Chapter 1856: The Frail Young Master's Luck‑Bringing Beautiful Wife 11

Winter days went by fastest; with the hope of a New Year reunion, they no longer felt each day hard to bear.

Chuan Ze Cheng borders the capital, not far away, and already has the year-end atmosphere. Jin Enxing escorts the last batch of silks destined for the palace to the capital, and can still make it back to celebrate New Year's Eve with his elder brother, Dage Jin Yu Dong.

Now is the busiest time for all shops; they close on the twenty-fifth to celebrate the New Year.

During the day, Ye Yuchi went to the shops with Qiao Yan Pei; the only idle one, Jin Chen, was at the mansion being taught by his teacher, his head full of zhī hū zhě yě, memorizing books until his head felt swollen.

Jin Chen found the memorizing annoying, and more than once felt the urge to beat that old man and send him packing.

What stopped him wasn't his conscience, but his father Ji Ji De, who still found time each day to come over and give him a back rub out of boredom.

Studying made Jin Chen sad; being close with his husband was the proper thing, but his husband was wholly focused on the shop and revenge.

That night.

After a half-day of busy studying, Young Master Jin Chen was utterly exhausted, lying in a warm blanket waiting for his husband.

Although they had been married for over a month, Ye Yuchi remained very proper; before bed he would not refuse a hug or a kiss, but once in bed he would not allow the slightest overstep.

The drooping curtains separated them from the outside world, shrouding them in an ambiguous atmosphere that should have been warm and intimate.

But Ye Yuchi lay on the outer side, half an arm's length from Jin Chen, clearly neither asleep nor opening his eyes to speak sweet nothings.

These past days his body couldn't keep up, and Jin Chen had felt tired early, but tonight he just couldn't sleep, so he shifted outward and poked his husband's shoulder with his fingertip.

He knew Ye Yuchi wasn't asleep.

"Ah Ci, hug me."

Ye Yuchi's eyelashes fluttered a few times; he opened his eyes somewhat dazedly, and upon hearing those words his heart jumped involuntarily.

Unlike the thick clothing he wore by day, the thin inner layer clung to his skin; not to mention being embraced, even Jin Chen's warm breath as he leaned in made him feel utterly at a loss, as if his hands and feet were no longer his own.

Thus, at the instant he was about to be embraced, Ye Yuchi pressed down Jin Chen's hand and dodged, his tone a little hurried: "Husband."

Jin Chen's outstretched arm halted, he half-raised himself to look at him, his weary, sickly brows and eyes holding dissatisfaction.

"Ah Ci, what's wrong?"

Ye Yuchi lowered his eyes, deliberately shifted a bit to keep some distance from Jin Chen, and rubbed his fingertips over Jin Chen's wrist a few times: "Husband, hurry up and sleep."

Jin Chen glanced at the distance between himself and Ye Yuchi, and also heard the apprehension in his words.

He stared at Ye Yuchi's lowered brows and eyes for a moment, then said, "All right, all right, go to sleep, I won't bother you."

Jin Chen comforted himself as he slipped under the blanket, sleeping pressed tightly against the inner wall.

Ye Yuchi turned his head in a daze, inexplicably feeling a sense of loss; he lifted his hand to cover the blanket over Jin Chen's back, his thin lips parting as if to speak, but in the end he said nothing.

In the dim light, gazing at the canopy top, the sound of his husband's soft, steady breathing filled his ears; after over a month of sharing a bed, he had grown accustomed to that breath, and even felt a strange peace.

The tension faded, leaving only a strong sense of existence and a helpless palpitations.

——

The result of Jin Chen's unhappiness was a minor ailment, also a stubborn winter chill.

Although the manor physician attributed it to Jin Chen often neglecting his studies and sneaking out to admire plum blossoms when the teacher wasn't looking, which caused him to catch the chill.

But Jin Chen felt it was a heart sickness.

"As the saying goes, long illness makes a doctor; I know my own body better than you do!"

Jin Chen lay sick under the blanket, half his face covered, yet his presence showed no weakness, leaving the two manor physicians speechless.

