CH 3

On hearing this, the children all turned to look at Zhang Dazhuang, the Zhang family’s son.

“Why look at me?” Zhang Dazhuang asked, confused. He had been talking to Chang Jiabao, and hadn’t heard what Chang Qi said. When he opened his mouth to say this, the little ring of small blisters around his mouth were painfully apparent. Some of the blisters had burst, and looked like freakish chicken eyes.

“Ahhh—” a few children screamed in horror. They looked at Chang Qi in awe, then turned their gaze back to Zhang Dazhuang, thinking to themselves that they should start minimizing their interactions with the latter.

The blisters on Zhang Dazhuang’s mouth were actually considered not too bad. His mother and granny had huge sores on their mouth that one’s eyes could not help but be drawn to.

This rumour spread like wildfire in the farmlands, and in a day, everyone had heard of it. Initially, people didn’t believe it, but when they saw the Zhang family’s sores, they couldn’t help but think twice. Whether the rumour was true or not, it was safer to act as if it were true. The people in the farmlands all behaved themselves for a while as a result.

“I heard the Jingang Sect is taking in new disciples,” the Qiu family’s grandson said enigmatically to a group of people. “My grandpa said that they will check your bone structure, and if your bone structure is good, you can become the core disciple, and inherit the whole sect!”

“Wow, then you wouldn’t have to work any more, and can eat good food every day?”

“You wish. You’d have to practice martial arts every day. But if you’re good at it, you would really be somebody.”

The children discussed this excitedly. Practically everyone hoped to become the disciple of a martial arts sect.

The only rose among the thorns, a little girl called Yingying, didn’t participate in this discussion. She instead sidled up to Chang Qi.

“Chang Qi, are you going to join the Jingang Sect?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Nope,” Chang Qi said. He was reclining on haystack, his legs crossed, idly shaking the horizontal leg.

“I’m not going either, since they don’t take girls as discples,” Yingying said, puffing out her cheeks. “Then where are you planning to go?”

Martial arts sects controlled everything. Even the Imperial family was inextricably linked to the martial arts sects and had to give them some face. Studying and scholarly pursuits were not valued; martial prowess was. Becoming a disciple of a good sect was the most illustrious career one could aspire towards.

“Jiyang Sect*, perhaps,” Chang Qi said, after some thought.

*T/N: Jiyang Sect basically means “Extreme Manliness”.

Jingang Sect was a satellite sect of the Jiyang Sect. Jiyang Sect’s martial arts could only be practiced by men, and as such, the entire Jiyang Sect and its satellite sects only took in male disciples. When Yingying heard this, she was rather disappointed, having hoped to go to another sect with Chang Qi.

“Clop clop clop!” The sound of horses could suddenly be heard. Chang Qi looked up quickly, grabbed Yingying by her clothes, and rolled out of the way.

Just then, heavy horseshoes trampled on the haystack, causing the half-dried hay to scatter. Had he been just a heartbeat slower, Yingying would have been trampled on by those horsehoes.

“Whoa—” said the horserider, bringing the horse to a halt. The horserider was a young man wearing a turquoise martial outfit. He turned to look at Chang Qi with a careless smile.

“Nice move, young lad!” he said.

Chang Qi didn’t reply. He took in his clothes, which was embroidered with the Jingang sect’s unique motifs. The horserider also didn’t seem to have any intention to chat with them. He tapped the horse’s belly lightly with his boots, and made straight for the residence of the chief of the farmlands.

At this time, Chang Er was delivering a bolt of woven cloth to the chief’s office. She couldn’t do manual labour, but she had a pair of clever hands. She could weave cloth and sew clothes, and she relied on this for income to maintain herself and her son. It was not convenient for her to go to town to sell the goods directly, and she certainly didn’t want to pass them to her brother’s wife to sell, so the next best option was to sell it to the chief.

“Third young master, what brings you here?” the chief exclaimed, surprised at his appearance. He hurried out to greet the young man, who was the same horserider Chang Qi encountered earlier. The horserider’s name was Zhang You’de, and was Jingang Sect’s core disciple, ranking third in the Jingang Sect. He was about 27 years old and his appearance could be considered above average.

“Shifu (martial arts mentor) asked me to come have a look…” Zhang Youde said, his voice trailing off as he caught sight of Chang Er, his expression somewhat dazed. Chang Er was still clutching the bolt of cloth.

“Ah, this is Chang Sheng’s younger sister. Ms Chang, this is Jingang Sect’s third young master,” the chief smiled as he introduced the two.

