Chapter 91

 The Scum Gong Does Farming and Gets a HE with the Cold and Aloof Male Lead (Transmigration)

With the provincial civil service examination approaching, Lu Lizhi grew increasingly tense day by day, losing all the relaxation and confidence he'd had at the start.

He wished he could read a book even while eating or using the toilet. Sometimes he'd startle awake from sleep, get up, throw on his clothes, and write another essay until he was satisfied.

Every time, Jiang Yuye would light the lamp for him and keep him company by his side, no matter how tired he was that day, even though he couldn't really help much.

But with him there, Lu Lizhi's anxiety visibly eased.

Jiang Yuye could grind ink and wash brushes for him—not exactly adding fragrance by a fair maiden's sleeve, but at least a "dark sleeve" accompaniment.

Later, seeing that Lu Lizhi was suffering from frequent insomnia and growing more strained, Jiang Yuye went into the mountains to gather some agarwood to make incense. He burned it for him every night, and its calming, soothing effects were quite good.

Even the matter Jiang Yuye had been so concerned about could be temporarily set aside. Besides, under these circumstances, how could he possibly think of anything else, afraid of disturbing Lu Lizhi's focus.

The Great Heng Mountains were rich in resources, and Jiang Yuye took care to manage them—pruning and transplanting tea trees, fruit trees, and spice trees as needed.

Domesticating wild trees over time would improve both taste and yield.

Coincidentally, the one hundred acres of prime farmland granted by the emperor were located within Xuanhe Prefecture, so Jiang Yuye built a small estate there and hired some people, sending his mother to inspect it from time to time.

Madam He brought Granny Li along. Both were shrewd and decisive women who could keep the workers in line, and everything proceeded smoothly.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Yuye's birthday arrived again—June 23rd, the height of summer.

During the Great Heat, one admires red lotuses by the pond. Over in Chongzhou Prefecture, they had already planted entire fields of lotus, ready for harvesting next summer to make lotus-root-based foods. Other flowers and trees were being transplanted and cultivated one after another, mostly brought from the Great Heng Mountains—locally produced and locally sold, saving a tidy sum.

"In a few days, Flowing Waters Tavern will officially open." Flowing Waters Tavern was the name Jiang Yuye and Lu Lizhi had chosen for their restaurant. They'd thought of many—lofty, elegant, pleasant-sounding names—but in the end decided to return to simplicity and follow their inclinations, which suited the farm-to-table style of the place.

This, however, made Madam He and Jiang Dazhu somewhat anxious. Though the land and buildings still belonged to their family, many wealthy merchants and influential figures had invested money in the venture, and Jiang Yuye had put in no small amount himself.

Nearly half a year's earnings from the Qing-shui Village workshop, plus dividends from Huichun Hall, had all been poured in. He Yun had also invested half his fortune and hadn't been home for most of the year. If business was bad, both families would be in for a world of sighs.

He Yun, however, wasn't too worried. He had personally participated in all the planning and was especially looking forward to the business ahead!

Jiang Yuye and Lu Lizhi were also quite calm. Early in the morning, they knocked on Doctor Pang's door.

Today was another day for Lu Lizhi's acupuncture treatment.

Even though Doctor Pang had come to Xuanhe Prefecture, he still hadn't joined Huichun Hall. In his words, he still had some integrity left.

In other words, he didn't want to work at all right now—just wanted to eat and drink to his heart's content. Besides pestering Jiang Yuye for food, he'd pester Lu Lizhi to book him a spot at Hanmo Pavilion. If he didn't go listen to storytelling every other day, he'd get anxious, as if addicted.

"Coming, coming." Doctor Pang opened the door, a blast of cool air hitting them, and immediately started ordering, "Little Jiang, go get me another block of ice. I'd love to just sleep right on top of it."

Lu Lizhi seriously doubted how Doctor Pang maintained such good health with his lifestyle habits.

Jiang Yuye obediently went to fetch it.

As soon as he was gone, Doctor Pang said, "You can probably speak now, right?"

Lu Lizhi froze.

"Try saying a couple of words?" Doctor Pang was faintly excited, a smile in his eyes that were nearly squeezed into slits by his plump cheeks.

Lu Lizhi opened his mouth, then abruptly pressed his lips shut again. He didn't try—so he didn't know whether he could speak or not. He wanted to ask Doctor Pang about what was wrong with Jiang Yuye's body.

