Chapter 17

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Author: Xiao Yao

Chapter 16 – Title – Chapter 18

“Yuan Bao, let’s wait first.” Having arrived once again outside Su-gonggong’s room, Hui Ming remembered what happened yesterday, and there was still a bit of hesitation in her heart, so having caught sight of Yuan Bao after, she was in no rush to enter the room, and just called out to stop him outside, then with a low voice asked: “How is Su-gonggong feeling today?” Please read at insidethemirror translations. DO NOT REPOST.

Yuan Bao looked flabbergasted: “Believing that Gugu wouldn’t come until noon, to see you come early like this, he’ll definitely be pleased!”

The Imperial court wasn’t meeting today, and a few days ago, the Imperial physician made an appointment to give His Majesty acupuncture and moxibustion and Tuina massage1, coupled with having a hot bath before the acupuncture, there needed a good deal of preparations, and other trivial things, after having gotten up and changed clothes, that is to say it would already be nine to eleven in the morning, and the Imperial physician did not allow any idle people to disturb while he inserted the needles, so during this period of time, the servants in the palace also got some free time, Hui Ming also heard about this when she was on duty yesterday, so she brought the morning meal early, counting the hours for the sake of being able to send it to Su-gonggong, and sure enough, it was the perfect time.

It was just Su-gonggong had been unfathomably angry yesterday, so Hui Ming was a little uneasy, and after hearing this, she asked again: “Then, will my bringing the meals, cause trouble for Su-gonggong and make Gonggong angry?”

“Where did these words come from?” Yuan Bao bitterly smiled: “How can Master be angry because of you? There isn’t even enough time to be happy!”

Hui Ming had yet to ask again, but Yuan Bao had already diligently taken the food box in her hand: “If there’s something on your mind, go and slowly discuss it with Master first, standing here in the cold draft, if Master finds out, I will definitely be admonished for being ignorant! It just so happened that Master hasn’t eaten today, so you should also persuade and advise.”

Seeing Yuan Bao had already drawn the curtain for her, Hui Ming had no choice but to lower her head and step over the threshold, Su-gonggong was not at the table, but was sitting on the bamboo divan instead, he was only wearing a plain garment and his cotton robe was on top of the heater cage2.

Hearing the noise, Su-gonggong seemingly thought that she was Yuan Bao, so without raising his head said: “You don’t need to carry the meal, you can just eat it yourself.”

Hui Ming having heard this paused, she softly and quietly put down the food container, then pulled up her sleeves and walked over: “I came to take the clothes, having a meal in the morning is the most important thing, so Gonggong should nevertheless eat some.”

When Hui Ming spoke, Su-gonggong suddenly raised his head, he was stunned and took a while to react, then he suddenly stood up.

“Careful!” Hui Ming ignored Su-gonggong’s reaction, and with quick eyes and deft hands she merely took a step forward, catching in a hair’s breadth the cotton robe that almost fell into the brazier.

The room was narrow, and originally there was no way for a decent heater cage to be placed down, for most, it nevertheless relied on people holding it with both hands on top of the brazier, so with only a sudden jolt, it was easy for the sparks to cause burns, Hui Ming picked up the cotton robe and carefully examined it once through, fortunately it didn’t get burned, and she breathed a sigh of relief, then looking up, she realized that having taken such a step forward, she had rushed before Su-gonggong’s eyes.

Hui Ming hurriedly took a step back, but saw Su-gonggong was more flustered than her, and raised his hand to pull at the lapel of his garment, under the light of the fire, a crimson color was printed on his usually cold face: “Hui Ming, you… why are you here now?”

Clothes worn in winter were thicker, apart from the cotton robe worn outside, there was also a padded cotton garment inside, it was originally not a serious matter, it’s just that Su-gonggong hiding like this, when Hui Ming raised her head and saw it a big grin formed on her face, so she quickly lowered her head and looked at the clothes in her arms and explained: “Thinking that Gonggong would be busy, I was afraid that you won’t have any vacant time at noon, it just so happened that I am currently not on duty, so I brought the morning meal for Su-gonggong.”

As Hui Ming said this, she also discovered that the cuffs and chest area of Su-gonggong’s clothes in her arms were moist, seeming to have been soaked in water, no wonder he placed it on the brazier to dry, seeing this, Hui Ming took a step back and said: “Your clothes are wet?”

Su-gonggong’s voice seemed to have recovered its calmness: “Yes, His Majesty just took a bath, when I was lending my support, some water accidentally got splashed on me.”

Hui Ming walked past Su-gonggong, and sat down where he had just been drying his clothes, she tapped the moist area and propped it on the brazier, then once again lowered her head: “Knowing that Gonggong may not have an appetite, I brought some light food that would nourish the stomach, why not try a few?”

