Chapter 9: Oh! My Sweet Liar! (Wang Fei Bu Kao Pu)
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Chapter Nine:
Li Fangyi didn’t understand what she was saying.
According to the palace maids, the newcomer Xiong Xiruo was quite eccentric compared to normal people.
At first, Li Fangyi found it hard to believe, thinking her brother was usually so serious that he couldn’t possibly be interested in a madwoman.
But now it seemed that the rumors were indeed true. Xiong Xiruo did seem to have some issues.
“Then why did my brother have you go clean the Hanlin Academy?” Li Fangyi decided not to pursue what the food stall was about any further.
“Who knows what got into his head? Maybe he’s jealous of my looks,” Xiong Xiruo continued to wipe the food residue from her mouth, complaining.
Since arriving at the palace, she had been holding in a lot of grievances and had no one to confide in. Now that she had finally met someone who might understand her, she poured out all her dissatisfaction, forgetting to consider whether the person she was complaining about was a princess or the prince’s sister.
“What does it mean that his head is messed up?” Li Fangyi repeatedly asked, confused, and then said seriously, “Xiong Xiruo, you must not speak recklessly in the palace. Cursing my brother could get you executed.”
After understanding the situation, Li Fangyi stopped calling her “sister-in-law.” Clearly, her brother had sent Xiong Xiruo to clean the Hanlin Academy to keep her low profile and allow her to focus on her pregnancy without being harmed by jealous individuals.
Xiong Xiruo’s mouth twitched. She felt that as a modern person, communicating with these old-fashioned people was nearly impossible.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Princess. I won’t do that again," Xiong Xiruo said, unable to explain further, and accepted the advice.
"You and I get along quite well. Since you are carrying my brother's child, as his sister, I naturally need to take good care of you. If you are hungry or want something to eat in the future, feel free to come to me," Li Fangyi said.
Xiong Xiruo’s heart instantly blossomed with joy, and she bounced up and down with happiness. "Wow, this is great! Heaven has really been kind to me..." Xiong Xiruo clasped her hands under her chin, looking thoroughly content.
There are two great joys in life: one is to leisurely draw comics, and the other is to eat and drink to one’s heart's content.
Now that both of these joys have been fulfilled, Xiong Xiruo felt incredibly happy.
"Dear Heaven, so you brought me here to enjoy life. When I return, I will surely burn incense for you."
Li Fangyi didn’t understand why Xiong Xiruo had such an exuberant personality.
However, she didn’t find her personality annoying; in fact, she rather liked it. The palace, with its quiet and respectful maids, lacked any fun. Having Xiong Xiruo around could add some amusement to the dull days.
"Well, I’ll take my leave now, Princess," Xiong Xiruo said, mimicking the servants, and after receiving permission, she left.
After eating well and making a good friend, she no longer needed to worry about hunger.
As Xiong Xiruo walked down the palace path, humming a little tune to herself, she happily made her way home.
"Wow!" Xiong Xiruo suddenly bumped into something, letting out a scream and clutching her forehead.
"What kind of palace is this? There isn’t even a streetlight, and I ran into a pillar. How annoying!"
Unable to see clearly what she had bumped into, Xiong Xiruo shook her fists and kicked in frustration.
Her hands were suddenly grabbed by someone, who pulled her forward with force.
"Ah! A ghost!" Xiong Xiruo screamed in fear.
"Be quiet!" A cold voice in the chilly darkness sounded even more frigid.
Xiong Xiruo was so frightened that she immediately fell silent, her mouth agape and unable to produce any sound.
Ugh, it’s that icy Prince again!
Why is he always around?
The person threw her hands aside. "What are you doing in the East Palace in the middle of the night?"
Hmph, can’t you speak with a little warmth?
Xiong Xiruo grumbled to herself, rubbing her sore hands. She mumbled, "This road isn’t even yours. Why are you acting so important?"
"This road is indeed mine," Li Hongyi said coldly.
"Wow, you can hear such a small sound? With such sharp ears, why don’t you become a spy?" Xiong Xiruo exclaimed in agitation.
Li Hongyi suddenly took a step toward her, making Xiong Xiruo retreat repeatedly. "What do you want to do..."
Here’s the translation of the passage:
---
Li Hongyi advanced, leaning in to say, "This prince asks you, what language is that 'wow, kiao' from, and what does it mean?"
No way, even the icy prince is asking her questions.
The usually silent and cold prince is asking her such a trivial question.
Hearing "wow, kiao" come from his stern and unemotional lips, paired with his cold expression, made the question seem particularly funny.
Xiong Xiruo wanted to laugh, but the person in front of her was so cold that she had trouble laughing openly, and could only stifle her laughter.
"Pfft..."
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Xiong Xiruo still couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.
"Are you so pleased with yourself?" Li Hongyi suddenly became very stern and intimidating.