"Yes, yes, yes, Young Master is right—stagnant liver qi and impaired circulation also make one prone to catching a chill." The manor physician, seeing the mistress arrive, went along with Jin Chen's words and asked, "I just don't know… what has recently upset Young Master to cause such stagnation?"

Upon hearing that, Qiao Yan Pei, who had raised his son in the manor for many years, had never before heard his son say he was unhappy.

"Chen'er, quickly tell Mother what's wrong."

Jin Chen's peach-blossom eyes, growing ever more moist from his illness, swept over the people beside the bed, landing on Ye Yuchi's face, and he blinked.

Ye Yuchi tensed; the rapport they had built these days let him instinctively feel that the Young Master wouldn't say anything normal.

Sure enough, the next second Jin Chen shouted, "Ah Ci won't let me hug him at night!"

The side room suddenly fell silent.

Ye Yuchi instantly turned his head away, from his earlobes to the corners of his eyes his cool, handsome face flushed a deep red as if drunk.

Qiao Yan Pei choked for a moment; there wasn't much more he could say about their bedroom affairs, so he instead patted Jin Chen's blanket: "You kid, saying such things in broad daylight isn't the least bit embarrassing."

The manor physician stroked his beard solemnly: "Young Master, you need to recover your health a bit more before considering marital bliss."

Jin Chen: "……Shut up!"

"How did I become such a weakling!"

"Yes, Chen'er, you're still young; there's no rush."

Qiao Yan Pei also joined in urging, then glanced at the silent Ye Yuchi beside them, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes as he took their hands.

"If we argue, it's just a head‑of‑the‑bed quarrel, foot‑of‑the‑bed reconciliation—what obstacle could a married couple not overcome?"

Jin Chen placed his hand on Ye Yuchi's handback, lifted his eyes to see his coaxing gaze, snorted, yet did not pull away.

After Qiao Yan Pei laughed while escorting the two manor physicians out, the room returned to silence, and Ye Yuchi knelt beside the bed, softly saying, "Husband."

Jin Chen drew out his "uh" but did not, as usual, lean in to hear him speak.

Ye Yuchi's heart felt sour and helpless, as if struck by a dull blow, yet he truly didn't know how to cheer the Young Master up.

He had no such experience, nor had he ever been coaxed himself.

After such a stalemate lasted a few seconds, Jin Chen, buried under the blanket, first suffocated himself, then threw off the covers, turned to look at him, and pulled him up to sit on the bedside.

"Ah Ci, do you cherish me?"

Ye Yuchi's expression flickered with surprise; he lifted his eyes to meet Jin Chen's gaze: "In my heart, my husband is different from anyone else."

But he still didn't know whether this counted as cherishing.

He was clearly several years older than the Young Master, yet in such private matters behind closed doors he was terribly inexperienced.

"All right, that's enough."

Jin Chen raised his hand to cover the side of his face as he leaned in, his thumb stroking the corner of his eyes twice, his voice also soft.

Wait until you can accept it, then we'll talk,

Ye Yuchi's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around Jin Chen's neck, almost burying himself in his embrace; the scarlet skin exposed on the back of his neck outside his long robe refused to fade, and Jin Chen lightly patted it.

This almost exhausted all of Ye Yuchi's courage; when had he ever taken the initiative to do something so intimate? He could even clearly feel the warmth coming from beneath Jin Chen's thin inner garment, making his face redden even more.

Jin Chen smiled, his eyes narrowing with pleasure; seeing Ye Yuchi not refuse and instead embrace his waist, he rubbed the back of his head.

Ah Ci, may I kiss you?

Ye Yuchi bit his lower lip, thinking Jin Chen was utterly despicable—who asks for permission before a kiss?

He didn't say yes or no, just pressed his cheek against Jin Chen's shoulder and gave a silent, gentle rub—an acquiescence.

Jin Chen then chuckled softly, turned his head and kissed behind Ye Yuchi's ear, then rubbed his flushed earlobe.

It seemed as if the silent rift from last night also dissipated in this kiss.

Ye Yuchi felt inexplicably more at ease, and in this especially cherished, tender embrace, a hint of affection arose; he gently closed his phoenix eyes.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 30!】