Chapter 86

Xia Hongsheng was awakened by Xu Qixian. Upon waking, he indeed felt a splitting headache. When he opened his mouth, he found his voice was hoarse. Looking at Xu Qixian, he noticed a bump on his forehead and a swollen cheek, which startled him. He asked what had happened, but Xu Qixian mumbled and avoided answering, only urging Xia Hongsheng to hurry up and wash up, as they would be late for the Hongwen Pavilion. Xia Hongsheng pressed further, but Xu Qixian just shook his head and remained silent, making Xia Hongsheng very anxious.

"Brother Xu, did you get drunk and bump into a door, or did you fall?" Xia Hongsheng was curious. He had blacked out from drinking the previous night and had no idea how he got home or what had happened. When he pressed further, Xu Qixian was unwilling to talk and his face changed. "What? Did those rich brats beat you up?"

Xu Hui was giggling on the side. Xia Hongsheng looked at her, but she didn't say anything, just kept laughing.

"Ah, my junior brother was so drunk last night that he avoided a disaster... Don't ask, it's embarrassing for me to talk about it," Xu Qixian waved his hand and walked ahead. Xia Hongsheng quickly followed, not asking any more questions on the way.

The three of them arrived outside the Hongwen Pavilion and saw a figure pacing around. As they got closer, they saw the person covering his face with his arm. When he saw them, he quickly turned to avoid them, but Xia Hongsheng ran over and grabbed him. "Brother Ye Xu, why are you trying to hide your face and run away as soon as you see us?!"

Li Yexu, pulled by Xia Hongsheng, had no choice but to lower his arm. Xia Hongsheng saw that his cheek was swollen, and the left side of his face was noticeably larger, which was quite funny. He couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at? It's all your fault for starting the trouble, causing us to lose our composure, cough...," Li Yexu, mocked by Xia Hongsheng, was immediately embarrassed and covered his face in anger. Xia Hongsheng was stunned, thinking, "What does this have to do with me?!"

Just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of hooves behind him. Turning around, he saw a carriage approaching. When it stopped, Li Ke and his younger siblings got out. Xu Hui, seeing Princess Chang Le, immediately went over to chat and laugh with her. Li Ke's younger brothers went over to look at Li Yexu, who tried to hide his face. Looking at Li Ke, Xia Hongsheng noticed that one of his eyes was also swollen.

Xia Hongsheng was even more surprised and asked, "Brother Wei De, what happened to you all? Were you robbed on the way back last night? Brother Ye Xu said it was my fault, what's going on?"

Li Ke shook his head and smiled bitterly. "How can it be your fault? It's just that... last night, Jing Shi really made a big impression at the Drunken Immortal Tower. We were all stirred up by the song 'Loyalty to the Country.' We got carried away and started arguing about how to defeat the Turks and Goguryeo. The argument turned into a fight over who was the best at martial arts, and then we started fighting over who would pay the bill. That's how we ended up like this! Sigh, we're sure to be scolded by the teacher today... Really, how could this happen..."

After saying this, Li Ke shook his head again, probably thinking to himself how he ended up fighting over who would pay the bill. In such a situation, he should have stayed away!

This scared Xia Hongsheng. Although he knew he had a low tolerance for alcohol, he had never had a problem with getting drunk and causing trouble in his previous life. Could it be a side effect of the穿越 (time travel)? Last time, when he got drunk at Qu Tongs' house, he blurted out all sorts of things, even mentioning vodka and alcohol. This time... according to what Li Ke said, he even sang 'Loyalty to the Country'? The lyrics were from the Northern Song Dynasty and about Yue Fei, which didn't seem appropriate for the current time, as the north wasn't invaded!

Just as he was about to ask, he saw Li Ke with a look of admiration and said, "Jing Shi's talent is simply... 'Smoke rises, the northward gaze of the mountains, the dragon flag rolls, the horse neighs, the sword glows like frost! The heart is like the vast Yellow River, in twenty years of wandering, who can resist? Anger surges, the long knife points, how many loyal souls lie buried in foreign lands? No matter how many times I die to serve my country, I can only sigh, with tears in my eyes! The horse hooves go south, people look north, the grass is green, the dust flies, I wish to defend the land and reclaim the territory, the great Tang must make the four directions come to pay homage! This... even now, I still feel a surge of excitement! I am thoroughly convinced of Jing Shi's talent!"

What, even when drunk, he could remember to change China to the Tang Dynasty?!

