Chapter 23
Lin Qingyu refused so decisively and even brought up Nan’an Hou. Pan Shi held both respect and fear for this savior of the Mansion’s son. She didn’t dare speak much more about it so she quickly moved past this matter and discussed the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lin Qingyu was a little absent-minded as he listened to her. He’d been careless and he had failed to consider this stage. Lu Qiaosong has lost the ability to carry on the Lu Family’s ancestral line. Nan’an Hou would naturally turn his thoughts towards Lu Wancheng. Although Lu Wancheng has been constantly ill, it wasn’t completely impossible if he were to give it his all.
That night, Lu Wancheng returned to their room after bathing and found Lin Qingyu directing a puzzling look at him. He suddenly had a bad premonition. “What’s wrong?”
Lin Qingyu asked, “How have you been lately?”
Lu Wancheng smiled and said, “You examine my pulse every day. You would know my condition better than I do.”
“I’m not asking about your condition as a patient.” Lin Qingyu looked down, his sight landing on a particular spot. He gestured with his chin, “Will it… still get up?”
Speaking of this, Lu Wancheng felt a bit dejected. With grievance in his eyes, “I’ve been drinking your medicine and you have the nerve to ask me that?”
The side effects of the medicine were temporary. He could recover use of it after a few days of not drinking that medicine or if Lin Qingyu were to give him an acupuncture session. In other words, whether he could get it up or not depended on whether Lin Qingyu allowed him to get it up or not.
At first, he felt humiliated but then he actually came to accept it. Just as Lin Qingyu said, he had no need for it anyway.
Lin Qingyu nodded. “Then come find me when you need it and I’ll give you an acupuncture session to let you get it up.”
Lu Wancheng was surprised. “Why would I need to use it?”
Lin Qingyu coldly spit out a few words, “To produce a son to continue the family line, to continue lighting incense at the temple.”
Lu Wancheng was a smart man, he should be able to understand with just these few words. Sure enough, Lu Wancheng gave an enlightened smile. “So that’s it. Our Qingyu has been given the talk.”
Lin Qingyu didn’t have the patience to go around curves and skirt corners with him. He asked, “Do you want to take a concubine?”
Lu Wancheng looked at Lin Qingyu’s grave expression and nastily, he swallowed down the words “Of course, I don’t want one.” that were on the edge of his lips. Pretending to be conflicted, “I do but also, maybe not.”
Lin Qingyu raised her eyebrows slightly. “Speak properly.”
“The truth of the matter is, I have lived for almost 20 years and yet, I’ve never even held a girl’s hand. Before I die, it seems it would be good if I could experience the feeling of having that soft fragrance and warmth in my embrace, don’t you think?”
Heh, a few days ago, he’d even been praising him for having had no one else in his room; of having a promising future. Today, he’s longing for soft fragrance and warmth.
This son of b*tch.
Lin Qingyu was about let out some ridicule when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the upward arc of the other’s lips. He sneered in his heart. Lu Wancheng was obviously deliberately riling him up and he’d lose if he took this seriously.
Lin Qingyu asked calmly, “And what kind of woman would you like? Tell me so that I can look for you.”
Thought Lu Wancheng seemed to give it some serious thought, the answer he gave was rather superficial. “Someone beautiful with a good temper and one who won’t be so fierce towards me.”
“I see,” Lin Qingyu said, “Then I’ll pick one for you tomorrow. Go to sleep.”
Lu Wancheng was a little dazed. “That’s it? Go to sleep?”
“Otherwise? What else do you want to say?”
Lu Wancheng endured and endured but in the end, he couldn’t bear it. He asked through the dividing screen, “Qingyu, you don’t really want to help look for a concubine for me, do you? According to common reason, I am your husband.”
Lin Qingyu bantered back, “Husband? Where did I get that? I only have a brother with a different surname. I am just helping myself find a sister-in-law. In the future, your children will call me “Uncle Lin”.”
Lu Wancheng couldn’t help beating his chest and stamping his feet. “Can you stop bringing up that thing about us being sworn brothers?”
“Why shouldn’t I bring it up?” Lin Qingyu sneered, “Who was it that was making a fuss at the time wanting to be close friends with me, who wanted to call each other brothers?”
