Zhao Baozhu froze completely. Only after a long while did he manage to speak: “Young Master, why are you here?”
The words escaped him before he immediately realized they were inappropriate. Raising a hand, he bent in salute. “No, my lord—”
Yet before his waist could fully bend down, he was lightly supported by a pair of hands. “That’s enough.”
Zhao Baozhu raised his head and saw Ye Jinghua standing less than half a cun away before him, those glazed eyes lowered as they quietly looked at him.
For a moment Zhao Baozhu held his breath. In his flustered emotions, his tongue tied itself into knots: “Young Master, you, I…”
Ye Jinghua had only lightly steadied him once before withdrawing his hands. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stood before Zhao Baozhu, his gaze lingering upon Zhao Baozhu’s face for a long while.
After a long while, a slight movement finally appeared between his brows and eyes. He lifted his hand and touched the back of his fingers to Zhao Baozhu’s cheek: “How did you get so much thinner?”
With that touch, his hand slid from Zhao Baozhu’s cheek to his shoulder.
Ye Jinghua frowned tightly, staring at him without blinking. He stepped closer, gripped Zhao Baozhu’s shoulders with both hands, then felt down along his arms. The more he touched, the tighter his brows knit together.
“You’ve grown so thin there’s nothing left but bones. What exactly happened?”
During these past months in Wuya County, Zhao Baozhu had encountered one major affair after another. In the middle of it all, he had fallen ill once, and on top of that worked day and night, so although he ate quite a lot, he had still lost much weight. He had also reached the age where boys begin to shoot up, and over these past months had grown taller as well. Like this, he appeared even thinner. The once-rounded flesh on his cheeks had disappeared, his sharpened jaw looked delicately pitiful, and with his features opening up somewhat, his entire face appeared even more refined and handsome.
Yet in Ye Jinghua’s eyes, he only looked frighteningly thin. All the little bit of flesh that had once been carefully raised on him was gone.
Zhao Baozhu himself did not think he had grown thin, and with Ah Long and Shanyi still standing behind them, Ye Jinghua pulling and touching him like this made him unbearably embarrassed. In the past, when he had not understood his own feelings, he could still act close with young master, but now he was mortified. Somewhat flustered, he dodged Ye Jinghua’s hand and stepped back: “I-I’m not thin. Young master is mistaken.”
The moment he stepped back, Ye Jinghua’s hand suddenly fell empty, awkwardly pausing in midair. He lifted his eyes to look at Zhao Baozhu, and upon seeing him lower his head without even looking at him, his expression instantly darkened.
Ah Long lowered his head and did not dare look, but Shanyi had been paying attention and saw everything. At once, a “hoh” sounded in his heart.
Who would’ve known this Second Young Master Ye could have such a side to him.
Zhao Baozhu was currently too embarrassed and annoyed to speak, his ears red as he lowered his head.
Yet Ye Jinghua looked down at him and found himself unable to say anything. His chest rose and fell heavily twice before he finally squeezed out a sentence: “You’re serving here now. Since I’ve come, aren’t you going to show me around?”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Baozhu raised his head, and his cat-like eyes immediately lit up.
“How could I not!” His cheeks flushed red with excitement. “I’ll take young master around to see everything right now.”
Having said that, he completely forgot that Shanyi and Ah Long were still behind him and directly led Ye Jinghua further into the yamen.
Behind them, Shanyi’s expression was complicated. With his arms crossed, he leaned against the doorframe, his expression unreadable. Seeing he had no intention of following, Ah Long hesitated in place for half a breath, but still stuffed the soft pillow into Shanyi’s arms before chasing after them: “Brother Liu, help me hold this, I’m going to take a look!”
Caught completely off guard, Shanyi took the pillow. Looking at the embroidery on it, one of his brows rose, and his expression turned even stranger.
***
At this moment, Zhao Baozhu was enthusiastically pointing at the plaque hanging above the courtroom for Ye Jinghua to see. “Young master, look, this is the new plaque I bought.”
After saying that, he pointed again at the tables, chairs, and benches beside it.
“These were all newly bought too, ”
Who knew Ye Jinghua, standing beside him, would quietly say: “Let’s go look at your room first.”
Zhao Baozhu froze upon hearing this, then lowered his hand. Only then did he remember. Of course the Ye family’s things were better. What was he even showing off here for? Zhao Baozhu smiled awkwardly: “Alright, then I’ll take young master to the back courtyard.”
Zhao Baozhu brought Ye Jinghua to his room. Once the door was opened, he became even more embarrassed. He had spent all his silver repairing the front areas, so he had not really fixed up the back. Everything used there had been left behind by the previous magistrate. Even the bedding was old, though it had all been washed clean and tidied up properly, so it was not entirely unbearable to look at.