Xia Hongsheng was stunned. Then he heard Li Yexu say, "After we drank last night, Brother Xia's 'Loyalty to the Country' stunned the entire Drunken Immortal Tower. We all listened with excitement and joined in, singing together. The scholars in the tower were also moved and joined us. The brothers were too excited and started arguing about how to defeat the Turks and Goguryeo. We were already stirred up by your song, and the argument turned into a fight. So, Brother Xia, you did start it! We were so excited that we sang all the way back! Hahaha...!"

Xia Hongsheng shook his head and smiled. It seemed he needed to control his drinking and avoid getting drunk and causing trouble. He had to stop blabbering when drunk, and he must change this habit! If he ever let slip something like the Tang Dynasty falling in a certain year, there would be no today! Thinking about this, Xia Hongsheng felt a chill and a sense of fear.

Soon, all the rich brats arrived, and indeed, they were all bruised and swollen. With so many people, they didn't bother to hide their injuries and laughed at each other. They all entered the Hongwen Pavilion together, and naturally, they were scolded by the teacher. One or two could have made excuses, but it was impossible for all of them to have bumped into doors after school.

After being scolded, these rich brats acted very convincingly, bowing their heads and admitting their mistakes, showing great respect and regret, as if they deeply understood their mistake as privileged children who had lost their composure and caused a scene. Of course, Xia Hongsheng knew it was all an act.

Sure enough, after a short while, Li Ke, Li Yexu, and the others gathered again to discuss their hunting plans for the break.

Xia Hongsheng was amazed at how these rich brats could forget their punishment so quickly. He sat on the side and listened to them discuss which forest had the most game and how to go about it. Listening to them, he felt drowsy, still with dark circles under his eyes!

"Brother Xia!" Just as he was dozing off, he heard someone call him. The voice was unmistakably Xu Hui. Turning around, he saw Xu Hui and Princess Chang Le standing behind him, holding hands. This girl was quite good at making friends, already getting along well with Princess Chang Le.

Seeing Xu Hui wave at him, Xia Hongsheng got up and walked over. "What's up? Why are you being so secretive?"

"Is this... really written by you?" Xu Hui handed him a piece of paper. "My brother was singing it all night when he came back, and I wrote it down."

Xia Hongsheng looked down and saw the lyrics of 'Loyalty to the Country.'

Originally, Xia Hongsheng wanted to say he had just heard it, but looking at the bright eyes of the two little girls, he blurted out, "Yes, it's written by me!"

As soon as he said this, he regretted it. Sure enough, the two little girls' eyes widened, and Xu Hui said, "Teach us to sing it!"

"Learn it from your brother!" Xia Hongsheng firmly refused and looked at Chang Le, who was about to speak. "You too!"

"Hmph, what's so great about it?" Xu Hui, rejected by Xia Hongsheng, was不服气 (unwilling to admit defeat) and looked embarrassed and flustered.

Looking at Princess Chang Le and the other girls watching from a distance, Xia Hongsheng understood. They must have wanted to learn it, and Xu Hui, knowing him, had boasted. Now, being rejected, she was losing face.

Little girl! Xia Hongsheng smiled and said, "I'm not refusing to teach you. First, this song is suitable for passionate men, like soldiers, not for young girls. Second, listen to my voice; I can't sing it now. How about this: when my voice is better, I'll teach you a song suitable for girls. What do you think?"

After saying this, Xia Hongsheng thought, Little girl, know when to stop; I'm giving you a way out!

Xu Hui understood Xia Hongsheng's intentions. Hearing him say this, she pretended to be generous and waved her hand. "Alright, I won't make you sing for now. Get your voice back quickly, and don't forget!"

Xia Hongsheng chuckled. "Okay, okay, I won't forget!"

"Thank you, Brother Xia!" Hearing this, Princess Chang Le bowed to Xia Hongsheng, her voice soft and sweet.

Looking at her, Xia Hongsheng thought, The princess is well-mannered. He returned the bow. "You're welcome, Princess!"

The two little girls walked away, and Xia Hongsheng scratched his head. Before he could turn around, he heard Xu Qixian's voice. "Tsk, tsk, my sister is now more familiar with you than with me, really..."

Xia Hongsheng smiled. Well, he could smell the jealousy!

Back with the group, the rich brats had already planned their hunting trip and told Xia Hongsheng about it. Xia Hongsheng was quite interested. Hunting, camping, and barbecuing? It had been a long time since he had done that!

If they were going to barbecue, they needed to prepare some things!

(PS: The image won't upload, but you can search for a map of the Tang Dynasty during the Zhen Guan period. ** is in the north. Please follow and support! TAT...)

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