Shan Qihuan was nervous.
He was also used to seeing handsome men and beautiful women, and his friends often brought several celebrities from the entertainment industry to dinner parties, but he had never seen anyone who could fascinate1神魂顛倒 (shén hún diān dǎo): lit. spirit and soul upside down (idiom); infatuated and head over heels in love; fascinated; captivated; be in a confused state of mind; (sometimes derogatory) possessed; obsessed; From Stories to Awaken the World: 小娘們多有愛他的，奉得神魂顛倒，連家裡也不思想。, Young ladies fell in love with him, becoming so obsessed with him that they didn’t think of their own families. him with just one look.
He has beautiful facial features, clear black and white eyes, and is very ethereal.
After being stunned for a few seconds, Shan Qihuan still calmed down and felt an overwhelming regret towards this stunning beauty that had captivated his heart, in just half a month, he would have to enter the palace to serve the ruler of the Chu Kingdom.
Just one glance made the pool water in Shan Qihuan’s heart, which has not fluctuated for nearly thirty years, ripple with waves at this moment, and his thoughts became somewhat disordered.
However, after thinking about it, no matter how beautiful he is, he is still an ancient person and has little relevance to him.
Shan Qihuan glanced at the beauty who was surrounded by servants, he couldn’t even see a single hair, he sat aside and thought about when he could return to modern times, maybe this was just a dream?
After the rain stopped, the group continued their journey back to Chu Kingdom.
Less than three days away from the capital, Shan Qihuan received a secret message from the capital, it was written that the emperor had suddenly fallen seriously ill, and he needed to get back to the capital as soon as possible so that he might be able to see him one last time.
Shan Qihuan didn’t care at all whether he could see the emperor one last time, as far as he knew, he was a prince who never competed with others and was not favored by the emperor, moreover, he was not the original third prince, so he might as well take his time returning.
However, there are many princes in the Chu Kingdom, and the crown prince has not yet been established, the Nine Lords’ War2九龍奪嫡 (Jiǔ lóng duó dí): T/N: 九龍 (Jiǔ lóng), or Kowloon, is one of the districts of Hong Kong, perhaps the author means 九子奪嫡 (jiǔ zǐ duó dí) the Nine Lords’ War, one of the most epic succession battles in the Middle Kingdom. It happened in the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), when the Kangxi Emperor was indecisive about which son should succeed him after a withdrawal of his earlier decision to name his second son the crown prince. Nine of his sons fought for years to become the next emperor—Yinzhen, the 4th prince who would later be known as the Yongzheng Emperor, emerged as the winner at his father’s deathbed in 1722. More information: Link 1, Link 2. incident may also happen, who knows if one of the princes will suddenly kill the other princes who threaten the throne after he takes the throne, wouldn’t his life be in danger then?
He has only been here for a while, and before he has even inquired about his affairs properly, he is about to face a matter of life and death3生死存亡 (shēng sǐ cún wáng): life or death; survival or extinction; matter of life and death; critical moment; survival or destruction; an idiom derived from historical stories. The original meaning of life and death is survival or death, describing the development of a situation or struggle that has reached the final moment., which is really a big headache.
Shan Qihuan ultimately decided to return at a leisurely pace, the ruler of the Chu Kingdom had been in power for many years, and the older princes were already eager to inherit the throne, he speculated that the ruler’s critical condition was very likely the result of foul play, as someone was clearly impatient.
The emperor is already critically ill, and it was thought that he could not live for a few days, if the new emperor took office, then there was a possibility that matters between the two countries might be renegotiated, because the new emperor may be eager to establish his authority in front of the ministers, and may not accept the old emperor’s arrangements.
As for this beauty from the Qi Kingdom, it was impossible for the new emperor to accept him, Shan Qihuan didn’t want him to get hurt, it is said that he was also a ger. He didn’t understand the difference between a ger and a woman, and he didn’t take a second look either, he only knew that the ger in front of him had successfully attracted his attention, and he didn’t want him to enter the capital, the troublesome place.
Shan Qihuan returned to the capital one step ahead of them, and immediately ordered people to buy a property on the outskirts of the capital to accommodate the people.
