The Prince"s escaped fiancée (Arc 2-11) Part 2
Su Yang nibbled absent-mindedly on the candied fruit as the Imperial City came into view. In the end, the legendary all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipotent His Royal Highness the Róng Wáng, failed to show up on time. In fact, as a BL"s Gary Stu, he really fell short of expectations. Must leave another bad review!!
{T/N: For the Chinese, their version of Gary Stu is called a Jack Sue. ? And er, for those who don"t know what Gary Stu is, he"s the male counterpart of Mary Sue. BL = Boys Love}
After silently cursing Jing Cheng as a SOB, Su Yang slowly got down from the carriage. And did he quietly follow Chen Erbao into the Imperial Palace?
{T/N: Su Yang actually called Jing Cheng a ‘mmp" (mā mài pī / 媽賣批), a slang which means ‘Your mom is a wh.o.r.e". SOB = sonofab.i.t.c.h}
Of course not!
He bent and stretched his muscles a little, and then….. made a run for it!
His running posture was full of courage and determination, bursting with perseverance and resolve! Every step reflected humanity"s rebellious spirit and struggle in the face of tyranny and oppression! This is a declaration of war against the vicissitudes of fate!! This is the yearning for light and freedom!! This is the rallying cry of the weak and the vulnerable!!
Such a deeply moving scene shook Chen Erbao. He watched on silently.
After a while, having determined that it was nearly time, he waved his hand, “Bring him back.”
A few minutes later, Su Yang was carried back by the Imperial martial experts the same way one would carry a chicken.
If it wasn"t because he had to play at being a sweetly naive fool, he would have started shouting his head off at the front of the palace gates: “Lǎozi is the Róng Wángfēi, who dares to touch lǎozi, my Fūjūn chop you up!”
{T/N: 老子 (lǎozi) – I, your father. Used in arrogant contempt.}
Chen Erbao looked at Su Yang in a somewhat pitying manner, and shook his head, “Wángfēi niángniáng, you……”
Su Yang"s face was haughty and indifferent. Don"t say anything, I know trying to run away was absolutely stupid okay!
But then he heard Chen Erbao give a ‘pfft" of stifled laughter. “Your speed was a little faster than that of a snail"s. If it wasn"t because His Majesty is waiting to see you, this servant would not have bothered to catch you.”
Su Yang: “…….”
Is the lack of exercise my fault? Is gasping after running a few steps my fault? Did you know that the two words ‘spoiled rotten" was made-to-order for this Young Master!
Obviously, Chen Erbao wouldn"t know. He covered his mouth, t.i.ttering. Su Yang was so furious he wanted to punt him to the sky with a kick and then take him down with a flying scissor leg to teach him a lesson!
{T/N: Scissor attack : go to 0:39}
After this failure of an escape attempt, not only did those guarding him not raise their vigilance, they actually seemed even more relaxed.
Such naked scorn!! Intolerable!!
{T/N: Apparently, Chinese netizens can"t use the word ‘naked" without being censored. So we have 赤裸裸红果果 (Chìluǒluǒ hóngguǒguǒ). Chìluǒluǒ means stark naked and hóngguǒguǒ (red fruit fruit) is the slang that they use to bypa.s.s the censorship, because the characters look vaguely similar. Smh.}
Su Yang began to throw a tantrum. Like a broken record, he began chanting, “I don"t want to see Xiao XiaZi, I wanna go home, I wanna go home, don"t wanna see Xiao XiaZi…….”
{T/N: Xiao XiaZi refers to the Emperor. Refer previous chapter for explanation.}
Chen Erbao said, “Wángfēi niángniáng, when you meet His Majesty, please stop using such impolite words. If you offend the Emperor, do not blame this servant for not having warned you.”
Su Yang paid him no heed. The Emperor already has plans to deal with him. Between offending and not offending him, it doesn"t make a hoot of difference.
These days, in the face of such grave difficulties, the Emperor would not dare to openly harm him, else he would not be able to explain himself to Wu Xingde and Jing Cheng. But it is possible to take Su Yang as a hostage to blackmail Jing Cheng into taking up the campaign to the South.
But, would Jing Cheng agree?
Leaving Jianzhou now was tantamount to forfeiting the opportunity of making a pre-emptive strike. Regardless of whether he was victorious in the battle of the South China Sea or not, it was inevitable that he will still suffer some losses and be worn out. When the time comes for the final confrontation, he would have lost what advantages he had painstakingly gained.
Even if he returns triumphant and wins the hearts of the people, the loss of his troops would make it difficult for him to form a proper defensive and offensive array. Victory would no longer be certain.
History is written by the victors, and the losers are vilified. This truth has ever been constant. Once one is given the role of a villain, who would know that the man had once dauntlessly faced their enemies in defense of their country, laying waste to all foreign threats. Who would seek the truth, and fight to clear his name and redress his grievances.
Jing Cheng is a sensible man, he would understand this all too well. And it was precisely because of this, for the sake of his current plans, that he should sacrifice Su Yang.
This is correct move to make. He does not blame Jing Cheng.
Just as Su Yang"s imaginings began to grow wilder, they arrived at the Hall of Heaven and Earth. Chen Erbao bowed slightly, “Wángfēi niángniáng please wait a moment, this servant will inform His Majesty of your arrival.”
