Married Thrice to Salted Fish

Chapter 30

“Ah, Young Master Hou and Lin Shaojun have certainly given me a good show.” His voice came first before he could be seen.

The one who came had long eyebrows reaching to his temples, his eyes were long and narrow, his thin lips appeared coquettish. He was obviously of a handsome and dashing appearance, but when coupled with the look on his face that seemed to say, ‘I know I’m handsome’, it immediately became something hard to describe. Lin Qingyu had only glanced at him and he had already had the urge to throw him into ice water to get rid of the grease.

Lin Qingyu bowed in salute. “Greetings to His Royal Highness.”

“Since were are outside the palace, there is no need for Lin Shaojun to be so polite to me.” When he spoke, Xiao Cheng never took his eyes off Lin Qingyu’s face. “Raise your head and look at me.”

Lin Qingyu concealed the coldness in his eyes and raised his eyes, meeting Xiao Cheng’s gaze. Xiao Cheng stared deeply into his eyes, a trace of reminiscence and nostalgia in his eyes. He murmured, “It’s been a long time since I have seen these eyes.”

Lin Qingyu said, “Your Highness is speaking of Princess Jingchun’s eyes?”

Xiao Cheng startled as though waking from a dream. The emotions in his eyes receded like a tide and he said coldly, “Did Lu Wancheng tell you? How did he…”

“It seems that Young Master Hou was right. His Highness is indeed unable to forget about his old feelings for Princess Jingchun. The reason why he admires me is also because I somewhat resemble Jingchun.”

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes and said, ridicule evident in his voice, “I didn’t expect that a long-bedridden sickly seedling like Lu Wancheng would know so much about it. Unfortunately, when all is said and done, he is dying and even a mere kiss can make him faint.” Xiao Cheng licked the corner of his lips. “It truly is a waste for such stunner as Lin Shaojun to be following him.”

A stunner, meaning a beauty. It could be regarded as a kind of compliment. But when it came out from Xiao Cheng’s mouth, it only made him want to cut his tongue out and serve it with wine.

“A stunner?” Lin Qingyu laughed, “If I didn’t have these eyes and this tear-shaped mole, would Your Highness still think I’m a stunner?”

“Why should Lin Shaojun belittle himself so? Lin Shaojun’s appearance is exceptional in the entire world. Even without Jingchun, you have beauty enough to make people fall in love at first sight.” Xiao Cheng approached Lin Qingyu. He was tall and could completely shroud Lin Qingyu under his own figure, “Little Qingyu, why didn’t you drink the wine I gave you last time, hm?”

Lin Qingyu tried his best to hide his surging malice. He took a half step back, and said, “I’m already married. Surely, it must be inappropriate for His Highness to be seducing me like this.”

“Seduce?” Xiao Cheng approached Lin Qingyu, his voice hoarse, “Then, did I get you excited?”

More like it made my desire to poison and kill you so much stronger.

Can this dog thing get out of his sight?

Xiao Chen smelled the faint scent on Lin Qingyu’s body. He pressed the tip of his tongue to the inside of his cheek and said, “You smell so good…”

Lin Qingyu didn’t want to stay for a moment longer. “The marriage between me and Young Master Hou was brokered by the Empress and bestowed by the Emperor himself. Your Highness is so disrespectful, do you mean to hit the Emperor and the Empress’ faces?”

Xiao Cheng looked at him and his lips hooked up in a smile, he said, “It doesn’t matter. Lu Wancheng won’t live for long. I can be patient.”

“Then, I shall now leave to take care of my husband,” Lin Qingyu said indifferently, “I shall not be accompanying you any longer.”

“Little Qingyu,” Xiao Chen stopped him, one side of his lips raised up. With that half-smile, he said, “There will come a day, when I will have you lie willingly under me – I will be waiting for you.”

Lin Qingyu turned around and walked through the corridor. He saw a plain white skirt disappearing around the corner. He looked back at the smug Xiao Cheng, he whispered to himself, “Don’t wait for me, wait for death.”

A monk of the Changsheng Temple who was good at the traditional medical arts gave an acupuncture treatment to Lu Wancheng who had fainted. When Lin Qingyu found Lu Wancheng in one of the side rooms, he had already woken up and was taking sips of a soothing decoction. Huan Tong stood to one side, looking after Lu Wancheng. When he saw Lin Qingyu walking in, he said, “Young Master is here.”

Lu Wancheng froze in the middle of drinking the medicine. He then smiled and said, “Qingyu.” It was as if nothing had happened.

As long as he wasn’t embarrassed, it would be others who would be embarrassed.

