Chapter 56

The silver moon hangs in the sky.

The governor's mansion boat drifted on the river outside the Peony Pool, its two-deck cabin hung with colorful lanterns, teeming with dazzling courtesans that drew countless scholars and idlers along the shore to crane their necks and stare.

Yet the interior of the cabin was far from pleasing to the eye.

"Dang dang dang~——"

"My dear~ are you blushing now~…"

"You little vixen, you're asking for a beating…"

Thud thud thud…

Inside the cabin's main hall, young ladies were roughhousing everywhere—some leaping up to play the pipa, others pulling at clothes and lifting skirts, even one who lost a truth-or-dare game and ran upstairs to grope Xie Jinhuan's bird.

These crazy girls…

Only Seeing Mo Mo is well-behaved…

Xie Jinhuan pressed down on Meiqiu, who was already trying to bite him, sitting beside a tea alcove on the second floor; outside the window lay brilliant lanterns and the full moon, while beside him sat two stunning beauties—opposite in demeanor but equally breathtaking in beauty.

Linghu Qingmo was long accustomed to this scene; she sat properly now, holding a white crane fan to shield her collar, lest Xie Jinhuan catch a glimpse of her cleavage from the side.

Princess Changning sat in the center, her gaze blazing with challenge toward the opposite side of the table:

"Wang He, you've beaten me three times in a row. If you can still stand and walk out of this boat tonight, I swear I'll quit drinking forever and retire from the wine world."

Across the table sat three young ladies from prominent clans; the one in the center was Wang He, a famed scholar of the Chongwen Academy and the undisputed gambling champion of Danyang, hailed as one of the Imperial Academy's "Peerless Duo," the other being the Medical Academy's "Poisonous Hand Medic Lady."

As for the Military Academy—the temple of engineers and martial students—the flower of the academy was a sissy, not worth mentioning.

Wang He, blessed with a plump, prosperous figure, had ample breasts and carried herself like a matriarch; now seated in the center, she showed not the slightest fear:

"At the wine table, there are no ranks. Outside, I'd address you as Princess, but here, you're forever my defeated opponent. Why bring a handsome young master to a woman's drinking game? Trying to distract me with a beauty ploy?"

?

Xie Jinhuan felt he'd wandered into a spider demon's lair, but for the sake of the Martial Dao Divine Scripture, he endured it, bowing respectfully:

"I am Xie Jinhuan. Pleased to meet you three ladies."

"Oh~"

Upon hearing his self-introduction, the three girls froze, then burst into chatter:

"You're the young master who's been slaying demons everywhere these past days? My apologies, my apologies…"

"Li Lao said your calligraphy is exceptional—vein-like strokes, bone-like structure, truly masterful. You even wrote a love letter to Linghu Lady yesterday…"

"Then Qingmo should sit right in front of the young master…"

…

Linghu Qingmo, raised in the Daoist sect, could no longer bear it; she raised her hand to interrupt:

"If you keep this up, you'll scare him off. It's getting late. Let's begin."

Wang He, perhaps fearing she might frighten away the beauty she had so painstakingly summoned, slightly reined herself in, picked up the dice cup, and placed it at the center of the table:

"How shall we play tonight?"

Princess Changning fanned herself, her eyes brimming with pride:

"Same as always—highest roll wins. Each of us bets, capped at five cups. Re-roll and drink one. Left or right may substitute."

"Fine."

Wang He carried herself like a martial sage, her eyes calm with the poise of a victor; she gestured:

"Princess, you go first."

Princess Changning had long resented Wang He and, eager to reclaim her dignity, wasted no time—she snatched the dice cup and began shaking.

Thud thud thud~

Her right hand moved so fast, the golden peacock breastplate rippled like waves…

Xie Jinhuan sat right beside her, taller, and caught glimpses of the faintly trembling pale, soft flesh and deep valley—but with so many eyes watching, he dared not stare, instead silently invoking a succubus.

Thud thud thud~

Plop~

Soon, the custom dice cup clacked onto the table; Princess Changning covered it with her hand, lifting a sliver to peer inside.

Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo both leaned sideways; even Meiqiu poked her head over the table's edge like a curious pup:

Three, three, five.

A middling roll.

Princess Changning covered the cup again, lifting her chin slightly:

"Your turn."

Wang He said nothing, swept the dice cup across the table, scooped up the dice, tossed them upward, then slammed her palm down:

Thud thud thud~

Boom~

The dice cup spun in a flash, motion fluid as flowing water, not a single die falling out!

Impressive skill…

Xie Jinhuan silently marveled, then subtly extended his hand to Princess Changning's knee, preparing to signal the number as planned last night.

But Linghu Qingmo didn't know her friend had hired a special talent to cheat; seeing Xie Jinhuan dare touch the princess's leg, her eyes turned icy, and she swiftly slapped his hand away—clearly meaning: Are you drunk? I'm right here. Do you think you can grope the princess?

Do you think I want to touch her?

Xie Jinhuan reached again, only to be pinched by Mo Mo; he gritted his teeth and shifted his hand to the side of the landlady's buttocks, brushing three times with four fingers.

Honestly, the texture was plump and springy…

Princess Changning, touched, sat up slightly straighter, her cheeks faintly flushed—but with the enemy before her, she kept her focus on the game.

Seeing Wang He's roll was higher, Princess Changning dared not reveal her dice, lifted her cup, and drained it in one gulp.

"I'll shake again."

Dong dong dong~

Pa—

Dong dong dong~

Pa—

After drinking three cups in a row like this, Princess Changning finally shook out a five-five-four.

