After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 3

An Yu spent the entire morning touring the General’s Manor with the butler. By the time he returned to his courtyard, his legs were so weak they felt like jelly. The old butler wasn’t faring much better; although he had come from the military, he had been a butler for many years and had grown accustomed to a comfortable life. He hadn’t walked such a long distance in quite some time.

At this moment, An Yu lay on the daybed, feeling so comfortable he could have fallen asleep instantly.

“Young Master An, please rest well. This old servant will take his leave now.”

Seeing that An Yu was too tired to even open his eyes, the old butler left immediately after receiving a faint response.

An Yu was not currently staying in Lu Shiyan’s room. Since the two had parted ways in the morning, servants had been busy decorating An Yu’s own courtyard. The two courtyards were not far apart, but right now, he didn’t want to go anywhere.

Having been frail and sickly since childhood, An Yu had never engaged in such heavy physical exertion. Fortunately, he had swapped into a new body; otherwise, he might have already departed from this world.

Before long, a guard who looked familiar to An Yu arrived in the courtyard. After bowing, he said:

“Young Master, the General invites you to his courtyard for a meal. He says it is to thank you for the milk cakes you made by hand.”

“Alright. You go back first; I’ll be there shortly.”

After lying down for about half an hour, An Yu had mostly recovered in a half-asleep state. Truly, the body of a seventeen-year-old was the picture of health. Stretching his arms and legs, he wobbled around the room for a while before happily heading to the appointment.

A servant led the way, and An Yu successfully returned to Lu Shiyan’s courtyard. Before he even entered, he could smell a rich, savory aroma. Lu Shiyan was already seated at the table. Seeing An Yu arrive, the corners of his mouth curled slightly, showing a sense of ease one might have when chatting with an old friend.

“Little Yu, sit.”

The July temperature wasn’t overly stifling. With all the doors and windows open, wisps of cool breeze drifted in, dissipating the heat An Yu had gathered on his walk over.

“This shaved ice is delicious.”

The young man had a slight flush on his cheeks, and the refreshment from his recent rest made his eyes look even brighter. An Yu always craved cold things in the summer. The small bowl of fruit-topped shaved ice immediately caught his attention. Having the “psychological preparation” from the milk cake this morning, An Yu took a tiny taste first, and then his taste buds were instantly captured.

The manually crushed ice was uneven, meaning it didn’t melt as easily as the machine-shaved ice of the modern world. Even after sitting for a while, it remained cold. Peeled grapes and diced mango were placed atop the ice with a light dusting of powdered sugar. It was tart, sweet, icy, and refreshing very much like the fruit teas of the modern era.

He tilted his chin toward Lu Shiyan, his lips curving into a high smile. “Thank you, Your Highness. Eating this bowl of ice makes me feel much cooler.”

In the breezy environment, lunch became even more palatable. Watching An Yu eat with such gusto across from him, Lu Shiyan unusually ate half a bowl of rice more than his norm. After the meal, Lu Shiyan showed no intention of sending him away, so An Yu wasn’t in a hurry to leave. The two sat by the window, feeling the breeze and drinking tea.

Of course, An Yu was still finishing his shaved ice.

“General, a young man has arrived at the gate saying he is Young Master An’s page.”

The old butler’s words broke the silence. Lu Shiyan didn’t speak but turned to look at An Yu.

“Indeed, I haven’t seen anyone attending to Little Yu these past two days.”

An Yu met Lu Shiyan’s gaze with total transparency. “Bring him in.”

In the original novel, there wasn’t much description of this part; it didn’t even mention An Yu jumping into the lake. However, in An Yu’s inherited memories, the original owner had given his page a large sum of money before the suicide attempt, telling him to leave the city and find another way to live. He hadn’t expected the page to actually come back.

Within moments, the old butler led in a plain-looking, clean-cut young man. Upon seeing An Yu, the youth’s eyes immediately reddened as he whimpered:

“Young Master.”

Seeing the teary-eyed youth who was genuinely devoted to the original owner, An Yu spoke directly:

“Xiao Zhi, you’ve returned. You shall remain by my side as before.”

Xiao Zhi was led away by the butler. Seeing that his bowl of shaved ice was empty, An Yu decided not to disturb Lu Shiyan’s rest further. He bid his farewell and returned to his own room.

As soon as they entered the room, Xiao Zhi—who had just managed to stabilize his emotions—began to weep to An Yu again. “Young Master, why were you so hopeless? I thought I would never see you again.”

“Xiao Zhi, why did you come back? And how did you find out about my situation?”

“I thought Young Master was going to run away, so I planned to head south first, thinking I might meet you later. After leaving the city, I headed south for two days. I passed a dilapidated temple and went in to rest. But before I could fall asleep, I heard people entering. I listened to their conversation and returned to the capital the next morning to find you.”

An Yu, who had planned to find a few books to read in the afternoon, no longer had the heart for it. He lay on the bed, tossing and turning as he pondered Xiao Zhi’s words.

“What if he’s unwilling? However, after the incident of An Yu jumping into the lake, Lu Shiyan’s reputation among the people has declined further.”

“Your Highness is correct. However, lately, Lu Shiyan’s own trusted aides are personally preparing the meals in the kitchen. Our people can’t find a single opportunity. That medicine needs to be taken for seven consecutive days to take effect. Now, we are only three days short.”

“I understand. Take your leave. Be careful not to let anyone find out.”

“Yes.”

