Chapter 325 - 189: She Only Wants

Chapter 325: Chapter 189: She Only Wants

At the dinner table.

After a couple more drinks, Xie Yunliu started to curse and grumble.

He started by cursing the Scholar, but after a few mouthfuls of insults failed to quench his anger, he began to rage at the Court.

Hearing this, Chu Chengfeng flinched. He was about to tell his brother to keep it down, but seeing that they were all among friends, he just shrugged helplessly. This was just how the guy was when he drank too much; there was nothing to be done.

"Is there a war?"

Xie Yunliu was the only one talking at the table. Zheng Xiu listened quietly, his brow furrowing slightly when he heard that the northern war was not going well. Ever since the founding of Daqian, the Barbarian Kingdom to the north had always been a thorn in the side of its rulers.

The Northern Barbarians were a collective term for the many small states north of the Daqian Kingdom’s border. ’Though rather than calling them "small states,"’ Zheng Xiu thought, ’"tribes" would be more fitting.’ For hundreds of years, the Northern Barbarian tribes had lived as nomadic hunters. They were uncivilized, brutish, and unreasonable. And yet, they were of strong stock. Born in the Northern Kingdom, they were all fierce warriors, particularly skilled in mounted combat. They would raid the border from time to time, and for many years, they had been a major worry for the Monarch of Daqian.

In the historical annals of nearly every dynasty, one could find scattered records of "roving Barbarians raiding the frontier." The final result, without exception, was always that under the valor of some General and the strategy of another, the enemy was driven back a thousand li, their courage shattered.

From a broader historical perspective, the Northern Barbarians felt less like a foreign threat and more like an experience pack for the Military Generals of the Daqian Court to farm for achievements. In Daqian, what Military General didn’t have to take a trip up north to get promoted? Whose blade hadn’t been stained with the blood of the Barbarians?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Zheng Xiu silently poured himself a drink.

In a daze, he thought of his own father, who had also lost his life in a major Northern Barbarian upheaval twenty years ago.

Zheng Xiu downed three cups in a row.

To the Zheng Family.

To the loyal souls.

To, Zheng Haoran.

He was never a great drinker to begin with. After three cups, his face was flushed red and his gaze grew hazy.

Seeing Zheng Xiu about to drink more, Xie Luohe’s brows shot up. She pressed down on his hand, her face stern as she chided in a low voice, "Drink less."

"Hehehe!" Seeing this, the drunken Xie Yunliu felt his moment had come. He rubbed his bald head and jeered, "What’s the matter, can’t handle it? If you can’t drink, then drink less. You should’ve said so earlier! If you don’t say anything, how would Old Xie here know you can’t handle it? You gotta speak up! Just say you can’t take it a couple of times, and I, Old Xie, will definitely believe you. We’re all friends here, nobody’s forcing you to drink, right?"

He was clearly still holding a grudge about being hung from the rafters in a humiliating position by the Scholar after a single encounter.

"Hmph."

Xie Luohe snorted coldly, poured the wine from Zheng Xiu’s cup into her own, and downed it in one gulp.

Xie Yunliu’s eyes, already bloodshot, went wide. He was dumbfounded.

Wen Shishan froze, her suspicious gaze darting back and forth between Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe. After a moment, she asked, puzzled, "You two..."

"Quiet!" Chu Chengfeng coughed a few times, pinching Wen Shishan’s thigh under the table while desperately winking at his silly wife. "When we’re out, and men are talking, women shouldn’t interrupt."

"He’s drunk." Chu Chengfeng was a man who enjoyed his wine, but he could clearly hold his liquor better than Xie Yunliu. With one arm around his pretty little wife, Wen Shishan, whose cheeks were rosy and eyes full of life, he said somberly, "Big Leader, have you heard of... the Edict of Pacification?"

Hearing this, Xie Luohe clutched her wine cup and fell silent.

THUD!

Xie Yunliu’s head slammed onto the table, leaving a small dent. In the blink of an eye, he was snoring loudly, muttering something about "Wei Tian is dead, the Xie shall rise."

Terrified, Chu Chengfeng clamped a hand over Xie Yunliu’s mouth and nose.

"It’s fine. Let him talk," Xie Luohe said with a smile, her eyes narrowed. "A man’s ambition should encompass the world."

"But he doesn’t have to bloody wear ’rebel’ on his forehead every day!"

Chu Chengfeng cursed.

Zheng Xiu recalled the notice posted on the public board by the city gate not long ago. Now, hearing Chu Chengfeng mention it, he rubbed his eyes and asked, "What’s the Edict of Pacification? How does it work?"

Chu Chengfeng smacked his lips. "It basically says that now is a time of war for the Court, and talent is abundant throughout the land. It’s a call for us rustic brutes and Martial Knights not to be insensible, not to let our martial skills go to waste. We should throw ourselves into the service of the Court, pledge loyalty to Daqian, repel the Barbarians, and fight for a lifetime of glory. They say if you can take a Barbarian General’s head on the battlefield, you’ll be promoted and ennobled, and you can live out the rest of your days without a care. Even those with a criminal record, once they kill enemies on the battlefield and earn merit, can have their wanted posters rescinded and their past crimes forgiven!"

Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe exchanged a look. Zheng Xiu then asked, "Bandits... are also acceptable?"

"Ahem, what’s this about bandits? Younger Brother Gongsun, if you can’t hold your liquor, you should drink less; you’re talking nonsense." Chu Chengfeng quickly refilled Xie Luohe’s cup. Her expression was calm as she drained it. Seeing that Xie Luohe wasn’t angry, Chu Chengfeng grinned. "We at Yunhe Village have only ever robbed the rich to help the poor!"

Zheng Xiu opened his mouth, pointed at himself, then pointed at Chu Chengfeng.

Chu Chengfeng puffed out his chest. "I am the Third Young Master of Meihua Manor, and you are the heir to the Gongsun Family. Is there a problem?"

’You’ve changed.’

Zheng Xiu lamented silently. The Hero Chu of yesterday was gone, never to return. He didn’t argue further.

After Xie Yunliu passed out, the few people still at the table stopped discussing the Court.

Xie Luohe’s mind was now completely preoccupied with Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault; she had no time to worry about the affairs of the world.

His head swimming, Zheng Xiu asked a few questions.

Xiao Buping did manage to escape in the end. For the past two months, there had been few rumors in the Jianghu of him appearing and tricking his way into taking women.

Xie Yunliu’s beautiful head of hair, ever since it was shaved off by some damn scoundrel in the village that day, had never grown back. It had left Xie Yunliu depressed for a long time. He would often raise a finger to the heavens and swear an oath to find the bastard who shaved his head and get justice.