T/N: So I forgot this but in this first world Xie Fei and Xi Wen are related… Please suspend your disbelief and also keep in mind that in ancient times it wasn"t unusual to marry someone related to you. In ancient China, it was actually okay as long as you weren"t first cousins related by two male siblings (eg. your dad and uncle"s children can"t marry). You can read more about cousin marriages if you"re curious.
Chapter 2: The Red Fades, the Fragrance Disappears; Who Will Pity It? (2)
When Xie Fei woke up, he was laying on an exquisite bed1. The light shined through the window onto the table; the purple incense burner on the table let out thin wisps of vapor. The large room suffused with the scent of sandalwood, letting people feel drowsy.
"Young Master has woken up?" Xie Fei had just lifted the covers and sat up when Lu Qi, who was guarding outside, walked in. He wore a black guard"s uniform; at his waist was a top-quality sword. His footsteps were quiet, showing his martial arts were pretty good.
Xie Fei raised his eyes to look at him, the sound of his throat in the morning had a bit of bewitching magnetism. "What time is it?"
"Just past sishi2 (9-11AM)," Lu Qi said.
During their conversation, the servant girl outside already carried in a basin of water. Xie Fei rose, wearing a silk robe, and the servant girl carrying clothes at the side went to help him change. Xie Fei slightly leaned to the side to avoid her, frowning. "Lu Qi."
Lu Qi startled, looking at Xie Fei with some hesitation.
Xie Fei glanced at the servant girl carrying clothes behind him. Lu Qi understood immediately, hurriedly coming two steps forward and deftly taking the clothes to help him dress. Seeing the wronged servant girl"s reddened eyes, he steeled himself to say, "You go down first."
The pitiful servant girl peeked at Xie Fei, not understanding why the gentle young master was so cold to her today. She wanted to say something, but seeing that pair of chilly pupils, finally left the room without protest.
After eating breakfast, Xie Fei took a book and sat on the divan, frowning slightly and absentmindedly thinking about how to help Xi Wen achieve her heart"s wish. At this time, the sound of the servant girls gossiping floated in through the window.
"That Anping Princess really is pitiful. After much difficulty she got an enviable fiancé, who knew he would meet an attack on the way back to the capital and disappear."
"Exactly, I even heard those men in black were martial arts experts, Liang Shao even got hurt. I"m only afraid that everything points to disaster."
"Who said it wasn"t? Hey, what do you guys think, this Anping Princess, is she maybe… a husband"s death omen3?"
"You guys are idle enough to be wagging your tongues here, your work must be done already, right? You"re not done and still not quickly going to work! Those who dare to be lazy had better watch their hide!"
The couple of servants who were admonished rushed to do their work. Xie Fei frowned even more— his timing was this unlucky? Xi Wen had already matched with Liang Shao; in this case, Xi Wen was sure to have fallen in love with Liang Shao like she had originally.
The news of Liang Shao"s disappearance had already reached the capital, so in three months he would bring Chen Bing-er with him back to the capital to withdraw the marriage. Xie Fei would have to use these three months to break off Xi Wen"s feelings.
To Xie Fei, whose love history was as pure as a white piece of paper, this was really a difficult thing. Even being stuck in a bottleneck while cultivating was not as hard as this.
Xie Fei thought and thought until his heart started to burn with anxiety. He rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache, and slightly sighed, feeling a bit regretful for agreeing to Houtu to personally come to complete the job.
Lu Qi saw the omnipotent young master worry for once, hesitated, then asked, "Young Master, if you have some worries there"s no harm in saying them. This subordinate may be able to help you resolve them."
Xie Fei silently sized up Lu Qi. With a glance, he could tell that Lu Qi"s experience with love was for the most part the same as him. He thusly said with a hint of coldness, "Forget it."
Lu Qi, who was inexplicably rejected by the young master, gave a deflated grin, feeling wronged. He stood to the side, drooping his head listlessly.
His long fingers tapped at the table twice. At the moment, Xie Fei was unable to think of any ideas. Then, he thought of how Xi Wen heard of Liang Shao"s disappearance after meeting danger, and was anxious to the point of falling sick in bed. He decided in that moment to go look first, and if he could, break their engagement on the way.
But to break their engagement, probably the only way was for another engagement to replace it…
After making his decision, Xie Fei immediately got up from the divan, instructing, "Lu Qi, have someone prepare a chest of rare medicinal herbs. In fifteen minutes4, follow me out of the residence."
"Where does Young Master want to go?" Lu Qi asked. "Recently, the capital is turbulent and chaotic, Madam said…"
Xie Fei coldly gave Lu Qi a sidelong glance, scaring Lu Qi enough to make him swallow the words he hadn"t finished saying and give a forced laugh.
