TTLJDFL Chapter 51

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

Announcement

Completed Chapters are on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊

Today was September 1st, Li Jin’s first official day off from the medical clinic.

That afternoon, he spent time practicing calligraphy and composing poetry.

And in the evening, he made sure to free up his schedule to take special care of his little husband—his "little steward"—who had been neglected for so long.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Jin and Chen Xiran had accepted an invitation from one of Scholar Huang’s students. On September 3rd, they would visit a tea garden just outside town to enjoy tea, admire chrysanthemums, and engage in poetry recitations.

So, ten days ago, after confirming that Li Jin and Chen Xiran had no issues with tonal patterns and couplet composition, their teacher, Mr. Song, had begun instructing them in poetry writing.

When it came to composing poetry, Li Jin found himself at a loss. Though this wasn’t the same ancient era as the one he had known in his previous life, many of the famous poems he had memorized back then did not exist in this world.

If he wanted to, he could easily claim them as his own and make a name for himself.

But Li Jin had no such intention—he knew his own abilities well.

Besides, he had never been particularly interested in fame and fortune. A simple, peaceful life in the countryside was exactly what he preferred.

That said, perhaps due to his prior knowledge of poetry, Li Jin was noticeably better at composing verses than Chen Xiran.

Unlike when they had first started learning couplets—when both of them were equally clueless, struggling to come up with opening lines—Li Jin now displayed a natural fluency in poetry.

Recently, Chen Xiran had been looking at him with a betrayed expression, as if silently questioning:

"Weren’t we supposed to suffer through this together?"

Each time Mr. Song gave them a topic, Chen Xiran would watch Li Jin frown in deep contemplation, as if he were struggling.

Thinking he had a fellow sufferer, Chen Xiran would feel relieved.

But then, Li Jin would come up with a verse so good that even their teacher couldn’t help but praise it.

.....

That night, even after everything, Li Jin still didn’t feel entirely satisfied.

He had endurance when it came to farm work, but in the bedroom… well, he still had room for improvement.

Moreover, Qin Muwen’s skin was as delicate as white porcelain, and Li Jin always worried that if he wasn’t careful, he might hurt him.

The first time they had been together, Li Jin had been so intense that Qin Muwen had passed out. Even during the cleanup afterward, he hadn’t stirred at all.

This time, however, Li Jin restrained himself, stopping after just one round. He then carefully carried Qin Muwen to the basin to help him clean up.

Qin Muwen was fully conscious this time, but he buried his face in Li Jin’s shoulder, refusing to look down at himself.

Li Jin didn’t force him. After finishing the cleanup, he gently wiped him dry before tucking him back into bed.

Qin Muwen, still bare-skinned, immediately pulled the blanket over himself, covering the scattered red marks on his body.

Meanwhile, Li Jin stood there, unabashedly drying himself off.

Previously, as a doctor, he had been conscious of maintaining propriety, not wanting to make Qin Muwen uncomfortable.

But now, he was no longer just a doctor—he was a husband. There was no need for such restraint between them anymore.

Qin Muwen told himself he wouldn’t look.

But his almond-shaped eyes peeked out from under the blanket, secretly observing Ah Jin.

Of course, Li Jin noticed, but he didn’t call him out on it.

After washing up, Li Jin quickly put on his undergarments and lay back down beside Qin Muwen.

As soon as he got into bed, Qin Muwen instinctively snuggled closer, resting his head in the crook of Li Jin’s arm.

Drowsiness soon took over, and just before drifting off to sleep, Qin Muwen had a fleeting thought—he had forgotten something.

But he was too tired to remember what it was.

Feeling safe and warm beside Ah Jin, he fell asleep.

The next morning, Qin Muwen sat up suddenly, patting his forehead.

He had left their little bun at Li Zhuzi’s house yesterday!

Yesterday afternoon, after planting radishes with Li Jin, he had been distracted by running into a few ge’er he had once quarreled with.

And then…

Qin Muwen covered his face in shame.

He really wasn’t a very responsible father.

To make up for it, he followed Li Jin out to pick up their little bun right away.

Because Qin Muwen had undergone the process once yesterday, he could walk today without any issues.

Qin Muwen didn’t notice anything unusual, but Li Jin carefully observed him, thinking to himself that although the young man’s endurance wasn’t very high, his starting point was impressive.

So, in the future, they could do it at least do it twice.

In Li Zhuzi’s courtyard, he shared some scallion pancakes he had made with Li Jin, giving him a knowing smile that all men understood.

“Young people, huh.”

Li Jin remained unfazed and said, “I’ll be relying on you a lot in the future, Brother Zhuzi.”

Li Zhuzi patted him on the shoulder and laughed. “Haha, hurry up and have a son. Then your mother can rest easy in the afterlife.”

Although this was another comment emphasizing the preference for sons over daughters, as soon as Li Zhuzi mentioned his mother, Li Jin felt a strange emotion.

It was as if that really was his mother.

In his previous life, Li Jin had seemed easygoing on the surface, but he actually kept a certain distance from both family and friends. He didn’t have deep relationships and was always very polite at home.

So, the word “mother” didn’t hold much meaning for him.

But now, after hearing Li Zhuzi mention it again and again, some very subtle thoughts began to arise in his heart.

Li Jin was never one to rush things. He watched as the young man picked up the little bun and held him in his arms.

The little bun, upon seeing his father, immediately buried his head in his dad’s chest, as if he instinctively knew that Li Jin was the mastermind behind his abandonment the night before.

Qin Muwen felt incredibly guilty. He had completely forgotten that there was still a little one at home last night!

But the little bun trusted his dad completely and assumed that his father no longer loved him.

