Chapter 100, wow, wow, wow!
The original intention of taking Sui Sui out for a walk during the spring outing was just to let her stretch her legs. However, until nightfall, after walking along the Taoxi River, Yu Jinnian still hadn’t found an opportunity to talk to Sui Sui. This little girl used to stick to him, her smile as sweet and clingy as a sticky candy. But now, she avoided him, holding onto Qing Huan tightly and refusing to let go.
Yu Jinnian couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected, silently kicking a stone along the path.
Over there, Mistress Su had started to warm up to Scholar Su Ting, especially after he helped her out several times. She began to chat casually with him, even remarking on how they were “one family about a hundred years ago,” clearly showing her favor. Yet, despite her compliments, this scholar seemed utterly oblivious to her flirtations, ignoring the suggestive glances Su Qing’er threw his way. In the end, he merely nodded politely and found an excuse to leave.
Mistress Su felt so stifled that a wave of frustration welled up in her chest.
By the time they returned to the Zhuhua Pavilion after wandering around the town, it was well past mealtime. Fortunately, Mistress Su had managed her subordinates well. Despite her absence, the front hall and kitchen were running smoothly. The stove was still hot, ready for any customers who might order a late-night snack. However, Yu Jinnian, who was used to preparing all his own food, politely declined Mistress Su’s offer and headed to the kitchen to select ingredients himself.
Ji Hong wanted to go with him, but just as they were about to enter the kitchen, Min Xuefei approached and signaled to him with a look.
“… ” Ji Hong lightly squeezed Yu Jinnian’s shoulder and laughed quietly, motioning for him to go ahead. He then watched the young man walk around the corner until he was out of sight before turning back, asking calmly, “What is it?”
Min Xuefei thought back to the past when this third son of the Ji family treated everyone with cold indifference, and the rare sight of him showing even a hint of annoyance toward someone indicated they had a closer relationship than most. But now, Ji Hong had become someone who could speak and laugh easily, as if he had turned into a completely different person.
Seeing him unmoved, Ji Hong asked again, and Min Xuefei finally snapped out of his thoughts, clearing his throat and lowering his voice: “That lord from the southwest, the Lord Twelve, has come from the south. We shouldn’t stay here for too long. If we run into him on the road… our positions differ, and it might be awkward.”
Ji Hong’s brows furrowed slightly. “What is he doing in the capital at this time of year?”
“Who knows?” Min Xuefei replied. “But next month is the spring hunt on Qixing Mountain, where the children of the aristocratic families will all show off their skills. He’s probably here for that. But he’s not young anymore; why is he still mingling with the younger generation?” As he spoke, he noticed Ji Hong closing his eyes, rubbing the side of his head, and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Ji Hong said, lowering his hand. “Perhaps I caught a chill.”
It was only then that Min Xuefei noticed the damp marks on Ji Hong’s sleeves, hanging heavily by his sides, like dark patterns blooming across the fabric. Glancing at the slightly moist steps outside, he immediately guessed most of the situation and sighed. “You, with your intelligence, and yet…”
Ji Hong shot him a glance, and Min Xuefei immediately stopped talking, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Fine, fine! I won’t say anything more.”
Not wanting to provoke Ji Hong any further, Min Xuefei, having said what he needed to say, went upstairs early to rest. After all, some people had loved ones to care for them, unlike him—a solitary soul with a brother whose loyalty leaned elsewhere.
Ji Hong turned back toward the kitchen. Before he even arrived, he could hear the lively conversation coming from inside. He glanced at his damp sleeve and thought back to the happiness on the young man’s face when they were catching shrimp by the stream—a joy he hadn’t seen since the tragedy at the noodle shop and the death of Aunt Xu.
He shook out his sleeve in the wind, smiling softly, feeling that getting soaked by the rain had been worth it. There was a deep tenderness in his eyes.
Inside the kitchen, a small servant boy from who knows which family was tearfully preparing tea, having failed repeatedly to please his master with the brew. Yu Jinnian, standing by, consoled him, saying, “Three parts tea, seven parts water. If you use this stale water that’s been boiled over and over, of course the tea won’t taste good.” He rummaged through the basket he had brought back, pulling out a bamboo tube. “This is spring water from Taoxi Mountain, fresh and sweet. Here, take it.”
His sincerity was evident, and the little servant boy, convinced that Yu Jinnian wouldn’t lie, accepted the bamboo tube gratefully, thanking him profusely before hurrying off.
Before long, Ji Hong entered the kitchen. Yu Jinnian was busy with his tea preparation, slices of astragalus and fangfeng root bubbling in a clay pot. Hearing the noise behind him, he hadn’t yet tossed in the ginger slices, assuming it was the little servant boy returning. Without looking up, he smiled and asked, “What is it? Got scolded again?”
Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, catching him off guard. Startled, Yu Jinnian’s arm jerked, and the ginger slices slipped into the pot, causing small splashes. Steam billowed up, and whether it was from the sharp scent of the ginger or the tight embrace, he found himself holding his breath instinctively.
A faint fragrance of clothing, mixed with the fresh scent of rain-soaked grass, wafted from behind. The scent was both refreshing and calming. After a moment, Yu Jinnian patted the hands wrapped around his waist and whispered with a laugh, “Let go quickly, or the tea will spill.”
“What tea?” Ji Hong leaned over his shoulder to take a look, but showed no intention of releasing his grip.
Yu Jinnian didn’t put much effort into prying his hands off, only freeing one hand to stir the medicinal tea. “It’s a cold prevention tea. Fangfeng helps dispel wind evils, astragalus boosts energy and strengthens the exterior, and fresh ginger can ward off cold and promote circulation. Since we got caught in the rain today, it’s best to take precautions, so we don’t suffer when we hit the road again.”
Ji Hong watched as he prepared the tea but still didn’t want to let go. Yu Jinnian turned his head slightly to look at him. Ji Hong’s ears were as cold as if they had been soaked in water, and his eyes, fixed on the fire, were half-closed, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly. There was a sickly look about him. Yu Jinnian’s concern surfaced, just as he was about to ask if Ji Hong was alright, Ji Hong glanced sideways at a wine flask nearby and reached out for it, saying, “Warm up a pot of wine, and get a few cold dishes. Let’s go back and… talk.”
He spoke so casually, yet still had to give Yu Jinnian’s waist a squeeze—a gesture that clearly revealed his intentions.
Trapped in Ji Hong’s arms, Yu Jinnian could feel the warmth of his breath in his ear, his soft voice like a flickering flame, quickly heating Yu Jinnian’s earlobes. Yu Jinnian coughed lightly, trying to cover his moment of distraction, and then feigned anger as he snatched the wine flask from Ji Hong’s hands. “Scolding” him, he said, “You just had wine yesterday, and you can’t handle your liquor. If you drink more, you’ll feel unwell again. Besides, who drinks wine with medicinal tea? Aren’t you afraid the wine will counteract the medicine?”
Though he protested against the wine, he didn’t refuse the request for some small dishes.
After removing the medicine pot from the fire, Yu Jinnian quickly prepared a few simple cold dishes that could be eaten after a brief scalding, dressing them with soy sauce and vinegar, and arranging them into colorful platters. Although Ji Hong didn’t disturb him, his gaze never left Yu Jinnian, making him feel as though Ji Hong’s eyes had seared through his very skin. People often spoke of this “Qingluan” as a gem of the world, a refined and gentle gentleman, but who could have known that, in private, he was so clingy?
Whenever Yu Jinnian thought about this, he felt as if he were a shameless thief, secretly hoarding a priceless treasure. It filled him with a mix of fear that someone would find out, and the sweetness of enjoying something precious alone, drawing him deeper into an inescapable affection.
The two of them, with hands intertwined, somehow managed to produce a few plates of cold dishes that were hardly elegant. Although their expressions remained composed, their playful touches revealed their true emotions. On this damp spring evening, in the warm kitchen, they both worked up a sweat. Yet whether it was the stove’s heat or something else that caused it was anyone’s guess.
With a flushed face, Yu Jinnian awkwardly muttered, “It’s so hot.”
Ji Hong raised his hand and pressed a finger against the young man’s spine. After his recent recovery, the slenderness beneath his fingers was even more pronounced, the row of prominent vertebrae down the back of his neck standing out even more. Ji Hong’s fingers slid down, the coolness of his touch snaking along Yu Jinnian’s back, making him shiver involuntarily, almost collapsing into Ji Hong’s embrace.
“You’ve lost weight,” Ji Hong said with a tone of concern.
Yu Jinnian smiled back at him, “As long as I’ve fattened you up.” Saying this, his hand brushed over Ji Hong’s forearm as he bent down to pick up the dishes.
Ji Hong quietly watched him, his gaze lingering on Yu Jinnian’s lips. Yu Jinnian didn’t seem to notice and was completely unaware of Ji Hong’s intense focus, which remained fixed on his face, as though he was about to kiss him at any moment.
However, before Ji Hong could act, the sound of uneven footsteps echoed from outside the kitchen. In an instant, Ji Hong regained his usual calm and composed demeanor. A light figure, clad in pale-colored robes, came into view, swaying as if she might collapse at any moment.
Yu Jinnian was about to greet her when she lifted her head, and upon seeing them, reacted as if she’d seen a ghost. She turned sharply to leave but stumbled over her skirt in her haste, nearly tripping herself.
