Drunken sleep and carefree rest, true aspirations; the taste of life lies in leisure.
In the Moon Listening Pavilion, leaning by the lotus pond, the windows opened wide, offering boundless scenery.
Since the day they truly melded like water and milk, Ji Hong had been feeling uneasy, always with a tinge of guilt. Thus, Yu Jinnian was meticulously cared for, to the extent that Ji Hong seemed eager to even spoon-feed him. Resting idly by the lattice window for a few days, Yu Jinnian not only recovered but mysteriously gained two pounds of weight. He was the typical sort who forgot pain once healed; as soon as the soreness in his rear subsided, he wanted to run everywhere—sometimes supervising the construction of a medicine pavilion in the backyard of Jinyouting that Ji Hong was building for him, and other times wanting to manage the shop.
The Jinyouting was vast, bought by Ji Yan during a time of great imperial favor ten years ago. It was even larger than the residences of some minor, less-favored princes. If left unattended, the young man would undoubtedly disappear somewhere, leaving Ji Hong to send people searching every corner of the estate to drag him back.
After several instances of this, Ji Hong simply decreed that Yu Jinnian was not allowed to go out and must recuperate properly in the Moon Listening Pavilion.
This made Yu Jinnian reflect—did he truly understand? That day, they practiced the Joyous Zen, not requiring postpartum confinement! However, out of respect for Ji Hong’s kindness, he obediently stayed quiet for a few days.
One day, Ji Hong ordered a beauty couch to be moved into the courtyard. The couch was covered with a thick, soft cotton pad to spare his backside from discomfort. Two servants held a stack of documents by the couch. One of them sat upright, reviewing paperwork, while the other leaned lazily against him, humming idly. His bare feet nearly pointed skyward as he fiddled with a dough ball.
Yu Jinnian had asked for porcelain clay, but since it wasn’t readily available, Qing Huan and others suggested using dough instead. He didn’t mind and found it sufficient. Qing Huan attended to him nearby, with various snacks, fruits, and drinks laid within reach. At first, she thought he was making figurines, but after some time, he ended up crafting an unrecognizable monstrosity.
A gentle breeze carried fragments of flower petals, landing on the boy’s hair and neck. Ji Hong glanced at him and quietly brushed them away. “What is this?”
He referred to the odd creation in Yu Jinnian’s hands. Yu Jinnian proudly displayed it. “A heart! Look, the blood in our bodies flows from here—this is the artery. It circulates through the body and returns here. One cycle goes *boom*. See, I’m giving you my heart. Isn’t that romantic?”
Ji Hong remained unimpressed: “…”
Yu Jinnian set the “heart” aside and quickly fashioned another lump.
Ji Hong asked, “What’s this?”
Yu Jinnian replied, “This is a liver!” He held it up, his voice playful. “You’re my little liver.”
Ji Hong: “…”
Before long, Yu Jinnian’s collection of “organs”—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys—was laid out on a plate. Though they were made of dough and looked pale and lumpy, his detailed explanations made the display seem gruesomely realistic to Ji Hong.
Not satisfied with his own amusement, Yu Jinnian called others over to admire his work.
“Su Ting, come here!”
Su Ting was deeply engrossed in memorizing texts and was just passing by the Moon Listening Pavilion when he was suddenly summoned. Initially thinking it was an academic test, he nervously turned his back, pretending not to hear, only to be stopped by Yu Jinnian’s sharp glare. Feeling a chill run down his spine, he reluctantly approached, listening with bewilderment as Yu Jinnian explained the “organs” on the plate.
“As physicians, we must avoid superficial understanding and pretending to know what we don’t; we must also refrain from mistaking the part for the whole or having a narrow perspective,” Yu Jinnian lectured. Seeing Su Ting’s confusion, he adopted a rare air of earnestness, pointing to the dough organs. “Tell me, what are these?”