Chang Er accepted the money from the chief, put down the bolt of cloth, bowed briefly to the two men, and left without a word. Zhang You’de’s eyes never left Chang Er, and his gaze followed her dreamily as she disappeared into the distance. “Chang Sheng’s younger sister… she’s really pretty…”

The chief laughed. “So what if she’s pretty, she’s still a…” His voice trailed off as the recent rumour about mouthsores suddenly came to mind. “Pei pei!”* he said, as an added measure to ward off bad luck.

T/N: Pei Pei is a sound made to ward off bad luck.

“The sect is going to take in new disciples soon, and Shifu asked me to come have a look at the children in the village,” Zhang You’de said with a smile. The people in the farming village mostly had some blood ties with the Jingang Sect, and good things were always shared first with family.

“You’re absolutely right, good things should be kept within the family*,” Chang Qi’s aunt said, beaming as she put a plate of food on the table. She called Chang Jiabao over to introduce himself.

*T/N: The direct Chinese translation is that fertile waters shouldn’t be used to water an unrelated person’s farmlands, but I found this quite unwieldy.

A few days after this incident, Chang Qi was on his way home after working. He was just outside the door when he suddenly heard people speaking inside his house.

“Ms Chang, I’m sincere about wanting to marry you, and your brother’s wife has already agreed. I’m the core disciple of Jingang Sect, and if you’re my wife, you won’t have to work any more.”

The voice was Zhang You’de’s.

“Chang Qi’s father will come to get me. Please don’t joke around, Zhang shixiong,” Chang Er said. Her voice was full of suppressed anger.

“To be honest with you, I’m here to pick disciples for my sect. If you marry me, Chang Qi will be the next core disciple!” Zhang You’de was full of confidence. At the same time, his words carried a hint of a threat. If Chang Er refused to marry him, then Chang Qi could forget about being selected, not even as a low-ranking satellite disciple.

Chang Er clenched her fist. She looked at her sister-in-law, who was listening in at the door, then shifted her gaze to the rude disciple in front of her.

“You want to marry me? You should first go ask your Shifu whether he dares to let you marry me! Who was the one who gave me to a nobleman in the first place? If that man comes back and asks for his son, who is going to accept responsibility for this?” she said loudly.

This stern warning had its intended effect. Zhang You’de was suitably alarmed, and turned to look at Chang Qi’s aunt. The aunt had vanished by this point.

“Given the situation, I’ll go back and ask Shifu about it,” Zhang You’de said. He had no choice but to leave, but as he stepped out the door, he could not resist turning back to look at Chang Er.

Beautiful women were truly hard to chase.

“I’ll be back tomorrow!” he declared.

Chang Qi hid behind a stack of firewood during this exchange. As Zhang You’de left, he glared fiercely at his retreating back, and wished to the high heavens that looks could kill. If they could, he would have run Zhang You’de through, no questions asked. His words were grandiose, but at the end, he was just a lecher, lusting after his mother’s beauty.

“Was what Ms Chang said true?” Mrs Zhang asked Chang Qi’s aunt quietly.

Chang Qi’s aunt recalled what happened the year Chang Er was sent to the nobleman, and became a little panicky. She glared at Mrs Zhang. “After that episode with the sores, you still want to eavesdrop on Chang Er?”

“I asked because I was concerned for you!” Mrs Zhang retorted, stung by what she felt was injustice.

Chang Qi came out from behind the firewood stack, and headed out of the farmlands. He went looking for Da Chen and Xiao Chen, and before long, found Da Chen’s stall. “Da Chen ge, help me look for a dagger.”

“A dagger? What do you want that for?” Da Chen asked, looking closely at Chang Qi. Chang Qi’s eyes were burning with hatred, and he looked like an angry wolf cub dying to bite someone’s head off. Da Chen couldn’t help but worry about him.

“If that asshole* refuses to give up, I’ll kill him,” Chang Qi said, gritting his teeth.

*T/N: The exact translation of 龟孙 (gui sun) is grandson of a tortoise, LOL. The closest equivalent in English is asshole, I guess?

Da Chen listened to Chang Qi’s account of what happened, and went silent for a while, before replying again.

“Deal. You come here tomorrow morning. I’ll have a good dagger ready for you then.”

Chang Qi took his leave, and on the road home, his eyes reddened with emotion. At the end of the day, he was really still just a child, and whilst he could surmount many obstacles with his superior intellect, there were still things that were just beyond his ability to manage.

“Xiao Qi?”

A soft, sweet voice called out to Chang Qi – it was Scarlet Robe Court’s Xiaoru.

