Chapter 46#
If You Get Kicked Out by Me One Day, Go Find a Job at a Southern Opera Troupe—You’d Play the Part Perfectly Chapter number :728718y#
Chu Tan was carried to Rong Yu’s courtyard. The physician carefully examined his wound and found nothing wrong.
Chu Tan had a strong constitution, and the medicine applied was remarkably effective. After more than ten days of rest, the knife wound on his chest had begun to heal, smooth and flat, without even any inflammation or swelling.
Rong Yu’s gaze darkened as it settled on Chu Tan’s tightly shut eyes. “Then why did he collapse?”
“This… this old man does not know either.” The physician stroked his beard, looking puzzled. As far as he could tell, the young man’s pulse was steady and powerful—no illness whatsoever. He was healthier and stronger than the average person.
Compared to Chu Tan, the Yang family members were far more concerned about Rong Yu.
“Examine my grandson first,” the old lady said to the physician. “He’s grown so thin, and he suffered on the boat. See what his body needs to be replenished.”
So the physician took Rong Yu’s pulse. The moment his fingers made contact, he thought to himself, Now this looks like a patient. That young man earlier was as sturdy as an ox.
The physician put away his pulse pillow and said to the old lady, “The young master’s pulse is thin and faint—a syndrome of dual deficiency in qi and blood. I’ll write a prescription to supplement his qi and blood, though the medicine can only do so much. This weakness is congenital, brought from his mother’s womb. It cannot be cured at the root, only slowly nurtured and regulated. He may eat fresh fruits and warming tonics on a daily basis.”
Hearing this, the old lady sighed deeply. Every year Rong Yu came to Yangzhou, she had a doctor examine him, and every physician said the same thing—it couldn’t be cured, only slowly nurtured.
Nurtured then. Her Yang family had mountains of gold and silver. Even if it meant feeding him ginseng and lingzhi daily, she could afford it.
After seeing off the physician, everyone moved to the main hall.
The old lady asked about the assassination attempt, which concerned her most.
Rong Yu didn’t mention the conflict with Gu Yuezhe. He only said they’d encountered bandits attempting robbery, and thankfully Chu Tan and the guards were there—it had been nothing but a false alarm.
He brushed it off in a few casual words, but the old lady didn’t believe him. If it had been as easy as he made it sound, why would his attendant have taken a blade?
The old lady pressed Mo Shu, demanding he recount that night’s events in detail.
Mo Shu certainly didn’t dare say he’d slept soundly on the floor that night, so he could only pick out the details he’d heard from the guards, glossing over the more serious parts.
Everyone listened with their hearts in their throats. The old lady even clutched her chest, muttering, “Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect us.”
“In a moment I must go light incense for the Buddha and thank Him for keeping my Yuer safe.”
Second Aunt was equally shaken. “Mother, I’ll go with you.”
The old lady clutched her prayer beads. “Good, good. Let’s go together. From the heart.”
Yang Huaiye, seated below, took a sip of tea and smiled meaningfully. “So that attendant of yours has some skill after all—fighting multiple opponents and only taking one cut.”
Rong Yu smiled faintly. “He’s fairly useful.”
Second Uncle nodded with deep approval. “Quite impressive indeed. And loyal enough to protect his master. He deserves a reward.”
Mo Shu grumbled inwardly, Already rewarded. The young master rewarded himself to him!
Yang Qingling’s big eyes sparkled as she said in her crisp voice, “Cousin Yu, what’s your attendant’s name?”
“His name is Chu Tan.”
“Chu Tan—the name is nice, and he’s handsome too.” Yang Qingling smiled.
Rong Yu’s gaze flickered. He chuckled lightly. “If Cousin likes him, shall I give him to you?”
Yang Qingling giggled and was about to speak when Second Aunt scolded, “Ling’er, don’t be silly! He’s your Cousin Yu’s bodyguard. If you take him, who will protect your Cousin Yu?”
Yang Qingling stuck out her tongue and hid in the old lady’s arms.
The old lady chuckled and pinched the little girl’s cheek. “Alright, Yuer has traveled for so many days and must be tired. Let him rest. We can talk more over dinner.”
“Yes.” Everyone responded in unison.
Rong Yu walked them to the door. As he turned to go back, a clear, gentle male voice called out to him.
It was Yang Huaijin, who had been silent the whole time. Though he hadn’t spoken much, his eyes had been fixed on Rong Yu the entire time, unable to hide his concern.
“Little Yu.” Yang Huaijin stepped forward, worry etched between his brows. “Are you truly not injured?”
Rong Yu curved his lips. “No. The physician said I’m fine. Cousin needn’t worry.”
“Ah, right. The physician examined you.” Only then did Yang Huaijin smile in relief. “I was careless. I didn’t remember what the physician said.”
