Everyone was on board, and the fleet set sail. It had been nearly half a year since Bai Shiqi last saw Zhao Ziheng. Apart from accidentally taking on an iron-faced, impartial official, everything else was peaceful and perfect for a joyful drinking reunion.
However, there was an additional guest on board. As the ship's owner, it was only right to extend some hospitality. Bai Shiqi suggested, "How about inviting your cousin to join us for a drink?"
Zhao Ziheng seemed somewhat apprehensive about this particular cousin. "...Maybe not?"
Zhao Wujiu had always been extremely disciplined and upright. As a child, he was the standout among his peers; as an adult, his contemporaries couldn't hope to catch up. Just sharing a meal table with him could easily give one indigestion, let alone drinking for pleasure—which, in his view, was a waste of time.
Bai Shiqi didn't understand his hesitation. "Does he have some dirt on you?"
Zhao Ziheng: "Does wetting my pants as a kid count?"
Bai Shiqi consoled him, "That's just a physiological phenomenon of a specific period, don't dwell on it. Are you telling me your cousin was wise and brilliant from infancy, never once wetting his pants?"
Zhao Ziheng imagined the stern and upright cousin as a baby, drooling bubbles and soaking his diaper. The tense feeling actually eased a lot. He slung an arm around Bai Shiqi's shoulder, and they went together to invite Zhao Wujiu to their long-awaited reunion drink.
Zhao Wujiu's room was right next to Bai Shiqi's on the top deck of the grain transport ship. Sunlight streamed into the cabin, the river breeze brushed against one's face, and the view was expansive. By later standards, it was a luxury view suite, presidential class. There were only two such suites on the entire ship; the other one was occupied by Bai Shiqi himself.
He sat in a wheelchair, a thin blanket draped over his legs, holding a scroll of a book. Only two guards remained by his side; the rest were nowhere to be seen.
A sudden, uneasy thought struck Bai Shiqi: Had this man sent his subordinates to investigate the cargo hold?
She said warmly, "Cousin, are you prone to seasickness? If you're feeling unwell, I have some medicine to relieve it. I can send some over later."
Cousin? Zhao Wujiu raised an eyebrow: Are we that close?
He replied succinctly, "Unnecessary."
Zhao Ziheng's heartfelt joy at the long-awaited reunion with his brother was instantly dealt a heavy blow. He blurted out in a wounded tone, "...My room doesn't even get any sunlight." And here you are, fussing over Cousin with such concern!
Bai Shiqi adopted a familiar tone. "Cousin needs proper rest and recuperation. Want to swap rooms with him?"
Zhao Ziheng shrank his neck, turned his head away, and fell silent, acting like a sulky child. His face clearly said, "Come and coax me, come and coax me, or our friendship is over!" Bai Shiqi already had a method to handle this. Lowering her voice to soothe him, she said, "Don't make a fuss. Your room is in a discreet location. Tonight, I'll find a couple of pretty maids to give you a shoulder rub, massage your legs, work on your feet, scrub your back... A bright, open room is comfortable, sure, but every move you make would be watched by the ship's crew. Is that what you want?"
A flicker of delight spread across Zhao Ziheng's cheeks. Satisfied, he nodded eagerly—You really are a true brother!
Zhao Wujiu's hand, about to turn the page, paused. Expressionless, he took in every word of their conversation, watching helplessly as Zhao Ziheng was led astray by Bai Shiqi. He cursed inwardly: Fool!
Bai Shiqi had no idea that after just one brief encounter, Zhao Wujiu had already stamped her with the label of "slick and frivolous." She continued her enthusiastic invitation: "It's been ages since I saw Ziheng, and this is my first time meeting you, Cousin. How about we set up some wine and dishes in my room for a good, hearty drink together?"
A wave of discomfort washed over Zhao Wujiu again. Since his severe injury, his mobility was limited, and his activities even more so. His days consisted of nothing but reading. He had no interest in the arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting, nor any other hobbies to pass the time. Seeing others in good health waste their time was particularly detestable to him.
"No time. Not going."
Zhao Ziheng breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, compared to sharing a drinking table with his cousin, he was more afraid of everyone enjoying themselves only for his cousin to suddenly interject with a reprimanding remark. How utterly mortifying that would be—he hardly dared imagine it.
"Then we won't disturb Cousin's rest any further." Bai Shiqi was just going through the motions of politeness, though her inviting expression was sincere enough to easily be mistaken for a genuine offer.
She dragged Zhao Ziheng out of the cabin and chuckled in a lowered voice, "I can see it now. Cousin is a total workaholic. Is he the type who buries himself in official documents year-round, treats the yamen as his home and his home as a hotel, marries a wife as a mere ornament, and considers children as free add-ons?"
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Inviting him for a drink was like sullying his reputation—he looked positively condemnatory.
Shu Changfeng was waiting outside the door, silently mourning for these two. They probably didn't realize that with the level of soundproofing the cabin planks provided, their master had long since heard every word. But at the same time, he felt that this Young Master Bai, the deputy gang leader... seemed to have a point.
Zhao Ziheng: "Cousin isn't married yet."
Bai Shiqi: "So the young ladies in the capital aren't blind after all. Marrying him would be so dull."
Zhao Ziheng stood up for his cousin: "Cousin is a hero of our time. Marrying you would be 'interesting'—spending every day in the inner quarters clawing at other women's faces and fighting over your favor!" Both of them had reputations for being romantically involved, so neither was in a position to criticize the other.
Through the wooden partition, Zhao Wujiu slowly turned the ring on his finger, involuntarily asking himself: So in others' eyes, am I really that dull?
