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Impatiently, he downed the wine in one gulp. It felt like a line of fire burning straight from his throat to his stomach. Although it was only a little over thirty degrees, to someone who had never drunk before, it was already incredibly strong liquor!

"Refreshing!"

After downing the wine, Zhang Fei's originally fierce-looking dark face became intoxicated and almost adorably dazed. No one laughed at him, though—not because they were being considerate, but because no one had the time. Everyone was busy savoring the fine wine in their bowls.

Wang Xuan never even got the chance to urge them to drink. Dian Wei and Zhang Fei finished their bowls in a few gulps, then could only stare longingly as everyone else took tiny sips, constantly licking the drool from the corners of their mouths. They looked as pitiful as injured stray dogs.

People like them weren't worth pitying. More importantly, Wang Xuan didn't have that much wine in his hands either. It wasn't that he was stingy. As he had said, resources were scarce, and even if one had money, there was nowhere to spend it!

At the dining table, Liu Bei tried to speak, but Wang Xuan cut him off. It was not until the servants had finished slicing and serving the mutton that the group officially began their conversation.

After a round of polite small talk, Liu Bei finally asked the question that had been weighing on his heart for a long time: How exactly had Wang Xuan persuaded Prefect Zhang?

"People cannot escape fame and profit in life. For Zhang Miao, no matter what we discussed, the prerequisite was preserving his reputation. I believe you've heard some rumors these past few days. Those were the things I told Zhang Miao. I gave him a chance to