Chapter 45#
“A year has passed, I wonder how my cousin’s health has been?” Chapter Number: 728567y#
After six days on the boat, they finally arrived in Yangzhou.
The Yang family had received word in advance and sent people to wait at the dock early. The moment he stepped off the boat, someone immediately came forward to greet him.
“Brother Yu!”
Rong Yu had just vomited as soon as he got off the boat and was leaning against Chu Tan’s arm, breathing in shallow gasps, when from afar he heard a clear, bright male voice.
Looking up, a young man walked toward them. He was dressed in a sleek black outfit, with gold thread embroidered on his collar and cuffs, and a dark ink-colored water-pattern sash around his waist, making his figure as straight and refreshing as a pine.
He walked over quickly, the jade pendant at his waist clinking merrily. A brilliant smile hung on his handsome face—the very picture of a free-spirited, elegant young nobleman.
Seeing the newcomer, Mo Shu bowed. “Young Master Huaizhen.”
Yang Huaizhen nodded casually, his gaze fixed on the young man in the wheelchair. He said affectionately, “Brother Yu, a year has passed. Did you miss me?”
Rong Yu lifted a pale face, unable to smile, looking listless. “Cousin Ye, long time no see.”
“What’s wrong?” Yang Huaizhen was startled. “Your complexion is so bad!”
He turned to look at Mo Shu, displeased. “How are you looking after your master?”
Mo Shu quickly explained, “I don’t know what happened to the young master this time. He suddenly got seasick and vomited terribly. It’s been like this all these days. We’ve already had the accompanying physician look at him—he said he’ll be fine once he gets off the boat.”
Yang Huaizhen frowned. “Seasick? Wasn’t he always fine before? You must not have been taking good care of him!”
Rong Yu steadied himself on Chu Tan’s hand and slowly leaned back into his wheelchair, speaking weakly, “Cousin, no need to blame Mo Shu. It’s just a bit of dizziness—I’ll be fine after a rest.”
Yang Huaizhen nodded. “Let’s go home first. Grandmother has been waiting for you for a long time. Seeing you like this, she’s bound to worry again.”
The Yang family’s carriages were waiting by the roadside—four of them in total, adorned with gold and jade tassels, extremely luxurious. They were even larger than Rong Yu’s carriage, showing just how wealthy the Yang family was.
Yang Huaizhen personally lifted the curtain, preparing to carry Rong Yu up, but a hand suddenly interjected from the side.
“I’ll do it.” Chu Tan said.
Yang Huaizhen didn’t let go. He looked Chu Tan up and down, his brows lowering slightly, his tone displeased. “‘I’?”
Rong Yu cast Chu Tan a lukewarm glance. “No manners.”
Chu Tan lowered his eyes. “This servant knows his wrongs.”
“I’m used to having this servant around. I won’t trouble you, cousin—let him do it.”
Yang Huaizhen said, “Very well.”
He let go. After Chu Tan carried Rong Yu up and Mo Shu brought the wheelchair aboard, he swung himself onto his horse, waved his hand, and called out clearly, “Return to the manor!”
Yangzhou was wealthy and prosperous. Shops lined both sides of the streets, restaurants stood in clusters, and small vendors could be seen everywhere. The unique soft Jiangnan dialect drifted around them—lively and bustling.
Rong Yu sat in the carriage with his eyes closed, resting for half an hour. His complexion finally improved from that deathly pallor, a hint of color gradually returning to his cheeks.
From outside the carriage came Yang Huaizhen’s voice. “Brother Yu, we’ve arrived.”
The Yang family had been merchants for generations. Since the previous dynasty, they had been a famous merchant family in Yangzhou. Later, when Emperor Taizu established the Great Zhou, the Yang family donated most of their estate—millions of taels of silver sent to the capital, filling the empty national treasury.
Because of this, they transformed overnight into the emperor’s appointed imperial merchants. Over the decades, the Yang family’s business had spread across all of Great Zhou, their wealth accumulating to an incalculable degree.
The Yang manor was grand and imposing, enormous in size—many times more spacious than the Rong manor in the capital. The estate featured towering old trees, exuding an air of ancient dignity, alongside small bridges and flowing water, filled with the soft elegance of Jiangnan.
Mo Shu pushed Rong Yu for a full quarter of an hour before they arrived at the main hall.
Yang Huaizhen called out as he entered, “Father, Mother! Look who I’ve brought back!”
As soon as he spoke, a woman’s voice came from within. “Is that Yu’er back?” Then a man and a woman hurried out, both with delighted expressions. “Yu’er!”
