3 Ye Cheng Fu

FlamingoBees

Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)

Ye Cheng Fu

Chapter 3:

"No need," I said calmly, getting up from the bed and pulling out the sword hidden under my pillow.

Shangguan Wan'er’s face changed slightly, but she quickly turned and ran, shouting, "Help! Murder! Aunt Shu, save me!"

"Get back here!" I grabbed her collar, dragged her back into the room, forced her to kneel on the ground, and pressed the sword against her neck. "I'll help you with this...”

"I sent the wrong person..."

"I don't care!" I tightened the sword’s pressure slightly. "Tell me your plan! Where’s the plan you promised?"

"Alright, alright," Shangguan Wan'er yielded. "It's simple. Just find someone to marry quickly!"

"If this were possible, I wouldn’t need you to tell me!" I was enraged by her suggestion. "Is there anyone in the Great Chu who would want to marry me?!"

"I would, I would!" Suddenly, an eager voice came from the side. Both Shangguan Wan'er and I turned to see Shen Ye, enthusiastically pointing at himself. I couldn’t help but be momentarily taken aback and then turned away, saying, "That won't do."

"Why wouldn't it work?" Shen Ye looked very aggrieved.

I glared at him and said, "Shut up!" He looked very upset and finally stopped talking.

"You should have a bit more confidence in yourself," Shangguan Wan’er sighed. "I can arrange a blind date for you! I have many good families with eligible young men. I can set up a meeting for you soon!"

"What about my teacher’s son?"

"Lord Su’s only son..." Shangguan Wan’er continued to sigh and then hesitated, "How about I marry him?"

"Get lost. I can’t entrust my teacher’s son to a scoundrel like you!"

"Why am I a scoundrel?" Shangguan Wan’er was not convinced, but when she saw the sword in my hand, she swallowed and said slowly, "How about... I let my cousin marry 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.

"Shangguan Liulan?" I thought for a moment. She was indeed a well-regarded person in the Chu capital. Although she works in the Ministry of Justice and has a colder personality, and was rumored to have been a bit unruly in her youth, she is now a person of good character. She is much better than Shangguan Wan’er!

Finding someone to marry Young Master Su is actually a feasible solution.

So, I slowly put away the sword and nodded, "Then the next step is that I should go on a blind date and find someone to marry..."

At this moment, the eager voice came from the corner again: "Me, me!"

Shangguan Wan’er and I turned our heads in unison and yelled, "Shut up!"

Shangguan Wan’er and I split up to take action. She went to persuade Shangguan Liulan to marry Young Master Su, while I considered whether there were other suitable candidates. If not, she would introduce me to someone.

Shen Ye knew our plan. Shangguan Wan’er had seriously suggested that I silence him by killing him, holding my hand and saying, “He knows too much, and most importantly, he’s too noisy.”

As she spoke, Shen Ye was touching up his makeup with a small mirror he carried with him. Upon hearing Shangguan Wan’er’s words, he dropped the mirror, which shattered into pieces. Then, without warning, he burst into tears and cried out, “How can you distrust Third Young Master like this! Shu Cheng, do you have no conscience? You suspect I’m that kind of person! You want to kill me? You want to kill me! Go ahead!”

He dramatically tore open his shirt, revealing his bare chest, and with a deathly expression, said, “Just stab straight into my heart. Since you’ve already struck the most painful blow, Third Young Master doesn’t want to live anymore! Kill me! Young Lord Shu, I instructed everyone at the Feng Lou before I came. If anything happens to me, they should say it was you who killed me!”

“What... what?!” I was momentarily stunned. “I... I killed you?”

“If I can’t live to be associated with your name, then Third Young Master will die connected to you!”

Upon hearing his remarks, I couldn’t say a word. Shangguan Wan’er, standing beside me, finally stammered, “This performance is comparable to that of the top courtesan. Shu Cheng, where did you find such a gem…”

I didn’t respond, feeling a bit of a headache. I held my forehead and said, “I won’t kill you. Just go back quickly…”

“But, last night’s payment for my services…”

“Here!” I quickly pulled out a banknote and handed it to him.

Shen Ye smiled shyly and added, “But you also wrote a love letter to Third Young Master…”

“That was a misunderstanding!”

“No, you must truly love Third Young Master!” His eyes welled up with tears again, and he said sadly, “It’s just that Third Young Master’s status is humble. I understand, I understand! I don’t need a high position; I can be a humble servant!”

“Shen Ye!!” I finally lost it. “Do you really have to make me look so bad?! Someone!”

I shouted loudly, and my servants streamed in. Pointing at the deeply immersed Shen Ye, I said angrily, “Take him away and throw him out!”

Shen Ye was momentarily stunned. The servants moved forward and lifted him, carrying him out. He screamed desperately, “My lord! No! Don’t make things difficult for yourself! If you love me, don’t let me go! Third Young Master fears nothing! My lord! My lord…”

As his voice grew fainter, I felt my mind clearing. Once I could no longer hear him, the world seemed to improve. Shangguan Wan’er couldn’t help but sigh, lamenting, “Why not just get rid of someone like that completely…”

I gave Shangguan Wan’er a deep look and said, “Do you dare?”

I had no desire to bear the blame for such an act.

Shangguan Wan’er shook her head vigorously and quickly left. After she departed, I washed up and went to see my mother, the current head of the Shu family, Shu Rou.

My mother is a very orderly person. She rises, sleeps, and even eats an apple at precisely the same times every day. Even her bathroom breaks are meticulously timed. I’ve always thought that if my mother hasn’t had an attempted assassination, it’s either because she’s incredibly smart or the assassins were too weak. A person with such a regular routine who hasn’t been successfully assassinated shows how peaceful the Shu family is.

But it can’t be said that the Shu family is truly peaceful. I was not the only daughter. Just as Her Majesty the Emperor does not only have one eldest princess, both I and the eldest princess Wei Lianyi originally had several sisters, all of whom died one after another. Coincidentally, the deaths of our family’s children occurred around the same time. When my eldest sister drowned, the second princess fell ill and passed away soon after. Then, when my second sister was assassinated, the third princess suddenly developed hysteria and drowned herself…

After so many successive deaths, the Shu family was left with only me, the daughter of the main husband, while the Empress was left with only one daughter born of the Feng Consort.

At that time, rumors were rampant. The conspiracy theorists believed that it was the result of a conflict between the Empress and the Shu family. The practitioners of metaphysics thought it was the result of a fateful connection between the Empress and the Shu family. The romantics believed it was the outcome of successive love affairs between the royal family and the Shu family. The "household struggle" theorists believed it was the result of internal strife between the main husband and the concubines within the palace and that the main husband had clearly emerged victorious…

During that period, the servants in each household felt a sense of “mourning the death of the rabbit and feeling sorrow for the fox.” Those with children longed to flee far away with their offspring, while those without children wished they would never have any. If not for the fear of pain, they might have even gone so far as to castrate themselves.

Over time, the disturbances faded, and these matters became distant memories. My mother, who had her first child at the age of thirty-five, raised me alone and did not have any more children.

With only one child, my mother's expectations were naturally high. I always tried to avoid causing her any distress, so I was very disciplined. Knowing I was at fault, I knelt on the ground as soon as I saw my mother sitting properly, and said with a somber expression, "Mother, I have done something disgraceful. Please punish me."

My mother was drinking tea and looked at me in shock upon hearing my words. "I thought you went to a brothel to refuse the marriage proposal. I was about to commend you for your cleverness."

"What?"

"Su Ge Lao is highly respected, and she only has one son," my mother said slowly as she put down her teacup. "She must be thinking that you are quite promising. I suspect that the reason Su Ge Lao is willing to involve her son in the struggle between the Empress and our Shu family is that she thinks highly of you... Sigh!" My mother looked troubled. "Having such an outstanding daughter is also a headache! You should tarnish your reputation a bit so that Su Ge Lao finds you undesirable. If she refuses to marry off her son, the Empress won't have much to say about it."

"Then... then..." A spark of joy flickered in my heart. As my mother took a light sip of her tea, I suppressed my excitement and hesitantly asked, "Can I, perhaps, commit murder?"

The room fell silent. A moment later, my mother set her teacup down and turned to the steward, saying, "Bring the family rod, the one with thorns."

A chill ran down my spine as I quickly imagined myself being beaten to a pulp. Just as I was about to say something, a sudden urgent report interrupted us: "Madam, there's trouble! Many men have arrived!"

"What?!" My father, who had been silent until now, jumped up more excitedly than anyone. "What men?!"

"A lot of men!" The servant who came to report fell to his knees, his face filled with distress. "They seem to be from Phoenix Tower, carrying banners saying that the young master has toyed with their master's feelings. Their master wants to commit suicide and demands that the young master take responsibility!"

"What?!" Hearing this, I completely forgot my parents' presence and couldn't help but stand up and roar, "When did I ever toy with his feelings?!"

Before I could finish speaking, a commotion erupted outside. Soon, I saw the servants holding sticks, barely holding back a large crowd of men pushing forward.

Those men, with their familiar scent of rouge and their familiar flamboyant attire, numbered around fifty. Some were shouting, some were crying, and some were standing at the front, baring their chests and legs, pleading coquettishly with the servants trying to hold them back with sticks: "Good sister, let us in, please."

Our family's servants, being proper and upright, had never encountered such a spectacle. They were forced to retreat repeatedly, allowing the crowd to gradually flood into our main hall.

Once they were all inside, I saw that this group was holding a white banner with black characters, boldly proclaiming: "Resolutely Oppose All Immoral Acts of Toying with Others' Emotions! Shu Cheng is Guilty, Shu Cheng Must Take Responsibility!"

I was so furious that I trembled all over, unable to utter a single word. Even my usually calm mother was stunned by this scene. It took a while for the group to fully enter the inner courtyard before my mother regained her composure. She frowned and said, "I am Shu Rou, head of the Shu family. Who might you all be?"

"Madam!" As soon as my mother finished speaking, two exceptionally handsome men suddenly rushed forward, clinging to her legs and wailing loudly, "Lord, you must seek justice for us!"

"What is the meaning of this..." Perhaps beauty does indeed soften people. My mother's voice softened, much to the irritation of my father, who kept grumbling, "This is improper... improper..."

Encouraged by my mother's reaction, the two men cried even more dramatically, their tears flowing like rivers as they seemed on the verge of fainting. One of them began, "Lord, we are courtesans from Phoenix Tower. Yesterday, the young lord of the Shu family visited and took a liking to our beautiful master, thus selecting him.

"Our master has always abstained from entertaining guests, waiting for the right person to come along and share his life. He knew that the young lord of the Shu family wouldn't offer him a proper title, so he refused the young lord's advances.

"But who could have imagined that the young lord, abusing her power, would force herself upon our master!

"When our master resisted, he accidentally injured the young lord. Look, the young lord's face still bears the wound!" One of them pointed to my face, making me hastily cover the wound. The other man immediately chimed in, his voice filled with righteous indignation, "The young lord then threatened our master, saying that if he didn't comply, she would take the injury to the authorities, have Phoenix Tower dismantled, and sell us all off!"

As if to echo their words, all the men present began to sob, creating an atmosphere as if they were about to be sold off at any moment. Even my father’s face showed signs of sympathy.

The speaker’s tone turned sorrowful again, "Our poor master, for the sake of us brothers, had no choice but to submit to the young lord of the Shu family. But playing with our master wasn't enough for the young lord. She made countless promises, saying she would take our master as her concubine and love him for life.

"Our master, who already had feelings for the young master, thought that since things had come to this, it might be better to be a concubine than nothing at all, so he yielded."

The crowd's sobbing grew louder, and everyone was wholly engrossed in the story. The two men shifted their tone and simultaneously pointed at me, shouting sharply, "But she! The young lord of the Shu family! After taking advantage of our master, she betrayed him the very next day! She abandoned him and had him thrown out of the Shu residence by two burly women, right in front of everyone!

"He was covered in wounds...

"His heart was shattered...

"Our master, carrying the pain of his body and soul, walked the streets with no hope left in life.

"So he returned to Phoenix Tower and hung himself with a white silk ribbon..."

“He’s dead?!” I blurted out inappropriately, feeling a rush of excitement.

The speaker abruptly stood up, full of anger, and pointed at me. “Shu Cheng, have you no conscience? Are you just waiting for our master to die? No, our master will not die! He will live well. We at Phoenix Tower will not let you bully our master like this! Even if we have to take this to the Empress, we will seek justice for our master!”

“How can you all have such thick skin…” I was stunned by their behavior and pointed at everyone, saying, “From Shen Ye to all of you… how can you lie so convincingly?”

“Shu Cheng!” My father roared before they could respond, “How can you toy with someone’s feelings like this! Since you’ve involved yourself with him, you should take responsibility, cherish him, love him, and care for him all his life!” As he spoke, my father’s eyes reddened. “How can you treat him as precious when you like him, only to discard him when you’ve had enough… Madam,” my father turned to my mother, “you can’t raise our child like this.”

My mother blushed slightly under my father’s gaze, cleared her throat, and called the steward over. She pointed at me and said, “Take the young lord to Phoenix Tower and properly persuade that… Master Shen! Cheng’er,” she turned to me with a meaningful look, “if you’ve touched someone, you have to take responsibility. Go to Feng Lou more often and comfort their master, understand?”

“Mother…” I was momentarily stunned, unable to believe that the person in front of me was the same powerful figure who dominated the court. As the steward approached to bind me, I cried out in grief, “How can you do this?”

My mother didn’t respond, only gazing into the distance. My father stood beside her, instructing the steward on how to bind me more securely…

Once I was securely bound, the steward covered my face with a cloth, ordered the Phoenix Tower people to put away their banner, and escort me there.

When they finally pushed me into Shen Ye's room and left, I initially thought that Shen Ye, having failed his attempt at hanging himself, must be very weak at this moment. I was considering how to best show some empathy to calm him down and make him let me go. However, when I turned around, I saw Shen Ye lying comfortably on a chair with his eyes closed, relaxing. A young servant was massaging his legs, while another was rubbing his head. Seeing me, the servants smiled awkwardly and then turned to Shen Ye again, asking, "Master, is the pressure alright?"

“Not bad. Hmm, have the kitchen prepare some braised pork for lunch. Today was quite hectic, and I need to replenish myself. Also, tell Yanru to buy me more powder; I’ve run out and need to redo my makeup. And also…”

“Shen Ye!” I interrupted him angrily. He suddenly opened his eyes, full of joy, seemingly unconcerned that I caught him in such a relaxed state. He leapt from the chair and came over to hold my hand, saying, “You came to see me! Did you miss me? I know you must have felt terrible not seeing me…”

“Weren’t you hanging yourself?”

“Yes, but it was unsuccessful!”

“At what point did it become unsuccessful?” I asked through gritted teeth. Shen Ye gave a shy smile, “From the moment I put the rope up. I realized the white silk was too long.”

“Get me some scissors, I’ll help you cut it!”

•••

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3 Ye Cheng Fu

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