It was one thing to decide not to marry anyone, but if there was truly someone suitable, someone who could share both warmth and cold with you, who would willingly choose to live a lonely life alone?
Jian Ru admitted to himself that what he called living alone for the rest of his life might look free and unrestrained on the surface, but in truth, it was not a choice he actively made. It was passive helplessness, avoidance, and compromise.
After the Second Young Master said those words, Jian Ru cried. He was grateful there was a screen between them so the other man could not see his disheveled, embarrassing state, but he still likely heard his soft sobbing. The young man didn’t speak for a long time, giving Jian Ru enough space to calm himself.
Eventually, Jian Ru spoke.
Through his tears, he said, “I don’t know what will happen in the future. Maybe it won’t be long before you find me more and more unbearable to look at, and I become hateful in your eyes. Or maybe even if you’re as beautiful as a celestial being, I’ll grow tired of you after seeing you too often, and lose the patience to take care of you when you’re sick for a long time.”
These were blunt, unpleasant words, but Jian Ru still said them. Hiding and avoiding things might look good on the surface, but the problem would still remain.
The Second Young Master replied softly, “Then what do you plan to do?”
Jian Ru’s voice was choked with emotion, but his gaze was unusually firm. “I want to take a gamble. I want to bet that we can live a good life together. I… I will marry you.”
From behind the screen, the young man’s voice was gentle, almost like a sigh. “Alright,” he said. “I will do my best not to make you regret it.”
………………..
As soon as Jian Ru came out of the Second Young Master’s room, Aunt Jin, who had been waiting in the corridor, quickly opened her umbrella and came up to him. The old woman studied him carefully, trying to read how the conversation had gone.
The expression on the young man’s face was complicated, somewhat dazed, yet also carrying a faint, uncontrollable hope. After looking at him for a while without making sense of it, she was about to ask when Jian Ru suddenly stomped his foot.
“Oh no, I forgot something important…”
Before Aunt Jin could even respond with a startled “Hey…!”, Jian Ru had already turned around and rushed back into the room.
Inside, the moment Jian Ru stepped through the door, he froze and stared blankly.
The person behind the screen had just stepped out. When he saw Jian Ru, he instinctively seemed about to turn back, but for some reason stopped mid-motion. Instead, he stood by the screen and raised his hand in a formal bow toward Jian Ru, graceful and composed, like a refined gentleman.
Even though he was in his own room, he was dressed with great care, likely because he was meeting someone. His long hair was neatly tied up, and a jade-green robe accentuated his elegant bearing. Though his face was slightly pale and his body somewhat thin, the loose sleeves and flowing fabric only made him appear even more ethereal, like someone beyond the mortal world, so striking that one could not help but be stunned by his extraordinary appearance.
Outside the door, Aunt Jin coughed heavily. Jian Ru snapped back to his senses and hurriedly returned the bow. As he straightened up, he unconsciously turned his face away, instinctively hiding the scarred half of his face.
“Is there something else you needed to tell me?” the Second Young Master asked softly.
Jian Ru turned his head slightly, unable to meet his gaze. His expression was a little troubled, a little regretful, as though he already didn’t want to say what came next, but he still clenched his teeth and confessed, “That day, when I dragged you into the mountain cave, I think you must have woken up at some point. I don’t know if you saw…”
Afraid of changing his mind, Jian Ru spoke quickly and heavily.
“I don’t just have a scar on my face. My leg was also injured in the fire when a wall collapsed on me. Most of the time you can’t really tell, but if I walk too fast or too far and get tired, I’ll start to limp a little.”
The person by the screen froze in surprise at his words, but Jian Ru didn’t dare look up, so he didn’t notice. Outside the door, Aunt Jin let out another quiet sigh and shook her head slightly. After a moment, when Jian Ru’s nerves were starting to rise again, the Second Young Master finally spoke.
“I already knew. Don’t worry.”
Only then did the tightness in Jian Ru’s chest begin to ease, and the feeling hanging in his throat finally settled back down.
After taking his leave from the Second Young Master, when he stepped out of the room again, Jian Ru suddenly realized how much he truly cared about this marriage. Just moments ago, he had nearly thought he wouldn’t even have the chance to take a gamble.
Seeing that they were finished talking, Aunt Jin came over and said to him, “Go back to your room first. I’ll apply medicine for the Second Young Master before I come over.”
“What’s wrong with the Second Young Master?” Jian Ru asked in confusion. “Is it an injury from when he fell into the water?” In fact, he thought of how he had dragged the man over the stones that day…
Could he have caused some hidden injury?
