Chapter 9: 7

Once Xia Wan had told me that all eight of them know martial arts, and out of all of them, Mo Xiao and Nan Su were the best, especially Nan Su’s qinggong1轻功, Qinggong = is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art. When I called Nan Su, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and she hesitantly stood in place. 

 

She originally is a person who does not talk much, and I also don’t usually take the initiative to talk to someone. It seems like this is the first time I have even spoken to her. She looked into my eyes, and naturally had a bit of a disdainful look on, but what more was a curiousness. 

 

I asked her for help. She was a bit hesitant, but quickly agreed after hearing that it was about handling young master’s things.

 

Just as I was about to leave, she called me with some hesitation and said: “Umm…How do you know I am Nan Su?”

 

This question seems to also have been asked by Mo Xiao. I pondered for a while, smiled and said: “I can tell you, but you can not tell you sister, Mo Xiao, does that work?”

 

She bit her lip, but in the end, shook her head: “Then forget it.” After saying this, she turned around and left.

 

As expected, the relationship between Mo Xiao and Nan Su is so good that they would not tolerate a single word being concealed from each other. Moreover, Nan Su is a very honest girl. 

 

It’s quite nice to have someone that you can trust with all your heart. I sometimes think about Qiqi and don’t know if she is doing well or not without me right now. 

 

In half a month, the relationship between Su Cheng and Ji Yu became more and more close. Almost every time I was serving Ji Yu, Su Cheng would be there. 

 

Everyone in the world knows that the Zhou is the origin of etiquette, and the Zhou Royal Family pays very careful attention to upright and proper etiquette. As of now, the Zhou Emperor is also a model of various kingdoms for nobility. Ji Yu was born in the Zhou Royal Family, so naturally his etiquette is very comprehensive as he is a very elegant and graceful noble. Normally, he travels around to various kingdoms. The stories of local conditions and customs in various regions are all rich with vocabulary and context. Su Cheng often looked at him intently when he spoke, and the affection in her eyes was slowly overflowing. 

 

I looked at them, and thought that maybe when a girl likes someone, she will always become soft and tender. Even someone as arrogant and proud as Su Cheng is not an exception. 

 

At this time, Zichen has found that Chu Shi’s maid, He Xin, has had an affair with an imperial guard of the prime minister. Moreover has also obtained a letter that shows evidence of He Xin leaking information of the Hou Mansion to that imperial guard. However, He Xin only admitted to having a love affair with an imperial guard of the prime minister, and refused to admit that she had leaked information of the Hou Mansion to that imperial guard. 

 

She cried while hugging Chu Shi’s leg, only stammering saying that she has fallen in love with a person without mentioning his identity or background. She also said she absolutely did not leak news of the Hou Mansion to him.  

 

Chu Shi is already someone who can’t tolerate things, and after hearing Hexin’s words, she immediately started to cry while hugging He Xin. She looked at Xiang Shaoya with red eyes, and said: “I trust He Xin.” 

 

Chu Shi is also someone who is spontaneous, and if it was another person, they would declare having absolutely no relationship with the maid, but instead Chu Shi would actually step forward to protect He Xin. 

 

Xiang Shaoya frowned and asked Chu Shi not to fool around. One does not know which sore spot of Chu Shi was poked, but she yelled: “I have already been fooling around with you for many years. Now I really don’t want to be fooling around anymore. Have Zichen accompany you then!” 

 

As soon as these words with an enriched meaning came out, Xiang Shaoya’s face immediately turned pale, and Zichen did not have anything to say. Chu Shi knew that she had slipped her tongue2“slipped her tongue” = something that you say by accident, and did not want to care about it. She turned around and hugged He Xin while crying.

 

Fortunately, in order not to alarm the old madam, this was a secret confrontation, and only Xiang Shaoya, Ji Yu, me, Zichen, Chu Shi, and He Xin were present. The scene did not need to be too ugly. 

 

Due to Chu Shi’s plea, Xiang Shaoya first locked up He Xin, and thanked Ji Yu for helping to find the hidden traitor before he left. Zichen accompanied me back to my room, and his complexion also did not look very good. 

 

He told me not to talk about anything I heard today to others. I looked at him, and smiled: “I have guessed about the relationship between you and the general long ago.” 

 

“When you were ten years old, your father and mother passed away, so you were sold into the Hou Mansion by your aunt. Ever since then, you have often been accompanied by the side of the general. At that time, the former madam had not passed away yet. I heard that she doesn’t like you, but the general would still always protect you. When you were fourteen years old, the general brought you to the battlefield. When you were sixteen years old, you led a light cavalry3Light cavalry rode small quick horses and carried light weapons ideal for scouting and skirmishing a thousand miles wawa to carry out a raid to save General Xiang from danger. Since then, General Xiang has extreme trust in you, and is inseparable with you.” 

