TL: Hua
Chapter 37: Teacher – Little Pei goes to Jiangnan (5)
“Doctor Su, how is yiniang‘s health?”
Doctor Su put away his acupuncture kit and came out from behind the bamboo curtain. He said, “It’s a chronic illness, difficult to cure completely, only manageable. I’ll prescribe a dose of pills and a plaster for you, for both internal and external use, which can relieve the pain.”
Pei Jintang said, “Alright, please write the prescription.”
Doctor Su took out paper and a brush from his medicine box and quickly wrote a prescription for Pei Jintang. “Take one pill with water in the morning and evening. The plaster will be delivered by someone later. Apply it to the painful area before sleep and wash it off after waking up. Also, you must advise Bu-yiniang not to engage in strenuous activities for now, especially in the affected area, to avoid further injury.”
Pei Jintang looked at the prescription and said gratefully, “I understand. I’ve noted everything down. Thank you for making the trip, Doctor Su.”
“Second Young Master Pei, you’re too kind,” Doctor Su said, picking up his medicine chest. His beautiful eyes and gentle demeanor were soothing. “I’ll take my leave now. If there are any issues, just send someone to ask. My humble abode is next to your younger brother’s residence.”
Pei Jintang agreed and personally escorted him out of the courtyard. Then he instructed Nanny Chang to see him off and pick up the medicine on the way back. He returned to the room, poured a cup of hot water for Bu Suying, who was behind the curtain, and asked with concern, “Yiniang, do you feel any better?”
Bu Suying took the teacup, smiled, and nodded. “Doctor Su gave me, and I feel much better. Thank you very much today, Second Young Master.”
Pei Jintang pulled a chair over and sat down. “I heard that Doctor Su had returned to the capital and was watching a play on Baitu Street, so I thought of inviting him over first. But yiniang, why have you never mentioned your chronic illness before?”
“I injured my waist when I was a dancer. Usually, it doesn’t bother me, but it hurts during large twists,” Bu Suying said, somewhat embarrassed. “I haven’t danced much in recent years, and I considered resuming it over the past few days, but my body isn’t able to keep up.”
Pei Jintang said, “You can’t rush to pick up skills you’ve let go of. You have to take it slow. If you feel any pain, you must see a doctor promptly. If I hadn’t happened to visit you today and saw you pale and clutching your waist, would you have just endured the pain?”
Asking a doctor for minor aches and pains might seem a bit too squeamish, and Bu Suying also worried about gossip in the household. However, she didn’t want to voice her concerns to Pei Jintang and only said, “I’ll remember. I’ve really troubled Second Young Master this time.”
“What trouble is there?” Pei Jintang said. “When Xiting left, he specifically asked me to help look after you. I agreed, so naturally, I have to do it. The money for the doctor today was all from the silver Xiting left behind, so you don’t need to think of it as my favor.”
Bu Suying said, “Oh, you can’t say that. Second Young Master’s willingness to agree to Xiting’s request is already very benevolent.”
It was the first time Pei Jintang realized that just passing on a message and running an errand could earn him praise from an elder. He was taken aback for a moment, then grinned and said, “Then when Xiting comes back, I’ll have to extort a good meal out of him.”
Bu Suying smiled and said, “Speaking of Xiting, does Second Young Master know when he’ll be back?”
“I don’t know about that,” Pei Jintang thought for a moment. “If you miss him, you can write a letter, and I’ll help you send it.”
“Really? That’s good. Second Young Master, please wait a moment; I’ll go write it now.” Bu Suying poured a cup of water for Pei Jintang and turned to go to the inner room to write the letter.
Pei Jintang sipped the hot water. After a while, Bu Suying lifted the curtain and asked him, “Second Young Master, do you have anything to say to Xiting? If so, I’ll just write it down along with my words.”
“Sure,” Pei Jintang put down his cup and walked over. He glanced at the letter paper after sitting down on the chair. It was mostly asking about his well-being, clothes, health, mood, and if he had any difficulties with his official duties. It was all concern, without a hint of reprimand.
“What’s wrong?” Bu Suying saw Pei Jintang staring blankly at the letter paper and thought she hadn’t written well, so she quickly said, “I’m being long-winded; please don’t laugh at me, Second Young Master.” Pei Jintang came back to his senses and said, “You are just concerned about Xiting; why would I laugh?”
He picked up the brush and wrote a few sentences, smiling, “Since Yiniang said all the words of concern, I’ll just ask him to bring back some Ningzhou specialties.”
Bu Suying smiled, put the letter paper into an envelope, sealed it, and handed it to Pei Jintang. As Pei Jintang was about to leave, she called him back and said, “The kitchen is steaming a basket of lotus flower cakes; they’re fragrant and not too sweet. Would you like to take a few to try?”
Pei Jintang said, “Then I won’t be polite.”
Bu Suying brought a food box to the small kitchen and packed six lotus flower cakes for Pei Jintang. She said, “Second Young Master, take these and try them. If you like them, or if you want to try other flavors, you can tell me, and I’ll make them when I have free time.”
Pei Jintang opened the food box and sniffed. “Such a rich lotus fragrance, they must be delicious. Thank you, yiniang.”
“No need to thank me.” Bu Suying shook her head and saw Pei Jintang out of the courtyard.
