Young Master Ji was ill! He wanted to eat egg custard!
On the night of August 15th, the first Mid-Autumn Festival, Yu Jinnian slept so deeply that it seemed he wanted to make up for the sleep he had missed in the past two days all at once.
When he woke up, he did not hear the rooster crowing under the back window, nor did he see anyone urgently rushing him to serve food. Most importantly, there was no one beside him fighting for bed space. He could finally lie spread-eagle and stretch comfortably. After he had stretched himself comfortably, he raised his head and looked around.
“Awake?”
He thought there was no one in the room and almost rolled off the bed when he suddenly heard a voice.
Ji Hong, who was nervously sitting up straight, relaxed when he saw Yu hadn’t actually fallen off. He continued writing at his desk and said, “Aunt Xu instructed us not to open the shop today, taking a day off.”
No need to open the shop, great! Yu Jinnian hung around on the edge of the bed for a moment, sighed and moaned, then raised his head and smiled, “You got up this early?” Seeing that the small lotus lantern he bought yesterday was still lit and placed on the desk beside Ji Hong, he hurriedly put on his shoes and socks to check. It was indeed his lantern. He said in surprise, “Wasn’t it left on the stone bridge and not brought back?”
Ji Hong replied, “Seeing that you liked it, I brought it back.”
This little wishing lantern, it was supposed to be auspicious if it floated downstream, but Yu Jinnian didn’t mind; it was fine if it was brought back.
Yu Jinnian played with the paper lotus petals on the lantern with his fingers, watching Ji Hong writing accounts. Ji Hong’s handwriting was neat and round, as beautiful as he was. Yu Jinnian watched in a daze, suddenly realizing that this desk hadn’t been cleaned for ages, with his own scribbles mixed among the papers. If Ji Hong saw them, who knows how he would laugh at him.
Ji Hong, seeing Yu Jinnian frantically gathering the scattered things on the desk, knew exactly why. However, he had already seen those crooked characters long ago. Trying to hide them now was too late, so he calmly said, “You write quite well.”
“…So you’ve seen them all?”
Then why was I frantically doing this, performing Yu’s Tai Chi for you?
Yu Jinnian glared at him, then slumped and said in despair, “It’s pointless!”
Ji Hong chuckled, dipped his brush in ink again, and wrote a few more characters. Yu Jinnian recognized them; they were his own name, “Yu Jinnian,” but written by Ji Hong, the characters had a refined elegance, giving a sense of “glorious years.”
Seeing Yu Jinnian watching intently, Ji Hong asked, “Do you want to learn calligraphy?”
This was not a question to take lightly. Yu Jinnian had long coveted Ji Hong’s scholarly skills and immediately nodded.
Ji Hong said, “It’s not difficult. If you want to learn, I’ll give you fifty large characters to write every day. You can only go to sleep after you finish them well.”
Naturally, Yu Jinnian did not want to lose. He picked up the brush and tried to copy a few characters. He was quite satisfied while writing, but when he looked at them afterward, they were at best neat, without any spirit. This made him a bit discouraged.
“Don’t be rigid. Keep your head upright.” Ji Hong taught him the proper posture, even lifting his chin. Yu Jinnian had to raise his head, meeting Ji Hong’s eyes. For some reason, it seemed like Ji Hong was momentarily stunned, his hand freezing, holding Yu Jinnian’s chin endlessly.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became awkward. This scene looked like a dissolute young master teasing a virtuous wife, but the problem was, he, the one being teased, was fine, while the one doing the teasing blushed instead.
Ji Hong, under his stare, withdrew his hand and stood up from the desk. “You write, I’ll go fetch some hot water.”
“Oh.” Yu Jinnian responded dryly, watching him leave the room and then return with a porcelain teapot. Ji Hong’s cheeks were even redder than before, unusually so, which made his lips appear even paler. “Ji Hong!”
Ji Hong lazily lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and continued pouring water.
Yu Jinnian waved him over, “Come here, let me feel.”
“Feel what?” Ji Hong coughed lightly into his fist, looking even more fatigued. “Finished writing?”
