Qin Qianli spat and turned his head away, refusing to look at him. Liu Guang looked at his hand; not only was his robe torn open by the sleeve's laceration, but the hidden chainmail underneath had also been pierced. If he had been just an ordinary powerful official, this stab would have surely killed him on the spot. Although he had avoided this fatal blow, the pain in his arm proved that his opponent hadn't come away empty-handed.
“Confess who conspired with you, and I may spare your entire family,” Liu Guang said.
"A true man should live to relieve his ruler's worries. If his ruler and father are humiliated, or his subjects perish, what do he care about his wife and family?" Qin Qianli raised his head and said to the heavens.
Liu Guang smiled slightly: "In this world, once something has been said, there are no secrets. It will not be difficult for me to find out your accomplices." His eyes, which had been narrowed to slits, suddenly opened wide, shooting out a piercing light: "Take him out and tear him apart by five horses! Gongsun Ming, have his entire family arrested and executed by slow slicing in the East Market tomorrow."
Qin Qianli trembled, sweat and tears streaming down his face, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, but he ultimately said nothing more. Most of the Chen ministers before the palace, seeing Liu Guang's display of power, were terrified and dared not even breathe, except for Ximen Rang, who suddenly said, "Wait."
"Are you perhaps going to plead for Qin Qianli?" Liu Guang asked slowly.
"Qin Qianli's assassination attempt on the Grand Marshal is an unforgivable crime, but the punishment of one person should not extend to his entire family, let alone his nine generations. Since entering the capital, the Grand Marshal has been too murderous, which is not the way of leniency. I dare not plead for Qin Qianli, but I beg the Grand Marshal to consider the will of Heaven and give lenient treatment to his nine generations."
Liu Guang snorted angrily, and the assembled officials felt as if his voice had struck their hearts like a drum, causing them to break out in a cold sweat, their teeth chattering, and secretly praying to the heavens, gods, Buddhas, ancestors, and saints to protect them from being implicated in this matter.
Section 02
"One big bowl brings joy to the whole family; two big bowls bring a perfect match; three big bowls bring wealth and honor..."
The Rong people are a fiery people. When they drink strong liquor, which is highly flammable, they immediately ignite a raging flame of passion, and even racial differences are forgotten.
Ji Su sat gracefully on the embroidered bed, her cheeks flushed. A bright red veil concealed her shyness. In the festive tent decorated in red, she sat quietly, awaiting the changes to come.
The wedding, held according to ancient Chinese rites and Rong customs, was extremely lively. This marriage was of great significance, and Yu Sheng intentionally chose the 28th day of the first lunar month to facilitate the attendance of those who came to witness the ceremony. Sure enough, in the past few days, envoys and guests from all directions crowded the camp where Hulei Khan was stationed. The shrewd Yi merchants had also arrived at this pasture, which the Rong people called "the land of constellations," several days earlier. In an instant, a replica of a city suddenly appeared on the grassland.
Given Ji Su's personality, she would normally be a part of such a lively place. But this time, she was the center of attention, so she became quiet instead.
"Whose tent will he go into?"
Both she and Mo Rong were pondering this question, their hearts pounding like deer, making it impossible for them to calm down. Which of the two identical, adjacent tents would Li Jun step into, and spend a night there that would forever be etched in his memory?
"Okay, let's do it again!"
The person who had caused their hearts to pound was now surrounded by a large group of people urging them to drink. Amidst the shouts and commotion, Li Jun was persuaded by Ji Su's uncle to drink another large bowl of twenty-year-old aged wine brought from Hongguo. Before he could put down his bowl, someone next to him immediately refilled it.
"You drank the bride's uncle's wine on one side, so you have to drink the bride's brother's wine on the other!" The speaker, Mo Xiao, a Yue man who had followed Mo Rong out of the area, also raised his wine bowl. The Yue people were on average a head shorter than average, but their drinking capacity was in no way inferior. His chubby face glowed red as he jokingly threatened Li Jun, "Otherwise, it's unfair! Unfair!"
