TL: Hua
It was a rare opportunity to go to the market, so the young master was quite excited. He was usually too lazy to move, but today he was in such good spirits that Yin Yanjun was happy to indulge him.
“Taoist Master, come look, there are lambs over there.” Along the way, an old man was herding sheep by a river. The riverbed had long dried up, barely a small ditch now, overgrown with weeds. A flock of lambs happily munched on the grass, following the old sheep.
“Ah, the little lambs are so cute,” the salted fish young master sighed, then smacked his lips, “I want to eat lamb skewers.”
Yin Yanjun couldn’t help but chuckle as he reached out and ruffled the young master’s hair. The young master was under twenty and hadn’t yet come of age, so he usually tied his hair back with a long ribbon.
Perhaps because his head had been constantly patted by the Taoist over the past few months, Xu Yanqing had gone from being awkward to being accustomed to it. With a smiling face, he turned to look at Taoist Master Xuanchen: “Does Taoist Master think I was going to say, ‘The little lambs are so cute, how can we eat them!'”
“No,” Yin Yanjun chuckled, “I thought you were going to say, ‘The little lambs are so cute, I want to play with them.'”
Xu Yanqing scoffed, “How could I be so childish? I’m not that chubby baby Ah Ning.” Only little children think about playing with animals; he was a ruthless adult, only thinking about eating.
“When we get home, I’ll have Aunt Zhao make you roasted lamb,” Yin Yanjun’s voice was as gentle as ever.
Xu Yanqing couldn’t help but rub his ears. For someone who was definitely a voice-con, the Taoist’s voice, like his body, made the salted fish young master’s mouth water.
They soon arrived in town. Wen Jing was quite skilled at driving the carriage; at least Xu Yanqing didn’t feel the slightest bit of motion sickness.
He got off the carriage still looking refreshed. The sounds around him were a bit chaotic. Xu Yanqing immediately spotted an old man selling candied hawthorns by the roadside.
“Want some candied hawthorns?” People came and went in the market. Yin Yanjun habitually put one hand on the young master’s side to protect him, and seeing the young master’s gaze fixed on the old man selling candied hawthorns, he lowered his head and asked softly.
The young master, who had just said he wasn’t a little child, was now truly interested in everything, just like a child.
Yin Yanjun smiled and had Wen Jing go buy a skewer of candied hawthorns: “Hawthorn is cooling in nature, and pregnant people shouldn’t eat too much. Young master, just have one to taste.”
Although Xu Yanqing was a foodie, he wasn’t a disobedient one. So, he bit into one hawthorn to taste and was content. He gave the rest to Taoist Master Xuanchen beside him.
Yin Yanjun held the skewer of candied hawthorns and, at the young master’s urging, slowly took a bite. The sugar coating was sweet and crispy, and the hawthorn was perfectly sweet and sour. It tasted quite good.
Xu Yanqing chuckled and asked, “How does it taste?”
Yin Yanjun nodded faintly, “Acceptable.”
For someone with the Taoist’s personality, “acceptable” was already high praise. Xu Yanqing smiled and took the Taoist’s hand, walking forward.
They walked and stopped along the way, buying many snacks. The young master ate a bit more of the ones he could have, and for the ones he couldn’t, he just smelled them and pushed them all to the Taoist.
Finally, they unhurriedly entered the blacksmith’s shop. Xu Yanqing took out the order slip Mu Yu had given him and handed it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper quickly found the contents on the slip and brought out a rather large wooden box.
Xu Yanqing opened the wooden box, took out the parts inside, and carefully inspected them, confirming there were no issues. He then very cleanly paid the remaining silver.
After leaving the blacksmith’s shop, Xu Yanqing had nothing else to do, so he pulled the Taoist along to stroll around.
Suddenly, he looked up and bumped into Xu Lin and his wife, who were accompanied by Li Yueyao. Seeing Young Master Xu’s exquisite face, a hint of sadness appeared in Li Yueyao’s expression. She lowered her head, unwilling to look at him again.
