TL: Hua
Fortunately, the original owner was already willful, and it was commonplace for him to not return home for days on end. So, when Xu Yanqing stayed at the manor for several consecutive days, no one from Marquis Wu’an’s residence came to urge him back. However, his older brother, the heir apparent, did send some fresh food to the manor.
After several days of recuperation, Xu Yanqing finally recovered enough to move freely. Only then did he realize that he had run into the wrong courtyard that night.
Marquis Wu’an’s courtyard and the adjacent one were only separated by a wall, with a locked door in between. Who knew how the original owner had unlocked it and stumbled into someone else’s territory?
However, Xu Yanqing didn’t want to ponder over such trivial matters right now. In his previous life, Xu Yanqing, who was the top scholar in the provincial examinations, had died suddenly from staying up all night cramming for exams. In this life, he wanted to be a carefree salted fish.
Most importantly, with his current status, no one would force him to take imperial examinations anyway. After all, for his old father, Marquis Wu’an, it was already a great joy if this legitimate second son could just behave himself and not cause trouble.
Marquis Wu’an’s residence certainly didn’t need such a debauched wastrel to add to the already “precarious” marquisate.
As he thought about it, Xu Yanqing felt somewhat guilty towards the original owner. After all, the original owner had given him such a “perfect” identity. He wondered if the original owner would revive in his body.
Xu Yanqing dazedly rolled over in bed, closed his eyes, and felt that all these thoughts were useless. It would be better to get a good sleep. Being a top student in his past life didn’t allow for such freedom to eat and sleep as he pleased.
Mu Yu knocked on the door from outside. Xu Yanqing pulled the quilt over himself, completely enveloping his body, ignoring the calls from outside.
“Young Master, Young Master, your cousin is here to see you!” Mu Yu didn’t yet know about Young Master Su’s schemes against his young master. He only thought his young master was still pining for the other party.
Cousin? Xu Yanqing’s mind flashed with the image of that refined and elegant cousin. Then he remembered the original owner’s frustrating failure in scheming, which backfired on him. He simply closed his eyes and said to Mu Yu outside, “I’m not seeing him. Just say, I’m not feeling well.” Then he rolled over and continued to sleep. They were already on the verge of open hostility. “You schemed against me, and I schemed against you. Isn’t it even?”
Mu Yu looked awkwardly at Su Hanfeng beside him. He had thought that the young master would be very happy for his cousin to visit, so he had directly brought the cousin to the young master’s room. He hadn’t expected his young master to have this kind of attitude.
A flicker of unbearable annoyance crossed Su Hanfeng’s eyes, but he showed no unusual expression in front of Mu Yu. Instead, he spoke gently to the tightly closed door: “Yanqing, where are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to call a doctor for you?”
With all that incessant chattering, how could Xu Yanqing sleep? With a bit of morning grumpiness, he angrily threw off the quilt, bent his legs, and sat up on the bed. His dark eyes swiveled, and his lips curved into a slight smile, making him look like a graceful and beautiful young deer.
“Mu Yu, since my cousin is so concerned about me, why don’t you quickly open the door and let him in?” Xu Yanqing’s eyes twinkled. He picked up the clothes Mu Yu had placed on the clothes rack earlier and slowly put them on.
Pushing open the door, Su Hanfeng walked in and saw Xu Yanqing disheveled, lazily kneeling in front of the desk, tying his hair. He had always known that Xu Yanqing possessed an exquisite and beautiful face, one that even surpassed those of the capital’s young ladies from noble families. However, seeing such a stunning sight so suddenly, he was momentarily stupefied.
Xu Yanqing, following the original owner’s memories in his mind, tied up all the hair that had fallen onto his shoulders in front of the mirror. However, his skill wasn’t great, and the hair crown was slightly askew. But it was precisely this imperfection that added a touch of leisurely beauty to him.
“I have never seen you use a wooden hairpin before.” Su Hanfeng recovered from his momentary daze and immediately fixed his gaze on the wooden hairpin on Xu Yanqing’s head, then forcefully changed the subject by bringing up the hairpin.
Xu Yanqing propped his chin, leaning casually by the writing desk, idly playing with his fingers. Hearing Su Hanfeng’s words, he chuckled softly: “This wooden hairpin was given to me by a very interesting person. I thought it wasn’t worth much, but it was their sincere gesture, so I accepted it.”
The young man, barely in his teens, had rosy lips and white teeth, and the faint smile on his lips exuded an indescribable cuteness and brightness, even carrying a hint of innocent naivety.
Seeing this, Su Hanfeng’s annoyance lessened a bit. He sat down opposite Xu Yanqing, then, as if remembering something else, looked at the wooden hairpin again, his gaze showing both disdain and a hint of wariness: “If Yanqing likes wooden hairpins, your brother will find you a better quality one another day.” His words were filled with contempt for the hairpin’s owner.
Xu Yanqing looked at Su Hanfeng’s hypocritical face, which was almost infuriating, and then inexplicably thought of the man who lay on the same bed as him that night.
He had to admit, besides being a bit older, there was nothing about that man that didn’t please Xu Yanqing. Especially that ethereal, beautiful face, which particularly stirred Xu Yanqing’s heart. The word “beauty” shouldn’t be limited to feminine grace; the dignified, upright, and otherworldly charm of the Taoist priest was an astonishing kind of beauty.
“Cousin, you jest.” Thinking of this, Xu Yanqing’s delicate, fair face smiled even more sincerely: “I just find this wooden hairpin particularly pleasing to the eye.”
