Although he had no idea how Fentao and the others managed to arrive at the conclusion that he and Jinshu Fu had “experienced carnal pleasures for the first time,” Yunchan Wei could not be bothered to waste breath explaining. In any case, even if something genuinely transpired between him and Jinshu Fu, it was only right and proper.
“Let him sleep, he won’t be able to wake up.”
Jinshu Fu naturally possessed an abundance of sleepiness, and yesterday he likely consumed a considerable amount of energy to condition his body, so there was no need to wake him up just for a couple of bowls of soup.
Yet hearing these words in Fentao’s ears carried a rather indulgent implication.
Yunchan Wei picked up the soup tureen and finished it clean in a flash; this was the first time Fentao had ever seen him consume food with such crisp efficiency, looking as though he possessed a fine appetite.
Could it be that opening one’s appetite after breaking sexual abstinence yielded such efficacy? Fentao quietly memorized these observations made this morning and reported them back to Madam Wen upon her return.
Upon hearing this, Madam Wen felt even more convinced that mystery lay within. Pondering the words of that initial Daoist priest, and linking them to how Yunchan Wei’s condition gradually improved ever since Jinshu Fu entered the household, the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was precisely so.
Now that the two children had completed the rites of Duke Zhou and solidified the reality of marriage, Madam Wen also made a firm decision in her heart to transition her view of Jinshu Fu from that of a younger son to that of a daughter-in-law.
Today, the martial arts instructor discovered that Yunchan Wei’s physical strength had increased by a wide margin. When drawing the bow and shooting an arrow, he possessed clear, tangible power, and as the arrow flew out, it struck the target dead center for the very first time.
Although a certain distance still remained from the bullseye, compared to the past few days, it already represented tremendous progress.
“Not bad, keep your line of sight fixed on the bullseye you wish to strike, don’t rush to release the arrow, and make sure your arms remain completely steady.”
Yunchan Wei responded with a “mn,” accepted the arrow handed over by the page, and assumed his stance once more. He could feel the power bursting forth from within his body, those forces circulating through his tensing arms and straining fingers every single time.
This sensation was simply unprecedented, causing the very blood throughout Yunchan Wei’s body to begin boiling.
One arrow, two arrows, three arrows, until the fifteenth arrow was loosed, striking the exact center of the target.
The instructor’s eyes lit up, and he could not help clapping for him: “Splendid, the Young Master is endowed with extraordinary natural talent, truly the fortune of our Yunliang!”
Yet Yunchan Wei did not bask in self-admiration. He shook his aching arms, handed the longbow over to the page, and spread his fingers to inspect them closely.
Today his practice duration was identical to yesterday’s, yet his palms were only slightly flushed, completely free of any skin abrasion or bleeding phenomena.
He felt nothing short of shocked. That little goblin Jinshu Fu actually possessed some genuine skill, no, he possessed immense skill! Not only could he banish his illnesses and ailments, but he could also grant him a rebirth, bestowing upon him an entirely brand-new body overnight.
After a short while, a page came to invite Yunchan Wei for the midday meal. As Yunchan Wei walked, he casually asked, “Has the Young Madam woken up?”
“He has, he accompanied Madam for a short walk in the garden, and right now they are both waiting for you to head over and dine together.”
Yunchan Wei quickened his pace by a couple of steps.
In contrast to Yunchan Wei’s fine mood this morning, Jinshu Fu’s end was somewhat displeasing. First, his sweet dream was interrupted when Madam Wen sent Fentao to fetch him up for a garden stroll. Then, in the garden, he encountered an ugly and vulgar face, that fellow Haiyuan Wei. Running into that sticky, sickening gaze once more made Jinshu Fu’s mood go from bad to worse. Finally, he received some bad news from Madam Wen: the private school notified them that classes would resume tomorrow.
Some time ago, the private school needed renovations, which was why Jinshu Fu had been so leisurely and carefree. Returning to school tomorrow meant he would once again have to rise at the Yin hour, return at the Shen hour, and upon returning still have to complete the homework assigned by the tutor, alongside memorizing those winding, difficult articles and poems.
Therefore, when Yunchan Wei stepped into the room, his very first sight was Jinshu Fu pouting his lips enough to hang an oil lamp, clearly carrying a foul disposition.
At today’s midday meal, Yizhi Wei was absent, Tingyu Wei had gone out to play with her girl friends, and Zewen Wei had also gone out to play polo with friends and had not yet returned. Seated at the table were merely Madam Wen, Niangzi Shuang, Haiyuan Wei, and Jinshu Fu.
Yunchan Wei took his seat and raised a hand to pinch the back of Jinshu Fu’s neck, much like teasing a cat or dog, kneading the soft flesh at the back of his neck with moderate force, before leaning in close to lower his voice and ask, “Why are you pouting? Which eyeless fellow provoked and displeased you?”
Jinshu Fu shoved his arm away; lacking strength, he naturally failed to push the other’s hand aside.
He simply caught hold of Yunchan Wei’s other hand and wrote upon his palm: [The private school tutor].
In Jinshu Fu’s view, among those three reasons, the final point was precisely what displeased him the most. Accompanying Madam Wen on a stroll did no real harm, and running into Haiyuan Wei merely affected his mood for a moment, but the true root of evil was having to attend school tomorrow.
This proved to be an answer Yunchan Wei never expected. He withdrew his hand and returned six characters to him: [A piece of rotten wood cannot be carved].
