14 Ye Cheng Fu

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Ye Cheng Fu

 Chapter 14: 

 

“Shen Ye!” Bai Shaotang’s face flushed with anger as he roared. Shen Ye, however, smiled with delight, took my hand, and said, “Shu Cheng, let’s go.”

I followed Shen Ye out, and as we were about to leave, I suddenly remembered that Bai Shaotang was still my good friend. Although we hadn’t seen each other for many years, we had a past together. I couldn’t help but worry, “Shaotang, this matter could be serious or not. When you get back to Chu, come find me, and I’ll have the Divine Doctor Shu Liang take a look at you.”

“I don’t need it!” Bai Shaotang shouted, throwing his teacup. Shen Ye quickly pulled me away and we left the tent.

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

Once outside, I dared to ask, “Shen Ye, is Shaotang’s condition serious?”

“It’s not that he’s ill,” Shen Ye said, skillfully calling over a soldier to lead our horses away and asking about the tents Bai Shaotang had prepared for us. He then led me to our assigned tent and said, “He has a cleanliness obsession.”

“Shen Ye...” I swallowed nervously. “How do you know about such trivial details?”

“You were constipated for three days before your twentieth birthday,” he glanced at me indifferently, “and I know that too.”

I was stunned by his words. We reached the tent, where Bai Shaotang had prepared two tents at opposite ends of the camp. After sending me to my tent, Shen Ye showed no intention of going to his own tent. Instead, he entered mine and began setting up the bed.

Watching him do all this, I eventually reacted with concern, “How many people have you planted in the Shu family?”

“If you marry me, I’ll tell you.”

“If I don’t marry you…” I swallowed nervously, “will you assassinate me?”

“It depends on my mood.” He started undressing. I felt very uneasy, thinking that someone who even knew about my constipation could easily have murderous intentions if his feelings turned to hatred. I thought I would need to completely replace all the guards in the Shu family. But if I replaced them, wouldn’t the next group be his people too?

While I was contemplating this, he had already changed clothes and sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing me standing there dazed, he chuckled and said, “I was just joking. I’m not a celestial being. At most, I arrange some spies, but assassinating nobles like you is quite difficult. You still use your own people for crucial positions.”

“But I did... have constipation…”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

“That’s something I personally overheard from the beams in your house.”

Hearing this, I was curious: “I hadn’t seen you before my twentieth birthday… What were you doing at my house?”

“Just strolling around.” He shrugged.

“So when I first went to the Feng Lou, did you actually know it was me?”

“Not at all!” He quickly shook his head, “I was on the beams and didn’t look down at people, only listened to the conversation.”

“Shen Ye,” I said, looking at him as he covered himself with the blanket and prepared to nap, “you have too many secrets.”

“Well, I won’t harm you,” he said as he pulled me into his arms, even though I had just gotten into bed. For some reason, I ended up believing his promise.

After traveling through the night, we slept a long time. Later that night, I heard a familiar angry shout: “In broad daylight and under the clear sky, what are you doing?”

As soon as the shout ended, Shen Ye threw a teacup at the noise, followed by a scream. He snuggled closer to me and mumbled, “It’s so noisy at night.”

The commotion woke me up for sure. I got out of Shen Ye’s arms and realized it was already night, and the room was pitch black. After adjusting to the darkness, I fumbled around to light a lamp and saw someone lying perfectly on the floor—it was the stylish and flamboyant Bai Shaotang.

I went up to Bai Shaotang and gently patted him, calling his name, “Shaotang?”

When he didn’t respond, I decided to be a bit more forceful and slapped him a few times. Bai Shaotang woke up groggily, adjusted to the light, and when he saw my face, his eyes widened. He grabbed me and asked urgently, “Shu Cheng, are you okay?! Did that beast do anything to you?”

“What could he do… I wouldn’t lose out anyway,” I said, scratching my head as I helped him up. Shen Ye turned over and covered his ears. I made a shushing gesture and put on an outer robe, then pulled Bai Shaotang outside the tent. Once we were far enough away, I asked, “Did you come to find me?”

“Otherwise, should I look for Shen Ye?” Bai Shaotang said through gritted teeth. “It’s all my fault for not returning to Chu Capital these years to carry out the Emperor’s orders. Otherwise, how could such a person be engaged to you! No way, when I return to Chu Capital this time, I must make it clear to the Empress. What use is this scum besides looking good?”

“He… has quite high martial skills too,” I reminded him. Bai Shaotang blushed and continued, “Anyway, such a brothel-born, moonlit man is nothing more than scum, a fox spirit! I’ve thought it over,” he shook his head and said with a generous expression, “If you really like him, I’m not completely opposed to him. I can give him a position as a servant, but I have only one request: you must not consummate the marriage, and you absolutely cannot have his child!”

“Shaotang…” Hearing his plan, I felt a bit embarrassed and reminded him, “Aren’t you thinking too much?”

“Not too much,” he shook his head, strolling outside with me, “I’ve been thinking about these things since I was eight.”

“Ah… Shaotang, when you were eight, you hadn’t even lost all your baby teeth.”

“Shu Cheng, I know,” he said with a wry smile, “You never believe me when I’m serious.”

I was momentarily at a loss for words. Our families had been close, but due to his mother being stationed in Yunzhou, we hadn’t met before I was six. That year, his mother sent him back to Chu capital. Since he had always loved practicing martial arts, and my teacher was a top-notch expert, his mother asked mine to take care of him and let him “audit” my lessons, learning martial arts and literature with me.

Back then, people didn’t have high expectations for a boy; they just hoped he’d grow up to marry well. So when he came to my house, my father treated him exceptionally well and advised the teacher to be lenient. I was young and didn’t understand. Before he arrived, I heard my father ask the teacher not to be too harsh on him, which I thought was favoritism. As a result, I had a prejudice against him. On his first day, when the teacher asked us to draw portraits of each other, I immediately went up and gave him a hard punch.

That punch truly used all my strength, knocking out one of his not-so-sturdy teeth, which flew gracefully through the air before landing on the ground.

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

Perhaps my strong "feminine presence" at our first meeting shocked him, or maybe he was always fond of heroic women, but at just eight years old, after losing a tooth, he immediately confessed to me, saying earnestly, “I really like you, and I want to marry you!”

I was taken aback, looking at his chubby little face and his mouth full of missing teeth, and I didn't hesitate to deliver a second punch.

I thought I would drive him away, but to my surprise, he became my loyal admirer and my little brother.

Although he wasn’t great at studying, he had excellent martial skills and a natural talent for it. I often took him out to cause trouble, and he always followed my commands without fail. At that time, everyone in Chu capital knew his catchphrase was, “I want to marry Shu Cheng, no one is allowed to snatch my wife!”

I watched him grow from an eight-year-old chubby kid with a mouth full of missing teeth into a fourteen-year-old who still had missing teeth and a face full of acne. He always held onto the dream of marrying me, but my sense of aesthetics had long told me that there would only be a brotherly bond between us.

When he was fourteen, his mother called him back to Yunzhou. On the day before his departure, because I refused to marry him, he threw a tantrum, and I decided not to see him off. Before leaving, he put aside his pride and came to my door. I was writing a letter to Su Rongqing at that time, scolding this ungrateful little chubby boy in the letter. He stood at the door, crying, and said, “Shu Cheng, just marry me.”

“No, I won’t,” I replied from inside the room, feeling quite proud, thinking that I had won this cold war. I said, “You’re so fat, so short, have acne, and missing teeth. I don’t want to marry you. I want to marry a beautiful man!”

Hearing my words, he started crying loudly at the door.

Then he ran off in tears. After finishing the letter to Su Rongqing and drying the ink, I opened the door, intending to forgive him. However, after searching everywhere, I couldn’t find him. The household staff told me that he had left early.

Without his company, my youth felt quite lonely for many years; it was hard to find someone like the little chubby boy who would always listen to me.

I originally planned to apologize to Bai Shaotang if I ever saw him again. Now I realize how humiliating it must be for a man to be so criticized by a woman. It not only trampled on his self-esteem but also tarnished my own character.

Who would have thought that years later, the little chubby boy had turned into a handsome young man? If it weren’t for the impact of someone like Shen Ye, I would probably have fainted just from seeing Bai Shaotang in his current form.

As I recalled the old grievances, I finally managed to express the apology I had buried for many years. Bai Shaotang, however, smiled casually and said, “Back then, I was losing my teeth and had acne. It was normal for you not to like me. That’s why I cared so much about my appearance afterward and didn’t grow up into a rough man in Yunzhou. But who would have thought,” he sighed, “that there would be someone like Shen Ye in this world. It’s like having a Zhuge Liang after a Sun Wu. If it weren’t for his looks, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to tolerate him!”

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

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