Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Tang Liu shouldered the hoe, humming a little tune as he ambled leisurely toward the backyard.

Sui Lanwei deliberately stopped, wanting to see if he would notice. Tang Liu walked a few steps before suddenly feeling something was missing behind him. He halted and turned back, though he couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling. After a moment, he realized the faint, lingering fragrance that usually wafted around his nose had grown fainter. He called out, "Wei Wei?"

Satisfied, Sui Lanwei took a few steps forward. "I'm here. Let's keep going. We're almost there."

Tang Liu said 'oh' and continued walking toward the backyard based on his memory. Sui Lanwei followed behind him, saying, "You're truly remarkable, Husband Liu. You've only walked the path a few times and can already remember the entire route. Sometimes I feel you really don't seem like a blind person."

Tang Liu chuckled. "I'm just clever, that's all."

"If Husband Liu could see, you'd probably be the smartest person alive."

Tang Liu had just been shamelessly boasting, never expecting Sui Lanwei to genuinely praise him. He immediately felt a bit embarrassed. To his surprise, Sui Lanwei continued with a serious tone, "I'm being sincere. It's not just 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.'"

Sui Lanwei's last words made Tang Liu's face heat up. Afraid Sui Lanwei might notice something amiss, Tang Liu went along with his words and teased, "Well, if you put it that way, if I weren't blind, I could even sit for the top scholar exams."

Sui Lanwei was utterly serious. "Mhm."

Tang Liu laughed for real this time. "Wei Wei, your husband here can't even read a single 'big character.' Forget being a top scholar, I wouldn't even make it as a county scholar."

Sui Lanwei's footsteps paused. He stared at Tang Liu's back, then suddenly smiled and said, "Husband~"

A shiver ran down Tang Liu's spine.

"Ah, so Husband Liu likes it when I call you that."

"...Ahem. No, I was just joking. Don't take it seriously."

"Just joking? I remember Husband also called me 'wife' before. Was that also a joke? Since Husband calls me wife, I should call you husband. That's only natural between a married couple. You don't need to be shy, husband."

"Who's shy?"

"Then why is Husband's face red?"

"..."

"I thought Husband was an honest man. I didn't expect you to also like saying one thing and meaning another. If you like it, you like it. What we call each other is no big deal. Follow your heart."

They chatted and laughed all the way to the edge of the backyard.

The backyard was a small courtyard walled off with stone in the northwest corner of the entire Sui Manor, connected to the rest of the residence by a moon gate. Tang Liu had only been here once during his first few days of living here. He vaguely remembered there being a few large trees, a stone pavilion, and a stagnant pool inside.

This place probably didn't have any flowers or plants planted. Instead of the fragrant scents that drifted through other parts of the manor, there was a faint, foul odor.

When they reached the moon gate, Sui Lanwei refused to go any further.

Tang Liu had no choice but to set his bamboo cane down outside and carry the hoe in by himself.

Once inside, the stench in the small courtyard became even more pronounced. With one of his five senses missing, Tang Liu's other senses had become sharper to compensate. After walking a few steps, the smell nearly knocked him out on the spot.

However, the places he'd scrambled through growing up weren't exactly clean either. He got used to it soon enough.

Thinking he should clean up the dirtiest area first, he used the hoe to tap his way forward, following the foul smell. After walking about ten steps, he was suddenly called to a stop.

"Husband Liu, any further ahead is the pond. Be careful not to fall in."

Tang Liu sniffed a few times. Indeed, an extremely heavy stench wafted from ahead, worse than any smell he had ever encountered before. Even he found it a bit unbearable.

Pinching his nose, he said in a muffled voice, "Do I really have to plant flowers here?"

Sui Lanwei picked up the bamboo cane. Tang Liu had leaned it against the stone doorframe. This cane had been with its owner for several years. Due to being constantly held in hand to feel the way, the tip was severely worn, but the bamboo shaft was smooth as jade, glowing with a faint bluish-green hue. Bringing it closer, one could still smell a faint bamboo fragrance.

Sui Lanwei rubbed the spot Tang Liu usually held a few times. For some reason, the rims of his eyes reddened slightly.

"We must plant them," he said softly.

"Alright then." Tang Liu couldn't bear to tear his clothes, so he gritted his teeth and began swinging the hoe.

There were no cobblestones laid around the pond. Tang Liu rolled up his sleeves and tucked the hem of his robe into his belt. Through the fabric of his trousers, he could feel the weeds by the pond were already knee-high, some even reaching waist level. He didn't know what kind of grass it was, but it felt a bit prickly brushing against his skin.

Although Tang Liu was a beggar, this was his first time hoeing the ground. His first swing lacked control, sinking both the blade and the handle into the soil. Fortunately, the soil by the pond was damp and soft, so he pulled it out easily.

After a few swings, Tang Liu got used to the stench, and he got into a rhythm.

Sui Lanwei had been very quiet. If not for his occasional guidance, Tang Liu would have thought he had left.

Even as his movements gradually became more skilled, his blindness limited his speed. The whole morning slipped by as he hoed until Sui Lanwei called out for him to rest, and Tang Liu finally stopped.

"Let's eat first," Sui Lanwei said.

Tang Liu picked up the hoe and headed back the way he came. The hoed weeds hadn't been cleared yet, strewn messily on the ground. Tang Liu walked carefully to avoid tripping over the grass.

The sun was gentle. Tang Liu was glistening with a light sweat. He walked to where he had left his cane, leaned the hoe against a nearby spot, and reached out to feel for the cane. As soon as his hand extended, the familiar feel of his bamboo cane was pressed into his palm. He smiled. "Thank you, Wei Wei."

