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 27
Two days later, early in the morning, drums and music were played at the entrance of the Heron Garden, and a sedan chair tied with several large red flowers stopped at the main entrance.
According to the customs of the Jin Dynasty, even if it is a concubine, the husband should accompany the concubine to go through the motions, however, when Fuman was sent over, there was only herself and her momo.
Lu Yan was not by her side.
Stepping into Luyuan, Fuman was shocked. She had seen rich people before, but never seen such rich people.
This place is so big, how should she investigate?
She was led by a servant and walked slowly along the bluestone road. When passing by Chunxi Hall, she happened to hear the laughter coming from inside.
This was the main courtyard.
Finally, she was taken to the northernmost part of Heron Garden1(Heron Garden is the name of the main residence also called Linyuan) – The Dongli Garden.
Fuman calculated the time she had just walked and her heart turned cold.
Heron Garden covered a vast area, and husband had arranged for her to be in such a place that was so far away, so it seemed that he did not intend to accept her.
Entering the inner room, Fuman sighed repeatedly.
She sat in front of the dowry and said to Liu momo: “Momo, please tidy up a little for me. I want to say hello to the person living in the main courtyard.” Fuman spoke very slowly.
Liu momo said: “Madam2(娘子 [niáng zi] a form of address for one’s wife; a polite form of address for a young woman; woman), what is it for? The person living in the main courtyard is not the mistress, but a concubine like you, Madam. Why do you have to…”
Before Liu momo could finish speaking, Fuman interrupted her and said slowly: “Momo, just clean this place for me. I have to see her sooner or later. I don’t want my husband to think I’m unruly.”
Liu Momo sighed, this little lady is good at everything, but she is very stubborn.
After all, tidying up in her words does not mean to tidy up the place, but to decorate it.
She has to say that Fuman is actually very beautiful, with charming eyes, with a graceful and slender figure and a sense of swagger in every frown and smile.
At first glance, she is the least popular face among women.
If one had to find a fault with her, it would probably be that her skin color was not that white and she looked a bit exotic.
The nanny who trained Fuman had told her early on that with a face like hers, she should never be put on make-up or powder, and she would go to see her mistress wearing a beaded buyao3(bu yao is a type of hair pin with hanging beads and it sways with every step. It is a hairpins or hairpin jewelry that have the meaning of “swaying when you step”, )
.
Although “Qin Rao” is not the mistress of the Wei family, for now, she is still the one she has to please.
Liu momo tied her hair into the simplest bun, and then said: “The little lady4(小娘子 [xiǎo niánɡ zǐ] 名 旧〉young lady (in direct address); 旧〉young (married) woman) is so beautiful. Even if you didn’t put makeup on, you can still outshine others.”
Fuman looked at himself in the bronze mirror and gradually fell into a trance, and murmured: “I’m not afraid of anything else. I’m just afraid that my husband will be on guard against me from the beginning. If I can’t find anything, how should I handle the task?”
Liu momo sighed and said: “As long as Lord Zhao is here, even if the husband is wary of you, he will not let you guard the room alone.” In the eyes of Liu momo, as long as the husband is willing to enter her courtyard and accept her, it will be a matter of time.
After all, in this world, who wasn’t unable to help themselves?
Only when affection arises can understanding arise.
Liu momo took a wooden comb, straightened Fuman’s temples, and said: “Let me tell you, little lady, you don’t have to worry too much. When your husband develops feelings for you in the future, then you can worry about it and Lord Zhao also said that as long as the little lady is pregnant, even if there is no need to send, your brother can naturally…”
This is the most powerful thing about Zhao Chong. While he threatened Fuman to help him keep an eye on Lu Yan, he also gave Fuman hope.
Fuman closed her eyes in pain, stood up slowly, went out and followed the road she just walked to Chunxi Hall.
Tangyue happened to be cleaning in front of the courtyard. When she saw such a person appearing in front of her, she couldn’t help but be stunned. Then she quickly bowed and said, “Greetings.”
“I’m here to see Concubine Qin.” Fuman said softly.
Tang Yue froze, unable to turn around and report, because the Heir Apparent had given instructions not to allow anyone to disturb Miss Shen.