Jinshu Fu detested these pedantic plays on words and could not be bothered to entertain him, picking up his chopsticks to begin eating, while not forgetting to direct Yunchan Wei in picking out dishes for him: crab-meat lion’s heads, eight-treasure diced rabbit, and embroidered scallop balls.
Yunchan Wei picked out a couple of bites for him, and seeing him eat alongside rice with his mouth covered in oil, his own stomach began to grow hungry as well.
Hunger, this likewise constituted a novel experience for Yunchan Wei.
In the past, steeped daily in medicine jars with a bitter taste in his mouth, he never experienced any sensation of hunger. Presently, however, he could clearly feel his belly emptied, urgently requiring food to fill it.
The two of them began eating like this as if no one else was around. Jinshu Fu favored meat, so Yunchan Wei accompanied him by tasting every single one of those meat dishes from top to bottom. Within no time at all, those meat dishes on the table were swept clean.
Madam Wen had been observing Yunchan Wei ever since he stepped into the room. Seeing how his heart and eyes were completely fixed upon Jinshu Fu alone, whether it was the intimate gesture of directly reaching out to pinch the back of his neck, whispering head-to-head, or attentively picking out food for Jinshu Fu, they truly looked as thick as thieves.
What pleased Madam Wen most was witnessing how Yunchan Wei’s appetite clearly surged by leaps and bounds today. While Jinshu Fu requesting a second bowl of rice was a regular occurrence, today Yunchan Wei made a groundbreaking move by requesting a second bowl of rice as well, which struck Madam Wen as nothing short of a magnificent blessing.
With the dishes on the table emptied, Madam Wen hastily instructed the servants to notify the kitchen to serve up fresh dishes, and the smile on her face proved impossible to conceal.
Meanwhile, Niangzi Shuang evidently took note of Yunchan Wei’s transformation as well.
Ever since Jinshu Fu returned completely safe, sound, and intact on the second day after falling into the lake, an ominous prehension had settled into her heart. That very day, Niangzi Shuang rushed off to the temple behind Wutai Mountain to seek help from the White-Eyed Taoist Priest, only to kneel there for half a day without receiving any response.
On the third day, the fourth day, continuing for five straight days, Niangzi Shuang finally registered the truth, the White-Eyed Taoist Priest had vanished.
Lacking the assistance of the White-Eyed Taoist Priest, she could only watch helplessly as Yunchan Wei grew more radiant and spirited day by day. If things continued developing along this trajectory, let alone dying, Yunchan Wei would likely recover to his absolute healthiest state. When that time came, wouldn’t this Wei estate and this Yunliang simply fall entirely into Yunchan Wei’s grasp?
Burning with scorching anxiety, Niangzi Shuang pondered various venomous schemes in the depths of her heart, yet upon her exterior, she showed no outward trace, wearing a mask of absolute geniality and gentleness.
Haiyuan Wei felt equally stunned. This sickly invalid Yunchan Wei, with half a foot already inside the coffin, had actually been hauled back. He cast an investigative gaze toward Jinshu Fu, could this “blessing in disguise” truly be so mystical?
Hearing this morning that Jinshu Fu and Yunchan Wei had consummated the rites of Duke Zhou last night, jealousy surged inside him yet left him completely helpless, forcing him to channel his burning jealousy and desires onto someone else.
At this thought, Haiyuan Wei could not help but lament that a counterfeit truly remained a counterfeit, with even the mole between his eyebrows forged artificially. Tsk, his skin and flesh felt rough and abrasive to the touch when stroked, and he even cried out in such an unappealing manner.
Utterly ill-omened.
He could not resist casting his gaze back onto Jinshu Fu’s face, thirstily licking the corner of his lips, feeling that even those greasy little lips made one yearn to pull them into one’s mouth to thoroughly taste and savor.
How fortunate Yunchan Wei truly was; the beauty belonged to him, the Wei estate belonged to him, and in the future even this vast Yunliang City would belong to him—how could he possibly reconcile himself to this?
Sensing Haiyuan Wei’s fixed gaze once more, the diced rabbit in Jinshu Fu’s mouth instantly lost its appeal, prompting him to spit out the bone and lay down his chopsticks, leaving a small portion of rice unfinished in his bowl.
Having just eaten his fill, Yunchan Wei noticed him leaving food behind and reminded him, “You cannot waste food.”
Thus, Jinshu Fu picked up his chopsticks once more, shoveling the rice into his mouth in a swift rush until his cheeks bulged completely round, which in Yunchan Wei’s eyes appeared both slightly comical and somewhat endearing.
“Gobbling your food down like a wolf.” Yunchan Wei raised a hand to wipe away a grain of rice from the corner of his lips, and before he could pull his hand back, he was caught by Jinshu Fu, who gave it a gentle squeeze while blinking his large eyes repeatedly at him.
Even though he uttered not a single word, Yunchan Wei managed to read his “hint” perfectly.
He rose to his feet, addressing Madam Wen, “Mother, you all continue eating slowly, and Jinshu and I will head back to our room to rest for a bit.”
Madam Wen smiled and nodded, “Alright, alright, go ahead, take your time.”
Jinshu Fu tugged at Yunchan Wei’s hand and pulled him out of the room, while Yunchan Wei allowed himself to be led at a leisurely pace, his tone lazy: “What ghost is chasing after you, why walk so in a rush?”