Zhi Shi said: “Your Highness, you already have a house in the suburbs of the capital, and it has been vacant, why do you need to buy another set.”
Shan Qihuan is not the Third Prince himself, so of course he doesn’t know: “I forgot, let’s put them in the suburbs of the capital when the one from the Chu Kingdom arrives soon.”
Throughout history, whenever an emperor dies, something is bound to happen in the capital.
Zhi Shi immediately went to do his job.
At this time, Shen Yuhan, who was placed on the outskirts of the capital, already felt a little strange.
Mo Zhu, on the other hand, complains about injustice on behalf of his own master: “Master, why do you think the Third Prince arranged for us to stay here, and refused to let us enter the city?” He was also a little worried that the Third Prince would take a fancy to his master’s beauty, and then want to take him as his own.
Shen Yuhan was a smart person and said: “Don’t think too much, he should have some considerations in placing us here.”
“But, you are going to marry the Emperor of Chu Kingdom, he is the prince who receives the bride, if outsiders find out, won’t they gossip about you? If you enter the palace in the future, what can we do?” This is really the emperor is not worried, but his eunuchs are worried to death4皇帝不急，急死太監 (huáng dì bù jí, jí sǐ tài jiàn): lit. the emperor is not worried, but his eunuchs are worried to death (idiom); (figurative) The person involved is calm and collected, but observers are very worried; the observers are more anxious than the person involved., bah bah bah, he is not a eunuch.
“Why are you in a hurry? When the boat gets to the bridgehead, it will naturally straighten itself out5船到橋頭自然直 (chuán dào qiáo tóu zì rán zhí): lit. When the boat gets to the bridgehead, it will naturally straighten itself out; when the boat gets to the pier-head, it will go straight with the current (proverb); (figurative) we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it; everything will eventually be settled in the end; everything will be all right; the winding river channel seems to be impossible to pass under the bridge, but when you get there, you will find that the boat will naturally pass perpendicular to the bridge. This means that there is no need to worry beforehand, the problem can always be solved by then. Everything can turn around, so there is no need to worry in advance., I think the Third Prince’s conduct is quite upright, he is not the kind of person you said, this arrangement must have his intention.” If there was more, Shen Yuhan would not tell Mo Zhu either.
Before he set off, his father and brothers analyzed the situation in Chu Kingdom for him.
The ruler of the Chu Kingdom has six adult princes, the Eldest prince and the Second prince have strong support in the harem and are the most powerful contenders for the throne, the Third Prince, due to his mother’s humble background, has little chance of ascending to the throne, the Fourth Prince and the Second Prince have the same mother and are supporting the Second Prince, as for the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince, their maternal family also holds a certain position in the court, it’s best to avoid getting involved in this complicated situation if possible.
Mo Zhu said solemnly: “Master, you can’t just trust people just because this Third Prince looks handsome, Madam has said that you must be careful of strangers outside, don’t trust others easily, and you must observe them carefully.”
Shen Yuhan sent Mo Zhu away: “Okay, go and do your work, I also quite like this garden, it is estimated that we have to live here for a period of time.”
“Why do we still want to stay for a while?” Mo Zhu asked.
“Say less and do more to save your little life.” Shen Yuhan had already made a guess.
During these days, they have all been in a rush, and the Third Prince is running even faster than them, it’s clear that something has happened, what kind of situation would make the usually indifferent Third Prince walk in a hurry, and even allow someone like the people of the Qi Kingdom, who come for peace, to be placed arbitrarily, then there is only one guess, something must have happened to the Emperor of Chu Kingdom, who wanted to take him into the harem.
For him, this is actually good news. He really doesn’t want to enter the palace, nor does he like the deceitful and treacherous life of palace intrigue, living so cautiously is truly exhausting, on the contrary, the Third Prince’s arrangement is exactly what he wants. If he enters the city, he will surely have to enter the palace, but now, he is only on the outskirts, far away, the dignitaries in the capital also can not afford to think of him, so why wouldn’t6何樂而不為 (hé lè ér bù wéi): What can you have against it? (idiom); We should do this; Go for it!; why not do it? why unwilling to do it?; what is there against it; only too glad to do it. he be happy about this?
