Big thanks and a shout-out to biki for sending me a laptop so that I can translate LWSL more conveniently!
Click here for chapter warnings
Attempted disfiguration, unintended identity reveal, brief mentions of a canon massacre
After eating breakfast, Wu Qianqing went to look for Wu Ruo to discuss about the issue of searching for Wu Zhu.
Wu Ruo told Wu Qianqing about all the information that he had received to prevent his dad from randomly asking around the whole of Huangdu City for news about Wu Zhu like a blind man, in case that alerted the enemy1打草惊蛇 (da cao jing she): the literal translation of the idiom is ‘to beat the grass and alert the snake’..
Once Wu Qianqing realized that Wu Zhu’s matter had something to do with the Wu family, he knew that it wouldn’t be something easy to handle; he could only calm himself down and wait for Hei Xuanyi to assign someone to investigate the matter.
Wu Ruo guaranteed to him: “Dad, don’t worry, I will definitely find dage.”
Since he had reincarnated into a second chance, he absolutely would not follow the tracks of an overturned cart2重蹈覆辙 (chong dao fu zhe): meaning ‘to make the same mistake again’.: “Dad, be a little happier, otherwise, Mum and Xiao-Xi will figure out about dage going missing.”
Wu Qianqing nodded in agreement: “Last night, I promised your mum to go shopping with her and Xiao-Xi, do you want to go together with us?”
“Alright, I have some things that I want to buy as well.” Wu Ruo got Hei Xuanyi and the others to go together with them too.
After half a shichen, other than Ji Xi, everyone else boarded the horse carriage leaving Hei Manor. Once they arrived at the lively main street, Wu Qianqing, Guan Tong, and Wu Xi went to the shops to buy robes and make-up. Hei Xuantang, Hei Gan and Hei Xin chaperoned Dandan to take a look at the little stalls, buying delicious food and toys.
Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi went shopping at an antique curios shop, but the moment they entered the shop, they took a brief glance around and immediately left.
Hei Xuanyi didn’t speak up and simply followed Wu Ruo, however, looking at his manner3To be clear, this is referring to Wu Ruo. He’s the one who is looking for something, not Hei Xuanyi., it seemed like he was looking for something.
Wu Ruo had browsed quite a few antique curios shops, but he was still unable to find the thing that he was looking for. In his heart, he was feeling a little anxious. He kept thinking back to his previous lifetime, according to logic, at this time, the thing that he was looking for should still be around.
Just as he was about to give up, Hei Xuanyi pointed to an unassuming little corner store and asked: “There’s another shop there, do you want to look?”
Wu Ruo asked: “What kind of things does that store sell?”
“Also antique curios, but not a lot. The shop floor isn’t as big as the others either.”
When Wu Ruo heard that it was an antique curios shop, he clung onto hope and went inside to give it a shot. After that, with one glance, he found the thing that he was looking for. It was an ocean blue4水蓝 (shui lan) is more accurately ‘water blue’ but for the sake of smoother prose, I have changed it to ‘ocean blue’ instead, for readers who may be following along in the Chinese novel. jade pendant, it looked ordinary, but it also attracted people’s attention with a single glance.
Wu Ruo suppressed his internal elation and deliberately picked around at the items inside the store. Finally, he picked up the ocean blue jade pendant and asked: “Shopkeeper, how much for this jade pendant?”
The shopkeeper noticed that their apparel5Not just their robes, but their accessories. Most outfits in the past, aside from the robes, were accompanied by jade pendants and men would have had their hair done up with a guan. Other than that, Wu Ruo is probably also carrying around all the protective equipment Hei Xuanyi made him disguised as casual accessories. were all made of top quality materials, and immediately plastered a wide smile across his entire face, saying: “Young master6公子 (gong zi): the shopkeeper is using the term for ‘young master’ that refers to a young man with a wealthy/prestigious background, and can generally be used by anyone who doesn’t work in his household., you truly have an eye for antiques. this jade pendant was made from top grade blue water jadeite7For reference, blue water jadeite is an actual crystal that exists in the real world and isn’t just a fantasy item that JYB came up with., it is extremely rare in this world…”
Wu Ruo impatiently interrupted him: “Just tell me how much it is.”
