Chapter 70: The Great FengShan Feast – Part 4

After delivering the autograph, feeling relieved, Ming ChangYan walked to the foot of Egret Academy.

It was already the season of autumn. Flower petals we scattered around in a mess, stepping on them immediately embedded them into the soil.

After walking for a while, because of the rain from yesterday, Ming ChangYan’s shoes were soaked wet and muddy. Stuck on it along with the mud, were fragments of flower petals as well as some maple leaves.

Reaching the foot of the mountain, he passed by a maple forest. There he stopped at the edge of the river, looking for a stone, intending to wash his shoes. Ming ChangYan sat on top of a rock and began roughly scrubbing his shoes with a slab of stone. He dipped his feet into the water and swirled it around a few times, finding it a bit fun and awakening a playfulness inside of him, surveying that there was no one around the area, he took off his socks and stepped into the water.

His feet were well-shaped and smaller than the average man’s, in the early years in Tokhara, he was raised in precious fashion. The instep of his foot was as pale as jade and the heel rounded like the moon, the layer of water covering the arch of his foot gave it a subtle aura of softness. When he dipped into the water, because the spring water from the mountain was cold, his round, pink toes faintly curled up, causing Ming ChangYan to shrink back and grumble, “It’s not even winter yet, why is it so cold.”

He tested it out a few more times until he got accustomed to the water temperature before sitting back on the rock and began dazing off.

Ming ChangYan had numerous thoughts in his head. From just then to now, after finally entrusting Zhao XiaoLan to his signature, with his newfound leisure he had time to reflect on his new profound knowledge on novels–cut-sleeves. Thinking it over, his mind inevitably thought of Huai Yu, he covered his face and sighed, feeling indignant.

He wasn’t a cut-sleeve right?

He shouldn’t be.

Ming ChangYan then thought: This shaoxia has lived for so many years, and I have never once been interested in any man. So to speak, it should be blamed on Huai Yu for being so beautiful like a lady!

Thinking of this, Ming shaoxia suddenly felt enlightened by his own psychology that Huai Yu must also have been eyed by many men because he was too beautiful. After pushing all the responsibility onto Huai Yu, Ming shaoxia simply laid back onto the rock and folded his hands behind his head as a pillow.

“This matter is very important. This shaoxia needs to discuss it with Yunluo to avoid misjudgment.”

He thought seriously for a while before he suddenly felt that picture book he had left in his bosom.

The album was given to him by the bookseller when he bought that cut-sleeve novel by mistake. Ming ChangYan sneered and thought: Since this was a freebie given as a bonus to that book, it’s probably no better than that one! 

He opened the picture book to determine what this book was all about.

But as soon as he opened it, he was shocked by the bold and explicit positions depicted within the album; it turned out to be erotica!

Ming ChangYan let out a dry laugh, slightly embarrassed, and promptly closed the album.

After closing it, something flashed in his mind: Something’s wrong!

He quickly opened it again and finally became aware of what felt wrong about it. Normal erotica depicted the passions between men and women, this picture book was full of the acts of adultery between two men, the images peerless and of great detail!

The more Ming ChangYan read the more his hand trembled, so scared that he nearly suffocated!

But misfortune loves company. While he was engrossed in horror, he was caught by Huai Yu, who had come to Egret Academy to look for him.

“What are you doing here?”

Ming ChangYan’s brain was still vigorously in thought, so when he heard that voice behind him his face was completely blank and for a moment even thought it was all a hallucination.

The picture book in his hands suddenly slipped out from his hands and into the water.

Huai Yu raised an eyebrow and said, “You had already set off when I left, I’ve finally come back from the palace and you’re playing by the roadside?”

Ming ChangYan suddenly came back to his senses and nearly screamed. Fortunately, taking his reputation into consideration, the scream didn’t come out, instead, he pursed his lips and crawled back in a fluster.

Halfway through his crawl, he realized the picture book was still in the water, his heart leaped.

It’s already in the water, why isn’t it sinking! Just what kind of godly material are these papers made of??

This thing clearly wasn’t something he took the initiative to buy, but if he were caught by Huai Yu at this moment there was no way he would be getting off clean even if he plunged into the river.

At that moment he was enraged at that peddling bookseller who pushed the book at him! It was baseless damage to his innocence!

And thus, regardless of everything else, he jumped into the river to fish up that picture book.

Huai Yu saw clearly what he was about to do, promptly rushing over to catch him.

But his action seemingly elicited something within Ming ChangYan.

Ming shaoxia finally couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted out, “DON’T COME OVER!!!”

Huai Yu slightly paused.

Ming ChangYan’s ears were red to the point of dripping blood. Reaching out, he fished out the picture book from the river water and clenched it tightly in his hands. Regardless of what the other party thought of him, he frantically began running to the other side.

As a result, his exposed calf was accidentally cut open by a sharp stone, forming a nasty wound that began gushing with blood.

Huai Yu’s complexion changed.

Because Ming ChangYan was still trying to save face, he didn’t feel it when he got hurt and wasn’t even aware he was losing blood. In a panic, he went to pick up his shoes and socks by the shore; not caring which shoe was left or right, he stuffed them on and ran.

Huai Yu clicked his tongue and in a quick motion, grasped Ming ChangYan’s calf.

Ming shaoxia’s complexion was a mixture between red and white, his expression could be regarded as one of real terror.

Huai Yu, “Why are you acting crazy again?”

Ming ChangYan made an effort to shrink back but didn’t have the strength to struggle against Huai Yu, and thus he was carried by Huai Yu and placed back on the rock.

It was while sitting on the rock that he returned to his senses, awakening the little rationality he had left as he nervously hid the soaking picture book in his arms.

Huai Yu took the right leg into his hand and asked, “Why did you run?”

Ming ChangYan’s entire body was stiff, “What? Running? Me? I didn’t run!”

Huai Yu took off his mess of socks and shoes and proceeded to roll up his trousers.

This action inevitably reminded Ming ChangYan of that piece of longyan fiction a shaoxia took off the pants of another shaoxia.

He suddenly cried out.

Huai Yu was startled by his sudden cry, inexplicably questioning, “Why are you shouting?”

Ming ChangYan folded his arms around his chest, tightly guarding the picture book as he left out a stiff laugh, “Did I shout? I’m–training my vocal cords, ah! Hahaha, how about it, did I scare you!”

Each one of Huai Yu’s movements was very nimble.

Ming shaoxia’s voice shifted several keys in fear. 

Huai Yu finally couldn’t bear to listen any longer, propping his hand on the stone wall behind them, he suddenly leaned closer to Ming ChangYan. 

Ming ChangYan was completely motionless and forgot to even escape. In a daze, the only thing on his mind was the contents of that longyang novel.

The scenery before him: The maple forest, the brook….

They were all paralleling! 

Ming shaoxia’s mind was scared to jumbles and for the first time in his life, he wanted to escape and flee as fast as he could. It was like if he ran too slow, then he’d end up with the same fate as that shaoxia in the book. 

Inappropriate, inappropriate!

Extremely inappropriate!

Huai Yu’s face was very close to him, staring at him. His gaze then slowly lowered, his dense eyelashes dipping as his breath brushed against Ming ChangYan’s neck, arousing a shiver from him.

“Your body….”

Ming ChangYan immediately came back to his senses and began struggling with both his limbs. But as a result of his struggle, his clothes loosened and the water-soaked erotica in his arms finally lived up to expectations and fell between the two. The picture book was now wide open; Huai Yu lowered his head and was stunned.

Ming shaoxia’s face darkened and nearly went into a coma right then and there.

Huai Yu’s expression was indescribable as he picked up the picture book, then glanced at Ming ChangYan.

Ming shaoxia finally couldn’t withstand the shame burning inside him, the jar’s already been broken why break it again*, and thus he acted as if nothing had happened, feigning stupidity.

(TN: 破罐子破摔; Since the jar has been broken, it will still be broken when it’s dropped again, so there’s no need to take care of it.)

“I…..” Huai Yu opened his mouth only to say one word.

Ming ChangYan suddenly stood up, “Oh right, do you remember that longan lotus seed soup you ate this morning?”

Huai Yu, “………”

Ming ChangYan forcefully changed the topic, his expression a pretense of calm, yet the hands on his sides were faintly trembling, “I went to see XiaoLan just now, I’ve already instructed him to not run about.”

Huai Yu sighed, putting the album aside, he semi-knelt on the ground and had Ming ChangYan step on his leg with his injured foot.

After the commotion just now, the blood has now completely soaked through the trousers, Huai Yu could only do a simple dressing of the wound. Sliding his hand down, he discovered that Ming ChangYan’s ankle was also pretty bruised and swollen.

It was clear that this area wasn’t cut by that stone, but later sprained while the other was hurrying to avoid in him.

It was merely inflamed, the injury hadn’t reached his bones. Huai Yu grabbed his ankle and used a bit of force to massage it.

Ming ChangYan sucked in a breath of cold air.

Huai Yu stopped his hand, “Hurts?”

Ming ChangYan, “A little bit.”

Huai Yu’s touch softened as he pressed on a few acupuncture points, skillfully kneading them for a short while before asking, “Does it still hurt?”

This time, it didn’t hurt.

Ming ChangYan’s injury wasn’t serious, plus Huai Yu’s medical skill was outstanding, it felt significantly better after a few massages.

When he stepped on the palm of Huai Yu’s hand, he felt that Huai Yu’s constitution was somewhat cold. Ming ChangYan was the one who took a dip in the water, in a sense, his body temperature was supposed to be lower than that of Huai Yu’s, and yet Huai Yu’s hands were colder than his.

Ming ChangYan gazed at him then unexpectedly said, “Still hurts.”

Huai Yu looked up, Ming ChangYan, having a guilty conscience, moved his gaze to the side.

“Still hurts?”

Ming ChangYan faltered before summoning up the courage and nodding his head.

Only until the bruises on his ankle all but dissipated could Ming ChangYan no longer keep up the lie, promptly standing up, “Alright, alright, it doesn’t hurt anymore!”

He was just about to put on his shoes and socks when Huai Yu stopped him, “Your left leg is injured, it’s not suitable to be wearing shoes.”

With his shoes in his hands, Ming ChangYan thought about it before resigning to his fate, “Ok then, I’ll just hop on one foot!”

Huai Yu said, “I’ll carry you.”

Ming ChangYan rubbed his nose, “There’s no need, it’d be too much trouble for you.”

Huai Yu straightened up and went, “Oh.”

Ming ChangYan was taken back, “Ey! Little Huai Yu! Why don’t you have any determination to persevere!”

Huai Yu retorted, “You’re the one who didn’t want to be carried.”

Though Ming ChangYan was physically disabled he was firm in spirit, suddenly jumping up and hanging onto Huai Yu’s back. Huai Yu’s center core was very strong, even after getting knocked up by the other, his body didn’t wobble the slightest. 

Ming shaoxia had one foot hooked around his waist while the other dangled below, with both his hands hugging Huai Yu’s neck he urged, “The most important thing in life is determination! What, just cause I refused once, you can just not carry me? No way, I’m the injured one, I am the priority!”

Huai Yu had no choice but to bring his hands behind the other’s ankles and nudge him up a little. 

Attaining his goal, Ming ChangYan was thoroughly satisfied.

Huai Yu finally continued the unfinished words that had been cut off previously by Ming ChangYan, “I smelled a scent on you earlier, but it was very faint, and now it’s all but completely disappeared.”

Ming ChangYan was very confused and stated, “Isn’t the fragrance on my body the same as yours? Master said nobody else but you could smell it.”

Huai Yu corrected, “Not that scent. It’s the scent of the fake Immortal Grass that I made.”

Ming ChangYan tilted his head, alarmed, “What?”

This action had him nearly kiss Huai Yu. The two’s current position was inseparably close, no matter how Ming ChangYan moved, his every word was like a whisper into the other’s ear. He lifted his head a little and moved a bit away from Huai Yu.

Ming ChangYan said, “I remember you saying that as long as the person who stole the Immortal Grass shows up, you’ll immediately know who it was. Was it because of this?”

Huai Yu questioned, “Who did you meet just now?”

Ming ChangYan muttered to himself for a short while before listing off all the people he had run into. 

“XiaoLan, A-Jun Liu Kuang, as well as Duan Min.” He continued, “It’s definitely not A-Jun and Duan Min, Liu Kuang is someone I trust, as for XiaoLan.”

Ming ChangYan paused, “He’s definitely fine. The problem is whether or not he went behind our backs and met with someone. For example, Zhuang Xiao. It seems like we can’t leave yet, we have to go back to Egret Academy.”

Huai Yu continued to carry him, “Liu SanQing has emergency medicine, your foot injury is more important.”

Ming ChangYan glanced at the injury on his foot, it wasn’t very deep, but the blow pouring out made it look a bit frightening.

In that moment of silence from Ming shaoxia, Huai Yu had already arrived at the main gate amidst their conversation.

The hand A-Jun was using to braid Duan Min’s hand paused, and exclaimed in surprise, “Huai Yu-gege!”

Zhao XiaoLan quivered, quickly straightening his posture and with speeds ten times what it was before, he earnestly copied down his notes with utmost dedication.

Liu Kuang said, “What’s wrong with him? Broken leg?”

Huai Yu set Ming ChangYan on to a stool and asked, “Medicine box.”

Liu Kuang, “Injured? Where, let me take a look.”

Huai Yu, “Enough nonsense.”

Liu Kuang chuckled and grudgingly opened the door, bringing out the medicine box.

Huai Yu unwrapped the bandage, Liu Kuang was speechless upon seeing the injury.

While he was only speechless, A-Jun decided to join in on the fun and took a look at it as well, unable to stop herself crying out in surprise, “Does such a small wound really need to be bandaged! It would’ve probably already closed itself if you came just a little bit later!”

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my translations I’m dipping you into a frozen lake.

Hello after like two months hdghdhghd yes I’m still alive and yes I posted a chapter I know shocker.

There’s a Thai physical version of this novel out in case people didn’t know (it’s been out a while and I just haven’t got the chance to say anything about it lol) It’s called “สัตบุรุษผู้แช่มช้อย” and in total it consists of 3 physical volumes! You guys can search it up if you want, here’s the cover for volume one!

Why am I showing you this? I don’t know maybe you guys were interesting in it?? I just thought the covers were pretty cute (⊙_⊙;)

My wifi is currently terrible so I’m just going to publish this and if it looks weird sorry I couldn’t preview the post, I’ll come back when I get better wifi to edit it!! `(*>﹏<*)′

Chapter 69 : Table of Contents :

Chapter 69: The Great FengShan Feast – Part 3

Noticing Ming ChangYan’s ghostly expression, Liu Kuang decided to simply drop the questions and diverged the topic, “Why did you come to Egret Academy? Were you worried I couldn’t take care of Su He?”

Coming back to his senses and too lazy to retort Liu Kuang, Ming ChangYan pulled out a stool and sat in front of Zhao XiaoLan.

Zhao XiaoLan was so dizzy from copying textbooks that his vision grew dim and was on the verge of fainting on the spot. The moment he looked up and noticed Ming ChangYan, his eyes immediately began to fill with tears.

“Yan-jiejie….”

Ming ChangYan stretched out his hand, “Stop it. There’s no use in trying to kiss up to me. It’s your Huai Yu-gege who won’t let you leave and your Teacher Liu who’s making your copy textbooks, it has nothing to do with me anyway.”

He quickly swept away all the relationship they had beforehand, but seeing Zhao XiaoLan looking almost at the verge of tears, he mercifully said, “However, I’m very good to you. Remember to repay me in the future, got it?”

Zhao XiaoLan looked at him suspiciously.

Ming ChangYan rubbed his nose and grinned, “Since you’re so rich, you can just give me some sort of gold or jewelry! Here, don’t say I don’t treat you well.”

He fished out a few signatures from his bosom.

As soon as the paper with black ink was taken out, Zhao XiaoLan’s eyes grew wider and wider with each move of Ming ChangYan’s hand.

“This, this…..”

Ming ChangYan smiled, “Look, the Noble Gentleman’s signature! How about it?”

Zhao XiaoLan picked up the paper and inspected it back and forth several times, blushing with excitement.

Liu Kuang couldn’t look on any further, using his teacup to cover his face as he sighed: Shameful! 

Zhao XiaoLan clenched tightly to the signature and stammered out, “Yan, Yan, Yan-jiejie wuwuwuwuwu…..”

Ming ChangYan rushed up to wipe face, “Ey ey ey, don’t cry! Okay okay, I know you’re very excited!”

Zhao XiaoLan rubbed at his face, Ming ChangYan sighed, “I gave you this signature so that you can faithfully focus on your studies.”

Zhao XiaoLan stared at him for a moment when Ming ChangYan said, “Look, don’t you want to become number one in the world? If you want to be number one in the world, you must first read more books and practice more martial arts. You’re either hanging out with Zhu Rong or making your way to the Hundred Flower Abyss. What kind of number one in the world acts the way you do?”

Ming ChangYan landed a direct hit on Zhao XiaoLan’s sensitive spot, causing him to stammer out, “I, I’ll work hard…..”

His voice was as low as a mosquito’s hum.

Ming ChangYan was earnest and good at inducement, “So you should behave and stay at Egret Academy, don’t go anywhere you hear me? I already gave you something so precious so will you listen to me?”

Zhao XiaoLan furiously nodded his head.

Ming ChangYan, “Then great! Ming ChangYan has already been dead for three years, it’s extremely difficult to get a previous signature of his. Although I am Ming ChangYan’s distant relative, it still took a lot of effort to get my hands on these! I bet if you asked Xiu LingLong, even she wouldn’t be able to get her hands on this many!”

Liu Kuang couldn’t watch on any longer, cutting in, “You better let him quietly copy down his textbooks.”

Ming ChangYan made the long story short, handing Zhao XiaoLan a bamboo whistle and saying, “This is from your Huai Yu-gege. If you’re in danger, blow on it, if we’re nearby we’ll come and save you.”

After instructing Zhao XiaoLan, he promptly left Egret Academy.

When he left, he hot potato-ed the longyang* book to Liu Kuang.

(TN: 龙阳; used to describe a bl/gay novel)

Yongxian Palace’s Aunt LingZhi came forward to welcome, “Young Prime Minister, this way please, the empress has been waiting.”

Huai Yu nodded and approached the main gate of Yongxian Palace. The empress the palace maids in the main hall and hurried down.

“Young Prime Minister!”

Huai Yu, “Don’t rush, please sit first.”

The empress sat beside him and ordered Aunt LingZhi to bring out a few plates of dessert from the kitchen. Vibrant in color and moist, it was clear they were all elaborately made, “Have you eaten yet? Eat something to fill your stomach first.”

Huai Yu glanced at the table and slowly picked up a piece to eat.

Seeing this, the empress was relieved.

She immediately said, “I reckon Aunt LingZhi has already informed you?”

Huai Yu nodded.

The empress sighed, “It’s my fault, I was too negligent. For something so important, I…….”

HuaiYu bowed his head slightly and said, “Don’t worry. That immortal grass was a fake.”

The empress was taken back.

Huai Yu, “I came here today for the purpose of telling you this.”

The unease in the empress’ eyes finally died down and she asked, “……That’s good, and that friend of yours?”

After a pause, Huai Yu answered, “Tolertable. You don’t have to worry about him.”

The empress said, “I’ve been having troubling eating and sleeping recently, I’ve been afraid that I had just lost something important to you and brought you unnecessary trouble.”

“No worries.”

After a moment of silence the empress said, “These days…..he keeps thinking about things of the past. If you have nothing important to do, it’s best if you stop appearing in front of him. Since Chang Xu’s back now, you can stop worrying about other things just leave everything to Chang Xu. And try not to show up in the palace. Yun Qing, do you understand?”

Aunt LingZhi went, “I once heard that when someone begins to recall past events, it means that their time has come. Your majesty, this is good, you don’t have to keep looking after him.”

The empress kneaded the space between her eyebrows. She looked up and asked, “I want to know, what’s the relationship between you and that Yan-shaoshi from the Listening Lotus Building? Can you tell me about him?”

Huai Yu was slightly taken back and truthfully replied, “Qin Zhen’s son.”

The empress slightly loosened her grip, from outside the window came the voice of an eunuch, “Your majesty, his majesty the emperor is here!”

The empress, “LingZhi, go bring in the medicine, this empress will persuade him to drink it.”

LingZhi let out a sound of agreement and slowly withdrew.

The empress stated, “Young Prime Minister take care, this empress won’t be sending you off.”

At this time, the emperor pushed open the door and came in, “Yi Chan, my head hurts, have you prepared the medicine? Nothing else works, your’s is the only one effective.”

Huai Yu got up and bowed his head to the emperor in greeting. The emperor asked, “Why is Yun Qing here?

The empress restrained her smile and mildly said, “I had a headache.”