Zhao Baozhu absolutely did not want the person he liked to think he was some sort of sloppy man.
Yet when Zhao Baozhu carefully looked over at Ye Jinghua’s expression, he saw that his brows were tightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a hard line, and the side of his face looked cold and pale.
“You sleep in a place like this?”
The man’s hard voice sounded out, and Zhao Baozhu immediately froze. Then, blankly, he replied: “Th-this… what’s wrong? This place is pretty good.”
After the words left his mouth, Ye Jinghua also seemed to realize they were inappropriate. His lips tightened again as he silently surveyed the room.
Seeing him not speak, Zhao Baozhu did not dare speak either. The atmosphere between them suddenly became somewhat awkward.
Although he knew Zhao Baozhu had come from hardship and he was trying hard to steady his mentality, Ye Jinghua still found fault with everything he saw. The place was too small, the things too old, the doors and windows not sealed tightly, and the bedding so thin. How could one possibly sleep comfortably at night?
Ye Jinghua looked at the little square stool with the broken leg sitting beside Zhao Baozhu’s bed. Upon it sat a half-burned candle all alone. There was not even a decent oil lamp.
Ye Jinghua’s chest tightened. His face dark as water, he paced one circle around the tiny room before suddenly turning his eyes toward Zhao Baozhu.
Zhao Baozhu’s heart jumped from the look.
Suddenly, a hand reached over. Ye Jinghua grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.
“Young master?” Zhao Baozhu was dragged outside and looked up in confusion. Yet before he could ask, he saw a large group of people entering through the doorway, carrying all manner of bedding, oil lamps, soft pillows, and other items in their hands.
Zhao Baozhu immediately stared blankly. “Th-this is, what are they doing…”
Ye Jinghua pulled him a little closer to his side again. Without looking at those servants, he said to Zhao Baozhu: “Now take me to look at the kitchen.”
Zhao Baozhu’s attention was immediately drawn away. Feeling the man’s long fingers wrapped around his wrist, even lightly swaying once or twice, his mind instantly wavered and a numb tingling spread through the tip of his heart. By the time he came back to his senses, he was already standing in front of the kitchen.
The kitchen, too, contained the old pots and stoves left behind by the previous county magistrate. Cuiniang was a diligent girl; all the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins in the kitchen had been scrubbed until they gleamed brightly, and every corner had been cleaned neatly. When Ye Jinghua entered the kitchen, his brows had originally been tightly furrowed, but after seeing the chickens and ducks shut in straw cages nearby, the few large fish being kept alive in a basin on the ground, and the leftover large steamed buns atop the steamer, his expression improved slightly.
At least he wasn’t going hungry. Then how had he become this thin?
Frowning, Ye Jinghua turned his head, his gaze falling onto Zhao Baozhu’s face. “What do you normally eat?”
Zhao Baozhu froze upon hearing this. “J-just ordinary meals.”
Clearly dissatisfied with this answer, Ye Jinghua said nothing. Just then, Ah Long, who had been trailing behind the two of them like a little tail the entire time, rolled his eyes around. By now he had also figured things out. This elder brother-in-law clearly cared a great deal about their old master, so the two of them must certainly be the closest of friends! Having understood this, he immediately stepped forward eagerly and said in an extremely fawning manner: “Lord Prefect, our master usually eats three steamed buns, two eggs, two bowls of millet porridge, and one plate of side dishes in the morning. At noon he eats three bowls of rice…”
Ah Long had a quick tongue and a clever mind. He rattled off a long string of dish names in one breath. Zhao Baozhu, standing to the side, could not stop him in time. Instantly mortified, his hands and feet stiffened as he glared at Ah Long, this brat! Why was he making it sound like he ate so much?!
Yet as Ye Jinghua listened, his expression gradually relaxed.
After Ah Long finished reciting the dishes, Ye Jinghua turned back around and gently touched Zhao Baozhu’s cheek again. “You eat quite a lot too, so how did you still lose this much weight?”
After being pawed at by him the whole way here, Zhao Baozhu’s entire face had turned bright red. His cheeks were even more vivid and tender than fresh watermelon flesh. Though embarrassed, he still could not bear to dodge away, and so lifted a pair of watery cat-like eyes to look at Ye Jinghua.
Seeing him like this, it felt as though someone had fiercely pinched the tip of Ye Jinghua’s heart. He wanted to pull Zhao Baozhu tightly into his arms and knead him fiercely, yet also wished he could hold him carefully in the palm of his hand.
Yet at that moment, a bitter medicinal fragrance suddenly drifted into Ye Jinghua’s nose along with the autumn wind.
His brows twitched slightly. Turning his eyes, he suddenly noticed a stone stove in the corner, atop which sat a little pot containing dried medicinal dregs.
