Chapter 11: Oh! My Sweet Liar! (Wang Fei Bu Kao Pu)
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Chapter 11:
Are You Laying Down Like This?
Xiong Xiruo handed her comic to Dong Yuan, confident he would follow through and deliver it to the palace, as they had a bet in place.
Afterward, she returned to the courtyard, exhausted and eager for a good sleep. After staying up for a whole day and night, she was drained.
Upon her return, she found Huangfu Jixun trying to hide under the bed.
Seeing him hiding like a mouse at the sight of her, Xiong Xiruo couldn't help but laugh. "It's just me. Why are you so scared? I even drew a character in my comic who was about to hide under the bed and turned into a mouse, zipping into a hole!"
She demonstrated a "zipping" motion, laughing as she spoke.
Huangfu Jixun quickly stood up and brushed the dust off himself. "Are you mocking me for hiding like a mouse? Xiong Xiruo, I am the son of a general who defends the country. You..."
Before he could finish, Xiong Xiruo, yawning and clearly exhausted, interrupted him. "I'm so sleepy. I'm going to bed now."
With that, she flopped onto the bed and fell asleep. Huangfu Jixun, faced with her disregard for decorum in front of him, quickly turned his back and left the room.
It was hard for him to accept that, as the son of a high-ranking general, he was spending so much time with a palace maid and being mocked as a mouse. It was a situation he found difficult to tolerate, but he had little choice but to endure it.
Dong Yuan, true to his word, promptly sent Xiong Xiruo’s comic to the palace.
He didn’t believe for a moment that such a haphazard piece of work would be appreciated by the people in the palace.
The comic began circulating among the palace maids.
The maids became so eager to see the comic that they ended up in a heated dispute by the Bishi Pool.
“Jingxuan, you’re shameless! It was my turn to read, but you snatched the comic away!”
“Jinghui, don’t make false accusations! You’ve already read it but refused to pass it on.”
“Nonsense! I haven’t finished reading it. Give it back to me!” Jinghui shouted, moving forward to grab the comic.
The argument escalated as the maids tried to seize the comic from each other. Jingxuan, having managed to get hold of the comic, was determined to keep it. “Let go! It’s mine now. It’s my turn to read.”
The commotion continued, with other maids joining in under the pretense of mediation but also wanting a look at the comic.
“What’s all this noise about?” A cold voice cut through the chaos.
The maids turned to see the heir, Li Hongyi, whose frosty demeanor made them immediately kneel in fear.
“Why are you all arguing so persistently?” Li Hongyi asked, frowning.
The maids explained the situation, and Li Hongyi frowned even more. He extended his hand. “Give it to me.”
The maids exchanged glances, and Jingxuan, reluctantly but obediently, handed the comic over to Li Hongyi.
Holding the comic, Li Hongyi turned and walked away, not even glancing at it. His silence and aloofness made the maids believe that he, true to his indifferent nature, would likely disregard or destroy the comic without a second thought.
Upon realizing what had happened, the palace maids sighed in regret, lamenting that such a delightful comic would likely be ruined by the heir.
Li Hongyi, holding the comic, returned to the Eastern Palace. The maids and guards greeted him with respect, but he merely acknowledged them with a curt "hm."
Once back in his chamber, he absentmindedly placed the "confiscated" comic on the table, still deeply troubled by national issues.
His gaze fell on the comic, and he started flipping through the pages. The bizarre drawings—things that were neither human nor animal—caught his attention. One illustration even depicted a spittoon being eaten like a chicken leg!
Moreover, the strange cat in the comic was shown using the toilet without removing its pants, claiming it was for human progress!
What on earth were these absurdities?
Despite the initial confusion, Li Hongyi couldn't help but be amused by the sheer absurdity of it all. As he continued to read, a rare smile crept across his face.
At that moment, a eunuch arrived with the meal, only to witness the unexpected sight of the Prince smiling. Startled, the eunuch dropped the food and stumbled, frantically running out while shouting, "The Prince smiled! The Prince smiled!"
The news of Li Hongyi's smile spread rapidly across the palace and even outside, reaching every corner and stirring quite a commotion.
The Emperor Li Jing, upon hearing that his son had smiled, was so excited that he couldn't sleep. "Yi'er actually smiled! Quick, come with me to see him!"
