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Zhennan Wang Manor (2)
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!
The capital city in the daytime was particular lively. The unending stream of pedestrians brought along the lively smoke and flame of the mortal world, seemingly having this end of the year chilliness completely dispelled. That wonton stall that Shen Lan Chi had visited before in the past had a few customers sitting in twos and threes. The stall owner who was wrapped in a lined coat wore a large furry hat, pinching the dough while suspending his hand over the boiling large pot for warmth.
Hearing the sound of Lu Qi Yang pulling out the wooden bench, the owner called out without even lifting his head, “How many?”
“Two people.” Lu Qi Yang answered.
“Yo?” The owner lifted his head, a puff of white breath coming out from his mouth, “Turns out, it’s Younger Master Yang.” Turning his head, he glanced onto Shen Lan Chi who was sitting next to Lu Qi Yang, saying with a smile, “Brought your younger sister to come eat wonton today?”
“Not my younger sister.” Lu Qi Yang replied.
“Then…..” The owner brought over two sets of bowls and chopsticks, placing on the table and asking, “That one at home[1]?”
“More or less.” Lu Qi Yang vaguely responded.
The owner heartily laughed, picking up the wooden ladle and saying to Shen Lan Chi, “Little miss, this one of yours, the person he brought to my place here to eat wonton last time was different.” After saying this, he even deliberately wiggled his brows at her, quietly whispering, “Really not the same, looked really different from you.”
Seeing Shen Lan Chi’s body react in shock, the wonton stall owner laughed even louder, the vibrations of his loud voice causing the flour on the wooden board to shake off.
Lu Qi Yang was helpless, explaining, “Last time, I came here together with Zhang Hai Sheng to eat wonton. How could Zhang Hai Sheng look the same as her? Don’t joke around like that. Her heart is quite narrow, unable to tolerate me stepping out of line.”
The cooked wonton very quickly got brought over. In the wonton bowl, a layer of lush green chopped scallions floated on top, appearing very appetizing. But, when Shen Lan Chi bit into it, she discovered that the filling of this wonton seemingly was different from what she ate last time.
The wonton Lu Qi Yang made last time……..
….seemingly had a bit more filling.
The two of them ate the wontons in silence. Their surrounding was noisy, having all kinds of conversations.
“Over in the Hui province, heard that there’s an entire squadron that got sick. Don’t know what kind of witchcraft they got afflicted with……”
“Wasn’t it said it’s the barbarians from the Mujin clan that poisoned the well water?”
“Don’t know when it will snow this year, scared that the snow will seal off the mountain, and the carriages back home won’t make it in time.”
“That noble consort in the palace precisely likes this kind of rouge. Buying this for your wife absolutely can’t go wrong……”
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
All kinds of varying accents intertwined, extremely lively.
Suddenly, a crisp female voice cut through among the voices, delicate and charming, penetrating an air of haughtiness, “Hey, big dummy, wait, this prin……I, I want to eat this.”
This voice sounded a bit familiar. Shen Lan Chi’s hand that was holding the chopsticks couldn’t help but stiffen.
She held the bamboo hat and turned her head over, seeing two people, one tall, one short, standing by the wonton stall. The tall one had brown hair, green eyes, deep eye sockets, both tall and big, clearly someone from Banjaro, more precisely, the Banjaro envoy that should be recuperating in the government inn, Prince Ajindo.
Standing by Prince Ajindo’s side was a person dressed as a servant boy, their figure particularly petite. On their cute little earlobes, there were even piercings. Shen Lan Chi, who was well-versed in the essence crossdressing, could tell at a glance that this was a girl.
Not only a girl, but even an unordinary girl——-
Princess Yong Chun, Lu Rou Yi.
On the very first day upon arriving in the capital, Prince Ajindo just got injured, getting hit by a blowdart from an assassin. Fortunately, that blowdart didn’t carry any poison, just smeared with sleep powder. Prince Ajindo was passed out in the government inn for half a day before he was back on his feet again.
Don’t know what was up with this person, to actually appear here with Princess Yong Chun…….
“Can eat?” Prince Ajindo didn’t really know how to speak the Chu language, one simple line said with difficulty, “Eat?”
