Chapter 34 Returning Home

Chapter 34: Homecoming

After leaving Li Yingsong's room, Li Jintong's expression darkened.

Second Uncle's house was not unfamiliar to him; he had often visited as a child. It was only after his elder brothers married that he stopped coming as frequently, as it became less appropriate. Staying here, his Second Uncle and Aunt took good care of him, visiting daily and promptly providing anything he needed, so there was nothing to feel uncomfortable about.

But Li Jintong had initially thought he would only stay for three to five days. Given Third Brother's current condition, however, the medicine needed at least seven days to show significant effects, followed by adjustments based on his progress and further observation of the treatment outcome. This meant he wouldn't be able to return home for at least ten days.

Before leaving, he had told Jian Ru he would be back in three to five days, but now he was going to go back on his promise. He considered sending a letter home with a servant but hesitated, feeling that as a husband, sending a message after only three days away might seem overly fussy. He decided to wait until at least five days had passed.

He was also concerned that Jian Ru couldn't read many characters yet. If he wrote a long letter, Jian Ru would have to ask his elder sister or others for help reading it, which meant he wouldn't be able to include any private thoughts. What would be the point then?

Feeling somewhat down, Li Jintong returned to his room, washed his face and hands, changed his outer clothes, and sat at his desk to read medical books.

Not long after, someone knocked on the door. Thinking it was for meal delivery, he called out, "Come in."

But the person outside didn't enter. Instead, they shouted, "Second Young Master, someone from your family is here."

Hearing this, Li Jintong was first surprised, then delighted. He quickly straightened his clothes and pushed the door open.

In the courtyard stood a bay horse with four snow-white hooves—Li Jintong recognized it immediately as one from his own stable. The horse was laden with bundles. Xiao Ning was speaking with Second Sister, Jin Rong, untying a bundle from one side and handing it to her.

As Li Jintong approached, the two noticed him. Xiao Ning, lighting up at the sight of him, exclaimed, "Second Young Master, it's been days! How are you?"

"I'm fine," Li Jintong replied, then quickly asked, "How is everything at home? Is everyone well?"

Xiao Ning smiled. "Everything is fine at home, though the Old Madam misses you and Second Young Miss dearly and talks about you every day."

Jin Rong, still concerned about the medicine she was brewing, said, "I have things to attend to; you two talk." With that, she returned to her room.

Having been with the Li family for years, Xiao Ning was well accustomed to their temperaments and wasn't surprised. Turning to the Second Young Master, he said, "Jian-ge is also thinking of you."

At these words, Li Jintong's smile flickered briefly. "Did he send any message for me?" he asked.

Xiao Ning shook his head. "No, he didn't."

Hearing this, the last trace of a smile vanished from Li Jintong's face, though he maintained a composed appearance. Anyone who hadn't known him for years might not have noticed his disappointment.

The Second Young Master glanced at the horse and asked, "And mine?" Surely there was a bundle for him too.

Xiao Ning had nearly forgotten. He slapped his forehead and hurried to the other side of the horse, retrieving another bundle—this one twice the size of the Second Young Miss's.

Xiao Ning intended to carry it to the room for the Second Young Master, but the latter walked over and took it into his own arms.

The bundle was heavy, and even before opening it, he caught the familiar scent of wild jujube cakes. Instantly, his expression softened, and his eyes grew gentle.

Xiao Ning explained, "Jian-ge steamed two full batches of wild jujube cakes. Aside from setting some aside for the Old Madam, he packed the rest for you and Second Young Miss to enjoy as snacks."

Following the Second Young Master into the room, he continued, "The bundle also has your usual medicine, a change of clothes, and—"

Before Xiao Ning could finish, the Second Young Master had already laid the bundle on the desk and unfolded it. He pulled out two calligraphy practice sheets, examined them carefully, and smiled. "It seems he's been keeping up. There's improvement."

Noticing a corner of paper peeking out from beneath the clothes, he took hold of it and slowly pulled out a letter. Surprised, he looked at Xiao Ning. "Is this... from Jian Ru to me?"

Xiao Ning nodded in agreement.

The Second Young Master asked again, "Did he ask Elder Sister and the others for help?"

Xiao Ning said, "No, Jian Ru wrote it himself."

Upon hearing this, the Second Young Master quickly opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, skimmed through it, and laughed, praising, "Well, isn't that clever."

As he spoke, he took the letter, sat down at the desk, and began reading it slowly. Without turning his head, he said to Xiao Ning, "Go have lunch and take a break before you head back. I’ll write a letter for you to take back."

Xiao Ning, tired from the ride, acknowledged this and went out to find the servants in the courtyard to get his meal.