Perhaps excessive labor easily robs one of the ability to think. His wide, toothy grin looked somewhat silly in the sunlight. A light flickered in Sui Lanwei's eyes. A moment later, he stepped forward and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from Tang Liu's forehead.

As he drew near, the delicate scent clinging to him suddenly rushed into Tang Liu's nostrils. Tang Liu's nose had just adapted to the foul stench from the backyard. The sudden, intense fragrance stung his nostrils. He instinctively leaned his upper body backward.

This lean sent the upper half of his body back into the courtyard. Sui Lanwei's hand was still raised mid-air. His face instantly darkened. It was as if the moon gate itself was a barrier; he couldn't even reach a hand inside.

He spoke, his tone still extremely gentle. "What is Husband Liu avoiding?"

"...I'm all sweaty, and I must be covered in mud and the smell from back there. You should stay further away, careful not to let it bother you." Tang Liu straightened up, playing it off casually.

He couldn't very well say, "You're too fragrant, it's bothering me."

Sui Lanwei's expression softened a little. "It's fine." As he spoke, he reached out again to wipe Tang Liu's sweat, his movements and tone both very gentle. "Back when I was little, my father would go out to plow the fields. At noon, my mother would take me by the hand to bring father food and water. When father came down from the field, she would also wipe his sweat like I'm doing for you. Do you think I'm useless, Husband Liu? I can't even bring meals properly, let alone serve tea and water. All I can do is wipe your sweat."

You're the young master of a wealthy family, Tang Liu thought to himself. Young masters from wealthy families are meant to be pampered and spoiled. What rough work would they do?

But given Master Wang's wealth, to think he actually...

Tang Liu tried to imagine Master Wang diligently laboring, but lacking a reference, the only image that finally surfaced in his mind was a young Sui Lanwei being led by the hand, stumbling along the ridges between fields with his short little legs.

*Ah, so adorable.*

Tang Liu shook his head, trying to dispel that image from his mind. "You're good just as you are."

The two returned to the main courtyard, just as Yin Mei arrived with the meal.

Yin Mei's eyes gleamed for a moment. "Where has Mr. Tang been? You're covered in mud."

Tang Liu said, "Just wandered around a bit."

Although they lived under the same roof, Tang Liu rarely encountered Yin Mei. But whenever they did meet, Yin Mei would ask some questions, usually about where he had been and what he had done. Tang Liu, sympathizing with her being alone in this vast manor, busy with chores and having no one to keep her company, patiently answered her each time, though he always glossed over the details.

No particular reason; he just didn't feel like talking.

When he begged, he had to say a lot of pitiful words to win people's pity. Their trade was much like farming: they started at sunrise and quit at sunset. Begging all day left his throat parched. At night, back in the alley, the various groups of beggars would each find their own spots, eating the food they'd scrounged and counting the copper coins they had collected. Occasionally, if luck was great, there might even be a few bits of silver.

After eating and counting the money, the once-silent alley would fill with noise again—lively chatter, lewd comments, and heated arguments. The beggars would gather, discussing the gossip they had heard during the day, the young women they had seen, and making crude jokes amidst the raucous jeers from the neighboring gambling den and the decadent laughter from the brothel.

Tang Liu rarely joined in, or rather, he never quite fit in.

Those beggars and ruffians would laugh heartily in the darkness—perhaps one of the few moments of relaxation in their wretched, hand-to-mouth existence, a brief escape from their despondent and aimless lives. To them, the sounds flooding the alley were a stimulant; to Tang Liu, they were merely noise.

He was unfamiliar with such matters, and fabricating those kinds of jokes or imagining those scenes felt like a burden.

The alley wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either. However, playing the aloof outsider there was hardly wise. Tang Liu mingled among them, joining in the hearty laughter. The laughter would blend together, rising in volume until it became an indistinguishable din. As Tang Liu laughed along, he often couldn't tell who was sitting around him—whether they were the beggars he knew, the ruffians he had spoken with, the gamblers he had drunk with, or a patron from the brothel who had wandered over.

Tang Liu couldn't say whether he liked or disliked those days, but whenever it rained, his mood would lighten a bit. When it rained, everyone huddled in various corners of the alley for shelter, occasionally cursing the damned heavens. But soon, all those sounds would be drowned out by the rain.

Now that he no longer had to beg, Tang Liu spoke much less. Besides, he didn't think he needed to report every little thing to Yin Mei.

Yin Mei was clearly used to his vague answers. After a moment's thought, she said, "A doctor will come this afternoon. Mr. Tang, please stay in the courtyard."

Tang Liu was taken aback and turned his head to "look" toward Sui Lanwei.

Yin Mei's breath hitched. She was all too familiar with this gesture of Tang Liu's. Whenever he turned his head, it meant that, in his perception, there was someone behind him. But in her view, there were only the two of them in this place.

Tang Liu turned back. "Is your young lady finally able to see a doctor?"

Yin Mei recalled the dream she had a few days ago, in which a figure with black hair and red clothes had said to her: Find a doctor.

She had only seen this figure twice—once on the second day after she moved in, and the other time in her dream. Each time, it had frightened her terribly.

She glanced in the direction Tang Liu had just looked, steadied herself, and said, "Yes, she can see one now."

After the meal, Tang Liu washed up, changed his clothes, and waited in the courtyard. Before long, Yin Mei brought someone over. From the sound of it, Tang Liu guessed she had brought two people.

One of them, with a slightly older voice, asked, "Is it you who needs to be examined?"

Just as Tang Liu was about to say it wasn't him, Yin Mei spoke up. "It's him. Doctor, if you please, examine his eyes."