The emperor worried, “Why is this illness of yours still not cured? The trash from the royal infirmary don’t know what they’re doing, they can’t even resolve such a minor illness. If anything were to happen to you, I’d have all their heads in an instant!”

He indicated for Huai Yu to withdraw. Huai Yu glanced at the empress before departing.

Aunt LingZhi came in with the medicine, the empress took the medicine bowl and murmured, “Come sit. I’ll feed you the medicine.”

Within the Hundred Flower Abyss, a visitor arrived unsolicited.

Li Li who was watering flowers paused, turning around and beaming before getting greatly disappointed, “So it was you.”

The visitor said, “What, seeing that it was me, is the young lady disappointed?”

Li Li immediately lost interest in watering the flowers, she didn’t even bother with her posture and the smile on her face completely disappeared. She lazily laid back on the chaise lounge as if she was boneless.

“What does my disappointment have anything to do with you?”

The visitor exclaimed, “Of course it has nothing to do with me. It’s just that I noticed you were posing beside the window for half a day, and the ‘you’ that you wanted him to see was accidentally seen by me, I just felt a little guilty.”

Li Li chuckled and said, “I didn’t expect you would take the initiative to come to such a place.”

She straightened up and continued, “I’ve made all the preparations for you. Where’s the thing that you promised me?”

The visitor stated, “After things have settled, someone will drop it off.”

Li Li’s complexion went cold, “What you want to do has nothing to do with me, but remember this clearly. He sees you as nothing more than a dog and a dog only needs to listen to its master. If you do something superfluous, you’re already aware of the consequences.”

The visitor laughed, “If I’m his dog, then what are you? Hypocritical, you and I are one of the same.”

Li Li sneered, “Remember your position, it would take no effort at all for me to kill you.”

The visitor cupped their hands together and withdrew.

Xiao Yu humphed, “And here I thought it was Young Master Zhao.”

She took the watering can Li Li had set down earlier and complained indignantly, “Seriously, that Young Master Zhao himself was the one who promised to play with my lady, and after so many days he didn’t come see my lady even once!”

Li Li played with the flower in her hand and blew at it, “If he doesn’t come, then he doesn’t come. I’m used to being alone, it’s not like I’ll be latching onto some person’s simple favor towards me.”

Xiao Yu went, “My lady, I know that you treat Zhao XiaoLan differently from the others, so I’m angry on your behalf! If it had been someone else, I wouldn’t have even batted an eye.”

Li Li muttered to herself then chuckled, “How do I treat him differently? How come I didn’t know?”

Xiao Yu glanced at the bracelet on her pale wrist and said nothing.

After a quarter of an hour, Xiao Yu arranged all the flowers in order but couldn’t help whispering in a stern voice, “It was too close that night at Huating, how could they have coincidentally tore off the white muslin like that? Zhao Lan and Yun Qing were close by too. He hasn’t come by these past few days, do you think they found out about you?”

Li Li indifferently replied, “Found out what about me?”

Xiao Yu didn’t mention by name, but said, “‘Master’ has never mentioned when Ming ChangYan got involved with Yun Qing, now that Zhao XiaoLan is in relation with him, how do we maintain our personal integrity?”

Li Li said, “When have I cared about my own integrity? There are tens upon thousands of mishaps in this world, don’t tell me he’s omnipotent and can foresee them all? But, I reckon, Young Master ChangYan must be very angry.”

She let out a puff of laughter, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him angry.”

Xiao Yu grumbled, “My lady, don’t be so simple-minded. If you can’t deal with Yun Qing, I’m reporting this to ‘Master.’”

Li Li’s face shrank, “What’s there to be said about such trivial matters? I can settle it myself. The Great FengShan Feast is near at hand, they probably don’t even have the time to worry about me.”

Xiao Yu went, “My lady there’s no need to put on a show.”

Li Li said, “I’m not interested in that Young Prime Minister, if he doesn’t pay attention to me, then there’s no need for me to direct my attention to him. But that Zhuang Xiao, truly is irritating, I’m annoyed just from looking at him.”

Xiao Yu laughed, “He hasn’t even done anything, how could my lady be vexed by him. I noticed that his looks were pretty handsome, not the appearance of someone annoying.”

Li Li turned over and was about to say something, but he was distracted by Zhao XiaoLan’s bracelet and said, “Do you need a reason to hate someone?”

Xiao Yu, “You always act so rashly.”

Li Li paid no mind to Xiao Yu’s words. While fiddling around with the bracelet on her wrist, she said to herself, “Zhao XiaoLan truly is unfortunate, how come he was the one who got stuck with Zhuang Xiao…….meeting that lunatic, will become your lifetime’s regret…..” She leaned over the window and gazed at the withered beside the waterside pavilion. With each blow of the wind, leaves would swirl before falling into the water.

Xiao Yu advised, “I’ve always wished you would leave this pool of muddy water behind, but you never take yourself to heart.”

Li Li vacantly stared off into the distance, before murmuring to herself, “The person I take to heart hasn’t put me above their heart yet.* I owe them this pool of muddy water, ‘searching thoroughly up in the blue beyond, as well as down in the Yellow Springs below the earth*,’ I’ll pay it back before this life is over.”

(TN: This whole conversation is wacky to translate, if anyone wants a go at it please be my guest. So Xiao Yu claims Li Li doesn’t 把自己放在心上, which is “to not put yourself on your heart; to not think of yourself first.” Then Li Li uses that to say the person who she does care about/put above her heart, hasn’t even put her on their heart yet so why should she. There, I tried explaining it good god)

(TN: 上穷碧落下黄泉; is a line from the poem “Song of Everlasting Regret” AKA 長恨歌 one of the of most famous literary works in China – depicts the love between the Emperor XuanZong and Yang guifei. Here’s a link to more info on the poem itself: https://www.ancient.eu/article/888/song-of-everlasting-sorrow/ )

Xiao Yu asked, “Aren’t you tired after all these years?”

Li Li turned around and went to bed, lifting up the quilt, she closed her eyes, “I’m very tired, I’m going to sleep, you are dismissed.”

She opened her eyes then added, “If Zhao XiaoLan comes to find me, just let him come in, no need to stop him.”

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, if you repost my work I’m pushing you into a molded, muddy pool.

Happy (very, very, VERY) late new year guys!! hope you guys have been doing well, I’m still stressed with classes hahahahah

Some serious talk though, it’d be appreciated if readers stopped comparing this novel to mdzs,,,I’ve seen some of these comments going around about how this author is plagiarizing and I’m so sorry if I sound harsh about this but not every xianxia/wuxia novel is going to be about mdzs guys please. It’s a xianxia/wuxia setting, there’s bound to be reoccurring tropes that you see all the time in xianxia/wuxia novels, that’s why they’re considered a genre by itself. Not every stoic ML can be compared to lwj and not every spirited MC can be compared to wwx. I love mxtx and her works, it’s what got me into danmei in the first place, but please cease the comparisons between the two. And if it wasn’t clear enough, the author probably didn’t plagiarize mxtx, don’t make blind accusations without reading the whole novel in cn first and finding concreate, tangible evidence to back up those claims. Okay, rant over.

Sorry for ruining the mood, but I had to get that off my chest.

If you see any grammatical/translation errors please tell me! It’s 4 am this time and I didn’t bother to edit, I’ll come back later to look this post over for spelling mistakes.

Chapter 68 : Table of Contents : Chapter 70

Chapter 68: The Great FengShan Feast – Part 2

“Although it’s still early, there may be other warriors who have also arrived at the Central Plains, Sir, you should be careful, after all, this time….”

“Heng! We let them go today, if they provoke us again next time, this great aunt will kill them!”

Sir Hai said, “It’s a pity, Ming ChangYan was in perfectly good condition, how could he just die? I really wanted to spare with him to see just how powerful the Central Plain’s number one is.”

She threw her finished apple core in her hand outside the street.

There came an “ouch,” and a man’s voice spoke, “Who threw that!”

Sir Hai walked out of the alleyway, patted her hands, raised her eyebrow, and shamelessly boasted, “I threw it, so what?”

She said this sentence in the Central Plain’s dialect, so it wasn’t as fluent.

When she looked down and saw the man in front of her, she was stunned for a moment before saying in a good mood, “I don’t put my hands on handsome men, leave!”

Upon hearing this, the “handsome man” was speechless, “Jiejie, you’re so unreasonable! You’ve already put your hands on me! How haven’t you put your hands on me, did you think that apple core was smashed by shaoxia himself!”

Hearing him address himself as “shaoxia,” Sir Hai asked with fascination, “You also practice martial arts?”

This person, who just came out of the Ninety-Ninth Palace and came to deliver his signature to Zhao XiaoLan, was precisely Ming ChangYan.

To get to Egret Academy, he had to walk through the main street. He had just been picking up a novel from a passing stall when he was unexpectedly hit by an apple core!

In the past, Ming ChangYan definitely wouldn’t have let his guard down so easily. But recently he’s been cared for by Huai Yu a little too well, so he’s felt somewhat lighter these days. However, another reason could be that Sir Hai hadn’t thrown that apple core with an intent on killing, so Ming ChangYan didn’t take it as seriously. It was his own fault for not being as conscientious enough!

Ming ChangYan said, “What’s wrong? I’m a practitioner of martial arts, does that deserve getting hit by you?”

Sir Hai said, “In that case, I’ll let you strike back. But let me tell you in advance, if I kill you, then it’s none of my business.”

Ming ChangYan laughed, “No way.”

Sir Hai withdrew her hand and asked, “Why not?”

Ming ChangYan randomly selected a book and joked, “Because I don’t hit women, and you don’t hit handsome guys, we’re destined to not fight.”

Sir Hai was slightly taken back.

After a while, she suddenly burst into laughter, “Interesting! Interesting! You Central Plain’s men are interesting!”

Ming ChangYan quickly corrected, “No. Jiejie, it’s this shaoxia who’s interesting, there’s no man in the Central Plains quite as interesting as me.”

Sir Hai thought about it, then nodded, “You’re right. The bald men in the Central Plains are very boring, smelly, rotten prawns that dared to molest me.”

Ming ChangYan gave this a brief thought before figuring it out.

It must’ve been the bald donkeys of XiaoHan Temple. With their dishonest limbs, when they saw a good-looking woman walking down the street, they must’ve decided to take liberties with her. However, now that the Great FengShan Feast is coming up, many foreign guests must have already arrived in advance. At this moment, with all the experts getting together, among them are hidden talents as well as masters coming in from all countries. XiaoHan Temple were self-righteous snobs who were accustomed to terrorizing the people of the Central Plains. They were only looking for trouble by running heads with experts from overseas!

For a while, Ming ChangYan chuckled at their misfortune, completely agreeing with Sir Hai’s statement, happily raining curses upon XiaoHan Temple’s bald donkeys.

The person beside Sir Hai whispered a few words into her and she cupped her hands at Ming ChangYan, “It’s inconvenient to talk today, let’s chat another day.”

Ming ChangYan waved his hand and turned around, leaving the matter behind him. The bookseller asked him, “Young master, you wanted to buy this book?”

Ming ChangYan didn’t even look at what book he bought, putting it straight into his bag, “What’s the matter?”

The bookseller shook his head and chuckled, “Nothing, nothing, I just never expected the young master to like these sort of things!”

Ming ChangYan said, “What, you sell books yourself and look down on people who buy them? Is it specified in the national law that I’m not allowed to read books?”

The bookshelf exclaimed, “No no no! Buy it! Buy it! Right, seeing that you’re quite handsome, I’ll give you another copy! Ai, to tell you the truth, these books are hard to sell!”

Ming ChangYan took the extra that the bookseller gave him and was about to open it. However, the bookseller suddenly raised his voice and yelled, “WAIT!!!! DON’T!!!!!”

Ming ChangYan was taken back by his abrupt shout, his hand pausing, “What’s the matter with you? If you have something to say, say it, don’t just start groping around.”

The bookseller patted off some non-existent dust from his clothes and whispered, “Just, just don’t open it here, young master do you understand!”

Ming ChangYan raised an eyebrow.

The bookseller also raised his eyebrows.

Everything was conveyed through the silence.

But in truth, Ming ChangYan didn’t understand at all, but didn’t want to show his ignorance. So he put the picture album away, placing it across his chest and making his way to Egret Academy.

On the way, Ming ChangYan flipped through the book and muttered, “Why didn’t he want me to see it? Didn’t you sell it to me for me to read? Just watch me read it!”

What he flipped through was the one he’d picked up from the stall, not the one that the bookseller had given him.

The first page was a colorful illustration depicting two men under the moon with flowers fluttering around them, extremely romantic.

Ming shaoxia didn’t look at the pictures when reading, often going straight to the content. The book begins with two shaoxia’s, one was as fragile as a willow, Pu Liu*,  and the other handsome and burly, Kui Wu*.

(TN: This is kinda funny, they address these two shaoxia’s as what they literally look like. Pu Liu means delicate/fragile willow, and Kiu Wu just means tall and sturdy.)

First of all, this Pu Liu shaoxia couldn’t walk two steps without softly panting with teardrops glistening in his eyes.

Reading up to here, Ming ChangYan commented: Why is his body so weak when they practice martial arts? He must not have learned it right, if he were to come to my TianQing, his body would strengthen and he’d be able to scale walls and vault over eaves in less than a month. 

Continuing on, it described how this Kui Wu shaoxia saved Pu Liu shaoxia from the hands of a traitor.

Ming ChangYan nodded and evaluated: Yes, what a chivalrous move! Pu Liu shaoxia must be extremely heartfelt over that experience. If someone were to treat me so sincerely, I’d become sworn brothers with him, I wouldn’t care repaying him with my life if I had to.

And sure enough, according to the plot development of the novel, at this moment, Pu Liu shaoxia was extremely moved and rendered speechless for a while. Kui Wu shaoxia carried him in his arms—reading up to here, Ming ChangYan rubbed his chin and thought: Carried him in his arms? That’s weird, it’s not like he’s poisoned, why carry him! Besides, isn’t it better to carry him on his back? This….always make them seem like a woman.”

After a second thought, he straightened out his thinking.

“It’s fine, besides Huai Yu’s carried me several times before, it’s common between friends to not care about those intricate courtesies!”

Ming ChangYan continued reading. In the book, that Pu Liu shaoxia was carried into a maple forest, and beside that forest was a brook with dead grass on its shorelines, perfect for resting.

Kui Wu shaoxia then took off his clothes—Ming ChangYan slightly widened his eyes and took a closer look, suspecting he had missed something, he flipped to the front to take a look then thought: Weird! He’s not injured, why is he taking his clothes off? Is this a second-hand book with missing pages?

Right after that, Kui Wu shaoxia seemed to have wanted to verify Ming ChangYan’s statement. Instead of taking off his clothes, it switched to him taking off his pants!

The more he looked, the more confused Ming ChangYan became, he began wondering whether he had read the book properly. Was his friend’s injury on his feet?

He frowned and continued on reading, this time even more thoroughly. 

The more he read, the more unsightly it became.

Ming ChangYan abruptly shut the book, his face quickly flushing red.

As he walked, he stumbled over a stone on the ground, hitting his chin and nearly bit his tongue. 

The book in his hand was like a fiery piece of coal, not only was it burning his hands, but it had also burned his face red.

What, what is this?? Between a man and a man….you can also…..

Right at this moment, a female voice suddenly called out, “Hey! Why are you here!”

Upon hearing this voice, Ming ChangYan was suddenly afraid of being found out, promptly attempting to hide the book in his hands. But his actions were too noticeable and in addition to that, he was too nervous. A-Jun spotted it at once.

“What are you hiding!”

Ming ChangYan’s hand trembled, causing the book to fall to the ground.

Sharp-sighted and quick with her hands, A-Jun immediately jumped down from Duan Min and picked up the fallen book, turning it over. She widened her eyes and became slack-jawed, watching Ming ChangYan with fixed eyes. 

Ming ChangYan, “….”

“Let me state first that….”

A-Jun lowered her voice and said excitedly, “So you like reading these too!”

Ming ChangYan, “Huh?”

A-Jun expressed, “My fellow kindred spirit ah! Ai, and I thought I was the only one who liked these things. I’ve already finished reading the book you have here a while back! I have some new ones, do you want to read them, I can lend them to you. But you’ll have to read it in secret, if by any chance Huai Yu-gege discovers it, he’ll confiscate it!”

Ming ChangYan was silent for a moment before saying, “It seems that you’re very experienced.”

A-Jun recalled a painful experience and sighed, “Don’t say it, Huai Yu-gege’s already confiscated quite a lot of these books. You have to be really careful, he doesn’t like these things!”

Ming ChangYan said, “Ok ok ok, since you like it so much, just take it! I’m going to look for Liu Kuang, yield the road for me.”

A-Jun went, “Gentlemen don’t take the love of someone else, you should hold onto it. Why are you looking for Teacher Liu, bring me along with you, I want to come too!”

Ming ChangYan said, “You’re already all the way here, why don’t you go up there yourself?”

A-Jun suddenly blushed and voiced, “If I told you to take me up, then take me up! You’re so annoying! Haven’t you heard that a sister-in-law is like a mother!”

Her words were astonishing after Ming ChangYan had just read that world-shattering, supernatural cut-sleeved*, piece of literature. His mind went completely blank, unable to even refute or tease A-Jun about it. His brain was in complete tangles, finally saying, “If you wanna follow then just follow!”

(TN: 断袖; cut-sleeves AKA homosexual. I’m adding this just in case people didn’t know)

A-Jun frolicked behind him, walking the “difficult journey” with him.

Ming ChangYan was ladened with worry, noticing this, A-Jun asked him, “What’s wrong? Was that the first time you’ve read this kind of book? Got scared?”

Upon hearing this, Ming ChangYan shook his head, “Not really.”

As the one with the experience here, A-Jun reassured him, “Actually, the first time I saw these kinds of books I was surprised too! But after the surprise, I felt that the love between two men was quite exciting! Compared to the love between men and women……all in all, there is something rather witty about it!”

Ming ChangYan exclaimed, “Hey!”

A-Jun continued, “That story there was written by QinYue-Jun! I like reading his stories, his stories are always written better than the ones you find elsewhere!”

Ming ChangYan was stunned for a moment, “QinYue-Jun? This guy again!”

He quickly took out the book and took a look at its cover. As expected, at the very bottom were the four words “By QinYue-Jun.”

While they were chatting, the two had already arrived at the entrance of Egret Academy.

Liu Kuang was currently eyeballing Zhao XiaoLan as he wrote his essay; in his hands was a piece of paper with the ink still drying, clearly something Zhao XiaoLan just recently finished.

A-Jun cheerfully shouted, “Teacher Liu!”

Liu Kuang set down his pen, looking up and smiling at them, “You’re here, sit, there’s tea on the table, please help yourself.”

Instead of drinking his tea, Ming ChangYan moved to face Liu Kuang and knocked on his table, “Let me ask you, is there a gentleman named QinYue-Jun working for your Jianghu Daily?”

Liu Kuang was a bit taken back before saying, “Yes. Why are you asking about him?”

Ming ChangYan gritted his teeth as he pulled out the book from his arms. Finding a relatively covert area, he gently placed the book down in fear of making too much of a commotion before fuming, “Do you not care that he’s writing this kind of stuff!”

Immediately after he laid eyes on the book, Liu Kuang’s expression became indescribable.

Ming ChangYan went on, “QinYue-Jun that menace, granted that I didn’t want to tell him off before, but now that there’s little to no regulations, he can go off and write nonsense like this! Has he not been disciplined enough by Xiu LingLong? If there’s ever a day that this shaoxia catches him, this shaoxia is tying him up and leaving him somewhere to hang for three days and three nights!”

While listening to him, an unnatural look flashed across Liu Kuang’s face. Changing the subject, he said, “What’s the matter with you, don’t you have Yun Qing? For you to read these books, aren’t you afraid of him getting jealous?”

Ming ChangYan’s words came to a spontaneous stop.

Shocked, he suddenly said in a stern and upright voice, “Don’t tell me that in your eyes, this is the kind of relationship between Huai Yu and me?”

Liu Kuang was also shocked, blurting out, “Isn’t it?”

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work I’ll hang you up for three days and three nights

Chapter 68!! And on the day before Thanksgiving too!

I’m getting a much needed time off of classes, so I’ll start translating chapter 69 during this break!

If you see any grammatical/translation errors please notify me!! I only post these chapters at like 1-2 am in the morning so my brain isn’t functioning right (ﾟヮﾟ)

Anyway, I hope you guys are staying healthy! Have an amazing day~~~

 Chapter 67 : Table of Contents : Chapter 69        

Chapter 67: The Great FengShan Feast – Part 1

Zhao XiaoLan was both scared and surprised, “Zhu-xiong!”

The person sitting by the window still was precisely Zhu Rong.

