The Wastrel and The Pearl Chapter 17

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Shu Younger Sister Shen Ran

T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!

Shen family second branch.

The servants of the second branch were all very careful with their hands and feet lately, much more cautious than usual, just because Xiao-shi recently was unhappy, catching the smallest thing to make a big fuss over and vent her anger. Never mind punishing the servants, she would even have them sold off, causing fear and trepidation in the second branch.

Xiao-shi had the money that she’d gathered with great difficulty returned back to the first branch, her heart aching terribly, unable to sleep well for several nights in a row. Not only that, Xiao-shi’s second son, Shen Ting Kang, recently had his eyes on a lucrative position, the Examiner of the Grand Palace Grandee[1]. Although the Shen family was powerful, to want to get through the important gateways, they still needed money to work with. To spend that much valuables one after another, Xiao-shi naturally heartached endlessly.

When unhappy, even in front of her daughter that she has always cherished, she didn’t have a good look either.

“Your elder uncle really isn’t a thing!” Inside Shen Tong Ying’s boudoir, Xiao-shi tightly gripped her handkerchief, lowly cursing, “What a waste, for your father to have used his life to protect him twice, yet in the end, we got nothing good out of it! The favor of changing his fate twice in King Yama’s book[2], your elder uncle doesn’t remember at all, instead, together with Ji Xiu Wen[3], started suppressing our second branch! Never mind that whenever there’s something good, he will always give to Lan girl, even on this bit of wealth, he’s all stingy and unwilling to let go!”

Shen Tong Ying didn’t answer, feeling a bit moody inside.

She knew that whenever Xiao-shi was irritated, whoever answers will all get lectured by Xiao-shi. As such, she’d rather keep quiet and not speak than to let Xiao-shi have her anger turned onto her.

“What kind of expression is this?” Seeing her daughter’s annoyed look, Xiao-shi’s voice became sharp, “Isn’t mother doing this all for you? If you become the crown princess in the future, then you will need 120 trunks of dowry. Even if just short by one, you will all get looked down on by those consorts and princesses. If you don’t start accumulating more wealth while still in the boudoir, then in the future, who will help you fill this gap?”

Shen Tong Ying felt a bit upset inside, reluctantly replying “yes”.

At long last, Xiao-shi finally finished lecturing left and right. Shen Tong Ying slightly relaxed a breath as she hurriedly followed behind Xiao-shi, sending her out of her courtyard. On her way back, she saw from afar a skinny shadow like a slender willow walking towards the direction of the first branch, thus stopping in her footsteps.

“Why, isn’t this little sister Ran?” Shen Tong Ying had just gotten lectured by Xiao-shi, having accumulated a bad mood. Seeing Shen Ran, this shu younger sister that she has always bullied as she pleased, she decided to vent her anger out on her.

“Greetings eldest sister.” Shen Ran lowered her head and didn’t speak anymore, also letting Shen Tong Ying be unable to see her face, only able to see her slender shoulders drooping down, like a willow branch that couldn’t withstand the east wind.

“Going to the first branch again?” Shen Tong Ying glanced at the path she was walking, her lips revealing a mocking smile, “Rushing to curry favor with the first branch everyday, don’t know which side is your father? Never mind your bones light to the point of just weighing four taels, you really thought that by saying a few good words in front of Shen Lan Chi, you can just live like a di-born young lady?”

Shen Ran fell silent for a while, then slowly opened her mouth and said, “This younger sister just heard………older sister Lan had fallen into the water, thus wanted to go visit.”

Her voice was as light as a mosquito, but Shen Tong Ying was increasingly furious inside. She mockingly said, “Visit? You’d better save it. She’s the first branch’s di-born daughter. How can you, a daughter of a lowly bed-crawling servant girl, be qualified enough to go visit her?”

Shen Tong Ying also had some words inside that she didn’t say———-Moreover, serves her right to fall into the water! A pretentious and fickle woman, why bother visiting!

