This showdown between the two wine workshops had drawn such a massive crowd that the streets were packed with onlookers. The leading ranks on both sides included many respected senior scholars, and the specially invited wine judges were all distinguished, authoritative figures whose words carried tremendous weight.
Compared to Cup of Immortals, the rising new star that was gaining momentum rapidly, Dukang Pavilion had stood in the capital for over half a century. This established old wine workshop, backed by the powerful Du family, had every reason to be confident.
So when they saw that the entourage from Cup of Immortals had not yet all arrived, several people from Dukang Pavilion looked displeased. A goateed man stood up abruptly, flicking his sleeves to launch a rebuke: "You've kept so many people waiting, you —"
Before he could finish his sentence, a cheerful voice echoed from afar, growing closer by the second: "We're here, we're here! Everyone, thank you for waiting!"
All eyes turned to the source of the sound. There stood Pei Qianhuo, his face plastered with a respectful, obsequious smile, leading the way. Right behind him, a group of tall, sturdy men formed a tight, vigilant circle, guarding the figure at the very center.
Seeing such an exaggerated display of pomp, the goateed man scoffed: "What a cheap stunt to grab attention!"
Pei Qianhuo continued to lead the way with his fawning demeanor. As he passed right by the goateed man, he tucked his hips in before suddenly thrusting them outward, shoving the man a good distance away.
The goateed man clutched his backside, staring daggers at Pei Qianhuo, utterly incredulous that he had just been knocked over: "You!"
Pei Qianhuo glanced at him dismissively. "A distinguished guest has arrived. All irrelevant folks, get out of the way."
With that, he kept leading the path, bringing Yun Yaoyao and Tu Shanjin to the specially arranged VIP seat right at the center of Cup of Immortals' section. He had thoughtfully set up three sides of screens to block the view, and the surrounding Dragon Shadow Guards formed an impenetrable wall around the area.
Such grand, ostentatious arrangements immediately drew the ire of everyone from Dukang Pavilion.
The goateed man spoke in a mocking, taunting tone: "Shopkeeper Pei, who exactly is this honored guest you've invited, that you dare not let anyone see their true face? Do you think all of us here are not worthy enough to even lay eyes on them?"
These deliberately provocative words did not draw open complaints from the crowd, but they planted a seed of resentment in everyone's hearts. Everyone seated here came from wealthy, prominent families or noble lineages. Just how lofty could this person be, to put on such a haughty entrance?
Pei Qianhuo badly wanted to retort that this guest was indeed so noble they could have every single one of their entire nine clans executed.
Of course, he could never say that out loud — this guest had left the palace in secret. Just as he was racking his brains to come up with a reasonable explanation, a voice drifted out from behind the screens.
"Your words are mistaken. Everyone here is a person of virtue, talent, and sound judgment. None of you would ever hold prejudice just because of the way someone chooses to arrive. It is you who is being narrow-minded."
This response completely defied all common expectations. The speaker praised every other person present, but labeled the goateed man narrow-minded. Burning with shame and fury, the goateed man tried to argue back, only to be stopped by the people beside him.
Gao Dexiang shook his head slightly, his face showing clear wariness as he stared in the direction of the screens.
A figure of such high status, invited so publicly by Shopkeeper Pei — they must be Cup of Immortals' big secret weapon to win this wine showdown. Could it be...
Minister Lin?!
If their opponent was him, his own chances of winning would plummet from ninety percent to less than ten percent! Gao Dexiang's heart lurched into his throat as he hurriedly probed: "Is the honorable gentleman Minister Lin?"
From behind the screens, Yun Yaoyao, who had already taken a voice-altering pill, chuckled faintly. "Not quite. I'm just an ordinary, unassuming bystander here to watch the fun."
Hearing that the person had no intention of participating in the wine showdown, Gao Dexiang breathed a sigh of relief. Unable to place who the mysterious guest could be, he simply pushed the thought aside and focused fully on the upcoming competition.
Gao Dexiang's eldest son, Gao Chongguang, had come along too. He had not given up on convincing his father to defect to the Emperor's side, and he stayed right by Gao Dexiang's ear, chattering nonstop.
"Dad, why are you wasting words on him? It's obvious he's just bluffing!"
"Speaking of that Lin Qingti, I get so mad — he only got his position as Minister by cozying up to the Emperor! Dad, you're being so foolish, tying yourself entirely to the Du family when you could be currying favor with the Emperor, who is a far greater force to rely on..."
