There is a god in the sky

Chapter 327 Drunk

When Xiao Ji heard that Shen Lan was looking for him, he got out of the bathtub, wiped himself off quickly, and changed into a white nightgown.

When Shen Lan knocked on the door and came in, Xiao Ji was sitting by the window, his clothes open, fanning himself and drying his hair.

There was a faint smell of alcohol in the study, not pungent.

Shen Lan assumed Xiao Ji hadn't drunk much and stood at the door asking, "My lord, may I come in?"

Xiao Ji turned to look at her, and after a moment's hesitation, said, "Please come in."

Shen Lan brought him her favorite comic book to look at.

"From a scholar's perspective, would an adult enjoy reading books like this?"

Xiao Ji's face was only slightly red as he propped his head up and looked at Shen Lan with a smile in his eyes.

He took it, flipped through it casually, nodded, and said, "I like it. I like anything you choose."

Shen Lan: "..."

She raised her hand and waved in front of him, tentatively asking, "Sir, are you still conscious?"

Xiao Ji felt a little shaky, so he reached out and cupped Shen Lan's hands in his palms.

The book fell to the ground, but neither of them had time to care.

Shen Lan's eyes widened, and she subconsciously glanced outside the study, wanting to see if Qingfeng Mingyue or Suifeng Suiying were outside.

"Sir, you are drunk."

"A bit. These old men won't tell the truth unless they're given a drink."

Shen Lan wanted to make him a hangover soup, but her hand was being held by him and she couldn't move it.

"Sir, please let go."

"Oh." Xiao Ji obediently let go of her hand, but when he saw Shen Lan turn to leave, he reached out and grabbed her arm again.

"Don't leave."

Shen Lan's heartbeat became irregular for a moment.

She turned around and looked down at Xiao Ji.

Xiao Ji was so different from usual at this moment. His eyes were wet and pleading, like a disheartened young man trapped by his emotions, making people want to help him.

"Sir, please... let's talk this out. I won't leave."

Xiao Ji's eyes shone with light, and he smiled.

Shen Lan subconsciously lowered her voice, "I'm not leaving, I'll go get you a glass of water."

Xiao Ji didn't listen this time. He rested his head on her waist, frowned, and murmured, "My head hurts, I don't want to drink water."

Shen Lan felt a slight itch on her waist, but she couldn't avoid it, otherwise Xiao Ji would fall to the ground.

She reached out and patted his head. "Then let me help you to sleep. You'll be fine after a good night's rest."

It's normal to experience dizziness and headaches after drinking too much alcohol.

She was simply curious about what Xiao Ji had been busy with these past few days. Wasn't the case of the驸马 (imperial son-in-law) closed?

"No, I'm not going, I'm not sleeping, I still need to think about things."

"Tell me what you think about, and I'll help you come up with an idea."

"Okay!" Xiao Ji smiled happily, and pulled Shen Lan's arm forcefully, wanting her to sit down and talk slowly.

However, he didn't control his strength well, and Shen Lan stumbled and fell on top of him, and the two of them fell onto the soft couch together.

Eyes wide open.

Xiao Ji's face turned even redder, and he raised his hands high, unsure of where to put them.

Shen Lan frowned, quickly rolled off Xiao Ji, straightened her skirt, and said, "My lord, you should go to sleep early. We can think about it tomorrow."

After saying that, he fled in panic.

Xiao Ji's outstretched hand didn't even touch her clothes.

He sat up, feeling the heat rising within him, and thought guiltily: Would Shen Lan think he was deliberately being a pervert?

Fine, I'll apologize to her tomorrow. I hope she doesn't think of me as a lecher.

Although for a moment just now, he really wanted to do something improper.

He leaned back, turned over, closed his eyes to stop thinking about these things, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Lan returned to her own will, and Xuan'er asked her curiously, "Sister, you're back so soon? Have you finished your business?"

"No, Lord Xiao is drunk."

"Oh, it seems that the master has been coming home drunk these past few days."

"Really? The servants are so well-informed?"

Xuan'er said proudly, "I'm very close to Qingfeng and Mingyue now. I help them with their accounts during the day. I heard it from them."

Shen Lan also knew about this.

They knew Xuan'er could read, so they transferred her over to help with some accounting work. Although it was just odd jobs, it was much better than before.

Shen Lan asked casually, "Did they mention who the adults were drinking with?"

"No, but they said it's rare for Lord Xiao to invite people to brothels. Our Lord Xiao is a rare gentleman, I never expected him to go to such a place."

Shen Lan raised an eyebrow. Could it be that the commotion tonight was caused by eating something he shouldn't have in the brothel?

However, even if you don't eat anything indiscriminately, it's normal to feel restless after going to that place and seeing so much.

They even shook their heads to banish these chaotic images from their minds.

"I'm going to sleep now, you should go to sleep early too."

Shen Lan closed the door, rubbed her face, then took off her clothes and lay down on the bed.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, wondering whether she should scold Xiao Ji or pretend nothing had happened if he brought it up tomorrow.

He didn't mean it.

Shen Lan agonized over it for half the night, but when Xiao Ji sent someone to summon her the next day, he didn't mention the matter at all.

When Xiao Ji woke up, he had completely forgotten what happened last night. He only vaguely remembered that he had seen Shen Lan last night and had a wet dream.

It's normal for an adult man to have erotic dreams, but when he found a book on the floor of his study that didn't belong to him, he became somewhat uncertain.

"I had a drinking session with Wang, the editor from the Hanlin Academy, last night. He has a very high alcohol tolerance and I was forced to drink quite a lot."

Shen Lan didn't know who Editor Wang was, and asked curiously, "Does the Provincial Judicial Commissioner need to curry favor with the Hanlin Academy?"

"No, there are some things I want to ask him, but if I go directly to his door, he might not be willing to tell me, and it would be easy to alert him."

There was only one thing Shen Lan could think of.

"Is it related to Headmaster Tong?"

“Yes.” Xiao Ji opened a drawer and took out several scrolls for her.

"Look, these are portraits I drew based on descriptions from several elders."

Several high-ranking officials in the court who were close to him also said that they had rarely seen Headmaster Tong in recent years; this was their description of what Headmaster Tong looked like a few years ago.

Xiao Ji's painting skills were only average, but he captured the expressions and ages of the figures.

If Shen Lan hadn't met the current Headmaster Tong, she probably would have thought the person in the painting was his elder.

"This is more in line with his age, isn't it?"

People age quickly in this era. Even with proper care, their faces should be full of wrinkles by this age.

"You went to these social events just for this?"

"Yes, I'm worried that if I don't get them drunk, they might reveal this to the Tong family."

It wouldn't be good if the Tong family found out he was investigating Tong Yiwen.

"Is it possible that he is also taking the same elixir as the Emperor?"

Just how miraculous is the Shen family's prescription that it can extend one's lifespan?

But she remembered that the emperor didn't look young either.

Actually, the Emperor is quite a bit younger than Chief Tong.

She herself refuted her own deduction, saying, "There is no such thing as a drug that can reverse aging."

Xiao Ji nodded, "So we have to keep investigating. I refuse to believe we can't uncover the secret behind this!"