Chapter 11

Working together, the two finished quickly. Xie Ning carried the two bamboo trays of glutinous rice, chilies, and dried eggplant back to the little courtyard to dry in the sun.

Once he was done, he glanced into the room. Zhou Jinian was still asleep with his eyes closed, presumably tired from spending all of yesterday walking around town.

The man on the bed had his eyes closed, even his lashes looking peaceful. Xie Ning looked at the hand Zhou Jinian had resting by the edge of the bed. His fingers were long and slender, his knuckles well-defined, and the veins on the back of his hand were faintly visible.

Thinking of last night, he could not resist reaching out a finger and tracing a vein along the back of Zhou Jinian's hand.

Then he slipped quietly out of the room and went to the kitchen to help his dad tend the fire.

Breakfast was corn grits porridge. The water had drawn the starch out of the corn, and the large pot of thick porridge gave off a sweet fragrance. The crust at the bottom of firewood-cooked rice and thick porridge was the favorite snack of farm children.

When Xie Ning carried breakfast back to the little courtyard, Zhou Jinian was already awake. He was holding a horse stance, with a palm-sized stone dangling from his hand.

"Time for breakfast." Xie Ning set breakfast on the table, then went over curiously to heft the stone.

Zhou Jinian straightened up, untied the stone, and tossed it to Ninglang to play with. He rotated his wrist. "We'll leave after breakfast and come back tonight. You can't go without water."

"Mm." Having confirmed that it was an ordinary stone, Xie Ning tossed it aside, washed his hands, and picked up some rice crust to munch on.

Zhou Jinian washed his hands and sat down too. Seeing that the dry cracks on the backs of Xie Ning's hands had improved considerably, he could not help taking his hand and lifting his sleeve to inspect it.

Xie Ning looked at his own wrist too, but found his attention drawn to Zhou Jinian's skin tone. He could not resist comparing it with his own, which looked even fairer next to the other man's.

Zhou Jinian had his doubts. The skin on Xie Ning's wrist was no longer covered in fine, dense flakes, but was peeling off in large patches.

He studied Xie Ning's face next. His face was not healing as quickly as his hands.

"Hot." Xie Ning withdrew his hand and picked up a palm-leaf fan to cool the porridge, continuing to feed himself cooled rice crust with his other hand.

"Did you get feverish while I was in town yesterday? Like when we went up the mountain to gather herbs?" Zhou Jinian found it strange. That day, Xie Ning had closed his eyes to search for the pool cave, as though heaven itself were guiding him. That pool might help rid Xie Ning of the poison.

"No. I went back into the water before lunch, and I took a waterskin when I went out in the afternoon. I kept drinking water." Xie Ning touched his cheek. It still felt rough and fuzzy.

Zhou Jinian nodded, planning to find a day to take Ninglang back to the pool cave.

Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who cast Overlord votes or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-15 21:29:20 and 2020-09-16 14:45:30~

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Chapter 11

The family of four enjoyed breakfast in the little courtyard. The two elders gave Zhou Jinian plenty of instructions regarding the newlyweds' return visit to Xie Ning's family.

Zhou Sanfeng and Lin Jin were kind by nature, and all their advice was sensible. It was just that elders liked to dwell on the same thing over and over. Zhou Jinian did not find them long-winded and listened attentively throughout.

"And Ninglang, if there's anything you need your father or me to help with, be sure to say so. Don't worry about troubling us. Who knows, it might avert another disaster."

As Lin Jin spoke, he noticed that Xie Ning liked the rice crust and moved the bowl of it directly in front of him.

"After breakfast, you two should go see your eldest uncle. Yesterday, while you were driving off the wild cats, three big wild boars startled him, and he fell and split his head open. As his nephews, go show some concern. If there's anything you can lend a hand with, don't complain about being tired. Hear me?"

Xie Ning nodded in agreement. "Mm, I won't."

Zhou Jinian said nothing. He cast a thoughtful glance at Xie Ning.

They went to see Zhou Dafeng after breakfast, but their eldest aunt turned them away at the door, afraid they would disturb his recovery.

The newlywed husbands did not insist on seeing him. They had only come to show respect for their elder. After paying their respects and exchanging a few polite words, they went off to prepare for their return visit.

When they set out, Zhou Jinian carried the basket again. It held two strips of cured pork, a cloth bag of corn grits, and some pastries. Xie Ning had also packed some steamed dried eggplant for Xie Xiaoyu.

Leaving in the morning, they inevitably encountered villagers carrying hoes on their way to the fields. Scholars were respected in Great Qing, and quite a few friendly people greeted the husbands. Of course, a few used their greetings as an excuse to get a look at Zhou Jinian's "hideous" husband.

Zhou Jinian openly took Xie Ning's hand and straightened the bamboo hat on his head. "Let's go. The sun's strong. Don't let it hurt you."

Xie Ning's hand was cool, and Zhou Jinian found it very comfortable to squeeze. Xie Ning, on the other hand, found it hot, but he was delighted inside and let him hold his hand. In the villagers' eyes, they made a loving pair as they returned to the Xie home.

The two grown men of the Xie family had long been waiting in the courtyard, so they immediately heard the newlywed husbands answering the neighbors' greetings.

Xie Yao went to open the courtyard gate first and stepped outside. He immediately spotted the tall, broad Zhou Jinian in his ink-black robe, followed by the white-clad Xie Ning, whose hand he was holding.

"Brother!" Xie Ning let go and ran toward the gate.

With the advantage of his long legs, Zhou Jinian

easily

caught up. "Elder Brother."

The sight of them holding hands had set Xie Yao's heart at ease, and his expression was friendly. "Come in. Have you eaten?"

"Father, where's Xiaoyu?" Xie Ning entered the courtyard first and ran over to sit in front of Xie Dashu. "Xiaoyu said she wanted steamed dried eggplant, so I brought her some."

Zhou Jinian answered Xie Yao and followed him into the courtyard to sit down.

Xie Dashu's eyes were full of satisfaction as he looked at Zhou Jinian. Not only did Ning's skin look much better, but he was full of energy, with the same vitality he had possessed before the incident.

Zhou Jinian handed out pastries to the twins who came running out. Seeing her son eating with crumbs all around his mouth, Madam Xie Sun was all smiles and showed a pleasant expression for once.

After they sat together chatting for a while, Madam Xie Sun took Xie Xiaoyu to the kitchen to cook lunch. Zhou Jinian and Xie Yao were both preliminary scholars and would both be taking the prefectural qualifying examination tomorrow, so they went to the study together, leaving Xie Ning alone with his father, Xie Dashu.

With no one else in the courtyard, Xie Dashu took out a money pouch and handed it to Xie Ning. "You look much better. The Zhou family must have spent quite a bit of silver, haven't they? Take this to spend. If something urgent comes up, it'll help tide you over."