Chapter 24

Chapter 24

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a side branch of the Lu clan, Nan’an Hou’s older half-brother brought his entire family from Lin’an to the capital. The two brothers have not seen each other for decades since they divided the family property and went their separate ways. Regardless of the actual relationship between the brothers, on the surface, they still had to go through the motions.

For this Mid-autumn Festival, the entire Hou Mansion was busy from top to bottom. Only the two masters of the Blue Wind Pavilion could be idle. Shaojun wouldn’t concern himself over such small matters and Young Master Hou hasn’t been in good condition since the beginning of autumn. Before, he used to be able to walk around a bit, but now he was completely unable to leave his wheelchair and had to be pushed around by others to get anywhere.

The head of the Lu clan’s branch family sent word in advance, telling them the time of their arrival. When it was almost time, Lin Qingyu and Pan Shi went together with Nan’an Hou to the gate of the mansion to greet the guests. They saw five or six luxurious carriages slowly approaching from the distance.ALL new chapters on nov(e)lbin(.)com

Lin’an was a rich and prosperous place and the Lu family was one of its most prominent households. The head of the family was Nan’an Hou’s eldest brother and Lu Wancheng’s eldest uncle. After the two brothers met, they greeted each other politely, with far more courtesy than affection. They then entered the mansion together. Lin Qingyu followed behind with absolutely no interest in this whole matter. A good-looking man then stepped forward to talk to him, “This must be Lin Shaojun?”

Lin Qingyu didn’t answer, and Pan Shi said, “Shaojun, this is Master Hou’s nephew, Young Master Hou’s cousin.”

“I am Lu Baishuo. In our generation, I am the sixth oldest in the family. If it doesn’t displease Lin Shaojun, you can call me Lu Lao Liu.” The man, with his elegant and smart bearing, smiled, “I am happy to see that Yiniang is well. Luckily, Yiniang still remembers me.”

This Lu Baishuo was a little too overly-familiar and Lin Qingyu had no desire to get acquainted with such a person.

“How could I not remember?” Pan Shi said with a smile, “Shaojun, Sixth Young Master came to the capital to do business last year and he lived in the mansion for three months. He has a very good relationship with the Eldest Young Master.”

Oh, so this person and Lu Wancheng originally had such a relationship.

Lin Qingyu suddenly had the makings of an idea. He nodded in greeting to Lu Baishuo. Lu Baishuo asked, “Is Wancheng’s condition getting better? For my trip to the capital this time, I brought along a lot of precious supplements. I only hope that they may be of help.”

Lin Qingyu said, “If Sixth Young Master has nothing else to do later, you can follow me to visit him at the Blue Wind Pavilion.”

Lu Baishuo said, “That’s a great idea.”

The mansion’s servants were busy moving things and taking the guest to their rooms to settle in. After Lu Baishuo was finished settling in, he immediately followed Lin Qingyu to the Blue Wind Pavilion. Before entering the room, Lin Qingyu said, “I wish to ask Sixth Young Master to do me a favor.”

Lu Baishuo said politely, “Lin Shaojun, I would gladly hear out your request.”

Lu Wancheng has been in good spirits these past few days, but in order to get out of entertaining the guests, he insisted that he had fallen ill once again and it was an illness because of which he could not get out of bed, getting out of bed would mean his death. He thought he could stay well away from those chaotic relatives of his but he never could have expected that Lin Qingyu would actually lead them to his door.

“Young Master Hou, your Fifth Brother is here to see you.”

Lu Wancheng put away his usual careless style and assumed the manner of a noble family’s son. Just as he was about to call out “Fifth Brother”, he caught sight of the uneasy expression of the person beside Lin Qingyu. He gave it some more thought and let a smile spread across his face, “Wife, don’t make fun of me. How could this possibly be Fifth Brother? It is obviously Sixth Brother.”

Lin Qingyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. He said lightly, “Ah, yes. I was mistaken.”

Lu Baishuo breathed out a sigh of relief and said with a loud laugh, “Didn’t I just say so? In any case, I did stay at the Blue Wind Pavilion for three months last year. If Wancheng were to forget me so quickly, it would simply be too heartless.”

Lu Wancheng cast a meaning-laden glace at Lin Qingyu and said, making a show of being earnest, “There is no need for Sixth Brother to worry. Even if you were to turn to ashes, I would still recognize you.”

These cousins were both the talkative type and they both bantered with ease, not the slightest peculiarity could be seen.

