The banquet in the front hall began with the Lihua Troupe singing “Dingjun Mountain”.
Wang Ronghuo was dressed festively today, sitting on a wooden chair with dragon and phoenix carvings in the middle. Behind him stood a row of soldiers with guns. He was playing with a walnut in his hand and humming a few lines: “This letter came at the right time, God helps Huang Zhong to succeed~Standing at the camp gate and shouting loudly, boys, big and small, listen up~”
When Duan Yelin came in from the main entrance, his slightly fat body swayed a bit, and he didn’t stand up until Duan Yelin came up to him. He said in a very familiar way, “Yo, Commander Duan, sorry for the hospitality, please take a seat!”
Then someone led him to a table nearby. Duan Yelin took a quick glance and walked to Wang Ronghuo. The soldiers in that row straightened up and clenched their guns.
Instead, Wang Ronghuo waved his hand slightly to calm them down.
Sitting next to Wang Ronghuo, Duan Yelin placed the brocade box directly in front of him with a half-smile: “I brought a good gift for the Governor’s birthday. It’s not something fancy, just some fruit I specially picked today, it’s still fresh and hot.”
Fresh and hot fruit?
Wang Ronghuo put down the walnut in his hand and opened the brocade box with one finger. Seeing the bloody mess inside, his pupils suddenly tightened, then closed without a sound, and his eyes returned to the stage: “Thanks, Commander Duan, for delivering it personally.”
“The Governor even sent the invitation to my Xiaotong Guan. If I don’t reciprocate, wouldn’t that be neglect?”
“We are both in charge of Hezhou City. Why should we be so polite with each other?”
“It’s because we are all here for Hezhou City that I have to come and find the Governor.” Duan Yelin rested his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and patted the brocade box with a wolf-like look in his eyes. “If anyone is unfavorable to Hezhou City, this is what will happen to him. So, whether Hezhou City can be peaceful or not in the future depends on whether the Governor understands my heart or not.”
Wang Ronghuo was holding back a lot of anger, but he still had a smile on his face: “Haha, Commander Duan, you’re worrying too much. Let’s have a drink?”
As he was about to pour the wine, he heard a pleasant female voice: “It’s still cold today. If the Governor and the Commander want to drink, let’s heat it up first.”
Gu Fangfei walked towards them from a distance with a graceful posture and a smile.
As soon as Gu Fangfei appeared, Wang Ronghuo greeted her with a smile. In the early years, Gu Yueshan and Wang Ronghuo colluded with officials and businessmen to make a lot of money; therefore, the Pengyun Chamber of Commerce has always had a good relationship with the governor.
“Miss Gu is becoming more and more generous. Take a seat, take a seat!” Wang Ronghuo said politely, then ordered his servants to bring the Kirin wine warmer, open the lid, put the wine bottle in it, and slowly warm it. He then asked Duan Yelin, “Does the Commander want the wine heated up too?”
“No, I’m used to drinking cold wine.”
Wang Ronghuo warmed his hands by touching the top of the jug, squinting his eyes, and said, “When I was younger, I didn’t mind eating raw or cold food as well. But now that I’m older, my internal organs need to be properly cared for and can’t handle such things. So, I’m afraid we can’t drink from the same pot of wine anymore.”
Duan Yelin picked up the wine glass, put it to his lips, but didn’t drink it. After listening to Wang Ronghuo’s words, he poured it on the ground, and the glass was turned upside down on the table: “It doesn’t matter whether we drink together or not, but I never drink other people’s cold wine, and I won’t let others steal my wine either.”
The two of them stared at each other for a long while, and there was some anger in their eyes.
After a long time, when the wine was almost warm, a servant came forward to open the lid of the jug and took out the wine bottle. Just as he was about to pour it, he smelled a strong fishy smell, which was choking and pungent.
The smell spread quickly and strongly. As soon as the lid was opened, Wang Ronghuo and Duan Yelin frowned. When the wind blew, the smell filled the whole hall. Everyone couldn’t help but cover their noses with their sleeves and turn their heads to look.
“What kind of smell ah…”
“It’s really stinky…”
“Has something gone bad?”
Wang Ronghuo snatched the jug and threw it to the ground. “What the hell? Who’s in charge of the wine? It’s already gone bad, and you still dare to serve it to me!”
As he showed his might, the soldiers in the row behind him raised their guns in two seconds. The servants and maids working in the kitchen hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed and begged for mercy, crying and shouting that they didn’t know.
At that moment, a young man in Changshan stepped out from the guest seats, crouched down, and inhaled the scent of the wine on the ground. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, he stood up, bowed to Wang Ronghuo, and remarked, “Governor, this wine has not gone bad, but poisoned.”
