When Chu Wanning woke up, it was to the sight of Mo Ran spacing out at the table with his cheek propped up in his hand, the reflection of the candle flame flickering in his pitch-black eyes, bright in the vacant gaze.
"..."
He thought about getting up, but could feel no strength in his limbs and had to give up.
The patterned lilac curtains wafted gently. He turned onto his side, watching Mo Ran without a sound, but that silly boy only remained lost in thought, not at all noticing that his Shizun was awake.
But who could blame him? Anyone who finds out that their lover has already had a son with some other woman would be just as shocked.
Was Xia Sini really Chu Wanning's child? How could that be... Chu Wanning is so aloof and particular, which woman would even be capable of catching his eye?
Besides, if this whole thing is for real, then he must have had this child in the past life too, but in all the years they had spent together then, Chu Wanning couldn't have been further from what one would expect of a married man, in his daily conduct and in between the sheets.
But then how else to explain this golden butterfly hair clasp!
Mo Ran banged his head against the table in anguish, just about to lose it from how confusing it all was!
He wasn't that smart to begin with, and never could wrap his head around any twisty turny things like this; the more he thought the more his head hurt, until he finally grabbed his head and flopped onto the table with a despairing "ngah" and stayed there, unmoving.
"Mo Ran, what are you doing?" Said an even, soothing voice, pleasant like the chime of scattering jade, with a slightly hoarse undertone.
Mo Ran bounced up instantly in surprise: "Shizun, you're awake?" "Mn." Chu Wanning coughed lightly before looking up at him, "Is this...
Rainbell Isle's inn?" "Y-yeah." Mo Ran stood and went over to the bed, where he noticed a small tear on Chu Wanning's lower lip. His face immediately turned red as he thought back to how he had lost all control in his lust-induced haze and very nearly made a serious mistake.
Seeing his perturbation, Chu Wanning asked: "What is it?" "Nothing nothing." Mo Ran waved his hands and hastily changed the topic,
"Anyway, Shizun suddenly fainted at Xuanyuan Pavilion, so I carri…...cough, brought you here to rest. Then I got a physician to take a look at you and prescribe some medicine, and then..." Heard you sleeptalking, got reminded of some past affairs, couldn't help myself and kissed you.
But of course he couldn't say such things. Mo Ran's voice trailed off, his gaze uncharacteristically frantic, flustered even.
Hearing that he was examined by a doctor, and seeing the strange expression on Mo Ran's face, Chu Wanning felt his heart drop—maybe he had found out about the poison that turns him small. His hands on the quilt tightened subconsciously as he asked in a hoarse voice:
"What did the physician say?"
"He said Shizun was affected by that holy weapon, and that's what made him faint." Mo Ran hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Shizun, your spiritual core..."
"Don't worry about it, it's just a bit weaker than the average core." Mo Ran blinked. He was thinking about how both Chu Xun and Chu Wanning had scars over their hearts and considering the possibility of some kind of connection there, but the way Chu Wanning talks about it, that doesn't seem to be the case. He couldn't help asking: "But how? Shizun is so powerful, there's no way your spiritual core is frail by birth. When did it start?" "A long time ago. I was injured once, many years ago, and it's been like this ever since." Chu Wanning waved his hand indifferently; that's not what he was concerned about——"Did he say anything else?" Mo Ran shook his head: "Nope." Chu Wanning looked thoughtfully at him in the candlelight's dim haziness:
"Then what were you banging your head on the table for just now?" "..." Mo Ran tried and failed to hold it in, so he threw caution to the winds and took out the golden butterfly hair clasp from his sleeve, setting it in his palm.
"I found this." "..." "On you." The hair clasp glinted in the light as Chu Wanning's heart sank lower and lower.
So he had been found out after all.
He sighed quietly. A few moments passed in silence, neither of them speaking. Finally, Chu Wanning closed his eyes, and was just about to come clean when he heard Mo Ran mumble in a small voice: "Shizun, is Xia-shidi...
truly your son?" Chu Wanning: "..." He opened his eyes, the blood that had been frozen in his veins a moment ago beginning to circulate again. He was lost for words for a while as he stared silently at Mo Weiyu, who stood by the bed with a complicated expression, and then, slowly, a clear verdict formed in Chu Wanning's gaze: "Moron." "That's right." Chu Wanning lifted a hand and calmly took back the hair clasp before Mo Ran could even react, "Didn't I already tell you before? Why are you asking again." Mo Ran buried his face in his hand: "I'm just...making sure..." But despite Chu Wanning's repeated confirmations that Xia Sini was indeed his flesh and blood, Mo Ran still didn't quite believe it. Shoving down his intense feelings of dismay, Mo Ran decided to grill Xia Sini about it the next time he sees his little shidi. Until those two actually acknowledge their blood ties to one another, he'd sooner die than believe it!