Yu Jinnian quickly called after her, “Madam, wait! We were just leaving.”
Upon hearing this, the woman paused and nervously glanced back at them before cautiously surveying her surroundings like a thief. Only then did she slip along the wall and enter the kitchen. Her face was pale, but two bright red patches around her eyes, as if they had been rubbed with deep pink rouge, made her look like a fragile paper doll brought to life by some spell.
She floated into the room, saying nothing, and went to the stove farthest from Yu Jinnian and Ji Hong, where she quietly crouched down and began to tend to the fire.
After a moment, Yu Jinnian couldn’t help but speak, “Madam…Huan Xiao.”
Huan Xiao shuddered violently at the sound, dropping the firewood she had been holding. Her fingers trembled so badly that she struggled to pick them back up. When she finally managed to gather the wood again, she hastily shoved it into the stove, fumbling in her rush.
Yu Jinnian couldn’t understand why his voice would scare someone so much, nor did he think he looked particularly frightening. Taking a deep breath, he softened his tone as much as possible, saying gently, “That’s not the right way to light a fire. Those pieces of wood are damp, they won’t catch easily.”
She clenched the damp firewood tightly, her back taut like a fully drawn bow. After hearing Yu Jinnian’s words, she hesitated for a moment before finally stepping forward to retrieve some dry firewood. This time, it didn’t take long for the fire to catch. Huan Xiao’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. She glanced back at Yu Jinnian, her eyes now carrying a trace of gratitude.
“T-Thank you…”
Yu Jinnian thought she resembled a frightened, skittish little animal—like a bird afraid of people, ready to flee at the slightest sign of danger. She didn’t seem at all like a once-famous musician from a pleasure boat; no courtesan would be so timid. Otherwise, how could she have survived in such a cutthroat environment?
Yu Jinnian felt curious, but more than that, he was puzzled.
After her soft words of thanks, she fell silent again, going about her own business. She scooped a ladle of rice from a sack and poured it straight into the pot without rinsing it.
Yu Jinnian instinctively called out, “Hey, the rice…” Seeing Huan Xiao shudder again, he felt a little embarrassed, as if he were the bothersome bow in the story of the startled bird. He took a few steps toward the door, using his next words as a gentle reminder, “The rice needs to be rinsed, or else there’ll be grit when you eat it.”
Huan Xiao blinked at him, confused, and finally, as Yu Jinnian and Ji Hong were about to leave the kitchen, she called out to him. Her voice was as faint as a whispering ghost, barely louder than a buzzing mosquito: “H-how… how do you rinse it?”
How to rinse rice?
Wasn’t it obvious?
Yu Jinnian demonstrated, but Huan Xiao just blinked rapidly, utterly lost. She seemed as if she would somehow manage to keep the grit and lose the rice, clearly someone unaccustomed to handling such mundane tasks.
“I’ll do it,” Yu Jinnian sighed.
Huan Xiao stood far off to the side, watching in silence as Yu Jinnian skillfully rinsed the rice. Her face showed a mix of shame and self-reproach that she couldn’t hide. When Yu Jinnian finally put the rice into the pot, Huan Xiao suddenly, and somewhat nonsensically, said, “They don’t teach this.”
In the brothels, they taught her how to play the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, how to recite poetry and compose songs, and how to please men by flattering and charming them. She wasn’t a noblewoman, but she had been raised with the same delicate hands.
Yu Jinnian murmured a puzzled “hmm” but didn’t give it much thought. However, when he turned around, he was startled to see that her eyes had reddened for no apparent reason. He quickly said, “This is just a trivial task. You’re of noble bearing, it’s nothing to worry about if you’re not familiar with these things…”
For some reason, this simple statement struck a deep, sorrowful chord in Huan Xiao, and she bit her lip, suddenly bursting into tears.
Yu Jinnian looked to Ji Hong for help but quickly realized that comforting others wasn’t something he could rely on Ji Hong for. Worried, he decided to try to change the subject to distract her. “Um… madam, the rice is in the pot now. After about half an hour, it’ll become soft and sticky. If you add some dried dates, it’ll be even sweeter.”
Mentioning “dates” only made her cry harder. Her sobs were filled with such grief, as if she were finally releasing all the pent-up bitterness: “If I had known things would turn out like this, I would have been better off as a lowly kitchen maid for Madam Cen… Everyone thought I had escaped that hell, but who would’ve guessed I’d fallen straight into the tiger’s mouth… There’s no medicine to cure regret, and if there were, I’d eat two pounds of it!”
Yu Jinnian could only watch as she wiped her tears, unable to find the right words.
But it seemed that Huan Xiao hadn’t expected Yu Jinnian to say anything. She was simply venting her frustrations. In front of Lü Yanjia, she didn’t dare cry, and without Qi Wenjun to comfort her, this was her moment of release. Once the tears flowed, they eventually stopped. After all, what could she expect from a kitchen hand she barely knew?