The shopkeeper cautiously stretched out a palm: “Young master, this jade pendant costs 50,000 liang.”
“50,000 liang? Do you really take me for an idiot?” Wu Ruo angrily pointed at a crack in the corner of the jade pendant: “See for yourself, there’s already a huge crack over here. It’s already imperfect and is barely worth 50,000 liang. If I didn’t like blue, I wouldn’t even bother asking about the price. At the most, I’ll pay you 5,000 liang for it. If you want to sell it, then sell it, if you don’t, then forget about it. Xuanyi, let’s go.”
“Young master, young master!” The shopkeeper hastily called out: “Wait a minute, we can discuss the price!”
Wu Ruo ignored him.
The shopkeeper saw them walking out the door, and hastily said: “I’ll sell it, I’ll sell it! I’ll sell it for 5,000 liang.”
Actually, a lot of people had browsed this jade pendant, but because of the flaw on the jade pendant, none of them had ever offered as much as Wu Ruo, so it had never been sold.
Wu Ruo looked at Hei Xuanyi.
Hei Xuanyi took the initiative to return to the little shop and purchase the jade pendant.
It was at this moment that an extravagant horse carriage sped past in front of Wu Ruo and the person inside the carriage also happened to lift the curtains to take a look at the boisterous scene outside, and so they also happened to see Wu Ruo who was standing by the entrance of the shop.
Wu Ruo also saw him; it was Wu Chenzi’s great-grandson, Wu Yanlan.
Wu Yanlan was stunned by the beauty before him8A gentle reminder that the last time Wu Yanlan saw Wu Ruo, he was still fat and had yet to lose all his gu-induced weight., and he hurriedly turned to the person inside the horse carriage and said: “Xiaogugu9姑姑 (gu gu) refers to your father’s sister, regardless of whether they are older or younger than your father. The prefix xiao here means that this person is Wu Yanlan’s youngest gugu., xiaogugu, I saw a young maiden who was even more beautiful than you. Wait, no, it seems like they’re a young man, come quick and take a look!”
He thought that his xiaogugu was already the most beautiful woman in the entire world. He never thought that there could be someone who was even more good-looking than his xiaogugu.
When Wu Yuxue10Just a note: this character’s name is written as 乌蔚雪. The second character is usually read as wei, when it’s used as an adjective. However, it’s read as yu when used in place names and as a surname. Also, considering the fact that Wu Yanlan’s name also starts with a ‘y’ sound, I have opted to translate her name as Wu Yuxue instead of Wu Weixue. If anyone has any input on this, please let me know in the comments., who was sitting inside the carriage, heard this, the expression on her beautiful face instantly darkened.
When her maidservant, Zhi Tao, saw this, she immediately spoke up: “Young Master Lan, you must’ve been mistaken. In this whole wide world, who could be better looking than our young mistress11She may not necessarily actually be ‘young’. This is just the term used for unmarried women by their servants.?”
Wu Yanlan’s attention was entirely focused on Wu Ruo, so he didn’t notice the expressions of the other two inside the carriage: “I’m serious, both of you, come quick and take a look! If you don’t, you’re going to miss out!”
When Wu Yuxue saw that her little nephew’s gaze was stuck on the other party, fixed with rapt attention, she ordered: “Stop the carriage.”
The horse carriage immediately came to a halt.
Zhi Tao’s expression faltered and she hurriedly lowered her head, not looking at the expression on her own young mistress’s face.
Wu Yuxue moved to sit by Wu Yanlan’s side as she said: “I must take a look at the young maiden who has so thoroughly captivated our littlest Young Master Wu.”
