CH 51

When Yinyou arrived in Yinzhen’s courtyard, no one dared to stop him, but to his surprise, there was no one guarding outside the study. He opened the curtain and was about to go in when he heard voices coming from inside. It was not Yinzhen’s voice, “Fourth, the seventh prince marrying the woman of the Left Capital Historian is very beneficial to you. We all know that seventh prince is on good terms with you. At this crucial time, the people of the eldest prince and the eighth prince all want to win over Maqi but when Maqi’s daughter arrives at the seventh prince’s residence, Maqi will naturally not mix up with the eighth prince and others1The eighth brother was raised by Concubine Hui, the biological mother of the eldest brother. In this novel, the author portrays them as belonging to the same faction..”

The voice was very familiar. Yinyou realized that this person was Gu Badai2Gu Baidai, this is his Chinese Wikipedia page. During The Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Gu Badai defeated Wu Shicong (吳世琮), the general guarding Guangxi several times, and later served as Minister of Rites. During this period, he taught Emperor Yongzheng, who was still the prince at that time. In the 47th year of Kangxi (1708), he died of illness. Emperor Yongzheng later enshrined this teacher with a posthumous title in the 4th year of his reign., the teacher Kangxi pointed out to Yinzhen when he was young. He unconsciously let go of his hand, lowered the curtain, and didn’t know whether to turn around and leave, or continue listening to the two talking.

“It’s just a Ce Fu Jin, you don’t have to care so much about it.” Yinzhen’s voice was cold and emotionless.

“This statement is wrong. I heard that this girl is sweet-temperament, considerate of others and her needlework is one of a kind. She’s very favored by her family and Maqi. Moreover, although the emperor gave her the position of Ce Fu Jin, the marriage rites are the same as marrying the legitimate Fu Jin. Afraid  the seventh Fu Jin from the Nara family now…”

Yinzhen frowned slightly, “There is no need to talk about this matter…”

“Seventh brother!”

This exclamation caused both Gu Badai and Yinzhen to change their expressions. The former was worried that his plan would be heard by the seventh Lord, while Yinzhen was worried that Yinyou would misunderstand him.

Xiao Luzi didn’t expect that the seventh brother would come at this time. The fourth Master never allowed anyone to approach the study. He just went to the ear room to make a cup of tea, why did the seventh brother arrive at this time? Thinking of the possibility that what Master Gu said to his Master in the study could be heard by the seventh brother, cold sweat broke out on Xiao Luzi’s forehead.

Yinyou smiled leisurely, “I wondered why there was no one guarding the study but seeing you’ve even brewed tea… You are very clever, getting the refreshments early for this Master.”

Xiao Luzi smiled flatteringly, “Seventh Master, you’re just in time. By coincidence, Mr. Gu came to appreciate the painting together with the Lord. Why don’t you go and appreciate it together.” Then, he stepped forward to lift the study room’s curtain for Yinyou, while concealing the panic in his eyes.

Regardless of whether the seventh brother had heard something or not, if the seventh brother spoke like this, his life was saved.

“Fourth brother, Mr. Gu,” Yinyou greeted the two of them respectfully and accepted Gu Badai’s salute.

He casually glanced at the desk, in there, there was exactly one traditional ink landscape painting3One notable example of an early Qing Dynasty ink painting is the work of Bada Shanren (八大山人), also known as Zhu Da (朱耷). Bada Shanren was a versatile artist and a prominent figure during the early Qing Dynasty. He was also a descendant of the Ming imperial family. Bada Shanren’s style is known for its spontaneity and bold, unconventional approach to traditional Chinese painting. While Bada Shanren lived through the Ming and Qing transition, and his works are often associated with the early Qing period, the exact dating of some of his works can be challenging due to the artist’s unconventional life and the tumultuous historical context of the time. (B: I just wanted to show you guys an example of what type of works were drawn at the time, this man is an example of mine, the author did not mention it, it’s purely me being extra.) You can watch Shanren’s work here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49143 . . It looked a bit artistic, but he has always had a vague feeling for these elegant things, and he understood that this was a trick of the two of them. He simply stated, “I never thought that there would be a day where I would meet Mr. Gu here, it is very rare.” Usually, Yinzhen didn’t interact much with Gu Badai, and he truly didn’t know how close they were.

“The seventh prince’s words are quite serious.” Gu Badai saw that the fourth Lord’s face was relaxed and understood that the seventh Lord was trustworthy and would not reveal today’s matters. He continued with a smile, “Today, this minister heard there was a precious painting in the fourth prince’s house and hastily came here to disturb the fourth prince and admire the goods.”

“Such elegant things, it’s natural to want to see them.” Yinyou sat down on the carved chair on one side, just as Xiao Luzi came in with tea. At this time, Gu Badai took the opportunity to leave, and soon enough, there were only two people left in the study.

Yinzhen put away the things on the table and seeing Yinyou sitting on the side silently drinking tea, he spoke first, “Why are you here today?”

Thinking of the conversation just now, Yinyou swallowed his words, smiled and shook his head, “It’s nothing, I was bored so I came to take a look.”

