The Drunken Talk Gathering
Yan Rong, surprisingly, did not get angry this time. He raised his hand and wiped his face drunkenly, trying to brush off the strange substance on his face. However, due to his drunkenness, he ended up smearing the peach-colored rouge even more, making both his cheeks as red as a monkey’s bottom. He looked more ridiculous than the clown actors on the stage, with none of the dignity of an official.
His eyes were also smeared with rouge, forcing him to squint. He vaguely saw the young man getting up to leave and instinctively reached out, attempting to stop him.
Yu Jinnian quickly dodged to the side but was still touched by Yan Rong, leaving a red mark on his neck. He said, “I didn’t expect Lord Yan, who speaks so much of propriety and integrity, to be so frivolous. To secretly gift rouge? What about all that upright demeanor you display outside? It’s just for show, isn’t it?”
Yan Rong stared blankly at him, seemingly unable to understand why he was being scolded all of a sudden. When he managed to open his eyes and saw the red mark on Yu Jinnian’s neck, which looked like fallen peach blossoms, he immediately realized he had touched the wrong place. His face turned bright red, and he hastily tried to explain, “What are you talking about? I’m not like… you all…”
“What about us?” Yu Jinnian angrily interrupted.
Yan Rong’s face turned even redder. Normally, he wouldn’t lose his composure like this, but he wasn’t good with alcohol. Over the past couple of days, he had been drinking too much, and his head was spinning. He was afraid Yu Jinnian would misunderstand and think he was one of “those” people—those who liked to associate with men. He kept trying to clear his name, stammering, “You all… I saw… at the morning market, in Guozi Lane… secretly…”
Guozi Lane? What happened in Guozi Lane?
Suddenly, Yu Jinnian remembered the day when he had snuck up on Ji Hong, and a sedan chair passed hurriedly behind him. So, it was Yan Rong’s sedan chair.
Yan Rong continued, “I… I won’t tell anyone. Just have a couple of drinks with me, chat for an hour….” It seemed like this was the first time he had ever threatened someone. Despite trying to maintain an imposing attitude, he was obviously nervous and uneasy. By the time he finished, even his head hung low, and he held up one finger, as if to say his demand was modest. He repeated, “Just… one hour.”
Yu Jinnian almost burst out laughing from anger. He never thought that his relationship with Ji Hong was something shameful; they only hid for the fun of it. But who would have thought that Yan Rong would use this as leverage? Yu Jinnian, already impatient, said, “With so many people in the Yan household, is Lord Yan really struggling to find someone to talk to?”
Yan Rong fell silent, staring at him, speechless.
“…” Yu Jinnian stared at him for a moment and finally couldn’t help but say, “No way, is it really that bad?”
Yan Rong’s gaze shifted nervously, and his rouge-smeared hands awkwardly clutched a white porcelain wine pot, which was now covered in peach-colored smudges, making the elegant orchid design look oddly garish. He turned his head away, muttering, “There are… there are people….”
Yu Jinnian: “…”
Yan Rong: “…”
After a moment of silence, Yu Jinnian waved his hand in frustration, sighing, “Alright, alright, Lord Yan, don’t act like I’m torturing you. Let’s go. You can’t expect me to squat here and drink with you, can you? It’s cold. I’m not about to drink cold water with you. Tell your people to bring up a small clay stove to warm the wine.”
Yan Rong, upon hearing this, immediately sent someone to make arrangements. Soon, he wobbled over and dragged Yu Jinnian to a pavilion in the garden.
The pavilion wasn’t really a pavilion; it was more of a six-sided, flying-eave structure known as the “Feixue Yingchun.” All six sides were open with window lattices, offering different views of the small garden from each angle: bamboo groves, red branches, or stacked rocks. Though not luxurious, the scenery was elegant and charming, adding layers of beauty to the slender garden.
A young servant boy entered with a small fire stove and placed it on the stone table. Seeing Yu Jinnian admiring the view through each window, he took it upon himself to set up a lotus-shaped wine warmer on the stove. Placing the white gourd-shaped porcelain wine pot in the lotus, he smiled and said, “Every year, when the plum blossoms bloom and the snow flutters, this pavilion is at its most beautiful. You should come again then, little doctor.”
He assumed that since his master had brought Yu Jinnian to this special pavilion, they must be close friends. So, he spoke casually, without too much formality, adding a tone of affection for his master: “Our young master doesn’t usually like having friends over. It’s rare for him to invite you here today, and he didn’t even tell us to prepare in advance. We only have some hard nuts at home. I hope you won’t mind, little doctor.”
The servant was about to fetch some water for Yan Rong to wipe his face, but Yan Rong, irritated by the chatter, waved him off and sent him away.