"Yi'er smiled?!" Empress Zhang Wang, upon hearing this, was overwhelmed with a mix of tears and joy. "Quickly, come with me to see Yi'er!"
Even the Empress Dowager, who usually stayed aloof from political affairs and preferred leisurely pastimes, was astonished. The idea of the usually stoic prince smiling was so rare that she had to see it for herself.
Consequently, the Eastern Palace became unusually lively, with numerous visitors coming to see the heir.
Meanwhile, corrupt officials and ministers, who had been exploiting the people and manipulating the Emperor, grew fearful. They knew Li Hongyi was not to be underestimated. His smile was a sign that he might be plotting something to reform the country, and they were terrified of facing his wrath if he decided to take action against them.
Li Hongyi's rare smile turned out to be more than just a personal moment of amusement; it sparked widespread anxiety among those who feared his potential reformation.
News of the usually stoic Li Hongyi's smile spread like wildfire throughout Southern Tang, astonishing everyone. Across the country, storytellers were spinning various tales about why the prince had smiled, each story more imaginative than the last. The common people were captivated, applauding the intriguing development.
Li Jingsui, the King of Southern Tang, who had been preparing to overthrow his brother Li Jing and seize the throne, was thrown into a state of paranoia upon hearing the news. He wondered if Li Hongyi’s smile was a premonition or a strategic move. Fearing that his plans might have been discovered, he decided to withdraw his troops, focusing instead on further training and biding his time.
To the north, Emperor Zhao Kuangyi of Northern Song, who had also been readying his army to attack Southern Tang, was equally perplexed by the news. The thought that the usually somber Li Hongyi had smiled filled him with unease. He ordered his troops to stand down, suspecting that the prince's unexpected joy might indicate a new strategy against them. Zhao Kuangyi decided to postpone the attack, convinced that something significant was afoot.
“Xiro, have you heard? Li Hongyi actually smiled!” Huangfu Jixun hurried to tell Xiro, visibly excited.
Xiro, who was eating, looked up in surprise. “So he smiled. Isn’t it normal for people to smile?”
She had always seen Li Hongyi with a perpetually cold and stern expression, but she thought that smiling was just a basic human trait.
Huangfu Jixun explained, “You don’t understand. The prince has never smiled in his 18 years of life.”
“Pfft.” Xiro burst out laughing, almost spitting out her food. “My god! Eighteen years without a smile? Is he even human?”
Xiro set her bowl down, finally understanding why everyone was making such a fuss. It was as if a rare creature had been spotted; anything unusual naturally attracted attention.
Huangfu Jixun nodded. “Of course he’s human. Otherwise, how could he speak?”
“I think you’re the one who’s not human, talking nonsense like that.” Xiro joked, pointing at him.
Huangfu Jixun, spending time with Xiro, had started picking up on her sense of humor.
“Under the broad daylight, where would you find ghosts speaking nonsense?” Huangfu Jixun pretended to look around as if searching for ghosts.
“Come, let me tell you a joke,” Xiro invited him.
Huangfu Jixun leaned in.
Xiro began, “Once upon a time, a demon captured a princess and intended to defile her. The princess cried out for help, but the demon said no one would come. The princess screamed desperately, ‘No one, no one, come save me!’”
“Haha...” Huangfu Jixun laughed after hearing the joke. “That princess is really foolish.”
“Exactly. The princess is like the prince, captured by the demon for 18 years. The ‘no one’ finally came to save him,” Xiro said with a grin.
Huangfu Jixun looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“It means that the impossible has become possible,” Xiro said with bright eyes.
Huangfu Jixun pondered her words, then realized, “Oh, I understand now. The ‘no one’ that was supposed to be non-existent has turned out to be real, just like the prince smiling, which seemed impossible. It means that the impossible can indeed happen. Xiro, you’re quite clever.”
Huangfu Jixun admired her.
“Of course, I’m very clever,” Xiro said proudly.
She decided to keep her poor academic record a secret; after all, maintaining her image was important.
•••
https://ko-fi.com/flamingobeestranslations
https://twitter.com/FlamingoBee2009
Thank You For Reading <3
Comments
Post a Comment
What did you think of this chapter?