Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 938 - 936_1

The banquet had started, and the guests invited by the sub-prefect were either officials or local folks from the city. Almost everyone was eager to get friendly with Jingrui, after all, he was the most influential person in the entire prefecture.

Master Fang glanced at several people at the table, who then began to enthusiastically toast Jingrui and Shangguan Xuanyi’s group.

His slight movement did not escape the keen eyes of the observant.

At this point, even if Jingrui did not want to believe it, he had no choice but to accept that Master Fang’s invitation to the banquet had ulterior motives.

If that were the case, then alright, they could play along with his plan.

The four of them accepted all the toasts given. Xiao’er and Shangguan Xuanyi didn’t drink all their wine, while Zhu Yan and Jingrui could hold their liquor well.

Finally, after everyone else was drunk, all four of them pretended to be drunk as well.

Master Fang drank so much to make the whole incident seem accidental. His wife assured him that he was a good drunk and would only sleep soundly without spilling any secrets, so he fearlessly drank till he fell unconscious, knowing everything would be well taken care of.

If he wasn’t genuinely drunk, with the wisdom of Magistrate Jingrui, he would definitely suspect that it was all a scheme. Hence, to avoid suspicion, he had to be truly drunk.

That way, it would seem as if Jingrui, in his drunken state, had deflowered his daughter unwittingly. Gripped by guilt, Jingrui would cherish his daughter more after their marriage.

After listening to Mrs. Fang’s words, Master Fang agreed completely. Therefore, at the dining table, on an empty stomach, he began by toasting everyone a full cup. After a round, he was already tipsy, and when other lower-ranking officials proposed a toast, he downed his drinks without a word. He became the first person at their table to become drunk, and nobody suspected him of deliberately making himself drunk.

Xiao’er observed from the sidelines with a cold expression and had to admit that their scheme was clever. If Brother Jingrui were the only one here today, he might have fallen for it.

Jingrui was shocked and filled with rage.

The four of them pretended to be drunk and leaned on the table just as the others did, waiting to see what their next move would be.

With the male host drunk, Mrs. Fang, the female host, had to personally entertain the other guests. She apologized to them and directed the servants to arrange for the drunk guests at that table to rest in the guest rooms. Everyone at Jingrui’s table was drunk, and nobody had expected that the guests brought by Magistrate Jingrui could drink so much!

Shangguan Xuanyi, the ’Jealous King’, couldn’t stand it when a servant approached to help Xiao’er. He suddenly stood up and said to Xiao’er, "You help me go rest, my head hurts!"

This action startled both Xiao’er and Mrs. Fang.

Xiao’er thought Shangguan Xuanyi was refusing to cooperate, while Mrs. Fang assumed that Shangguan Xuanyi wasn’t drunk.

Once Xiao’er realized why Shangguan Xuanyi was unhappy, she quickly feigned dizziness, actively wobbled to her feet and said: "Alright, I’ll help you, I’ll help you go rest."

The two of them staggered their way out, and then Xiao’er purposely lost her direction as if she was genuinely drunk: "Where’s the bed, why can’t I find the bed?"

Meanwhile, in her mind, Xiao’er couldn’t help but complain: ’Jealous King, the greatest Jealous King in the universe! He cares about everything under the sun, making me play the fool! Tonight, he’s sleeping on a durian shell!’

Upon seeing this, Mrs. Fang breathed a sigh of relief, she quickly had a maid guide them and instructed her to arrange for them to stay in separate guest rooms as far apart from each other as possible, so as not to cause trouble when they sobered up!

After the four of them were led away, the other guests had finished eating. Seeing the male host completely drunk, they felt it was inappropriate to let Mrs. Fang, a lady of the house, continue to entertain them alone. Thus, they all proposed to take their leave.

Mrs. Fang apologized while instructing the maid to see out the guests. She reassured them that her husband would personally apologize to them once he sobered up.

The others all asserted that it wasn’t necessary. Given Master Fang’s higher rank than theirs, they dare not demand an apology from him!

Once everyone left, Mrs. Fang quickly headed to the backyard.

Xiao’er and the others were each assigned to different rooms to rest. Due to the superior status of Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er, the rooms arranged by Mrs. Fang were not randomly selected - the furnishings were all clean and refined.

After the Fang family’s servants left, Xiao’er sat up and surveyed the room with a cold sneer!

Just as Xiao’er was about to sneak out to gather information, footsteps approached and she quickly returned to her pretend slumber on the bed.

A silhouette moved near the window. Then, a bamboo pipe pierced through the window paper and stretched into the room, and a burst of white smoke billowed out.

The person outside the room swiftly left.

Xiao’er sat up again, sniffing the scent in the air. It was merely a kind of smoke that would make people sleep for a few hours. If inhaled in large quantities, it could induce hallucinations, but it had no ill effects on the body after waking up. Anyone who awakened from its effect would only think they had a long dream.

It seemed that Mrs. Fang was worried that she wasn’t intoxicated enough and might mess up their scheme, so she decisively knocked her out with the smoke. Her preparation was indeed thorough.

She left no traces in all these arrangements, there was no poison in the food or wine. If Brother Jingrui had been tricked, when he woke up, he would probably assume that he had gotten drunk and offended Fang Wanping. After all, he would have hallucinations in his sleep.

Xiao’er took out an antidote pill and ate it, then walked to the window. She tore the window paper a little and bent down to look outside through the hole. She saw a servant girl from the Fang family hurriedly leaving.

It seemed that it was her who had blown the smoke just now, and now she was going to report to her lady that everything was in order.

She didn’t know which room Brother Jingrui was in. Faced with such a scheme, she was curious how he would expose that hypocritical face of Fang Wanping. She was eager to watch the unfolding drama!

And there was Zhu Yan. Would Zhu Yan barge in brandishing a big sword? The sword that she gave Zhu Yan would surely scare Fang Wanping so much that she’d forget who her own parents are!

And Brother Guan, Shangguan Xuanyi, was a man of status and appearance. Would the Fang family have a last-minute change of heart? If they did, would Shangguan Xuanyi kick Fang Wanping away?

With a vivid imagination, Xiao’er played out many scenarios in her mind, but she was not at all worried that Shangguan Xuanyi would lose his virtue. If Fang Wanping dared to approach him, it would be courting death!

He was such a man: fastidious and aloof, always wearing a cold face. She still didn’t get why he attracted all the trouble. Must be because of his status! It was hard to live with him every day, besides a person as good-natured as herself, there should be few people tolerating him! So she’d be quite happy if Fang Wanping took over, at least she could get her freedom back!

If Shangguan Xuanyi knew what Xiao’er was thinking at this moment, he would probably want to strangle her!