Of course, when Li Jin kissed the little bun that evening, the little one’s heart softened. By the second kiss, he was already smiling brightly at Li Jin again.

.....

After settling the two little ones at home, Li Jin picked up his bamboo basket and headed to town.

The young man knew that Li Jin was going to a poetry gathering tomorrow, so he hurriedly sewed him new clothes during the day. Now that Li Jin had gotten stronger, his old clothes were tight around his arms, and Qin Muwen had noticed this for a while. Finally, he could make new clothes for A’Jin.

Today, Li Jin arrived at the study room early again. This time, he didn’t rush to transcribe articles but instead wrote down his inspirations first. 

He had realized something while composing poetry—if a poem was to have spirit, it didn’t necessarily need to use flowery language, which was something he couldn’t achieve for now. Instead, if it was grounded in daily life and infused with an emotional climax in the last one or two lines, it would naturally carry a certain charm.

Chen Xiran once again asked Li Jin how to write poetry, and Li Jin shared his thoughts with him.

After hearing it, Chen Xiran clapped his hands in delight and laughed. “That’s brilliant! Before, when I asked our teacher how to write poetry, he told me, ‘If the heart has thoughts and the meaning has direction, then it becomes a poem.’”

At the time, Chen Xiran thought that was just nonsense. He had no profound thoughts—his mind was filled only with food and the top courtesan of Piaoxiangyuan. So, no matter how much he scratched his head, he couldn’t write a good poem.

But with Li Jin’s method, he learned to jot down occasional bursts of inspiration and then refine them later with classical references to elevate the theme.

When Mr. Song saw this, he fell silent for a moment before suddenly giving Chen Xiran a good beating.

Chen Xiran was utterly dumbfounded, completely unaware of what he had done wrong.

Mr. Song scolded him, “You copied Li Jin’s poem! Taking without asking is stealing!”

Chen Xiran felt extremely wronged and had to explain that Li Jin had taught him how to write poetry.

After hearing this, Mr. Song was completely baffled. He had never considered that poetry could be written this way! And most importantly, Li Jin’s method wasn’t wrong at all.

Watching Mr. Song walk away, lost in thought, Chen Xiran felt like he had betrayed his good friend Li Jin.

So, he quickly went to apologize. But after Li Jin listened, he didn’t feel much about it. To him, this was just a matter of summarizing techniques.

Scholars often viewed poetry as something lofty and disdainful of formulas, but Li Jin was a thorough scientist and medical student in his past life—his greatest skill was summarizing and organizing information.

Li Jin never thought he could achieve deep mastery in poetry. Seeing Chen Xiran improve, he felt no jealousy.

Li Jin simply said, “It’s fine. These are just techniques passed down from our predecessors. As long as you can write good poems tomorrow and not embarrass our teacher at the tea and chrysanthemum gathering, that’s what matters.”

Mr. Song happened to overhear this, and at noon, he insisted on keeping Li Jin for a meal.

Since Li Jin stayed behind, Chen Xiran shamelessly joined in to freeload as well.

Tomorrow was the third day of the ninth month, the day of the poetry contest and tea gathering. Mr. Song generously gave them a day off to prepare.

Mr. Song, having been moved by Li Jin’s words, had a heartfelt conversation with him after Chen Xiran left.

“When you pass the scholar exam, do you plan to settle in town?”

Li Jin hadn’t thought about this question yet, mainly because he wasn’t sure if he could even pass the scholar exam.

After all, he had only been studying for a short time, and the Tongsheng exam wasn’t just about memorization and transcription.

There were eight-legged essays, classics, and poetic compositions—things he had never encountered before.

Li Jin wasn’t arrogant enough to think that just because he was a time traveler and had excelled in the college entrance exam and academic research in his past life, he could dominate this world.

On the contrary, he was very pragmatic.

Li Jin replied, “I haven’t thought about it yet. I neglected my studies for too long before, and now that I’ve finally picked them up again, my only focus is the Tongsheng exam.”

Mr. Song looked at him and sighed. “Perhaps I was too hasty. If only you had a clan uncle, I could discuss purchasing a house for you in town.”

In Mr. Song’s view, someone as diligent and capable as Li Jin was bound to pass the scholar exam.

If he got lucky and passed the provincial exam, with some help from his clan, even purchasing an official title wouldn’t be difficult.

But Li Jin had no relatives left—he was the sole pillar of his household, carrying all the responsibilities on his shoulders.

Mr. Song said, "If you ever have any difficulties in the future, just come to me. I still have some influence in town."

Li Jin quickly stood up to express his gratitude. Mr. Song had a few more cups of tea with him before finally letting him leave.

When he got home, the young man coaxed Baozi to sleep, then picked up the outer garment he had sewn and held it up against Li Jin.

Li Jin enjoyed his affection and said, "Help me put it on."

Back when Qin Muwen was still at home, his father had assumed that the Minister of Rites would marry him off as a concubine to a young man of equal status.

After all, in the capital, no official family would take a ger as their main spouse.

So his father taught him some small gestures to please a husband—not out of necessity, but just to add a bit of joy to life.

Undressing and dressing someone was one of them.

Qin Muwen had never served the original owner in this way before, but he liked dressing and undressing Li Jin.

Qin Muwen was skilled at making clothes, and the fabric he chose had a nice feel to it.

He carefully removed Li Jin’s outer garment and dressed him in the one he had made, then lowered his eyes and tied the belt for him.

Sure enough, the outfit fit much better. Paired with Li Jin’s handsome features, it was hard to look away.

"I want to make more clothes for Ah Jin."

The young man always expressed his affection so directly.

Li Jin pinched his face and said, "Alright, now you know all my measurements."

_______

T/N: Please give support on my kofi page, thank you 🌸🌸🌸