Chapter 39 Winter Jasmine

Chapter 39 Winter Jasmine

The night passed without incident, but as dawn broke in the eastern sky, the Second Young Master’s fever, which had been receding, spiked again.

It wasn’t even necessary to touch him—just being near him, one could feel the heat coming off him.

Jian Ru lit a candle, pushed the quilt aside, and began giving the Second Young Master a sponge bath with warm water. At first, the Second Young Master was still conscious, frowning as he looked at Jian Ru’s worried face and reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” he said.

But not long after he said this, when Jian Ru went to the wardrobe to fetch clean clothes for him, he noticed the Second Young Master’s face had turned bright red and he was not responding to him.

This illness of the Second Young Master’s seemed like all the illness he'd avoided was catching up at once, accumulating and erupting.

Since that morning when he fell into a deep sleep, he was in and out of consciousness for three full days. For three days, he couldn’t eat or drink; he threw up anything they tried to give him. The little weight he had managed to gain was lost, and he rapidly grew thinner, his face completely devoid of color. At first, it was flushed red with fever, but even when the fever burned intensely, his face only grew pale and ashen.

The Eldest Young Master and Second Young Lady changed the medicine twice, but it still had no effect.

Madam Li was crying her heart out. Jin Hui and Granny Jin took turns looking after her, fearing she might fall ill as well.

During the day, the Second Young Master merely slept unconscious, but at night, he would have convulsions and talk deliriously. Jian Ru barely slept over those three days, repeatedly changing cool cloths, wiping his body, changing his clothes, and trying to feed him water—but nothing helped.

Once, Jian Ru accidentally fell asleep by the bedside. When he suddenly woke up, he found the Second Young Master with his eyes tightly shut, his hand raised upward, mumbling something.

Jian Ru leaped up and put his ear to his lips to listen. To his shock, he heard him calling, “Father, Father, wait for me…”

Jian Ru’s face turned pale. He grabbed the raised hand and shouted desperately, “Jin Tong, Jin Tong, you can’t go, you mustn’t go!”

The Second Young Master’s hand was held down, but a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Father, you haven’t changed at all…”

Jian Ru shook his shoulders fiercely, trying to pry his eyelids open. “Jin Tong, it’s me, Xiao Ru! Open your eyes and look at me! Don’t go with him, look at me!”

Li Jintong stopped smiling. His expression grew calm and gentle, his eyes lightly closed, his entire face and body completely relaxed. He said, “Mother, Xiao Ru… I’m… leaving.”

In that moment, Jian Ru’s body stiffened, tears streaming down his face.

He leaped off the bed, knelt on the floor with a thud, and kowtowed repeatedly toward the direction where the Second Young Master’s hand had been pointing, bowing his head to the floor. His forehead struck the hard ground so hard it started to bleed, but he seemed not to notice. He cried out loudly toward that direction, “Old Dr. Li, Old Dr. Li, Father, Father! Please don’t take Jin Tong away! I beg you, I beg you!”

“Father, I’m begging you, begging you…”

The door swung open with a crash. Jin Hui and Zhao Pin rushed into the room with anxious expressions, only to find Jian Ru slumping to the floor, unconscious.

The next day, when Jian Ru opened his eyes, his head throbbed, making him dizzy. He touched the bandage wrapped around his head, and after a moment, suddenly remembering something, he sat up abruptly and looked beside him. The Second Young Master’s pale, gaunt face came into view.

Jian Ru trembled as he reached out to check his breathing. Only after a while did he seem to emerge from water, gasping for air as if his heart had just started beating again.

The door creaked open. Jian Ru turned to see Xiao Ning entering with a bowl of porridge. He set it on the table by the bed and walked over, asking worriedly, “Brother Jian, is your head still dizzy? Can you get up to eat?”

Jian Ru remained silent, not uttering a word.

Xiao Ning urged him, “If you don’t eat, you won’t have the strength to take care of the Second Young Master.”

Jian Ru looked at him and asked, “How… is he now?” His voice was hoarse, and speaking was difficult.