At that thought, guilt and regret stirred in him. If he had known, he would have been more careful back then, but Aunt Jin only shook her head and shot him a reproachful glance.
“It’s from you biting him!”
Jian Ru froze as Aunt Jin rattled on, “On the carriage back that day, he was taking care of you and giving you water! You kept drinking and wouldn’t stop; you even bit his finger until it broke the skin!”
Hearing this, Jian Ru became mortified beyond words. He almost wanted to go back and apologize again, but going back and forth like that made even himself feel ridiculous.
Aunt Jin, clearly enjoying teasing him, clicked her tongue repeatedly about how good his teeth were, and Jian Ru couldn’t take it anymore. Without saying another word, he bolted out of the courtyard. Behind him, Aunt Jin watched him go, then sighed again, her eyes falling on the slightly uneven steps that he had forgotten to hide.
After he left, she carried the medicinal ointment into the room.
The Second Young Master was inside, having just removed his outer robe and washed his hands. His right index finger was wrapped in gauze, which he was now slowly unwrapping.
Aunt Jin took the used bandage from him, opened the medicine jar, and used a clean spoon to take out a little ointment. The Second Young Master used the other hand to apply it carefully onto the wound, which had already begun to scab.
After he finished, Aunt Jin helped him wrap it with a fresh strip of cloth.
When it was done, he thanked her and went to sit by the window, picking up a book from the desk. But he didn’t turn a page for a long time.
Noticing this, Aunt Jin, who was tidying up nearby, said casually, “That child Jian Ru looks clever, and a bit fierce too, but he’s actually far too honest. If he hadn’t mentioned his limp, it would’ve just gone unnoticed. Once he’s married in, even if it gets discovered later, there’d be no way to call off the engagement, yet he insisted on making it clear. He’s really quite foolish.”
“He wants to lay out all his shortcomings in advance and let me decide whether to accept them all,” the Second Young Master smiled faintly. “That way, I’ll have no excuse to dislike him later.”
“I was worrying for nothing then,” Aunt Jin paused, then chuckled. “Looks like I overthought it.”
The Second Young Master’s gaze stayed fixed toward the door, his tone carrying quiet approval.
“Still… he is indeed a rare, honest and sincere person.”
Hearing that, Aunt Jin nodded. The Li family was a proper household. For someone like Jian Ru to be so straightforward, the outcome was hard to predict. After a moment, she frowned slightly and said, “When you asked Madam to allow this marriage, you didn’t yet know about his limp. If Madam finds out, she might not be pleased. Should I go back and sound her out first?”
“I’ll tell her myself,” The Second Young Master shook his head. “I’ll write to her now. My mother has always been open-minded. She will agree.”
Aunt Jin looked at the young man she had watched grow up, unable to stop herself from sighing inwardly. Everything about him was good, so she couldn’t help but say, “It’s not that Jian Ru is bad either. After spending these days with him, I can see his character is exemplary, and he’s dependable. It’s just… if it weren’t for the incident of the drowning and the debt of gratitude you owe him, then after all…”
Her words trailed off, but the meaning was clear. She still felt it was unfair to her master.
The Second Young Master lifted his eyes, but his expression was no longer as relaxed as before. It had turned serious, and Aunt Jin immediately realized her words had displeased him, quickly smacking her own mouth in apology.
“My fault, my fault. I spoke out of turn.”
“It’s not your fault, Aunty.” The Second Young Master shook his head. “If it were only about repaying a kindness, there are other ways. Money could be given as compensation, or a better match could be arranged for him. There’s no need for marriage.”
“Then why…?” Aunt Jin asked, puzzled.
The Second Young Master looked toward the window and suddenly changed the subject.
“I heard from the workers in the estate that although this year’s rains have been heavy, the summer flowers on the mountain are blooming especially well.” As he spoke, there was admiration and longing in his eyes.
“I also want to go up the mountain and see them myself… to touch those flowers and plants.”
“The mountain paths are slippery, and it’s much colder up there than below!” Aunt Jin immediately tried to stop him. “You should wait until your health improves!”
At that, the Second Young Master gave a faint smile, almost self-mocking. His expression didn’t change much, but the light in his lowered eyes dulled as he continued, “My father and mother were deeply in love when they married. They spent their whole lives supporting each other and living in perfect harmony. I grew up watching them like that, and I’ve always admired it. I once thought that when I grew up, I would marry someone I truly loved, just like my father.” He let out a faint sigh.