“Ah Qing and Taoist Master Xuanchen are also out shopping?” Xu Lin greeted them. He felt a little awkward after saying this, but he didn’t realize there was anything wrong with what he said.
Xu Yanqing smiled, “We came to pick up some stuff. Brother Lin, did you buy something good for sister-in-law?”
The young master’s words were full of teasing. Xu Lin laughed heartily and rubbed his head. Qiao Xiu’er, beside him, had a hint of a newlywed’s shyness on her face. It seemed the newly married couple’s relationship was indeed very good.
The group chatted for a while before going their separate ways. Some of the small parts the young master had custom-made were heavy, so Wen Jing took them back to the carriage first.
Yin Yanjun walked on the young master’s outer side, preventing him from being jostled by pedestrians while the young master chatted and laughed all the way, looking very happy.
Li Yueyao watched their receding figures, her gaze filled with an indescribable complexity. Young Master Xu hadn’t even seen her just now, not paying her the slightest bit of attention.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Li Yueyao saw a handkerchief fall to the ground. The handkerchief looked familiar; she vaguely remembered Young Master Xu using it. So, as if by some strange impulse, she reached down, picked up the handkerchief, and tucked it into her sleeve.
“Yueyao, what are you doing? Hurry over, there are a lot of people here; be careful not to get lost,” Qiao Xiu’er called from ahead. Li Yueyao’s heart jumped. Afraid her cousin would notice something amiss, she quickly hurried to catch up.
Qiao Xiu’er thought her cousin was unhappy because she had seen Young Master Xu, so she deliberately engaged her in conversation along the way to distract her.
But Li Yueyao’s entire mind was focused on the handkerchief in her sleeve. Her dispirited and distracted appearance made Qiao Xiu’er sigh.
—
The young master and Taoist Master Xuanchen found a noodle stall, each ate a bowl of noodles, bought some food for Wen Jing, and then prepared to head home.
“I bought you two meat pies to cushion your stomach. We’ll go back after you finish eating.” Xu Yanqing handed the oil-paper-wrapped pies to Wen Jing.
Wen Jing took them and couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you, young master.”
Xu Yanqing waved his hand and, with Yin Yanjun’s help, got into the carriage.
They swayed all the way home. After such an outing, the salted fish young master’s energy was completely spent, so he lazily settled back into his reclining chair.
Yin Yanjun sat beside the young master, kneading his taut calves, and suddenly asked, “Is that Miss Yueyao fond of the young master?”
Xu Yanqing looked up at the Taoist. The other’s face remained calm, showing no emotion, but he vaguely remembered that when Li Yueyao confessed her feelings to him that day, the Taoist was not in the courtyard.
Thus, the Taoist had guessed this based on Li Yueyao’s behavior today. The salted fish young master couldn’t help but lament that Taoist Master’s sharp observation skills are truly worthy of an emperor. So he nodded in response, “Indeed, but I’ve already rejected her.”
“Young Master is still thinking of that cousin who broke your heart?” Taoist Master Xuanchen’s tone seemed to become even colder. The salted fish young master looked utterly bewildered, unsure why the conversation had suddenly turned to his “cousin.”
Lying in his reclining chair, thinking for a long time, the young master finally remembered who the “cousin” the Taoist spoke of was. He chuckled, “Taoist Master, why did you suddenly mention Su Hanfeng, out of the blue?”
At this moment, Su Hanfeng was probably suffering somewhere. He was too busy mocking the other to feel heartbroken.
Seeing the young master’s reaction, Yin Yanjun chuckled, “Those were Young Master’s own words to Yuancheng back then. Have you turned around and completely forgotten him?”
Xu Yanqing now fully understood that Taoist Master Xuanchen was deliberately teasing him. However, thinking of how Young Marquis Yin had reacted when he made up that story, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter: “Speaking of which, the young marquis is also interesting; he actually believed me although I just said it casually.”
