145 A Good Drinker Never Shows Off (2/2)
Soon after, Prince Long Qing lifted up the lower part of the pot, from which crystal-clear wine rushed out accompanied by its spicy fragrance and filled the big bowl instantly. Not allowing the wine to overflow, he raised his left arm as quickly as a whirlwind to send the bowl toward his lips, and he drank the wine up at the same speed as that of a whale inhaling water or that of a tornado. How nonchalant he was!
General Zhang Jianxin looked somewhat stupefied, as if he had not expected that Prince Long Qing, who was well-known for his indifference, solemnness, and arrogance, should turn out to be so casual and unrestrained in the face of his invitation of a wine competition. Then, after a moment of distraction, he realized that he was still holding the bowl, and thus immediately sent it to his lips and drank it up.
However, just when he was about to withdraw the bowl from his lips, he found that Prince Long Qing on the other side of the table had unnoticeably poured himself a second bowl of wine, handsomely drinking it up again.
Then the third bowl, the fourth bowl, the fifth bowl... Even on the grassland, there were tales about the Nine-river double-distilled wine from the Gushan Commandery, where, after drinking three bowls of it, one could not ride a horse. Now that Zhang Jianxin dared the prince to compete in drinking this wine, he should naturally be an expert in drinking. However, he finally failed in this competition with the prince, who constantly swallowed the wine without batting an eye. And finally, he flopped down to the ground with a flushed face.
Then, maidservants carried General Zhang away, who was full of the stench of wine. All those from the Tang Empire sitting in the courtyard felt ashamed. Inviting others to have a wine competition was in itself a vulgar thing to the extreme. And what was worse was that the extraordinarily refined prince, who looked as handsome as those in the pictures, should get a complete victory in the end. It was not only vulgar to the extreme, but also a shame to the extreme!
Holding his eighth bowl of wine, Prince Long Qing gradually drank it up, rather than putting it down when his opponent flopped to the floor. Then, he calmly looked at the others and said with a trace of a weary smile from deep in his heart,
”In my life, I first worked hard to seek Taoism and was then in charge of court rulings. In terms of wiping out the remaining forces of the Devil's Doctrine and punishing the betrayers of Taoism and heresies and evil doctrines, I was always harsh and strict, never allowing any mistake to be made. So far, it could be said that no other objects were able to stir my heart... with only one exception, which was fine wine.
”Wine can help us to feel the way of nature and understand the mystery of the enigmatic world. It is a fine gift given to us by Haotian. So, I always think that if cultivation is used to dispel the effects of wine, it will be a reckless waste of this valuable gift. Although I liked drinking wine from a very young age, I seldom drink it. After I left Capital Cheng during my childhood...”
He calmly glanced at the crown prince, his elder brother who seemed to have been forgotten by everyone in the courtyard, and he continued, ”... I have only drunken liquor four times in these years, one of which was at the Royal Palace of the Yuelun Kingdom. I was misunderstood by some people in that affair with Lu Chen Jia, so they in turns competed drinking with me. The wine was not as strong as it was today and we didn't stop until all the wine pots in the palace had been emptied. During the following three days, the palace was filled with the stench of wine, yet I was not drunk.
”Wine is an extremely fine product, and simultaneously, the devil's music that can erode one's bones. So, I rarely drink, unless I have to, such as in that situation in the Yuelun Kingdom, or today, when the general compelled me.” He indifferently continued, ”Or perhaps, there are wines worthy to be drunk, such as this fine double-distilled wine from the Gushan Commandery, or there are opponents that are worthy to drink with.”
Then, Prince Long Qing once again filled the bowl in front of him and lifted it with a single hand. He looked at Xie Chengyun sitting below and said, ”This bowl is to the bravery of Prince Xie.”
Xie Chengyun slightly stiffened, and then, with a sorrowful sigh in his heart, he changed for a big bowl, filled it with wine and drank it in response from a distance.
Then, Prince Long Qing poured another bowl of the liquor. Turning to Wang Ying sitting beside Xie Chengyun, he calmly said, ”Wang Ying from Lin Chuan, you've known etiquette since the age of 12. I have read your notes on etiquette, which were written the year before last.”
Wang Ying was no older than 15, who was still too young to understand the previous strife at the banquet, thus, he never expected that he himself would be mentioned. Therefore, he could not help feeling excited and happy when he heard that Prince Long Qing, who had conquered all those present with his charisma, should have read his notes on etiquette. So, he hurried to lift the little wine cup in front of him and drank it up.
