The Gloomy Bottom Everyone Despised Has Been Reborn - Chapter 5

The spring chill was biting. I wasn’t sure if staying at the Lin family these past few years had made my body pampered, or if the wound on my sole was just too painful to bear, but I lay on the ground unable to fall asleep for a long time. The floor tiles were icy cold, and the spring shirt I wore was not enough to block the chill.

Looking at Lin Chongtan, he was sleeping soundly without making a sound. After enduring for another hour, as I tossed and turned restlessly, Lin Chongtan’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Come over here and sleep.” He opened his eyes and looked at me.

I didn’t move.

He said helplessly, “We have to travel tomorrow. If you catch a cold and can’t walk, I’ll have to leave you here and go find the military camp myself.”

Hearing this, I scrambled up from the ground. I couldn’t be left here alone. This was a desolate wilderness; no one would even know if I died. And if I died, it would be exactly what Lin Chongtan wanted. He had already stolen my position as the second young master of the Lin family; if I died, his claim would become official.

I limped over to him and, after a moment of hesitation, lay down beside him. I had shared a bed with Fan Wu when I was a child, but that was a long time ago. Once I got a bit older, I slept on my own wooden board bed. After entering the Lin family, I had never shared a bed with anyone.

Even though we weren’t in an actual bed, I was indeed sleeping next to my mortal enemy. The faint scent of his incense drifted into my nose again. I lay there with my body stiff, but Lin Chongtan didn’t seem to care. He reached out and pulled me into his arms. Sensing my struggle, he said casually, “If you don’t sleep now, it’ll be dawn soon.”

I wanted to keep struggling, but the warmth of his embrace made me instinctively draw closer. In the end, I unknowingly fell asleep in his arms to the sound of the rain. By the time I woke up, it was broad daylight and the heavy rain had stopped.

Lin Chongtan wasn’t awake yet. I was about to sit up when I suddenly spotted the corner of a booklet peeking out from his robes. It was the little booklet he usually read in the carriage; he had actually brought it with him while fleeing. Could it really be the entrance exam questions for the Imperial Academy?

I stared at Lin Chongtan’s face for a moment, then reached out for the booklet, holding my breath for fear of being discovered. I finally pulled it out and opened it carefully, but the contents were a huge disappointment. It wasn’t exam questions at all, but a handwritten journal of local customs and sights from our journey.

I sheepishly tucked the booklet back. Almost the moment I put it back, Lin Chongtan opened his eyes. I was so scared I didn’t dare move, fearing he had caught me peeking at his things. But he didn’t seem to notice at all; he sat up and looked out of the temple.

Sunlight streamed in through the broken window. He sat quietly with pursed lips for a moment before looking down at me. “Go wash up. We should leave.”

Since my foot hadn’t healed yet, Lin Chongtan carried me on his back again today. After last night’s rain, the mountain path was even harder to travel. I was terrified he would dump me the whole way, so I clung tightly to his neck with both hands.

Lin Chongtan didn’t seem to like it. He turned his head several times to look at me and finally said, “Xiao Di, you’re holding on too tight. Can you loosen up a bit?”

I lowered my eyes and loosened my grip slightly, but it wasn’t long before I fell back into the same habit.

By the afternoon, we finally saw the military camp.

The men at the camp were training. Lin Chongtan put me down, told me to wait there for a bit, and walked toward the camp himself. After about fifteen minutes, he returned with a cloak and a few soldiers.

One of them was dressed in armor and looked quite imposing; he seemed to be a general.

Lin Chongtan walked up to me, draped the cloak over my shoulders, and turned to the person behind him. “General Song, this is my younger brother.”

This General Song didn’t look very old, but he had a heavy aura of bloodlust. He scanned my face with a steady gaze.

I had never met someone with such a murderous aura. I couldn’t help but take a step back. Because of that step, my injured foot accidentally stepped on a stone. The pain was so sharp I immediately bit my lip.

This tiny action drew a sneer from General Song. “This brother of yours is certainly delicate.”

This was our first meeting, yet he insulted me so. Although I was used to hearing demeaning words, this was the first time someone had called me “delicate.” I wanted to argue, but looking at his face, I could only swallow my words.

