Chapter 58 Just as Beautiful

Chapter 58: Equally Lovely

Three or four *li* away from that chaotic and dilapidated residence, the houses along the alley gradually improved. Though not wealthy, the residents lived comfortably, with some even having a bit to spare.

Among them, one house was slightly nicer than the others. Its vermilion gate appeared freshly painted, without a single crack.

The owner of this house was surnamed Li, a *Tongsheng* (a candidate who passed the county-level imperial exams) who had not advanced further to become a *Xiucai*. Still, he was considered one of the most educated within a ten-*li* radius.

The family had two children: a daughter and a son. The daughter had married many years ago. Scholar Li had initially placed high hopes on his son, wishing for him to achieve greater academic success than himself. He had put considerable effort into his son’s education since childhood. However, as his son grew older, he became solely focused on business, opening a dried fruit and preserves shop in the town, which thrived. The family’s financial situation improved considerably compared to before. Though Scholar Li felt somewhat unwilling, he ultimately conceded that his son had grown up and become independent, and he could no longer control him.

Thus, he turned his attention to his children’s domestic matters. While not ill-intentioned, he often believed he was always right, frequently lecturing and demanding his children obey him. Whenever something didn’t align with his expectations, his words turned harsh, leaving people upset for days.

This household was related by marriage to the Li family who ran the medical clinic. Their eldest daughter, Li Qinglan, was married to Li Jinfeng.

At this moment, Li Jinfeng stood hesitantly outside the brand-new vermilion gate, holding a decorative hairpin in his hand, unsure whether to knock.

Today was the Summer Solstice. In previous years, he would have been at the medical clinic on this day, too busy to accompany his wife out. Today was no exception.

Originally, his younger brother had suggested that since everyone in town would be by the river today, they could discuss closing the clinic for the day with their mother. She had agreed. But Jinfeng, thinking he had nothing else to do, still went to the clinic.

Throughout the day, aside from two or three people coming to buy medicine, almost no patients came.

Sitting alone in the clinic, Jinfeng felt an unfamiliar sense of loneliness. For the first time, he closed the clinic early before it was time and stepped outside.

The streets were filled with people returning from the riverbank, mostly couples or families. Married women and *ge'er* (a term for young men who could bear children in this setting) wore decorative hairpins in their hair. Jinfeng recalled the first two years after his marriage when he had bought decorative hairpins for his wife on the Summer Solstice. Later, for some reason, he grew increasingly busy and nearly forgot about the custom.

Thinking of this, Jinfeng felt even more guilty toward his wife.

But now, standing outside his in-laws’ door, he hesitated to knock. He worried his in-laws might answer, and he didn’t know how Qinglan had explained things to them. He feared he might misspeak and make her life at her parents’ home difficult.

He was even more afraid that his wife would be the one to open the door, only to see him and shut it in disgust, refusing to speak a word to him.

As he hesitated, the door creaked open. A young man looked out in surprise and said, "Brother-in-law?"

Jinfeng’s face lit up—the person who had emerged was exactly whom he had hoped to see. He stepped forward, and the two exchanged bows.

Li Qingzheng was about to invite his brother-in-law into the courtyard, but Jinfeng made an excuse about having other matters to attend to. He simply handed the decorative hairpin to Qingzheng, asking him to pass it along to Qinglan.

Qingzheng seemed to understand the situation. He took the flower and said, "Sister is just going through a difficult phase."

Jinfeng smiled bitterly, bowed to him again, bid farewell, and left.

Qingzheng watched his brother-in-law disappear around the corner of the alley. He returned inside, avoiding his parents’ room, and went to another door, knocking gently.

His sister Qinglan opened the door. When she saw the decorative hairpin in his hand, she paused momentarily.

Qingzheng said, "Brother-in-law just came by and asked me to give this to you."

Qinglan took the flower, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Qingzheng added, "He’s lost considerable weight since I last saw him."

At this, Qinglan showed concern. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she said, "There are so many people at home to take care of him. Besides, he’s a doctor himself—he’ll be fine."

