Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 150
"Hmm..." Wutong lowered her head and responded softly.
Bao Xian glanced at Zi Jin, who was still gulping down wine, and quickly walked out of the garden.
Wutong glanced back at Baoxian's back, then timidly walked towards Zijin. She stopped where Baoxian had been standing, and glanced at the empty wine jugs scattered around her. Only two jugs remained unopened, and she wondered how much her mistress had drunk.
Zi Jin turned her head to look at the parasol tree, her eyes full of intoxication and laughter: "When a parasol tree leaf falls, the whole world knows it's autumn... What a good name."
"Uh... Thank you... Miss Xie." Wutong looked up in surprise and replied blankly.
"Wutong...you like Baoxian...is that right?" Zi Jin asked casually, taking a sip of wine with a smile.
"Little...Miss..." Wutong blushed instantly, her voice like that of a frightened little rabbit.
Zi Jin held the wine pot, tilted her head and said, "Would you like Miss to... matchmake for me? Bao Xian is a nice man... I wonder how much the Grand Steward's monthly salary is, how much wealth he has... is it enough for him to marry our Wutong?"
Wutong lowered her head and said, "Wutong doesn't want Steward Bao's monthly salary or his family fortune. Wutong just wants to follow Steward Bao, that's all."
“Silly girl… silly child… don’t you know that poverty makes life miserable for couples?… Look how good the Crown Prince of the Jun family is to me… but if the dowry isn’t enough… I won’t lower myself to marry him as a concubine… If he weren’t the Crown Prince… my mother-in-law would never let me marry him… You really are a… silly girl…” Zi Jin laughed, her eyes full of drunkenness.
"Miss, don't overthink it. For your sake, the Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom has signed a marriage contract. If he ascends the throne one day, the Empress's position will surely belong to you. In order to marry you in a grand manner, His Highness has already ordered the transfer of 15,000 elite troops stationed on the border of Yue Kingdom to the mountain town." Wutong argued softly.
“Ha…that’s quite a grand gesture…those fifteen thousand people have all come to welcome the bride…who will guard the border…what a spendthrift…” Zi Jin, carrying a wine jug, stood up unsteadily and leaned against the arched bridge in front of the door.
"Little Sister... it's cold on the water... wait, Wutong will get you a cloak." Wutong hurriedly ran into the house, and when she came out, she saw a terrifying scene.
Zi Jin leaned against the bridge railing, tilting her head back and chugging wine. Half of her body was on the bridge, and the other half was dangling in the air. She turned to Wutong and smiled, "Little Wutong... come and drink with Miss."
"Miss... Danger... Come down quickly... Miss!... Miss..."
Zi Jin shook her head and smiled faintly, then slowly turned around and swayed fearlessly.
Seeing Zi Jin swaying precariously on the arched bridge, Wu Tong was terrified. The bridge railings were low, and the arched bridge was very narrow; Zi Jin could fall into the water at any moment. "Miss... please stand back... I... wait... Wu Tong will go get someone."
As Wutong walked out of the round gate, Zi Jin's smile gradually faded. She slowly sat down on the bridge, leaning against the railing, and recklessly gulped down wine: "Fifteen thousand...hehe...Jun Lin...Jun Lin...Fifteen thousand elite soldiers...Jun Lin...Jun Lin...hehe..."
After leaving the garden, Wutong hurried towards the front hall. Then she thought that Baoxian was discussing the marriage with his wife and probably wouldn't have time for a while. After thinking it over, she changed direction and ran towards Wushui Residence. If she remembered correctly, the Crown Prince lived there.
Zi Jin leaned against the bridge railing, sipping her wine slowly. This wine was truly bitter… After drinking so much, she only now realized it was bitter. She had no sense of taste… how could she taste the bitterness? Jun Lin… Crown Prince… you won't save me… you have your own desires… so… you didn't come for me… You were deluding yourself… deluding yourself… I laughed at you like that back then… will you get your revenge now? …Will you avenge the humiliation I inflicted upon you? For this… you're even willing to give up your future position as Empress… willing to give up everything… To gain without giving up… good Crown Prince… good schemes…
"Ah!" In the darkness, Wutong, who was running quickly, suddenly bumped into a white figure.
"This servant...this servant deserves to die...I didn't see it, I didn't see it..." Upon realizing who had bumped into her, Wutong immediately knelt down, trembling with fear.
Unresolved emotions and inescapable demonic obstacles; karmic retribution—when will we meet again? Parting leaves fall in the wind, the zither strings break. (Part Two)
The leaves fall and the wind blows, the strings of the red string break (Part Two) The King of Anle, who had just bathed in the spring and was wearing a white undergarment, glanced coldly at the phoenix tree and patted the places on his body that the phoenix tree had touched: "You blind thing, are you looking for death?" His voice was devoid of any warmth.
