Chapter 5: Fallen Gentleman – Part 4
Translated by: Ritpoppy
Edited by: Ren
This is translated by , any other repost or translation of this is stolen and if you steal translations then may you never be able to read BL again.
Notice: Happy New Year!?? I realized I made a mistake in my previous chapter. “Governing the common people” was supposed to be a powerful sword called “The Common People"s Order”. It"s fixed now and if you want to go back to chapter 4 to read over the part, it"d make some parts in this chapter clearer.
Now without further ado, here"s chapter 5 of “A Seductive Gentleman”~
There were already two rows of palace maids kneeling from the exterior of ZhaoHe court.
The structure"s cornice were raised up*. The building was made up of red bricks while the roof tiles were black, not a single voice could be heard. Ming ChangYan was lead by Baili, pa.s.sing through the two rows of palace maids, directly entering ZhaoHe court"s Relaxing Chrysanthemum courtyard. Within the courtyard, there were 11 imperial bodyguards, 20 palace eunuchs, and a few palace maids. They were all squeezed together, causing him to become incapable of thinking clearly and muddle-headed.
(*TN: A form of ancient Chinese architecture where the edges of the roof were curved up. They were said to look like a bird spreading its wings. "The roof of Chinese cla.s.sical architecture can bring out the "lively" and "vivid" emotional experience through the beautiful curve and neutralization culture on the base of following the principle of scientific, rational, etiquette principles." credit: )
Baili announced, "Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Yuan, Yan ShaoShi has arrived."
Ming ChangYan straightens his posture and moved his eyes around to examine his surroundings.
Li GongGong died in the Relaxing Chrysanthemum courtyard, his violent death identical to that of Aunt Chun. Under the bright light, it was easy to see that the bottom half of his corpse was undamaged while his upper half was drenched in blood, obviously caused by the intake of needles. Before his death, it was evident that Li GongGong struggled vigorously. Kua!* There was a disgusting pool of blood surrounding his body. His ten fingers must"ve been firmly grasping onto the floor tiles, causing his fingernails to get stuck to the crevices of the floor tiles, ripping them off. The fingernails must"ve then disorderly fell to the ground.
(*TN: "胯"; 胯: means crotch, but this pa.s.sage had nothing to do with that so I thought that his must"ve been Ming ChangYan"s own thoughts mixed in with the description. "Kua" could be an onomatopoeia, in this case, expressing his bewildered disgust.)
On the left side of the corpse, there was a young man fascinatingly observing it.
Ming ChangYan paused to look at him, based solely on his clothes he could guess that it was that Yun Qing that he met yesterday at the Lotus Terrace. Only that this man was wearing a light golden outer garment, on his waist matched a girdle that had a strip of black jade strapped on it, with golden b.u.t.tons that fasten it all together. Each hanged 8 total strips and they were all made of leather. On the garment were a pair of cranes with their wings spread wide open while flying through clouds, it was like a cloud-traced crane. His sleeves had the same crane pattern, but they were black. A golden headdress bound his hair together, his appearance seemed like it came straight out of a painting, he had a defined nose, a thin lip that looked like he applied cinnabar to, a charming immortal beauty, and had a distinguished and outstanding rank.
As he continued to look on, he unexpectedly began to feel that the man was familiar-looking. Ming ChangYan"s body tilted back while his gaze faced forwards and withdrew a step. Just when he wanted to take a closer look, Baili reminded him, "Madam, his Majesty is calling upon you."
Ming ChangYan humbly corrected his posture and made an "eh?" sound. His gaze still fixated on golden gowned youngster"s face. The more Ming ChangYan observed, the more familiar he looked. In his heart, an answer just about appeared. The Imperial Bodyguard that stood beside the golden gowned youngster cupped his hands together in obeisance and said, "Does Immortal Yun Qing have a general idea of what happened?"
Ming ChangYan looked like he suddenly saw the light, and promptly lifted his two arms while barging into the crowd, "I do! I do!"
Baili Deng turned pale from fear while shouting, "What do you have!"
Ming ChangYan smiled happily and pushed the crowd of palace eunuchs away, stood in front of Yun Qing, grinned and said, "Whatever you want, I can give you!"