Even if it were someone as influential as Qi Wenjun, a great lady from a wealthy family, she couldn’t do anything against Lü Yanjia. How much less could Huan Xiao, a mere concubine bought by Lü Yanjia, expect? In the end, she was worth less than a coral ornament sitting in a curio cabinet.
No matter what, she would have to bend to Lü Yanjia’s will, whether he wanted to kill or spare her.
The more she thought about it, the deeper her sorrow grew. Huan Xiao’s thoughts spiraled into a dead-end, until her gaze fell on the pot of rice, still not fully cooked. Only then did she seem to snap back to reality, murmuring, “Sister Wenjun…”
Thinking of Qi Wenjun, Huan Xiao steadied her emotions, raising her sleeve to wipe away her swollen, tear-stained eyes.
Yu Jinnian had noticed the scars on her wrist for some time now. After two days, not only had they not faded, but several new marks had appeared. With the manipulative Young Master Lü absent, Yu Jinnian finally had the chance to ask indirectly, “Has Madam encountered some difficulty?”
Huan Xiao remained silent.
Yu Jinnian smiled softly and continued, “I wonder if Madam recognizes Qing Huan, the girl who’s always with us. She mentioned that you two were once acquainted, and I thought she must be dreaming. But listening to your accent now, it has the flavor of Xinan County, so perhaps you’re not from far away.”
He added in a gentle, teasing tone, “Since we’re far from home, meeting a fellow countryman is rare. If that little girl of mine gets homesick and dares to disturb you, I hope you’ll be kind and not chase her away.” With that, Yu Jinnian picked up the dishes and said, “We’ll take our leave now.”
As they stepped outside, Ji Hong turned his head slightly, his gaze fixed on Yu Jinnian.
Yu Jinnian asked, “Do I have something on my face?”
Ji Hong pinched his ear playfully, teasing him, “I was just checking if you’re turning into a little Bodhisattva, all green and adorable.”
Yu Jinnian shook his head. “Seeing her cry like that, how could I bring myself to speak harshly? And those scars… it looks like they didn’t accumulate in just a day or two.” He furrowed his brow but stopped short, letting out a soft sigh instead.
“Have Qing Huan sneak over later with some ointment for the bruises,” Yu Jinnian suggested. He wasn’t a saint capable of solving everyone’s problems, but this small gesture was something within his reach.
After all, family matters, no matter how grievous, weren’t his place to intervene.
…
Inside the Zhuhua Pavilion, spring insects chirped nervously, and the sound of the night rain was soft. Vines twisted around the corridors as the two of them made their way up the wooden stairs to their room. By the window, the night was deep, and cups lay overturned on the table. Their shadows entwined, and Yu Jinnian held a mouthful of medicinal tea, passed to him by Ji Hong. The taste, sharp and spicy, made his heart race and his mind go blank.
Dazed, Yu Jinnian reached out, his fingers first tensing, then relaxing, hanging limply over the windowsill. His fingertips glistened faintly with moisture.
A drop of rain, rootless and falling from the sky, landed on the pulse at the boy’s wrist before sliding away in an instant.
It’s said that women must follow the three obediences and four virtues: obedient to their fathers before marriage, to their husbands after marriage, and to their sons if widowed. How was a lifetime of obedience different from these rootless raindrops?
And what of himself? A drop of rootless rain, how much fortune and grace from the heavens would it take for him to avoid the storms and struggles, and still be cherished so preciously, like a rare gem, cradled close to someone’s heart to savor its sweetness?
Ji Hong interlocked his fingers with Yu Jinnian’s, firmly gripping the boy’s soft, slender waist as he lifted him into an embrace. He touched the boy’s vacant eyes and asked softly, “What are you thinking about?”
Yu Jinnian blinked, then turned over to kiss him, his gaze locking onto Ji Hong’s. “I was thinking how lucky I am to be getting such a great deal.”
Ji Hong’s expression softened, and a faint line appeared at the corner of his eyes as he smiled. “Is that so?” His voice trailed off, and when he saw Yu Jinnian slowly trying to slip off the couch, he suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. He bit down gently on Yu Jinnian’s lower lip, sucking lightly, and said unceremoniously, “Indeed, you’ve gotten quite the bargain. So, why are you trying to run away after taking advantage?”
Yu Jinnian’s face flushed, and he protested, “I wasn’t running.”
Ji Hong said nothing, simply staring at him with a piercing gaze.
Yu Jinnian clutched at Ji Hong’s clothing, gripping it tightly.
With a sudden snap, the window was shut.
The candle burned out, and the rain continued through half the night, finally fading away.