 

After a pause, I said: “At the viewing pavilion, every time the fireworks were flaring up magnificently. Lord Hou would look at you first, and when you smiled, he also smiled. For a person with a status like Lord Hou, raising a catamite isn’t really anything much, but he actually used Chu Shi as a pretense to help cover up for you. It can be seen that he is very caring towards you. With everything like this, Chu Shi feels jealous and resentful towards you. The general extraordinary pampering towards you already has an explanation.” 

 

Zichen stopped, and listened to my words. His astonished gaze slowly darkened, and those usual bright and high-spirited eyes became so deep that one cannot see to the bottom. Finally he smiled, and said: “The maid under Young Master Ji Yu is indeed very outstanding.” 

 

I also smiled and looked at him: “So this is why you planned to exclude me from the investigation?” 

 

“…I don’t understand what you mean.” 

 

“I pass by the garden everyday at shenshi (3-5 p.m). On that day, it happened that I met Zhang Shi and the second young lady who fell into the water. This means that I have become Zhang Shi’s only witness, and if I really testified for Zhang Shi, Zhang Shi would definitely make a big fuss with me for a few more days. Lord Hou has a very clear and bright nature and hates fights in the mansion. If I got involved into the fight, it can be assumed that Lord Hou would not be willing to allow me to participate in the investigation. In this way, you can investigate on your own, and put the accusation on the head of the person according to who you want it to be, am I right?” I said slowly. 

 

I have almost never been taken with such importance before. When I realized that the target of this situation was me, I was even somewhat flattered and overwhelmed. In order to prevent another incident, I went to find Zichen directly, pretending that the person I suspected was someone else, allowing him to loosen up his alertness. 

 

Zichen looked at me in silence. Today, the moonlight was a bit murky. He stood in the darkness, and was entirely developed in the gloomy atmosphere. 

 

I looked at the way he was right now and slightly smiled: “You don’t have to be so nervous. I know that you are the real hidden traitor. Didn’t I also just watch you pull down a scapegoat? What have I said from start to finish? You don’t have to think about killing me to keep this secret, Young Master Ji Yu also knows.” 

 

He said coldly: “Don’t slander me. Do you have any evidence?” 

 

“I entrusted someone to follow you, and she saw you give the forged letter of evidence to the guard of the Xiang Mansion.” 

 

“A one-sided statement4“One-sided statement” = only saying a single side of a complicated issue, or being biased.” 

 

“Oh.” I walked to him in two steps, and looked into his densely dark cloudy eyes: “Then do you think that Lord Hou will believe Young Master Ji Yu or you? Do you dare to bet on this? Can you afford to lose?”

 

There was a moment of silence between us, and the empty corridor was completely silent. He was no longer that bright and innocent youth. If Zi Kou saw the appearance of Zichen right now, I’m afraid she would be very sad. 

 

“What do you want?” He finally opened his mouth: “You didn’t go find Lord Hou to disclose this to him, and instead came to negotiate with me. What do you want to do?” 

 

“To me and the young master, it doesn’t matter who the real traitor is. As long as our objective is accomplished, everything else doesn’t matter. Since we did not detain you on the spot for your crime of stealing goods, it also shows that we are sincere. Why don’t we make a deal?” 

 

I looked at Zichen, and faintly smiled. 

 

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Zi Kou was indeed very sad after knowing the true identity of Zichen. She laid on the bed and cried for a long time, nearly out of breath. I sat on the edge of the bed and patted her back to help her breathe. 

 

She actually has never said more than a few words to Zichen, and everything was completely based on her beautiful fantasy that caused her to develop a longing for him. Xia Wan told me that Zi Kou is often like this, easily falling into one-sided love, but also is quick to forget about it. With a bit of time, she probably won’t even remember who Zichen is. 

 

Such a child, I don’t even know if she is overly affectionate or overly unaffectionate——Xia Wan said this before.  

 

“So did Zichen agree?” She asked while sniffling. 

 

She finally accepted the fact that Zichen was Lord Hou’s lover, and started to ask about the following matters. 

 

I patted her on the back, and slowly said: “He doesn’t have another choice.” 

 

“Then he is not actually very loyal to the prime minister.” 

 

“He has hidden his identity since he was a child when he entered the Hou Mansion. I can’t talk about how deep his affection towards the Xiang Mansion is, but he did not betray the prime minister at first, because his family is still in the hands of the prime minister, and the second reason is because he really likes Lord Hou.” 

 

Zi Kou raised her hazy and tearful eyes, and looked at me puzzled: “He likes Lord Hou? Then why is he still doing adultery? Wouldn’t it be better to just honestly confess early on.” 

 

I patted her on the head, and said with a smile: “Not really.” 

 

This is also the grievance of Zichen. 

