Do Not Sicken Me
Chu Yuan did, in the end, get his stinky tofu.
“Would Your Highness like some?” He lifted a piece of stinky tofu and held it up before Lu Ronghuai.
The smell rushed at his face immediately. Lu Ronghuai’s expression tightened. “I...” do not eat it.
“Hmph, I am not giving you any.” Chu Yuan only feinted with that move. He popped the stinky tofu into his own mouth, the sauce staining his lips until they looked glossy and red.
Lu Ronghuai stared at his lips.
He had never been a man given to indulgence of the appetite. For so many years, he had never eaten these little street foods. To him, food was only something to sustain him, whether it tasted good or bad makes no difference.
Yet at this moment, seeing Chu Yuan eat with such satisfaction, for some reason he suddenly wanted to try it for himself.
Chu Yuan was eating contentedly when, all of a sudden, a large head leaned over. A shadow fell across him, and the man bit away the piece of stinky tofu he had just lifted.
“!” Chu Yuan stepped back at once, tightly protecting his stinky tofu.
“Not bad.” Lu Ronghuai swallowed it in one mouthful and gave his fair evaluation.
The taste was far better than he had imagined.
“Your Highness ate all my stinky tofu.” Chu Yuan puffed up his cheeks, making them bulge like a little squirrel’s.
“I will buy another portion.” Lu Ronghuai curved his lips.
Chu Yuan nodded vigorously. “Mm!”
The two strolled and ate as they went. When they reached the Feng River, they happened to run into Nie Siran.
Nie Siran said, “Stinky tofu... it would be better to eat less of this sort of thing. How could Your Highness let you eat it? Come with Brother to an inn, and I shall take you to a proper meal.”
Chu Yuan looked slightly embarrassed.
Lu Ronghuai smiled, a hint of mischief in his eyes. “Why does Young Master Nie still look down on our stinky tofu? It smells foul but tastes fragrant, and it is quite good.”
At the side, Chu Yuan nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
Nie Siran rolled his eyes. “What Young Master Nie? Call me Brother.”
Lu Ronghuai replied, “I could call you that, only this Prince does not come cheap. If you wish to hear it, prepare the red packet first.”
Those shameless words made Nie Siran laugh in anger. “Your Highness need not force yourself. Later, simply write out a letter of repudiation, and I shall bring Ah-Yuan home. For the rest of your life, you will never need to call me that.”
Lu Ronghuai held Chu Yuan’s hand and began lodging a complaint. “This fellow harbors ill intent. He wants to destroy our happy and harmonious life together. How about I throw him into the Feng River?”
Chu Yuan pressed a hand to his brow.
“Elder Brother, what brings you here?” Chu Yuan asked.
“I arranged to meet Ruhe, yet he still has not come.” Nie Siran sounded somewhat helpless. He had already been waiting here by the Feng River for an hour, yet there was not the slightest sign of Su Ruhe.
Thinking of what Lu Ronghuai had said that morning, Chu Yuan lifted his head to look at him.
How could Lu Ronghuai possibly let such a chance for mockery slip by. “You are too troublesome. Su Ruhe likely does not wish to see you.”
Nie Siran paused, then smiled calmly. “Your Highness’s mouth truly has eaten stinky tofu.”
“Let us go wait for Su gongzi in that pavilion. It so happens that I am a little tired from walking as well.” Chu Yuan tugged at Lu Ronghuai’s sleeve.
“Very well.”
After the three of them sat down, they ordered a pot of cool tea. A fruit seller pushed a little cart over, and Lu Ronghuai lifted a bunch of translucent green grapes, tossing a silver ingot onto the cart.
“Keep the change. It is your reward.”
The vendor was overjoyed and kept bowing deeply to Lu Ronghuai and repeatedly said. “Many thanks, Your Highness, many thanks, Your Highness.”
“The grapes have not been washed.” After the man had gone, Chu Yuan propped his chin in one hand and fanned himself with the other.
Lu Ronghuai plucked off a grape, his long lashes lowered as his slender fingers slowly peeled away the skin, revealing the tender, juicy flesh within.
“I shall peel them for you to eat. Open your mouth.”
Chu Yuan stared at his hands. The man’s fingers were long and clearly jointed, the veins on the backs of his hands standing out distinctly, filled with a wild kind of sensuality. No matter how many times he looked, he never tired of it.
Nie Siran opened his folding fan. Sitting facing Chu Yuan, he lifted an arm and fanned him.
“Your Highness, I am still here. Why do you not peel one for me as well?”
