The Dark Moonlight returns to the capital, and the mad prince is accused of forcing love.

The firelight reflected off Lin Zuoqing's sharply defined profile.

Those deep black eyes stared at the leaping flames, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Lin Zhiwei's face fell, and she said, "Qin Miaoyun, your question doesn't count at all. General Chu didn't even pass the flower to me just now."

She didn't give anyone else a chance to speak, and leaned towards Lin Zuoqing.

"Minister Zuo, General Chu has broken the rules. He should be the one punished, not you!"

Xu Qianhui lowered her eyelids, picked up the rice wine in front of her, and took a small sip.

She knew that Lin Zhiwei's feigned innocent tone concealed an underlying panic.

Having been rescued by Lin Zuoqing when she fell into the water last time, and now being the center of attention again, Lin Zhiwei instinctively avoided the answer.

She was afraid that Lin Zuoqing would hesitate, and even more afraid that he wouldn't be able to give that obvious answer.

Lin Zuo'an, who was sitting next to Qin Miaoyun, was focused on peeling pine nuts for her. Hearing this, he was very puzzled.

"Miaoyun asked, 'What's the difference between this and letting the floodwaters flow? Of course, brother will save Miss Lin.'"

In his view, Lin Zhiwei and Lin Zuoqing were already engaged and their relationship was very deep, so there was no doubt about this issue.

"Zuo An is right," Qin Miaoyun said. "Such a simple question, wouldn't it be easy for the young master to say it himself?"

The night wind swept across the grassland, causing the campfire to sway from side to side.

Lin Zuoqing's eyelashes drooped, his gaze fixed on the red silk flower ball on the low table, and he did not look at Lin Zhiwei's expectant eyes.

"Zhiwei felt it was unfair, so she stopped playing this game."

He didn't answer the question, not even offering a perfunctory reply.

Lin Zhiwei bit her lower lip, clenched the handkerchief in her hand, and glanced back and forth between Lin Zuoqing and Xu Qianhui.

This ambiguous attitude was enough to make her feel extremely uneasy.

Lin Zuoqing turned to Qingshu, who was waiting nearby, and ordered, "Go and fetch three sets of dice."

Qing Shu acknowledged and withdrew, returning shortly afterward with three black lacquered and gold-painted dice cups and a plate of dice.

"What's the point of just comparing sizes? Let's play Liar's Dice, and it's more fun to drink when you lose."

Lin Zuo'an sat up straight and patted the low table.

Chu Yunci casually grabbed a dice cup and played with it in his hand.

"casual."

These drinking games are for fun, so he naturally wouldn't spoil the mood.

The three men sat in a circle, and the game began again.

Xu Qianhui was quite unfamiliar with this way of playing, so she simply sat quietly beside Chu Yunci.

Qin Miaoyun, who was standing to the side, was almost pressed against Lin Zuoan's arm.

She would lift the dice cup to check each time someone called out a number, her face full of tension.

"You can even call that number? Zuo An, are you trying to fool me again?"

"Hey, stop messing around. This is called 'all's fair in war,' understand?"

The noise here did not affect Lin Zhiwei.

She stared blankly at the wine bowl in front of her, her eyes glancing between Xu Qianhui across from her and Lin Zuoqing.

After several rounds, Chu Yunci's wine bowl was emptied several times.

Xu Qianhui had also almost grasped the rules.

This Liar's Dice game is not only a game of luck, but also a game of lies that involves understanding people's hearts.

The three people have to call out a number based on the number they rolled. If the next person doesn't roll a winning number, then that person drinks. If they do roll a winning number, then the person whose number was rolled drinks.

In these rounds, Lin Zuoqing did not lose once.

"General Chu's luck is probably going to run out tonight."

Lin Zuo'an let out a burp, a smug smile on his face, and his dice-shaking motion became exaggerated and unrestrained.

The dice cup was lifted again.

Chu Yunci lost again in this round.

He's a man who accepts his losses, so he readily poured himself a drink.

"I'll do it."

Xu Qianhui finished his wine bowl before him.

She put the empty bowl back on the table and used a handkerchief to wipe the wine stains from the corners of her lips.

