Chapter 21

Chapter 21, Section 21

Lian Xiusheng really was starved for affection, Lian Cheng thought to himself.

After a moment, all the lamps in Penglai Pavilion, normally left unlit, were now lit. Not wanting to disturb Fourth Madam, the matter was settled within the pavilion. Huqiu carried two armchairs to the entrance of the main hall's courtyard, and at Lian Xiusheng's instruction, draped a blanket over one of them.

Jin Cai and Man Cai brought two folding screens forward, then carried a table out. Jin Cai went back briefly and returned holding a wooden box, which he opened on the table, laying out its contents one by one.

"Have the brazier lit; it's cold outside. Your young master has been frightened tonight, don't let him catch a chill," Jin Cai said in a low voice to Huqiu.

"You don't need to tell me, I've already prepared it," Huqiu replied, his head drooping dejectedly.

Hearing the tone, Jin Cai paused, then turned to comfort him: "Don't blame yourself either. It was that male prostitute who didn't know his place. In the city, it's common for gentlemen and male prostitutes to pair up and mess around if they take a liking to each other. He probably thought the same of your young master."

"Mark my words, after tonight, no male prostitute in the north or south will dare to think of such a thing again."

Huqiu looked suspiciously at Jin Cai, but Jin Cai said no more.

That night, Lian Xiusheng had rescued their young master, and Huqiu no longer resented the people from Yiqiu as he used to. He stepped forward, pointing at a bell larger than his own fist, asking, "What's this?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Jin Cai simply told Huqiu.

When everything was ready, Huqiu insisted on carrying Lian Cheng out, placing him personally into the armchair with the blanket. Lian Cheng asked if this wasn't too excessive, and Huqiu seemed on the verge of tears.

"Oh, I never blamed you, why are you crying?"

"If our young master had fallen into his hands tonight, even death would not atone for my guilt!"

"What's the big deal if I had? It's not like I use my backside for eating."

"Young master, how can you still joke at a time like this!"

Lian Cheng smiled faintly, his expression like wind and moon after rain, "I truly don't care about such things. I knew earlier than most that my worthless life is more important than anything invisible or intangible."

Huqiu was annoyed that his master thought so little of himself and walked away, standing with Qiong Hua and Tong Xue.

Man Cai stood on the other side, his hands clasped nervously, his expression fraught with the unease of a coming storm. How long had it been since the young master had shown such anger?

This time it was for Third Brother. From now on, the people at Penglai Pavilion would know, just like him and Jin Cai, that their master had the face of a Buddha but the heart of a Rakshasa. He wondered if it was worth it.

Man Cai didn't let his sigh show on his face; he quietly observed everyone and everything in the courtyard. When his gaze fell on Third Brother, he saw that his master's skin was fair with a hint of pink, two clear marks on either side of his mouth from the binding, his black hair loosely tied, falling over his shoulders and curling down to merge with the peach-patterned brocade cloak, looking exactly like peach branches stretching out, supporting a peach-shaped face that was both demonic and immortal.

Seeing this, Man Cai was deeply displeased. What a bold little male prostitute, daring to covet even such a divine young master!

The snow in the courtyard had long stopped, but the accumulated snow had yet to be swept away. If the circumstances weren't so inappropriate, Lian Cheng thought this wouldn't be a bad time to enjoy the snow.

From the passage came the sound of steps treading on snow. Lian Xiusheng had changed his clothes and approached, saying to Jin Cai behind him, "Bring the two boys here."

Lian Cheng, with a handwarmer tucked into each sleeve of his robe, leaned over as Lian Xiusheng sat down, saying, "Killing is against the law."

Lian Xiusheng smiled but said nothing, only reaching out to smooth the collar of the cloak for Third Brother.

"Third Brother can sit and watch at ease."

Lian Cheng looked at him. Beneath his dark lashes, his gaze was icy and cold, more frightening than when he had spanked him earlier.