He came with an umbrella, the moment he noticed the jade pendant in Zhao XiaoLan’s hand the umbrella rolled to the floor, covering the two of them.

With a “pitter-patter” the umbrella fell onto the ground.

Zhao XiaoLan abruptly widened his eyes, the joints of Zhu Rong’s were defined as they firmly clutched his neck.

This seemingly familiar scene made Zhao XiaoLan be at a sudden loss. His hands reached up to claw at his neck, and spoke through difficulty, “Zhu-xiong…….why are you choking me?”

Zhu Rong’s initial grip wasn’t potent, but slowly escalated over time.

He came with ill-intent, his expression malicious, exhibiting somewhat of a cruel nature.

“Even you lied to me?”

Zhao XiaoLan strenuously continued to struggle, he was far from being afraid, only feeling confused.

“Zhu-xiong! Use your words! What did I lie to you about!”

Zhu Rong faintly loosened his grip, with this gap Zhao XiaoLan promptly took this chance to take in a few deep breaths, determined to store a little air to avoid Zhu Rong choking him again.

“I got it! I got it! I’m sorry! I ate all the lotus pastries A-jie brought me last time! I forgot to bring you a portion!”

Zhu Rong stared at him, Zhao XiaoLan quickly began to rack his brains and thought of a few more times he’d acted shamefully, confessing to all the trivial matters he’s done.

Zhu Rong pensively gazed at him, suddenly letting go of his hand.

Zhao XiaoLan breathed a sigh of relief, yet unexpectedly, the other party only let go for a split second before suddenly applying even more strength when clutching his lethal point.

He let out a curt scream, both of his hands futilely grabbing at Zhu Rong’s arm as if wanting to pull his arm away. But relying on his low-level cultivation, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. Zhu Rong’s appearance was completely void of his usual gentleness, his gaze was dense and full of fierce indifference as if he was itching to kill Zhao XiaoLan on the spot to relieve his hatred. 

Zhao XiaoLan’s breath gradually weakened, and his struggling slowed down. His complexion turned pale from suffocation, his eyes filled with tears as he gritted his teeth and stared at Zhu Rong.

At this moment, the bell on his waist let out a jingle as a result of Zhao XiaoLan’s struggle. Upon hearing this, Zhu Rong’s mood became much calmer, his hand slightly loosening as he calmly asked, “Is it uncomfortable?”

Zhao XiaoLan didn’t know how to respond, only giving an obedient nod.

Zhu Rong, “Sorry. Just now, I was only joking with you, you wouldn’t blame me, would you.”

As soon as his voice fell, Baili Deng suddenly showed up at the entrance, seemingly already gotten his book, and just came back. 

He had always had his guard up against Zhu Rong, so when noticing Zhao XiaoLan currently sitting on the ground with a rugged complexion, there immediately flashed countless methods that Zhu Rong could use in assassinating Zhao XiaoLan with. He was surprised for a short moment, before drawing his sword without explanation. 

Zhu Rong dodged sideways to avoid the blade.

Zhao XiaoLan was startled and hurriedly crawled back up.

“Hold on! Why are you guys fighting!! Misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding!”

Zhao XiaoLan swiped at his forehead, when he’d begun to speak, it felt like a thousand needles were piercing and stabbing into his throat, the pain unbearable. He abruptly grabbed Zhu Rong’s arm and dragged him back. Zhu Rong was suddenly dragged back and for a split second was astonished. Baili Deng took this chance to move his sword aiming it towards Zhu Rong’s chest.

Zhao XiaoLan yelled, “Baili! What are you doing!”

Regardless of Zhao XiaoLan’s current position, Zhu Rong minded his own business as he moved back several steps to dodge the sword. Zhao XiaoLan was caught off guard by his retreat, staggering along until he lost balance and his body fell to the ground.

This fall had him to cry out an ‘aiyo,’ his head knocking against the corner of the table, immediately drawing blood.

He clutched his forehead, but still didn’t forget to block in front of Zhu Rong, “Wait, wait! Baili Deng! Why aren’t you listening to me!”

Seeing him put himself in front of Zhu Rong, Baili couldn’t help become exasperated, “Young Master Zhao! Move out of the way!”

Zhao XiaoLan’s entire body was sore, he sucked in a few breaths of cold air and said, “I said it was a misunderstanding!”

Baili Deng, “Young Master Zhao, this person is of a dubious background, he was clearly trying to attempt something just now, if I hadn’t arrived in time, I’m afraid that you might’ve lost your life to him!”

Zhao XiaoLan quickly waved his hand, “It wasn’t like that! Ai, just when did you see that he was about to kill me! Besides, it’s normal for friends to fight and argue! Zhu-xiong wouldn’t harm me!”

Baili Deng helplessly said, “Young master Zhao! The person on the spot is baffled!”

(TN: A portion from the idiom 当局者迷，旁观者清,” The person on the spot is baffled, bystander sees clear” this is better explained with chess. The person participating in the game, the player often thinks so much about the pros and cons of a move that they don’t have a comprehensive understanding of it, but on-lookers will often be able to properly see more of the game since they’re usually more cool-headed. Hope that made sense :q)

Zhao XiaoLan repeated, “It’s true! This, I lied to him last time, he’s just angry, alright alright, did you mistake him hitting me? There was no such thing! We’re all friends here, why are you two the only ones fighting! Your sword’s too dangerous, quickly put it away.”

He turned around and asked Zhu Rong, “Zhu-xiong aren’t I right!”

Zhu Rong chuckled, his gaze cold, and explained, “Yes.”

Baili was at a complete loss, with his sword still in his hand, but because of Zhao XiaoLan, he didn’t make a move.

Taking advantage of him being off guard, Zhao XiaoLan promptly picked up the umbrella from the floor; one hand grabbing Zhu Rong, he booked it into the heavy rain.

Zhu Rong allowed him to drag him along for a long time, Zhao XiaoLan ran until he was completely out of breath before stopping. 

The umbrella wasn’t very big, making it somewhat difficult to completely cover both of them. He and Zhu Rong were dripping wet from the wet, cutting a sorry figure for both of them.

Arriving at a pavilion between the mountains, Zhao XiaoLan put the umbrella away and sighed, “Zhu-xiong, I’ll see you to here!”

Zhu Rong stared at him thoughtfully.

Zhao XiaoLan touched his neck with a lingering fear as if he could still sense the pain from being choked before.

He said, “Zhu-xiong, do you think I offended Huai Yu-gege in some way?”

Zhu Rong suddenly laughed, giving Zhao XiaoLan a mild expression, “What do you mean by that?”

The laugh showed a trace of the usual Zhu Rong, causing Zhao XiaoLan to breathe a sigh of relief as if the old Zhu Rong had come back.

“Huai Yu-gege said my classwork was too lacking so I’m not allowed to play with you.”

Zhu Rong, “Really.”

Zhao XiaoLan wrung out some of the water from his clothes, “Yeah, really. He won’t let me meet up with you or Li Li. He wants me to stay quietly in Egret Academy and study, Huai Yu-gege this person—-”

Having said this, he looked around mysteriously. After confirming there was no third party around, Zhao XiaoLan complained, “He already has Yan-jiejie, why can’t he look at a different perspective for once, doesn’t he know that a day of separation is as long as three autumns*! If you won’t let me meet up with Li Li, if you have the ability you should set the example! I won’t accept it!”

(TN: 一日不见如隔三秋; a metaphor for how being apart from friends/family/loved ones can feel like years.)

Zhu Rong indifferently asked, “Then I’ll help you kill him.”

Zhao XiaoLan sighed, “You can’t do that! Don’t say stuff like that, Huai Yu-gege’s doing it for my own good, he’s just too cold sometimes, I’m a little afraid of him.”

His speech faltered, “And Baili too……he doesn’t know what’s going on, he holds somewhat of a prejudice towards Jianghu people and always thinks you’re going to hurt me when you’re around me.”

Zhu Rong narrowed his eyes and said, “You believe whatever he says, do you not believe me?”

Zhao XiaoLan waved his hand, “Don’t say that, why wouldn’t I believe you! If you wanted to kill me, I’d already be dead, maybe I could’ve already reincarnated into your son!”

Zhu Rong smiled faintly, and asked, “Where did you get that jade pendant in your hands?”

Zhao XiaoLan finally noticed the jade pendant, he had just picked up the jade pendant not long before Zhu Rong showed up. He took a look at the jade pendant and answered honestly, “I picked it up from the ground.”

Zhu Rong’s expression remained unchanged, just slightly gloomier, “Picked it up from the ground, you’re quite skilled in picking stuff up.”

Zhao XiaoLan’s eyes brightened as he replied, “Right! You think I’m good at picking stuff up too, eh! I also think this piece of white jade is quite extraordinary, I wonder which classmate left it there.”

Zhu Rong, “You found it so by nature it’s yours, who cares who left it there.”

Zhao XiaoLan laughed, “That’s no good, when school starts up again, I’ll go around and ask to see who dropped it.”

He picked up the umbrella off the ground and handed it back to Zhu Rong, “Zhu-xiong, I can’t play with you for the time being, but if you’re free, definitely come find me in secret. I want to eat Yuanhe Shop’s glutinous rice cakes, bring me some next time you visit. Right, don’t come through the window, walk through the small trail behind Egret Academy, the one I used to use to skip class! That way you won’t be discovered by Teacher Liu!”

When Zhao XiaoLan finished speaking, from the distance he noticed a small pigeon flying through the rain and fog.

He promptly pushed Zhu Rong away and said, “Oh no, Teacher Liu must’ve informed Huai Yu-gege. I already promised them to not meet up with you anymore, if I’m caught I’ll be done for!”

Zhu Rong picked up the umbrella, Zhao XiaoLan said, “I’ll come find you after some time passes, when that time comes we go to the Hundred Flower Abyss and meet Li Li!”

He waved his hands, and it was only after Zhu Rong disappeared into the rain and mist that Zhao XiaoLan began shivering.

Upon returning, Liu Kuang frowned and asked, “Where did you run off to?”

Zhao XiaoLan glanced sheepishly at Baili, Baili helplessly looked back at him.

Liu Kuang went, “What are you looking at Baili for, I’m talking to you, Su He, I asked you to copy text in the classroom, but you, somehow wound up copying outside!”

Zhao XiaoLan rubbed his hands together and sat in front of the table, “I’ll start copying right now! Right away!”

Liu Kuang shook his head, “There’s not a single day where I don’t worry.”

He turned around, lifted the curtain and walked into the house, planning to boil a pot of hot water.

Just as he went in, Zhao XiaoLan put both his hands together, faced Baili and gave him a bow, “Thank you so much!”

Baili said, “Young master Zhao, what are you thanking me for?”

Zhao XiaoLan expressed his gratitude, “Thank you for not telling Teacher Liu! Baili! You’re such a good bro! Next time I’ll invite you for a drink at the Hundred Flower Abyss!”

Baili Deng began, “I don’t know by doing this whether I’m helping you or harming you. Young master Zhao, I’ll remind you again, that Zhu Rong is not a good person, it’s better to cease contact with him.”

Zhao XiaoLan nodded his head and let out a row of “en, en, en, en, en,” completely ignoring Baili’s words.

Liu Kuang came back with a pot of hot ginger tea, glaring at Zhao XiaoLan to drink it, then found a clean change of clothes for him. After changing, a pump pigeon suddenly fluttered in through the window, it was Little Eight.

Because of the heavy rain outside, when Little Eight came to deliver a letter, on top of its head was a teeny tiny bamboo umbrella. The workmanship on it was refined, undoubtedly made by Hua YunChang. It was clear that this pigeon was pampered a little too much by Hua YunChang, even having an actual umbrella in case it rained.

Little Eight shook his wings and bundled up into a round ball. 

Liu Kuang took the letter from its feet; it had been written by Ming ChangYan. There were only a few words in the letter, it merely said that he’d come visit Egert Academy after this storm was over, and to keep a close eye on Zhao XiaoLan and forbid him from meeting up with anyone.

Liu Kuang shook his head and grumbled, “That married couple is taking turns ordering me around, are they seriously treating me like an old maid now?”

Having overheard this, Zhao XiaoLan quickly lifted his head and asked, “Teacher Liu, why are those two bad?”

Liu Kuang replied, “It’s grown-up stuff, little children shouldn’t ask.”

Zhao XiaoLan “oh’s” but his attention wasn’t on the books, instead it was drifting outside of Egret Academy.

At this moment, in a desolate corner of the capital, a monk from XiaoHan Temple suffered a violent blow and was slammed directly onto a wall, that wall immediately smashed into pieces.

The visitor was an enhancing woman dressed in foreign clothes. She wasn’t satisfied, lifting her foot and stamping on the XiaoHan Temple monk’s head. She was extremely arrogant and said with a sad smile, “So this is the Central Plain’s number one sect? Heh, nothing but rotten prawns.”

Another person wrinkled their brow and said, “And these bald donkeys think that they can win the grand prize at the Great FengShan Feast? It seems that without Ming ChangYan, the Central Plains are as good as rubbish.”

“Sir Hai, stop wasting your time here. Just teach them a lesson, there’s still several months until the Great FengShan Feast, it’s best to stay out of trouble.”

The Sir Hai they were referring to, was precisely the woman who was currently stepping on the XiaoHan Temple monk’s head, she patted her hands together and turned away to leave.

“Ah, this emperor of the Central Plains truly is imbecile. To kill Ming ChangYan, he won’t be sitting in his position for long.”

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, if you see a repost of this, it’s probably stolen and if you steal my translations I’ll choke you (jk, but please don’t steal them)

hahahahahaha,,,,i guess i’m back?

I was really feeling in the dumps the past two months, and I’m so so sorry for the disappointing lack of chapters.

but on a brighter side, did you all see the tgcf donghua????!!! holy shit dianxia is just so pretty and who knew pei ming could look that hot???

I hope you guys had a good weekend and I’ll see you next update (hopefully soon :’)

Chapter 66 : Table of Contents : Chapter 68

Chapter 66: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 22

Under the quilt, Ming ChangYan only felt that Huai Yu didn’t use as much force as before, promptly beginning to beg for mercy, “I was wrong! Young Prime Minister! Really wrong!”

Huai Yu let go. Ming ChangYan broke free from the quilt, peeling it off his face, only to see Huai Yu’s eyelashes faintly trembling. 

The wind blew in, bringing with the silk curtains, drizzle, and mist. Ming ChangYan licked his lips, feeling a bit thirsty.

Huai Yu released him, before sitting to the side.

Ming ChangYan laid down on the bed, both hands behind his head and his feet up.

“Since you won’t sleep, then I won’t either!”

Huai Yu got off the bed. Ming ChangYan immediately sat up, “Hey! Where are you going?”

“The bath.”

Ming ChangYan gave a dry laugh, “I thought you were going to sleep somewhere else.”

Huai Yu wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, so he just let Ming ChangYan talk to himself.

The attendants boiled a second bucket of hot water, there were a lot of medicinal herbs floating on top of the water, along with a few dried medicinal flowers. Ming ChangYan’s eyes brightened, and spared no effort to tease, “Little Huai Yu, you truly are delicate, to need flowers when taking a bath! Which house reared family’s pampered young lady are you? Don’t tell me you’re also gonna soak your hands in sheep’s milk and use facial cleansing?!”

Huai Yu pulled over the screen, blocking out the other’s words.

Ming ChangYan sat on the bed as his body convulsed with laughter.

It took Huai Yu half an hour to bathe and change clothes, he was dawdling for so long that Ming ChangYan nearly fell asleep.

When the screen moved, Ming shaoxia opened one eye and peeked at Huai Yu. His hair had been half-dried by spiritual energy, it fell gently off his back. He came out together with a cloud of mist, making him look like an immortal descending to the world.

However, what attracted Ming ChangYan’s attention the most, was the tattoo on his collarbone.

He heard Chang Xu previously mention the tattoo on Huai Yu’s body. But what kind of pattern and where he didn’t know. But now taking a glance, he noticed a lotus flower on his collarbone outlined in white, nearly the same color of his skin, making it hard to distinguish. The white lotus on his collarbone moved along with him, making it appear as if the petals were blossoming. It shifted multiple times, fascinating and appealing.

Ming ChangYan was just about to take a closer look, but Huai Yu pulled up his clothes, covering his shoulders.

Ming ChangYan subconsciously moved his throat.

Huai Yu coldly gazed at him, “Still not asleep?”

Ming ChangYan came back to his senses, realizing he had been caught staring too long, he simply said calmly, “Huai Yu, what’s that tattoo on your shoulder?”

Even though he knew the answer to the question, Huai Yu was unwilling to answer, putting on his clothes and took out a twine from the cupboard. Ming ChangYan raised his eyebrow, “Why are there all kinds of strange things in your cupboards? What are you doing with that twine? Don’t tell me you’re hanging yourself.”

Huai Yu walked up to the bed and placed the string at the center of the bed, dividing the bed into two distinct sides.

He said, “You are not allowed to cross this boundary tonight.”

Ming ChangYan, “?”

Huai Yu laid down on his half of the bed as if he didn’t want to deal with Ming ChangYan.

Ming ChangYan looked at the string for a while at a loss, thinking: Fine, it’s not like this is the first time his temper’s been like this, why should I bother with him!

After that, he felt somewhat angry. He turned his back to Huai Yu and indignantly fell asleep. Before going to bed, he thought: Little brat, and you even kissed this shaoxia a while back, forget it, I’ll just pretend I was bitten by a dog!

Ming shaoxia inwardly cursed that the other was still a little brat, while he was a senior, he ought to be lenient with immature children, and at the same time felt admirable at himself for his patience and magnanimity as a senior, unable to stop himself from sighing.

Huai Yu reminded him, “Don’t move around when you sleep.”

What words are these? It’s like you’re saying I, as a senior, might fool around? Am I that kind of person?

Ming ChangYan said, “I know my place when sleeping, I never move around, Young Prime Minister, you can rest assured, I can guarantee, I won’t cross even the tiniest bit over this string!”

The last few words were said through gritted teeth.

He didn’t care how Huai Yu was going to answer, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

True to his words, Ming ChangYan was very still in his sleeping posture, as long as he’s asleep, he was practically motionless. His breathing was slow and steady, and after half an hour, he fell asleep unconscious.

This bad habit cultivated from spending too much time with Huai Yu. Ming ChangYan never used to sleep too soundly before, he often had to worry whether someone might come and seek their revenge on him in his sleep, and thus even the slightest movement could wake him up.

Since he’d become accustomed to being “covered” by Huai Yu, his body began submitting back to instincts. As long as he was together with him, he would always feel especially at ease. When he went to sleep, even a knife slashing down at him wouldn’t be able to wake him up.

Not to mention at this moment, thunder erupted outside the palace.

Huai Yu opened his eyes, waiting up until midnight, he didn’t see Ming ChangYan move once.

He sat up and rested his arm on a propped up knee, leaning over to look at Ming ChangYan.

“You usually never listen when I tell you to, but only now you pretend to be sensible.”

Unfortunately, Ming ChangYan currently couldn’t hear anything.

Huai Yu snorted. Ming ChangYan seemed to have felt something while sleeping, his eyebrows lightly furrowing, he smelled that bizarre muddled fragrance again, luring him back into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, Ming shaoxia opened his eyes up to pitch-black darkness.

For the very first time, he didn’t suspect that he’d been blinded because his entire body couldn’t move, immediately rejecting that possibility. Ming ChangYan’s waist was being tightly embraced, he subconsciously reached out to push away, this time waking Huai Yu up in the process.

Ming ChangYan suddenly sat up from the bed.

The quilt slid off his shoulder, and when he got up, the heat of Huai Yu’s palm continued to linger on his waist, faultlessly verifying to him that the two of them rolled together last night. 

Ming ChangYan was still in shock when Huai Yu gained the initiative by striking first, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t move?”

Going along with him, Ming shaoxia lived up to expectations and broke out into a cold sweat, both startled and surprised, “Did I move around?”

Huai Yu nodded, “You rolled over yourself.”

 Ming ChangYan repeated, “I rolled over myself……”

He suddenly asked, “Then why were you hugging me!”

Huai Yu said, “How would I know, why don’t you ask yourself.”

He got out of bed and got dressed.

Ming shaoxia was still in a daze, “Ask myself? How? Don’t tell me I rolled over and put his hand around my waist? What’s this, this is, this is—–”

This is too shameful!

Huai Yu finished washing up and changed the water for Ming ChangYan. The current Ming shaoxia was still annoyed at losing face in front of someone younger than him from his poor sleeping posture. 

“How long do you plan on stalling?”

Ming ChangYan promptly lifted the quilt, testing the water temperature while saying, “The Young Prime Minister is usually so extravagant, you’d think that he would have someone serving him with washing up and getting dressed, what, there isn’t a single personal maid in this Ninety-Nineth Palace?”

