Rebirth: The flatterer prince I raised couldn't be so clingy

When the two returned to the pavilion in the center of the lake, most of the dishes had already been served.

As soon as Gao Ye saw the glass wine set in Gu Qingzhi's hand, his eyes lit up and he said, "I've been waiting for this."

Gu Qingzhi arranged the wine utensils, and Pei Xie poured wine for everyone.

Gao Ye narrowed his eyes and hissed, "I've always had a vague feeling that you two are somewhat similar... Tell me the truth, have you known each other before?"

As soon as he said this, Feng Zhanye raised his slender eyes and scanned the faces of Gu Qingzhi and Pei Xie, then blinked at her thoughtfully, obviously showing interest in this as well.

Gu Qingzhi just nodded: "I saw it before when I was working as a thug in the gambling house."

She was now becoming more and more adept at talking such nonsense.

"The boss's nose is getting sharper and sharper. You can even sniff this out. You are highly valued by the boss, unlike a small fry like me."

Pei Xie did not refute her, but continued speaking along with her words. While handing the wine cup filled with broken Yuchun to Gao Ye, he emphasized the word "rely on" and deliberately teased her.

He resumed his playful and annoying look, as if he had already forgotten what had just happened.

"Oh! If that's the case, Guard Gu actually knew that Pei Xie was my retainer a long time ago, right? No wonder you were so relieved when Prince Duan went to the palace to perform a ritual."

Gao Ye was not annoyed at all. Instead, he looked as if he knew it and raised his chin towards Feng Zhanye, as if they had discussed this matter a long time ago.

The young man sitting opposite him was not too surprised by this. Since both of them were from Wutong Lane, it was normal for them to have met each other.

Pei Xie raised his eyebrows at Gu Qingzhi, meaning: You've started plotting against me so early, right?

"Come on, come on, how about we try my wine together?"

Gao Ye's greeting interrupted the two people's expressions, and the four of them raised their glasses to drink together.

After drinking a glass of strong liquor, Gu Qingzhi felt refreshed. In order to recuperate, she had been forced by Gu Fengping to abstain from alcohol for more than two months.

But she still glanced at Feng Zhanye beside her with some concern.

The boy seemed to be stimulated by the unexpected spicy taste and frowned slightly. After a moment, his expression returned to normal and he had adapted.

Fortunately, the child doesn’t get drunk easily.

For some reason, she felt relieved from the bottom of her heart, and inexplicably felt like a huge pot had been lifted off her shoulders.

It was really pleasant to drink while enjoying the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains. Gao Ye drank a glass of wine, breathed a sigh of relief, and then went back to his own business.

"It's hard to imagine how you managed to survive in that shabby little courtyard. Look at your mansion now. This is the demeanor of a noble family."

Several people couldn't help but look at Feng Zhanye. The young man had a calm expression. He took the wine poured by Pei Xie, but turned to Gu Qingzhi.

"This is all thanks to Ah Zhi." He held the wine cup with his slender fingers and gently touched it with Gu Qingzhi's cup on the table. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive today."

Although he hadn't drunk a drop of wine, he had learned a lot of etiquette, so he made this toast very solemnly.

Gu Qingzhi was also not vague. She picked up the wine cup and drank another glass in front of the young man.

As soon as the wine cups were put down, Gao Ye and Pei Xie toasted her. One thanked her for taking the risk to steal the joint letter, and the other "respected Brother Gu". It was obviously a round-robin toast that was planned in collusion.

Gu Qingzhi drank three cups in a row and clearly felt that the wind was not blowing in the right direction. It would have been fine if Feng Zhanye and Gao Ye were coming for her, but Pei Xie actually joined in the fun.

It goes without saying that this is a retaliation for the plot against him a long time ago.

She waved her hand to refuse the fourth drink and changed the subject: "Come to think of it, I haven't heard any obvious movement since leaving the Prime Minister's residence that day. The Left Prime Minister is not the kind of person who will let it go."

Unexpectedly, Gao Ye laughed heartily and patted Feng Zhanye on the shoulder. "Of course there was no movement. It's just that Prince Duan was worried about your serious injury and didn't tell you. He's been busy all the time, exchanging several moves with that old fox. I guess the father and son are pissing off each other right now."

