Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 855 Extra: He Tan
He Tan stood in the garden listening to his mother's scolding.

Lin Xiangwan was furious at their lack of self-control: "What are you saying? He Chun hasn't even come to offer a toast yet, and you've already gotten him drunk?"

He Tan forced a smile and replied, "I didn't expect that jar of wine to be so strong."

Lin Xiangwan asked in surprise, "How much did you make him drink?"

“One…” He Tan swallowed, “one jar.”

Lin Xiangwan almost hit someone, but Madam Lin stepped forward to stop her: "It may be because of Hechun. It's not the wine that makes people drunk, but the mood. Today, in a moment of joy, he... drank too much."

He Tan looked at Madam Lin gratefully. He had felt particularly wronged for covering for Wang Yan, but now that he heard these words, he felt much better. So he straightened his back and said, "We are all soldiers, so we are naturally different from those people. What's the point of drinking in small sips?"

Lin Xiangwan pointed at He Tan: "Then tell me, what about those banquets in the front yard?"

“So what? Even if Wang Hechun is gone, we can still go and offer toasts,” He Tan said. “At worst, I can just take a few people with me.”

"This is Hechun's wedding banquet. The guests will ask you questions. What will you say?" Lin Xiangwan frowned even more deeply.

“I…I will,” He Tan said, “tell the truth.”

We can't say that Wang Hechun is staying in the house and refusing to come out; that would be incredibly embarrassing.
Lin Xiangwan was about to say something when Madam Lin stopped her, smiling at He Tan: "This time, we'll have to rely on you."

He Tan nodded: "Don't worry, Aunt."

Madam Lin continued, "Auntie remembers your kindness."

Lin Xiangwan watched her son's departing figure and couldn't help but sigh: "It's one thing if he doesn't want to get married, but he actually... ruined a perfectly good banquet like this."

“You’ve wronged him,” Mrs. Lin said, looking towards the bridal chamber. “I know my own son well. If he doesn’t want to get drunk, who can get him drunk?”

In other words, he didn't want to go to the front of the banquet to offer toasts, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

“Don’t worry,” Madam Lin said, pulling Lin Xiangwan back. “Once he retires from his official post, I will help you arrange Tan’er’s marriage.”

Lin Xiangwan's eyes lit up.

“Besides the two of us,” Madam Lin said, “we can also ask Ayan to keep an eye out. I don’t believe we can’t find a solution within two years.”

Lin Xiangwan immediately felt much more relaxed, and her previous resentment towards her son dissipated.

Madam Lin said, "Let's go, we still need to go back and take care of the banquet." The women were all waiting to congratulate her, and she hadn't had enough of the celebratory wine yet.

He Tan led his men to toast each table in place of Wang Yan. He had already "made a mistake" first, so he couldn't fake drinking. By the end, even though he tried his best to control himself, he was already staggering.

Fortunately, we managed to handle it.

As dusk fell, He Tan was busy seeing off his colleagues. Riding on horseback, the wind amplified the smell of alcohol, making him drowsy.

The sound of horses' hooves approached. He Tan barely opened his eyes and vaguely saw a shadow approaching from afar. He instinctively dodged, and then... he seemed to smell the fragrance of wild roses, and then he could remember nothing more.

When He Tan woke up again, he was already lying in bed. He was feeling thirsty and wanted to get up, but as soon as he moved, he felt a pain.

"Young master," the servant hurriedly stepped forward to help He Tan up, "please take it easy, you are still injured."

"What's wrong with me?" He Tan asked, frowning. He had been injured when he was suppressing the rebels, but he had almost recovered. Why was he in so much pain?
"Don't you remember?" the servant said. "Last night, you fell off your horse."

He Tan stared blankly at the servant, and subconsciously said, "Impossible."

He started riding horses at the age of eight. His riding skills are second to none, if not unmatched. How could something like falling off a horse happen to him?

“It’s true,” the servant said. “You were drunk. After seeing off the generals, you turned around and left on your own. We didn’t follow you…”

"Then how did you know all this?" He Tan said, "Maybe I dismounted myself and then collapsed on the ground drunk..." He could accept that more.

The servant pursed his lips: "When we found you, you were saved by Zhang Erniangzi. That's what Zhang Erniangzi told us." He Tan's mind went blank, and naturally he didn't know which one was Zhang Erniangzi.

“She is the second daughter of Scholar Zhang,” the servant said. “This second daughter used to live with the old lady of the Zhang family in the old house on Guangnan East Road. She only came to the capital this year.”

"That Zhang Erniangzi is an excellent horsewoman, knows martial arts, and can also diagnose illnesses by taking pulses."

Hearing this, He Tan interrupted the servant: "You went to secretly gather information?"

The servant hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Speak," He Tan shouted.

The servant could only say, "You...you vomited all over Zhang Erniangzi."

He Tan stood there, his expression frozen.

"Then... I was scolded by Zhang Erniangzi's maid. That's what the maid said. Luckily, Zhang Erniangzi was a good rider. When she saw you falling off the horse, she immediately jumped off to save you. Otherwise, you might have fallen even more badly."

He Tan and the servant locked eyes.

"and then?"

The servant said, "Then you vomited... Zhang Erniangzi didn't mind at all, she even took your pulse and said that you were very weak and that you should see the imperial physician and take good care of yourself for a while."

He Tan was stunned for the third time.

He's weak? How did she know? She can even take his pulse? How ridiculous.

He Tan felt utterly humiliated: "Did you explain to her that I drank a lot of alcohol on someone else's behalf?"

The servant shook his head: "No...no...but Madam Zhang should know that with your strong smell of alcohol, her dress and cloak are no longer acceptable."

It took He Tan a while to calm down: "Then, have you inquired about where the Zhang residence is? We still need to go and pay some compensation."

The servant said, "I've found out where it is, but the money hasn't been sent yet."

“Go and tell my mother,” He Tan said, “and ask her to help make some arrangements.”

"I'm afraid that won't work," the servant said. "Madam has gone to the Wang family's estate in the suburbs of Beijing."

He Tan hadn't heard that his mother was leaving the city: "When did she leave?"

The servant reported, "Just now, about half an hour ago, when the lady left, she said, 'You should handle what you've done yourself, so as not to become a laughing stock.'"

“She doesn’t care about saving face, but you have a good reputation…”

He Tan naturally cared about his reputation; if word got out about his fall from his horse and vomiting, it would damage his standing in the army…

Well, at least I didn't hold onto them.

Lying back down on the bed, He Tan waved his hand and said, "You can go now. Let me think about it carefully."

After lying there for a long time, he smelled the scent of wild roses again. He sniffed and looked around, finally finding a piece of silk on the bed. He carefully picked it up and examined it. It was a light pink color, fragrant, and looked like a piece of clothing, the kind that women wear.

He Tan's mind went blank for a moment, as if a thunderbolt had suddenly exploded.

Now, he really has to go and apologize in person.

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　　(End of this chapter)