Huai Yu turned around and said in disbelief, “You also want a personal maid?” Aware of Huai Yu’s gaze, Ming ChangYan didn’t know why but felt that he should speak cautiously, quickly laughing it off.

After washing up, Ming shaoxia threw what happened when waking up to the back of his mind. He’s always been like this, he simply didn’t think about the little things he was unable to understand, saving himself from getting tangled in them.

After breakfast, the heavy rain from last night still hadn’t stopped. Ming ChangYan took some pen, ink-stone, and paper, spread them out on the table, lit a candle, and began practicing calligraphy.

The few words that Ming ChangYan wanted to write were nothing but his own name. He wanted to sign it and give it to Zhao XiaoLan, and to maintain his own lofty and uninhibited image, Ming shaoxia used all his effort in signing his name.

Altogether, he wrote for three sticks of incense before he picked the one he was most satisfied with. Carefully putting it aside, Ming ChangYan stretched his body, but when he looked back the piece of paper was gone.

Ming ChangYan rummaged through the whole table then asked Huai Yu who was off to the side reading, “What happened to the paper I just placed here?”

Huai Yu, “How would I know.”

Ming ChangYan muttered, “Weird, I was certain I just put it there.”

Huai Yu hummed, “How come you can’t even look after a single piece of paper.”

Ming ChangYan rubbed his chin, too lazy to look for it, he simply wrote another one.

He dried the ink under the sun, went and grabbed a nice-looking box from the bookshelf, and placed the signature in it.

Meanwhile, at the distant Egret Academy located west of the capital, Zhao XiaoLan had his hands rested on his chin and was letting out a plaintive sigh.

Nobody paid attention to him.

Zhao XiaoLan was not in the slightest bit discouraged, continuing to let out another heavy sigh.

Liu Kuang glanced at him, still ignoring.

Zhao XiaoLan, “Ai!”

Liu Kuang asked, “What are you doing?”

Seeing that Liu Kuang finally paid attention to him, Zhao XiaoLan quickly said, “Teacher Liu, can I leave the academy? I have a bit of an urgent matter.”

Liu Kuang said, “What urgent matter could you have? Your Yun Qing-gege told me that during this period, you’re to stay at Egret Academy to make up for missed lessons. You’re not allowed to go anywhere, just take a look for yourself how many courses you’ve already fallen behind on.”

Zhao XiaoLan said guiltily, “It’s because I…..”

Liu Kuang, “This time no matter what, I’m not letting you run away. You have to first make up for all your previous lessons, moreover, it’s raining right now, where do you plan on going?”

Hearing this, Zhao XiaoLan felt dejected.

He was dragged here by the ear a few days ago by his sister, and in a sentence of death, Huai Yu locked him here at Egret Academy. In past years, he skipped class with Zhu Rong’s assistance, and the two committed crimes in pairs. And now for him to leave Egret Academy under Liu Kuang’s watch with his own abilities was harder than reaching the sky. 

He had clearly promised to meet Maiden Li Li the next day, but now he himself had been locked inside the academy, unable to escape. Just what has become of his image over there at Li Li’s! How could the future number one hero go back on his words?

Thinking of this, he let out another sigh.

Zhao XiaoLan was extremely worried, staring at the academy’s front door. Outside the front door was Egret Academy’s “difficult road.*” The academy these days was on holiday, he was the only one brought back to make up missed lessons. And because he was ranked last at the end of the term, Liu Kuang was especially strict with him, forcing him to copy several textbooks a day.

(TN: Referencing a series of three poems written by Li Bai deemed “行路难三首” Couldn’t exactly find a translation on them, but it’s mainly about encountering difficulties and an unwillingness to be alone)

He was bored out of his mind, while he was on his difficult road there suddenly appeared an umbrella.

Zhao XiaoLan thought: Who would come to the academy during such heavy rain?

That person moved up, gradually revealing half of his body, but his face was still being obstructed by the umbrella.

Zhao XiaoLan suddenly thought: Could it be that Zhu-xiong came to play with him?

He sprang abruptly to his feet and excitedly ran directly into the rain without bringing an umbrella. Liu Kuang hadn’t been watching him properly, allowing Zhao XiaoLan to slip away like a rabbit.

Unexpectedly, upon stepping through the door, the one who had walked through the rain and fog had been Baili.

Zhao XiaoLan’s footsteps paused, extremely disappointed, dispirited as he walked back to the classroom.

Liu Kuang said, “Imperial guard Baili.”

Baili Deng began, “Greeting to Teacher Liu.”

Liu Kuang poured a cup of hot tea for him, “Why did you come to the academy today?”

Baili waved his hand, “No need for tea, I’m here to retrieve a book for the third prince. He grabbed the first volume the last time he visited the academy, now that he’s finished it, he asked me to get the second volume for him.”

Liu Kuang said, “I see, imperial guard Baili please follow me.”

He turned around and advised, “Su He, you stay here, don’t go anywhere, do you understand? If I come back and you’re not here, I’m immediately going to the Ninety-Ninth Palace to get your Huai Yu-gege to come teach you a lesson.”

Zhao XiaoLan had a sickly expression when agreeing, picking up his writing brush, and sluggishly writing in the book.

Liu Kuang brought Baili Deng to Egret Academy’s library. Baili put away his umbrella and left it in the classroom.

There was a small “clink,” as if something had fallen on the ground.

Zhao XiaoLan’s attention was entirely off the books at this moment, and thus his ears were extremely sensitive towards every little movement around him.

Upon hearing the sound, he put down his brush at once and walked in the direction of where the sound originated from.

A lone jade pendant had fallen on the floor.

Zhao XiaoLan picked it up to take a look; at the center of the high-quality white jade was a single pink flower petal.

He raised the jade pendant to the window and shut one eye, carefully studying it before saying, “It’s pretty unique!”

Zhao XiaoLan shifted the jade pendant away, his gaze moved towards the window, and to his surprise, in his field of vision appeared another human figure.

“Dingling,” amidst the heavy rainfall, the clear sound of the bell was like an ethereal solo. 

The author has something to say: 

ChangYan likes smelling the fragrance from Huai Yu’s body, naturally, Huai Yu also likes smelling ChangYan’s fragrance (o^^o)

Take a guess at who’s here!

Thank you everyone for your landmines, I also really want the little fish to take advances!! But Zhao Zhao still hasn’t reached full enlightenment yet! Wait a bit more!!! 

Little fish’s tattoo is probably one of those really thin white tattoos, his skin is also very pale so you’d have to look really carefully. I’ve also seen a lot of Dada* who’ve written fan-works and drew pictures, uwuwuwuwuw super pretty!! Thank you guys!!! 

(TN: “大大”; Dada is a neutral term when referring to someone online. Another variation is 太太)

Of course, every Dada is welcome to send me a private message, it’s a great honor to be liked by you all! Love you guys!!!

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work I’m whipping you with my wet umbrella.

GUYS I’M SO SORRY FOR BEING GONE FOR SO LONG!!

School started back up and I’ve just been extremely exhausted lately, I have two projects due Monday and I’m for real stressing out.

I’ll try to update when I can but no promises

If you see any grammar/translation errors please notify me! They updated wordpress with these block thingys and I hate it, I liked the old version before. If it’s not broken, why fix it?

Okay, have great weekend~~~

Chapter 65 : Table of Contents : Chapter 67

Chapter 65: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 21

 

 

After Huai Yu finished speaking, he paused, then lightly threatened, “If you rush out right now, I will tap your acupuncture points again.”

Ming ChangYan’s expression was extremely ugly, his usual mischievous smile vanished, instead turned very solemn.

He asked, “Who is it??”

Huai Yu said, “Bai Jin.”

Huai Yu waited for him to buffer, before adding, “Ming ChangYan, you should know the merits and drawbacks.”

Ming ChangYan clenched his fists. It wasn’t an exaggeration that he and Ugly Guanyin hated each other to the bone. It all started with the extermination of the GuiFeng sect and the death of Wan QianQiu, they were the ones who stirred Ming ChangYan’s entire life into a jumbled mess.

Zhong YuLou and Yi Yue’s deaths were all related to Ugly Guanyin!

Ming ChangYan said, “How sure are you that she’s definitely Ugly GuanYin?”

Huai Yu, “Very sure.”

He then added, “Year ago, we met Ugly Guanyin at GuangLing. When I fought her, a nearby colored glass mirror was shattered. At that time, her first reaction was to cover her face, which means that her face is very important to her.”

“Back then I’d thought that she had covered her face because it was ever-changing and could not be injured, now it seems that’s not the case. And in place of her face, her arm was then injured. But she didn’t just sustain injuries on her arms back then, if I guessed correctly, there should be scars surrounding her body that were left by me.”

Ming ChangYan said, “So you’re saying, you were the one who left those scars on Li Li’s arm?”

Huai Yu nodded, which made Ming ChangYan sit further into his stool, “When Zhao XiaoLan mentioned it, I was only slightly suspicious. Later when he wanted to send the ointment directly to Li Li, I took this as a chance to personally go take a look. It seems my guess isn’t that far from yours.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “If she’s Ugly Guanyin, why would she allow you to meet her face to face?” It was likely for her to be recognized by Huai Yu, wouldn’t she want to escape?

Huai Yu understood what he was indicating, but shook his head, “She wouldn’t care too much. Have you forgotten what she’s an expert at? As long as she wants too, she could be like a fish in the water when she’s among crowds, we wouldn’t be able to find her even if we overturned the entire capital. The best-case scenario for her would be to keep her identity a secret, but even if she was exposed, it wouldn’t matter to her. That’s why at this moment, we mustn’t inadvertently alert the enemy.”

Ming ChangYan suddenly realized, “So that’s why you recognized her in the Hundred Flower Abyss, but pretend to not know anything!”

Huai Yu nodded.

“The white-clothed female Taoist you met three years ago, was probably Bai Jin.”

Ming ChangYan recalled that Ugly Guanyin not only has a face that was ever-changing but also had a variety of personalities. If it wasn’t for their abundance of evidence, he would’ve never connected that madman and Maiden Li Li together.

“You’re right, that year due to the Flower Lantern Festival, the Zhao family had invited her over from the capital to Lin’an to stay for a while. It seems that she didn’t come here to be the flower goddess, instead, she came to harm me.”

He picked up a cup of tea and downed the entire thing, extremely puzzled, “If Li Li really is Ugly Guanyin, it’s not like I have anything to do with her, and I’ve never met her up until the Flower Viewing Festival, why does she hate me so much?”

Huai Yu said, “She has no connections toward you, with someone like you, even if you fell down from a high place it would still be considered normal if people then started throwing stones at you. But for her to harm you so, it’s obvious there’s a foreign force to this. If she had no connections to you, it means it’s not entirely related to you, but instead is working under someone, someone who knew you were still alive the moment you stepped foot into the palace.”

He faintly glanced at him, “Ming ChangYan, I will ask you again, after waking up, how many people knew that you were alive, who was the first to know, and how many? If you don’t take precautions, what happened three years ago will likely happen again.”

Upon hearing this, Ming ChangYan’s forehead was covered in a layer of cold sweat, it was clear who Huai Yu’s words were pointing to. And he had just questioned her a few days ago. Huai Yu wasn’t familiar with Yun Luo, so it’s normal for him to be skeptical, but what about him? Does he doubt Yun Luo too? Even if it was Yun Luo, right now she’s so weak she can’t even walk for long periods of time, where would she have gotten the strength or idea of hurting him?”

After thinking about it, Ming ChangYan sighed in his heart, but he was still unwilling to believe that up till now, it had been Yun Luo who’d been harming him.

Noticing his complexion worsened by the minute, Huai Yu stopped questioning him, merely saying, “This is all my speculation, it’s still up to you on how you decide to look at things. Right now you have to focus on getting better, there’s still some time to rest before the Great FengShan Feast. I’ll go prepare the medicine, calm down, it’s best if you stop thinking about those things.”

At this time, palace servants of the Ninety-Ninth Palace carried up a wooden bathtub. The hot water was freshly heated as if preparing for a medical bath.

Ming ChangYan had a raging headache and just stopped thinking, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to properly relax oneself.

Huai Yu poured the medicine into the tub, and after a while, the familiar smell of medicine arose in the room. When Ming ChangYan had soaked in this medical bath prior, he had marinated himself to the point where one could almost taste the flavor on himself, his entire body emitted the smell of bitter Chinese medicine. But upon smelling this scent again, it didn’t feel foreign.

Huai Yu stood at the edge of the bathtub and tested out the water temperature.

The water was boiling hot, the white vapors kept tumbling and transpiring in the air before ultimately lingering on his face. Ming ChangYan sat idly on a stool, with nothing to do he decided to admire the little beauty to pass time. Huai Yu was among one of the best in terms of looks and talents, he was naturally blessed from appearances to his stature.

He attentively sized him up, and thought to himself: It seems like I’ve never really properly looked at his face before.

In Ming ChangYan’s memory, his impression of Huai Yu has stayed the same all the way back to when they first met. Nowadays when compared to that nineteen-year-old youth, he’s now all the more mature and steady. Despite having a little bit of a temper sometimes, from the time he entered the palace up till now, he had been relying on Huai Yu to take care of him. And unconsciously, he has become accustomed to it.

His gaze involuntarily focused on the vapor that was wandering in front of Huai Yu’s body, the vapor wrapped around his neck, and then slipped itself into his neckline.

Huai Yu took back his hand and asked, “What are you looking at?”

Ming ChangYan had been slightly stunned, after coming back to his senses and upon realizing he had just let his imagination run wild, he rubbed his nose and smiled, “I’m looking at you, it’s not like there’s anyone else here for me to look at. Huai Yu, at your age, haven’t you thought about finding a sweet, gentle young lady to accompany you?”

Huai Yu walked forward and grabbed his collar, dragging him towards the bathtub.

Ming ChangYan, “MY NECK!!”

Huai Yu, “Undress.”

Ming ChangYan, “Ok ok ok, I’ll undress, I’ll undress.”

He took off his clothes efficiently and burrowed his way into the tub. Outside the Ninety-Ninth Palace, a flash of lightning cut through the horizon, after that sudden shock came the beginnings of a downpour.

After Ming ChangYan had taken off his clothes, he was frozen to the point of becoming delirious, promptly diving deeper into the steaming water.

The Ninety-Ninth Palace was originally already filled to the brim with cold air. But with a rainstorm raging outside, and the sounds of the gale blowing in causing the white gauze to flutter about, it made the Ninety-Ninth Palace resemble that of a haunted palace hall.

Ming ChangYan said, “Huai Yu! Did you close the windows, why is it so windy!”

Ming ChangYan wished he could submerge his entire body into the water, the tattoo on his back became all the more prominent upon coming in contact with the hot water.

After having called out twice without hearing any news of activity, Ming ChangYan quickly turned around to take a look.

Yet who would’ve imagined that as soon as he raised his head, he would be met directly with Huai Yu’s eyes. He had placed his hands on the edges of the tub, encircling Ming ChangYan in it. He looked up, Huai Yu lowered his head, he was merely a breath away from him.

Ming ChangYan’s breathing suddenly stopped. Amidst the steam, his shoulders had turned a light pink from the heat, both his cheeks and earlobes were flushed a pale pink. His eyes were hazy, his lips were suffused into a dark red, the reflected light from the water shimmering. But because he was too close, he wasn’t able to clearly see Huai Yu’s face.

He opened his mouth, “Huai Yu?”

Huai Yu got up, and as soon as he left, Ming ChangYan’s consciousness came back to him.

Huai Yu closed the window, but with his back facing Ming ChangYan, and didn’t turn back around.

No matter how slow Ming ChangYan was, even he noticed this strange and dubious atmosphere that really shouldn’t have appeared between the two men. He quickly cupped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face. Even after the hot water flowed out of the crevices of his fingers, his hands never left his cheeks.

Only until Ming shaoxia felt his face was no longer so hot that he laughed, and pretended to be natural, “Huai Yu, why are you just standing there?”

Ming ChangYan looked at his back, after waiting another quarter of an hour, Huai Yu suddenly said, “The person behind Ugly GuanYin isn’t the same force as Zhuang Xiao.”

Ming ChangYan immediately shifted his attention, asking, “Explain.”

Huai Yu said, “Do you still remember that opera from the Flower Festival? That opera told of the story of the happenings of the Zhuang family, why would Ugly Guanyin purposefully arrange for us to see this play?” When he’d first received the invite from XiaoLan for the Flower Festival, he never expected for Ugly Guanyin to have covertly played a female role in there, leading up to the tragic accident that would occur afterward.

At that time the role “themself”—Zhu Rong, or Zhuang Xiao, had sat beside them and watched that play together with them. Thinking about this, Ming ChangYan said, “That play wasn’t directed at me, but rather at Zhuang Xiao.”

Huai Yu nodded, finally turning back around, “Zhu ShiYing being abducted by bandits back then was no trivial matter. The master of the Zhuang family had to band up with several close friends and even then, it took almost 10 days before they were able to locate the mountain stronghold that Zhu ShiYing was in. In the play, the role Ugly Guanyin was acting as, was probably the Zhuang family’s master.”

“Hold on, Li Li was sitting next to us on the other side of the viewing platform when that opera took place.”

“What I can confirm is that the Ugly Guanyin we came across in GuangLing was definitely Bai Jin herself, and the one that appeared in the opera, since it presented itself in front of Bai Jin, she must have already known about this in advance. Tell me, besides us, who would be able to recognize Ugly Guanyin from no basis and a few encounters? In addition, the Ugly Guanyin on stage never changed their face in front of us.” In other words, the Ugly Guanyin in the opera didn’t have the ability to change their face but completely grasped that they could retreat.

Ming ChangYan said, “And then she gave the actress playing Zhu ShiYing a sword through the chest.”

Huai Yu said, “Yes. I didn’t think much of it back then, and that Ugly Guanyin was just killing for the sake of it. Now looking back, it wasn’t that simple. I’m afraid that Ugly Guanyin was reenacting a scene from back then.”

Ming ChangYan was surprised, “Reenacting? Then doesn’t that mean that the Zhuang family’s master killed Zhu ShiYing! But on second thought, there is a possibility. He had clearly called upon multiple martial art figures but wasn’t even able to rescue his wife. It’s said that Zhuang Xiao was the only one who was rescued, his mother was unable to recover. But why did the Zhuang family’s young master kill his own wife?”

Huai Yu said, “It wasn’t because she was unable to recover, it was most likely for the sake of the family’s reputation. After taking care of the bandits, the Zhuang family’s master then murdered his own wife. After all, such an illustrious family, when the wife of their family is held captive by bandits for 10 days, and this family’s master likely wouldn’t permit an ‘unclean’ lady to enter their home.” Hearing this, Ming ChangYan thought about Hua YunChang again,

“However that’s not the point, regardless of whether the Zhuang family’s master murdered Zhu ShiYing. Ugly Guanyin didn’t hold this play for you, but for Zhuang Xiao. I believe Zhuang Xiao himself would have been happy watching this play, it’s sufficient to say that the two of them are foes.”

Ming ChangYan was still contemplating, “No, no wonder!”

Huai Yu looked at him.

Ming Changyan said, “No wonder of all the sects Zhuang Xiao exterminated was his father’s old friends. Only old friends and no other, they should have the ones that went together to save Zhu ShiYing. Zhuang Xiao is taking his anger on them for not stopping his own father!”

Huai Yu, “The particulars cannot be directly investigated, we can only know the answer if we directly ask him.”

If all those sects were exterminated due to this, who’s to say that Zhuang Xiao isn’t the one who burned down the Zhuang family home? Ming ChangYan found it hard to imagine that Zhuang Xiao would be so dangerous as to not even let his entire family go.

Ming ChangYan suddenly thought of something and said, “Shoot! Zhao XiaoLan that little idiot is in trouble!”

He began, “Good lord, what kind of people is he provoking!”

If Ugly Guanyin really had a feud with Zhuang Xiao, wouldn’t Zhao XiaoLan who was sandwiched in the middle of all this, be using his life to bear the brunt of it with his life!

With this in mind, Ming shaoxia lost all interest in soaking in the medical bath, wanting to quickly crawl up.

But as soon as he got up, he was pressed back down by Huai Yu.

“Calm down, it’s okay.”

Ming ChangYan, “How could this be okay! Zhao XiaoLan that scoundrel just had to take a liking to Ugly Guanyin! He could’ve made friends with anybody, and he decided to befriend Zhuang Xiao! He really, really is, really is…..”

He repeated “really is” for a good while, and without a reason why, scolded, “Reckless!” Even after scolding him, he didn’t feel like it was enough and added, “How is he so good at making friends? Is he a genius?”

Huai Yu said, “There’s no need to worry about him. Bai Jin doesn’t dare to do anything as of now, that’s also including the person behind her. Otherwise, why would I have asked Chang Xu to return?”

