In the Hall of Eternal Light(1).
Emperor Xing Wu and Luo Zhi Qiu were the only two people in this grand room of the palace.
"Why does Luo Wei look so much like Luo Zhi Jin?" Emperor Xing Wu only asked this one question to Luo Zhi Wiu, "You know how much of a crime it is to deceive the emperor?"
Luo Zhi Qiu kneeled on the ground. Seeing Luo Wei today, he knew that the emperor would ask him this question.
"If you tell me now, I"ll absolve you," Emperor Xing Wu said, "Don"t start telling me some nonsense about how nephews tend to look like their aunts. You can cover it up like that to whomever you please, but don"t think you can use that on me!"
Luo Zi Qiu smiled, a little bitter inside. Everyone says that monarchs are heartless, but why was this one so pa.s.sionately infatuated?
"Tell me!" Emperor Xing Wu suddenly raised his voice.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Luo Zhi Qiu knows he couldn"t hide it anymore, so he came clean, "Luo Wei is Zhi Jin"s son."
Emperor Xing Wu slammed his fist onto the desk, "Luo Zhi Qiu! How dare you lie to me all these years!"
Luo Zhi Qiu kowtowed and repeatedly admitted his fault(2).
"How did Zhi Jin die?" Emperor Xing Wu tampered down his raged and asked.
"A month(3) after Luo Wei was born, Zhi Jin committed suicide by swallowing gold(4)." Faced with the emperor"s rage, Luo Zhi Qiu was not nervous and spoke steadily.
However, Emperor Xing Wu blanched, his voice shaking as he said, "Zhi Jin died by suicide?"
"Yes."
"Why?!" Emperor Xing Wu stood up all of a sudden.
"I don"t know. That month, Zhi Jin only told me to take care of Wei Er, she said nothing else to me," It"s been thirteen years, and to Luo Zhi Jin"s decision to take her own life, Luo Zhi Qiu can finally act as if he"d come to terms with it on the outside.
"Then who"s Wei Er"s father?" The emperor asked again.
Luo Zhi Qiu replied, "Zhi Jin only said that his name, "Wei", was something his father gave him. If fate allows, the father and the son can be reunited, but Zhi Jin said that she"d rather not have this day come to pa.s.s."
Emperor Xing Wu stumbled back onto the throne. After being silent for a good while, he finally addressed Luo Zhi Qiu, "You"ve always been good to Wei Er. You know the truth, don"t you?"
Luo Zhi Qiu quickly prostrated himself in front of Emperor Xing Wu, saying, "As your humble servant, I"ve always thought of Wei Er as my own son, this will never change."
"You may excuse yourself," After another difficult silence, Emperor Xing Wu had nothing else to say, only asking Luo Zhi Qiu to see himself out.
All that"s left in the hall was Emperor Xing Wu. In this Hall of Eternal Light, the majority of the time was occupied by Emperor Xing Wu alone. He rose, and with light steps walked into a tiny hidden room. This is a forbidden place in the Hall of Eternal Light, other than the emperor, no one else knew of its existence.
On the wall of this room was a painting, the woman in the painting was an unrivaled beauty, smiling like a flower in bloom.
Emperor Xing Wu faltered and sat down on the day bed opposite the painting. He looked at the woman in the painting, dumbfounded, "Zhi Jin," He murmured her name to himself, eyes slowly becoming overwhelmed with tears.
"Your Majesty, if we had a child, what would you name them?"
"You"re saying that you"re going to stay in the palace with me?"
"No, I"m saying "if"."
"If? Then let"s name them "Han"(5), I want him to know how cold of a woman his mother was to his father."
"Han? This name is a little too cold."
"Then let"s call him "Wei"(6), as in the only thing I love in the world."
"Wei? That sounds good."
"Zhi Jin, why don"t you stay here, aren"t you happy to be beside me?"
"I"m already promised to another, I can"t break this promise. Your Majesty can"t either. I don"t want my big sister to be sad."
"What does this have to do with Zhi Yi?"
"Big sister likes Your Majesty, so you have to be good to her."
"Zhi Jin!"
"Your Majesty, I"ve already been away from home for three months now, I should head back."
"Zhi Jin, you have to trust me, I"m going to make sure you stay by my side, I"ll never let you go."
"Your Majesty... Just make sure you remember me, that"ll be good enough for me."
FOOTNOTES:
1. Hall of Eternal Light - The different structures in the palace are named Halls, and this one seems to be fictional. Due to the fact that wikipedia translates the names of these halls specifically in their articles about palaces of historical China, this translation will follow the same standard.
2. Admitting fault & Kowtow - The original text says that Luo Zhi Qiu said he knows he should die. It sounds severe in English, but in Chinese it"s a way of admitting fault to someone superior to oneself. Kowtowing is the same as prostrating, ie. kneeling with face down, though kowtow involves knocking one"s head against the ground as well.
3. A month - The original text says "one month", though it can be translated to the "first month" as well, ie. January. Due to the way the second sentence is formed, this translation will use "a month" instead, though it could be January as well.
4. Swallowing Gold - Suicide by ingesting gold is a common reference in Chinese literature. Realistically the idea is that small amounts of gold is heavy enough to puncture intestines and the digestive system, though certain Chinese literature refers to gold"s poisonous qualities. The idea here is a ritual suicide in which she put something very valuable in herself, which caused her ultimate death.
5. Han - Cold / Freezing in Chinese.
6. Wei - The Wei that the emperor uses is a different writing than that of Luo Wei. Here, Wei means "only", as in the following sentence, the "only" one (I) love in the world.
TRANSLATOR"S NOTES:
MAN! You guys are leaving comments left and right. I"d love to answer but I don"t want to spoil and don"t want to leave too many comments and replies.
Since you guys wanted to know though (no spoilers), but Long Xuan is a rival. There are a total of 3 people going after Luo Wei in this novel. Ultimately though, Luo Wei and Happiness is my ship, though that is not canon in the end. This novel is t.i.tled Degenerate Slave Abuses Tyrant, but it"s also a novel in which the Author Abuses the Readers. It"s not going to be a wholesome happy ending! Readers beware!