Lin Qingyu said slowly, “You just…”

F*ck, it was still embarrassing.

Lu Wancheng covered his face with his hands, unable to defend himself. “It’s not that I’m frustrated, it’s that this body is too weak.” He could admit that he seeing the other up close just now had sent his heart racing a bit and it got to his head, but it wasn’t to the point that he’d pass out.

Lu Wancheng was indignant and depressed, “If it were the me before, I could run 800 meters while carrying you and I wouldn’t even be out of breath.”

Lin Qingyu quietly watched him bragging.

Lu Wancheng seemed hurt by his expression so, he lowered his head and said dejectedly, “It’s true. Qingyu, you’ve got to believe me.”

In consideration for the patient’s mood, Lin Qingyu dutifully said, “I believe you.”

Lu Wancheng was doubtful, “Really?”

“En.”

Lu Wancheng smiled. The young man’s smile was clear and relaxed, like the sky after the summer rainstorm. It saved Lin Qingyu’s eyes from being covered in grease.

After regaining his self-esteem, Lu Wancheng turned back to proper business. “By the way, did you see Xiao Cheng?”

“I saw him,” Lin Qingyu sneered, “He called me-‘Little Qingyu’.”

Lu Wancheng: “…Save me.”

Once Lu Wancheng had rested, Lin Qingyu asked Huan Tong to pack up and prepare to return to the Hou Mansion. The three came to the front hall, and Huan Tong saw the monk who had just given Lu Wancheng the acupuncture treatment. He said, “Young Master, that was the master who gave Young Master Hou acupuncture to wake him up.”

The master met their gazes and nodded. Lin Qingyu thought that as Lu Wancheng’s nominal wife, it was necessary to thank the master in person, so he asked Huan Tong and Lu Wancheng to wait for a while.

Lin Qingyu had heard earlier that the Buddhist doctors had their own set of medical methods comparable to those of ordinary doctors. After thanking him, the master took the initiative to ask about Lu Wancheng’s body and Lin Qingyu told him a bit about it.

Huan Tong grew bored of waiting. Watching the pilgrims burn incense and kneel to pray for blessings, he said, “Young Master Hou, why don’t we also burn some incense sticks for the Buddha?”

Lu Wancheng said indifferently, “Alright.”

So Huan Tong asked the monk for six incense sticks. After lighting them, he gave half to Lu Wancheng. He copied the pilgrims and knelt on the cushion, holding the incense with both hands. He mumbled out some words and after that, he kowtowed three times to the Buddha statue. He then inserted the incense into the incense burner. After doing this, Huan Tong patted his clothes and stood up. Seeing the Young Master Hou holding the incense sticks carelessly, looking in the direction of the young master and the monk. He knelt once again. “It isn’t convenient for the Young Master Hou to do this, so I will do it for him and pay respects to the Buddha on his behalf.”

After kowtowing, Huan Tong said, “Young Master Hou, you can express your wish to the Buddha.”

Lu Wancheng looked back. “Wish?”

“Yes. As long as the Buddha hears it, he will definitely help us achieve our wish.”

Lu Wancheng, sitting in his wheelchair, looked at the golden Buddha statue above the hall. A solemn treasure, looking down at all beings.

Lu Wancheng thought about it for a while, and said with a low smile, “Then… I hope he will always be happy.”

At the entrance of the Nan’an Hou Mansion, just as Lin Qingyu’s carriage arrived, Liang Shi and Lu Niantao’s carriage arrived as well. When Liang Shi got out of the carriage, she saw Lin Qingyu. She instinctively wanted to hide but was pulled by Lu Niantao to a stop. “Mother is the mistress, he is the Shaojun. Courtesy must still be adhered to.”

Liang Shi clenched her fingers tightly and put a smile on her face. “Wancheng, Qingyu, where did you go? Why didn’t you tell your mother?”

Lu Wancheng’s face was sinking like water, and he said angrily, “I would rather have not gone out.”

Lin Qingyu pursed his lips and reached out to push the wheelchair. He then heard Lu Wancheng say, “Huan Tong, push me back.”

Huan Tong said “Oh”, completely confused. He looked at Lu Wancheng, then at Lin Qingyu. He then pushed Lu Wancheng away. Lin Qingyu was quiet for a while before following after them.

The other servants also looked at each other in dismay. Everyone in the whole mansion knew that the eldest young master had the best temperament of everyone there. This was the first time they’ve seen the eldest young master treat the Shaojun so coldly.

Liang Shi didn’t understand. “Haven’t they always had a good relationship? What’s wrong?”

