Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Lian Cheng had been reading the Wu family records for less than half an hour when Lian Xiusheng, unable to sit still beside him, grew displeased that Third Brother was so focused on others' affairs. He brought up this year's tribute from the Western Regions.

"It seems the Wu family has done quite a few dirty deeds. Though the writing uses euphemisms to turn criticism into praise, the logic still shows big problems," Lian Cheng said.

Lian Xiusheng added, "The other day Third Brother lost those two chickens. This time during the tribute, I'll get you two ostriches instead, how about that?"

Lian Cheng was overjoyed, standing up and pacing. "So Old Master Wu married his young daughter to Meng Chong's nephew—just newlyweds! I never thought those two families were connected. No wonder my saber has been running all over the place!"

Lian Xiusheng said nothing more, just quietly watching Third Brother.

"It must be Meng Chong who framed me!"

"But why would he frame me? No matter how prosperous the Lian family seems, it's all just an illusion. He's just petty."

Lian Cheng muttered on for a while, then suddenly stopped and looked at Lian Xiusheng.

Lian Xiusheng thought Third Brother had finally noticed him, so he forced a smile, trying to look gentle.

"But if it was Meng Chong, then who killed those six from Tangzi Lane?" Lian Cheng couldn't figure it out. He wanted to discuss it with his younger brother, but when he looked up, the room was empty.

Tch, he left without even a word. That doesn't sit well with me.

A doghouse or henhouse is no match for your own cozy home. After Lian Xiusheng left, Lian Cheng read until he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was already evening. Somehow, a fur blanket had been placed over him—probably Qiong Hua and the others had come in to cover him. He got off the couch, went out to relieve himself, and when he returned, Qiong Hua was laying out tea, snacks, and fruit on the table.

"That was quick!" Lian Cheng washed his hands, grabbed something that looked like food but he couldn't identify, and popped it into his mouth. As soon as it went in, he jumped up with his mouth open. "Ha, so hot! Ha, so hot, so hot!"

Qiong Hua quickly held out her hand. "Young master, spit it out! Don't burn yourself!"

But Lian Cheng grit his teeth and chewed, hopping about, unwilling to spit it into her hand despite being embarrassed. He forced himself to swallow, eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing him so stubborn, Qiong Hua was furious but couldn't hit or scold him. Instead, she vented at the person who brought the food. "That clueless idiot! Seeing the weather getting hot, he brings burning hot food for the young master to eat..."

"Good sister, I'm fine. Look—ah." Lian Cheng opened his mouth for her to see.

Qiong Hua grumbled at him a bit more, then cooled a bowl of tea for him to drink. But Lian Cheng thought the thing he'd just eaten tasted good. He picked up chopsticks, grabbed another piece, and this time didn't rush. He blew on it first, then took a small bite. The skin was amber-colored, like real gold, crispy and fragrant. "Is this roast pork?"

Qiong Hua replied, "Yes. That day Li Saner received our silver and was so grateful he roasted a whole piglet from his family and brought it all for us. I was going to refuse, but he's skilled—he brushed it with butter while roasting, which made it even more delicious than sesame oil. I thought you'd like it, so I took it."

"Not bad. You have some too." Lian Cheng picked up a piece and fed it to Qiong Hua.

In the courtyard, Tong Xue entered, holding an umbrella in one hand and a basket of dried apricot blossoms in the other. She closed the umbrella, turned sideways, saw the two of them, and laughed. "You two are sneaking treats in the room. Just now Sixth Brother passed by—shouldn't he get a taste as well?"

"He left long ago," Qiong Hua replied loudly. "Why blame us for not giving him any?"

Lian Cheng stopped eating after a couple of bites. He picked out a few pieces and put them in a food box. "I'll take them to Sixth Brother."

Outside, a continuous drizzle was falling. The mason had stopped work for a few days, but the main courtyard project was almost done. It was convenient for Lian Cheng to go over—there were candles all along the way, so he didn't even need a lantern, just an umbrella. The peach blossom grove in the courtyard, though dense with leaves, couldn't block the rain.

With not much distance left, Lian Cheng suddenly heard voices. He instinctively stopped to listen better, and even closed his umbrella to avoid the rain pounding on the oilpaper and disturbing the quiet.

"Meng Chong is naturally furious now. His nephew died violently, and the emperor blames him for incompetence. Since he's tied up, the young master has nothing to worry about. As long as Third Brother looks into it in a routine manner, he won't need to trouble himself. Let's drop this matter."

The speaker sounded like Wang Saner, who had been brought to see him last time. Lian Cheng eavesdropped under the tree, only catching the hem of another person's robe. But even that hem, with its hemp cloth and bamboo pattern, told him who it was.