Wu Yanlan pointed, infatuated, at Wu Ruo who was standing by the entrance of the little shop and recited: “From the north comes a ravishing maiden, whose beauty stands alone. One look at her, cities fall, on the second glance, empires collapse. Care not whether cities fall or empires collapse, such beauty never comes around twice.12Wu Yanlan is reciting ‘The Song of the Northern Beauty’ by Li Yannian (佳人曲 – 李延年). Li Yannian was a musician during the Han Dynasty, and this is his most popular piece of work. I did not translate this and have chosen to use the translation from the Wikipedia page here, which was by Kenneth Rexroth. There are some other translations of this piece floating around on the Internet, and readers are welcome to check it out, but I felt that this translation was most in line with the way I’ve been translating the novel so far.
Fun fact, it appears that Li Yannian may have been a homosexual. I think that’s really interesting in the context of this scene, since Wu Yanlan is reciting this because of Wu Ruo and not actually because of some young maiden..”
Wu Yuxue glanced over, and sure enough, that person possessed matchless beauty, even she felt inferior. The attention of every single person who passed by that individual was wholly attracted, one after another, it was as if he was the only person left in the entire street.
Wu Yanlan couldn’t bear to shift his sights away: “Xiaogugu, isn’t that person better looking than you?”
Wu Yuxue’s expression was cold as she sat back at her original seat. Her ice cold gaze shot towards Zhi Tao, who was by her side.
Zhi Tao couldn’t help but stiffen. She discreetly rose to her feet and exited after lifting up the carriage curtains. She turned to where Wu Ruo was standing, and then, raising her hand and aiming accurately at Wu Ruo, with a flick of her finger, the concealed weapon in her hands shot forth at the speed of flight.
Wu Yanlan realized that something wasn’t quite right and hastily shouted at Wu Ruo: “Miss! Be careful!”
Wu Ruo had also noticed that something wasn’t right, just as he was about to dodge, Hei Xuanyi who was inside the shop rushed out, scooping Wu Ruo up and avoiding the concealed weapon.
Wu Yanlan instantly heaved a sigh of relief, then he immediately turned to glare at the person who had fired the concealed weapon.
Zhi Tao hurriedly lowered her head: “Little Young Master is a young master of the Wu family, and shouldn’t be seduced by random women.”
Wu Yanlan wasn’t an idiotic person. He knew that Zhi Tao would only dare to this because she had received his xiaogugu’s orders. He was so angered that he let go of the curtains and sat back at his original seat, not speaking any further to anyone else.
Before, because he was too excited, he had forgotten all about the fact that his xiaogugu didn’t like hearing other people say that anyone was prettier than her. Just now, he had almost caused a young maiden to be disfigured.
Zhi Tao let out a sigh, thinking about how she hadn’t managed to strike Wu Ruo, so she was about to fire another shot, but she unexpectedly saw someone: “Young Mistress, come out quick and look at this person!”
Wu Yuxue said disinterestedly: “Who?”
“It’s the man who sought a marriage match with Lord State Tutor, the ugly man who wanted to marry Young Mistress!”
Wu Yuxue frowned: “What’s there to see?”
Such an incorrigibly ugly man wanting to marry her? He was simply delusional.
Wu Yanlan was surprised: “Isn’t that person from Gaoling City? What is he doing here?”
“Little Young Master, you probably don’t know, there’s been news spread that Gaoling City has been entirely massacred by infinite gui. This person must be lucky and avoided that disaster. Ah— Young Mistress! Come quick and take a look, quickly, please!” Zhi Tao anxiously called: “That ugly man was wearing a fake skin on his face!”
Wu Yuxue instantly narrowed her icy and cold phoenix gaze13凤目 (feng mu): literally ‘phoenix gaze’ refers to someone who has eyes that slant upwards at the ends, similar to the mystical phoenix. This is used in reference to women and is considered a desirable/beautiful trait. You may be familiar with emperors being referred to as a ‘dragon’, and the empress is also commonly associated with a ‘phoenix’., together with Wu Yanlan, the both of them looked out of the carriage. That extremely ugly man’s entire focus was on Wu Ruo, checking if Wu Ruo had any injuries. It seemed as though he had no inkling that the fake skin on his face had already torn open, but Wu Ruo had realized.
