TIPS – Chapter 148

There’s a lot of rain in March. Sometimes, when the rain is too heavy, everyone just stays at home and doesn’t go out.

Like today — the weather had been fine, and then suddenly, a downpour began. People hurried back to their homes. The whole last third of March was spent indoors, behind closed doors, enduring the endlessly rainy days.

Going home meant there was no work to be done. And with no work, boredom always crept in.

That noon, during a nap, Song Jingwei turned over and rested his hand on the chest of Shen Junxi beside him. It was already March — not too cold — and there was no brazier burning in the room, so it felt a little cool.

“……” Shen Junxi took his hand and turned his head to look at him.

“Can’t sleep. Thought I’d do something with you,” he said with a smile, propping himself up to gaze at Shen Junxi.

Sure enough, Shen Junxi’s face flushed, and his eyes began to flicker evasively.

“You do it on purpose sometimes, don’t you? You know I just love seeing you blush…” Song Jingwei said as he lowered his head and gave him a sticky, affectionate kiss.

“……” Who could really answer that? That’s just how lovers are — always subconsciously showing the side the other person likes best.

Shen Junxi wrapped his arms around his back, gently accepting the kiss and opening his lips to respond.

It was a lingering and tender kiss — not too forceful, not overly passionate, no bold moves. Just simple, gentle affection.

“When I’m like this with you, I always have a lot of things I want to say… but I don’t want to say them,” Song Jingwei murmured as he kissed Shen Junxi deeply, a bit helplessly.

“……” Shen Junxi stared into his eyes. If their feelings were the same, then he probably knew what the other wanted to say — though he couldn’t be sure if he had guessed right.

“I like you more now than I did before.” After the kiss, Song Jingwei traced the contours of Shen Junxi’s face with his fingertip and said, “You’re not exactly striking — just easy on the eyes. Am I right?”

“……” Shen Junxi nodded with a smile. His husband was right — he wasn’t especially good-looking, just pleasantly average. He signed: “I don’t want to be especially handsome. I just want to look the way you like.”

“Mhm, that’s a great aspiration.” Song Jingwei leaned in again and kissed Shen Junxi’s rosy lips.

This time, Shen Junxi kissed him back forcefully, reaching to untie his belt and take off his clothes. Everything went just as expected. But the feelings that came with it — those were never predictable. He always fell deeper and deeper, unable to pull himself out, unable to return to the calm shores.

Even after the intense intimacy, they still didn’t separate, still lost in the lingering aftermath of passion.

And since they hadn’t come back to their senses yet, they kept enjoying this madness, and before long, plunged into that stormy sea of desire once more, completely forgetting to come back to shore.

It was a long time before they finally settled down, fully satisfied.

Outside, the drizzle still fell. Rain pattered softly against the eaves, and now and then, a swallow would fly over and perch for a moment.

Shen Junxi lay on his lover’s chest, reluctant to leave, still planting soft kisses on the man’s slightly damp cheeks and lips. He liked this kind of closeness with no distance between them, liked the intense feeling of being needed.

After every moment of tenderness, Shen Junxi always felt a wave of unease and melancholy — the more he received, the more afraid he became of losing it, of being separated.

“……” Song Jingwei turned his head slightly to kiss Shen Junxi back, gently holding him, his hand quietly stroking the bare skin of his back.

He cherished this peaceful moment — because affection had deepened. He treasured this time together — because life was fleeting.

Time was the enemy of many things, but also the cure for many others. When many years had passed, would they still treasure each other like this? Would they still stay by each other’s side?

Time passed quickly, and April arrived in the blink of an eye. In past years, people would already be preparing to visit ancestral graves and pay respects, but this year, everyone was stuck in the mountains, so the matter was temporarily put on hold.

People regretted not being able to visit the graves — and also regretted the tea leaves in their fields, which were now ready for harvesting.

The Shen family’s eldest branch also thought of their large tea garden, which had been left unattended for months. What would it look like when they returned? Had it become overgrown with weeds?

“Ah, it’s not just the tea garden. Our lotus pond should be planted with lotus roots by now too. All ruined by this war. We’re about to lose hundreds of taels of silver,” Shen Dongming said as he looked at the rare sunlight outside and complained.

He wasn’t alone — many others were lamenting the same. Their fields had gone to waste. If they didn’t dare return by April, there would be no income for the first half of the year.

Days passed one after another, and the weather grew warmer day by day.

At home, Benben had finally taken off his thick winter coat. The chubby toddler now looked a lot more agile. He was finally free of the heavy padding and could walk around with ease.

This was the happiest news in the household lately. The Shen couple told everyone they met that their eldest grandson had learned to walk — no teaching required. As soon as the winter coat was off, he was running around steadily.

Squatting on the ground, Song Jingwei clapped his hands toward his son in the distance and said, “Benben, come here.”

Benben was in Shen Junxi’s arms, and at those words, he immediately began to wriggle, wanting to be put down. Once his feet touched the ground, he ran toward Song Jingwei with excitement and energy.

