“Are you lying to me? There’s no way you threw it away, is there?”
The midday sun was not only brilliant but also carried a hint of warmth, bathing the streets of Cangzhou in a gentle heat.
It was only April, yet the weather was already warm.
The streets of Cangzhou were bathed in golden sunlight. A man and a woman walked together: a blind man in white robes on the left, his steps unhurried, and a young woman in a goose-yellow ruqun1[1] A ruqun 襦裙 is a traditional chinese hanfu combining a long dress and a short jacket. on the right, holding a basket of bright red cherries in her arms.
“I only have a few days left until the middle of the month! Did you really really throw it away?”
Li Ruoshui is panicking. If only she could beat him, she would have grabbed him by the collar and shaken him already.
“You didn’t like it, so I had no choice but to return it to the earth.” Lu Zhiyao sighed softly, looking genuinely regretful.
Li Ruoshui felt exhausted.
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The doctor was somewhat mistaken. To quell this palpitation, one shouldn’t go listen to storytelling; one should hear Li Ruoshui beg him more often.
“I beg you!”
Pedestrians turned their heads one after another, but saw no one—only a bamboo basket covering someone’s face.
Lu Zhiyao couldn’t contain his good mood; even his tone was noticeably lighter.
“But I don’t want to hear you beg me.”
She cursed in her mind: ‘Bullsh*t!’
Li Ruoshui’s eyes widened. She really wanted to smash this basket of cherries right in his face.
“Fire Blaze Grass is difficult to prepare as a medicinal base. Why don’t I help you?”
The raised basket halted mid-air. Although she had a bad feeling, Li Ruoshui truly couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that felt off to her.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll brew the medicine for you.”
Li Ruoshui: “… Do you think I believe that?”
The two of them bantered back and forth, dawdling all the way to the gate of the Zheng residence, and then walked in as naturally as could be.
After they discovered that the merits of their “ghost-catching” was entirely due to Lu Zhiyao’s efforts, the Zheng residence immediately listed him as an honored guest. They opened the back door for him, and even considered recruiting him into the household. All the offers they made, however, had been refused.
“It feels like we’re entering the Zheng residence a bit too naturally,” Li Ruoshui muttered to herself.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think the Zheng residence was their home.
Lu Zhiyao was silent for a moment, then said softly, “Aren’t you the Zheng family’s young madam?”
Li Ruoshui: “…”
Why did that sound vaguely sarcastic coming out of his mouth?
Although Zheng Yanqing’s small courtyard was quiet, it had everything it needed, like the small kitchen located in the southeast corner.
Lu Zhiyao had prepared antidotes for himself before and was quite familiar with the process of brewing medicine.
“Fire Blaze Grass is inherently hot. So, controlling the temperature while brewing is very important.”
The two of them moved the small stove into the courtyard, put the ground herbs inside, and slowly fanned the flames.
Li Ruoshui sat on a nearby swing, swaying back and forth as she watched him.
“How did you get the herb last night?”
Lu Zhiyao fanned with a cattail leaf fan, testing the temperature of the medicine pot with his other hand. After a moment of thought, he replied.
“It was very dark inside, with hidden mechanisms everywhere. Very dangerous.”
Li Ruoshui rocked on the swing thoughtfully, not responding.
“There were many herbs in the hidden chamber, but I couldn’t see, so I had to distinguish them one by one by smell. It hurt my nose a bit, but in the end, I managed to find the Fire Blaze Grass.”
Lu Zhiyao’s tone was soft and melodious. Anyone hearing it would be somewhat moved.
But Li Ruoshui didn’t feel that way at all. In fact, she even found it a bit strange.
“You… you’re not trying to act pitiful, are you?”
The medicine in the pot bubbled, releasing a clear, bitter smell that masked Lu Zhiyao’s soft sigh.
“I’m not acting,” Lu Zhiyao turned his head. “Aren’t I genuinely pitiful?”
Although she had already said these two words too many times today, she still had to say them now.
Absolute bullsh*t. Li Ruoshui silently mouthed the word. Moving her mouth counted as saying it.
Lu Zhiyao chuckled softly, casually pulling out a silver thread to wrap around the swing, slowly pulling it higher.
