raising an eyebrow at Dongfang Heng. She had thrown the wooden plaque quickly and carefully, but he had still seen it while rushing on his way: "I secretly took that wooden plaque from a guard in the Grand Commandant's mansion. I wonder if it will be able to successfully sow discord between Grand Commandant Lei and Zhuang Shangxiao?"
"In the imperial court, there are no eternal enemies, nor eternal friends. That wooden plaque may not be able to make them break ties completely, but it is enough to create a rift between them." Dongfang Heng held up three cups of wine, drank them one by one, and then looked at Shen Lixue: "You've already had two cups too few!"
Shen Lixue frowned and looked at Dongfang Heng. She hadn't said she wouldn't drink!
The fragrant osmanthus wine was sweet and refreshing, like a modern beverage. Shen Lixue drank cup after cup, but she couldn't taste the alcohol. However, her mind gradually became hazy, and the scenery in front of her became blurry.
Looking at Dongfang Heng again, his expression remained unchanged, his eyes clear. He drank three wine cups in succession. Seeing Shen Lixue looking at him, he poured a cup of wine, held it to her lips, and forced her to drink it: "This cup is yours!"
As the fragrant wine entered her mouth, Shen Lixue felt even more dizzy, and the people in front of her became double. She pressed her fingers lightly on her forehead, but it had no effect at all: "Dongfang Heng, did you take an antidote pill beforehand?" Otherwise, why was he still so clear-headed when she was almost drunk?
"I am invincible to alcohol, I don't need any hangover pills, besides..." Dongfang Heng put down his cup, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes as he looked at Shen Lixue: "Osmanthus wine has no taste, but its aftereffects are stronger than strong liquor, so hangover pills won't be very effective against it..."
Shen Lixue was taken aback. Drinking osmanthus wine was all about drinking capacity; taking hangover pills beforehand was completely useless. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" She had been tricked by Dongfang Heng again.
"Drinking is all about comparing who can hold their liquor. What difference does it make whether I said it sooner or later?" Looking at Shen Lixue's furrowed brows, a hint of a smile flashed in Dongfang Heng's dark eyes: "It's your turn to drink this cup again!"
In her drunken haze, before Shen Lixue could even refuse, the fragrant wine was poured into her mouth again. The dizziness in her head instantly worsened, and Shen Lixue slumped weakly onto Dongfang Heng's arm. Her eyelids closed uncontrollably, and her soft, shallow breathing gradually became even.
Dongfang Heng put down her wine glass, glanced at the two wine jars that were almost empty, raised an eyebrow, and said that she had drunk half a jar before getting drunk, so her alcohol tolerance was not bad.
Her soft, supple body was incredibly comfortable to hold. Shen Lixue had just bathed, and the elegant fragrance mingled with the faint scent of osmanthus wafted towards her, smelling wonderful. Her beautiful face was as radiant as the morning sun, fair with a rosy glow, utterly captivating. Her eyelids were slightly closed, lacking her usual aloofness and indifference. Her lips were lightly pursed, a moist, rosy red, as if waiting for someone to savor them. A hazy mist settled over Dongfang Heng's deep eyes as he slowly leaned down, his sensual lips gently approaching her cherry-red lips.
"What are you doing?" A stern, cold voice suddenly rang out, causing Dongfang Heng to abruptly stop. He frowned and looked over. The War King entered the courtyard, his sharp aura, stern expression, and cold yet angry gaze creating an invisible pressure.
"She's drunk!" A hint of displeasure flashed quickly in Dongfang Heng's dark eyes, but he didn't continue. He straightened up, picked up Shen Lixue, and walked to the recliner next to him.
"Didn't you deliberately get her drunk?" The War King looked at Dongfang Heng, his sharp eyes seeming to see through everything.
Dongfang Heng paused, then gently placed Shen Lixue on the recliner: "I got her drunk because I didn't want her to take any more risks!"
"Don't give me so many high-sounding reasons. She fell into your trap because she wanted this Tianshan Snow Lotus to save Lin Yan!" The War King picked up the small wooden box on the table and opened it. The box was empty; the Tianshan Snow Lotus had vanished.
The War King's sharp gaze suddenly turned to Dongfang Heng: "Where is the Heavenly Snow Lotus?"
"I've already sent it to Lin Yan!" Dongfang Heng said calmly, waving away the guards who brought hot water. He then personally wrung out a cotton cloth in the water and carefully wiped Shen Lixue's flushed cheeks and delicate white hands.
Seeing Dongfang Heng taking good care of Shen Lixue, the War King's voice softened a bit, but he still maintained his authority: "The most important thing for a girl is her reputation and honor. You are not married yet, so remember to keep your distance and don't ruin her reputation!"
"Don't worry, Imperial Uncle, I won't bully Li Xue!" Dongfang Heng replied calmly, wiping her slender neck with a soft handkerchief from his chin.
The War King frowned again: "She is your fiancée. Don't lay a hand on her. You need to learn to respect her!"
"Uncle, have you ever truly loved someone?" Dongfang Heng stopped what he was doing, turned around to look at the War King, and asked abruptly.
The War King was taken aback, his sharp eyes unfathomable: "Why do you ask that?"
"To love someone is to think about being close to them all the time, to want to be intimately together with them, to never be apart, and to treat each other with respect. If you're not lovers, not husband and wife, then you're strangers!"
Dongfang Heng's sharp gaze was fixed on the War King: "Uncle, you've never had any feelings for any woman, yet you've unknowingly developed thoughts of getting closer to her?"
The War King hadn't expected Dongfang Heng to say such a thing. A deep glint flashed in his sharp eyes, and in his hazy vision, the image of a beautiful woman appeared, intimately connected, never to be separated. Of course, he had had such thoughts...
"Cough cough cough!" Shen Lixue had drunk too much and her throat was a little dry, so she couldn't help but cough a few times.
Dongfang Heng withdrew his gaze, and very naturally reached out to unbutton the high collar of Shen Lixue's dress so that she could call out smoothly. He poured a cup of tea, tested the temperature, gently helped her lean against him, and carefully brought the teacup to her lips.
A faint aroma of tea wafted through the air, but Shen Lixue remained asleep with her eyes closed, not opening her mouth to drink the tea.