Rong Yu blinked and teased, “With a memory like that, Cousin, can you still remember what the teacher lectures in class?”
Yang Huaijin couldn’t help pushing up the spectacles on his left eye. His ears flushed crimson, and his expression turned sheepish.
“Your journey back was fraught with danger. Why not stay a while longer? Next year I’ll go to the capital—”
cough, cough, cough—A heart-rending fit of coughing cut off Yang Huaijin’s words.
“Cousin, let’s talk later. I’ll go check on him first.” Rong Yu’s fingers twitched slightly as he gave a polite nod.
Yang Huaijin was taken aback. “Alright. Go on, then.”
He watched Rong Yu’s retreating figure, his eyes bright and warm, reluctant to move even a step. Until someone grabbed his shoulder from behind, nearly pressing him off balance.
“Second Brother. I’ve been looking all over for you—turns out you’re still here.” Yang Huaiye glanced at the doorway with a half-smile and said lazily, “Come on, let’s go drink.”
Yang Huaijin straightened his spectacles, which had been knocked askew, and said seriously, “I’m not going. I haven’t finished the assignments the teacher left.”
“No rush. I’ll help you finish them tonight.” Ignoring Yang Huaijin’s protests, Yang Huaiye dragged him away by force.
——
The courtyard Rong Yu was staying in had originally been Lady Yang’s boudoir before her marriage. Every time mother and son returned to her natal family, they stayed here.
The courtyard still preserved Lady Yang’s original furnishings—a canopied bed, pink gauze curtains, various tassels and embroideries, all exuding the gentle beauty of a young lady’s chambers.
Rong Yu entered the room and saw Chu Tan leaning against the bed, clutching his chest, coughing so hard his body wouldn’t stop trembling.
Hearing the sound of a wheelchair rolling across the floor, he lifted his eyes to look at Rong Yu. His face was pale, the rims of his eyes red, his lips slightly parted—a pitiful sight.
Rong Yu felt not one shred of sympathy. He met his gaze with calm eyes and said eerily, “Done performing?”
Chu Tan: …
He flopped back onto the bed with a thump, staring at the ceiling as he breathed weakly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master.”
“The physician said you’re as sturdy as an ox.” Mo Shu mumbled under his breath.
Rong Yu: …
“Go wait outside. Don’t let anyone in.”
“Yes, Master.” Mo Shu cast a disdainful look at the “frail” Chu Tan, guessed he was about to get a beating, humphed, and went out, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Rong Yu stared at Chu Tan for a moment, then reached out and turned his chin. “Actually sick?”
Chu Tan lowered his eyes, his lashes trembling again and again. “My chest feels uncomfortable.”
“Oh?” Rong Yu raised an eyebrow and spoke slowly, “Let me think. When exactly do you feel uncomfortable? The first time Cousin Jin asked after me, you fainted. The second time he spoke to me, you woke up.”
Rong Yu’s thumb traced over Chu Tan’s lips as he calmly looked down at him. “What a coincidence.”
Chu Tan’s dark eyes gazed deeply at Rong Yu. Suddenly he raised a hand to press the back of Rong Yu’s neck, pulling him down close.
Their breaths intertwined. He ground against Rong Yu’s lips, his voice hoarse. “My chest really is uncomfortable.”
Rong Yu slipped his hand inside Chu Tan’s clothes, squeezing his solid pectoral muscle, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “What, jealous?”
Chu Tan narrowed his eyes. With one arm, he scooped Rong Yu up and laid him on the bed, then pressed his body over him.
“Yeah. Jealous.”
Watching his nimble, swift movements, there was no trace of the “frail and pitiful” act from moments ago—he was as ferocious as a wolf.
Rong Yu curled his lip in mockery. “If you get kicked out by me one day, go find a job at a Southern opera troupe. You’d play the part perfectly.”
Chu Tan lowered his head to kiss him, his scorching, intense breath invading the other’s mouth, fiercely sealing that sharp-tongued mouth shut.
He only let go when Rong Yu was gasping for air, pounding at him desperately with his fists. Even then, he lingered, pecking again and again at the youth’s swollen, sucked-red lips.
Rong Yu’s face was flushed red, tears at the corners of his eyes. He panted and glared at him, then pinched the flesh at his waist, cursing, “Rabid dog!”
Seeing he still had the energy to curse, Chu Tan ducked his head and kissed him again. Rong Yu nearly passed out from the kiss, his brain starved of oxygen, his whole body going as soft as water.
Chu Tan wrapped his arms around the limp Rong Yu and rolled them deeper into the bed, nuzzling like a dog in the hollow of his neck, while one hand quietly undid his own belt and slipped inside to knead that slender waist.
When Rong Yu finally recovered, he raised his hand and slapped Chu Tan across the face—though it was feather-light, with no real force behind it.