“Good boy! You’re my little chubby flier!” His son threw himself into his arms, giving him a full and satisfying hug. Song Jingwei scooped him up and planted two big kisses on his cheeks—his  silly baby was getting more and more adorable.

Wasn’t he just getting a bit spoiled and temperamental recently? Now it seemed like that phase had passed, and he was back to being his sweet and sensible little treasure.

“Pa-pa…” The baby mimicked him, smearing a slobbery kiss all over his dad’s face.

“It’s daddy,” Song Jingwei gently held his tiny paw and corrected him.

“Pa-pa.” The little one tilted his head with a determined look, as if to say his worldview was unshakable—”pa-pa” it was and would stay.

“Fine, call me whatever you want.” Song Jingwei gave up trying to correct him and shook his head with a laugh. He then set the little one down again. “Go on, go to your daddy.”

Shen Junxi saw this and reached out his hands to the child with a smile.

The little one glanced at his daddy across from him, then turned around and threw himself back into pa-pa’s arms with an adorably disdainful expression, leaving everyone helpless.

“…” Shen Junxi was thoroughly confused. He was the one who always indulged the little guy’s every whim, while Song Jingwei was the stricter one—so why did the little one insist on sticking to Song Jingwei?

Yang Shi chuckled when she saw this and said, “What’s so strange about that? Benben is Jingwei’s biological child. If he doesn’t cling to him, who else would he cling to?” Their silly little one was actually quite sensible—he was well-behaved with her and Shen Dongming, too. But ultimately, the person he clung to most was always Song Jingwei. As long as he was around, he’d raise his hands asking to be picked up.

“Of course he’s my son.” Hearing that, Song Jingwei happily gave his son another kiss on the cheek. “If he didn’t love me best, then what was the point of giving birth to him?”

Everyone laughed and told Benben to give him even more kisses so he wouldn’t feel neglected.

Watching the affectionate mother and son, Shen Junxi felt a deep pang of jealousy. He shamelessly leaned in and gave the baby a kiss too, then just as shamelessly walked off as if nothing had happened.

“Sweet Benben, go comfort your daddy—he’s sad now,” Song Jingwei said, coaxing his son to go over.

Benben looked at his beloved pa-pa, then looked at his poor daddy. With his chubby little legs wobbling, he started toddling over. But the mischievous little rascal changed direction halfway through and ran over to Yang Shi instead.

“Hahaha…” Shen Dongming burst out laughing when he saw his son’s disappointed face.

Yang Shi, cradling her precious darling, laughed so hard she couldn’t close her mouth. Although she felt a little bad that her son wasn’t his grandson’s favorite, she was still delighted—after all, Benben came to her, which meant he was close to his grandma.

“Good boy, Grandma didn’t dote on you for nothing,” she said gently, stroking her grandson’s little head with satisfaction.

“Benben, come let Grandpa hold you,” Shen Dongming said confidently, stretching out his arms, convinced that he must rank somewhere in the baby’s heart.

“Ah…” Benben did head over, but only took a couple of steps before stopping and pausing playfully in hesitation.

Shen Dongming had to shuffle closer, trying to scoop him up.

The little guy giggled and ran away—straight toward his daddy.

At last, Shen Junxi managed to hold his precious baby in his arms, grinning in satisfaction. Father and son went back and forth smearing each other’s faces with drooly kisses, playing to their hearts’ content.

“Sigh…” Shen Dongming let out a sigh that was both wistful and happy. Wistful because, as it turned out, he didn’t even rank in his grandson’s heart. But happy—because watching this harmonious, loving family warmed his heart.

In uncertain times, such tender moments were especially precious.

Then, one day in early April, word suddenly came from the outside. A vague and questionable rumor started circulating: it was said that the imperial court had finally dispatched troops and was gradually pushing back the enemy, even reclaiming several lost cities.

The whole village was abuzz, everyone eagerly asking if the rumor was true.

Yuan Guanlin, who had gone to investigate, reported to Song Jingwei, “This wasn’t from my cousin directly, so I can’t be sure how accurate it is.”

Song Jingwei nodded and replied, “There’s nothing we need to do right now. Just wait.”

Wait for the dust to settle, wait for the news to be confirmed—only then could they make any moves. Until then, it was too risky to act rashly.

So no matter who came to ask for information, Song Jingwei never gave a definite answer. Until that day arrived, he wouldn’t dare speak with certainty.

Three more days passed like this. Finally, Yuan Guanlin received a handwritten letter from Yuan Qingsui. After reading it, he was visibly thrilled and quickly brought it to show Song Jingwei.

“I told you the rumor was true!” he said excitedly. “Look, my cousin wrote this himself. The court really has sent competent people—several cities have already been retaken.”

Song Jingwei pointed to a name on the letter and asked, “How far is this place from us?”

“Not far,” Yuan Guanlin replied. “Don’t worry—it won’t be long before they’re here.”

He wasn’t wrong. The court’s army was advancing like a hot knife through butter, reclaiming city after city from the invaders. They were still pressing forward.

