TL: Hua
Seeing the young master engrossed in the storybook, seemingly not having heard him at all, Yin Yanjun sat down by the bed. His gaze fell on the young master’s abdomen, and he softly asked, “I just saw you scratch your abdomen a few times. Is your stomach uncomfortable?”
Xu Yanqing had been completely absorbed in the storybook, and the action of scratching his belly was unconscious. Only after hearing the Taoist Master’s words did he focus on his stomach, feel it slightly, and shake his head blankly, “I don’t feel anything. Did I just scratch my belly?”
Yin Yanjun gently took the young master’s wrist and routinely felt his pulse, only relaxing when he confirmed that nothing was wrong.
In fact, every morning and evening, Qi Chen would routinely take the young master’s pulse. If there was any problem, Qi Chen would have spoken up long ago. Yin Yanjun was just overly concerned.
“Young master seems less sleepy these past few days than before?” The young master’s dark hair lay obediently on his back. Yin Yanjun took a hair tie from the side and gently tied the young master’s hair together.
Taoist Master Xuanchen’s warm hand accidentally brushed against the salted fish young master’s cheek. Xu Yanqing felt a strange and comfortable tingling sensation where he was touched, so he couldn’t help but raise his hand and rub his cheek.
After his hair was tied, the salted fish young master lay lazily on the bed and unconsciously reached out to scratch his belly again. “Recently, I feel like I’m not as sleepy as before.”
This time, Yin Yanjun actually saw the young master scratch his belly, so he held the young master’s hand. “Is your belly itchy? Is that why you keep scratching it?”
Xu Yanqing looked down and indeed saw his hand on his protruding abdomen. At this moment, he really felt a slight itch, but his hand was held by the Taoist Master, so he couldn’t scratch his belly.
So the young master obediently replied, “It seems my belly is a little itchy, but it’s just a little bit. Sometimes I can feel it, sometimes I can’t.”
Yin Yanjun slightly frowned and released the young master’s hand. His eyelashes trembled slightly before he slowly said, “May I see Young Master’s abdomen?”
His words were a bit abrupt, so Xu Yanqing didn’t react for a moment. Then he saw Taoist Master Xuanchen’s ears turn slightly red, and only then did he suddenly understand the other party’s meaning. In an instant, his face also felt a little warm.
Xu Yanqing looked down at his belly. Its slightly bulging appearance was a bit unsightly. Even the normally thick-skinned salted fish didn’t want to let the immortal-like Taoist Master Xuanchen see his neither-male-nor-female body. It wasn’t shyness but a strange sense of shame.
However, Taoist Master Xuanchen’s gaze was exceptionally clear, without any other meaning. The other party was purely worried about his body, and the young master felt that sudden itch again, so he lay on the bed and nodded obediently.
Yin Yanjun’s ears felt a little warm, and his usually cold and stern face was filled with seriousness. In his heart, however, he felt embarrassed and shy. At his age, such awkwardness was truly something not to be spoken of to outsiders.
His well-defined fingers fell on the young master’s soft, clean nightclothes, lifting them little by little, revealing the young master’s unusual abdomen.
Yin Yanjun’s heart suddenly beat a little faster. As if possessed, he placed his hand on the young master’s abdomen. The young master trembled slightly, followed by the restless movements of the little bean inside his belly.
“Itchy.” The young master’s tender, round face flushed slightly. Only then did Yin Yanjun compose himself and look at the young master’s belly. The smooth abdomen, due to the protrusion, had some faint, slightly whitish lines. Although the whitish lines were not many, they were somewhat conspicuous on the young master’s jade-like clean abdomen.
Yin Yanjun gently rubbed it. The lines were still there, so he gently reassured the young master, “You’ve grown some fine lines. I’ll ask Young Doctor Qi to come and take a look.”
“Fine lines?” Xu Yanqing blinked. He guessed they were probably stretch marks. Although he was a man, he knew this basic common sense. On the other hand, Taoist Master Xuanchen, who was much older than him, showed only worry in his eyes, not understanding.
So the lazy young master raised his hand and gently scratched his belly again. Under Taoist Master Xuanchen’s worried gaze, he pulled up his nightclothes to cover his belly and looked up, asking, “Taoist Master, when you were a youth and growing, did you not have these stretch marks on your legs?” Yin Yanjun was a little puzzled, not knowing why the young master suddenly brought up these irrelevant matters, but he still replied, “I haven’t noticed.”
