< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >
Praying to the Gods (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!
Right at this time, the palace hall doors suddenly got pushed open. A line of guards rushed into the palace hall. The Crown Prince Lu Zi Xiang also urgently walked in. Seeing the Chu Emperor on the bed, Lu Zi Xiang lost all color from shock, his two knees hitting the ground, loudly shouting, “Imperial father!” Afterwards, he moved on his knees to the bedside, shakingly taking the Chu Emperor’s hand that still lingered with warmth.
A while later, his back slightly trembled. Everyone finally realized that he was actually soundlessly shedding tears.
Seeing the situation, the guards hurriedly went forward. The inside of Qianfu Palace fell into a commotion.
“Sinner Shen Xin Yi, you dare to assassinate his Majesty!”
“Quickly have her arrested!”
“If anyone dares to resist, immediately kill on the spot!”
Seeing this squad of guards practically charging in right on time, Empress Shen was very shocked. She started screaming, pointing at Lu Zi Xiang who was kneeling on the ground and angrily shouting, “Lu Zi Xiang! You schemed against this empress! It was you that let this empress in! Such viciousness! Even wanting to harm your imperial father!”
Lu Zi Xiang remained silent.
A while later, he finally angrily roared, “Shut up!”
After saying this, Lu Zi Xiang tucked in the quilt for the Chu Emperor and then turned around. His face had already regained its composure, but in his thoroughly red eyes, there was still tears.
“How imperial father treats this prince, everyone in Great Chu from top to bottom all have witnessed. To be deeply loved like this, how could this prince do such a heartless thing?” Lu Zi Xiang angrily rebuked, yet his tears silently streamed down, “Furthermore, imperial father only has Zi Xiang, this one son. These mountains and rivers soon or later will all be this prince’s. Why would this prince….I…..need to do this kind of thing?!”
Empress Shen had her limbs pinned down, pressed to kneel on the ground. Her cheek stuck to the ground, her hair in a mess. She coldly sneered and said, “Who know? You, Lu Zi Xiang, love being full of superficial righteousness and benevolence, but in reality, an extremely greedy person. The throne, you want; Lu Zhao Ye’s life, you want; even that niece of mine who’s the most beautiful in the capital, you also want! As soon as his Majesty falls heavily ill, you just can’t wait anymore! For the sake of this throne, afraid you will soon have the Liu family that supported you onto the throne eliminated too!”
After saying this, she madly laughed.
Lu Zi Xiang used his sleeve to wipe his tears. Lowering his eyes, he said, “Have Shen Xin Yi taken away! Imperial father’s matter is more important……..absolutely mustn’t be delayed.”
• • •
The Chu Emperor had fallen seriously ill, his illness coming like a torrent. In less than a month, the news of the Chu Emperor’s death by illness suddenly came from the palace.
According to Shen Lan Chi’s memory, the Chu Emperor will inevitably fall seriously ill. But, in the last lifetime, the Chu Emperor although was bedridden, he still hung on to one breath, lasting to the winter of Yongjia year 3, even letting the crown prince take a wife.
At present, it was just the beginning of summer, yet the Chu Emperor already died of illness. It goes without saying that someone must have done something.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Shen Lan Chi pondered over the Chu Emperor’s death, while she lifted the hem of dress and squatted down by the bushes, looking for something. She had her sleeves rolled up high, revealing her two jade-white arms. Her tender skin, under the sunlight, was like a lump of soon-to-melt white snow.
Lu Qi Yang just happened to return from the outside. Seeing this scene, he furrowed his brows and asked, “Lan Lan, what are you doing?”
Shen Lan Chi directly got up, dusting the dirt off her hands and saying, “Looking for crickets.”
“Where would there be any this early? It has just entered summer. You won’t be able to find any.” Lu Qi Yang splashed her with a basin of cold water, “At least need to wait another month or two.”
“You don’t understand. The crickets that are born earlier chirp louder. Although few, there are still some.” Shen Lan Chi said, “When it comes to cricket champions, I’m extremely knowledgeable.” After saying this, she changed to another spot, squatting down again.
