Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration] Chapter 72

Chapter 72: The Snobbish Black Moonlight (21)

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“No, no, it’s not possible.”

 

Shui Que shook his head.

 

Wei Yan asked eagerly, “Why?”

 

He continued urgently, “Are you worried about the bumpy journey? We won’t take the carriage, I’ll hire a passenger boat and we’ll go by water. It’ll be as smooth as a flat road and won’t be too hard.”

 

But the plot wasn’t ready for that yet.

 

The progress was only at sixty-nine percent. According to the real progression, it was supposed to be after the male lead passed the imperial examination and started making marriage preparations. But he had heard that even if the male lead became the top scholar, he would still have to start at the position of a sixth-grade official in the Hanlin Academy, which was not on par with a noble.

 

The luxurious life of eating exotic delicacies and wearing fine silks every day had dazzled him. He had attached himself to the Little Marquis. When the Little Marquis suggested taking him away, he had abandoned the male lead to follow the young lord to the capital.

 

System 77 supplemented, explaining that Wei Yan had gone to Suwu twice: once to investigate the case of King Wu’s treason and the next time to suppress bandits.

 

Wei Yan was supposed to have decided to take him away before going back after the bandit suppression next year.

 

[Host has raised this person’s affection for him too quickly, which is causing a disruption in his storyline.] System 77 said this, not blaming Shui Que, but instead praising him, [As expected of the host!]

 

But he hadn’t really done anything, had he?

 

Why had this person’s affection changed so fast?

 

Shui Que showed a troubled expression, pursing his lips before speaking in a soft voice, “Why should I go back to the capital with you?”

 

He was hesitating, trying to probe Wei Yan.

 

Wei Yan, feeling a bit embarrassed, said, “I… I gave you the pouch. Don’t you understand how I feel?”

 

Shui Que pouted, pretending to be dissatisfied, “Just because of a pouch, you want me to follow you with no name or status? No way.”

 

“How could that be?!” Wei Yan, clearly misunderstood, was so anxious he almost bit his own tongue. “How could I possibly let you follow me without a title or status? If you’re willing, then—then as soon as we return to the capital, we’ll start preparing! We’ll choose an auspicious date and have the entire capital drinking at our wedding banquet before New Year’s Eve!”

 

He was so straightforward that he jumped straight to planning their wedding.

 

After speaking, he turned red in the face, visibly flustered.

 

His eyes, dark and bright, looked eagerly at Shui Que. Even the scar at the corner of his eye didn’t seem scary anymore as he asked nervously, “Will… will you marry me?”

 

Like a big puppy waiting for its owner to take it home—especially the not-so-smart kind.

 

Shui Que stared at him, wide-eyed in shock.

 

No, this wasn’t right. He had only just tested the waters, and now he had fallen right into the trap.

 

In the original plot, the Little Marquis never had any intention of giving him a proper title. He would bring him back, grow tired of him soon after, and leave him neglected in the back courtyard. His ending was to waste away and die in obscurity there…

 

He shook his head furiously like a rattle-drum.

 

Then he opened his eyes wide and started spouting nonsense, slapping on a label: “You’re way too casual. We haven’t even known each other that long and you’re already talking about marriage. If I follow you back, what if you change your mind the moment we arrive in the capital?”

 

Wei Yan rushed to explain, panicking, “That was too forward of me! Of course we should go through the proper rituals—three letters, six gifts. But I swear I’m not some careless playboy. I’ve grown up without ever even holding a girl’s hand!”

 

Shui Que poked holes in that: “But you’ve held a man’s hand.”

 

Wei Yan spun in circles from anxiety. “Why would I hold a man’s hand? They’re all stinky and sweaty.”

 

Noticing Shui Que looking up at him, he quickly added, “But you’re different—you smell nice.”

 

“My heart races especially fast whenever I look at you,” Wei Yan confessed earnestly. “If you’re not ready to get married so soon, I’d be willing to follow you without a title too…”

 

No matter which way he said it, it all circled back to wanting to bring Shui Que to the capital.

 

Shui Que furrowed his delicate brows.

 

Wei Yan was really stubborn.

 

If he followed him back, wouldn’t that cut out a whole chunk of the storyline?

 

And if his mission ended up with a failing grade, Wei Yan would be entirely to blame.

 

Shui Que simply said, “I’m not going back with you now. Qi Lang hasn’t passed the exams yet. I want to wait for him to finish the autumn examination.”

