Chapter 68: A Good Night’s Sleep
A flash of white light passed by. Qingyan’s eyes were half closed, feeling tingling all over his scalp and his throat hoarse.
Afterwards, his body tensed for a moment, then quickly relaxed again.
He breathed slowly, feeling as if a cloth was gently wiping him.
Qingyan murmured, “I want some water.”
Soon, warm large hands supported him up. Cool water touched his lips. Qingyan took a few sips, feeling the dry heat in his throat finally dissipating.
The water bowl was placed back on the table with a soft “clink.”
Footsteps didn’t return to the bedside, but went to the basin stand. Sounds of rinsing and washing followed.
Later, Qiu Henian returned to bed, lying beside him on his side. With one hand supporting his head, he covered Qingyan with the blanket, tidying the stray hair on his cheeks.
“Feeling better?” Qiu Henian asked softly.
Qingyan lay in bed, turning his head slightly towards him, nodding with flushed cheeks.
Qiu Henian said, “Rest for a while.”
He said so, but didn’t mean to extinguish the oil lamp. Instead, he lay on his side, gently stroking Qingyan’s hair and cheeks.
After a while, Qingyan finally regained his strength.
He opened his eyes, looking at the man and asking, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Qiu Henian shook his head, watching Qingyan, observing his state.
Then he asked, “Still tired?”
Qingyan shook his head as well.
Qiu Henian moved closer to him, his large hand slipping under the blanket. Qingyan shivered slightly.
…
By the end, Qingyan cried until his voice nearly gave out. His eyes and nose were red, his whole body almost exhausted, scalp tingling, feeling weak.
But he still remembered the man who had served him tonight.
Qingyan weakly reached out, but before he could touch, Qiu Henian held his wrist.
Qiu Henian’s voice was husky and low, his large hand holding Qingyan’s hand and placing it back on his abdomen, gently stroking his hair.
“Never mind, you’re tired. Sleep well.”
Qingyan was too tired, too exhausted. Though restless inside, Qiu Henian didn’t give it any attention.
He pulled the blanket up for Qingyan, humming softly the lyrics from “The Yellow Dragon Plays” as if comforting a child. His palm rhythmically tapped on Qingyan’s blanket. The little beauty he cared for gradually breathed evenly, finally falling asleep.
Last night, Qingyan lay in bed motionless, breathing evenly. But Qiu Henian knew he hardly slept through the night, waking up frequently.
Tonight, Qiu Henian intentionally drained Qingyan’s energy, leaving him no leisure to worry or overthink.
Late into the night, Qiu Henian kissed Qingyan’s forehead, tidied up the mess on the bed briefly, extinguished the lamp, and closed his eyes.
…
That night, Qingyan slept soundly.
When he woke up, he felt refreshed, except for a slight swelling on his eyelids. Qiu Henian wrapped a handful of snow in a cloth from the courtyard and applied it to his eyes as a cold compress.
It soon improved.
Breakfast was made by Qiu Henian. He brought back hot soy milk from Lao Liu’s place, reheated some ready-made steamed buns, sliced them open, then sandwiched in fried sausage and fried eggs from the frying pan, topped with a bit of spicy beef sauce.
Qingyan alternated sips of soy milk with bites of the meat and egg buns, enjoying it immensely.
Qiu Henian watched him like this, with a faint hint of happiness in his eyes.
After last night, Qingyan’s mood improved significantly, and he stopped dwelling on trivial matters.
Leaving aside the uncertain future, even if the sky were to fall, the two of them would support each other. If Qiu Henian faced any danger, Qingyan would risk everything for him.
With this resolve, Qingyan stopped overthinking and felt relaxed.
After breakfast, Qiu Henian went to his shop, while Qingyan stayed in Blacksmith Wang’s room sorting through the goods he had brought in. He planned to set up his stall a few times in the coming days.
Regardless, life had to go on.
Staying at home tended to lead to unnecessary worry and rumination.
During his spare time recently, he had asked Qiu Henian to help him build a row of shelves. Now that he was accumulating more goods, the pile on the ground was too messy to organize and was susceptible to moisture. Putting them on wooden shelves would keep things tidy and dry.
Ah Miao curiously wandered around Qingyan’s pile of things, looking and sniffing. Qingyan took out a large red hairpin from a paper bag and clipped it onto Ah Miao’s longer fur on the top of its head. Ah Miao’s big eyes widened suddenly, its front paws reaching up towards the hairpin but unable to reach it, causing it to spin around in frustration, which amused Qingyan to no end.
Just then, urgent knocking sounded at the courtyard gate.
Qingyan’s heart skipped a beat, thinking something had happened to Qiu Henian.
However, the person at the door called out his name anxiously, repeating, “Yu Qingyan, open the door, quickly open the door, I know you’re home!”
The voice was familiar, and Qingyan remembered who it was. He adjusted his robe and leisurely walked out of the room, brushing open the courtyard gate.
Crossing his arms, he looked at the young man outside and said with a smirk, “What’s wrong? You’re not even calling me ‘brother’ anymore. Has all that studying turned you into a mad dog?”