As soon as her voice fell, Hui Ming immediately heard Su-gonggong’s footstep turn towards the table, and then there was the sound of the food container being opened and the bowls and dishes being gently placed down, after a while, Su-gonggong suddenly remembered something, and softly asked: “Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.” Now that there was a readily available reason, Hui Ming didn’t have to lie, and acutely said: “I am not on duty today, Gonggong should eat, I will wait for the clothes to dry over the stove, when I return there will still be time to eat.”

To not eat a meal with Su-gonggong, Hui Ming’s heart was utterly at ease, she had been an embroidery girl from the Bureau of Administration, so she knew everything about matters with regards to clothes and fabrics, she knew that if this Cangzhou satin was dried directly like this, some wrinkles would surely be left behind, there was no iron there, so she fished out her handkerchief, then after having soaked it, she smoothed and pressed on the creases from time to time, which was better than nothing. Focusing on this one thing like this, after a short while, she also calmed down.

Seeing Hui Ming’s bright complexion, without any appearance of unwillingness or having been wronged, Su Jin imperceptibly breathed a sigh of relief, while Hui Ming to avoid arousing suspicion lowered her head and seriously only looked at the clothes on the brazier in front of her, and by chance this also made him able to unscrupulously look at her.

This little girl of fifteen, had a distinct appearance that showed a childish nature, but in the past few days, for some reason her bearing was covered all over with sophisticated maturity, sitting down like this with her head lowered and drying his clothes, in a trance, this made the whole room feel consciously warm, as if he wasn’t in the Imperial Palace, nor was he a servant attending in front of the emperor, but was just a common person on the streets, that after returning home from a busy day, a warm meal was prepared on the table and a pampered wife by his side.

Pampered wife… Su Jin’s complexion suddenly turned crimson again, so he tightly clenched his palm to stop his own imagination from running wild, shifted his gaze, then called himself out to turn his attention to the meal in front of him.

He entered the palace at the age of ten, being an official slave, he was originally met with humiliation, it was also partially due to his stubbornness, disdaining to win favor with the master in charge of affairs, not to mention the errands he received were the most filthy and onerous, people also frequently deprived him of food and clothing, moreover he was aware that as the eldest grandson of the Su family, he still had to strive and take care of the several nephews and cousins who entered the palace together, over a long time, he thus consequently suffered from some stomach problems, although there was no more scarcity of food and clothing nowadays, after having a meal his stomach would feel even more uncomfortable, and since he knew his future was uncertain, so he neither paid attention to it, just as long as he didn’t starve to death. Please read at insidethemirror translations. DO NOT REPOST.

But at this moment, looking at the congee and shortbread on the table, and thinking about the hard work of Hui Ming personally bringing it, Su Jin after coming back from his senses from watching Hui Ming, the things on the table in front of him, wasn’t really much, these things had previously only made him feel incessantly unwell, that it was a strife to swallow down the food, and only now, did it taste like a genuinely delicious delicacy.

Su Jin slowly put down the wooden chopsticks and looked at the table in front of him, his heart felt complicated and there was a heavy look in his eyes, until Hui Ming on the side softly spoke: “Gonggong having received yesterday the task of preparing for the previous empress’ death anniversary, I fear that you will become busier.”

“Yes.” Su Jin after hearing this looked up, only to see Hui Ming’s bare hand lightly pressing the cotton robe, her head was lowered so her face couldn’t be seen, only a strand of black hair on her forehead slightly hovered from the heat on the brazier in an excitedly lively manner.

Hui Ming’s head was lowered and didn’t notice Su-gonggong’s gaze, only trying her best to make her own voice as casual as if she was just inadvertently chatting, “This matter of offering a sacrifice to the ancestors for the previous empress, won’t the empress do, or otherwise there’s still Imperial Concubine Xian, yet particularly calling for a prince that’s was out of the palace to come handle it, it’s really something rare.”

Although somewhat surprised that Hui Ming mentioned these matters, but since she already asked, Su Jin also explained in detail: “Although Imperial Concubine Xian is someone noble, but according to etiquette, she is still a concubine, calling a concubine to handle the anniversary of the Queen Empress’ death, her status isn’t formal enough, in the past, when the former crown prince was still here, His Highness the Crown Prince personally offered sacrifices to his mother, but now since the Empress is ill, His Majesty is unwilling for the previous Empress to be wronged this way, so he asked the di born Xin Wang of the Empress to act on her behalf to offer sacrifices, this is giving face to the previous empress, and all these years when the Empress was sick, this has always been the case.”

