Brother, Brother, But I'm a Profligate! - Chapter 13

As the saying goes, when a man comes of age, he should marry; when a woman comes of age, she should wed.

Fu Sili turned his thoughts over and over, weighing the words he had spoken. Fu Jing was at such an age, yet he was so evasive about the topic; it was impossible that he actually suffered from a phobia of marriage.

With these idle thoughts, he stretched lazily and walked slowly along the veranda toward his own courtyard. The weather had been poor for the past few days. Everywhere was bitterly cold, and a slight gust of wind outside was enough to freeze a person solid. Fu Sili walked with his head down, hands tucked into his sleeves, when a crisp crack sounded beneath his feet.

Looking toward the sound, he saw that a potted plant at the corner of the veranda had fallen and shattered at some unknown time. The flower branches lay on the ground, and his foot had just happened to step on them, snapping a section of the stem. When he first moved into Yaozhi Chunxin, he had noticed this bare potted plant. It looked like a plum tree that was on the verge of death.

Fu Sili looked left and right and saw no one around. He squatted down, using two fingers to poke at the debris. As he cleared away the broken porcelain shards, the rotting roots were exposed.

The Confrontation

Bing Chun was waiting in the courtyard for Fu Sili’s return. Without looking, he took the branches from Fu Sili’s hands.

“Will the Young Master wash up? The hot water is ready,” Bing Chun asked.

Fu Sili unfastened his belt and set it aside. “Go to the bamboo forest outside and dig up some soft soil. Put it in a flower pot and prepare a pair of scissors.”

By the time he finished his bath and came out, Bing Chun had already placed the requested items on the table. Sitting at the table with his wet hair draped over his shoulders, Fu Sili studied the plant for a moment before picking up the scissors to trim away the rotten roots and dry branches. While he was busy working and wondering where best to place this pot of flowers, the courtyard gate suddenly slammed open with a bang.

“Bing Chun?”

Fu Sili called out loudly. Just as he stood up, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside. Fu Jing, who had left earlier without a word, now stood at his door. His eyes seemed to carry the chill from outside, and his expression was cold and unfamiliar.

Qiu Yuan stood in the courtyard without approaching, while Bing Chun watched from the side, looking both surprised and suspicious. Fu Sili’s gaze swept across the scene. Seeing this posture, he gave a short laugh. “Although this courtyard belongs to you, entering without even knocking is a bit impolite, is it not?”

Fu Jing’s gaze moved past Fu Sili to the table behind him. His lips were set in a thin line. “Who allowed you to touch the things in this courtyard?”

Fu Sili followed the direction of his gaze and saw the plum branch he had brought from the veranda. Fu Jing’s tone was unpleasant. Fu Sili did not want to argue with him, so he explained, “I saw it had fallen on the ground, so I picked it up.”

“If it falls, someone will naturally tell me.”

Fu Sili was stunned. He joked, “What do you mean by that, Big Brother? Do you think I am lying to you?”

Fu Jing smiled thinly. “I do not.”

Fu Sili’s face instantly turned cold. “Believe it or not!”

“That pot of flowers is moved out during the day and moved back at night.” Fu Jing stepped forward and slapped a broken section of the stem onto the table, neither too lightly nor too heavily. “Do not meddle in other people’s business next time.”

Fu Sili looked down and recognized the piece in Fu Jing’s hand as the section he had stepped on and broken. He opened his mouth to speak, but Fu Jing had already taken the pot of flowers. He turned around, leaving Fu Sili with nothing but his receding back.

The courtyard door closed softly. Fu Sili stood there until his legs felt numb. He reached out to steady himself against the table, his palm pressing down on the freshly trimmed rotten roots and dry branches. Bing Chun moved hesitantly into the room to clean up, wrapping the remnants of the branches in a cloth. Just as he tied a knot and was about to throw them out, Fu Sili grabbed them, threw them into the courtyard, and slammed the door with a darkened face.

The Detour

Fu Sili was so angry his head throbbed. He tossed and turned in bed but could not fall asleep; his mind was stuck on Fu Jing’s phrase: “Do not meddle in other people’s business next time.”

What did he mean by meddling? He finally managed to fall asleep, only to wake up still thinking about those words. He cursed under his breath. Upon opening the door, he saw Bing Chun squatting piteously outside. “Young Master, you are awake.”

Fu Sili started walking out.

“The Eldest Young Master has already gone to the Imperial Academy. I will have someone bring the meal to our courtyard.”

“He can go wherever he likes. Do not tell me; I do not care about his business.”

Bing Chun followed closely, saying, “Then you should eat first.”