The young master smiled, “Actually, they are lines that appear when the body grows. The belly is only so big, but there’s a growing little bean inside. As the skin stretches, these lines appear. Taoist Master, you can tell Ah Chen; he might already have ointment ready.”
“Alright.” Yin Yanjun nodded, pulled the thin blanket from the bed, covered the young master, and then quickly walked out of the room.
Xu Yanqing lay on his back like a salted fish, gazing up at the bed canopy, then suddenly turned over. The flush on his face hadn’t subsided. It was truly too embarrassing.
Outside the door, Yin Yanjun unconsciously let out two breaths and raised his hand to rub his ears before knocking on Qi Chen’s door and explaining the young master’s situation in detail.
Qi Chen nodded, “Pregnant women develop these lines at a certain stage of pregnancy. However, the young master is a male, so his situation is special, which is why these lines appeared earlier. I have some perfumed ointment prepared in advance. Every time the young master bathes, Taoist master can help apply it once and then let the young master apply it again in the morning. Applying it multiple times will stop the itch on the belly.”
Yin Yanjun frowned, “Can those lines be eliminated?” It wasn’t a matter of whether they looked good or not. The main concern was that the young master, being a male, had these lines that only women usually get. He was afraid the young master would feel disgusted every time he saw the lines on his belly in the future.
Qi Chen raised an eyebrow and handed the refined ointment to Taoist Master Xuanchen, deliberately teasing, “Taoist Master, are you saying you dislike the young master’s belly lines?”
Yin Yanjun’s cold and authoritative gaze fell on Qi Chen as he took the small medicine bottle. Qi Chen instantly felt a chilling sense of crisis and instinctively shut his mouth, not daring to spout nonsense in front of Taoist Master Xuanchen anymore.
Yin Yanjun turned around indifferently and returned to the young master’s room. The young master, who had been lying on the bed, hadn’t slept much all day. He had only slept for a short while in the afternoon before waking up. So, after a long wait for the Taoist Master to return, he had simply curled up in bed and fallen asleep.
The young master was still slightly curled up, looking somewhat pitiful. Yin Yanjun walked over and sat down by the bed. His movements weren’t particularly light, but the young master on the bed was still sleeping soundly, with no intention of waking up.
Yin Yanjun felt a bit helpless. He hesitated for a moment, and seeing that the young master still unconsciously reached out to scratch his belly in his sleep, he could only stiffen his fingers slightly, pull off the blanket covering the young master, and then gently adjust the young master’s sleeping position so that he was lying on his back.
Xu Yanqing unconsciously kicked his legs. The familiar scent filled his nostrils. He vaguely opened his eyes, sniffed lightly, then turned his head and continued to sleep.
Yin Yanjun’s outstretched arm paused. When the young master was sleeping more soundly, he trembled slightly as he gently lifted the young master’s nightclothes.
The perfumed ointment refined by Qi Chen contained only various herbs and no other additives, so it had only a faint herbal scent that wasn’t overpowering and was quite pleasant. Yin Yanjun took some out and rubbed it in his palm until it warmed up, then gently applied it to the young master’s abdomen.
His movements were very soft and light, so the young master, who was sound asleep, didn’t feel any discomfort, only feeling that the original faint itch on his belly was replaced by a warm sensation.
This feeling was much more comfortable than the itch that scratching couldn’t relieve. So, the young master in his sleep raised his hand and pressed it on Taoist Master Xuanchen’s hand, hoping that this warm touch could linger on his belly a little longer.
Yin Yanjun thought the young master had woken up, and so he inexplicably felt a bit guilty when looking at the young master. However, he saw the young master unconsciously rubbing the pillow beneath him, not truly awake.
Yin Yanjun’s mind was slightly jumbled. He gently moved the young master’s hand away, took some more ointment, rubbed it until it melted, and then gently applied it to the young master’s abdomen.
After applying the ointment, Yin Yanjun let out a deep sigh, pulled the nightclothes back to cover the young master’s belly, and then pulled the blanket back over the young master. He guarded the bed for a long time. Seeing that the young master no longer unconsciously reached out to scratch his belly, he finally left the young master’s room with peace of mind.