But this was not enough to completely convince Lin Qingyu. Lu Wancheng never revealed any flaws in front of others. It was only when he was with his own people that would he openly mention his past. Since Lu Wancheng didn’t want to talk, he would simply wait. Besides, it wouldn’t be too late to coax and threaten him once he truly grew impatient of waiting.

The two chatted happily for a while. Then, the sound of lively bustle could be heard from outside. Hua Lu came in and reported that all his relatives who had come today had rushed to the Blue Wind Pavilion, saying they were here to visit the sick.

Lin Qingyu interrupted the chatter of these cheap grandsons. “Young Master Hou, it’s time to take your medicine.”

Everyone wanted to get close to the two of them, but as soon as these words came out, they couldn’t be so shameless as to continue to impose on them. They got up one after the other and took their leave.

After the guests left, without waiting for Lin Qingyu to say anything, Lu Wancheng made a “hiss” sound, wrapped his arms around himself and began to rub wildly. “Save me, I’m so greasy.”

Lin Qingyu didn’t know what “greasy” meant, but after connecting it with the actual situation just now, he formed a vague understanding. He sincerely agreed, “Indeed.”

That evening, Nan’an Hou hosted a banquet in the mansion to entertain the guests. Lu Wancheng didn’t attend, citing physical discomfort, and Lin Qingyu excused himself saying that he would be staying in the Blue Wind Pavilion to look after him.

The twilight clouds had dispersed, leaving the moon and some scattered stars. The light was bright but silent. Laid out on the stone table in the courtyard were moon cakes, water chestnuts, dates and pomegranates. There was even a pot of sweet osmanthus wine. However, whether it was the moon cakes or the sweet osmanthus wine, Lu Wancheng couldn’t have any of it. He could only look to satisfy his cravings.

After looking at the moon cakes for a while, he turned his eyes towards Lin Qingyu beside him. Looking at a beauty at night had its own distinct flavor. Long hair like a waterfall, clothes like frost; the tear-shaped mole at the corners of his eye looked particularly moving under the moonlight. It was a pity a dark quality suffused the space between the beauty’s brows, it seemed he had something on his mind.

A worry on one’s mind during the Mid-Autumn Festival could not be anything but homesickness. Lu Wancheng said, “There are so many people in the mansion now and it can really be quite annoying. How about we go stay at the Lin Residence for a few days and come back once they leave?”

Lin Qingyu said, “Your guests are already here and you, the host, still want to slip away?”

“I have already given them enough face today. It’s enough, it’s enough.”

Lin Qingyu declined to comment. Holding a wine cup in his hand, he lowered his eyes and asked, “How did you recognize Lu Baishuo?”

Lu Wancheng said indifferently, “I guessed. I remember that Sixth Brother and ‘I’ are on good terms. You brought Lu Baishuo by himself so his relationship with ‘me’ must not be simple. So I guessed that he was that Sixth Brother – And, sure enough.”

Lin Qingyu nodded. He poured himself another cup of wine and didn’t ask anything else.

“Qingyu, this is the first Mid-Autumn Festival we’re spending together and it’s also our last.” Lu Wancheng looked at the bright moon in the sky and smiled lightly, “At next year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, will you...will you still remember me?”

Lin Qingyu raised his head and looked at the same bright moon Lu Wancheng was looking at. He said, “Although you and I started off in an ill-fated relationship, as we’ve kept each other company, I have grown to regard you as a confidant and a close friend. Money is easy to obtain, but friends are hard to find. I-... will always remember Lu Wancheng.”

Always remember... Lu Wancheng?

Lu Wancheng was silent for a long when. Then, he suddenly said, “Last time at Changsheng Temple, you asked me if I had any other name and I said no.”

Lin Qingyu’s hand tightened. “En.”

“I lied to you. I still have another name.” Lu Wancheng said in a deep voice, “I hope you can remember this name.”

Lin Qingyu’s eyes flashed. He seemed to be a little nervous. Lu Wancheng wanted to make the atmosphere lighter, so he started spouting nonsense in a serious sounding tone, “My surname is Zhu, and my name is Dazhuang. Besides ‘Wancheng’, you can also call me ‘Big Brother Dazhuang’.”

Lin Qingyu immediately lost all expression and he got up to leave.

Stubborn and unchanging; he must be losing his mind to take someone like this seriously.

Lu Wancheng smiled and stopped him, “Okay, okay. I’ll stop teasing you. Actually, my surname is Jiang, and my name is...”

Before he could finish his words, Hua Lu interrupted their conversation with an urgent shout: “Young Master Hou, Shaojun, there’s someone from the palace!”