Chapter 22.2 Confession

He held her hand and led her to sit in the pavilion. The sky had turned ink-blue and the lanterns in the mansion were still lit.

Xiao Lin took out a brocade box and gently said, “Open it and have a look.”

Ye Bing Shang opened it and a cute and delicate little wooden bird jumped out of the box. To her surprise, the little wooden bird fluttered its wings and flew up. It sang as it flew.

Ye Bing Shang was stunned and looked at Xiao Lin in amazement.

Xiao Lin’s appearance and temperament were like those of a relegated immortal. It was hard to imagine that he could also be thinking of ways to please her.

Xiao Lin lightly coughed and said, “A few days ago in the palace, I saw Ninth Sister with these exquisite gadgets. She said that all girls like them. So I went to look for one too. Do you like it?”

Ye Bing Shang smiled and nodded.

Xiao Lin said, “I’m sorry that I’ve rarely accompanied you since our marriage.”

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*****

Yu Qing took a sip of tea, then clicked his tongue and said, “Finally, you found the time to come and join me, this lonely person¹孤家寡人 (gūjiā-guǎrén) – a person in utter isolation (孤 and 寡人 being used by feudal kings and princes to refer to themselves); a person alienated from the people/one who has chosen to follow a solitary path/ can also be an indirect way of referring to an unmarried person and in this context, it’s the last one. If you took any longer, I’d have wasted away²油尽灯枯 (yóu jǐn dēng kū) – like an oil lamp, when the oil is used up, the light goes off/there won’t be light anymore aka dying.”`

“I’ve kept Junior Brother waiting.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Don’t give me that. Did that Side Imperial Concubine of yours go to bed?”

Xiao Lin nodded. Yu Qing eyed Xiao Lin and wickedly smiled, “You wouldn’t be this rigid and boring in bed too, would you?”

Xiao Lin restrained a smile as he glanced at him.

Yu Qing held up his hand, “Alright, alright. I won’t talk nonsense. Speaking of which, weren’t we just in the swamp? How’d we get back to your residence? I almost thought that we’d die there today.”

“Wasn’t it you who brought us back?” asked Xiao Lin.

“I’m not capable of that!”

It was clear then who that person was. Yu Qing said, “Why is Third Ye missing?”

Xiao Lin shook his head and his face was grave.

Yu Qing said, “Perhaps she escaped. Since she’s capable enough to send us away, she must have left by herself.”

Xiao Lin still felt worried and asked people to secretly inquire whether Third Miss Ye had returned to the residence.

“What about the seven-tailed fox? I’ll say it first, I can’t handle it. Whoever wants to try, go ahead. I’ll never go again!”

“Naturally I won’t let you go again.” Xiao Lin said, “Now, there’s only one person who can deal with this fox demon. Junior Brother, I still have to bother you to find Martial Uncle Ji.”

Yu Qing ground his teeth and said, “Old Man Ji has already returned to his hometown to live in seclusion³归隐 (guīyǐn) – return to one’s hometown and seclude/live in seclusion in the countryside/to go back to one’s native place and live in seclusion, where am I going to find him?”

Xiao Lin sipped his tea and gently smiled. “But doesn’t Junior Sister Rong like you? She can always lead you to her father.”

Yu Qing snorted, “I’m not going to see that little hot pepper.” I barely managed to escape and ran to the imperial city to become an honoured guest to my Senior Brother’s rival royal prince. With how prestigious I’ve become, I don’t want to run all over the mountain with a wild girl to catch pheasants.

Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow, no longer forcing him.

Junior Sister Rong could cure Junior Brother’s bad habits with a couple of beatings. If twice wasn’t enough, a few more times would take care of it.

Yu Qing said, “Is there really going to be a war?”

Xiao Lin nodded.

“The new Emperor of Zhou Kingdom has guts. But isn’t Tantai Jin still a hostage in our court? Isn’t the new Emperor afraid that we’ll kill his brother?”

“Imperial families have always been ruthless,” Xiao Lin said.

“That’s too true. I heard that almost all of the Zhou Kingdom’s princes and princesses were killed by the new Emperor.”

“Father Emperor sent people to arrest the hostage prince today.”

Yu Qing crossed his legs. Recalling the young man who almost crawled between King Zhao’s legs, he said, “He’s really quite miserable with little ability. King Zhao hates him so much that he probably wants to behead him himself in the future.”

“No, Father Emperor didn’t find him,” Xiao Lin solemnly said, “Junior Brother, never underestimate your enemy. Tantai Jin is a ruthless person.”

“You mean, he ran away in advance!” Yu Qing’s expression looked odd, as if he had seen a ghost. The news from Zhou Kingdom’s side had obviously just arrived yesterday but Tantai Jin’s intel was surprisingly even faster than theirs.

