Speaking, he took another pot of wine from his spatial storage, pulled out the cork without a second thought, and poured it onto the ground.
Thus, pot after pot, it wasn't long before the entire garden was filled with the aroma of wine.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying the wine aroma into the nearby bamboo cottage.
Inside the bamboo cottage, the muddled old man had just woken up and was sitting on the bed trying to clear his head, but he suddenly smelled a strong aroma of wine.
First his spirits lifted, then in an instant, he deflated like a punctured balloon.
Without a doubt, with the smell of wine wafting over so early, he wouldn't believe it if someone told him it had nothing to do with that little brat Shen Xiaoyan.
He had expected Chu Jinghao to be the same as yesterday, to lose patience in a while, or to be unable to resist and sneak a sip, and then get drunk and pass out.
But today, as noon approached, the wine aroma remained rich and potent.
The old man was curious and even more puzzled. Did Shen Xiaoyan not leave today just because he didn't come out?
He didn't believe Shen Xiaoyan had the patience to wait with him all day.
Just as a servant arrived to deliver food, the muddled old man casually asked, "Are your Master Zheng and Madam Shen dining in the garden?"
Unexpectedly, the servant shook his head. "Your servant just came from the garden, there was no one there at all. I don't know why there's a wine aroma wafting from the garden."
As the servant's words fell, the muddled old man's face froze. Then he thought of a possibility and shook his head again. Could it be what he was thinking?
Since Shen Xiaoyan wasn't in the garden, he might as well go and see what was going on.
Thinking this, the muddled old man simply stood up and walked out, leaving the servant who had delivered the food staring blankly at his departure.
Was he still going to eat?
Looking at the steaming hot meal on the table, the servant shook his head helplessly and also walked out.
He was just a delivery man; he shouldn't overthink other matters.
The old man walked quickly to the garden and felt as if he was completely enveloped by the wine aroma, as if in an instant, he had left the garden and entered a pool of wine.
But when he opened his eyes and looked around, he was still in the garden, with the colorful flowers around him reminding him that his thoughts were just fantasies.
But where did this wine aroma come from?
The old man looked around, sniffing continuously, and finally found the source at the base of the flowers.
Seeing the wet patch on the ground, and then leaning closer to smell it, a wave of wine aroma hit him. The muddled old man's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Shen Xiaoyan, you little devil."
The old man gritted his teeth and shouted.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Shen Xiaoyan retort, "Master, what's wrong with me?"
The old man's body stiffened. He hadn't expected Shen Xiaoyan to be here.
Turning around, he saw Shen Xiaoyan standing side-by-side with Zheng Wei, looking at him with a composed expression.
The old man suppressed the hint of guilt in his heart and said with his neck stiffened, "What's wrong with me? How can you still ask? Is this how you waste wine? You actually use it to water flowers, you're making me so angry."
The old man was so angry he was scratching his ears and cheeks, but Shen Xiaoyan was still leisurely.
"Master, as you can see, my tolerance for alcohol is just one cup and I'm drunk. With my tolerance, it's better not to drink at all. Otherwise, day after day, I won't have to do anything but lie in bed and sleep soundly."
The old man agreed with Shen Xiaoyan's words. His little disciple's alcohol tolerance indeed needed improvement.
"Even if you can't drink it, you can give it to others."
Shen Xiaoyan shrugged helplessly. "Yi Zhi Xie and Lu Tao Bao are still not awake. Yesterday, Na Mu Zhong said that if Yi Zhi Xie ever gets so drunk again, she'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs. As for Bai Ying, she said if Lu Tao Bao dares to drink again, she'll leave with Teng Yuan Zi Fei."
Shen Xiaoyan's words rendered the muddled old man speechless.
None of these people could drink anymore. Although Si Ma Han remained, he was always self-disciplined, and usually only had a sip or two.
In this case, Shen Xiaoyan's words were actually quite reasonable.
It would be a waste to just let the wine sit there, so why not water the flowers...
Pah! Pah! Pah!
How could he think like that?
He looked at Shen Xiaoyan indignantly, the muddled old man surprised in his heart.
His little disciple was very eloquent. She had even managed to mislead him, an old hand.
"Isn't there still your master? Your master is addicted to alcohol. As a landowner, how can you not cater to your master's preferences? Don't you think so?" the muddled old man said pleadingly.
Shen Xiaoyan nodded seriously after hearing this. "Master is right. But as I said before, as long as Master is willing to answer a few questions for me, I will naturally hand over the wine with both hands."
After talking for so long, the topic had returned to the beginning.
The old man felt a little defeated. Was he really getting old?
He couldn't even handle a little girl.
While shaking his head and sighing, the muddled old man suddenly said to Zheng Wei, "Zheng Wei, your wife is young and ignorant. Can't you persuade her? She doesn't understand respecting her master, do you not understand either?"
Zheng Wei nodded seriously. "Yes, I don't understand either. After all, I wasn't taught by parents or guided by a master."
Zheng Wei said this with a smile, but the muddled old man saw a fleeting cold glint in his eyes.
With a long sigh, the muddled old man left with his hands behind his back.
Was his persistence wrong?
Perhaps he should tell them?
His conviction wavered slightly, but the muddled old man held firm again.
He couldn't tell them; they were too weak right now.
Even if they knew, they couldn't help or change anything. It was better for them to know nothing now and be at ease.
Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan watched the muddled old man leave. Looking at his slightly desolate figure, their hearts suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
"Ah Wei, do you think I did something wrong?"
Shen Xiaoyan's voice was muffled. Forcing an old man like this was indeed a bit too much.
The muddled old man, walking ahead, heard Shen Xiaoyan's words. He didn't expect that his momentary dejection would immediately make Shen Xiaoyan feel that she had made a mistake.
If he had known that he could change Shen Xiaoyan's mind so easily, why would he have suffered so much in the past two years?
Thinking this, the muddled old man closed his eyes and fell straight backward.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei were both startled by this situation.
They both rushed towards the muddled old man at the same time. In the end, it was Zheng Wei who caught the muddled old man and carefully placed him on the ground.
Shen Xiaoyan looked at the muddled old man's tightly closed eyes, and said with some panic, "What's wrong? Is he angry because of me? Anger overwhelming him?"
Shen Xiaoyan was truly remorseful now. She had always thought that the muddled old man, being hundreds of years old, wouldn't be easily hurt.