“Ordinary people wouldn’t joke about themselves like Young Master does.” Yin Yanjun’s gaze gently fell on the young master’s protruding abdomen, and he asked, seemingly without intention, “This child is now six and a half months old and will be born in a little over three months. Are you afraid?”
Xu Yanqing’s gaze slowly fell on his own abdomen as well. His expression carried a hint of complexity: “I’m not afraid, but this feeling is a bit strange.”
Yin Yanjun very naturally held the young master’s hand, while his other hand gently rested on the young master’s abdomen. Now, the little bean was quite active with its movements: “Has Young Master thought about what to do after the child is born?”
“Taoist Master, didn’t you say you were poisoned and couldn’t have children?” The young master directly stated without a moment of hesitation, “And you have such a distinguished status. Since that’s the case, the child will certainly be raised by Taoist Master. I can just stay in the Marquis Wu’an’s mansion and be a good-for-nothing for the rest of my life. Anyway, Father and Mother can support me, and Big Brother will also support me later.”
Xu Yanqing was actually a little puzzled by Taoist Master Xuanchen’s question. He thought he had already formed a consensus with the Taoist. Given the Taoist’s status, having this child was already difficult. Now that they had one, he certainly wouldn’t give it up easily. And he himself wasn’t prepared to be a father and wasn’t even sure how he would treat this child. It would be better to leave it to the Taoist. At least outside of the plot, the Taoist would definitely become a gentle yet strict father.
Yin Yanjun’s gaze on the young master was always so gentle, so considerate, even indulgent.
Even after hearing the young master’s “irresponsible” remarks, he showed no sign of anger, only looked at the young master fondly. A moment later, he nodded: “I naturally understand what Young Master means.”
The young master carried a complex emotion. Yin Yanjun often saw the young master staring at his belly, lost in thought, with a conflicted expression.
Yin Yanjun indulged all of the young master’s thoughts. He could even vaguely sense the young master’s aversion to emotional attachment, so he never forced the young master to do anything unhappy.
Xu Yanqing was a bit dazed and spaced out. He hadn’t expected to hear such words from the Taoist. He had thought there would be an argument with the Taoist about the child.
He silently raised his hand and rubbed his ears. The Taoist was really playing dirty.
Thus, Xu Yanqing uncharacteristically suffered from insomnia that night. As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard the Taoist’s gentle voice in his ears. He raised a hand to cover his chest; his heart was beating a little fast. This feeling was too unfamiliar, making him feel somewhat flustered.
The salted fish young master was utterly resigned to life. Due to his six-month-old belly, he couldn’t toss and turn in bed, which made him even more miserable.
Trouble brewed in his heart, so he very decisively attributed the blame to the innocent Taoist. There was no reason; since the Taoist was the one making him unable to sleep, then the Taoist must be at fault.
*
Knock, knock, knock. The door outside was knocked.
Yin Yanjun, who was at the writing desk, calmly got up. He raised his hand to open the door and saw the disheveled young master standing outside.
With a soft “Awoo,” the disheveled young master pretended to be a demon and fiercely leaped in front of Taoist Master Xuanchen.
At this time, the young master should have been asleep, but for some reason, he was standing at his door again.
Yin Yanjun gently steadied him with both hands and chuckled, “Young master, by acting like this today, have I somehow offended you?”
Failing to scare the Taoist, the nonchalant young master felt no sense of accomplishment. He walked into the room and sat down at the Taoist’s writing desk: “Taoist Master seems particularly busy lately. Has something major happened in the capital?”
The young master didn’t explain why he couldn’t sleep at night or why he had run to his room to scare him. Therefore, Yin Yanjun very thoughtfully didn’t press him further, only quietly saying, “Prince Huai has an unreliable temperament. All his thoughts are spent on eating, drinking, and having fun. Now that I’m keeping him in the capital to help handle government affairs, he’s been slacking off and sending a portion of the memorials here.”