Yinzhen put the painting into the fine porcelain scroll case aside, “Looking at you like this, you don’t seem very happy, the Fuca’s girl… do you not like it?”

“Who would not like the person Huang Ama pointed out?” Yinyou put down the teacup and frowned. “I’m just afraid that this young lady resembles the style of her father, then…”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Yinzhen smiled wryly, “Your fourth sister-in-law once met this Fuca shi, she said her appearance was auspicious.”

It was because she was such a good woman that Yinzhen was worried. Secretly, he felt that he was detestable. Now Yinyou had a virtuous and gentle Ce Fu Jin, did he really want the seventh brother to stay with a Fu Jin like that of the Nara family?

Yinyou had already brought Maqi to the conversation, but Yinzhen still didn’t say anything. Yinyou was a little surprised. No matter how deep the brotherhood between him and Yinzhen was, his marriage to the Fuca family was favorable to Yinzhen. Such a good thing was not something they could not talk about so why did Yinzhen didn’t speak up?

By this point, Yinyou no longer cared or looked forward to marrying a cute and soft ancient woman. He took a sip of tea, and spoke out lazily, “It doesn’t matter if her face’s not a pretty, as long as she doesn’t look like Lord Maqi, I am satisfied.”

Yinzhen remained silent and didn’t answer. Yinyou looked up at him, then got up to find a book, sat down on the grand Taishi chair, and leisurely read the storybook. Seeing Yinyou like this, Yinzhen didn’t bother him, and went on doing his own thing. The two of them had long been used to this way of getting along.

“Fu Jin, the medicine is ready, please use it.” The momo walked into the house with a serious face while holding the medicine.

Min Hui put down the embroidery in her hand. With a pale face, she drank the black concoction in the fine porcelain bowl silently. The medicine was very bitter, but there was no candied fruit, no sugar cubes, and no one carefully served her.

She’s no longer the legitimate daughter of the Nara family, nor was she Fu Jin of the seventh prince. At the beginning, she was not reconciled. She was the legitimate daughter of the Nara family; she could have married some ordinary nobleman, and then become the superior and legitimate Fu Jin, but instead she became the Fu Jin of a disabled prince who was not favored by the emperor.

Obviously the seventh prince Aisin Gioro Yinyou had a good-looking face, but why did he had to have such an ugly foot? With pale and deformed soles, and a hideous scar. In the end, all she could remember him by was because of his foot.

Actually, the seventh prince was a gentle person. He spoke and did things with an indescribable kindness. She had gradually forgotten about the seventh brother’s unattractive feet, but she did not expect that it was Consort Cheng in the harem that didn’t like her. She guessed she disliked her because she was of the same clan as Concubine Hui, or maybe because her maiden family was not powerful enough. Otherwise, why was Consort Cheng so cold and indifferent to her? Except for when she first met her, she was never kind to her. She’d even said to her that if there was no important matter, there’s no need to hand over the sign to enter the palace and greet her.

Everyone said that Consort Cheng was honest and kind, but she felt that this woman was terribly cold, and even looked at her with disgust. Soon after, there was an extra Ge Ge in the house, who was raised by the Consort Cheng’s family from a slave status to serve her husband as a concubine.

She was the legitimate Fu Jin, the first to enter the door, why was this little concubine the one who was pregnant first? This could be regarded as a heavy slap in the face of her, as well as the face of Nara’s family.

She knew that the eldest prince and the seventh prince were at odds. The eldest prince was reprimanded because of the seventh prince, and the relationship between Consort Cheng and Consort Hui was frozen cold. She was clearly only a pawn of the Nara family, and she had made the wrong move, her opportunity to become an enviable Fu Jin was lost and she even forcibly squandered the seventh brother’s tolerance and gentleness towards her. She only hated that her methods were not good enough. In the end, the seventh prince had somehow found out that the death of the Ge Ge and the child in her belly were her intention. In the end, she ended up like this.

She knew she couldn’t go back; she knew there was something wrong with the medicine she was drinking, and she knew she was getting weaker day by day. If someone asked her if she regretted it, she would say “yes”. But no one asked her, no one came to see her, even her family seemed to have forgotten her.

Killing the imperial family’s heirs, this was her crime. The people of the Nara family were afraid; they couldn’t wait to get rid of her, and even regretted having her as a daughter. She also regrets it, regretted that her means were not high enough, regretted that she had not grasped seventh brother’s heart firmly, regretted that she had overestimated herself.

Putting down the medicine bowl, she smiled wryly. That’s all, this was her fate. At least there will always be her name, Nara Min Hui on the imperial jade certificate, the seventh prince’s Aisin Gioro Yinyou’s legitimate Fu Jin will only be her. Even if a woman took her place in the future, it will only be her successor Fu Jin. After all, it was not a waste of time for her to go this far.

But… after all, she was not reconciled. She covered her face and sobbed. The old nanny standing next to her looked at this scene expressionlessly. It seemed as if she had seen too much of this desperate expression and she no longer had the slightest compassion.

