Chapter 449: Chapter 438: The Top Scorer from a Farming Family
On the day when Wang Zhaoxing hosted the banquet, a bit of light snow fell from the sky, but no one felt cold; joy was written on everyone’s faces, hoping their children could bask in the happiness of the esteemed scholar.
Ye Baomin’s family also arrived early, with Ye Wangshi seemingly as happy as if she were in her own home, even helping to usher in guests. Alas, Wang Po and Wang Xiangshi, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, were so busy that no one came out to stop her. Yet, her mother-in-law-like demeanor became the butt of jokes in the village—didn’t everyone know that her daughter tried to seduce Mr. Scholar and, failing that, became so proud she wouldn’t even consider a hunter as a match?
"Come, come, come, everyone have a bit more to drink." Ye Ming lifted his cup, feeling joyous as he downed it in one gulp.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure whether to drink or not. If they didn’t drink, after all, he was the son of the village chief and had offered a toast to everyone. On the other hand, the drink was strong, and he wasn’t really related to the Wang family—how should they drink it?
"Everyone, please enjoy yourselves, thank you all for coming to support my son today." Just at this awkward moment, Wang Yang came over from the neighboring table. Seeing him arrive, people set down their cups one after the other, congratulating him with a cupped fist salute, and then continued eating and drinking as if Ye Ming had never proposed a toast.
Ye Ming snorted coldly, feeling that these people were unappreciative. Once he became the father-in-law of the scholar, even if they begged, he would consider whether he was in the mood to let them drink.
The crowd thought Ye Ming was somewhat foolish—if the village chief really handed over the position to Ye Ming in the future, wouldn’t their village fall into decline?
Finding it dull, Ye Ming took his cup and went to find Wang Zhaoxing, remembering his father’s words—he absolutely had to get Wang Zhaoxing drunk.
Today, many of Wang Zhaoxing’s classmates also came to the Wang family, most of whom also knew Ye Qiu. Therefore, the two were chatting with a few classmates over wine, the conversation revolving mostly around poetry and literary compositions. Suddenly, Ye Ming, a middle-aged man who barely recognized any characters, barged in, making the situation quite awkward.
He also took on the manner of an elder, slapping Wang Zhaoxing’s shoulder with a chuckle, "Zhaoxing, your uncle has watched you grow up. Now that you’re successful, your uncle is genuinely happy for you. What, you can’t even offer your uncle a drink when he’s come all this way?"
Wang Zhaoxing looked at him speechlessly, but feeling today was a special day, decided there was no harm in toasting just one cup, so he cheerfully poured two cups of wine.
All present were scholars who spent their time studying, hardly known for their drinking prowess; hence, the cups on the table were small wine cups, thumb-sized, with a unique design and a touch of elegance.
But Ye Ming was unsatisfied, pushing the small cup aside and placing the large bowl he was holding into Wang Zhaoxing’s hands, booming loudly, "Here, use this. What’s the point of these tiny little cups? Are you looking down on me?"
Several scholars looked at each other, completely at a loss for words.
"Uncle Ye Ming, Zhaoxing has to entertain the guests still. If you make him drink such a large bowl, what if he gets drunk?" Ye Qiu stood up to advise, smiling, yet with a hint of coldness in his eyes.
Ye Ming shivered from the cold, but bolstered by the boldness that alcohol brings, he refused to let go of the large wine bowl.
At this time, two troublemakers looking for fun came along. It was said earlier that the banquet at the Wang family was open to everyone to come and have a drink; now that they truly arrived, they couldn’t just be turned away, and nobody expected that right at this moment, a commotion would break out.
Regrettably, since Wang Po wanted to clear a quieter space for the scholars, the table they had chosen was somewhat near to Ye Qiu’s house, so in reality, no one came over.
"Drink, is the esteemed scholar looking down on us?"
"If we don’t drink, we won’t leave today. Tomorrow, I’ll make a trip to the county and let everyone know just how stuck-up our scholar is." While saying this, both of them belched from the alcohol simultaneously.
Wang Zhaoxing was caught in a dilemma, looking at his classmates, who also wore faces of discomfort. So, he simply took the large bowl handed to him, and in a moment of youthful impulsiveness, downed it all at once too quickly for Ye Qiu to stop him.
"Excellent!"
"What nerve!" Before Ye Ming could speak, the two ruffians had already shouted their approval.
Ye Ming, with joy written all over his face, looked at Wang Zhaoxing’s flushed cheeks and found these usually annoying ruffians not so bothersome after all.
After gulping down that bowl of wine, Wang Zhaoxing was indeed drunk, his entire being woozy and his reactions half a beat too slow.
Ye Ming, delighted, then said to Ye Qiu, "It’s all my fault. Look, Mr. Scholar is inebriated, Qiu, accompany these scholars in their drinking, I’ll help Zhaoxing back to his room to rest."
Ye Qiu narrowed his eyes. He had thought that after last time’s incident, the Ye Ming family had given up, but they hadn’t changed a bit; such obvious behavior, did they really think he couldn’t see through it?
"You all continue eating, I’ll go take a look and be right back," said Ye Qiu to the group.
The few of them were already somewhat concerned about Wang Zhaoxing being taken away, but seeing Ye Qiu, who was always a very steady person, say so, they felt relieved.
Meanwhile, Ye Mei had also quietly slipped from her house to the backyard of Wang Zhaoxing’s home. With many people at home today, the backdoor was open, conveniently aiding their scheme.
"Quick, your father said he has settled it. There is just Wang Zhaoxing in the room. When you go in later, strip off your outer clothing and lie on the bed. Throw your clothes and shoes around messily to create the illusion of being forced. Got it? This time, failure is not an option," Ye Wangshi sternly instructed her daughter.
Outside the house, Ye Baomin and the others were also clinging to Wang Yang and his son Wang Zhao Yang, and Mrs. Xiao Wang was, at her father’s signal, speaking to Wang Po and Wang Xiangshi. It was seemingly a foolproof plan.
Unfortunately, they had forgotten about Ye Qiu, or perhaps they never thought to hold Ye Qiu up in the first place.
A moment later, assuming her daughter was almost ready, Ye Wangshi popped up from nowhere and suddenly exclaimed loudly, "Oh no, where has my Meimei gone?"
Hearing her sudden outburst, Wang Po felt a lurch in her heart. She had never seen Ye Mei, the maid, from the beginning to the end and thought that, out of shame from the last incident, Mei had not come out. Now, what did Ye Wangshi mean by saying her daughter had disappeared? Could it be that an adult woman of marriageable age had been abducted? Or could it be... She exchanged a glance with her daughter-in-law, deep worry flashing in their eyes. Was Ye Baomin’s family plotting something deceitful again?
And Zhaoxing? Wang Po first searched for her grandson; when she saw his classmates but not Wang Zhaoxing himself, her worry grew.
"Xiuya girl, have you seen Zhaoxing?" Wang Po asked.
Xiuya, too, was anxious, "No, Wang Po, I haven’t seen my brother either."
When Wang Po heard Xiuya mention that even Ye Qiu was missing, she became less anxious.
"Where is this girl? She was just with me a moment ago," Ye Wangshi called out, "No good, everyone, please help me look for her."
As she spoke, she headed towards the room, leaving the onlookers to exchange perplexed looks. What’s happening? If there’s no one outside, could the person still be inside the room?
Unable to bear it any longer, Wang Xiangshi snapped, "Wang Zhaodi, what do you mean by this? I haven’t seen your daughter today at all. How could you suspect my family of hiding her?"
"What, I can’t look for her?" Ye Wangshi retorted with righteous indignation, still charging toward the inside of the room.