Zhu Ying liked Zhang Shou's comparison with them, so she agreed to Zhang Shou's request without hesitation, and then decided to keep it a secret from her grandmother and mother. In order to avoid Princess Yongping, she even wanted to take Zhang Shou to her own residence, but was persuaded by Zhang Shou. However, Zhang Shou had no choice but to go with her to the pond in the back garden to throw stones and break ice to pass the time in the cold weather.
The two of them could not bear it for a while, so they had to hide in the waterside pavilion with a ground heating, and asked someone to bring a charcoal stove to drink tea. Zhang Shou also came up with an idea to put a wooden rack on the charcoal fire, pierce the rice cakes with wooden sticks, and roast them and dip them in sugar. This kind of luxurious food from a poor family made Zhu Ying, the daughter of a rich family, smile from ear to ear. It was not known whether her face was red from the charcoal fire or from happiness.
The two of them spent some time together before Mother Li came over in person to say that Princess Yongping had returned.
Upon hearing the news, Zhu Ying was immediately overjoyed. Without even asking Princess Yongping's purpose, she immediately took Zhang Shou to Qing'an Hall.
During this lunch, no one mentioned the uninvited guest, Princess Yongping. Wu was persuaded by Jiuniang to drink two more cups of wine, and her face turned red. Zhu Ying also drank a few more sips of wine because she was happy, and her face turned red because she couldn't handle the wine. Even Xiao Cheng, who was picked up from Zhang's house by the lady in the morning, thought the rice wine was sweet and drank it without thinking, and finally he was a little dazed.
As for Zhang Shou, he had never tested how much alcohol his body could drink, so he only tried a little. He knew how many secrets he had, so he didn't dare to even think about drinking too much, for fear that he would get drunk and cause trouble.
After three rounds of drinking, when he was the most sober, he was taking care of Wu, persuading Zhu Ying who was always shouting that she was happy and wanted to drink two more cups, and signaled Zhu Er with his eyes to help take care of Xiao Cheng who liked sweets and refused to put down his cup, the lady suddenly smiled and said, "I just got the news that Yingying's elder brother has passed Xuanfu and will probably arrive in the capital before the New Year."
For Zhang Shou, this was like a bombshell. Seeing Zhu Er was also shocked, he knew that the news was probably deliberately released by the Madam during lunch. He was caught off guard and calmed down, then subconsciously asked, "Is it only Brother Zhu? Didn't Duke Zhao come back with him?"
"It's so cold, we have to settle the troops first before Yingying's father, the commander-in-chief, can return to the capital. After all, Xuanfu and Datong have almost dispatched most of the troops this time, plus the troops mobilized from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and other places. He and the Duke of Chu will be busy, and they have to settle everything before returning to the capital."
The lady said it lightly. Seeing Zhu Ying's dazed eyes, which clearly showed that she had not heard the great news of her elder brother's return, she could not help but laugh and cry. She immediately said angrily, "Yingying, you kid, if you don't know how to drink, then don't drink. Look at the way you've tortured yourself! Yutang, Yulan, help her down, and go to the kitchen to get some sobering soup. She's drunk with just one cup of alcohol. Ah Shou, you'd better keep an eye on her from now on!"
Zhang Shou was immediately amused. Seeing Zhu Er pick up the drunk Xiao Cheng and hand him to Madam Li, he saw that Wu was also a little drunk, so he said something to the Madam and helped her to rest on the soft couch. In this way, the round table that was just full was only occupied by him, the Madam, Jiu Niang and Zhu Er.