DIHBSG chapter 20

How could Song Jian have imagined that Prince Xian would be the one treating them?

Standing at the doorway, he went through an intense internal struggle between loyalty and a table worth thirty-eight taels, plus a complimentary jar of premium Daughter’s Red wine from Zuixian Tower.

After struggling for a full three seconds, he walked inside.

That’s right—this was the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on Prince Xian!

Xiao Da looked at him.

“Why are you wearing such a grim face?”

Song Jian said, “If I smile too happily, people will mistake me for being on your side.”

Xiao Da: “?”

Song Jian said, “I’m His Majesty’s hunting dog. I only work for His Majesty. I won’t rebel, so you can give up on that idea.”

Xiao Da: “???” His face flushed pink with anger.

Without thinking, he blurted out: “What’s so great about that? This prince is also Imperial Brother’s hunting dog! I only work for Imperial Brother!”

Song Jian blinked: “Oh? Is that so?”

Xiao Da snorted: “Of course.”

Song Jian said, “Then Your Highness Prince Xian, remember to report to the Tiancha Division tomorrow. While you’re at it, submit your onboarding report.”

Xiao Da: “…”

Was he some kind of masochist?

Could someone please do something about this man surnamed Song?

Xiao Da shifted his gaze to Xiao Yongning, who had already started devouring the food. “Xiao Ba.”¹小八 (Little Eight)

Xiao Yongning was too busy eating. She took two big bites of a drumstick and, in between, didn’t forget to push half a roasted duck toward Song Jian.

Xiao Da said: “Tell him whether I’m Imperial Brother’s most trusted good younger brother.”

Still chewing on her drumstick, Xiao Yongning said: “(Chew chew chew chew chew.)”

She looked at Xiao Da for a while before turning to Song Jian.

“Lord Song, my imperial brother has said that Xiao Da doesn’t have the brains to rebel. I think you really misunderstood him.”

Song Jian fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Yongning continued: “And Xiao Da had a terrible fever when he was little. He almost didn’t survive.”

“If he’s ever done something that looks smart, then it was probably something my imperial brother told him to do.”

Song Jian: “…”

Wait… was this really okay to say?

After a moment of silence, he suddenly apologized with utmost sincerity.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness Prince Xian. I didn’t know you’d gone through those things when you were little. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Xiao Da’s face looked like an overturned paint palette.

“In that case, everything makes sense now.”

Song Jian gave him a look full of concern.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. When you’re old, I won’t sell you health supplements.”²In China, there is a well-known stereotype of scammers targeting elderly people by selling overpriced or ineffective “health supplements” (保健品), often through misleading health talks and aggressive marketing. Song Jian is jokingly reassuring Prince Xian that even when he gets old, he won’t be the kind of person who tries to scam him by selling him such supplements.

Xiao Da finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“The relationship between this prince and Imperial Brother is—”

Song Jian had already pushed the roasted duck in front of him over.

“Your Highness, eat more. Nourish yourself.”

Xiao Yongning blinked and also handed over the drumstick she was eating.

“…”

The Heaven No. 1 private room was filled with dishes. After the three of them had sampled everything once, they were already half full.

During the meal, Song Jian also listened to Xiao Da explain everything that had happened the night he had been abducted to Prince Xian’s residence.

Patting his chest, Xiao Da said: “So? My acting wasn’t bad, right?”

Song Jian nodded: “Domineering prince. A true-to-life performance.”

Xiao Da was extremely satisfied with that evaluation. After eating a while longer, he had the waiter bring over the jar of premium Daughter’s Red wine and suggested they play a poetry relay game.

Stuffed with food and sitting there in a daze, Song Jian sniffed lightly.

“What kind of poetry?”

Cradling the wine jar, Xiao Da poured a cup and held it up.

“See this cup? Whoever ends up holding it has to compose one line of poetry related to today’s banquet. Whoever can’t come up with one has to drink the wine. If everyone succeeds, then we compare whose verse is better.”

“Oh.”

Song Jian didn’t particularly care for these little drinking games.

He had come to eat.

As long as the meal was good, everything else was negotiable.

Xiao Da confidently began first. Although the oily prince had gone through those things in childhood, his poetry was unexpectedly quite good.

The reason Song Jian thought it was good was because he hadn’t understood a single word of it. It just sounded sophisticated.

After Xiao Da finished, the cup was passed to Xiao Yongning, who casually came up with a line as well.

Then it was Song Jian’s turn.

Holding the cup, Song Jian’s mind went completely blank.

After absentmindedly rubbing two peanuts together for a while, he said,

“My stomach growls from hunger loud, sneaking out to mooch a meal makes me proud.”

Xiao Da: “…”

Xiao Yongning: “…”

Song Jian: “(。· _ · 。)”

After another long silence, he lowered his head and sniffed the wine in the cup before cautiously taking a sip.

It was a little sweet going down.

Not bad.

He quietly raised his right hand.

“It’s okay. I lost fair and square. I’ll drink.”

Before transmigrating, Song Jian had only just reached adulthood, and he had only drunk alcohol a handful of times.

This was the perfect opportunity to try some.

Swirling the amber-colored wine, he gulped it down in two big mouthfuls.

Refreshing!

Xiao Yongning hesitated as she watched two patches of red bloom across his cheeks almost immediately. “Lord Song… are you alright?”

Song Jian raised a fist.

“I’m fine!”