Su Hanfeng’s brow twitched. He felt that Xu Yanqing’s words were subtly hinting at something. He looked up and asked, “Yanqing, are you upset with your brother? You seem particularly distant today.”
Xu Yanqing blinked his watery, grape-like eyes, bewildered: “Why would you say that?”
The young master in front of him looked innocent, thus Su Hanfeng couldn’t possibly say, “You used to cling to me, but now you’re acting like a proper person.” He felt so stifled that he could almost vomit blood, but he could only say gently, “Nothing, I just feel that Yanqing seems a bit low-spirited today.”
He yawned, his eyes already tearing up from sleepiness, truly not wanting to continue making polite conversation with Su Hanfeng, so Xu Yanqing spoke bluntly, “I just didn’t sleep well yesterday. If Cousin hadn’t come, I’d probably be asleep again right now.”
Su Hanfeng was practically being told to his face that he was an uninvited guest disturbing someone’s good dream. Having been accustomed to the original owner’s fawning, he had never experienced such a cold reception. He found it somewhat difficult to maintain his composure: “Sorry for disturbing you, Yanqing. You go back to sleep. Your brother will come see you another day.”
“Alright!” Xu Yanqing’s eyes curved in a smile, seeing that he could finally send the person away. Then, as if remembering something, he said as Su Hanfeng got up, “Cousin, please don’t refer to yourself as ‘your brother’ in front of me anymore. You know my elder brother’s temper. If he hears it, not only I, but even you might not fare well.”
Su Hanfeng naturally knew how protective Xu Xianzhi was of his younger brother. In the past, when he referred to himself this way in front of Xu Yanqing, it would indeed provoke Xu Xianzhi to raise his eyebrows and nitpick, but at that time, Xu Yanqing had never mentioned it.
Clenching his fists tightly, Su Hanfeng’s face still maintained a considerate smile: “Okay, I’ll listen to Yanqing.” His tone was as doting as could be.
After sending Su Hanfeng away, Xu Yanqing nestled in the lounge chair, laughing heartily. Indeed, hypocritical people are so concerned about appearances.
“What are you laughing at, Young Master?” Mu Yu truly lived up to his name; he was a blockhead[mfn]木[mù] in Mu Yu’s name means wood. The word for blockhead is 木脑, literally translated to wood brain. [/mfn].
Xu Yanqing swayed leisurely back and forth in the lounge chair, then, as if remembering something, he glanced at Mu Yu: “Did anyone else know about me barging into someone else’s courtyard that night?”
Su Hanfeng was a hypocrite with a beastly heart. Now that he had suffered a hidden loss from Xu Yanqing, he was probably going to investigate what happened after he drank that cup of tea that night and then pretend to be a good person, coming to Xu Yanqing’s face and doing things that seemed caring on the surface but were actually coercive and enticing.
Upon mentioning that night, Mu Yu immediately became nervous. He shook his head repeatedly, then asked uneasily, “Young Master, is Young Master Su suspecting that you already…?”
“What does his suspicion have to do with me?” Xu Yanqing raised his hand and tapped Mu Yu’s small head: “Guess why I was trying to drug him but ended up drinking that cup of tea myself?”
Although Mu Yu was a bit dull, he wasn’t completely brainless. In the capital, even just hearing a bit of gossip could lead to imagining a conspiracy. He thought carefully and understood Xu Yanqing’s meaning: “Young Master means that Young Master Su already knew that cup of tea was drugged, so he turned the tables and made Young Master drink it?”
“Not too dumb after all,” Xu Yanqing sneered. However, that incident truly wasn’t Su Hanfeng’s fault; it could only be said that the original owner did something foolish, trying to outsmart someone and losing out instead.
Mu Yu rubbed his head, then looked somewhat confused: “If Young Master Su truly doesn’t like you, why would he visit you so thoughtfully today and speak so gently every word?”
“Money can even make ghosts do your bidding; the ancients truly didn’t deceive me.” Xu Yanqing languidly swayed in the lounge chair, looking truly carefree.
Mu Yu mumbled to himself. His young master, being from an aristocratic family, naturally never lacked money, but Young Master Su was different.
Young Master Su came from a poor family and relied entirely on Marquis Wu’an’s residence for assistance to live a luxurious life in the capital. It was also because his young master liked Young Master Su that Young Master Su could accompany his young master to those aristocratic banquets.
So, the Young Master was the “money and power” that Young Master Su sought, but Young Master Su had someone else in his heart and naturally didn’t want to be with the Young Master. So, he would resolutely reject the young master while simultaneously coaxing him with gentle words.
Mu Yu was so exasperated by his own thoughts that he almost burst. He turned his head, wanting his young master to complain to the Marquis, but looked up to see that his young master had already fallen asleep.
Mu Yu’s belly full of anger was forcibly stifled, and his eyes turned red with frustration. If Young Master Su hadn’t swapped his young master’s tea, his young master wouldn’t have been tormented like that that night.
…
These past few days happened to be when spring flowers bloomed, and the courtyard scenery was beautiful. Yin Yanjun ordered his writing desk to be moved outside. A gust of wind blew, and delicate peach blossoms drifted onto the desk.
Yin Yanjun held his brush, writing scriptures with a serene expression. A petal, carried by the wind, floated under the tip of his brush. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and the ink suspended from the brush tip fell onto the pink and white flower.
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that cousin better now start falling for him
*not