Returning to his own room, Yin Yanjun sat down at his desk and picked up the brush and ink to write scriptures as usual. However, this time, he wrote and stopped repeatedly. After a long time, he still hadn’t finished a single scripture.
With his mind unable to settle, there was no need to continue writing the scriptures. Yin Yanjun sighed and put down the brush and ink. This was the second time in many years that he had been unable to calm down and finish writing the scriptures. The first time was when he, under the influence of the poison, had pinned the young master who had accidentally stumbled into the room beneath him, and now it was this time.
His usual calm and reserved demeanor could no longer be peaceful and composed. He sat directly at his desk, silently lost in thought, his mind filled with a myriad of things.
In the end, he gave a bitter smile. No matter how old he was, no matter how much he had seen of life’s ups and downs, he still let himself fall headfirst for the young master.
—
The lazy young master, sleeping exceptionally soundly on the bed, had no idea of the ups and downs Taoist Master Xuanchen was experiencing in his heart.
After a night, he lazily sat up from the bed. Turning his head, he saw an unfamiliar medicine bottle on his pillow. He picked up the bottle, opened the lid, and sniffed it. It had only a faint herbal scent that wasn’t pungent and smelled quite pleasant.
“Young master, are you awake?” Mu Yu pushed open the door and entered with a basin of water. Now that the young master was getting further along in his pregnancy, Mu Yu dared not let him wash by the water vat anymore, fearing he might slip and have an accident.
Seeing the medicine bottle in his young master’s hand, Mu Yu leaned closer. “This medicine bottle should have been sent by Young Doctor Qi. He said to rub it warm in your palm and apply it to your abdomen to relieve the itch.”
The ointment in the bottle had clearly been used. Xu Yanqing suddenly recalled what had happened last night before he fell asleep, and his face couldn’t help but flush with heat.
So, the warm sensation on his abdomen in his dream last night was actually Taoist Master Xuanchen applying the ointment to him?
The salted fish was about to be cooked through with embarrassment!
Feeling dizzy, he let Mu Yu help him finish his washing. The lazy young master just wanted to collapse in his room. He didn’t want to go out all day today, and he certainly didn’t want to see that bottle of ointment.
Yet, when Mu Yu carried the basin out, he didn’t forget to remind his young master, “Young master, Young Doctor Qi said that you must apply the medicine diligently every morning and evening. If he finds out you’ve been lazy, he’ll find someone to help you apply it.”
The salted fish young master, who had been teased by Qi Chen, leaned back in his reclining chair and waved his hand at Mu Yu, then silently stared at the ointment, lost in thought. At this moment, he didn’t want to do anything; he just wanted to quietly relax for a while.
Knowing that his young master had listened, Mu Yu confidently carried the basin out and closed the door.
The salted fish lay slumped for a while, then frowned, opened the bottle of ointment, took some out, rubbed it warm in his palm, and then applied it to his slightly protruding abdomen. This feeling of applying the ointment himself just couldn’t compare to someone else applying it for him. The salted fish inexplicably let out a sigh of emotion.
Sure enough, the gloomy salted fish didn’t even go out for breakfast. It was still Mu Yu who brought in a lacquered tray. Today’s breakfast was simple. Aunt Li’s family had something to attend to and had taken leave today, so Aunt Zhao had simply cooked some porridge and served it with yesterday’s steamed buns for a makeshift meal.
In addition, Xu Yanqing’s breakfast also included a chubby good luck doll and a dish of scrambled eggs with green peppers. The good luck doll’s two cheeks had two red dots on them, making it look very cute.
Xu Yanqing picked up the lucky doll with resentment and took a bite of its ear along with the served green pepper scrambled eggs. Feeling inexplicably ashamed, the salted fish shoved down the entire lucky doll.
Finally, with a full belly, he nestled in his reclining chair, looking at the storybook in his hand. However, after a long while, he still hadn’t turned a page, clearly lost in thought.
It wasn’t until there was a commotion outside and someone was calling out his name that the salted fish young master, who had been covering his face with the storybook, finally snapped out of his trance and walked slowly out of the door.
