Hello, we meet again with another chapter. This one is quite hard on me since there is a section which talks of human philosophy in poem. Yes, both quite hard to translate all in one. But, thankfully it’s only a paragraph and after a two hours nap, my brain managed to work it out. Anyway, here you go!
Chapter 15 – UnexpectedlyTranslated by HaruOngy (If you can see this line, you must have read this in the aggregator site which illegally steal various. Be shameful of yourself for not appreciating the translator’s hard work. Don’t think only you want to have it the easy way. Support the industry!)
Using the public road to travel to Anxi Prefecture, the three of them including Chu Xun had travelled for several days without encountering any incidents.
Chu Xun's expression was calm but inside his heart there was still some uneasiness. This time leaving the palace could be considered as Imperial Father giving him an errand for the first time. Although Imperial Father didn’t say it directly, he had already assisted and dropped hints to him. If he still couldn’t do it perfectly, everyone would be disappointed with him. The one he cared the most was the others' view while conceitedly thought that there was no problem in the world that he couldn’t solve.
The horse carriage suddenly stopped.
The lost in trance Chu Xun was not prepared so with a 'bang', his forehead hit the wall of the horse carriage. "Hiss……" Your mom! He rubbed his forehead while pushing aside the curtain. "What's wrong with you?"
He only saw Mei Qian Deng concentrated in staring not far away in front. There was a simply put up tea shop, the type that was commonly seen along the public road. Inside the shop were several well-built men who were currently tilting their head drinking tea. None of them interacting with each other. Chu Xun swept a glance before stopping his sight at the back of the shop. There were indistinct horse snorting sounds. It should be the prepared ground to feed horses fodders and to park goods.
Chu Xun was bewildered as he asked Mei Qian Deng, "Are you thirsty?"
Mei Qian Deng shook her head. Lowering her voice, she said, "I used this route when I went to the capital. Last time, there is no such shop around here."
Chu Xun understood the underlying meaning behind her words. She felt that the sudden appearance of this shop here was suspicious. However Chu Xun instinctively rejected Mei Qian Deng this boor's idea. Sneering, he deliberately changed the topic, "Your memory is quite good."
"En, you said before to be more attentive of everything on the route."
Of course, Mei Qian Deng assumed that he was praising her for remembering things he had said before.
Inside his heart, Chu Xun was slightly stirred so his temperament turned softer. "Then, let's go over and try to find out the truth. You must not act rashly."
Mei Qian Deng drove the horse carriage over. Facing the shop's waiter, she said, "Our horses need to be feed."
"Please sit down and take a rest first, three patrons. This humble one will help you feed the horses." Chu Xun peeped at the waiter from the carriage window. His heart was somewhat nervous.
"No need, our Sect Chief doesn’t like clamour. It's better to just directly follow me to the rear to feed the horses."
Mei Qian Deng arbitrarily made the decision, turning them into jianghu people.
"Ai, excuse this humble one for speaking out of turn. The jolting around of the horse carriage must have agitated His Excellency inside. Why don’t this humble one bring out the fodder over? It will save your labour at the same time." That waiter did his utmost to curry favour. Mei Qian Deng didn’t even bat an eyelid while Chu Xun inside the horse carriage was frowning his eyebrows.
If Mei Qian Deng didn’t say those foreign language words to him earlier, Chu Xun would not become suspicious. Laid around the tea shop were macadam. It was full of bumps and hollows. People who rode on horse carriage would truly be unable to move about here easily. The way the waiter said as such was quite appropriate. However, after Mei Qian Deng delivered her doubt to him, he was like country folk who lost his axe and thus suspected his neighbour in the "Lose the Axe and Suspect the Neighbour" story. The more he looked at this, the more suspicious he was towards this tea shop.
"Little Deng, just feed the horses at here." Senior Official Song ordered. He had quite some pressure of a sect chief.
"Yes."
Chu Xun took advantage of the period when the horses were eating fodders to observe the tea shop again. Those men who were drinking tea earlier soon rose up. The waiter busily helped them pull over the horses and goods from the back. All of them, one in each horse carriage which was filled with a dozen sacks of goods. On top of the each sack was written with manure. There was also a circle drawn on them, inside it was an An word. They should be the items to be sent over to Anxi.