Qingzheng looked at her and said, "Sister, whatever you want to do, I’ll support you. I’ll talk to Father and Mother. You can stay here without worry."

Qinglan nodded, tears in her eyes.

After her brother left, she took the flower to her dressing table, tried putting it in her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror for a while but soon took it off, placed it on the table, turned around, and lay down on the bed again.

...

Jian Ru didn't want to let some nasty person ruin his good mood for the day, so when he went to eat sweet soup, he put that person out of his mind.

Since Second Sister didn’t come to eat, Eldest Sister wrapped up some rice cakes for her, garnished with osmanthus blossoms and drizzled with honey, which smelled delicious.

It wasn’t even 3 p.m. yet, and the sky was bright, but the heat from the ground was rising in waves. The sun was still blazing, and both kids were flushed from the heat, pulling at their collars.

Everyone had just about finished browsing around, so they went to the bookstore to get Jin Rong, and headed home together.

Jin Rong had picked out quite a few books, tied into two large stacks with rope. Zhao Pin and Li Jintong each carried one stack.

Jin Hui wanted to take the stack from Little Brother’s hand, but Jin Rong raised her hand to stop her, saying, “Let him carry it.”

Jin Hui and she fell behind the others, and she whispered to her, “Did Little Brother offend you? Even if he did, you shouldn’t tire him out—what if he gets sick?”

Jin Rong didn’t feel like arguing with Eldest Sister. She was eager to get back and read her newly bought books, so she said flatly, “Just keep an eye on him.”

After saying that, she didn’t say another word.

Jin Hui had no choice but to follow behind and observe her younger brother.

Li Jintong kept a steady pace the whole way. The stack of books he carried wasn’t light, but he only switched hands from time to time.

In the past, the family would never have let him do this kind of work. However, on previous outings, he rarely joined them, and even if he did, he could only walk around for a bit before having to go back and lie down. Even so, he would occasionally become exhausted and fall ill.

Jin Hui deliberately checked his face and saw that he was only flushed from the heat, but his eyes were still bright, without any sign of excessive fatigue.

Moreover, Jian Ru was different from before. In the past, he would have snatched the stack of books to carry himself, but this time, not only did he not carry them, he and Little Brother were chatting excitedly about something. Thinking no one was watching, he even jumped onto Little Brother’s back, and Little Brother carried him, laughing, for several steps before putting him down.

Jin Hui watched wide-eyed. It wasn’t until they were almost home that she finally caught on and asked her second sister, “Has Little Brother’s health improved?”

Mentioning this, Jin Rong couldn’t help but smile and nod.

Overjoyed, Jin Hui wanted to tell Madam Li, but Jin Rong said, “Don’t speak too definitively to Mother.”

Jin Hui replied, “I know.” With that, she hurried toward the main house.

Madam Li was in a good mood today and specifically asked old lady Wang to add two extra dishes for dinner, also instructing her to send some good dishes to the youngest son and his husband.

After dinner, the couple was practicing calligraphy when Xiao Ning called from outside, saying the water was ready.

Jian Ru answered but didn’t move yet when the second young master stood up before him, saying, “I’ll go. You keep practicing.”

So Jian Ru obediently continued practicing. By the time he finished, the second young master had already prepared the water, waiting for him to wash up.

Since the weather had turned hot, they bathed more frequently, but using the bathtub was still too troublesome. As a compromise, they washed with a basin daily and used the bathtub for a thorough wash every few days.

After washing, Jian Ru, wearing only light underclothes with his hair loosely down, sat refreshed in front of the bronze mirror. He looked at his reflection and pouted unhappily.

Without him noticing, the second young master had finished washing and was standing behind him.

Jian Ru said, “I don’t look as good as I did with makeup during the day.”

The second young master bent down behind him and said, “Let me see.”

Jian Ru turned his face, letting him look.

The second young master studied him for a while, ran a finger over his cheek, and said, “I don’t see any difference from during the day. You look just as beautiful.”

