The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 6 Drinking Order

Xiao Yi felt the murderous aura behind him suddenly dissipate, only then realizing that he had just narrowly escaped death.

Before him, Su Fengji paused, his old eyes narrowing as he looked over, a cunning glint in them.

"You... who are you?"

Xiao Yi replied in a calm yet polite voice, "I am a servant of the Shi family."

"A servant? How dare a servant speak to an old man like that?"

Su Fengji's words prompted Yang Bin, who was sitting opposite him, to give Xiao Yi a deep look.

Xiao Yi knew that he had been too conspicuous on his first trip with Shi Hongzhao.

The official's imposing manner was overwhelming, but he remained calm, knowing that Su Fengji, as the prime minister, was being petty by making such a challenge, so he replied slowly and deliberately.

"Su Sikong is probably drunk."

Across from him, Yang Bin's face subtly revealed a hint of mockery.

"Oh!"

Shi Hongzhao finally downed the wine in his cup in one gulp, slammed the golden cup down, and said, "Good wine, strong enough! Minister Su, you really can't drink this much."

Xiao Yi's crisis was temporarily averted, and he took a half-step back.

Wang Zhang hurriedly beckoned to the beautiful concubine serving Su Fengji and said, "Haha, quickly help Su Sikong to a seat and pour him another cup of fine wine, but not too strong."

No wonder he wanted to be transferred out; he must be quite annoyed by seeing these people every day.

Xiao Yi lowered his eyes and poured wine, noticing that the beautiful concubine first glanced at Shi Hongzhao with interest before helping Su Fengji.

Mei-ki also noticed his scrutiny, and as she turned around, she deliberately brushed the colorful ribbon against him.

Xiao Yi remained unmoved, displaying a calmness that suggested he was used to such situations, which surprised the beautiful woman, who deliberately turned and smiled at him...

The party continues.

This time, Xiao Yi also paid attention to Su Fengji while listening.

Every now and then, someone would approach Su Fengji from behind and whisper in his ear to report something. Each time, Su Fengji would glance in his direction.

Xiao Yi remained calm, but his peripheral vision followed the conversation, noticing that some of them walked up to Yan Jinqing and started chatting, their eyes frequently drifting in his direction.

Su Fengji is probably investigating him, and may even be planning to make things difficult for him.

Sure enough, after a while, Su Fengji smiled and waved to him.

"I've noticed you've been listening attentively to the conversation; you seem interested in state affairs?"

Xiao Yi had anticipated this and replied, "Minister Su has misunderstood."

Su Fengji sighed to himself, "The Grand Tutor's mansion is full of hidden talents. Now, let me ask you, what is your opinion on handing over the seal of the Privy Councilor to the border general? If you answer well, I'll give you a prize."

"I am ignorant and unaware of state affairs; you have asked the wrong person."

"Oh? So you don't support the Grand Tutor?"

The room fell silent, and everyone turned to look at each other again.

Shi Hongzhao did not speak up to help, but waited for Xiao Yi's reaction.

If Xiao Yi didn't answer, Shi Hongzhao, being narrow-minded, would surely be displeased; if he did answer, it would be absurd for a mere servant to participate in court affairs, not to mention the criticism he would face, and if he didn't answer well, he might even be killed.

He thought about it and decided to go all out.

"I am afraid I cannot agree with Su Sikong's description of Guo Gong as a 'border general'."

"Oh? What do you mean by this?"

"Ye is located in the heart of the Central Plains, and the Minister of Works regards it as a border. It seems that he does not want to recover Yan and Yun. I dare not speculate whether it is because of fear of the Khitan or other considerations. I only know that the Grand Tutor values ​​the country and the people, and is determined to hold the imperial power of the Han Dynasty, cut off the heads of the barbarians, and recover Yan and Yun. This is the mark of a great man."

"Good!" Yang Bin clapped his hands in praise and said, "No matter what Minister Su thinks, I will grant you a prize."

Xiao Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Grand Tutor."

