Disclaimer
This work is an amateur fan-translation of original work by Tong Hua as available in free online format in Mandarin Chinese at:
http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/catalog.php?book=80155.
The translation is done as good will, so that fellow fans who do not read Mandarin may enjoy this lovely work. We declare that we do not profit monetarily in any way from this work, and also do not pretend to be professional translators, hence apologize in advance for inadvertent translation errors. In addition reposting of the translation must be done with explicit permission of all translators as contactable via spcnet.
Characters Introduced So Far
(In Alphabetical Order)
Dong Yun: One of Ruolan’s maids.
Fourteenth-prince (Aisin-Gioro Yinzheng): The fourteenth son of Emperor Kangxi. He is described as being quite handsome. Is currently around fourteen to fifteen years of age.
Fourth-prince (Asin-Gioro Yinzhen): The fourth son of Emperor Kangxi and the future Emperor Yongzheng. Slightly pale and has an impassive demeanour.
Eighth-prince (Aisin-Gioro Yinsi): The eighth son of Emperor Kangxi. Also known as the Eighth Bei’le. Ruolan is his Ce’fujin (Second Wife). Is often seen smiling out of the corners of his mouth as well as conducting himself with a calm and gentle disposition.
Kangxi: The current Emperor of China.
Mingyu Ge’ge (Guoluoluo Mingyu): Younger sister of the Eighth-prince’s Di’fujin, Guoluoluo Minghui. Not on good terms with Ruoxi. Most likely the one who caused the original Ruoxi’s accident after an argument.
Ninth-prince (Aisin-Gioro Yintang): The ninth son of Emperor Kangxi. Currently not given a peerage title. Seems to have a more taciturn personality. Nicknamed “the venomous snake” by Ruoxi.
Qiao Hui: One of Ruolan’s maids. Qiao Hui used to serve Ruolan even before Ruolan’s marriage. When Ruolan married, Qiaohui accompanied Ruolan to Eighth-prince’s household. Seems to be concerned for her mistress especially regarding Ruolan and Eighth’s relationship.
Ruolan, Maertai: Ruoxi’s older sister. The two are especially close as they are born from the same mother. She is also the Ce’fujin (Second Wife) of the Eighth-prince. Mild and gentle in nature, Ruolan likes to spend a better part of her days reciting Buddhist scriptures. Has a deceased lover who was a soldier in her father’s army. The man was of Han descent and had taught Ruolan how to ride.
Ruoxi, Maertai (Zhang Xiao): Protagonist of the story. Originally a modern day, white collar professional named Zhang Xiao. Under certain unexplainable, supernatural occurrence, Zhang Xiao’s spirit travelled through time upon her death and took over a young Manchurian girl’s body. Now stuck in ancient times, Ruoxi must navigate through an entirely foreign environment armed only with the little historical knowledge she remembers.
Tenth-prince (Aisin-Gioro Yin’e): The tenth son of Emperor Kangxi. Currently not given a peerage title. A bit of a simpleton. Likes to tease and bicker with Ruoxi. Nicknamed “the blockhead” by Ruoxi.
Thirteenth-prince (Aisin-Gioro Yinxiang): The thirteenth son of the Emperor Kangxi. Nicknamed “the Death Challenging Thirteenth” by his brothers. Has a more carefree and unrestrained demeanour.
Glossary of Terms
(In Alphabetical Order)
Bei’le: Shortened from Duo’luo Bei’le. A peerage title that can be bestowed to those within the royal family. It is the third rank in the Qing peerage system for the imperial line.
Ce’fujin: A title. Meaning second wife or ‘side’ wife in Manchurian.
Di’fujin: A title. Meaning first wife or main wife in Manchurian.
Ge’ge: A Manchurian word for young mistress, or lady. It is a title you would call an unmarried noblewoman (or before they are bestowed an official title by the Emperor) above a certain rank.
Jie-jie: Older sister in Chinese.
Chapter 3 (Part 6)
The Fourth-prince and the Crown Prince stand silently on one side. Although they probably have seen a lot and have more experience than the other princes, this is most likely the first time they have observed such a spectacle as well.
On the other side Mingyu Ge’ge slowly comes around. She then vehemently pushes away jie’jie who is next to her, while beginning to wail on the ground. Jie’jie staggers and falls to the ground. Seeing this, I break away from Qiaohui forcefully and charge towards her. Jie’jie cries sharply, “What are you trying to do?”
Hearing this I abruptly stop in my tracks.
Jie’jie asks loudly, “What has happened?”
Standing there wrapped in my cloak I let out an “hmph!”
Remaining silent, I only give Ming Ge’ge, who is sitting on the ground, a contemptuous stare.
Jie-jie then softly says to Mingyu Ge’ge while pulling out a handkerchief to wipe Mingyu’s tears, “Don’t cry. You should be careful not to hurt yourself. If Ruoxi has been bullying you, tell me and I’ll reprimand her for you.”
She knocks jie’jie’s hands away, crying, “You are all bullying me, all of you…”
I snap at her loudly, “I dare you to try saying another word!”
She glares at me spitefully and I also glare back with the utmost maliciousness. Trying to compete with me to see who has a more imposing manner?!?
Eventually, she swallows her words and opens her mouth to cry again. I walk forward two steps yelling, “Don’t you dare cry!”
Sitting on the ground she looks up at me with her mouth hanging open, looking dumbfounded. It is obvious that she has not seen anyone with such a forceful temperament.
But it wasn’t just her who was stunned on the spot. Jie’jie, the Tenth-prince, the Thirteenth-prince and the Fourteenth-prince all look to be in shock. The Fourth-prince, the Eighth-prince and the Crown Prince are also watching at me quietly. The entire banquet ground is so silent that you could probably hear a pin dropping.
At last the Crown Prince laughs lightly, “I can’t believe Thirteenth brother has a sister now.”
That’s when finally everyone begins to recover from the shock and starts to come around. Mingyu Ge’ge begins to cry again. Jie’jie gives me a glare before letting Qiaohui and Dongyun to lead me back while she busily tries to take care of Mingyu Ge’ge.
Dongyun is brewing some ginger soup for me to drink while Qiaohui helps me with my hot bath. Both of them remain silent while doing so. When ji’jie returns, she also ignores me. It looks like my performance tonight was really frightening.
At first I thought that after jie’jie has finished being angry at me, everything will return to normal. However, it has already been five days and no matter how much I try to be humbling, or act all pitiful or even playing the fool and feign madness, jie’jie refuses to speak to me. All the maids in the household also do their chores quietly and leave quietly. Everyone is treating me like an invisible person.
Thinking that punishing myself by staying inside obviously can’t exchange for their forgiveness, therefore, I might as well stop forcing myself to stay in and go outside.
As I wander around, I feel that all the eunuchs, manservants and maids I meet are all looking at me strangely. They seem to be treating me more cautiously and with a bit more respect. I didn’t care very much of how they were acting and still continues to wander around in the gardens. Eventually I see the silhouettes of the Tenth-prince and the Fourteenth-prince in the distance and so I quickly chase after them.
“Where are you guys going to play?”
They both turn around. Seeing that it’s me, they both stare blankly at me for a moment. I also cock my head to one side, and return their stares with a boorish manner. At last the Tenth-prince finally breaks out laughing.
“What kind of mannerism is that?”
I grin widely, “The mannerism of breaking a broken bottle[1]!”
The Tenth-prince brassily laughs and says, “I used to think that you were quite mean to me, but now I think you were actually treating me nicely.”
The Fourteenth-prince also shakes his head and sighs, “When I first met you I thought you were a delicate and gentle beauty.”
I ask, “What about now?”
Instead of answering, he purses his lips and asks, “Do you know you are famous now?”
I think to myself, “At the time, since all of the most distinguished young aristocrats from Beijing were probably present; there’s bound to be a few people who’d help advertise my deeds.” I tighten the corners of my mouth and say, “I can easily guess.”
He laughs, “In these last few days, “Death Challenging Thirteenth Sister” has been the talk of everyone in the Forbidden City.”
“Ah.” I exclaim.
He continues, “Even Imperial Father has been asking Thirteenth brother about when he had gotten a new sister.”
I cover my mouth in disbelief, and stare at the Fourteenth-prince with wide open eyes. My gosh! Even Kangxi knows of me now! Seeing my reaction the Fourteenth-prince laughs even harder.
Just as the three of us are joking around, laughing, a young eunuch hurriedly runs up to us. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, he comes up to greet us. He then bows and says to me, “I finally found you! I’ve already went around the gardens several times looking for you. Lord Bei’le says he wants to see you. He is waiting for you in the study.”
[1] Orig. 破罐子破摔. Comes from the idiom破罐破摔, which literally means to break a bottle already broken. The idiom is used to describe a person who already has some sort of shortcomings or has experienced some sort setback in life. However, instead of trying to overcome or improve on their shortcoming or setbacks, he/she continues on without any corrections. Thus the person progresses, as a person, in an even worse direction.
thank you so much. now i know why you didn't release anything Tuesday. you guys release 3 today. thank you so much. i love the book and can't wait for the drama.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for keeping on translating BBJX! Can't wait for the drama mid July!
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