Regarding Prince Huai’s reputation, the salted fish young master had heard a little. As a good-for-nothing who also only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun, the salted fish himself expressed that if he were forcibly kept in the capital, busy with those dull and tedious memorials all day, he would just quit the job.
But ultimately, the Taoist had put the task of acting as regent on Prince Huai’s shoulders for his sake. So, no matter how heartless the salted fish young master was, he wouldn’t go against Taoist Master Xuanchen on this matter. Thus, the young master merely blinked his dark eyes and obediently sat by the writing desk, watching the Taoist review memorials.
When Yin Yanjun finally finished all the memorials on his desk, he looked up to see the young master asleep, sprawled on the desk. However, the young master’s exquisite brows were tightly furrowed, clearly indicating an uncomfortable sleep.
Yin Yanjun slowly stood up and walked to the young master’s side, intending to carry him. He placed one hand on the young master’s nape and gently wrapped the other around his waist, then lifted him into his arms.
Xu Yanqing was already quite drowsy, but those inexplicable little anxieties in his heart had kept him from sleeping soundly in bed. Now, nestled beside the Taoist, those bothersome thoughts completely vanished, and he drifted into a deep sleep as soon as he rested his head.
The young master, like a small creature clinging to an elder, nestled his head into the Taoist’s embrace and rubbed back and forth. This sight softened Yin Yanjun’s heart, and a doting smile appeared on his face.
The next day, when Xu Yanqing woke up, the sun was already high. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, until Mu Yu came in to attend to him; then he slowly climbed out of bed.
Having just brought back those metal parts from town yesterday, the young master had something to do today. So, after breakfast, he secluded himself in his room and disassembled all the loosely put-together gears, spreading them out on his desk.
Soon, a clanging sound came from the young master’s room. Qi Chen, curious, ambled over from his own room to the young master’s.
The room was a mess, with a pile of iron lumps that Qi Chen couldn’t understand scattered across the floor. Squeezing through the clutter, Qi Chen finally reached the young master’s side, his face full of curiosity about the things on the floor: “Young master, what are you doing? All that clanging, I thought you were tearing the house apart.”
Xu Yanqing didn’t even have time to bother with Qi Chen, merely gracing him with a glance before turning back to his work.
All the parts were ready; all that was left was assembly. However, there were so many tiny parts, which made it a bit troublesome.
But clearly, the young master was already proficient in these matters. With so many parts on the ground, he could effortlessly pick up the correct one. In a short while, he had assembled a rough prototype of the mechanical clock.
In fact, among all the parts on the ground, the most intricate was the mainspring that Xu Yanqing had specifically asked the craftsman to make.
The craftsmanship level of this world was far from the advanced standards of later generations. Xu Yanqing had fretted over the mainspring alone for a long time. In desperation, he resorted to an unconventional approach: Mu Yu found a suitable piece of iron, and he enlisted the most skilled master craftsman to barely manage to forge the desired item.
Finally, a heavy iron chain was draped between several gears. Qi Chen didn’t even clearly see where the young master touched when he heard a clatter-clatter sound, and then all the gears of the mechanical clock began to rotate.
“Wow!” Qi Chen instantly gaped, his eyes fixed on the young master’s mechanical clock on the floor. “Young master, this thing actually moves on its own!”
Just now, it was nothing more than a chaotic pile of wood and a few worthless lumps of iron, but now, put together, although not particularly pretty, it was amazing that it could move on its own.
He had watched the young master assemble it piece by piece with his own eyes, so he felt even more shocked. Qi Chen looked up blankly at the young master as if he were an enlightened master who had emerged from seclusion: “What is this thing you’ve made, young master?”
Xu Yanqing had no intention of keeping him in suspense; he just said spiritedly, “This is a timekeeping tool, like a sundial or an incense clock, but this one is more accurate, and it will even tell us the time on its own!”
Qi Chen’s gaze fell on the two bells hanging below the mechanical clock, and he asked, “Is the young master talking about these two bells?”