Su-gonggong made this clear, and Hui Ming also understood, offering sacrifices to the ancestors on the anniversary of someone’s death required a big ritual of reverence, especially according to the ceremonial rites, even afterwards, it was necessary for the concubines to perform a ceremony in front of the first wife, which admittedly showed deep respect towards the previous empress, but wasn’t this being ruthless to the current empress?

In this way, the empress’ condition of having fallen in depression without getting better, was not without reason.

It’s just that, Hui Ming became even more puzzled, since His Majesty didn’t think that Imperial Concubine Xian’s status wasn’t dignified enough, why did he especially permit Su-gonggong to internally assist in handling matters? For Xin Wang to find inconvenience in going in and out of somewhere, it’s where the Imperial Concubine’s were, right? Just like Imperial Concubine Xian’s status was not enough to perform the sacrificial rites, but if status was concerned, the honorable masters3, to assist in lending a hand to manage the matter, overall ought to be more suitable compared to Su-gonggong, right?

Although the reasons were unknown, but Hui Ming guessed that it must be related to Su-gonggong’s identity and family background before entering the palace, the Duke of Zhen, the weight of these words may be heavier than she thought, to the point that those sinners could sink the whole family unto the third generations to be executed, but Su-gonggong as the eldest grandson of the Su family, could still get involved in handling the matter of the death anniversary of the previous empress that Imperial Concubine Xian had no qualifications to.

Hui Ming having propped up the cotton robe in her palm paused, but facing Su-gonggong that was in front of her, not to say that she was having a deep conversation with a stranger, just these kinds of words, how could she poke on Su-gonggong’s scar and let some tragic queries come out of her mouth?

Hui Ming slightly lowered her head, then feeling that the clothing was almost dry, she stood up and folded his clothes, then said, “There are some creases left, but they won’t be noticeable if you don’t look carefully.” Thinking about the upright attitude of Su-gonggong receiving it, although she didn’t regard it as something important, but Su-gonggong presumably wouldn’t want to let herself see him wearing untidy clothing, so she just bowed her head and took her leave.

Su Jin stood there looking distracted for a moment, then slowly stepped forward and picked up the cotton robe that Hui Ming had folded, the piece of clothing had just been dried on the brazier, so there was still some obvious warmth that remained, just holding it in his hand like that, it felt as if the heat reached all the way to the bottom of his heart.

It wasn’t until Yuan Bao raised the curtain to enter the room again that Su Jin came back to his senses, and he instructed, “You go back and get me another set of clothes.”

Early that morning didn’t he just say that it would dry over the heat so don’t bother? Yuan Bao scratched his head in confusion, but he still complied, then when he wanted to reach out and take the wet clothes in his arms along the way, who knew that his Master would suddenly hide it, then raise his eyes and shout in a cold reprimanding tone, “Meddlesome!”

Eh? Yuan Bao was a little aggrieved, failing to understand so he just turned his head and went to do his work, afterwards he heard Su-gonggong ask again: “How is Hui Gugu doing in serving the emperor these past couple of days?”

Master had long ago ordered him to pay attention to Hui Gugu, and if she encountered something or was bullied by someone, to immediately report back, Yuan Bao said: “Everything’s fine, Gugu went to the Bureau of Administration a couple of days ago to find someone, she wanted a few pieces of high-grade mink fur, this apprentice had only heard about it yesterday, believing that it was nothing so just sent it over!”

“Mink fur? What for?”

“She means to make a pair of knee pads for Xu Momo.” Yuan Bao answered without thinking, believing that he had done this task ordered by Master very beautifully, he had thought that he could get a few words of praise this time, but then caught sight of Master’s heavy expression, with his whole person emitting a gloomy air, it was so frightening that Yuan Bao stopped before he hesitantly said: “Then, still… should it still be sent over?”

Su-gonggong slightly raised his eyes, his expression desolately cold.

“This humble one will go! Will go right away!” Yuan Bao’s heart trembled, rarely was he astute, having quick-wittedly grasped the situation, and seeing that the master had no other instructions, he hurriedly turned and left. Please read at insidethemirror translations. DO NOT REPOST.

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The author has something to say:

Su-gonggong: It’s getting cold, it’s probably time to switch to a new more discerning apprentice …

Yuan Bao: Mew mew mew???

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:

1. 推拿: Tuina or tui-na (pronounced twee-nah) massage originated in ancient China and is believed to be the oldest system of bodywork. It’s one of the four main branches of traditional Chinese medicine, along with acupuncture, qi gong, and Chinese herbal medicine. ↩

2. Heater cage ↩

3. 正经主子: The Emperor, Empress and Empress Dowager are called honorable master, while the others are called small masters (小主) ↩

If there are any mistakes, please do not hesitate to point it out.

Chapter 16 – Title – Chapter 18

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