Song Qingshu secretly felt ashamed, but he firmly denied it aloud. "Can drunken nonsense be taken seriously? The Crown Princess is so beautiful—any man would like her. Doesn't your brother Xue Pan like her too? Maybe he influenced me, and when I got drunk, I couldn't help spouting nonsense. My mouth is so dry. Is there any water?"
"This is sobering soup. It has already cooled." Xue Baochai brought over the bowl beside her. "I don't care whether there is really something between you and her, or whether it was drunken nonsense as you said. In any case, not a word of this can leak out. You're in Western Xia now, so be careful the enraged Western Xia people don't flay you alive."
Song Qingshu drank the sobering soup and smiled. "Sister Bao, it seems you still care about me deep down."
"Who cares about you!" Xue Baochai rose with a stern face. "Once you finish drinking, get up. There are things to do."
Song Qingshu glanced at the pitch-black window and froze. "I thought it was already daylight, but it's still dark! Let me sleep a little longer. I drank too much last night, and I'm exhausted."
Xue Baochai grabbed him by the ear. "You still have the nerve to say that? You knew the martial arts matchmaking contest began today, yet you got drunk as a skunk. Do you know I waited for you all night so I could teach you some strategies?"
Song Qingshu could not help muttering, "Wasn't coming here for the matchmaking contest just for show? Could you really bear to let me marry that Western Xia Princess?"
"Pah!" Xue Baochai's cheeks heated up. "Who said I couldn't bear it? Even if it is just for show, it still represents the court's dignity. I specifically