If this general punched me once, I’d probably be on my way to see the King of Hell.

“He has never traveled far before. It hasn’t been easy for him to encounter such a disaster,” Lin Chongtan explained for me. General Song became even more mocking.

“Oh? You just told me it’s your first time traveling far, too. How come you can carry him for so many miles on your back?”

I didn’t know how I had offended General Song. He was extremely rude to me, whereas his attitude toward Lin Chongtan was clearly one of appreciation; even his tone was much gentler.

At home, I was overshadowed by Lin Chongtan, and now out in the world, it was the same situation.

My mood turned gloomy, and I lowered my head, awkwardly picking at my clothes with my fingers.

“A few words and you’re going to cry?” General Song said again.

I wanted to snap back that I wasn’t crying, but Lin Chongtan cut in first. “The General must be amused. My brother’s foot is still injured; could I take him inside to treat the wound first?”

General Song finally let me go. He settled us in the camp and then took his men to search for the bandits.

It turned out that General Song had long been unhappy with the bandits’ raiding and killing, but that area was under the jurisdiction of the Sixteen Guards, so he couldn’t interfere. But now that someone who had been robbed, someone from the Lin family had come to him for help, how could he ignore it? He took the opportunity to send troops to wipe out the bandits.

My father lived in Suzhou, but my third uncle was an official in the capital. Third Uncle and my father didn’t share the same mother; Third Uncle’s mother was a maid who came with my father’s mother as part of her dowry. Later, because my grandmother was pregnant, Third Uncle’s mother was made a concubine.

Third Uncle had been hardworking since he was a child and was now the Minister of Works. Since it was late when we arrived at the camp, General Song sent someone to deliver a message to Third Uncle. Third Uncle’s people wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow morning to take us back to the estate, so we had to rest at the camp for one night.

The camp was crowded, so Lin Chongtan and I were assigned to one tent. At night, a soldier helped bring water for us to bathe. Ever since I moved into the Lin house, I was terrified people would smell something “unclean” on me, so I bathed every day.

Speaking of bathing, because I was born with dark skin, Mother gave me many skincare recipes. In truth, they were things girls used.

But I wanted to look like a young master of the Lin family, so I endured the shame and used those recipes day after day. I even added milk to my bathwater every day.

“You go first,” Lin Chongtan said to me after seeing the soldier off.

I hadn’t bathed in two days, so I didn’t bother being polite. I nodded and limped slowly toward the water bucket. The assigned tent was simple, without even a screen for privacy, but we were lucky the camp was willing to take us in, so I didn’t dare ask for more.

I peeked at Lin Chongtan a few times and saw that he was sitting at the table with his back to me the whole time, so I felt a bit more relaxed about bathing. The military doctor had already treated the wound on my foot and said it couldn’t touch water. So, I didn’t get into the tub; I rested my injured foot on a bench and used a wooden ladle to pour water over my body.

The hot water steamed. I scrubbed my body thoroughly until my skin was red before putting on clean clothes.

I don’t know which soldier the clothes belonged to, but they were much too big. Even with the waistband tied tight, they still wanted to slide down. I had to clutch my waistband tightly with one hand as I limped back to the bed in a pathetic state.

“I’m finished,” I said to Lin Chongtan.

Lin Chongtan still had his back to me. Hearing me, he stood up and walked toward the tub. Seeing him start to undress, I was startled. “Aren’t you going to call someone to change the water?”

“This is a military camp. These soldiers might not get a bath once in ten days. We are staying here temporarily; if we ask them to boil two big tubs of water in a row, it might cause resentment.” While Lin Chongtan spoke, he had already stripped naked. I caught a glimpse of his jade-like bare back and quickly looked away.

Because of what Lin Chongtan said, I looked at the baggy clothes I was wearing and couldn’t bring myself to ask for a smaller set.

That night, Lin Chongtan and I slept together again. However, there were two blankets, so it wasn’t as intimate as the day before.

It was quiet outside the tent, with only the occasional sound of patrolling footsteps. I was exhausted in both body and mind and fell fast asleep soon after. When I woke up again, I was startled by a voice.

“The people coming for you are here.”

