Chapter 152: The rules are set, the stakes are huge (2/2)

Su Yingxue was so frightened that she hastily waved her hand. “Princess, I don’t have good capacity for liquor, you know that.”

Princess Changping was thoroughly shamed. She angrily asked a few more people, but all of them refused. The ones who had been clamoring before had all shriveled up and hid away. They weren’t the same as the North and South Lords! Everyone knew their liquor capacity was good, so it was highly possible that they’d win against Han Yunxi. But the rest of them were just women!

Seeing Han Yunxi so confident, who knew what hidden depths she still had? What if she won? Who would dare risk it? And if the North or South Lord won, they were sure to lose anyways!

Even if by some miracle they won, they’d still have to accept challengers vying for their position. Who could promise that they’d win every single time?

This was nothing but a bet that would guarantee losses!

Princess Changping was about to ask some more when Han Yunxi stopped her. “Changping, why don’t you participate as well?”

Ehh…?

Anxiety filled Princess Changping at the question. She’d been asking after others the whole time that she forgot about herself! No way she’d participate! How could she risk such a thing? Left in an awkard situation, she could only pretend to look at the skies. “Forget about me. Look, it’s already getting late. It’s possible it’ll be dark by the time you three finish, so how about you guys start first.”

Han Yunxi, you’re too arrogant and conceited. Do you really think you’re all that just because you stood out a bit before? And yet you dared to make this kind of gamble.

The North and South Lords weren’t easy to deal with. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have risked imperial mother’s wrath to invite them here. It’s fine if nobody else could beat them. As long as Han Yunxi agreed to participate and got drunk, everything could be taken care of. As for the gamble itself, that was just Han Yunxi herself courting death!

After confirming that no one else would compete, Han Yunxi finally relaxed a bit in her heart. She’d put out such a high stakes gamble just so others would draw back. Right now, her only opponents were the North and South Lords. If she could win against them, it’d solve her problems!

To make the competition between three contestants fair, the resting period was removed. There were no one-on-one matches to determine a victor or drinking order. Instead, everyone started drinking at the same time. The winner would be the one who drank the most wine within a certain amount of time. A table was brought it and wine set on the table. Then the contest began!

The other guests jumped for joy when they didn’t have to compete, restoring the mood to its previous enthusiasm. Everyone cheered for the three contestants, though all of them were in favor of the North and South Lords. Han Yunxi calmly sat at the table, unaffected by their shouts.

Each one of them had their own chair and table, upon which were set full of wine jugs. More jugs were piled by on the side, and each table had its own servant girl to deliver wine onto the table. The presiding party was, of course, Princess Changping. She exchanged a significant glance with Murong Wanru before excitedly walking out to raise her hands and silence the crowd.

“The time limit will be within one stick of incense. Whoever finishes off more wine jugs will be the winner! Everyone here will stand witness!” Princess Changping announced loudly.

“No problem.”

“All right!”

The North and South Lords were fond of such regulations. With their capacity for liquor, a single stick of incense was enough for them to beat anyone here! They darted a disdainful glance at Han Yunxi before meeting eyes with each other. Both of them were clear that each other was the real opponent.

“Imperial Qin Aunt, I’ll confirm once again. This is fine with you?” Princess Changping asked on purpose.

Han Yunxi carefully studied the North and South Lords as if searching for something, before replying, “We can start.”

“Good!” Princess Changping personally lit the incense stick. “Begin!”

At her words, the three people moved at the same time. The North and South Lord picked up their wine jugs and started pouring the contents into their mouth. Han Yunxi was no exception. With a limited timeframe, there were no shortcuts to winning beyond racing against the clock to drink! In the beginning, the competition was all about speed. By the end, it’d rely on one’s capacity for liquor. Those who could drink quickly in the beginning could probably drink more to begin with. By the end it’d truly test their liquor capacity!

Glugglugglug!

All three moved swiftly to empty jug after jug of wine, the remnants which were smashed on the side. The competition was fierce from the start, making it hard for the spectators to make a sound in case they disturbed them. Shortly afterwards, the distance between the contestants began to grow. The North and South Lords had both polished off five jugs, while Han Yunxi was around two jugs behind.

She’d already emptied out two jugs beforehand in an impressively short time for a woman, but right now she was in a race. Nobody cared or sympathized with her when they were so intent on the winner and losers.

Smash! North Lord Zhangsun Che broke his sixth jug. A smash followed right behind him as the South Lord did the same. Meanwhile, Han Yunxi was still in the middle of her third jug.

“Looks like Qin Wangfei won’t catch up!”

“She’s dropped behind so much already in the start, she’ll only fall further back if this keeps on!”

“Exactly, it’s a test of capacity later on in the race. The alcohol hasn’t set in yet, but it will in a while. By then she won’t be able to drink any more.”

Very quickly, commentary rose from all sides…

-o-

[1] xiaosheng (小生) – a way of referring to oneself, usually used by a young student or scholar. In light of Li Muge’s frequent visits to the theater, xiaosheng may reference one of the main divisions of male roles in Chinese opera. A xiaosheng actor typically played the parts of young students, scholars or warriors and never wore a beard; he also speaks and sings in a mixture of high falsetto and tenor.