Huo Du spent the night with Song Jin, feeling refreshed the next day. He grabbed his knife and returned, dealing with each of the thieves who had been following him all the way, tying them up in a row like zongzi1, and went to the yamen2 to report the case. This group of bandits had been coming down from the mountains several times a year, causing great suffering to the villagers. The county magistrate was extremely grateful and insisted on hosting a banquet to express his thanks.
Huo Du declined the county magistrate’s kindness and led the timid yamen runners into the mountains to clear out the remnants of the bandits. Only when his trusted men arrived to take over did he have the opportunity to return. There was someone waiting for him at the inn.
When Song Jin woke up, he was somewhat skeptical about who the cowardly and soft person from last night was.
Some people may appear dignified and majestic on the surface as a general, but in reality, they are shameless. Song Jin picked up his pants from the ground and compared their lengths, which reached his knees, and yet he was accused of seducing him without wearing clothes!
Song Jin sat at the table, supporting his waist as he drank water. He saw a note on the table, roughly indicating “waiting for him to return” or something similar. He lazily glanced at it and turned it over. He picked up a pen and wrote on the back: “Drinking tea to calm the mind, expelling evil fire, appreciating the words of sages, presented by a commoner.”
Being unfamiliar with the place and with the other person being a powerful general, Song Jin naturally wouldn’t obediently wait for him there. He had always conducted business under an alias, changing his name every time he went to a new place, making it easy for him to disappear. However, he couldn’t take the purchased tea leaves, but leaving them to irritate the other party was also good.
Song Jin ran away, feeling quite cowardly.
When Huo Du returned to the inn, it was empty. He then realized that the person he had been interested in bringing into his residence didn’t even know his name.
Did he seduce him just to run away?
Huo Du’s eyes darkened as he rolled the paper into a ball, then unfolded it again and carefully read it for the second time.
He himself ended up becoming the target of his own plot, and it would be best not to let him find out.
…
When Song Jin returned to the capital, news suddenly spread that the princess consort was critically ill.
As a man, although he didn’t need to serve at her bedside like a normal daughter-in-law, it was necessary for him to go back and visit. From the fact that the princess had erected an archway for him, it could be seen that she cared about her reputation. If Song Jin didn’t show any courtesy, it might displease her, and he might not be as carefree in the future.
The princess consort had a son late in life and had previously given birth to a daughter. The daughter was married off, and the following year, she gave birth to a son. The princess consort’s son and grandson were of similar ages.
Song Jin just casually listened to these matters. From the outside, he seemed to be the second master of the princess’s mansion, but in reality, no one acknowledged his identity there, thinking that he was just clinging to the princess like a parasite.
Song Jin smiled. The princess wanted fame, while the original owner of his body wanted peace. Although it could be considered mutually beneficial, it was a pity that no one took the first time he jumped into the well seriously, and he ended up bearing such a huge burden by chance.
Early in the morning, before the sun rose, he stood downstairs in the hall, paying his respects to the princess through several walls.
The princess’s maidservant quickly dismissed him with a few words, and Song Jin didn’t mind. If anyone were to address him politely as “Madam,” he would probably be scared awake in the middle of the night. Before the princess recovered from her illness, Song Jin was staying here to fulfill his filial duties. The steward assigned a remote room for him.
Just as Song Jin was about to turn around, he suddenly caught sight of a tall figure rushing in through the front door. It looked somewhat familiar, no, very familiar!
Wasn’t this the shameless one…?
The steward said, “Young Master Huo.”
Song Jin was greatly alarmed, his expression changed in an instant. He finally understood why he found Huo Du so familiar at first sight! These two, one being weak and the other brave, still had some resemblance in their features. Although he had never seen the real person, he had seen the portrait of the princess’s son, Zhao An, that was kept in the princess’s mansion.
Seeing Huo Du in a hurry and not noticing him at first, Song Jin used the fastest speed he had ever displayed in his life, almost like teleporting, and hid behind a potted pine tree.