Chu Wanning got some strength back in his limbs after a bit of rest, and moved to sit up in bed.
"My clothes..." He ran his hand over his collars and paused, frowning: "Why is it so disheveled?" Mo Ran: "Cough."
Fearful that he might remember some fragments of what happened earlier,
Mo Ran hurriedly steered the topic away: "Shizun, you must be hungry right? I heard the food at this inn's pretty good, especially the wensi tofu, let's go down and get a bite? My treat." Chu Wanning shot him a cold look: "What, with the money I gave you?" But still brushed his voluminous sleeves and opened the door to go downstairs.
Rainbell Isle's dishes were similar to Yangzhou's—light and refreshing, with a tendency toward sweetness, very agreeable to Chu Wanning's tastes.
The auction was over by now and many of the attendants have already left,
and the two of them had also requested a private booth, so there wasn't much of a need to wear cloaks to conceal their identities anymore. Taking their seats inside, a waiter came and poured them each a cup of biluochun green tea and handed them a menu before retreating.
"Shizun can look through the menu first." "You can order. I'm pretty ok with all the Jiangnan style dishes." Chu Wanning said as he lifted the cup and took a small sip of the tea.
But his brows furrowed as soon as the tea touched his lips: "..." Mo Ran: "What is it? Too hot?" "...It's nothing. Maybe the weather is too dry, my lip is a bit cracked." Chu Wanning replied as he touched the corner of his lips uncertainly.
Weird, when did that happen?
"..." Mo Ran lowered his head guiltily.
It'll be a while before the food is ready, so Chu Wanning took the time to discuss what happened at Xuanyuan Pavilion with Mo Ran. They had left early,
so they didn't know who won the holy weapon in the end, but that shouldn't be too hard to find out just by asking around.
An assortment of Yangzhou dishes began to cover the table as they talked.
Chu Wanning felt like they had gone over all that they could with what they knew, so he stopped asking questions to look over the food lining the table instead. He paused for a moment before lifting his eyelids slightly to look at the person across from him, whose smile was just a tad nervous.
Chu Wanning asked: "Have you been to Jiangnan before?" Of course Mo Ran had gone to see the apricot blossoms and misty rains of Jiangnan in his previous life, but he hadn't forgotten that he was only seventeen right now and only joined Sisheng Peak two-ish years ago, so he immediately shook his head: "Nope." Chu Wanning's eyelashes lowered back down, expression neutral as he said in a clear voice: "But you ordered all the best dishes." "...!!" Only then did Mo Ran realize that he had ordered every single dish according to Chu Wanning's tastes. He was thinking only of making sure Chu Wanning eats well so that he can recover his strength, completely forgetting that he shouldn't be this familiar with these regional dishes.
"I worked in the kitchens of an entertainment house when I was young, so I've heard of these dishes even if I haven't had them before." Luckily, Chu Wanning didn't press the issue: "Let's eat." Seafood was a big part of Jiangnan dishes, especially here on the Rainbell Isle, where there were baskets full of crab and shrimp and strings of fish everywhere the eye could see, so the square beech table was naturally laden with seafood. Crispy fried eel with sauce poured over, sweet and sour squirrel fish crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, steamed mantis shrimp,
chrysanthemum sauteed sea snail, and braised silver carp. It smelled heavenly.
And aside from those, the meat and vegetable dishes, and the desserts as well, were just as exquisitely made and elegantly plated.
There was stewed crab meatballs, pork trotter aspic, shredded tofu simmered in chicken broth, soup dumplings, wensi tofu[3], and more[4].
With his cheek propped up in one hand, Mo Ran watched the waiter set down the last dish—osmanthus cake—then snuck a glance at Chu Wanning,
wondering which dish he's gonna go for first.
He pondered for a minute, and secretly placed his bet:
Definitely the meatballs.
It's Chu Wanning's favorite Yangzhou dish, after all. And, sure enough, as soon as the dishes were all out, his chopsticks reached unhesitatingly over in that direction.
Mo Ran sighed to himself; this person is always so predictable, be it eating things or doing things, always the...
Plop. An adorably plump meatball landed in Mo Ran's bowl.
…...same?
Mo Ran's head snapped up, the surprise from being favored so appearing slowly on his face: "Sh-shizun." "Thanks for taking care of me these past few days." Wait, did he hear that right? Mo Ran was bewildered.
Did Chu Wanning just thank him for taking care of him????
He had never said any such thing in the entirety of the last lifetime!!!!!
Chu Wanning watched as the young man across from him slowly turned red,
his eyebrows lifting and moving apart and his eyes getting rounder and rounder,
a tuft of hair curling up from his head to sway happily back and forth. He didn't quite know how to react, but Chu-zongshi still had to preserve his dignity, so he took another lofty sip of tea.
Ow, his lips…...