After all, two grown men sleeping in the same bed, under the same covers—even if he was exhausted and busy, there were still times he wanted it.

But that scoundrel Jiang Yuye was far too composed. He would always respond, yet never brought out his own equipment to entertain him—instead, he produced the very last item from the tokens of affection he'd given Lu Lizhi.

A thing carved from leftover jade material...

The size, thickness, and length were all perfectly suitable, exactly like his own.

Lu Lizhi absolutely could not accept this thing. He'd lost his temper twice, but in the end, he was still entered with it, his shame exploding—yet he was also soothed quite comfortably.

Lu Lizhi was certainly not one to only care about his own pleasure, but compared to himself, Jiang Yuye seemed far more enthusiastic about playing with him.

His excitement hadn't diminished one bit from the start.

In the end, Lu Lizhi still didn't speak. He was just about to write out his guess about Jiang Yuye's condition on paper when Jiang Yuye came hauling a large block of ice, placed it in the wooden bucket in the room, and carried it over to them.

"There's still some chilled fruit in the ice chest. I'll make us some shaved ice in a bit."

"I want cold tea. That flavor."

"Alright then, I'll make shaved ice with sour plum drink." He liked this one. Ice harvested outdoors wasn't really fit for consumption, so they used thin sheets of ice that could be used for cold drinks.

This scorching summer, their household had made all sorts of things—turtle jelly, milk pudding, and the like—which attracted quite a bit of attention, and even lent some ice out to neighbors.

"Fine, sour plum drink is good too." Doctor Pang contentedly widened his eyes, his whole body trembling with joy.

"Lie down. This should be the last session of acupuncture."

Jiang Yuye, who had just reached the door, heard him say this to Lu Lizhi and immediately spun around. "No more acupuncture? Is Lizhi better?"

Lu Lizhi pursed his lips.

"Don't get too excited. You still have to drink the medicine, and don't forget the herbal baths."

"I was too eager." Jiang Yuye suppressed his disappointment. "It doesn't matter how long it takes. Lizhi, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

With that, he went out to make the cold drinks.

Lu Lizhi quickly opened his mouth, wanting to call him back, but for some reason, it was as if something was blocking him, preventing him from uttering a complete sentence.

Only a faint "Jiang" got stuck in his throat.

Lu Lizhi looked anxiously at Doctor Pang.

Doctor Pang was also puzzled. "Let me see—everything in the head is cleared up. Strange, strange."

"Don't worry too much either. Some things might not be illnesses, but worrying about them too much can make them into one."

At noon, Madam He and Jiang Dazhu celebrated Jiang Yuye's birthday. They had prepared for a long time, spending a good deal of silver, and invited the He family, Elder Yi, the Hanmo Pavilion people, Yongyuan Bookshop, Huichun Hall and Sun's Pharmacy, Cheng Ping from the prefectural office, and others over for a meal.

Even Village Head Wang, who had since moved to town, came after receiving the letter. He probably knew Madam Feng was a nuisance, so he didn't bring her—but he did bring Wang Yujiao.

He also brought news: "During the epidemic, that Li woman who caught the sickness wanted to run to our village. I chased her off, but didn't expect Jiang Ling'er to sneak out and take care of her."

"That wasn't even the worst of it. As soon as Li recovered, her family talked her into marrying Jiang Ling'er off to an old widower in exchange for three taels of silver."

"Three taels of silver!" In the past, Madam He would have thought three taels was a lot, but now that she had thousands to her name, she felt nothing but heartache. "Ling'er was doing just fine with the clan! How did she get tangled up with her mother again!"

"I'm not finished. Later, Jiang Ling'er ran away again. Nobody can find her now. Li and her family were beaten up by the old widower and his men, who demanded their money back, and then dragged Li off to be his wife..."

Granny Li knew of that old widower—he'd even harassed her before. She hadn't expected him to be so depraved as to go after a young girl, though at least he ended up with Li.

"Those two deserve each other—dog bites dog!"

They didn't dwell on it further, turning to celebrate Jiang Yuye's birthday instead, each presenting their gifts.

Jiang Yuye, however, kept it in mind. Speaking of which, his cousin Jiang Ling'er had never done anything to wrong them in either lifetime. She was rare among that family for being fairly honest—she just didn't dare rebel under her family's influence.

