“Gan Qing, it must have been tough for you as well all this while.” I said as I set up 3 tables in front of the cus.h.i.+ons while Gan Qing placed the dishes on top of them, “You’ve been following us the entire time and have been taking care of all the domestic ch.o.r.es.”

When I finished, Gan Qing shrugged and shook her head, “How could it be troublesome? Not at all. And besides, I chose to follow you.”

“Un, many thanks.” Seeing that Gan Qing’s eyes were filled with resolve, I decided not to say any further but when I thought about how they must have been during the time I was missing, I spoke up again, “You and Mi Zhen must have been rather worried during this recent period.”

*Pu* Gan Qing sn.i.g.g.e.red at my words which made confused me, “Haha, actually, the both of us only knew that Xuan De went missing 2 days ago.”

“Eh?” I was confused at first but then soon understood what she meant, “Oh, did Yun Chang and the rest hide it from you both?”

“Yes, that’s why we only got to know recently. So we were only worried for 2 days.” Gan Qing smiled. Her smile soon gave way to a kind stare as she closely inspected me, “But I did still cry a fair bit these 2 days. Like everyone else, I really don’t know what I should do if you’re not around anymore.”

I met Gan Qing’s gaze and felt a little emotional. Just her stare is enough for me to know the depth of her feelings.

It’s finally over. Soon, I would realise that this night would probably be the happiest I would be having for a while yet.

“Have some liquor, big brother.”

“Ah~ Alright, I’ll have some, thanks.”

Yun Chang had brought out another gourd of wine over and so I quickly brought my bowl to her which she promptly filled.

“My lord! Another round in your name!” Just as the bowl was filled, Wen Yuan who was beginning to look red raised the small gourd in her hands at me.

“Wen Yuan, big brother has had a lot to drink tonight already.”

“Eh~ It’s fine.” Yun Chang tried to stop her and seemed a little worried but I felt that it’s alright to let loose a little tonight, “Come Wen Yuan, this one is for you as well!”

As we both toasted to each other, several others joined in as well.

“… To our lord.” “We drink to our lord as well.” “In celebration of our lord’s unexpected survival.”

Looks like these 3 have much better alcohol tolerance than Wen Yuan. Gong You and Zi Zhong in particular have been drinking since earlier today and their faces are not even red at all. Gong You is a calm pale while Zi Zhong has a slightly pink hue.

“How can you say that it’s unexpected~ Hahaha~” I said and laughed in spite of myself. I then raised my arm and–

“Drink!” Wen Yuan roared as she finished the contents in her gourd. The other 3 respectfully and properly drank from their bowls. Even xiao Yong, who is usually lazy and dishevelled, is polite now.

Hu~ I finished the contents of my bowl in one go as well and was beginning to feel tipsy. Southern liquor is a fair bit stronger than northern liquor after all.

“Drink, Lord Chen Dao! Hahaha!” When I looked over, I saw that it was Zhou Cang who was making a ruckus. Beside her was Chen Dao, who was sitting properly, and seemed a little troubled at how to deal with her rambunctious neighbour.

I thought that Zhou Cang would be a little more ladylike in her ways after her mistake today but it looks like a fe

w cups of wine are enough to return her to her original mood and state. Looks like she must have forgotten what happened before already.

*s.h.i.+ku*~ Haa~ I finished the remaining bit of liquor at the bottom of the bowl and savoured its sweet alcoholic taste as I enjoyed the warmth spreading out from my chest. I am not even 18 years of age yet here I am drinking liquor with no restraint. If my father were to see this, I would be in for a good bit of scolding.

Now that I think about it, it might actually be better to stay here longer. At the very least, no one will nag at me here.

… Un? I quickly scanned the room. I thought that everyone should be in a jovial mood but it seems that is not the case.

Yi De is calmly sipping her liquor. Yuan Zhi is sitting with Guan Ping, who is messing around as usual. It seems like it’s difficult for her to open up and she is just staring at the others in a daze, not reacting much to Guan Ping’s antics.

