Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 19
When Shen Zhen woke up, it was already bright. The winter sunshine shone through the windows and the beams became golden.
There was no one in front of her bed.
Shen Zhen raised her hand and rubbed her temples, and suddenly remembered what the man said to her last night. She immediately turned over and got down to the ground. She didn’t even bother to put on her cloak before opening the door and running outside.
When Tang Yue saw Shen Zhen running out in her middle coat, she immediately dropped the bamboo broom in her hand, “Miss, you haven’t recovered from your illness yet, so you can’t go out like this. If you get a fever again, it will be more serious.”
Shen Zhen’s eyes were red and she said in a hoarse voice: “Where is Lord Lu?”
Seeing her nervous look, Tang Yue thought that Shen Zhen was deeply in love and was unwilling to part with the Heir Apparent for even a moment, so she smiled and said, “Master has gone on duty early in the morning. I’ll take care of the Miss to wash up first.”
Shen Zhen asked again: “Did Lord Lu say anything before he lefty?”
Tang Yue was stunned, “How did Miss know? Master saw that you were sleeping soundly, so he specially ordered this slave not to disturb you.” In Tan Yyue’s eyes, this was undoubtedly the most considerate thing that the Heir Apparent had ever done.
“Is there more?” Shen Zhen clenched her fists.
Tang Yue clapped her hands and said, “Master left a piece of paper for you in the study, saying that he would come back to pick it up later when you finish writing.”
As soon as these words were said, Shen Zhen suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately, he still remembered.
Back in the house, Tang Yue opened the makeup box, took out a comb made of Chinese rosewood and combed Shen Zhen’s hair. While she was combing, she recalled what happened yesterday.
Thinking of this, Tang Yue couldn’t help but say: “Master treats Miss really well.”
Shen Zhen looked at Tang Yue who was smiling in the bronze mirror and was stunned, “Why did you suddenly say something like that?”
Tang Yue whispered: “Miss was seriously ill last night, so I believe you won’t remember. Last night, the Master personally wiped the Miss’s body.”
After saying that, Tang Yue continued: “Master is so kind to Miss, I believe that after Master gets married, he will definitely bring Miss into his house.”
After hearing this, Shen Zhen was surprised at first and then smiled again.
Although she couldn’t claim to know him well, she also knew that the son of Princess Jing’an, the eldest son of Zhenguo Duke Mansion, would not take a concubine easily.
It should be just a whim for him to accept her as an outside mistress. When he gets married, when he gets tired of her, this unspoken affair would sooner or later become a stone thrown into the sea, never to be found again.
She counted the days and found that there was still more than a year before her father was released from prison. She only hoped that by then, he would let her go for the sake of this temporary relationship.
As for the eight thousand copper coins, she would naturally pay back as much as can, even if it took her her entire lifetime.
******
In the past two days, the backyard of Jingzhao Prefecture was being repaired, and several soldiers were working on the case in a room. Some had already recorded the case files, while others were writing reports at their desks.
When Sun Xu walked in the door, Lu Yan was flipping through the documents.
He tapped Lu Yan’s desk with his index finger and said, “Did Lord Lu just go and listen to the case in the hall today?”
Lu Yan looked up at him, “What’s wrong?”
Hearing this, Sun Xu showed an expression of “as expected”.
After he sat down, he said in a calm tone: “Master Zheng is not interrogating the common people of Chang’an today, but Wen Yuan the assistant minister of the ministry of punishments1(Ministry of Justice in Imperial China).”
Other officers in the room also followed suit.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yan closed the document in his hand.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Because they were both officials of the fourth rank, he had met Wen Yuan several times when he went to court. Although he had no personal relationship, he had spoken to him.
Lu Yan leaned back, picked up a tea cup with blue and white sea water and dragon patterns on the side, took a sip and said, “What is he here for?”
“Lord Wen and his main wife want to divorce.”
Lu Yan raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion: “Why come to Jingzhao Prefecture for this matter of separation, without going to the county government or reporting to the Ministry of Revenue2(Ministry of Household affairs)?”
The people of the Jin Dynasty were open minded and the number of divorces and remarriages among people were increasing year by year. It was not surprising that something like this happened, but it was just a household matter, and there was absolutely no reason to come to Jingzhao Perfacture.
When Sun Xu saw that everyone in the room was hooked, he whispered: “Originally, it was just a divorce, but now it has become a murder case. Despite the noble appearance of Lord Wen, the reason this time is that he raised an outside mistress.