If things were still as before, he wouldn't have cared much, couldn't even remember her face. But hearing that she'd dared to flee an arranged marriage made him see her in a new light.

If he could find her, he wouldn't mind pointing the girl in a better direction. So he casually told someone to keep an eye out.

If not, he wouldn't lose sleep over it either—after all, she was just a distant relative.

At the dinner table that day, another incident occurred. The parties involved might not have noticed, but everyone with eyes saw the signs.

After the meal, Madam He grabbed Granny Li and Madam He's hands, pulling them aside to ask, "That Mayor Wang's daughter, Wang Yujiao—do you two know what kind of character she is?"

On the way home, the current Mayor Wang was also huffing. "Yujiao, how do you know that eldest young master of the He family?"

Wang Yujiao paused, thinking back to when Jiang Yuye and Lu Lizhi had been repairing the irrigation ditches—He Dazhu (He Yun) had frequently visited the village's medicine workshop during that time.

"He was the one who discovered what happened with Lan'er."

"What!?" Mayor Wang now felt sick at the mention of those two words, his face instantly darkening. "He was mixed up with Feng Lan'er too?"

"What? No, Father, that's not it." Wang Yujiao was both embarrassed and at a loss for how to explain.

But her stammering allowed Mayor Wang to guess the general picture: Feng Lan'er, seeing that Jiang Yuye wouldn't give her the time of day, had tried to entangle herself with He Yun, the wealthy young master—only to have He Yun see through her tricks immediately and warn Yujiao to be careful of her.

As for why Mayor Wang now held such animosity toward Feng Lan'er—it was because over half a year ago, Wang Yujiao's health had steadily declined and she'd grown listless, only perking up slightly around Feng Lan'er.

Later, he'd discovered that Feng Lan'er had been drugging Yujiao just to remain valued in their household and avoid being thrown out.

She'd even tried to take Yujiao's place!

Wang Yujiao was also lost in thought about this. Jiang Yueming's affair had indeed been a heavy blow, but at the time she'd only felt she'd loved the wrong person—painful, yes, but not something she couldn't get over.

But somehow, after listening to Feng Lan'er's daily chatter, her mind had turned to mush, and eventually even her body had failed her.

That was until the day Feng Lan'er dragged her out to serve as her plain backdrop, making her shine like a flower, and they'd encountered He Yun...

Wang Yujiao snapped back to the present, her cheeks flushed pink.

Meanwhile, He Yun was confessing his feelings to his family.

"Mother, please find a matchmaker for me. I'm in love with Wang Yujiao."

Every word resolute, every sentence sincere—his feelings were plain to see.

As for Wang Yujiao's marital prospects, Lu Lizhi was quite happy for her as her former betrothed.

That engagement had been arranged by his father and Village Head Wang back in the day. His mother hadn't even had the courage to refuse, and in the end, Madam Feng had ruined it—so Lu Lizhi had simply gone along with it.

But Wang Yujiao had always felt it was her fault and harbored deep guilt toward him, apologizing many times and occasionally sending small gifts and daily necessities in secret, which left Lu Lizhi with a favorable impression of her.

Naturally, he hoped she'd marry well.

"I really didn't see that coming. No wonder He Yun's always looking at me with such resentment, saying my farm-to-table restaurant was holding up his life's most important business."

He Yun was now twenty-three. Fortunately, the He family was open-minded, never forcing him to marry and not caring much about social status—they believed a wife should be virtuous.

"I think this match has an eighty percent chance of succeeding." His tone was a bit sour though.

Lu Lizhi looked up at him, puzzled by his reaction.

"When will it be our turn?" Jiang Yuye lifted his chin, voice low. "When will you become my wife, my darling, my other half—known to everyone as Jiang née Lu?"

Lu Lizhi's eyes softened with tender affection, but he wrote:

Lu née Jiang.

"Jiang née Lu!"

—Lu née Jiang!

The two argued fiercely over who would take whose name, though somehow they ended up rolling onto the bed.

Jiang Yuye coaxed him, "Jiang née Lu, if you agree, our future children will take your surname."

Lu Lizhi's fingers, draped over his shoulder, trembled slightly, his ears burning. What children?

