Chapter 337

Chapter 338: Feels His Character Has Failed

Lai Lai was livid: it had been one thing when the second young master merely threw drunken tantrums, but now he even wanted to take advantage of him. Did he think Qiu Shi Courtyard had only one master?

He went out and sought Chun Yang. Chun Yang had already heard the commotion; when she learned it was the second young master making a drunken scene, she was about to go in and take a look, but Lai Lai grabbed her and said: “You must not go in. Better let the young madam take a look.”

Chun Yang thought that was true; slipping into a young master’s bedchamber in the middle of the night broke all propriety. She went in to wake Xin An, and as soon as Xin An stepped out, Lai Lai dropped to his knees with a thud before her and pleaded: “Young Madam, you must uphold justice for me. The second young master, he… he has gone too far.”

Xin An, pulled from sleep and not fully clear-headed, asked: “What did he do?”

Lai Lai said, clearly embarrassed to speak: “You will know when you see for yourself. He is too much.”

Xin An entered the room. On the bed, Tang Mo was hugging a pillow and calling for his wife; the scene was painfully awkward to watch. Chun Yang tactfully withdrew, and true to the principle of never missing a good show, she asked Lai Lai what had happened. Lai Lai, face full of indignation, said: “Not saying.” Chun Yang coaxed him with a sparkle in her eye: “Say it, say it, tell me so I can la… help you scold him.” Lai Lai asked in disbelief: “Really?” Chun Yang nodded, still urging him: “Really. Say it, say it.” So Lai Lai told her, and he succeeded in making Chun Yang shed tears from holding back her laughter.

At dawn the next day, a head-splitting Tang Mo got up to drink water. Only then did he realize he had slept in the side room. Chagrined, he relieved himself, returned to the bedchamber, crawled back into bed, and fell asleep again. When he next opened his eyes, Xin An was watching him with a half-smile and said: “Do not go out today.”

He blinked and asked: “What is it?”

Xin An replied calmly: “Qiu Shi Courtyard is holding a happy event.”

Xin An sat up, and Tang Mo, suspicious, followed to sit up and ask: “What happy event?”

Xin An raised her brows and said with deliberate gravity: “Taking a concubine for you. Did you forget what you did last night after drinking?”

Tang Mo’s heart lurched as he tried to recall. He remembered only that Lai Lai had supported him back; everything after that was a blank. Panic seized him as he blurted: “I did not. I did not do anything.”

[It is over, it is over, I caused a huge disaster.]

In an instant he imagined countless possibilities, then found them all improbable. The maids in Qiu Shi Courtyard were all very proper. Even if he had been dead drunk, those girls would never take advantage. Had he not seen how Nan Feng now turned to leave the moment she saw him?

Xin An decided it was time to kill off his drunkenness once and for all. Small as the incident seemed, it could become very large. Since arriving at the Northern Garrison Army, he had spent more than half his suppers drinking outside, and getting drunk was not a one-time thing. It was a quick path to mishap and terribly bad for his health.

He started weakly: “I…”

She cut him off, keeping up her stern act: “What you what. You think saying you did nothing makes it so? I am telling you, you are finished.”

Tang Mo patted himself down and checked carefully, then pleaded: “Wife, I truly know nothing about last night. I could not have done that kind of thing. How could I?” He tugged at his collar and added in a pitiful voice: “My clothes are perfectly in order. I do not look like someone who has done something vile.”

His heart was a tangle of misery and regret. [Why did I drink until I lost control? Who on earth took advantage of me?]

Xin An held back a laugh and spoke with mock solemnity: “What do you mean how could it be. You drank yourself senseless and went crazy, and you nearly ruined Lai Lai’s purity. Do not try to deny it.”

He protested in near tears: “That is unjust. I am not even familiar with Lai Lai. Since when did a girl like that enter our courtyard?” He caught himself mid-sentence, eyes fluttering as he echoed in a daze: “Lai Lai? Lai Lai’s purity? What purity does Lai Lai have?”

