After returning to the capital, the eldest daughter saved her entire clan with her medical skills.

"Yes, this servant will go to the backyard to fetch the wine right away."

Seeing that the old clan chief was angry, the servant was so frightened that he quickly ran towards the backyard.

It's no wonder the old clan chief was angry. The young lady had instructed them early on that the wine cellar in the back kitchen courtyard had been prepared with fine wine to properly entertain the guests today.

Who would have thought that there would be many more guests than expected today, each one more distinguished than the last. So busy greeting the guests in the front yard, I forgot to move the wine.

"It's all our fault for being too impatient. We couldn't wait to taste the delicious food before the wine was even served, hehe..."

Ren Shanzhang stroked his beard, offering the old clan chief a way out, so as not to be blamed by the prince for not being hospitable enough.

"I wonder what kind of wine it is today? Is there any monkey wine?"

Upon hearing about the fine wine, Master Jin could no longer contain himself and looked at the old clan chief with anticipation.

After tasting the monkey wine brought by Miss Xue at Luming Academy that day, I could never forget it. I couldn't eat or drink anything, just so I could taste that delicious monkey wine again.

Having waited so long for this day, and hearing that fine wine would be served, I eagerly looked out of the courtyard, hoping to find monkey wine.

"I am unaware of that."

The old clan chief was taken aback, not expecting that the teacher from Li'er Academy would ask for monkey wine so readily.

Little did they know that the monkey wine was a rare and precious brew, a top-quality item that money couldn't buy, so how could the general's mansion possibly have it?

It wouldn't be appropriate to deny it directly in front of everyone, so I could only use my lack of knowledge as an excuse to brush it off.

"You're quite greedy. I've never even seen monkey wine before. How could the General's Mansion have monkey wine? Even if it did, it would be scarce. How could it be enough to entertain guests?"

The prince consort Xu Ye looked at Master Jin with a hint of mockery in his eyes, feeling that this man was too greedy.

A mere tutor dares to covet such exquisite wine? Does he think the General's Mansion is some kind of sucker? He's utterly absurd.

"Please calm down, Your Highness. Master Jin is an upright man and meant no harm. I hope you will not take offense."

Seeing the prince consort's anger, Headmaster Ren quickly put down his teacup, stood up from his seat, knelt down in front of Xu Ye, and pleaded for Master Jin.

The imperial court is not like an academy; a single word can determine life or death.

Master Jin is a man of profound learning, but he is also upright, aloof and proud. He is perfectly suited to teaching at the academy, but his flaws would immediately become apparent if he were to deal with officials in the court, and he would easily get into trouble.

Upon seeing this, Master Jin turned pale. Although he did not understand what he had done wrong, he was so frightened by the headmaster's behavior that he knelt down and dared not say another word.

The others kept their eyes down, pretending not to hear anything, unwilling to get involved in this mess.

Master Jin realized he had gotten himself into trouble, and despite the cold weather, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Instead, the awe-inspiring Regent slightly raised his eyelids, glanced indifferently at the crowd, and turned to look at the Prince Consort with a half-smile, his voice cold and clear.

"How does the prince consort know that the general's mansion doesn't have monkey wine?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire main hall fell silent, the atmosphere becoming deathly still.

No one expected that the Regent would stand up for the teacher of Luming Academy. Logically, the Prince and the Prince Consort should be closer. Could there be some conflict between them that they are unaware of?

The main hall fell silent immediately, and no one dared to interrupt.

The old clan chief was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. The guest was a guest, and as the host, he should not have put the guest in such an awkward situation.

On one side was the all-powerful regent, and on the other was the beloved princess and her husband. They couldn't afford to offend either side, so they dared not offer any advice.

His mouth opened and closed, but in the end he didn't say anything.

The main hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. No one dared to speak; everyone kept their eyes down and remained silent.

Xu Ye was taken aback by the Regent's disrespect and quickly realized that the Regent was probably resentful of his neglect of the princess over the years and was taking this opportunity to make things difficult for him.

In the past, he would have felt uncomfortable, and even if he didn't dare to argue, he would have vented his anger on the princess when he returned to the manor.

Now his mindset has changed. Thinking about the resentment he harbored towards the princess over the years, his coldness and indifference towards her, and how he left her alone in her empty room, he realized he was not a qualified husband. Therefore, he could no longer hold a grudge against his brother-in-law, Murong Xun.

If his daughter or sister had been treated like this by her husband, they would probably have already sought revenge.

Having figured out the key issues, Xu Ye smiled slightly, about to say a few kind words, when he saw a servant carrying jars of wine coming from the backyard.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I can faintly smell the fragrance of fruit and the aroma of wine.

Everyone couldn't help but take a deep sniff; the smell was even stronger than before, and they stared wide-eyed at the outside.

"Such a rich aroma of wine."

Gu Hanlin seized the opportunity to break the somewhat tense atmosphere and looked with great interest at the wine jar that the servant was carrying.

"What kind of fine wine has the chieftain prepared for us? It tastes so intoxicating! Could it really be that monkey's wine? Hahaha..."

"I really didn't know about this. The dishes and drinks served in the manor were all prepared by Ruan Ruan herself. The clan did not interfere."

Not only were the guests curious, but the old clan chief was also curious.

What kind of wine did that soft girl prepare? It's so mellow that it's even whetting his appetite.

