After returning to the residence, Song Fengsui gave Duan Yan a thorough examination.
He had heard long ago that Old Third Qian was a butcher who spent his days sending a white blade in and pulling out a red one. When he got carried away, he made no distinction between livestock and people.
Seeing that Duan Yan had been walking with difficulty when he returned, with some scrapes on his face as well, Song Fengsui feared that he had suffered quite a few hidden blows from Old Third Qian during that brief encounter.
Song Fengsui felt his pulse. It was normal, though slightly faster than an ordinary person’s. That was due to the lingering effects of the poison he had suffered before; it was not something that could be completely remedied in merely two or three months. As long as he did not overstrain himself and aggravate the injury, that was already quite good.
It seemed, then, that there were no internal injuries.
He turned to ask about the external ones. “Do you feel pain anywhere?”
Duan Yan kept his eyes open without blinking and gave a vague answer. “I was probably struck in several places by fists and feet. There’s a dull discomfort everywhere, so I can’t tell which spot hurts most at the moment.”
Song Fengsui’s brows drew tightly together. He looked at the man sitting in the chair with his back slightly hunched, then glanced him up and down. External injuries were easy enough to examine, but since Duan Yan could not identify where he hurt, how was Song Fengsui supposed to make a proper judgment? He could hardly ask the man to strip naked for an examination.
Thus, he had no choice but to inspect the places most likely to have been injured himself.
Song Fengsui’s slender fingers touched Duan Yan’s arm. “Make a sound if you feel pain anywhere.”
With that, he lightly pressed and worked his way upward, moving from the arm to the shoulder, back, and waist. He found no injuries, but the firm, solid sensation beneath his hand was exceptionally distinct. The warm, substantial feeling distracted him for a moment.
At that instant, Duan Yan’s body, which had already been tightly tensed, suddenly went rigid. Song Fengsui seemed to come back to himself and hurriedly raised his eyes to ask, “Here?”
Duan Yan looked at the person gazing up at him with such earnestness. His peripheral vision caught sight of the hand resting over his waist and abdomen. His old face flushed red, and at the same time he felt deeply embarrassed.
Song Fengsui had felt him here and pinched him there, then circled around to inspect his back once more. His entire body had been touched until it began to itch.
He truly could not endure it any longer. With a long exhalation, he honestly admitted, “I’m fine.”
“You’re still stubbornly claiming you’re fine?”
Song Fengsui pressed twice more against the firm, well-proportioned muscles of his abdomen. “If you’re fine, why did you make a sound when I touched this spot?”
Duan Yan held his breath. “I really am fine.”
Afraid that Song Fengsui might touch him a few more times and cause something difficult to explain, he sprang to his feet and demonstrated half a set of martial forms, showing that his hands and feet were perfectly sound.
“Then why were you limping earlier?!”
Duan Yan rubbed the tip of his nose. “If I hadn’t pretended while we were outside, people would have thought I was too fond of showing off my ferocity and had beaten Old Third Qian badly. That would have left a poor impression on Commissioner Qin.”
Song Fengsui’s lips pursed slightly. “You certainly know how to keep your composure. You managed to keep up the act even after coming back. Shall I write you another medical certificate and post it publicly?”
No wonder he felt ashamed. Duan Yan himself did not know why he had deliberately deceived Song Fengsui.
“...Next time, I’ll tell you first.”
Song Fengsui gave a soft snort. “If I were to call you sly, you went to receive someone without knowing enough to bring people from the yamen along. Old Third Qian deliberately caused trouble by taking advantage of his official position. Why didn’t you know to use the authority you had on hand to suppress him? But if I were to call you honest, you still knew how to pretend to be weak.”
Duan Yan said, “Before, I always felt that misusing the yamen’s authority was inappropriate and would easily give people something to gossip about. But after hearing what you said, I see that you have a point. Given the circumstances, refusing to adapt and clinging only to my own principles really would leave me at a disadvantage.
“Fortunately, you brought people over to intervene afterward. Otherwise, it truly would have been difficult to settle things today.”
Song Fengsui figured Old Third Qian would be more restrained for a while. Although he had not cried out today, his face had been flushed nearly purple from holding everything in. He probably had not gained much from the affair either.