 

Wei Yan didn’t understand. “He’s just your distant cousin. Why do you think about him every day? Besides, he’s studying and taking the imperial exams—he doesn’t need you to pass them, does he? It’s not like you can take the test for him.”

 

If he took the exam in the male lead’s place, the male lead really wouldn’t pass.

 

Shui Que was well aware of his own academic abilities.

 

Then he raised his brows proudly and said with a smug little face, “Of course! Without me, Qi Lang couldn’t even read a page—he’d be wiping his tears every day.”

 

Shui Que was completely bluffing, but Wei Yan had no way of knowing whether he was telling the truth.

 

Wei Yan didn’t know who had embroidered the pouch with the magpie leaning on the bamboo, and assumed Qi Chaojin and Shui Que really were distant cousins—just overly affectionate ones.

 

Unable to hide his sour tone, he muttered resentfully, “Then your cousin really is useless.”

 

He backed off slightly, “Once he passes the autumn exam next year, will you finally come back to the capital with me?”

 

Shui Que nodded.

 

The autumn exam was still nearly ten months away. By then, Wei Yan would probably have snapped out of his love-struck haze, right? He might not even still be thinking about marriage.

 

Besides, Wei Yan would be coming back to this area again for bandit suppression next year. Shui Que planned to treat him colder then!

 

But then again, had he ever really been kind to Wei Yan?

 

Shui Que thought carefully.

 

He had not only kicked Wei Yan in the face but also slapped him before…

 

Could it be that Wei Yan actually liked that?

 

Shui Que was startled, suddenly understanding.

 

No wonder Wei Yan liked him so much. With his original persona being someone who worshipped wealth and power, he should have been flattering Wei Yan constantly. But every now and then, he got carried away and couldn’t control his temper…

 

Then next year, he’d try treating Wei Yan a bit too well—clingy and annoying until Wei Yan got sick of him. Surely by the time they reached the capital, Wei Yan would be tired of him.

 

That way, he could finish the plot smoothly and reach the end.

 

Shui Que had it all planned out.

 

Wei Yan compromised, “After I return to the capital, I’ll keep writing to you. You have to write me back, or else I won’t be at ease during the holidays.”

 

Shui Que nodded.

 

“Alright then, Qi Lang is still waiting for me to buy salt and come back to pickle the napa cabbage. Thanks for the pine nuts, but I really need to go buy the salt now.”

 

He waved at Wei Yan.

 

Then he stuffed both hands deep into his wide sleeves, completely hiding them.

 

Moving slowly, bundled up tightly like a little snowball, he walked toward the alley leading to the grain and oil shop.

 

Wei Yan muttered gloomily in a low voice, “He’d rather eat salted vegetables with that Qi fellow than come to the capital with me!”

 

…

 

When he got back, Qi Chaojin was in the kitchen slicing radish—cutting it into uniform strips about an inch long.

 

Shui Que brought back a small cloth pouch of salt. Qi Chaojin took it and poured it into the salt jar.

 

He first rubbed salt onto the radish—each strip of white radish as pristine as jade.

 

Qi Chaojin looked up and noticed Shui Que returned empty-handed except for the salt pouch.

 

“Why didn’t you buy any snacks?”

 

He had given Shui Que 200 coins. 80 were for buying two jins of salt, and he’d said the rest was for Shui Que to get something he liked to eat.

 

“It was freezing outside, Qi Lang,” Shui Que said as he slipped his hands out from his sleeves and reached toward Qi Chaojin’s neck. “I didn’t really have much appetite, so I came back right away.”

 

In truth, he’d already eaten his fill of the pine nuts Wei Yan had given him.

 

His hands were icy cold. Qi Chaojin didn’t flinch. “It really is freezing. I should’ve gone out to buy the salt myself.”

 

Shui Que smiled and leaned close like a little snowball. “Then you better finish pickling the cabbage before nightfall.”

 

This little bundle of white fluff looked like it was about to burrow into Qi Chaojin’s arms.

 

“My hands are still dirty—I don’t want to mess up your clothes,” Qi Chaojin said awkwardly, shifting his head to the side. “Go warm up in the room first. Once I finish with the vegetable hearts, I’ll boil some water and fill your hand warmer.”

 

The hand warmer had been bought before the winter solstice. It was a flat round copper container. You poured hot water into it through the top, sealed it with a screw cap, and then wrapped it in a velvet pouch—perfect for warming hands.

 

At night, it could even be tucked under the blanket.