The general leading the army was a longstanding powerhouse in the military. He had previously been entangled in the power struggles surrounding the throne and was held back by the former emperor, unable to act.

But once the new emperor ascended and released him, he learned that much of the country had already fallen to the enemy. Furious, he grabbed his weapons, took up command, and launched a campaign with lightning speed. Alongside a group of fierce warriors, he smashed through the enemy’s defenses in a short amount of time—swift, ruthless, and unstoppable.

By the time they reached Lihua Town, it was already the tail end of mid-April. On a clear evening, the imperial troops finally drove the enemy soldiers out of this small border county.

That very night, the villagers up in the mountains received the news. This time it was confirmed to be real—they had already sent someone to verify it, so it couldn’t be false.

That evening, everyone gathered around the bonfire, cheering with abandon. After over four months, their peaceful lives had finally returned. Everyone seemed eager to pack up and head back to the village.

However, after calming down and hearing Song Jingwei step forward to speak, they regained some rationality.

“I know everyone’s very happy and eager to return home to village life,” he said gently, trying to calm them, “but hear me out—now is not yet the time for us to descend the mountain.”

He advised them calmly, “Since the situation is already improving and victory is almost in our grasp, we need to remain patient and not act rashly. What’s ours will be ours—it won’t run away.”

Everyone was willing to listen to him. After these past few months of hardship together, Song Jingwei had become a figure of authority in their hearts. Since he said so, the villagers naturally followed his advice.

“Alright, let’s not rush. Let’s listen to Young Master Song and keep our cool,” the men shouted first. “We’ve made it through over four months—what’s a few more days? Isn’t that right, everyone?”

“That’s right! Well said—we’re not in a rush. We’ll wait it out! The day to return will come eventually!” As long as there was hope, people were not afraid to wait.

“Exactly. That’s the way to look at it. So let’s be patient and continue living well in the meantime.”

While they waited, life went on as usual. But now, everything was different—everyone had a bounce in their step and vibrant smiles on their faces.

The day of return was within sight, and though they felt impatient, when that day truly arrived, they might feel reluctant to leave—the memories, the emotions, the laughter and tears they had shared here.

“The court is truly furious this time.” A new piece of news arrived. The men gathered excitedly, voices animated: “Our State-Stabilizing General led the cavalry straight across the border! This time, not only are we driving those little bastards back, we’re taking half their land too—make them cry for their mothers!”

“Exactly!” the men shouted indignantly. “How many of our people did they kill before? How much land did they seize? This time, we absolutely can’t let them off easy—we’ll beat them back and take their territory!”

“If you ask me,” one said, “we should just take down their whole court and make it all ours—wouldn’t that be great?”

One afternoon at the end of April, Yuan Guanlin hurried back with a letter in hand. As soon as he entered, he beamed and announced, “I’ve got good news! Our troops have crossed the river!”

“What? Crossed the river?!” Everyone in the room stood up in excitement, slapping their thighs. “This is great! The court’s really going to clean them up this time!”

If imperial forces had crossed the river, it meant they were launching a serious counteroffensive. Even if they didn’t strip the enemy to the bone, they would at least peel off a few layers of skin!

“Our county is being restored now. I’ve seen many of the refugees returning. Things are looking good—we can start considering going down the mountain,” Yuan Guanlin said, his words setting off another wave of excitement in the room. But after that burst of enthusiasm came a solemn silence.

Everyone looked at one another, their expressions complex—there was excitement, sentimentality, and a tangle of indescribable emotions.

They had longed for this moment for so long, and now that they could finally go back, a calm settled over them.

“It hasn’t been easy,” each of them thought. Looking back on the four, nearly five months they had endured, their noses stung with emotion.

“Isn’t this a good thing? We can finally go back—what’s with everyone? We should be happy!”

“Yeah…”

“Mm!”

“We’re happy!”

These rugged, rough men, rarely seen this emotional, now revealed a more vulnerable side.

Song Jingwei stood and addressed them, “Now, everyone go inform your families and neighbors. Starting today, we begin packing up. Tomorrow morning, we head down the mountain—together!”

Leaving tomorrow?

Seeing the surprise in everyone’s eyes, Song Jingwei repeated, “That’s right, we’re heading down the mountain tomorrow. Hurry and spread the word.”

With his confirmation, the men in the house finally reacted, nodding repeatedly, then quickly responded, “Alright! We’ll go right now!” Excitedly, they rushed out the main hall of the Shen family’s home.

Soon, all the villagers in the mountains knew—they were heading down the mountain tomorrow!

Many were stunned into stillness, as if they had forgotten how to react. Hadn’t they been longing to go back this whole time? Now that it was really happening, looking at the fellow villagers they had lived beside day and night, there was suddenly a sense of reluctance.

“Come on, people. Aren’t we still the same village once we go back? Don’t just stand there—go start packing!”

That’s right. Weren’t they still going to be one village? What was there to be sentimental about? Time to pack!

The villagers sprang into action, calling together their families and quickly gathering their belongings.