Ming ChangYan was stunned.

Huai Yu, “As for Zhao XiaoLan, as long as he stays in Egert Academy, Liu Kuang will naturally guarantee his safety. It’s just that during this period, you tell him to not come in contact with either Bai Jin or Zhuang Xiao.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Is there any use of me telling him? One’s his crush, and another’s his best friend. What position am I supposed to take to stop them from meeting up?”

Huai Yu, “Noble Gentleman.”

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan laughed, “Right! I forgot XiaoLan is still a follower of mine! I’ll go sign a few autographs after I finish my medical bath and then send it to him!”

Huai Yu said, “I’m not concerned about him. Ming ChangYan, if you don’t want to die, stay beside me during this period of time.”

Ming shaoxia said, “Yes, yes, when have I ever left you!”

He had been soaking in the tub for a while now, shivering, he got up to put his clothes on.

“Huai Yu, your palace really feels like winter, it’d be a good place to stay during summer.”

He had planned on walking on the ground barefoot, but nearly slipped if not for Huai Yu grabbing him.

Ming ChangYan’s legs were born straight and pretty, his skin pale as jade, holding it in his hands made it appear smoothed by cream, looking very satiny.

Huai Yu said, “Put on shoes.”

Ming shaoxia quickly took his foot back, “Alright, I’ll wear them! Don’t just suddenly grab me!”

After putting on his shoes, he ran toward the bed. It was only after he’d laid down on bed that he asked Huai Yu in retrospect, “Where do I sleep tonight?”

Huai Yu didn’t even look back, after palace maids carried the bathtub away and he cleaned the place, he removed a book from the bookshelf and indifferently said, “Bed.”

Ming ChangYan said, “If I sleep on the bed, where would you sleep?”

He remembered that there are no other rooms in the Ninety-Ninth Palace apart from Huai Yu’s bedroom on the top floor. The attendants of the palace never stayed overnight, no there existed no extra beds.

Although it wasn’t too cold at the moment, there was still a rainstorm going on outside, so the temperature in the Ninety-Ninth Palace was lower than usual; sleeping on the ground will definitely hurt one’s health.

Ming ChangYan said, “Your bed’s so big, how could I take up all of it, I’ll give you half of the bed.”

With that, in order to prove the bed was big, Ming ChangYan rolled two circles around the bed.

It really was big, more than enough for three adult men to sleep in.

Huai Yu, “I’m not sleeping.”

Ming ChangYan began, “You’re not sleeping again. Huai Yu, I’m very still when I sleep, I definitely won’t frail about. Don’t worry, you sleep on the inside, and I’ll sleep on the outside, if I move too much in my sleep, you don’t have to hesitate to kick me off the bed!”

Huai Yu glanced at him.

Ming ChangYan was laying on the bed, because he was rolling so vigorously, his clothes got disorderly, his hair in disarray, and his collar opened wide. And this person was in a state of excitement, inviting him to sleep on the bed.

Huai Yu turned a page in his book and said, “Not sleeping.”

Ming ChangYan was lying on his side, his right hand propping up his head with his left leg bent, raising his eyebrow he said, “Really not sleeping?”

Huai Yu shook his head.

Ming ChangYan suddenly launched an attack, suddenly jumping up from the bed and pouncing on Huai Yu.

The unsuspecting Huai Yu was pounced head-on and nearly lost his balance. Ming ChangYan quickly snatched the book out of his hands, and sure enough, Huai Yu’s complexion changed and he raised his voice, “Give it back!”

The moment Ming ChangYan saw his reaction, he was certain that there were comics hidden inside the book. He stubbornly refused to give it back to Huai Yu, holding in his hands as he grinned, “Young Prime Minister, let’s see what’s so good about this book that you could read it all the way from night to day!”

He laughed and in just a few steps moved from the floor to the bed, deliberately flipping through the book in his hands as loud as possible.

Huai Yu’s expression was calm as he reached out to steal it back. Ming ChangYan had become much stronger than before. After he had recovered half of his cultivation, he didn’t need to keep getting beat up by Huai Yu, this time he could fight back a few times.

The two immediately got into a fight over a book on the bed. Huai Yu deliberately let him, while Ming ChangYan went all out, going back and forth ultimately coming to a tie.

Then suddenly, Ming ChangYan abruptly pulled down the white gauze, obstructing Huai Yu’s line of sight. He seized the opportunity, turning around and got on top of him, laughing.

When that white gauze was pulled by him, the window that hadn’t been firmly closed was blown open again by the wind, rustling, once again fluttering the white gauze in the room.

Ming ChangYan exclaimed, “If you don’t sleep, I’ll force you to sleep!”

He pulled open the neatly folded quilt and used it to cover Huai Yu’s body.

With a move of his hand, Huai Yu took the white gauze and used it to bound the hands of a momentarily complacent Ming ChangYan. Ming ChangYan’s center of gravity became unstable and he crashed back onto the bed. Before he could even react, a startled cry stopped in his throat, Huai Yu had returned an eye for an eye. Ming ChangYan’s line of sight was blackened, Huai Yu had used the quilt to cover his entire body.

Ming ChangYan, who was wrapped tightly by the quilt into a ball, was still crookedly struggling around.

Huai Yu trapped his hands, half-kneeling on him as he gazed at the person under him whining for help in the quilt. Huai Yu was silent. After a while, he bent down, his eyes half-lidded and eyelashes faintly trembling. Separated by a quilt, he quietly planted his lips on top of it.

 

The author has something to say:

Little fish is so careful, so nervous!

If you have the ability then take away the quilt and do it directly!!

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work I’ll roll you into a blanket burrito.

 

 

 

( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

 

Side note: Guys, please respect your translators. I saw some real rude comments about how slowly one translator released their chapters when they’re literally going at what I thought was godspeed. These people are translating these novels free to you and for you, the least you could do is be respectful of their schedule and not be insolent.

If you see any translation/grammatical errors please tell me!! Why do I always post these things at like the dead of night?

Have a fantastic weekend~~

 

 

 

Chapter 64 : Table of Contents : Chapter 66

Chapter 64: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 20

“WHAT!!!???” Ming ChangYan cried out in alarm. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was acupunctured, his entire person would’ve bounced up by now.

Huai Yu frowned.

Ming ChangYan’s shock was overwhelming, his first reaction was, “Huai Yu! So you did lie to me!”

Huai Yu said, “If you keep making noise, I’m going to tap your yaxue point*.”

(TN: 哑穴; located at the back of the neck, from my knowledge of acupuncture I think this is the one that makes you mute.)

Ming ChangYan couldn’t even care, promptly asking Aunt LingZhi, “Auntie, when was the Immortal Grass stolen?”

Aunt LingZhi looked at Huai Yu, Huai Yu nodded, “If he asks, answer.”

Aunt LingZhi said, “Three days ago when her Majesty went to check on the Immortal Grass under the Phoenix seal, it had disappeared. But when it comes to it, her Majesty does not check every day, so her Majesty isn’t sure the exact day it was stolen. This matter is very confidential, besides me and her Majesty, there is not a single other person in Yongxian Palace that knows about this. It was only today when I came to retrieve the medicine that I’ve told the Young Prime Minister.”

Huai Yu contemplated for a moment.

Ming ChangYan yelled, “Huai Yu, undo my acupuncture points!”

The second those words came out, Aunt LingZhi’s expression became even stranger.

Huai Yu said, “Don’t pay attention to him. Let the empress know that I will come visit her.”

Aunt LingZhi let out an ‘ai’, and gave Ming ChangYan an unfathomable look before leaving.

Even someone as powerful as Ming shaoxia was played by a fish, he was both sad and angry.

Huai Yu sat beside him as if absorbed in thought. Ming ChangYan opened his mouth, “You undo my acupuncture points and I won’t leave, I want to talk to you properly!”

Huai Yu faintly glanced at him.

Ming ChangYan said, “So you really did have the Immortal Grass, why did you lie to me?”

Huai Yu tapped his left and right shoulder, Ming ChangYan’s body softened and fell back on the bed. He quickly sat up and asked, “Why aren’t you talking?”

Huai Yu said, “The Immortal Grass has already been stolen, what’s the use of knowing now.”

Ming ChangYan stated, “That’s just false reasoning.”

He walked towards the window, Huai Yu quickly grabbed him, “What are you doing?”

Ming ChangYan, “Why is your grip so tight?”

Then, he suddenly realized, “I won’t jump, don’t worry. Since I’m already here, it’d be too much of a bother to go back. Of course, there’s still the pressing matter with the Immortal Grass, I just wanted to let Lady Hua know that she doesn’t have to keep waiting for me.”

Huai Yu thought about it then said, “I wanted you to come to the Ninety-Ninth Palace because it’s convenient for you to recuperate. If there’s something wrong with your body, I would know immediately.”

Ming ChangYan beamed, “In that case, I’d have to thank the Young Prime Minister for his consideration!”

Huai Yu snorted.

Ming ChangYan raised his forefingers, brought them up to his mouth, and let out a whistle. Finally, after a repeated four to five whistles, from outside the Ninety-Ninth Palace flew in a fat pigeon.

It was shaky and unsteady in its flying, just from this figure he could tell it was Little Eight.

Little Eight’s never flown this high before, upon landing on the window frame, he almost couldn’t take another breath, if not this bird would’ve already passed on.

Ming ChangYan took some papers and pens and wrote a note informing Hua YunChang that he wouldn’t be back as of late and will be staying at the Ninety-Ninth Palace for the time being.

After receiving his assignment, Little Eight took off and flew towards Hua YunChang’s residence.

Ming ChangYan said, “I had thought that after my death, TianQing would become a complete mess and Little Eight would probably be captured and roasted by one of the sects. I didn’t expect to find him living a pretty good life at Lady Hua’s, he’s even two lumps fatter than before. Just that now all of his wives are gone.”

Just as he finished speaking, Ming ChangYan turned back around, but suddenly saw that behind the screen across from them—seemed to reflect the shadow of a person.

He didn’t even notice?

When did this person come in?

“There’s a person in this room.”

Huai Yu said, “Of course there are people in this room.”

Ming ChangYan pulled him over, “It’s not just you and me.”

He cautiously took a look behind the screen, and there stood a man. For this man to enter this room without Ming ChangYan’s knowing, it’s clear that this man’s cultivation was high.

But, upon taking a closer look at their appearance, Ming ChangYan’s nervousness disappeared.

He was both startled and surprised, “Master!”

The man that had been standing there was Chang Xu.

“When did you come in?”

Chang Xu didn’t look at him and slowly said, “I was here before you came.”

Ming ChangYan was suddenly hit with a guilty conscience. So wouldn’t that mean, the conversation he and Huai Yu had when they first came in, about snatching civilian women and making them their wives, were all heard by Chang Xu?

Chang Xu was holding a book in his hand, and the ground behind the screen was also a huge mess, it looked like he had been looking for information. Seeing how Ming ChangYan had spotted him, he closed the book, sighed in a pretentious manner, and said something that made Ming ChangYan feel even more embarrassed, “It seems that this master can’t come in here casually anymore, the little apprentices have grown up and got themselves private spaces, sigh.”

Huai Yu ignored it and questioned, “Weren’t you going down south, why are you back so soon?”

“So heartless, I’m your master, aren’t I allowed to come into this Ninety-Ninth Palace? I used to regard this place as my home, what, now that you have a shixiong, you’re giving your master the cold-shoulder?” Chang Xu was very self-confident in his convictions, beginning to blame Huai Yu.

Huai Yu, on the other hand, didn’t hold the appearance of being an apprentice at all, disinclined to really bother with Chang Xu.

Ming ChangYan was already used to kissing up to people, quickly asking, “Master, do you need me for something?”

Chang Xu shot him a glance, but replied, “No I didn’t come here looking for you, I came here looking for a little ingrate. Yun Qing, let me ask you, what did you do to your shixiong?”

Ming ChangYan thought: Huai Yu has a little shixiong? Where’d he get a shixiong from?

But then he thought, Chang Xu only had two disciples, that little shixiong, if it wasn’t him then who would it be!

Ming ChangYan came back to his senses, “What did he do to me?”

And then, looking a little dazed, Ming shaoxia’s mind began rushing towards indescribable thoughts.

If he and Huai Yu had done any sort of ‘shady’ things that could be mentioned so seriously by Chang Xu, then there’d only be that kiss that wasn’t technically a kiss.

Although he’s always respected Chang Xu, he knows this person is very mysterious. He knows of astronomy and geology, both omniscient and omnipotent, but…..he didn’t expect him to know about this too??

It can’t be?

Was Chang Xu present at that time, but he just didn’t notice? What is going on?

Shameful….

Really too shameful!!

Ming ChangYan’s ears turned red, he was both nervous and afraid of getting found out. Laughing, he tried to explain himself in a few words, but he stuttered, “No, it’s not….I what, we actually, we have, haven’t…..”

Chang Xu was puzzled as to why he was so nervous, he was unable to fathom why Ming ChangYan was stuttering so much.

“I didn’t ask you, I asked him. ChangYan, the tattoo on your back, take it off and show it to me.”

Huai Yu’s expression changed.

Ming ChangYan reached out and touched his back, “Tattoo?”

This tattoo was something Chang Xu had helped him grain on his back years ago. It depicts all the 4 different phases of the moon in orbit, led by it were a string of Tokhara scripts leading all the way down his back before ending at his back dimples.

Chang Xu approached Ming ChangYan, fanning his fan and asking, “You still don’t know, that there’s a strange smell on yourself?”

Ming ChangYan was quick to lift up his sleeves to take a sniff, “Smell? There’s nothing, master, I bathe very diligently.”

Chang Xu said, “I’m not saying you smell bad, I mean a sweet fragrance!”

Ming ChangYan was doubtful, “I don’t wear perfume, where’s this fragrance coming from?”

Chang Xu snorted and said, “Of course you can’t smell it, only Yun Qing can distinguish the scent from your body.”

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan was mystified.

During this, Chang Xu had already asked Huai Yu, “When did you use the needle on him, is this how you choose to use the skills I taught you?”

Huai Yu turned his head, picked up a teacup from the table, and made a gesture to drink it, but instead just used it to cover half his face, he replied, “He was the one who started it.”

Ming ChangYan, “What?”

Chang Xu said, “What do you mean ‘he started it’, I’ve never taught him this, don’t tell me he came up to you and begged you to use this on him?”

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan said in surprise, “Master, you did hide things from me! So there really were other things you didn’t teach me!”

Chang Xu said, “That’s not the problem right now, I’m interrogating this little rascal. Why don’t you ask him, why he can find you wherever you go.”

Ming ChangYan faintly raised his eyebrows, looking towards Huai Yu.

Huai Yu moved his gaze unnaturally from left to right and softly humphed, not forgetting his habit.

Chang Xu said, “Since he refuses to say, then I’ll say it. Let me ask you, is there a faint, muddled fragrance on Yun Qing?”

Ming ChangYan nodded.

Chang Xu continued, “Are you the only one who can smell it, while others can’t?”

Ming ChangYan felt uncertain, only he could smell it?

It then occurred to him that when he first entered the palace, he had asked Fu Ling and Peony whether they smelled a faint fragrance and they had said no.

He promptly asked, “Why’s that.”

Chang Xu answered, “It’s because many years ago I discovered a certain method. This method uses a special kind of tattoo dye. If this dye were to penetrate the skin, it could resist minor illnesses and some toxins. In fact, it can be refined into medicine, and is a very precious dye.”

“This is precisely the dye I used to tattoo you years ago, including the ones on Yun Qing’s body.”

Ming ChangYan was completely taken back.

“But the tattoos by themselves are only disease and poison resistant, if acupuncture is applied to acupoints and plant juice is infused, it can allow the tattoo to emit a peculiar fragrance. Apart from people who have been subjected to this method, others are unable to smell this hidden fragrance.”

“This was something I picked up during my travels to a remote tribe. This method was mainly used among tribal warriors, in order to find moles from other countries, this hidden fragrance helped distinguish them from the others.” He paused, “Secondly…..” Chang Xu subtly glanced at the two, “There’s also a section of nobility, who use it to prove the truth of husband and wife. If two people have identical tattoos, it represents they are willing to tie their bonds as husband and wife and to never part.”

He finished speaking and glanced at Huai Yu.

Ming ChangYan was shocked, “Is that so?!”

Chang Xu nodded.

Ming ChangYan sighed, “That’s a pity, if this method was improved, it could become invincible for tracking!”

The atmosphere froze for nearly a quarter of an hour.

Chang Xu opened his mouth, “You don’t have any other thoughts?”

Ming ChangYan said, “How do I use this, teach me, I guarantee that in less than a month I can think of a better method that is easier than tattooing!”

All in all, knowing that Chang Xu didn’t know what happened that day, already had Ming ChangYan sighing in relief.

It had been on his nerves for a long time!

Chang Xu exclaimed, “Then why were you so shocked!”

Isn’t he shocked because of the couple thing?

But Ming ChangYan was completely unaware, saying, “Master it’s all your fault. If you had told me about this, would there be as many unjust cases in marital circles, I could’ve caught those people even if they’d been a thousand miles away! Why did you only teach him, but not me?”

He spoke assertively, and it appeared to be vaguely accusing Chang Xu in between phrases.

In fact, Chang Xu could only be labeled as Ming ChangYan’s master by name, he had never really taught him anything. During most of the time Chang Xu was in Tokahara he had swindled food and drinks from the palace, he would offhandedly mention a few things to him and got familiar with this little demon. It was his mother who really taught him.

Chang Xu stroked his beard and snorted, “You were a child that could not be taught!”

Ming ChangYan suddenly changed the topic and asked Huai Yu, “They put it on moles, and you put it on me? Little Huai Yu, I haven’t done anything to be sorry for, right?”

Chang Xu, “Pardon me, you guys can talk about your matters later. Yun Qing, you must have a reason for calling me here.”

Ming ChangYan looked towards Huai Yu.

Huai Yu sat down and said, “The emperor has set up a military campaign against a small country north of Nanping. These past few days, he’s written up a document to fix a date for attack.”

Chang Xu’s face sank, “Why does he want to go to war again? Does he think it’s appropriate when the people’s lives are destitute?” Now, because of Ming ChangYan’s death three years ago, disorder has become rampant within the Central Plains. If one were to ask where things right now are in the most turmoil, it would be the Central Plains.

Huai Yu’s hand began to unknowingly play with a small gold bead as he said, “Help me delay it for half a year, after half a year, nothing will happen again.”

Chang Xu said, “How certain are you about this?”

Huai Yu, “Very.”

After a long time, Chang Xu thought of someone and sighed, “Alright, I got it. Is there anything else besides this?”

Huai Yu briefly thought for a moment, ultimately shaking his head.

After Chang Xu left, Ming ChangYan resumed the topic from earlier, saying, “Hey, Young Prime Minister, when did you prick a needle on me, how come I didn’t know?”

Huai Yu loosened his hand, but his expression was cold, “You asked for it.” He then seemed to feel a little angry and added, “You were drunk, you don’t remember.”

Ming ChangYan’s smile gradually disappeared, “I was drunk? When was I drunk? When did I do it?”

Having said that, Ming ChangYan abruptly paused and it suddenly dawned on him, “I know, it was that night.”

That night when Huai Yu bid goodbye to XianYue Mountain, he had taken a jar of liquor from the wine cellar and said he wanted to get him drunk. But unexpectedly, instead of Huai Yu getting drunk, he got himself intoxicated.

Ming ChangYan has never touched a drop of alcohol before, he occasionally liked to drink a bit of tea, and so he didn’t know what he was like drunk.

But looking at Huai Yu’s confident appearance, had he really gone and provoked him?

But why would he want Huai Yu to prick a needle on him for no good reason?

Speaking of which, since this hidden fragrance had been planted on him for a long time now, doesn’t that mean when he first entered the palace Huai Yu would’ve known it was him the instant he smelled it?

Recalling the act he had played in front of Huai Yu……had Ming ChangYan start blushing in shame, this little brat clearly knew who he was; how was he able to keep himself from laughing at his stupid self……

The more Ming ChangYan thought about it, the more muddle-headed he became, the more muddle-headed he became, the more out of control it was. He had been so worried about whether Chang Xu knew about that day’s kiss, it was only now that he finally came back to his senses.

What was it again? There was also something about husband and wife?

Although he used a needle on him, Huai Yu definitely didn’t mean it by that. And yet, Ming ChangYan had a guilty conscience and felt he should continue with this thought or his brain might start to rot. Thus, he promptly shifted the topic, “Ai, alright, I can’t remember it anyway, in any case, it smells pretty good, haha.”

He switched back to the original topic, “Little Huai Yu, where does this Immortal Grass actually come from? I asked you before, but why didn’t you just tell me?”

