Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 441 - 415: Harmonious Drinking Game!

Chapter 441: Chapter 415: Harmonious Drinking Game!

"Auntie, how is my body doing?"

At that moment, Aunt Nine and the other five Great Demons had just finished examining the Qi Luck within Hu Xingxiang’s body.

The Blue Dragon spoke, "Little Xiang, there are three parts to the fortune within your body. One part is originally yours, and it is comparable to ours, the Great Demons. You are indeed blessed."

"Later, another stream of Qi Luck was infused into your body. Because it is related to the Path of Life and Death, it must have caused some discomfort in your body for a while. However, now this Qi Luck is also yours, so your fortune far surpasses that of us Great Demons. Your future is boundless."

"Now, there is an extremely vast amount of Qi Luck within you. This Qi Luck is too grand and, although you have temporarily controlled it with your original luck, it is only a temporary measure. To fully assimilate it will be quite difficult."

"I suggest you return to the Northeast to find your grandfather and use the Five Immortal Clans’ incense method. Draw upon the Power of Incense Flame to refine it and make it your own Qi Luck."

Hu Xingxiang nodded slightly.

"Little Xiang understands, thank you, Uncle Lan."

After leaving Hundred Flowers Fang, Hu Xingxiang returned to the Zhang Mansion in Jin City Fang.

Upon entering the door, she found everyone in the main hall, laughing and preparing to eat.

"Hu Xingxiang, you’re finally back, we’ve been waiting for you!"

"Finally back, we’re all starving."

Since Zhang San was safe and sound and would be joining the Northern Army before long, everyone came to celebrate for Zhang San, which also served as a farewell.

Although no one said it aloud, everyone essentially recognized Hu Xingxiang as the mistress of Zhang Mansion. Naturally, with all the guests present, they couldn’t just start eating and drinking; they had to wait for the mistress to arrive before letting the servants serve the dishes.

And when those servants, who were possessed by ghosts, heard they could serve the food, they immediately started to prepare the meals and brought the dishes one by one.

As everyone enjoyed the food and drink, they frequently raised their glasses to congratulate Zhang San.

Zhang San also responded with toasts to each one.

"Thank you all, but there’s really nothing to congratulate me on, since I’ll be heading North just soon after buying this house. While I’m away, the house is in your hands."

As he spoke, Zhang San glanced at Hu Xingxiang.

Hu Xingxiang whispered, "I have some family matters to deal with soon and may need to return to Longwang Road, Northeast, for a trip."

Zhang San immediately thought it must be related to the Qi Luck that Hu Xingxiang had helped him withstand earlier, but as it was not appropriate to talk about Qi Luck matters in public, he simply nodded for now.

"Since both Hu Xingxiang and I will be away, who among you will stay to look after my house?"

Ximen Jinxing was about to volunteer when Lady Yu grabbed him.

This silly girl, if one is going North and the other Northeast, why would you stay at home alone?

"Why not leave the house in my care? I’ll come and help whenever I can. If anyone needs anything, you can come to me, and if necessary, my aunt is also there."

Lady Yu now recognized Yang Lihua as Aunt.

After all, Lady Yu is now the last scion of the Yuwen Imperial Clan. Although her true identity is not widely known, this relationship has garnered her extra affection and care from Yang Lihua.

Yang Lihua also said with a smile, "Brother, rest assured and go to the North. Strive to earn your merits and come back early. I will take care of the house here. If anyone has any issues that need assistance later on, feel free to seek me out. Especially Han Baiwen, my brother specifically reminded me before that you also need to engage in business. In the future, my Yu Family and your Han Family will surely have lots of opportunities for cooperation."

Han Baiwen immediately raised his glass to toast Yang Lihua.

Though introduced as Zhang San’s sworn sister, he knew this was actually the eldest daughter of Kaihuang and the former Empress Dowager of Northern Zhou. Therefore, he was extremely courteous to Yang Lihua.

"Drinking like this is rather dull. How about we play a drinking game?" Shang Bufa suddenly suggested.

Everyone became curious about what kind of drinking game.