After pondering for a while, Su Ting replied, “They are the five viscera: liver, heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, which house the spirit, blood, and soul…”
“Wrong!” Yu Jinnian clapped his hands. Su Ting looked at him, perplexed, reviewing everything he had just heard. Since Yu Jinnian had indeed called them the five viscera earlier, he couldn’t figure out where he went wrong and humbly asked for guidance.
Yu Jinnian confidently explained, “These are the physical five viscera, not the five elements of the seasons. Su Ting, what you see with your eyes may not always be true, and what you don’t see cannot be deemed false. Constant observation, reflection, and realization will advance your medical skills!” He waved dismissively with a sigh, playing the stern master perfectly. “Alright, off you go!”
Su Ting pondered deeply for a long time, feeling enlightened and developing a newfound reverence for Yu Jinnian’s profound wisdom. He solemnly bowed to him as a teacher and left, visibly preoccupied with his thoughts for the next few days.
Meanwhile, Yu Jinnian resumed fiddling with the dough, now crafting “intestines.” He wasn’t just playing; he was practicing for the future, intending to create a model using wood or porcelain. Though people of the time had some understanding of the human organs, knowledge was limited mostly to coroners in government offices. Most physicians were clueless, often resulting in absurd mistakes.
Such a model could revolutionize medical education.
Ji Hong remarked, “You do have moments of genuine teaching.”
Yu Jinnian snapped out of his focus and chuckled, “The beginning was serious; the rest was just to tease him for fun!”
Ji Hong could only shake his head with a resigned smile.
The dough was too soft, and the sausage kept losing its shape no matter how much he tried to mold it. After a while, Yu Jinnian lost patience and tossed it aside. Turning, he leaned against Ji Hong, wriggling as if his whole body was itching with fleas. He unhappily tugged on Ji Hong’s sleeve and curiously asked, “What are you looking at? Why do you suddenly have so many things to handle?”
“Xuefei accompanied His Majesty to the Penglin Hunting Grounds, but the court affairs can’t be neglected, so I have to manage them,” Ji Hong replied calmly in just a few words. Completely unaffected by Yu Jinnian’s antics, he held a booklet in his left hand and accepted a brush from a servant with his right. He reviewed and approved several official documents with poise, gave instructions on various matters, and only then looked down at Yu Jinnian. He admonished him, “What kind of behavior is this, squirming around like that? Are you itchy?”
Yu Jinnian leaned in close to his ear and teased, “Yes, I’m itchy. Will you help me scratch?”
For a moment, Ji Hong was taken aback. He had never encountered such a brazen flirtation before, and the tip of his ear, which Yu Jinnian had half-kissed in jest, turned a faint shade of red. It was obscured by the dark strands of his hair, making it hard to discern. Yu Jinnian reached out to pinch it and found it indeed warm to the touch. He thought to himself, He’s so easily flustered. He seemed quite skilled when comforting me with his hands and lips earlier. Why is he suddenly embarrassed now that it’s the real deal?
How adorably innocent.
Afraid of scaring Ji Hong away, Yu Jinnian tore off a piece of the cold dough and pressed it against Ji Hong’s earlobe to cool it down. Although the two had already consummated their relationship, Ji Hong was wary of Yu Jinnian spouting any more indecent remarks in broad daylight. Clearing his throat twice to suppress his inner turmoil, Ji Hong shifted the topic back on track, “I heard from Shi Xing and the others that your shop is missing a signboard.”
That was indeed an important matter. Yu Jinnian, preoccupied with indulgence, had almost forgotten about it. “It is missing one.” Resting against Ji Hong, he gazed at the newly sprouted lotus leaves in the pond. “I don’t want to call it ‘One Bowl Noodle Shop’ anymore. For one, we’ll be selling more than just noodles in the future. Secondly, the old name always stirs up old memories and makes me sentimental.”
Ji Hong asked, “Have you thought of a new name?”
Yu Jinnian nodded, propping himself up on his elbows to look at Ji Hong. His eyes crinkled with a smile. “What do you think of ‘Sanyu Pavilion’?”