Yu Jinnian reached out and pulled him. Ji Hong did not resist strongly, and they ended up in a clumsy embrace like a sandwich. After a while, they disentangled. Yu Jinnian felt his hand and face—his hand was cold, but his face was hot, like a furnace.
Ji Hong had the common ailment of beauties—cold body. Except for being warm while sleeping at night, he was always cool to the touch, truly like jade, cold and smooth. Yu Jinnian often teased him in his mind, calling him an ice block spirit. If an ice block suddenly heated up, there was only one possible explanation.
—Ji Hong was sick.
Yu Jinnian thought about how late they stayed out last night. Ji Hong had only worn a single-layer stone-blue robe, wandering around and even accompanying him on the stone bridge in the wind. Not getting sick immediately and still managing to wake up early to do accounts was truly touching.
“It does feel a bit cold.” Ji Hong, with the boy’s warm hand holding his, took the opportunity to show weakness before Yu Jinnian could react, knowing that Yu Jinnian’s soft heart wouldn’t let him avoid a sick person.
Sure enough, Yu Jinnian didn’t withdraw his hand. Ji Hong was wrapped in a layer of outer garments, and Yu Jinnian urged him to get into bed. “I really underestimated you, being this weak.”
Ji Hong replied, “It’s nothing, I’m used to it.”
Yu Jinnian muttered, “Who gets used to being sick?”
Surrounded by thick, soft quilts, it was warm inside with the lingering body heat of a young man. Ji Hong leaned against the pillow, his body finally relaxing, feeling the fatigue and slight aches.
Saying he was used to being sick was not an exaggeration.
He was born weak, missing out on many pleasures others enjoyed. After his second brother’s incident, his condition worsened, often sick more than healthy. But even when sick, there were no special treatments, the servants methodically inviting doctors and preparing medicines without panic. Everyone was used to it and knew that the coldness of Kanghe Court wouldn’t warm up just because its young master fell ill or shed some blood.
Being sick was just a matter of a bowl of medicine, nothing as serious as Yu Jinnian made it out to be, wrapping him up like a bear.
But Ji Hong particularly enjoyed this care… at least it showed that the young man cared for him.
Yu Jinnian skillfully examined him, checking his tongue, which was pale with a thin white coating. Observing carefully, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ji Hong, not wanting to disturb him, let himself be repeatedly checked, left hand then right, every inch carefully examined.
Ji Hong loved watching Yu Jinnian treat and diagnose others with his serious and meticulous demeanor, resembling a great physician. It was pleasing to the eye. However, when he became the patient, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone so happy while being sick.” Yu Jinnian found Ji Hong’s smile inexplicable. Even though his smile was a bit silly, it didn’t detract from his stunning looks. “I’ll brew some medicine for you later. You should eat something first to ease the discomfort when drinking the medicine.”
He asked Ji Hong, “…What would you like to eat?”
Ji Hong didn’t decline and, after thinking for a moment, casually requested, “Egg custard.”
Yu Jinnian placed a cup of hot tea within his reach, then rolled up his sleeves and went to the kitchen.
Making egg custard was easy and not difficult at all. He had just cracked two bright yellow eggs into a bowl when the closed door of the noodle shop was knocked on. Since many shops, including theirs, were closed today after the all-night festivities, he wondered who would be knocking at this time.
Setting the bowl aside, he went to the front to answer the door. As he opened it to a person-wide gap, the person outside cheerfully exclaimed, “Brother Xiao Nian, just got up?”
“…Mr. He?” Yu Jinnian said in surprise and quickly greeted him, “Come in and sit.”
He Dali squeezed through the door with a smile, followed by a young boy in plain gray hemp clothes—his only son, He Ertian. He Ertian looked around curiously, and He Dali gave him a push from behind, causing him to stumble forward and stop in front of Yu Jinnian. Embarrassed, he scratched his head for a long time before muttering, “…Thank you, Brother Xiao Nian.”
