Chapter 41: CH 41

The mistress of Guo Gong passed away early and there was only one concubine, from Xie Yan Ping’s youth, that lived in the estate. But she was unfortunately someone who stayed on the downlow, usually keeping to herself and following the rules, rarely stepping out of her courtyard. Third Master Xie was also a person who could not be counted on as he was not a person that could step up. Hence, now that Xie Yu Zhi was being punished to kneel, there was no one who would come and persuade Guo Gong to reconsider.

The night was dark and the trees were rustling in the wind. With the moon hanging high up in the sky, it looked like there was a layer of silver on the branches and even the cobblestone ground was shining with glimmers of colour. It was no doubt beautiful scenery to look at, but it was definitely not comfortable to kneel on top of.

A young maid was nearby holding on to a soft cushion, crying and begging for Second Master Xie to lessen the discomfort on his knees, but Xie Yu Zhi’s eyes were closed and his ears immune to the noise. Xie Yan Ping, however, shattered a tea cup onto the ground from his anger at Xie Yu Zhi’s callousness, saying loudly, 

“Let him do as he wishes! Ever since he was born, he has always acted as stubborn as ever with that bad temper. Not even a little bit likeable. Sooner or later that temper will get him into trouble!”

There were people watching with mocking laughter in the shadows, but once they saw the person walking into the Pagoda, they all hustled back into the dark.

“The night air is covered with coldness, which is, afterall, not very good for your body. Second Master should remember to take care of himself.”

A warm and familiar chuckling voice drifted into Xie Yu Zhi’s ears. He opened his eyes and discovered that at some point Chen Miao Ping had knelt beside him. He was at first shocked but then he glowered at him, 

“What are you doing here? Come to see what a joke I am?”

“There are so many jokes under this sky, why would I need to come see Second Master?”

Chen Miao Ping didn’t mind his terrible attitude and took the soft cushion from the servant’s hands. He said quietly and gently, as if coaxing a child who was throwing a tantrum, 

“Let’s put this below you hmm? Otherwise my father-in-law would be hurting on the inside if he saw you like this.”

Xie Yu Zhi turned his eyes away in disinterest, facing the front doors of the Pagoda and didn’t acknowledge him.

Seeing him like this, Chen Miao Ping couldn’t help but chuckle, and he placed the cushion to the side. He thought in his heart that he has never seen someone so stupid, who likes to make things more difficult for themselves?  If he was just a little less stubborn and hard headed, he wouldn’t have needed to face this kind of punishment. 

But on the surface, he only sighed and said,

“Alright, if Second Master does not desire to use it, then that’s fine.”

Xie Yu Zhi’s heart thought he must be leaving now, but a field of black covered his eyes. Chen Miao Ping rustled his robe before kneeling beside him once again. The pupils in his eyes dilated and he coldly asked, 

“What are you doing?”

Of course it was to make his father-in-law like him more.

“In the time it takes to make tea, your punishment will be over. The road back is quite dark this late at night, so Chen Miao Ping will wait here with Second Master.”

Chen Miao Ping smiled after he said that, with a face that was too attractive for this world, even all the maids standing close by were dazed by his handsomeness. Xie Yu Zhi’s chest heaved a few times before he said without gratitude, 

“I don’t need you. Have you not knelt enough already today? Now leave me alone!”

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“I don’t manage you and you don’t manage me. Just pretend that I haven’t knelt enough today.”

Chen Miao Ping seemed to be angry and didn’t even use his honorifics. He ignored him after that and only occasionally looked up at the moon, looked down at the flowers and grass as if happy just by himself. Xie Yu Zhi didn’t know why but after seeing him like this, he didn’t care anymore.

The stones at night were seeped with the cold, and it was absolutely not comfortable to keep kneeling. Xie Yu Zhi’s leg had an old injury and he would occasionally feel pain strike up into his bone, making it as if he was not kneeling on stone but on needles. His body began to sway and his shoulders started to slouch. Upon seeing this the Mo-mo, who was overseeing his punishment, whipped his back with a bamboo stick,

“Second Master has slouched, please straighten up.”

The Xie family was entrenched in the military and their family punishment was stricter than most. Kneeling must be done in a posture as straight as a calligraphy brush: the waist cannot be bent, the shoulders cannot slouch, and the head cannot lower. It was enough to make someone kneel to their death.

Receiving the hit silently, Xie Yu Zhi straightened and pulled back his shoulders. But as he had been bedridden for at least the past two years, the toll from the medicine he needed to take had already wiped clean the strength from his body.

And then dragging Chen Miao Ping by the collar, pulled him to stand in front of him. His dark eyes stared at him before saying, 

“Today should have been a good day, but that worthless servant has displeased me, ruined what was supposed to be a good day. You and I have bowed towards the sky and ground, drank the He Jin Wine1, but the one thing we have not gone through is the bridal chambers ceremony to complete our wedding night.”

And who said they were not rushing?

Chen Miao Ping slowly smiled and reached out to wrap his arms around Xie Yu Zhi’s waist. He pushed the other towards the edge of the bathtub saying, 

Xie Yu Zhi smiled with satisfaction from his response. He was liking Chen Miao Ping the more he looked at him and thought that he did not pick his husband in error. He pinched Chen Miao Ping’s chin and said, 

“You will soon be heading into Han Lin Academy2, which is all just chores for the administrative officials and scholars. There’s no meaning to the work. I’ll let my elder sister find you a better position tomorrow.”

Chen Miao Ping thought that his partner was most definitely the perfect match for him and was about to answer. But before he could even say “alright”, his brain suddenly rang a warning and a mechanical voice spoke up,

[ Ding! ]

[ My dear host, oh I hope you are doing well. You must know that troubles will come out of mouths and your action is about to go against the system’s rules. The first time you will receive a warning, the second time will be a serious warning and the third time we will start to take away life points. Please treasure this second chance at life. ]

[ The galaxy’s strongest self reliant system has been activated, and our ultimate mission is to be self sufficient, to be self reliant, and to always reject being a kept man. My dear host, please use your own hard work and your own hands to create your own results, as that is the sweetest and most beautiful thing one could achieve! Let us become strong!!! ]

Chen Miao Ping: ……

Notes:

*1  He Jin Wine (a wine that can be taken as “unite together”): There’s different variations in how the ritual is done, as is always with tradition, but it’s basically a marriage couple consuming a wine that’s bitter (made from a fruit called Calabash) on their wedding night (sometimes with special wine cups that are shaped like the fruit), to signal that they will share the happy and the bad, come together as one to go through any suffering. 

*2 Han Lin Academy: can be considered as Imperial Academy, in which it holds together a group of literary scholars/officials that compile literary works together, historical scrolls and so forth, or things relating to documentations and writing of the literary arts, sanctioned by the imperial palace

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