However fast he was, it was not as fast as Huo Du’s eyesight. Originally, Huo Du was eager to see the princess, and he didn’t notice anyone nearby, but when Song Jin moved, Huo Du’s alertness prevailed over his thinking, and he immediately looked over.
“Who is that person?”
“That’s Madam.”
Song Jin buried his face in the dense pine needles, leaving only a black back of his head outside. He reached out and grabbed the trunk of the tree, not caring if it hurt his hand, just afraid that showing a little skin would make Huo Du recognize him. He pretended to have eaten something bad and couldn’t dodge in time, so he leaned against the pine tree and vomited.
Not bad at all, even making the steward believe that.
Huo Du distanced himself from Song Jin without leaving a trace.
Huo Du had no interest in his cheap aunt. He and his uncle of the same age had never been close. The Huo family prospered in martial arts, and he had always enjoyed wielding weapons since he was young, while Zhao An was a self-proclaimed scholar who looked down on others, and the two could never see eye to eye.
“Madam” Huo Du greeted casually.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough.” The pine tree shook, and Song Jin didn’t know how to respond, coughing loudly as if in response to Huo Du.
Huo Du retracted his gaze and stepped into the room.
From behind the layers of pine needles, Song Jin watched as Huo Du approached closer and closer. Due to nervousness, he unintentionally leaned his body and strength against the tree, forgetting that the pine tree was just a potted plant and not firmly rooted in the ground. With his head heavier than his feet, Song Jin ended up losing balance and falling forward with the entire pine tree toward Huo Du’s feet.
“Ah!”
Facing the ground, Song Jin avoided getting scraped by the tree trunk but still broke the skin. In a split second, Huo Du lifted his right foot, miraculously supporting the tree trunk and lifting the person hugging it by the collar to save him. Then, with a kick, he swept the tree to the corner.
“Stand steady—” Huo Du released his grip like training a new recruit, casting a casual glance at Song Jin. His stern expression couldn’t hold up, revealing a somewhat blank look.
“You…” Huo Du’s gaze froze, unable to believe it.
The person he had been searching for tirelessly turned out to be his… aunt!
Feeling guilty, Song Jin shifted his gaze away.
After a moment, Huo Du glanced at Song Jin’s clean face. Was this the same person who was vomiting uncontrollably just now?
Clearly, he was avoiding him!
Huo Du sneered, “What, are you pregnant?”
“No…” Despairingly, Song Jin closed his eyes. Why was he so unlucky?
Between promiscuity and chastity, could he ever clear his name? Was he wronged or not?
…
Song Jin felt uneasy, wanting to escape back to the small village outside the city immediately. But with the princess consort still ill, he couldn’t leave without permission. He could only hope that Huo Du would save face and not cause any trouble.
The night Huo Du accused him of seducing him, Song Jin had only been sleeping without a shirt, a common habit for modern bachelors, yet he was falsely accused by Huo Du. That night, he learned his lesson and slept with his clothes on, even adding an extra layer of coat.
After meeting with the princess consort, Huo Du found someone to inquire about the trivial matter involving Song Jin.
Who in the capital didn’t know about Song Jin’s deeds? When the servant saw Huo Du’s interest, he treated it as a casual chat, embellishing the story.
Compared to the original version, after two years, in the tragic romantic novels depicting Song Jin’s sacrifice for love, there were added scenes of him and Zhao An falling in love at first sight and committing to each other for life. If Song Jin weren’t a man, there might have been some miraculous hidden love story.
The more Huo Du listened, the darker his expression became. This wasn’t the Song Jin he knew.
He clearly… was so promiscuous!
This contradictory personality made Huo Du suspect whether he was being used as a substitute for someone else by Song Jin!
“Bang!” A scalding cup of tea was thrown out, crashing through a window with great force.
The servant’s scalp tightened, finding an excuse to slip away. He thought Young Master Huo would be pleased and might even receive a reward today.