Wang He couldn't see Xie Jinhuan's subtle moves, but seeing her former defeated opponent suddenly possess such momentum, as if she knew his points, she naturally realized the problem.

However, Wang He didn't point it out; she picked up her wine cup and drained it in one gulp:

"I'll shake again too."

Hua la la...

Dong—

The dice cup was tossed and fell again.

Xie Jinhuan was originally waiting for the Ghost Wife to report the points, but he never expected to hear a piece of bad news directly in his ear:

"Heh~ You've kicked a steel plate. Figure it out yourself from now on. Three sixes."

?

Xie Jinhuan's heart trembled slightly; he looked across at the fair and plump Miss Wang, his gaze like a candle's light meeting the full moon!

After all, he had tried yesterday, and controlling the dice through a specially made dice cup was harder than climbing to the sky.

But Wang He could shake out exactly a slightly higher number and three sixes consecutively, proving her technique had reached a state of perfection; she could know Princess Changning's points and control her own points.

Under these circumstances, using his X-ray vision would be like throwing an egg against a rock; since they couldn't control the points, they could only keep drinking and shaking again, with the best possible result being a tie.

No wonder she dared to call herself the 'Top Healer of the Chongwen Academy'; this time she had met a true Buddha...

Wang He gave Xie Jinhuan a rather teasing little flirtatious glance, then looked across at Princess Changning:

"I bet five cups. Do you switch or open?"

Seeing Wang He's shocking momentum, Princess Changning also realized the situation was dire; seeing that Xie Jinhuan wasn't touching her anymore, she quietly elbowed him, meaning—You rascal, hurry up and move~

But facing a certain loss, Xie Jinhuan simply couldn't move.

Wang He's move, expressed in jargon, was:

"Young man, kung fu must be practiced with feet firmly on the ground. My move has twenty years of skill; how can you, with just one trick, compete with me?"

But if he lost this drinking game, the Martial Arts Divine Scripture would be lost to him.

Owing Wan Yi a huge sum of nine thousand taels, if he couldn't repay it, he might have to pay with his flesh...

After being poked twice by an elbow, Xie Jinhuan was also secretly pondering a countermeasure; after a short while, he revealed a smile:

"Miss Wang has excellent skill; this humble one is fully convinced and convinced. I will drink this wine on behalf of Her Highness the Princess."

Princess Changning was originally a bit puzzled, but when Wang He opened the dice cup to reveal 'six-six-six', she immediately understood how much she had held back during past spars with Wang He, her eyes filled with disbelief:

"Good for you, Wang He, you actually hid a move! No wonder you always won by just a little!"

Wang He and her companions on both sides clapped hands, showing a bit of pride:

"Now, in the entire Chongming River, only Her Highness the Princess dares to play a few rounds with me. If I win too brutally and scare Her Highness away, wouldn't I be like Mr. Mu, left to spar with myself for amusement?"

Dun dun dun~

After finishing the five cups of wine, seeing the landlady's mental state explode, Xie Jinhuan raised his hand to comfort her slightly, then proposed:

"Shaking dice with open cards removes the fun; how about we change the rules?"

"Oh?"

Wang He wasn't scared at all: "How does Young Master want to play? No martial arts to bully Miss!"

Xie Jinhuan explained patiently:

"Let's play a guessing game. Three people per group; select one to cover their eyes. The opposing side poses a riddle, writing it on paper. Our side's two teammates give hints, but cannot say it directly. The blindfolded person must guess what is written. Guess wrong, drink wine."

Several young ladies clearly hadn't played this game before, and Wang He also became interested:

"Fine."

Princess Changning realized it would be hard to win, but she still trusted Xie Jinhuan's ability; immediately, she pulled a handkerchief from her collar and directly covered Xie Jinhuan's eyes:

"We'll go first; you pose the riddle."

With his eyes bound by the handkerchief carrying a milky scent, Xie Jinhuan was slightly stunned; finding the handkerchief couldn't block all the light, he turned his back to wait.

After Wang He and the others understood the game's mechanics, the three young ladies stood up and huddled together to discuss; they had a maid bring paper, and Wang He wrote two large characters with a flying-dragon style, showing them to Princess Changning and Linghu Qingmo.

Linghu Qingmo was originally just curious, but upon seeing the ghostly thing written on the opposite side, her face instantly turned red, thinking these crazy young ladies were simply excessive.

Princess Changning had the air of a mature sister; seeing the handwriting, she didn't blush either, and seriously reminded:

"Two characters. A woman's intimate..."

"Dudou."

Xie Jinhuan answered instantly!

"Sss..."

All five young ladies were stunned, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

Even the hidden Ghost Wife let out a sound:

"Yo ho? Impressive..."

Wang He picked up the paper to look, somewhat suspiciously asking:

"Young Master Xie, did you use some supernatural technique or spell?"

Princess Changning thought the same.

But Xie Jinhuan's ability to stand in this world didn't rely entirely on the Ghost Wife; this time he truly didn't use any supernatural technique, purely understanding the train of thought of these crazy young ladies!

"Playing this kind of game, cheating makes it meaningless. Miss Wang, have a drink."

Wang He, half-skeptical, lifted her wine cup and drained it in one gulp. Realizing she had met a master, she glanced at Linghu Qingmo and began to increase the difficulty:

"Only one person may give a hint. You two take turns. Miss Linghu, it's your turn."

"Ah?"

Linghu Qingmo realized the situation was dire and said seriously:

"Do not write anything recklessly."

"Hehe~"

Wang He had to drink if she lost; how could she possibly not write recklessly?

After the three whispered together to discuss, they began writing ghostly things on the paper again...

(End of this chapter)