In a summer house of the Dugu family’s.

On this day, Dugu Miao invited Xue Yi to lunch in this summer house which was quiet and registered in Dugu Miao’s name.

“This place is quite secluded. We won’t have any unexpected visitors. I know that lately you’ve been waiting anxiously for a reply from His Majesty, Brother Xue. Yesterday my father went to the palace and had an audience with His Majesty, trying to persuade him to make a reply as soon as possible. Barring accidents, His Majesty will summon you in a couple of days. Before that, you might as well just relax and rest up, so that you’ll be at your best during your meeting with His Majesty.”

With a smile on his face, Dugu Miao ushered Xue Yi into the summer house, the design of which was patterned after architectural ideas of the Great Wen, and which boasted quite some bucolic charm. Spring had arrived, and all the ornamental plants in the summer house were sprouting. There was also a gurgling man-made stream winding its way through the residence. The combination of the genial spring sun and the pleasantly warm breeze was indeed quite relaxing.

On hearing that Dugu Shan had paid a visit to the palace and managed to convince the Luohai monarch, Xue Yi, who had been so anxious in the past few days that he’d developed some canker sores, was secretly furious but at the same time also inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. Now that Dugu Miao had dared say the monarch would make a reply in a few days, it was unlikely there would be another postponement.

“Thank you for your assistance and hospitality, Brother Dugu,” said Xue Yi. No matter what, the Dugu family had indeed offered him a lot of help, so Xue Yi didn’t mind stepping up his friendliness towards the Dugu family a little.

“You don’t have to thank me, Brother Xue. We click, and I see you as a friend, and friends don’t have to be so courteous to each other. After you, Brother Xue,” smiled Dugu Miao, turning aside to make way for Xue Yi.

Ahead of them was a parterre inside which was a gazebo from the eaves of which hung half-unrolled bamboo curtains on all sides. There were some little wind chimes attached to the curtains. Whenever a breeze blew by, sweet silvery jingles issued from the wind chimes, dissolving people’s vexation and anxiety.

Dugu Miao was handsome and well-featured. There was amusement gleaming in his peach-blossom-shaped eyes even when he was not smiling, and he appeared particularly sincere when beaming.

Though fully aware that Dugu Miao was not what he seemed either, Xue Yi was still swayed by Dugu Miao’s smile. The word “friends” rendered him much less defensive without him realizing it.

“After you, Brother Dugu,” said Xue Yi, his manner somewhat milder than it’d been a short while before.

A glitter flashed across the depths of Dugu Miao’s beaming eyes, and with that he and Xue Yi entered the parterre together and walked into the gazebo.

There was a stone table and some stone stools in the gazebo. The stools were topped with soft cushions. On the table was a hearty meal, along with a pot of wine. Bowls, chopsticks and wine cups were all in readiness. All arrangements were thoughtful and had been made scrupulously.

…

Xue Yi had no recollection of when he’d got drunk or whether he had disclosed anything he was not supposed to disclose. It was early the next morning that he woke up in a bed in Dugu Miao’s summer house.

At the sight of the strange surroundings, Xue Yi was instantly on the alert and abruptly sat up. His eyes swept around the room and with that his head started throbbing painfully. He involuntarily clapped his hands to his head, pressing them hard against it.

Then he recalled that this place was Dugu Miao’s summer house, that the day before he and Dugu Miao drank some wine in the gazebo in the parterre, but he somehow got drunk, and he didn’t have a clue when he’d drunk himself into a stupor.

Xue Yi immediately became vigilant. Wondering whether or not in his stupor he had confided to Dugu Miao anything he ought not to confide, he hastened out of bed, hurried to the doors and heavily pulled them open.

The bang scared a boy servant waiting in the doorway, who tremulously looked up at him and asked, “Y–You woke up, Sir.”

Seeing that the boy servant was the only one present, Xue Yi knitted his brows. “Who are you? Where’s Dugu Miao? How long was I asleep for?”

“Yesterday you and my young master were very drunk. Right now my young master is still asleep. He hasn’t sobered up yet. I’m a servant in this residence. I have orders from the butler to stay here waiting for you to wake up. If you’ve sobered up, please let me lead you to the dining room to take a seat and drink some Sobering Soup which helps clear your mind,” replied the boy servant in a methodical manner.

