Since two days ago, unlike Xiao Weixin’s gloomy mood, You Shu has been simply elated. Although his perpetually frozen face didn’t reveal anything to others, Xie Feiyuan, as the person who knew him best, could easily discern the joy and delight shining in his eyes.
“What happened?” Xie Feiyuan was confused. This child has never been so cheerful before. Did the sun rise from the west?
But You Shu had no way of clearly explaining [his happiness] to him. How would he tell him that it was because the protagonist and female lead’s engagement that he had been looking forward to for so long was finally happening?
Xie Feiyuan watched him walk away calmly, still confused about what this child was up to.
The imperial edict granting the marriage was issued by Xiao Weishen himself and was brought to Ling Wang’s Mansion by one of his trusted eunuchs. Xiao Weixin, dressed in official attire, took the lead in kneeling at the gate to listen. His hands, placed at his sides, clenched silently, nearly drawing blood.
“Your Highness, please rise and receive the decree.” The eunuch bowed with a smile and presented the imperial edict with both hands, “The emperor cherishes you greatly and specifically instructed this slave not to miss the auspicious moment.”
Xiao Weixin hurriedly stood up and stepped forward to receive the imperial edict. He turned back to Hua Chun and said, “Take gonggong1公公 (gōnggōng) used to address the palace eunuchs to have a cup of tea and receive a reward before leaving.”
The eunuch happily followed Hua Chun to the reception room inside, thinking inwardly that this trip was not fruitless. His Royal Highness Ling Wang is indeed a tactful and sensible person and never dispenses with rewards.
After waiting for everyone to leave, Xiao Weixin pursed his lips and walked alone to the study, feet as heavy as lead. When he reached the door of the study, he raised his head and looked up at the clear blue sky above, and stood silently for a long time.
He is still too powerless. Even his marriage cannot be by his own decision.
At the beginning, Xia Yinxiu was fancied by Xiao Weishen but, unfortunately, since she is not a legitimate daughter, she was not worthy of a [high-ranking] position in the harem. Empress Dowager Xia was against letting her enter the palace as a concubine so, despite his reluctance, he could only give up.
Empress Xia took this opportunity to once again bring up the matter of marrying [her to] Ling Wang, saying that Ling Wang should be compensated2The actual meaning is to pacify or appease but I thought compensated was better. after suffering the assassination. She also said that he and Yinxiu had already developed feelings for each other while he was recovering. Since they both have a good impression of each other3郎有情妾有意 (Láng yǒu qíng qiè yǒu yì) translates to “The man has affection and the woman has interest/intentions”. It is used for lovers to show that they are mutually in love and willing., isn’t it better to let the two of them marry?
Xiao Weishen remembered that he had indeed seen Xia Yinxiu entering and leaving Xiao Weixin’s tent at the hunting grounds and didn’t doubt the Empress’s words. Normally, it would have been impossible for him to give up on a woman he fancied but at present, he still had a sense of guilt towards Xiao Weixin. In the end, he resigned himself to just help [Xiao Weixin] with this4The original was 成人之美 (chéngrén zhī měi) meaning “helping, supporting or encouraging others to achieve their goals”. I took a few liberties in translating this.. He decided to let Xia Yinxiu marry in as a concubine5侧妃 (Cè fēi) meaning concubine or side consort, i don’t remember what i used before covers face first and grant her the position of a wife6扶正 (fúzhèng) means to raise one’s status from a concubine to a wife after she gave birth to a child or two, so no one would have complaints.
Although both are considered concubines, Zhou shi7same as nee in english and Xia Yinxiu have vastly different backgrounds. Xia Yinxiu’s sister is an Empress so her wedding preparations are done in the same manner as those of a main consort8正妃 (Zhèng fēi) means main/principal consort. The wedding has been scheduled for September during the height of autumn, when the weather is clear and refreshing; the perfect time for a lively and joyous event.
Everybody thinks this is a good idea.
Xiao Weiming was very worried, so he came to Ling Wang’s Mansion and asked cautiously: “Seventh Brother… are you okay?”
Xiao Weixin had not raised his head to look at him since he came in. He continued practicing calligraphy with his head lowered. A pile of messy discarded papers was scattered at his feet. Judging from the wild, cursive handwriting on it, his seventh brother was definitely furious.