“You don’t understand, this is called a wonton. There’s meat wrapped inside. You know what’s meat, right? It’s quite good. The palace also has this, but the wonton in the palace taste weird. It’s still the ones outside that are good.” Princess Yong Chun had a look of wanting to try, “Didn’t you say that you’re willing to do anything for me? Then, I want to eat this wonton, you go buy it for me.”
Yong Chun spoke very quickly. Ajindo only learned the han language for a while before coming to Chu, so didn’t really understand too well what Yong Chun was saying. He could only stick his neck out and smilingly nod his head in a silly manner, repeating, “Ok, ok, ok.”
“Then go buy the wonton!” Princess Yong Chun bossily gestured.
“I buy.” Prince Ajindo felt around for a while, but couldn’t find his money pouch. In the end, he said, “I don’t have, money.”
When Yong Chun heard, she was instantly unhappy, saying with a pout, “Said that you’re a big dummy, yet can’t believe you’re really a dummy! Why didn’t you bring money with you? This princess doesn’t have money either! Whenever this princess goes out, this princess never carries money. Right now, I want to eat wonton, what are you going to do about it?”
Ajindo although understood that ‘dummy’ was insulting him, he still nodded, as if agreeing to Yong Chun’s words.
Princess Yong Chun was currently making a fuss, wanting to eat wonton, when her line of sight inadvertently swept over, seeing a familiar person sitting at that wonton stall——-Her tang brother, Zhennan Wang Manor’s heir, Lu Qi Yang, was currently sitting upon the wooden bench. Lu Qi Yang had a cooled wonton between his chopsticks, his eyes blankly staring at her and Prince Ajindo.
With a plop, the wonton fell from between his chopsticks, falling back into the bowl.
Yong Chun inhaled a breath of cold air.
At once, she didn’t care about the wonton anymore, pulling Ajindo’s hand and fleeing, muttering, “Quick! Quickly run! My tang brother is here! Absolutely can’t let him catch me!”
Ajindo didn’t dare to move, letting Yong Chun drag him along as she pleased, swiftly sprinting outwards and squeezing into the noisy crowd.
In a blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared without a trace.
Shen Lan Chi and Lu Qi Yang: ………..
“Look at how you scared them like that.” Shen Lan Chi used the chopsticks to flick the scallion as she calmly said.
“I…..” Lu Qi Yang held his forehead, saying, “I didn’t do anything though…….”
He really was wronged.
• • •
An Duke Manor, Shousong Courtyard.
In the old duke’s room, the medicinal scent was faint. The muslin curtains before the bed hung low, half-revealing Shen Rui’s reclined figure. On the pearwood low table by the bed, there was a bowl of medicine that was already thoroughly cold. Shen Xin Gu and Shen Xin Shu stood before their father’s bed with their head down, both having a deferential look.
“Father, this son came today to talk about the matter of dividing the family.” Shen Xin Gu lowered his head and said to his father through the curtains, “This son figured, since second brother and I have long married, our children also having grown up one after another, this time now is the perfect time to divide the family and respectively live on our own.”
After Shen Xin Gu finished saying this, the tip of his nose faintly caught scent of something both savory and spicy, seemingly the roast duck of a certain restaurant. Just, the scent of medicine was dense in the room, having this faint smell covered up.
He glanced at the window, seeing the lattice window shutters wide open, thinking to himself, this scent certainly must have come from the outside.
Perhaps Lan Chi that girl came back, even buying some food from the outside.
“Father, you absolutely must not agree.” Shen Xin Shu went forward a step and hastily said, “For the An Duke Manor to be able to have today’s glory, it’s the entire Shen family’s collective effort. If we divide the family, then the An Duke Manor will also break apart.” After saying this, he looked towards Shen Xin Gu, saying, “Wasn’t elder brother in the past the most afraid of this? How come you’ve changed your mind now and insist on going down this path?”
Shen Xin Gu frowned, but didn’t say anything.
In front of their father’s sickbed, he didn’t dare to have those words pointed out, fearing that their father will collapse in anger. But, in his heart, he was nevertheless extremely angry.
He and Shen Xin Shu were closely related brothers. As such, he extremely valued this younger brother who has saved his life twice. However, Shen Xin Shu is a member of the Shen family, but is his daughter Shen Lan Chi not of the Shen family too? So she should just be trampled on by the second branch?