Yu Jinnian glanced at the table; it was filled with nuts like hazelnuts, almonds, and melon seeds. Yan Rong was struggling with a nutcracker and a hazelnut. Yu Jinnian, who hadn’t eaten anything all morning, was already feeling hungry. He didn’t want to eat a stomach full of hard nuts and end up with a stomachache, so he called the servant back and asked, “What else do you have in the kitchen that’s filling?”
The servant replied, “Just some leftover cold steamed buns from yesterday, but we can make some wontons if you’d like.”
“Wontons will take time. Just bring the steamed buns up for now,” Yu Jinnian thought for a moment. “Also, bring a jar of honey, an oil dish, a small spoon, a knife, and two empty plates.”
The servant left to fulfill the request. Yan Rong, looking miserable, muttered, “This is my house,” implying that Yu Jinnian was giving orders like it was his own home.
Yu Jinnian ignored him. After a while, the servant returned with everything he asked for, placing them neatly on the table. The cold steamed buns had hardened a bit. Yu Jinnian used the small knife to thinly slice the buns into leaf-shaped pieces, brushed them with a light layer of oil and honey, and placed them on the small clay stove to toast.
“Crispy Qiong Ye—a way to refresh cold food. It’s much better than those nuts you’ve been eating,” Yu Jinnian said. He toasted the buns on both sides until they turned crispy, golden brown, and shiny with oil. Soon, the sweet fragrance filled the pavilion, mixing with the smell of wine.
Yan Rong had been watching his movements, and his mouth couldn’t help but water. He immediately dropped the hazelnut and grabbed a piece of Crispy Qiong Ye to taste. It was light and crunchy, with a sweet and savory honey glaze. He took a gulp of the wine, feeling both satisfied and refreshed.
After finishing one piece, he reached for another. As he looked up, he saw the young man across from him sipping his wine, gently nibbling on a piece of Qiong Ye, looking quite obedient. After a while, the wine started to cool again, so Yu Jinnian, with a piece of Qiong Ye still in his mouth, placed the wine pot back on the stove. He winced as he accidentally burned his hand on the handle, his eyes widening for a moment before he relaxed, frowning in annoyance while blowing on his fingers. At that moment, he didn’t seem so obedient anymore.
—Lively.
This word suddenly came to Yan Rong’s mind. He began to think of his wife in the capital, a legitimate lady from a prestigious family, chosen for him by his father. Before she entered the family, he had never even seen what she looked like. Following old customs, he hurriedly prepared for the wedding over the course of a month and then welcomed her into the household, treating her with proper courtesy.
People often say that marriage brings joy, but he didn’t feel that way. Even in bed, it was a matter of obligation rather than desire. Every few days, when he was forced to fulfill his duties, he would go about it mechanically, not daring to open his eyes. His wife, being shy, also remained quiet. Both had been well-educated, so the bedroom was always silent, without much interaction.
Yan Rong believed that marriage was just this—a man needed to marry, and a woman needed to be wed. It was merely about finding someone from an equally suitable family to build a life together. If, along with that, the marriage could bring some benefits to the extended family through alliances, that was even better. That’s why, when his father arranged the marriage for him, he didn’t object. In fact, he thought his wife’s appearance and manners were quite acceptable.
As for privately choosing one’s spouse? That was something he had never even considered.
After having some food in his stomach, Yan Rong started to feel less dizzy. He saw Yu Jinnian reaching for the scalding-hot wine pot again and, feeling concerned, warned, “That’s hot! Can’t you see the water’s boiling?”
The young man didn’t seem to hear him and stubbornly picked up the wine pot, immediately yelping in pain and holding his burning fingers to his earlobes. Yan Rong frowned in confusion and asked, “Are you always like this?”
“Like what?” Yu Jinnian asked, puzzled.
Yan Rong said, “Always ignoring what others say.”
Yu Jinnian, still deftly toasting his Crispy Qiong Ye, replied nonchalantly, “If someone says something reasonable, I’ll listen. But if I’m determined to do something, it means it’s important to me, and no amount of persuasion will change that. Besides, if I listened to everything and considered everyone’s opinions, wouldn’t I be too restricted?”
“So, in the end, it’s just that you’re stubborn and do whatever you want?” Yan Rong downed a cup of bitter wine, then, after a while, asked in frustration, “So none of what I say has any sense to you?”
Yu Jinnian was confused. “Which part? Are you talking about when you scolded me for being shameless, or—”
Yan Rong hadn’t intended to bring that up, but the young man had led him there. He quickly shook his head and waved his hands, stopping Yu Jinnian from continuing. He wasn’t sure if this boy had thick skin or was simply carefree. Yan Rong studied Yu Jinnian for a while, noting that the young man was merely of average looks—aside from his impressive medical skills, there wasn’t much else remarkable about him. Perplexed, Yan Rong asked, “What’s your secret? Why does everyone see you in a different light?”
“What do you mean?” Yu Jinnian didn’t understand.
