Chapter 136.2
Editor: Casey
As it was autumn, even the additional trees planted outside couldn’t keep out the chilly wind.
Shi Qing became more and more reluctant to get out of bed.
The hardest task the maidservants in his residence had was to wake the Shi family’s little master up in the morning.
Every day, they would huddle around the little master’s bed to try and gently coax him out from under the covers.
“Qing-er, it’s time to get up. Didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted to go visit the Chamber of Commerce today? You even told us to wake you up no matter what.”
“That’s right. Qing-er, look what I’ve brought, your favourite osmanthus pastries! They’re delicious, so won’t you get up and have some?”
“Qing-er, the sun is almost in the middle of the sky. Quickly get up now.”
The maidservants were all gentle willows, and their soft, moving voices reflected this.
But their words sounded more like a lullaby to Shi Qing.
The little master closed his eyes and buried himself deeper in the blanket, pretending he didn’t hear them.
“Stop it Qing-er. It’s time to get up.”
One of the maidservants took a piece of pastry and brought it to his mouth to try and entice him. “If you don’t get up then I’m going to eat this.”
Shi Qing opened his mouth with his eyes closed and bit into the pastry. While chewing, he pulled the blanket over his head.
The ladies looked at each other, at a loss about what to do.
“What should we do? Qing-er’s refusing to get up again.”
“Why don’t we bring Kitty over? If it prances around on the blanket, Qing-er will have to get up sooner or later.”
“Okay, I’ll go and get Kitty.”
Now that they’ve settled on a course of action, the maidservants dispersed. Some went to bring the cat while the others carried the pastries away.
Shi Qing was soon the only one left inside.
–Squeak.
The window that was closed due to the chilly winds was suddenly pushed open gently from outside. A man then smoothly flipped over the windowsill.
His feet landed lightly on the floor. Despite being very tall, he didn’t make a sound the entire time.
The man walked silently to the bed and looked down at the ball the little master had huddled into under the soft bedding.
Suddenly, he slid a long, slender hand into the bedding, precisely cupping the cheek of the peacefully sleeping little master.
“Ah!!”
The little master was rudely woken up from his dreams by this slightly cold touch on his warm cheek. To him, it felt like he had been splashed with cold water in the middle of winter. The shock was so great that he jumped like a rabbit and scrambled to a sitting position.
“What was that for!”
He glared angrily at the person responsible. When his gaze fell on the man’s face, Shi Qing froze before becoming even more incensed. He threw his blanket at the other person.
“Jiang Bieyu!!! Do you have a death wish?!”
Jiang Bieyu laughed as he caught the blanket and wrapped it around Shi Qing again. His deep voice was tinged with amus.e.m.e.nt, “Cover up quickly, lest you catch a chill.”
“You’re the one who made me cold with your hand!”
While being wrapped into a ball again, Shi Qing got a foot out to kick Jiang Bieyu.
He ranted while kicking the man, “How did you get in anyway? I’ve recruited more than a hundred guards for the courtyard alone to guard this place day and night. How did they not catch you? Did you fly or dig your way over or something??”
Jiang Bieyu laughed as he took the bundle containing the little master into his arms. He sampled the sweet osmanthus pastry in Shi Qing’s mouth.
“If people like them could stop me, I wouldn’t have been able to capture Wei City.”
“Don’t stab me with your stubble! It hurts, it hurts! Get off!” Shi Qing turned his face away and patted the man’s cold, hard, unshaven cheek.
Jiang Bieyu good-naturedly let himself be moved back a bit. Then he indulgently explained, “I rushed over after conquering Wei City three days ago because I wanted to see you again. There wasn’t time to wash and change, but I’ll shave beforehand next time.”
“Pei! What next time? In your dreams! I’m going to recruit a hundred more guards to guard my courtyard! Not to mention a big person like you, not even a fly will be able to enter.”
Shi Qing slapped the man with so little force that it could’ve been mistaken for a caress if not for the furious look on his face.
He had reason to be angry.
After all, Jiang Bieyu was shameless beyond measure. He left, but he always found a chance to come back and see Shi Qing every year.
This guy probably knew that Shi Qing had told his people to beat him up on sight, hence why he always snuck in.
He would always pop up when no one was around. It was almost like he had planted a spy in Shi Qing’s courtyard.
In the past three years, he actually managed to take full advantage of the little master at least seven or eight times.
If you counted minor indulgences, then the number of visits would rise to the double digits.
When Jiang Bieyu came to visit, it was always after he had taken a city or defeated another army.
Because he was concerned that the stubble on his face would irritate the little master’s delicate skin, Jiang Bieyu didn’t insist on a kiss this time. He settled on slyly settling his wind-chilled hand on the bedding covering Shi Qing’s body.
He even shamelessly said, “My hands are cold. Won’t you help me warm them up?”
“Don’t you know how to warm them up by the fire?! Why put them on me?? Take them off!” Shi Qing scooted back while scolding him.
However, after fighting on the battlefield for three years, Jiang Bieyu’s face had thickened exponentially. He pretended he didn’t hear a thing as he moved his hands onto his little heat source again.
Seeing the little master fuming with indignation, he abandoned all pretense of dignity and softly coaxed, “I haven’t slept in three days just to see you one second sooner. Don’t push me away… If you don’t let me warm up soon, I might just freeze to death.”
As expected, Shi Qing’s expression still looked furious after those words, but his body stopped struggling.
Jiang Bieyu’s heart softened.
He knew that he still had a place in his Qing-er’s heart despite his harsh words.
Shi Qing tried to push the man clinging to him away with no success. He scowled and asked, “You captured Wei City already? When was this?”