“Fu Jin, Master is here to see you.” A little maid’s voice came from the outer room. She raised her head abruptly, with undried tears still on her face.

The young man in white robe standing at the curtain was wearing a snow fox fur coat, and the fox fur hat on his hat was inlaid with white jade, which made his pretty face look even more handsome.

“Master,” she said hoarsely, but she couldn’t shed a single tear.

“I knew it would be like this, but you…” Yinyou walked to her side, wanting to reach out to caress the top of her hair. Thinking of the dead fetus, he finally retracted his hand slowly. He was about to marry a Ce Fu Jin, so he knew that this woman wouldn’t live for too long. Even if he wanted her to survive, Kangxi and Consort Cheng in the palace will not let her occupy the position of Fu Jin, nor will they tolerate the crime of killing the imperial blood.

“It’s getting cold, I brought you some leather clothes, fruits and vegetables.” Yinyou sighed, “You… take care of yourself.”

Min Hui looked up at him and mocked him, “You know I can’t go back, so why bother.”

Yinyou’s expression remained unchanged, he walked a few steps to the side, looked at the Guanyin statue on the wall and said, “Since you entered the door, I have felt sorry for you many times, and there were many things I forgave you for. But killing the imperial family’s blood is not something that can be tolerated.”

Min Hui laughed until tears flowed, “You say you felt sorry for me, but you don’t even let me manage the mansion’s housekeeping. You still say you tolerate me!”

“I will not let a woman from the Nara family take charge of the affairs of my house.” Yinyou turned his head to look at the pale woman; his smile was sharp and meaningful. He spoke out slowly, “I have heard that Madan Nara sometimes goes over to greet Consort Hui.”

“You?!” Min Hui’s eyes widened suddenly, “So you were guarding against me from the beginning to the end?!”

Yinyou turned his back to her and looked at Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion who saved all miserable souls. He sighed, “If you were more sensible, how could you end up like this?”

“Don’t speak so high-soundingly. Everyone says that the seventh prince is kind and simple, gets along with all his brothers and does not belong to a faction.” Min Hui stood up, “But they don’t know that this upright prince belongs to the fourth brother’s party!”

Yinyou didn’t want to argue with Min Hui. Although he did not belong to the fourth brother’s faction, he was indeed on guard against the Nara family. After all, who knew what was Consort Hui’s idea when suggesting Kangxi this marriage?

Min Hui approached the person standing in front of the Avalokiteshvara —Guanyin— step by step and said softly, “You are afraid that the eldest prince will plot against you, but the fourth prince is also plotting against you, a crippled prince. You are so pitiful, so pitiful.”

Yinyou turned around and looked at Min Hui, who was three steps away from him. In his serene eyes, there was no trace of anger. Min Hui’s provocation had no effect on him at all.

“Min Hui, don’t you understand, from the day you married me, your life is tied to my body, from the beginning to the end, it was you who went wrong.”

“I was wrong?” Min Hui looked at Yinyou in a daze. The silver hairpin in her hand fell to the ground, her whole body seemed to have lost her soul as she stared at the tall and handsome man in front of her. “It was me… who was wrong.”

Yinyou looked at the silver hairpin that fell on the ground. He never thought that this woman would be so stupid. If he was injured here, her maiden family would really be over.

Min Hui cried very sadly; this cry was like a lost traveler who had exhausted her last strength to find a clear path only to find that it was a cliff when she walked to the end of the road, now, there was no more future for her.

Yinyou looked at her silently, then turned around and left. In the doorstep, a snowflake floated on his face, and he raised his head to look at the sky. When did it started to snow?

A few days later, Min Hui was wearing fox fur, holding a heater in her hand. As she stood in the yard, listening to the faint sound of cheers coming from outside, she didn’t even notice the snow starting to cover her hair.

“Fu Jin, it’s snowing heavily, please go back to the house.” The old momo walked to her side, and said in a flat, emotionless voice. “Please take care of yourself.”

Min Hui turned her head to look at this old nanny, and chatted with a light smile, “Sooner or later, I will die, what difference does it make if I take care of myself or not?”

The old momo moved her brows, but in the end, she stopped talking, and just stood under the eaves to look at her.

“Is someone getting married?” She asked with a smile.

“Answering back to Fu Jin, this old slave doesn’t know.”

“I heard that Master is going to marry a Ce Fu Jin today, was it Lord Maqi’s daughter?”

“Answering back to Fu Jin, this old slave doesn’t know.”

“That’s right, you stay with me in this garden too.” She raised the corner of her mouth, “You wouldn’t know.”

In a daze, she heard the joyful sounds of the wedding approach her courtyard then slowly disappear. Unknowingly, her black hair had been covered by snow and turned white. At this moment, she was clearly smiling, but in the end, she shed tears.

She regretted it.

The author has something to say: This is enough for the seventh Fu Jin~ After all, it’s not easy for women in the ancient times. [Rub face.]

The translator has something to say: So many hints were dropped in this chapter! I’ll do a short list.