"Third Brother is always conscientious; I'm afraid he won't take it lightly," Lian Xiusheng said after a moment. "Since Meng Chong wants to investigate rebels, don't let him go empty-handed. The list of those who stole imperial wood recently missed a few names. Send those men to Meng Chong to report."

Wang Saner accepted the orders. Lian Xiusheng then told him to get two jars of good wine from Man Cai. Lian Cheng waited until both had left before opening his umbrella again and following. He couldn't help muttering to himself—what did Lian Xiusheng mean? He, as the elder brother, wouldn't just do a half-baked job. Why did his tone sound almost regretful?

-

Lian Xiusheng had just arrived at the study when Lian Cheng followed soon after.

"We brothers must be fated," Lian Cheng said cheerfully.

Lian Xiusheng was still sore about Third Brother ignoring him earlier, so he asked coolly, "Why has Third Brother come to Yiqiu?"

"What 'Yiqiu'? Never mind that." Lian Cheng took out the roast pork from the food box. "Li Saner brought it for me. I tasted it and thought it was good, so I brought some for you."

"Since it was specially roasted for Third Brother, I shouldn't eat it. Take it back."

Lian Cheng heard the sarcasm and assumed he was just jealous. This guy had schemed for years, but couldn't match his elder brother's sudden rise in favor. Ah, who knows how much he's suffering inside. As Vice Commander, he was magnanimous and wouldn't bother with this small-time fraud. He smacked his lips, feeling a foreign substance in his mouth, and went around to the tea room behind the screen to get some tea.

Lian Xiusheng followed Third Brother closely, watching his every move.

After gulping down a big bowl of tea, Lian Cheng still felt uncomfortable. He opened his mouth and turned to Lian Xiusheng, wanting him to look inside—was something stuck?

Third Brother's hair and hat were slightly wet, his face, fair as summer gauze, pinker than spring blossoms. Lian Xiusheng's heart stirred. His earlier displeasure vanished. He cupped Third Brother's face in both hands and examined it carefully under the lamp.

Though his mind wandered, Lian Xiusheng carefully inspected the cherry-like red tongue and the shell-like white teeth. Then he let go and said, "There's a blister on your tongue. How did you get it, Third Brother?"

Lian Cheng grimaced. "I just ate that roast pork without thinking, popped it straight into my mouth. Burned myself."

"There's medicine in the storeroom. I'll have Man Cai fetch it." Lian Xiusheng called Man Cai in. When Man Cai heard that Third Brother had been burned, he ran to get the medicine. He was about to apply it for Third Brother, but his master sent him away. Man Cai thought his master was letting him slack off, so he hummed a tune and went back to his room to relax.

Lian Cheng sat on a round stool, holding an oil lamp for Lian Xiusheng to apply the medicine. He aimed into his mouth—better than getting it in his eyes.

"Third Brother's tongue is smooth with a healthy coating; your qi and blood are balanced." Lian Xiusheng gently sprinkled some powder on the blister.

Lian Cheng mumbled, "You know medicine?"

"I've been reading medical classics lately."

Lian Cheng never imagined that the medical texts his brother studied were for his sake. He just wondered inwardly why this guy was such a workaholic.

With the powder on his tongue, Lian Cheng couldn't close his mouth. He kept it slightly open, waiting for the powder to dissolve. Though the medicine was tasteless, having Lian Xiusheng eat roast pork beside him was torturous. Lian Cheng announced he wanted to return to Penglai Pavilion. But the rain had become heavy—he wouldn't even make it out of the eaves without getting soaked.

"Looks like I'll have to stay here tonight," Lian Cheng said, collapsing onto the couch beside Lian Xiusheng. "Sixth Brother, pour some tea into my mouth—the powder's sticky."

"Sticky?" Lian Xiusheng poured tea, pulled Third Brother up, and helped him drink from the cup.

"It means sticky," Lian Cheng said, then frowned. "But I still need to bathe. The bathhouse is quite a walk."

Lian Xiusheng's heart stirred. "The other day when Li Wan and the others stayed over, Third Brother came from the bathhouse to my room. Why didn't you complain about the distance then?"

Lian Cheng misunderstood his meaning. "Hmph, I just said it was far. I never said I wouldn't bathe."

"..."

Seeing Third Brother sprawled there like a lazy cat, and recalling the suffering he'd endured in the imperial prison, Lian Xiusheng didn't argue. Instead, while grinding ink, he said, "Since Third Brother finds it troublesome to go to the bathhouse, why not set up a tub here for a good soak? That would be comfortable."

Ha! You understand me, Sixth Brother!