Ji Hong found the name intriguing. “What does it mean?”
After a brief pause for thought, Yu Jinnian replied with a cheerful grin, “There is a saying from our ancestors: ‘Winter is the surplus of the year, night is the surplus of the day, and rainy weather is the surplus of time.’ If, during these idle moments of the three surpluses, our customers think of stopping by my shop for a rest, whether to enjoy tea and wine or to have a small meal, wouldn’t that be wonderful? Just as the saying goes—’Drunkenness, fullness, and restful sleep, that is the true enterprise. Life’s pleasures reside in the three surpluses.'”
As he spoke, Yu Jinnian playfully tapped Ji Hong’s lightly closed lips with his finger, “Is it good?”
“Good,” Ji Hong readily agreed. He then instructed a servant to prepare ink and paper. Taking advantage of the moment, Ji Hong pulled the youth into his arms, gently kneading his waist. Their breaths intertwined as they exchanged a lingering kiss, their foreheads touching as they reluctantly parted. Ji Hong murmured softly, “Life’s pleasures, one surplus is enough.”
—
Green frothy egg soup paired with tender locust leaf cakes; red-tinted ice plates adorned with mint leaf fish.
The shop finally reopened with its new signboard. On the day of the unveiling, many neighbors from East Cross Street came to join in the excitement. To celebrate, the shop offered every customer a complimentary serving of chilled locust leaf noodles.
The weather had warmed considerably, and the dryness of the northern air often left people feeling irritable. Locust leaves, with their mild bitterness and tender green hue, not only provided a visually pleasing experience but also had calming properties. Consuming them could cool the blood, detoxify, and soothe the liver, making them an ordinary yet uniquely flavorful treat.
Freshly picked tender green locust leaves were washed and juiced before being mixed into the dough and kneaded into fine, silver-like noodles. The noodles were first cooked in boiling water, then transferred to a basin of fresh well water to soak, becoming chilled. This process, called “cold noodles,” left the noodles springy and refreshing. Served with a drizzle of sesame oil and Yu Jinnian’s secret sauce, they exuded an enticing aroma, the noodles’ slight bitterness perfectly complemented by the sauce.
It was a dish that left everyone craving more.
Even the shop owner, Yu Jinnian, couldn’t resist. He hunched over the counter and devoured two bowls in quick succession. If not for Ji Hong’s intervention, warning him against overeating cold foods, Yu Jinnian might have eaten it for all three meals of the day.
Under Ji Hong’s watchful eye, Yu Jinnian slouched behind the counter, occasionally sticking out his tongue at him in a playful “bleh, bleh, bleh.”
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, a group of young clerks was busy calculating the day’s profits from the shop’s grand reopening. Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves tore through the street. A figure on horseback dashed past, causing panic as pedestrians scrambled to get out of the way.
The horse neighed sharply, its front hooves kicking up a cloud of fine dust that swept into Sanyu Pavilion.
Yu Jinnian stood up and peered outside curiously.
A young man tumbled off the horse, no older than twenty, perhaps even younger. He wore an aquamarine robe embroidered with a three-petaled lotus pattern and a pair of neatly polished black official boots. His fair complexion and delicate features exuded a natural grace, even amidst his evident distress. If not for the court badge on his waist, no one would have guessed this radiant, peach-like beauty to be an eunuch—a junior chamberlain with significant status.
Yu Jinnian didn’t recognize him, but Ji Hong did. Ji Hong stepped forward to meet him.
The young eunuch, flustered and nearly tripping over the shop’s threshold, stumbled inside. Without bothering to confirm who he was addressing, he shouted, “Lord Ji! Lord Ji!” Recognizing Ji Hong, he stammered anxiously, “Minister Min… Min is gravely injured and in critical condition! Please, Lord Ji, come at once!”
Ji Hong was taken aback and quickly asked, “Which Minister Min?”
The eunuch urgently replied, “Minister Min Ji! Minister Min Ji!”