"Watch your tongue! Shut your mouth!" Gao Dexiang glared at his useless son in a silent warning.
Gao Chongguang pouted, holding his tongue for the moment, already waiting for the next chance to persuade his muddleheaded father.
As they bickered, the official start of the two workshops' wine showdown was announced.
This competition was divided into three rounds. The first round focused on wine-related cultural pursuits, covering wine vessels, wine customs, wine etiquette, and more — all the rituals and elegant formalities that came before drinking, the part that was all about showing off refinement and class.
Or, in plain terms — posturing.
Both wine workshops brought out their treasured collections of wine vessels, including zun pots, hu pitchers, jue goblets, horn cups, gong drinking vessels, gu cups, yi ritual vessels, you wine containers, lei jars, bu urns, cups, zhi wine vessels, fou pottery containers, dou sacrificial vessels, jia wine warmers, he wine pouring vessels and many more, and began introducing each one.
Dukang Pavilion carried itself with total confidence, for every single one of their wine vessels was worth thousands of gold pieces. After finishing their introductions, they stood to the side with complete composure, smirking coldly as they waited to see how Cup of Immortals would struggle to keep up.
To their complete surprise, Pei Qianhuo had the tongue of a silver-tongued storyteller. He wove a full, dramatic "past and present life" tale for every single wine vessel — some were said to be incarnations of wine immortals' mounts, others were the stars of literary contests from the heavenly court who had descended to the mortal world to experience tribulation. He even worked in the great legendary war between the Wu and Li (Witch and Monster) races!
The twisty, bizarre storylines, paired with grand, awe-inspiring cosmic backdrops, made the wine judges gape in awe, letting out a string of impressed exclamations.
After listening to Dukang Pavilion's introductions, the judges had thought their wine vessels were truly rare, masterly treasures. But after hearing Pei Qianhuo's tales from Cup of Immortals, those precious treasures suddenly felt rather lackluster by comparison.
After all, Cup of Immortals' vessels were no ordinary objects — they were divine artifacts that had absorbed the primordial purple qi during the great Witch-Monster war, survived the battles of the three great ancient races, dwelled within the Universe Vessel, and finally attained enlightenment to ascend to immortality!
"Utter nonsense! Fabrications! This is nothing but alarmist drivel!" The goateed man panicked as he saw the wine judges shifting their favor, to the point he was using wildly inappropriate words.
Pei Qianhuo immediately shot back: "Don't go making false accusations without proof. What evidence do you have that I'm making this all up? These tales are recorded in historical annals — for that matter, I could just as easily say your Dukang Pavilion's wine vessels are all fakes!"
And Pei Qianhuo actually pulled out a thick stack of old historical records to back his words.
Seeing that the two sides were about to start bickering endlessly, the wine judges conferred briefly before slamming their hands on the table to make their ruling: "For the wine vessel contest, Cup of Immortals wins!"
The first segment of the first round, the wine vessel competition, was over. The subsequent contests on wine etiquette and wine customs grew increasingly tense, with clear sparks of rivalry flying between the two sides.
Wine etiquette followed a strict sequence: first paying respects, then offering a libation to the gods, then sipping a small amount to taste the wine, and finally draining the cup completely — every step had its own precise rules and formalities.
As for wine customs, there were just as many established traditions. A gentleman drinking wine would raise his first cup to show respect, the second to demonstrate grace, and the third to know his proper bounds. After three cups, one could set aside the constraints of etiquette and drink freely.
Both wine workshops gave it their all to put on the best possible performance. In the end, Cup of Immortals, on top of strictly following all proper etiquette and customs, added a dazzling array of extra, eye-catching flourishes that once again left the wine judges gasping in amazement. They took the entire first round.
Behind the screens, Yun Yaoyao watched the whole scene in utter awe. "The old folks really knew how to put on a show back in the day!"
"And Pei Qianhuo too — he'd be wasting his talent if he didn't become a storyteller writing popular novels!"
Tu Shanjin looked at her in slight confusion, asking softly: "Old folks? Did something happen in the Underworld that I don't know about?"
Yun Yaoyao froze for a split second, then smiled sweetly at him. "Guess~"
The second round was a contest of wine quality — judging the color, smelling the aroma, and tasting the flavor of the wines themselves.
Each of the two workshops brought out three of their signature wines, poured them into the wine vessels, and passed them one by one to the wine judges. The judges would evaluate and score each wine on the spot, and the side with the highest total score would win this round.
To ensure complete fairness, the judges' line of sight was blocked by screens in advance, so they had no way of knowing which workshop any given glass of wine came from as they tasted them.