Soon, panicked cries and angry curses came. Jin Cai emerged from a side room, dragging one boy in each hand. The boy whose head had been hit earlier saw the hellish atmosphere in the courtyard and couldn't stop cursing, "You filthy lecher! You're incredibly bold, and tonight you've dragged me into this! Don't forget I brought you into this trade, I taught you how to dress and groom. If I'd known you'd do such a short-lived thing, even if you pulled out your heart, liver, and kidneys, I'd only feed them to the dogs!"

The other boy remained silent. The cursing boy turned his face, begging Jin Cai to loosen his grip. Jin Cai didn't react, so he shouted, "Let the two masters know, this servant had nothing to do with that deed! I'll pack my bedding and leave right now, just spare me, please!"

Qiong Hua strode over and slapped him across the face, then spat, "Speak again, and I'll heat a fire-poker red and shove it down your throat, burn your tongue to a crisp!"

He shut his mouth. Qiong Hua turned and slapped the offending boy across the face as well, "I'll watch how Sixth Brother punishes you. If there's a single patch of good skin left on you, I'll tear it off myself."

Jin Cai brought the two boys to stand between the two young masters, "I've already asked their names. The one who did the deed is called Ruyun, the noisy one is Lingyu."

Lian Xiusheng looked at Lingyu, "I'll give you a way to live."

Jin Cai loosened his grip slightly, and Lingyu scrambled down, crawling to Lian Xiusheng's feet, "Whatever you need this servant to do, I will do even if it costs my life."

"He will instruct you." Lian Xiusheng leaned back in his chair, "Begin."

Lian Cheng, like everyone else, had no idea what Lian Xiusheng was about to have them do.

Jin Cai took Ruyun behind the folding screen, where there was a bench. His face expressionless, he said, "Strip naked and lie down on it."

Then to Lingyu, "The items on that table, take whatever you like. But remember, all eleven must be used on your companion in turn, or it doesn't count."

Lingyu turned slowly, walked from behind the screen to the table. When he saw clearly what objects were on the table, his mind reeled. He stared in disbelief, his eyes wide. After a long moment, he reached out with trembling hands and picked up an implement about seven or eight inches long, as thick as a grown man's forearm.

He glanced in panic at Lian Xiusheng, then at Lian Cheng, "Third Master, this thing is too big. It can't be used."

"And then?" Lian Xiusheng asked lightly, "If it were too small, your companion might not enjoy it. So the bigger, the better."

Lingyu clutched the implement and went back behind the screen. Ruyun had already assumed the position, but when he looked back and saw the monstrous object, his despair turned to terror. Urine and tears flowed as he trembled. Jin Cai held him down and asked the bewildered Ruyun, "If you want to be a dead man, I can help you with that."

Lingyu hurriedly raised the implement in his hand and thrust it into Ruyun's rear.

A scream pierced the night. Lian Cheng shot up from his chair and stumbled behind the screen, where he saw blood trickling down the implement in Lingyu's hand.

Lian Cheng's face lost color, "Just send him to the authorities, why must you do this..."

Lingyu pulled the implement out. Ruyun's body trembled incessantly. Jin Cai held him steady and ordered Lingyu to use the next item.

Lingyu scrambled back to the table, dropping the implement with a clatter. He grabbed the second item at random, gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and stuffed the bell, the size of a child's head, inside.

Lian Cheng ran to Lian Xiusheng, "Make them stop!"

"Third Brother's heart is made of tofu?"

"There are state laws..."

"And there are family rules." Lian Xiusheng tugged at his elder brother's sleeve, pulling him closer. Seeing his face pale with fright, he said softly, "They only dared to do that filthy deed tonight because they knew you were soft-hearted. I'm just giving them a little repayment. Tomorrow morning, Jin Cai will send him to the authorities. Then state law will take over."

Lian Cheng, if he had paid attention to his younger brother, would have noticed that tonight his demeanor toward him was soft and gentle, quite unlike his usual aloofness.

But right now, his ears were filled only with screams—sometimes like a donkey's bray, sometimes like a horse's whinny. He had read so many books and knew well that times were like a bone-sculpting knife; whatever shape it wanted people to be, it would carve them into that shape. People faced each other, all thinking everyone was born the same.

