TTLJDFLC hapter 40

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Qin Muwen was tidying up the courtyard when he happened to glance over and see Li Jin happily handing the red paper with the baby's name and birthdate to Chen Xiran.

His mind flashed back to a few nights prior, when Li Jin had enthusiastically written out several name options and brought them into their bedroom for him to choose from.

Qin Muwen could vividly imagine Li Jin standing in the study, carefully forming each character under the glow of a candle. His contemplative gaze, illuminated by the warm light, must have been incredibly captivating.

At that time, Qin Muwen had accepted the paper with both hands and carefully examined each name.

In the end, however, he left the final decision to Li Jin.

After all, Li Jin was the head of the household.

Li Jin had ultimately settled on the name "Ruo," explaining, "I hope Li Ruo’s temperament will be like yours—gentle and adaptable, like water."

After that, Li Jin had returned to the study to practice writing the name neatly, leaving Qin Muwen sitting on the bed, feeling at a loss.

Was Li Jin complimenting him?

But he wasn't that great…

Qin Muwen buried his face in the blanket. When Li Jin came to bed later that night, he still felt his cheeks were burning.

Luckily, the lights were out, so no one could see his blush.

As a scholar, Chen Xiran clapped the table in praise the moment he saw the name. "Excellent!"

It was as if a storyteller had reached an exciting part of a tale, prompting an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.

Li Zhuzi, despite frequently helping out at Li Jin’s house, still held traditional biases—valuing men over women and even less so for "ger" (male omegas). He didn’t pay much attention to the name, unlike Chen Xiran.

After leaving his full-month gift for the baby, he said, "Li Jin, I need to get back to chopping firewood. I’m heading off."

Zhou Gui, having already learned that Li Zhuzi was somewhat related to Li Jin's maternal family, walked him to the door while Li Jin stayed behind with Chen Xiran.

Li Zhuzi, being a straightforward man, felt awkward and didn't know where to put his hands. "Why are you being so polite? You’re a physician at the town’s medical hall!"

Zhou Gui, who had always been responsible for greeting patients at Xinglintang and never made a mistake in social interactions, responded smoothly, "Dr. Li is practically my mentor, and since you are his elder brother, it’s only right for me to show you respect."

Li Zhuzi was stunned.

He nearly tripped over his own feet on the way home.

That was just a small episode. Meanwhile, after hearing the name, Chen Xiran suddenly looked at Li Jin with eager eyes.

"Ah Jin, your handwriting has improved so much! I want to practice calligraphy too!"

Their friendship had deepened, and Chen Xiran no longer addressed him as "Li Xian-di" with polite formality.

Li Jin raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you dislike writing? If you want to write well, the key is consistent practice."

Back in the day, the great calligraphy master Wang Xizhi practiced his craft so diligently by the Ink-Washing Pond that he eventually turned the water black with ink, producing calligraphy that astonished the world.

Chen Xiran widened his eyes. "I understand the logic. How about this? I can't fall too far behind you. However long you practice each day, I'll practice for the same amount of time."

He thought to himself that since Li Jin was so busy every day, he surely didn’t have much time for calligraphy practice. He didn’t aim to surpass Li Jin—keeping up with him would be enough.

Li Jin smiled. "Are you sure?"

Chen Xiran patted his chest. "Of course, I am!"

Li Jin pulled out some rough-edged paper from under his desk and pointed at the writing on it.

"I never really count the time, but I write at least ten large sheets every day. You can practice the same way when you get home."

Chen Xiran was stunned. "T-ten sheets?"

Li Jin nodded seriously. "You just promised."

Chen Xiran could only pull a bitter face and swear to practice the same way when he got home. A little hardship now was nothing—he absolutely couldn’t afford to fail the county examination.

Meanwhile, Xiao An helped Awen clean up the courtyard, while Zhou Gui assisted in storing the wine jars.

These jars had to be returned to the town's tavern the next day—if they broke, they would have to pay for them.

On the day of little Baozi’s one-month celebration, he was dressed in a festive new outfit with a red cinnabar dot on his forehead, smiling happily in his father’s arms.

Xiao An finally waited until all the guests had left before eagerly saying to Qin Muwen, "Let me hold Baozi for a bit—he looks too adorable!"

Baozi was very well-behaved for his two fathers today, never once crying. However, the moment he wasn’t in his dad’s arms, his face looked aggrieved, as if he couldn’t even muster a smile.

His eyes stayed fixed pitifully on his dad, as if pleading to be held again.

Unfortunately, his father didn’t understand his silent request.

Instead, he told Xiao An, "If you visit often, Baozi will get used to you."

Luckily, Baozi couldn’t understand words. Otherwise, he might have burst into tears on the spot.

Since Xiao An was another family's husband, he had been chatting with Qin Muwen earlier, while Chen Xiran and Zhou Gui were in the study.

Once Xiao An left, Chen Xiran urged Li Jin to bring out Li Ruo.

He was quick to warm up to people—he had only just learned Baozi's full name, yet he was already calling it familiarly.

Li Jin knew that Chen Xiran had brought a gift for the baby and didn’t refuse. He went inside, exchanged a few words with the young boy, and then came out holding Li Ruo in his arms.