Xin An shot him a glare and said: “Why would Lai Lai not have purity? You dragged him onto the bed last night and scared his soul out of him. I told you to drink less. Why will you not listen?”

Tang Mo stared, stunned. [Lai Lai? How could I do such a thing to Lai Lai. That is Lai Lai. Am I so desperate I cannot tell man from woman?] He shifted from sitting to kneeling and begged: “Do not scare me. Are you trying to frighten me to death first thing in the morning? Look, I am breaking out in a sweat.”

Seeing he was truly shaken, Xin An told him what had actually happened, then warned him: “Let this be your lesson. Drink within your limits. If a woman had walked in there last night, would anything good have come of it?”

Tang Mo steadied himself for quite a while, then still shook his head: “Impossible. I do not remember anything from last night, which means I was truly drunk. At most my mouth would have been loose. Would I even have the strength for more?”

Xin An pressed him without mercy: “And if a woman had undressed and lain beside you all night? Could you explain that clearly afterward?”

Tang Mo’s back went rigid. A wave of dread washed through him. He knew that being drunk was the easiest time to be set up, and the people he dealt with were increasing. Hearts were hidden behind ribs. If someone wanted to plot against him, it would not be difficult.

Xin An rolled her eyes and said: “Last night was the last time. If you dare get blind drunk again, do not come home.”

He nodded immediately: “Understood. I will have Er Shan return today. From now on, when I go out I will have Er Shan follow me. The boy is loyal and straightforward. With him around, I will feel more at ease.” He raised his hand as if taking an oath and added: “From now on I will not let myself drink freely. I will keep my guard up.”

Then he tugged timidly at Xin An’s sleeve and whispered: “I did not do anything to Lai Lai, did I?”

Xin An gave him another eye-roll and said: “What more did you want to do? Later, give him something to calm his nerves. He was almost ruined by you.”

Tang Mo thought it over, then turned his back to Xin An and began to unfasten his trousers. He wanted to check his own innocence. He also felt truly sorry toward Lai Lai. [My drinking habits… sigh.]

Once they had finished tidying up, Xin An asked Chun Yang to bring Tang Mo a bowl of sober-up soup. When Chun Yang entered, she sneaked a glance at Tang Mo. He caught it squarely and felt his heart drop again. [My reputation is probably ruined.]

When he saw Lai Lai, his guilt grew worse. Master and servant both said nothing. Halfway down the corridor, a piece of silver dropped into Lai Lai’s arms. Tang Mo said awkwardly: “I was drunk and remember nothing. You…”

Lai Lai clutched the silver and answered quickly: “Let us pretend nothing happened. Forget it.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Tang Mo felt something was off. [It feels like my character has failed me at this very moment.] Too tired to think it through, he simply turned and left. Lai Lai blinked at the silver and let out a long, hard breath of relief. He had thought the young master would dismiss him outright to avoid embarrassment. Forgetting was good. Forgetting was the best.

He trotted after with relief and called out: “Young Master, wait for me.”

With this lesson learned, Tang Mo reined himself in at the wine table that very evening. He learned to use Xin An as an excuse, saying he had returned late last night and reeked of alcohol so badly he had almost been barred from the bedchamber. Those pressing him to drink scoffed: “We men drink outside. What opinions can women have?”

Tang Mo smiled and said: “My wife worries about my health. She serves my parents at home, handles all the little chores, and even prepares exactly what I should wear the next day. She only wants me to drink less and live longer. With such a small request, how could I not agree?”

He lifted his cup and went on with easy frankness: “Brothers, it is enough to drink to the right point. Even if days are good, you still need the life to enjoy them. As for me, I will listen to my wife. I would not dare get blind drunk again. Getting up in the morning is too miserable.”

Someone teased that after all those words he was merely afraid of his wife, that he was henpecked. A man named Jiao Wei said with a mixture of bitterness and envy: “I also want to be henpecked. I want to go home whenever I have nothing to do. It is just that I do not even have a wife.”