Yan Rong explained, “Whether it’s the young master Ji or Yao’er, even the servants in my house enjoy your company. Even that arrogant Jiang Bingren from Spring Breeze Delight Restaurant came running to argue with me just because I said something harsh to you.”
This amused Yu Jinnian. He couldn’t explain why people liked him. He simply followed his heart and interacted with people sincerely. However, not knowing how to answer Yan Rong’s question made him feel a bit embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he blinked and said, “Hmm… maybe it’s because I’m cute?”
“Pfft—” Yan Rong almost choked.
Seeing that Yan Rong was genuinely startled by his answer, Yu Jinnian quickly realized that teasing him wasn’t as fun as he thought. He sat up straight and said seriously, “Alright, enough joking. Let me ask you a question.”
Yan Rong, ready to listen, saw the young man tilt his head slightly, looking at him through the rising steam from the wine pot. Yu Jinnian asked, “Lord Yan, if you’re so upset with me for taking your young master Ji away, why do you still want to talk to me?”
“…” Yan Rong froze, suddenly feeling flustered and unsure how to respond.
Earlier, he had used Pizhencun wine to drown his sorrows over his fifth sister’s suicidal tendencies. After leaving his house, he wandered aimlessly until the scent of rouge and powder brought Yu Jinnian to mind. Before he knew it, he had bought a box of rouge. Only after making the purchase did he realize he had no one to give it to, feeling utterly pathetic.
When he saw Yu Jinnian visiting Yao’er today, he didn’t know why, but he felt miserable. He just wanted someone to talk to, to release some of his frustrations, hoping the breeze would take away his troubles. Acting on impulse, he had given Yu Jinnian the rouge and said things that led to a misunderstanding.
Embarrassed, Yan Rong slumped over the table, propped on one elbow, chewing on another piece of Crispy Qiong Ye. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered with formality or decorum. He gave up and said, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you always ignore what people say. Talking to you doesn’t feel burdensome—it’s relaxing.”
Yu Jinnian smiled and shook his head. “Lord Yan, if you usually talked to your fifth sister like you are now, perhaps things wouldn’t have gotten so bad between you two. Maybe she wouldn’t have tried to take her own life.”
Yan Rong grimaced as if he had swallowed something bitter. “Was I really that annoying before?”
“Not too annoying,” Yu Jinnian thought for a moment, took another bite of the crispy bread, and then drank some warm Pizhencun, feeling perfectly content. He continued with a startling remark, “…But you do make people want to stuff you in a sack.”
Yan Rong: “… Does Yao’er think that way too?”
Yu Jinnian shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. You should ask her.”
Deeply disheartened, Yan Rong gulped down more wine. His face was now flushed red, his head looking like an overripe apple. Clearly, his body wasn’t good at processing alcohol; he was one of those people who were simply not suited to drink. But seeing how upset he was, Yu Jinnian didn’t stop him and let him drink as much as he wanted.
After a while, the kitchen brought out the wontons. The pork and cabbage dumplings had large tails and floated in the soup like clouds. Yu Jinnian happily scooped them up and ate, but suddenly, it seemed like the porcelain bowl sprouted legs and slid away from him.
He looked up angrily, only to see Yan Rong, who was completely drunk, swaying side to side while clutching his bowl, refusing to let him eat.
“You all say I don’t care about Yao’er!” Yan Rong suddenly shouted.
Yu Jinnian raised his hand and swore, “I didn’t say that.”
“I—I’m the one who cares about Yao’er the most in this family!”
As the only daughter in the family, Yan Rong doted on Yan Yuyao the most, and they shared the closest bond.
He knew his father had adopted Yan Yuyao with the intent of arranging a marriage alliance for her one day. The brothers all understood this, as did their grandmother. He himself didn’t think anything was wrong with it. After all, Yan Yuyao was an orphan, and life with them was relatively better. So, over the years, they raised her to become a virtuous and proper lady who could one day manage a household.
Yan Rong always felt protective of his little sister, who was adorable and had lost her parents early. He often stood by her side when she quarreled with their brothers. When it came time for her to marry, he personally recommended the upright clerk from the Ministry of Granaries to their father and pushed for the match. He had a personal friendship with the young official and thought it was better for Yao’er to marry someone whose character he knew rather than a stranger.
When their grandmother’s birthday arrived, the brothers returned home to celebrate, planning to take Yan Yuyao back with them when they left. Yan Rong, worried that she might feel lonely on the journey since she wasn’t close to their other brothers, volunteered to pick her up himself.
Thinking about all of this, Yan Rong tearfully complained, “I’ve always looked out for my sister, but she turned around and tried to hang herself!”
Yu Jinnian sighed, “Yes, yes, now please give me back my wontons. I’m starving.”
