How could there be someone better than Second Brother in this world?
Everyone turned around and saw a porcelain bowl shattered on the ground, its soup splattered everywhere. Mushrooms, red dates, and goji berries rolled all over the place, with some pieces of tender white meat falling near Madam Li’s feet. Upon seeing the meat, Madam Li recoiled as if her foot had been scalded by hot coals, immediately jumping onto the Luohan bed and curling up in a corner.
She frantically screamed while trying to gag herself with her fingers, seemingly attempting to vomit something out.
The steward only knew that the second wife’s illness had worsened, but since Yang Cai had been keeping her locked away, he hadn’t seen Madam Li’s condition up close. He had only occasionally heard faint sounds of pain and screaming from the room when passing by, leading him to believe Second Young Master Yang’s explanation that it was a “migraine.” It was said that the pain was so severe that it made one want to die, and thus all hard objects had been removed from the courtyard, with the flower beds replaced by soft sand.
Now, as he rushed in to see the scene, a chill ran down his spine. He remembered the white-robed master’s warning about an evil presence in the household, and seeing Madam Li’s state, she did indeed look possessed by a ghost.
He asked in horror, “What did you give Madam to eat?”
The young maid who had been sweeping the floor immediately knelt down, not daring to lift her head, and timidly replied, “Steward, it was Phoenix Fetus. It contains all sorts of nourishing ingredients… because Second Young Master ordered us to make some restorative dishes for Madam. As it happened, a new cook from Luozhou Prefecture recently joined our small kitchen, so she made this hometown dish for Madam…”
Phoenix Fetus is a dish from the south, specifically from Luozhou. The soup is milky white, extremely flavorful, and highly nutritious. The young maid had seen the kitchen staff painstakingly simmer the soup all day. Initially, she thought it was for Second Young Master Yang. Considering herself somewhat attractive, she had entertained the idea of gaining favor with the lecherous Second Young Master Yang, hoping to at least become a favored maid if not something more. She had eagerly sought the opportunity to deliver the soup, thinking it was a golden chance.
Who could have known that the soup was not for Second Young Master Yang but for the madwoman Madam Li?
The steward, being from the north, had never heard of Phoenix Fetus and was shocked. “Phoenixes are sacred creatures; how could you eat their eggs?”
The young maid quickly explained, “It’s not a real phoenix egg. It’s chicken meat wrapped in pork stomach…”
Phoenix Fetus is merely a strange name for a dish, essentially a soup made by simmering a chicken wrapped in pork stomach. Yu Jinnian had once tasted this dish in the south, where every household could make it. The broth was rich, the pork stomach crisp and tender, and the chicken meat soft and flavorful, leaving a lingering taste.
The so-called “wrapped chicken” is a unique method: after cleaning a whole pork stomach, removing any foul odor, a four-month-old free-range chicken is selectedโa chicken of this size is neither too old and tough nor too fat, which would make the soup greasy.
First, the chicken is cleaned and gutted, then half of the astragalus root, Codonopsis, and two slices of tender ginger are placed in the chicken’s belly. The chicken head and feet are also tucked inside. The entire chicken is then stuffed into the pork stomach, the opening sewn shut. The wrapped chicken, along with the remaining herbs, a few large red dates, and a handful of peppercorns, is placed in an earthen pot and slow-cooked with fresh well water for two hours, skimming off the fat occasionally. Afterward, it is disassembled, and the soup is served with the meat.
This wrapping method is why it is called “wrapped chicken.” Since the dish contains poultry, it is auspiciously named “Phoenix.” The pork stomach, round and bulging with the curled-up chicken inside, indeed looks like a phoenix egg.
Both chicken and stomach are tonics for the spleen and stomach, and the astragalus and Codonopsis also help boost vitality. This soup is highly nourishing, suitable for those who are weak or recovering from illness or childbirth.
The basic version of Phoenix Fetus is cooked in water, but for an even richer flavor, it can be made with pork bone broth and fresh cow’s milk, garnished with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and goji berries. This enhances the flavor, adding layers of aroma, with the broth turning a milky white, fragrant, and sweet. The pork stomach and chicken are tender and juicy, making the dish so delicious that one could easily eat several bowls without tiring.
Besides Phoenix Fetus, the south also has a similar dish called “Pork Stomach and Chicken Stew,” which differs only by not wrapping the whole chicken in the stomach but rather stewing the chicken and pork stomach together. However, this method lacks the tender and flavorful quality of the wrapped chicken.
The steward, now understanding that Phoenix Fetus was just chicken and pork stomach cooked together and not actual phoenix eggs, felt relieved and waved the young maid away.