The voice was exceptionally loud. I opened my eyes in a daze, not quite reacting yet, squinting for a while at the sunlight streaming into the tent. It turned out the one pulling back our tent flap was General Song. He made himself right at home, charging in without even a greeting. He was currently looking at us with a strange expression.

I prepared to sit up, only to realize my current posture wasn’t quite right.

I… I had somehow ended up sleeping in Lin Chongtan’s arms again. We were in the same blanket, and my face was pressed right against his neck. No wonder General Song looked so strange.

I quickly rolled to the side, only to discover something even worse—I wasn’t wearing pants under the blanket.

I glanced at Lin Chongtan and saw that he was awake, but he didn’t get up. He probably realized I wasn’t wearing pants, so he was too embarrassed to throw back the blanket in front of General Song.

I lay there stiffly. Lin Chongtan spoke calmly from the side, “Thank you, General Song. Could I trouble you to call the Lin family servants over?”

General Song gave us both another weird look before saying, “Sure.”

After General Song left, only Lin Chongtan and I were left in the tent. He didn’t look at me; he sat up sideways, leaving me with only his back. I understood what he meant and hurried to find my pants, which I had lost somewhere.

I don’t know how I slept last night. It was bad enough ending up in the same blanket as Lin Chongtan, but I even left my pants in the other blanket. I had just put them on when the Lin family servants arrived. Lin Chongtan asked them to bring two sets of clothes. When mentioning the clothes, he specifically added, “One set should be smaller.”

Sitting on the bed, my face couldn’t help but burn.

I was ashamed both of the sleeping incident and the fact that despite my efforts to nourish my body, I was still much smaller than Lin Chongtan.

After we changed, since General Song was no longer in the camp, we couldn’t say goodbye before boarding the carriage sent by Third Uncle.

Third Uncle was a capital official. Land in the capital was expensive, so his estate wasn’t even half the size of the Lin family’s main residence. He had one son and two daughters. The son was four or five years younger than us and was currently studying at home. The two daughters were close to our age and were currently being matched for marriage.

The customs of our dynasty were open, and there was no rule that male and female cousins had to avoid each other, so Third Uncle let us stay at his house.

Staying in someone else’s home made me feel a bit uneasy. I wanted to pay my respects and greet them more often, but my foot hadn’t healed. Lin Chongtan told me not to wander around; he said he would explain to Third Uncle.

Liangji was rescued on the third day. The bandits only killed a few guards and then took the rest of the people up the mountain. Liangji was starving; he ate and drank ravenously once he returned. Two days later, looking at me sitting in a chair tending to my wound, he suddenly asked, “Young Master Chun, aren’t you going out to play?”

“My foot hasn’t healed yet, how can I go out?” I said.

Liangji said, “But… but I just saw the Second Young Master go out with the two young ladies and the young master. I think they said they were going to Zuihua Restaurant to eat, and also to…”

He wracked his brain and finally remembered, “…to the city’s largest academy. They said many talented scholars are there.”

I sat up straight immediately. “Is what you’re saying true?”

“It’s true! I heard it very clearly. Miss Wan even said that Third Master has his day off tomorrow, so they can all go together to the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas outside the city to pray.”

Liangji’s words made me furious. These past few days I had been huddled in my room tending my wound, only greeting Third Uncle and the others twice. Had Lin Chongtan become close with Third Uncle’s family that quickly?

I told Liangji to keep watch. Once he spotted him, he was to ask Lin Chongtan to come over.

“It’s so late, why aren’t you asleep yet?” When night fell, Lin Chongtan finally lifted the door curtain and walked in.

I sat upright in my chair and glared at him. He saw my expression, paused slightly, and asked, “Why are you angry again?”

Again? Why did he use the word “again”?

“Did you go out with the cousins?” I asked him.

He admitted it.

“Why… why didn’t you tell me? Why was it just you and them?” I said angrily, feeling that Lin Chongtan had done it on purpose.

Lin Chongtan sat in the chair to my left. He seemed a bit tired, with exhaustion in his eyes. “Your foot isn’t healed yet. Wouldn’t going out just be suffering? Once your foot is better, it won’t be too late to go play.”