Pei Jintang carried the food box and walked out in a good mood. He met the steward on the way, who asked what was wrong at Suyingzhai courtyard, so he told the truth.
The steward’s expression wasn’t good. Pei Jintang asked, “What’s wrong?”
The steward sighed and said, “A concubine dancing in the courtyard is not appropriate.”
“She was dancing in her own courtyard; how is that inappropriate?” Pei Jintang stopped and frowned.
The steward said, “If it misguides the maids in the courtyard and makes them sing and dance in front of the old and young masters of the household, I’m afraid—”
“My mother sent you to ask, didn’t she?” Pei Jintang’s hand holding the food box tightened. He stared at the helpless steward and swallowed his irritation after a moment of silence. “There’s no point in saying more if our views don’t align. I’ll just say one thing. Consider it carefully when you report back to Mother.”
The steward said, “Please, go ahead.”
“Doctor Su is a medical officer of the Longhe Division. Noble households invite him for consultations by sedan chair, but he came today at my mere request, simply because of Xiting’s name.” Pei Jintang said coldly. “Xiting is not what he used to be.”
The steward understood the implication and said with a forced smile, “But he can’t go beyond Madam. Filial piety comes first.”
“Bu-yiniang is Xiting’s biological mother. If we’re talking about filial piety, given a choice, based on my understanding of Xiting, he would definitely choose Bu-yiniang. Over the years, Xiting calling my mother ‘Mother’ wasn’t to curry favor with her or covet the title and benefits of being raised by the principal wife. It was just following the so-called rules. Mother controls him but never guides him, instead treating him with only strictness and no warmth. How much affection do you think he has for Mother?”
Pei Jintang patted the steward’s shoulder. “Reprimanding Bu-yiniang over such a trivial matter will do no good. I promised Xiting I would help look after the household. You’ve run into me today. If you really go to Suyingzhai and upset Bu-yiniang, when Xiting returns, I will definitely tell him the truth. I won’t interfere if Xiting vents his anger then.”
Pei Jintang left after speaking, his good mood completely gone, leaving only a trace of sticky heat on his fingers holding the food box.
***
“It’s so humid and hot.” Pei Xiting said, lying on the table, his voice muffled. “Even the penholder is slippery. Your Highness, can we postpone the copying to another day?”
Rain fell again in the evening, a continuous, dark veil that made the flowers and trees in the courtyard seem desolate.
Yu Shaoyun stood at the door with his arms crossed and glanced at the Crown Prince reading a book under the eaves. The latter seemed accustomed to and unfazed by Pei Xiting’s informal tone.
The Crown Prince turned to look inside the room. The person lying on the table also looked up at him, his cheek resting on the table, squeezing out a bit of chubby flesh, making the red lip bead even more noticeable.
“Your Highness,” Pei Xiting said again.
The Crown Prince stepped into the room and stood beside Pei Xiting. A gauze candle lamp stood on the table, reflecting the shadow of Pei Xiting’s eyelashes on his eyes. His gaze flickered, landing on the paper under Pei Xiting’s face, and he said, “What ugly writing. Even a chicken pecking rice is more decent.”
“Pei Xiting’s” handwriting was actually quite good, but Pei Xiting now was like an absent-minded student in class, taking notes but not processing them, so the writing was messy.
His lower back was suddenly tapped lightly. Pei Xiting came back to his senses and subconsciously said, “What?”
The Crown Prince didn’t mind and said, “Sit properly and write.”
“That’s just how my handwriting is.” Pei Xiting sat up straight.
“Your writing is too constrained; it doesn’t match your temperament.” The Crown Prince’s gaze lifted, landing on the small black mole on Pei Xiting’s lower left eye. “Is it that your hand doesn’t follow your heart, or are you two-faced?”
Pei Xiting’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyelashes fluttered. His temperament naturally didn’t match “Pei Xiting’s” handwriting.
The Crown Prince’s tone was ordinary, but his thoughts were deep. Pei Xiting couldn’t help but feel a little guilty and said, “How would I know? It’s just like this anyway. You can’t cultivate the skill of writing worth a thousand gold in a day or two.”
“Then practice every day.” The Crown Prince didn’t press Pei Xiting’s evasiveness and said, “From today on, practice calligraphy every day until you write well and correctly.”
Pei Xiting pondered the meaning of “write correctly” but couldn’t figure it out, so he asked, “Which model should I practice?”
The Crown Prince turned and walked to the cool mat by the window and sat down. “Choose yourself.”
“Then I want to choose yours,” Pei Xiting said.
The Crown Prince raised his eyes. “You want to imitate the Crown Prince’s handwriting?”
This was a major taboo. Pei Xiting belatedly realized this and immediately said he wouldn’t learn it. Then, a thought struck him, and he took the opportunity to say, “I won’t learn your handwriting, but can I learn the zither from you?”
“Why should I teach you?” the Crown Prince said.
Pei Xiting raised an eyebrow. “You teach me the zither, and I’ll teach you painting.”
The Crown Prince’s hand holding the book paused. He looked at Pei Xiting for a moment. That young and beautiful face was confidently radiant and a bit too dazzling. He lowered his eyes, turned a page of the book, but belatedly realized he hadn’t finished the previous page. “…Arrogant.”
