The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 25

Liang Yu went over to deliver things as usual that morning, his mind preoccupied with various matters as he pushed open the gate to his small courtyard. He saw the person standing in the yard with arms crossed, waiting. His footsteps faltered for a moment, then he decisively turned around to leave.

Mother Liang was standing right there in the courtyard. Seeing his movement, she laughed in anger, her voice full of fury as she called out loudly, “Liang Yu!”

Liang Yu closed his eyes, thinking to himself that he still hadn’t managed to hide it from his mother. He turned around and walked back to her with his head hanging obediently.

Mother Liang’s gaze fell on the empty basket on his back. She said in a flat voice, “Went to deliver things again?”

Liang Yu kept his head down and gave a soft “mm.”

Mother Liang got angry just looking at him like this. She reached out and grabbed his ear, lowering her voice. “You little rascal, what are you thinking? That Su family boy is still in mourning. The village gossip has reached my ears. Don’t you dare cause trouble for me!”

Liang Yu looked up at Mother Liang. His ear was being pinched until it was bright red, but he didn’t make a sound. After a while, he said, “Mother, I have a plan.”

Mother Liang was taken aback by his look. She knew her own son well enough. Once he made up his mind, not even eight oxen could pull him back. Mother Liang wanted to say something more, but swallowed it back. In the end, she just sighed, let go of his ear, patted Liang Yu’s shoulder, pushed open the courtyard gate and left.

Liang Yu pushed open his room door and sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled something out from inside his clothes.

In the morning light, he looked at the handkerchief in his hand. It was grayish-blue, with a small fish embroidered in the corner with fine, careful stitches. It was done in the southern embroidery style. It was something Su Qingyu had secretly slipped to him that day. He only discovered it when he got back to change clothes, and hadn’t even noticed when it was put there.

The handkerchief still carried a faint, warm fragrance.

Liang Yu pressed the handkerchief to his face and breathed in deeply. After a good while, he tucked the handkerchief back into his clothes, lay down, pulled up the quilt, and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep.

On the day of Little New Year, Liang Yu went to town early in the morning. When he came back, the cart was loaded full to bursting. Shuanzi spent half the day unloading, and the kitchen was piled high with New Year goods. The meat was from their own livestock. Now that the family wasn’t short of silver, they kept the good cuts for themselves. Everything else was prepared in full supply: peanuts, melon seeds, red dates, candies. Even the door couplets and door gods were bought.

When Su Qingyu was brought over that afternoon and saw that pile of things, he froze for a moment.

Liang Yu leaned against the kitchen doorway, a straw stem in his mouth. His hand reached out mischievously to tug at Su Qingyu’s soft cheek, the corner of his mouth curving up. “What are you spacing out for? Come help.”

Su Qingyu walked over and was immediately pulled into the kitchen, pressed onto a stool to peel garlic. Liang Yu was beside him cleaning that fish. His knife work was swift and neat. Scrape the scales, slit the belly, and in three or two moves it was all cleaned up.

The fire in the stove was burning bright, and the pot was stewing meat, bubbling and gurgling with steam. The aroma filled the whole room.

Su Qingyu peeled the garlic, occasionally looking up at Liang Yu. That face with its sharp, clear features was flickering between light and shadow in the stove fire. The fierceness between his brows had softened somewhat, replaced by a touch of laziness. He looked very handsome indeed.

He looked and looked, and didn’t even realize when he had finished peeling all the garlic in his hands.

Liang Yu turned his head and met those eyes directly. He raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at?”

Su Qingyu’s face went red. He lowered his head and grabbed another handful of garlic to peel.

Liang Yu laughed, walked over, pinched that face and lifted it up, and kissed him until he couldn’t catch his breath before letting go.

“Look properly tonight,” he said in a low voice, carrying a smile.

Su Qingyu’s face grew even redder. He lowered his eyes, his eyelashes trembling fiercely.

After dinner, the sky was already completely dark. Liang Yu cleaned up the kitchen, then went to the warming room to heat water. The two of them bathed one after another. Su Qingyu was wearing his inner clothes, curled up on the kang sewing something. It was a pair of knee pads for Liang Yu. The New Year was almost here, and Liang Yu’s old pair was worn out and looked tattered. Su Qingyu wanted to make him a new pair.

When Liang Yu came in, his hair was still wet. He was carrying a small cloth bundle in his hand. He climbed onto the kang and handed the bundle to Su Qingyu.

“For you.”