According to the old system of Shenzhou, a man was not allowed to have three or four wives and concubines, but the status of the wives and concubines varied. Li Jun was in a real bind dealing with the relationship between Mo Rong and Ji Su. He had originally violated his vow of "equality between men and women" by marrying both of them because he was unwilling to give them up. Now, he was even less willing to clarify the status of the two women. Fortunately, Feng Jiutian was clever and found a reason for Li Jun to solve the problem in theory: "Shenzhou has been in war for many years, and the male-female ratio is unbalanced with more women than men. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for a man to marry several wives, but the premise is that the wives can be equal and live in harmony." As for whether Li Jun could actually appease his two wives, and whether those who wanted to have two or more concubines could prevent internal strife, that was something even the gods could not help with.
“Alright, let’s drink…” Li Jun wasn’t good at drinking, and although he had abundant spiritual power, he couldn’t help but feel tipsy. He took a breath, tilted his head back, and gulped down the large bowl. Before he could signal to Mo Xiao, another bowl was offered to him: “Come on, Brother Li, let me toast you again!”
Li Jun couldn't help but smile wryly and winked at Meng Yuan, who was the best man. Meng Yuan squeezed in and rushed to clink bowls with Su Bai, saying, "Brother Su, I'll drink this bowl for the groom."
"No, no!" Everyone shouted in unison. Su Bai also pulled back his bowl and said seriously, "Brother Meng, you can usually drink for Brother Li and fight for Brother Li, but you can't replace Brother Li today."
"Why not?" Meng Yuan was not good with words. If he had directly said that he was toasting Su Bai with this bowl, Su Bai would have had to drink it whether he wanted to or not. But he truthfully said that he was drinking it on behalf of Li Jun, which gave Su Bai an opportunity. Su Bai said, "Because this bowl is for the groom. It's fine for Brother Meng to drink it on his behalf. But will you also be going to the bridal chamber on behalf of Brother Li later?"
Everyone burst into laughter. Li Jun and Meng Yuan were both red-faced, one furious and the other at a loss for words. Such jokes were fine to make during the wedding night festivities, but in front of Li Jun, only Su Bai dared to say them.
Their laughter and chatter reached Mo Rong and Ji Su's ears. Mo Rong felt both shy and worried. She knew that Li Jun was not good at drinking, but seeing everyone surrounding him like this, she feared that in a moment this invincible warrior would be knocked out by a group of relatives and friends with alcohol, and would be carried into the bridal chamber on his wedding night.
"Tianmei, Tianmei?" Mo Rong called softly. Lü Tian, her matchmaker, had just been by her side. But after calling for a while, she didn't hear a response. She secretly lifted the red veil a little and found that there was no one in the tent. It seemed that Lü Tian had heard the commotion outside and couldn't resist the girl's interest to run out and watch the fun.
"Oh dear." Mo Rong sighed. She had wanted to ask Lü Tian to send a message to Li Jun, telling him to drink less, but Lü Tian wasn't there. Although Mo Rong didn't care about the usual useless etiquette of women's appearance and virtue, the thought of her speaking to Li Jun in front of everyone at this time would make her so ashamed that she would want to disappear into the ground.
"If Mr. Su has drunk his wine, then we must drink ours too!"
Hearing Li Jun drink another bowl outside, but one person after another kept offering toasts, Mo Rong shook her head. She was afraid he had already drunk more than ten bowls of wine. Just now she could hear Li Jun arguing, but now even his arguing was gone. He was probably just drinking in silence. She hoped he wouldn't get drunk...
"Good drinking capacity! Another bowl, another one!" The calls for drinks rose up, when suddenly a clear voice rang out: "This bowl, isn't it my turn to toast Brother Li Jun?"
Everyone glanced to the side and saw a woman wearing a pink jacket with two shiny black braids hanging down her chest. She stood there with her head slightly tilted to the side. No matter how she dressed, just her quiet presence made everyone feel a sense of tenderness and wanted to cherish her and win a smile from her.
The crowd was already drinking outdoors, and no one had noticed when the woman appeared, but her arrival immediately drew everyone's attention. Seeing her staring at Li Jun with a pitiful smile, it seemed the two were quite familiar. Some with ulterior motives secretly wondered, "Could it be that Li Jun wasn't satisfied with marrying two brides at once, and a third has appeared?"
