CH 2

Liang Feng groaned as he woke up in searing agony. His head was heavy as lead, his bones ached like they’d been run over by a steam roller, and his stomach throbbed like someone had stabbed him with a butcher’s knife. Too damn painful! He’d suffered injuries before but had never experienced anything like this. Liang Feng clenched his teeth, thinking he could endure it till it passed, but the pain came upon him relentlessly without any sign of relief.

Did they forget to give him anesthetic or something? Unable to bear it any longer, he struggled to pull apart his chapped lips and murmured, “Nurse……” 

Perhaps his voice was too faint, but no one answered his call. There was a fire blazing in his throat, running down his esophagus, scorching his lungs, amplifying his pain. For a moment, he was seized by fear. Was he not in the hospital? Could it be that the operation had failed, and he was lying on the ground waiting to die? Ignoring the maddening agony, Liang Feng opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a hazy shade of light green. A soft breeze brushed past gauzy curtains, bringing with it the scent of medicine and incense.

After a moment of stupor, Liang Feng’s brain finally caught up. It was an intricately embroidered bed canopy, made of a material he couldn’t name, swaying airily down to the floor. He was lying on a large wooden bed, enclosed on three sides by wooden panes and a curtain on the other.

What was this place? 

Liang Feng’s head buzzed noisily as he lifted his arm and tried to push the curtain aside. The clear tinkling of a bell rang out, set off by some unwittingly triggered mechanism.

“Master! Master, you’re awake!”

A small figure rushed over and shoved the curtain out of the way. It was a young girl, perhaps thirteen at most. She was in what looked like a period costume, her hair tied up in two buns. There was excitement and surprise written all over her girlish face and a watery shine in her eyes.

The joy in her expression was doubtlessly earnest, but Liang Feng had never met her before and couldn’t understand what was happening to him. He reached out in an attempt to grab her and get some answers out of her.

However, he froze before he even managed to say a word. There was a delicate, deathly pale, indescribably graceful hand suspended in mid-air, trembling incessantly. That was not his hand! What the fuck was this? Just what exactly happened?!

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“Qtja? Oljcu Mfcu kbxf eq?!” C afjmeq rtjaafgfv jujlcra atf ajyif. Ktf mglrq rbecv rfca j kjnf bo agfwbgr atgbeut atf rfgnjca ulgir xcffifv bc atf ugbecv. Ca atf ajyif rja j yfjealoei ijvs ktbrf ojmf kjr jrtfc ugjs. Vtf rcjqqfv vbegis, “Glvc’a Gbmabg Vec rjs tf kjr yfsbcv rjnlcu? Qtfc vlv tf kjxf eq?” 

The servant girl hurriedly answered, “About an hour ago. The Liang family’s maidservant said that her master could take medicine already. It seems he’s already recovered….”

The lady clenched her fist, resentment boiling in her heart. She couldn’t have imagined that that weak invalid would escape from death’s jaws, waking up at such a critical time and making a waste of her meticulous schemes. The most important task at hand was to contain the situation and make sure her son’s big day wasn’t ruined.

She pondered for a moment before coldly commanding, “Tell my son he needs to pay a visit and keep a close eye on him to make sure he recuperates properly.”

The servant girl, catching on to her undertone, hurriedly bowed and retreated. The lady sat and stared at the dainty tea set in front of her before scoffing dismissively. So what if he was a fifth-order marquess? The Liang family hadn’t produced any officials for two generations already. It was about time for the family to give up on the title and provide some recompense to its married-out daughter. 

“Liang Zixi actually woke up?” Li Lang exclaimed in surprise upon hearing the servant’s news. Unease quickly crept upon him, for no one knew more clearly than he the reason for Liang Feng’s illness. Now, not only had they failed to achieve their objective, the scholars’ assembly was taking place ahead of time. How could he remain calm?

He scrambled to compose himself while he followed his mother’s maidservant to the guest quarters. Although the Li family was not very distinguished, they had a solid background and had produced officials for four generations. Two of the family’s forebearers had even become governors. They passed through an ornate corridor and arrived at the side quarters. A sharp medicinal scent greeted them before they even opened the door. Li Lang frowned as he entered. At once, his gaze was seized by the figure reclined on the bed.

The man laying on the bed had a deathly pallor, dark circles under his eyes, and long ink-black hair scattered behind him. His slender figure, half-covered by loose robes, evoked the image of a solitary stalk of bamboo. However, even his sickness could not diminish his statuesque beauty. The pallidness of his face only made him more captivating.

Li Lang was awash with jealousy as he forced a pleasant expression and hurried forward, “Brother, you’re finally awake! I’ve just sent for the doctor; he’ll be here very shortly.” 

He presented a flawless appearance of affectionate attentiveness; his tone was sincere and delighted. However, the man on the bed continued to ignore him in favor of languidly sipping his specially ordered porridge. For some bizarre reason, Liang Feng had insisted on having bean porridge the moment he woke, even specifying that it had to be mung bean. Despite puking twice, he continued to chug it as if he had died of hunger in his last life.

Li Lang took no offense and smiled gently, “Don’t worry overmuch, brother. Fainting after using cold-food powder is a common occurrence, it won’t hinder you for long once it’s aftereffects pass. For now, just focus on nursing your health and put aside your mundane burdens. Also, I heard you were having trouble with the medicine. I’ll let Jianjia bring some honeyed fruits for you later to relieve the bitterness. Medicine, you know, it’s good for you.”