Su Qingyu froze for a moment, took it and opened it. Inside was a pair of small fish-shaped silver ear drops, inlaid with red agate stones. They looked especially beautiful under the oil lamp.

“Second Brother Liang…”

“It’s the New Year. You should have something.” Liang Yu leaned there, looking at that face full of surprise and joy, his heart going soft. “Try them on.”

Su Qingyu put on the ear drops. White skin with red accents. He looked very pretty indeed.

Liang Yu’s throat went dry watching this. He pulled him over and kissed him thoroughly.

After kissing his lips, he took the ear drops together with Su Qingyu’s soft white earlobe into his mouth, his canine teeth nibbling gently. Only when his oral desire was satisfied did he let go of Su Qingyu, speaking warmly to coax the weeping boy.

“Alright, don’t cry.” He pulled him into his arms, resting his chin on top of Su Qingyu’s head and rubbing against it. “Don’t come over on New Year’s Eve. Stay home and keep your mother company. I’ll come get you on the second day of the New Year.”

Su Qingyu nodded, his face buried in that warm chest, giving a muffled “mm.”

The two of them lay holding each other for a while, then Liang Yu’s hand started to behave improperly. His hand slipped under the inner clothes and touched that section of soft white waist. Su Qingyu’s body trembled from being touched, but he didn’t dodge. He let him touch as he pleased.

After touching for a while, Liang Yu flipped over and pressed down on him, lowering his head to look at that face. He leaned down to kiss those eyes holding watery light.

“Today is Little New Year. We have to celebrate it properly.”

Su Qingyu’s face grew even redder, but he gave a slight nod.

The oil lamp was blown out, and the room went dark. A bit of moonlight filtered through the window paper, hazy and indistinct. Two figures were tangled together on the kang, occasionally making some soft, thin sounds, which were quickly swallowed up.

After a long time, everything quieted down.

Su Qingyu was lying in Liang Yu’s arms, his whole body soft as if he had no bones left, the corners of his eyes completely red.

Liang Yu tidied up the bed, wiped Su Qingyu clean, casually wiped himself off, and held Su Qingyu in the quilt, kissing the person in his arms from time to time.

That cotton pad was indeed useful. Soft and convenient, it wouldn’t dirty the bedding. Liang Yu later specially went to town to buy even softer, finer cotton cloth, and had Su Qingyu sew a few more to rotate between. Every time Liang Yu used them, looking at those pads, thinking about how they were sewn stitch by stitch by those soft hands, his heart would fill with an indescribable feeling.

Su Qingyu recovered his strength, curled up in that warm embrace, and suddenly remembered something. “Second Brother Liang, are those pads… enough?”

Liang Yu froze for a moment, lowered his head to look at that face, and smiled rather wickedly.

“Not enough.” He pinched that face. “Sew a few more. We’ll rotate between them.”

Su Qingyu silently went red all over again. He kissed Liang Yu’s chin, buried his face in Liang Yu’s chest, and lay still without moving again.

This whole set of movements was already very practiced. Clearly he was teased by Liang Yu like this on ordinary days as well.

“I’ll come get you on the second day,” came the muffled voice from above his head. “Stay a few more days.”

Su Qingyu gave an “mm,” his face rubbing against that warm chest.

Outside, the wind picked up, blowing against the window with a rustling sound. In the distance came a few barks from dogs, which quickly faded away.

Inside, it was warm and cozy. The two of them held each other and slowly fell asleep.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Liang Yu had Shuanzi deliver a pile of things over. Half a side of pork, a chicken, a fish, a package of pastries, and a new padded jacket for Mother Su.

Shuanzi helped carry the things into the house, then leaned over next to Su Qingyu, sneakily pulling a red paper packet from inside his clothes and handing it to Su Qingyu, smiling with a teasing look.

“Second Master Liang said, this is New Year’s money for Young Master Su.”

Su Qingyu took it. The paper packet was heavy. He opened a corner to look. Inside was two taels of silver, and a small silver ring. It was plain, inlaid with a small red agate, still carrying the fish pattern, polished until it shone bright.

Su Qingyu’s face instantly went red, red all the way to the roots of his ears.

Shuanzi gave a heh-heh laugh, said his goodbyes and left. Su Qingyu stood in the courtyard, holding that red paper packet, looking at it for a good while, before carefully tucking it into his clothes and going inside to deal with that half side of pork.

There was too much meat. The family couldn’t finish it all. Su Qingyu cut off several pieces to give to the neighbors, cut off several more to pickle, and hung the rest in the kitchen rafters to air-dry and eat slowly.