Li Ruoshui quickly grabbed the ropes on both sides. Watching the distance from the ground grow larger and larger, she stammered.
“What are you doing? I didn’t say anything bad about you just now!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. Wasn’t she just confessing to doing exactly what she said?!
Lu Zhiyao didn’t stop pulling her higher and higher into the air. His lowered eyelashes curved slightly, his mood excellent.
“Next time, keep your bad thoughts in your head. Even if you only move your lips, it still makes a sound.”
Lu Zhiyao felt the height wasn’t enough. He leaped onto the tree and pulled the swing higher and higher, only stopping when it was nearly parallel to the ground.
Li Ruoshui’s heart pounded wildly. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from cursing out her inner thoughts.
But she waited for a long time with her eyes closed, and he still didn’t let go. Li Ruoshui opened one eye to look ahead.
She saw Lu Zhiyao standing among the branches, his face dappled with light and shadow, his black hair flowing quietly down his back, like an immortal in the forest.
“If you’re going to push someone on a swing, do it quickly. Stopping it in mid-air is just unsportsmanlike…”
Li Ruoshui chattered away, closing her eyes again, mumbling a whole string of nonsense, trying to use it to ease her tension.
“The wind is coming.”
The next moment, the swing suddenly descended, bringing a heart-stopping sense of weightlessness.
She couldn’t help blurting out: “I hate—“
Lu Zhiyao landed beside the stove and resumed brewing the medicine, casually asking a question.
“Hate what?”
The swing swung from the highest point in front to the highest point behind. Controlling one’s balance relied solely on one’s backside and hands.
Li Ruoshui gritted her teeth and replied, “I hate myself for not experiencing this sooner!”
She could not wait to give him a good beating someday.
Lu Zhiyao stepped on the silver thread with his foot, occasionally tugging the swing.
Li Ruoshui held onto the ropes, her skirt fluttering in the air. She slouched over, her whole body exuding a sense of fatigue. Of the mental kind. She felt she was being messed with. Again.
The medicinal smell from the pot slowly drifted out. Lu Zhiyao extinguished the small stove’s fire, stopped the silver thread with his toes, and brought the swing to a halt.
Holding the swing’s handle, he accurately poured the black medicine juice into a porcelain bowl, then turned to her with a smile.
“Time to drink your medicine.”
“……”
Hearing this, she couldn’t help but think of the famous line, “Dalang, drink your medicine.” 2 [2] Dalang is a reference to a fictional character whose wife gave him medicine laced with poison.
Li Ruoshui got off the swing and felt unsteady on her feet. She tidied her messy hair and skirt to compose herself. Then she walked to the table.
As soon as she approached, she was hit by a soul-piercing stench—like rotten earth, like fish left out for days.
It immediately made her feel faint and dizzy.
Frowning, Li Ruoshui prepared to lift the bowl and drink it all in one go, but halfway through, Lu Zhiyao stopped her arm.
“This medicine is strong. You need to drink it sip by sip.”
Li Ruoshui recalled the pain of the poisoning episode, looked at the basket of cherries on the table, and plopped down on the stone chair.
“Even though you might be pulling my leg, fine! Let’s do it!”
Her hand reaching for the porcelain bowl was stopped again. Lu Zhiyao smiled without speaking, lightly tapping the bowl with his fingertip, as if hinting at something.
Li Ruoshui relaxed her shoulders, her face full of resignation. “Do you have to do this?”
Lu Zhiyao was momentarily stunned, then raised an eyebrow with a smile. “You know what I mean?”
“Isn’t it just that you want to see me suffer?” Li Ruoshui pulled the nearby cherries closer to prepare. “Go ahead, feed me the medicine.”
Being a romance strategist is just being at the bottom of the social ladder.
Lu Zhiyao couldn’t suppress his laughter. The corners of his eyes and brows carried a soft tenderness. Even the spring of sunlight wasn’t as radiant as he was at that moment.
Lu Zhiyao stirred the medicine juice, his expression unbelievably gentle. He couldn’t help but sigh softly.
“I almost feel like making a puppet that looks like you.”