“Xiaoru jie, are you shopping for cosmetics?” Chang Qi replied by way of greeting, raising his head to look at her.

“What’s up with you?” Xiaoru reached out to touch Chang Qi’s cheek with one hand, and pushed a few sweets to him with the other. When Chang Qi didn’t respond, she squatted down and unwrapped a sweet for him to eat. “Life is hard. When you’re down, eat a sweet, and the sweetness will diffuse a little to your heart,” she said softly to him.

Chang Qi gazed at Xiaoru, and as the sugary treat dissolved on his tongue, he nodded slowly.

The next day, Chang Qi got up early as usual, but instead of heading to the chicken farm to collect eggs, he went to look for Da Chen in Jiuru Town. Da Chen was as good as his word, and he handed Chang Qi a dagger. Its sheath was slightly rusted. Chang Qi pulled the blade out. It was about five inches long and an inch wide, and gleamed coldly in the morning light.

“Laizi found this in the south of town, in a rubbish heap,” Da Chen said, squatting to be on eye level with him. “It’s a precious blade – when you’re done, remember to return it to him.”

“Got it. Thanks, Da Chen ge.” Chang Qi kept the dagger in his sleeve, bumped shoulders with Da Chen, and walked back home with a spring in his step.

Just before he got to the entrance to the farmlands, he saw people and horses in the distance, galloping in his direction. The riders wore elegant armour that gleamed in the sunlight, and their steeds were glossy looking stallions. A beautifully decorated horse carriage followed behind the horseriders.

The villagers in the farmlands had never seen such a grand scene, and they all came out to see what was happening.

Coincidentally, Zhang You’de was also riding toward the farmlands, and linked up with this splendid-looking group.

“Good day, good sirs. I’m one of the disciples of the Jingang Sect. Could I ask what business you have in my Sect’s farmlands?” he asked, clasping his hands together respectfully.

“We are here on his Majesty’s orders, to pick up his Imperial concubine and her son, the prince,” the leader of the grand company replied. He was clad in a green martial outfit, and wore a lofty expression on his face as he glanced at Zhang You’de. “We are to send them back to the Imperial Palace.”

The prince? An imperial concubine?

All the people gathered round were stunned. Zhang You’de also froze, thinking about what his Shifu had said last night. A light chill crept up his spine.

From this exchange, the leader had determined that Zhang You’de possessed no real power here. With a contemptuous sniff, he led his entourage into the farmlands.

Chang Qi stroked the dagger in his sleeve, then ran like the wind to his little house.

The villagers didn’t dare to go near the Imperial entourage, and only watched curiously from afar. The chief of the farmlands, having some experience in receiving nobility, nearly fell over himself receiving these important guests after they presented the gold insignia of the Imperial family.

“This village warmly welcomes the Imperial Commissioners!” he said, kneeling before the horses’ hooves with a thump. “My apologies if anything is lacking!”

Chang Qi returned to his home, and saw that his mother was standing in the middle of the courtyard with an anxious expression on her face.

“You little bratty bastard, where did you disappear to?”

“There’s a bunch of people and horses outside, and they say they’re here to pick up the Imperial Concubine and some prince,” he said, looking up at his mother.

Chang Er covered her mouth with her hand in shock, and froze for a second before running to the door to get a look outside. The splendidly dressed Imperial Commissioners were walking steadily toward the Chang residence. Chang Qi’s aunt and uncle stood foolishly by the main door to their residence.

The leader of the Imperial Commissioners swung off his horse, walked up to the Chang residence that the farmland chief had pointed out, knelt respectfully at the entrance.

“This humble commissioner greets her Grace, the Imperial Concubine, and his Highness, the Imperial Prince,” he said. “The Emperor has requested that we bring you both back to the palace.”

On hearing this, Chang Er felt a little faint, and Chang Qi quickly supported her.

“Oh my… her Grace… an Imperial concubine…” Mrs Zhang cried out in surprise, before fainting dead away, her eyes rolling toward the back of her head.

—

Author’s note: Mini-scene

The Possibility of Winning by Divine Means: A Discussion

Qiqi: They say I am a bastard

Mother: Don’t listen to them, your dad’s the Emperor ╭(╯^╰)╮

Qiqi: Alright, mother ╭(╯^╰)╮

Imperial Commissioner: We’re here to bring the Imperial Concubine and the Prince back to the palace

Qiqi: WTF, my dad’s actually the Emperor?

Mother: WTF, your dad’s actually the Emperor?

Qiqi: →_→