"Remember, I am your master," Xie Fei said calmly, but with a feeling of allowing no uncertainty.
Lu Qi shook from head to toe, back perspiring with cold sweat, and said, "Yes, this subordinate remembers."
Before long, Xie Fei arrived at the imperial palace"s doors. After he pa.s.sed up his nameplate, he waited for the emperor to call him in.
Not long after, a eunuch announced his entrance into the imperial court.
At the same time, in Anping Princess"s private rooms:
Xi Wen was laying on an exquisite bed, covered with a brocade blanket patterned with mandarin ducks playing in water, just like a sleeping beauty. But her lightly knit brows were shrouded with worry, her face lifeless and weak, and her small and exquisite lips were also pale. The empress looked at her unconscious daughter, her heart overflowing with indescribable affection and tenderness.
Just as she finished personally feeding Xi Wen medicinal soup, from outside came a burst of urgent footsteps. The empress"s face went cold. She was about to scold the palace maid"s lack of manners when she heard the palace maid say from outside the door, "Reporting to Honored Empress, the young master of the Xie residence came."
The empress was dumbfounded for a moment, hesitatingly looking at w.a.n.g-mama5. Doubtfully, she said, "What did he come for?"
w.a.n.g-mama shook her head. She supported the empress from the side of the bed, saying with a low voice, "Invite the young master inside first, then discuss."
The empress said to herself, rushing to Flower Hall, "Although Xie-w.a.n.gfei6 is my older sister, except for meeting a few times at banquets, our two families normally have no interactions. Why did this Young Master Xie come calling on bengong7 for no rhyme or reason?"
They quickly arrived at Flower Hall. As soon as she entered, the empress saw a charming man sitting at a chair. He wore brocade clothes trimmed with light colors, a white jade sash tied at his waist, his head of fine black hair bound with a small, exquisite jade crown. Any action, whether it was to raise his hands or move his feet, had an uncommon air. With such a unique, graceful bearing, he really was a man handsome enough to put the world in chaos.
"What kind of wind is blowing today to unexpectedly bring Young Master Xie in? Xi Wen is ill today, and bengong has been unable to attend to other matters. If the servants have slighted you, please do not take offense." The empress smiled widely, walking to the host"s seat gracefully.
Looking at Xie Fei from a close up, the empress was even more shocked. This young master of the Xie family who was fascinated by the landscape and uninterested in power and influence unexpectedly carried himself so gracefully. He was full of n.o.ble air that even surpa.s.sed that of the imperial family.
As the empress took a seat, Xie Fei stood, bowed, and seriously said, "Paying my respects to Honored Empress; wishing the empress good health. Today, Xie Fei boldly came to visit, will Honored Empress please forgive me. To be honest, my reason for coming really is selfish."
The empress was secretly surprised, but not even a fraction of it appeared on her face. She laughingly said, "Oh? What is the so-called selfish reason Young Master has?"
"This reason is none other than biaomei8." Xie Fei"s handsome face flooded with a halo of red. His clear and mellow voice had a hint of bashfulness, clearly enunciating, "Xie Fei"s heart likes biaomei."
When he said it, the empress was completely shocked. How did her own weakly and ill daughter suddenly become a celebrity? Moreover, when did Xie Fei fall in love with Xi Wen?
The hall was silent for a moment. Under the empress"s examination, Xie Fei"s face remained unchanging, expression becoming even more solemn and tone becoming even more earnest: "Since last time at the emperor"s birthday banquet, Xie Fei returned home and tossed and turned restlessly. Every day my feelings towards biaomei became stronger. Biaomei has ethereal color and celestial fragrance9 and is beautiful enough to cause the downfall of a city. She was able to move my heart, causing me to fall in love with her wholeheartedly. It was just a pity that Xie Fei was a step later than Great General Liang Shao and was unable to ask for the hand of the beauty. Luckily, the heavens treated me well. Although a gentleman shouldn"t take advantage when someone is in danger, Xie Fei is willing to be a villain for biaomei. Today, I boldly came to visit only hoping Honored Empress could help me accomplish my wish."
The empress looked at the young n.o.ble standing in front of her, not knowing how to respond for a while. She really never thought this Young Master Xie fell in love with her own daughter at first sight. Only, this matter was not large enough to be called large, yet it was also not accurate to call it small. Xie Fei had a prestigious background, was educated and reasonable, and knew his limits. He was really too much better than that Liang Shao who only knew how to dance with swords and play with guns.
But there were still two problems. First, Xie Fei came to ask for Xi Wen"s hand in marriage by himself; she still doesn"t know Xie w.a.n.gye10 and w.a.n.gfei"s att.i.tude. Second, Liang Shao"s life or death was still unknown; changing the marriage agreement would hurt Xi Wen"s reputation. In addition, she didn"t know if Xi Wen would agree; after all, in her heart was Liang Shao.
The empress thought for a short time, and hesitantly said, "Young Master Xie, bengong also really wants to help your desire, it"s just…"
Xie Fei smiled slightly, calmly saying, "Xie Fei knows Honored Empress worries about this matter. My mother told me early on that my marriage is for me to decide. If Emperor and Empress consent and give the imperial edict, Xie Fei will a.s.suredly request my father and mother prepare for the marriage and definitely not let biaomei suffer any grievances. In this life, Xie Fei will definitely take care of her well-being."
"If Liang Shao comes back safely, but bengong has given Xi Wen to you, with one woman married off to two husbands, isn"t it letting the people under the heavens see a joke? Besides, from the beginning Liang Shao proposed to Xi Wen during difficulty. The affection in her heart was given to Liang Shao. Even if the emperor gives an imperial edict, as long as a day that pa.s.ses that she doesn"t see Liang Shao"s corpse, it may be another day that she doesn"t agree to marry to you." The empress sighed lightly, speaking slowly.
Xie Fei"s lips quirked, lightly smiling. After he smiled, he countered11, "Empress"s words are wrong. The gossip that Princess is a husband"s death omen already spread throughout the capital; in time it will hurt Princess. Besides, the emperor only bestowed a marriage, how can it become one woman married off to two husbands? What is there to fear about bystanders" gossip? What can be more important the Princess"s happiness for a lifetime?"
When the empress heard this, she nodded without batting an eyelid. In her heart, she already had a decision.
"Empress says Princess deeply loves Liang Shao, but this may not be the case anymore. Relatively speaking, grat.i.tude is more appropriate. Princess lived deep in the palace alone, not meeting outsiders for many years. Liang Shao is young and famous, his looks are also not common; from the start she had good feelings towards him. Princess may like Liang Shao, but she definitely is not at the point of deep love. Right now, Liang Shao"s disappearance has let Princess fall into hardship; thinking for Princess"s health and future, marrying her to me is the best choice," Xie Fei continued.
The empress looked at the calm and collected youth in front of her, her heart very satisfied. Her beautiful face slowly burst with a smile. She said, "Bengong really has become old. It"s still you young people who have more drive. Young Master has the dragon"s talent and the appearance of a phoenix, I believe Xi Wen will definitely be satisfied. This matter bengong will discuss carefully with the emperor. The emperor will not reject this marriage predestined by fate."
When Xie Fei heard her words, he knew this marriage would go through. He smiled, saying, "Xie Fei thanks Empress. This chest of medicinal herbs is my feelings towards Princess, would Empress kindly accept it."
As he spoke, Lu Qi gave the red sandalwood chest he was holding to the empress"s maid. The empress smiled lightly, saying "Young Master went to a lot of trouble."
"Xie Fei thanks Honored Empress for her hospitality. Today I will take my leave first, and come another day to visit biaomei." Finished discussing marriage, Xie Fei rose to leave.
"Young Master, wait for good news. Liu Bi, send the young master out," the empress said, smiling.
T/N: I realized there"s some discontinuity with p.r.o.nouns (bengong vs I/my, for example) thanks to reordering sentences/inserting p.r.o.nouns for English readability, but I"m not sure if it really needs to be changed? Let me know what you think. Also, I swear I"m trying to cut down on the footnotes. I"ve made a , so if you ever need to look up terms again you can feel free to check it out! Thanks for reading ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ
1↩: 床榻— this kind of thing.
2↩: The traditional way the Chinese used to tell time divided the day into twelve two-hour sections. 巳時, sishi is from 9-11AM. It should be just past 11AM.
3↩: 克夫命, something like "jinx to husband to die". Basically, whoever marries this girl will die.
4↩: Here, Xie Fei uses 刻. To be exact, that"s 1/100 of a day, or about 14 minutes and 24 seconds (according to Wikipedia). For our purposes, that will be fifteen minutes ?
5↩: 嬤嬤 can be read as mama or momo depending on the dialect. It"s used for elderly ladies and wet nurses.
6↩: 王妃/w.a.n.gfei means princess/wife of a prince. I"m not totally clear on this, but I believe Xie-w.a.n.gfei and the empress are blood-related sisters, and Xie-w.a.n.gfei or her husband might have been granted a t.i.tle.
7↩: 本宮, bengong, literally means "this palace". It"s the way that females of the imperial palace addressed themselves.
8↩: 表妹 is used for younger female cousins via the female line (eg. your aunt"s 2-year-old daughter).
9↩: The literal translation of 國色天香, said of a beautiful woman.
10↩: 王爺/w.a.n.gye is the male equivalent of w.a.n.gfei, used for princes.
1↩: The original text reads more like "he knew she was going to say that so he prepared ahead of time and said".