But when truly confronted with it, the shock to the mind was ten thousand times greater than what words could convey.

"Thank you for today. I'm tired, I'm going to sleep."

-

Lian Cheng climbed onto the bed and wrapped himself in a blanket like a roll. He stared at the pearl curtain illuminated by the snow's glow and let out a long sigh.

The great current of the world is mighty; those who follow it prosper, those who go against it perish.

Lian Cheng stopped planning his rebellion to overthrow the feudal system and quickly comforted and convinced himself. He closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.

Outside, the noise continued—the wailing of the male prostitute. Sometimes piercing, sometimes strange, as if someone were scorching him with fire, boiling him, frying him in hot oil. Finally, it went silent. The punishment was finished.

Lian Cheng was very drunk today and also suffered a fright, so drowsiness came upon him easily. Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, a dark figure appeared noiselessly beside his bed.

Lian Cheng's heart leaped, and he sat up in alarm. "Who is it?!"

The figure bent down—it was Lian Xiusheng.

"You... hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Lian Cheng was about to ask something when he suddenly felt an arm slide under his waist and knees. In an instant, his body was scooped up into the other's embrace. He twisted and turned, but was held even tighter.

Lian Xiusheng's jade-like face was cool and detached. He said calmly from above his elder brother's head, "Third Brother must bathe and change clothes before sleeping."

"I already washed once during the day! I'm tired—put me down!"

Lian Cheng struggled for quite some time, panting, but to no avail. He was truly growing annoyed. He had been sleeping just fine—why did he need to bathe?

Lian Cheng didn't know what Lian Xiusheng had said to the people in his courtyard. Lian Xiusheng had taken him away so openly, yet no one came out to help him.

The screen and chairs in the courtyard had already been packed away. Snow and wind started again. Lian Cheng shivered, burying his face into Lian Xiusheng's cloak, intending to warm himself before properly arguing with Lian Xiusheng about right and wrong.

But before he could get to that, a misty steam-filled bathhouse blurred Lian Cheng's vision. He only felt heat on his backside—he had been thrown directly into the bath, still fully clothed!!!

Lian Cheng, soaked through, stood in the hot water and said angrily, "Sixth Brother, are you ill or something?"

Lian Xiusheng hooked a finger at his chest. "He drooled here on you."

Lian Cheng was utterly annoyed. "It smells wonderful—I love it to death! I'll eat it with rice tomorrow, three big bowls!"

Tonight, aside from having a good time and picking up the famous minister Guan Lian, everything that followed had far exceeded his imagination. Just as he was about to sleep, his own brother came to bother him again. He was truly unlucky. It was bad enough that he had transmigrated into a book, but they didn't even give him a simple mission. How was he supposed to contend with these seasoned political players who had studied power tactics since childhood? And even if he did, there was no system, nothing. One misstep and he was dead. And in this era where human life was worthless, even without mistakes, there was a chance of dying.

All that aside, why in heaven's name was he thrown into a pool of water when he was peacefully trying to sleep? Where was justice?

Lian Xiusheng crouched by the edge of the pool, gazing quietly at his third brother.

Probably due to the effects of alcohol, after venting, blood rushed to his head. Lian Cheng's vision blurred, and his head felt heavy. His body pitched forward into the water.

He choked on a mouthful of water, flailing his hands wildly. In his panic, he grabbed the hand extended by the person at the pool's edge, holding on for dear life, and ended up pulling that person down with him.

After the ripples subsided, Lian Cheng wept.

He missed his mother, though he didn't have one. But when people are aggrieved and frightened, they all think of their mothers. Those who have a mother miss her; those who don't miss an angel.

This wasn't the first time Lian Xiusheng had seen his third brother cry. As a child, Third Brother cried when he lost a fight or when he couldn't get his way, or when scolded by their mother, or when denied money for extravagances—in short, it was quite annoying.

As he grew older, Third Brother's tears were mostly pretend, used solely to make their father punish the other siblings.

But this scene was genuinely heartfelt, full of true grievance.

Lian Xiusheng wiped the tears from his brother's cheeks with a handkerchief, saying nothing, his face like a ghostly immortal.

