Chapter 9

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“Then what about the people at the Ministry of Justice?”

Jiang Qingyue who was following behind Yan Shi asked.

“The cause of death is suicide.” Yan Shi replied.

Jiang Qingyue naturally understood Yan Shi’s meaning. This

Fatal Comet was responsible for the deaths of thirteen people, it wouldn’t be

surprising even if he was killed by someone. The Ministry of Justice was filled

with Prince Zhao’s people, it was better not to invite trouble. Recently, there

had been no progress on the two missing persons case, and now there was another

homicide case, he was afraid the people in the Ministry of Justice would kick

up a fuss over it.

All the clues pointed to a suicide, even if someone from the Ministry of Justice came to investigate, it would also be the same outcome. But Yan Shi wouldn’t really just close this case and let it end, instead he would secretly send someone to investigate. It wasn’t to get revenge for Fatal Comet, but it was suspicious that this Fatal Comet chose to suddenly appear in the capital at this time. What kind of secrets are hidden behind this incident? Did it have any link to the two missing persons case? It all required investigation.

In fact, Yan Shi didn’t have to come to the Imperial Court of Justice. He had just gotten married yesterday and according to the rules, he could rest for ten days. But he was unwilling to remain in the residence and he didn’t want to admit that he was avoiding his little Wangfei.

Yan Shi let out a sigh. Previously he had suspected that Hua Ling might have just been pretending, but after the incident with the tea serving ceremony, he was quite certain that Hua Ling’s character was just naturally like that. He said so many disadvantageous things about the Kang Le residence in the palace; the people in the Kang Le residence wouldn’t be so foolish as to sell themselves in order to woo someone else. So if this wasn’t Hua Ling’s true character, then how could he say those things in front of the supreme ruler?

But this also gave him a headache. Last night, he was actually done by Hua Ling.[1] If it were anyone else, it was likely that they would no longer be alive. But Hua Ling was a clueless child, he was different from those who harboured evil intentions, he only knew what had to be done on a wedding night, so he did it. From that point of view, he had done nothing wrong. Now Yan Shi couldn’t be angry with him even if he wanted to, but if he saw him again he would inevitably feel awkward.

On this night, Yan Shi did not return to Golden Sun

Pavillion, but found a random study to stay in.

On the second night after entering the residence, the little

Wangfei stayed up[2]

alone in the empty room.

In the dark of the night when everything is silent, the innocent little Wangfei quietly left Golden Sun Pavillion and flew up onto the roof. Arriving at the rooftop of a study, he gently lifted a tile and borrowed the light from the moon that was shining into the house to stare greedily at a man who was currently caught in a deep sleep. Then he left with great reluctance.

No matter how much Yan Shi does not wish to see his little

Wangfei, when the sun rose he still had to go see him –– it was time for Hua

Ling to return to her paternal family.[3]

The Yuan Dynasty’s custom dictates that the husband and

wife, or husbands, must be present together when returning to the bride’s paternal

family.

The steward, Qing Ji, had already prepared the bridal gifts;

when going to the Kang Le residence, they had to take the carriage and not the

sedan.

“Gege.” Yan Shi and Hua Ling were originally not sitting in

the same place, it was Hua Ling who later came over voluntarily by himself.

Yan Shi pulled aside the curtain and looked out the window and

pretended not to hear.

“Gege ––“

Hua Ling tugged gently on his elbow, Yan Shi couldn’t

pretend to not hear any longer and could only turn around and ask, “What’s the

matter?”

“Gege, where did you go last night?” All of Hua Ling’s

expressions were worn on his face, and right now he didn’t withhold any of his

unhappiness, and even his tone was filled with resentment, “Why didn’t you come

back?”

“I was out investigating a case last night,” Yan Shi lied

effortlessly, “It was very late when I returned and I was afraid I would

disturb you, so I slept in a study.”

Hua Ling’s expression became slightly better, “Is Gege

always this busy?”

Yan Shi thought, this was a truly good opportunity, and

said, “Wangfei can feel free to go ahead and sleep on your own in the future,

there is no need to wait for me.”

“How can I do that, I’m afraid of sleeping alone. I’m afraid

of the dark, and I’m afraid of ghosts.” Hua Ling’s face became even unhappier

than before, his brows were all scrunched up, “And Gege, why have you forgotten

again; you have to call me Ling’er.”

“Then how did you sleep previously?” Yan Shi asked.