The person at the door was Yu Qingxi, the original host’s younger brother. His face was already grim, filled with anger and unwillingness. Upon hearing Qingyan’s words, something struck a nerve, and his eyes reddened. His face showed a mix of sorrow and indignation, even a hint of resentment.
Gritting his teeth, Yu Qingxi said, “Do you think you’re better than me in everything?”
He pounded his chest hard.
“Yu Qingyan, look at me. I am a man, and you,” he pointed at Qingyan’s face, “are just a coward. No matter how well you study, after passing the county and provincial exams, you’ll still end up marrying a poor and ugly blacksmith, cooking for him and bearing his children! Even if you pass the metropolitan exam and become an official, you’ll just become a plaything for the high-ranking officials. You’ll probably have to crawl into a few more beds to gain promotions and fulfill our father’s expectations!”
Snap!
Qingyan slapped Yu Qingxi across the face, hard enough to turn his head to the side.
After delivering the slap, Qingyan narrowed his eyes. “Yu Qingxi, have you lost your mind?”
Yu Qingxi held his face, tears flowing down his fingertips.
He hung his head, speaking slowly as if making a declaration, “I never passed the county exam.”
Qingyan said, “If you haven’t passed, then continue studying. Why come to me with this madness?”
Yu Qingxi turned to look at him, his eyes full of intensified hatred.
“It’s all because of you. Father and Mother always compared me to you. You have no idea how hurtful their words were to me. Every time I pick up a book, all I hear are their words. I can’t focus at all. You have no idea how much pressure I’m under!”
Qingyan smirked coldly, “I’ve already been married off, and you’re still here using my dowry. Blaming me, the person who was sold off by your whole family! If you have issues with what they said, go talk to them. If you don’t have the guts to confront them, don’t come here to cause trouble. Looks like this is all you’re capable of in your life!”
These words struck a nerve with Yu Qingxi. His eyes turned bloodshot, his fists clenched tightly, the slap mark on his face clearly visible, and his hair disheveled. He stepped closer to Qingyan, his eyes brimming with intense hatred, almost a hint of desperation.
Qingyan didn’t back down or evade.
He knew he wasn’t a match for Yu Qingxi. Although younger, Yu Qingxi was taller and leaner, with broader shoulders and stronger muscles. But Qingyan wasn’t afraid.
He even took a step forward, getting closer to Yu Qingxi. His eyes narrowed, sharp and focused on the young man before him, his expression tense.
“Yu Qingxi, think carefully. This is Liuxi Village, not the town. I know all the neighbors around here. I haven’t called anyone out because I don’t want gossip over your petty issues. Do you really want me to have someone tie you up and take you back home?”
Yu Qingxi froze in his tracks, lips pressed tightly together, even showing traces of blood.
Qingyan stared at him coldly and said, “I’ve been lenient because of the brotherhood between you and Yu Qingyan. You’d better count your blessings.”
With that, Qingyan slammed the courtyard gate shut in Yu Qingxi’s face and returned to his room.
Once inside, he quickly peeked through the crack of the door for a while, waiting until he was sure that no one would knock on the courtyard gate again or push it open, before gradually calming down.
When he finally opened the courtyard gate to look outside again, there was no one in sight.
He didn’t know what grievances Yu Qingxi had suffered at home to suddenly come here and cause a scene.
Qingyan had initially thought to cut off all ties with the Yu family and avoid further interactions. But he had underestimated the complexity of the situation. Carrying the identity of “Yu Qingyan,” he also “inherited” his grievances and conflicts. It wouldn’t be easy to completely sever these ties.
Qingyan thought to himself that he needed to be prepared and vigilant against the Yu family.
That night, when Qiu Henian returned, Qingyan didn’t mention the incident to him.
Qiu Henian had no idea how the original host got married, and Qingyan couldn’t tell him the truth at first and still couldn’t now. At least for now, he couldn’t make Qiu Henian believe that he was someone who had crossed over to replace the original host’s identity.
He couldn’t tell Qiu Henian that the original host didn’t agree to the marriage and that it was Qingyan who willingly entered into it.
Therefore, Qingyan didn’t want Qiu Henian to be involved with the Yu family.
However, things often didn’t go as planned. Almost around the same time the next day, someone knocked on the courtyard gate again.
This time, Qingyan opened the gate to find a stranger, a peddler, smiling at him.
The peddler said, “I came from town. You’re Yu Qingyan, right?”
Qingyan nodded, feeling a sense of foreboding.
The peddler continued, “Your father asked me to deliver a message. He said you must come home today.”
Qingyan’s expression darkened.
Glancing around the courtyard and seeing no one else, the peddler lowered his voice.
“Your father also asked me to ask you if you still want to come home to continue studying and prepare for the imperial examination. He said, if you’re willing, this blacksmith here can find a way.”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
The scar on Qiu Henian’s face, his lack of control in intimate matters, and his fertility issues were likely caused by other poisons and not the true purpose of the poisoner.