Xiao Ning felt a pang of sadness, wiping his eyes as he said, “Last night, the Eldest Young Lady called the Eldest Young Master and Second Young Lady over to examine him. The Second Young Lady has been focusing on making pills these days instead of managing the clinic. She forced one down his throat. He hasn’t woken up, but his fever has gone down quite a bit this morning.”

Jian Ru reached out to feel Li Jintong’s forehead. Confirming that it was indeed less feverish, he got out of bed, picked up the bowl of porridge, and quickly finished it.

After eating, he returned to bed, leaning against the headboard and holding the unconscious Li Jintong in his arms. He tried feeding him water and porridge bit by bit, but more ended up spilling out than going in.

Jian Ru carefully cleaned him up. Then, ignoring Xiao Ning’s presence, he took a mouthful of porridge and fed it to the Second Young Master mouth-to-mouth, finally managing to get some food into him.

Afterward, Xiao Ning helped him change the damp sheets and took the soiled clothes out to wash.

When only the two of them remained in the room—one lying down, the other sitting—Jian Ru bent over and rested his head lightly on the Second Young Master’s chest, tears streaming down his face.

For the next two days, the Second Young Master still did not wake up, but he managed to keep down a little more food. His fever also gradually subsided. Finally, on the evening of the fifth day, he opened his eyes and woke up.

Upon hearing he was awake, almost everyone in the household came to see him. Li Jintong remained disoriented for a long time after waking, his gaze wandering blankly over each face before he closed his eyes wearily and said, “Has spring arrived? I want to see the winter jasmine.”

After saying this, he fell asleep again.

This time, he slept for another two days without waking.

When he opened his eyes again after those two days, he was truly conscious.

Madam Li held him in her arms, wiping her tears with a handkerchief while patting his back gently, her anxiety and worry over the past days transforming into silent comfort.

After talking with his family for a while, the Second Young Master glanced toward the door and asked, “Where is Xiao Ru?”

Jin Hui said, “He went into the mountains.”

The Second Young Master had thought he might be in the kitchen or out shopping—anything but this answer. Puzzled, he asked, “What is he doing in the mountains?”

Jin Hui glanced at their mother, who sighed, and followed with a sigh of his own. “Don’t you remember? The last time you woke up, you said you wanted to see winter jasmine. These past few days, whenever he has time, he’s been going up the mountain to look for it for you.”

The Second Young Master had no memory of waking up before or saying anything. He asked, “What’s the date today?”

His elder brother, Li Jinfeng, replied, “Today is the eighth day of the third month.”

The Second Young Master frowned deeply.

Jin Rong said, “It’s still too early. Winter jasmine won’t bloom until at least the latter half of the third month.”

Jin Hui said helplessly to his younger brother, “We tried to persuade him, but he refused to give up.”

With Jian Ru in the mountains, there was no way to find him. The Second Young Master had no choice but to wait.

He waited through lunch, then through dinner, but Jian Ru still hadn’t returned.

As the sun began to set, the Second Young Master grew anxious. Xiao Ning was also worried, running to the courtyard gate to look outside one moment and pacing the room the next, unsettling the Second Young Master even more.

Several times, the Second Young Master tried to get out of bed, but Xiao Ning held him back.

Just when the Second Young Master could wait no longer and insisted on getting up to go out, the sound of running footsteps echoed in the courtyard.

The Second Young Master listened intently, his face lighting up with joy as the door burst open. The slender young man stood there, disheveled and covered in mud—his pants were muddy, his clothes dirtied, even his face and the bandage on his forehead smudged with dried mud.

But his eyes were bright. Looking at Li Jintong, who was being held down by Xiao Ning at the bedside, he raised his hand from behind his back. His fingernails were caked with mud, his slender fingers carefully holding something. The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the window, illuminating the delicate, trembling little yellow flower in his hand.

Jian Ru grinned happily and said, “I found it—winter jasmine. For you to see.”