Truth be told, during those days he spent by Mo Ran's side as Xia Sini, Chu Wanning had began to feel a little guilty. When he thought about it late at night,
he had to admit that he really was too harsh of a person, and had been overly stern with Mo Ran. So he told himself that, when he gets back to normal, he won't carry on like that anymore, that he'll do better.
When he met with Xuanji at the Peach Blossom Springs, Chu Wanning had hemmed and hawed for a good long while before finally forcing the words past his lips to ask how to be less intimidating to disciples.
Xuanji was understandably taken aback before answering: "First, you have to actually show them that you care."
Show them that you care...
Thinking that Mo Ran had probably never had the meatballs before, Chu Wanning parted his lips to explain: "Stewed crab meatballs are made with finely minced high-quality streaky pork, mixed with shrimp roe, crab meat, and crab roe and formed into meatballs. The meatballs are simmered in clear broth with bok choy, then finally arranged in a red clay pot for a colorful presentation." "..." Mo Ran was dumbfounded.
What's he reciting the menu for?
But Chu Wanning thought that patiently introducing new dishes to his disciple was a form of showing him care, and so in the course of the meal, Mo Ran tried every dish in turn and got an earful of descriptions that sounded like they came straight out of "Jiangnan Recipes".
If not for Chu Wanning's low, soothing voice, Mo Ran probably would've flipped the table and left.
"Hey hey, did you hear yet? Linyi Rufeng Sect won the last item at the Xuanyuan Pavilion auction!" The private booths were divided by bamboo screens, and the people in the next booth over were a bit loud, their conversation drifting easily over to Mo Ran and Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning abruptly stopped introducing "pork trotter aspic" to exchange a look with Mo Ran, and they both listened in with rapt attention.
A rough-sounding male voice was talking: "Of course I have, a holy weapon right? Three hundred million gold, paid on the spot. Aiyo that price, it was more gold than I've seen in my entire life." "Sheesh, is that all you care about, don't you know that Rufeng Sect also spent fifty million gold on a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast!" "Heavens, aren't those for eating or dual cultivating? Can't believe the biggest sect in the world would use such a reprehensible method of cultivation,
and right out in the open too, how scandalous!" "Actually, Su-xiong, using Beauty Feasts is a perfectly reasonable cultivation method, not some prohibited thing at all. They may look like us, but they're ultimately not human. It's no different from eating fairy fruits to advance your cultivation, so there's really nothing wrong with it when you get down to it." "Hmph, we'll just have to agree to disagree..." Someone else laughed lightly: "The one who bought the Beauty Feast is apparently some young disciple of Rufeng Sect who rarely comes out, a Ye something Xi. I heard he looks decent enough, wouldn't have expected some guy like that to rely on screwing women to cultivate. If you ask me, Rufeng Sect hasn't got long left." Still another person chuckled: "What's wrong with that, who doesn't love a beauty?" Then their conversation turned to roundabout debates on ethics and morality,
nothing worth paying attention to.
Chu Wanning repeated quietly: "So Rufeng Sect bought the holy weapon?" "Sounds like it."
Chu Wanning seemed troubled: "That makes things more difficult. We'll have to go to Rufeng Sect to investigate further..." Mo Ran "ah"-ed as he remembered the issue, muttering: "Shizun used to be in Rufeng Sect." "Mn." "Don't wanna go back?" Chu Wanning looked irritated at the mere mention of going back to Rufeng Sect, brows furrowing as he said: "They may be a famed sect in the upper cultivation world, but I once..." Before he could finish, there was a sudden commotion over by the main hall.
Someone was yelling loudly: "Innkeep, we'll give you five hundred gold, get rid of these people and clear this place out immediately, our young master is reserving the whole place today."
Author's Notes:
Crab, steamed mantis prawn, fish. All these descriptions came from Zheng Banqiao's collection; as these phrases aren't common usage, to avoid misunderstandings, I'm making it clear that these are not my original constructions and am stating where they came from.
Adding on what these people love and hate to eat the most:
Chu Wanning
Loves: Stewed crab meatball, lotus crisp Hates: Mala [spicy and numbing] hotpot
Mo Ran
Loves: Chilli oil wontons Hates: Salted beancurd
Xue Meng
Loves: Mala hotpot Hates: Salted beancurd Shi Mei Loves: Saozimian [noodles with minced meat] Hates: Tanghulu [candied hawthorn fruit]
Ye Wangxi
Loves: Sweet and sour fish Hates: Fried pancake with spring onion filling
Mei Hanxue
Loves: Fish mint Hates: Pork (This is very good, very halal)
Rufeng Sect's young master who will appear in the next chapter Loves: All kinds of meat, especially pork (This is very not good, very nothalal) Hates: Wensi tofu So hungry...I'm escaping I'm escaping
[3] A soup dish with thinly sliced tofu threads that melt in your mouth
[4] I angrily made a collage of their meal. Here, be hungry with me