Lu Ronghuai shot him a glance. “Do not sicken me.”
“Brother, I am not hot.”
Nie Siran pointed at the tip of his nose. “You are sweating already. I shall fan you for a while.”
Lu Ronghuai held the grape to his lips. “Do not mind him. Quickly eat the grape your husband peeled for you.”
Chu Yuan looked from one side to the other, the smile in his eyes deepening bit by bit. It felt as though a little sun had risen within his heart, lively and warm, sending out bright warmth.
He did not reject their good intentions again and ate the grape as the breeze blew against him.
As he bit into the fruit, the tip of his tongue accidentally brushed across Lu Ronghuai’s fingertip. Lu Ronghuai’s Adam’s apple rolled, and his gaze darkened.
That soft, slick touch on his fingertip vanished in an instant, yet it hooked at his heartstrings like a little hook.
“Your Highness?” Chu Yuan called to him several times, yet the man seemed fixed in place without any response.
He reached out and pinched Lu Ronghuai’s cheek, tugging at the skin of his face.
“Mm?” Lu Ronghuai came back to himself and caught the hand causing mischief upon his face.
“I still want to eat grapes.”
“Eat them when we return tonight.” Lu Ronghuai pushed the grapes aside.
Chu Yuan: “?”
Another half hour passed before Su Ruhe finally arrived late.
“What happened?” Nie Siran asked in a measured voice. He was not angry that Su Ruhe had come late, only seeing the man running in drenched with sweat, he guessed something must have delayed him.
Su Ruhe had been breathing harshly. Hearing those words, his breathing stopped for a moment.
“Nothing.” He took the cool tea Chu Yuan handed him, tipped back his head, and drank it down in great gulps.
Nie Siran’s hand paused in its motion of fanning.
Su Ruhe had not spoken the truth, or rather, he was unwilling to speak the truth to him.
The four of them sat in the pavilion for a while. Gradually dusk descended upon the world, and the surface of Feng River reflected the vast blaze of the sunset sky, rippling with threads of gold.
“How beautiful.” Chu Yuan walked to the railing and gazed out over the broad Feng River in admiration.
“Once night arrives, performers will dance upon this river in worship of the Weaver Maiden, and the people will watch from both banks, then release river lanterns together,” Nie Siran said.
“River lanterns?” Chu Yuan turned back curiously to look at Nie Siran.
“Mm. Men and women who have someone dear to them all release river lanterns, praying for fulfilled love and for long companionship.”
Chu Yuan immediately understood.
Lu Ronghuai walked to Chu Yuan’s side and lowered his head. “Does Ah-Yuan wish to release one?”
Chu Yuan was tempted, yet also a little afraid. “Inside the river lantern... is there a candle?”
“Inside is oil paper soaked in tung oil, not a candle.” As he spoke, Nie Siran deliberately glanced at Lu Ronghuai.
A month in advance, Lu Ronghuai had ordered that not a single candle lantern was to appear at this year’s Qiqiao Festival. The common people had no choice but to soak paper in tung oil, then twist the paper into wicks to serve in place of candles.
Chu Yuan smiled, joy rippling in his eyes like waves of water. “Your Highness, let us release a lantern together then!”
“Very well. For now, let us go eat first. When the sky has turned dark, we shall come back.”
Chu Yuan looked toward Nie Siran and Su Ruhe and warmly invited them, “Come eat with us.”
Nie Siran and Su Ruhe looked at one another and refused in unison. “Another time. We still have matters to attend to. Today is Qiqiao Festival, so we shall not disturb the two of you on your tryst.”
Lu Ronghuai gave a low chuckle. For the first time, he found Nie Siran somewhat pleasing to the eye as well.
The two parties separated. Lu Ronghuai took Chu Yuan to an inn where the sauce-braised bones and pig’s trotters were excellent. Chu Yuan ate two full bowls of rice in one breath.
After he had finished, Lu Ronghuai asked whether he wanted another bowl. Looking at the clean bottom of his bowl, Chu Yuan stared blankly for a moment.
“Your Highness, have I eaten rather a lot?”
Looking at Chu Yuan’s innocent, guileless face, Lu Ronghuai kept his expression perfectly straight and pushed the blame onto the unborn child. “It is not your problem. It is that you are carrying a little rice tub. A little rice tub eats a great deal.”
Chu Yuan lowered his head to look at his belly. It was still quite flat, not revealing in the least that a little life had already begun growing there.