Lu Qi Yang recalled the matter in the palace, opening his mouth and saying, “Do you know? Last night, his Majesty…….”
“Sigh, there really isn’t any.” Shen Lan Chi flicked the grass, interrupting his words.
Lu Qi Yang continued, “His Majesty has passed…….”
“It’s fine if there are no crickets, just use you as a cricket, can manage to play with a little.” Shen Lan Chi lifted her head and said to Lu Qi Yang with a smile.
“…….” Lu Qi Yang opened his mouth again, “Empress Shen also committed suicide in the palace that very night, saying that she fondly thinks of his Majesty’s kindness, so wanted to follow him……..”
“You give yourself to me to play with, alright?” Shen Lan Chi completely didn’t respond to Lu Qi Yang’s words, happily smiling to the young heir.
Their conversation was completely unrelated, belonging to two worlds. Lu Qi Yang was very helpless and could only patiently say, “Lan Lan, you’re unwilling to listen to me? This is a major matter.”
Shen Lan Chi plucked a blade of grass on the ground, lowering her eyes and saying, “Not unwilling to listen….I just feel that right now, it’s already very good.” After saying this, she stood up, shaking the dirt off her dress, returning to that dignified noble young lady where her every move made people admire.
“In this lifetime, I have never asked for wealth and glory. I don’t ask for more power and influence, nor do I want that empress position. How you are now……is very good, perfectly suiting me. I don’t want it to change.”
Lu Qi Yang fell silent for a while, then opened his mouth and said, “Have you ever heard of a saying? An innocent man is not guilty, but he is blamed for possessing a jade[1].”
Shen Lan Chi nodded, sighing and saying: “I know. It means that the heir was originally innocent, but your Zhennan Wang Manor holds military power in hand, and that in itself is a sin………In the past, it was still fine, because Lu Zi Xiang needed you. Now that Lu Zi Xiang has become the emperor, he will find you bothersome.”
“Oh, I don’t mean this.” Lu Qi Yang said, “The ‘jade’ I speak of isn’t this ‘jade’.”
“Then what?” Shen Lan Chi asked.
“That piece of He-shi Jade[2] is hidden in this courtyard of mine, upon this piece of land under your feet.” Lu Qi Yang said.
“Ah?” Shen Lan Chi blanked for a moment and directly stared at the ground. By her feet was a patch of lush green foliage, full of vitality, very pleasing to the eyes. She muttered, “No way, could it be that I accidentally had your family’s heirloom jade……..”
When Lu Qi Yang heard, he nearly burst out into laughter. He walked up to her and scraped her nose, saying, “How come you’re this silly? The ‘jade’ I’m talking about is you.” He paused for a moment, a blush suddenly appearing on his face, saying, “These words can’t be explicitly pointed out. Once said bluntly, it’ll be quite….quite….quite cheesy.”
The more he pondered, the more he felt something wasn’t right, his face also turning redder.
Shen Lan Chi finally returned to her senses.
She let out a ‘yooo’ and grabbed Lu Qi Yang’s collar, teasing him, “Master is this good at speaking? Say some more for me to hear.”
“No, no, can’t say anymore.” Lu Qi Yang hurriedly waved his hand and said, “Back to important matters. Once that Lu Zi Xiang ascends the throne, he certainly won’t be willing to give up on you. He has yearned for you for that long. A while ago, he even convinced the Ji family to come ask for you, so certainly won’t give up easily. If I don’t face the challenges now, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Once Lu Zi Xiang ascends the throne, if he, Lu Qi Yang, were to stop here, then he won’t be able to contend against him.
“Lu Zi Xiang?” Shen Lan Chi cold sneered and said, “If he is that lustful of beauties, then why don’t you send him eighteen beauties, see whether or not he still has the energy to come look for me, this engaged little wife.”