“The hell are you throwing a fit about now?!”
Chu Tan asked, “When are we going back to the capital?”
Rong Yu nearly laughed out of sheer exasperation. “I puked for six days on that boat, and we’ve only been here two hours—and you already want to go back? My birthday isn’t for another half month!”
A gloomy shadow passed through Chu Tan’s dark eyes, his face written with displeasure.
This entire Yang family—from the seventy-something-year-old grandmother down to the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl—every single one of them came to snatch away his master. Especially that bookish fool with the spectacles, staring with that straight, unblinking gaze, practically wanting to grow onto Rong Yu.
Don’t think he couldn’t see the filthy intentions that one was hiding!
Chu Tan thought darkly, Better off back in the capital. At least there, not so many people came pestering Rong Yu.
Seeing his gloomy, sulking face, Rong Yu snorted and turned over, saying listlessly, “If you’re not going to sleep, get off. I’m tired. I need to rest.”
Chu Tan said nothing. He wrapped his arms around Rong Yu from behind, pulled the blanket over them both.
They slept for nearly two hours and woke to find it almost evening.
A maidservant from the old lady’s side came to invite them, saying dinner had been prepared in the front hall and requesting the young master’s presence.
Mo Shu took a damp cloth to wipe Rong Yu’s face, but his gaze caught on that fair neck, and he spoke with difficulty, “Young master, there’s… on your neck…”
Rong Yu frowned and raised a hand to feel it. “What?”
Mo Shu glanced at Chu Tan. “There’s a red mark.”
The red mark was right on the side of his neck, near his Adam’s apple, standing out starkly against his pale skin. Even his collar couldn’t cover it.
Rong Yu shot Chu Tan a furious glare. Chu Tan stood nearby, utterly unruffled, as if he hadn’t done a thing. Rong Yu could only have Mo Shu change him into a higher-collared garment, barely managing to hide it.
By the time Rong Yu arrived late at the front hall, the Yang family had already taken their seats—and there were three additional faces.
“Why so late? Did you sleep well?” the old lady asked with a smile.
Rong Yu curved his lips in a light smile. “Slept very well.”
He greeted everyone in turn, then turned to look at the three newcomers, smiling and nodding. “Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, Cousin Shen.”
Eldest Uncle Yang had a handlebar mustache and a rather stern appearance, while Eldest Aunt beamed with a shrewd, brisk energy in her eyes and brows.
“Good child. We’ve all been waiting for you like the stars wait for the moon—finally, you’re here.” Eldest Aunt took Rong Yu’s hand with a smile. “If it weren’t for a business deal I simply couldn’t get out of today, I’d have seen you much sooner.”
Rong Yu said, “It’s my fault, making the elders worry.”
Eldest Uncle Yang’s expression softened. He gently patted Rong Yu’s back. “Good to have you back.”
The Yang family was unlike other great noble houses with their stern, rigid rules. The Yang family was more open-minded, not bound by feudal conventions. Eldest Aunt had begun learning the ways of commerce as soon as she married in, and she followed her husband out on business trips.
At first, people outside said she was showing her face in public and violating proper womanly conduct. They also gossiped that the Yang family, a great clan, would tolerate such unladylike behavior from her.
But Eldest Aunt paid no heed to rumors. She had a bold personality, sharp and clever, with her own methods and techniques in business. She made many friends.
Over time, she came to be more respected than Eldest Uncle Yang himself. In fact, Eldest Uncle was not particularly eloquent, and sometimes needed Eldest Aunt to smooth things over.
The couple were both lovers and partners—in the business circles of Yangzhou, they were always an enviable tale.
As for their eldest son, Yang Huaishen, he was an entirely different sort of character.
Yang Huaishen was tall and broad, with sword-like brows and starry eyes—the handsome looks that ran through the Yang bloodline. But his temperament was exceptionally cold and steady, like a silent, brooding mountain.
He walked toward Rong Yu with a cold expression and raised his hand, palm open, holding a jade pendant. The jade was emerald green and crystal clear, like a pool of water, without a trace of impurity. Under the candlelight, it shimmered with iridescent color—a truly beautiful sight.
“A gift for you.” Yang Huaishen said.
Rong Yu took it and smiled. “Thank you, Cousin. I love it.”
Beside him, Chu Tan stared deathly at their briefly touching hands, eyes narrowing, jaw muscles flexing. Too many people had approached Rong Yu today, one after another. He was nearing his limit, his heart scorching like a fire was roasting it.
Chu Tan’s fierce, gloomy aura was so strong that it was nearly about to draw notice from others.
Rong Yu shot him a covert glare, warning him not to lose his mind here.
Chu Tan calmly withdrew his gaze, his lowered eyes full of dark menace.
【Author’s Note:】
Rabid dog biting warning—hahahaha