The dishes were served shortly.
Braised Lamb.
Beggar's Chicken.
Four Happiness Meatballs.
Sauced Pork Loin.
Spicy Rabbit Head.
Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork.
Six substantial dishes, followed by some cold appetizers.
Li Shimin's throat began to rumble. He picked up his chopsticks and said to the crowd.
"Come, try them, see if that kid An Zhi has been holding out on us."
Chai Shao, quick-handed, was the first to grab a rabbit head.
He had never tasted this before at Zuixian Lou.
Cheng Yaojin also snatched one.
There were only four rabbit heads on the plate. These two ruffians each took one, instantly consuming half of them.
Li Shimin was stunned.
"Damn it, I haven't even touched them, and you're this fast?"
Seeing this, Fang Er dared not hesitate.
The third rabbit head went into his bowl.
The others looked at the remaining single rabbit head and found it awkward to reach for it.
Li Shimin hadn't eaten yet.
So, the last one was taken by Li Shimin, plate and all.
Zhang Gongjin was dejected.
Fang Xuanling was dejected.
Li Jing was also dejected.
Fine, if there were no rabbit heads, they'd try other things.
Chai Shao took a bite of the rabbit head. It was spicy, salty, and savory – absolutely delightful!
He couldn't help but praise it.
"Delicious!"
He wiped the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand.
He first poured a bowl of the seventy-two-degree "Men Dao Li" for Li Shimin.
Then he poured one for himself and filled the others' bowls as well.
"Come, Your Majesty, An Zhi gave me a bottle yesterday. This wine is strong enough!"
"Come, everyone, try it!"
Saying this, he brought the wine bowl to his lips and took a sly sip.
He didn't put the bowl down, keeping it near his mouth.
He opened his mouth wide, pretending to down the entire bowl.
His eyes darted around, observing everyone else.
Li Shimin was quite calm. When Chai Shao said it was strong, he was already cautious.
He only took a small sip.
Then his expression changed, but he managed to hold on.
He quickly took a bite of the rabbit head.
The spicy flavor suppressed the potent kick of the liquor.
After Li Shimin came Cheng Yaojin.
He had just been fighting with Chai Shao, so how could he be willing to be outdone by this guy?
A whole bowl.
At least four liang of seventy-two-degree Men Dao Li.
He raised it and poured it into his mouth!
The moment the wine touched his lips, it was like a raging fire!
His face instantly turned red, his eyes bulged, and his expression was terrifying!
The liquor's rush to his head almost made him spit it out.
But looking at Chai Shao's smug expression.
"Damn it!"
He suppressed the overwhelming discomfort, gritted his teeth, and finished it in one go!
This wasn't the end. After finishing his drink, Cheng Yaojin calmly patted his chest with his hand.
He extended his right hand and gave Fang Er a thumbs-up.
"Truly good wine! Let me have more! It's a waste to give such good wine to them!"
Chai Shao looked at Cheng Yaojin's performance and was dumbfounded.
"Am I really this weak?"
Feeling a little guilty, he refilled Cheng Yaojin's bowl with the wine.
Fang Xuanling was curious.
He picked up his wine bowl, glanced at Li Jing, and said.
"Come, Duke of Wei, a toast?"
Li Jing nodded.
After their bowls clinked, they followed Cheng Yaojin's example.
They also intended to drink it all in one go.
But!
Both their expressions changed instantly!
Meeting each other's eyes, they immediately moved their wine bowls away.
Their mouths opened.
Pfft~!
Well!
Fang Xuanling spat on Li Jing's face!
Li Jing spat on Fang Xuanling's head!
Cheng Yaojin had successfully tricked two people.
Hahahaha!
Li Jing had been cultivating his composure for a long time.
But this time, being tricked by Cheng Yaojin resulted in a great embarrassment.
His eyes immediately turned fierce as he glared at Cheng Yaojin.
Fang Xuanling was the same. He wouldn't be afraid of fighting ten people against Cheng Yaojin.
But now, Li Jing had nothing to fear!
"Duke of Wei, Fang Xuanling cannot tolerate this. Can you?"
Li Jing wiped the wine from his face.
"Tolerate his grandmother's leg! Let's get him!"
The two men, one civil and one military, rose from their chairs.
Li Jing unbuckled his saber, still in its sheath.
Fang Xuanling looked around the courtyard.
He finally spotted a suitable weapon.
Walking to the courtyard wall, he picked up a broom.
The two of them, one on each side, hauled Cheng Yaojin away from the table.
Cheng Yaojin's smug expression instantly turned to terror.
He wasn't afraid of Fang Xuanling.
But he couldn't defeat Li Jing!
"Brother Jing, Brother Jing, be merciful. Chai Shao was also involved. You can't just beat up your brother alone!"
Li Jing, with a dark face, completely ignored him and dragged him towards the courtyard gate.
Fang Xuanling felt incredibly good at this moment!
He had never felt this good in his life!
"Hahaha, you ruffian, this is your day!"
He was very pleased with himself. If he hadn't pulled Li Jing into drinking with him earlier, he would have had to accept the loss alone.
But now, carrying a broom and following behind Li Jing, he felt so exhilarated!
Fang Er watched this scene with utter bewilderment.
He glanced at Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to intervene?"
Li Shimin was happily gnawing on a rabbit head.
"I'm too lazy to bother. Isn't it normal for someone to get into a fight whenever we drink?
I'm used to it!"
"Alright."
Fang Er was speechless.
He could only stare dumbfounded at the mixture of men beating each other up nearby.
And Cheng Yaojin's continuous screams of "Brother Jing, be merciful."
Why did this sound so bizarre!
Crack!
Li Jing directly hit Cheng Yaojin's backside with the scabbard.
Even though Cheng Yaojin was evenly matched with Chai Shao in a fight,
this guy truly dared not fight back against Li Jing. He could only protect his head and cry out.
Occasionally, he would threaten Fang Xuanling, who was hitting his backside with the broom.
"Old Fang! That's enough! Believe it or not, I'll have Chu Mo beat your Yiai into regret!"
A flurry of blows ensued.
Li Jing wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He re-buckled his saber.
"Cheng Yaojin, don't use your wicked schemes on this Duke. Be careful I send you back ten years."
After saying that, he sat back down.
Fang Xuanling also threw down the broom and followed suit.
Fang Er, hearing Li Jing's words, was a bit confused.
He looked at Li Shimin.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by 'send you back ten years'?"
Li Shimin licked the sauce from his hands and tossed the rabbit head, cleaner than a dog's gnaw, towards a corner.
"Ten years ago, at Wagang Village, Old Cheng used to get beaten up by the Duke of Wei every day."
After speaking, he picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of crispy sweet and sour pork.
The meat was fragrant, sour, sweet, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside.
He couldn't help but praise it.
"Hmm, delicious!"
A bite of meat, a sip of wine, a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
Fang Er didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.
What the heck was this "Emperor and Subjects" relationship?
Did fighting before and after meals become a habit?
And also, Cheng Yaojin had such a miserable time in Wagang?
Didn't those historical novels and TV shows say he was even emperor for eighteen days?
Fine!
He had been seriously misled by those movies and TV shows!