Rong Yu smiled. “Second Uncle, Second Aunt.”
“You’re finally back!” Second Aunt smiled and instructed the maidservant beside her, “Quickly go tell the old lady that the darling she’s been thinking of day and night is back!”
“I should go pay my respects to Grandmother myself,” Rong Yu said. “I can’t have the matriarch coming to see a junior like me.”
Second Aunt looked at Rong Yu and laughed continuously. “Yes, yes. What a filial child you are.”
Second Uncle also praised him. “A year older and more sensible too—far better than this good-for-nothing brat of ours who only knows how to eat, drink, and play!”
Yang Huaizhen smiled with curved eyes. “Brother Yu is, of course, the best.”
The group chatted and laughed as they made their way to Shou’an Hall. The old lady, having received word, waited at the door, leaning on her dragon-head cane.
Seeing the shadowy figure in a wheelchair from afar, she trembled with excitement and asked the old nursemaid beside her, “Is that my Yu’er?”
Nanny Chen supported the old lady. “Yes, it’s Young Master Yu. Oh dear, ma’am, please be careful—slow down!”
The old lady rushed forward impatiently. The moment Rong Yu saw the silver-haired elder’s kind face, he felt his heart grow warm, as if soaking in a pool of warm water—both warm and full, swelling with a deep sense of longing and affection.
Rong Yu found it strange where this emotion came from, yet the closeness he felt toward the old lady arose from within, beyond his control.
“Mo Shu, help me up so I can kowtow to Grandmother.”
Mo Shu helped him kneel down. Once, when Rong Xiuyong had scolded him and ordered him to kneel in the ancestral hall to admit his faults, he had refused in every way possible, even threatening to burn down the ancestral hall. Now, kowtowing to his grandmother was something he did willingly.
He knelt and respectfully kowtowed, calling out, “Yu’er pays respects to Grandmother.”
The old lady’s heart ached so much that tears fell. She quickly helped him up and embraced him. “Good child, good child. Why are you so thin? Come, sit down quickly, let Grandmother have a good look at you.”
Second Aunt’s eyes reddened as well, but she said with a smile, “Grandmother, if you want to dote on Yu’er, don’t make all of us stand outside in the wind. Once we’re inside, you can hold him and fuss over him all you like.”
This remark made the old lady break into a smile through her tears. She shot her a glare and laughed in mock scolding, “You rascal!”
June was fast approaching, and the weather in Yangzhou was already turning hot. The old lady’s room was furnished with a Buddhist shrine, and a strong scent of sandalwood greeted them upon entering—calming to the senses.
Everyone took their seats in turn. Rong Yu sat beside the old lady, his hand tightly held in hers as she looked him over carefully, from head to toe.
“Why does Yu’er look so unwell? You’ve gotten so thin. Did you fall ill on the road?”
Mo Shu bowed and replied, “To answer the old lady, my young master was rather seasick. He hasn’t been able to eat or sleep well these past few days.”
Hearing this, the old lady grew anxious. “How could he get seasick out of nowhere? Chen Zhi, hurry and send someone to fetch a physician!”
Nanny Chen acknowledged the order and instructed a quick-footed servant to leave the manor and summon a doctor.
Rong Yu squeezed the elder’s hand reassuringly. “Grandmother need not worry. I’ve already had a physician look at me—there’s no serious problem. I’m already feeling much better now that I’m off the boat.”
The old lady remained worried. He was the only child her youngest daughter had left behind—frail and sickly since birth. Four years ago, he’d encountered bandits, lost his mother, and lost the use of his legs. His life had been full of misfortune; how could she not ache for him?
Looking at Rong Yu’s face, so resembling his mother’s, she thought of her poor daughter—precious as the apple of her eye, married off to the capital so far away, neglected and bullied by Rong Xiuyong. She’d been allowed one visit home a year, only to die at the hands of bandits.
The old lady held Rong Yu’s hand, tears streaming down her wrinkled face. “That accursed Rong Xiuyong—he favored his concubine and wronged his wife. Heaven will punish him. It’s only my poor Yu’er who has suffered so much.”
Rong Yu’s heart was warm, and he couldn’t help but use his handkerchief to wipe away the old lady’s tears. “I’m back now, Grandmother. Just dote on me extra.”
“Grandmother dotes on you most of all, of course.” Nanny Chen walked in carrying a tray, smiling as she set it on the table. “Ever since we learned you were coming back, the small kitchen has been making this milk cake three times a day, afraid you might arrive and not have it fresh.”