"We can make them now, all for you..." Jiang Yuye felt like he could try now.

To be fair, he hadn't been completely impotent before—just not as vigorous as before. He didn't want Lu Lizhi to have even a slightly bad experience, and he was also somewhat embarrassed to show it.

But now he was aching with need.

Maybe he'd been holding back too long.

Was it finally happening? Lu Lizhi turned his face away nervously yet expectantly, waiting to be opened up.

At that moment, his gaze fell on the rabbit cage not far from the bed—the one they'd forgotten to take out—and saw that the two rabbits inside were intertwined, doing something shameful!

Jiang Yuye, however, sensed something was off. It seemed he hadn't fully recovered yet. Just as he hesitated about whether to go through with it...

A hand suddenly gripped his arm excitedly.

"Jiang Yuye, the rabbits!"

The moment the words left his mouth, before Lu Lizhi could even process it, Jiang Yuye froze completely.

"Wh-what did you say?"

That pleasantly surprised, clear and elegant voice, carrying a refined cuteness that didn't quite match his cool persona, was like an electric current, racing into Jiang Yuye's heart and bursting everywhere!

"Lizhi, quick, call me husband!" Jiang Yuye's eyes nearly turned red, so excited he didn't know what to do with himself, cupping his face and wanting to kiss him senseless.

Lu Lizhi looked dazed. That voice just now...

"Lizhi, say it again, please—call me husband..." The desperate plea made Lu Lizhi's whole body burn.

"Husband." The words came out clearly, yet carried a tremble of relief and shyness after so much hardship.

So beautiful to hear!

Jiang Yuye instantly felt he was more than capable—more than he'd ever been!

All the words Lu Lizhi had never been able to say before—that night, Jiang Yuye coaxed him to say every single one.

Again and again, making his passion blaze like a great fire, consuming them both.

In the end, Lu Lizhi bit his shoulder, sobbing, "Jiang Yuye, you bastard!"

The next day, the whole family noticed something was off—the young couple hadn't come out all morning.

Granny Li, as if experienced in these matters, stopped anyone from disturbing them.

But they still hadn't appeared by the afternoon.

"What's going on?"

Even Doctor Pang, who was always pestering for this and that to eat, had become "well-behaved and sensible." "Perhaps they have something important to attend to."

Madam He and Jiang Dazhu, having been young once themselves, understood well enough—they just hadn't quite imagined what it would look like between two men, nor did they know their son's stamina in that regard was so formidable.

After all, they'd been people who could still work after finishing, nowhere near capable of imagining the wanton, decadent scene.

Every position had been tried.

Jiang Yuye finally felt he'd made up for all the lack of the past four months.

He emerged briefly the following evening—all the food in the room had been eaten, so he came out to get more, then gave everything a thorough cleaning.

Come nightfall, he continued, wearing down any resistance, refusing to let him go even in sleep.

Finally, after applying ointment to the swollen areas, he ended those days of debauchery.

By then, Madam He and the others understood well enough. They'd kept their distance these past two days, afraid of hearing anything they shouldn't.

Lu Lizhi felt his face had been thoroughly lost by Jiang Yuye, especially since he'd been bullied so badly.

When Jiang Yuye begged him to say "husband," "darling," or "daddy," he wouldn't respond.

His voice had gone a bit hoarse.

Having only just regained the ability to speak, he'd overused it. Lu Lizhi lost his temper, went to the study, locked the door, and ordered Jiang Yuye not to touch him again.

Not until after the provincial exams.

Lu Lizhi also truly felt he couldn't delay any longer, hurrying to review his books.

Perhaps worried the young couple would be too embarrassed to come out, Jiang Dazhu took Awen and Awu to the countryside to cut lumber, while Madam He and Granny Li returned to Qingshui Village. Even Doctor Pang went to the He household for a meal.

They left a note on the door, instructing him to feed the chickens, ducks, dogs, and horses, plus the two rabbits that had successfully gotten together.

Unknowingly, this home had become full of life.

Thinking of Lu Lizhi, whose muteness was now cured, Jiang Yuye couldn't stop smiling. After making and eating lunch for himself and Lu Lizhi, he fed each of the animals in turn—Big Yellow, Little Red, and the flock of chickens and ducks peeping hungrily.