Li Jintong went over the words on the letter line by line. Every few words, there were small drawings roughly the size of the characters. Jian Ru had drawn them quite well, and they were easy to understand in context.

His delightfully unconventional thinking made the Second Young Master chuckle from time to time.

For example, Jian Ru wrote that during the days the Second Young Master was away, he had been helping at the clinic. But he didn’t know how to write the character for "clinic." Perhaps thinking it would take too much space to draw a clinic, he simply drew a section of pipe—a simple homophone for "clinic" that was easy to understand.

Another example: he wanted to ask how Li Yingsong’s treatment was going, but he didn’t know which character to use for the name. So, where the name should have been written, he drew a simple little figure. The figure had two long horizontal lines for eyes, a short horizontal line for a mouth, and a drop of saliva at the corner of the mouth. It was incredibly simple, yet it perfectly captured the person’s arrogant and lecherous expression, seemingly drooling over a beauty.

The Second Young Master laughed as he read, his earlier bad mood completely gone. All husbandly reserve was cast aside.

After carefully reading the letter, he didn't even touch the meal the servant had brought. He picked up a brush and quickly wrote a reply. For any characters Jian Ru might not be familiar with, he followed the other’s example and drew small pictures next to them.

In the letter, the Second Young Master explained that he would have to stay away longer than expected. The beginning of the letter was restrained, reminding his husband to apply medicine on time and not to worry, etc. But as he wrote, he couldn’t help adding at the end, "I miss you so much. Do you miss me? If you do, how come you didn't say so in your letter?"

Afterward, he took some time to create two new character practice sheets based on the characters Jian Ru had struggled with in the letter, placing them together with the reply.

By the time he had finished, Xiao Ning had eaten, rested up, and was ready to set off.

As the Second Young Master watched Xiao Ning bow, mount his horse, and prepare to leave, he was suddenly struck by regret, thinking the last two sentences in his letter sounded like those of a resentful husband and were rather undignified.

But delaying further would make it dark, and the journey would be difficult for Xiao Ning, so he held back and didn’t call him back.

Even so, the Second Young Master remained in a good mood.

That evening, when taking his medicine, Li Yingsong was still afraid that Li Jintong hadn’t let go of his anger and might trick him again, hesitating to drink it.

But Li Jintong actually looked at him with a gentle expression and a smile, saying, "I’m not a petty person. Let bygones be bygones. Drink it without worry."

Seeing him like this, Li Yingsong grew even more worried. Someone who had been narrow-minded since childhood claiming not to be petty was the world's biggest joke. But without drinking the medicine, his illness wouldn’t be cured, so he gritted his teeth and drank it. Unexpectedly, he slept soundly through the night without any issues, perfectly fine.

Before going to bed, the Second Young Master spent a long time looking at Jian Ru’s practice sheets. He then smoothed out the letter and pored over it for a long while. Feeling sleepy, he carefully folded them and tucked them under his pillow before closing his eyes to sleep.

Just as he was drifting off, he regretted writing that sentence and wished he had called Xiao Ning back to rewrite the letter.

Because of this, over the next two or three days, the Second Young Master’s mood was somewhat down again. His unpredictable temperament tormented Li Yingsong, who worried daily about having diarrhea again.

It wasn’t until three days later, when Xiao Ning brought another package and letter, that the Second Young Master’s spirits lifted.

Seeing the two intimately cheek-to-cheek stick figures his husband had drawn in the letter, his gloom vanished completely. He felt glad he hadn’t changed the letter, though more than before, he was even more eager to get home.

…

In the previous few days, Jian Ru hadn’t really missed the Second Young Master much. He was happily busy at the clinic. Besides weighing medicine, he helped with decoctions, bandaging, and even assisted the accountant.

He didn’t mind the tiredness and didn’t put on airs as the proprietor. He was willing to help wherever asked, learned quickly, and didn’t need much guidance. The doctors and staff all liked him.

Jian Ru felt a great sense of accomplishment.

But, upon learning that Second Young Master and the others would not return for another seven or eight days, Jian Ru couldn't help feeling a little lonely when lying alone in bed at night.

He had lived by himself before and, though he occasionally felt lonely, he had gotten used to it. One of the reasons he had decided he wanted to get married was Second Young Master’s words: "Having someone to talk to when returning home every day." Now, even though Second Young Master was away, and he had a whole family to talk to, he still felt an emptiness in his heart.

Sometimes, waking in the middle of the night, he would instinctively try to snuggle into the crook of the neck of the person beside him, only to find an empty space, making him feel especially lonely.

That's just how people are—they can endure hardship, but once they have tasted sweetness, even the slightest bitterness becomes unbearable.

After both sides had been on tenterhooks for nearly half a month, Li Yingsong’s condition finally stabilized.