Xiong Xiruo was startled, her courage wavering. She quickly stopped laughing and answered, "It’s just a catchphrase, it doesn’t have any meaning."
Li Hongyi straightened up and gave her a disdainful look. "Get out of the East Palace immediately, or I’ll have you beaten to death."
"East Palace? You say this is the East Palace? Do you have any proof that this is the East Palace?" Xiong Xiruo asked.
The East Palace is where the prince resides, isn’t it?
His disdainful expression made it seem as if she had barged into his palace in the middle of the night to assault him.
Even if I were to assault someone, it would be my husband Yang Yang, not you, icy prince. I can’t handle you.
I was clearly heading back to the Hanlin Academy, how could I end up in the East Palace? It’s not my fault I don’t know the way.
"Take a few more steps forward, and you’ll reach my quarters. Still planning to argue?" Li Hongyi raised an eyebrow, his expression now one of someone ready to throw her into the nearby river.
"I—I didn’t mean to..." Xiong Xiruo was intimidated by his pressure and backed away.
"Greetings, Prince," Aunt Jingyi suddenly arrived, looking flustered.
Xiong Xiruo quickly ran behind Aunt Jingyi to hide.
“Aunt Jingyi, you came just in time. If you hadn’t come, I would have been thrown into the river by the prince,” Xiong Xiruo said.
“Aunt Jingyi, let’s leave quickly,” Xiong Xiruo tugged at Aunt Jingyi’s sleeve, eager to make a quick escape.
Aunt Jingyi, looking troubled, whispered, “Miss Xiong, I won’t disturb you and His Highness during your date any longer. I’ll take my leave.”
What?
A date?
I’m on a date with that ice prince?
Xiong Xiruo was astonished, nearly dropping her jaw at Aunt Jingyi’s words.
What are you talking about, Aunt Jingyi? Which eye of yours saw me on a date with this emotionless man?
While Xiong Xiruo was in shock, Aunt Jingyi was about to leave.
Aunt Jingyi hadn’t seen Xiong Xiruo in the back courtyard and thought she had gone missing. After all, Xiong Xiruo was carrying His Highness’s child. If she got lost, the servants would be in big trouble. Aunt Jingyi had hurried to find Xiong Xiruo but unexpectedly stumbled upon her at the East Palace gate, seemingly having a secret meeting with His Highness.
Seeing her, Aunt Jingyi couldn’t just turn and leave. She had to salute and then depart.
Xiong Xiruo quickly grabbed Aunt Jingyi’s sleeve. “Aunt Jingyi, you can’t leave me here!”
Li Hongyi had excellent hearing, and he had naturally overheard Aunt Jingyi and Xiong Xiruo’s whispered conversation. It seemed he had been mistaken for having a secret meeting with this crazy woman!
Li Hongyi’s expression darkened, and he felt a vague, indescribable emotion.
“Take her back and keep an eye on her,” Li Hongyi ordered coldly, then turned on his heel and left.
He was feeling troubled and depressed. With the Song army about to invade, and internal strife within the Southern Tang, including the tragic extermination of the Huangfu family, the internal and external conflicts weighed heavily on him.
He had originally stood outside the East Palace to observe the stars and moon, but his interest had been disrupted by this woman.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Aunt Jingyi saluted and then led Xiong Xiruo back.
Unexpectedly, Xiong Xiruo and His Highness seemed to have a good relationship. Just one day without seeing each other, and she took the chance to run out and have a secret meeting with the prince.
“Aunt Jingyi, how did you know I was here? Oh, this palace is so huge, I must have gotten lost by accident.” Xiong Xiruo lamented, struggling with her sense of direction. In modern times, she was already bad with directions, and now, in ancient times, she was even worse. She hadn’t studied geography well and couldn’t tell directions at all.
Aunt Jingyi smiled and said, “Miss Xiong, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about your ‘date’ with His Highness. Rest assured.”
Aunt Jingyi must have misunderstood again, thinking she was lying to cover up the supposed date with the prince.
But she really wasn’t on a date with the prince.
“Aunt Jingyi, actually, I really…”
“You and His Highness are truly sweet. The little prince born in the future will surely be loved by his parents,” Aunt Jingyi interrupted.
It was over; she was completely misunderstood.
Even if she had a hundred mouths, she couldn’t clear up the confusion now.
After all, she had been alone with the prince late at night.
“Hehe, yes, yes, I’m sure the little prince won’t be a cold-faced prince like His Highness,” Xiong Xiruo nodded, trying to go along with it.
If she couldn’t explain, she wouldn’t try. At least this way, people would think she had a relationship with the prince, could enjoy delicious food, and wouldn’t be bullied.
Hmph, she hadn’t expected this icy prince to have some use after all.
If Li Hongyi knew that in Xiong Xiruo’s eyes, he was just a means for her to enjoy food and drink, he would probably be furious.
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