Ye Jinghua’s brows immediately jumped. “Who’s boiling medicine?”
He abruptly turned his head toward Zhao Baozhu, his tone becoming somewhat urgent. “You’re sick?”
Zhao Baozhu froze upon hearing this. Ever since he had caught a chill after getting drenched in the rain at the beginning of autumn, although his illness had mostly improved, he still coughed from time to time, so the medicine had continued being boiled. It was just that Zhao Baozhu himself felt he had already gotten much better, so he drank it one dose on and one dose off. Often the medicine would already have gone cold while he was still handling cases, and Ah Long could do nothing about him.
Now that he had finally seized the chance, Ah Long immediately became energized.
He could not control old master himself, but could elder brother-in-law not control him? At once he loudly tattled: “Old Master got sick at the start of autumn, but he’s refused to take his medicine properly this whole time, so even today he still hasn’t fully recovered!”
The moment Zhao Baozhu heard this, his mouth dropped open. Stubbornly, he argued: “What nonsense are you saying? I recovered long ago!”
Now that Ah Long had backing, he was not afraid either and immediately shot back: “Old Master should stop arguing already. I even heard you coughing last night!”
These past few nights Zhao Baozhu truly had been coughing often. Hearing this, he could not really refute it, and could only glare at Ah Long with wide eyes.
Yet on the other side, Ye Jinghua’s face instantly darkened.
Zhao Baozhu suddenly felt pain at his wrist. Before he even had time to lift his head, he heard Ye Jinghua’s urgent voice: “Why didn’t you say anything if you were sick?!”
Not only was this sentence urgent, it also carried anger.
Zhao Baozhu was startled and immediately did not dare speak anymore. Ye Jinghua’s gaze was ice-cold. Merely pausing upon his face for a moment made Zhao Baozhu feel as though knives were cutting into him.
After looking at him once, Ye Jinghua turned around and instructed one of the servants: “Quickly bring Doctor Qi here.”
The servant answered and immediately turned to find someone.
Ye Jinghua then turned back around and said to Ah Long: “Go fetch the prescription your master has been taking.”
At first Ah Long was startled by his expression, but then he immediately nodded and turned to go search for the prescription slip. For some reason, not only did old master’s elder brother-in-law look noble, even the things he said carried tremendous weight. Hearing them made one instinctively want to obey.
Ah Long hurried out, rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find the prescription Zhao Baozhu usually used, and also grabbed a packet of medicinal herbs the doctor had prepared. Only then did he turn and head back toward the rear courtyard.
Yet the moment he entered, he froze.
Zhao Baozhu’s bedroom was still in the middle of being rearranged, so Ye Jinghua and Zhao Baozhu could only sit in the chairs in the back hall.
Yet despite there being so many chairs in the back hall, the two of them insisted on squeezing into a single one.
As soon as Ah Long entered the room, he saw Ye Jinghua sitting in a chair with his old master held on his lap, the two of them leaning shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand.
Ah Long’s heart suddenly jumped, and he abruptly felt that something was not right. How strange, this brother-in-law and his master were actually this intimate?
At the same time, Zhao Baozhu also heard Ah Long’s hurried footsteps, and his body immediately trembled as he tried to pull his hand out from Ye Jinghua’s grasp. Yet the moment he withdrew his hand, Ye Jinghua’s grip tightened, making him unable to move.
“Young master.” Zhao Baozhu was embarrassed to death and said in a low voice, “Quickly let go of me. How bad would it be for a child to see this?”
However, Ye Jinghua acted as though he could not understand human speech. His hand clasped him like iron pincers, utterly unwilling to loosen. He held both of Zhao Baozhu’s hands within his palms, yet still felt that his hands were cold: “Let go of what?”
His voice was extremely cold. Zhao Baozhu shivered from the chill and did not dare move anymore.
At present he was draped in an outer robe and leaning in Ye Jinghua’s embrace. At close range, he could feel Ye Jinghua’s chest rising and falling forcefully, as though no matter how he inhaled or exhaled, he could not suppress the anger in his heart.
Now Zhao Baozhu did not dare say a single word. Earlier at the prefectural office, young master had already spoken to him in a strange, sarcastic manner, and after arriving here, he became angry the instant he heard him say a sentence. Zhao Baozhu had already felt guilty in his heart to begin with, leaving without saying goodbye counted as one layer, and harboring wicked thoughts himself counted as another. Now that he saw Ye Jinghua truly enraged, he was frightened into resembling a quail. The imposing air he once had when kicking local gentry and punching hooligans was completely gone; he nestled in Ye Jinghua’s embrace like a little cat.
The two remained like this for a while. Behind them, the servants finished arranging the bedroom, and the group quietly withdrew. All of them stared at their noses and minded their hearts, deliberately circling around the chair where Ye Jinghua and Zhao Baozhu sat.