He then approached Madam Li, who was still gagging herself, and respectfully bowed, cautiously saying, “Madam Li? The household is holding a ritual tomorrow, so may I ask if Madam Li…”
Before he could finish, Madam Li asked excitedly, “Is it Master Chengkong?”
The steward replied, “It’s a white-robed master.”
Madam Li shouted, “I only want Master Chengkong! That thing is coming again, and only Master Chengkong has the true elixir to ward it off! Go get Master Chengkong!”
The young maid who had gone to get warm water for Madam Li earlier passed by, and Yu Jinnian discreetly stopped her, whispering, “What is this true elixir Madam Li speaks of? Is it related to your previous visit to Master Chengkong and the torn Lotus Sutra at Fengbo Temple?”
The young maid, recognizing Yu Jinnian as the young man she had bumped into at the back gate of the temple, blushed with embarrassment and replied, “It’s a black pill that Master Chengkong makes. Every time Madam has an episode, taking the pill alleviates her pain. Master Chengkong would always arrive in time to deliver the medicine, but this month, he hasn’t shown up. A few days ago, Madam sent me to Fengbo Temple to look for him, but I couldn’t find him. When Madam’s elixir ran out and the master still didn’t come, she somehow heard that burning clothes made from the Lotus Sutra could dispel evil, so I…”
Her head hung lower as she continued, “I truly didn’t mean to tear up the Lotus Sutra…”
Yu Jinnian interrupted her, asking, “Can you bring me the medicine box? Maybe it will help me understand Madam Li’s illness.”
“This…” The young maid hesitated, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing that everyone was preoccupied with Madam Li, she nodded and quickly slipped into Madam Li’s bedroom. Amidst the chaos, she discreetly retrieved a small, intricately carved wooden box from her sleeve and handed it to Yu Jinnian. “This is it…”
She looked at Yu Jinnian, who seemed even younger than herself, and asked doubtfully, “Can you really cure Madam’s illness?”
“Let me take a look first. Has this box only ever held the pills from the master?”
The young maid nodded affirmatively.
Yu Jinnian opened the box and took a sniff. Perhaps the wooden box retained scents easily, or maybe the pills had been stored for so long that a peculiar fragrance lingered. As soon as he smelled it, he frowned, feeling that the scent was familiar, as if he had smelled it somewhere before. After sniffing it a few more times, he recognized it as a medicinal smell.
However, he couldn’t immediately recall where he had encountered it.
Noticing some black residue in a corner of the box, likely remnants of the pills, he scraped a bit off with his finger and, without hesitation, brought it to his mouth.
Ji Hong quickly grabbed his wrist, scolding lightly, “You don’t even know if it’s medicine or poison, and you’re just going to taste it?”
Yu Jinnian laughed, “Even if it’s poison, it can’t be a deadly one, or Madam Li would have died long ago. At most, it’s a mild toxin, so eating a tiny bit won’t cause any harm. It will pass quickly, don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry?” Ji Hong’s face darkened further, unsure how to scold Yu Jinnian. The Yang family didn’t get along with him, and Yang Cai even repeatedly caused trouble for him. If Ji Hong hadn’t intervened, who knew if Yang Cai’s slap would have landed on the young man’s face? How could he risk his life for a stranger like Madam Li by tasting an unknown pill?
“Let a servant taste the medicine instead,” Ji Hong suggested.
Yu Jinnian shook his head, “How could a servant who knows nothing of medicine understand the taste and ingredients of this pill?”
Ji Hong couldn’t win the argument and had no choice but to watch Yu Jinnian lick the residue on his finger, anxiously staring at him, “If you feel unwell, speak up immediately.”
No sooner had he said this than Yu Jinnian spat three times in quick succession.
Ji Hong’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest, “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
Yu Jinnian stuck out his tongue, making a face, “It’s sickeningly sweet. What is this stuff? Madam Li’s so-called true elixir is just this sickly sweet pill?”
It turned out to be a false alarm. Ji Hong let out a sigh of relief, quickly closing the medicine box and returning it to the young maid, fearing that Yu Jinnian might try to taste it again.
Afterward, another servant brought some soup, but this time they didn’t serve any of the stomach meat, only some bamboo shoots and mushrooms, while reassuring Madam Li that it was just regular bone broth. Madam Li, half-believing, stirred the soup with a spoon and, seeing that there was indeed no trace of meat, finally let her guard down.
The steward looked around and noticed Zou Heng, who had been silently standing aside. He walked over and asked, “Doctor Zou, is there any way to treat Madam Li’s illness?”