Li Ruoshui grabbed his wrist, seizing that string of cool white jade prayer beads, causing a few crisp clinks.
“How could a puppet compare to a real person?”
If the puppet he made didn’t suit his fancy, what if he got the idea to turn her into a puppet instead?
He was exactly the type of person who would do such a thing.
“Let’s just drink the medicine first.” Better to distract his attention for now.
Lu Zhiyao smiled, scooped a spoonful of medicine, and brought it to her lips, his voice soft. “Don’t spit it out.”
Li Ruoshui took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and took a sip of the black medicine. Her face instantly scrunched up, and the prayer beads on Lu Zhiyao’s wrist creaked under her tight grip.
The medicine was sour, bitter, and numbing. After a moment, there remained a hint of spiciness upon more consideration—a truly memorable experience of the worst kind. She immediately swallowed and then popped a cherry into her mouth.
“That is absolutely horrible.”
If drinking medicine meant sip by sip, it wasn’t drinking medicine; it was torture.
“Again.”
Another spoonful of the warm medicine was brought to her lips again. This time it was a little more cooled down. Just smelling it made her mouth feel intensely bitter.
Li Ruoshui frowned and drank it. The sweet and sour taste of the cherry still lingering in her mouth was completely washed away by that single sip.
At this moment, she was somewhat grateful that Lu Zhiyao couldn’t see her face twisted in bitterness.
“Next.”
The cherries were no longer effective. Li Ruoshui’s tongue was so numb that only bitterness remained. Even Dalang, being fed medicine, probably didn’t suffer as much torture as she did.
“Do I really have to drink it sip by sip?”
Li Ruoshui hoped his conscience would awaken, that he’d had enough fun and would stop.
“I’m not as smooth-tongued as you. This is just how you have to take the medicine.”
Lu Zhiyao blew on a spoonful of the medicine. He appeared to be very considerate, then brought it to her lips.
“You can finish it in one go if you want. I don’t mind watching you get so hot you jump into the well.”
After sighing and moaning, Li Ruoshui slowly drank the medicine sip by sip, without further complaint or delay.
Lu Zhiyao happily fed her the medicine, letting her grip the prayer beads on his wrist.
He’d often heard that the greatest joy of keeping a cat was teasing and feeding it. Teasing one was indeed fun, but he hadn’t expected feeding one to be so enjoyable as well.
This feeling of being clung so tightly to was exceptionally pleasing.
But most importantly, Li Ruoshui was well-behaved. At critical moments, she always drank when she needed to. She never made him feel unhappy.
“Just a little left.”
Li Ruoshui stopped his hand, took the bowl herself, and drank the last bit of medicine juice.
Only after drinking the medicine did Li Ruoshui realize he had been telling the truth, because she now indeed felt somewhat hot. Fortunately, the April weather was still cool enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Finally done.”
She leaned on the table, her gaze vacant. Just enduring the stench and bitterness earlier had already drained a lot of her energy.
Lu Zhiyao touched the prayer beads that had been warmed by her grip, slightly moved his toes, and the swing behind him started swaying again.
“Want to play?”
Feeling slightly warm from the medicine, Li Ruoshui fanned herself and looked up at him.
“Since this is so boring, how about going swimming with me tomorrow? At at the northern mountains?”
The swing behind her stopped abruptly. Lu Zhiyao lowered his head with a smile. “You actually remembered?”
“How could I forget my promise to you?” Li Ruoshui picked a cherry and gave it to him. “Here, bring these with us so we can eat them tomorrow. I’ll teach you how to swim.”
Lu Zhiyao took the cherry. He carefully placed it into his mouth to slowly savor the flavor.
Biting through the tender red skin, the sweet and sour juice danced on the tip of his tongue, the soft flesh grinding between his lips and teeth.
Unconsciously, he pulled at the silver thread between his fingers, leaving red marks on all ten fingers, trying to suppress the inexplicable palpitations he felt thumping through his body.
“What time tomorrow?”
[1] A ruqun 襦裙 is a traditional chinese hanfu combining a long dress and a short jacket.
[2] Dalang is a reference to a fictional character whose wife gave him medicine laced with poison.
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