The rumbling sound of his stomach dispersed the faint sadness. Xie Jinning stuffed the jade pendant back under his pillow and slowly got up. He was hungry.
His long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall as he rose, a few strands slipping down and being blown by the wind sneaking in through the window, brushing against his long, thick eyelashes and tickling his face slightly. Xie Jinning raised his hand to brush it away, rubbing the ticklish sensation until it disappeared.
Ever since he was grounded, Xie Jinning had been leaving his hair down for days. It was fine when he was alone, but he felt a bit uncomfortable when he encountered strangers.
Xie Jinning usually used hairpins and ribbons to tie his hair, especially jade hairpins. He used wooden ones the least, finding them too plain and old-fashioned, no matter how precious the wood was. He didn’t like sticking them in his hair. His hair ribbons were even more varied, with gold-embroidered brocade, Shu silk, and pearl-embedded gauze… Every morning, a maid would bring them for him to choose from, not to mention his clothes.
But now, he was left with only rough cloth clothes that made his skin slightly uncomfortable and some random cloth strips.
Feeling the disparity once again, Xie Jinning sighed, realizing he had sighed more in these past few days than in his entire sixteen years combined.
Grabbing a cloth strip, he began to tie his hair. Xie Jinning was clumsy and didn’t know the technique, and his thick black hair was hard to manage. After much effort, he finally gathered it all up and wrapped it with the cloth strip, but his arms grew tired, and he couldn’t tie it securely. As soon as he loosened his fingers, it fell like a cloud.
“I refuse to believe I can’t even tie my hair,” he muttered, shaking his arms and wrinkling his nose, his face full of defiance, his eyes bright, taking it as a challenge.
When his empty stomach growled again, he finally managed to tie his hair into a ponytail, high on the back of his head. A few strands still hung loose, but overall, it was a great success, feeling fresh and light.
As he lightly shook his head, the black hair swayed with it, and from the front, it looked as nimble as a cat’s tail.
Xie Jinning walked into the courtyard, looked up at the sky, and estimated that it was almost noon, yet Yan Yi hadn’t returned home.
“Where did he go without saying anything? He said yesterday he’d take responsibility, but now there’s not even a shadow of him,” he muttered, pouting.
When Yan Yi returned, he would definitely give him a good scolding.
In fact, Xie Jinning hadn’t realized that a whole day had passed since the night he had a fever.
…
Yan Yi was sitting under the tree he had punched through. He had his legs bent, and the bloodstains on his knuckles had long dried, the brownish-red residue around the cracked wounds looking quite alarming.
Dry yellow leaves covered him, but he seemed unaware, not brushing any away. Sunlight filtered through the branches, leaving mottled shadows on his deep-set brow, like cracks dividing his face.
It was like a dull knife, cutting through his sanity.
The night before, he had climbed over the wall into the Xie family, noticing Xie Jinning’s unusual complexion. He immediately climbed in through the open window, reached out, and found he had a fever.
With his hand under Xie Jinning’s ribs, Yan Yi lifted him from the bed, realizing the waistband was too loose, causing the pants to slip down, revealing two long, white legs.
Because of the embrace, the hem of his clothes had ridden up to his chest, and Yan Yi, standing to the side, was caught off guard, seeing almost everything except the front of his chest.
The feverish boy’s body was flushed pink, his skin under the moonlight looking like it was covered in a delicate gauze, even more enticing. His limbs were soft, his body sliding down like a jade doll that could be manipulated at will.
As the fragrance grew stronger, Yan Yi’s heart pounded wildly, like a war drum beating in his chest, a strange panic flooding his mind.
He didn’t have time to think deeply. He found a pair of pants in the cabinet and helped Xie Jinning change, then carried him on his back.
Through a layer of fabric, his fingers holding the boy’s thigh felt like they were sinking into a soft cloud, and with the boy’s weight, even a bit of honey-colored skin peeked through his fingers.
Worried that the cold night air would worsen his condition, Yan Yi wrapped him in a thin blanket and started running.
By the time they reached the neighboring village, it was already dawn. The doctor, forcibly awakened, was full of impatience but, seeing the double consultation fee, let them in.
The diagnosis was that the fever was caused by restlessness and wind-cold entering the body. Fortunately, the young master had used many precious herbs before, so his body, though weak, was balanced in yin and yang, and the condition wasn’t difficult to treat. A few doses of medicine to induce sweating would suffice.
The injury on his back was also checked. The young master’s skin was tender, so it looked serious, but it hadn’t damaged the deeper layers. Continuing to apply medicine would do.
Yan Yi spent some more money to get an empty room for Xie Jinning to lie down. The doctor was at ease letting him go to the pharmacy to prepare the medicine himself, yawning as he returned to his room to rest.
When the medicine was ready, Yan Yi propped Xie Jinning up, letting him lean against his chest.
He held Xie Jinning’s head, which was weakly sliding down, with one hand, and with the other, he held the medicine bowl to his lips, trying to feed it to him like he did with porridge during the day. But the boy, who had been obedient all the way, became difficult.
As soon as he smelled the bitter scent, the boy, still asleep with his eyes closed, instinctively resisted.
He furrowed his brows, his lips tightly shut. Yan Yi carefully pressed his cheek to make him pout, but his teeth remained clenched, not allowing entry.
The medicine that was fed in with difficulty hadn’t even reached his throat before it dripped down the corner of his mouth, the dark brown liquid trickling down his neck, pooling at his collarbone.
Three fingers left teeth marks, and finally, his jaw relaxed. Just as he managed to feed a mouthful, the delicate boy spat it out, mumbling that it was bitter and he didn’t want to drink it.