“Is it okay if I stick it here? Is it crooked?” Xu Chuan asked, pressing a big red “囍” (double happiness) character onto the wall and turning to look at the others behind him.
Ah Ning pattered to Xu Yanqing’s door and knocked. Just then, Xu Yanqing slowly opened the door.
Seeing the group of men putting up couplets at the entrance, Xu Yanqing blinked and looked down at the chubby child in front of him. “What are your dad and the others doing?”
Ah Ning honestly replied, “Putting up couplets!”
The salted fish young master looked up at the sky, speechless. “Of course, I know they’re putting up couplets, but it’s not New Year’s or any festival right now, so why are they putting them up?” Besides, each family usually puts up their own couplets; there’s no reason to have others help.
Ah Ning’s chubby little hand rummaged in his pocket for a long time before pulling out two pieces of malt candy. He popped one into his mouth and handed the other to his little uncle, mumbling, “Uncle Linzi is marrying Auntie, so they’re giving out candy and putting up red couplets.”
The young master unceremoniously took the malt candy from Ah Ning and popped it into his mouth. He had to admit, ancient candies without all those preservatives were really delicious.
After thinking for a long time, Xu Yanqing finally remembered who “Uncle Linzi” was. Xu Lin was Xu Chuan’s cousin; they shared the same grandfather. When he first arrived in Xu Family Village, he seemed to have heard that discussions about Xu Lin’s marriage had already begun. He didn’t expect the wedding to happen so soon.
Xu Chuan looked very happy after putting up two large red “囍” characters. When he looked up, he saw his son and the young master, one big and one small, sitting in the courtyard, both with puffed-out cheeks, looking very pleasing.
So he strode towards them, pulled out a handful of malt candies from his pocket, and placed them on the table. “Linzi is getting married tomorrow. Ah Qing, remember to come. I’ll arrange a quiet seat for you.”
The village chief’s family, including Aunt Li, who served in the kitchen, didn’t know about Xu Yanqing’s pregnancy. They only thought the young master of the Xu family was ill and had come to recuperate. Encountering such a joyous occasion, they naturally wouldn’t ignore Xu Yanqing.
Hearing the sounds in the courtyard, Yin Yanjun put down the half-read memorial and got up to go to the courtyard.
Yin Yanjun had been living in the courtyard for over two months. During this time, Xu Chuan unilaterally declared that he was very familiar with this pure and upright Taoist priest, so he invited Yin Yanjun to the wedding banquet tomorrow as well.
Yin Yanjun silently looked up at the young master beside him and gently nodded, “I will definitely be there tomorrow.”
As a relative of the groom and someone cared for by the village chief’s family, the young master would certainly attend the wedding banquet. Yin Yanjun was a little uneasy. The people at the banquet would be too numerous and chaotic. He was afraid the young master might be jostled. It would be better if he accompanied the young master.
The salted fish’s brain wouldn’t let inexplicable emotions linger for too long, so at this moment, the young master returned to his usual thick-skinned demeanor, nodding to Xu Chuan. “Alright, tomorrow, Taoist Master and I will trouble Brother Chuan to take care of us.”
Xu Chuan gave a simple smile and raised his hand to scratch his head. He didn’t stay long with the young master; there were other families to put up red “囍” characters for, so he first left Ah Ning and hurried off with the others.
During this time, Ah Ning often came to play with his little uncle and gradually became familiar with Taoist Master Xuanchen. The main reason was that as a child who wasn’t particularly good at academics, he naturally admired learned elders. Taoist Master Xuanchen’s appearance clearly looked very impressive; at least in Ah Ning’s mind, the Taoist Master was more capable than several of his uncles.
So, the little fellow would cling to his little uncle when playing and to Taoist Master Xuanchen when doing his homework. However, Taoist Master Xuanchen was clearly more good-tempered than his little uncle. Except when he was occasionally busy, he was willing to guide the chubby child with his homework most of the time.
The salted fish young master was different. The salted fish’s ultimate wish was to happily ‘play dead.’ Being diligent was only an exception, so most of the time, the salted fish would just curl up in a reclining chair and sleep. Ah Ning could only entertain himself.
Despite this, little Ah Ning still liked his little uncle very much. Even though his little uncle often verbally expressed his disdain for him, Ah Ning would generously pat his little chest and declare that he was a little man and wouldn’t argue with his little uncle.