Just then the emperor and Imperial Concubine Yuan walked together down the stairs. Ming ChangYan cupped his hand and bowed to them, "Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Yuan, I hope you"re both doing well."
Imperial Concubine Yuan had a gloomy complexion, her mood seemed to be worried and the flat area between her eyebrows seemed to be letting out a cloud of black gas*. She didn"t look "well" at all. The emperor was sentimental, seeing how Ming ChangYan looking lively and elegant, his appearance above average, couldn"t help but ask, "Who are you?"
(*TN: like this, but sadder: )
Baili hastily kneeled down and answered, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is Yan ShaoShi from the Bamboo House."
The emperor waved his hands, "Bring Yan ShaoShi a chair, she seems to be frightened. She mustn"t be allowed to stand at this moment."
A little eunuch carried over a chair. Just when he set it down, the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside ZhaoHe court.
"ShaoShi, you mustn"t! You mustn"t!"
w.a.n.g ShaoShi was soaked in sweat as she stepped into ZhaoHe court. Ming ChangYan gave a shocked expression and thought: How is w.a.n.g ShaoShi well once again?
The servant girl that followed behind w.a.n.g ShaoShi fell down as she entered the door, kowtowed while crying out, "This servant, this servant was unable to stop w.a.n.g ShaoShi."
As soon as w.a.n.g ShaoShi arrived, she immediately pinpointed Ming ChangYan"s position, ran towards him and hide behind his back. While crying and making a ruckus at the same time, she said, "I saw a ghost…I saw a ghost!"
Ming ChangYan made an "ai!" sound, and situated w.a.n.g ShaoShi onto the chair.
"w.a.n.g JieJie, if you say there"s a ghost, then could you tell me what kind of ghost?"
Imperial Concubine Yuan, "Aunt Chun never mistreated anyone. Yesterday, it was due to those two concubines not knowing the immensity of their actions and failed to recognize their own morals. Aunt merely gave them a small disciplinary punishment, who knew that the servants in the punishment chamber could be so relentless. Don"t tell me that their deaths should be blamed on her! Their injustice should not become the other party"s dept. Even if those two could become ghosts, it would be impossible for them to come to ZhaoHe court. Your Majesty, this subject has been together will Aunt Chun since childhood, we were like sisters, if we"re unable to have the truth come to light, this subject will, wil…"
The emperor promptly began to appease his Imperial Concubine, turned his head and asked the golden gowned youngster, "Yun Qing, do you sense anything improper, like resentful energy, a ghost"s vital energy, things like that."
Ming ChangYan saw that Yun Qing was just about to reply so at once he s.n.a.t.c.hed his opportunity and said, "Of course, how could there not be any. This, w.a.n.g ShaoShi already claimed that she saw a ghost, seeing is believing. Your evidence is already there, it"s definitely those two palace concubines that came back to take revenge. I think it"d be better for this, this Immortal Yun Qing to beckon and call upon the soul, then wouldn"t the whole truth be revealed?!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan used her beautiful eyes to glare at him and criticized, "What the heck are you!"
The emperor nodded head, "Your words are rational. Yun Qing, you will call upon the soul right here."
Immortal Yun Qing shot a glance a Ming ChangYan, and replied to the emperor"s words, "Calling upon the soul requires preparation. Your Majesty, please wait a moment."
Ming ChangYan took a step back, crouched down and examined Li GongGong"s corpse.
Baili, "ShaoShi has great courage and proper insight."
Ming ChangYan responded, "So-so, so-so. When did Li GongGong die? Was anyone present at the time of his death?"
Baili answered, "There was no present at the time of his death, but because of the huge commotion, it caught the attention of a palace eunuch that was just pa.s.sing by."
After a short period of time, alchemists were brought over from the Ninety-Ninth Temple and set out to arrange Spirit Altars for the inner parts of ZhaoHe court. The Spirit Altar was arranged on three doors, with 18 long roots and 10 short roots. Every door"s altar had a distinct color, and altogether there were blue, red, and white. ZhaoHe court was sealed shut, everyone was centralized within the lounge, so they could only leave through the southern detached palace gate.