But she couldn’t offend the person in front of her, so she could only smile and lie: “Concubine Qin has a cold today, so it is really inconvenient…”
Fuman smiled bitterly and said, “I understand.” It seems that she was politely rejected.
——
After Fuman left, Tangyue returned to the west room of Chunxi Hall.
She saw Shen Zhen straightening her back and practicing calligraphy with her brush. Tangyue opened her mouth but still didn’t mention what had just happened.
In Tangyue’s eyes, Miss Shen was like a child most of the time. When the Heir Apparent was away, she would write and draw alone in the study.
She should wait to report these troublesome matters to the Heir Apparent.
But, Lu Yan didn’t return home all day.
As soon as he got the five shops from Zhao Chong, he immediately found an acre of land and started building wine cellars and wine tanks.
This may sound easy, but in fact just building a wine cellar is a big project.
Whether the wine is fragrant or not is not only determined by the quality of food and water, but also whether the wine cellar can be isolated from sunlight and kept dry is also very important.
He hired dozens of craftsmen to build walls outside the wine cellar, repeatedly pouring cement and filling them carefully.
In the past two days, he had been working almost day and night.
Yang Zong had followed Lu Yan since he was a child. Seeing his master so impatient, he knew that the patience of the Heir Apparent was about to be exhausted by the bureaucrats in Yangzhou.
At the third quarter of the Haishi5(the period of the day from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m), the night was already dark, and Lu Yan got into the carriage.
After a while, he lifted the curtain and said to Yang Zong: “Is there any news about that thin horse yet?”
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Yang Zong said in a low voice: “Master, none of that Miss Fu’s name, deed of sale are all false. This subordinate suspects that Fu Man is not her real name at all, and she is not from Yangzhou.”
Lu Yan recalled her face. Indeed, with her facial contours and deliberately slow speech, she didn’t even look like a Han…
He glanced outside the carriage and had an intuition. After a long time he said: “Not only is she not from Yangzhou, she is most likely from the Western Regions.”
——
Lu Yan frowned and went back to Heron Garden.
Yang Zong stood in front of the stable and wasn’t surprised when he saw his master go straight to Chunxi Hall.
Lu Yan walked into the courtyard and saw that the surroundings were quiet and the lights were out. He couldn’t help but purse his lips slightly.
He reached out and pushed open the door to the inner room.
She curled up on the bed and looked like she was sleeping.
Lu Yan had been running around for a whole day and was already exhausted. He looked at her back, tugged at the front of his shirt and took off his own clothes.
He subconsciously thought that she was pretending to be asleep on purpose, so he pinched his Adam’s apple and coughed twice.
When a man’s cough suddenly sounded in the room, Shen Zhen’s hand twitched and she quickly opened her eyes.
She lay on the dark satin and rubbed her eyes. Her clothes were loose and her skin was half exposed and she glanced in confusion at the man who was staring at her.
His eyes were calm, not angry at all, but Shen Zhen could see a hidden fire in them.
She sat up quickly.
Just as she was about to call him “My Lord,” she quickly changed her words and said, “Master.”
Hearing her change of title, Lu Yan raised his hand and poured himself a glass of water.
He picked up the cup unhurriedly and stared at her while drinking, his Adam’s apple sliding down inch by inch.
The more he looked at her, the clearer he saw.
This bleary-eyed and sleepy look was not something she was pretending to do.
Shen Zhen thought that his moody temper was coming back, so she had to shuffle off the ground and walk to his side.
After pondering for a moment, she picked up the pot and asked, “Why did you6(a formal you 您) come back here? Did Concubine Fuman make you angry?”
As her words fell, Lu Yan’s fingers silently exerted force, and a piece suddenly broke at the edge of the cup.
Seeing that his thumb was bleeding, Shen Zhen quickly turned around and lit the lamp, took a silk towel and wiped it gently.
He remained silent.
Dim and soft light reflected on her face, and her long eyelashes fluttered with her wandering gaze.
Shen Zhen raised her head and asked him, “Does it hurt?” Her eyes were clear, with no qualms at all.
Lu Yan pushed her hand away.
Her eyes were full of doubts, and she undoubtedly wanted to ask him what was wrong.
He wanted to ask her something but he couldn’t say a word.
