Chapter 2: Understand

The city was besieged by wind and snow, with the New Year quickly approaching. After five or six days of continuous snowfall, it finally stopped. The sky was clear and vibrant blue, a rare sunny day.

The Lin family’s residence was adorned with festive red silk from top to bottom, and servants were bustling around, knocking off the icicles hanging from the eaves.

A young maiden, dressed in peach-red cotton robes, sat in an elaborately carved rosewood chair, absentmindedly gazing at the bare branches outside the window. Her thoughts had long drifted away.

In these past few days, Wu Tong had gathered a lot of information about Jinning Hou.

He joined the army at the age of fifteen, distinguished himself in battle, and acted decisively. He once defended the city against a siege of fifty thousand soldiers from Southern Ming with only eight thousand men, shooting an arrow that critically wounded the Southern Ming King hiding in the rear, causing his death.

If it weren’t for the ambush two years ago, Shen Hanxing would still be the highly admired young man among the noble ladies in the capital.

However, that ambush from two years ago broke his pride, turning the once elegant young man into a ruthless and bloodthirsty devil.

Old Lady Shen¹Shen Hanxing’s grandmother had intended to arrange a marriage for him. But the girl who was to be his bride only saw him once before the wedding and was frightened into a three-day coma.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Gqvla pbl osjl wr, lhlausdl qswde swv vbyv Fbld Tydmkdt bye pvaydtzle y plahydv tkaz vs elyvb kd qasdv sq bla, pkxrzu clnywpl vbl tkaz ynnkeldvyzzu prkzzle vly yde ydtlale bkx.

Mbl tkaz, qaktbvldle cu vbl kdnkeldv, qlyale clnsxkdt vbl dlmv hknvkx yde, wrsd oyjkdt wr, oswze ayvbla ekl vbyd xyaau. Mbkp zle vs vbl nydnlzzyvksd sq vbl xyaakytl rasrspyz.

Xdnl vbkp kdnkeldv clnyxl jdsod, ds qyxkzu kd vbl nyrkvyz oyp okzzkdt vs xyaau vblka eywtbvla kdvs vbyv bswplbsze. Mbkp rasxrvle vbl lxrlasa vs rlapsdyzzu elnall vbl plzlnvksd sq y okql.

Xwvpkel, y ckvkdt okde czlo, yde vbl byde oyaxla kd Nkd Dkdtmwl’p yaxp bye tayewyzzu vwadle nsze yv psxl rskdv.

Tla qkdtlap olal pzktbvzu nbkzzu yp pbl tldvzu pvasjle bla dlnj. Mbl knu nsze pldpyvksd nywple y pbkhla vbaswtbswv bla cseu, yde pbl eyale dsv yvvlxrv vs alrzknyvl vbl pwqqsnyvkdt qllzkdt²pbl oyp alrzknyvkdt vbl qllzkdt sq tlvvkdt pvaydtzle.

G pldpl sq qlya ekpplxkdyvle kd bla blyav, yde pbl pvawttzle vs pwrralpp vbyv lxsvksd, dsv yzzsokdt blaplzq vs eolzz sd kv vss xwnb.

Sltyaezlpp, pbl oyp cswde vs xyaau kdvs Kkddkdt Tsw’p alpkeldnl.

Vlabyrp, fwpv rlabyrp, vbspl olal yzz awxsap… Vlabyrp vbl Kkddkdt Tsw oyp fwpv y ckv nsze kd vlxrlayxldv yde oswzed’v wdfwpvzu vyjl zkhlp.

“Have you no eyes? If it had hit the eldest young lady, even ten of your lives wouldn’t be enough to compensate!”

“It’s Servant’s fault, begging the eldest young lady for mercy, begging the eldest young lady for mercy.”

The noisy commotion outside woke Lin Xingxue up from her trance.

She peered towards the corridor and saw Lin Xingran standing there, with a servant kneeling in front of her, seemingly having made a mistake.

Wu Tong whispered in her ear, “Just now, that servant was striking an ice pillar. When the eldest young lady walked by, the ice pillar happened to fall. However, there was still some distance, and it wouldn’t have hit anyone.”

In fact, it wasn’t a big deal, but Lin Xingran’s superior maid³maids had levels of ranking, An Yun, wished she could drag the servant down and give him a good beating.

Lin Xingxue silently observed for a while. Upon seeing An Yun about to make a fuss, she quickly wrote two words in the air.

After reading those two words clearly, Wu Tong turned and walked out.

A distance away, An Yun was about to order someone to drag the servant down for punishment, but Wu Tong politely smiled and approached, “It’s cold outside, eldest young lady, it’s best to go inside and warm up. Lately, there have been numerous officials from the Ministry of Rites coming in and out of the courtyard. It’s unexpected that these servants are still so careless. This Servant will have someone clean up right away.”