Su Yang nodded, and watched as he went inside the magnificent palace. This place deserved its praise for its imperial glory and breathtaking majesty, truly a dazzling sight to behold. The lavishly imposing style, with a sense of power emanating from every aspect, stunned the eye and gave birth to veneration in the heart.
Thus the Emperor bears the mandate of Heaven, maintaining the natural order and will of the universe, and representing their people in the face of the G.o.ds.
It was no wonder many crave for the throne, how many could resist that kind of allure?
Su Yang waited for nearly an hour under the scorching heat of the sun. He didn"t really feel hot, but he was somewhat dizzy. It was probably because he had been standing for too long. And this is why all those refined and over-pampered young masters are really a coddled lot.
He thought dazedly, if Jing Cheng really decided to wash his hands of him, he"d really be in hot soup. If he was not put to death, then he would probably have his skin flayed off, at the very least.
His vision gradually blurred, then went dark. It felt like there was only air beneath his feet. He fell backwards.
Su Yang dreamed that, a long time ago, he was filming for an adventure and discovery series in an ancient jungle. But the aircraft that they had boarded suddenly suffered a malfunction, and there was a violent explosion.
He thought he had died then, but he inexplicably ended up in a strange place where time and s.p.a.ce twisted and blended together, and was told to perform strange tasks.
According to the system, his body was rescued and placed in a dormant state. He would wake up once his soul returns to his body.
But the system also told him, that if he dies during any of his missions, his soul would disappear, and he would then die for real.
He can"t die, he has to go home!
Jing Cheng frowned, “What is happening, why does Wángfēi keep sweating.”
Several Imperial Physicians shivered on the ground. “Answering Wángyé. Wángfēi niángniáng suffered from over-exposure to the sun, and has mild symptoms of heatstroke, he should be waking up soon. As for the cold sweat, he may have experienced a fright. I will prescribe some calming medication for him.”
Jing Cheng waved his hand. As if granted the grace of mercy, the Imperial Physicians fled helter-skelter.
Jing Cheng seated himself by the bedside, wringing a wet towel with practiced ease before wiping the cold sweat away from Su Yang"s forehead. His eyes were dark and icy, full of murderous rage.
Su Yang"s thick lashes trembled, then his eyes opened suddenly. He saw Jing Cheng sitting upright by his side. The bed he was lying on, was the same bed they shared in the room in the Róng Wáng"s palace.
All his previous fears and worries came rushing over, overwhelming him. Su Yang sat up on the bed, and threw himself into Jing Cheng"s arms.
He voice was aggrieved and choked with sobs, “I waited for you for so long, but you didn"t come. I tried to run, but I was too slow, and they caught me and carried me back. They said His Majesty wants to see me, but I don"t know His Majesty ah, I really don"t know him….”
Jing Cheng felt like his heart was stuck full of needles all over like a pincushion. Jing Qian and his son will pay for this a hundred times over!
He hugged the frightened child, coaxing him gently, “It"s alright, you"re safe now, I"m here with you, no one would dare to touch you again.”
Su Yang suddenly grabbed on to Jing Cheng"s hand, and said solemnly, “Fūjūn, there is a eunuch called Chen Erbao, he laughed at me. Fūjūn must teach him a lesson for me!”
Jing Cheng naturally agreed to this. He said grimly, “Chen Erbao, is it? I will send my people to bring him here, and let you deal with him as you please.”
Su Yang shook his head, “No, I don"t want to see him. You make him run a lap around the Imperial City.”
Run…..lap….??
Jing Cheng was confused for a while, and thought that he had heard wrongly. Then he recalled his silly little puppy saying how he had tried to run away but was easily caught, and understood.
He couldn"t help smiling, “Just one lap? How about ten laps instead.”
Su Yang broke into a wide grin as he thought about it. “The Imperial City is so big, ten laps will kill him. Make it three.”
Jing Cheng kissed his cheek and said, “As you wish.”
At this time, the medicine prescribed by the physician was ready. Jing Cheng held a bowl of the dark brown concoction in one hand, and a candied fruit in the other. He smiled kindly, “Come, drink this up.”
Su Yang promptly clasped his hands over mouth, shaking his head frantically. Be it physically or mentally, he was absolutely unable to accept the taste and smell of the traditional medicinal brew!
“I"m not sick, I don"t need medicine!!”
The two confronted each other for a moment. Then Su Yang scrambled down from the bed and made a wild dash for the rear gardens. Jing Cheng said nothing, quietly giving chase. It was only when Su Yang had one foot out of the Mo-Lin palace hall, that his already limited patience finally ran out.
“You stop right there. Either you drink it yourself, or I"ll feed it to you.”
Su Yang: “……” Isn"t there a third option QAQ
In the end, Su Yang was held tightly by His Royal Highness the Róng Wáng, and had the whole bowl of medicine forced down his throat mouthful by mouthful. Not a single drop was wasted. By the time the medicine was finished, he was already doubting the meaning of life.
Note: Surprise! This chapter was a little shorter than usual, so I managed to finish it fairly quickly. Also, some of you may have noticed that I have now decided to stuff all the footnotes beneath every paragraph in the form of T/N notes. Does this bother you? Is it distracting? Is it helpful? Is the trivia worth reading or just plain annoying? Lemme know!
Thanks for reading!
-Syeki
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