And so their poetry game continued.

Song Jian: “Youth has no price, crab roe tofu melts right in your mouth!”

Gulp gulp.

So good!

…

Xiao Da said: “Ten years apart in life and death, both equally lost.”

Cradling his wine cup, Song Jian followed with: “Five years apart in life and death, equally lost!”

Half an hour later, because Xiao Da had said, “You’ve never saluted this prince before,” Song Jian ended up chasing him around the room, repeatedly performing formal greetings.

“Jing Ye, my respects!”³“京爷，您吉祥!” is a popular Chinese internet meme based on an old Beijing-style greeting. 京爷 (Jīng yé) literally means “Master Jing” or “Beijing gentleman.”

Xiao Da hid behind a stool, Song Jian jumped onto the stool.

“Jing Ye, my respects!!”

Xiao Da shouted: “I was wrong!! I was wrong!! You don’t have to salute me anymore!!”

Someone save me!!

The meal ended in complete chaos. The only reason things finally settled down was because it was time for Song Jian to start work.

Slowly straightening his clothes, he didn’t forget to say,

“Whatever’s left… mm… don’t waste it. Pack it up for me and send it back to the Tiancha Division. Just leave it in the dining hall and give it to the cook.”

Then he pressed his palms together and added: “Thank you. May good people live peaceful lives.”

The good person, Xiao Da, said: “Got it. Now hurry up and leave!”

Finally, Song Jian turned to Xiao Yongning: “Bye, Xiao Ba.”

“Bye, Lord Song.”

Song Jian left Zuixian Tower and, buoyed by the alcohol, he flitted through the air a few times.

Work, work, work, work~

Passing through the streets and alleys of the capital, he hurried as fast as he could and finally returned to Yanning Palace right on time.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes met those of the emperor behind the imperial desk, who was reading memorials.

Standing there with a pleasantly flushed face, Song Jian let out a drunken hiccup.

Xiao Yinghuai frowned.

Song Jian obediently said: “Your Majesty~”

Happily, he started walking over.

Looking at him, Xiao Yinghuai said: “Stand there.”

Song Jian froze instantly.

With his hands behind his back, he looked a little lost.

The smell of alcohol that filled the hall lingered in Xiao Yinghuai’s nostrils. His expression darkened slightly.

“So, you went out to keep an eye on a bad person?”

Song Jian was dizzy and a little unsteady on his feet, but he still nodded vigorously.

“Mm!”

“Is there anything you wish to report to me?”

Song Jian thought for a moment before nodding hard again.

“Mm.”

“Let’s hear it.”

After drinking, Song Jian’s brain only ran on a single thread.

All he could think about was making his report, completely forgetting that the emperor had just told him to stay where he was.

He shuffled forward a few steps, then dropped to his knees with a thump, adjusted himself into a comfortable kneeling position, and said,

“This subordinate discovered… hic… that His Highness Prince Xian isn’t a bad person.”

Xiao Yinghuai said: “So you had a drink with him.”

The person kneeling below was honestly obedient, nodding like a garlic pestle before adding one more description.

“He’s a generous good person. Today… today he treated us.”

The candlelight in the hall flickered.

His dark eyes reflected the dancing flames.

Xiao Yinghuai studied him for a while before lightly lifting a finger.

“Come here.”

Song Jian obediently shuffled over in front of the emperor.

Perhaps because he had been out in the wind, his head felt swollen.

It seemed he was becoming less and less clear-headed.

His voice carried a slight nasal tone as he tilted his head up halfway.

“Your Majesty, what are your orders?”

Lowering his eyes, Xiao Yinghuai examined the small, fair face before him even more carefully than before.

“You’ve become so bold. Do you think I won’t kill you?”

Song Jian blinked.

After a while, as though finally processing the words, he replied righteously, “I’m an adult! I can drink alcohol now!”

Xiao Yinghuai remained silent.

Feeling guilty, Song Jian added in a small voice,

“And I wasn’t late for my night duty…”

“Mm. I knows.”

The person before him wore a hazy, innocent expression.

His brows and eyes were filled with heavy drunkenness.

Xiao Yinghuai gently cupped his face.

“Everywhere is the same, yet everything is different.”

Song Jian’s eyelashes trembled.

“…Hm?”

Xiao Yinghuai said, “I has always wondered what exactly you are. Could you be some kind of demon?”

“But you don’t seem like one.”

The person before him replied,

“Your Majesty truly… has dragon eyes that recognize pearls! I’m not a demon! I’m a good person!”

Xiao Yinghuai narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Then tell me—what is your name?”

“…”

The person before him suddenly grabbed his hand.

Very seriously, he lowered his head and slowly wrote a single character into Xiao Yinghuai’s palm, stroke by stroke.

“Jian…” he murmured.

“The jian from ‘diligence and frugality’…”

“Song Jian…”

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨

• 1
  小八 (Little Eight)
• 2
  In China, there is a well-known stereotype of scammers targeting elderly people by selling overpriced or ineffective “health supplements” (保健品), often through misleading health talks and aggressive marketing. Song Jian is jokingly reassuring Prince Xian that even when he gets old, he won’t be the kind of person who tries to scam him by selling him such supplements.
• 3
  “京爷，您吉祥!” is a popular Chinese internet meme based on an old Beijing-style greeting. 京爷 (Jīng yé) literally means “Master Jing” or “Beijing gentleman.”