Then on second thought, how precious was the Immortal Grass? Why should the Young Prime Minister tell him the truth? He wasn’t anyone special to him. Besides, Huai Yu’s already helped him so much and has done almost everything for him. It’s normal for him to not tell him about this. He rubbed his nose and said, “Forget it, forget, I’m confused. I mean, why was the Immortal Grass with the empress, and then stolen? Why did the empress tell you?”

“The Immortal Grass was originally the empress’s.” Huai Yu calmly took a sip of tea, “However, the Immortal Grass that was with the empress wasn’t real.”

Ming ChangYan was still worrying, but upon hearing this, he was stunned, “What do you mean?”

Huai Yu said, “I said, the Immortal Grass that was stolen from the phoenix seal, was fake.”

Ming ChangYan looked grim, calming himself down he asked, “Then who would’ve been able to find the empress’s Immortal Grass that was hidden in the phoenix seal? Who could’ve known about it and stolen it?”

Huai Yu said, “That fake grass was an imitation, it’s only natural that I’ve done something to it. Its aroma is vastly different from the original, as long as that person appears in front of me, then I’d know who stole it.”

Ming ChangYan was slightly taken back, “You did this on purpose!”

He suddenly smiled, “Little Huai Yu, you’re really bad.” After thinking about it, he asked again, “What if they choose to eat the grass?”

Huai Yu explained, “The Immortal Grass can only be eaten by people who are extremely weak. If it were to be eaten by someone in good health, the medicine would be too strong, their seven apertures would start to bleed and they’d die. If their purpose for stealing the Immortal Grass was to kill, they wouldn’t have taken the risk of stealing it from the empress, they would’ve just used some random poison. Therefore, the reason this person stole the medicine definitely isn’t for the purpose of murder.”

Ming ChangYan concluded, “So they’re either going to feed it to someone weak, or doing this to prevent a weak person from regaining their health.”

If that’s the case, then this attack was aimed at him.

Apart from him, who else desperately needed the Immortal Grass?

Huai Yu said, “Who do you believe stole the medicine?”

Ming ChangYan shook his head, seemingly at a loss. Huai Yu gazed at him profoundly, before looking away.

Ming ChangYan didn’t notice it, and said, “This Immortal Grass is a divine medicine that only exists in legend. The only reason I came to the palace was because this was my last hope of recovery. But who would’ve imagined that in the palace, I’d meet you, I really lucked out.”

He suddenly asked, “Huai Yu, how did you get the Immortal Grass?”

Huai Yu, “You don’t need to know about it.”

“Don’t tell me you stole it from the empress?”

At that, Huai Yu stood up and gave him a very contemptuous look.

Ming ChangYan also cheered up, rolling up his sleeves, he said, “That’s fine. If you don’t want to say, then I won’t ask. Now let’s go and catch that medicine stealing thief!”

However, Huai Yu suddenly held him down, “No. Don’t worry, eat the medicine first then take a medical bath. It’s with me, it’s not going to run away.”

Ming ChangYan laughed and quickly kissed up to him, “Whatever the Young Prime Minister says!”

Huai Yu began, “Didn’t you want to participate in the Great FengShan Feast? Stay here for a while, I can restore you to the level of participation.”

Ming ChangYan was pleasantly surprised, “Really?”

Huai Yu said, “Why would I lie to you.” After a short pause he then added, “In fact, no one can steal the Immortal Grass now because you’ve already eaten most of it.”

Just now he had still been thinking how he wouldn’t have been given such a precious item, but then to be told that he’d already eaten most of the said precious item, Ming ChangYan was utterly shocked.

“It was eaten by me?? When did I eat it, how come I didn’t know.”

Huai Yu gazed at him, then slightly hummed.

Understanding, Ming ChangYan suddenly felt a little ecstatic. Apart from being able to recover his body, there were also other things as well. He laid down on the bed and said, “Then alright. Starting today, I’m going to be living here!”

Inside the room, it was quiet for a while.

Then by surprise, Huai Yu started to say, “The reason I went to the Hundred Flower Abyss today, was to confirm something.”

Ming ChangYan had just found out that he could recover even better, and currently felt a little generous, saying, “Wasn’t it to take a look at the world’s number one beauty?”

As soon as those words exited his mouth, he thought ‘no good’, and felt ashamed: Why does that sound like a dissatisfied woman, no good, no good!

Ming shaoxia quickly corrected himself, “I meant, to deliver medicine for Li Li.”

Huai Yu shook his head, “No.”

Ming ChangYan paused for a bit, but couldn’t help but ask, “Then why?”

Huai Yu began, “I went there today, to confirm the identity of Ugly Guanyin.”

Ming ChangYan’s expression changed.

The author has something to say:

They’re going to be living together~~

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work, I will needle you and track you to your demise.

Do you like the fanart? I was actually trying to find this one artist on Weibo that drew a lot of fanart for this novel, but it turns out they actually deleted their account /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

I’ll post the fanart that I had saved prior in later chapters. I actually promised to doodle a Huai Yu like two chapters back but again forgot to post it with my last post so I’m adding an extra fanart on this chapter, hope you like it? (´ж｀;)

okay I’m nervous, uuuhhh if you see any grammar/translation mistakes hit me an email or something! It’s in the information tab.

Okay, love ya’ll byeeeeee~~

Chapter 63 : Table of Contents : Chapter 65

Chapter 63: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 19

 

 

Ming shaoxia was extremely sullen, even after he cursed, the feeling didn’t fade and instead became even more rampant.

He sat on top of the palace wall aggravated and gnashing his teeth as he looked at the spot where Huai Yu disappeared.

An innocent stone statue that had been decorating the wall was mercilessly kicked by Ming shaoxia.

Zhao XiaoLan followed along and said, “But Huai Yu-gege, the Hundred Flower Abyss doesn’t open during the day.”

Huai Yu said, “Go straight to Bai Jin.”

Zhao XiaoLan blushed and stuttered, “That, that works! Just so happens that I haven’t seen her in a long time…..”

Ming ChangYan followed behind them, when he saw Zhao XiaoLan arrive at that night’s alley, he faintly paused.

This place was particularly familiar.

Ming shaoxia crouched on top of a crate and recalled that this was the place he had kissed Huai Yu.

Although the kiss was sudden and light as a feather, even upon revisiting it, it still made him feel a slight tremble.

The more Ming ChangYan forced himself to not think about it, the clearer the memory became. So much so that it had become a little scary, it was so clear that he could see it as soon as he closed his eyes.

He used his hands to fan his face, and after fanning he sat on top of the wall and laughed.

He thought: Life is unpredictable, things are impermanent, you kissed this shaoxia here before, and now you’re unfaithfully shifting your affections. You’re lucky this shaoxia isn’t a woman, otherwise, you’d be ruined.

Ming ChangYan quietly followed them a few more steps.

Zhao XiaoLan stood fixedly in front of a wooden door.

He was on high ground and was able to take in the entire scenery behind him. Behind the wooden doors was a courtyard and a three-story house with three entrances and two windows. On the side was a terribly tall tower, only inferior to that of the Ninety-Ninth Palace.

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Huai Yu-gege, this is where Maiden Li Li lives.”

Ming ChangYan secretly thought: So this is the deepest part of the Hundred Flower Abyss.

Xiao Yu opened the door and the two of them entered the building.

Ming ChangYan found a tree, proceeding to climb up before going over the wall.

He was extremely proficient in these sort of stealthy affairs. After landing as light as a feather, he hid; going around Huai Yu and Zhao XiaoLan, he got on the eaves of the house.

Li Li had been waiting for a long time on the second floor.

Ming ChangYan flipped onto the house and squatted outside the window.

Within the window, Xiao Yu lifted the curtains and informed, “My lady, young master Zhao is here.”

Li Li lay sideways on a chaise lounge, with layers upon layers of red curtains surrounding her. Looking around, Ming ChangYan discovered the interior layout of the house was also extremely extravagant, which was quite contrasting to Li Li’s personality.

She froze for a moment before sitting up straight, “Young Prime Minister?”

Zhao XiaoLan immediately explained, “Li Li, I brought Huai Yu here with me. The wound on your hand was too serious, I was worried about just giving you an ointment. It would’ve been better if Huai Yu-gege took a look at it in person!”

Li Li got up and greeted, “For the Young Prime Minister to honor us with your presence, this lowly one is aghast.”

Huai Yu said, “No need.”

From outside the window, Ming ChangYan could only see the view of Li Li’s back, and through the layers and layers of red curtain, he could see Huai Yu’s shadow.

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Then let’s not delay any longer, Maiden Li Li, shall we come in?”

Li Li nodded and Xiao Yu lifted the red curtain.

Ming ChangYan quickly retracted his body to avoid being noticed by Huai Yu.

Xiao Yu brought out a stool, Zhao XiaoLan said, “Li Li, you can roll up your sleeves now!”

Xiao Yu glanced at Zhao XiaoLan, Li Li said, “It’s okay.”

She rolled up her sleeves, and sure enough, there were countless scars crisscrossing her jade white arm. It appeared to be old wounds, which would be difficult to cure.

It wouldn’t have been as odd if these scars appeared on a man. But for them to appear on a woman, this woman being the number one beauty in the world is a bit odd.

Huai Yu stared for a long time, Ming ChangYan too, stared for a long time.

He thought: Strange, there looks to be a pattern to these crisscrossing scars, it doesn’t look like what she described. It looks more like it had been deliberately caused than accidentally being cut by broken porcelain? But how could a weak woman like her come in contact with such a person?

After a while, he thought: How long does Huai Yu plan on staring!

Ming shaoxia raised his eyebrows, his chest feeling very uncomfortable: Even I already noticed the scars weren’t some simple matter, why is he still staring at it? Don’t tell me he saw how good-looking she was and took a fancy to her?

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Huai Yu-gege, what’s wrong?”

Huai Yu said, “Not bad, not futile.”

Li Li softly smiled and thanked, “I anticipated this old wound to stay with me for a lifetime, I never expected for it to take a turn for the better.”

Zhao XiaoLan felt rather proud upon hearing this, “Yeah! Huai Yu-gege’s medical skills are really good! I didn’t even know before until he had cured Yan-jiejie, everybody would’ve been completely in the dark!”

Xiao Yu secretly stole a few glances at Huai Yu, she’s probably never seen such a handsome man before. No matter how many times she looked, she still felt emotional.

Huai Yu prescribed medicine and got up to leave.

Zhao XiaoLan was about to say a few more words to Li Li, but upon seeing Huai Yu leave, didn’t dare to stay.

Li Li smiled, “XiaoLan, come here.”

Zhao XiaoLan paused.

Li Li took out a piece of jade from a drawer and placed it in his hands, “Courtesy demands reciprocity. If you want to see me, take this jade tablet, no one in the Hundred Flower Abyss would dare to stop you.”

Zhao XiaoLan was overjoyed, his face flushed red and excitedly said, “Then, then I’ll come see you tomorrow!”

Li Li chuckled before nodding, “Okay.”

When Zhao XiaoLan received a promise from his crush, in a moment of exhilaration, he wildly sprinted out the door.

But suddenly at the doorway into the Hundred Flower Abyss, he was pinched by a pair of slender lily-white hands.

“ZHAOLAN!”

As soon as Zhao XiaoLan heard this voice, his body suddenly jolted as he cried, “A-JIE!! MY EARS HURT!!!”

The woman who had arrived was Zhao XiaoLan’s older sister, Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling twisted his ears, “You little brat! Where were you coming out of! Lying to me and saying you were studying, how come I don’t remember ever sending you to study at some low-grade brothel! What kind of things were you studying? Ah?!”

Zhao XiaoLan began weeping, Zhao Ling loosened her grip.

She began, “I’m asking you, what are you doing at a brothel again!”

Zhao XiaoLan was using both of his hands to cover his ears, on guard in case Zhao Ling unexpectedly pinched his ears again.

“I came to deliver medicine.”

Zhao Ling’s long eyebrows arched, “Deliver medicine? What kind of medicine are you here to deliver?”

All of a sudden, her face distorted and she fiercely shouted, “You said you came to deliver medicine?!”

What kind of medicine could be used at a brothel?

It only took Zhao Ling a moment of thought to figure it out. As a result, she was shaking with anger.

Zhao XiaoLan suddenly came back to his senses, and realized what his A-jie had misunderstood, quickly saying, “No! Not that kind of medicine!”

He caught a glimpse of Huai Yu from the corner of his eye and immediately pointed at Huai Yu, “Huai Yu-gege can testify for me! We really came here to deliver medicine, they were just ordinary medicine!”

When Zhao Ling noticed Huai Yu, she restrained herself a lot.

She greeted him while glaring at Zhao XiaoLan.

Zhao XiaoLan’s courage has never been as big as Ming ChangYan’s, who if was ever bullied, would venture to hide behind Huai Yu’s back. Therefore, after getting beaten and scolded by Zhao Ling, he stood there listening motionless from beginning to end.

After Zhao Ling finished lecturing, seeing Zhao XiaoLan’s pitiful appearance, her heart softened.

Her gaze fell on Zhao XiaoLan’s wrist and her complexion suddenly changed, “XiaoLan where’s your bracelet?”

Zhao XiaoLan quickly retracted his hand into his sleeve, pretending to be naive, “What bracelet?”

Zhao Ling swiftly grabbed his hand, making Zhao XiaoLan shrink back. The white jade bracelet that was originally around his wrist had disappeared without a trace.

Seeing how his concealment wasn’t going to pass, Zhao XiaoLan simply recounted honestly, “I gave it away.”

Zhao Ling glared at him, “Who did you give it to?” After a pause, she continued, “There’s something that could save your life in that bracelet, and yet you gave it away without any rhyme or reason, did you even ask me?!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “A-jie, I know you put medicine in there. But I’m very powerful, I don’t need these sorts of hidden protection….”

Zhao Ling cursed, “Powerful my ass! You don’t study at all, over here having these grand dreams, where’s Zhu Rong? Why isn’t he by your side, I think you’re courting death, you gave away your bracelet and you didn’t bring Zhu Rong with you!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Zhu-xiong, Zhu-xiong has his own life, I can’t always pester him.”

Zhao Ling said, “Whatever, I just need you to get back the bracelet.”

Zhao XiaoLan’s complexion paled, “No, I already gave it away! How can I just go ask for it back! What would I become!”

Zhao Ling, “Who did you give it to?”

Zhao XiaoLan again said nothing.

In the end, Zhao Ling wasn’t in the mood to keep talking with him, she bid goodbye to Huai Yu, dragging Zhao XiaoLan away.

Ming ChangYan waited for her to leave before slowly coming forward.

He looked around before suddenly exclaiming in surprise, “Huai Yu-gege! How come you’re here too!”

Huai Yu coldly said, “Is it fun?”

Ming ChangYan grinned, “Super fun. What did you think about the scars on Li Li’s arms just now?”

Huai Yu suddenly looked at him inexplicably, “What did you reckon I thought?”

Ming ChangYan rubbed his chin and significantly expressed, “It wouldn’t be—a sexual awakening?”

Huai Yu scoffed and walked forward.

Ming ChangYan called out, “Wait, you’re being unreasonable again. I’m just joking, if you didn’t like it, I won’t say it again. I came to you for something.”

Huai Yu said, “What something do you need that you can’t come to me in the open, that you need instead by stalking?”

Ming ChangYan laughed, “Of course you found out.”

He secretly thought: What a wicked little fish.

Ming ChangYan began, “I came to get my medicine. I already finished all the medicine you gave me before, I need new ones.”

He reached out and placed a hand on Huai Yu’s chest.

Huai Yu caught his hand.

The palm of Ming ChangYan’s hand felt slightly numb.

Huai Yu said, “Did you think this medicine was something that was just blown here by the wind, something that can have just because you want it?”

“Then what? Or you can tell me how to make this medicine and I’ll go make it. Or….” Ming ChangYan trailed off.

Or I could go tell Hua YunChang, she also knows how to make medicine, I could go ask her to make me a batch!

He thought of Hua YunChang.

However, Ming ChangYan stopped himself and didn’t say anything.

A few days ago, he didn’t know what sort of hysteria had hit Huai Yu that had made them argue about Hua YunChang. Besides, Ming ChangYan couldn’t just bluntly tell him that he was jealous, of course, he thought as much but didn’t dare to say it. If by any chance he pissed this kid off, god knows what he would’ve had to do to coax him back.

Or what if, with Huai Yu’s character, he would dig deeper and ask him why he thought he was jealous, how would Ming ChangYan explain then?

Although his skin was thick sometimes, it’s never been as thick as this, it seems that when in the face of Huai Yu, his skin would become even thinner.

Huai Yu questioned, “Or what?”

Ming ChangYan changed the subject, “Nothing. You should answer my other question first, aren’t the scars on Li Li’s arms a bit odd?”

Huai Yu, “What are you trying to say?”

Ming ChangYan explained, “Those scars were obviously caused by someone else. I don’t believe it was because she accidentally broke some porcelain, why do you think she would hide this?”

Huai Yu didn’t respond, merely saying, “It’s not convenient to talk here, let’s go back to the Ninety-Ninth Palace first.”

After leaving the Hundred Flower Abyss, Ming ChangYan began, “Then I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

Huai Yu said, “Tomorrow. No, you’re coming back to the Ninety-Ninth Palace with me now.”

Ming ChangYan was startled, “How could I do that, tonight I….”

He automatically filtered to Hua YunChang again.

Huai Yu asked, “What are you doing tonight?”

Ming ChangYan said, “In short, I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

Huai Yu snorted, “I’m not asking for your opinion.”

Ming ChangYan, “Wh–Huai Yu!!”

He still hadn’t finished speaking when Huai Yu suddenly pointed at one of his acupuncture points. With the same trick used twice, Ming shaoxia once again was met with that same pit from before, and living up to expectations, he dropped down again.

Huai Yu went straightforward and carried him in a princess carry. Ming shaoxia cried, “Don’t, don’t, don’t!! Don’t carry me like that! Change a position!!”

Huai Yu, “Rejected.”

Ming shaoxia’s complexion flushed red, “Huai Yu! Little brat, you show no respect for your elders! This this this, is this how you carry someone!”

Huai Yu turned a deaf ear.

Ming ChangYan was unwilling to give up, once again beginning to struggle like he was on his deathbed.

Huai Yu suddenly said, “Why are you so nervous?”

With this, Ming ChangYan nearly evaporated.

Huai Yu deliberately tapped his acupuncture point, making him unable to even cover his face. He could only allow his face to slowly flush red.

“What, what am I nervous for, nervous, me, nervous, I’m not nervous!”

Huai Yu nodded and affirmed, “You are. You’re stuttering.”

Ming shaoxia closed his eyes and yelled, “Stop talking!”

With the use of qinggong along the way, usually, when Ming ChangYan would leap onto roofs and vault over walls, he didn’t really feel anything. That’s why he felt so strange while he was being held in someone else’s arms, even the wind that blew in his face felt ten times colder than before. Huai Yu’s body was the only thing that had somewhat of a temperature.

Ming shaoxia ate a stomachful of northwest wind, but the heat from his face never dropped. He could only close his eyes and play dead, acting like his soul had already left his body and scattered itself.

The chill was even worse at the top of the Ninety-Ninth Palace.

He’s been to Huai Yu’s bedroom many times, and every time he came back it would be a completely new experience. The only thing that wouldn’t change would be the cold, a cold to the bone. It’s wasn’t even winter yet, and yet his bedroom felt like the dead of winter, the freezing conditions making him shiver.

Ming ChangYan said, “Huai Yu, we’re already here, you should undo my acupuncture points now, right?”

Huai Yu placed him on the bed before going off to find medicine.

Ming shaoxia’s mouth never stopped to rest, sighing, he was left feeling helpless, “You brat! How come you’re so overbearing?!”

He rambled on, “You’re acting like a bandit right now, you know that! This is what the bandit leader of HeiMin Mountain would do! Do you know what they did afterwards, they snatched civilian women and forced them to become bandit wives! This shaoxia wiped them all out! You are following their old ways! I advise you to raise your ideological awareness a little, and let me go right now, or else I’ll—”

Huai Yu leaned against the cupboard, after waiting in leisure, he asked with ease, “Or else you’ll what?”

There were too many torture methods in Ming shaoxia’s head, but he was reluctant to use any of them on Huai Yu. And so, after a long struggle, he didn’t pick one that would work best and was in a clutch.

Huai Yu asked, “I’m a bandit, then what are you?”

Ming shaoxia’s head pounded.

Huai Yu let out a laugh before asking again, “What did I do after I snatched you back, say it again.”

Ming shaoxia had just lifted a rock and hit his own foot. His face was painted another layer of red, to the point that it looked like it’d start dripping with blood at any moment. He was depressed!

At this moment, the doorman heard sounds of activity and ran over to report: Aunt LingZhi, who was always beside the empress, had been waiting there for a long time.

