‘I was willing to get involved…’
Note: PLEASE DO NOT link any translations on this site to anywhere on Novel Updates, whether it’s the updates list or reading lists.
© 12 and
theresanother.wordpress.com 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the translation herein, without express and written permission from 12, is strictly prohibited.
Ch. 8.1
After returning to Wangzhou and redeploying three brigades to guard the railway line, Xu Zhiping took the opportunity to replace the garrison at Changyong with two of his own loyal regiments. After all the appropriate arrangements had been made, he held several secret talks with some high-ranking officers he was very close to. He had tasked someone with sending cipher telegrams from Chengzhou and despite the brevity of these daily cables, he was well acquainted with developments in the city.
It had always been the rule in the Cheng army that high-ranking officers who were assigned to posts outside Chengzhou had to leave all their dependents behind in the province. When Murong Feng had taken over, he had denounced it as a corrupt custom¹, reasoning, ‘If I don’t trust others, how can I expect them to trust me?’ From then on, officers were allowed to take their dependents with them to their postings but to avoid the risk of suspicion, some of the local commanders had still opted to leave their wives and children behind in Chengzhou. These officers’ wives had always been close to the Murong womenfolk and today, Xu Zhiping’s wife and some other officers’ wives were playing cards at the Tao residence.
¹ 陋习 lòuxí. If you’re not reading this chapter at hiding in plain sight, it has been stolen and reproduced by novelscraping sites.
Two mahjong tables had been set up in the main hall with Third Mistress, Jingwan, Madam Tao and Madam Liu making one group. Jingwan was not actually very good at mahjong, but she was having a run of good luck today and had won close to three thousand dollars in just two hours. The kitchen sent a servant to ask when they wanted dinner.
Afraid that Jingwan would be displeased, Third Mistress replied, ‘We’ll see how it goes after these eight rounds are over.’
However, the latter seemed unconcerned as she looked at her watch and remarked smilingly, ‘Oh, it’s already five o’clock. Let’s finish playing these four rounds first.’
Madam Xu asked in passing, ‘Are you still going dancing, Miss Yin?’
Jingwan answered, ‘Not today. Sixth Marshal says that he’s busy.’
Madam Liu happened to look up then and remarked with a chuckle, ‘Heh, speak of the devil and here he is²…’
Jingwan turned round to look. It turned out to be Murong Feng walking in and seeing that they were playing mahjong, he asked, ‘Who won? Please treat everyone to a feast tomorrow.’
Madam Xu replied with a smile, ‘Miss Yin did. Let her stand you a meal; we’ll just make up the company.’
As there had always been some friction between Madam Liu and Madam Xu, the former now interjected, ‘Tsk tsk, since Miss Yin is inviting Sixth Marshal to a meal, shouldn’t third wheels like us be less obtrusive?’
Jingwan said, ‘Goodness, it’s merely Western food. I don’t mind treating all of you to a meal, but why must we include him?’
Third Mistress took this up and remarked teasingly, ‘Very true, you just have to buy us a meal tomorrow. As for Sixth Marshal, naturally you’ll be inviting him and him alone to dinner tonight.’
This caused everyone to burst out laughing and Jingwan turned away, saying huffily, ‘I shan’t talk to you all. You’re all ganging up to bully me.’
Third Mistress couldn’t help laughing and reached out to pinch Jingwan’s cheek lightly while commenting, ‘This little thing is so unreasonable, yet it’s impossible to dislike her.’
² 说曹操曹操就到 shuō Cáo Cāo Cáo Cāo jiù dào. Translation belongs to theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.
Murong Feng watched them play for a while before heading to the building at the back. After a round had been completed, Madam Liu suggested, ‘Let’s call it a day.’ Since the other two women had gone to wash their hands, Third Mistress chuckled quietly and said to Jingwan, ‘Hadn’t you better get going?’
Jingwan replied, ‘I’m not going to listen to you. Even you have taken to bullying me now.’ Despite saying this, it was not long before she changed her outfit and made her way to the back of the house.
