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Mentions of animal fur coatWhen Wu Qianqing saw that Wu Xuanran didn’t criticise the ones who had stolen the betrothal gifts, and instead rebuked him, the victim, he guessed that his dad must’ve also had a part in taking his son’s betrothal gifts. His heart was filled with unspeakable disappointment.
He abruptly turned his body towards Wu Bofang, earnestly requesting: “May Grandfather please find justice for your grandson, and make those people who stole the betrothal gifts return my son’s betrothal gifts.”
Wu Bofang’s eyebrows wrinkled tightly: “It’s only natural, I will definitely help you get back the betrothal gifts.”
Just now, Hei Xin had even mentioned Wu Chenzi. If he didn’t help Wu Qianqing get back the betrothal gifts, this would definitely be brought up to Wu Chenzi. So, he couldn’t afford to lose face over this matter.
If people were to find out that his Wu family was so greedy as to steal even a younger family member’s1The author uses the term 小辈 (xiao bei) here, which refers to someone of a younger generation. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but just as a recap, generational hierarchy is a huge thing in Chinese families. For example, if someone is younger than Wu Ruo, but from his father’s generation, Wu Ruo must show respect to that person befitting of their generation.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether generation or actual age is more important in modern Chinese culture, but I think generational hierarchy is a bigger deal in the context of our story. Xiao bei specifically refers to someone from a generation beneath yours/younger than you, but I’ve translated it as “younger family member” for better flow in the translation. betrothal gifts, he couldn’t imagine how much people would ridicule them.
Wu Bofang’s expression darkened, he looked at Wu Qianjing and angrily scolded: “You even dare to take a younger family member’s betrothal gifts, do you still have any self-respect 2Here, Wu Bofang says 还要不要脸 which directly translates as “do you still want your face” where ‘face’ refers to the concept of one’s ‘respect and honour’. It seemed easily misunderstood though, so I opted to rephrase.? If word about this got out, who would still trust in our Wu family? After you all go back, immediately return Xiao-Ruo’s betrothal gifts to Qianqing. After everything, write a statement of remorse and come here to receive your punishment3A Baidu search for the term used 家罚 (jia fa) didn’t come up with much. I’m assuming the author is referring to the practice in the past where these families that live in a whole clan have their own little system of governance established by the founding ancestors.
In this case, the main Wu clan in the capital city probably has its own established set of rules and Wu Bofang’s side branch of the family adopts that, possibly with some additional rules and etc. There are most likely punishments for different misdemeanors as well. Punishments can include copying scriptures, having the family allowance be reduced (in terms of money, as well as how much food and clothes they’re allotted, etc.), or corporal punishment.
That’s not a full list of the kind of punishments that are common, because I’m not 100% sure either, this is just what I know from reading in this genre in general and not historically backed information..”
Now, already with irrefutable evidence, and Wu Qiantong also admitting to taking the betrothal gifts, Wu Qianjing and the rest had no way to deny this matter. They could only unwilling answer with a ‘yes’.
Wu Qiantong couldn’t restrain his anger. Asking them to return the things that had already fallen into his hands, he felt uncomfortable in his heart: “If the things have already been used?”
Hei Xin smiled coldly and said: “Then we should be compensated according to the price. The betrothal gifts that Master sent to Madam, every piece is no cheaper than 10,000 silver taels, and there are even some that are as expensive as over 50,000.”
Wu Qiantong was beside himself in anger: “Are you trying to loot a burning house, how can there be items worth 10,000 silver taels?”
“Since you don’t think it’s worth the price, then you should return the betrothal gifts intact.”
“You…” Wu Qiantong was so angry at that moment that he couldn’t speak.
Wu Bofang saw that Wu Qiantong was still so bold and self-assured even when he was in the wrong, and angrily scolded: “Get out of here and bring the betrothal gifts back quickly.”
“Wait a minute.” Hei Xin dug out a marine blue4The colour is described as 水蓝 (shui lan) which is literally “water blue”. I’ve opted to translate it as marine blue for literary prose purposes. I just think it sounds better this way. jade fan from his sleeve: “This fan is also a piece of equipment that the two young masters gave to the gambling den’s manager as collateral. I return this to you.”
He placed the Dark Ivory Fan onto the table.
Wu Ruo said, shocked: “Isn’t this my mum’s equipment?”
Wu Qiantong’s eyes popped wide with anger. Wu Bo, this little rat bastard5Funnily enough, the phrase for “little rat bastard” is 小兔崽子 (xiao tu zai zi) where the phrase contains the word “rabbit” instead of rat. “Little rabbit bastard” didn’t give off the same nuance, so I opted for the usual English phrase instead and leave this interesting cultural tidbit in the footnotes instead., actually mortgaged two weapons.
He reached out, wanting to take the weapon, but Wu Qianqing was faster by a step and took it back first.
Wu Qianqing glared at Wu Qiantong frostily: “At that time, we lent the weapon to you because we thought that you had a need for it. Later on, when we wanted it back, you gave us all sorts of excuses. You even said that we no longer had any use for it, so you wouldn’t return it to us. Yet, you used the weapon to take out a mortgage. It truly makes one disappointed.”
Wu Qiantong: “…”
The Wu Qianqing of today had been disappointed to the limit by his own brothers, so he didn’t want to take into consideration his brothers’ feelings anymore. He turned and said to Wu Bofang: “Grandfather, didn’t you previously ask me before, where all of my equipment have gone?”
The expressions of Wei Qianjing and the rest changed slightly.
Wu Bofang glanced at Wu Qiantong and the rest: “Hn, yes. What happened?”
“I can tell Grandfather now. My equipment, as well as some of my wife’s equipment, had all been borrowed by dage and the rest. We agreed that they would return the weapons within 7 days, but now it’s already been over three months, and I still don’t see any intention to return the weapons from dage and the rest.
“I have privately asked them for the weapons back before but was refused by them. Now, while everyone is all here, I would like to ask dage, erge, sidi, and wudi for my weapons back in front of Grandfather, so that I can let my children have a few more weapons to protect themselves.”
He knew that it was because he had been too easily persuaded in the past, which resulted in his dage and the rest feeling like they had nothing to fear so that they repeatedly procrastinated returning the weapons.
The corners of Wu Ruo’s lips curled up slightly. It was he who told Hei Xin to return the Dark Ivory Fan only after the matter about the betrothal gifts had been solved. Because he knew, according to his dad’s personality, his dad wouldn’t continue tolerating people bullying him.
Wu Bofang looked towards Wu Qianjing and the rest: “Is this true?”
Just as Wu Qiantong and the rest were about to refute and deny the claim, Hei Xin cut in before them and said: “Before coming to Gaoling City, Guoshi Wu kept praising Clan Leader Wu’s clanspeople to us, saying they had both integrity and skill. But now, they have let this old one widen his horizons.
“The people of the Wu family not only stole someone else’s betrothal gifts, but they also borrowed weapons without returning them. If Guoshi Wu knew of this matter, I wonder if he would feel like you are slapping him in the face6This is that face-slap that is often mentioned in this genre. Not literal face-slapping, but the idea of disrespecting someone or throwing their dignity back in their face.?”
The pale expressions of Wu Qiantong and the rest darkened. If it was possible, they would definitely rush forward to murder Hei Xin.
Wu Bofang was most concerned about reputation. Once he heard Hei Xin say this, he sternly commanded Wu Qiantong and the rest to return the weapons to Wu Qianqing in a hurry.
Wu Qiantong angrily said: “Alright, if you want us to return the weapons, then you should first return us the materials that we gave you. Anyway, you already have weapons to protect yourselves, there’s no need to use the materials to craft weapons anymore.”
Wu Qiantong dared to threaten him. Wu Qianqing coldly replied: “The weapons that all of you borrowed were mine, we agreed that all of you would return them within 7 days. Now, it’s already been more than 3 months. The agreement ought to be abided by and the weapons returned.
“As for the materials that all of you lent us, that was also agreed upon. When my son comes back from his internship, and we find similar materials, we will return them to you then. What’s more, we’ve already used up the materials that all of you have given me, how can they be returned?”
When he said the words ‘similar materials’, he added an extra emphasis.
“You…”
Wu Qianbin stopped Wu Qiantong from saying anything else: “Sange, it was our fault. We will return the materials and weapons to you.”
Dong Mingji asked: “Head Steward Hei, you said before that you arrested Xiao-Shi and Xiao-Bo, where are they now?”
Hei Xin smiled slightly: “The two young masters will be released in a while’s time.”
Dong Mingji humphed coldly and left Bojin Garden with her husband and the others.
Wu Qiantong immediately asked: “Sige, why didn’t you let me finish what I was saying?”
Wu Qianbin’s expression darkened: “Didn’t you see how ugly Grandfather’s expression was? If you continued talking, you would immediately be dragged out and given 100 strokes of the paddle.”
Wu Qiantong couldn’t restrain his anger: “Then are we really going to return the weapons?”
Wouldn’t they have lent their materials for nothing?
Wu Qianbin narrowed his eyes: “What are you so impatient for? Grandfather told us to return the materials and weapons, but he never said anything about immediately returning all of the materials back to Wu Qianqing.”
“Sige, you mean…”
Wu Qianjing’s gaze flashed with a sinister coldness: “Your sige means that we can slowly drag it out. We can say that we can’t find the materials in such a short time. In the future, we can return them one material every half a year. Hmph, like this, even if it’s after 10 years, the materials that he can take back won’t be more than a handful.”
Wu Xuanran glanced at Wu Qiantong indifferently: “Your dage has a point. Qiantong, it’s not that I’m picking on you as your father, but can’t you be less rash in the future when you do things? Can you use your brains a little?”
Wu Qiantong also knew that his own personality was impulsive and quick to anger. He also wanted to change, but he was born like this and couldn’t change.
Wu Qianli asked: “But if we do this, will Grandfather reproach us?”
Wu Qianjing laughed coldly: “Don’t forget, Grandfather also received those betrothal gifts. So as long as we don’t go overboard, so that word doesn’t travel to Guoshi Wu, and we also return Wu Qianqing’s betrothal gifts, he will still close an eye to things like he always has.”
Wu Bofang cared about his reputation so much, he would never let Wu Qianqing and the rest spread word about the matter to others. He would definitely think of a way to seal the mouths of everyone in Wu Qianqing’s family and the people from the Hei family.
Wu Qiantong breathed a sigh of relief: “Then that’s alright.”
Wu Qianbin rolled his eyes. This person often never got anything done and only caused trouble. If this person wasn’t his own blood-related younger brother, he would’ve stopped caring about him a long time ago: “Go on back. Take out the cheapest materials and weapons to return first.”
Not long after they had left, Wu Ruo and the rest also walked out from the main hall.
Wu Bofang suddenly called out: “Qianqing, you stay behind. I have something to talk to you about.”
Wu Qianqing stopped in his footsteps: “Alright.”
Wu Ruo’s lips curled up in derision. According to his understanding of Wu Bofang, by holding his dad back, he wanted nothing but to convince his dad not to spread word about the matter to others, worried that it would ruin the Wu family’s reputation. What a pity…
When he thought of this, he smiled meaningfully.
It was at this moment, a servant of the family hastily walked by, coming to the entrance of the main hall: “Master7Here, the servant is calling Wu Bofang 家主 (jia zhu) which specifically means “head of the house” or “patriarch”, but unfortunately none of those come across well as a title/form of address. So here’s the specific nuance of the title here in the footnotes and apologies that this is another ‘Master’ that actually means something else..”
Wu Bofang, who was just preparing to placate Wu Qianqing, asked in an extremely irritated tone of voice: “What’s the matter?”
The family servant walked up to Wu Bofang’s side, quietly whispering: “Right now, everyone in the whole of Gaoling City is spreading that the people of our Wu family stole Southern main estate Third Master’s son’s betrothal gifts.”