He didn’t know if it was intuition or not, but he felt that the Third Prince’s actions were quite reliable, first, he drove the bandit away, and second, he placed him here, he also knew that the Third Prince was not as powerful as the other princes, in the capital, one must know how to protect oneself wisely7明哲保身 (míng zhé bǎo shēn): a wise man looks after his own hide (idiom); be worldly-wise and play safe; to protect or defend oneself with wisdom and sound judgement; to protect oneself above all other considerations; to place one’s own interests at the foremost; to put one’s own safety before matters of principle; keep out of harm by discretion; originally pointed out that a person who cares about affairs is good at protecting himself, and it has a commendatory meaning; now it refers to the vulgar style of avoiding principled struggle in order to protect personal interests, and it has a derogatory meaning; From the Classic of Poetry, poem 260 (《詩經·大雅·烝民》): 既明且哲，以保其身。 夙夜匪解，以事一人。, Intelligent is he and wise, Protecting his own person. Never idle, day or night, In the service of the One man., perhaps this was the true meaning of a man of great wisdom appearing slow-witted8大智若愚 (dà zhì ruò yú): great intelligence may appear to be stupidity (idiom); having great intelligence but appearing foolish; a man of great wisdom appearing slow-witted; be seemingly slow-witted but really wise; a man of great wisdom looks dull; great wisdom has the look of folly; refers to a person who is wise and talented, but seems to be very stupid; it is a metaphor for a wise person who is extremely well-educated and does not show his sharp edge..
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Shan Qihuan didn’t know that Shen Yuhan had a good first impression of him.
At this time, everything in the capital was heavily guarded9戒備森嚴 (jiè bèi sēn yán): to be extremely vigilant; be heavily-guarded; enforce tight security., it was only under the guidance of the chamberlain that he walked into the Emperor’s sleeping quarters.
With the Empress watching over the Emperor, and the prince guarding him around the clock, his arrival didn’t seem that important, a prince who was not a threat.
At this moment, the Emperor was already short of breath, staring blankly at the top of the canopy.
Shan Qihuan, who saw the Emperor for the first time, was stunned for a moment before pretending to feel uncomfortable and kneeling down with a thud.
That night, the funeral bell rang in the palace, and the old Emperor took his last breath.
The real battle for the throne has also begun.
The current prime minister of the dynasty took out the late Emperor’s edict, passing the throne to the Second Prince, however, the eldest Prince, who had always coveted the throne, did not believe this was an edict, because the Second Prince was devoid of talent and virtue, merely benefiting from his legitimate birth, the eldest Prince, who was well prepared, broke into the palace directly, washed the palace with blood, and imprisoned the Second Prince.
Shan Qihuan could smell the thick smell of blood when he was hiding in his own residence, when he was brought to the eldest prince, his face was pale, and the fear on his face did not seem to be fake.
This is a real seizure of the throne, if the Third Prince had stood in line before, he would probably die without a burial place now.
The Empress faction has been suppressed, the eldest prince ascended the throne, and other princes vying for the throne are expected to be liquidated one by one in the future.
When the new emperor took office, he naturally made arrangements for the late emperor’s posthumous affairs, and then successfully ascended the throne.
Shan Qihuan was still frightened10膽戰心驚 (dǎn zhàn xīn jīng): to tremble with fear (idiom); to be terror-stricken; scared witless; be fear-ridden; be prostrated with fear. these days. After the new emperor came to power, he stayed in his residence and did not go anywhere, occasionally, someone would send some delicious food to the person in the suburbs, the person from the Qi Kingdom who was sent to be married off was unable to leave because of the turbulent internal affairs of Chu Kingdom, and remained in the suburbs.
When Shan Qihuan had some free time, he began to research what gender ger was, it turned out that ger had a man’s body structure, but had reproductive functions, and was a very special group of people.
Ever since he saw that person’s appearance that day, he had been thinking about him.