Scripture, incense, and a lantern were placed in a good position for the ritual. Immortal Yun Qing had already changed into golden silk immortal robes adorned with jacquard weaves. On it was an embroidery made from golden threads depicting lingzhi mushrooms* and red-crowned cranes, with brilliant lights and vibrant colors, his spiritual energy fluttered around him.
(*TN: Lingzhi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) Its red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap gives it a distinct appearance. It is an extremely rare type of mushroom that is beneficial to a person"s health (if they ate it) and has been known as a cancer preventer, immune system support, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. So it"s like of like the king of medicine)
Ming ChangYan was hidden among the crowd of palace maids. When Peony saw this, she finally saw an opportunity to step forward, her heart was really frightened as she patted her stomach, "ShaoShi, do you know that the tone of your voice, while you were speaking to His Majesty, was sufficient to dying ten thousand times? If it wasn"t for Imperial Concubine Yuan being startled and His Majesty not in the mood to further interrogate you, then you and I would have already seen the gates of heaven and h.e.l.l."
Ming ChangYan let out a laugh and said, "Why should I be scared of the gates of heaven and h.e.l.l? There"s plenty of rare treasures in the Imperial Palace, there"s bound to be a medicine that has the power to bring back someone from the dead. Fu Ling, you"ve already stayed in the palace for many years, have you ever heard of a medicine like that?"
Fu Ling took a step forward and answered, "ShaoShi, you imagine the wildest things. Where on this earth will there be a medicine that can bring someone back from the dead? Even if there was, it would be the gra.s.s used by Immortals."
Ming ChangYan, "Smart! Precisely the Immortal Gra.s.s, have you guys heard of this medical herb?"
Fu Ling shared a look with Peony, Fu Ling replied, "I"ve never heard of it before. However, hundreds of countries from around the border annually offer gifts to ZhongYuan*. Foreign countries may have this panacea."
(*TN: Central Plain, the middle and lower regions of the Yellow River, including Henan, western Shandong, southern Shanxi, and Hebei)
Ming ChangYan asked, "Do these two JieJie know where these types of things are located?"
Peony answered, "This servant does not know. If ShaoShi really wants to know, you can go ask the Minister of Rites, Master Xiao Cheng. He"s the one who"s officially in charge of the tributes we receive."
After listening, Ming ChangYan questioned, "If the Immortal Gra.s.s is an extraordinarily valuable treasure, it"s unlikely that it"ll be located outside the palace. The Minister of Rites, Master Xiao Cheng…Peony, let me ask you, is there someone in the palace who has poor health, or perhaps someone who all year around requires the consumption of medicine to keep them alive, while at the same time holds a high position?"
After muttering to herself of a brief period of time, Peony responded, "Imperial Concubine Wan has never had a good body composition, and required medicine every day to recuperate. But many years ago, she had a heart failure, and her position wasn"t particularly high."
Fu Ling, "If ShaoShi doesn"t include the Imperial Harem, then this servant knows a person, and his position is considerably high. It"s just that that person"s health is quite well, but still daily comes into contact with medicine."
Ming ChangYan smiled, "This kind of prodigy still exists?"
Fu Ling wanted to cover up his mouth, "You mustn"t make these senseless remarks."
Ming ChangYan, "Ok, ok, ok. I won"t make them anymore. Then JieJie quickly tell me, who is this person?"
Fu Ling replied, "This person is the young Prime Minister*, Immortal Yun Qing. He studied under Chang GuoXiang and understands the five phases of Chinese philosophy and the eight divinatory trigrams of the Book of Change, ancient Chinese divination, at the same time use horoscopes to refine medicines. He doesn"t lack vitality and presently, no one is able to control him. Tomorrow, all the nations will offer tributes to us. Our young Prime Minister will be left with the task of selecting materials from the gifts to be used to refine elixirs. The Immortal Gra.s.s that ShaoShi was talking about may just be located within the Ninety-Ninth Temple."
(*TN: "国相"; the highest executive rank in Ancient China)
Ming ChangYan"s heart stirred, the tip of his nose suddenly picked up a bizarre fragrance. He twitched his nose twice and asked, "Do you guys smell a weird fragrance?"
Fu Ling replied, "One can open an altar as long as they burn incense. The incense that the young Prime Minister is using must be the most valuable soul summoning incense."
Ming ChangYan said, "No, it doesn"t smell like soul summoning incense. I smelled this once back in Lotus Terrace. This fragrance smells a bit bitter, like the scent of medicine, but with a hint of lotus."
The two shook their heads, "We don"t smell it."
When he inhales this fragrance, his heartbeat begins to quicken and is unable to control himself as he begins to become infatuated with the scent. Ming ChangYan promptly waved his hands in the air to disperse the smell.
Within the soul altar, the Immortal Yun Qing said, "In the dark, night light, I bring life back upon the soul."
Ming ChangYan listened closely, the ceremonial chant that he was saying was from《LingBao YuJian》, a book that is used to summon the soul, something that even after getting beat multiple times by a bamboo stick, you still wouldn"t be able to obtain.
Originally, Ming ShaoXia was somewhat astonished after hearing it, but the longer he listened to this Yun Qing Immortal—the more outrageous it began to sound!
The Immortal"s first few phrases were properly spoken, but afterward, he began to ramble incorhertanly, it was a complete joke! He absent-mindedly recited some chapters from《Flying Flowers》and《The Romantic Words of PingShan*》, mixing these dishonest practices together and leaving Ming ChangYan completely dumbstruck. Those two novels are bedside reading materials for him, after studying them every night, of course he"s going to thoroughly understand it.
(*TN: Both of these two books—after some thoughtful google searches—are l.u.s.tful novels full of obscenities about the relationship between men and women. The first one talks about scholars and women and their s.e.xual experiences, often times depicting some people"s personal scenes. The second one is more poetic and goes on to say stuff about the joy of love-making but is still explicit.)
Ming ChangYan carefully examined this young Prime Minister, who when tricking the emperor is full of big words and sincerity, but behind his back is actually listless.
The emperor was holding his breath while waiting on him and at the same time solemnly giving him his full attention. He had the appearance of a revered G.o.d.
This is translated by , any other repost or translation of this is stolen and if you steal translations then may you never be able to read BL again.
Ming ChangYan began to laugh hysterically, thinking that this Immortal Yun Qing is really a bold and audacious person! This youngster isn"t all that sensible to be over here fooling the emperor and the imperial concubine.
Peony gave him an annoyed look, "ShaoShi, you dare laugh!"
Ming ChangYan replied, "I"m just laughing a bit, it"s not like it matters."
But the next second, he became unable to laugh, his complexion immediately becoming rigid.
After Immortal Yun Qing finished reciting the gibberish that was supposed to summon the soul, in the blink of an eye, he pulled out a 2-foot long machete from his back. The entire blade was black, with a faint dark aura surrounding it. The handle of the blade had black jades embedded into it. This blade is precisely the blade that was supposed to be at XiaoMan Mountain, The Common People"s Order!
Ming ChangYan suddenly stood up, his gaze cold and unwavering as he stared at Yun Qing.
At the same time, w.a.n.g ShaoShi let out a scream, rolled off the chair, and began crawling towards the soul alter. The servant girl was scared to the point her own soul was leaping out from her body, w.a.n.g ShaoShi once again yelled, "Ghost…there"re ghosts! I saw a ghost!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan covered her nose with her hand and recoiled, frightened again and again. The emperor held her hand while frowning and ordered, "Why hasn"t anyone caught w.a.n.g ShaoShi for I* yet!"
(*TN: "朕"; the imperial way that emperors addressed themselves.)
A few maids and palace eunuchs began to flock her, but w.a.n.g ShaoShi seemed to have baselessly acquired an uncanny power, giving her extraordinary strength. After struggling for a while, everyone was unable to do anything to her.
The emperor hurriedly said, "Yun Qing! Why haven"t you caught the ghost!"
Yun Qing answered, "Your Majesty doesn"t need to worry, this servant will try to the most of his ability."
w.a.n.g ShaoShi"s hair was disheveled, fleeing in all different directions, and was making different gestures and motions. The palace eunuchs and maids saw that she was a Mistress, therefore not daring to excessively apply force on her. Thus everyone in ZhaoHe court began a closely-fought contest, a bunch of people chasing after w.a.n.g ShaoShi, it was extremely amusing.
w.a.n.g ShaoShi ran whilst wailing. After running in front of Immortal Yun Qing, Yun Qing, without consideration, firmly smacked her head. The hit caused her to sway three times before falling heavily on the floor. From his mouth, he recited a long and tedious incantation and grabbed a bit of ash from the incense before sprinkling it on w.a.n.g ShaoShi"s forehead.
He indifferently said, "The malicious spirit has been eliminated."
The emperor was hugging Imperial Concubine Yuan, who was both alarmed and afraid. He opened his mouth, "That, it was that easy?"
Immortal Yun Qing cupped his hands together in respect, "Your Majesty is perhaps unaware, the incantations that regular cultivators use are just dishonest practices. Killing ghosts ought to be quick and precise."
The emperor said, "Just like that?"
He calmly replied, "This is only the first step, first bring her back to the Bamboo House to rest for a few days. You"ll serve w.a.n.g ShaoShi three bowls of talisman water*, she"ll fully recover after a week."
(*TN: "符水"; they burned talismans into water and then drink it hoping to have the talisman take effect on their body.)
w.a.n.g ShaoShi suddenly met such calamity, her eyes were dimmed. She lied face down on the floor for a brief moment of time before abruptly beginning to tremble, her gaze staring at the air. w.a.n.g ShaoShi pointed her finger at the midair, and shrieked, "He"s here…He"s here! I saw it…I saw it, he"s wearing black…with a black veil…blood, it"s all blood, it"s—it"s—"
Baili"s expression changed and yelled, "13 Guardians! Protect His Majesty!"
The Southern 13 Guardians listened to his orders, completely surround the emperor.
The emperor angrily retorted, "What are you guys doing!"
Baili abruptly knelt down, his face paled, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the person w.a.n.g ShaoShi is describing, that ghost is…is Ming ChangYan!"
After Yun Qing finished listening, he moved The Common People"s Order from his left hand to his right hand.
The emperor inquired, "Who is Ming ChangYan?"
Baili lowered his head, "The n.o.ble gentleman."
The emperor was astonished, "Him? How is he involved in this matter?"
Imperial Concubine Yuan"s legs became soft and tumbled into the emperor"s embrace. Baili summoned up the courage and replied, "Reporting to His Majesty, the n.o.ble gentleman was purged by the 6 major sects, and in addition, there was also a division in the imperial troops that went on the purge. The team was known as "Mountain Waves". The eldest prince led them and went to annihilate this n.o.ble gentleman."
After Ming ChangYan finished listening, his heart was startled: I didn"t expect that back then when he was crusaded upon by the sects, people from the imperial household were in the mix too.
He softly asked, "Who is this eldest prince?"
Fu Ling replied, "The eldest prince is Imperial Concubine Yuan"s son."
w.a.n.g ShaoShi gave out a blood-curdling scream, "It"s him! It"s him! He killed people…he killed people…I saw him…"
w.a.n.g ShaoShi"s maid hurriedly embraced her while weeping, "Miss, Miss better stop scaring me!"
w.a.n.g ShaoShi was trembling as she curled up in her maid"s embrace and terrifyingly said, "Little Apricot, I saw him, his whole body was covered in rotten flesh, right there! Right there!"
Imperial Concubine Yuan shouted, "Nonsense!!!"
Ming ChangYan yelled in his heart: Well said!
If he himself was covered in rotten flesh, he wouldn"t be able to bear it. After hearing these sentences, he almost couldn"t tolerate it and let his words slip out. He hatefully grinded his teeth together: This shaoxia is of a distinguished and talented generation, even if he was a ghost, he"d be the most beautiful ghost! I have never heard of this ugly ghost! This really is a violation towards me!
This is translated by , any other repost or translation of this is stolen and if you steal translations then may you never be able to read BL again.
Happy New Year~~
I hope that your year has been a good one. It sure was a rocky 2018 for me, full of ups and downs. Remember to take care of your family and most importantly yourself, health is important fellas!
If you see any translation errors, please comment or email me. We love reading your comments! They always make my day ♡＾▽＾♡
Stay up as late as you want tonight (it"s the only night where your bedtime doesn"t matter)
Have a fabulous 2019 _(┐「ε:)_❤