“Three days ago. Wei City was a hard nut to crack. I had to besiege them for two months to get in.”
Jiang Bieyu shamelessly nuzzled his head lightly on the little master’s shoulder. It was like a big dog trying to act cute.
“Qing-er, I did everything you asked for. I didn’t harm the commoners even though a frontal a.s.sault would’ve been much faster. This course took two whole months, so you have to praise me well.”
But Shi Qing seemed like he couldn’t care less. He coldly snorted. “A good reputation is necessary if you want to rule over this land. You’re the one benefitting from not harming civilians, not me. So why should I praise you? You should be thanking me instead.”
“Yes, yes. I’m very grateful to our Qing-er.”
Didn’t Jiang Bieyu travel all this way without rest just to hold his Qing-er?
Now that he had that soft body in his arms, his thoughts couldn’t help but veer in that direction.
“Let me show you how grateful I am in bed.”
“What are you doing Jiang Bieyu?! There are still people outside! Get off!!”
The little master was in the middle of angrily kicking him through the blanket when the voice of a maidservant suddenly came from outside: “Qing-er, are you awake?”
Shi Qing pushed the man who was gnawing on him like a big dog away as he answered grumpily, “Yeah. But none of you are allowed to come in.”
The maidservant wasn’t surprised by his tone because the little master was often irritable in the morning. It would be more strange for him to not be grumpy.
She said, “Laoye has sent someone over to say that your cousin from the River City w.a.n.g family is here to visit you. He’s waiting in the study now.
“My cousin from the w.a.n.g family?”
Shi Qing seemed puzzled as he shoved Jiang Bieyu again.
Jiang Bieyu obediently got up and answered, “He’s the eldest son of your mother’s younger sister and also happens to be a merchant. His name is w.a.n.g Zhancheng.”
The little master gave him a look. “How do you know so much about him?”
Jiang Bieyu smiled and scratched the tip of his nose.
“I know the names of all your relatives as well as where they live. That way I can avoid offending them, and by proxy you, on campaigns. I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t want to be with me anymore.”
“Who wants to be with you? Get up already.”
Shi Qing glared at him before emerging from the blanket to look for some clothes. Seeing this, Jiang Bieyu smoothly found some and helped the little master put them on.
As he did that, he said, “I’ll go with you to see him.”
The young master frowned. “You will?”
Jiang Bieyu touched his own face and smiled. “It’ll be fine. w.a.n.g Zhancheng hasn’t seen me before. Plus no one knows I’m Jiang Bieyu.”
“Hmph.”
Shi Qing snorted coldly. “Who doesn’t know of you, oh great General Jiang. You’ve captured dozens of cities in just three years. Now everyone outside is saying that you’ll definitely be the next ruler of this land.”
Jiang Bieyu smiled again and leaned over, deliberately nuzzling Shi Qing with his stubble. “This land may be mine, but I’m yours.”
“Qing-er shouldn’t forget the indenturement contract I signed.”
The poke made his mind wander there again.
It was a pity that this wasn’t the time.
Otherwise, the two of them could’ve had some fun together.
So w.a.n.g Zhancheng didn’t just see his jade-like cousin enter the study. There was also an aloof-looking, fierce man who seemed somewhat annoyed to be interrupted while he was in the middle of something.
When he found out that this person was supposedly a servant, w.a.n.g Zhancheng thought his cousin was even cooler than he thought since he was using such a powerful man as a servant. He then recounted what happened on the way here.
“Hmm? The oversized market?”
Shi Qing looked bewildered. “I have a store there as well, ah. The low renting price is just to attract other merchants, who will in turn attract customers. The more people there are, the more money my store can make.”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng, who had thought that Shi Qing intended to shelter those small peddlers: “…”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng: “……So that’s how it is. But cousin, you also opened a free school for all that even includes room and board! What a benevolent thing to do!”
Shi Qing rubbed his chin. “Yes, yes. Cousin is exactly right.”
“But although I’m doing a good deed here, I can’t let myself lose out, can I? Before building the school, I bought out all the land in the surrounding area and built many houses there.”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng didn’t understand. “Why build houses there?”
The little master smiled smugly. “Has cousin ever heard of the term ‘student housing’?”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng: “…..Student housing?”
“It’s referring to residences close to a school. Oftentimes they’re more expensive than similar houses due to their proximity. People buy them for convenience sake, which naturally drives prices up. That’s what I mean by student housing.”
The little master: “This school has made a name for itself, so poor students aren’t the only ones hoping to attend. The sons of rich families are also flocking in for the famous scholars and the library here. They’re often reluctant to stay in residence, so I can charge a pretty penny for those houses I built earlier. It’s not like they care about money anyway if it makes the commute shorter. I’ll be honest with you Cousin. The amount I make from selling five houses is already enough to break even with the school’s expenditure for a year. Combine this and my other businesses, and it’s no wonder I’m rolling in cash!”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng: “……”
Shi Qing continued, a mixture of curious and smug. “So that’s what everyone else has been saying about me. Sigh. I knew everyone would see how kind I am.”
To the side, Jiang Bieyu softly looked at the little master. He responded warmly, “That’s right. Our Qing-er is the kindest.”
w.a.n.g Zhancheng: “…………”
He looked at his cousin, who looked so smug and pleased with himself. There was no trace of the selfless and gentle cousin he had imagined on the way here.
Then he turned to that strange and obviously fierce man who looked at his cousin softly and spewed a bunch of nonsense to b.u.t.ter him up.
His mind was filled with question marks.
…Why does it kind of feel like visiting the Shi family was a mistake?