Chapter 26: You Have Ear Piercings?

Ma Wencai stumbled back in a daze and sat huddled against the wall, burying his head in his clothes to sob quietly. Zhu Yingtai, eyes red and swollen with fright, ran back upstairs in tears.

I stood there, feeling like a fool caught in the middle. Why did these two always leave me to clean up their messes? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the old man standing in the doorway, draped in a robe; he shook his head and retreated inside.

Looking at Ma Wencai’s trembling shoulders, I knew he wouldn't calm down anytime soon. I went into the kitchen, but after rummaging through everything, I found nothing to eat, so I skewered two sweet potatoes and threw them into the fire to roast.

Roasting sweet potatoes really takes time. I was almost falling asleep by the time they were finally ready. I carried the skewered potatoes over and sat down next to Ma Wencai. "Brother Wencai, have something to eat."

Ma Wencai lifted his head slightly and muttered, "I won't eat his food."

"This isn't his; I roasted it myself. His food was raw, this is cooked, so it’s mine." Honestly, what was with all this 'yours and mine'? Just eat if you're hungry, instead of being so picky.

Ma Wencai looked up and suddenly blurted out, "You look down on me, don't you?"

I paused, saying nothing.

"I know you look down on me. You once said I was just the son of a fifth-rank prefect, so you think I’m not worthy of being your friend, right?" Ma Wencai stared at me.

I admitted I had said that, but I truly didn't think that way. "Brother Wencai, not everything is categorized by status. If I followed your logic, I wouldn't be able to find any friends at all here at Nishan Academy."

"I know. In your eyes, I’m a failure."

"I have never thought that. I’ve always considered you a strong person. You had Liu Xiangdong and his gang completely whipped into shape at the academy. Even if you failed to find Tao Yuanming today, it doesn't prove anything. No one is omnipotent; everyone has their weaknesses." That was, for the most part, my honest opinion.

Ma Wencai fell silent again. I gazed at the moon in the sky—it really was round. "It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival today. Look how round the moon is; it's a night for reunion."

Ma Wencai glanced at the sky and then back at me. "What is the Mid-Autumn Festival? And what does it have to do with the moon?"

I froze. No wonder no one in the academy mentioned celebrating it; it seemed the Mid-Autumn Festival wouldn't become popular until the Tang Dynasty. "It’s a day for family reunions. Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, families sit out in the open and share a large round cake."

"How come I’ve never heard of it?"

"Ah, well, it’s a custom from my home in Yangzhou, so it’s normal that you haven't," I said, hurriedly pulling the sweet potato off the twig. "Even without the big cake, eating sweet potatoes works just as well. They’re round, too, so it’s still a reunion."

"Ow! That’s hot!" I hadn't expected the roasted sweet potato to be so scorching. As soon as I pulled it off, it burned my hand. I dropped it on the ground and immediately grabbed my earlobes.

"Are you alright?" Ma Wencai quickly grabbed my hand to check.

"I’m fine, just a little burn." I pulled my hand away, picked up the sweet potato from the ground, and began blowing on it while peeling the skin. It took only a few seconds. I wondered why sweet potatoes in ancient times smelled better than those in the modern era. I wasn't sure if they tasted better, too, but I split the potato in two and handed half to Ma Wencai.

"I'm so hungry!" I whispered, then began devouring the sweet potato. It tasted much better—I couldn't tell if it was actually better or just because I was starving.

"Why didn't you eat dinner?" Ma Wencai asked, slowly nibbling his portion as he turned to look at me.

Why hadn't I eaten dinner? Because I was afraid of choking on fish bones? Good grief, if I told him that, he’d laugh me to death. "I... 'A gentleman does not eat food given in contempt.' You said it yourself."

Ma Wencai sneered, "Are you a gentleman?"

"What do you mean by that?" I panicked, touching my face and puffing out my chest. "Are you looking down on me?"

Ma Wencai shook his head. "Nothing, just a thought." He pulled a handkerchief from his robe and reached toward my face. I instinctively pulled away. "What are you doing?"

"Your face is covered in soot. Wipe it off." He handed the handkerchief to me.

"Oh." I took it and wiped my face haphazardly. Ma Wencai suddenly leaned in, looking at me as if he had discovered a new continent. I shifted away to keep my distance. "What are you doing now?"

Ma Wencai pursed his lips in a faint smile—I could only describe it as an unkind look. "You have pierced ears."

"I..." I reached up to touch them instinctively. Oh heavens, I actually did. I gave an awkward laugh, not knowing how to explain it. "I... I..."

"Yes?" Ma Wencai stared at me, unrelenting.

"Haha... I don't even know where they came from. I fell into the water before I started school, and when I woke up, I had lost my memory. I don't remember anything from before. Speaking of which, I should thank Zhu Yingtai; she and Liang Shanbo saved me." I tried to laugh it off. *Brother Wencai, please, just let it go.*

"You... you lost your memory? And Yingtai saved you?" Ma Wencai looked bewildered.

I nodded, putting on a helpless expression. "Yes, on the boat to Hangzhou. I don't know how it happened, but I fell in and lost my memory afterward."

"Then how do you remember who you are?"

I pouted. What a blockhead. "I have a servant. Yezi told me I am Liu Yiqing, the young master of the Liu estate. She told me a lot about my past."

"Aren't you afraid she's lying to you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. She was the first person I saw when I woke up. Even if she were lying, what would it matter? I’m not losing anything by being the young master of the Liu family."

Ma Wencai stared at the sweet potato in his hand, then looked back at me. "If you lost your memory, how do you remember that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a Yangzhou custom?"

This Ma Wencai certainly had a lot of questions. "I heard it from Yezi. She said that every year on the fifteenth of the eighth month, our whole family would sit together to watch the moon and eat mooncakes."

"Oh," Ma Wencai nodded, lost in thought.

Seeing that he had barely taken a bite of his sweet potato, I asked, "Is it not good?"

He shook his head and took a bite. "It’s good." Ma Wencai sighed, looked up at the moon, and said softly, "Why didn't you ask me why I was in the cupboard?"

Ancient people were truly inexplicable; they always talked about such boring things. "Do you want me to ask? Or are you going to tell me why anyway?"

Ma Wencai gave a bitter laugh. "If it were Yingtai, she would definitely have pressed me for the reason. We grew up together, yet she has never understood my thoughts—in fact, she doesn't even approve of them. You’ve seen it, haven't you? Everything I do fails to earn her approval."