 

Shui Que: “Mhm, mhm.”

 

He slipped out of Qi Chaojin’s arms, and Qi Chaojin let out a quiet breath. He went to deal with the cabbage hearts—first pickling the napa cabbage in the storage jar.

 

The trimmed-off cabbage hearts weren’t wasted either. He mixed them with the sliced radish, salted them, and soaked them in wine before packing them into a ceramic jar.

 

All of it was buried in the ash pit in the courtyard. It would be opened around the winter solstice, and the pickles would still be good even into the spring of the following year.

 

The water in the vat was ice-cold—enough to sting the skin.

 

By the twelfth lunar month, it would freeze over.

 

Qi Chaojin casually scooped a ladle of water to rinse the salt off his hands.

 

Then he boiled some water and filled the hand warmer.

 

Shui Que was in the bedroom, leaning on the windowside table with his hands stacked under his chin. When he heard footsteps, he lifted a slender bamboo tube and asked curiously, “Qi Lang, what’s this?”

 

The bamboo tube had his name written on it in brush calligraphy.

 

Qi Chaojin placed the hand warmer in his hands and replied, “It’s a horse express letter delivered by a courier, for you.”

 

In Darong, there were urgent courier stations, and special riders handled deliveries.

 

There were three grades of courier service: walking delivery, horse express, and emergency runners. The emergency service was reserved for confidential military dispatches, capable of covering 400 to 500 li a day.

 

Walking and horse delivery were mostly for official correspondence. Though they also handled private mail, the cost was high—so ordinary people usually hired freelance letter carriers, not the government courier service.

 

Previously, when Wei Yan was in Suwu Prefecture, he had chosen to send the letter by horse courier. It was delivered to the residence in Changzhou and then handed over to Shui Que by a family servant.

 

Shui Que twisted open the bamboo tube and pulled out the letter inside.

 

Delighted, he said, “It’s a letter from Sir?”

 

Qi Chaojin had no intention of reading it, but just as Shui Que drew the letter out, his peripheral vision happened to catch a glimpse.

 

It began with, “Reading this letter feels like seeing you in person.”

 

And ended with, “The cold is setting in—take good care of yourself.”

 

It was a proper and formal letter of greeting.

 

Nothing surprising.


Qi Chaojin murmured softly.


Nothing strange at all.


He tried to convince himself not to be so anxious and uncertain all the time.

 

Shui Que had finished reading.

 

It was an official letter—nothing more than a formal message stating that everything had been settled in the capital, that his position had been restored, and that he hoped Shui Que would study hard. It ended with the usual reminders to be mindful of the weather and to take care of his health.

 

“Written in haste, much left unsaid.”

 

There was another piece of stationery attached.

 

Shui Que flipped it over—it was the unfinished poem from ink practice the other day, the one he hadn’t completed. The last line was—

 

Even if I were filled with thousands of tender feelings, to whom could I speak them now?

 

Shui Que’s face warmed. Nie Xiuyuan had clearly noticed that he couldn’t remember the lines back then, so he’d written the entire poem on a separate sheet as a gentle reminder for him to study diligently.

 

Qi Chaojin had already looked away, not bothering to read the letter. But then, his gaze suddenly paused at Shui Que’s waist.

 

He asked softly, “This… who gave you that pouch?”

 

A tiger was embroidered on it?

 

Qi Chaojin immediately guessed.

 

Shui Que replied, “Mm… it was from Wei Yan. He’s returning to the capital soon and gave me the pouch as a keepsake.”

 

Qi Chaojin lifted his hand, fingertips cool, and loosened the fluffy scarf around Shui Que’s neck.

 

His neck was pale as snow, speckled only by a few small, plum-blossom-like marks.

 

He had kissed them that morning.

 

Qi Chaojin let out a quiet sigh of relief and couldn’t resist placing a kiss on Shui Que’s earlobe.

 

“Oh? He’s returning to the capital?”

 

“Mhm, mhm.”

 

Xiao Langjun didn’t know why, but lately Qi Chaojin always seemed to want to kiss him. He just tiptoed up and wound the fluffy scarf around Qi Chaojin’s neck: “Qi Lang’s hands are so cold. I’ll lend you this to warm up a bit.”

 

What he said was truly like offering himself up.

 

Soft and sweet, as though he wanted to melt right into Qi Er’s arms.

 

Qi Chaojin held him close, ears burning red. And truthfully, he didn’t feel cold at all anymore.

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Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.

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