The Yan family has always been low-key, not hosting banquets or accepting lavish gifts. However, on the occasion of the young master’s birthday, well-wishers came in an endless stream. After a family banquet, the Yan family’s steward, who had been smiling at the door for so long that his face was sore, instructed people to carry the gifts to Xunfeng Courtyard with a stiff face and a hoarse voice.
Only Yan Dong was at the table. Seeing the steward come in, he called out, “Uncle Mo.”
“Ah, as per tradition, we only accept gifts that can’t be refused or from close friends. Here’s the gift list for the young master to review.” With that, the steward took out a small box from his sleeve, opened it, and presented it with a smile, “Young master, happy birthday, may you be free from illness and worry.”
Inside the box was a small boxwood carved peach, slightly smaller than a fist, exquisite and lifelike. It could be used as a small ornament or hung on a belt with a string.
“Wow, Uncle Mo, your craftsmanship is amazing, like carving the moon and cutting clouds,” Yan Dong praised as he picked up the peach and sniffed it, catching a faint woody scent. He smiled and thanked him, “Just right, Second Uncle made me a picture of the God of Longevity, I’ll place this on the painting table, they match perfectly!”
Yan Mo smiled and acknowledged with a nod, then bowed and left.
Yan Dong poked the little peach and gently placed it back in the box. He spread out the gift list and saw that the palace had sent several gifts, followed closely by the various princes’ residences. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound and looked down to meet a pair of black grape-like eyes.
A small black dog had somehow appeared behind the chair, looking up at him with a timid and hesitant expression.
Yan Dong immediately guessed why it was there.
He and the little dog stared at each other for a moment. He patiently waited for it to cautiously approach his feet, sniff his pant leg, and look up at him before he reached out and gently rubbed its head.
“Where did it come from?” Yan Dong turned to look at the door.
Yan Song walked in, “Picked it up at the back door of Xunhua Lou in Qianzhou.”
Yan Dong picked up the little black dog and placed it on his lap, “Xunhua Lou?”
“A brothel,” Yan Song sat down beside him.
The hand petting the dog paused, and Yan Dong turned his head to look at Yan Song without speaking.
That little look was quite resentful, accusing him. Yan Song chuckled, “Want to know why I went to a brothel?”
Isn’t that obvious? Yan Dong nodded heavily, “Mm-hmm!”
“The reason is right here,” Yan Song’s gaze shifted down to Yan Dong’s lap, “this.”
Yan Dong followed his gaze and met the round grape-like eyes for a moment, a bit puzzled, “It?”
To capture a cult criminal hiding in Xunhua Lou, the people from the Court of Justice sneaked in through the back door of the brothel. While waiting in a warm sedan chair, Chang Chun’s sharp eyes spotted the little black dog huddled at the base of the wall.
It was cold, and the dog was half-frozen. Yan Song lifted the curtain and took a look; it looked much like when Snowball was picked up by Yan Dong.
It looked very well-behaved, and Dongdong would probably like it.
“I get it, I get it, you went to the brothel to find a warm place to save the dog? It’s warm inside, with doctors, warm water, and hot food,” Yan Song nodded, and Yan Dong couldn’t help but laugh foolishly. Then he wondered, “But why did you change clothes in the brothel?”
Yan Song glanced at him, “I was out running around for a day and a night, finally got inside to rest, can’t I take a bath and change clothes?”
“You can, you can, it’s just that the brothel is such a place that makes people think,” Yan Dong chuckled, moving closer to Yan Song, their shoulders touching, “Does it have a name?”
“No,” Yan Song said, “You name it.”
Snowball was named by Big Brother, using the appearance naming method. So for this one, Yan Dong lifted the little black dog, pondered for a moment, and said, “Let’s call it ‘Grape,’ do you like it?”
The little dog didn’t understand, using its paws to hug his wrist.
Yan Song saw this and smiled, “It’s not afraid of you anymore.”
“Grape is good, good Grape, from now on, you’re Snowball’s half-brother,” Yan Dong suddenly remembered, “By the way, Big Brother, where did you hide it before?”
No hiding, when Yan Song hurried back from Luzhou on horseback, it wasn’t convenient to bring a dog, so he instructed the people finishing up in Luzhou to watch the dog and send it back before Yan Dong’s birthday.
“I see.” Yan Dong gently patted Yan Song’s shoulder with Grape’s paw, “Thank you, Big Brother, I really like it.”
The dog’s paw originally had no strength, but it left a “heavy” mark on the shoulder. Yan Song glanced at the well-behaved and quiet Grape, then looked at the smiling face next to the little dog’s head, and after a long time, he said, “Our Tangyuan, happy birthday.”
He called Yan Dong by his nickname, his tone warm, and his gaze was too.
*
Various departments began to take their year-end holidays, and the National Academy also quieted down. As agreed that day, Yan Dong went to the National Academy to receive his punishment. Yu Zhaoying and Hou Yi naturally couldn’t let him be lonely, accompanying him in and out for three busy days.
Wang Jiaxi felt guilty and originally wanted to come too, but as the year-end approached, she had to follow her parents back to Jiangzhou to pay respects to their ancestors, so she could only promise to treat them to a meal to make amends after returning to the capital.