Su Fengji stroked his sparse beard and sighed, "How could I not want to recover Yan and Yun? Alas... You have such insight, yet you call yourself a servant of the Shi family? If the Grand Tutor is incapable of employing people, how about I hire you to serve under him?"

These words were malicious. Xiao Yi didn't know why the old man was making things difficult for him. Finally, he got angry and said, "No need for you to worry, Minister. If you have any dissatisfaction with the Grand Tutor, you might as well ask the Emperor to make a decision. Why bother consulting a mere servant here?"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding." Su Fengji's eyes flashed, and it was unclear what he was up to. He said, "I was just joking."

"Haha," Wang Zhang said, trying to ease the tension once more, "We're all serving the country..."

Having temporarily escaped this predicament, Xiao Yi knew that passively dealing with the situation was not a solution and that he needed to retaliate.

"General, the wine jug is empty."

This was a signal; Shi Hongzhao knew he was going to arrange for a tribute student to come forward, and he nodded.

Outside the hall, Zhang Mantun brought Feng Sheng over, muttering and cursing, "Damn it, that old bastard is really annoying."

Feng Sheng grew increasingly nervous, saying, "Su Fengji is so cunning, I'm afraid... I'm afraid I can't handle him."

Zhang Mantun kicked him in the butt and cursed, "With the General backing you up, what are you afraid of? Go on, let's play the drinking game."

Despite this, Xiao Yi could sense that Shi Hongzhao was quite suspicious and did not support his servants.

Unfortunately, he has offended Su Fengji today and is now tied to the Shi family's fate, leaving him no choice but to go down this dark path.

--------

The music was melodious, the dancers' colorful sleeves fluttered, and the drinking game had already gone through half a circle.

Today's game is the "throw and hit" game, which involves passing a fragrant ball. The ball is passed when the music starts, and when it stops, the person holding the ball recites a poem.

Shi Hongzhao had always hated this kind of thing, but he only agreed to play around with it because he had devised a plan to expose Su Fengji's manipulation of the imperial examination system.

He sat silently, waiting for Shi Dechong to make his move.

Suddenly, the music and dance stopped, and a fragrant ball landed in his hand. It was gilded and carved, and its fragrance wafted through the air.

Shi Hongzhao was taken aback. He glanced at her and saw a dancer next to Su Fengji, half-drunk, covering her mouth and laughing.

"Hehe, it's Grand Tutor's turn." The scene fell silent, and no one spoke. Only then did the dancer realize something was wrong, and her expression changed slightly.

Xiao Yi immediately looked at Feng Sheng, who was standing behind him, and gestured for him to step forward and compose a poem on behalf of Shi Hongzhao, before challenging Su Fengji.

However, Feng Sheng was pale, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, his fingers tightly gripping the hem of his clothes. He was so nervous that he had completely lost his senses and knew nothing.

Xiao Yi simply took the incense ball from Shi Hongzhao and handed it to Feng Sheng.

"To compose a poem."

As if waking from a dream, Feng Sheng was about to speak when he suddenly saw Shi Hongzhao turn his head to look at him. His throat tightened instantly, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Xiao Yi felt Shi Dechong's anxious gaze and prepared to slap Feng Sheng to wake him up.

Unfortunately, a small incident completely disrupted their plans.

"This humble official will act on behalf of the Grand Tutor."

A figure in a red official robe squeezed next to Shi Hongzhao and smiled obsequiously.

Xiao Yi recognized the man as Yan Jinqing, the Inner Court official, and intended to remind him not to meddle in other people's business. However, before he could speak, Yan Jinqing had already started composing a poem.

"Exchanging a fur coat for a banquet with a unicorn..."

"waste."

Shi Hongzhao couldn't stand the lousy poem, so he suddenly stood up, cursed, and left.

Yan Jinqing was so shocked that he fell silent.

Xiao Yi knew that it was Shi Dechong who had strongly persuaded Shi Hongzhao to expose Su Fengji's fraud in a gentle way. If it failed, it might implicate him.