“Just a careless mistake, and you want to let it slide. You’re thinking too beautifully. In my opinion…” An Yun still didn’t want to give up.

Lin Xingran understood, seizing the mention of the Ministry of Rites from Wu Tong’s words.

Now, Yunxiu Courtyard was not like before, where everyone inside and outside were under her and her mother’s control. Currently, there were officials from the Ministry of Rites present. If they acted too harshly, it wouldn’t sound good if word got out.

“Enough.” Lin Xingran scolded softly. An Yun didn’t understand, but upon facing Lin Xingran’s stern gaze, she could only close her mouth in frustration.

“It’s not a big deal. Just be more careful in the future.”

Lin Xingran easily let go of the matter. The servant kneeling on the ground let out a sigh of relief and gratefully looked at Wu Tong. He swiftly tidied up.

Lin Xingxue saw things rapidly settle down through the window, got up and tidied up a bit before sitting on a couch.

Her courtyard was not large, with three main rooms. Screens separated the sleeping area, and a sandalwood clothes rack stood not far away.

Hanging on the clothes rack was an intricately patterned wedding gown. Gold and silver threads outlined auspicious cloud patterns, and the pearls on the cloud shoulders reflected a luxurious luster. It was exquisite and elegant.

Lin Xingran stepped into the inner room and immediately saw that wedding gown.

The making of this wedding gown was hurried and bustled, taking almost two months to complete, and it was somewhat hastily done.

Even so, when Lin Xingran saw that wedding gown, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy.

However, upon thinking of the half-dead appearance of Jinning Hou, her heart felt a little better.

“Sister, have you been sleeping well these days?” Lin Xingran smiled as she sat on the couch. She carefully examined Lin Xingxue’s face, trying to see signs of weariness and desolation on her sister’s face.

Lin Xingxue smiled gently and nodded slightly, her fair face resembling lustrous white jade. No trace of a flaw could be seen.

Inwardly, Lin Xingran sneered, but outwardly, she warmly held Lin Xingxue’s hand. “Seeing you well, sister⁴she is referring to herself; they like to talk in third person can rest assured. We, sisters, will get married on the same day. It will be very lively when we return home⁵refers to a married woman’s first visit to her parent’s home after getting marriedtogether.”

The wedding date set by the Ministry of Rites and the residence of Jinning Hou was finally scheduled for the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. From the betrothal to the wedding day, there were only two months for preparations.

This time frame was quite hasty, and logically, there was no need for Lin Xingran’s wedding to be rushed. However, there was no reason for the younger sister to marry first⁶in terms of weddings, back then they were arranged in age order, so it was found disrespectful for a younger sibling to marry before the older so the final decision was made to have both weddings on the same day.

Due to this hurried arrangement, Lin Xingran’s bridal attire was not as well-prepared as Lin Xingxue’s. It couldn’t even compare to her sister’s wedding dress.

She felt jealous but didn’t want to show it.

“Little sister, are you still carrying this sachet? Is that jade pendant still inside?” 

Lin Xingran looked at the jade orchid sachet around Lin Xingxue’s waist, and a faint, refreshing fragrance emanated from it, as if it had a refreshing effect.

Lin Xingxue, upon hearing the words, suddenly understood why Lin Xingran had come to see her.

She stood up and walked to the drawer, taking out the jade pendant and handing it to Lin Xingran.

Lin Xingran took it and carefully examined the jade pendant.

The pendant was crafted from a single piece of Hetian jade, tied with a brown cord. The front was carved with a celestial map, and the reverse side was inscribed with the characters “The sun and moon wax and wane, the stars and constellations revolve.”

“This jade pendant seems to be quite valuable at first glance. Sister⁷referring to Xingxue has been carrying it for many years, and it must be highly cherished,” Lin Xingran spoke in a normal tone, without any hidden meaning.

Lin Xingxue lowered her eyes, fiddling with the sachet around her waist.

She had originally planned to return the jade pendant to Gu Yan, but she hadn’t found the right opportunity. 

Now that Lin Xingran had brought it up, it seemed fitting to give the jade pendant to Lin Xingran now…

Lin Xingxue was still pondering when Lin Xingran placed the jade pendant back on the small table and smiled, “Speaking of which, Sister and Jinning Hou are also destined. Back then, Jinning Hou saved you from the hands of bandits, and now the emperor has bestowed marriage upon you two, truly fulfilling the saying that marriages are predestined by heaven.”

Lin Xingxue’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted, and she looked at Lin Xingran in astonishment, as if she didn’t understand what Lin Xingran was talking about.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Lin Xingran thought to herself that it was as she expected. She continued, “Sister, don’t you remember? When you were nine years old, you went out to seek medical help. On the way back to the capital, you encountered bandits. It was Jinning Hou who saved your life and brought you to a clinic for treatment. If it weren’t for the timely encounter with Jinning Hou, I’m afraid things would have taken a turn for the worse.”