After thinking for a moment, Shang Bufa said, "How about this, each of us will recite a line of poetry with words related to conquest, battle, or war. After all, Brother San is about to join the Northern Army, and we can consider this as a send-off for him!"

However, everyone shook their heads.

Although many literati enjoyed playing drinking games while drinking, for many people present, it was too difficult.

They couldn’t recite more than a few poems, let alone compose any.

At this point, Zhang San said, "I do have an interesting drinking game called the Harmony Order. Everyone can recite lines of poetry or idioms. The lines must include words like ’kill’, ’death’, ’slay’, ’annihilate’, ’slaughter’, and other such words with a hint of blood and violence. However..."

At this, Zhang San gave a sly smile and continued, "These words cannot be directly spoken, they must be ’harmonized’. We’ll replace them with the word ’mouth’."

After all, it was just reciting poetry lines or idioms, which made things a lot easier.

So everyone began immediately.

Zhang San acted as the Corrector, responsible for judging.

The group also nominated Yang Lihua to be the Supervisor, in charge of overseeing the entire drinking order process.

Last, Baili Chengfeng was appointed as the Chief Penalty Recorder, specifically to pour drinks for those being punished.

With the main roles assigned, Yang Lihua, who everyone respectfully referred to as "Bright Mansion" in her capacity as Supervisor, announced the beginning.

The first to speak was Lady Yu, who said with a smile, "Mouth oneself into benevolence."

Everyone immediately recognized that the idiom originally was ’sacrifice oneself for benevolence’ and nodded their approval.

Zhang San pointed at Qiong and said, "Next."

Qiong, who had been giggling with Wang Junwu, was caught off guard when her turn came. Despite being quite literate, the pressure of the moment left her unable to think of a single useful idiom.

"I... I that... I... I’ll just drink."

Qiong, with a blush on her face, waited for Baili Chengfeng to pour her drink.

Wang Junwu then came over and said, "It’s my fault. I was chatting with Qiong just now. I’ll drink on her behalf."

"Substitutes are allowed, but then the stakes must be higher! Baili Chengfeng, go to the kitchen and fetch me a basin."

Following Zhang San’s order, Baili Chengfeng, responsible for the punishment segment, immediately ran and brought back a basin not much smaller than a faceplate and filled it to the brim.

"Fifth Brother Wang, this was your own request. Brother San has decreed the punishment. Don’t blame me!"

Wang Junwu held the basin with both hands and gulped....

Zhang San watched the somewhat distressed expression on Qiong’s face and thought to himself: Big Head Wang, that’s as far as your brother can help you.

After Big Head Wang finished drinking, everyone applauded and cheered. Zhang San then said, "Let’s relax the criteria a bit. Not just poetry lines and idioms, but common sayings and even historical anecdotes are allowed too. As long as what you say is familiar to everyone, it counts!"

Zhang San’s initial intention was merely to lower the difficulty so that everyone drank very little, except Wang Junwu who drank a large basin for Qiong, giving him a nudge in the right direction.

However, much to his surprise, after loosening the requirements, the tone of the drinking game started to turn increasingly bizarre.

...

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[Note 101] A Brief History Lesson

In the Tang Dynasty, most people had to follow a drinking order when drinking together.

Typically, everyone present took turns doing something. If done well, the crowd would applaud; if not, punishment followed.

Because rules had to be set and punishments decided, there were three officials in charge.

Supervisor: The person in overall charge of supervising the drinking order activity, typically the most prestigious individual present, was elected. Everyone would address this person with the respected title of County Magistrate, calling them "Bright Mansion."

Corrector: Also known as the Reguly Recorder, the main judge during the drinking event. As a judge, you need to have a lot on your own. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, many drinking orders were related to poetry and literature, and often the most famous courtesans at well-known establishments were the ones to take on the role of Corrector. After all, an average person couldn’t do the job if their skill level wasn’t up to par.

Chief Penalty Recorder: Also known as the Toast Recorder, this person followed the Corrector’s commands to pour and serve the drinks for those being punished.

The above information is quoted from the Forest Deer’s "Guide to the Tang Dynasty."