The sores on his face and body had completely disappeared, leaving only some scars behind. However, Jin Rong had prepared a scar-removing ointment for him, and with daily application, the scars would fade entirely in another ten days or so.

He was now in better health than before he got sick—his shoulders had grown stronger, and his complexion was rosy.

On the day the wooden plank was removed from his door, Squire Li and his wife arrived early, overwhelmed with emotion.

As worthless as Li Yingsong had been, after going through this ordeal and seeing how much his parents’ hair had whitened, he felt deeply remorseful. From the onset of his illness at the beginning of the year to now, he had been confined to his room for over a month. Perhaps thinking he was going to die, he had reflected on his foolish past.

When he emerged, he did not curse or break anything. Instead, he knelt before his parents with a thud and kowtowed three times with a loud thud. The elderly couple hurriedly helped him up.

Without a word, Li Yingsong then cupped his hands and bowed to Jin Rong and her brother.

Jin Rong and Jin Tong returned the gesture.

Sun Yushuang stepped forward and said, "From now on, let’s live well together."

Squire Li and his wife walked over, embracing their son and his husband by the shoulders, weeping with joy.

Their eldest and second son stood nearby, their eyes also growing moist.

…

On the day Jin Rong and her brother returned, Madam Li rose early and kept going out into the courtyard to look several times.

Outside the gate, Xiao Ning was waiting. As soon as he saw the carriage approaching in the distance, he hurried back to report the news before rushing out to greet them.

Unable to stay indoors, Madam Li stepped outside and watched from the doorway as the carriage entered and came to a stop. Jin Tong got out first, then helped his second sister down.

Second Young Master stood still, his eyes sweeping over the people in the courtyard. When he saw Jian Ru supporting his mother and looking in his direction, he couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing that both children had returned safely after more than ten days, Madam Li’s heart, which had been anxious for days, finally settled. She hurried forward, touching Jin Rong’s cheek and patting Jin Tong’s shoulder, fussing affectionately, "Look at you, you’ve lost weight. I’ve asked Old Lady Wang to prepare two extra specialty dishes—make sure you eat well."

Jin Hui took Jin Rong’s hand and said, "Where do you see her losing weight? It’s not like Second Uncle’s family would starve them. Mom, you’re just worrying too much."

Ignoring her, Madam Li held Jin Tong’s hand tightly and said, "Have you been feeling unwell these days? Jin Feng," she called to her eldest son, "give your younger brother a check-up later."

The eldest son agreed.

Qiao Zhi and Xian Yu eagerly buzzed around Second Aunt. Having been away for over ten days, Jin Rong felt somewhat homesick and, for once, she managed a small smile. She pinched the children’s cheeks and pointed to the carriage, saying, "It's all in there. Go on, get it!"

The children let out a cheer and ran toward the carriage, with Zhao Pin quickly following. Xiao Ning also went over to help unload the gifts brought from Second Uncle’s house.

Xian Yu wanted to open the boxes, but Zhao Pin stopped him, persuading him to wait until after the meal.

As everyone escorted the siblings inside, Second Young Master didn't get a chance to talk to his husband. He could only squeeze Jian Ru’s wrist briefly as they passed each other.

Jian Ru gazed at Second Young Master’s face, which had grown even more handsome after days apart, yet felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

They hadn't prepared a meal in their own courtyard that day. Since Second Young Master had finally returned, he was to have a meal with the family.

After the meal, they sat together chatting, unpacked and distributed the gifts from Squire Li’s household. The eldest son also checked his younger brother’s pulse. By the time all this was done, half the afternoon had passed.

Madam Li was tired and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, everyone, don't all hang around here. Go back to your own rooms."

She then teased Jian Ru, "Someone’s getting restless—can’t even sit still!"

Though most people had already left, Jian Ru blushed a bright red.

Second Young Master smiled at him, and together they bowed to his mother before leaving the room.

Walking side by side, neither spoke for a while, their shoulders still a hand's breadth apart.

When they reached their small courtyard and arrived at the outer door, Jian Ru opened it first and stepped inside, followed by Second Young Master.

As soon as Jian Ru closed the door and turned around, he was pressed against it, Second Young Master’s hand cradling the back of his head as he kissed his lips.

Second Young Master’s body was warm and fragrant, and Jian Ru loved it.

In no time, all the unfamiliarity from their days apart vanished.

The soft flesh of Jian Ru's buttocks, squeezed through his clothes, began to ache. Tilting his head back, his face flushed, he dodged slightly and whispered, "What are you doing?"

Second Young Master looked down at him and replied with a smile, "I’m checking carefully to see if you’ve really grown thorns."

Jian Ru lightly punched Second Young Master’s shoulder, who laughed and caught his fist. Hand in hand, they walked into the inner room.