Seeing his brother's tears wouldn't stop, his eyes swollen like rotten peaches, he put down the handkerchief, knowing he had lost a point—but only a point to his brother.

So he softly hummed between his teeth.

"Baby cries, cries in pain. The one who hits you, I'll fight him—hit me, I don't mind, but how can I bear you hitting my child?"

It was a lullaby. Lian Cheng couldn't help burying his face in Lian Xiusheng's chest and let himself cry freely.

After all this chaos, the brothers finally lay down to sleep on the same bed.

But for some reason, the elder brother—perhaps frightened by the night's punishment of Young Lord Lian, or perhaps embarrassed by crying in front of his younger brother—lay with his back turned, ignoring his brother, a far cry from the affectionate intimacy of the night before.

Though Lian Xiusheng said nothing, a sudden disparity grew in his heart overnight.

-

When dawn lit the sky, Lian Xiusheng rose from the bed. He felt something as hot as a stove beside him. Reaching out, he turned his third brother toward him. The body under his hands was burning hot—he was ill.

Outside, Man Cai was sweeping snow in the courtyard. Lian Xiusheng called him in. "Third Brother has a fever. Go fetch a physician."

Man Cai was about to toss down his broom and leave the mansion when Lian Xiusheng stopped him again, telling him to take a mule from the stable for speed.

"Hurrying and bustling—what's the rush?" Qiong Hua was carrying a washbasin and nearly collided with Man Cai.

"Third Brother is sick, burning up badly. The young master told me to fetch a physician quickly."

The courtyard immediately became noisy. Lian Xiusheng had already granted leave for New Year's Eve, but it wasn't convenient for him to stay in bed. He didn't let Jin Cai help him but washed himself, changed into a cream-white velvet Daoist robe, tied up his hair, and put on a small black cloth cap—looking entirely like a scholar, with no trace of last night's sinister cruelty.

Leaving the room, Huqiu, Tong Xue, and Qiong Hua were all standing at the door, peering in. Without permission, they dared not enter. When they finally saw Lian Xiusheng, they quickly bowed and asked, "How did the young master fall ill?"

Lian Xiusheng said nothing, only telling them to fetch hot water and towels.

Huqiu rolled up his sleeves. "I'll wipe down the young master!"

"A younger brother serves his elder," Lian Xiusheng said to Huqiu. "Go find Jin Cai and tell him to bring some books and writing materials from my study. Then go to the Orchid Garden and inform Mother that Third Brother has caught a chill and won't be able to pay respects today. Say nothing more."

Huqiu unwittingly followed Lian Xiusheng's orders, running errands through the mansion several times before realizing—why were the people of Penglai Pavilion listening to the Sixth Young Master?

Tong Xue and Qiong Hua were quick-handed maids. In no time, they had hot water in the basin and handed a towel to Lian Xiusheng before closing the door and leaving.

Lian Xiusheng tied up his sleeves, revealing forearms with rippling muscles that contrasted with his scholarly demeanor. He leaned into the bed curtain, easily lifted his third brother from the bed into his arms, and gathered the scattered hair, which was hot from his brother's fever, winding around Lian Xiusheng's forearm.

"Mm..." Lian Cheng half-opened his eyes, wanting to lie back down. He raised a hand to push against the man above him. Lian Xiusheng grabbed the soft hand and, with no room for refusal, stripped off his clothes.

Cool—that was all Lian Cheng felt. He kicked off the blanket.

Lian Xiusheng took a hot towel and knelt on the bed. He pulled the brocade cover aside; because of the cool fabric against his skin, his brother pressed close willingly. The pale, soft buttocks lay like a jade rabbit before his knees. Lian Xiusheng reached out and pinched once; his brother's eyes were dazed, and he whimpered. After a moment's thought, Lian Xiusheng used his own clothes to cover the enticing body, though two fair, bare legs could still be seen kicking discontentedly.

The hot towel rubbed over Lian Cheng's body for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Lian Cheng alternated between cold and hot, tossing and turning, feeling as if a giant octopus was lying on him, its tentacles wrapping around his limbs, allowing him to twist and move but never fully escape.