Xiao Lin nodded. He had wanted to talk to Su Su today, but he didn’t expect that it would be too late. How would she feel once she knew?

“Can he leave the Xia Empire? Where did a hostage prince who’s been in the cold palace since childhood get his power?”

Xiao Lin said, “I don’t know either.” That’s what was scary about him.

*****

In the winter night, the wind at the ferry crossing was very strong.

Su Su was tied up. When she woke up, she could only see darkness and the person beside her immediately pushed her. “Stay still.” It was a woman’s voice. 

Su Su recalled what had happened after the fox demon’s blood essence entered her body and felt somewhat despondent. She gritted her teeth, that d*mn seven-tailed fox!

She actually confessed to Tantai Jin and even kissed him! Now that she remembered her passionate feelings towards Tantai Jin back then, she was grossed out, okay?

More seriously, she was now tied up⁴五花大绑 (wǔhuā-dàbǎng) – tie a person’s hands behind his back with a rope looped around his neck/have hands and arms tied behind one’s back and blindfolded, so she didn’t even know where she was.

Su Su heard the wind and felt like they were in a wind gap. That woman was pushing her to move forward.

After walking for an unknown distance, the whole group stopped.

The people around her knelt down with a thump and shouted excitedly, “Your Highness!” Su Su didn’t know who kicked her but she was forced to kneel. She stayed composed. Although she wasn’t really sure what was going on, it was obvious that the current situation was very bad.

Su Su tried her best to lower her presence. 

The familiar sound of footsteps stepped on the snow and someone said, “Your Highness, Madam is waiting for you.”

Soon a female voice called out, “Your Highness!” She seemed to be walking against the wind because the sound of her voice was scattered in the air. 

“You’ve suffered for all these years.”

Tantai Jin said, “It’s nothing.”

The woman looked at the blindfolded Su Su, “She is……”

Su Su heard Tantai Jin’s indifferent voice, “Ye Xiao’s legitimate daughter.”

The woman muttered, “She’s actually that old thief⁵A term used to call your enemy or people you dislike’s daughter. This is a great gift.”

Then remembering something, that woman said uncertainly, “This servant heard that Your Highness seems to have been married to Third Miss Ye.”

If they really brought Su Su back to Zhou Kingdom, she definitely wouldn’t survive, and her death would be inevitable no matter whose hands she was in. 

“As long as she dies a worthy death,” said Tantai Jin.

Su Su couldn’t see his expression. She only felt that his voice was even colder than the wind in the winter night. She sighed. Fortunately, the feelings that were caused by the fox demon’s blood essence were a temporary thing. Otherwise, if she really liked him, she didn’t know how sad she would be.

She was fairly calm, analysing her situation.

There are so many people respectfully calling Tantai Jin “Your Highness,” they can’t be from the Xia Empire. Could it be that…… they’re from the Zhou Kingdom?

What do the people from the Zhou Kingdom want? Soon after, Su Su was taken aboard⁶boarding ship. Her heart sank, and she understood.

I’m afraid Tantai Jin wants to return to the Zhou Kingdom. If he’s going back, then I, as the daughter of the Great General of the enemy country, shouldn’t go along! Also, who was that woman with a steady voice?

“Your Highness, where should we detain Third Miss Ye?”

Tantai Jin paused his steps and turned back to look at Su Su. The porcelain white skin of the young girl’s cheeks and the black ribbon over her eyes gave her a sense of gentleness.

Her lips were rosy and she didn’t look like she was terrified, everything about her annoyed him.

He sat on a chair and coldly looked at her for a few seconds.

Noticing Tantai Jin’s silence, his subordinate repeated the question. “Your Highness, Third Miss……”

“Whatever,” he spoke with a bored tone, “Why are you asking me?”

Realising that the ship was about to set sail, Su Su said before she was pulled away, “Tantai Jin, don’t take what I say before this seriously. I don’t know what happened to me either.”

His expression looked cold and he didn’t say another word.

Not hearing a reply, Su Su inwardly thought, I must have overthought it. Knowing that fox demons are good at enchanting people’s minds, he shouldn’t care.

But the moment she crossed the threshold-

Tantai Jin suddenly spoke in a cold voice, “Throw her into the storehouse, the dirtiest, coldest and smelliest one.”

Su Su: ……

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Edited by: Gaze

Translator’s Note: Early Black Moonlight update because it’s my birthday (29/12) ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°) Don’t worry, there will be update on the usual Friday too kekeke~~~ If you read both the novels I translate, you will realise that it’s a continuous daily update since 24/12 ( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• ) Happy reading o(^▽^)o