The two entered the adjacent room. Bai Shiqi, who had been keeping her voice down just moments before, no longer needed to speak in a forced whisper. Her voice pierced through the cabin wall, landing directly in Zhao Wujiu's ears: "Being a hero is for outsiders to judge. What does it have to do with a wife and children? If marrying a hero means spending every day craning your neck to serve a man, you might as well marry a bear who revolves around his wife and kids. At least you wouldn't get cervical spondylosis!"
Admiration is also a physical labor.
Zhao Ziheng was successfully convinced by his good brother. "So you're saying, when it comes to pleasing a wife, I'm actually more skilled than Cousin."
Bai Shiqi broke the clay seal and poured wine into their bowls. "I don't know how capable Cousin is, but as for you..." She drawled the words teasingly, "I wouldn't dare comment on other things, but you are most adept at pleasing women!"
Zhao Ziheng downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp, threw the bowl aside, and went to punch her. "Stop talking nonsense! Am I really good for nothing besides pleasing women?"
Bai Shiqi held her wine bowl, dodging while pleading for mercy. "We're brothers, aren't we? Can't I even speak the truth?" A kitchen hand brought up the snacks to go with the wine. She remembered to instruct, "Take a portion of the snacks to the young master in the next room as well." Some people are suited for boisterous, shared laughter over drinks; others are naturally aloof and perhaps prefer to drink alone.
Shu Changfeng requested instructions outside the door: "Master, Young Master Bai has sent over some wine and snacks. Would you care to have some?"
After years of military campaigns, Zhao Wujiu had made the army barracks his home. To prevent alcohol from delaying military affairs, he had long cultivated the habit of abstaining from drink entirely. But perhaps it was the lively, almost theatrical commotion the two youngsters were making in the next room, which made his own quarters feel exceptionally desolate in contrast. Unexpectedly, he replied, "Alright."
Shu Changfeng was secretly astonished but swiftly and deftly took the wine and snacks and brought them in, arranging them on the table. The grain transport ship sailed smoothly. The assorted appetizers on the table were surprisingly excellent in color, aroma, and taste. After pouring wine for his master, he didn't expect the other to gesture and say, "Sit down and have a couple of cups yourself."
Next door, Zhao Ziheng and Bai Shiqi were chatting. "Before I came here, there was a new beauty in Suzhou named Jiang Xiaoxian. She has almond eyes and peach - like cheeks, with a voluptuous figure. Not only is she extremely beautiful, but she is also a master at playing the pipa. I'll take you to listen to her play later. Even the dim sum on her painted pleasure - boat is different from others'."
Zhao Ziheng patted Bai Shiqi on the shoulder. "Good brother! Let's have a drink..." Then he gossiped, "Have you touched her?"
Bai Shiqi, drunk, boasted wildly, "Her skin is as smooth as congealed fat. When you hold her in your arms and touch her, your bones will turn to jelly..."
Zhao Wujiu tightened his grip on the wine cup. "Scoundrels!"
He mentally labeled Bai Shiqi with two tags: "Frivolous and dissolute, a lecher."
"Does Ziheng usually associate with such playboys?"
Shu Changfeng went to the battlefield with Zhao Wujiu at the age of sixteen and didn't return to the imperial capital until he was in his late twenties. His understanding of the Zhao family's younger generation was only based on hearsay. He could only euphemistically excuse Zhao Ziheng. "Young Master Thirteen... usually doesn't like reading or practicing martial arts very much."
— Otherwise, how could he have been chosen to accompany Zhao Wujiu?
Wasn't it because he was proficient in all the pleasures of life and had an unrestrained personality, while Zhao Wujiu, after injuring his leg, who used to be a man of few words, was almost like a clay Buddha in a temple, only lacking a table to sit cross - legged on and cut off from the world.
"Oh." Zhao Wujiu didn't even raise his eyebrows. He had already habitually started formulating a "training manual for his cousin" and was thinking about setting Zhao Ziheng on the right path during this journey.
The long - distance voyage was boring. Zhao Wujiu had a box of military books to relieve his boredom, while Zhao Ziheng and Bai Shiqi used drinking to kill time and got completely drunk.
After getting drunk, Zhao Ziheng insisted on sleeping in the same bed as Bai Shiqi. Uncle Guan, who was waiting outside the cabin, carried him back to his own room.
Bai Shiqi locked the cabin door from the inside, threw himself onto the bed, and soon the top - floor cabin became quiet. Zhao Wujiu, having endured their noisy conversation for most of the day, opened the window to let in some fresh air. It was close to the Mid - Autumn Festival, and there was a bright moon hanging in the sky. He gradually fell asleep.
He dreamed that he was riding a horse into the enemy's formation. His face was splashed with the hot blood of the enemies. The horse neighed and its front hooves stumbled. There was a whistling sound behind him, and he fell forward. Then he woke up, and it was still not dawn outside.
"What time is it?"
"Master, it's almost past the third watch (around 3 - 5 am)."
Zhao Wujiu ordered, "Go and drag Ziheng out of bed to do horse - stance training." After a moment, with a smile on his lips, he thought of a good idea. "That Young Master Bai, the leader of the gang next door, is his good brother. Treat him well too. Don't let down his enthusiasm."
When Zhao Ziheng was dragged out of the quilt by people breaking into his room, he wasn't completely sober from the alcohol yet. He still shouted, "Shiqi, you liar! Where are the beautiful girls you promised to give me a shoulder and back massage?" He still remembered this even when he was drunk.
Shu Changfeng patted his face. "Young Master Thirteen, the master wants you to get up early to exercise."
It was only when he was dragged onto the deck by Shu Changfeng and dressed that he found that although it was still dark, his good brother Bai Shiqi was also sitting on the deck, looking as if he was going through hell, wailing, "Ziheng, is your cousin a devil?!"
Behind Bai Shiqi stood two bodyguards as tall as iron towers, who were Zhao Wujiu's men.
