The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 68

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month, Qixi, the festival of begging for skill, praying for blessings and good fortune.

Su Qingyu had been looking forward to this day for several days. On Qixi the town below the mountain held a market fair, where girls and young men went to buy needles, thread, fruits, and melons, and made skill cakes for fun. Though he was married, he still wanted to join in the excitement.

Liang Yu looked at the little one’s excited face and without a word of objection hitched up the ox cart and took him down the mountain.

When they reached town, Liang Yu first helped Su Qingyu down and let him go ahead, while he went to a familiar shop to settle the ox cart, gave the shop hand a few coins to keep an eye on it, tied up the cart, and hurried off.

It was a festive day, and the town was packed with people. Girls and young men wore new clothes, carried needles, thread, and cloth in their hands, held sugar hawthorn sticks, chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was wonderfully lively.

Liang Yu walked out of the shop and looked left and right for the person he was seeking. Seeing the young man standing obediently beneath the big rock at the town entrance waiting, his heart softened.

As he was walking toward him, he spotted someone selling sugar hawthorn sticks, so he bought two to sweeten the young man’s mouth.

Looking at the obedient young man, Liang Yu had a thought. He lightened his footsteps and approached from behind, suddenly reached out to wrap his arm around the young man’s waist, and deliberately lowered his voice by his ear. “Young man, you are so pretty. Are you married? It does not matter if you are. For a young man to stand here all alone waiting so pitifully, your husband must be a worthless fool. Why not leave him and come with me? I may not give you a life of silk brocade and pearl hairpins, but you will never worry about having grain or meat, you will never lack gold, silver, or jade ornaments, fine cotton and plain silk will fragrance your whole body, and you will have a devoted husband to pleasure you every night. Consider it?”

Su Qingyu had tensed up when his waist was suddenly grabbed, thinking it was some lecher. Only when he heard the familiar voice did he relax. But before he could fully let out that breath, that string of words made his face burn with embarrassment. He looked left and right to make sure no one was paying attention, then turned and punched Liang Yu’s chest, furious. “Liang Yu, what nonsense are you spouting?!”

Hearing Su Qingyu call him by his full name, Liang Yu knew he had teased him too far this time. He hurriedly handed him the sugar hawthorn stick to coax him. “I was wrong. Do not be angry, alright?”

Su Qingyu took the sugar hawthorn stick with a cold humph, bit into it hard, and strode forward with his chest out and back straight, looking wonderfully proud, like a little rooster that had finally won a fight, his little chin raised high. The moment he turned around he could no longer hold back his smile.

Liang Yu thought he had truly angered him. Holding the other sugar hawthorn stick, he followed behind acting humble and coaxing softly. “Good husband, I truly was wrong. Next time I will not tease you in public…”

He coaxed for a long while, but the usually soft little one only walked faster, his shoulders seeming to shake. This was strange.

Liang Yu took big steps forward to get in front of Su Qingyu, and only then discovered his face was full of smiles. Seeing Liang Yu come close, Su Qingyu could not be bothered to pretend anymore. He bent over laughing nonstop.

Liang Yu stood nearby holding the sugar hawthorn stick, watching him laugh. The little bit of frustration from being turned around on him also dispersed, and a smile unconsciously appeared at his lips. The two of them stood laughing at each other like a pair of fools.

Fortunately, the market fair was crowded, and there were plenty of fools on Qixi. They did not stand out too much among the crowd, and Master Liang’s dignity was preserved.

When they finished laughing their mouths felt dry. Liang Yu went to a sweet drink shop and bought two cups of chilled green plum wine, handing one to Su Qingyu. The fruit wine was not strong, not even enough to make Su Qingyu drunk. One sip was cool and refreshing, wonderfully comfortable in the hot weather.

The two of them ate and played along the way. To suit the occasion, Su Qingyu also went to a shop to buy needles, thread, and cloth, hugging his little bundle and smiling happily.

Leaving the shop, Su Qingyu saw someone selling sugar figurines, and his feet would not move. Liang Yu followed his gaze, understood, walked over and paid for two. One was a little fish, the other a little dog. The vendor’s craft was exquisite, with few strokes yet capturing both spirit and form, looking wonderfully delicate. No wonder it cost a few more coins than the neighboring stall. It was worth it.

