He chatted with Old Sun until dusk, but Yuan Tiangang did not return.
Old Sun said that this guy had accidentally blown up the outhouse in the courtyard a while ago. He was probably out witnessing a miracle.
Returning to the backyard, Li Baoju had already prepared dinner. It was already May, and the evenings in Shenyang were exceptionally cool, so they set up a table directly in the courtyard. Lobster, crab, and various types of fish sashimi from the Bohai Sea, as well as a freshly slaughtered fat lamb from the sheep farm, filled the large table. Chai Shao, who had gone out to patrol his territory, was also called back and sat on Li Shimin's left and right sides.
After a few rounds of drinking, Li Shimin suddenly shook his head and said, "Boring! Truly boring!" He then put down his wine cup and looked at Fang Er, "Anzhi, have someone call the daughters from all the dukes' households to come and dance a song to liven things up for Us!"
Fang Er was speechless. "Fine! The Emperor is indeed different; he needs someone to dance for him while he drinks a small wine!" He beckoned Bing'er, who was serving nearby, and asked her to convey the imperial decree.
Not long after, Zhangsun Ling'er and her twelve sisters arrived in unison and bowed to Li Shimin as they entered the courtyard. "Your servant greets Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin's gaze swept across the women and Fang Er, and he smiled meaningfully. "Hmm! You are Auxiliary Minister's daughter, aren't you? Not bad, not bad, you've grown even more charming. Fang's, Du's, Zhang's have all grown up too. Good, good, good, good! Us arriving in Shenyang today and drinking with your three uncles was quite boring, so We asked you to come and dance a song to liven things up. Alright, don't just stand there, begin!"
He then seemed to nudge Li Xiaogong beside him with his elbow. Li Xiaogong was startled and immediately understood what he should do. He chuckled and said to Fang Er, "Brother Fang, this old brother wants to eat that self-heating rice. Go get me a box."
Fang Er: "..."
"Damn, all these good wines and dishes on the table, and he wants to eat rice? What kind of hobby is this!"
"Alright, I'll go get it for you!" He reluctantly got up and walked towards the storeroom.
As soon as he left, Li Xiaogong quietly took out a small porcelain bottle from his embrace and deliberately shook it towards Li Shimin. The sound of rattling came from the porcelain bottle. Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction, then pointed towards Fang Er's cup.
Chai Shao watched on, completely bewildered. "What is going on? You're drugging my son-in-law?" He then looked at Li Shimin questioningly and asked, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"
Li Shimin leaned into Chai Shao's ear and whispered a few explanations. The more Chai Shao listened, the wider his eyes grew, and he quickly said to Li Xiaogong, "Old Ninth! Stop! If you add any more, someone will die!"
"Damn it, I don't know if this guy is fumbling or doing it on purpose, but in this short time, he's already thrown five or six pills into Fang Er's cup."
"Are you sure these few pills are enough?" Li Xiaogong looked at Chai Shao with feigned ignorance. Chai Shao, in response, glared at him resentfully, "If you're not afraid that Auxiliary Minister and the others will beat you to death before they beat that kid to death, then keep adding them!"
These two scoundrels, showing no awareness of their roles as ruler and minister, were actually plotting such a wicked scheme against his son-in-law. It was too despicable!
"If you have the guts, come at me! What kind of ability is it to bully a junior!"
Li Xiaogong was startled by this, and his hand trembled, causing a few more blue pills to slip into the cup. "Pills! Finished!"
Looking at the frothing wine in the cup, he was stunned. If Fang Er drank this wine and caused any serious harm to the daughters of their old brothers, he shuddered at the thought! He glanced in the direction Fang Er had left, and after confirming he hadn't returned yet, he quickly poured the wine from the cup onto the ground and gave Li Shimin a sheepish smile. He then poured himself another cup of wine and carefully dropped three blue pills into it. "Just three pills, it shouldn't cause any major issues."
After doing this, he smiled apologetically at Chai Shao, "Old Brother Chai, is this okay now?" Although he had taken it himself, it was only one pill at a time. He didn't have the courage to try more than two. After all, Chai Shao's incident of being holed up in a brothel for three days after taking the drug had already spread among their old brothers.
These small pills were produced by the system, with extremely strong dispersion and solubility, dissolving instantly upon contact with water. In the dim light, it was almost impossible to detect any abnormality in the wine.
Zhangsun Ling'er had set up the guqin nearby, and her slender fingers suddenly plucked the strings, filling the courtyard with melodious music. Fang Fengzhu and Zhang Yuanshuang moved to the rhythm, dressed in pure white nurse uniforms, appearing exceptionally alluring under the moonlight and lamplight.
When Fang Er returned with the self-heating rice, he was stunned by the scene in the courtyard. It was the first time he had seen them dance. Indeed, the modern nurse attire combined with ancient-style dancing had a unique charm.
Seeing him staring blankly at the women, Li Xiaogong impatiently urged him, "Brother, why did it take so long to get a box of rice? You're dawdling. Come over and forfeit three cups!"
Fang Er returned to the table and handed him the rice, "You really like this stuff, don't you!"
"Hahahaha, people need to eat grains and rice. If I don't eat for a day, I feel uncomfortable!" Li Xiaogong took the rice but did not open the box. Instead, he picked up his wine cup and beckoned Fang Er, "Come quickly, you weren't here just now, we all had several cups. You need to catch up!"
He looked at Li Shimin and Li Ji, both of whom were smiling at him. As for his father-in-law Chai Shao, his expression was like he was constipated, as if he had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile, Chai Lingwu was staring intently at Fang Fengzhu and the others dancing, completely ignoring him.
"Alright~ Since it's just three cups, I'll drink them." Fang Er picked up his wine cup and smiled at Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, three cups, right?"
Li Shimin nodded in affirmation, "Three cups. After you finish drinking, We will drink with them and won't bother you anymore."
"Hehe, this kid can't handle alcohol, thank Your Majesty for your consideration." With that, Fang Er drained the wine in his cup.
However, as soon as the wine touched his lips, he felt something was not quite right. This was definitely not the taste of the original Men Da Lü.
*Pfft~~~* He instinctively spat the liquid onto the ground and wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, asking in confusion, "Why does this wine taste so strange?"
Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, and Li Jing were instantly stunned, looking at each other. "This is not what we expected!" Only Chai Shao, sitting opposite Fang Er, had his shoulders shaking, trying hard to suppress his laughter.
"Hahahaha, if it's about cunning, my son-in-law is second to none!"