After an unknown period of time, Xiao Weixin finally stopped writing and raised his head, his eyes clear once again, “You don’t need to worry about me.”
Xiao Weiming’s eyes reddened and he suddenly hugged Xiao Weixin’s waist and started crying: “Seventh Brother, I will kill them for you without causing any trouble for you! Don’t be unhappy, I can also share your worries!
“I know you want to win over Yang Qixian but have nowhere to start. I can go!”
Xiao Weiming said firmly: “The Xia family has a grudge against us and you will definitely feel uncomfortable marrying a woman from their family. But no one can violate the emperor’s decree so Consort Xian9XWX’s mom in case anyone forgot (iamsosorry) will definitely not blame you!
“I have been practicing martial arts with Yang Qixian recently. When the time comes, I will definitely let him know that only Seventh Brother is the most suitable to be the emperor!”
Xiao Weixin stared at him deeply then suddenly pinched his face and scolded: “What are you doing? Let go.”
He unceremoniously pulled away Xiao Weiming’s hand that was holding him, raised his hand and knocked twice on his forehead: “What nonsense are you talking about? I had a hard time just planting my own people in the Imperial Guard. How are you going to not only get close to them but also kill them? Knowing you, you won’t even get one foot into the door before calling me to save you, implicating me.”
“Besides, with your intelligence, how can you possibly win over Yang Qixian? People can see through you at a glance.”
After ruthlessly having his bubble burst, Xiao Weiming was very frustrated: “Then, what should I do? Do you really want to marry that Miss Xia?” He thought of the girl he had seen in the hunting ground at that time, and whispered: “Although, I do think that Miss Xia doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“What does it have to do with me whether she is good or not?” Xiao Weixin sneered, “Isn’t it just [getting] a concubine? It’s not like I can’t afford [her].”
He already has one Zhou shi so what does another Xia shi matter? It’s just that Ling Wang’s Mansion is not a Hall of Benevolence and Charity10善济堂 (Shàn Jì Táng) refers to a place where people receive help or care, whether its medical, financial/charitable or just in general. No official name for it. All I could find was a Sian Chay charity organization in Singapore. My translation maaaayy have been a touch overboard.. Who can guarantee her life after entering? If she ‘accidentally’ fell into the flower pond and could not be saved, it would be [due to] her own bad luck.
Seeing that his expression didn’t have any signs of pretense, Xiao Weiming quietly breathed a sigh of relief11Even if he was pretending, you really think you could tell, my sweet summer child?: “That’s good, I was afraid you would resist the decree.”
“Resist the decree?” Xiao Weixin laughed self-mockingly, “You think too highly of me.”
Xiao Weiming scratched his head and felt his frightened heart finally settle down. Xiao Weixin looked down at the papers scattered at his feet and called the servants outside to come in and clean up.
At this moment, someone came to visit. It was Na Sutu again. This time, Xiao Weixin did not immediately drive him away. He had just been looking for an opportunity to meet this mysterious twelfth prince again.
Like last time, Xiao Weixin sat in the reception hall while You Shu squatted in the flower bed outside to guard the door, chewing grass roots in his mouth. The grass roots were sweet and crispy—perfect to snack on.
In fact, he could also see that Xiao Weixin was not willing to marry the female lead at this time, but [in the novel] he really fell for her after marriage. He experienced this struggle in the novel too. After all, the female lead’s surname is Xia, and there is a blood feud between them. Even though it was only done by the female lead’s brother-in-law and father, she still comes from the same hateful bloodline. Most people simply cannot let go of such hatred12Tell that to the Tomarry shippers lol..
However, his resentment and struggle gradually changed when he discovered that Xia Yinxiu was different from all the Xia family members. Although Xia Yinxiu belonged to the Xia family, she was morally upright, compassionate, kind and innocent. In her heart, she was disgusted with everything her father and brother had done over the years and when the Xia family was about to fall, she personally gave the most powerful evidence [of their crimes] to the protagonist.
When [he was] reading, everyone [in the novel] knew the innumerable evil things the Xia family had done over the years. The crimes of Prime Minister Xia alone were countless. So the female lead who can distinguish right from wrong and is willing to sacrifice her family for others despite being a member of the Xia family, has a truly rare character. After all, even if they are reviled by the whole world, they are still her family, the ones who raised her and sheltered her.
