WSMTATMC C21

Chapter 21

Getting into a man–man relationship — saying it is easy, but doing it is hard.

The main problem was, in his past life, Wang Ying had never been in a relationship at all, much less dated a man. Just thinking about it felt awkward.

But if he wanted permanent access to the experimental field — awkward or not, it had to be done!

The next morning after breakfast, Chen Qingyan began his usual physical training. Having been bedridden for many days, his legs had lost their strength; where before he could make one full lap of the courtyard, now even half was a struggle.

Seeing Wang Ying sitting under a tree sorting seeds, he hesitated for a moment before pulling a little booklet from his robe and tossing it over.

“What’s this?” Wang Ying flipped open a few pages.

Inside there was little text — mostly simple diagrams, something like traditional Chinese medicine meridian charts, with marks at various “acupoints.”

Chen Qingyan’s expression was awkward. “You’ll know if you read it.”

Looking closely, Wang Ying realised the little red dots weren’t acupoints after all — they marked a ge’er’s pregnancy mole (yùnzhì, 孕痣)⁽¹⁾. Scarlet was best, pink-red was second, dull red was worst.

A ge’er, also called a “male wife,” had, in addition to male anatomy, the capacity to conceive and bear children due to a womb-like organ — but could not impregnate a woman or another ge’er.

The depth of the mole’s colouring represented fertility; the darker, the more fertile. Lighter meant harder to conceive; some ge’er could never bear children at all.

Wang Ying’s mouth twitched — he did have a small red mole, right by his neck. “Hey, Chen Qingyan — come here.”

“What is it?”

Wang Ying tugged open his collar. “Does my mole look red to you?”

Hack hack hack hack! Qingyan almost choked, muttering, “Shameless in broad daylight — utterly indecent!”

“Forget it — you go on with your exercise.”

Wang Ying kept reading — and the further he read, the more wrong it got. The book contained detailed diagrams of the process of a ge’er conceiving, carrying, and delivering a baby, rendered with graphic precision, like a medical manual crossed with a horror comic.

The last page even had a full erotic coupling illustration, drawn with astonishing skill — lifelike figures, every detail visible. The ge’er below had half his clothes off, eyes glazed, tongue out, drooling at the corner of his mouth. The man above, shown from behind, had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and hands veined with strain as they gripped the ge’er’s hips.

Even the explicit point of joining was drawn clear as day…

Like he’d touched a live wire, Wang Ying snapped the book shut, a strange numb-tingle running up his tailbone. A whole herd of grass-mud horses⁽²⁾ stampeded through his mind.

His eyes slid to Qingyan, walking and stopping across the courtyard — mouth always speaking of propriety and moral conduct, yet secretly owning smut manuals.

Truly, people cannot be judged by appearances~

“Qingyan,” came a sudden voice from outside — Chen Jing.

Wang Ying gave a start, hurriedly stuffing the book up his sleeve.

“Fourth Uncle’s here.”

Chen Jing came in with hands behind his back. “Last year at Dragon Boat Festival, you wrote saying you’d failed the county exam and fallen ill. I’d just taken my post in Laizhou and was too busy to come home. Now I finally have the chance to ask if you’d like to come back with me to Laizhou?”

“Laizhou Prefectural Academy is full of talent; if you agree, I can nominate you for a place. Once you’re trained, you could return to take the county examination again.”

Qingyan bit his lip and, after a long moment, shook his head. “I thank Fourth Uncle for his kindness, but I’m dull of wit and wouldn’t trouble you.”

“Some unspeakable burden, then?”

“No…”

Chen Jing sighed in disappointment. “I thought you might walk the same civil service road as me. If you have no wish, then so be it.”

Wang Ying, anxious, stomped on Qingyan’s foot — why not tell the truth? If anyone could help, it might be this official uncle!

Qingyan squeezed his hand and shook his head. After Chen Jing left, he slumped into his wheelchair, all spirit gone.

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“No man in the Wu dynasty’s history has ever been reinstated after being disqualified for cheating. Even if I told him, he’d be powerless. Best to drop it.”

“Going to die for the sake of face!”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“As if I want to care! Say or don’t say!” Wang Ying pulled the book from his sleeve and lobbed it at him, striding off.

Qingyan fumed, punching his chair — then, after a while, got up to continue training.

From the corner, Chen Bo chuckled softly. Since the young master’s husband came, the boy truly was more lively~

Qingyan’s pride wouldn’t let him ask for Chen Jing’s help — but Wang Ying had no such scruples. He hurried after the official.

“Fourth Uncle, wait.”

Chen Jing halted. “What is it, nephew-in-law?”

“It’s like this — I want to open a fruit-and-vegetable shop in town, but I fear people will cause trouble. Could I borrow Fourth Uncle’s name?”

“As long as it’s nothing illegal, of course.”

“Thank you, Fourth Uncle!”

Chen Jing, walking on, said, “This visit is short; I’ll head back soon. This household — I leave in your care.”

“You jest. I’m just a country ge’er — how could I…”

“The nerve to fake a death and set a trap — even I might not have thought of it.”