“We came today specifically to thank you, Brother Xiao Nian!” He Dali said with a hearty laugh. “My son benefited greatly from the foods you prescribed. He’s been much better these days! So, today we brought a gift to thank you. I wasn’t sure what to bring, so I brought two catties of meat bones and three catties of pork knuckles… My wife said we should even add a pig’s head for you…”
Seeing he was about to continue endlessly, Yu Jinnian quickly declined, “How can I accept this?”
“Brother Xiao Nian, if you don’t accept, it means you despise my gift!” He Dali pretended to be troubled, looking ready to bring another pig’s head if Yu Jinnian refused. The usually silent and rebellious He Ertian also shyly urged, “Take it, take it!”
Unable to argue with them, Yu Jinnian had to accept the heavy meat bones and pork knuckles.
The He father and son came just for this, chatted for a while, promised to support the noodle shop, and soon left.
Receiving gifts for treating patients? What a great thing! Yu Jinnian mumbled to himself, placing the items in a clean empty basin. He cut a piece from the meat bone for lunch, marinated the meat bone with oil, salt, and soy sauce, and then remembered he had forgotten to make Ji Hong’s egg custard. Quickly washing his hands, he set hot water on the stove and hurriedly beat the eggs.
After breaking the eggs and adding a spoonful of sugar, he whisked the egg mixture with chopsticks. A crucial step was to stir the eggs in one direction quickly and evenly, producing a rhythmic tapping sound from the chopsticks hitting the porcelain bowl. An unevenly beaten egg mixture would ruin the texture.
Next, he added fresh milk, continuing to stir in the same direction.
Once the water boiled, he placed a steaming rack over the pot and poured the milk-egg mixture into a bowl, covering it slightly with a thin porcelain plate. He steamed it over medium heat for fifteen minutes.
According to taste, one could sprinkle some nut pieces or fresh fruit bits on the smooth, tender custard. For those who loved sweetness, honey or small pieces of dried fruit could be added. The resulting custard was delicate, rich, and melted in the mouth.
Yu Jinnian carefully carried the steaming custard bowl on a small plate to the room, afraid that any jolts might mar its smooth and soft surface, affecting its appearance.
He placed the milk egg custard in front of Ji Hong, who was leaning against the pillow with his eyes closed, his hair cascading down, his eyes gently shut, and his head slightly tilted. His pale face had a touch of red on the cheeks, and his breathing was slightly accelerated. He truly looked like a picture of fragile beauty, invoking deep sympathy.
“…You’re back.” Ji Hong opened his eyes languidly upon hearing the young man’s footsteps.
“Mm.” Yu Jinnian nodded, “Get up and eat the custard.”
“Who came just now?”
Yu Jinnian hadn’t expected Ji Hong to hear the commotion from so far away, especially since he was unwell and his spirits were low. If he were in good health, would he not be able to “hear all directions” and suffer from insomnia?
He brought a round stool to the bedside. “It was someone from the He family, coming to thank the doctor.”
Seeing Yu Jinnian’s hand resting on the edge of the bed, Ji Hong extended his jade-like hand from under the covers, gently stroking Yu’s thumb. Startled, Yu Jinnian quickly pulled his hand back, and only then did Ji Hong smile slightly, saying, “They came to thank you… You really have the demeanor of a famed doctor now.”
“Not even close.” Yu Jinnian brought the custard to his face. “Want to try?”
Ji Hong took a small bite from the spoon. Just as he was about to praise Yu Jinnian’s cooking skills, his expression suddenly changed, frowning in discomfort.
“What happened?” Yu Jinnian asked, alarmed.
Ji Hong was slightly taken aback. “Why is this… sweet?”
Yu Jinnian blinked in confusion. “Egg custard is supposed to be sweet.”
Ji Hong replied matter-of-factly, “It should be savory and fragrant.”
Yu Jinnian retorted, “It’s supposed to be fragrant and sweet!”
“…”
“…”
Good grief, how could someone who eats sweet egg custard and someone who eats savory egg custard be friends?
Author’s note:
Yu Jinnian: Let me tell you this! Zongzi is savory, tofu pudding is sweet, tangyuan should have salt added, and egg custard is naturally supposed to be sweet!
Ji Hong, the Northerner: …Forget it, I choose death.