There was an empty room next door, though it didn't have a built-in bath. Tea and wine were already there. Man Cai and Jin Cai set up the tub and poured hot water. Man Cai tested the water with his hand, took two small sachets from a drawer, and soaked them in the water. Then he said, "Third Brother is staying here tonight. Little Brother, go tell the two maids next door so they won't worry."

Jin Cai asked, "Why don't you go? Why send me?" Man Cai was about to retort when Jin Cai pulled him close. "My boy, just give me a kiss, and I'll go."

Lian Cheng came over and saw Man Cai blushing deeply as he bowed to him and ran off. Jin Cai came out and said everything was ready—Third Brother could soak as long as he wanted. Lian Cheng couldn't help cautioning Jin Cai not to bully Man Cai, since he was young.

After Jin Cai respectfully agreed, Lian Cheng sighed with his hands behind his back. Being the head of the family wasn't easy—he had to look after everyone from top to bottom, inside and out.

Thinking this way, Lian Cheng pulled open all the drawers stacked against the wall in the small room. Since he was the head of the household, it was only natural for him to know what supplies were available. Seeing the room was full of wine jugs and jars, he took a cup, opened each jar, and sampled a sip. To his surprise, they all tasted better than the wine he had to drink at social events.

After tasting them one by one, Lian Cheng picked the jar he liked best. He moved a table next to the bathtub, placed the wine jar and cup on it, and then undressed before stepping into the wooden tub, which was as large as a pig-slaughtering vat.

It was getting late when Lian Xiusheng finally set aside his affairs and went to check on how his third brother was bathing. The light in the small room was dimmer than in other chambers, but Jin Cai was clever enough to light two extra lamps near the area where someone was active, so Lian Xiusheng could see his third brother as soon as he entered.

Lian Xiusheng walked over unhurriedly and saw the figure in the water, a rosy face seemingly tipsy, leaning against the rim of the tub in a posture like a snow-white fox lying drunk. Water caressed his shoulders with a thousand tender graces, and his slender waist and jade-like legs stretched out beneath the surface, his body as white as silver, pure as snow.

Then Lian Xiusheng noticed the wine jar nearby. He went over, shook it lightly—there wasn’t much left—and tested the water; it was still warm. He patted his third brother’s wet shoulder to wake him up.

Lian Cheng jolted awake, fished a cup out of the water, and poured out the bathwater in a clumsy, flustered mess. But Lian Xiusheng only saw, as his third brother sat upright, that a jade tip faintly emerged from the orchid-scented water.

“I fell asleep drinking,” Lian Cheng said with a yawn. He stood up lazily, slowly grabbed his clothes, and draped them over himself as he stepped out of the tub, leaving a trail of wet footprints on the floor.

Lian Xiusheng stared at his third brother, watching the thin silk robe cling wetly, barely concealing the pink jade-like body, revealing twin moons like dew.

“Third Brother, go ahead to my room first. I’ll make use of this bathwater,” Lian Xiusheng said as he began to undress.

Hearing this, Lian Cheng spun around, his eyes confused. “I’ve already used this water. Why don’t you have someone change it for fresh?”

“The page boys have all gone to bed. It wouldn't be right to wake them up. Let's just make do with it this once,” Lian Xiusheng said, sounding considerate and thorough, leaving Lian Cheng with nothing to say.

Though it made sense, Lian Cheng’s feet seemed rooted to the spot. It felt different from sharing a bath pool with someone. He'd used this water, and now Lian Xiusheng was using the same water—how strange.

But as he watched Lian Xiusheng undress with perfect composure—radiating the gentle, spring-like grace of a gentleman during the day, but now, stripped of his silk robes, losing that air of a divine tree of jade, becoming tall and sharp as a sword or halberd, gleaming and fierce as a green sparrow—Lian Cheng rarely saw him like this. Naturally, he gazed from top to bottom, taking in everything. When he caught sight of that imposing, fierce yet elegant member, Lian Cheng involuntarily stepped back. The blister on his tongue burned fiercely, and his whole body was drenched—whether from the dried bathwater or sweat from shock and shame—suffused with an inexplicable restlessness. So he wrapped his clothes tightly and fled in a hurry.

Lian Xiusheng was in no position to chase after him at that moment. He concentrated on soaking in the fragrant bathwater, puzzled as to why his third brother had been startled again. Even a rabbit isn't that timid.

He used the cup his third brother had just drunk from, and finished the remaining wine in the jar. After downing a few cups, he tilted his head back and, after a long moment, finally realized why his third brother had been frightened. He then lowered his gaze, his dark, intense eyes staring fixedly at the object beneath the water.