Ye Jinghua’s face was dark as still water. Once everyone had left, he silently stood up.
Zhao Baozhu was also lifted up along with him, startling him badly. His hands subconsciously landed on Ye Jinghua’s shoulders as he exclaimed in shock, “Young master!”
Ye Jinghua ignored him completely. Carrying Zhao Baozhu in his arms, he strode swiftly back into the bedroom and placed him onto the couch.
At this time, the bedroom was already greatly different. The soft couch had been arranged with fine bedding and silk pillows, and the tables, chairs, oil lamps, and other objects had all been replaced anew. Yet Zhao Baozhu had no mind to notice any of this. His face was full of astonishment as he stared at Ye Jinghua. Young master…young master had suddenly become like this?
One had to know that in the past, Ye Jinghua had always been the most courteous. Every movement and action of his was unhurried and measured, entirely bearing the noble grace of a young master. But what was wrong today? Not only was he completely unconcerned with propriety and touching him all over, he even, even carried him!
Zhao Baozhu’s face burned with embarrassment, yet deep in his heart he secretly felt a bit delighted as well. For a moment, his face was red as an apple, his pair of catlike eyes wide as he stared at Ye Jinghua.
Just then, the doctor whom Ye Jinghua had sent people to fetch arrived. A man in a gray robe hurried in from outside. Though his steps were rushed, his demeanor remained calm as ever. In his lean face, his eyes carried a wise expression. The moment he entered, he saluted Ye Jinghua: “This old man greets Second Young Master Ye.”
Ye Jinghua’s brows were tightly knitted. Though anxious, he still did not lose his manners: “Doctor Qi need not be so courteous. Please rise quickly.”
After Doctor Qi straightened up, Ye Jinghua stepped aside and gestured toward Zhao Baozhu: “I ask the doctor to examine him.”
Hearing this, Doctor Qi turned his face and saw Zhao Baozhu reclining against the couch. The moment his gaze landed on Zhao Baozhu’s face, his brows imperceptibly furrowed.
Since ancient times, the four most important aspects of medical skill had been observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking.
Doctor Qi walked a few steps closer and, borrowing the light of the oil lamp, carefully examined Zhao Baozhu’s complexion. Then he sat down and said to Zhao Baozhu: “This lord’s complexion is poor. Could it be that recently your emotions have been fluctuating and you have been unable to sleep peacefully at night?”
Zhao Baozhu froze at his words. Recently, he had constantly worried over the You family matter. With concerns in his heart, he had not rested well at night. Today, the matter had suddenly been resolved, and then he had abruptly seen Ye Jinghua again; indeed, his emotions had greatly risen and fallen.
With Ye Jinghua beside him, Zhao Baozhu vaguely replied: “It… it’s only been these past few days.”
Doctor Qi nodded, then said: “Please allow this old man to take your pulse.”
Zhao Baozhu had no choice but to extend his hand.
Doctor Qi lowered his eyes. The moment his hand rested on Zhao Baozhu’s wrist, his brows trembled lightly again. Half a breath later, he withdrew his hand, looked at Zhao Baozhu, and said: “Has my lord frequently suffered from chest pains lately?”
The moment Zhao Baozhu heard this, he was instantly dumbfounded: “D-Doctor, how did you know?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt an intense gaze strike his face. Zhao Baozhu did not even need to turn his head to know Ye Jinghua was looking at him. His heart immediately tightened, and his tone instantly weakened: “It… it’s not that frequent.”
Doctor Qi immediately understood and nodded. Standing up, he directly turned to Ye Jinghua and said: “Second Young Master, this lord should previously have contracted a cold illness whose root was not removed. The cold qi accumulated internally, which is why he has these palpitations. May I ask what medicine my lord usually takes?”
Ah Long immediately handed over the village doctor’s prescription: “Our old master has always been taking this medicine. The doctor said to take it three times a day, but old master skips one dose out of every three meals, so the cold has never fully recovered.”
Doctor Qi accepted the prescription and carefully read through it once. “Although the medicinal strength of this prescription is somewhat strong, it is enough for this cold illness. But now my lord’s stagnant emotions are knotted together, strong on the outside but weak within. This medicine therefore appears somewhat too fierce. Not only can it not provide warmth and nourishment, it will even aggravate the palpitations. If this continues over a long period—”
At this point, he paused and raised his eyes toward Ye Jinghua.
Ye Jinghua stood tall at the side. At present, his expression was frighteningly ugly. Seeing Doctor Qi look over, his long brows pressed downward as he said: “If there is something to say, Doctor Qi may speak plainly.”
Hearing this, Doctor Qi understood. He said directly: “If this continues over a long period, I fear it will damage his lifespan.”