Yesterday? So he’d slept the whole night through, and Dugu Miao had also got drunk and was still asleep, which meant that Dugu Miao hadn’t told anybody about whatever it was he had disclosed to Dugu Miao the day before.

Xue Yi’s deep frown slackened slightly. He wanted to leave immediately, but due to his lingering concern, he decided to sound Dugu Miao out first.

“Lead the way.”

The boy servant nodded and then ushered Xue Yi to the dining room.

It was after Xue Yi drank some soup to soak up the booze and then finished breakfast that Dugu Miao showed up, his face etched with tiredness, massaging his head while walking in, appearing quite miserable.

“I beg your pardon, Brother Xue. I’d never drunk that much wine before. This hangover is killing me,” said Dugu Miao before he added admiringly, “You have such a high tolerance to alcohol, Brother Xue. I admire you so much. Did you wake up early this morning? Yesterday you really should’ve stopped me from drinking that much – that’s what a friend should have done and you know it.”

“Oh? You’d never drunk that much wine before?” asked Xue Yi impassively.

Dugu Miao had just started to shake his head when he appeared on the verge of vomiting again. He cut such a sorry figure that he bore no similarity whatsoever to the young aristocrat of great presence he’d been the day before. “My father never allows me to drink too much. He said people tend to lose their sense of perspective when they’re drunk. Yesterday I was in high spirits and my father was not home, so I drank too much unawares. Speaking of which, how much did I drink exactly yesterday, Brother Xue?”

Xue Yi responded, “I don’t remember that either.”

Dugu Miao looked at him disbelievingly, “You really don’t remember? I’ve seen people do crazy things after getting drunk. Did I do something stupid yesterday, by any chance? You remember it but you’re pretending otherwise to spare me the embarrassment, right?”

The more Dugu Miao talked, the more convinced he was that this was the case. The look he cast at Xue Yi was quite questioning.

Xue Yi affirmed, “I really don’t remember. Maybe you should summon the servants waiting on us yesterday and ask them about it.”

Xue Yi’s suggestion struck Dugu Miao as a good idea, so he summoned the servants. “I want you to be honest with me about this – yesterday, after I got drunk, did I do anything crazy or say anything stupid?”

One of the servants, trembling, answered with a face of woe, “Young Master, yesterday, after you drank some wine with this honored guest, you dressed us down halfway through the lunch, saying that we’re in no position to stop you from drinking. You chucked all of us out of the gazebo and even had us flogged. Right now…Right now all the others are lying in bed, unable to get up. I’m the only one still capable of walking, so I came here to wait on you. I really don’t know what you did or said in your drunken stupor yesterday.”

“Bull**!” Dugu Miao scowled at the servant. “I would never have you flogged for no good reason.”

“If you don’t believe me, you may go there to see for yourself. My legs still ache when I walk,” said the servant in an injured tone.

This man was Dugu Miao’s personal servant who always followed in Dugu Miao’s wake at ordinary times, so Xue Yi recognized him. Judging from his pallid face, unsteady steps and awkward gait, he might well be telling the truth. In addition, Xue Yi seemed to remember that that thing had indeed happened the day before, because one of the servants had screamed in pain so loudly that he could recall it.

“Brother Dugu, it would seem you’ve indeed forgotten all about of it because of the wine.”

Embarrassment written all over his face, Dugu Miao looked at him. “I’m sorry to have put you through this, Brother Xue. I’m not an abusive kind of person. Maybe I said something I didn’t mean during the drunken stupor and they took it seriously.”

Xue Yi was not inclined to find out whether or not Dugu Miao was an abusive kind of person. He only wanted to confirm that nobody else had approached that gazebo the day before, that Dugu Miao had also got drunk and didn’t remember anything.

“Brother Dugu, I have something to attend to, and given that I didn’t return last night, my subordinates must be anxious, so if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to take my leave.”

Dugu Miao hurriedly rose to his feet and walked him all the way through the front gates of the summer house.