He applied medicine to the places where Duan Yan’s skin had been scraped, then wrapped them up in a suitably proper fashion. Only after that did he let Duan Yan leave to inspect the medicinal plants they had brought back this time.
Gou San’er and the others had traveled all the way out of the county and headed north, nearly reaching the prefectural city, before they finally found the medicinal materials they needed at a large herb farm.
The farm sold seeds, established rootstocks, and newly grown seedlings. The newly grown seedlings were the most affordable by far. Although the seedlings at the farm appeared sturdy, the journey there and back would take more than ten days. No matter how healthy and tender they were, there was no way they could survive the trip in such weather.
Thus, the only viable choices were seeds and established rootstocks.
Seeds were easy and convenient to carry, but after bringing them home, they required someone experienced to sow, raise, and cultivate them, making the process considerably more troublesome. Established rootstocks were much less of a burden: once planted, they could take root and grow. Naturally, they were also the most expensive.
After haggling over the price, they brought back a sufficient quantity of both seeds and established rootstocks. Even so, purchasing the materials alone had cost more than a hundred taels of silver. On top of that, the entry tax at the town gate had cost another twenty taels!
To get the established rootstocks home as quickly as possible, the group had watered the soil at night to keep it moist and sheltered them from the wind and heat during the day, tending to them with the utmost care. They had scarcely dared to rest along the way, afraid that if the journey took too long, the rootstocks would succumb to the weather and die.
After finally making it back to the town, they were stopped at the checkpoint by Third Son Qian, and several of the established rootstocks were damaged. How could everyone not be furious?
Fortunately, they had sent word ahead and Duan Yan had come to receive them. Otherwise, even if the damaged rootstocks had ultimately led to Third Son Qian paying compensation, it still would not have made up for their losses.
After carefully inspecting the seeds and rootstocks, Duan Yan arranged for them to be transported to the estate at once. The medicinal fields there had already been loosened and prepared; they were merely waiting for the seedlings to arrive.
Aside from the medicinal materials, the group had also purchased various foodstuffs and household goods while passing through the prefectural and county towns, packing them into crates and bringing them back.
Duan Yan opened the crates to take a look. There was quite a lot inside: compressed tea, sorghum liquor, cured pork fat, sea salt, sugar, and other such goods.
There were also woven sleeping mats, bamboo-framed paper umbrellas, writing implements, tea utensils, and assorted articles of the same kind.
Duan Yan did not criticize them for spending money recklessly. Yanzhen was a small, remote place with hardly anything worthwhile. Since they had gone out once, it made sense to bring back some useful goods while they were at it. So long as the items were not intended for commercial trade, the customs duties were still manageable—not nearly as high as those imposed on medicinal materials.
He took a few cursory glances and was about to have the goods carried to the storeroom when he suddenly noticed that one of the crates contained several bolts of fine fabric in various colors. Among them, a plain white bolt caught his eye.
Duan Yan picked it up and found that it was even softer to the touch than it appeared.
“The cloth merchant said this was fine fabric from the south,” Gou San’er explained. Seeing that Duan Yan had looked through several crates but was interested only in this one bolt, he gave a chuckle. “We don’t have such fine material in a place like ours. Big Brother, keep it. You can start preparing early for the little master.”
Duan Yan shot Gou San’er a glance without responding. He simply took the fabric away.
He seemed to remember that Song Fengsui’s body was exceptionally delicate. Ordinary rough cloth could not be worn against his skin; if he wore it close to his body, the slightest larger movement would rub his skin red.
His skin was thin and sensitive; one could tell from the hands he left exposed, where the veins on the backs and wrists were almost clearly visible. The summer heat made him sweat often, and once the sweat ran over his already flushed and delicate skin, it only aggravated the irritation.
Though he was pampered and delicate, after coming to this place he had never once complained. Whenever he earned money, the first thing he thought of was buying things for his family.
As time passed, the clothes he wore during the day were still the two sets he had asked Madam Li to purchase from the cloth shop while he had been ill at home.