You Shu felt sorry for that gentle yet resilient girl in the novel. If not for the protagonist’s timely arrival, the female lead would have truly hung herself in the ruins of the Xia Mansion, overwhelmed by guilt and a desire to atone.13Even my dramatic translations can’t top this lol. The actual translation is somewhere along the lines of “Truly hang herself in the ruins of the Xia Family’s crumbling walls to use death as a means of atoning for her overwhelming guilt and bone-crushing sense of remorse”. which, in hindsight, is probably a better translation. tell me if you think i should change the current one.
So, You Shu is not at all worried that Xiao Weixin will regret [this marriage] in the future. He would inevitably fall in love with the female lead; it was just a matter of when. He and the female lead healed each other14Off-topic (and a touch obvious) butttt 互相救赎 means mutual redemption/healing and if you see this on jjwxc a lot (i do) it means that two traumatized MC’s helped each other heal. I used to wonder why the authors used the word redemption so if anyone else wonders that too, here you go.. He gave the female lead a home filled with security and support, while the female lead gave him unwavering love and understanding. In the end, they both found happiness.
Therefore, rather than saying that You Shu is a CP fan, it is better to say that he simply longs for the protagonist to find joy and happiness from the female lead. He firmly believes that only with her can the protagonist find his peace.
Just as he was thinking about this, Na Sutu casually strolled over, following behind Wang Chen. You Shu couldn’t help but hold his breath when he saw him, for fear of being noticed by his heterochromatic eyes. He didn’t know why but as soon as he saw that mismatched pair of eyes, he felt uncomfortable, as if he was completely exposed with nowhere to hide.
Speaking of which, Na Sutu’s eyes really resemble a Persian cat’s.
After being brought to the reception hall, Na Sutu sat down abruptly, crossed his legs and smirked: “Compared to Your Highness’s attitude last time, your current attitude is truly…. worlds apart.”
“Get to the point.” Xiao Weixin looked at him coldly, “Your repeated attempts to meet with me15he’s addressing himself as “this king” couldn’t possibly be for sarcastic quips.”
Na Sutu laughed lightly, picked up the teacup and inhaled the scent: “Your Highness, I’m really not used to the tea here, but when in a new place, do as the locals do16More accurate translation would be when in Rome, do as the Romans do. BUT this is ancient China so…. I will learn from you all and savor it.” After that, he raised his hand and drank the whole cup.
Na Sutu couldn’t learn the Chinese way of carefully savoring tea. After gulping it down, he even chewed the tea leaves. “Your Highness, do you remember the deal I mentioned before17Back in Chapter 23 when they were on an outing.?”
“What do you know?” Xiao Weixin looked at him coldly, but silently put his hand on the short blade hidden at his waist.
Na Sutu smiled and replied: “I know everything I should and shouldn’t know. What does Your Highness want to hear from me?”
“Don’t glare at me. When it comes to hiding one’s strength, I think I’m no worse than Your Highness.”
The cynical smile on his face disappeared and he spoke calmly: “Just like you, I’m also interested in something that doesn’t belong to me, and I’ve also put a lot of thought into it.”
Xiao Weixin pressed his hand harder on his waist. He couldn’t allow anyone to know about his plan before it was completely set out. If Na Sutu had discovered it, then he couldn’t be kept alive.
“Calm down.” Na Sutu held his chin with one hand and looked at him, “Although I may not necessarily be able to defeat the prince, I’m not likely to lose either. Besides, you don’t want that dog emperor of the Central Plains to doubt you, right?”
“I have no hostility towards you.” He went on to say, “You can rest assured that since I have come to you, I don’t want to make an enemy of you.”
“Then what do you want?” Xiao Weixin knew his plan, but still asked coldly.
Na Sutu chuckled lightly, a hint of cunning in his eyes: “As I said, it’s a deal. Your Highness, why don’t you hear me out?”
“Since we both want the same position, how about… cooperating?”
“Either of us working alone would expend far more time and effort than is desirable. But, if we join forces, wouldn’t it be a win-win situation?”
“How ambitious.” Xiao Weixin sneered, “You want me to cooperate with you barbarians who don’t speak a single honest word? Keep dreaming.