One of the men seemed to notice there was a peeping devil as he stared at Chu Xun's direction. Chu Xun instantly retracted himself to the corner inside. With a thud, the back of his head had hit the carriage wall.
Senior Official Song spoke unexpectedly, "Little Long, serve properly. Don’t move recklessly. See, didn’t you get sore now?"
The waiter had just returned from sending off the patrons when his leg suddenly slipped and nearly fell. He used a vague gaze to look at the horse carriage before looking at Mei Qian Deng. A young, delicate young man in luxurious clothes, an old yet unsophisticated man's voice and now there was the rustling sound of clothes and wheezing sound……
Mei Qian Deng said, "Waiter, please hurry."
"Ah! Oh, oh, oh." Brother waiter obviously was slightly in disorder.
Chu Xun was angry of himself as he fixed his clothes.
He must had misunderstood something.
"That waiter is not right a bit."
After the horse carriage left, Mei Qian Deng said to Chu Xun.
Chu Xun nodded. The way that waiter looked at their horse carriage in the end was truly not right.
It couldn’t be that the waiter had discovered the traces and found out that he was the Crown Prince who was on an inspection tour in incognito?!
"When I drove the horse carriage over, all of you had yet to appear but he already know there are three of us," Mei Qian Deng continued speaking.
Chu Xun was dumbfounded. He tried his best to remember. "Or maybe it's because before you went over, he coincidentally saw you stopped to talk to me." Chu Xun spoke diffidently. Even he himself felt this possibility was impossible. Even if that waiter had already saw the two of them talked, Senior Official Song didn’t show his face then.
Mei Qian Deng ignored Chu Xun as she added, "I'm afraid that waiter's martial art is above mine."
Chu Xun was dumbfounded yet again. Licking his lips and shaking his head around, he was quite furious. I say, this boor, why do you like to talk to yourself. Did you hear what I said?! Even more infuriating is that whenever this Crown Prince talk to own self, you boor will not listen properly, only know to eat.
Senior Official Song said, "Little Deng, you have to be more careful."
Mei Qian Deng didn’t speak. While driving the horse, she turned her head and glanced at Chu Xun.
Senior Official Song not only had read many books, after living to such old age his eyes were quite sharp. Plus, his mouth refused to stay idle as he only liked to chatter away with others. He put down the curtain then used his elbow to poke Chu Xun. Raising his eyebrows, he asked, "Little Long, do you know what Little Deng is thinking in his heart right now?"
Chu Xun rolled his eyes. How could he know that boor's world? He guessed blindly, "He's thinking how to defeat that waiter?"
Wrong.
"Then, he's thinking what to eat tonight."
Wrong too.
Chu Xun was not patient enough. He didn’t even want to know what that boor was thinking.
"Senior Official, you're not even the roundworm inside his belly. How are you sure you know?"
"Laofu today inside the horse carriage, as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, now will give you a little lesson on perceiving people. Since time immemorial, it's said that there are seven septasyllabic quatrains[1] on human. First, the definition or right or wrong is based on one's own will. Second, dismissing or making up the end is based on one's changes. Third, the strategy of a plan is based on one's knowledge. Fourth, calamity and difficulty of a mission is based on one's courage. Fifth, alcoholic drunk level is based on one's character. Sixth, desire to take advantage is based on one's honesty. Seventh, expectation on work is based on one's trust."
Chu Xun, "……"
Just consider I never said anything.
"He's thinking that waiter's martial art is superb so should not be a simple one. Maybe he is a famous expert in jianghu that had changed his face. Hence he's worried if that person recognise him. Mei family can be considered a large faction in jianghu. Many people had seen Mei Qian Deng and knew that he had entered the palace as the study partner. What if when continuing down this road, he's recognised by evildoers? Will it bring trouble to you?"
Chu Xun lost his words for a moment. He had never thought that that boor's mind actually turned around so much. No, no, no. it was the boor in Senior Official Song's talk that had the mind turned around this much. After he snapped out of his shock, he immediately followed with a jeer. "Senior Official, I think now that you're so old, you're thinking too much. He only has that dead fish brain."
