TAMW CH66

Yuqing felt Zhou Xiao’s gaze on him. Seeing the young man’s eyes rimming with red, he quickly extended a hand, crooking a finger in the air. “I haven’t even settled accounts with you for last night, and you’re already playing the wronged party?”

“Come here and let me see. Has my eighteen-year-old Master changed at all?”

At Yuqing’s beckoning, Zhou Xiao’s soul seemed tethered to that delicate fingertip. Propping himself up, he leaned in for inspection. “Has anything changed?”

He was far younger now than in their previous life.

Yuqing’s hand gently cupped his cheek, his fingers trailing up into his hair and resting against his nape.

When they had first met in their past life, Zhou Xiao was twenty-three—a young man in his prime.

Now, if forced to name a difference, he perhaps looked a little leaner than before?

Zhou Xiao insisted it wasn’t just being lean; it was the toll of agonizing over a month-long voyage at sea.

He hadn’t been parted from his wife for so long in an eternity. Even walking the Yellow Springs together in death, they had held hands; when had they ever been separated for such an agonizing stretch?

Later, when Deng Yongquan commented that he had lost a considerable amount of weight, Zhou Xiao panicked, fearing he would leave a poor impression on Yuqing. Hiding in his cabin, he relentlessly did push-ups until his shoulders matched the broadness Yuqing remembered.

He deliberately left his shirt unbuttoned, putting his chest and abdominal muscles on full display.

Say what you will, but Zhou Xiao was tall with long legs, and frequent horseback riding in France had built broad, powerful latissimus dorsi. With his inverted-triangle physique, he only had to stand before Yuqing to completely envelop him in his shadow.

Even if Yuqing sat on his arm, Zhou Xiao could effortlessly carry him with a single hand.

Though slightly leaner now, his muscle definition hadn’t faded, only losing a fraction of its former bulk. Zhou Xiao promised he would grow; this time, Yuqing could witness his maturation firsthand.

Yuqing’s hand traced his bare chest. “You’re missing a scar here.”

Zhou Xiao replied, “That was from a fall off a horse when I was twenty-one. Since I came back earlier this time, naturally, it isn’t there.”

“Qingqing even remembered a trivial thing like that?”

Overjoyed, Zhou Xiao couldn’t resist leaning in and biting his lip. “Mmh…” A soft gasp of pain escaped Yuqing.

Knowing perfectly well it hurt, Zhou Xiao refused to let go, instead nuzzling his nose affectionately against Yuqing’s. “My sweet Qingqing, I knew you loved me…”

“I’ve always been in your heart, haven’t I?”

Yuqing pushed his desperately hungry face away. “Hurry up and get out of bed; stop acting like a scoundrel.”

Zhou Xiao felt even less inclined to rise.

In their past life, the two of them had long since abandoned the habit of getting out of bed immediately upon waking.

Now that Yuqing had also been reborn, he naturally wanted to be thoroughly affectionate.

In their previous life, Zhou Xiao hadn’t been weaned until Qingming was ten. Because Yuqing’s constitution at the time hadn’t been suited for nursing again, even after the milk had dried up, the habit remained, and Zhou Xiao had continued to nurse until the day he died.

Yuqing marveled at his obsession with his body, yet reasoned that since he was the Master and the husband, it was a wife’s duty to provide such comforts.

Yuqing’s traditional mindset was something even a trip to France couldn’t easily overturn.

In his understanding, a wife alleviating her husband’s burdens in bed was entirely normal; it was just that Zhou Xiao presented far too many ‘burdens’ in that department, occupying the vast majority of his time.

Yuqing prepared to rise.

Having not yet borne a child in this timeline, his posture was even straighter, standing tall like a slender pine.

As he stepped out of bed, Zhou Xiao moved to brush his hair.

Ever since Qingming’s birth in their past life, Zhou Xiao had taken over combing Yuqing’s hair most days. He even learned to pin it up with a jade hairpin; when the long hair fell, the beauty stood out strikingly.