“Before I got married, I had Nanny Ya to sleep together with

me,” Hua Ling answered, “But now that I have gotten married, how could I let

her accompany me to sleep?”

Yan Shi didn’t intend to be entangled in this issue any

further. He looked out of the window at the scenery that was retreating

backwards and suddenly thought of an issue, he didn’t wish to let the people in

the Kang Le residence know that he and Hua Ling had already consummated their

marriage. This wasn’t for the sake of his so-called face,[4]

but rather he didn’t wish for the Duke of Kang Le to misunderstand and assume

that he wished to foster closer ties.

“Ming Ting,” Yan Shi was still unable to call him Ling’er, “When

you meet your father and mother later, you have to be more discreet in your

words.”

Seeing Hua Ling’s doubtful expression, Yan Shi continued, “You

can’t say too much about what happened between the both of us, especially, cough,

especially about our consummation.”

Hua Ling still looked doubtful, “Why not? I want to let

father and mother know that I’m living well.”

Yan Shi didn’t wish to explain so much, he suddenly thought

of something he had said before, “Didn’t your mother teach you to ‘listen to

your husband when you’re married’? Then, are you going to listen to my words?”

“I’ll listen, whatever Gege says, I’ll listen,[5]”

Hua Ling seems to have been convinced, “Then, can I tell them about meeting

father emperor and mother empress?”

“That is fine.”

Having obtained his approval, Hua Ling smiled, then he recalled

their previous conversation, “Then in the future, will Gege continue to stay

outside?”

“I can’t say for sure.” Yan Shi could not bear to lie to

him, especially when he looked at Hua Ling’s big pleading eyes that were full

of expectation, he couldn’t bear to do it even more. Deceiving a pure and

innocent child like him would leave him with a sense of guilt.

Hua Ling’s lips immediately compressed into a thin line,

“I’m not happy.”

Yan Shi didn’t bother to speak further, he grabbed a book

from the side and began flipping through it, pretending to be immersed in it.

“I’m a little sad.” Hua Ling muttered in a low voice.

Yan Shi pretended to not hear and flipped over another page.

“I’m not in a good mood.” Hua Ling didn’t stop speaking to

attract his Gege’s attention.

Yan Shi continued his act and turned another page.

“I’m not feeling very well, I might have fallen ill.” Hua

Ling refused to give up, he even bent his waist, then glanced over at Yan Shi.

Yan Shi decided that he would ignore him all the way.

“I’m really not feeling well.” Hua Ling tapped his two index

fingers together, and his lips trembled slightly, “My heart doesn’t feel good, it

feels terrible.”

Just when Yan Shi was caught in a difficult situation, the

carriage suddenly stopped and Qing Ji’s voice sounded from the outside, “Wangye,

Wangfei, we have arrived.”

When the both of them alighted from the carriage, Qing Ji noticed

that the Wangfei’s face was full of anger. What was this person thinking, when

he boarded the carriage he was so happy and excited, why was he suddenly angry

now?

The people in the Kang Le residence were naturally aware

that Yan Shi would be coming back today, but they didn’t prepare too much, it

looked to be about the same as it was usually.[6]

Yan Shi knew that this was their way of getting him off his high horse and to

let him know that they could woo him and abandon him at any time.

The servant at the gate went in to announce their arrival.

Not long later, Hua Qian Cheng came with his entourage to receive them. A big

family could consist of a few dozen people, and it was quite crowded.

Hua Qiancheng has a total of two brothers, and they all

stood together with him. His two brothers are also officials who were serving

in the imperial court, however their positions weren’t very high, and they were

far from being able to compare with Hua Qiancheng.

Yan Shi’s status was after all being put on display, Hua

Qiancheng wasn’t rude and did not fail to greet him either. He invited Yan Shi

into the residence’s main hall. But he noticed that Hua Ling was wearing a

sullen expression, so after they had served tea,[7]

Hua Qiancheng gave Yang Shi a look and she gave an excuse to call Hua Ling

away.

Yan Shi was clearly aware that they were trying to gather

information.

When morning arrived, Yan Shi used the excuse Nanny Ya was

too old and wouldn’t be able to withstand the jolting[8]

to prevent her from coming along. It was a deliberate attempt to ensure that there

wasn’t a single person around to attend to Hua Ling. Yan Shi thus got Qing Ji to

wait on Hua Ling. When Hua Ling left, Qing Ji naturally followed behind.

The main hall was left with only Yan Shi and the members of

the Hua family. After conversing for a bit, they saw the steward of the Hua

residence rushing in from the outside.