Zou Heng repeated his usual line, “Madam is afflicted by spirits and shadowy influences…” Seeing the steward frown, he corrected himself, “She is possessed.”
Just then, a scream rang out from outside the courtyard.
Everyone rushed out to see what had happened, only to find a night guard sitting on the ground, trembling with fear. A lantern lay overturned at his feet, and he pointed shakily toward the winding path in the flowerbed, stammering, “B-blood…”
The steward immediately ordered someone to bring a lantern and investigate. Sure enough, there was a trail of fresh blood on the ground. Following the blood trail into the flowerbed, two trembling servants discovered a dead chicken, its skin flayed and blood drained in a gruesome manner.
With everyone from the courtyard rushing out to see what was happening, they could no longer keep Second Young Master Yang restrained. Yang Cai spat out the cloth gag from his mouth, rushed out of the courtyard, and squeezed next to the steward. He took one look at the dead chicken and staggered back with a scream.
An elderly servant, after staring at the dead chicken for a moment, said, “This death looks familiar…”
Other older servants, reminded by his words, suddenly remembered and began whispering to each other, “Isn’t that how the parrot Second Young Master adored died back when the house had a trouble with the wild cats?”
The wild cat incident had been taboo for years, and over time, except for some of the older servants, the newer ones had forgotten about it. But now, with this reminder, the memory came rushing back. The old steward, looking at the tragically dead chicken, couldn’t help but think of Madam Lan’s affair from years ago, sending a chill down his spine.
He hurriedly ordered the dead chicken to be disposed of. Just then, a greenish glow flashed over the courtyard wall.
A sharp-eyed maid pointed and shouted, “Where did that wildcat come from? It must have been the one that killed the chicken!”
Hearing the word “wildcat,” the steward shuddered. Ever since Madam Lan’s incident, no cat had dared enter the Yang estate for years. Now, during a ritual, a wildcat suddenly appearedโhow bizarre! He was both angry and frightened, and immediately called for a dozen servants. But before they could grab their tools to chase the cat, an old maid came running in a panic, shouting, “Something terrible has happened!”
The steward, increasingly frustrated, barked, “What now?”
The old maid, out of breath and clutching her waist, gasped, “In the Orchid Court… the Orchid Court…”
“What about the Orchid Court? Speak up!” The steward’s heart sank upon hearing the name. That courtyard had been abandoned for yearsโit was where Madam Lan had lived.
“A dozen wildcats suddenly showed up in the Orchid Court, and they were yowling fiercely! Some wretched servant threw several dead fish and chickens in there, and those wildcats tore them apartโnow the courtyard is covered in blood and guts!” The old maid finally managed to say.
Her words caused the onlookers to recoil in disgust.
As she finished speaking, two more wildcats jumped over the wall, yowling as they ran toward the Orchid Court.
One of the cats brushed past Yang Cai’s feet like a ghostly shadow. Already shaken by the sight of the bloodied chicken, Yang Cai fainted on the spot.
“It’s the wildcat spirit, it’s come back…”
“Is Madam Lan back for revenge? I said before, we shouldn’t have exorcised that creature. We should have treated it well, like the fox spirits, and sent it away with offerings… Look, now it’s come back for retribution!”
“But wasn’t Madam Lan sealed in a temple? Could it be that even the old master couldn’t contain her, and now she’s grown stronger, escaped, and returned to devour our livers and lungs?”
“Hey, Daya, weren’t you the one who handed the rope to the Taoist that day?”
“Don’t scare me like that! I only handed him the rope; you were the one who kicked Madam Lan!”
“Madam, what on earth is going on? Who was Madam Lan?”
“Madam Lan was…”
Murmurs spread through the crowd as the new maids, unaware of the story, pieced together bits of an eerie ghost tale from the old servants. Soon, the entire Yang estate was engulfed in panic. Even though the steward loudly tried to calm everyone down, the unease and fear remained, with each person silently plotting how to avoid becoming a victim of Madam Lan’s vengeance.
Tonight, the Yang estate was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Zou Heng, seeing the chaos, was about to sneak away but was stopped after only a few steps by the steward, who pointed to the unconscious Second Young Master Yang and said, “Doctor Zou, please stay and tend to our Second Young Master.”
“…”
Yu Jinnian, pulling Ji Hong along, finally managed to slip away from the crowd. He didn’t believe in any nonsense about wildcat spirits, while Ji Hong remained indifferent since it didn’t concern him. The two were the only ones in the tumultuous Yang estate who stayed calm and unruffled, leisurely making their way back to the small courtyard where they were staying.