The first round of the wine-tasting duel ended in a crushing defeat for Dukang Pavilion. As the leader of their side for this contest, Gao Dexiang's heart was hanging high in his throat once more. The second round simply could not be lost!
To cover all bases, Gao Dexiang called one of his men over and whispered a set of secret instructions to him.
The signature brews from both wine workshops were carried out, and the moment the seals were broken, a rich, mellow scent of wine wafted through the air, so intoxicating that every person in the crowd sniffed the air in utter delight.
A group of young attendants poured the wine one vat at a time, then carried each serving over to the judges. When they reached the second wine, Pei Qianhuo narrowed his eyes sharply and called out, "Hold on!"
He strode over, grabbed the wrist of the attendant carrying the tray, and slipped his hand under the tray. A thick stack of banknotes scattered across the ground.
"Unbelievable! Dukang Pavilion tried to bribe the wine judges! Goodness me, my old ancestors, my jacket, my coat—oh my good gracious heavens! Everyone come over and see this unfair trick for yourselves!"
The attendant waved his hands in a frantic panic, stammering, "It's not what you think, I didn't do this! These are the betrothal gifts for my wife-to-be, I just carry them with me so I don't lose them!"
Pei Qianhuo let out a cold snort. "Thousands of taels worth of banknotes? Are you marrying a woman plated in solid gold? No one would believe that ridiculous lie of yours!"
Right after that, Pei Qianhuo started wailing loudly, making sure the whole crowd was drawn to the commotion.
The attendant, realizing his scheme had been fully exposed, suddenly went wild and flipped over the other trays. To everyone's shock, he found something hidden under those too!
"Oh, so your Cup Immortal Workshop is trying to bribe the judges too!" he then collapsed to the ground wailing, "My old ancestors up in heaven, how can there be such shameless people? Please show your power and drag them away with you right now!"
Now it was Pei Qianhuo's turn to break out in a cold sweat.
"What proof do you have that this is from our Cup Immortal Workshop?"
"And what proof do you have that it's from Dukang Pavilion?"
"You damned @#××...!"
"Go to hell ××!"
The two wine workshops immediately started a screaming match, slandering the other side with every nasty insult they could think of. The whole chaotic scene was so entertaining that even Gao Chongguang, the famous big-mouthed ranter, felt the urge to jump in and join the fray.
In the end, it took the wine judges themselves to step in and pull the two sides apart. They replaced all the young attendants serving the wine, and to make the contest fair, they picked random people from the onlooking crowd to be the new servers.
But even that didn't satisfy the two workshops. They kept shouting that no one could guarantee these new random people weren't secretly arranged by the opposite side ahead of time.
The judges were at their wits' end, when they spotted a toothless old granny leaning on her cane, watching the whole fuss with a big grin, chattering in a dialect they couldn't understand at all. They handed her a few taels of silver and asked her to serve the wine for them.
"There, does that satisfy everyone? There's no way she could have been bribed by either of you ahead of time!"
The old granny tucked the silver into her sleeve and grinned even wider, showing off her full set of gums. She shakily carried the wine out from behind the screen, and handed each cup to the wine judges one by one.
Since her hands were not too steady, she kept spilling little bits of wine onto the judges' clothes and hands as she passed the cups around. By the time she finished serving the last round, every judge had several different kinds of wine splattered all over them, giving off a rich, heady aroma.
If someone dumped a little soy sauce and fine salt on them right then, they could probably be marinated fully right there!
The wine judges, faces dark with frustration, went through and scored each wine one by one.
The second round finally came to an end, with Dukang Pavilion winning by a narrow two-point lead.
"What an absolutely wild, exhilarating wine duel!" Yun Yaoyao was having the time of her life watching the whole thing.
The elegant, refined wine duel she had imagined in her head was supposed to be a graceful, tasteful affair: the two sides exchanging polite toasts, famous and refined gentlemen taking their turns to sip and admire the wine, the judges looking on with pleased, contented smiles, a proper elegant, romantic cultural event!
The actual wine duel she got to watch? The two sides screaming insults and brawling, sneaky little underhanded tricks, slipping money under the table to bribe the judges, getting caught red-handed then throwing tantrums and denying everything, then going right back to screaming at each other at the top of their lungs!
Yun Yaoyao downed the cup of tea in her hand in one big gulp, and let out a long, amused sigh.
Seeing that everyone around here is just as unhinged as can be? That makes her feel perfectly at ease!