Seeing his older brother not respond, Shen Xin Shu flung his sleeve, saying in slight anger, “Elder brother, back then, when the two of us got kidnapped by the northern bandits, it was this younger brother that used one’s life in exchange for yours, letting you escape. I treat elder brother like a close brother, but how does elder brother treat me? Today, in front of father, you actually want to divide the family with me!? Cover your heart and ask yourself, can you still live with your conscience?”
He spoke boldly with justice, but Shen Xin Gu’s complexion just turned increasingly dark and heavy.
——-How he treats this younger brother? He naturally has a clear conscience, not turning his back on the two times he had saved his life back then!
A burst of coughs came from inside the bed curtains. Shen Rui slowly got up. Seeing the situation, Shen Xin Gu hurriedly stuffed a pillow over, letting Shen Rui be able to sit leaning against it.
Shen Xin Gu had pulled out that pillow in a hurry. As soon as the pillow moved, it just revealed the book underneath. Shen Xin Gu’s eyes hastily swept a glance, just seeing ‘wandering hero something something’ and such written on the cover. Before he could take a closer look, the corner of Shen Rui’s quilt just came down, having that book covered up.
“Divide the family?” Shen Rui weakly said, “Dividing is also good, why don’t you two divide up sooner.”
“Father?” Shen Xin Shu was in disbelief, asking, “What do you mean by this? Could it be that you want to blankly watch our An Duke Manor just break apart like this?”
“The sins you’ve committed, are they still not enough? Still haven’t ruined my name enough?” Shen Rui shot a glare at his second son, saying, “You are perfectly clear inside, knowing what I’m reprimanding you about.”
This line was like a spell, making Shen Xin Shu suddenly shut his mouth, his complexion turning green and pale. After a while, Shen Xin Shu finally opened his mouth again, saying, “Father, if we have to divide the family, then fine. But, the An Duke Manor, it’s still best for this son to inherit.” Shen Xin Shu flung his sleeve and raised his head, solemnly saying, “Elder brother’s true identity, father is also perfectly clear. In the end, the son of a lowly prostitute, ultimately……..”
“You shut up!” Shen Rui suddenly went into a rage, shouting, “Right now, he’s your older brother, my An Duke Manor’s di son. The entire capital all know this, so you better remember it too!”
This shout made Shen Xin Shu slightly shake. Afterwards, he became increasingly unwilling to give in, saying “So what if the entire capital knows? It’s ultimately is unable to change……”
“Divide.” Shen Rui didn’t wish to discuss more, “The family will be inherited by eldest one. If Gu’er doesn’t want, then this old man will just have the noble title returned to his Majesty, letting neither of you have it.”
Once these words came out, Shen Xin Shu’s face froze.
If his older brother doesn’t inherit the family, then his father will have the noble title returned to his Majesty?!
How can father bear!
No……..perhaps his father really could bear.
Shen Xin Shu knew, his father has some connections with those people from jianghu. Afraid, his aspirations have never been in court, so he naturally doesn’t care about the wealth and glory of the An Duke Manor, coldly watching the An Duke Manor rise and fall, never once intervening.
“Father!” Shen Xin Shu anxiously said, “Things aren’t this simple. you absolutely mustn’t have the noble title returned. Over the years, the Shen family has offended that many people in jianghu. Solely the northern bandits that tried to assassinate the second prince already can’t be underestimated. If we lose the protection and power of the An Duke Manor, then who knows what kind of retaliations will be brought about!”
After saying this, Shen Xin Shu gritted his teeth, painfully saying, “Then, just divide! It’s merely living separately. We’re still one family in the end!”
[1] I thought a lot about how to translated this because it’s such a nuanced phrase, and in the end, decided to translate it directly. It’s a very indirect way of referring to someone’s spouse/partner without actually stating wife/husband or another direct noun. At the same time, considering the context, it didn’t fit to translate as wife, because it would feel too direct. In chinese, home and family are the same word (家-jia), and they’re pretty much synonymous with each other, so this phrase can also be translated as ‘that one in your family’. I’d also considered options such as ‘special someone’ or ‘darling’, but those felt too ‘romantic’, as the phrase originally is very neutral and blunt.
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