Senior Official Song responded with giving Chu Xun a cunning, crafty smile. "You don’t believe? Then, you just wait and see. Also, do you know why he is willing to wear your dirty clothes every day?"
Chu Xun blushed all over his face at the question.
Stammering, he said, "My…My clothes….are cleaned!"
"Ai, Qian Deng is a jianghu person. Although you see his personality dull, actually he extremely hates evil like an enemy as well as chivalrous and daring. For what reason do you think he's willing to enter the palace to be the Crown Prince's study partner? Coveting your beauty? He had never see you before. That person is a hot-blooded person who wants to render service for the nation. He agreed with the Emperor to protect you properly…… Hey, I say, why are your face red already? Got enlightened by laofu, didn’t you? You know that you always bully Qian Deng so you got embarrassed right? Hey, hey, hey, no problem. If you know your wrongs then change. Think of how to be utmost kind to him!"
Senior Official, I beg you don’t talk anymore. My heart is very messy right now. I want silent.
It was at this time, Mei Qian Deng stopped the horse carriage again. Chu Xun's heart suddenly contracted, he was so nervous to death. Yet, he didn’t know if she had heard those Senior Official Song's words. Especially that "face red" part.
He only heard her calm, unwavering voice like usual as she said, "We're catching up to those group of people earlier. Should we follow or don’t follow?"
Chu Xun sighed. Pretending to be composed, he pushed aside the curtain. He wanted to say follow. However, a bright light shone into his eyes. Waah! Immediately, he put down the curtain and retracted himself back to the corner of the horse carriage. His pretty face convulsed a little. Senior Official Song patted Chu Xun's shoulders, radiating with smiles.
The horse carriage followed those goods carriage until a small town nearby Anxi Prefecture. Another one day of travel and they would reach Anxi Prefecture.
"Laofu's treat. Tonight, we will stay in the best inn in here," Senior Official Song declared.
Then, he continued to pat Chu Xun's shoulders. "Yi, Little Long. Are you not happy?"
Chu Xun whole person was a little wobbly. These few days of torture he experienced, he had nearly adapted to the abominable environment. To be like this at this moment, it shouldn’t be from the jolting of the horse carriage.
The cause was the other person.
Mei Qian Deng single-handedly drove the horse carriage. At the same time when the horses were steadily advancing, she would use one hand to change her hairstyle without looking at mirror. Currently, she removed the ever-unchanging hairstyle and it turned into the presently most popular dishevelled hair. However, she was dexterous. Her hair was not thoroughly loosely hang down. She pulled back the several strands of hair on her temples to intersect at the back of her head and plaited a beautiful hair knot. Then, she matched it up with the gorgeous clothes that Chu Xun wore yesterday yet remained spotlessly white.
It really was as if she had been exchanged with other person. The usual Mei Qian Deng didn’t like to dress up and always tried to lower her presence as much as possible. The current Mei Qian Deng was as though a wild plum tree had bloomed unyieldingly alone under the snow cover in the remote mountains during a severe winter and it had lived over a thousand years, taking in the spiritual energy in heaven and earth, finally it gave birth to Celestial Mei. Detached from mundane affairs, considered everything was beneath her notice as well as undebatable male or female.
One after another, the pedestrians secretly looked at Mei Qian Deng.
Chu Xun suddenly felt he was a bit inferior.
On the second thought, he became very unhappy. How could he be compared inferior to others, especially be compared inferior to this boor.
Humph!
He didn’t pay attention to Mei Qian Deng and Senior Official Song as he walked towards the inn alone.
Senior Official Song fished out some money and instructed the inn's waiter, "Two rooms. Give me the first-rate room. Then, bring these two servants of mine to the second-rate room."
Chu Xun instantly caught himself in a dilemma. The worst room and it was where two people squeezed in it. Senior Official, this treat of yours is so not generous.
[1] A four-line poem with seven characters per line.
Translated by HaruOngy (If you can see this line, you must have read this in the aggregator site which illegally steal various. Be shameful of yourself for not appreciating the translator’s hard work. Don’t think only you want to have it the easy way. Support the industry!)