Huai Yu asked, “It’s in the pharmacy, didn’t you let her take it?”

Yet the doorman said, “Aunt LingZhi said that in addition to getting the medicine, she also had things to inform you.”

Huai Yu paused for a moment before inviting Aunt LingZhi inside.

When Aunt LingZhi came in, she noticed that on the Young Prime Minister’s bed lay a man. Even the aunt who has witnessed great upheavals and turbulence within the palace was stupefied.

Huai Yu inquired, “What’s the matter?”

Aunt LingZhi came back to her senses but appeared inconvenient to speak when she saw that Ming ChangYan, this ‘outsider’ was still in the bedroom. Huai Yu was aware of this, and added, “There’s no harm, just say it.”

Aunt LingZhi bowed and finally spoke.

“Her Majesty wants to inform the Young Prime Minister, that the Immortal Grass has been stolen.”

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my translations I’ll freeze you to death.

 

 

 

I’ll get the next chapter posted as soon as possible since I don’t want to leave you guys on such a cliffhanger!! Also because I really like the next chapter චᆽච

Also, you all are like so nice, I’m sorry the post kinda slowed down so much, it was mainly from burnout but I’m way better now! I’ll try to get back to when I posted once a week~~

If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please tell me! I have like super bad grammar.

Love you all, please stay healthy ♥️

 

 

 

Chapter 62 : Table of Contents : Chapter 64

Chapter 62: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 18

 

 

The roots of Ming ChangYan’s ears turned red, and he immediately laughed it off, “Alright alright, Baili, just tell that story to me again.”

Baili Deng immediately retold the story from before again to Ming ChangYan, after he finished he said, “Why does Madame want to hear this story?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Just curious! Your story is so detailed like you experienced it yourself, where did you hear it from? Tell me the truth, are you the person who survived in the story?”

Baili promptly said, “It’s merely hearsay I heard when traveling outside the capital.”

“Where exactly? Who told you?”

“It, it was simply a chance meeting, I really don’t know.”

Seeing how the other was nervous, Ming ChangYan hooked him by the shoulders and walked to the side, “Ey, I won’t tell anyone else! There were only a handful of sects that were wiped out these past few years, you should at least know which sect was wiped out in the story.”

Baili hesitated for a bit as if thinking before finally saying, “It….it was LingYun.”

After receiving an answer, Ming ChangYan was satisfied and let Baili Deng go, “Baili thank you very much for telling me.” Just as Baili let out a sigh of relief and was about to leave, he suddenly felt a strong murderous intent. At the same time, his subconscious was already starting to react, his sword hilt directly blocking a hand that was close to taking his life.

Ming ChangYan retracted his ominous semblance, smiling at Baili Deng, “Just joking around, Baili wouldn’t mind right.”

Baili Deng had been scared to death, but still cupped his hands and said, “If nothing else, then I’ll take my leave.”

Ming ChangYan waved his hand, signifying there was nothing else.

After waiting for Baili to leave, he turned around and said, “Huai Yu, I’ll go back to the inn first.”

Huai Yu nodded and followed him, Zhao XiaoLan too followed behind them.

After walking for a while, he suddenly asked, “What do you think?”

Ming ChangYan was still thinking when he smugly said, “Eight to nine out of ten.”

Zhao XiaoLan suddenly said, “This guard Baili is too old-fashioned! Too timid! Once, I invited him to come experience the dangers of Jianghu with me but he refused, he even told me to stay away from Zhu-xiong! He said that those Jianghu people were vicious at heart, that you can know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature! Then he told me to go back to the palace and study properly!”

Zhao XiaoLan didn’t believe Baili Deng’s warning at all, to put it into simpler terms, he believed too much in Zhu Rong, and so all of Baili’s words went in one ear and came out the other.

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan began thinking again. While Zhao XiaoLan was still chattering away beside them, he secretly said to Huai Yu, “Zhu Rong, this person, is very well disguised, he’s nearly impermeable. I have no real evidence to actually identify him as Zhuang Xiao.”

Huai Yu, “You’ve had doubts about him for a long time.”

Ming ChangYan nodded, “That’s right, I’ve sensed there was a problem with him for a while now, but it’s not because of his high cultivation or weird behavior, it’s instead the sound his bells make.”

“I noticed the sound of that bell the moment I heard it. The noise was indeed pleasant to the ear, people would go into a tranquil state of mind upon hearing it as if you could forget about all your troubles. It made people feel quite relaxed and carefree.”

Ming ChangYan rubbed his nose. He had just recalled Yi Yue’s death not long before meeting Zhu Rong for the first time. Although Ming ChangYan himself appeared low-spirited for two days before leaping and frisking about again, his heart wasn’t at all what he showed on the surface.

In truth, it was tormenting.

Naturally, he didn’t like people finding out about this state of mind.

He paused for a bit before continuing, “My mother was proficient at the Four Arts and could’ve been called a master, likewise I grew up with music in my childhood. It’s true that music could move people’s emotions, but never anything like Zhu Rong’s.”

“That is to say, what I felt at that time wasn’t my mood slowly changing, but as if that sound was forcibly controlling my emotions.”

His heart that was full of dysphoria back then was suddenly calmed down and forced into a peaceful state. The feeling was so unfamiliar, if he wasn’t so agitated back then, he wouldn’t even have noticed anything strange about Zhu Rong.

“Anyway, that feeling wasn’t normal, that I’m sure.” Upon hearing this, Huai Yu’s expression slightly sank.

Huai Yu said, “How could you feel it?” Ming ChangYan was afraid that Huai Yu would notice this and tactfully said, “Maybe….maybe I’m more sensitive?”

He then quickly summed up, “After making this point clear, a problem arises. It’s evident that the tranquilizing effect wasn’t caused by the bell, but the person using it. They’re the ones who could produce this calming sound, and there’s an 80 percent chance that they could make other sounds as well.”

“So then why would he want to constantly use the bell sound for calming purposes? For other people to hear? For XiaoLan? Impossible, would XiaoLan need him controlling his mood to be happy? For me to hear? For you? For others? This doesn’t make sense.”

Huai Yu concluded, “For himself.”

“Yes, it could only be for himself. I’m guessing he’s actually completely different from the persona we’ve been seeing. He may be completely ruthless, cold-blooded, and monstrous. His personality and behavioral logic are different from ordinary people, or he’s experienced something that was extremely painful for him to endure, to the point where he can’t control himself, so it makes sense for him to use other means to try and control it.”

Him, “Too bad Zhu Rong ran away. Otherwise, we could’ve caught him and questioned him about the whole sequence of events. These people who’ve done a lot of bad in their life would be keener when it comes to crutch situations.”

At this time, Zhao XiaoLan had already walked ahead of them, glancing around looking very happy.

Huai Yu said, “What did you want to ask?”

Ming ChangYan gave him a faint smile, “For example, if there was something working with him behind the scenes, if he wanted to hurt me, if he and I had any sort of animosity, if he knew the person who’d been imitating me. Ever since my death two years ago, that person has never given up on shifting the blame on me. It’s just that, I don’t know. They’ve already killed me, why do they keep attacking me? Do they hate me so much that they’d torment me even after my death?”

Huai Yu, “Why do they want you dead.”

Ming ChangYan, “Probably for their benefit.”

Huai Yu said, “How many people know you’re still alive?”

Ming ChangYan, “Not many. But the needle sect exterminations never stopped, it didn’t just start after I came back to life.”

Huai Yu said, “But they came to the palace right after you woke up. This signifies that they knew you were alive, and knew ahead of anyone else.”

There was a slight pause in Ming ChangYan’s steps.

He thought for a moment, “There is no such person.”

Huai Yu looked as he wanted to say something, but seeing how confident Ming ChangYan was, he decided not to say.

Ming ChangYan said, “I have to restore all of my cultivation before the Great FengShan Feast. Huai Yu, how much more of that medicine do you have? I might as well just drink all of it at once!”

Huai Yu said coldly, “Do you think drinking all of it at once will make you better.”

Ming ChangYan began, “I can’t wait any longer. The Great FengShan Feast….”

There was a brief pause, “In short, there’s going to be people there that I really don’t want to meet.”

Huai Yu abruptly changed the subject, “Ming ChangYan, have you never doubted the people around you?”

Ming ChangYan, “What?”

Huai Yu, “Since someone knows you’re alive and arranged all of this, then why don’t you think, who’s known you were alive since the very beginning.”

Ming ChangYan questioned, “Are you talking about Lady Hua?”

Huai Yu didn’t say anything, only continuing to walking forward.

Ming ChangYan laughed, “How could it have been her! Even if I cast my doubts on everyone in this world, I still wouldn’t cast doubts on her.”

With that, Huai Yu asked, “What about me?”

Ming ChangYan felt rather strange, “What’s wrong with you? Why would I doubt you again?”

He chased after the other, “Ay, ay, ay! Huai Yu, Young Prime Minister! I’ll stop talking, why are you angry again? Can’t you give me notice in advance next time?”

“Fine fine fine, I’ll doubt you, I’ll doubt you immediately! Young Prime Minister, tell me, were you secretly planning all of this because you were jealous that this shaoxia’s cultivation was higher than yours? You bore a grudge, ganged up with XiaoHan Temple, and together decided to send me to eternal damnation!”

Huai Yu stopped and gave him an icy glare.

Ming ChangYan quickly held up both of his hands, “I’ll stop talking, I was wrong!”

Huai Yu, “What were you wrong about.”

Regardless of the consequences, Ming ChangYan explained his mistakes, and made a profound self-criticism, “I was wrong about everything, alright! Don’t ignore me.”

He always admits his mistakes but never repents. Huai Yu was already aware of Ming shaoxia’s bad habits, and so he chose to disregard it.

Ming ChangYan said, “Little Huai Yu, there’s a person behind debts, people behind injustices, you should at least find a reason for suspicion. If you want to doubt Lady Hua, you have to first disregard the years-long friendship the two of us share. She can’t even walk on too long of a road with a body like hers, she has to stop and rest every few steps, how would she even be capable of setting me up? Besides, what benefit would she gain from killing me?”

Huai Yu said, “It’s fine if you don’t doubt her, why are you explaining this to me.”

This single sentence dejected Ming shaoxia.

Upon further thought, he realized what he said made sense.

Why was he so nervous? Why did he explain so much to Huai Yu? Because he was afraid that Huai Yu would be jealous?

Thinking of this, Ming shaoxia’s thoughts suddenly became a blur. He shook his head and thought: It’s all nonsense in your head! Nope nope! Forget about it!!

Huai Yu called out, “Why aren’t you keeping up, I can’t talk back to you now!”

Ming ChangYan used his hands to fan his cheeks while also hastily cooling them down, before saying, “You can you can, everything’s all up to you, when we return to the capital, I’ll definitely question Lady Hua!”

Huai Yu pursed his lips, “Whatever you want!”

After the Fireworks Festival, Zhu Rong completely disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Ming ChangYan finally had a moment of leisure and left from Huai Yu for a few days.

Because of everything that had happened before, the two were like conjoined twins, almost inseparable. Ming ChangYan was somewhat unaccustomed to this sudden separation.

Hua YunChang asked, “Zhao Zhao, what’s wrong, heats only come in summer.”

There was a slight pause in the hand Ming ChangYan was using to feed the fish, “Who’s in heat!”

Hua YunChang clapped her hands, “You, of course, is there anyone else in my courtyard?”

Ming ChangYan, “I’m not feeding them anymore.”

Hua YunChang smiled, “It seems that your thoughts were never on this fish in the first place.”

Xiao A-Chai also made fun of him, “Young master ChangYan, others buy fish to take home and eat, but you, you buy fish to raise in a barrel.”

Ming ChangYan plucked a green foxtail from the courtyard and used it to tease the fish in the barrel.

Hua YunChang said, “What, you quarreled with the other fish out there, and now you’ve come to buy a fish and vent your anger?”

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan sighed. He then asked, “Actually, I came here today to ask you a question. Xiao A-Chai, go to the kitchen and cook this fish for your lady.”

Xiao A-Chai knew that this was Ming ChangYan signaling her to leave, thus she wiped off her smile, agreed, and went into the kitchen.

Ming ChangYan said, “Yun Luo, are you still refusing to tell me what exactly is wrong with your body?”

Hua YunChang sat on a stool and asked with a smile, “Why did you suddenly call me by my name, it’s been more than ten years since someone’s called me that.”

Ming ChangYan paused then questioned, “Yun Luo, who else besides you knows that I’m not dead?”

Hua YunChang began, “Are you suspecting me?”

After hearing her bold words, Ming ChangYan decided to be direct with her, “Not to that extent, I was just casually asking.”

Hua YunChang sighed.

Ming ChangYan’s heart tightened, “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean to suspect you, I just…..”

Hua YunChang whisphered, “So it’s true that you can’t retrieve girls that have been married off.”

Ming ChangYan expressionlessly said, “……think the person behind everything is definitely you!”

Hua YunChang laughed and said, “Zhao Zhao has been deceived by a few words from people outside and is now coming here to suspect me. If I wanted to kill you, you would’ve died a thousand and eight hundred times already.”

Ming ChangYan thought about it, and she was right.

Hua YunChang grinned, “Zhao Zhao, just because I’m fond of you, doesn’t mean you can be unrestrained with me, I’m very upset.”

Ming ChangYan chuckled, “So what if I want to be unrestrained!” He then turned serious, “Look, when I first saw you, my body was almost as crippled as yours, practically helpless; and now? I’m almost back to how I was before.”

“I think that if I got Huai Yu to come take a look at you, he might be able to cure you, though I’d have to nicely beg him for him to agree.”

After hearing this, Hua YunChang ultimately said, “Forget it. Didn’t you want to know what happened to my body? I can tell you.”

After a pause, she gently began, “At that time, NanRou was destroyed by DaChu, I was captured by the DaChu army and thrown into the barracks. That day just happened to be my fifteenth birthday.”

Ming ChangYan asked, “And then?”

Hua YunChang smiled, “That’s it.”

Ming ChangYan was surprised, “That’s it?”

Hua YunChang, “Of course, what else do you want?”

Ming ChangYan was still befuddled, “You were captured, then what? They beat you and rendered you crippled? That doesn’t make sense, with your cultivation, you couldn’t have been crippled so easily!”

Hua YunChang laughed at his innocence, only saying, “I am responsible for my high cultivation, but how could I stand up to thousands of troops. Besides, I was only fifteen years old at that time. No matter how powerful I was among my peers, I will still only a knife that hadn’t been sharpened yet. Zhao Zhao, what do you think happens to girls who are thrown into the barracks?”

She didn’t say anything, but Ming ChangYan’s expression turned a deathly pale.

Hua YunChang continued, “I’ve already let go of the past, if you want to leave a few tears for me, then I will remember your kindness. It’s just that I don’t need your tears, Zhao Zhao, sit down.”

After a long time of silence, Ming ChangYan slapped himself.

But in mid-air, this slap was stopped by Hua YunChang.

“What are you doing? I was the one who wanted to tell you, what’s it got to do with you?”

Ming ChangYan pursed his lips and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Hua YunChang gave him a soft smile, “Oh you, I said I wouldn’t tell you, but you just kept pestering me. Now that I’ve told you, you’re hurting my heart by doing this again.”

She poured a cup of tea and handed it to Ming ChangYan, “This life of mine is already over, but seeing you slowly walk a similar path as me, I have to remind you that in this world, cultivation isn’t everything.”

“You know the person behind this has a lot of influence, they’re setting traps to try and kill you. You’ve already ‘died’ once, why haven’t you learned your lesson, continuing to get involved with Jianghu.”

Hua YunChang seemed to have recalled something, saying, “But I’m surprised by how well you’ve recovered, did you get a hold of the Immortal Grass?”

Ming ChangYan said, “No, I didn’t find the Immortal Grass when I went to the palace, it’s all because of Huai Yu’s brilliant medical skills.”

Hua YunChang nodded then continued, “Listen to my advice, it’s better if you abandon everything, find a mountain full of vegetation and settle down.”

Hearing this, he waved his hand and dismissed, “Nope. That person has harmed to this extent, if I don’t make mincemeat out of them, then even if I went through purgatory, I’d still crawl my way back up.”

Hua YunChang said, “You and your temperament, I persuade you a hundred times and you won’t listen, what a headache. Zhao Zhao, I really won’t let me be worry-free. You’re always out there fighting and killing, while I’m over here filled with anxiety that one day, I might have to go and collect your corpse.”

Ming ChangYan assured, “Don’t worry, I’ll avenge Yi Yue and YuLou before you could collect my corpse.” He then asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Hua YunChang said, “It’s just that you changed a lot, I almost couldn’t believe it.”

Ming ChangYan, “How come I didn’t know that I’ve changed that much.”

Hua YunChang, “If it’d been the you from before sitting here, you would’ve most likely said ‘how many people in this world would ever be as talented as me’ or, ‘what number one in this world doesn’t toy around.’”

Ming ChangYan tapped his forefinger on the table, and he suddenly felt a little fidgety, “Really.”

Ming ChangYan knew that he was different from how he was in the past. Nowadays, all he wanted was for him, his sister, and YuLou to not have died without a cause. Ming ChangYan was well aware, although Huai Yu’s medical skills were almost a defiance to the natural order, it was still unable to completely restore his cultivation to what it had been before.

Without the strength he had before, and his encounter with life and death, he was no longer able to be as blindly self-confident and only care about prestige anymore. But for him to let it go was simply impossible. And now, even if they perished together, Ming ChangYan would never let the person behind all of this go.

Hua YunChang sighed again, looking at him with eyes full of worry.

Ming ChangYan stayed there for a few days.

But in reality, he couldn’t stay a second day. Hua YunChang’s residence wasn’t far from the palace and according to his qinggong skills, it only took two incense sticks for him to go back and forth.

However, he thought for a whole day and night, but couldn’t think of rational reasons for him to visit Huai Yu, making him feel bitter.

On the third day, Ming shaoxia had the guts to push open the door. This time, he didn’t care whether or not he had a reason or not. If he had a reason, then he’d go honorably, even if he didn’t have a reason, couldn’t he just secretly enter without notice?

He changed clothes and entered through ShaoYang gate. After leaping through roofs and vaulting over walls, he landed in the Ninety-Ninth Palace’s front corridor.

At this moment, Zhao XiaoLan hurrying past this very corridor.

Ming ChangYan didn’t expect to bump into him, but with his current appearance it wasn’t convenient for him to greet him, so he merely watched as Zhao XiaoLan walked towards the Ninety-Ninth Palace.

Huai Yu seemed to have been waiting for a long time, as soon as Zhao XiaoLan arrived at the entrance, he walked out.

Ming ChangYan sat on top of the palace corridor and found an area that was out of sight.

Zhao XiaoLan began, “Huai Yu-gege, I came to fetch the medicine!”

Ming ChangYan suddenly remembered that a few days ago, he had promised Zhao XiaoLan to let Huai Yu give him an extra ointment so that he could use it to treat Li Li’s old scars.

Huai Yu took out two cases of ointment from his cuffs. His hand was hanging in midair when he suddenly took it back.

Not only was Zhao XiaoLan stunned, but the Ming ChangYan who was still on top of the corridor was also a bit stunned.

He thought: What’s Huai Yu doing?

Huai Yu said, “I’m coming with you.”

Zhao XiaoLan was surprised, “What?”

Huai Yu stated, “Just in case, I want to have a look at her scars to confirm I prescribed the right medicine that has the better result.”

Zhao XiaoLan mumbled, “This, this…..”

Huai Yu, “What’s the matter?”

There was a slight change in Zhao XiaoLan’s expression, he said, “I don’t think that’s right, Huai Yu-gege, what would Yan-jiejie do if she found out. Although it’s said that the folk customs of our Central Plains are quite open, it’s okay for a doctor to examine a female’s arm.”

“But when it’s said and done, Maiden Li Li is the number one beauty in the world, and Huai Yu-gege was born attractive. It’s always been difficult to guess what’s going on inside a woman’s mind, even if there isn’t anything between you and Li Li, if Yan-jiejie found out, she’d definitely start filling her mind with nonsense.”

Huai Yu was dazed and said, “You don’t read books, you don’t attend class, it seems that you’ve only been using your brain to study these dishonest practices. I want you to know that if you used the wrong medicine, the scars may stay there forever, so it’s better if I see it with my own eyes.”

In a nervous state, Zhao XiaoLan was quick to say, “No, no! Huai Yu-gege, I haven’t…..I, I was just babbling! I’ve been reading, I’ve been reading…..”

Huai Yu felt disinclined to reply, walking ahead without glancing back.

Zhao XiaoLan cried out, “Huai Yu-gege! Wait for me, why don’t you go greet Yan-jiejie instead…..” He finally voiced his inner concerns, “If Yan-jiejie found out, she’d definitely get jealous….besides, you’re, you’re good-looking, what if Li Li falls in love with you!”

