My Contract Husband Won't Behave - Chapter 42
“Shut up.”
The two icy words cut Bo Yanzhou off.
Bo Jiusi set down his teacup and glanced at Feng Wu.
Understanding, Feng Wu waved. Two guards seized Bo Yanzhou from either side while a third took the cup, gripped his jaw, and poured it down his throat.
“Mmph…!” Bo Yanzhou struggled desperately. Wine spilled from his mouth and ran down his neck.
When the cup was empty, the guards released him.
He collapsed in his chair, clutching his throat and coughing violently, tears and snot covering his face.
The room fell utterly silent.
Nie Jingzhi took a careless sip of water without raising her eyes.
Bo Jiusi looked away. “Anyone else unwilling to drink?”
No one dared speak.
Bo Yanzhou’s cousin Bo Yanjie swallowed and forced out a question. “Master Jiu, what… exactly do you want?”
“To treat you to a drink.” Bo Jiusi looked at him. “Finish it and leave.”
“Really?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
Bo Yanjie said nothing.
All the time, he thought, but dared not say.
He stared at the dark-red wine, wrestled with himself, then gritted his teeth, raised the cup, and gulped some down.
The medicinal liquor burned his throat and reeked of herbs, choking tears from his eyes.
But after swallowing, he smacked his lips and froze. “…It’s sweet?”
Everyone looked at him.
He smacked his lips again, confusion replacing terror. “It really is sweet. It’s actually good!”
He picked up the cup and took another two swallows.
The others exchanged glances.
Bo Yanzhou’s youngest cousin, Bo Yanlin, asked shakily, “I-Is it really safe?”
“Taste it yourself!”
Bo Yanlin hesitated, then took a tiny sip.
It truly was sweet.
He tried another. It was neither spicy nor harsh and even carried a light fruity aroma.
Reassured, he drained it.
The others followed, some sampling cautiously and others swallowing it in one gulp.
Within minutes, all ten cups were empty.
Throughout it all, Bo Jiusi said nothing. He turned the empty teacup, thumb stroking its rim as though watching prey walk willingly into a cage.
Nie Jingzhi glanced sideways and whispered, “Master Jiu, you look like an old fox.”
He did not look at her. Remembering her bewitching ways, he answered pointedly, “You’re the fox.”
“That was a compliment.” Her lips curved. “You look good when you’re scheming.”
The faintest smile touched his mouth.
Ten minutes later, Bo Yanjie began to sway.
He braced himself on the table, eyes unfocused. “This wine has… quite a kick…”
Before finishing, he pitched onto the table, overturning dishes with a tremendous crash.
Bo Yanlin went down next.
Then the man who had been cursing, the one in a bathrobe, the one with the suitcase…
They collapsed one after another like dominoes.
Within fifteen minutes, not one person remained upright. Some sprawled over the table, some sagged in chairs, and others slid underneath. Snores rose from every direction.
Nie Jingzhi surveyed the wreckage, set down her glass, and turned to Bo Jiusi.
He remained unhurried, still turning the cup without lifting his eyes.
At last, he set it down and rose. “Let’s go.”
Nie Jingzhi stood, linked arms with him, and followed with a bright smile. “Master Jiu, what did you give them?”
“Medicinal wine.”
“I know. What medicine?”
“The kind that makes them sleep for three days.” He paused. “And I added something else.”
Nie Jingzhi arched a brow. “What?”
He glanced at her.
She understood instantly. Nothing respectable.
Laughing, she said, “You’re wicked.”
Bo Jiusi opened the door. “They brought it on themselves.”
They left, and the door closed behind them, but the snores remained audible through it.
* * *
The banquet was held on the club’s third floor.
Old Master Bo sat at the head, the granduncles on either side.
The clock showed seven-thirty. The dishes had gone cold, yet not everyone had arrived.
The second granduncle checked his phone. “Why isn’t Yanzhou here? He won’t answer.”
The third called repeatedly with no response. “Yanjie’s phone is off too.”
The fourth set down his chopsticks. “My grandsons haven’t arrived either. What about yours?”
“No answer.”
Old Master Bo tapped the table, face dark. “Wait. Young people are always dawdling.”
Ten more minutes passed.
The second granduncle could no longer sit still. “Something’s wrong.”
The third sneered. “Could that little bastard have—”
The banquet doors swung open.
Everyone turned.
Light spilled in, outlining two tall figures.
Bo Jiusi wore a dark suit, cold and distinguished, his entire presence warning others away.
Nie Jingzhi walked at his side with her arm linked through his. In a pale apricot gown, her hair loose and a faint smile in her eyes, she looked gentle and perfectly composed.
They entered side by side like figures in a painting.
The room fell silent.
Old Master Bo’s hand stilled over his teacup, his face darkening by degrees.
“Why are you here?” the second granduncle blurted.
Bo Jiusi ignored him and stopped opposite the head seat. His gaze passed over every elder. “How could a Bo family banquet be complete without me?”
The third granduncle sneered. “Who invited you? You aren’t welcome.”
Nie Jingzhi smiled at him. “Third Granduncle, we’re all family. Master Jiu is the head of the Bo family. Why shouldn’t he attend Bo family affairs?”
The man choked, his face livid.
Old Master Bo set down his cup. “Jiu, I didn’t invite you. Did you come to show your own grandfather no respect?”
Before Bo Jiusi could answer, Nie Jingzhi laughed. “Grandfather, what a thing to say. You didn’t invite him, yet he came anyway. That’s filial devotion—he was afraid organizing such a big affair would tire you.”
The old man’s face worsened.
The second granduncle slammed the table and rose. “Guards! Throw them out!”
The guards at the door hesitated.
Throw out Bo Jiusi? Who would dare?
Only then did Bo Jiusi speak. “Don’t hurry, Second Granduncle. First find out whether the people you invited are still capable of coming.”
The second granduncle froze. “What do you mean?”