“Second Uncle will likely be here today; you must behave,” Yuqing instructed.

Combing his hair, Zhou Xiao nodded: “I know. You call the shots in this house now.”

The corners of Yuqing’s lips pressed together slightly. He reached up and tapped the back of Zhou Xiao’s hand resting on his shoulder. “Be obedient.”

Zhou Xiao agreed.

Outside, numerous servants paced back and forth, eager to see when the two men would finally emerge.

Yuqing had been in the Zhou household for several years and had recently taken over management of part of the family’s assets. Though the Master hadn’t explicitly declared it, everyone knew such privileges were reserved for the eldest son.

This proxy eldest son hadn’t even fully consolidated power before the true eldest son returned.

In the eyes of onlookers, the two were bound to clash like fire and water.

Yet to everyone’s astonishment, when Zhou Xiao emerged from the bedchamber, he was radiating vitality. Having shadowed him for a long time, Deng Yongquan easily recognized his master’s soaring spirits and hurried after him toward the small kitchen.

“Young Master, last night I asked my father about this Ruan Yuqing…”

Zhou Xiao thought to himself: Why on earth would I need someone else to tell me about my own wife?

“Now that you’ve returned, it’s the perfect time to knock him down a peg! Otherwise, with the First Madam dead, the whole Zhou estate would answer to him. You truly have divine foresight; you…”

Before Deng Yongquan could finish, Zhou Xiao stopped in his tracks, turning to look at him, then patted him on the shoulder. “Yongquan, you’ve been by my side for a long time. Don’t ever say things like that again. The Zhou estate is his to run.”

Deng Yongquan: “?”

Had he finally found a golden thigh to cling to, only to kiss up to the wrong leg?

But Deng Yongquan was sharp; he instantly deduced that the Young Master detested hearing anyone speak ill of Ruan Yuqing. He smoothly pivoted: “Mr. Ruan is incredibly formidable—a natural-born businessman! Young Master, when we left, the Zhou family’s pawnshop business was failing. But when I inquired yesterday, guess what?”

“Not only did he revitalize the pawnshops, he even secured military protection for them!”

Rubbing his head, Deng Yongquan muttered, “How do you know everything…?”

Zhou Xiao despised those military brutes the most.

Especially Jiang Sui. He had known Yuqing longer than Zhou Xiao, and held a high status. Had it not been for his older age, Zhou Xiao truly would have spent time thoroughly locking horns with him.

However, the timing of his return was perfect; at this point, Zhao Fu had not yet pledged his loyalty to Yuqing.

When Zhou Xiao went to the kitchen to oversee breakfast, he happened to overhear shouting and scolding from the side courtyard. Zhao Fu had likely committed some offense and was being reprimanded by Second Uncle.

Listening in for a moment, Zhou Xiao walked away with a cheerful grin.

He had to personally select Yuqing’s breakfast. Yuqing was so slender and possessed a poor appetite; with the heavy physical exertion to come, his body might not hold up.

In this lifetime, they were both starting fresh…

Zhou Xiao had absolutely no intention of letting that dog stand in for him at their wedding again.

His greatest regret in his past life was never having properly bowed to heaven and earth and formally married Yuqing. Since he had been granted a second life, how could he possibly pass up the chance?

At the thought, Zhou Xiao couldn’t help but feel elated, ordering someone to buy fresh flowers immediately—not jasmine, but whatever seasonal blooms were at their peak.

Having found release yesterday, Yuqing rested briefly on the small bed after having his hair combed.

His health was poor right now; the constitution he had painstakingly built up in his past life had reverted to its frail state.

“Go to the eastern suburbs and find a doctor surnamed Liu. Offer him plenty of silver dollars and have him move into the estate temporarily to tend to the Madam,” Zhou Xiao casually instructed.

