Zi Siwei wore a plastered smile on his face, greeting his numerous male relatives in the main banquet hall of the Phoenix Palace.

Such peacocks the lot of them…

Zi Xiyu was in front of his son, his serious expression met with respectful bows from the other members of the family.

The winter banquet was an event that the Zi family of the Feng Yi Yu sect continued to have even after twenty years of imperial power under their belt. Every male relative of the family was expected to attend since it coincided with the Dongzhi festival and they couldn’t afford to be given the cut direct.

Zi Siwei didn’t like attending the winter banquet for a few reasons; mainly because of his sour relationship with his father, Branch Sect Leader Zi Xiyu. It wasn’t a secret that Zi Siwei does not live at the Feng Yi Yu main residence in the central area of Guxi city, but every year at this banquet, father and son continued to act as if there were under the same roof.

The Emperor sat on a dais, watching each male relative enter the banquet hall. His stony gaze scanning as if he was watching his misbehaving children. Branch Leader Zi sat on the left of the Emperor below the dias while Zi Siwei sat behind him.

The banquet hall was filled with a boisterous air with numerous ‘long time no see’ and ‘how is your wife?’ Zi Siwei sighed inwardly for it was going to be a long day.

“Ehh, is that you da ge?” A loud, happy voice called out.

Zi Siwei looked to his right and his eyes brightened. It was his paternal cousin Zi Zhifan. Zi Siwei nodded and the portly young man bounced over to him.

Zi Zhifan bowed in respect, “Zhifan greets da ge.”

Zi Siwei waved his hand dismissively, “Zhifan, no need for such formality. We’re not that much different in age.”

“Aih, da ge, it’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other. Of course, I must greet you!” Zi Zhifan insisted.

Zi Siwei relented and let him have his way. At least the banquet won’t be too bad, seeing as Zi Zhifan is finally of age to participate. He glanced at the Emperor on the dias with a slightly nostalgic expression.

A hoarse cough caused the two young men to turn at the sound. An older man around the same age as Zi Xiyu stood, his face unreadable.

Zi Siwei and Zi Zhifan stood up simultaneously,

“Father.” Zi Zhifan greeted.

“Shushu” Zi Siwei greeted.

A quiet humph came from Zi Liyu, the man the young men were bowing to, “Zhifan, a special meal will be served to you later. Make sure you eat it.”

A quiet, ‘Yes, father.’ came from the pudgy youth while Zi Siwei can only think how he hasn’t changed at all since he left the main house.

“Uhh…da ge I’d better…” Zi Zhifan looked back and forth between his father and Zi Siwei.

“Go take your seat Zhifan, we’ll talk later.” Zi Siwei assured.

No other family members came to Zi Siwei came for a chat. He didn’t mind, he liked to get lost in his thoughts than engage in idle chatter. Specifically, Dawa whom he met in the courtyard of the inner palace.

She seemed a little sad…Not like her usual self.

He lifted the teacup to his lips. How long has it been since we’ve spoken? Five…no six months. It seems that something has changed her a little…

He recalled how vivacious the young woman was when they were making their way from the Western Plains to the capital, how her impending fate as a concubine didn’t bother her much…or at least that’s the impression he got from her.

He downed his cup and poured more liquid inside.

He never asked Dawa how she felt about her situation…he had wanted to but he couldn’t. Why though??

His chase through the Restaurant Quarter was the first time he had seen her so happy…But then again, she was jovial on the journey…but he always detected a hint of trepidation.

He downed his cup again and poured more liquid inside

The woman wore her heart on her sleeve…Zi Siwei can only imagine the struggles she faced in the competition-ridden imperial harem.

But that conversation though…It left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

He downed his cup again and paused.

I need to get out of here.

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He poured more liquid inside.

His reverie was broken by the Emperor standing up from his place on the dias. The entire hall became silent – the banquet has begun.

“I would like to begin by thanking every one of you for attending this banquet on this day.” The Emperor began.

“My reign is only in its second year. There is much we have to do as a dynasty in establishing peace since the previous Emperor’s untimely death. For now, let us enjoy in each other’s company with much wine and festivities.”

As soon as the Emperor finished his short address, eunuchs and palace maids brought out the main dishes on trays, setting them down on the low tables in front of the guests.

Zi Siwei looked at the opulent dish on his low table. He ate slowly, his mind whirring. He needed to escape the banquet and look for Dawa. He couldn’t stay while he was so distracted.

He downed his cup again and poured more liquid inside.

He knew that after the main meal, there will be a discourse on familial affairs – marriage alliances, politics and the like. Although it was called The Winter Banquet, it was more like a banquet plus a drinking party. As the son of the Branch Sect Leader, he had to stay for the discourse but others may leave if they like.

He was not going to stay for that long.

He glanced at Zi Zhifan who looked utterly miserable eating his meal of simple vegetables and nuts. He was too far away to be of any help to him at the moment. He sent a quiet prayer of good luck to his cousin.

He downed his cup again and poured more liquid inside.