After the new emperor started working normally, Shan Qihuan was woken up before dawn every day to go to the morning court, this was more demanding than his previous working hours, however, as a prince who was not very involved in government affairs, he yawned whenever he wanted to when he was in court, he had to make a show to the new emperor no matter what, meanwhile, although the new emperor scolded him a few words, he was actually very happy in his heart, he even sent someone to inquire about Shan Qihuan’s recent situation.
Then, learning that he had taken great care of the one from Qi Kingdom, the new emperor remembered the matter with Qi Kingdom, the late emperor is no longer here, so it is up to him to decide the matter, the late emperor does not want those two cities, he wants them. So, he called Shan Qihuan to the palace.
“Third Brother, I see that you are very attracted to the beauty from Qi Kingdom, you don’t have anyone to take care of you, why don’t you marry him as your consort?” After all, he was sent by the Qi Kingdom as a peace marriage, and he still has the title ‘Princess’, the new emperor doesn’t care for beauties, so he might as well give him to his third brother, after he ascends the throne, he had several brothers, this third brother could still be used to demonstrate his benevolence and righteousness to the group of ministers.
Could Shan Qihuan not know what the new emperor meant?
He pretended to be happy and thanked the new emperor, but in fact, his heart was unhappy about being manipulated. However, if he didn’t marry today, he would be married in a while, rather than marrying a woman he would never touch, it would be better to marry that beauty, at least they have met before.
The wedding ceremony was arranged by the people in the palace, and Shan Qihuan was given the title Wang Ye11王爺 (wáng ye): (archaic) A term of address and title for a prince; (Min Nan) An honorific title to refer to deities by some people; (Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Taiwanese Hokkien) tyrant; domineering person; marquis; nobleman; His/Your Highness., Virtuous King, virtuous means ‘idle’, which implied that he would only be an idle prince in the future without much real power.
After the death of the former emperor, Shan Qihuan only needed to observe a three-month filial piety, once the three months were over, according to the imperial edict, Shan Qihuan would have to marry a new bride.
Before the grand wedding, Shan Qihuan secretly met with the beauty.
The beauty stood under a plum blossom tree wearing a veil, and snowflakes fell on his crane coat12鶴氅 (hè chǎng): lit. Crane coat, a type of Hanfu, crane is a commonly used pattern in Taoism, and becoming an immortal is known as ‘ascending to heaven’. In ancient times, it refers to the feathers of a crane-like water bird, which were used to make clothes and flags in ceremonies; hakchangui (학창의) is a traditional type of Korean clothes (hanbok 한복) used by scholars as school uniforms in the 17th-century and 18th-century. It was introduced by the Chinese hakchang during the Joseon period in the 17th and 18th centuries and gradually became popular. 
.
Although it was very abrupt, Shan Qihuan still asked simply and straightforwardly: “Are you willing to marry me? Be the Virtuous Princess.”
Shen Yuhan looked at the Virtuous King in front of him, who asked the question with great solemnity, through his veil, and was a little surprised, how could anyone ask such a question?
He didn’t know how to answer, he had never met such a straightforward person who asked such a question.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Shan Qihuan said: “The emperor will grant you and me a marriage in a few days, if you don’t want to, you can fake your death, and leave Chu Kingdom in the future, I will make arrangements for you.”
Shen Yuhan shook his head: “I am willing.”
Shan Qihuan was stunned for a moment, he scratched his neck nervously, it was the first time he heard the other person’s voice, warm and soft, yet he could hear the firmness in his words.
Shan Qihuan asked him again: “You don’t regret it?”
“Um, I don’t regret it. Wang Ye, for you.” Shen Yuhan took out a sachet from his sleeve, “I put some calming herbs inside, putting it on your pillow when you sleep will be of great use.”
“Thank you.” He had indeed suffered from insomnia since he came here, and he couldn’t help but look at the attentive beauty twice more.
This person will be his wife from now on.
A month later, Shan Qihuan married Shen Yuhan, a ger sent for the peace marriage from the Qi Kingdom.
On the wedding day, Shan Qihuan was nervous again.
I feel like the author is saying: Think there won’t be a lot of new idioms used for the last few chapter? Think again. 🥹🥹
