The prince is more stable

Chapter 637 The Prince's Drunkenness
Zhao Xiaoqian woke up the next morning.

Opening his eyes in a daze and staring at the beam above the bed, Zhao Xiaoqian was still trying to recall everything that had happened last night.

I still remember last night at the brothel, I was drinking with Li Qingzhao, but I think I was careless and didn't take the young girl's drinking capacity seriously, and I lost.

I can't remember what happened after that, and I don't know how I got back. I vaguely remember being helped back to the Prince's Mansion and then struggling for a while.

After recalling for a while, Zhao Xiaoqian gradually felt a headache, as if there was a little person in his head who was drilling into his brain with an electric drill.

Holding his head in his hands, he couldn't help but let out a low groan of pain. Lying down was too uncomfortable, so he got up and the first thing he did was look for water to drink.

On the table was a white porcelain teapot, a tribute item. Zhao Xiaoqian picked up the handle and gulped down the water. Even after finishing the whole pot, he still felt unsatisfied.

Setting down the teapot, Zhao Xiaoqian said impatiently, "Someone, where have all the people gone?"

A maidservant ran into the room in a panic.

Zhao Xiaoqian stretched out his arms and said calmly, "Help me change my clothes and wash up."

The maidservant hurriedly stepped forward to help him change his clothes.

The decadent and extravagant lifestyle of the powerful and wealthy elites began with having someone help them dress every day, emphasizing a service that made them unable to take care of themselves.

After changing his clothes and washing up, Zhao Xiaoqian, enduring a splitting headache, left the backyard and went to the Yin'an Hall of the Prince's Mansion.

As soon as he stepped into the front yard, the servants of the Prince's mansion looked at him with fear and unconsciously took a few steps back.

A dozen servants were cleaning the front yard, which was a mess. There were broken potted plants, broken branches and trunks, and uprooted flowers and plants. Even the eyes of the auspicious beasts carved on the screen wall of the Prince's Mansion had been gouged out.

Several people were standing by the screen wall. Li Yizhong, the chief secretary of the Prince's Mansion, was leading a few craftsmen to discuss whether the stone beast on the screen wall, whose eyes had been gouged out, could be repaired.

Zhao Xiaoqian gasped, his face turning grim. "Chief Secretary Li, what happened? Someone came to ransack our house last night? Who dares to have such audacity!"

Li Yizhong turned his head, his cheeks twitched a few times, and then he sighed: "It's nothing, Your Highness, you don't need to worry about it. I will be back to normal soon."

"What do you mean 'a trivial matter'? This is a trivial matter? Tell me who did it, and I will burn down their house and break the legs of their entire family today!" Zhao Xiaoqian roared.

Li Yizhong sighed and said, "Why don't you ask His Highness the Prince?"

Zhao Xiaoqian paused for a moment, then turned and walked towards the Yin'an Hall.

Upon entering the hall, Zhao Xiaoqian was delighted to find that his father hadn't gone out to seduce widows today, but was instead sitting obediently inside drinking tea. As he approached, he saw Zhao Hao with a frosty expression, glaring at him fiercely.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked over and sat down in front of him. Without any hesitation, he picked up the small teacup in front of him, filled it up, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Good tea, another cup," Zhao Xiaoqian murmured, pouring himself another cup and drinking it down.

People with hangovers often have one thing in common: they are extremely dehydrated, and even drinking large amounts of water won't quench their thirst.

Zhao Xiaoqian drank several cups before stopping. When he looked up, he saw Zhao Hao still staring at him silently. Zhao Xiaoqian was taken aback: "Father, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I owe you money?"

"You unfilial son!" Zhao Hao spat out the two words through gritted teeth.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned again: "Judging from your tone, I must owe you a lot of money. What exactly happened?"

"You unfilial son, have you forgotten what you did after you came back last night?" Zhao Hao finally snapped.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled: "My son has good drinking manners. After getting drunk at the brothel last night, he went straight to sleep when he got home."

Zhao Hao was so angry that his whole body trembled: "Good drinking manners? Falling asleep as soon as you lie down? Pshaw! Shameless!"

Pointing shakily to the chaotic front yard of the Prince's mansion, Zhao Hao roared, "Look at this! It's all the mess you made last night when you came back!"

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at the front courtyard and calmly said, "Impossible. Father must be mistaken. I would never do something so outrageous."

Zhao Hao looked at him in disbelief: "You still won't admit it?"

Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm: "My drinking etiquette is well-known in Bianjing. Everyone says that my words are the best in the literary world, and that I am gentle and refined. Even when I am drunk, I would never be unruly or lose my composure. Father must have wronged me."

Zhao Hao opened his mouth, his face ashen, pointed to the front yard, and then pointed at him.

Just then, Li Yizhong walked into the Yin'an Hall to report on the repairs to the front courtyard. Zhao Hao pointed at him and said, "Li Yizhong, tell this unfilial son what he did last night!"

Li Yizhong said with a wry smile, "The young master got drunk last night and was brought back by Chen Shou. He woke up as soon as he entered the gate, and then... he went on a drunken rampage, not only gouging out the eyes of the auspicious beasts carved on the screen wall, but also wreaking havoc on all the flowers, plants, and trees in the front courtyard..."

"The servants of the Prince's mansion all came to dissuade the young master, but he beat them all away. Most of the servants were beaten by him. The young master was invincible and slaughtered everyone in his path. Even the guard dog of the Prince's mansion that accidentally passed by was kicked by the young master..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened in shock, then he tightly shut his mouth, his face gradually turning ashen.