Lu Wancheng was momentarily choked. “Then I regret it now. In any case, back then we didn’t make a proper oath with blood so it doesn’t count, alright?”
“No, it’s not alright. A brother for a day is a brother for a lifetime.”
“Then according to what you said, a husband and wife for a night makes for a bond of a hundred nights.”
“Indeed,” Lin Qingyu ruthlessly exposed him, “but you weren’t the one who performed that marriage ceremony with me.”
Lu Wancheng was so stifled that he was left speechless. Clutching his pillow, he gnashed his teeth. “Why the hell didn’t I come a day earlier…”
After that, Lu Wancheng went to see Nan’an Hou himself. The two of them were locked in the study room and no one knew what exactly was said. But Nan’an Hou spent an entire night in the ancestral hall and he started growing a lot more gray hairs. And that was how the matter of Lu Wancheng’s concubine was left at loose ends.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was right around the corner. There wasn’t much left of the scorching summer heat. The sweet-scented osmanthus flowers were in full bloom in the courtyard. Summer clothes were thin for the weather but people were reluctant to put on more layers, as though this would stave off midsummer for a while longer.
The world bursts with life in Spring and withers away in Fall. Since ancient times, every autumn is sad and lonely. Lin Qingyu’s mood was also being affected by the season. For several days now, he has been feeling gloomy. He donned on a cold expression for everyone. He shut himself in the study all day and the meals Hua Lu served him would go untouched.
Lin Qingyu himself hated how depressed he was. How could he possibly not know that being depressed was useless? It was a pity that he still couldn’t shift his emotions so easily.
He was lookly blankly at his book when the door opened with a creak and Lu Wancheng walked into the study with a plate of snacks. He said with a smile, “Qingyu, look at this yummy snack I brought you.”
Lin Qingyu said, “Thank you, you can just set it down there.”
Lu Wancheng wasn’t satisfied. “How perfunctory. You didn’t even look at it.”
Lin Qingyu glanced at it. It was a newly-baked sweet-scented osmanthus cake. He thought it was have been made from the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the yard. “I’ve seen it. You can leave now.”
Lu Wancheng made no move to leave. Lin Qingyu knew he was looking at him but he didn’t feel like responding to him. He tried to continue reading, but a certain someone’s sense of presence was so strong that he couldn’t concentrate. He closed his eyes then raised them and said, “Is there anything else?”
Lu Wancheng said softly, “Qingyu, you’re angry.”
His tone was that of complete and certain assertion.
Lin Qingyu said calmly, “I’m not.” He wasn’t being duplicitous. He was, indeed, not angry now. He simply didn’t feel like talking.
“Is it because I laze around too much in bed and now, I’ve made you angry?” Lu Wancheng went round Lin Qingyu, sticking his head to look around. “Then I won’t sleep anymore, okay?”
Lin Qingyu chuckled, “You? Impossible.”
Lu Wancheng was also very self-aware. “It does seem quite unlikely. Then, what will get you to cheer up?” Lu Wancheng sat down next to him, resting his chin on the table and looking at him, “I could let you touch my abs? Oh no, I don’t have any abdominal muscles now… Then I could let you pat me head?” He said as he moved his head closer.
Lin Qingyu covered his eyes with one hand, and pushed Lu Wancheng away with the other. “Just let me be alone, okay?”
Lu Wancheng agreed though he was very reluctant to do so. “Alright, but remember to eat something.”
As soon as Lu Wancheng walked out of the study, Huan Tong immediately came up to him. “Young Master Hou, how is he?”
Lu Wancheng shook his head.
Huan Tong was a little anxious: “What’s the matter with Young Master? He hasn’t eaten anything all day.”
Lu Wancheng thought for a while, and said, “It’s probably not about me. Otherwise, he would have immediately told me to take a hike back there. By the way, when is the Imperial Medical Office going to post the list of passers?”
Huan Tong had a sudden realization. “It’s today!”
“Sure enough,” Lu Wancheng looked back at the thin silhouette on the window, “This is difficult. It definitely won’t be easy to coax him.”
Huan Tong was weighed down with worry. “What should we do then?”
“What can we do?” Lu Wancheng said lazily, “I’m going back to sleep.”