A cold sweat broke out on Deng Yongquan’s back, and he trembled, “Young Master, the Madam was just buried yesterday… please don’t frighten me!”

“Oh, right, right.” Zhou Xiao had nearly forgotten that detail. “Anyway, have him come quickly, and bring medicinal herbs for nourishing the body—warming tonics specifically for someone with a cold constitution.”

“Yes, sir…” Though finding his expression bizarre, Deng Yongquan accepted the order and trotted off.

Yuqing’s hair had been pinned perfectly by Zhou Xiao; he didn’t even need to make any adjustments.

Facing the mirror, Yuqing looked at his own youthful face, feeling somewhat unaccustomed to it.

After changing his clothes, a servant waited at the door to escort him to administer the Master’s medicine.

For the first two years after Yuqing entered the household, the Master had been quite hale. It was only at the beginning of this year that his health had sharply declined—an affliction resembling consumption, marked by constant coughing and severe shortness of breath.

Yuqing hadn’t seen his father in a very long time.

Seeing him now, he truly felt Zhou Xiao bore little resemblance to him.

The Master had naturally been a handsome man in his youth; even now, with graying temples, traces of his former charm lingered in his features.

“Yuqing is here,” Zhou Yuzhang managed smoothly. “Come.”

“Master.” Yuqing paused. Before the marriage, he had always addressed Zhou Yuzhang as “Master.”

Because at this very moment, Zhou Xiao was sitting in the exact spot Yuqing usually occupied to feed the old man, holding a bowl and spooning medicine into Zhou Yuzhang’s mouth.

Zhou Yuzhang likely never imagined that he and his estranged son would share such a moment; his eyes brimmed with unconcealed joy.

Yuqing walked over and sat nearby, tilting his head slightly in confusion as he watched Zhou Xiao feed the Master.

Zhou Xiao had never held any affection for his father; why was he feeding him medicine today?

“A long illness empties a bed of filial sons; just don’t vomit on my hand,” Zhou Xiao remarked.

With those words, Yuqing understood precisely why Zhou Xiao had taken over the task.

In their past life, after they married, Zhou Xiao had witnessed Yuqing feeding the old man once.

By then, the Master’s health had deteriorated severely; swallowing a single mouthful of medicine took multiple attempts. He had vomited all over Yuqing’s hands, a sight that deeply disgusted Zhou Xiao.

Reborn, Zhou Xiao had no intention of letting Yuqing endure such unpleasant tasks again.

Yet Yuqing was fiercely filial; aside from Zhou Xiao doing it himself, Yuqing wouldn’t trust anyone else in the household to feed him.

Zhou Xiao said, “See that? He isn’t your biological son, yet he surpasses one. Why didn’t you sow your wild oats more thoroughly back in the day and have a few more like him?”

Hearing such sharp, impudent words, Zhou Yuzhang couldn’t help but laugh, remarking, “My son has grown more open.”

In the past, Zhou Xiao would never have spoken to him like this. It seemed disrespectful on the surface, but it rapidly bridged the emotional distance between father and son.

Zhou Xiao had been a father himself, after all; he knew exactly how a father wished to interact with his son—like close friends, or perhaps lord and minister; that was the ideal dynamic.

Zhou Xiao said, “I returned because you are gravely ill, to share the burden of the household.”

Zhou Yuzhang nodded repeatedly in approval: “This is Yuqing; have you two met? He…”

“He is your adopted son. In name, I ought to call him Elder Brother.”

Yuqing’s face flushed crimson, and he hastily interjected, “The Young Master is jesting.”

Though the Master had brought up the idea of adoption, it had never been officially recorded in the genealogy book, leaving it legally baseless. The rumors outside were even wilder; in truth, Yuqing currently acted more like a long-term hired hand repaying a life debt, albeit one granted the authority of a master.

“Ah, Xiao’er wishes for a brother. Since that is the case, harmony is for the best,” Zhou Yuzhang said.

