"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The small cowhide drum sounded. The noble ladies quickly passed around the peony. Obviously, none of them wanted to be the first one.
To Ning Ywan's left happened to be Song Yiran. After getting the peony, unlike others in a hurry, she held it in her hand and observed it carefully.
"Thump!"
Just before the last strike of the drum, Song Yiran accurately and quickly threw the peony into Ning Ywan's arms.
All the young ladies present could see clearly that they were obviously going to make things difficult for Ning Ywan today.
Song Yiran always liked to follow Chu Nian'an and An Xingzhi. Her sudden attack must have been instigated by those two.
Even those who wanted to help Ning Ywan were held back by others, hinting not to offend the princess.
Ning Ywan saw everyone's expressions clearly. Looking down, she met Pei Yunlu's worried eyes. She gave a gentle smile to comfort her.
"It's your turn, cousin-in-law," Chu Nian'an clapped her hands. "With 'flower' as the first word, please compose a poem within seven breaths."
She deliberately shortened the time to make it more difficult for Ning Ywan.
You know, if other young ladies got the flower, they would at least have the time of one round of the game to think.
"Seven!"
Song Yiran proudly counted the breaths on behalf of the little maid, her head held high haughtily.
Ning Ywan dusted off her sleeves. "Miss Song, stay away from me. Your saliva is about to splash on my clothes."
"You!"
In terms of eloquence, how could Song Yiran be a match for Ning Ywan?
Rarely having self - awareness, she gritted her teeth and continued, "Six, five!"
"The Princess Consort should stop trying to divert our attention and compose the poem quickly," An Xingzhi said deliberately, as if she had already guessed Ning Ywan's defeat.
Ning Ywan pursed her lips and spread her hands. "I can't think of one."
The "four" in Song Yiran's throat was still stuck, but Ning Ywan casually admitted defeat.
"In that case, cousin-in-law should drink this cup of wine," Chu Nian'an said.
The wine in Chu Nian'an's hand was twenty - year - old Nu'er Hong, strong and fragrant. Using it as a punishment for the game of passing the flower was really too much.
Because few of the noble ladies from aristocratic families could hold their liquor well.
Drinking another cup of this strong wine, one might be drunk for the whole day.
Pei Yunlu bit her lip. Ning Ywan was invited by her to play the game of passing the flower according to Chu Nian'an's wishes.
If she really got drunk and made a fool of herself, Chu Nian'an might have more tricks to bully her.
"The Princess Consort is playing for the first time and doesn't understand the rules. Let's just waive this punishment," Pei Yunlu said.
Chu Nian'an frowned unhappily. "Yunlu, do you want to drink this cup of wine for cousin-in-law?"
Pei Yunlu didn't dare to say a word. She had never drunk before. Even if she had the intention, she didn't have the ability.
"The Prince is not far away. If the Princess Consort gets drunk, he might be unhappy," a soft voice said. It was the little girl who had just given her seat to Ning Ywan. She looked timid but still bravely spoke up for Ning Ywan.
"An Ruoqian!"
An Xingzhi frowned. The little girl immediately shrank her neck. "Elder sister, don't be angry. It's my fault for talking too much!"
It turned out that she was An Xingzhi's younger sister.
The two sisters' personalities were really poles apart.
An Ruoqian's words reminded Chu Nian'an. She didn't dare to go too far. Cousin Zhao was not far away.
She bit her lip reluctantly. "Then cousin-in-law should drink half a cup."
Ning Ywan nodded slightly to thank Pei Yunlu and An Ruoqian, then replied, "Okay."
She drank the wine smoothly, looking like a fairy drinking. It was really a pleasant sight.
Chu Nian'an was slightly stunned. She had forgotten how many times she had secretly sighed at Ning Ywan's beauty today.
Although it was only half a cup of Nu'er Hong, the alcohol was still strong. Everyone was just waiting for Ning Ywan to fall drunk in the next moment.