Shen Ran didn’t speak, as if turning into a stone statue. No matter how Shen Tong Ying mocked and ridiculed, Shen Ran all didn’t make a sound. This cotton-like, easy to bully appearance, Shen Tong Ying was long used to, not taking it seriously in the slightest.

TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!

Having vented her anger, Shen Tong Ying immediately felt much better inside. After mocking a few more words, Shen Tong Ying left with her servant girls.

Shen Ran stood in place for a while and then slowly turned around, heading towards the first branch again. Just, when her foot landed on the ground, there was a bit of a light tremble that wasn’t easy to detect, unknown as to whether it was because of anger or because of fear.

After arriving in Shen Lan Chi’s courtyard, the servant girl had Shen Ran led before Shen Lan Chi’s bed.

Shen Lan Chi leaned against the bed as she beckoned Shen Ran to come sit by her side, saying with a smile, “To have troubled you to specially come over to see me. Although I fell into the water, I’m mostly fine, able to eat and sleep as usual everyday. Just, my mother is keeping a tight watch on me, insisting that I stay in my room and properly recuperate.”

Shen Ran sat down on the wooden low stool by the bed, softly saying, “That’s good.”

Raising her head, her thin and fair face was like the spring morning pear blossom, her delicate eyes slightly red, like as if having just cried. Shen Lan Chi was a bit suspicious, asking, “What’s wrong? Did you encounter something sad?”

Shen Ran’s servant girl, Zi Tan, said with indignation, “Who else can it be but the eldest miss! Having gotten upset by the second madam, so just eagerly ran over…….”

“Zi Tan!” Before Zi Tan could say what Shen Tong Ying had done, Shen Ran shouted to stop her, lowering her head and saying, “It isn’t because of eldest sister………asking second older sister to not worry. It’s just that something happened in the capital recently, causing Ran’er to feel somewhat down, thus would lose one’s bearing in front of older sister Lan.”

Seeing this sensible appearance of hers, Shen Lan Chi felt somewhat bad for her.

Shen Ran was still very young, originally at the age where she should be pampered the most, but the people of the second branch bullied her everyday in various ways, causing her to become timid. But, despite getting bullied, Shen Ran never complained in front of Shen Lan Chi, nor ever asked Shen Lan Chi to help her, just fearing that she would cause trouble for Shen Lan Chi.

“What happened?” Shen Lan Chi casually asked.

“Recently, a group of roaming bandits came to the capital, committing robbery all over. A month ago, these people just stole valuables, but a few days ago, these roaming bandits actually had the homeowners also……..” Shen Ran slightly went quiet, her eyes increasingly red, saying, “Don’t know if older sister Lan remember, Ran’er’s maternal uncle’s family……no, no, it’s yiniang’s maiden family[4], there was a cousin—-young miss that one had always gotten along with, her personal name Hong Luo. She’d married into that family……….”

When Shen Lan Chi heard, she slightly blanked.

This matter that Shen Ran mentioned, she naturally had an impression. Just, this matter originally should’ve happened in late autumn, and not in this season.

That group of roaming bandits committed robbery all over. When reaching the wealthy Sun family of the east district, because of accidentally getting catch by the owners, they decided to directly turn to violence, having all twelve people of the Sun family from top to bottom killed altogether. Ruan Bi Qiu’s father, Ruan Ying, was the one that got ordered to investigate this case afterwards. And it was precisely because of this case, Ruan Bi Qiu obtained the opportunity to marry into the Eastern Palace.

“Didn’t expect it to be like this……..” Shen Lan Chi said in a daze, consoling, “Little sister Ran, don’t be too sad. It’s more important to take care of yourself.” After saying this, she ordered Bi Yu to fetch the kneepads that Zi Tan send over last time, handing it over and saying, “The kneepads you sent over last time, I kept forgetting to return them. This time, just happened to let you take with you.”

She carefully chatted a little more with Shen Ran before saying goodbye to her.