Wang Ying’s heart skipped. So this was what it meant for a high official to be perceptive — he’d seen the truth at a glance.

Chen Jing waved him off. “No need to fret. I watched Qingyan grow up — clever, but stubborn like his father. Elder Sister-in-law is soft-hearted and hesitant; she’d never think of such a scheme. Apart from them, who else but you?”

“A bit of cunning isn’t bad, so long as it’s used in the right place — far better than being a fool. Now tell me — what’s the truth about Qingyan’s cheating incident?”

“You know of it?”

Of course he did — Chen family had only a few scholarly youths; he couldn’t not know.

So Wang Ying recounted the whole framing incident. “It was a misunderstanding. Qingyan didn’t cheat. Is there any way to restore his exam eligibility?”

Chen Jing shook his head. “The civil examination road is likely closed. But there are other roads — a man who renders great service to the court can be recommended for office as well.”

Wang Ying lost heart immediately — what “great service” could ordinary folk hope to render? Looked like Qingyan really would need to become a schoolteacher.

Chen Jing’s visit was brief: no wife, only a few retainers. As a sixth-rank zhoumu⁽³⁾ he had heavy duties; too long away could invite censure from superiors. He stayed only three days before leaving.

Before departing, he sentenced Chen Biao to eighty blows of the heavy rod and exile to Cangzhou — a one-way trip, effectively. Considering his age, those eighty might kill him, so his two sons took the punishment in his stead, forty each.

This result was as Wang Ying expected. After all, Chen Jing couldn’t quite bring himself to kill his own elder brother with his own orders.

The Tian family also received their penalty. Not the masterminds, but guilty of aiding an attempt on their master — sixty strokes.

Madam Tian couldn’t bear even ten before fainting; by sixty, she was dead.

Tian Liu and Old Tian survived, but just barely. With no Chen patronage and no income, their deaths would be a matter of time.

For the first time, Wang Ying truly felt the terror of ancient feudal law — punishments so severe compared to modern standards that they froze the blood.

But at last, the matter was closed.

When Li Shi heard Madam Tian had died, she ate nothing for days and wasted away.

Wang Ying knew it was a heart-wound. She was known for kindness to her servants, and she had shared her daily life with Madam Tian for many, many years.

Luckily, Third Aunt was there to comfort her. “Sister-in-law, grieving for such a person isn’t worth it. Think of the children — if you fall ill, what becomes of them?”

“I know… but my heart aches. Sometimes I even wonder whether I failed her somehow, for her to turn traitor.”

“It’s not you — it’s that you were too good to them. People are insatiable — get them a gold hairpin, they’ll want a jade one; give them a thousand coins, they’ll want ten thousand. Their ruin is their own fault. Don’t harm yourself for another’s sins.”

Li Shi wiped her eyes. “She’s dead — I’ll only remember the good and say no more.”

“You’re too idle. The day you have a grandchild to busy over, you won’t dwell on such thoughts.”

At the mention, Li Shi brightened. “Speaking of which, Qingyan’s been married over two months and there’s still no sign. Before, his health wasn’t good; now that he’s mending, perhaps it won’t be long before I’m a grandmother.”

Third Aunt patted her hand. “Exactly! As for Wang Ying, I really like that child — handsome, capable, speaks and acts well. Better than ge’er from the richest county families. Where did you find such a son-in-law?”

Li Shi smiled. “I didn’t expect he’d be so capable. When I had someone ask around, I only said I needed a water-element girl or ge’er, decent-looking. At that time, Qingyan was too ill to leave his bed; I figured anything was worth a try. I had no time to pick and choose.

“It was Third Hall Uncle Chen Shipin’s wife who helped introduce him. She said he was a pitiful ge’er, fine-looking but from a poor family. I paid ten taels silver to half-buy, half-wed him into our home. Who knew he’d be such a sharp one?”

Chen Rong slapped her thigh. “Truly a fine match!”

At that moment, the two being praised were sitting awkwardly on their bed.

Since reading that book, the picture on that last page seemed burned into Wang Ying’s brain. Being alone with Qingyan now felt awkward.

When Qingyan began to undress for bed, Wang Ying bolted to his feet.

“Not sleeping?”

“N-not sleepy. I’ll just go to the field!”

Qingyan thought he was still upset about the other day and said gently, “Go ahead. When you return, we’ll talk.”

Sitting on the bund in the experimental field with a stalk of foxtail in his teeth, Wang Ying’s face burned like a monkey’s backside. This man–man business really takes talent…

In the past, his grandparents had always fretted that, without parents, he might not be able to get a wife. Now there was no worry — he’d become the wife himself.

Footnotes:

1. Pregnancy mole (孕痣) – In danmei settings with mpreg (ge’er), a mole believed to indicate fertility. 
2. Grass-mud horse (草泥马) – Internet slang in Chinese, a pun on profanity, used humorously to express shock or outrage. 
3. Zhoumu (州牧) – A high-ranking provincial governor in certain dynasties.