“Your people have not yet returned the six seized cities of Great Xia. I haven’t even settled the matter of your massacre of 30,000 innocent civilians on my border18The fact that he said MY border instead of OUR or MY COUNTRY’S border.. Want cooperation?
“Only when you all die!”
After saying this, he suddenly jumped up from the chair and slashed at Na Sutu. Na Sutu seemed to have expected that he would attack and quickly jumped up to avoid it. The chair he had just been sitting on was split in two with a loud crack.
“Tsk, how ill-tempered. That beauty at your side must have suffered a lot at your hands, right?”
These words made Xiao Weixin’s anger reach new heights and he attacked with even greater force.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for Na Sutu to dodge and he couldn’t help but raise his hand to attack in response. When You Shu saw that he still dared to fight back19Lmao… what’s he supposed to do? sit back and enjoy being slashed into two?, he immediately rushed out from the flowerbed, and reached Na Sutu in a flash. He grabbed Na Sutu’s arm and pressed it down, letting him receive a violent beating from his prince.
Na Sutu had not expected You Shu to appear so suddenly and was caught completely off guard. Then, he looked into You Shu’s eyes with a playful smile: “I finally got to see you again~”
Why is this person so annoying?
You Shu’s scalp went numb and he maintained his cold expression, pretending not to hear.
The second male lead’s gay character is really hard to bear.
Xiao Weixin raised his foot and kicked Na Sutu’s handsome face, “Shut your mouth.”
Flirting [with You Shu] in front of him, did [Na Sutu] think he was dead?
Na Sutu wanted to fight back but couldn’t because he was held down by You Shu. He could only accept the violent beating from Xiao Weixin. Faced with the unfair treatment of being beaten in a 2v1, he felt deeply frustrated.
These Chinese people are simply despicable and shameless!
If you have the guts, come and challenge me one-on-one!
[T/N]: Thanks for reading.
Reason for Hiatus (feel free to skip)
Yes, I am alive. This chapter has been sitting 80% translated in my Google Docs since August 9. A lot happened since then that mostly got me off the Internet in general. I completely lost interest in everything, including reading. I got back around to my normal self somewhere around November, but then there were exams which, courtesy of the lack of interest, I did not do as well in as I would have liked. Did I do good? I got a 3.5 this semester. So, I guess, yeah. Do I think it was good? I get 3.9 normally. So, no. That threw me right down into another spiral. I understand these reasons seem like excuses, they seem stupid now to me too, but at the time I really couldn’t shake all this off. I am fine now. New year, new semester. Might as well add on a new chapter too, huh? I am not going to promise any regularity in my updates. But this story isn’t dropped. I have the next few chapters translated to some degree. I will work on them every time I get the motivation. I am sorry to everyone who was expecting updates and very very thankful to everyone who commented. I loved reading the new ones and re-reading the old ones. They were part of the reason I even got the motivation to put this chapter up. No, I am not fishing for more although they would be nice.
If anyone wants an actual life update, I just binge-watched all the movies in my 3-year-old To-Watch list so all the movies that were released 2020 or 2021 basically. (Cruella was great. I don’t know why I avoided it for so long. The Baroness is actually Professor Trelawney. WHAT? Last time I was this surprised was when I found out Willy Wonka was actually Captain Jack Sparrow.) I also need to find time to rewatch The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) Season 1 because my disconnected ass just found out that Season 2 has already started airing. I have been looking forward to this since Season 1 ended and I only found out now *facepalms*. Anyways, belated happy new year to everyone!
7 thoughts on “Chapter 34 – Chinese People Are So Despicable”
Happy New Years to you as well!!!!
i only just started reading this recently. and when i got to the final chapter and saw when it was last updated i wanted to cry and was going to mtl the rest. i was actually going on novelupdates to find the name of the book in chinese and found that you’d updated. thank you so much!!!! glad to see you’re back. life happens. i hope you have a better year this year regardless of whether you translate or not
I’m glad your doing okay and wish you all the best!!
Thnx ya for the chappiiee~
Bro I was so surprised to see this update!! I’m glad you’re doing well and updating again!! Keep up the good work! 😆🙏🙏I hope this year’s exams are easier for you!
Happy New Year to you~
I hope you’re all well, thank you for the update. Take your time..
Thanks, for the update hope you’re doing better now!
thank you for the translate!