Chapter 41.1 - Flat-Chested (1/2)

Translator: Superbulat

When Tang Huan regained consciousness again, she almost died of nausea.

The dusty ruined temple, the smelly thatch on the ground, and that thing in the distance that she didn’t want to take a second look…

Not bothering to sort out the memory of this body, she covered her mouth and rushed out.

Outside, the sun was blazing in the sky, and the scorching air surrounded her like a fire, as if to devour her, a rare living creature. Tang Huan ran into the nearby woods in one breath and leaned against the tree to catch her breath. As she panted, her limbs slipped to the ground feebly, her stomach growling with hunger.

She hadn’t been so hungry in a long time.

Tang Huan clutched her stomach in discomfort, and only when she lowered his head did she realize that her clothes were torn and tattered. Her two little hands were black, and she had a handful of mud when she pinched on them.

There was a faint sound of running water in the distance. Tang Huan ran to the sound without hesitation, wailing in her heart. No need to think, just by looking at her clothes now, this was probably her worst dream.

After finally becoming a madam, she was reduced to a beggar in the blink of an eye!

After scrubbing her body in the river three or four times and changing three or four places against the current, until the point where all her skin had reddened, Tang Huan finally sat down behind a stone, leaned against the river bank, and closed her eyes in the shadows.

This time, she was mute!

A rather clever little beggar who knew to disguise herself as a boy and follow the refugees to flee to Jiangnan, this rich and prosperous land. Three miles ahead was a small county town. The little beggar had planned to take a nap in the ruined temple, and then go to the county to beg for food in the afternoon when the weather was cooler. Although it was autumn now, the Indian summer was still quite domineering.

As for the little beggar’s name, she couldn’t remember at all. She only knew that she was about fifteen or sixteen years old…

Wait, fifteen or sixteen?

Tang Huan sat up abruptly and looked at her chest.

After looking, she squeezed them with her hands in disbelief…

Just these two flat steamed buns, was she really fifteen or sixteen years old?

How was this possible?! The little nun Jinzhi was of the same age, but her chest was similar to her own at that age, standing tall and proud!

If it weren’t for the fact that she didn’t like the screams of the mute, Tang Huan really wanted to curse at the sky!

She didn’t care about being mute. A woman, as long as she had a beautiful face and a good figure, it was not difficult to seduce a man. Bu-but now, with such a stick figure-like body, at first glance, she really looked like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. Song Mo would have to be blind to desire her, right?

Oh, by the way, where was Song Mo?

Tang Huan tried her best to calm down, but no matter how hard she recalled, Song Mo didn’t exist in her memory.

Fortunately, with the experience of the little nun’s dream, Tang Huan looked in the direction of the small county in front of her. Song Mo should be there, right?

A month was neither short nor long. Tang Huan didn’t want to waste time, so she washed and dried the beggar’s original tattered clothes in the bright sun, and then squeezed a few handfuls of weeds and wiped the juices on her face to cover up her originally fairly fair face. After wiping some on her clothes as well, she put her hands on her stomach and walked into the city.

A man could look prettier than a woman, but whether he could be ostentatious depended on his identity.

She was now a beggar, a helpless little beggar. With this appearance, no matter whether she was a man or a woman, no good would come if she was targeted, but it would be more dangerous as a woman. Tang Huan was not a little girl who didn’t know anything. She was very experienced at protecting herself. There were all kinds of people in the city. Before settling down, she’d better dress up as a dirty male beggar, so as not to attract unnecessary trouble.

]After entering the city, the first thing Tang Huan did was bump into someone at the entrance of the casino and steal a money pouch. Since they have the money to gamble, their family was certainly not short of these few taels of silver. Instead of losing to others, it was better to send some kindness to this poor beggar.

With the money, Tang Huan strolled along the main street. She secretly paid attention to the conversations of the people around her to see if she could hear any news about Song Mo, while keeping an eye on the shops on both sides. She hadn’t heard anything about him, but a clothes store soon came into view.

Tang Huan wanted to buy women’s clothes, but after taking a glance of the bulging chest of a middle-aged woman beside her and another glance at herself, she didn’t have the face to wear women’s clothes.

Under the disgusted gaze of the shopkeeper, Tang Huan chose a set of man’s clothing and immediately changed into them at the fitting room of the store. When she came out, she had already transformed into a good-looking boy. Although she was plainly dressed, seeing her handsome facial features and superior bearing, the shopkeeper immediately determined that this little brother was a troubled young master, and his attitude towards her suddenly improved.

Tang Huan first gave the shopkeeper half a silver dime, gestured for him to bring a writing brush and paper, and then wrote on the paper to ask him if he knew Song Mo. The only thing to her advantage in the nine dreams was that Song Mo had always been called Song Mo, which was convenient for her to inquire about him.

With the money in hand, the shopkeeper didn’t care whether the customer was deaf or mute. He started talking endlessly.

Tang Huan listened expressionlessly, thinking that Song Mo finally had a decent identity.

The ancestors of the Song family made lanterns.

As the saying went, ‘there are three hundred and sixty professions, and every profession has a number one scholar’ 1 With the good craftsmanship developed by the ancestors of the Song family, the Song family lanterns were second to none in Fu City, and they had won the first place many times at the Lantern Festival during Mid-Autumn Festival. A newly appointed magistrate had once praised the ingenious designs of the Song family lanterns, and he sent a pair of lanterns to the palace as a tribute during the Mid-Autumn Festival the following year. The emperor was curious when he heard that an official had sent lanterns as tribute. After seeing the exquisitely crafted Song family lanterns, the emperor was so pleased that he ordered the Song family to send a pair of lanterns to the palace as tribute every year on Mid-Autumn Festival.

三百六十行，行行出状元: One can become successful with accomplishment in any industry or profession. ( https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E7%99%BE%E5%85%AD%E5%8D%81%E8%A1%8C%EF%BC%8C%E8%A1%8C%E8%A1%8C%E5%87%BA%E7%8A%B6%E5%85%83 )