Xu Yanqing nodded, “You can wait a bit; this thing tells the time every half shichen[mfn]An ancient Chinese unit of time, equal to two hours.[/mfn].”
Half a shichen passed quickly. Qi Chen helped tidy up the young master’s messy room. When he had finished cleaning the floor, he suddenly heard a crisp ringing sound.
Qi Chen’s eyes instantly widened even more in shock. This thing was much more intricate than a sundial and could even tell the time automatically, making it incredibly flexible.
Xu Yanqing soon settled lazily into his reclining chair. Hearing Qi Chen’s exaggerated exclamation, he merely casually stroked his chin and didn’t make a big deal of the mechanical clock. This was mainly because, in his previous life, this kind of thing was just a toy, far inferior to a real clock.
So, Qi Chen’s enthusiastic desire to discuss it with the young master was instantly extinguished. But he wasn’t the kind of person who could just shut up when told. So, after informing the young master, he picked up the strange “timer” and walked out of the room.
Before long, the salted fish heard successive gasps and exclamations of surprise from the courtyard.
“What is this thing? It looks so amazing.”
“This seems to be what the young master has been busy making recently.”
“Why can it move by itself and make sounds?”
“Our young master is truly exceptionally intelligent!”
The only person who kept praising Xu Yanqing was Mu Yu. Mu Yu, in any case, thought his young master was incredibly intelligent, only too lazy in temperament on weekdays. Otherwise, if he had taken part in the imperial examination, he would have won at least third place in the imperial examination. After all, he was so handsome and refined.
Xu Yanqing felt nothing, not even drowsiness, towards Mu Yu’s thoughtless praise. But when he looked up, he saw Taoist Xuanchen walking into the room. Listening to Mu Yu’s passionate praise from outside the door, the young master suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of shame.
Please let the salted fish just die on the spot, or let him dig a hole and crawl into it. The passionately praising Mu Yu had no idea that he had just made his young master experience “social death” for the first time.
So, the young master scrambled to grab a book from nearby and cover his face with it, resolutely pretending to be completely invisible.
Yin Yanjun had a faint smile on his handsome face. He walked slowly to the young master and said, “Mu Yu is right. His young master is indeed very smart, but unfortunately his mind is not on learning at all.”
Yin Yanjun’s tone carried a hint of gentle teasing. The young master, pretending to be invisible, acted as if he didn’t exist at all, so he naturally couldn’t hear the Taoist’s playful words. However, under the book, his chubby little face slowly flushed red.
Afraid that the young master was suffocating under the book, Yin Yanjun gently reached out and removed the book from the young master’s face, instantly revealing the young master’s rosy cheeks.
To hide his fluster, Xu Yanqing answered the Taoist’s previous remark: “As the old saying goes, ‘Among three hundred and sixty professions, every line produces its own top scholar.’ There’s no rule that an exceptionally intelligent young master like me must participate in the imperial examinations to serve the country. After all, I have my own pursuits.”
Yin Yanjun poured a cup of warm water for the young master, handing it to him and asking gently, “Then what are your pursuits?”
Upon mentioning this, a triumphant look appeared on the young master’s face: “My pursuit is to be a proper good-for-nothing and a carefree salted fish.”
The young master had mentioned the term salted fish many times. Although Yin Yanjun didn’t fully understand its meaning, he could somewhat guess what the young master meant: “Then I must work hard to make Daliang even more prosperous and magnificent so that Young Master can safely stay in the Marquis Wu’an’s mansion and be a carefree and happy ‘salted fish’.” He chuckled, using the young master’s own term.
Listening to the Taoist’s words, the salted fish suddenly thought of a saying from his previous life’s internet: You are responsible for being as beautiful as a flower, and I am responsible for earning money to support the family.
Instantly, his face flushed red from his sudden whimsical thought. Finally, he silently gritted his teeth. Indeed, it was the Taoist Master who didn’t play by the rules, hmph!
If you like what I’m doing, consider supporting me on ko-fi for bonus chapters (๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ
Obrigada pela tradução 😘💞