“You guys are going to the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas tomorrow. I’m going too.” I couldn’t let Lin Chongtan show off in front of Third Uncle and the others alone. I was the legitimate young master of the Lin family.

Lin Chongtan was just an outsider; Third Uncle and the others knew this too.

Lin Chongtan turned his head to look at me. I continued glaring at him without flinching. His expression turned slightly colder. “As you wish.” He stood up and left.

He had a bad attitude toward me, which made me feel even more that he was acting out of a guilty conscience, intentionally making me seem ill-mannered in front of Third Uncle’s family.

The next day, I got up early to prepare for the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas. Third Uncle’s family was surprised to hear I was going too. Third Aunt asked me, “Chun Di, Tansheng said yesterday that your foot hadn’t healed yet. Can you really go to the temple today?”

Clearly, Lin Chongtan had done it on purpose.

“My foot is much better,” I said.

Third Uncle said, “Then let’s go together.”

On the way to the temple, I shared a carriage with Lin Chongtan and my male cousin. My cousin wasn’t close to me and only chatted with Lin Chongtan the whole way. Seeing the two of them chatting so happily, I felt like the nightmare at the Lin estate was repeating itself.

So, I forced myself into the conversation, trying to draw my cousin’s attention to me. But for some reason, my cousin didn’t seem to want to talk to me. Every time our eyes met, he quickly looked away. I felt sad, and my expression became increasingly dejected.

By the time we reached the temple, having dressed up meticulously, I now felt like a defeated rooster with no fighting spirit left.

When praying to Buddha, I didn’t stay near my cousin and the others, but wandered around by myself. During the vegetarian meal, it was again Lin Chongtan and Third Uncle’s family acting all harmonious while I felt like an outsider, completely out of place. I held my porcelain chopsticks and watched from the side. Suddenly, Lin Chongtan used a serving spoon to put a scoop of tofu in my bowl. “This is good, try it.”

The sudden concern startled me slightly. Before I could speak, Third Aunt’s voice rang out. “Oh, Tansheng really knows how to look after his younger brother.”

Lin Chongtan had ignored me in the carriage just now, and now he was putting on the act of a good older brother. I was secretly angry, but with Third Uncle and the others there, I could only nod obediently. “Thank you, Second Brother.”

When we returned that day, the wound on my foot—which had almost healed—split open again. I didn’t want to ask Liangji to call a doctor, so I could only endure the pain myself. But I don’t know if it got infected or if I caught a chill from the wind during the day, but by nighttime, my whole body was burning hot and I was stuck in bed, unable to move.

In a daze, I heard Liangji talking to someone.

Something cool seemed to touch my forehead. Because my body was so hot, that cool object felt like a treasure to me. I reached out, grabbed it tightly, and rubbed my cheek against it, hoping to ease my discomfort.

“Ah! Young Master Chun is…”

“It’s fine. Go find the butler and call a doctor. He has a chill in his body; it won’t do without a doctor.”

“Then I’ll trouble the Second Young Master to stay here with Young Master Chun for a bit. I’ll be right back. If the Second Young Master’s hand gets hurt from his grip, you can give Young Master Chun this rag doll.”

“What is this?”

“A rag doll Young Master Chun made himself. He likes it very much and often sleeps with it by his pillow.”

The voices by my ear continued. I found them noisy and told them to stop talking. The room indeed became quiet all of a sudden. I pressed my cheek against my newfound treasure and fell asleep in a muddle.

The next day, as soon as I opened my eyes, I was met with Liangji’s big face. I was so startled I shrunk back into the bed, an action that immediately made me realize my back and head ached.

Seeing me wake up, Liangji clearly sighed in relief. “Young Master Chun, you’re finally awake. If you hadn’t woken up, I would have had to call the doctor again.”

“Was I sick?” I spoke only to find my voice was hoarse.

“Yes. You need to get well quickly, Young Master Chun. The Imperial Academy starts in a few days; you can’t be late.”

Liangji’s words reminded me. I indeed couldn’t be late for my studies at the Academy. So, I gathered my spirits and stopped thinking about other things. Aside from greeting Third Uncle and Third Aunt every day, I spent my time huddled in my room reading.

Ten days later, I entered the Imperial Academy along with Lin Chongtan and the other new students.