“What?” Wu Bofang instantly narrowed his gaze: “How did this happen? Who leaked this?”
Just now, he had wanted to convince Wu Qianqing to forgive Wu Qianjing and the rest just this once, on the account of them being first-time offenders. And at the same time, he had wanted to tell Wu Qianqing not to spread word of this matter to others, yet now everyone in the whole of Gaoling City all knew about this matter.
“It was leaked from the gambling den. Allegedly, at the time, it was quite a huge fuss and was seen by many people.”
Wu Bofang looked towards Wu Qianqing who was waiting by one side: “Qianqing, go on back first.”
The matter had already leaked, there was no use in holding Wu Qianqing back. The most pressing matter right now was to suppress the news of this matter.
“Alright, Grandfather.”
Wu Qianqing walked out of Bojin Garden, saw that Wu Ruo and the rest were waiting for him, and sighed as he walked toward them: “I really never thought that my dage and the rest were capable of doing this sort of thing.”
Guan Tong comforted him: “Qing8Guan Tong is referring Wu Qianqing by the only part of his name that is unique to him, since Wu is the family name and Qian is the generational character. This is very affectionate and adorable., don’t be sad.”
Wu Qianqing smiled, but soon after, his smile dropped: “According to what I know of Grandfather, and of Dad and the rest, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy to get them to hand over the betrothal gifts.”
Since his dage and three other brothers had taken possession of the gifts, they would definitely think of any and all plans to drag out returning the gifts. And his grandfather also wouldn’t allow him to spread news of this matter.
Wu Ruo said: “Dad, there will always be a way to solve matters, don’t worry about it anymore. Oh, that’s right, how’s your body now?”
Speaking of the condition of his own body, a hint of a smile appeared on Wu Qianqing’s face: “My cultivation field is recovering quite well, I’m already able to slowly gather spiritual energy. I also did as you said, I added Spirit Gathering Grass to the bath medicine in addition to eating one Spirit Condensing Pill every day. Attacking the problem from two angles at the same time, the effect has been very good.
“If there aren’t any accidents, after 49 days, I should be able to fully recover. It’s only that, if I want to recover to my previous level of cultivation, I’m afraid it will still take a period of time.”
“If that’s how it is, that’s good.”
When they left the boundaries of the central estate9This refers to Bojin Garden, as it is situated at the centre of the entire estate., and were just about to walk towards the Southern estate, a tall young master with an air of boldness walked head-on towards them. His face was pure and handsome. On his head, he wore a dark purple jade headpiece, an outer coat made of rare sable fur wrapped around his body, and on his feet, he wore xuezi10靴子 (xue zi) in modern context refers simply to just a pair of boots. In the vague time period the author seems to be referencing though, it refers to the kind of boots that you commonly see in period dramas. Actual pictures and some explanation in this here helpful Tumblr post. with exquisite embroidery. He even had more than a hundred bodyguards trailing behind him; he looked out of reach and unapproachable.
The noble young master squinted at Wu Ruo’s body out of the corner of his eye, was dumbfounded for a moment, then he sneered: “What a fatty11Here, the noble young master says 真够胖的 (zhen gou pang de) which more closely translates as “really quite fat enough”, but I opted to translate it as I did in text for the nuance of what he’s saying..”
After he said that, he led his people to follow the servants of the Wu family, walking past Wu Ruo and the rest, heading towards Bojin Garden.
Wu Qianqing said in a low voice: “That’s Guoshi Wu’s youngest great-grandson, Wu Yanlan.”
Wu Ruo’s gaze flashed. Truly, the heavens blessed him.
He originally still thought that he might need to wait for a period of time before he would be able to force Wu Qianjing and the rest to hand over all the betrothal gifts. Now, it seemed like he would be able to make Wu Qianjing and the rest obediently return all of the betrothal gifts today.
Wu Ruo spoke in low tones into Shi Yuan’s ear.
Shi Yuan nodded and hurried towards the central garden with Shi You.
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