ใใโโ
Inside the room, Ji Hong closed the door behind him and then swiftly turned, pressing Yu Jinnian against the door, narrowing his eyes as he looked at him.
Yu Jinnian gulped nervously, his gaze darting away to the side.
Ji Hong gripped his chin, forcing him to look back, his voice carrying a hint of danger. “Just to fetch a candle, and you end up getting dragged so far away. Do you even remember where you are?”
Yu Jinnian muttered softly, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Zou Heng was pulling me, and I didn’t have time to come back and inform you…”
Ji Hong countered, “And if I hadn’t arrived in time, what were you planning to do about Yang Cai’s slap?”
“I…” Yu Jinnian started to say that he was nimble and agile, had learned a move or two for self-defense, and though his skills were amateurish, they were more than enough to handle a frail man like Yang Cai. He even had backup plans, like hitting a pressure point on Yang Cai or kicking him where it would hurt most. But as he looked up and saw Ji Hong’s expression, the words stuck in his throat.
Ji Hong’s face was devoid of any emotion, his tone icy and without a trace of warmth. Unlike others whose eyes burned with anger, Ji Hong’s gaze was cold, as if trying to freeze him with a single look.
โHe really is angry, Yu Jinnian thought to himself.
Feeling a bit intimidated, Yu Jinnian blinked, his eyes darting around as he tried to think of a way out. Then, on a whim, he stood on tiptoe and leaned toward Ji Hong, wrapping his arms around him, swallowing all his previous excuses. He nuzzled against Ji Hong in a gesture of appeasement, softly saying, “…I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
The nuzzling made Ji Hong’s neck tingle, but his body stiffened slightly.
Yu Jinnian thought that this gesture was akin to a form of pleadingโsomething he had never done before, especially not with a man. Now, putting aside his pride to appease Ji Hong, he expected some reaction, but instead, Ji Hong remained rigid and unresponsive, his face looking even more displeased.
Though Yu Jinnian wasn’t as tall as Ji Hong, he was still a solid man, neither soft nor delicate, making his attempt at pleading less than charming. No wonder Ji Hong had reacted the way he didโYu Jinnian suddenly felt embarrassed, realizing how ridiculous he must look clinging to Ji Hong.
Caught in this awkward moment, he heard Ji Hong say in a low, stern voice, “Stand up straight.”
It seemed that his attempt to appease Ji Hong had only made things worse.
Yu Jinnian reluctantly let go and stood up straight against the door, hands behind his back, head lowered. “Alright, go ahead and scold me. I’m listening…”
“Lift your head.”
The moonlight was bright, casting shadows through the intricate carvings onto the side of the boy’s face. A five-petaled plum blossom, etched into the door, extended from the carvings down the boy’s cheek, gently blooming on his chin. The night wind rustled the paper windows, making both the flower and the person seem ethereal.
Ji Hong stared at him, his heart filled with frustration, but also with a sense of helplessness. The boy’s defenses were far too weak. He had yet to understand that in this cold, harsh world, people’s malicious thoughts far outweighed their goodwill. While he naively reached out to others, he failed to realize that not everyone shared his good intentions. Just because he had no desire to harm others didn’t mean that others wouldn’t want to harm him.
Ji Hong found himself tornโpart of him wanted the day to come when the boy would be hurt and betrayed, so that he would finally understand the world’s cruelty and seek refuge under Ji Hong’s protection, accepting his care and nurturing. But another part of him wished that day would never come. Ji Hong, already shackled by the world’s constraints, couldn’t experience freedom, so he hoped that Yu Jinnian could flutter through life like a carefree butterfly, experiencing all the joy and noise that the world had to offer.
Suddenly, Ji Hong remembered something his elder brother had once said to him.
“Ah Hong, if there is someone who is truly important to you, it won’t matter what their status is, how strong or weak they are. If they are that person, you will never disdain them, nor will you ever abandon them.”
It was a cold winter day, with snow everywhere and no clear path forward. They had caught a small injured snow rabbit that had been abandoned by its mother. Though the rabbit was as cute as a ball of snow, they were starving, so they ended up eating it whole, blood and all.
After they finished eating the rabbit, their hunger was still gnawing at them. Ji Yan, despite being blind, carried him on his back and continued walking forward. He asked his elder brother why he didnโt just leave him behind, like the mother rabbit left her weak, small, and helpless baby rabbit behind. He said that if Ji Yan had been alone, he could have certainly made it out of the snowy wilderness.
It was then that Ji Yan told him that important sentence.
