Drunkenness

I hadn’t expected the wine at the Spring Welcoming Pavilion to have such a strong aftereffect. Perhaps it was also because I fancied myself good at holding my liquor, when in truth, I was anything but. Walking down the street, I felt my cheeks growing hot, my head spinning, and my legs turning to jelly. Realizing I was perhaps slightly drunk, I found I couldn’t even muster a laugh at myself. How could I be so foolish, drinking so much? Was I really bewitched by those two girls? They weren’t even particularly attractive—certainly not as pretty as I am when dressed as a woman. I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel such strange thoughts. I must truly be possessed.

My steps grew unsteady, my vision blurred.

Then I did the most outrageous thing of my life—so much so that, whenever anyone brought it up in the future, I would lose my temper, abandon all pretenses of ladylike grace, and chase down anyone who mentioned it, dagger in hand, to the ends of the earth.

Seeing a small house ahead, I stumbled inside, collapsed, and fell asleep. In truth, it wasn’t a house at all, but a sedan chair left by the roadside. Later, I demanded to know why the guards stationed nearby hadn’t stopped me—was their master's sedan chair a place just anyone could enter? The guards, on the verge of tears, explained that because I wore their master’s jade pendant at my waist, how could they dare refuse me entry?

Yes, that’s right—the unfortunate master was Li Yexuan. Somehow, it was him again. I was no longer surprised by these repeated encounters.

The next time I awoke, I was in bed. Glancing up, I saw that the bed really was quite exquisite—the carved flowers, the dragons...

“Nice bed, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very nice, especially the carved—” I turned my head mid-sentence and saw Li Yexuan sitting by the table, toying with a wine cup, dressed only in his underclothes.

I toppled off the bed and hastily checked my own clothing.

I’d been changed.

“What—what did you do to me?” I wrapped my arms around myself defensively, glaring at Li Yexuan. I liked to think I was attractive—what if he’d taken advantage? Even if he was a prince, that was no excuse.

He stepped toward me. I scooted backward on the floor, impressed by my own agility under the circumstances.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Li Yexuan leaned in and said, “You wish.”

“Huh?” I was momentarily lost.

“You crawled into my sedan chair and fell asleep. No matter how I called you, you wouldn’t wake up. And you vomited all over me. If you can’t hold your liquor, don’t drink. Just look at yourself.”

“...Impossible.”

“Still won’t admit it?” He tossed a set of men’s clothes at me. “Put these on.”

“Oh.” Like a scolded little wife, I slunk behind the screen and changed into the men’s clothes. They were only a little too big, and fit well enough.

Thinking back after sobering up, I realized it might really have happened as he said. Was my alcohol tolerance truly so poor? Later, when I recounted the story to my younger brother, he hemmed and hawed for ages before confessing that he’d always watered down my drinks. No wonder the liquor in Yuehua was so much stronger than in Lingyun—it turned out I’d been deceived all along. But since he’d done it for my own good, I decided not to hold it against him.

I emerged slowly, now properly dressed. At some point, Li Yexuan had also changed into a black outer robe. Clearly, I really had vomited on him—otherwise, why would he be bathing in broad daylight?