Su Qingyu took them, looking and looking, licking his lips but always reluctant to eat them.

Liang Yu saw him looking for so long without taking a bite. He leaned over and took a bite of the fish head, while stuffing the other little dog into his mouth.

Su Qingyu made muffled sounds from being stuffed full, glared at him, and Liang Yu returned a smile. Su Qingyu unconsciously curved his eyes too, and the two of them held hands and continued strolling through the streets.

They strolled until noon, and the two of them ate a bowl of noodles in town. They also bought pastries. Since it was Qixi, the pastry shops were selling skill cakes too. Su Qingyu looked but decided to make them himself when they got back.

So they bought some flour, sugar, and sesame seeds and headed back. Liang Yu brought the ox cart over, helped Su Qingyu up, and got on himself.

Liang Yu sat on the cart shaft. Su Qingyu did not sit on the cart bed, but sat beside him hugging his little bundle, tilting his head to lean on his shoulder. The married couple held hands, looked at the scenery along the road, and occasionally exchanged small talk, very happy.

Back at their small courtyard, Su Qingyu began busying himself, with Liang Yu helping beside him. But the things Liang Yu shaped came out all strange and misshapen.

Su Qingyu laughed so hard he could not straighten up, then was kissed by Liang Yu pinching his face until he stopped talking, and buried his head to seriously make the skill cakes.

The fried skill cakes were golden yellow, sprinkled with sesame seeds, wonderfully fragrant. Su Qingyu tasted one, then fed Liang Yu one. The two of them ate one each, finishing nearly half a basin, then fried three more baskets to share, delivering them to Mother Liang and the elder sister in law, then carrying things to visit Su’s mother, eating dinner at Su’s mother’s place before returning.

That night, the moon rose.

It was said that on Qixi night, if you quietly hid beneath a grape trellis, you could secretly hear what the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl said when they met. So Su Qingyu moved a small stool to the front courtyard, deliberately sitting beneath the grape trellis. The grapes were planted by Mother Liang, grown for several years and bearing abundant fruit, not for selling but just for the family to eat.

Liang Yu carried a bowl of washed grapes and a small stool to sit beside him, and together they ate grapes and watched the stars in the courtyard.

Su Qingyu leaned against Liang Yu’s shoulder and asked, “Husband, do you think the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are meeting on the magpie bridge right now?”

“I do not know.”

“Only able to meet once a year. How pitiful.”

“As long as we can see each other every day, that is enough.”

Su Qingyu smiled and rubbed against Liang Yu, picked a grape and peeled it, holding it to Liang Yu’s lips. Liang Yu bit the grape and sucked on Su Qingyu’s lips. Before Su Qingyu could pull back, Liang Yu held him and kissed him thoroughly.

Just as the two of them were kissing inseparably, a sound suddenly came from the back door of the front house. Su Qingyu hurriedly pushed Liang Yu away and wiped his lips. The redness on his face would not fade for a moment, so he hung his head, hugged the grape bowl, and peeled a grape, pretending to be very busy.

The back door opened, and Mother Liang poked her head out. Looking at the little married couple sitting beneath the grape trellis, she asked with some puzzlement, “You two are not returning to your own room in the middle of the night, but sitting in the courtyard feeding mosquitoes? And you deliberately sit by the trellis, where there are so many mosquitoes. Have you lost your minds and come out at night to be great philanthropists?”

The married couple gave vague responses. Mother Liang said a couple more words about the mosquitoes being too many and went inside. Once the door closed, Su Qingyu let out a breath of relief. The two of them moved their small stools and snuck back to their own room.

Back in the room, Liang Yu took medicinal oil and pulled over Su Qingyu’s leg to apply it. Perhaps Liang Yu’s skin was too tough for mosquitoes to bite through, for he did not have a single mosquito welt on him. Su Qingyu, however, had been bitten twice on his calf.

Liang Yu applied the medicine, and as he applied it he could not help laughing out loud. Looking at the person who could not stop laughing, Su Qingyu kicked Liang Yu’s lower abdomen twice in anger. Once the medicine was applied, he curled his legs and hugged the bamboo wife lying on the bed. Liang Yu embraced him from behind, holding a palm leaf fan to fan him. The night deepened, and the two gradually fell asleep.