Gu Qingzhi was stunned, and suddenly remembered that Feng Zhanye was unusually busy during that period.

The young man put down his wine cup and spoke calmly, as if discussing something unrelated: "Nothing, just some trivial matters. He submitted a petition, hoping to use the excuse that I had just established the government office as an excuse to allow the government troops to station there, but was blocked by the Marquis of Yongning and the Empress Defei. He then sent someone to the Jingzhao Yin to falsely accuse the government servants. So I sent all the account books and deeds to the government office and asked them to investigate."

He said it lightly, but the more Gu Qingzhi listened, the more dangerous it seemed.

If he handles these matters improperly, he can find an excuse to accuse him of not managing his subordinates properly.

"There were also two groups of spies who tried to sneak in at night," Pei Xie added lazily, pointing at Gao Ye, "and they were 'properly' dealt with by his family and me."

Gao Ye raised his chin proudly: "That's right! We are not vegetarians!"

Gu Qingzhi was shocked when she heard this and couldn't help but turn her head to look at Feng Zhanye: "Why are you..."

The young man knew what she wanted to say. He picked up some meat and placed it on her plate. He leaned his head towards her shoulder and lowered his voice so that only she could hear: "You are seriously injured. I can handle these trivial matters myself. The most important thing is that you can rest and recover."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Ye straightened him up with dissatisfaction.

"Hey! No whispering allowed!"

"Let's talk about business and talk about business!"

He shook his head and put on a serious expression. "I can help you deal with those rumors in the market lately that you're trying to curry favor with my Gao family, but my aunt...she knows you're going to form a secret guard, so she asked me to help you with some advice."

He hesitated a bit when he said the last few words.

The atmosphere in the pavilion subtly paused for a moment. Everyone could understand Concubine De's good intentions. She simply wanted to tie Feng Zhanye and the Gao family together tightly.

There was no surprise on the boy's face, as if he had been waiting for this sentence.

He ran his fingertips across the rim of the cup, his voice steady:

"Then please tell Consort Defei for me. I've already handed this matter over to Azhi, so don't worry about it."

For a moment, the air in the pavilion seemed to freeze.

Gu Qingzhi didn't expect him to refuse so decisively. Just as she was about to say something to ease the atmosphere, Gao Ye waved his hand.

"Don't get me wrong, Auntie did give the order, but I don't want to be caught in the middle of you. I'm here just to tell you that whatever you want to do is your own business, and I won't interfere."

Feng Zhanye paused, took the wine jar from Pei Xie's hand and poured a glass for Gao Ye.

"Then how are you going to explain this to Concubine De?"

Gao Ye held the wine that the young man had poured for him personally, pretended to be mysterious, and stroked his non-existent beard.

"Well... that's natural. I'll know whatever you want me to know. After all, being your friend is far more profitable than being your enemy."

Feng Zhanye pondered for a moment and said, "Then please tell the palace that I've caught a cold and will be resting tomorrow."

"No problem." Gao Ye agreed readily and clinked glasses with him.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes of food, Gao Ye, who had proposed to test Feng Zhanye's drinking capacity, became the first one to get drunk.

Pei Xie supported him and said goodbye to Feng Zhanye, and was sent to the door by Gu Qingzhi.

After stuffing Gao Ye into the carriage, Pei Xie turned around and discussed with Gu Qingzhi.

"I'll tell the boss about my visit in a couple of days. I'm sure his aunt will think he's made some arrangements among the secret guards. I'll also bring that map to Boss Qin."

Gu Qingzhi nodded: "Come over then, and I'll tell you about other matters in detail."

The two looked at each other and nodded goodbye.

Back in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, Feng Zhanye was still sitting obediently in his original position, but he leaned against the pavilion pillar, squinting his eyes, and looked drunk.

Although he drank the least among the four, he was able to drink that much on his first day of drinking, so his alcohol tolerance was not bad.

"Aye?"

Gu Qingzhi called him tentatively, and the boy's furry brows frowned slightly, and he said "hmm".

"Okay, come on."

Gu Qingzhi pulled him up like coaxing a child, put one arm around his waist, put his arm on her shoulder with the other, and helped him back to the house.