How to do?
Suddenly, the beautiful woman beside Su Fengji giggled.

"Grand Tutor, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Could it be that you're afraid of this... Lord Yan? Could it be that you're afraid Lord Yan's poem is bad and he'll punish you with a few more cups of wine?"

As she spoke, she pointed at Yan Jinqing and teased him for his comical manner.

Shi Hongzhao stopped, turned to look at the beautiful woman, and asked, "Aren't you afraid of this old man?"

"What's there to be afraid of in a joyous feast? If the Grand Tutor leaves, it will be my fault for passing the incense ball. Well, if all else fails, I'll just write a poem for the Grand Tutor."

"With such talent, why not ask Minister Su to grant you a Jinshi degree?"

"Haha!" Wang Zhang quickly chimed in, laughing, "Alright, let's select a female scholar today."

"Grand Tutor, you're so witty." Meiji chuckled, gracefully stepping forward to pull Shi Hongzhao to a seat, and said coquettishly, "How about giving this female scholar some face?"

Shi Hongzhao finally chuckled and asked, "What's your name?"

Xiao Yi quickly caught Shi Hongzhao's expression and knew that he was going to take advantage of the situation to continue dealing with Su Fengji.

He took the opportunity to slap Feng Sheng and whispered, "Wake up."

Then, he turned and exchanged a glance with Shi Dechong. Shi Dechong understood and prepared to step forward to persuade him to proceed according to plan.

At the same time, Meiji stepped forward and said, "My name is Yan Youniang, and I share the same surname as this Lord Yan. What a coincidence! All the people who accompany the Grand Tutor to drink and compose poetry are surnamed Yan..."

"Shut up!" Wang Zhang suddenly shouted, his face as pale as if he had seen a ghost.

Xiao Yi caught a whiff of fragrance, and then a flash of light appeared before his eyes. He almost thought that the beautiful woman was about to assassinate Shi Hongzhao.

No.

Shi Hongzhao's expression changed instantly, his anger erupting like thunder. He grabbed Yan Youniang's hair and slammed it heavily onto the table.

"Oh!"

Hairpins, floral ornaments, and gold hair ornaments fell from Shi Hongzhao's fingers, and cups and plates shattered.

Blood splattered high into the air, splashing onto Xiao Yi's face.

His gaze fell upon Yan Youniang, whose face was covered in blood and gore, and her eyes filled with astonishment and terror.

"what!"

Screams erupted one after another.

Still not satisfied, Shi Hongzhao grabbed Yan Youniang's neck and twisted it, snapping it with a "crack".

Su Fengji was horrified and immediately covered his head as he ran backward, shouting, "Lord Shi, it's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! I had no intention of instigating this..."

"Su Fengji! Prepare to die!"

Shi Hongzhao drew the sword from the guard behind him.

"Die! Die!"

"It's a misunderstanding, it's really a misunderstanding!"

The scene was chaotic. Su Fengji's attendants and guards hurriedly protected him as he fled, but Shi Hongzhao caught up with them and slashed several people. Limbs flew everywhere and corpses littered the ground.

"Grand Tutor, calm down, calm down!"

"Stop! Brother Huayuan, please stop! Su Fengji is also a prime minister. If you kill him, what will become of the emperor?!"

At the time of the incident, Xiao Yi was standing closest, and he was certain that his judgment was correct. Shi Hongzhao had not been furious a moment before, but he did not know what had happened in that instant.

He looked at Shi Dechong, wanting to ask a question, but found that Shi Dechong's smile was still stiff, but his hands were trembling violently as if he had lost his soul.

Suddenly, Xiao Yi's ankle was grabbed.

She was a royal servant girl of about the same age as him. She had been accidentally stabbed, her chest was ripped open, and her internal organs were spilling out all over the ground. She was still struggling with a strong will to live.

"Save...Save..."

The tightness in my ankle gradually disappeared.

Xiao Yi couldn't save him; he was in the same predicament as Xiao Yi.

(End of this chapter)