When watching Shen Ran go out, that thin and skinny back view, Shen Lan Chi wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, she suppressed the impulse inside with great difficulty. She really wanted to help Shen Ran, but Shen Ran ultimately was from the second branch. If she really were to help Shen Ran this time, then later on, Xiao-shi and her daughter will just torment her back a thousand times more.

In the future, she should help Shen Ran find a better husband, so as to let her escape from the second branch, this hellhole.

Shen Lan Chi knew, to want to let Ruan Bi Qiu marry into the Eastern Palace, this roaming bandit case was the key. But, now, while she was completely unprepared, these roaming bandits actually entered the capital in advance, and just like the past life, committed a massacre. What should she do now?

Shen Lan Chi pondered for a while and then promptly ordered Bi Yu to go seek out news in the streets. Meanwhile, she tidied herself up and went to go see Shen first madam.

“Mother, this daughter’s body has more or less recovered.” Shen Lan Chi coiled around Shen first madam’s arm, acting affectionate with her, “This daughter wants to invite Bi Qiu over for a sit. It’s rare for this daughter to have a friend, so also want to……….”

“Not allowed.” On the matter of making friends, Shen first madam, who has always been generous, was unwilling to give in this time, “You can invite anyone you want, but only this Ruan Bi Qiu won’t do. Her thoughts are crooked, and will only give you trouble in the future.”

Shen Lan Chi inwardly sighed.

Because of Ruan Bi Qiu’s dubious involvement with Lu Zhao Ye, Shen first madam right now very much dislikes that Ruan Bi Qiu, so naturally won’t agree to letting her come to the manor.

Shen Lan Chi couldn’t get her mother to agree no matter what, so could only return to her room first.

A few days later, she came up with the excuse of ‘going to the teahouse to listen to opera’ to secretly slip out of the An Duke Manor.

The west district of the Chu capital was extremely lively in the daytime, the roads full of horses and carriages, the streets bustling with people. After passing three decorated archways[5], there was a teahouse with the sign ‘Dengyun Pavilion’. The tea here was neither good nor bad, yet the asking price was two taels a cup. This much money naturally wasn’t for the sake of those few pieces of leaves floating in the teacup, but rather, for the theatrical troupe that performed in this Dengyun Pavilion everyday.

When Shen Lan Chi arrived, there was already a waiter rubbing his hands as he came over to lead the way, fawningly saying, “Shen second miss come in please! Your noble guest is already seated and served with good tea.”

Arriving in the private room on the second floor and lifting the curtains, she saw Ruan Bi Qiu sitting inside, her eyes and brows gentle like a pool of water.

The beauty by the window was like the bright moon in the sky, stunning Shen Lan Chi for a moment. Unable to help herself, she first praised, “Miss Ruan really is extremely pretty, no wonder the crown prince became infatuated with you with just a glance.”

Pausing for a moment, she said with a sigh, “Nowadays, my mother actually won’t allow me to come see you. How pitiful that we even have to secretly come to this teahouse just to meet for a date.”

Ruan Bi Qiu’s pretty brows slightly knitted as she calmly said, “Shen second miss doesn’t need to be polite. Shen second miss having me called here certainly must have something to discuss. Why don’t you and I open up and speak frankly.”

“Oh?” Shen Lan Chi sat down and poured herself a cup of tea, slowly saying, “Last time when I saw you, you were still guarding against me, fearing that I’d done something to that jade pendant, yet this time, you trust me, wanting to ‘open up and speak frankly’ with me? As the saying goes, one should be cautious when it comes to trusting someone, so how come Miss Ruan just trusted me?”

Ruan Bi Qiu’s gaze slightly flickered, sweeping a glance at the noisy streets outside the window, “Bi Qiu probably has already guessed, why Shen second miss doesn’t want to marry the crown prince. In the end, it’s merely being unable to escape from the word ‘love’. Similarly as women, why make things difficult for one another?”

Shen Lan Chi: ?

“What do you mean ‘being unable to escape from the word love’?” Shen Lan Chi asked, her tone having a trace of curiosity, “Why would you say this?”