Seeing how Li Ruo looked like a porcelain doll, Chen Xiran couldn’t help but wish this were his own child.

In the end, he could only hand over his gift while lamenting, "This kid looks just like you—so good-looking. I must find myself a pretty wife and have beautiful children in the future."

Chen Xiran's gift was a small, finely crafted hat with a layer of snow-white fur trim, making it look especially warm.

It was already July, and after the autumn equinox on September 23, the weather would gradually cool down.

Chen Xiran’s foresight was commendable.

He said, "My dad brought this back from the county a few days ago. I thought it would suit Li Ruo, so I brought it along."

Li Jin thanked him. "Li Ruo seems to really like it."

Indeed, the little one was probably seeing fur trim for the first time and was completely fascinated by it, looking like he wanted to claim it as his own.

When Li Jin held the hat up in front of Li Ruo, the baby immediately smiled.

Chen Xiran breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "My mother said babies love things like this—she was right."

Zhou Gui’s gift for Li Ruo was a hand-stitched tiger-head doll, meant to ward off evil and bring peace. Li Jin thanked him as well.

Placing the tiger-head doll beside the hat, Li Ruo kept glancing from one to the other, seemingly unable to decide which one to focus on.

His reaction made everyone laugh.

As the evening set in, Li Jin walked Chen Xiran and Zhou Gui to the village entrance. The two of them traveled together for safety.

"Alright, no need to send us off. Li Ruo might start crying if he can’t see his dad."

Li Jin chuckled. "Alright, take care on the road."

Last time, when Chen Xiran visited Li Jin’s drying room, not many people knew about it.

But today, the entire village had seen him helping Li Jin host the guests. And it wasn’t just Chen Xiran—there were also apprentices from the Xinglintang.

Most villagers didn’t know Chen Xiran’s background, but from his fine silk clothing alone, they could guess he came from wealth.

The few people who had bullied Qin Muwen before were well aware of Chen Xiran’s identity.

They had originally planned to come over for a drink and offer an apology, hoping to smooth things over.

But when they saw Chen Xiran, they hesitated.

—Would it be inappropriate to apologize empty-handed?

They were just household servants, whereas that young master was drinking with the villagers as an equal.

In the end, they never showed up.

By the time the full moon celebration wrapped up, Qin Muwen still hadn’t seen those few people.

Honestly, he had almost forgotten about the incident. Even if he remembered, he could now face it with complete peace of mind.

Neither he nor Li Jin cared about their mockery or disdain anymore.

Life was something one had to live for oneself. Focusing too much on others would only take away the joy from one's own life.

Qin Muwen thought—he only needed to feel content with his own life. He didn’t need others' sympathy, nor did he need their false pity.

The full moon celebration had three steps: holding a banquet, shaving the baby’s head, and the "nest-moving" ritual.

Now, the first two steps were complete. The last step involved the father taking the child to visit close family and friends—commonly known as "paying respects."

Li Jin said, "I spoke with Brother Zhuzi—we’ll take Li Ruo to his house."

Qin Muwen had already packed a basket of eggs as a gift of thanks. Zhuzi’s wife had helped out a lot today, and they had to return the favor.

Before, he always watched Li Jin handle social matters, but now, he could do it himself.

—

Meanwhile, on the way back to town, Chen Xiran walked alongside Zhou Gui, occasionally patting his forehead as he walk.

"I always feel like something is missing."

Zhou Gui was taken aback. "Brother Chen, nothing is missing."

Chen Xiran frowned. "Not an object. I wanted to tell Li Jin something earlier, but I completely forgot."

Zhou Gui fell silent. He realized that this young master was actually very easygoing. Plus, Chen Xiran could be a bit absentminded at times, which made him feel even more approachable.

Suddenly, Chen Xiran remembered. "I heard from my friends that the top courtesan at Piaoxiangyuan is sick. She hasn't appeared all month. I wonder when she'll recover."

However, knowing the truth, Zhou Gui became even quieter.

It was nothing more than the courtesan accidentally getting pregnant. Of course, by now, that child was certainly gone.

Chen Xiran noticed Zhou Gui’s expression and said, "You're still young, so you don’t care about these things. But when you reach my and A'Jin’s age, you’ll be thinking about warm embraces every day too."

Zhou Gui was a straightforward person, so he said, "I think Doctor Li spends all his time studying."

Where would he find time for such thoughts?

Chen Xiran spoke seriously, "That’s because he has a handsome husband at home. Just look at how good-looking Li Ruo is—must be because both of his fathers were attractive."

Zhou Gui thought about it. That was true. Doctor Li and his husband were both exceptionally good-looking and elegant.

Chen Xiran continued, "Before, I told Li Jin that when we passed the imperial exam, we should go to Piaoxiangyuan together. But he refused! Yet don’t all scholars who pass the exam in town do this?"

As someone who worked at the clinic, Zhou Gui knew many secrets about Piaoxiangyuan. However, he didn't know how to explain them to the young master.

In the end, he could only mumble, "Doctor Li is upright and self-disciplined."

Chen Xiran wholeheartedly agreed with that. Li Jin was indeed different from the friends he had known before.

Li Jin had the perseverance of a poor scholar, but he was also more principled than others of similar backgrounds.

That was why Chen Xiran was willing to befriend him sincerely.

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