Li Yizhong continued, "Later, the entire Prince's mansion was awakened by the young master's outburst. The Prince, furious, came to stop him, and the young master, without saying a word, swept his leg at the Prince..." "Wait!" Zhao Xiaoqian stopped him in time, looking shocked. "I can accept anything else you say, but I swept my leg at Father, that... doesn't make sense, does it? Father's physique, how could I possibly take him down with just a sweeping leg? Li Yizhong, you're exaggerating."

Li Yizhong sighed, "No exaggeration, the young master did indeed use a sweeping leg kick on the prince. Fortunately, the prince's lower body was as solid as a rock and didn't budge an inch. The young master couldn't move him, so his reputation for being unfilial wasn't confirmed. It's truly a cause for celebration..."

Zhao Xiaoqian instinctively cupped his hands towards Zhao Hao: "Father, congratulations."

Zhao Hao roared in fury: "I'll share your mother's ￥%#@@#%..."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, rubbing his head which was throbbing with pain, and turned to walk out of the hall, muttering to himself, "What did my guard dog do to deserve this? It got kicked by me for no reason. I'll go apologize to it..."

Zhao Hao watched him walk out of Yin'an Hall, and pointed at his back in a rage, saying to Li Yizhong, "Look at this! Look at this! This unfilial son is going to cause trouble! He committed such a terrible crime last night, and now he's apologizing to a dog!"

…………

The story of him drunkenly causing a scene at the Prince's mansion eventually got out.

This kind of thing can't be kept secret at all; after all, the whole Prince's mansion knows about it, so it's impossible to keep it a secret.

Within a day, the entire city of Bianjing heard that the Crown Prince of Chu had caused a ruckus at the Prince's mansion while drunk, and that the mansion had been ransacked as if it had been ransacked.

Bianjing City was never short of such news and gossip. After all, the idle people in the city spread the news too quickly. In particular, the common people liked to keep an eye on the families of the powerful and wealthy. What did this family do today? How much did that family lose? The more exciting the gossip about the powerful and wealthy families, the more excited the common people became.

Unfortunately, Zhao Xiaoqian, who has always been seen as a positive figure by the people of Bianjing, has now become the subject of gossip news.

The common people's focus was rather peculiar; they were all inquiring about how much the Prince had drunk that night, who he had drunk with, and who had such an honor as to have made the Prince so out of control. They wondered if even the current emperor would allow the Prince to get drunk.

The gossip spread far and wide, eventually reaching the palace. Even Zhao Xu became curious and couldn't help but ask his attendants who Zhao Zi'an had been drinking with, which had led to his current state of intoxication.

Later, Zheng Chunhe was ordered to bring Zhao Xiaoqian a bowl of hangover soup to show the emperor's concern for his subject. Zhao Xiaoqian drank it in front of Zheng Chunhe with a look of utter despair.

A royal hangover remedy, tsk!
The baby died, but the milk came.

In the afternoon, Zhao Xiaoqian sat listlessly on the stone steps in front of the Prince's Mansion, watching the people coming and going on the Imperial Street.

A five- or six-year-old child was passing by holding a piece of ghee cake when Zhao Xiaoqian spotted him.

"Hey, kid, come here." Zhao Xiaoqian beckoned.

The child, unaware of the filth in people's hearts and the dangers of the world, approached with a bewildered expression.

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly turned hostile, snatched the butter cake from the child's hand, and hissed in a low voice, "Get out!"

The child stared wide-eyed in disbelief, then pouted, burst into tears, and ran away.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a bite of the ghee cake, and his eyes immediately lit up. "Wow! Delicious!"

When we return to the battlefield, let Chen Shou take some of this stuff with him; it will satisfy his cravings and hunger along the way.

Suddenly, a soft chuckle came from beside him, growing louder and louder. Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but turn his head and saw a small head peeking out from beside the stone lion in front of the Prince's Mansion. Li Qingzhao was still looking at him with her mischievous expression, laughing so hard she was doubled over.

The person who started this whole mess, making Zhao Xiaoqian look foolish and whose gossip spread throughout Bianjing, appeared before him. Zhao Xiaoqian rolled his eyes, turned his head away, and didn't want to talk to her.

So what if she's a talented woman? I'm still Zhao Banque.

Li Qingzhao continued to laugh, then approached and stared at the butter cake he had snatched from his hand. She seemed to have triggered something, and her laughter grew even louder.

"A renowned hero of the Song Dynasty, I never expected him to be like this, even stealing children's pastries! This is outrageous!" Li Qingzhao stopped laughing and snorted softly.

Zhao Xiaoqian wasn't embarrassed at all. "I've shed blood and been wounded for the Song Dynasty. What's wrong with taking a child's piece of cake? I've fought wars my whole life, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked in a rather harsh tone.

Li Qingzhao sat down on the stone steps beside him without any regard for formalities and said, "Of course I came to the Prince of Chu's residence to see you."

"What's the matter?"

Li Qingzhao did not answer, but looked him up and down: "Last night... I was not careful. I did not expect you to be so weak, and I have caused you to be talked about by the people of Bianjing today. I am sorry. My father asked me to come and apologize."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at her sideways: "Is this your way of apologizing? What do you mean I'm so weak? I... okay, I admit I can't hold my liquor as well as you, so what? Does having a low alcohol tolerance mean you don't deserve to live?"

Li Qingzhao smiled, her eyebrows and eyes like a rising crescent moon, her beautiful eyes sparkling and pure.

"Of course you deserve to live. At worst, you'll just have to keep your head down at the dinner table in the future. It's no big deal."

"That's so damn humiliating, get out!"

(End of this chapter)