Finally, he herded the rapidly growing ducklings to the water and watered the vegetable garden his mother and Granny Li had planted.

The neighbors who'd moved in nearby had initially thought their family was so "down-to-earth" because they were nouveaux riches who couldn't shake their country ways, and looked down on them.

But once they recognized Jiang Yuye as the recently famous "Great Philanthropist Jiang," they couldn't wait to visit daily and curry favor.

So when Jiang Yuye was herding his flock of black-and-gray mottled ducks back home, Big Yellow, trotting behind him, suddenly lunged forward, barking furiously at a carriage parked at his doorstep!

Nowadays, Big Yellow was broad-shouldered and thick-backed, a formidable specimen. With his wolf-dog demeanor, he startled the people inside the carriage so badly one nearly screamed.

Two servants who'd been skulking at the Jiang family gate were scared witless, crawling on the ground. "H-help!"

"Big Yellow, come back." Jiang Yuye squinted at the characters pasted on both sides of the carriage.

Lu.

It's been a long time.

This time's epidemic hadn't affected the Lu family or Mingli Academy much—lucky for them.

After a long while, Lu Changsheng finally dared to emerge from the carriage, a barely concealed anger in his eyes at the affront.

Even though he recognized Jiang Yuye, a recently prominent figure, he still didn't think much of him.

Scholars always looked down on each other, let alone on a lowly merchant.

Still, he put on a surface show of civility, cupping his hands. "I am the head of Mingli Academy. I have business with Scholar Lu. Could you announce me?"

"No." Jiang Yuye didn't even hesitate. But as the other man's face turned ashen, he grinned, "How could that be? You've come all this way, Headmaster Lu—surely it must be something important?"

Lu Changsheng felt he was being toyed with. This so-called Great Philanthropist Jiang was nothing but a hypocrite, utterly devoid of manners!

In the past, he could have crooked his finger and made this man disappear with ease. But now...

Even Lu Lizhi left him feeling powerless.

Jiang Yuye brashly let him in, herding his ducks past his feet. Lu Changsheng barely suppressed the urge to leave immediately and stepped through the Jiang family threshold.

To his surprise, he found the courtyard arranged so neatly and beautifully—not the chaos of chicken and duck droppings, foul odors, and filth he'd imagined.

His furrowed brow relaxed somewhat.

This time, he hadn't come to coerce Lu Lizhi into giving up the title of "Qingyuan Jun"—but to buy him off.

After all, he'd investigated Lu Lizhi thoroughly.

He lacked for nothing—well-fed, living in a fine house, well-off, with a lawless but notoriously protective "partner" who'd made a name for himself. He'd even caught the Emperor's attention, been rewarded, taken as a student by Prefect Yan, and praised by countless important figures.

Even his muteness was being treated by a divine physician, with every chance of recovery. His only weakness was probably his preference for men.

Unfortunately, this dynasty permitted same-sex marriage.

Attacking him on that front would be untenable, and far too risky.

Lu Changsheng could only curse himself for acting too late. By the time Lu Lizhi had grown to this point, he could no longer touch him!

Jiang Yuye was also curious—in the book, this man had bounced around with Lu Qinghong, threatening Lu Lizhi into being their ghostwriter.

Back then, Lu Lizhi had been hit by the epidemic and nearly died. They'd threatened him with Granny Li's life, and though he hadn't ultimately fallen for it, he'd suffered greatly.

Now, he wondered what else they could do.

Jiang Yuye chuckled and called for Lu Lizhi to come out. His Lizhi was no pushover now.

Otherwise, his entire back wouldn't still be burning with pain from the scratching.

Lu Lizhi walked to the main receiving hall, and seeing Lu Changsheng rise from his chair, curled his lips slightly.

"Headmaster Lu, please sit."

Lu Changsheng jolted violently. That voice...

"You—you can speak?!"

So soon?!

He felt quite bitter about it. That man's grandson had completely outshone his own—there was no comparison in any aspect.

Even a congenital disability could be cured so quickly—what could possibly stop him in the future?

At least he was a "rabbit" (effeminate man). Unless something unexpected happened, he was destined to have no descendants. No matter how clever, what use was he if he couldn't produce an heir?

Lu Changsheng was mentally scrambling for dark consolation when Lu Lizhi took a sip of tea and said flatly, "Is there a problem?"