Lin Xingxue suddenly stood up. How could she not understand what Lin Xingran was saying. She would never forget the events she experienced at the age of nine.

When she was nine years old, she fell into water by accident. Upon waking up, she could no longer speak and had no recollection of why she fell into the water.

The doctors in the capital were helpless, and upon receiving the news, her uncle asked her aunt to take her out to seek better medical help. Little did they know that they would encounter bandits on the way back to the capital.

After robbing them of their silver, the bandits even wanted to kill them to cover their tracks.

In order to protect her, her nanny was stabbed to death by the leader of the bandits. Scalding crimson blood splattered on her face as she watched her nanny take her last breath before her eyes. The large blade descended, immediately threatening to take her life.

She was overwhelmed by despair, convinced that she couldn’t escape this fate.

The blade approached her neck, and the sharp tip cut through the fragile skin of her throat. In the moment of impending death, she heard a clang.

The deadly knife was forcefully smashed away. A long and straight sword flew in, piercing the bandit leader’s abdomen, instantly taking his life.

Her vision blurred as she looked into the distance, only to see a handsomely dressed youth riding a horse approaching at full speed.

Her tense mind suddenly relaxed, and overwhelming grief struck her. She quickly lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she was back at the Lin residence.

By her bedside stood a gentle young man who told her that he was her lifesaver.

It turned out, everything was just a lie.

Lin Xingxue closed her eyes tightly, and when she opened them again, her gaze had become icy.

She carefully picked up the jade pendant and placed it back in the jade orchid sachet.

Lin Xingran’s goal was achieved, she easily stood up to take her leave.

Walking outside, she glanced back through the window, only to see Lin Xingxue still standing in place, seemingly still in shock.

She smiled lightly, and the discomfort that had been lingering in her heart for days mostly dissipated.

On the day of the arrangement of their marriage, Gu Yan’s actions were too obvious. It was so obvious that she could tell at a glance that Gu Yan still cared about Lin Xingxue.

If it weren’t for her mother deliberately sending Lin Xingxue’s birth chart to the palace and Lin Xingxue being unlucky enough to be chosen, she would have to put in more effort.

After all, she would never agree to let Gu Yan make Lin Xingxue a concubine.

She also couldn’t make Gu Yan personally sever the bond with Lin Xingxue, so she decided to cut off their initial involvement herself.

When the person she had always protected turned out to be a complete fraud, she couldn’t believe that Lin Xingxue would still have deep feelings for Gu Yan.

–

Lin Xingxue didn’t know how long she had been lost in thought, and when she came back to her senses, the sky was already darkening.

Wu Tong hurriedly returned from outside the courtyard and whispered in her ear, “Miss, Servant went to Ji’an Hall. The old doctor who treated you back then is no longer there, but the medicine boy is still there. I carefully inquired, and it was indeed Jinning Hou who brought you to Ji’an Hall back then.”

The servants of Jinning Hou’s residence also mentioned that the old Hou⁸Shen Hanxing’s father had once crafted jade pendants for his two sons, and Jinning Hou’s jade pendant is almost identical to the one in the young lady’s hand.”

“I also followed the young lady’s instructions and inquired at the government office. I personally saw the name of Jinning Hou written on the case file.”

Naturally, the officials at the government office were reluctant to let Wu Tong casually browse through the case files. So Wu Tong had refuted, “My young lady is the future wife of Jinning Hou. Just checking past case files related to the Jinning Hou is a trivial matter. Why make it difficult?”

Regardless of how people talked behind their backs, the identity of Jinning Hou was still there. As long as he was alive, no one wanted to offend him.

The amount of silver Wu Tong offered was generous enough, the officials were tempted and no longer hesitated.

The people from Ji’an Hall could have been bribed by Lin Xingran, but the case files at the government office couldn’t be fake. The servants of Jinning Hou’s residence also had no reason to lie.

Lin Xingxue looked at the Hetian jade pendant. She slowly tightened her grip, holding it close to her chest as if trying to feel the warmth of the jade.

She had had countless dreams of the young man in embroidered clothing who had saved her; he was a celestial being who rescued her from the dark abyss.

She never doubted Gu Yan’s words, and it was for this favor that she continued to assist and support him despite the pressure from the mistress⁹legitimate wife/mistress of the household.

However, it turned out that everything was wrong.

Fortunately, there was still a chance to correct this mistake.

Her celestial young man, even if he had now become a demon feared by everyone, she would still run towards him.

TLN: (Fox) AHHHHH THIS IS TOO CUTE ALREADY HELP (+1 from Anon teehee)

(Anon) random thought, but if y’all get confused by the names and roles, let us know, we can try to create a registry of the people. Just in case, Wu Tong is Lin Xingxue’s close maid, and Lin Fucai is Lin Xingxue’s father, since I got a bit confused on who tf Lin Fucai was at first. Thought he was some other eunuch at first. >->