Chapter 153

Chapter 153: The Wine Was Not Drunk in Vain

It went as expected and yet still took her by surprise.

Tang Mo was drunk again and began to act out. This time he did not weep and wail but played the libertine, demanding that Xin An sit on his lap, asking her to sing, then to dance.

After fussing for a while, he rummaged through a drawer, grabbed a banknote, and stuffed it into Xin An’s hand with a drawling swagger: “You are truly lovely. Come, this young master rewards you.”

Xin An could only roll her eyes. The more she looked at him like this, the more exasperating he seemed.

Fortunately, he quieted after a short spell, then staggered off to wash up, making Xin An suspect for a moment that he was faking his drunkenness.

After a sound sleep, he woke the next morning rubbing his head, muttering: “Why does my head hurt so much?”

Xin An opened her eyes and asked lazily: “Do you still remember how you came back last night?”

Tang Mo answered without thinking: “Of course. I escorted Father back, then came here and talked with you.”

Xin An’s lips curved: “And after you finished talking, what did you do?”

Tang Mo tried to recall, but no matter how he searched his mind, he could not remember what he did after speaking, nor how he ended up in bed. Slowly, his eyes widened. He turned to Xin An and demanded: “What did I do? No, what did you do?”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously: “Did you secretly draw me again?”

Xin An sat up: “Am I that kind of boring person?”

She stretched and said with feigned innocence: “By the way, last night you pulled me to sit on your lap, and then you wanted me to sing and dance. I wonder if that is your deepest desire showing through?”

She tilted her head and teased: “You are quite bold.”

Terror dawned on Tang Mo’s face. He pointed to himself, incredulous: “You mean me?”

He dared to ask this woman to sing and dance for him, and even sit on his lap? [What nerve did I swallow?]

Xin An’s smile turned meaningful, and the look made his heart quail. He hunched his shoulders and swallowed: “I…”

[He had no idea.]

Xin An snorted softly: “When you drink outside, keep a little sense in your head. If you go mad out there and, hugging someone, start touching them all over, or simply kiss them outright, your reputation will be beyond saving.”

Tang Mo nodded emphatically. Seeing that there was still time before they had to leave for the Liao Family, he rose slowly to wash, then called Lai Lai over to speak in private. He asked whether he had ever had drunken fits before.

Lai Lai’s expression turned complicated: “Young Master, you already know?”

A chill crept up Tang Mo’s scalp. “So it really happened?”

“Not just once or twice,” Lai Lai confessed. He explained that when Tang Mo drank outside with others, he never seemed drunk in public. People might even think him a thousand-cup drinker. But then…

“It is always fine one moment, and the next you start. Fortunately, it has always been after you returned home. Outsiders have never seen it.”

He did not add that twice Tang Mo had hugged him while sobbing, crying miserably, or else had tried to tease him. It was not easy being a serving lad.

Tang Mo felt his head prickle. “And you never said anything before?”

Lai Lai looked pained. What could he have said? That the Young Master had hugged him and called him big brother? That he wanted to swear brotherhood with him?

He managed only: “Every morning when Young Master wakes, you remember nothing. What would have been the point?”

Tang Mo put his hands on his hips and sighed up at the ceiling. Lai Lai quickly took out the silver that Liu Chang had given him the previous night and explained what had happened. Tang Mo weighed the pouch, then tossed it back to Lai Lai: “Since it was given to you, keep it.”

“As for the person…” He paused. “I still have to think.”

Delight bloomed on Lai Lai’s face. It was the most generous gift he had received in years. He tucked it into his breast and bowed: “Young Master, I’ll get back to my duties.”

Tang Mo nodded. He had hardly begun to stew over matters when Steward Zhang arrived with two men. Bowing, the steward announced: “The Marquis worries about Second Young Master’s safety and has specially assigned two bodyguards to wait on you.”

The two men saluted in unison: “Greetings, Second Young Master.”

Tang Mo was a little surprised. From their attire, he could tell they were part of the retinue his grandfather had left behind. Such precious assets, and his father was willing to give them to him?

Even so, he worried about their competence. If they had been truly sharp, Tang Rong would never have suffered so badly.

He said evenly: “Rise.”

When they straightened, Tang Mo asked a few simple questions, then turned to Steward Zhang: “Since they are men Grandfather left behind, Father surely has important uses for them. I usually only report for duty at the Northern Garrison Army and occasionally go out for a drink. I hardly need bodyguards for that.”

Steward Zhang replied: “Second Young Master need not trouble himself over the Marquis. After the Heir Apparent’s two close calls, the Marquis is especially concerned for both young masters’ safety. Better safe than sorry. Not only has the Marquis assigned two men to Second Young Master, he has also added two more at the Heir Apparent’s side.”

As for the former bodyguards who had failed to protect Tang Rong, they had already been heavily punished by Tang Gang and would not be returning.

The two before him were named Deng Fang and Cao Gui, men in their late thirties with a touch of arrogance and untamed pride about them. Tang Mo told Lai Lai to arrange quarters for the pair, then went to confer with Xin An.

Xin An, in good spirits, said with a smile: “You see? Last night’s drinking was not in vain.”

Tang Mo, however, found the two somewhat like chicken ribs, more trouble than nourishment. He mainly worried they were planted eyes who might ruin his plans.

Xin An waved it off: “Then don’t take them out. The reason is easy to find. You are going to serve on duty; why would you need bodyguards to tag along?”

She did not believe the Marquisate’s so-called hundred-man trump card, kept during peaceful times, could accomplish much. “That is more than a hundred mouths. They must be drilled and housed, and their monthly stipends run higher than ordinary bodyguards. One man costs roughly fifty taels of silver a year.”

She continued calmly: “When they were in Tang Rong’s hands, he later fretted over how to get rid of them. You cannot dismiss them casually, and keeping them to the end for pension costs even more. Worse, each one acts like a little lord on the strength of being Grandfather’s man.”

“There has been no intake of new blood in that force for years. They slack more with each passing day, and they grow older each year. They are nowhere near as useful as bodyguards hired from outside. Cheap, young, and obedient—those three, they are none of.”

Tang Mo felt a headache coming on. Xin An shifted her tone: “But however you look at it, they are still a force. In a real crisis they can prove extremely useful. That hundred-odd men serve as the Marquisate’s trump card mostly for deterrence. There is a reason to keep them. If these two turn out competent, you can cultivate them a little. If they posture like grand lords, find an excuse and send them back.”

Tang Mo raised a brow and chuckled: “Then we will keep them and see.”

Xin An asked briskly: “Are you packed? Finish your porridge, and we will be off. It would not do to arrive late.”

Thinking that he would almost certainly have to keep drinking today, his head throbbed again. Xin An called for Fang Xiao Xiao. Fang Xiao Xiao returned to the room with two round pills and said earnestly: “If the son-in-law is going to drink, take one before drinking.”

Tang Mo asked with suspicion: “What are they?”

Fang Xiao Xiao replied with utter seriousness: “Kidney Tonic Pills.”

Tang Mo fell silent. [His kidneys were still brand-new and very capable, thank you.]

Fang Xiao Xiao withdrew with a smile, and Xin An snickered at the side before explaining: “They are for sobering up and also protect the liver.”

Tang Mo let out a breath, smiled, and pocketed the two pills. After he sat down to breakfast, he went to pay respects to the Grand Matron, then called on Madam Wang, thanked Tang Gang, and only then did he and Xin An leave the Marquisate. It was time to visit the Liao Family.