“It is a good thing. A daughter with a healthy appetite is a fine thing. Only by eating more will she have strength. When she grows up, I shall teach her martial arts.” Lu Ronghuai ladled him another bowl of vegetable soup.
“Drink some soup to ease the richness.”
Once the two had eaten, they walked hand in hand back onto the street.
Under the night sky, the broad avenue of Ye Jing was hung everywhere with delicate lotus lanterns, swaying in the wind within the darkness.
There were many more people at night than by day. Quite a few wore all manner of animal masks upon their faces and carried lotus lanterns in their hands, passing by while talking and laughing.
“Ah-Yuan, turn around.” Lu Ronghuai suddenly called to him.
Only then did Chu Yuan notice that at some point Lu Ronghuai had fallen a step behind him. Puzzled, he turned around.
A mask was lowered over his face. Lu Ronghuai gently tied the strings for him, then flicked the mask with a finger. “It looks very good.”
Chu Yuan raised a hand and touched the mask. “What is it?”
“A little rabbit.”
“And Yours Highness’s?”
Lu Ronghuai lifted the mask in his other hand. “Ah-Yuan may help me put it on.”
“Mm.” Taking the mask from him, Chu Yuan rose on tiptoe to tie the strings for him.
Lu Ronghuai lowered his head cooperatively, one large hand firmly supporting his waist.
“All done, great gray wolf.”
With masks upon their faces, the two continued along the broad avenue of Ye Jing toward the Feng River.
Halfway there, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of dancing girls.
“Young master, come this way and play.” One of the dancing girls ran to Chu Yuan’s side, smiling as she moved to take his hand.
Lu Ronghuai stepped forward like an arrow and blocked himself before Chu Yuan. “What are you doing?”
His presence was formidable. When he spoke, his voice was cold and measured, and the girl startled and stepped back several paces at once.
Another dancing girl, bolder than the rest, stepped forward with a smile. “This is a game before worshiping the Weaver Maiden. Whoever is willing to come dance with us will have a chance to receive the most beautiful flower lantern of the night.”
As she spoke, she pointed distantly ahead, where an exquisite and splendid river lantern of golden filigree set with pearls hung quietly from the branch of a begonia tree.
Lu Ronghuai turned back. “Do you want it?”
Chu Yuan replied with a question of his own. “Does Your Highness know how to dance?”
“No.”
Chu Yuan laughed softly. “When I was little, I did learn a little, though I have not touched it for many years and am exceedingly rusty. If Your Highness does not disdain it, may I invite You Highness to dance a measure with me?”
“Very well. It would be a great honor.”
Hand in hand, the two stepped into the center of the space. Seeing their hands clasped together, the dancing girls froze for a moment. One of them caught the other, who had wanted to step forward and remind them.
“Forget it. Let the two of them dance together. It is plain enough they are a pair.”
Those dancing girls had sharp eyes. From the first, they had already noticed Lu Ronghuai and Chu Yuan within the crowd. Though both wore masks, the noble bearing in their every movement was beyond imitation.
At first, they had only thought to invite two fine young gentlemen to dance with them. Yet since the two were clearly a pair, it was better not to step in and spoil the mood.
Nearby were musicians playing the pipa and flute. The dancing girls signaled to them and led the rest into the performance space as well.
Once the music began, Chu Yuan had Lu Ronghuai place a hand upon his waist and then quietly instructed him on what to do.
Their robes flew in graceful arcs, their hair tangling and twining together as they spun with lively steps.
After teaching him only a few things, Chu Yuan realized Lu Ronghuai had completely deceived him.
“Does Your Highness not dance this very well? It does not seem like one who cannot dance.” Chu Yuan lifted his head and looked at him teasingly.
Lu Ronghuai said with proper seriousness, “I truly do not know how. It is all because my beloved consort teaches so well.”
“And this skill of my beloved consort, does it seem rusty at all?”
The corners of Chu Yuan’s lips rose. “Not at all. It is all because Your Highness cooperates so well.”
The two teased one another as they danced, their movements light and beautiful. Around them, more and more people gathered in silence.
What they did not know at that very moment was that, from the window of a wine house before them, Su Ruhe sat on the second floor drawing the sight of the two dancing together onto paper.
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu dog: In these times, without a little talent, one cannot even coax his wife [proud face]
Friends, I have fallen ill! I said it before, how could someone with the worst constitution among us be all right, hhh. In the end, I was the last to get infected, and my symptoms turned out to be the most severe. Whether I can update in the next few days will depend on luck.
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