Summer was hot, yet this omega always dressed very properly, with not a thread out of place. Duan Yan could not tell whether he had developed any more rashes, but he hardly felt it was appropriate to ask.
Duan Yan acted as though he were sneaking around. Seeing that Song Fengsui was still over by the pharmacy, he tiptoed inside, placed the fabric on the table, and hurriedly prepared to slip away.
Who would have thought that the moment he stepped out the door, he would run straight into Song Fengsui, who had just come over?
“Have the medicinal herbs been arranged?”
Duan Yan stopped awkwardly and gave a quiet response.
Seeing him looking dazed again, Song Fengsui could not help asking, “What is it? Did you come looking for me?”
“Nothing.”
With that, Duan Yan maintained his mostly serious expression and pointed toward the warehouse. “I’m going to check whether everything we brought back has been put into storage.”
Song Fengsui did not move aside. His gaze swept over Duan Yan from head to toe.
Then he rose slightly onto his toes and leaned his head to peer past Duan Yan into the room. “What’s on the table?”
Duan Yan choked, as though he had been caught red-handed. His back went rigid.
Song Fengsui looked at him and blinked. “Wasn’t that what you just brought over?”
“...It—it’s just some food and household goods they sent back from outside. There happened to be a bolt of fabric among them. I don’t need it, so I brought it over to see if you could use it.”
Hearing this, Song Fengsui took hold of Duan Yan’s sleeve and pulled him into the room.
He had noticed Duan Yan sneaking around in there earlier and had wondered what he was up to. It was only a bolt of fabric, yet he had somehow made such a fuss over it...
Song Fengsui picked up the plain white cloth. The softness beneath his fingers made his eyes widen slightly, and he immediately understood why Duan Yan had been so embarrassed.
“...Fabric for sleepwear, is it~?”
Duan Yan coughed awkwardly. “Is it?”
“I don’t know much about these things. I wasn’t sure what it was meant to be used for... C-couldn’t it be made into something to wear outside?”
At that, a smile appeared in both Song Fengsui’s eyes and at the corners of his lips.
He said meaningfully, “You want to see me wear it outside?”
Duan Yan’s pupils jolted. He hurriedly said, “N-no, of course not! If the fabric isn’t suitable, I’ll take it back and put it in the warehouse.”
“Clothes worn outside don’t have to be particularly good; it doesn’t matter much either way. But something worn next to the skin should be made of good material—it feels more comfortable and soothing that way. As it happens, I’m short one soft, comfortable nightshirt.”
Song Fengsui had no intention of giving him the chance to lock the fabric away in the warehouse. He picked it up and ran his fingers carefully over it, making no attempt to hide how much he liked it.
Seeing this, Duan Yan let out a small breath of relief.
But even as Song Fengsui enjoyed the discovery, his eyes shifted. Clearly, he had no intention of letting this foolish man off so easily.
He drawled, “Speaking of which, I’m ashamed to say my needlework is terribly rough. I truly wouldn’t want to ruin such fine fabric.”
Then he looked at Duan Yan. “Master Duan, could you be kind enough to see this through and take the cloth to the shop? Please explain to the shopkeeper that I’d like a set of clothes cut from it.”
For a moment, Duan Yan felt as though his ears were burning. “...Me?”
Song Fengsui stared straight at him with a pair of beautiful eyes and asked in a slightly plaintive tone, “Can’t you?”
“...All right. If you don’t want to go, then never mind. I’ll ask Gou San’er...”
“I’ll go!”
Song Fengsui lowered his eyes, and before he could finish speaking in that faintly disappointed tone, Duan Yan hurriedly took the fabric back into his arms.
“...It’s fine. I don’t have much to do for the moment anyway. I was just about to go out.”
With that, his heart pounding, Duan Yan ducked his head and hurried out.
Song Fengsui nearly laughed aloud. Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, his eyes shifted and he chased after him for two steps.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Do you know my measurements?”
Duan Yan came to an abrupt stop. He turned back and glanced at Song Fengsui, who was standing in the doorway.
“...I have a rough idea.”
Song Fengsui was momentarily stunned. It was only after Duan Yan had left that his face belatedly flushed a little.
When had Duan Yan learned his measurements?