“To be honest, I did have doubts about this engagement before. Not because of his appearance or anything like that. I’ve been ill for many years and have come close to the gates of hell more than once; how could I still care about mere looks?”
“What I worried about was that we had only spent a short time together. We don’t know each other’s temperaments, and it’s even less possible to speak of mutual affection. I also feared that my body would end up dragging him down in the future.”
Aunt Jin worried that he was overthinking things and wanted to comfort him, but she had already said every comforting word she could think of so many times that she could not find anything new to say.
“I originally did not wish to marry and burden anyone,” the Second Young Master said suddenly with a small smile. The loneliness in his eyes faded slightly, and his expression gradually softened. He looked at Aunt Jin and continued, “But since Heaven has arranged this encounter, after seeing him tonight, I no longer have any doubts. He has strengthened my resolve.”
“He said he wanted to take a gamble. Then I will gamble with him,” he finally concluded.
“Gamble on this entire lifetime together.”
……………..
The next day, Jian Ru still left the estate and returned home.
The Second Young Master arranged for a carriage to send him back, but Jian Ru did not want to attract gossip. He insisted the carriage be changed to a donkey cart, and even had the driver stop outside the village so he could walk in alone and unnoticed.
When he returned, he discovered something unexpected: he had thought the matter of the river sacrifice had already blown up, but the villagers actually knew nothing. Zhang Jiao was gone, so everyone assumed he had truly been thrown into the river. As for Jiang Maocai, his absence was normal, for he often worked outside and rarely returned.
And as for Jian Ru himself… no one had even noticed that he had been gone for several days.
So the village remained unexpectedly calm.
But it wasn’t truly peaceful. The rain had started again, and the river water was rising higher and higher. In the days he had been away, several households had already been flooded. The villagers had gathered again at the village chief’s house. The so-called shaman, stroking his greasy chin, said that offering only a single marriageable ger to the River God was not enough; they likely needed a beautiful young maiden as well.
That part was easy to decide. The difficult part was who would actually sacrifice another living person to the river, especially since Zhang Jiao’s sacrifice had already brought no results. Because of this, the village chief went from house to house, coaxing, persuading, threatening, and bribing. At night, the village was filled with the sound of terrified girls crying.
Families without daughters also joined in, pressuring others and even rolling their eyes in disagreement, cursing those who refused to “sacrifice for the village,” saying they would surely meet a miserable end.
After returning, Jian Ru learned all of this but did not involve himself in the filthy mess. Even if he wanted to intervene, his voice carried no weight in the village anyway, and no one would listen to him.
Instead, when he went out to dig wild vegetables, he casually chatted with other villagers. He mentioned, almost offhandedly, that a few days earlier when he was in town, he had happened to see the village chief’s youngest daughter. She had been living with her aunt in town and had grown into a very beautiful young woman.
It was a lie that he had seen her, but it was true that she lived with her aunt in town, something most villagers already knew, though few thought about it.
His words, though casual, fell on attentive ears.
One of the villagers whose own sister had been targeted by the village chief was already furious. After returning home, he gathered with other families who had daughters. That same day, they stormed the village chief’s house together, demanding that he bring his own daughter back to be sacrificed. They even said that if the village chief’s daughter still failed to stop the rain, then they would willingly offer up their own daughters instead.
The village chief’s wife ended up sitting on the ground, screaming and crying, scratching her husband’s face until it was covered in wounds. So after half a day of chaos, the so-called river sacrifice ritual ended with the shaman being driven out. The village chief no longer dared to mention it again.
As for Jian Ru, he did not expose Jiang Maocai or Zhang Jiao.
He had never agreed with the idea of sacrificing living people to the River God. In that sense alone, Zhang Jiao was also a victim. If he had not been tricked into being thrown into the river himself, he would have fought desperately to save his only friend.
But still, Jian Ru hated them and would never forgive them. But he also did not want anyone to be dragged back and sacrificed. If that happened, the villagers might decide that it was because he had not been sacrificed that the rain had not stopped, and then they might throw someone else into the river again.
After experiencing what he had, Jian Ru did not want anyone else to go through the same fate, no matter who it was. As for the two of them, they had run away, and no one knew what kind of life they were living now.
But Jian Ru thought that since they had grown up together, they must have known exactly how petty his little heart could be.
If they never came back, then so be it.
But if they ever did return…
This matter would not be over.
T.N: If you like his novel, you can read up to chapter 15 on my Patreon, with new updates coming every week!
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