Another one is Chen Gong. She usually partic.i.p.ates actively in such events but now she’s just sitting there quietly picking up bits of food and has barely touched her liquor. Sometime earlier, when I met her, she seemed very surprised. I could sense that she was relieved and glad but she quickly covered her face and left.

Looks like something happened while I was missing.

“Ah…” Just then, she noticed my gaze and turned away and shakily picked up her cup.

Ah… But because she was too nervous, her grip was not tight enough and her cup slipped out and hit the table.

She looked irritated as she hurriedly picked up the cup, looking about as she did so. It was a good thing that everyone else around her was engrossed in something else and no one else saw this.

I too hurriedly looked away so she would not be too awkward. My guess is that she’s probably looking my way right about now.

“Un? What happened, Chen Gong?

Ah… Just then, Wen Yuan who always liked to look about saw what Chen Gong was doing.

“Nothing, I just dropped my cup.” Chen Gong said as calmly as possible, replaced her cup on the table and then continued eating on her own quietly. Even so, Wen Yuan still stared closely at Chen Gong, giving a hiccup as she did so.

“Wen Yuan…” Yun Chang called out softly with a troubled look. Looks like something happened between Wen Yuan and Chen Gong and Yun Chang knows about it.

Naturally I was curious about it, especially when it happened while I was not around so I decided to ask Yun Chang, who was less rowdy and engaged in the feast, “Yun Chang, what happened?”

“Ah… That is…” Yun Chang stammered as she raised her hand and twirled a lock of hair on her fringe, her eyes wandering about as she did so. She is clearly waiting for me to give up. Is it something that cannot be said?

“Alright, I won’t ask then.” In that case, I decided not to trouble Yun Chang and ask something else, “What about Yi De, what’s going on?”

“Eh? Yi De?” Yun Chang seemed like she did not understand what I meant.

“I’m saying that Yi De’s condition seemed to have worsened.” I said, feeling sad and troubled as I thought back to our encounter, “When I met her just now, she seemed to react coldly to seeing me. Ah… Or perhaps she’s not feeling well.”

“I don’t think she would have reacted coldly to you. She even discussed big brother with me sometime ago.” Yun Chang said a.s.suredly, “May I ask what you meant by her not feeling well?”

I placed my hand on my chest just as Yi De did, “Like this. Yi De held her chest when she saw me.” I was still looking rather pained so it was a good re-enactment of what happened, “But I couldn’t really see what her expression was. In any case, she did not seem like she was well at all.”

“Un… That is…” Yun Chang sank into thought as she said so.

I just realised that I effectively related both sides of the story to Yun Chang in place of Yi De, which felt a little weird. That said, I could not possibly have gone to ask Yi De directly as it might trigger something bad.

I picked up my bowl and spied Yi De who was sitting to the left and slowly sipping her liquor. It does not seem like there is anything wrong with her right now.

“By the way, Gan Qing, I heard that the local dance in Xu state is pretty interesting, is that true?” Zhou Cang suddenly spoke up while I was still thinking. At this time, she was very red and her clothes were practically falling off.

“Ah… I don’t really know if it’s Xu state’s local dance but I did indeed learn some dance steps from my mother.” Gan Qing actually seriously replied the drunkard.

“… Xu state’s dance huh?” Gong You sighed as she finally pulled the cup away from her mouth, “Gan Qing is from Xu state too huh?”

“Yes, all of my ancestors from both sides of my family resided in Xu state and its city. Is Lord Sun Qian also from there?”

“… I’m from Beihai, I don’t know any Xu state dance.”

“My hometown is further south of here so I’ve never heard of it either.”

“Hahaha~ I’m from You state~”

The Xu state 3 have to answer like this even at this time. Even though they all served that state, and are so-called refined scholars, they actually know less about a cultural practice than an ordinary commoner.

Well, all this criticism is just a little rebellion on my part from having to put up with their lessons. Naturally, I did not dare to voice this out.