The courtyard blazed with lamplight. Inside, seven women in different styles of dress sat on round stools around the large round table, their cheeks already flushed after several rounds of wine.
Since they all knew each other fairly well, simply sitting together drinking was hardly entertaining. Halfway through the meal, Shui'er proposed another drinking game.
Yu Hu and the Empress Dowager had not boarded the boat, so bringing out the lot cylinder at the dinner table would have been inappropriate. Instead, they played something like truth or drink, with each person asking the next a question in turn.
Ye Jingtang sat between Third Madam and Ning'er, with Shui'er beside Ning'er.
As the person asking Ning'er questions, Shui'er certainly would not let her off easily. She showed no restraint whatsoever on account of her status as Master, daring to ask all sorts of outrageous questions, such as:
"What did your first kiss feel like?"
"Have you ever fooled around with Ye Jingtang outdoors?"
How could Ning'er withstand questions that never strayed from that subject? She drank practically every time her turn came. Already a poor drinker, she was drunk after just a few rounds, yet being next in line meant she could do nothing to Shui'er.
Finally pushed beyond endurance, the thin-skinned Ning'er threw caution to the wind. When her turn to ask came, she turned toward the little scoundrel beside her, who was pretending to be a wooden statue, and asked:
"Ye Jingtang, who's a hairless girl at this table?"
At those words, the lively table fell briefly silent. Several women wore odd looks, and even Silly sat a little straighter, stealing a glance at her elder sister beside her.
Yu Hu had exceptionally strong nerves. She leisurely swirled her wine cup and waited for Ye Jingtang's answer, as