Seeing her already considering herself as a ‘little wife’, despite having yet married, Lu Qi Yang couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Shen Lan Chi said, “I am someone who has no abilities, just having a good looking face. If placed in the plays, I will certainly get complained about in the first act, saying that I’m an idiot with just a good face but no brains. Don’t know what Lu Zi Xiang sees in me?”
Lu Qi Wang inwardly said to himself, ‘He precisely fell for this face of yours, dear wife.’
“Do you remember, last autumn, when you followed your family to Sandalwood Temple to admire the maple leaves, you’d also encountered Lu Zi Xiang?” Lu Qi Yang asked.
“Seemingly…….there was this matter.” Shen Lan Chi said, “He even took out a handkerchief of my servant girl’s, saying that I’d dropped it.” Thinking to here, she sneered, “I even thought that a dignified imperial prince actually secretly made vows with my servant girl.”
Lu Qi Yang said, “The buddha Lu Zi Xiang went to pray to wasn’t just for ‘peace and good health’, that simple. The people often say, the great buddha of Sandalwood Temple, one is to pray for becoming the top scorer in the imperial exam, two is for good health, and three……….”
Shen Lan Chi said, “Pray for what?”
“Pray for marriage with the person in one’s heart.” After Lu Qi Yang said this, he lowered his voice and said, “By the way, there’s also a little bodhisattva next to that buddha hall, also very popular, blessing happiness in bed, and the husband’s vigorousness and vitality. It’s said that every day when the doors open, it will welcome over hundreds of bashful little wives……”
Shen Lan Chi blanked for a moment.
An imperial prince, yet still wants to ask for a wonderful marriage. Looks like he indeed wanted to marry someone he shouldn’t marry.
Pausing for a moment, she said, “Heir, speaking of which, that day the second prince went to Sandalwood Temple, you also went. Tell me, which buddha did you pray to? Is it also the buddha for ‘marriage with one’s beloved’?”
When Lu Qi Yang heard, he immediately denied, “Nothing of the sort, don’t say nonsense.”
What a joke, how could he let Shen Lan Chi know that he also went to pray before buddha and the gods?
“Oh?” Shen Lan Chi suddenly lifted her brow and smiled, saying, “Then, if you didn’t go pray to the buddha blessing marital harmony and good health, where did you go? Could it be……you went to pray to the buddha presiding over happiness in the bedsheets and having an incomparably vigorous husband?”
Lu Qi Yang: ………
Never mind, never mind.
Can’t afford it, can’t afford it.
[1] I’d actually written a footnote for this idiom before. The story is roughly about two brothers, a king and his younger brother. The younger brother possesses treasures the king wants. The king regularly demands his younger brother to fork over his treasures. In order to avoid conflict, and possibly getting killed by his paranoid brother, the younger brother gives in every time. The moral behind the story is how possessing rare treasures will attract disaster. However, iirc, at the end of the story, the younger brother ended up overthrowing the king. The story serves as a warning to both sides.
[2] He-shi Jade is a treasured jade from the Spring and Autumn Period, recorded in the ‘Commentary of Zuo’, a commentary on the ancient chronicles in the Spring and Autumn Annals, as well as recorded in the ‘Records of the Grand Historian’. It’s name comes from the person who discovered it, a man with the surname He. He was a man from the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, who discovered a piece of beautiful jade in the mountains. It was later presented to the King of Chu.
Later in the Warring States Period, the King of Zhao obtained this rare jade. When the King of Qin heard of this, he offered to used fifteen cities to exchange for it. Zhao’s minister, Ling Xiang Ru, volunteered to take the jade to Qin for the exchange. However, Ling Xiang Ru discovered that the King of Qin wasn’t sincere. Learning that they had gotten deceived by the King of Qin, Ling Xiang Ru threatened to destroy the jade and kill himself in front of the King of Qin. Eventually, the King of Qin gave in, agreeing to fast for five days to show his sincerity. Ling Xiang Ru took the opportunity to secretly take the jade back to Zhao. The jade itself symbolize a treasure that is fought over or coveted by many.
< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >
