Big thanks and a shout-out to biki for sending me a laptop so that I can translate LWSL more conveniently!
Wu Ruo explained: “The child is simply too mischievous. If we brought him here, I’m only afraid that he would spoil the flora here or offend others, so we left him at home, so that the others can accompany him to play.”
This was the truth.
If they really brought Dandan here, with a moment’s inattention, he would really run off to who knows where.
Wu Yuxue’s gaze shone with pleasure. This was really great! This not only showed that Hei Xuanyi also liked women, she could also gain the child’s favour and get the child’s father to marry1娶 (qu): the term for when a man brings a woman into his family via marriage. her.
Not long after, Wu Chenzi returned to the Wu estate.
He behaved as though he was entertaining honored guests. He courteously invited Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi into the main hall to dine, as though the events at the banquet had never occurred. He showed concern over Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi’s life after marriage, like an affectionate senior.
The entire dinner was extremely peaceful, as though he had really just invited Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi to Wu estate to have a meal and apologize.
Even after dinner had ended, as Wu Chenzi was sending them out of the main courtyard, nothing came up.
Wu Ruo internally thought that it was strange; did Wu Chenzi really only invite them over for a meal?
Just as they were bidding Wu Chenzi farewell, the head steward hastily came over: “Lord State Tutor…!”
Wu Chenzi’s expression darkened: “Can’t you see that I2本尊 (ben zun): often translated as ‘this venerable’. have guests? What is it that can’t wait until after the guests have left?”
Wu Ruo said: “Since Lord State Tutor has urgent matters to attend to, then we won’t disturb you anymore.”
Wu Yuxue also spoke up: “Grandfather3爷爷 (ye ye): normally, the term we see everyone use for ‘grandfather’ is 祖父 (zu fu) which can refer to either your paternal or maternal grandfather, although your maternal grandfather will generally also have the 外 (wai) prefix, which literally means ‘your external grandfather’. In this case, Wu Yuxue is using the term ye ye, which can only be used for your paternal grandfather. It’s a slightly more specific term, but it also sounds a lot less formal and more affectionate/intimate., I’ll send them out.”
The head steward hurriedly said: “Young Master Wu Ruo, this matter involves you. It would be better if you listened to this old servant, it won’t be too late to leave then.”
Wu Ruo thought internally, so something did come up after all; he just wasn’t sure what it would be.
“What’s the matter?”
The head steward looked toward Wu Chenzi and waited for Wu Chenzi to nod and give his permission, before he spoke: “General Ren, who lives in the manor next to us, has encountered an assassination within his grounds. Although they’ve already captured the assassin but General Ren has been badly injured and has fallen unconscious, and the General’s wife has unfortunately passed. On top of that, the old madam also received a bad shock at the scene of the incident and fainted. Just a moment ago, General Ren’s personal bodyguard sent a message saying that the assassin snuck over from our estate. This old servant sent someone to investigate and found out that the person was actually…”
At this point, he stopped and his gaze fell towards Wu Ruo absentmindedly.
Wu Ruo’s chest tightened. He could vaguely guess who was the assassin that the head steward was talking about.
Wu Chenzi was enraged: “Why do you keep hesitating4吞吞吐吐 (tun tun tu tu): literally ‘to swallow and spit’. Referring to saliva. when you speak! Quick, who is it?”
The head steward hastily said: “Replying to Lord State Tutor, the assassin is Young Master Wu Ruo’s father, Wu Qianqing.”
Wu Ruo’s breath caught in his throat; hadn’t his father and mother left the Wu estate much earlier ago? Why would they have gone to assassinate General Ren?
No, that wasn’t right, he had separated from his dad in one of the courtyards. He had no idea whether his dad had actually left the Wu estate.
He had been careless.
Wu Ruo had thought that his dad and mum would leave the Wu estate after he accompanied them for a meal at 3rd-great-grandfather’s place. On top of that, his father was prudent and intelligent. He shouldn’t have run into any issues in such a short period of time. Wu Ruo never would’ve thought that after separating from them, something still happened to them. Furthermore, it was the murder of a general’s wife…
Hei Xuanyi held his hand and said with a deep voice: “Let’s take a look at the situation first, then discuss it further.”
Wu Yuxue watched their fingers intertwining, her gaze turning cold, and she turned to face Wu Chenzi: “Grandfather, we had better go take a look at the situation first.”
Following that, she turned back to comfort Wu Ruo: “Xiao-Ruo, you shouldn’t worry either. Perhaps the situation isn’t like what the steward said.”
Wu Chenzi nodded in agreement: “The assassin snuck into the general’s manor from our estate, so we will have to take responsibility for that. Naturally, it’s better if I personally make a trip over.”
Wu Ruo came back to his senses and hurriedly asked: “What about my mum?”
The head steward said: “The madam is still at the old master’s place. Right now, she’s still unaware of her husband’s situation.”
Wu Ruo couldn’t relax leaving Guan Tong by herself at the Wu estate, so he went to pick her up first.
On the way, Wu Ruo urgently and discreetly questioned his mum: “Mum, didn’t you two leave the Wu estate a long while ago? Why are the two of you still here inside the Wu estate right now?”
Guan Tong quietly said: “We originally intended to bid farewell to 2nd-great-grandfather and the others, but when we arrived at his courtyard, they were having their afternoon nap, so it wasn’t appropriate to disturb them. The servants in their courtyard told us to personally bid farewell after they woke up before leaving. But after your 3rd-great-grandfather woke up, they told us to stay and have dinner with them. That’s how it dragged out till now.”
Wu Ruo asked again: “Then do you know where Dad has gone?”
Guan Tong was stunned: “Isn’t your dad in the carriage?”
Wu Ruo was confused: “Why would you think Dad is in the carriage?”
“When I saw you and Xuanyi come to pick me up to leave, I thought your dad had already boarded the carriage and told you two to come fetch me.” Guan Tong realized that something wasn’t right: “Could it be that something happened to your dad?”
“Tell me how you and Dad got separated first.”
“After we had dinner, he said he needed to use the bathroom, so he got the servants to lead him to the bathroom. After that, he hasn’t been back.” Guan Tong said urgently: “Your dad isn’t really in trouble, is he?”
Wu Ruo told her the gist of the situation: “Mum, in a little bit, don’t be anxious. We’ll think of a way to save Dad.”
“Alright.”
When they arrived at the general’s manor, a huge platoon of government troops were stationed by the entrance; it was only then that Wu Ruo found out that the news of the assassination attempt on General Ren had already spread to the palace. The Emperor had grown up together with General Ren, when he had heard that something had happened to General Ren, he was more anxious and indignant than anyone else. He hastily sent his sons — the Crown Prince and the second imperial prince — to personally investigate the matter5The Emperor himself can’t actually ‘personally’ investigate such cases, it would be like getting the president to do the footwork to investigate a political assassination attempt. By sending the Crown Prince and the second imperial prince to do so, he’s assigning the highest ranked people who can still do groundwork for the investigation..
When Wu Ruo and the others entered the manor, the Crown Prince and second imperial prince were already sitting within the main hall, questioning an assassin who had been tied up with iron chains. There were a total of thirty-four people who had been captured alive. They were all wearing all-black discreet attire, but their face veils had all been removed.
When Ling Mohan saw Wu Ruo, he frowned.
Seeing this, Wu Ruo knew that the overall situation didn’t look good.
Ling Mohan sneered at Wu Ruo: “You again? Did you forget that I warned you before that if you appear in front of me again, I’ll chop both of your legs off.”
Wu Chenzi immediately gestured to Wu Qianqing, who had fainted on the ground, and explained: “Crown Prince, this person is Wu Ruo’s father. When he found out about his father’s matter, as a son, of course he would have to come and investigate this matter.”
General Ren’s deputy was angered and aggrieved: “What? He’s the son of the leader of the assassins? Guards! Arrest this person! Today, I must rip this father and son’s bodies into shreds6Unrelated note: did anyone else think of the Futurama ‘to shreds, you say?’ meme LMAO in front of the deceased madam!”
When the soldiers heard the command, they moved to capture Wu Ruo, but they were sent flying with a wave of Hei Xuanyi’s hand.
Before the deputy general could command the soldiers again, Ling Mohan spoke up: “Deputy General Zheng, it seems to me that Wu Ruo still doesn’t know what happened. Explain it to him clearly, so that he can die with a proper understanding.”
“Alright!” Deputy General Zheng pointed at the people in black, shouting angrily: “These people split up between the front entrance and the back door, breaking into the general’s manor, attempting to assassinate our general, and this person…!”
He pointed towards Wu Qianqing who was still unconscious and said agitatedly: “He’s the one who waited for the opportunity to sneak into our general manor’s residential quarters from the Wu estate. He attempted to assassinate our general’s wife and the old madam7老夫人 (lao fu ren): literally ‘the old madam’, it refers to General Ren’s mother.; the general’s wife died at his hands! I must kill him to get revenge for the madam!”
Deputy General Zheng drew his long jian from the scabbard at his waist, furious.
Guan Tong was shocked, and threw herself before Wu Qianqing: “My husband has no grudge or vengeance against the Lord General8将军大人 (jiang jun da ren): the suffix da ren here is the same as the suffix for Wu Chenzi’s Lord State Tutor title. Also, in case I didn’t mention it before, technically, this suffix is not gendered and can be used for both males and females., there’s no way he could’ve harmed the general’s wife!”
Wu Ruo glared coldly at Deputy General Zheng.
Deputy General Zheng said, angry and aggrieved: “These people in black all said that your husband was the one who ordered them. Are you saying they’re lying?”
Guan Tong cried: “Someone definitely must have framed my husband. Lord Deputy General, please wait for my husband to wake up and clarify matters before making a judgement!”
Wu Chenzi also spoke up: “Deputy General Zheng, I also think it would be more appropriate if we wait for him to wake up and clarify everything.”
Wu Ruo glanced at Wu Chenzi; in his heart, he had an ominous feeling. He kept getting the feeling that after his dad woke up, there was a chance that he really wouldn’t be able to prove himself innocent.
Hei Xuanyi detected Wu Ruo’s anxiety and couldn’t help but squeeze Wu Ruo’s hand.
Ling Mohan ridiculed: “Yes, it’s better to clarify matters. The person on the floor is an Wu family member, and he even came from the Wu estate, perhaps someone ordered him to come over.”
The second imperial prince who had remained silent this entire time smiled coldly: “Crown Prince gege, are you trying to say that the Wu family were the ones who sent this person to assassinate General Ren9Reminder: the Wu family seems to be supporting the second imperial prince to ascend the throne, because they are related through the prince’s maternal family. This is an extremely common power struggle, which is why prestigious families in the capital city would always try to marry a daughter off to the Emperor or into the harem, so that they can consolidate power within the government. While the Empress and the women in the harem don’t hold political power, those who are favoured by the Emperor can sway his opinion and affect his decision making in governance (which official to place in power, etc.) However, in LWSL, the Crown Prince/Ling Mohan is the legitimate son of the Empress, and both he and the Empress are favoured by the Emperor, which guarantees that his position is pretty stable unless he fucks up big time. Usually, things are more uncertain when either the Empress herself is not favoured or if she was unable to bear a biological son for the Emperor. In that case, the Emperor might not choose her son as the crown prince or even if he’s bestowed the title, he may not be favoured by the Emperor. In such cases, it’s very possible and likely that the Emperor may find excuses to name a different prince as the heir to the throne. Nonetheless, if the Emperor isn’t careful, parties like the Wu family who do not favour the crown prince may choose to support a different prince. If they are powerful enough, it’s always possible that they may stage a military coup and overthrow the Emperor and/or the Crown Prince. There’s a brief period after the Emperor dies when the Crown Prince hasn’t been invested as the new Emperor yet, so that’s also typically a very sensitive period.
“I’m stating the facts. Someone with the surname Wu ran over here from an Wu estate courtyard to assassinate someone. Is the Wu family not worth any suspicion?”
The second imperial prince10二皇子 (er huang zi): I also just want to remind readers that the second imperial prince has no title. He’s literally only acknowledged as a biological son of the Emperor. Normally, the children of the Emperor aren’t automatically given titles and have to earn them through merit. It’s likely that Ling Mohan used to be referred to as the first imperial prince, and only conferred the title of Crown Prince once he had demonstrated his capabilities. The second imperial prince has not been bestowed any formal title, so either he’s very young or has not shown himself to be capable to the Emperor. was angered half to death; he looked at Deputy General Zheng and said furiously: “Deputy General Zheng, you had better investigate this thoroughly for me11本宫 (ben gong): this guy also refers to himself as ‘this palace’ the way Ling Mohan does., lest someone falsely frame the Wu family.”
Deputy General Zheng thought about it: “Alright, out of deference to the Lord State Tutor, the Crown Prince, and the second imperial prince12By hierarchy, technically, it should be: the Crown Prince, Lord State Tutor and then the second imperial prince. Positions within the government/royal family were classified into ranks, so whether you were above or below someone was always clearly classified. Even the ladies in the harem all had clear ranks and specific titles, so that others knew how to treat them depending on their title. The way you behaved towards someone else or the word choices you made, relative to both your positions, would indicate respect or be a subtle snub toward someone. In this case, I think the Deputy General is just an idiot and didn’t think too much about the order he used to list them., I shall wait for this person to wake up and clarify matters. Someone, bring me some cold water.”
A soldier brought a bucket of water in, pouring it at Wu Qianqing’s body.
Wu Qianqing had no reaction.
Deputy General Zheng frowned: “Why isn’t he waking up?”
Wu Ruo let out a small sigh of relief.
Guan Tong was scared for a flash, and checked for his breathing with shaking fingers. When she saw that there were breaths, she hurriedly shook Wu Qianqing’s body: “Qianqing, Qianqing! Wake up!”
When Wu Ruo went forth to stop her, at the same time, he discreetly pinched his mum’s hand: “Mum, don’t be anxious, Dad will definitely wake up.”
Guan Tong glanced at Wu Ruo and wiped away her tears.
Deputy General Zheng sneered: “He isn’t playing dead, is he?”
Wu Chenzi looked at Wu Qianqing and narrowed his eyes: “Let me take a look and see what’s the matter.”
Wu Ruo swept a glance at him, expressionless13面无表情 (mian wu biao qing): this idiom does indeed mean ‘expressionless’ but the author actually wrote 面目表情 (mian mu biao qing), which just repeats two different terms for ‘expression’. I am assuming it’s a typo., and couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly.
Wu Chenzi walked forward and squatted down. He was just about to check on the situation, when the sounds of disturbance came from outside.
The soldier outside the entrance announced: “General Ren has arrived!”
Deputy General Zheng anxiously went out: “General! You’re injured, how come you’ve come over here?”
Anguish and fury seemed to flow forth from General Ren’s pale face: “I want to see the murderer who killed my wife. I want to personally rip this person into shreds14I’m sorry LMAO to avenge my wife.”
General Ren and his wife were childhood sweethearts15青梅竹马 (qing mei zhu ma): literally ‘green plums and a bamboo horse’. This idiom originates from a poem by Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai., and they were very much in love even in their married life. Now, his wife had been murdered by someone, how could his heart not be in pain? He would definitely personally kill this person as a sacrifice to his wife’s spirit in heaven.
Deputy General Zheng pointed at Wu Qianqing, who was collapsed on the ground: “He was the one who killed the madam!”
The eyes of the young person who was supporting General Ren turned bloodshot. He immediately drew his long jian and aimed it accurately at Wu Qianqing, crying in fury: “I’ll kill this person as revenge for my mum!”
Wu Ruo quickly grabbed his wrist: “Before you kill someone, isn’t it better to clarify the situation?”
The young person glared at Wu Ruo, agonized: “What else is there to clarify?”
Wu Ruo said calmly: “If there’s no interrogation, then what’s the point of Tianxing instating interrogating officers? On top of that, if you kill whoever it is that someone else says killed your mum, then if I said Deputy General Zheng killed your mum, then would you also kill Deputy General Zheng without question?”
“Bullshit!” Deputy General Zheng was enraged: “Why would I kill the madam?”
Wu Ruo glanced at him indifferently: “I’m just giving an example.”
The young person pointed at the people dressed in black and said angrily: “All of them said this person killed my mum. Anyway, who are you? Why are you stopping me from killing this person?”
Deputy General Zheng said, coldly furious: “He’s the son of the leader of the assassins16黑衣人 (hei yi ren): literally means ‘person in black clothes’. To avoid confusion, I’m addressing them as the assassins..”
“So you’re the son of this wretched person!” In an instance, the young person’s eyes turned bloodshot. He lifted his jian and was about to stab at Wu Ruo.
At this moment, a soldier from outside announced: “The old madam has arrived!”
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