Huo Du remained silent, wiping his Flying Cloud Sword bestowed by the Emperor, his eyes filled with deep waves.
A substitute?
He, Huo Du, was used as someone else’s substitute? What a joke.
Song Jin had been on edge for most of the night. Eventually, he fell asleep in a daze. As the dawn broke, he opened his eyes and was startled to see someone sitting in the room drinking tea.
Seeing Song Jin sit up, the blanket slipping down to reveal neatly folded clothes underneath, Huo Du remarked, “You haven’t even taken off your clothes, are you waiting for me to elope with you?”
Looking alarmed, Song Jin hurriedly covered himself with the blanket. “If I’m dressed, it’s seduction; if I’m not, it’s enticing. Can you give me a break?”
Before Song Jin could explain, Huo Du didn’t give him a chance to speak. He held Song Jin’s chin firmly. “Remember, I am your man.”
Struggling, Song Jin mumbled, “I’m your aunt!”
This sentence seemed to anger Huo Du, and Song Jin suffered a forced kiss. What’s worse, in the morning, men tended to be more impulsive, and he actually felt something.
To shake off the label of “promiscuous,” Song Jin pulled up the blanket to cover himself, suppressing his breath. He realized that his body was easily coaxed into making sweet noises, which even he couldn’t stand.
However, compared to Huo Du, who had fought on the battlefield, Song Jin’s lung capacity was no match. The kiss was long and intense, and Song Jin eventually softened, leaning against Huo Du, with a watery look in his eyes, like a just-awakened lamb.
The calluses on Huo Du’s palms rubbed Song Jin uncomfortably, causing itching and pain. The areas touched by him turned pink in an instant, and the heat surged to his face. Acting like a young bride, Song Jin felt utterly pathetic.
Burying his head in the pillow, Song Jin realized that he couldn’t go on like this. He had to leave as soon as possible, or he would eventually be discovered by the princess consort.
He didn’t need to be responsible for the chastity label, but he was cowardly and valued his life.
For the past few days, Song Jin had been trembling with fear, punished to write “Huo Du” five hundred times for every wrong word and kissed ten times for each mistake. His lips were swollen.
He didn’t know what had gotten into Huo Du. Didn’t he know that his calligraphy was terrible?
Seeing that the princess consort’s condition was improving after meeting her grandson Huo Du, Song Jin breathed a sigh of relief and secretly bid farewell to the princess consort.
It wasn’t until later in the evening that he received a response. The reply was still from the senior maidservant, who gave Song Jin some silver coins, saying that the princess consort was fine now and he could leave if he wished.
Having made some savings from his business ventures, Song Jin didn’t want to take advantage of Huo Du any further. Thus, he humbly offered one hundred taels of silver to the princess consort as filial piety.
The maidservant’s expression softened a bit upon hearing that Song Jin had saved some money from his farm in the past few years, and she began to view this “young Madam” who was living off others in a slightly different light.
Knowing that he could leave and with Huo Du conveniently absent from the princess consort’s residence, Song Jin was overjoyed. He quickly packed his belongings, even though it was already dark and thunderstorms were brewing, nothing could dampen his excitement to return to his village.
Today, the servant had something to attend to and returned to the village earlier, so Song Jin, acting on impulse, set off alone without waiting for him.
He had thought of many plans. First, he would hire a carriage from Old Zhang’s house in the west of the city, then go to the escort agency in the south of the city to find twenty strong men to guard the village. This way, Huo Du wouldn’t be able to harass him.
Of course, this was just for show. If Huo Du insisted, who could stop him? Song Jin decided to check the goods in the village tonight, then set off immediately to transport goods to the north.
With the vast sky and earth, he couldn’t afford to fall into Huo Du’s trap!
Song Jin hurried along, his head covered, when suddenly he felt a lightness under his feet as someone grabbed the collar from behind and lifted him up.
zongzi : rice dumplings
yamen : government office
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