In the end…
Yan Yi couldn’t help but touch his own lips, where the soft, moist sensation seemed to linger.
The boy’s tongue softly pushed back, only to be invaded again, pressed down mercilessly until he couldn’t breathe, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
It was only the first few sips, and after that, the medicine was slowly fed in along the rim of the bowl, obediently swallowed by the boy who could now swallow on his own.
The hastily boiled medicine was bitter, but he tasted a bit of sweetness.
He didn’t know if it was from that fragrant mouth or the scent that penetrated to the bone.
After that, there was the unspeakable dream from last night…
At this moment, in the courtyard, Xie Jinning was also troubled by the thought of drinking medicine.
The chicken soup and rice in the big pot in the kitchen were still warm, and along with it, a bowl of black medicine.
He didn’t know how Yan Yi had fed him the medicine, but it was poured into his stomach when he was unconscious, so he didn’t feel it was too bad.
But now, with a bowl of medicine right in front of him, and no candied fruits or sweets to mask the taste, Xie Jinning’s face scrunched up, his arm lifting and lowering the bowl, unable to bring it to his mouth.
He couldn’t tell if going to the bathroom was more difficult or drinking the medicine.
He pondered, but realizing even the things he was comparing were so unbearable, he felt like crying without tears. Taking a deep breath, Xie Jinning finally prepared himself mentally, pinched his nose, and gulped it down.
“Gulp…”
Bupleurum, scutellaria, ginger… it was Xiao Chai Hu Tang.
Xie Jinning’s tongue was sensitive, and having drunk a lot of herbal medicine as a child, he could taste a few ingredients, but he hadn’t deliberately learned about them, so that was the extent of his knowledge.
Perhaps there were also some calming herbs added, making this bowl more bitter than the usual cold-dispelling medicine, with a lingering grassy taste. After drinking half a bowl, Xie Jinning couldn’t take it anymore, covering his mouth and panting.
The bitterness made the tears he had held back all day well up again, teetering on the edge of his eyes. He quickly picked up the chicken soup and rice, scooping a spoonful into his mouth.
The rich, savory taste of the chicken soup instantly soothed his tormented taste buds, the rice soaked in the broth soft and glutinous, gradually suppressing the bitterness spreading in his throat, making his brow relax.
A bowl of rice was just enough to fill his stomach. After finishing the meal, he poured the remaining medicine under a tree, skillfully erasing the evidence. Bored and unwilling to go out, Xie Jinning wandered around the courtyard to digest.
Though small, the courtyard was divided into a front and back yard. The front yard was for washing clothes, cooking, and drying, while the back yard was where the toilet was located.
Desperate, Xie Jinning lifted the curtain that sealed the terrifying stench, surprised to find the smell had dissipated significantly, the wooden boards washed with clean water, looking brand new.
Boiling medicine, feeding medicine, cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, and going out early in the morning—didn’t Yan Yi need to rest?
Such abundant energy.
After scooping water with a wooden ladle to clean his hands, Xie Jinning was drawn by a few chicken clucks, following the sound to find a chicken coop fenced in the corner of the backyard.
The small coop housed only two chickens, skinny and small. One was quietly perched on a nest made of straw and branches, wings folded, maintaining this position without moving, as if guarding a treasure.
The other, with a larger comb, was leisurely patrolling its territory within the enclosure.
Xie Jinning’s impression of chickens, aside from the various dishes served on the table, was limited to the brightly colored, proud fighting cocks in the arena.
In the arena, the crowing of chickens and flying feathers, with some rejoicing and others lamenting. Xie Jinning didn’t like the noisy, chaotic atmosphere of animal fights. After being taken there and losing a few bets, he lost interest.
Returning to the present, his gaze passed over the rooster, and Xie Jinning leaned over, trying to see if the hen was incubating eggs. Unfortunately, branches and feathers blocked his view, and he couldn’t see clearly.
Curious, he moved to a closer angle, spreading his legs and bending over, finally catching a glimpse of a white corner under the downy feathers.
Sure enough, it was incubating eggs. Satisfied, Xie Jinning didn’t realize his upper body had leaned over the fence.
In the corner of his eye, he saw the red-brown approaching. Turning his head, he found himself face-to-face with the rooster.
“!”
The direct confrontation with the sharp beak startled him, and he quickly straightened up and backed away. But the rooster, having marked this unfamiliar scent as an enemy, wasn’t about to let him go.
Its beady eyes turned sharp, and it flapped its wings, flying over the fence, charging at Xie Jinning with its beak aimed straight at him.
“Ah.”
Injured and unable to dodge in time, Xie Jinning was pecked right on target, the sharp pain piercing through the fabric to his calf.
He widened his eyes in shock, hurriedly dodging, but the rooster, intent on protecting its family, was relentless, charging again.
“I just wanted to look, not take your kids, don’t bite me.”
“Bawk bawk bawk!”
The sharp beak approached again, and Xie Jinning, unable to care about anything else, turned and ran.
A person and a chicken chased each other around the courtyard, but it was the person being chased.
Behind him was the loud, battle-ready rooster, and the faint pain in his rear. Xie Jinning, caught off guard, nearly tripped over a stone, giving the rooster a chance to peck fiercely.
“No, help!”
Finally, the long hair he had painstakingly tied up came loose, tangled with a few chicken feathers, and his legs hurt.
Old wounds not yet healed, and now new ones added.
Sitting on the bed, Xie Jinning lifted his pant leg to see the red marks on his leg, unable to hold back, blinking as tears fell.
Why was even a chicken bullying him?