“Wangye, Laoye,[9]”

He performed a bow to both Yan Shi and Hua Qiancheng, “Prince Zhao has sent

someone over, saying that he has some matters to discuss with you.”

Hua Qiancheng revealed a hint of surprise on his face,

“Where is he now?”

The steward replied, “He’s now waiting at the gate for you.”

Yan Shi placed his cup of tea on the table, without waiting

for Hua Qiancheng to speak, he said, “If father-in-law has something to do,

then please go ahead.”

“Then Wangye, please wait for a while,” Hua Qiancheng wore

an embarrassed expression,[10]

“I’ll be back quickly.”

Seeing Hua Qiancheng’s back as he left, Yan Shi picked up

his cup of tea and took a sip and blinked. It was obvious that this had been

done deliberately as a warning toward him, it was a classic carrot and stick

approach.

After drinking half a cup of tea, Yan Shi rose and walked

outside. The servants of the Hua residence followed behind to wait on him, but

with a wave of his hand, Yan Shi got them to withdraw.

This was his second time at the Kang Le residence, the first

time was when he came to receive the bride. Speaking of it, it has been less

than half a year since Yan Shi left the palace. Yan Shi could count on one hand

the number of nobles’ residences he has visited in the capital.

After crossing over a water bridge,[11]

Yan Shi remembered that there seemed to be a big garden located within the

residence.

He turned and began walking in that direction. From afar, he

could hear the sounds of voices drifting

over from amidst the flowers, one male and one female. The male voice belonged

to his little Wangfei, and the female voice belonged to Yang Shi.

Yan Shi gentled his footsteps and crept there silently. The garden

was blooming with luxuriant flowers, Yan Shi didn’t go too close, but found a

hiding spot nearby. There were four people in the garden, Hua Ling, Yang Shi, and

Yang Shi’s two maidservants, Qing Ji was nowhere to be found.

“Why are you so useless, you can’t even do something so

simple right!” The person who spoke was Yang Shi, her voice raised and filled

with burning anger.

“But your child, your child hasn’t done anything wrong.” Hua Ling’s head was lowered, his tone full of grievance.

Yan Shi frowned, this Yang Shi didn’t even give him the

least bit of face, scolding him in front of the maidservants. It seems this

kind of thing didn’t merely happen once or twice.

“You still dare to talk back!” Yang Shi jabbed a finger at

Hua Ling’s head, “You’re now married so you’ve become so unfilial?”

He wasn’t sure why, but Yang Shi’s actions made Yan Shi very

uncomfortable. Yan Shi thought, probably, it was sympathy for this child who is

abused by his stepmother.

“Your child doesn’t dare,” Hua Ling lowered his head even

more. His voice grew anxious and it even trembled a little, “Mother will always

be this child’s mother. Your child shouldn’t have made mother angry, it’s just

that your child truly doesn’t understand why mother is angry. Personally, your

child thinks that he did very well when meeting father emperor and mother

empress yesterday, they even gifted me with many items.”

Hearing this, Yan Shi immediately understood. It must be

that the empress had conveyed to Yang Shi about what happened yesterday, and

Yang Shi was now making trouble for his little Wangfei.

Translator’s Notes:

[1] *ahem* He took Hua Ling’s rod up the ass ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

[2] 守 (Shou): to keep awake waiting for someone, usually the woman wait for her husband before going to bed.

[3] 归宁 (Gui Ning): when a married woman goes back for the first time after marriage to the paternal side of her family (FYI, in ancient China, it is the female who marries into the male’s household).

[4] Refresher: 面子 (Mian Zi) = face (synonymous with a person’s pride and reputation)

[5] 听 (Ting) is translated as ‘listen’ but here it also has the same connotation as ‘obey’.

[6] Usually it would be decked out in decorations.

[7] Same ritual as when Hua Ling and Yan Shi had to serve tea to the Emperor and the Empress.

[8] Presumably, the jolting of the carriage.

[9] 老爷 (Lao Ye) = Old Master/ the Head of the House

[10] 为难 (Wei Nan) is loosely translated as ‘embarrassed’ but it’s more of a ‘being caught in a dilemma’ kind of look/expression.

[11] This is a water bridge:

dreamxx: oops my bad, I meant to post this yesterday but it slipped my mind. And poor Hua Ling, my cute little baby. *hugs*

Thank you for your support! ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Chapter 8Chapter 10

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