Yan Rong grunted in acknowledgment but, in his drunken state, couldn’t control his strength. He slammed the bowl onto the table, spilling the broth everywhere. Yu Jinnian, not one to be picky, just scooped up the remaining wontons and ate them.
Leaning on one elbow, Yan Rong watched him eat while mumbling, “Do you think I don’t know who she wants to marry? That man, Cao! But he’s a merchant—who knows if he’ll have enough to eat tomorrow, let alone today. What’s the good in Yao’er marrying him? The clerk from the Ministry of Granaries may only be a sixth-rank official now, but he’s got a bright future, and we’re close. What’s wrong with that? I don’t understand…”
Yu Jinnian sighed and asked, “Lord Yan, have you ever met someone who made your heart race, someone you can’t forget, someone you’d give up everything for—even your position and titles—just to be with them?”
Yan Rong stared at the ceiling, racking his brain, but came up blank.
It made sense. How could someone like him, who had never experienced the torment of love, understand what it meant to be infatuated?
“Ah Hong and I, and Young Master Cao and your sister, are exactly like that,” Yu Jinnian explained. “It’s not about whether we’re a good match—it’s just that, in a single moment, we knew this was it. This person is the one for life, and there’s no logic behind it.”
Yan Rong protested, “That’s called a private arrangement, and it’s against the rules!”
Yu Jinnian pursed his lips and said, “I won’t deny the societal norms you speak of, nor will I deny that most people in the world follow them. You can scold me, you can use all kinds of methods to deal with me, because in your eyes, I don’t fit in. But in the end, whether or not I leave Ah Hong is my own decision. The same goes for your sister. You can say she’s wrong, that she’s defying etiquette, that she’s ungrateful. But in the end, how she chooses to live—even if it means ending her own life—is her own choice.”
Yan Rong countered, “I’m her brother. The one who arranged her marriage was our father. She should…”
“But she’s a person,” Yu Jinnian interrupted, frowning. “As a person, she has her own thoughts and can make her own decisions, even if that includes dying. What can you do? Tie her up and shove her into a wedding sedan, only to bring her coffin back a few months later? Of course, that’s up to you. You’re her brother, after all. I’m just a small doctor who heals the sick, or, in this case, someone you paid for an hour to keep you company.”
Yan Rong was confused and asked, “So are you saying… I’m wrong? I want the best for her—I want her to marry into a good family. What’s wrong with that? She said I… sold her off, but her marriage will bring prosperity to the Yan family. What’s wrong with that?”
“There’s nothing wrong. None of you are wrong. It’s just that sometimes, people have no control over their circumstances,” Yu Jinnian said, finally finishing his wontons. He rinsed his mouth with some wine, the fiery liquid clearing his throat. “Lord Yan, what if—I’m just saying what if…”
Yan Rong, drunk, stared at him and raised an eyebrow, signaling for him to continue.
Yu Jinnian said, “What if Miss Yan’s eye condition was a congenital illness? To cure her, I would need to use aggressive medicine, which could damage her womb, making it difficult for her to have children. I can treat her blindness with milder medicine, but without the strong treatment, the underlying condition will persist. Within three to five years, it would worsen, causing her unbearable pain and eventually leading to her death. In such a case, what would you choose to do?”
Yan Rong immediately straightened up, as if suddenly sober. He stared blankly and asked, “What do you mean?”
Yu Jinnian called for the servant outside, took a wet cloth to wipe his hands, and answered slowly, “Exactly what I said. Would you hide the truth from her, letting her marry into a prestigious family, bear children, and secure your family’s power? Or would you choose to save her life? After all, once she’s married, if she passes away in five or six years, leaving behind a child, it might even strengthen the bond between the families.”
Yan Rong grabbed Yu Jinnian’s sleeve, panicked. “Which part is true, and which part is false?”
Yu Jinnian, seeing the absurd redness of Yan Rong’s face, couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t I say it was a ‘what if’? Besides, didn’t you just say you care about Miss Yan the most?”
Before Yan Rong could respond, the door to the small pavilion was suddenly pushed open.
A gust of cold wind swept in, bringing a few fallen leaves from the garden that rustled against their faces. Both men squinted as a servant led a handsome man into the room.
The man’s robes fluttered as he entered, his voice calm but with a hint of coldness. Though he wore a smile, there was an unmistakable chill in his words. He walked in leisurely, his eyes tracing Yan Rong’s hand, which was still clutching Yu Jinnian’s sleeve, until they settled on Yu Jinnian’s slightly flushed face. His gaze then froze on the mark at the young man’s neck. The coldness around him intensified as he spoke in a low, sharp tone, “Lord Yan, enjoying wine and rouge with Boss Yu, and not inviting Ji to join the fun?”
Yan Rong’s heart dropped. He thought: I’m doomed. My hand won’t survive this.
Yu Jinnian’s heart also sank. He thought: I’m doomed. The washboard at home won’t survive this.