He didn't know how long passed before he finally managed to sleep peacefully. But he hadn't slept long before he was forced to drink several large gulps of bitter medicine.

It took two whole days before Lian Cheng began to recover. When he woke, he learned that Lian Xiusheng had not returned to Yiqiu for those two days but had stayed at Penglai Pavilion. He was a little surprised—he had thought their relationship might be awkward after that night, but it turned out Lian Xiusheng had a good temper.

He then asked about Guan Lian. Huqiu reported that the old master had been in his room for days, studying and preparing lessons. Upon learning the young master was ill, he had wanted to visit, but Huqiu, knowing the young master didn't want the old master and Sixth Young Master to meet, had kept him away.

Finally, he asked about the two male prostitutes' whereabouts.

Huqiu's expression changed slightly. Keeping in mind what Sixth Young Master had instructed, he slowly said, "They weren't punished too harshly that night. The next morning, they were reported to the authorities. The magistrate gave them a few dozen strokes, fined them twenty taels, and sent them back to their hometown."

Lian Cheng said, "Oh. And the other one also got a beating?"

"No. The Commander only fined him ten taels and ordered him never to engage in that trade again. He was smarter than the first. Taking the remaining silver and his bedding, yesterday Man Cai saw him working as a waiter in Deshun Tower on the street!"

After finishing, Huqiu's heart pounded. He had never lied to his young master since childhood—not even a single word. But today he told a big lie. However, Sixth Young Master had pointed out that if it was for the young master's good, it wasn't a lie; telling the truth and making the young master sick again would be no lie at all, just empty virtue and actual sin.

That night, after only three items were used, Ruyun had fainted and lost his pulse. Somehow Sixth Young Master revived him, but instead of letting him off, he sat back and had Jin Cai take over. Jin Cai, a black-hearted demon, tortured the man until he was neither dead nor alive. After everything was settled, Jin Cai took the man to the magistrate. After bribery, he personally watched the flogging. After the flogging, the male prostitute could only crawl on the street, not even aware of his own excrement and urine. Some beggars, with particular tastes, surrounded him and had their turns, complaining it was too loose, like poking a burlap sack with a needle.

Huqiu had sneaked out of the mansion to see for himself and knew it was true. He vomited several times against the wall. Even a big man like him couldn't stand it—how could his young master's delicate body bear it? So it was better to follow Sixth Young Master's advice and keep the truth hidden from the young master.

After listening, Lian Cheng pondered for a moment. "Alright, this was handled well. Go tell Sister Tong Xue to give everyone two taels of silver—the same for Jin Cai and Man Cai."

Huqiu let out a long sigh of relief, beaming with joy. "Thank you, young master!"

After receiving the reward, Huqiu hopped and skipped out of the room, found Tong Xue to ask for the reward. Tong Xue laughed and scolded him, took the silver, and told him to share it with Little Brother Jin Cai and Little Brother Man Cai. He then went to “Yiqiu” again, where Jin Cai and Man Cai were brewing tea in the tea room separated from the study by only a screen.

Seeing the shiny white silver, Jin Cai also smiled. "Once Man Cai and I finish brewing the tea, we'll definitely go next door to kowtow to Third Brother."

Huqiu, no longer feeling disgust or aversion towards the two, bent down to look at the tea. "What tea is this? So fragrant? Could you give me a cup? I'll take it back for my master to try."

"Huqiu." A voice with no emotion suddenly rang out.

Before he could get the tea, Lian Xiusheng from the study called him over.

Huqiu, no longer carefree and casual toward Lian Xiusheng as before, moved over and asked Sixth Brother for instructions.

The incense smoke rose softly from the burner on the table, the sandalwood calming the mind, but on the wall hung a painting of a scholar climbing a tower to gaze at the moon. Lian Xiusheng, seated beneath the scroll with his hair simply tied up and a hairpin inserted, appeared like an immortal with no desires. Without looking at Huqiu, he said offhandedly, "Third Brother gave you silver. What about me?"