As soon as he finished speaking, The tea that Lu Yan was sipping went into his windpipe and he choked and started coughing.
Sun Xu really didn’t expect Lu Yan to have such a big reaction, so he asked: “Lord Lu, are you okay?”
Lu Yan cleared his throat and said, “It’s nothing, just continue.”
Sun Xu sighed, “The outside mistress was pregnant, and Lord Wen loved her so much that he stayed outside for several nights in a row. Unexpectedly, in just these few days, the main wife of the Wen family, Madam Zou, found out. According to reports, Lord Wen said that the outside mistress was forced to death by the Zou family.”
Another officer joined in and said: “I remember that the Main wife of the Wen family seems to be from Bianzhou…”
Sun Xu said: “Yes, the Zou family is the largest wealthy businessman in Bianzhou. In recent years, the Zou family has also contributed a lot to the promotion of Lord Wen.”
Wen Yuan was originally an observation and promotion officer3(Observe and recommend officials, official names. After Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty, in order to observe the envoys and subordinate officials, he invited people with good background and official officials below the sixth rank to serve. They are eight/nine grade officials) in Bianzhou, that is, he was a ninth grade official. After marrying a girl from the Zou family, he was promoted to an officer4(Xie Lulang is the name of an ancient Chinese civil official position. The function of Xielu Lang is usually to assist officials in court sacrificial ceremonies) at the Ministry of Rites the next year, and then to the fifth rank, Yangshan County Magistrate. Now seven years later, he has climbed to the position of Minister of Punishment.
Although there are opportunities for promotion and transfer every year, if you pursue an official career, there is a huge difference between the local government and the capital.
Minister Wen could not achieve his current status without the Zou family.
Seeing that Lu Yan’s glass was empty, the yamen officer poured him a glass.
Lu Yan hefted the tea lid, narrowed his eyes and asked, “And then?”
“Madam Zou was naturally furious when she learned about such a thing, so she went to the outside mistress in person and humiliated her. I heard that she even used her hands. The outside mistress couldn’t bear the stimulation and the child in her belly miscarried that very night. By morning, the outside mistress had already hanged herself.”
Sun Xu sighed again, “I heard that the outside mistress has been with Lord Wen for more than three years. After she died, Lord Wen’s hair turned white.”
Upon hearing this, another officer couldn’t help but put down his brush. He scratched his brow and said, “My Lord, there is something I don’t understand.”
Sun Xu said: “Ask away.”
“Since Minister Wen loved the outside mistress so much, why not take her in as his concubine?”
This is true. No matter how open the people were in the Jin Dynasty, the laws still existed. As long as it was a legitimate concubine, the main lady in the family can only accept her and she would not be allowed to be jealous in the future, otherwise it would be a sin out of the seven crimes5(” Seven absences ” were the standard reasons for divorce for ancient men, while ” three absences ” were just the opposite, reasons why they could not divorce their wives. “Seven things out” refer to: disobedience to parents, childlessness, adultery, jealousy, bad diseases, talkativeness, and theft.).
Sun Xu curled his lips and said: “I heard that Minister Wen’s outside mistress was once a young lady from an official family. She only became Minister Wen’s mistress because of her family’s decline. Although being an outside mistress means having no name and no status, and also no mistress above her, it can be said to be peaceful and free. I guess that Minister Wen was afraid that she would be bullied by the main wife, so he kept her outside.”
The officer shook his head and said: “But after all, Minister Wen and Madam Zou have been married for many years., so how can it be compared to an outside mistress? Since this matter has escalated to this extent, I think it’s better that the Minister of Punishments put this issue to rest.”
After hearing this, Sun Xu was slightly touched and sighed: “Yeah, it’s not worth it.”
Another officer said, “I don’t think it’s worth it either. Death is like a lamp that goes out6(A man dies the way a lamp goes out. —Everything is gone after death). Lord Wen might as well suppress this matter before he destroys the affection of the Zou family towards him.”
After a long while, Sun Xu said again: “Perhaps Minister Wen wouldn’t have expected that there would be a day like this, after all, these kinds of romantic affairs never end well.”
As the saying goes, humans are not grass and trees, so how can they be ruthless? Sleeping on the same bed night after night, doing such intimate things, developing feelings, reluctance and attachment are inevitable.
Sun Xu suddenly said to Lu Yan: “Lord Lu, what do you think?”
Lu Yan didn’t say a word, but there was a sudden lump in his throat.
It can neither come up nor go down.
…
When he had done for the day, he returned to Chengyuan as promised.