He Shen came, but he sat in a wheelchair every day, idling in the hall. When it came to studying and exams, he was always at the bottom among his peers, and he had no chance of being selected for officialdom from the National Academy. The highest rank in the National Academy was only a fourth rank, and if it weren’t for the teacher-student relationship, people would have to respectfully call him “Little Marquis” when they saw him. He didn’t care for these people and didn’t bother to win their favor.
“Acting like a big shot, what’s he so smug about?” Outside the window, Hou Yi stuffed a piece of water chestnut into his mouth, looking displeased.
Yu Zhaoying, who had just moved a box of exam papers, came over from behind, “He’s physically and mentally broken, just let him be.”
“Winter was ruthless, one kick and he broke his leg,” Hou Yi gave a thumbs up.
Inside the hall, everything was almost tidied up. Yan Dong was sitting on a beauty couch, peeling chestnuts to eat. Hearing this, he said, “He was the one who acted foolishly first, otherwise, I wouldn’t even want to talk to him for fear of inhaling bad air.”
Hou Yi nodded in agreement and then looked at Yu Zhaoying, “Hey, what did you mean by ‘physically and mentally broken’?”
“The eldest son of the He family,” Yu Zhaoying shared the news, “has just been promoted to a Langzhong in the Ministry of Rites.”
He Shen had always despised his elder brother. When his brother was not doing well, he was gloating, and when his brother was doing well, he naturally—
“Listen,” Hou Yi covered his heart, “the sound of a broken heart.”
He Shen was indeed “heartbroken” recently. Besides the bad news of his elder brother’s promotion, the Third Prince suddenly forbade him from getting close to Wang Jiaxi, saying that the two of them were absolutely impossible at the moment. He couldn’t ask this prince cousin for an explanation and could only be secretly depressed. Hearing the three of them outside being sarcastic and gloating, he was simply furious.
“You three!” He Shen propped himself up from the wheelchair, craning his neck to shout angrily out the window, “Can you talk behind my back?”
No one paid him any mind. After the academic record was announced, the three of them patted their sleeves and left arm in arm.
After completing the labor punishment, Yan Dong officially started his year-end holiday, but Yan Song hadn’t yet. He held multiple positions and was among the busiest officials in the central government.
That day at the hour of Mao, Yan Song was about to have breakfast in the outer room when the door to the bedroom suddenly banged open, and Yan Dong, wrapped in a fox fur cloak, barged in.
This person floated in front of him like a wandering soul, head drooping, mumbling, “Hot towel.”
The voice was too small, like sleep-talking, and the attendants outside the screen of the Bogu shelf didn’t hear it clearly, hesitating in place.
Yan Song had to see what this kid was up to and gave new instructions. Yan Dong quickly got a hot towel, first testing the temperature on his own face, then reaching out to grab Yan Song’s shoulder, and in the next moment, the hot towel was plastered on his face.
Yan Song: “…”
The towel was rubbed haphazardly on his face. Yan Song didn’t resist, and only after the towel was removed did he reach into the furry hood of the cloak, pinching Yan Dong’s cheek, bending down to ask, “Sleepwalking?”
Yan Dong didn’t speak, his head drooping in his hand, looking like he was about to fall asleep on the spot.
“Shizi,” He Bao peeked in from outside, speaking softly, “The young master got up early on purpose to accompany you for breakfast.”
“What’s this about?” Yan Song saw that Yan Dong was very sleepy, so he helped him take off the cloak, revealing a body in snow-white sleepwear and a head of messy bird’s nest hair.
He raised his hand to smooth the bird’s nest, “What time did you sleep last night?”
“Replying to Shizi, at the second quarter of the hour of Yin,” He Bao didn’t dare to lie but also wanted to explain for his master, “The young master wasn’t playing, he was seriously studying!”
Yan Dong had already fallen asleep on Yan Song’s shoulder. Yan Song picked him up and tucked him into bed. The person rolled over as soon as he touched the bed, clutching the brocade quilt at his neck and sleeping. He chuckled, turned around, and walked to the Bogu shelf screen to ask, “What was he studying?”
“There are a few rare books on tea at Second Master’s place. The young master borrowed them yesterday and got so engrossed that he fell asleep with the book on his face in the middle of the night,” He Bao sought credit for his master, “The young master told Qingqing in the evening to wake him up early today, he wanted to accompany you for breakfast, we didn’t dare not wake him, didn’t want to waste his sincerity!”
The Six Arts and Eight Elegances, Yan Dong naturally learned and mastered them all, but he had never shown a particular interest in tea ceremony before. He Bao heard Yan Song sigh, seemingly helpless, yet with a hint of amusement. He couldn’t figure it out, and soon heard Yan Song instructing to set a small table for a meal in the inner room.
The attendants were quick, and Yan Song soon sat down facing the bed, clearly seeing that half of the face resting on the quilt edge, sleeping soundly.
The porridge in front of him was still hot, the rice grains soft and sticky, mixed with chestnut chunks. Yan Song took a spoonful, the warmth and sweetness spreading through his mouth. Having breakfast with such a view, before leaving, he said, “When the young master wakes up, tell him I had breakfast here, so it counts as him accompanying me. Also, tell him not to force himself to read books he doesn’t like, go to bed early, and don’t strain his eyes.”
He Bao responded, feeling that Shizi was in a good mood, surely moved by the young master’s filial piety!