 

If he had no love for Xiang Shaoya, he would have confessed to Xiang Shaoya earlier. With Xiang Shaoya’s temperament, and his life-saving grace to Xiang Shaoya, Xiang Shaoya would likely help him rescue his family, and at the same time, he can remain by his side regardless of his previous suspicions. 

 

However, it is a pity that he likes Xiang Shaoya. The more intimate a relationship is, the less deception and concealment is tolerated. If he were to confess now, and is even able to keep his life, he will still not be able to continue to be Xiang Shaoya’s lover. 

 

He is not willing to lose Xiang Shaoya. This is the deadlock5deadlock = hopeless situation of Zichen. The more he does not dare to confess, the more things he has to do for the prime minister, and gradually all the accumulated deception will make it even harder for him to talk about in the end. 

 

Before capturing He Xin, I told Ji Yu about my investigation on Zichen. Ji Yu decided to push the boat along the water6“push the boat along the water” = to take advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit to push out He Xin first, and then threaten Zichen. 

 

At that time, he leisurely smiled and said: “A spy is naturally going to be very suspicious so if you want his help, you will have to bring out the most impressive conditions that can move him.” 

 

To Zichen, that condition is Xiang Shaoya so when I promised to help rescue his family, and conceal his identity from Xiang Shaoya, his eyes clearly lit up despite the slight hesitation. 

 

This is a condition that he is unable to refuse. 

 

Zi Kou listened and faintly sighed. She rolled over and laid on the bed, whispering: “Now I can feel that what you said makes sense.” 

 

“What?”

 

“It’s pretty good to not have someone you like. Otherwise, being sad and in a dilemma is unavoidable, just like Zichen.”

 

I laughed, and Zi Kou sighed for a while before turning around to look at me: “Sister A’Zhi, as for your former sweetheart, why did you like him?” 

 

My sweetheart? 

 

I was startled for a while before lightly smiling: “Actually there really isn’t anything special. It’s just that I met him when I was a child, and he told me stories for three straight days. He also taught me how to sing a tune. That really was a long time ago.” 

 

When my birth mother passed away, he was a guest at my father’s birthday banquet. Everyone in the palace was very busy, and no one cared about where I went. I met him when I was wandering around. His name is A Yao and he was a guqin7Guqin = ​​a plucked, seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family child brought by one of the guests. He held a guqin that was taller than a person and was lost in the back garden. 

 

I didn’t tell him my identity, and only told him that my birth mother had passed away. He was very sympathetic to me, and asked me why I wasn’t sad. I said it was because I couldn’t. 

 

The birthday banquet of the head of the country is extremely auspicious, and any bad luck must be avoided so my elderly maid told me that I was not allowed to cry. 

 

He put his guqin down, and asked me if I wanted to listen to a tune. My mother loved the song《Tender Peach》when she was alive so I asked him to teach me how to sing it. 

 

I was born tone deaf, and for such a simple song, Ineeded to practice it for three days in a row. In these twenty years and more of my life, I only knew this song. 

 

Perhaps, there is no one as patient and attentive as him. He corrected me one tone at a time over and over again, and did not disdain me for my foolishness. 

 

Zi Kou looked at me as if she was waiting for my follow-up to that “long, long time ago”. I pondered for a bit, and said: “Perhaps, it is because no one has been so gentle and warm-hearted towards me before, and also no one has ever praised me before.” 

 

Even my birth mother had never praised me before. She was originally an opera actress, and came from a humble background, but did have some talent. No matter how she taught me, I was still too slow-witted. She had a very optimistic and unrestrained temperament, and would not scold me, only frequently laughed at me. 

 

Over time, I recall back to her being a really nice person. She did love me, and it was probably her first time as a mother so she was not quite sure on how to do it well. Even though I was slow-witted, I still hoped to be praised. 

 

Zi Kou’s eyes lit up. I didn’t know if she figured out something or not, but her face was full of aspiration: “Ah, gentle, I also like warm-hearted men. He was so gentle towards you because he probably likes you too!” 

 

I couldn’t help, but laugh and laugh a little louder. She pouted and looked at me. I said: “He is a gentle person so naturally he would be gentle towards anyone, and it is not because there is something special about me.” 

 

What’s so special about me? 

 

It was probably because I was unusually stupid and weird. A song that was practiced for three whole days, and my mother who had passed away, yet I didn’t even cry. However, when I finally learned how to sing《Tender Peach》, I cried. 

 

1轻功, Qinggong = is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art2“slipped her tongue” = something that you say by accident3Light cavalry rode small quick horses and carried light weapons ideal for scouting and skirmishing4“One-sided statement” = only saying a single side of a complicated issue, or being biased5deadlock = hopeless situation6“push the boat along the water” = to take advantage of the situation for one’s own benefit7Guqin = ​​a plucked, seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family

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