"Little sister, you're here too!" Li Jun and Meng Yuan were both surprised and delighted. Due to their differing stances, Li Jun hadn't expected Lu Shang to attend his wedding. Recognizing her immediately filled him with joy, but the thought of his mischievous little sister, always full of pranks, gave them a headache. This girl was more troublesome than a thousand cups of fine wine; as the saying goes, it wasn't the wine that intoxicated them, but their own state of mind…
"Brother Li Jun, congratulations! Your little sister has come to ask for a celebratory drink." Lu Shang smiled gently, dispelling all the doubts of the crowd. She moved with light and graceful steps, arriving in front of Li Jun. Someone had already handed her a wine bowl. Whether intentional or not, the wine bowl was quite large, the kind of large porcelain bowl most commonly used by the Rong people for fine wine.
The pungent aroma of wine wafted over, making Lu Shang slightly flushed. She gently lifted her long eyelashes and met Li Jun's gaze. Seeing Li Jun's expression of half joy and half nervousness, she couldn't help but turn her head and smile mischievously: "Brother Li Jun, you're so naughty. You didn't invite me to see the bride, but secretly got married here. Be careful, or I'll steal your bride away!"
A warm feeling instantly rose in Li Jun's heart. Back when he was under Lu Xiang's command, if Lu Shang knew about any of his valuable possessions, she would always find a way to trick him out of them, and if she couldn't trick him, she would steal them. Even his flying chain short sword and dragon-head helmet had once become Lu Shang's spoils of war. Lu Shang's expression at this moment was no longer that of the extraordinary woman who had warned him in the Su Kingdom; she was clearly still the mischievous yet innocent little sister from back then.
"I must drink the wine offered by my little sister!" Li Jun was about to raise his glass and drink it all in one gulp when a slender hand reached out and snatched the glass away from him.
"Is this Lu Shang, my dear sister? I've heard so much about you." The woman who took his wine glass blushed slightly, but her bright, star-like phoenix eyes shone with a cheerful light. It was Ji Su, who had been waiting for the groom in the "bridal chamber." She had appeared before everyone out of concern that Li Jun was drinking too much. She was bolder than Mo Rong, and the Rong people were generally warm and generous, not given to such flamboyant displays. Everyone's attention had been drawn to Lu Shang, so they hadn't noticed her presence at the banquet.
"Oh my, what a beautiful bride!" Lu Shang took two steps and exclaimed, "I bet my sister is Ji Su. Wrong, my sister-in-law is definitely Ji Su, hehe."
Everyone burst into laughter. Ji Su's face turned almost redder than her red dress. She said, "How about I drink this cup of wine for your brother Li Jun?"
“Of course, we couldn’t ask for more!” Lu Shang said, and the two women, with an air that was no less imposing than the men, drank the wine in their cups in one gulp.
Seeing the two women smile at each other, Li Jun was filled with mixed emotions. When he met Meng Yuan's gaze, they were both stunned.
The banquet lasted until midnight when Lu Shang suddenly arrived. Ji Su's bold appearance brought the wedding atmosphere to a climax. From then on, the bride and groom received toasts together in front of the guests, gradually replacing the old custom and becoming a tradition in Shenzhou. Su Bai was the one who strongly advocated this new custom.
Li Jun stood between the two tents, looking back at Meng Yuan and Lu Shang who were grinning at him, then at Ji Su leaning drunkenly against him, and then at the red candlelight reflected in Mo Rong's tent. He felt that all the wine he had drunk had turned into a drunken stupor, rising to his face, making him lose his sense of direction and even unsure whether to step with his left or right foot.
As the voices faded, Lü Tian ran out of Mo Rong's tent, stuck out her tongue at Li Jun who was standing outside, made a face, and ran off with a grin. Meng Yuan and Lu Shang also disappeared into the night, leaving only Li Jun and Ji Su standing there in a daze.
"I... can still drink..." Ji Su's babbling woke Li Jun. He looked at Ji Su, who was almost lying on top of him, with a wry smile. The groom wasn't drunk, but the bride who came to save him was completely intoxicated. As he pondered and still couldn't make up his mind, suddenly Mo Rong's rapid voice came from Mo Rong's tent.
"Come in."
"What?" Li Jun asked in a trembling voice.
"Come in quickly!" Mo Rong whispered.