Inner Residence arc ー Chapter 15 (Part 2): A Single Spark of Fire
The guard at the door saw me and was astonished. "Fourth Miss, how come you're back? Eldest Young Master had gone to receive you."
I jumped down the carriage and asked, "What about the others?"
"Senior Master and Madam went to welcome the Emperor. Third Miss is inside the house. As for Second Young Master, this lowly one doesn’t know."
I could imagine that beloved father of mine say to His Majesty with snot and tears, "This subject is guilty of a crime which deserves ten thousand deaths! It is this subject's daughter speaking carelessly without consideration and deluding the masses with heresies and resulted in Your Majesty going for this trip to the hot springs. Your Majesty and Your Highness have been alarmed. It’s hard for this subject to be absolved from the blame…."
It was very quiet inside the residence. The servants responsible for lighting the lanterns had yet to walk until the corner where Yang Xin Pavilion was located. I smiled while I groped about in the darkness as I walked to my own courtyard.
After turning around a grove of refined bamboos, I saw the entrance of Yang Xin Pavilion at one glance. A small lantern was swaying lightly in the wind.
The man who carried the lamp had a lean and handsome countenance. He gazed at me intently as if he was gazing at a relative who had returned home late and had a kind of happiness where he could not free of anxiety inside his heart. After a few days not meeting, he had gotten slightly thinner but his expression had become much gentler.
I called out, "Teacher Song."
He nodded at me and smiled. "I have waited for you for a very long time."
I invited Song Zijing into the room to have a seat. Yun Xiang had also been anxiously waiting for me for half a day. Seeing that I was safe and sound, she was extremely joyful.
I put on a poker face. "You don't need to prepare tea anymore. Hastily pack up the things."
Yun Xiang said, "I have already packed up long ago. I have even brought along the cheques under the pillow."
I relaxed. "The two of us will go now."
Song Zijing had been watching from the side since the start. He opened his mouth at that moment, "Where are you going?"
I said, "I'm bringing Yun Xiang to hide at our family's country estates*."
*T/n: Big plots of land owned and managed by royals, nobles and such in a feudalistic society
Song Zijing smiled as he said. "What's the point hiding at your own family's house?"
"Isn't it said that the most dangerous place is the safest place?"
"Then, you should hide inside the imperial palace."
"If I can come out easily, I would actually be happy to hide in there."
Song Zijing gently smiled and said, "Your elder brother wanted me to tell you that you only need to stay at home with no worries and you don't need to be afraid. Even if you're summoned to enter the palace, he will also have ways to bring you out safely."
I suddenly asked, "If he has ways, why he didn’t bring Elder Sister Feihua out earlier?"
Song Zijing said, "Miss Qin is different from you. Lord Qin aspires to have a marriage alliance with the imperial household."
I pondered. "Why do lovable girls all have such fathers?"
Song Zijing was in an awkward situation where he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "It is only natural and right that the parents arrange their children's great affair like marriage."
I asked again, "Song San said you're going to move out of the residence soon."
He nodded his head.
I was slightly regretful. "If this happens then, it will be hard to meet again in the future."
Song Zijing looked at me and didn't speak.
I was concerned. "Have you gotten used to staying at Prince Ying's residence?"
Song Zijing said indifferently, "Staying anywhere is the same."
I thought that an originally proud and arrogant person like him being made into this current state by the Zhao Family would certainly have his stomach full of resentment yet it wasn't for him to flare up so I changed the topic. I said, "Regarding the matter between you and my elder sister, I feel that it's quite regretful. Honestly speaking, if you can be my elder brother-in-law, then I will be able to see you every day again."
After Song Zijing listened, he laughed and said, "If you want to see me every day, there isn't just that one method of letting me be your elder brother-in-law."
I asked innocently, "Then what other methods are there?"
Song Zi Jing gazed at me intently in the dim candlelight. His mouth still carried a faint smile as if everything was already understood without him speaking. That gaze suddenly made me heat up and a little flummoxed.
A voice suddenly sounded, "Xiao Hua."
Both of us woke up with a start.
Xie Zhaoying walked into the building while taking large steps with an imposing aura. His expression appeared stern.
Song Zijing stood up. The two men faced exchanged a glance. Xie Zhaoying was proud and flamboyant while Song Zijing was modest and reserved. The atmosphere at the scene strangely tensed up. The men had already received the other party's awareness and expressed their own willpower during that ten-thousandth of a second of facing each other. The atmosphere relaxed again.
I looked left and right then opted to move over to pull Xie Zhaoying's sleeve. I asked greeted amiably in concern, "You've returned? Did it go smoothly?"
Xie Zhaoying smiled and pulled my hand. "I didn't get discovered."
I asked again, "What about that person?"
Xie Zhaoying nodded his head. "Met him already. He personally handed over the thing to me."
His expression seemed to be slightly sad.
I turned my head around. Only then did I notice that Song Zijing was no longer around.
Xie Zhao Ying saw it as only right and natural and sat down to drink tea.
I removed my hairpins, scattered my hair and took out that tiger tally.