Unsurprisingly, after a moment, both Xie Chengyun and Wang Ying slumped on the stable because of the strong alcohol. However, they drank the wine in such a peaceful way that no one from the Academy felt annoyed. Instead, Zhong Dajun and those sitting below him all filled their cups with the wine and waited for Prince Long Qing to mention them.
Holding his bowl of liquor, Prince Long Qing looked at the other students, showing no further intention to make a toast, instead, he brought the bowl to his lips and slowly drank the wine up. Then, he put the bowl down without taking a look at those sitting below. The other Academy students would naturally feel unpleasant, and even Ning Que, who had filled his bowl following the trend, was out of sorts. The good impression of that guy that had just been formed had all suddenly gone.
Prince Long Qing looked at the empty bowl with a faint smile and slightly sighed, ”The Academy... what big fame it has. I only hope that the real Academy won't disappoint me.”
”How conceited you are!” Lee Yue somewhat scoffed at him and said, ”If you do not know what the real Academy is, how can you come to be a hostage from such a long distance? How can the hierarch Lord and the three Great Divine Priests allow you, such a bigwig in charge of the Judicial Department of the Divine Hall, to quit the job and study in the Academy?”
After a short while of silence, Prince Long Qing looked up and calmly answered, ”You are right, Your Highness.”
Lee Yu quietly looked at him and suddenly said, ”Long Qing, I admit that you are really talented and have the capital of being proud. But now that you are in charge of the Judicial Department and have a good knowledge of Haotian doctrine, you should be well aware of the principle that one should let nature take its course and be free from forcibly insisting. But why do you force yourself to be against your own will and pretend to be so arrogant?”
Prince Long Qing remained silent for quite a long time after being questioned, and a gloss gradually appeared over his handsome face. He then replied slowly but firmly, ”Our country is weak and we haven't found a solution, so what I can do is to behave more proudly.”
He made the reply calmly and frankly, which made it clear that the Yan Kingdom was too weak to be an opponent of the Tang Empire, and he, a royal member of the Yan Kingdom and, meanwhile, a disciple from West-Hill, should remain proud though he was a hostage in Chang'an. Only in this way could he continuously remain strong despite the weakness of his mother country.
Then he continued, ”As for not drinking, it has nothing to do with pride. It is just because I cannot find an opponent in drinking.”
Situ Yilan could not help retorting him in a whisper, ”Men's ability should be shown on the battlefield, rather than in any drinking game. What is the point in drinking so much wine?”
”This lady is right.” Prince Long Qing calmly replied, ”Only good debaters can debate with each other, and good drinkers can drink with each other. Today, we didn't have a debate competition, then naturally, we won't have competitions in drinking.”
Who could debate with Prince Long Qing? The most excellent debater, Xie Chengyun, had been utterly defeated. Who could drink with Prince Long Qing? He had swallowed nearly 10 bowls of the liquor, and claimed that he had never gotten drunk in his life.
Then another period of embarrassing silence followed. What an unbearable shame it was for the Tang Empire and the Academy to be stunned by a person from the West-Hill Divine Palace with nobody daring to challenge him! Lee Yu slightly clenched the silk handkerchief in her slender hand and was about to leave. Suddenly, she heard a sound of gurgling from the corner.
At the moment, the courtyard was in an audible silence, even the sound of a pin dropping to the ground could be heard. So, the actually subtle sound of gurgling was comparatively amplified, which attracted all those in the courtyard and made them puzzled.
The sound was like a spring flowing through a waterway made by moso-bamboo and then falling into an icy stream, or like a long-necked stork freshly waking up in the morning who was proudly combing its feathers around its neck in the grass of the wetlands. It sounded pleasant and attractive.
Everyone, including Situ Yilan, gazed wide-eyed at Ning Que sitting in the dark corner. They carefully listened to that sound of gurgling coming from behind him, looking somewhat confused.
A moment later, Sangsang, the small-figured handmaiden dressed in a maid costume, kneeled out from behind Ning Que, holding an empty bowl with both hands. Then, she was stunned to find that she was in the spotlight, and not knowing why. Everyone in the courtyard looked at her as if they were looking at a god.
Sangsang felt very unaccustomed when she discovered that she was being stared at by so many pairs of eyes. Then, she raised her right sleeve to wipe her mouth and gingerly put the bowl down on the table in front of Ning Que, and then quietly returned to her original place.
It was only then that the others finally noticed that in that corner beside the square table, neatly ordered in a line, were four empty wine pots.