Murong Feng often came to the building where she was lodging. She knew that he liked to sit and smoke in the small hall. Sure enough, she could faintly smell peppermint tobacco while walking towards the door and the cool herbal fragrance caused her to recall a most familiar and most dear face, which had her slowing her steps unconsciously.
Shen Jiaping had been in attendance behind the sofa. After seeing her come in, he greeted her and then left the room.
Murong Feng waited until Shen Jiaping had closed the door before he bowed and said, ‘Have a seat, Miss Yin.’
Jingwan smiled charmingly and replied, ‘You’re most kind, Sixth Marshal.’
She took a seat on the sofa. Murong Feng saw that she was wearing a bright red qipao but with a different design: the collar had a sweetheart neckline that exposed her snow-white throat around which was clasped a string of red coral beads.
Noticing his scrutiny, she stretched out her arm on which she was wearing a Western-style bracelet of rose gold studded with diamonds which winked dazzlingly and said with a smile, ‘The one that you gifted me is here.’
Looking at her snow-white wrist, he felt a sudden impulse to reach out and grasp it but quashed it with an effort in the end and asked smilingly, ‘What did they say?’
Jingwan replied with a laugh, ‘What else could they say? As soon as they heard that it was a present from you, they gushed over it.’ She made a face and said, ‘I bet next time if I show off the necklace that you gave me, they’ll go into raptures again for half a day.’
He thus asked, ‘What’s put you in such a good mood today?’
She could hardly suppress a smile as she confided in a low voice, ‘Madam Xu lost to me on purpose. I had a three Circle and a five Circle and it should have been my turn to pick a tile. I already saw that it was a four Circle but Third Mistress happened to call her own set. Madam Xu is such a clever woman: she immediately discarded a four Circle tile for me to pick up.’ She was recounting this happily, her expression full of child-like mischief even as her eyes twinkled smilingly. Her hair was luxuriant and one curl had come loose behind her ear while a few dark tendrils hung by the side of her face. He wanted to reach out and help her tuck them away but he could only sit there unmoving, listening somewhat absently to her nattering about the trifling matter of mahjong, feeling a vague sense of confusion that was somehow misleading, wishing that such days would continue for a while longer. There was a vase of tuberoses on the tea table and their perfume hung richly in the air. On the other side of the flowers, the cast of her face was like moonlight outside a window and he found it hard to tear his eyes away from the view.
There was a long pause before he finally said, ‘I plan on celebrating your birthday on the sixteenth of this month.’
When she heard this, the smile gradually faded from her face and her expression became grave as she asked slowly, ‘Isn’t that next week?’
He murmured agreement and explained, ‘There have been some changes and we can’t afford to delay any longer. Fortunately, we’ve planned thoroughly and all our preparations are complete.’ He looked up at her and added, ‘But in life, there is no such thing as no danger of anything going wrong³ and supposing… supposing…’ Although forthright by nature, he only said ‘supposing’ twice at this juncture and sighed lightly before continuing, ‘Miss Yin, I really am sorry to have gotten you mixed up in all this.’
³ 万无一失 wànwúyīshī. Please consider reading from theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com rather than from novelscraping sites.
Jingwan replied, ‘I was willing to get involved and we already discussed this back then.’
He gazed at her for a while before saying at last, ‘If it doesn’t go well, I would like you to leave for Qianping immediately. Don’t delay even a minute. They won’t notice your presence right away, so I hope that you’ll be able to get away cleanly.’
Jingwan asked, ‘You still don’t trust me even now, Sixth Marshal?’
Murong Feng replied, ‘You have to understand — should anything go wrong, your personal safety can’t be guaranteed at all.’
Jingwan looked at him, her gaze scorching hot. ‘Sixth Marshal, though I’m just a woman, I understand what going through thick and thin entails. Besides, we once had a long talk and you thought that I was someone you could work with. I’m not a coward and am well aware that this matter has its risks. And while the outcome lies with Heaven, the planning still lies with man. I believe in myself, and I believe in you too.’
(Approx. 1464 words)
☆ Please show moral support by reading the original and free translations from hiding in plain sight. © 12 and theresanother.wordpress.com 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the above material without express and written permission from 12 is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to 12 and theresanother(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Example here.
©
Translated and edited by 12
hiding in plain sight 