“Shen second miss is in love with the Zhennan Wang heir.” Ruan Bi Qiu said with confidence, “As such, don’t want to marry into the Eastern Palace.”

Right at this time, the opera on stage downstairs began. The dan[6] swung the long flowing sleeves and sang the first line in a sharp voice, the sound resounding, like that yellow oriole on a branch, winning cheers from the entire hall of audience. Among them, there was even a few generous guests, fighting to outdo one another in tipping.

“Reward ten taels of silver!”

“Reward another twenty taels!”

“How about bestowing a hundred taels of silver!”

When that last line of ‘a hundred taels of silver’ came out, the entire hall filled with sighs. One must know, this hundred taels of silver, if spent in the brothel, it can even buy a night of pleasure, a beauty in the arms. But if spent in this Dengyun Pavilion, then it’s just giving away for nothing, the same sense as squandering money on bad investment. Only those with too much money but nowhere to spend it would come here to throw away money.

Everyone just sighed, but the easy-going smile on Shen Lan Chi’s face nevertheless stiffened a little.

Pausing for a moment, she squeezed out a teeth gritting expression, saying to Ruan Bi Qiu who had a puzzled look, “Qiu’er, little darling, you sit for a bit. I need to go take care of an important matter. I’ll come back within a cup of tea’s time.”

After saying this, she lifted the curtains and walked out in large steps.

As she lowered her head, she just happened to see the Zhennan Wang Manor’s little heir sitting in the first row under the stage, holding a handful of gingko nuts in hand, happily cracking between his teeth. Unknown as to whether or not it was the will of the heavens, Lu Qi Yang also just happened to lift his head, his eyes meeting with hers.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lu Qi Yang directly shot up from the short stool.

[1] 检校太中大夫 – This title is a bit difficult to explain because the setting of the novel is a fictional dynasty and time period, and a lot of official titles differed greatly in function depending on the dynasty, I can only roughly go by the context. Fortunately, this title isn’t made up by the author, but there’s two parts to it. The first part is pretty easy to look up which is 太中大夫 (Grand Palace Grandee, or Superior Grand Master of the Palace). In the Han dynasty, this title was granted to high ranking court officials serving as advisors to the court.

However, the beginning part of 检校太中大夫, 检校 (to proofread, verify, check), actually comes from the Tang dynasty. This isn’t a formal title but a prefix added to existing titles, and its role differed between early Tang and late Tang. In early Tang, those with this prefix weren’t officially in the official position but had the authority and power of those who were, sorta like a substitute or acting-in-command. But, in mid to late Tang, the ‘examiners’ later became more of a scattered post or additional post, not possessing any specific functions nor power, mainly just to show they were favored by the emperor. After the Anshi Rebellion (a major event in Tang history), the ‘examiner’ position became very prevalent, and its uses and functions broadened greatly. To my understanding, this position can be understood as the ‘proofreader’ for said position. The idea for the system itself originally came from the Jin dynasty, in which the role was to examine, proofread, and rectify. But to be honest, I read a lot of material on this topic of the examiner system, particularly in the late Tang, and I still don’t understand it very well. All in all, it’s technically a non-official high-ranking position that comes with a salary. In fact, in the later dynasties, the position became rather useless. In the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasty, the examiner positions were all very low-ranking positions that differed greatly from the position in the Tang and Song dynasty. But, given the context in this novel, we will assume that the author is using the system from the late Tang dynasty, since it’s considered a lucrative position.

[2] King Yama, the King of Underworld, in the myths, has a book that has the predetermined lifespan of all mortals recorded.

[3] This is actually Shen Lan Chi’s mother’s name, the Ji family is also a very illustrious family.

[4] Yiniang is an address for the concubines in the family, literally translates to aunt-mother, the concept comes from how the concubines were considered the di mother’s ‘sisters’. Shen Ran corrects herself here by saying it’s the yiniang’s maiden family, because the shu children have to refer to the di wife as their mother, so only the di wife’s maiden family can be considered legitimate relatives to the family.

[5] See examples below.