Ming ChangYan laughed as he sat on top of the wall, unable to restrain a smile: Zhao XiaoLan that child, he’s making me seem way too petty, why would I get jealous of Huai Yu over something like this.

And yet unpredictably, Huai Yu replied, “Heh, perhaps.”

Ming ChangYan was expressionless: fuck

 

The author has something to say:

Ming shaoxia is lighting fast!

Of course Huai Yu knows that there’s a pair of small eyes staring at him.

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my translations I’ll tease you with a foxtail.

 

 

 

aaaaaahhh, I forgot to post the MCY doodle that I promised like two chapters ago, so I’ll post it here!! I’ll probably put a Huai Yu in the next chapter I post. Just warning you, that this was drawn some time ago and there are parts of it that aren’t that good hahaha (・・；)

It’s my birthday soon and my mother wants to go on a road trip with me, so I’ll probably be gone for a week until the next chapter is posted.

If you see any grammatical/translation errors please tell me!! I cringe everytime I spot a grammar issue in my posts.

Have fantastic day guys~~~

 

 

 

Chapter 61 : Table of Contents : Chapter 63

Chapter 61: From the Flower Reflects a Picture – Part 17

 

 

Ming ChangYan’s expression changed.

The one who had arrived was monk Dao Zhen from XiaoHan Temple. He had the pleasure of meeting him before, where the other had seen his true appearance. They recently had a face-to-face meeting a few days ago, just that Ming ChangYan had seen him, but he hadn’t seen Ming ChangYan.

Ming shaoxia was lucky he hadn’t spotted him before, but this time, he wasn’t so lucky.

For a split second monk Dao Zhen and his eyes met, the other blurted out, “You…..”

Ming ChangYan whispered a “not good” and with the wind blowing behind him, he booked it.

He turned around and began running in the direction of an avenue, but somehow collided with Zhao XiaoLan who had been hurrying in his direction. Zhao XiaoLan cried out as Ming ChangYan hugged him by the shoulders, his face flushed up and jumped away at the speed of light, “Yan-jiejie!!”

Ming ChangYan said, “What are you so nervous for?” Having said that, he took a quick glance behind him before grabbing Zhao XiaoLan and sprinting away.

Zhao XiaoLan had actually come to put out the fire, but now that he was being pulled away by Ming ChangYan, he was dazed.

“Yan-jiejie! Slow down! Yan-jiejie!!!”

Ming ChangYan exclaimed, “Slow! Slow what down! I’m being chased!”

Zhao XiaoLan looked behind them and sure enough, closely following behind Ming ChangYan were XiaoHan Temple monks.

He screamed, “But!! But what am I running for!!!”

Ming ChangYan, “If you don’t want to run, then stop.”

Zhao XiaoLan stood still for a moment before immediately shouting, “Nope, Nope!! They’re chasing me!! Yan-jiejie!! Why are you being chased by XiaoHan Temple monks?!!”

Ming ChangYan shamelessly said, “Because I’m beautiful!”

Zhao XiaoLan wanted to cry but had no tears. Turning around the corner, he yelled, “It’s Huai Yu-gege!”

Ming ChangYan’s eyes lit up, in a few quick steps he went and hid behind Huai Yu. Zhao XiaoLan had run out of breath, he leaned against a wall as he took in large breathfuls of air.

A-Jun noticed the two were a complete mess, and couldn’t help but ask in bewilderment, “What happened to you guys?”

Ming ChangYan let out a sigh of relief. Looking around, he saw that both A-Jun and the third prince were here, but Zhu Rong was gone.

He asked, “Huai Yu, why are you here? Where’s Zhu Rong? Weren’t you keeping an eye on him?”

Huai Yu said, “XiaoHan Temple caught on fire, I came looking for you.”

Ming ChangYan repeated, “Looking for me?” He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “What’s so good-looking about me, what could I do, run straight into the fire?”

After saying this, Ming ChangYan seemed to have suddenly realized something and teased, “Were you worried about me?”

Huai Yu humphed.

Ming ChangYan was still laughing when the XiaoHan Temple monks arrived.

Among them, a monk with a pointed head roared, “Where’s Ming ChangYan!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao XiaoLan said, “Ming shaoxia? What Ming shaoxia?”

As the fire raged on, the country magistrate’s brows were beaded with sweat while commanding officers and men to put out the fire. At this point, no one cared about how much damage had been inflicted upon XiaoHan Temple’s newly built temple. Among the dozens of lives that were in the temple, none survived. After the fire continued to burn for a while, the front door collapsed with a loud bang. A few scorched corpses were stuck on the door and rolled out along with it. The people who were putting out the fire covered their mouths to stop themselves from vomiting.

When monk Dao Zhen saw this, it was as if he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. A moment later, the monk with the pointy head’s eyes filled with tears as he cried out, “Needles…..it’s needles! There are needles all over my fellow apprentice’s necks!”

Although the bodies had been burned beyond recognition and the throats scorched to dense white bones with strips of flesh still connected to it, pierced through them were needles that had been burned black by the fire, under the light they seemed even more sinister.

Monk Dao Zhen screamed, “MING CHANGYAN!!”

Ming ChangYan thought: Hold up! It always points to me when needles show up! They just can’t seem to differentiate right and wrong, over here falsely accusing good people!

Monk Dao Zhen’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he looked towards Zhao XiaoLan, “Where’s Ming ChangYan!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “You’re asking me? I, I…..him, how am I supposed to know! Ming shaoxia, hasn’t Ming shaoxia already been killed by you guys!”

The monk with the pointy head shouted, “He never died in the first place! He’s still alive! If not…..then how do you explain this fire!”

Ming ChangYan had already become accustomed to getting berated, but Zhao XiaoLan’s neck stiffened as his face turned red from anger. Every time Ming ChangYan was mentioned in a conversation, Zhao XiaoLan would turn into a completely different person, and would always try and compete with the other party.

“Old monk! I’ll give you some face since you’re a senior in your sect, but if you say another bad word about Ming shaoxia, I’m afraid you’re going to get more than you bargained for!”

The pointy-headed monk fumed, “And who are you, Ming ChangYan has killed tens of my XiaoHan Temple’s disciples, a blood debt must be paid in blood!”

Zhao XiaoLan, “Hilarious! The person who forced Ming shaoxia to his death was the leader of your XiaoHan Temple! Who didn’t see him fall into the Yanbo River, what, you slander him for killing people when he was alive, and you plan on slandering him even after his death?! I want to hear for myself what kind of ridiculous reasons you old monks have for me!”

Pointy-headed monk, “Who else is there beside him!”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “What a joke! There are so many people in this world that use needles, and yet you blame it all on a dead man! It’s just because you XiaoHan Temple see him in a bad light, it’s priceless, even at death he never really paid that much attention towards you, and here’s you, hurrying to declare him an enemy! You all are literally the most inexplicably fragile sect I’ve ever seen! Why don’t you go ahead and say that it’s because you angered the Zhuang family’s spirits by building your temple here! Still the same fire! I’m warning you!”

The pointy-headed monk, “You!”

The third prince proclaimed, “Stop!”

It was only then that monk Dao Zhen discovered the third prince was here.

He woefully said, “Your highness the third prince……a great calamity has befallen our sect, I ask the third prince to look at this with your insight, and make a decision for us.”

Upon hearing this, Ming ChangYan burst out into laughter. He stood behind Huai Yu and said coldly, “You old XiaoHan Temple donkeys refused to find evidence for this case, and now you’re even trying to shamelessly conspire together with the court.”

Huai Yu said, “You better start worrying about yourself first.”

Ming ChangYan said, “Me? Why should I worry about myself.” His eyes curved as he playfully smiled, “Huai Yu-gege, you promised to cover for me.”

Huai Yu calmly turned his head, “Hmph.”

Ming ChangYan tugged on his sleeve, “Hey, where did Zhu Rong go?”

Huai Yu shook his head, “He took advantage of the disturbance and ran away, so I brought Zhao XiaoLan over here.”

Ming ChangYan, “He may have expected me catching up on him, so he set XiaoHan Temple on fire to draw our attention away from him. It’s because he ran away that XiaoHan Temple is now putting all the blame for this one on me.”

At that moment, the third prince asked, “Dao Zhen-fangzhang, how are you certain that this XiaoHan Temple fire was caused by Ming ChangYan?”

Zhao XiaoLan exclaimed, “Exactly! Ming shaoxia didn’t even have a peaceful death, while you old monks are running off to brothels every day instead of practicing your cultivation or studying! Always staring at someone better than you, why don’t you take a closer look at your own moral integrity!”

The third prince, “XiaoLan, calm down.”

Zhao XiaoLan gnashed his teeth, crossed his arms, turned his head, and closed his eyes, so angry he refused to speak.

The third prince began, “Fangzhang, it was you explained back then that Ming ChangYan had already died, for you to now push these things onto his head, this……”

The pointy-headed monk shouted, “He didn’t die! Master saw him just now! Master Dao Zhen, you explain–master is the only person who’s seen Ming ChangYan’s real appearance. Just now, he saw Ming ChangYan! We all saw him there, Ming ChangYan ran the moment he saw master!”

The pointy-headed monk suddenly turned his gaze towards Zhao XiaoLan and stared him down, “It was him! He was the one who was grabbed by Ming ChangYan and pulled away!”

The third prince kindly asked, “Dao Zhen-fangzhang, did such a thing happen?”

Dao Zhen’s complexion changed, “This……”

He couldn’t be sure. Although born within XiaoHan Temple, Dao Zhen was different from the majority of those there. He was someone honest, a temperamental person who would listen to words of reasoning first and fairness second. Just now, he really felt that the person he’d seen was Ming ChangYan, but couldn’t conclude that it had definitely been Ming ChangYan.

After all, the Noble Gentleman died two years ago, that’s for sure. Everyone had watched as his body was fished up from the river. Although there were rumors going around Jianghu that he didn’t die, they were never mainstream. Moreover, Dao Zhen had only seen Ming ChangYan’s appearance once and that was many years ago, after such a long period of time, no matter how good his memory was, it wasn’t impossible for him to have seen wrong.

Monk Dao Zhen admitted, “This monk is not sure.”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “What do you mean by, ‘I’m not sure.’ A no’s a no! You should stop making malicious accusations! Do you really want me to tell you? Old monk, the person who pulled me away wasn’t Ming shaoxia, in fact, she’s not even a man!”

Ming ChangYan, “…”

Zhao XiaoLan was filled with righteous indignation, “She’s a woman!”

Pointy-headed monk was stunned for a moment, before rushing to say, “Pah! What woman! This kid must be blind, what kind of woman is that tall!”

Zhao XiaoLan retorted, “You’re the one who’s blind, what, you’re banning women to grow tall now! Stop with your conceited nonsense, do you know who she is?”

An alarm rose within Ming ChangYan, and as expected, Zhao XiaoLan paused for a bit before promptly saying, “She’s the wife of the Young Prime Minister!”

This time even monk Dao Zhen was shocked.

“Prime Minister’s wife?”

Zhao XiaoLan secretly thought: Sure enough, the ways of the world would only work if Huai Yu-gege’s reputation is brought up.

The third prince’s expression slightly changed.

Monk Dao Zhen inquired, “You mean that Immortal Yun Qing?”

Zhao XiaoLan said, “Yeah so what? Are you experiencing dementia to the point that you can’t even tell a woman apart from a man! How could this be made up? The third prince is right here, if you don’t believe me, then go ahead and try asking him.”

The third prince wore a face full of awkwardness, after being put on the spot by Zhao XiaoLan’s bold words, he could only take Ming ChangYan’s side and smile, “XiaoLan is right.”

Zhao XiaoLan was elated, he felt as if he had just won a battle, turning around he shouted, “Huai Yu-gege, aren’t I right!”

Ming ChangYan felt too ashamed to show his face, wanting to dig a hole and bury himself in it.

No, he didn’t need to dig a hole, he had been slowly digging a hole for himself this entire time, and now Zhao XiaoLan this little blockhead has pushed him in!

You’ve sinned me!

Ming shaoxia internally cried.

He hurriedly glanced at Huai Yu. Luckily, the other paid no attention towards Zhao XiaoLan’s blather. This allowed Ming ChangYan to feel both relieved yet a bit upset.

With Huai Yu here, the monks from XiaoHan Temple lost some of their arrogance and weren’t as aggressive as before. Monk Dao Zhen originally thought that the more he looked, the more this person looked like Ming ChangYan, but now with the third prince’s confirmation, he lost his confidence and began doubting whether his memory really was that bad.

However, the pointy-headed monk still refused to yield, questioning, “All in all, even if it wasn’t done by Ming ChangYan, it still had something to do with him. He didn’t do it, doesn’t mean that people from TianQing sect didn’t? In the years after his death, has there been any fewer sects that have been wiped out using needles? From the way I see it, it’s actually TianQing sect that’s been secretly behind it all!”

Ming ChangYan’s expression sank, “A bunch of nonsense.”

The third prince, “Dao Zhen-fangzhang, there’s something very fishy about this situation, but right now what’s important is to extinguish the fire first, after the fire is put out, then we can begin discussing this matter.”

He turned around, “A-Jun, it’s late. You’re not allowed to join in on this, have Duan Min take you back to sleep.”

A-Jun looked enthusiastic at first, but upon hearing the third prince’s words, she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

She was indeed a little sleepy, and usually, she would’ve already been in bed at around this time.

Therefore, at the third prince’s proposal, she nodded and stretched out her hands at Duan Min, “I’m tired, carry me back to sleep.”

The third prince frowned, “A-Jun, he doesn’t understand these things, but how can you too be so ignorant. You’re already at this age, and continue to interact with Duan Min like such. Father will be selecting a marriage partner for you in a few years, I know that you grew up beside him, but men and women are different. You can’t behave like this in the future.”

A-Jun was very upset by his words, “Sanhuang-xiong, you should mind your own business, humph! Duan Duan, I can’t walk anymore, I want to go to bed!”

Duan Min bent down, carried A-Jun in his arms, and lightly walked away.

Ming ChangYan also cupped his hands together and said, “Your highness the third prince, I will also be taking my leave. XiaoLan, come here, you’ll follow me tonight.”

After he finished, Zhao XiaoLan said, “Yan-jiejie, are you going back to sleep?”

Ming ChangYan answered, “Naturally.”

Zhao XiaoLan quickly strode over and stood in front of Huai Yu, “I still have one more thing I have to ask Huai Yu-gege.”

The three of them walked while listening to Zhao XiaoLan’s explanation.

He said, “Huai Yu-gege, do you have any medicine to treat scars, that after you apply it, the skin will look the same as before?”

Ming ChangYan inquired, “What do you want something like that for? Are you injured? Where, let me see.”

Zhao XiaoLan shook his head, “I’m not injured. It’s Maiden Li Li, she has a lot of scars on her hand, I wanted to ask Huai Yu-gege for an ointment.”

Huai Yu was very surprised, “Bai Jin?”

Ming ChangYan was also a bit surprised, “She has scars on her hand? I’d think that with her being the world’s number one beauty, she would be the best and most beautiful at everything.”

Zhao XiaoLan sighed, “According to Maiden Li Li, she accidentally broke a lantern and was cut by the falling glass pieces. It looked to me like it had been cut that way. No wonder Maiden Li Li stopped accepting invitations to dance a few years back, it was because of this. In short, an entire arm was covered in scars, it looked terrible. Li Li said herself that she couldn’t find a good ointment so that’s why I came to ask Huai Yu-gege for one.”

Huai Yu was taciturn for a long time, after a while of thinking, he finally said, “After we return to the capital, come to the Ninety-Nineth Palace to fetch it.”

Zhao XiaoLan beamed, “Thank you Huai Yu-gege!”

Ming ChangYan said, “Wait a minute. XiaoLan, come over here, I also have something to ask you. After you answer, I’ll have your Huai Yu-gege give you an extra ointment.”

Zhao XiaoLan glanced at Huai Yu, only after seeing Huai Yu nod in agreement did he ask, “What does Yan-jiejie want to ask me?”

Ming ChangYan said, “Your good friend, Zhu Rong!”

Zhao XiaoLan’s eyes widened, “Zhu-xiong?”

Ming ChangYan, “Yup, him. XiaoLan let me ask you, does Zhu Rong have any usually strange behaviors? Have you ever felt something off about his bells? Or has your body felt any discomfort when you’re beside him?”

Although Zhao XiaoLan didn’t know why Ming ChangYan was asking him these things, after thinking about it, he honestly answered, “Nope. Apart from Zhu-xiong’s bells sounding nice, there isn’t anything else.”

Ming ChangYan thought: Seems like he didn’t do anything to XiaoLan.

Zhao XiaoLan suddenly began comforting Ming ChangYan, “Yan-jiejie, don’t take those old monk’s impudent remarks earlier to heart. It’s only because your voice is just slightly deeper than other women, that they wrangled you up as a man! I don’t believe it, I’ll never think you are bad, Yan-jiejie treats me well. I won’t let others say you’re not!”

When Ming ChangYan heard this, he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, only saying, “Well, then thank you very much XiaoLan.”

He turned to Huai Yu and said, “I’m looking for another person.”

Huai Yu asked, “Who else are you looking for?”

Ming ChangYan grinned, “And he appears the moment I mention him.”

Huai Yu looked over and saw Baili with a squadron of imperial guards rush over. They seem to have come to check on the fire.

Ming ChangYan swiftly stopped him and said, “Baili, there’s already people tending to XiaoHan Temple right now, is it possible for me to take a moment of your time?”

Baili saw that Zhao XiaoLan and the Young Prime Minister were both here, so he couldn’t refuse. He looked at Huai Yu, his face full of hesitation as he nervously glanced the other’s way.

“This…..Madame*, this isn’t very appropriate.” In reality, no matter how hard Baili Deng looked, he couldn’t make out that Ming ChangYan was a woman. But since Zhao XiaoLan said so, Princess YuNing also said so, as a lackey, he had no other choice but to follow his master’s wishes.

(TN: “夫人”; this is also what they’ve been addressing MCY back when they called him the Prime Minister’s wife)

Ming shaoxia had already become so accustomed to hearing this title that he didn’t even feel like refuting him anymore, allowing Baili to call him whatever he wanted.

“What’s so inappropriate about this. I’m just going to ask you a few questions, I won’t eat you!” Seeing how he wasn’t willing to move forward, Ming ChangYan just went ahead and asked, “That day, the story you told Zhao XiaoLan about a man in black that used needles to exterminate an entire sect, could you tell me it again?”

Baili Deng was taken back, “Story? How does Madame know I told that story?”

Ming ChangYan froze.

He suddenly remembered that his current identity was the “Young Prime Minister’s wife”, back when he first heard this story he was still the “emperor’s wife.” He didn’t pay attention this time, so he just went ahead and asked. From Baili’s reaction, he probably didn’t recognize him. If one of the emperor’s personal guards found out that dear ol’ emperor was cheated on and that Huai Yu had abducted his wife, isn’t that a crime punishable by beheading!

Ming shaoxia was in a train of thought, his mind a complete mess. Yet he was still narcissistic enough to sorrowfully sigh: This shaoxia is truly a femme fatale, natural talent is hard to throw away!

He rarely got choked on by sentence, he looked towards Huai Yu, begging him with his eyes.

Huai Yu said, “I told him*.”

(TN: Huai Yu here uses the male form of ‘ta’, while the others all use the female form of ‘ta’. They both sound the same which is why it all comes down to text)

Baili Deng had a sudden revelation and smiled, “I see. The Young Prime Minister and his wife are very much in love for you to tell her everything, your relationship is very good.”

Ming ChangYan supported his forehead: This shaoxia’s lifelong, illustrious name has now been completely destroyed! Luckily Huai Yu this little brat doesn’t care about these things, otherwise, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn’t clear things out.

And yet, after a moment of silence, Huai Yu suddenly gave a considerate nod, “Mn.”

Ming ChangYan: …..Mn???

Huai Yu said, “It’s very good.”

 

The author has something to say: MN MN MN MN MN MN MN MN!!!! Although you two aren’t dating yet, every night I still frantically think of this and that!!

 

 

 

This was translated by https://poppyscanlations.video.blog/, any repost of this is stolen and if you steal my work, I’ll chisel your head into a ⇧

 

 

 

Chapter 61!! One of my personal favorites.

Next chapter is kinda super long and I’m not prepared hahahaᕙ( ^ₒ^ c)

Do you guys prefer the tl notes or do you want me to just translate the English meaning down into the most readable text?

If you see any grammatical/translation mistakes please tell me! I don’t notice a lot of things, mostly grammar.

Okay, gonna go fangirl over how cute Guo Qilin is now, have an amazing day guys~~~

 

 

 

Chapter 60 : Table of Contents : Chapter 62