At that time, he vaguely understood and asked Ji Yan, “Does Brother Yan have someone like that?”
His elder brother replied, “Right now, little Ah Hong is that person for your second brother.”
He clung to Ji Yan’s neck, lips turning purple from the cold without him even realizing it. He pressed his small, cold face against Ji Yan’s warm neck, and in an attempt to reciprocate, he mumbled, “Then Brother Yan is the most important person to Ah Hong!”
How did his elder brother respond back then?
Ji Yan smiled, shook his head, and said, “Ah Hong, your most important person wonโt be your second brother. Itโs just that youโre still too young; she hasnโt appeared yet. When she does appear in the future, Ah Hong mustnโt despise her. Even if sheโs clumsy, you must love her, protect her…”
At that time, he was too young to understand who his elder brother was talking about, much less what it meant to love and protect someone. He simply thought it meant being very, very good to someone, so he asked, “Like how Brother Yan is good to Ah Hong?”
Ji Yan chuckled, “Yes, but… youโll need to be even better.”
At that moment, he thought his elder brother was already the best to him, so when he heard that he would have to be even better to this person he had never met, he found it difficult to imagineโhow could there be someone better than his elder brother?
Coming back to the present, that shadow of the plum blossom had moved from the boy’s face to his neck. Yu Jinnian was looking at him with a puzzled expression, his eyes shining like the stars in the sky.
Ji Hong raised his hand to cover Yu Jinnian’s eyes, then bent down and bit the five-petaled plum blossom reflected on the boy’s neck. Beneath the faint shadow was the pulse of the boyโs blood, beating against his tongue like a heart.
“Second Brother, it’s him,” Ji Hong thought to himself, unable to resist biting down harder.
Yu Jinnian blinked rapidly under Ji Hong’s hand, startled and confused. He had been expecting Ji Hong to scold or punish him, but instead, after a long silence, Ji Hong suddenly bit him. What kind of punishment was this?
It hurt a littleโa sensation of teeth grazing the skinโas if Ji Hong might actually break the skin and drink his blood.
Leaning against the door, Yu Jinnian had a strange thought: if biting him would make Ji Hong happy, then so be it.
He wasn’t sure how he ended up back in bed. He only remembered Ji Hong biting his neck, then moving on to bite his lips. Everything became a hazy, tangled blur after that. It seemed that, even in bed, Ji Hong held him tightly, as if venting something.
It was all a blur by the end, and he couldnโt remember much clearly.
The next morning, Yu Jinnian woke up to find the sun already high in the sky. Considering that the Yang family was holding a ritual today, with preparations for a vegetarian breakfast to be made early, it was strange that no one had come to wake them. Could it be that the servants were too frightened by the ghostly rumors from the night before to leave their rooms?
Puzzled, he was tying his hair in front of the mirror when he lifted it and noticed a red mark under his left earโa clear bite mark that couldn’t be hidden. His lower lip also appeared swollen and red, as if he had been up to no good the night before.
Embarrassment overwhelmed him.
He dashed back to the bed and threw off Ji Hong’s blanket, ready to exact some revenge, only to be pulled down by the now-awakening Ji Hong, who wrapped him up in the blanket and rubbed his head in the warm, dim cocoon.
“What are you up to now, hmm?” Ji Hong asked, his voice still hoarse from sleep.
Yu Jinnian, suddenly feeling timid, looked up at Ji Hong like a cat being stroked on its belly. He nudged Ji Hong’s chin with his nose and said, “Nothing. Good morning…”
Ji Hong smiled, “Good morning.”
After washing up, they headed straight for the small kitchen. In their hurry, they nearly collided with a servant who was rushing to empty a chamber pot. Judging by the direction he came from, it seemed to be from Madam Li’s quarters. Fortunately, they didn’t knock over the bucket, though the servant, still shaken, wobbled and caused the wooden lid to slip off.
Yu Jinnian glanced at the contents and suddenly froze, asking, “Is that Madam Li’s chamber pot?”
The servant, surprised by such an impolite question, nodded reluctantly, too embarrassed to speak.
Yu Jinnian smacked his forehead, exclaiming, “I understand now! That’s what her illness is.”
Ji Hong frowned in exasperationโthis boy was often oblivious to many things but became incredibly focused when it came to diagnosing illnesses.
Yu Jinnian abandoned the idea of going to the kitchen and headed straight for Madam Li’s quarters, eager to verify his diagnosis. He had a strong suspicion about what was afflicting Madam Liโit wasnโt just a common stomachache, nor was it a case of possession.
It was a rare condition known as *porphyria*.