“Now that Cousin Yu is back, I won’t get to eat any!” Before anyone saw her, a girl’s crisp voice came from outside.
A moment later, a lively figure in green appeared at the door. The girl was no more than sixteen, with apricot-shaped eyes and peach-blossom cheeks—the seeds of a future breathtaking beauty already visible.
Yang Qingling walked in, first spotting Mo Shu by the door and greeting him with a smile, then seeing Chu Tan. Her big eyes lit up instantly, and she almost forgot to keep walking.
Only when she heard her mother cough from inside the room did she snap out of it. She hurried inside, curtsied with a bright smile, and said, “Ling’er greets Grandmother. Greetings to Father, Mother, Brother, and—”
Yang Qingling’s pretty apricot eyes turned toward Rong Yu. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she pressed her lips together in a smile. “Cousin Yu.”
Rong Yu nodded in acknowledgment. “Cousin Ling.”
The old lady teased her. “There are two plates of milk cake here. Your Cousin Yu probably can’t even finish three pieces, so you can have the rest—a plate and a half.”
Yang Qingling’s eyes widened slightly, her brow furrowed, and her mouth pouted. “Grandmother’s talking nonsense. I’m not that much of an eater—my appetite is very small.”
After saying this, she stole a shy glance at Rong Yu, her face reddening.
Her maidenly coyness, seen by everyone, drew another round of laughter.
The servants laughed along too. The only unhappy person in the entire room was Chu Tan. His brows were heavy and dark, shadows flickering through his lowered eyes. His jaw was clenched tight, the line of it sharp, as if he were grinding his teeth.
Seeing this, Mo Shu rolled his eyes privately.
Look at this jealous man—can’t even handle this much. When Young Master Huaijin arrives, he’ll be furious enough to die.
Speak of the devil. Rapid footsteps sounded, and what first came into Chu Tan’s view was a pair of ink-black boots and a fluttering white robe. Further up was the tall, straight figure of a young man as upright as bamboo.
The man was around twenty years old, with handsome, refined features. A gold-rimmed monocle sat over his left eye, attached by a fine gold chain that wound around his ear.
Yet what was most striking about him wasn’t his appearance, but his overwhelming aura of scholarly refinement—clean and innocent, warm as polished jade.
He was clearly in a hurry, clutching books to his chest, urgency and joy mingled in his eyes and brows as he went straight for the room.
Chu Tan narrowed his eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of threat.
Seeing the newcomer, the old lady smiled fondly. “Huaijin is here.”
Yang Huaijin bowed respectfully. “Grandson greets Grandmother.”
Yang Huaizhen lounged crookedly in his chair and drawled, “Second Brother’s still holding books? Seems like you ran over the second class ended.”
Yang Huaijin was twenty-one this year, the second son of the Yang family’s eldest branch. Three years ago, he passed the provincial examination and became a juren. He then studied diligently for another two years, preparing for next spring’s metropolitan examination and palace examination.
He was the only scholar in the Yang family, and the family’s sole hope. No matter how immense the Yang family’s wealth, the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was strictly observed. Merchants always ranked low, facing restrictions and obstacles everywhere they went.
But if Yang Huaijin could pass the highest examinations, he would completely transform the Yang family’s status.
Hearing this, Yang Huaijin instead looked toward Rong Yu beside the old lady, his brows curving gently. “I heard from Ping’an that Cousin Yu was back, so I rushed over the moment class ended.”
Ping’an was his book attendant.
A thin sheen of sweat still clung to his forehead. His eyes shone brightly, and his voice was slightly breathless—clearly he had indeed come in great haste.
“A year has passed. I wonder how my cousin’s health has been?”
Rong Yu was about to answer when he heard a dull thud from the doorway.
Everyone turned to look. A person was seen clutching their chest and slowly collapsing.
It was Chu Tan.
Rong Yu’s eyelid twitched. “Mo Shu, what’s wrong with him?”
Mo Shu was dumbstruck. “He… he fainted…”
The old lady asked him, “Is he your servant?”
Rong Yu nodded. “He took a knife wound protecting me not long ago. It might be that his injury is acting up.”
His tone was calm, but the fingers hanging at his side clenched tightly. “Grandmother, please trouble someone to carry him to my courtyard, and have a physician come look at him.”
Hearing there was a story behind this, the old lady quickly called for people to help.
“Mo Shu, come push me.” Rong Yu took his leave of everyone one by one. “Grandmother, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, cousins—I’ll take my leave for now.”
【Author’s Note:】
Mo Shu (in disbelief): I don’t know either! He just closed his eyes and fainted all of a sudden!