After Xue Yi left, Dugu Miao raised a hand to massage his forehead, pivoted around and returned to the summer house, a miserable expression on his face. In the distance, Xue Yi twisted his head around and cast a backward glance in the direction of the residence. At the sight of Dugu Miao appearing to be suffering from hangover, he became convinced that Dugu Miao had told him the truth.

However, when Dugu Miao had entered the summer house, he immediately put his hand down, his face growing apathetic. “Bring me some Sobering Soup.”

“Yes, Young Master,” said the servant.

Dugu Miao glanced at him. “Your service won’t go unrewarded. You may leave and have some rest. Nurse yourself back to health before you come back to wait on me.”

“Thank you, Young Master,” the servant said with his head down and then quietly left.

Dugu Miao drank some Sobering Soup and then summoned the butler, “How did it go? Has the message been delivered to my father?”

“Yes, Young Master. Master has come to know about it,” answered the butler respectfully.

“Good.” Dugu Miao gave a sneer and then said derisively, “That Xue Yi guy is pretty vigilant. Fortunately the act I put on was convincing enough.”

“You’ve always been a man with great wisdom, Young Master. That guy from the Wan Kingdom would never be able to find out about it,” said the butler.

Dugu Miao smugly snorted, “Clear up the mess and have them prepare some hot water. I need to take a bath.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

…

Dugu Shan, after being informed of the absolute maximum that Xue Yi had ‘disclosed’, mulled over all possibilities for several times and then went to the royal palace to seek an audience with Mu Hengtian.

Meanwhile, a secret letter about that absolute maximum the Wan Kingdom was willing to offer was delivered to Ling Zhang.

After reading it, Ling Zhang immediately had it sent back to the Great Wen to let Yuwen Tong know.

“It seems that Shan Congli is indeed quite anxious. Judging from his offer, it won’t be long before the Wan Kingdom’s armies mass at the border.”

“Last year, the weather was favorable for agriculture all the year round in the Wan Kingdom, and they have more food stocks than ever, which are more than enough for them to wage a war. The Great Wen has been gaining momentum in its development and has been growing stronger and stronger, which means Shan Congli is under increasingly heavy pressure.”

Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowu, after coming to know about the absolute maximum the Wan Kingdom could afford, both believed that it wouldn’t be long before the Wan Kingdom declared war on the Great Wen.

“Fortunately the Great Wen has made preparations some time ago. Earlier this year, after the spring snow melted, large numbers of army provisions have been secretly transported to the border. Both the Youzhou garrison and the Shengzhou garrison are ready.”

Yuwen Tong had long since predicted that the Wan Kingdom wouldn’t lay low for long and would sooner or later wage another war. The Wan Kingdom wanted to run roughshod over the Great Wen, but what they didn’t know was that this was also the time that the Great Wen planned to deal the Wan Kingdom a heavy blow.

“When are you going to talk to Mu Hengtian?” Ling Zhaowu asked Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang replied, “A signed letter from Yuwen Tong is now on Mu Hengtian’s desk. I think it’s about time.”

Mu Hengtian had now come to know about the absolute maximum the Wan Kingdom was willing to offer, which meant that he would soon lay out unreasonable terms. When Xue Yi realized the Dugu family had deceived him, it would be too late. At first Ling Zhang had decided to stop the Wan Kingdom from making an alliance with the Luohai Kingdom. However, Ling Zhaowu’s words have given him a new idea. The Wan Kingdom wanted to wage a war, but they didn’t dare take action without the Luohai Kingdom at their back. In the final analysis, they were scared. Without some extra motivation, Shan Congli might come up with some other ‘brilliant’ ideas, so Ling Zhang believed he might as well push the boat with the current and let them forge an alliance. Just like Ling Zhaowu had said, the Luohai Kingdom was bound to be a fence-sitter. Whether or not this so-called alliance would serve its purpose depended on Mu Hengtian.

“Before Xue Yi and Mu Hengtian sign the agreement, they would definitely conduct some secret negotiations. I plan to seek an audience with Mu Hengtian shortly before that.”

If Mu Hengtian was willing to cooperate, there would be no problem; if he wasn’t, Ling Zhang would shatter the Wan-Luohai alliance and make sure Mu Hengtian got nothing.