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墨書 Inktalez
"Mu Jinkun, can you survive? It all depends on the diplomatic battle in the capital three days from now! Your Maple Forest Iron Cavalry from Xia Kingdom hasn’t arrived yet. But once they do, if you lose, not only will Jiu Gong have to pay One Hundred Thousand Taels of Gold, but both your life and Mu Jinkun's will be forfeit as well. This banquet is merely a small interlude.
Jiang Han swayed the wine bottle in his left hand, grasping Mu Jinkun's hand and forcing the fourth bottle of wine into his grasp. He said lightly, 'Governor, this is a literary contest that will determine our Great Zhou Dynasty's Imperial Examination. We need your Xia Kingdom's exam papers! This competition should be straightforward—first to win five rounds, and you've already lost three times! So for this third bottle of wine, Mu Jinkun, you must drink! If you refuse, it means your Xia Guo Literary Circle cannot afford to lose, and that’s perfectly fine too!'
Mu Jinkun couldn’t comprehend Jiang Han’s words; he was already so drunk that his head was pounding. However, Jiu Gong and Hong Qianjun at the table understood the implications of what was being said, and their expressions darkened.
Seeing his disciple's state and glancing at the bottle of wine, Hong Qianjun thought to himself: If word gets out that we cannot afford to lose, it would not only shatter His Majesty's ambition to establish the Xia Guo Literary Circle as a revered center of literature but would also cause its reputation to plummet. That is absolutely unacceptable!
Among scholars, reputation and credibility are paramount. If the literati of Xia Kingdom cannot handle defeat and this spreads across nations, then the envoys sent by the Xia Country Emperor to other kingdoms would be unable to fulfill their mission! Other rulers would see that Mu Jinkun and Hong Qianjun’s delegation cannot bear to lose and would outright reject any negotiations before they even begin. The Emperor's dream of creating a literary sanctuary would die before it could even take root.
Jiu Gong's face darkened as he recognized the gravity of the situation. At this critical moment, Mu Jinkun's life was not as important as his father’s grand ambitions! Even if he cared for Mu Jinkun deeply, he could not prioritize his life over the establishment of a literary sanctuary.
The Great Zhou Dynasty’s literary scene could remain unconquered, but they could not allow the stigma of being unable to afford defeat to spread. 'Mu Jinkun! You are a man!'
Jiu Gong stood up and walked over to Mu Jinkun’s side, speaking softly, 'Just hold on one more time; drink this bottle of wine and we can go home!'"
"Ah? Do I really have to drink?" Mu Jinkun looked unsteadily at Jiu Gong and murmured, "This is the third bottle already. Your Highness, I really can't drink anymore!"
"If you can't drink, then don't. After all, your Xia Kingdom can't afford to lose this bet; it's not a big deal!" Jiu Gong replied dismissively.
"Then shall we take our leave?" Jiang Han suggested, retreating strategically.
Jiu Gong abruptly turned to Jiang Han, hesitating for a moment before decisively saying, "Wait a minute, who told you we can't afford to lose?"
"If you won't even drink, then after losing, you'll just make excuses!" Jiang Han retorted. "Our Great Zhou Dynasty can't afford to offend your Xia Kingdom; we can take this humiliation."
As for how other countries view this matter, that would only make us look worse.
Jiang Han continued sarcastically, "After all, it's not us who will be embarrassed. We're not the ones trying to establish the literary capital of the world."
"If Mu Jinkun doesn't want to drink, then he doesn't have to," he added nonchalantly.
"Mu Jinkun!" Hong Qianjun boldly stood up and approached Mu Jinkun with a sincere expression. "This is just a bottle of wine! If the word gets out that we can't afford to lose this bet, it would be an unprecedented disgrace across the nations!"
"The impact of that is something neither you nor I can bear!" He grabbed the bottle of wine, opened it, and then placed it back in Mu Jinkun's hands. "Just drink it!"
Mu Jinkun felt like he was about to go insane. He looked at the earnest Hong Qianjun and the solemn Jiu Gong, then at the bottle in his hand. Flashbacks began to invade his mind—scenes of him vomiting and suffering from a splitting headache after downing three bottles last time.
This wine was nothing short of poison—deadly poison!
" Shopkeeper Jiang, is there something wrong with this wine?" Cen Ya asked upon seeing Mu Jinkun's state.
"There is a problem; drinking too much can easily fry your brain," Jiang Han replied flatly.
"What?" Cen Ya was taken aback.
Yan Dong and Ling Xue stared incredulously at the bottle of wine.
" Shopkeeper Jiang, are you selling poison?" they exclaimed. "If you drink too much, will it really fry your brain?"
Su Qianxue looked at Jiang Han in confusion. "How can a drink cause brain damage?"
Hong Qianjun and Jiu Gong exchanged doubtful glances with Jiang Han, clearly puzzled by the situation.
They only remembered that this liquor was extremely strong, unlike rice wine or yellow wine that could be consumed recklessly. However, after finishing his drink, Mu Jinkun felt a splitting headache! Could it really burn his brain?
Jiang Han, with his arms crossed, leisurely remarked, "This is a high-proof liquor. Drinking too much can directly affect the human brain's nervous system. If you down two or three bottles at once, and do it often enough, there's a chance you could end up a fool or even paralyzed."
"What?" Mu Jinkun clearly heard this and stared at Jiang Han in shock. "Are you saying this isn't poison? We usually drink about seven or eight taels and that's enough! Who drinks four or five jin in one go like you?"
Jiang Han shrugged nonchalantly as he spoke. Deep down, he was surprised; after all, Mu Jinkun was different! To drink four and a half jin in one go for the first time without dying was quite impressive!
Jiu Gong looked at Mu Jinkun with some pity, glancing between him and Jiang Han, hesitating to speak several times. Hong Qianjun, seeing his disciple's miserable state, turned to Jiang Han and said, " Shopkeeper Jiang, can we not drink next time?"
"Ah!" Jiang Han teased back. "If I stab you now, will you still come back for more next time?"
Hong Qianjun's face hardened, leaving him speechless. Jiu Gong realized there was no way to negotiate with Jiang Han and turned her attention back to Mu Jinkun.
She wanted to help ease Mu Jinkun's burden and suggested, "Mu Jinkun, how about we share the drink?"
"Your Highness, you love me!" Mu Jinkun exclaimed with a face full of joy as if he had been granted a reprieve.
After thinking for a moment, he called over Hong Qianjun. "Come on, stop standing there like an idiot and help me out a bit."
Reluctantly, Hong Qianjun approached Mu Jinkun's side and cautiously took the liquor that Mu Jinkun had poured out—about a milliliter left.
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