In the blink of an eye, the servants had already carried the wine jars into the main hall. Just now, there was only a faint aroma of wine, but now the rich fragrance had filled the air.

"What kind of wine is this? It smells so fragrant and intoxicating."

The Fifth Master, disregarding the presence of the Regent, stood up and strode toward the servant.

"Reporting to Fifth Master, I was unaware of this; it was Miss who instructed us to move here."

The servant placed the wine jars on a side table, arranging them in a row; there were more than ten jars in total.

"Quickly, just open a jar and taste it, then you'll know."

Xu Ye couldn't wait any longer, so he stood up from his chair and walked towards the desk.

The once spirited young man, after marrying the princess, had nothing to do with his burning desire for revenge but no opportunity to display his talents. He could only turn his energy to drinking and composing poems.

I've tasted countless fine wines over the years, but I've never smelled such a rich and mellow aroma.

Master Jin's eyes were like hooks, as if he wanted to stick to that wine jar, but because he had almost offended a nobleman by saying the wrong thing earlier, he dared not be careless in the slightest.

Headmaster Ren and Gu Hanlin weren't much better off; no matter how indifferent and restrained they usually were, they were now itching to make a move.

If it weren't for the constraints of morality and etiquette, they would have been drinking heartily from the wine jar long ago.

The fifth elder kept giving the old clan chief meaningful glances, urging him to quickly open the wine jar to entertain the distinguished guest.

Those present were all distinguished officials and dignitaries, yet at this moment they acted like ignorant commoners, their eyes fixed intently on the wine jar.

Only Murong Xun sat upright at the table, his slender fingers holding a teacup. He lowered his eyes to look at the emerald green tea leaves, took a small sip, and the faint aroma of tea filled his mouth.

His eyelids drooped slightly, concealing the deep meaning in his eyes.

"There's no need for the prince consort to do it himself; just have the servants in the manor pour a cup for the master."

The old clan chief was so frightened when he saw the gentle and refined-looking prince consort nearly fall over while holding a wine jar in his arms. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

On this joyous occasion, if the prince consort were to fall and suffer any serious injury, the General's Mansion would be unable to bear such a heavy responsibility.

"It's alright. We can make our own food and clothing. There's no need for such formalities, Chief."

Xu Ye was in a good mood; he had a premonition that the wine in the jar would bring him a pleasant surprise.

The servant was so frightened that he rushed to take it, but was pushed away and walked straight to his seat with the wine jar in his arms. He did not forget that the regent was present and placed the wine jar on the table between the two of them.

Without the regent's permission, no one dared to open the mud seal on the wine jar.

Everyone stared at Murong Xun with pleading and pitiful expressions.

Murong Xun glanced at the crowd indifferently, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something blooming on my face?"

Everyone stared blankly, as if they didn't recognize him, their eyes wide open.

Is this still the regent they know?

Is this still the same regent who inspired fear and dread?

Why does the atmosphere feel so different today? It's like he's become a completely different person. Something's definitely up with him. Could it be that His Highness has been bewitched by some fox spirit?

"Your Highness, shall we share a drink from the same jar?"

Xu Ye looked at the wine jar placed between the two of them and took the initiative to ask.

That being said, no one could ignore the reluctance on her face.

Murong Xu glanced at him indifferently, "No need for formalities, Prince Consort. I will simply open another jar."

"Then I will not stand on ceremony."

Xu Ye wished he could enjoy the wine all to himself, but he had to be polite to the Regent because of his status.

The servant was perceptive and immediately placed a jar of wine on the table beside Murong Xun.

"Someone, open the wine jar."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Yan Xiao appeared suddenly in front of everyone like a phantom. No one noticed where he came from. They only felt a darkness before their eyes and found themselves in front of the table.

Everyone was startled, almost breaking out in a cold sweat.

I had long known that the prince's guards were incredibly skilled in martial arts, and now that I've seen them, I can confirm that their reputation is well-deserved.

I've heard that the prince has four secret guards who never appear in public. If they do, it means their lives are about to end.

This is not the most terrifying thing. What is most frightening is that the Regent's martial arts skills are superior to these people. If he wants to take someone's head, it will only take the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, they didn't do anything to anger the prince, otherwise they wouldn't even know how they died.

The aged wine, whose mouth was sealed with mud, was opened, and its fragrant aroma instantly filled the main hall.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they all exclaimed in surprise.

"What a rich aroma."

"What kind of wine is this? How can it be so fragrant and mellow? I pride myself on having tasted all the fine wines in the world, but I have never smelled such a rich aroma of wine."

"Indeed, the General's Mansion has gone to great lengths to entertain us with such fine wine."

Everyone had different opinions and guesses about what kind of wine it was, but only Headmaster Ren and a few other teachers of Luming Academy were secretly delighted.

This tastes exactly the same as the wine Miss Xue sent to the academy a few days ago; it really is monkey wine.

Master Jin was so excited he almost laughed out loud. He had almost gotten himself into trouble because of his loose tongue, so he dared not act on his impulses again and had to suppress his joy.

Yan Xiao respectfully filled Murong Xun's wine cup to the brim. The wine poured from the large wine jar into the finger-width cup was poured without spilling a drop.

Everyone's eyes widened slightly, and they couldn't help but look down at the wine glasses on the table, unable to hide their shock.

After pouring the wine, Yan Xiao stepped back behind Murong Xun and stood by his side.

The others did not have such great authority; the servants in the mansion carried the wine jars and poured the wine into the cups.