In that moment, the Second Young Master stared at him, stunned, as if his breath had halted and his heart skipped a beat.

…

Late at night, after his bath, Jian Ru sat on the edge of the bed. The Second Young Master, propping himself up, sat on a low stool beside the bed, carefully changing the bandage on Jian Ru’s head. When he saw the scabbed wound on the tender skin, his heart tightened.

“Did you… not feel anything?” the Second Young Master asked.

Jian Ru smiled ingratiatingly. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

The second young master looked at him, grabbed one of his hands, and touched the scrapes from when he fell while mountain climbing. Jian Ru hissed in pain, and the second young master quickly raised the hand to his lips, gently blowing on it repeatedly, his heart aching so much he nearly shed tears.

After blowing on it, the second young master carefully placed Jian Ru’s hand in his own palm and said nothing, just looking at him intently.

Jian Ru couldn’t bear such a look and finally lowered his head, whispering, "I won’t do this again, I promise."

The second young master glanced at the winter jasmine flowers in the porcelain vase on the nearby table and sighed softly.

He reached out, held the back of Jian Ru’s neck, and guided his head down. Lightly pressing his own forehead to Jian Ru’s bandaged one, he said, "I didn’t plan to leave with Father."

Jian Ru looked up at him in surprise, and the second young master met his gaze, saying, "I told him that Mother and Xiao Ru can’t do without me. I’m not leaving."

Jian Ru opened his mouth and broke into loud sobs. The second young master tenderly kissed his forehead, his cheeks, and even his tears.

The salty taste spread in the second young master's mouth as he held Jian Ru close, repeating softly, "I’m not leaving..."

...

From that day on, the second young master improved day by day, though he still had to stay in bed for seven or eight more days before he could get up and move around.

Even after getting up, he could only walk for a short while before needing to sit and rest, otherwise he would get dizzy and lose strength. All the effort he had put into exercising before his illness had gone to waste.

The eldest young master said that his illness had been severe this time and that he would need at least a month of rest to fully recover. The family would have to pay extra attention to him.

Jian Ru didn’t mind putting in the extra effort. The night the second young master had collapsed, he had nearly given up hope. Now, with the feeling of getting back what he'd almost lost, no matter how tired he was, he felt happy. He believed that heaven had been good to him, and he had nothing to complain about.

However, his happiness didn’t last long. Just as the second young master was finally able to walk around more, Granny Jin came to bring him to the main house.

During the second young master’s illness, Madam Li had allowed Jian Ru to skip his visits to pay respects at the main house.

It had been over ten days since Jian Ru last visited the main house.

He didn’t think much of it and even told the second young master he would be back soon. But once they left the room, Granny Jin, who had been pleasant earlier, suddenly became stern and quiet.

Seeing her expression, Jian Ru had a premonition. Biting his lip, he remained quiet as well.

When they arrived at the main house, the eldest sister, Li Jinhui, was also there. Seeing Jian Ru being brought in, her expression turned unpleasant. After glancing at Madam Li, who sat rigidly in her chair, she bowed and hurriedly left.

Madam Li stood up, her face tense, and said sternly, "Do you admit your mistake?"

Even when he first entered the Li household and his mother-in-law had been cold toward him, Jian Ru had never seen such a severe expression on her face. Anxiously twisting the hem of his clothes, he lowered his head and didn’t dare speak.

Madam Li’s chest rose and fell with anger, her eyes reddening. Pointing at Jian Ru, she said, "I thought you were sensible and knew what was important. But I never expected you to secretly take my youngest son out not once, but twice! The first time, you were lucky nothing happened, and it made you bold. This time, you’ve finally caused a disaster. If I hadn’t questioned you, were you planning to keep it hidden forever?"

Jian Ru glanced at her with red-rimmed eyes, then lowered his head again. There were many things he wanted to explain, but seeing the white hair that had appeared at Madam Li’s temples and her noticeably thinner frame in such a short time, he found himself unable to speak.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, bowing deeply, and said, "Mother, I was wrong."