Wutong trembled violently: "No, no, no... no... Miss, sit... sit on the arched bridge... the bridge railing is very low... she drank so much... I couldn't stop her no matter what I said..."
Prince Anle narrowed his eyes slightly: "If you're not going to stay with her, where are you going?"
“Bao…Steward Bao is very busy…This servant is going to…please ask the young master…” Wutong’s voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.
Prince Anle glanced at Wutong and said, "Son-in-law?... You don't need to go. I'll go and see him."
“Yes…” Wutong replied tremblingly.
With her wine jug empty, Zi Jin suddenly threw it into the stream under the bridge, chuckled twice, and staggered back to the door. She picked up one of the remaining two jugs and staggered back to the wooden arched bridge. Lying on the bridge, she laughed strangely, pretending to be laughing heartily even though there was no real joy in her eyes.
As soon as Prince Anle stepped into the garden, he heard the hearty laughter. Following the sound, he saw Zi Jin lying on the damp, cold bridge. The anger that had been suppressed all day burst forth from his chest. He quickly stepped forward and knelt down in front of Zi Jin: "Get up!"
Zi Jin looked at the person in front of her, who was only wearing undergarments and had loose hair, with a dazed expression. She tilted her head and thought for a while before smiling ingratiatingly and saying, "west... Xi Le... why aren't you dressed up?"
Prince Anle stood frozen in place. From the moment she learned who he was, she would never call him Xile again. Each "Your Highness" was like a poisonous needle piercing his heart, yet he was unaware of it then. Now, hearing this "Xile," he realized how much he missed the days they spent together: "Little mute... get up, the ground is cold." Her voice softened instantly.
Prince Anle reached out to help Zi Jin, who leaned lazily against him: "Xile, have a drink with me."
"Nonsense!"
“Heh… Xi Le, stop pretending… I know you can’t drink… you get drunk almost immediately… When you were in the Moon Kingdom… you never dared to drink… right?” Zi Jin whispered mysteriously in King Anle’s ear.
Prince Anle looked at Zi Jin with complicated eyes. She usually appeared innocent and naive, always laughing and joking, but she knew and understood more than anyone else. Yet she suppressed it and pretended to know nothing, letting everyone sway around her.
Seeing that King Anle did not answer, Zi Jin helped him to his feet, swaying slightly. When Zi Jin's hand touched King Anle's shoulder, King Anle realized that Zi Jin's hand was ice cold.
Zi Jin walked to the door, picked up another pot, and said, "There's... there's another pot... are you coming or not?... If you don't come... I'll drink it all..."
Anle Wang suddenly stood up, walked to Zi Jin's side, and snatched the unopened wine pot: "Little mute, what troubles you that you need to hide here and drink alone... Why don't you tell me?"
Zi Jin squinted at Prince Anle with drunken eyes for a while: "I'll accompany you... or not... you're trying to trick me... you really think I'm drunk... humph..."
Zi Jin's spoiled and charming appearance made Prince Anle smile from the bottom of his heart, and his sharp eyes gradually softened: "I can drink with you. You know I'm naturally afraid of the cold. Let's go inside and drink."
“I’m not cold anymore after drinking alcohol… I still need to go inside… When did I become so uncomfortable… I’m naturally afraid of the cold… Is that true?…” Zi Jin was still very afraid of Xi Le in her subconscious. Although she complained in a low voice, her feet were already walking towards the house involuntarily. This was the inertia and servility of being oppressed for a long time.
The corners of Prince Anle's mouth turned up slightly, his eyes filled with joy. He quickly followed Zi Jin and subtly protected her from behind.
Inside, only a small lamp cast a dim yellow light, and a very faint fragrance of lotus wafted from the bronze incense burner. Although the charcoal fire inside was almost extinguished due to lack of care, it still emitted a faint warmth, but because the doors and windows had been kept open, the room was not much warmer than the outside.
King Anle frowned, closed the doors and windows tightly, and turned around to see Zi Jin leaning unsteadily against the charcoal stove, sipping wine from the wine pot.
Seeing that Prince Anle was looking at her, Zi Jin raised the wine pot high and pointed at the wine pot that Prince Anle had placed aside: "Drink!...You want...you want to cheat..."
The Prince of Anle's lips curled up, his smile reaching his eyes. He picked up the wine jug and sat down beside Zi Jin, saying, "I'll risk my life to keep you company." He took a big gulp, almost bringing tears to his eyes from the spiciness. "Cough cough...cough...drinking such strong wine."
"Ah...not strong...the wine doesn't intoxicate...people intoxicate themselves...if you want to get drunk, even osmanthus wine can intoxicate...people..." Zi Jin sipped the wine in the pot carefully, "not spicy...it's bitter...it's really bitter..."