Finally finished with the porridge, Liang Feng handed the empty bowl to the attendant maid and replied blandly, “Thank you for your concern.”

His voice was faintly hoarse, no longer as bright and clear, but was still pleasing to the ear. Li Lang ruthlessly squashed down his loathing and beamed, “No need to be a stranger, we’re brothers after all. If you need anything, just tell Jianjia, she’ll get everything in order.” 

Li Lang then bent down to personally adjust his brocade sheets, “Brother, even though the medicine is unpleasant, it’s important for your recovery, so you mustn’t behave willfully.”

He was acting as intimate as if they were real brothers. Liang Feng glanced at the genteel man sitting beside him before slightly inclining his head, “It seems I’ve troubled you, brother.”

After a few more polite consolations, Li Lang had still not brought up the scholars’ assembly but said warmly, “Once you’re feeling better, Mother will come to visit you as well. Right now, just worry about getting better. Jianjia, stay by my brother’s side for a few days to look after him on my behalf.”

The servant girl replied cutely, “Of course, young master. I’ll attend Master Liang with utmost care.” 

After getting everything arranged, Li Lang took his leave. The maidservant he left behind promptly made herself at home, and matter-of-factly instructed, “Lüzhu, go to the stove and see how the medicine’s coming along. If it’s done, bring it here, don’t delay.”

Lüzhu, being young, was stunned for a moment, furtively glancing at her own master, before leaving meekly. Jianjia smiled as she let down the curtains, “You should rest more, Master Liang. It’s not good to tire yourself out so soon after waking up.”

She stood there, posture impeccable, as the curtains fell between them, leaving no room for further exchange. Liang Feng eyed the soft canopy, sneered, and laid back on the bed.

After passing out, he’d dreamed a very long, very surreal dream; some parts were murky and indistinct, others clear and vivid. The star of the dream was a noble scion named “Liang Feng.” His paternal ancestor was a man named Liang Xi who was once the Minister of Finance, one of the Nine Ministers. Liang Xi had been granted the title “Fifth-Order Marquess of Shenmen” and a marquessate of a hundred serf households. Liang Feng didn’t have any real concept of how high these positions were, but he knew that the Liang family could be considered a prestigious house. It was only too bad that Liang Xi had been too upright, that the family wasn’t wealthy enough, and that Liang Xi’s son and grandson had all died young, unable to bolster the family into the ranks of the truly powerful. When it came to Liang Feng’s generation, there was only an empty title left. 

Pressured by years of war, the court intended to abolish a few titles to cut expenses. If “Liang Feng” wasn’t able to obtain an office, then his title of “fifth-order marquess” would likely go down the drain. Because of this, “Liang Feng” had left behind his young son and traveled to the Shangdang Commandery to attend the “Nine-Grade Officials’ Evaluation” in hopes of attaining a position in the bureaucracy.

He had been staying with the Li family that his aunt, Liang Shu, had married into. The Li family was a branch of the Li Clan, situated in Shangdang Commandery’s Tongdi County, though they were not as respectable as the Liang family. Liang Shu’s youngest son Li Lang was also due to participate in the upcoming evaluation, and so eagerly welcomed his older cousin. Pity that several days into “Liang Feng’s” stay, he became severely ill, and had only just woken up.

But, it was a different Liang Feng who woke up.

Liang Feng was not a history enthusiast and was fuzzy on the specifics, but he knew from the dreams that the emperor who conferred Liang Xi’s title was surnamed “Cao,” and that the current emperor was surnamed “Sima.” With the nine-rank system on top of that, someone with even the faintest knowledge of history would come to the conclusion that this place was Western Jin, that short-lived dynasty that was successor to the Three Kingdoms, and predecessor of the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians. 

He had mysteriously come to an unfamiliar era, shoved into an unfamiliar shell. Did he come back to life in someone else’s body?

Any sane person would have misgivings after finding themselves over a thousand years in the past. However, Liang Feng’s career was in criminal investigation. He didn’t need to look twice to determine that the people and objects around him were real. A movie set, no matter how exorbitant, would not be able to achieve such effect, not to mention that even his body had been swapped. What kind of fucking joke was that!?

Liang Feng took a deep breath. The scent of bitter medicine mixed with incense seeped into his lungs as he suppressed the mess of thoughts whirling about in his head. He would temporarily set aside everything he didn’t understand. His most immediate concern was to get to the bottom of how “Liang Feng” had died. It was probably no coincidence that he wound up occupying this body, so who was it that killed its original owner? After failing to do the deed, would they try again? What was their motive?

Though he’d been trapped inside a broken body, with even the memories in his head stirred into jumbled chaos, Liang Feng was not willing to simply give up and let his original self disappear. He gave the servant girl waiting outside a sidelong glance before slowly shutting his eyes. 

The author has something to say:

Regarding the title: “zan” (簪) is a hairpin, “ying” (缨) is the silk thread that holds a “crown” (冠) in place. In the past, commoners couldn’t wear “crowns,” so “zan ying” (簪缨) came to refer to those of the upper class.

The translator has something to say:

The Chinese terms “世家/豪强/门阀/望族” all pretty much mean “distinguished/powerful/wealthy/eminent family”. The translator just slaps the word “noble” or “aristocrat” on them, but not every noble/aristocratic family necessarily has some kind of title (probably).