Wu Ruo looked at Hei Xuanyi’s face with shock: “Hei Xuanyi, your face…”
Hei Xuanyi lifted a hand and touched his own face. The fake skin was currently tearing apart bit by bit, even if he wanted to stick it back, he wouldn’t be able to. It seemed that it was already about to completely fall off.
He recalled that the concealed weapon just now had skimmed past his face, it should’ve been in that moment that his fake skin had been torn apart.
Since it could not be pasted back, then there was no point in it. On top of that, he had no intentions of continuing to hide from Wu Ruo. Taking this chance, he would let Wu Ruo take a good look at his real appearance.
Hei Xuanyi removed the fake skin straightforwardly, unveiling his actual appearance. Because he had been wearing a fake skin for a long period of time, his face was a little pale, but it wasn’t able to hide his unparalleled and handsome appearance. It was as if the gods in heaven had carved this face with their own bare hands; the outline of his face was perfect, his features were of perfect quality, his temples were perfectly cut by a dao, his eyebrows looked like they had been drawn on with black ink, his dark gaze was deeply profound and full of vigor. With a simple glance, it was as if rays of light from a cold star were shooting forth, it was stern and awe-inspiring. His lips were thin but sensual, it was as if all the beauty in the world had condensed upon this face. He was so handsome and good-looking that one couldn’t help but hold their breath.
At this moment, everyone passing by, regardless of gender or age, were all blatantly staring at Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi, who made people feel envious and also incomparably jealous.
“My heavens, so he actually… he actually looks so good-looking.” Zhi Tao already couldn’t take her eyes off of him. In the past, she really had had horrible judgement14狗眼 (gou yan): more directly, the phrase means she had ‘dog eyes’ A.K.A shit eyesight. to look down on him. She actually thought that this person was ugly, yet she had never thought that this person would be so good-looking. He was so good-looking that she wanted to lock him up and provide for him for the rest of his life, so that no one else could take a look at him.
Wu Yuxue’s icy cold gaze was pinned dead onto the exceedingly matching couple, she gritted her teeth and said: “Damned to hell15该死的 (gai si de): literally ‘deserves to die’., he fooled me! He actually dared to fool me!”
On the day of the proposal, if Hei Xuanyi had used his actual appearances to meet her, she would’ve definitely agreed without a second thought. In this whole entire world, only a man with such peerless appearances could be her match.
Wu Yanlan glanced at her. If she hadn’t despised Hei Xuanyi for being ugly back then, then right now, this person would already be her husband.
Zhi Tao thought about how this person would become the young mistress’s man16There is no error in translation. Zhi Tao genuinely thinks that Hei Xuanyi will somehow become Wu Yuxue’s husband., and didn’t dare to look anymore. She hurriedly averted her gaze, intelligently asking: “Young Mistress, what should we do now?”
With her young mistress’s personality, she would definitely snatch this man up somehow.
Wu Yanlan hurriedly spoke up: “Xiaogugu, this man has already gotten married to someone else. He’s already someone else’s husband. If you marry him as well, then that would be equivalent to wanting to be his concubine17As Hei Xuanyi has already taken Wu Ruo as his official wife, he can only have consorts and concubines if he marries anyone else. Unless he strips Wu Ruo of his title, which is not something that would be done lightly.. On top of that, he likes men, he won’t want to be with you.”
Wu Yuxue simply didn’t mind at all: “That’s because he’s never had a woman as beautiful as me before, otherwise, he would definitely only like women and not men18For any readers who aren’t familiar with sexuality, this is definitely not how it works..”
Zhi Tao said: “Perhaps the person who married Young Master Hei already died in Gaoling City.”
Wu Yanlan couldn’t help but think of the huge fatty he had seen at the Gaoling City Wu estate, and internally, he couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic.