From Xiao Zhi’s description, the person in the subordinate role must be a spy planted within the General’s Manor. As for “Your Highness,” it likely wasn’t anyone else but the male lead, Lu Youqi.

In the original novel, Lu Shiyan married An Yu as a “luck-bringer” two years after returning to the capital in victory. Less than six months after the wedding, his condition worsened daily, and in the seventh month, he went blind.

Could this medicine be the one that causes blindness?

This was the thing An Yu couldn’t figure out all afternoon. It was only the second day after their wedding. In the seven months between the wedding and the blindness in the original plot, there had been no accidents. If the plot remained unchanged, then the medicine this time wouldn’t have worked. But what if the plot had already changed because of his arrival?

Suddenly struck by this possibility, An Yu couldn’t sit still. The milk cakes this morning had a poor texture, but the lunch at noon had been a feast of delicacies—even a bowl of shaved ice used fruits from various regions. The kitchen staff had likely already been swapped.

Xiao Zhi was setting things up in the courtyard when he saw his young master slam the door open and walk out in a hurry. He immediately dropped what he was doing and followed.

Along the way, An Yu asked several servants for the location of the kitchen, eventually grabbing one to lead the way. He couldn’t remember the route he had taken once before, but the servant knew the manor well and they arrived shortly via several shortcuts.

Dismissing the servant, An Yu signaled Xiao Zhi to be careful. The two moved silently to the kitchen door. The door was open, and the voices inside were perfectly audible.

“Old Liu, why do you think the General is no longer willing to eat the food I cook? He used to eat it just fine.” A slightly confused male voice came from inside.

“This old servant does not know. Perhaps His Highness misses the flavors of the Palace; after all, those are habits formed in childhood.” The old servant’s voice was respectful, yet neither submissive nor overbearing.

“Fine then. You go ahead and keep making your ice.” As the male voice finished, a figure walked out of the kitchen. He was tall and straight—at a glance, one could tell he was a military man.

Seeing An Yu, the man didn’t look overly surprised; Mo Han had heard the footsteps outside long ago.

“Young Master An.” The man looked composed and smiled politely.

“Rise, no need for formalities. The milk cakes this morning—did you make them?”

“Indeed.”

“I heard you were in the enemy camp for two years and the General saved you?”

An Yu felt that this person didn’t look like a common servant; that crisp, capable aura didn’t seem like something one would develop in an enemy camp.

“Mm. This subordinate was indeed saved by the General.”

“Then, do you know that the milk cakes you make are very unpalatable?”

Mo Han: “?”

The air fell silent for several seconds. No one spoke. Mo Han didn’t know whether to be shocked that his cooking was called bad or that the other spoke so bluntly. His smile froze on his lips. Usually the one to tease others, Mo Han found himself speechless and a bit dazed.

“N-no, I did not know.”

In contrast, An Yu’s expression was as calm as ever, wearing the “matter-of-fact” face he had worn since childhood. He tilted an eyebrow. “Well, you know now?”

Mo Han: “…”

“You wait here.”

An Yu bypassed Mo Han and went straight into the kitchen. Before long, Mo Han—who was sitting silently in the pavilion—smelled a rich aroma of milk. Following the scent was a leisurely An Yu, with Xiao Zhi behind him carrying two plates of milk cakes.

One plate was the original flavor he had made for Lu Shiyan this morning; the other was a matcha flavor he had just experimented with using tea powder. Mo Han watched as An Yu sat across from him, the plates placed in the center of the stone table.

“Young Master, this is…”

An Yu told Mo Han to wait, then instructed Xiao Zhi to bring a food box. He carefully packed some of the original and matcha cakes into the box.

“Xiao Zhi, go take this to His Highness. Tell him I added an extra portion of powdered sugar. I left some for you in the kitchen too; go eat them when you get back.”

“Yes! Thank you, Young Master!”

With that done, An Yu pushed the remaining two portions toward Mo Han. “Why don’t you try some?”

Mo Han, who had already smelled the aroma, immediately picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. The shock in his eyes was unmistakable; this was softer and more delicious than anything he had tasted in Xiliang. He finished the original cake quickly and reached for the matcha one.

As An Yu expected, after tasting it, the man spoke with an urgent and excited tone:

“Young Master An, could you teach me?”

“I can teach you, but I need you to do me a favor.” Having finally achieved his goal, the triumph in An Yu’s eyes flickered brightly in front of Mo Han.

“Please, Young Master, speak.” Mo Han’s greatest interest in life was the culinary arts; the way he looked at An Yu now was much purer than before.

“You should know some martial arts, right? For the next few nights, could you and my page keep a close eye on that old servant in the kitchen?”

Considering the kitchen wasn’t far, An Yu spoke very quietly. From a distance, it looked like they were whispering in a sneaky manner. Mo Han instinctively raised an eyebrow. “Naturally, that is no problem. But what does Young Master An mean by this? That old servant came from the Imperial Kitchen; he’s considered a veteran of this manor.”

“If you find something, you’ll know afterward. If you don’t find anything, isn’t that even better?”

“Naturally, it is.”

The two reached an agreement. With the business concluded, Mo Han looked at An Yu and then at the plates.

“They are all yours.”

This was exactly what Mo Han wanted. He didn’t even use chopsticks, picking up the cakes with his hands. The two sat in silence in the pavilion until Xiao Zhi walked back from the distance.

“Young Master, the food box has been delivered. His Highness said it is very sweet, and he likes it very much.”