Huan Tong was greatly disappointed. “How could Young Master Hou be like this? You are too eager to retreat in the face of difficulties.”
Lu Wancheng tapped on Huan Tong’s head. “Believe me, your Young Master just wants to be left alone right now, so let’s non’t bother him. Besides, I believe he can adjust his mood by himself.”
Lin Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the footsteps moving farther away.
In the past, whenever Lin Qingyu felt vexed about anything, he could always calm down by losing himself in the company of his medical books. But now, he tried to stare at every word of the book, but couldn’t get in the mood. He was feeling impatient, rash, restless, unable to sit still, he couldn’t get his heart to settle down.
Lin Qingyu left the Blue Wind Pavilion by himself, walking aimlessly around the Mansion. The garden was covered in fallen leaves, they knew all too well that autumn had arrived. When he first arrived at the Hou Mansion, it had been snowing. Charcoal braziers had been burning insider the mansion. But in the blink of an eye, more than half a year had already passed.
Nan’an Hou was often out and both Lu Qiaosong and Liang Shi were recuperating behind closed doors. Lu Niantao was wearily rushing between both sickbeds. Before he knew it, he had become the true master of the Hou Mansion. The servants were both respectful and fearful in his presence. No one seemed to remember his base humiliation marrying into the Hou Mansion as a male wife through a Chong Xi.
Lin Qingyu looked up at the tall vermilion-colored wall stretching out in all directions. It was like he could still hear the cry of the hawkers from outside. What a lively scene it must be at the entrance of the Imperial Medical Office, four streets away from the Hou Mansion. His former classmates, those who were inferior to him, those who were jealous of him, were they all standing at in front of that list, searching for their names with both fear and anticipation?
If his heart hadn’t gone soft with compassion for Lu Wancheng, letting him live for half a year more, where would he be at this moment?
As the autumn wind blew, Lin Qingyu spread out his hand, letting the sweet-scented osmanthus fall into his palm. He made a wish——
He was willing to fast for seven whole days in exchange for the people he detested to fall off that list.
That’s right, this was the kind of petty person he was. He simply couldn’t bear seeing the people he hated live better than he did.
Lin Qingyu imagined Tan Qizhi’s expression as he failed once again and felt a little better. Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Huan Tong, running towards him, out of breath, “Young Master, it’s time to celebrate!”
“What is there for me to celebrate?”
“Tan-Tan Qizhi failed the exam!”
Lin Qingyu was surprised.
Huan Tong said excitedly, “In addition to Tan Qizhi, there’s also Wang Gongzi who said you look like a woman, and Liang Gongzi who slandered you, saying you cheat on the quizzes… Young Master, all of them failed the exam! Isn’t this cause for celebration?”
It was only then that Lin Qingyu came back to his senses. “Did you go to the Imperial Medical Office?”
“Yes, I went to see the list released by the Imperial Medical Office.”
“Who asked you to go?” As soon as Lin Qingyu finished asking, he already knew the answer in his heart.
“It was Young Master Hou,” Huan Tong said, “He said Young Master would surely want to hear it.”
Lin Qingyu’s was experiencing a complicated feeling he couldn’t put in words. Why did Lu Wancheng know even these secret and vicious thoughts of his? Just who is he!
Lin Qingyu threw down the sweet-scented osmanthus in his hand. “Let’s go back.”
Returning to the Blue Wind Pavilion, Lin Qingyu instinctively looked for Lu Wancheng’s figure. Though Lin Qingyu didn’t see him, he heard a clear whistle like the cry of an oriole.
Following the sound of the whistle, he saw Lu Wancheng sitting on the porch, with his back leaning against the railing. His posture, as always, was lazy and casual. When their eyes met, Lu Wancheng lowered the hand he had by his lips that he’d used to whistle. The final note of the whistle seemed to carry a smile. “You’re back. Come and eat.”
The young man leaned against the porch railing. He smiled, free from any worry of this mortal world.
Lin Qingyu thought to himself — he gave up a once in three-year exam in exchange for half a year of life for this person in front of him. No matter how he thought of it, he had lost out.
Fortunately, that whistle of Lu Wancheng’s had been pretty good; it seemed…it wasn’t a complete loss.
Lin Qingyu smiled, as faint as the moon in the sky. “Alright.”