Unexpectedly, she stood there well, showing no sign of being drunk.
"I didn't expect cousin-in-law to have such a good capacity for liquor!"
The young ladies Chu Nian'an usually got along with couldn't drink. They always respected her in their conversations. It wasn't bad, but after getting along with so many such people, it was inevitably boring.
Ning Ywan, whom she met for the first time today, was completely different from them. She was lively and bold, had a good capacity for liquor, and could play games well.
It really aroused Chu Nian'an's great interest.
"Princess," An Xingzhi had known Chu Nian'an for many years. How could she not understand what Chu Nian'an was thinking?
She quietly pulled Chu Nian'an's sleeve to signal her. "The Princess Consort has a good capacity for liquor! Why don't we play more freely? Everyone can have more fun."
Ning Ywan rubbed her forehead, seemingly just a little tipsy. "Play! Of course we should play! We can't spoil everyone's fun."
It was exactly what An Xingzhi wanted. She signaled the little maid to continue.
Although her small actions were very obvious, the other noble ladies were all involved in the game. In the second round, the peony didn't end up in Ning Ywan's hands.
Instead, it landed in An Xingzhi's hands. She smiled gracefully. In just a moment, she came up with a poem, "The flower's charm unfolds in splendid grace, hard to tell if the imperial city is a fairyland source."
"Good poem!"
Song Yiran was the first to applaud. Without knowing what the poem really meant, she smiled and poured tea for An Xingzhi.
Naturally, others also said it was good and let her pass this round.
Compared with Ning Ywan's awkward moment just now, An Xingzhi was very complacent. She thought Ning Ywan was the brick to lead out the jade, while she was the precious jade.
"That's all? I can do it too," Ning Ywan disagreed in the midst of all the applause.
"The Princess Consort can do it again?" An Xingzhi said sarcastically. "Then how about another round?"
"I won't play without a prize," Ning Ywan shook her head, propping her chin with her right hand and slowly scanning the young ladies.
"How about a big one? Miss An and I will both put up a prize. If I compose a better poem, the prizes will be mine."
So that was her plan. An Xingzhi was dressed in extremely luxurious clothes. Although it couldn't compare with the imperial - style clothes of Chu Nian'an, all her accessories were exquisitely made and very valuable.
"The Princess Consort's drinking game poem must be better than Xingzhi's," An Xingzhi took off the eight - treasure exquisite tassel hairpin on her head. "This is my prize."
Ning Ywan shook her head. "I thought it was some great prize. It's just an ordinary thing."
She took out a pair of golden East pearls the size of bird eggs from her purse. "Although I'm not rich, I can still afford this."
After all, she was a dragon princess for thousands of years. She had seen all kinds of treasures. Her private treasure trove could buy dozens of Chu dynasties.
Golden East pearls?
Even Chu Nian'an, the princess, was impressed. "I didn't expect cousin-in-law to have such high - quality East pearls in her hand!"
She looked at them longingly. You know, only the emperor's private treasury had East pearls of this quality.
When she was a child, she was so naive that she always pestered the emperor to give her some. Even though the emperor doted on her, he never agreed.
An Xingzhi's eight - treasure exquisite tassel hairpin was not good enough. With a gloomy face, she took off the jade bracelet on her wrist. "The Princess Consort has a pair of East pearls. Naturally, I'll add one more prize. This blood - red jade bracelet was bestowed by the noble concubine. It's extremely precious."
Ning Ywan then nodded. "Equal prizes are really attractive."
She casually put the East pearls on the table. "Let's not play the game of passing the flower so trouble - somely. Let's take 'flower' and 'moon' as the theme. Whoever composes a better poem gets the prizes."
An Xingzhi thought she was well - read and confident. "Then let it be as the Princess Consort said. But if the Princess Consort loses, don't be reluctant to part with your prizes."
Ning Ywan raised her eyebrows at her. "Miss An, I'm afraid you can't afford to lose!"