“But I don’t want him as a brother,” Zhou Xiao blew on the medicine to cool it before offering it to the old man’s lips.

Zhou Yuzhang frowned slightly, casting an involuntary glance in Yuqing’s direction.

He had cherished Yuqing these past years, naturally, but with his biological son present, if he refused to accept Yuqing, the old man knew exactly where the balance of weight lay in his heart.

Yuqing said, “Naturally, I am unworthy of being the Young Master’s brother…”

Zhou Yuzhang offered, “Yuqing has been exceptionally capable in managing the household. Now that you’ve returned, he can assist you. Spend some time getting to know each other. As for the marriage you mentioned, I will have Butler Deng seek out suitable matches for you to review portraits?”

Before Yuqing’s arrival, Zhou Xiao had already broached the subject of marriage with Zhou Yuzhang.

He was eighteen this year; by old customs, that was already considered late for marriage.

In the Republican era, marrying at eighteen was commonplace. Since Zhou Xiao had returned from studying abroad before completing his education, Zhou Yuzhang had intended to find a student from a well-matched family. Though the Zhou family’s businesses weren’t what they once were, their foundation remained solid…

As Zhou Yuzhang pondered, Zhou Xiao suddenly declared, “There is a ready-made option right here.”

By the time Yuqing realized what he was about to say, it was too late.

“I want to marry Yuqing.”

“Cough, cough—” Zhou Yuzhang broke into a violent coughing fit.

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Yuqing rushed forward to pat the old man’s back. “This… this matter…”

This was not something to be blurted out so casually!

In their past life, the old man had only agreed to let Yuqing marry Zhou Xiao because Second Uncle was plotting to send assassins to France to eliminate Zhou Xiao and swallow the Zhou estate whole. At the time, Zhou Yuzhang had no one else to turn to, and Yuqing had volunteered to marry, demanding no status, promising that the Young Master could take as many concubines as he pleased in the future, and vowing to protect the Zhou estate for him. Only then, months before his death, had Zhou Yuzhang nodded in agreement.

Now, with Zhou Yuzhang not yet at death’s door, suddenly hearing his newly returned son demand to marry a man—how could he not be shocked?

At his advanced age, expecting the joys of family life with his son, the very first thing his son demanded upon stepping through the door was to marry the adopted brother he had only just met. Who could digest such a bombshell?

Zhou Xiao declared, “I fell in love with him at first sight. I have no interest in women anymore. We shall marry tomorrow.”

Yuqing: “…”

Setting aside the fact that the First Madam’s white mourning banners were still fluttering outside.

In the eyes of anyone else, the two had only met once, spent a single night together, and today the Young Master was demanding marriage as if his life depended on it. Uttered aloud, wouldn’t such a tale make people laugh their teeth out?

How could an elderly man withstand hearing his son casually demand to marry a man?

Zhou Yuzhang looked at Zhou Xiao with profound complexity.

“You today…”

“I came to feed you medicine today purely because of him,” Zhou Xiao admitted without a shred of hesitation.

Yuqing closed his eyes, his ears burning crimson. This was tantamount to standing before a father and carrying on with his other son—how could this be explained? How could it be explained?!

Yuqing preferred meticulous planning and flawless execution, yet Zhou Xiao consistently threw out the rulebook, leaving him entirely unsure of how to parry!

Were it not for his father’s presence, Yuqing thought he would have twisted Zhou Xiao’s ear clean off.

Zhou Yuzhang was old, and having a conversation with his son was already taxing; he could only murmur that he needed time to think. Yuqing hastily grabbed Zhou Xiao and dragged him out of the room.

He was truly furious. What if a man of his father’s age couldn’t handle such a shock, suffered a heart attack, and was literally angered to death by them?

The moment they reached their room, Zhou Xiao couldn’t resist plastering himself against him.

Yuqing raised a hand to strike, but Zhou Xiao caught it in mid-air, pressing it against his own cheek. “Hit me, beat me to death.”