It was good that his father was in front of him. He would otherwise have picked up on his slightly iffy behaviour. Unbeknownst to Zi Siwei though, the Emperor can see everyone from his place on the dias. He noticed him making small movements with his eyebrows and drinking continuously from his cup. The Emperor broke into a small smile, a memory from a time gone by: The old Zi Renshu next to his relative and oldest friend Zi Siwei, trying to read his numerous subtle expressions.

While the previous Emperor was still alive, they would sit next to each other due to their stations. Zi Siwei wouldn’t interact with others, prompting rumours to fly that the son of the Branch Sect Leader was arrogant and looked down on others. Zi Renshu, as he went by then, would be the only one to engage in conversation with the young Zi Siwei during the annual banquets.

Ascending the throne made for less than exciting banquets for the young Emperor as he was no longer able to sit next to his dear cousin and friend. However, this banquet was to become more interesting as his dear cousin’s behaviour was highly entertaining.

The Emperor had to resist the urge to lean to his right and see what his cousin was doing. He instead lowered his eyes to take another bite of his food while shifting his eyes to the right. Zi Siwei was drinking copious amounts of what seemed to be tea…but he was swaying??? The only beverages served at the were tea and Osmanthus wine which could only mean…that he was drunk!

Indeed! the scholarly Zi Siwei was so engrossed in finding a way to leave early that he began drinking wine instead of tea! The wine bottle was on the left of the teapot but a moment of misjudgment caused the young general to pick up the wine bottle instead of the teapot! What clumsiness unbefitting of a careful man such as himself! What made this more incredible was that no one besides the Emperor was aware of his drunken state, not even the man himself.

Like most men in the continent, Zi Siwei had a high tolerance for alcohol so downing one, two or three cups of wine in rapid succession wasn’t going to get him drunk. However, he was pushing down wine at an unusually fast rate and an unusually large amount. He began to feel something was wrong when his vision began to tilt.

Ehh…what??

He managed to stabilise his body with his hand on the table but that caused the dishes to clank loudly, causing the men around him to look in his direction.

“Siwei-xiong?”

“Young Master Siwei?”

“Oh…he’s drunk.”

“That’s a little rare, isn’t it? He hardly drinks…”

“AHAHAHA he was probably trying to drink as much as us warriors. He failed though.”

“But Siwei-xiong is a warrior, he’s a general…”

The Emperor looked at his inebriated cousin, attempting to stabalise his body.

“Someone has to take him to a guest room to sober up.” He spoke with the same stony expression.

“…”

“…”

The Emperor set down his chopsticks loudly, causing all those who were looking down to look up in surprise.

“Is no one going to take care of him? Has my father raised such heartless clan members?”

Zi Zhifan quickly stood up, “Y-your Majesty, this one will take him.” He shuffled to the still swaying Zi Siwei and moving one arm across his shoulder, led the drunk general out of the banquet hall.

Zi Siwei woke up a little while later in a beautifully decorated room. His head pounded heavily while his eyes regained focus. Once his vision cleared, he noticed Zi Zhifan sitting on a chair snacking on tanghulu.

“Da ge! You’re awake! How are you feeling? The healer said you drank a lot of wine and said you would be out for five shichen. Well, it has been four shichen but knowing how your high your cultivation base is I’m not surprised you woke up sooner.”

Zi Siwei glanced at Zi Zhifan in shock.

“I’ve been out for four shichen?! Cough..cough…” His throat was dry and Zi Zhifan was gracious enough to fetch him a cup of water.

“Yes, da ge. Can you believe that no one wanted to take care of you?! It only took a threat from the Emperor then I decided to step up…although I’m not any better because I thought someone else would step up.” Zi Zhifan spoke quietly with some guilt in his voice.

“At least you offered. Thank you Zhifan.” ZI Siwei continued to drink from the water cup.

“I’m surprised though. Why did you drink so much da ge?” Zi Zhifan asked, “You never drank that much. I know that the incident has caused you problems but I didn’t think it would affect you that much.”

“Did shushu order you to keep quiet about my leaving the main house due to my decision to join the army?” Zi Siwei replied matter of factly.

“Da ge…”

Aih...I’ve messed up. Da—ah I mean Concubine Li must have gone into her palace by now. It will be difficult to talk to her.

“Oh yes, da ge, The Emperor has decided to have everyone in the banquet to stay in the palace for one night. It was out of the blue and a lot of people were surprised. I’m not though because it means I get to spend time with you!”

Another split-second decision?? What has gotten into you Zi Renshu…?

Zi Siwei got up from the bed, his legs still unsteady from his frazzled nerves.

“Da ge, where are you going?” Zi Zhifan asked.

“I’m taking a walk.” Zi Siwei replied, “Zhifan, feel free to eat as much as you can. You looked miserable at the banquet earlier.”

“Of course, da ge! As long as I’m the one taking care of you, I can eat whatever I want. Oh…but da ge, will you be alright going out by yourself? You drank a lot…”

“I’ll be alright. Some fresh air would do me well.” Zi Siwei put on his outer coat.

“Well, alright da ge. You looked really distracted today…I hope everything is alright.”

Damn…He may be Zhifang* but he is quite sharp.

“You must be imaging it.” Zi Siwei brusquely replied before leaving the room.