Chu Yunci paused mid-air as he reached for the wine, turned to look at her, and said gently, "It's not much, I can drink."

Xu Qianhui leaned closer to him, covered her lips with her hand, and spoke so softly that only the two of them could hear.

"You just drank quite a bit with His Highness, and you didn't bring anyone with you. Just to be safe, let me do it."

Before the game, no one stipulated that drinking on behalf of others was prohibited, and no one spoke up to stop it.

Chu Yunci smiled slightly: "I noticed that the Duke's mansion didn't provide you with a tent. You can sleep at my place tonight, and I'll rest in the carriage."

Xu Qianhui nodded gently.

The flickering firelight cast the silhouettes of the two figures onto the grass, their sleeves overlapping, almost blending into one another.

Lin Zuoqing lifted his eyelids.

His gaze swept over their heads, which were so close together, and his fingers tightened involuntarily as he held the dice cup.

Chu Yunci was indeed not very good at playing Liar's Dice. Before long, Xu Qianhui had already drunk six bowls.

Despite the small bowl and the easy-to-drink rice wine, she still felt a little dizzy.

Chu Yunci asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Xu Qianhui shook her head: "I'm still okay."

From this game onwards, Chu Yunci seemed to have suddenly figured it out and started winning every game.

Lin Zuoqing lost game after game.

Lin Zhiwei tried to help him avoid drinking, but he drank the wine in one gulp.

"I don't need a woman to stop me."

As he drank bowl after bowl of rice wine, his face grew increasingly cold and somber, looking as if he was unhappy about losing.

Lin Zhiwei couldn't sit still any longer when she saw him drinking like this, as he was completely reckless.

"Zuo Qing, you're injured, don't drink."

She reached out to snatch the empty wine bowl.

Lin Zuoqing raised his arm and stopped her directly.

Lin Zhiwei had no choice but to let him drink.

Everyone says that rice wine has a strong aftereffect, and since they were on the grass, the wind made Xu Qianhui feel a little dizzy, but she still forced herself to stay upright.

It's strange, Chu Yunci was losing all the time at first, but now it's the Lin brothers' turn.

After the two jars of rice wine were empty, they brought out new ones.

By the time they finished all ten jars of wine, Lin Zuoqing and Lin Zuoan could no longer distinguish east from west.

Especially Lin Zuo'an, whose head was slamming down little by little, like a chick pecking at rice.

Qin Miaoyun struggled to support his slumping shoulders and said, "Let's stop here for today. Drinking any more will harm your health."

Lin Zhiwei was also worried about Lin Zuoqing.

For the first time since their falling out, the two sisters have been on the same page.

"Okay, that's all for today."

The campfire had burned out, leaving only a few wisps of smoke.

The crowd dispersed in twos and threes, and the maids and servants stepped forward to help their respective masters.

The cold wind on the grassland at night was biting, making one's head throb.

Xu Qianhui pulled her cloak tighter and followed Chu Yunci to the tent in front of the general's mansion.

Chu Yunci stopped in his tracks.

"Get some rest. If you need anything, just call someone. I'm over by the carriage."

He gave a few instructions and then turned to leave.

Granny Fang quickly emerged from the darkness and helped Xu Qianhui into the tent.

There is warm water on the stove.

Granny Fang mixed half a basin of warm water, wrung out a hot towel, and carefully wiped Xu Qianhui's face.

As the heat rose, Xu Qianhui felt the tension in her mind finally ease.

Qing Shu's voice suddenly rang out from outside the tent.

"Miss Xu, the master said you made Miss Lin angry today, and he wants you to do whatever it takes to appease her."

Did I anger Lin Zhiwei?

In an effort to appease the woman, he disregarded right and wrong and sent people to harass her in the middle of the night.

Xu Qianhui rubbed her throbbing head and immediately replied, "I'm not going."

"Miss Xu, you should go. Master said that as long as you appease Miss Lin, you can stay in the Duke's mansion."

Qing Shu's voice came again, this time with a hint of pleading.

Xu Qianhui had no idea what Lin Zuoqing had done after returning home.

But the anger she had been suppressing surged up completely at this critical moment, fueled by the alcohol.

"Get him out."