“I merely wanted us to marry sooner, to consummate sooner, so we could be reunited with Qingming sooner. Who knows, maybe he’ll even get to see his grandson—three generations under one roof! I was thinking of his happiness, and you want to hit me?”

Watching his puppy bite back with such twisted logic, Yuqing was overcome with exasperation. He took two steps forward and grabbed Zhou Xiao by the collar. “You—!”

He had lost an immense amount of face in front of his father.

Zhou Xiao rarely saw Yuqing genuinely angry. Finding his glaring expression utterly adorable, he laughed, “Qingqing thinks my reasoning is sound too, doesn’t he? Otherwise, you would have punished me already.”

“I know you’re a traditional person. We haven’t even touched this morning. Let’s marry early, alright? Save it for our wedding night…”

“No matter how early, you must wait until the First Madam’s first seven days of mourning have passed! You’ll just have to suffocate, you lecherous ghost!” Yuqing poked him hard in the forehead. “How could you blurt that out without discussing it with me? Father is old…”

“He agreed to let you marry me in the past life; do you think he’d oppose it in this one? I know he’s no saint himself—he brought home plenty of concubines; they just all happened to die. You’re the only person in the world who thinks he’s a good man. Just wait, he’ll definitely agree.”

Faced with Zhou Xiao’s blatant disrespect and unfilial attitude, Yuqing truly had no cure for him.

He despised the Zhou family from the bottom of his heart.

In their past life, he had constantly pestered Yuqing to stay at the small mansion.

When Qingming grew older and learned to walk, he became incredibly clingy toward his mother. He wondered if this trait was inherited; several times when the child came looking for him, Zhou Xiao was still deep inside him, forcing Yuqing to feign deep sleep.

Qingming would stare blankly at the bed for a moment, conclude his mother was asleep, and wander off disappointed to play behind the folding screen.

At such moments, Zhou Xiao would invariably thrust harder—deliberately. He was wicked, born with a deeply malicious streak.

Yuqing had tried taming him for so long to no avail; if anything, his occasional indulgence only fueled the fire.

Zhou Xiao was naturally in a rush to marry. Returning to Baizhou this time, he had another monumental plan in mind: he wanted to take Yuqing away.

To take Yuqing to France.

To let Yuqing truly see the outside world.

In their past life, their trip to France had only been a brief stay at the estate.

He wanted to take Yuqing into the universities, to show him foreign philosophies and the world’s progress.

Deep down, Zhou Xiao believed Yuqing deserved far better. If he was trapped in a grand estate for a lifetime, doomed to revolve around a husband and child even with a second chance at life, wouldn’t that be far too dreary?

Before the spring holiday ended next year, he intended to take Yuqing to France. They would live in a grand estate, he would bring Yuqing to galas to mingle as high-society gentlemen, kiss him amidst fields of blooming tulips, and perhaps, in a new land, create life together once more…

Seeing him smile so foolishly, Yuqing couldn’t help but poke him in the forehead again. “What are you plotting in there?”

“I was thinking… this time when you’re pregnant, I’ll be right by your side.”

Hooking an arm around Yuqing’s waist, he pressed flush against him from behind, instinctively nuzzling his chin against him. “It’s just… having to witness your suffering all over again breaks my heart.”

Yuqing asked, “You aren’t trying to stop it… I thought you’d forbid me from giving birth. I had even prepared arguments to persuade you.”

“Why shouldn’t you?” Zhou Xiao countered. “Aren’t I just a tool you use to have a child? If not for the child, why would you ever agree to marry me?”

“Look at this—such a petty heart?” The corners of Yuqing’s lips twitched upward. “The size of a sesame seed?”

Zhou Xiao replied, “Qingming is a good, sensible boy, and… he’s a child born of you and me. I love him too.”

The very thought that a person existed in this world solely because of him and his wife filled his heart with uncontainable sweetness.