The tiger tally was carved out from a piece of top-quality black jade and was shaped like a running tiger. Its eyes were hollow and it had exquisite decorative designs. The back had ups and downs and uneven as if it was intentionally made so.
I passed this small item over to Xie Zhaoying. "Just such a thing like this is so easy to imitate. Is it effective?"
Xie Zhaoying looked down on me. "You don't have the knowledge and experience. There is much more than meets the eye in here. Wait until you meet the other half then you'll know."
I scoffed. Even humans could be cloned and a bomb alone could destroy the world. What else have I not seen and experienced?
Xie Zhaoying put away the tiger tally with great care.
I remembered the incident in the day and giggled. "You don't know how Aunt Zhao look like when she was being carried out by people from the ancestral hall. It was the spitting image of a theatre performance."
Xie Zhaoying said, "Luckily it ignited."
I was pleased with myself. On such a dry and sweltering hot day, tung oil added with sawdust and added further with Aunt Zhao's character, the probability that the fire wouldn't ignite was even smaller than a transmigrating. Since even I had already transmigrated, then that fire would surely be ablaze with raging flames like the Olympic torch.
I had thoroughly completed the mission. As soon as I relaxed, I immediately felt very tired.
Xie Zhaoying gazed fixedly at me with sympathy and gratitude and said, "How should I thank you?"
I leaned against the cushion and closed my eyes. I murmured, "Wait until you become the sovereign that descends the world, confers me a title of a princess then bestow me a few dozens of handsome male companions*……"
While I was half conscious, I felt as if I heard Xie Zhaoying's laughter.
I slept, then had a very terrifying dream.
Firstly, I dreamt I was in the classroom. Zhang Ziyue was our advanced mathematics* teacher. He mentioned me in the classroom and criticized me by enumerating my shortcomings in front of hundreds of students in the classroom. "You're really stupid! I have never taught such a stupid student like you. You can even get it wrong for a question even a junior high student can solve!"
*T/n: A subject. I think it may also be known as 'further mathematics'.
I was so embarrassed that my whole face turned very red. He suddenly shouted again. "Why are you not returning yet? Is that fun at that side?"
I was greatly alarmed and abruptly raised my head but realized that the scene had already changed and I was soaking in a hot spring. What was frightening that it almost caused my death was that Xie Zhaoying was also soaking in the hot spring. Moreover, he was only wearing a pair of shorts.
A pie fallen from the sky crushes people to death. I only felt that his figure was slender and well-built and his attractiveness causing people to be stressed but I had no guts to enjoy it even if I wasn't beaten to death.
Instead, Xie Zhaoying embraced me with everlasting love as he said, "Xiao Hua, follow me to go to the Xi Yao city. How carefree with the tall sky and vast lands. you don’t even need to learn advanced mathematics."
I was immediately delighted in my heart and wanted to agree as I opened my mouth. Zhang Ziyue dressed in Western-style clothes suddenly appeared beside the spring water and made sarcastic remarks, "No wonder you don’t want to return. Minmin, you are so fickle that your love faded the moment you saw something different."
I thought, 'A married person like you is bothering about whether my man and woman relationship is in disorder?' However, it felt as if my throat was blocked by something and I couldn’t make a sound no matter what I did.
Zhang Ziyue turned around and just walked away. I stood up to chase after him when Xie Zhaoying suddenly pulled my hand and said, "Don’t go. I'll let you become the Empress of the nation and let you enjoy all the rank and wealth to the fullest!"
I hesitated between both parties and was anxious until my head was full of sweat. Xie Zhaoying suddenly said in pain, "You want freedom, then I'll give you freedom."
After he finished saying, he shoved me. I fell downwards and fell on the floor heavily.
Suddenly, I heard Yun Xiang shout loudly, "Miss, people from the palace has come!"
I opened my eyes and realized that I was lying on my stomach on the floor. The sunlight from outside streamed through the whole window.
Yun Xiang pushed the door and entered. "Miss, people……people from the palace has come!"
I climbed up with difficulty and scratched my hair which was like a chicken's nest. "Is that so? Coming to catch me into the palace so early in the morning?"
"It's……it's not..…." Yun Xiang stammered, "It's Second……Second……Second Imperial Prince……that has come to…come to ask for your hand in marriage*!"
*T/n: The male usually has to ask the father for his daughter's hand in marriage
Translated and Edited by: HaruOngy and LalaKurouds
Translator Corner:
Hello! 🙂 I would first like to thank you for your support up until now.
Some of you may have noticed the support button at the sidebar or the in the menu. You don't have to feel obliged to support or anything (the comments have been encouraging) but it would be much appreciated. It may motivate me greatly! 🙂
It will also help me organize my priorities and have a better idea of what readers would like. You can request what you would like to see more of or even suggest new ideas and projects. I kind of joined a translation group a short while ago too so now I really need to decide on what to focus on. >< I was planning on site monetization but the subscription plan T^T
Sorry for the long message and if you don't mind, do click on the button! I have put up a page with more details too but I think that will bore you all haha 😀