Xu Yanqing raised his hand and pushed the chubby child in front of Taoist Master Xuanchen, then lazily walked under the grape trellis and lay down. “Kid, you go play with the Taoist Master; don’t bother me.” He hadn’t finished his storybook yet!
The salted fish openly took out the storybook from under the table. He had thought of an excellent way to secretly read such R-rated storybooks: by changing the title.
For the salted fish to exert such mental effort and exhaust his brain, it could be considered Taoist Master Xuanchen’s unique ability. After all, Taoist Master Xuanchen had an air of purity, serenity, and immortal grace that made people want to bow to him. How could Xu Yanqing shamelessly read R-rated storybooks in front of such a godlike figure? He could only secretly change the title of the storybook.
Yin Yanjun looked up at the book in the young master’s hand. It was a storybook called “Manual for Investigating Cases in Dali Temple[mfn]The Dali Temple (大理寺) was a key judicial institution in ancient China, primarily responsible for reviewing legal cases, overseeing trials, and ensuring the proper application of laws.[/mfn].” He had read it once before, and it contained some interesting cases. However, looking at the young master’s eager expression, he knew there must be something fishy about it. But he merely chuckled and had no intention of exposing the young master’s ploy.
At this moment, he also happened to have time and didn’t need to review memorials in the room, so he pulled the obedient and sensible chubby child in front of him and quizzed him on some lessons.
The chubby child answered very seriously, then shook his head and recited a recently learned essay. Perhaps because he had just learned it, the chubby child had been able to recite it perfectly at home. But now, he could recite the first line but couldn’t for the life of him remember the next, making his little face flush with anxiety.
Yin Yanjun gave him a slight hint, and the chubby child instantly recalled it, then continued to shake his head and recite.
When the essay was finished, the chubby child stood in front of Taoist Master Xuanchen, a little nervous and a little expectant, waiting for the Taoist Master’s evaluation.
Yin Yanjun said indifferently, “Reading makes one enlightened, but you only recite by rote and don’t understand the meaning, which is why you forget the next line as you recite.”
Hearing Taoist Master Xuanchen’s voice, the young master, nestled in the reclining chair, held the storybook to cover his face and secretly peeked to the side.
The Taoist master’s handsome and elegant face held a hint of seriousness, but his tone was still gentle and clear, pointing out the chubby child’s shortcomings one by one. That appearance made Xu Yanqing unable to help but smack his lips. The Taoist master would surely be a gentle and strict good father when he became one.
Ah Ning listened very carefully. The teachers in the village school would only make them recite essays but never told them the meaning of the essays. But Taoist Master Xuanchen was different. The Taoist master would patiently explain the meaning of every sentence in the essay, often making the studious and inquisitive chubby child feel a sense of sudden enlightenment.
However, Ah Ning didn’t know at this time who Taoist Master Xuanchen, who was explaining the essays to him, truly was. In the capital, countless scholars wished they could receive even a word of guidance from the emperor.
It was only later, when he went to the capital for further studies, that he realized how lucky he had been in his childhood, and this luck was entirely brought about by his favorite little uncle.
The next morning, Xu Yanqing was woken up by the sound of gongs and drums. For Xu Lin’s wedding today, a special opera troupe from the town had been hired to perform on a stage in the village. The joyful tunes echoed throughout the village.
The cooks started preparing early in the morning, and the aroma filled the entire village.
Xu Yanqing was so annoyed that he couldn’t sleep, so he simply got out of bed. These past few days, he hadn’t been able to sleep much during the day, so he slept exceptionally soundly at night. He woke up feeling refreshed and energetic.
The young master opened the door and slowly strolled into the courtyard. Mu Yu followed closely beside his young master, fearing he might slip.
After strolling for a while, the young master felt truly bored. He turned his head, looked at Taoist Master Xuanchen’s room, and suddenly became interested, walking towards it.
Speaking of which, the Taoist Master had been here for over two months, and as the “host,” he had never been to the Taoist Master’s room. On the contrary, Taoist Master Xuanchen spent every day in his “host’s” room. Thinking about it, this was too unfair.
So, Xu Yanqing raised his hand and pushed open Taoist Master Xuanchen’s door.
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