Jian Ru's mouth curved into a smile, delighted, but soon drooped again as he said, "You're not speaking from the heart. Before, you acted like an immortal above worldly concerns, but when I came back with my makeup done during the day, the way you kissed me was more... intense than usual..."

"More intensely than usual how?" the Second Young Master crouched beside him, looking up with a mock-serious expression, his eyes full of mischief.

Jian Ru felt too embarrassed to answer, but he refused to let it go and asked again. Jian Ru, flustered, clenched his fist and gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

The Second Young Master took the chance, grasped that hand, pulled him down, and kissed him.

After a while, the Second Young Master stood up, swept his slender young husband into his arms, and carried him to the bed, laying him down.

Sinking into the soft bedding, Jian Ru gazed up at him, obedient and yielding.

But it was only an appearance.

His heart stirred, the Second Young Master removed his shoes and climbed onto the bed. Just as he leaned in to kiss him, sure enough, Jian Ru raised a hand to stop him and asked, "You still haven’t told me—were you lying to me earlier?"

It seemed this matter wasn’t over yet. The Second Young Master braced himself on his elbows, leaning close, and said, "What if I wasn't faking indifference? What if the truth is I find you beautiful no matter what?"

Jian Ru blinked, his face flushing red.

The Second Young Master’s gaze drifted from his flushed cheeks to his slender neck, the loose collar of his robe, and the slight rise and fall of his thin chest with each breath. He found every part of him utterly delightful, adoring him beyond measure.

His Adam's apple bobbed. The Second Young Master slipped his slender hand beneath Jian Ru’s thin garment, moving upward until it paused at a certain spot. After a moment, Jian Ru let out a pained whimper, and he soothingly rubbed the area.

Unable to bear it, Jian Ru pleaded in a low, flushed voice, "Jintong, stop tormenting me..."

A pang of tenderness shot through him. The Second Young Master bent down to kiss him—not on the lips, but on the sore spot revealed by his loosened collar.

Jian Ru started to squirm away, pushing himself up slightly, but the Second Young Master relented and moved up to capture his lips.

As they were intimate, Jian Ru thought hazily that the Second Young Master's health was indeed much better than before. He felt almost unable to bear it.

Afterward, Jian Ru was too exhausted to keep his eyes open, allowing the Second Young Master to clean him up.

As he drifted in and out of sleep, he heard the Second Young Master whisper in his ear, "Did you enjoy it?"

Jian Ru kept his eyes closed, grumbling, "No. You were too rough."

He heard the Second Young Master chuckle softly before leaning down to kiss him again. Jian Ru deliberately turned his head away, so the Second Young Master simply held him, soothingly stroking his back and shoulders.

A while later, just as Jian Ru was about to fall asleep, the Second Young Master suddenly spoke again, "Earlier, I didn’t tell you that I can see in the dark—that was like deceiving you. Why didn’t you get angrier with me?"

Half-asleep, Jian Ru mumbled, "You didn’t hurt me, so my anger faded quickly."

He was about to drift off again when the Second Young Master asked, "What if... just what if, in the past or future, I deceive you again?"

Jian Ru forced his eyes open, gazing at him blearily, "Deceived me about what?"

The Second Young Master only smiled in response, saying nothing.

His body ached, and he was too sleepy to keep his eyes open. Jian Ru yawned and said casually, "I trust you not to hurt me... You can tell me when you're ready."

Hearing this, the Second Young Master froze.

Afraid he might say more and disturb his sleep, Jian Ru irritably raised a hand to cover his mouth, half-lying on top of him.

This time, finally left in peace, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Once he was asleep, the Second Young Master gently removed the hand covering his lips. He gazed for a while at Jian Ru’s palm, where the lines were simple, clear, and deep—much like the man himself.

Tenderly, he kissed Jian Ru’s palm, then adjusted his sleeping position comfortably, placing that hand over his own chest before closing his eyes to sleep.