Fu Sili walked all the way to the courtyard gate. He held the door to block Bing Chun. “Do not follow me either. I do not want my affairs being reported to Fu Jing again. I want to save him the trouble of coming over next time, holding his nose and saying, ‘Who permitted you to touch things in my courtyard!'”

Bing Chun froze as Fu Sili slammed the door with a cold face. Fu Sili went to the small yard he had previously rented and caught up on his sleep. When he woke, his mind was clearer. He thought to himself that a mere dying flower should not have caused Fu Jing to show such a cold face. After all, more than half of his private treasury consisted of items sent by Fu Jing.

He stayed away for another night. After feeding his quails and changing his clothes, he slowly returned to Yaozhi Chunxin. That day, a heavy snow fell upon Shengjing. Fu Sili held an umbrella, the fresh snow crunching beneath his feet. He kept his head down to watch the path. As he passed the veranda, he caught sight of a figure standing under the eaves out of the corner of his eye. He had not expected Fu Jing to be home instead of at the Imperial Academy. Fu Sili’s eyelids drooped. He paused for a moment, then turned on his heel and took a detour.

The Reconciliation

Because Fu Sili had left in a rage last time, Bing Chun had not dared to look for him. He had finally waited long enough for Fu Sili to return. He stood beside Fu Sili with a somewhat aggrieved expression and explained, “Young Master, you have misunderstood me. It was not I who told the Eldest Young Master. I heard from Qiu Yuan that the Eldest Young Master followed the muddy footprints on the ground.”

“The Eldest Young Master was also anxious. That pot of flowers was raised by his mother, so he was a bit impatient.”

Fu Sili had just put down his umbrella. He fell silent for a moment, then moved his gaze subtly. “It belonged to his mother?”

Bing Chun explained, “The Young Master does not know, but that flower is nearly twenty years old. I heard the Master gave it to the Madam back then. Later, when the Madam passed away from illness, the flower was moved to the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard.”

Fu Sili then remembered hearing someone mention that Fu Anhuai’s current wife was actually a second wife, and that Fu Jing’s biological mother had passed away when he was a child. He touched his own wrist. If it was a relic left by his biological mother, then he would indeed care deeply.

Bing Chun continued, “The Eldest Young Master later had someone investigate who knocked the flower pot over. Once they found the person, they were kicked out.”

Fu Sili twitched the corner of his mouth. “If it turned out I was the one who knocked it over, would I have been kicked out too?”

Bing Chun’s round eyes drooped sadly. “No, the Eldest Young Master actually.”

Fu Sili interrupted him, speaking candidly. “Although I know you sometimes tell Fu Jing about my business, I am not angry about it. Last time my words were harsh and I was caught up in the moment. I was taking my anger out on you; I am sorry.”

Bing Chun had not expected the topic to turn to him. Hearing this, he lowered his head in a mix of guilt and embarrassment. Fu Sili said, “Take this. It will melt if you do not eat it.”

Bing Chun looked up in surprise as Fu Sili pressed an item wrapped in oil paper into his hand. Bing Chun was a year younger than Fu Sili. At his core, he still had the temperament of a child, and children are the easiest to coax. He gripped the candied hawthorn, and in his excitement, he accidentally snapped the stick. He scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground.

He grinned widely and said happily, “Thank you, Young Master!”

Fu Sili smiled. He watched as Bing Chun ran around the courtyard with the candied hawthorn, vanishing outside in the blink of an eye. It was snowing outside, yet Bing Chun ran incredibly fast to show off to Qiu Yuan and Li Xia. Bing Chun’s face was full of smugness. He stuffed a candied hawthorn into his mouth and suddenly threw a punch at Qiu Yuan.

Bing Chun possessed immense strength, and Qiu Yuan was caught off guard, landing on his backside. Bing Chun laughed so hard the treat almost fell out of his mouth. He completely ignored Li Xia patting his shoulder and danced around. “Serves you right! Who told you to call the Young Master a madman before!”

“I was only joking!” Qiu Yuan, rarely so disheveled, began to get a little heated himself.

“The Eldest Young Master is coming! The Eldest Young Master is coming!”

Fu Jing stood under the veranda with his hands tucked into his sleeves. He watched the smiles on his three subordinates’ faces and remained silent. In an instant, the three stood straight and offered their salutations. Fu Jing glanced at the candied hawthorn Bing Chun had yet to swallow. “He is back?”

Bing Chun looked down at his toes, his voice unable to hide his excitement. “He just returned.”

Fu Jing remained silent for another moment. “Have the kitchen prepare more dishes. The cook recently learned Huaiyang cuisine; let him taste it and see how it differs from the food in Yangzhou. You wait here. Once it is ready, deliver the meal to him.”

After Fu Jing spoke, he turned and left. The three men exchanged looks and returned to their respective posts.

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