“It’s because they have a good relationship that he’s like this.” Lu Niantao explained, “No matter how of no use Eldest Brother is, he is still a man. How could he bear having his wife coveted by others? Even if that person is…”

Lu Niantao was both gloating and suffering from subtle jealousy. What was the use of such a face on a man? If she could also have that face, what need would be there for her to scheme so much?

That night, Lu Wancheng and Lin Qingyu had a big quarrel, throwing the Blue Wind Pavilion into chaos. The servants from other courtyards, passing by the gate of the Blue Wind Pavilion, could hear the sound of things being thrown to the ground.

Lu Wancheng pointed at Lin Qingyu, gritted his teeth and said, “Let me ask you, did you make an appointment with him for a private meeting at Changsheng Temple today?!”

Lin Qingyu reasoned with him, “If I’d made an appointment with him in advance, why would I have taken you there?”

“Do you think I’ve gone stupid from sickness?”

“Yes.”

“You have never used perfume before. Why did you wear that sachet when you went to Changsheng Temple today?”

“I wore it casually. I didn’t expect him to like it.”

Lu Wancheng said deliberately ambiguous, “Oh, you must want to see me die sooner so you can choose someone higher up.”

Lin Qingyu said calmly: “If you want to think so then I can’t help it.”

Lu Wancheng choked. “You…”

Lin Qingyu waited for Lu Wancheng to say something back.

Lu Wancheng lowered his voice, “You can’t say that.”

“Why?”

“If you say that, I can’t come up with a comeback.”

“Then stop arguing.” Lin Qingyu said and with a wave of his arm, all the things on the table were swept to the ground.

Lu Wancheng smiled. He picked up a vase on the shelf and was about to throw it to the ground when he heard Lin Qingyu say, “That’s a relic from the previous dynasty.”

Lu Wancheng immediately put the vase back. “Then that’s your inheritance.”

After one night, the house was a mess. Hua Lu and a few of the maids spent a long time cleaning up. They then took out the rubbish that was cleaned up and discarded them. Among them was the sachet that caught Xiao Cheng’s attention.

It was before the early winter and the chrysanthemums were in bloom. The Blue Wind Pavilion was already using the charcoal braziers and they had hung up the door curtains to keep out the wind.

Lin Qingyu was in the study, reading the letter sent by Zhang Shiquan from Xuzhou. His eyes gradually turning cold. In the end, he wrote back a letter, only three words were written in it: continue to investigate.

“Young Master,” Huan Tong rushed in, “Young Master, Young Master Hou is asking you to return to the bedroom. He said he wanted to show you something good.”

Lin Qingyu asked suspiciously, “What something good?”

Huan Tong smiled happily. “You’ll know when you go and have a look.”

Lin Qingyu walked into the bedroom. He saw that luohan he slept on was gone. The screen and Lu Wancheng’s bed were also gone, replaced by two beds on top of each other. It was the bunk beds that Lu Wancheng had mentioned.

Lu Wancheng was talking to the carpenter, “Add a fence to the upper bunk to prevent the Shaojun from turning over in the middle of the night and falling off.”

The carpenter said, “Young Master Hou is very considerate. I’ll add it here.”

Lin Qingyu: “…” In the end, he couldn’t escape this disaster.

“Qingyu’s here.” Lu Wancheng deliberately stepped aside to give Lin Qingyu an unobstructed view of his and the carpenter’s masterpiece. “How is it? Look at this staircase, I specially had the carpenter make it wide to make it easier for you to get in and out of bed.”

Lin Qingyu opened his mouth to speak. Seeing Lu Wancheng’s heavy coat and his sleeves that were now so much larger than his wrists, he compromised, “As long as you like it.”

The bed that Lu Wancheng asked the carpenter to make was cumbersome to get up to and down from, but it was still comfortable to sleep in. Not long after Lin Qingyu fell asleep, he heard someone calling his name in his ear while he was half asleep.

Lin Qingyu opened his eyes. It was still dark outside. Lu Wancheng stood by the bed, holding onto the added fence with both hands, he looked at him with a smile.

The sleepiness had yet to subside, Lin Qingyu’s voice was a little warmer and softer than usual, “What time is it?”

Lu Wancheng said, “It’s just past zishi.”

Lin Qingyu thought that Lu Wancheng woke him up in the middle of the night because he felt unwell. But seeing him standing up on his own and speaking so steadily, this possibility could be ruled out.

Lin Qingyu was under a rare bout of laziness and didn’t sit up. He turned over and lay on his side to meet Lu Wancheng’s eyes. “What are you doing waking me up at this hour?”

In the dark night, Lu Wancheng’s eyes shone like stars, “Qingyu, I’m eighteen today.”