“It’s just that it will cause you pain, and that breaks my heart…”

Yuqing stroked his face. “Be a good boy.”

Praised, Zhou Xiao’s heart soared with delight.

Twenty-one-year-old Yuqing’s neck seemed even more slender, his Adam’s apple prominent. Zhou Xiao pressed kisses from his nape forward. “I’m always a good boy…”

Yuqing lifted his eyelids, fixing him with a deep, knowing stare, unable to fight the smile creeping into his eyes.

As for the marriage, the old man naturally agreed.

Though the shock had triggered a two-day fever, his two sons attended his bedside in perfect, silent synchrony. Yuqing only had to raise a hand, and Zhou Xiao instantly knew whether he required a teacup or a handkerchief.

Master Zhou had been estranged from his son for years.

Now that his son had returned home with only one condition—marrying a male wife—as a father who had given him so little over the years, he had no reason to refuse.

When asked, Yuqing voiced no objections.

Yuqing managed affairs impeccably and never fought for power. The old man discussed it with Yuqing: if they needed children in the future, they would still have to bring a concubine into the household.

Yuqing thought to himself: Thank heavens Zhou Xiao wasn’t here to hear that, or he would have smashed Father’s medicine bowl to pieces.

Zhou Xiao tolerated absolutely no impurities in matters of the heart.

In their past life, they occasionally dined with business associates. Which wealthy, powerful boss didn’t have several concubines? It was considered a mark of prestige.

Because their public reputation was that neither had married, and Qingming was registered under Yuqing’s name, outsiders assumed Yuqing, having a child, favored women. After a banquet one evening, a man had pulled Zhou Xiao aside, proposing to gift Yuqing a woman, even bragging she was a university student.

To outsiders, Zhou Xiao was Yuqing’s right-hand man.

Anyone looking to plant someone by Yuqing’s side knew they had to go through Zhou Xiao first.

Zhou Xiao had beaten the man into the hospital that very day, returning home to throw a spectacular tantrum that left Yuqing nursing a headache just thinking about it.

Whether man or woman, old or young, flying in the sky or running on the ground—aside from Qingming, Zhou Xiao’s eyes truly could not tolerate a single grain of sand.

Even if it was his own father proposing the idea, Zhou Xiao would undoubtedly hold a grudge.

Yuqing simply nodded, pretending to take the advice to heart. Within days, the Zhou estate welcomed their grand wedding.

As fate would have it, Second Uncle actually brought men to crash the event.

In his past life, Yuqing never knew exactly how Zhou Yulin died; in this life, he finally found out.

Zhou Yulin arrived the day before the wedding, spewing venomous threats and dragging Yuqing’s origins through the mud. Zhou Xiao cordially invited the man inside for a drink—and the next moment, a white blade went in and a red blade came out.

He hadn’t heard anyone speak ill of Yuqing in years. Emboldened by the First Madam’s death, Zhou Yulin thought he could claim half the sky, entirely ignorant that the two young men standing opposite him were not to be trifled with.

Zhou Xiao killed the man, stabbing him repeatedly. It was only when Yuqing emerged from behind the screen after changing clothes and witnessed the scene that Zhou Xiao finally panicked.

It was the first time Yuqing had seen such a thing; he was terrified his wife would think him a monster.

Yuqing couldn’t help rubbing his temples: “What are you standing there for? Hurry up and have someone carry him out and throw him down the well! Are you waiting for the Ruan family to come searching for him tomorrow?”

“Wipe the floor clean. On the eve of our wedding, couldn’t you… couldn’t you have held it in for just a few days?”

“Yes, yes, yes, my good Madam, I’ve upset you,” Zhou Xiao mumbled defensively. “He had a foul mouth; you suffered listening to it for far too long in our past life.”

Deng Yongquan dragged the body out to dispose of it. Zhou Xiao washed his hands and hurried over to help Yuqing try on his wedding attire.

“This time, I will be the one to lift Qingqing’s veil.”