Chapter 2

A carriage from the Su family, surrounded by six fierce horses, turned back and made quite a scene. Several other carriages behind them noticed their intention and followed suit, changing lanes.

As a result, the previously crowded Ziteng Street suddenly opened up a bit, and the passage was not as narrow as before. Passers-by could take advantage of this opportunity to pass through.

A middle-aged man in a brown coarse cloth robe looked to the right with excitement as he walked forward to catch up with his companion in front.

“Hey, wait for me.” “Why are you walking so fast?”

“You don’t understand. Do you know who came out of that sedan chair?”

“I don’t know. Who is it? Looks like someone with a big background.” Otherwise, he wouldn’t have wanted to join the fun.

The person in front turned his head and whispered, “Ha, I saw him by chance two years ago in the capital.” “He is the chief of the Eastern Bureau, Qin Yan!”

The person at the back immediately fell silent upon hearing this, quickly catching up to the front and pursing his lips, not daring to say another word.

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.

Ebs eked’v jdso vbyv vbl Oypvlad Jwalyw bye lulp yde lyap yzz shla vbl pvyvlp yde nyrkvyz? Ohld kq vblu vyzjle nypwyzzu, y ekpalprlnvqwz zssj nswze nspv vblx vblka zkhlp!

Gde yv vbkp xsxldv, vbl rlapsd vbyv rlsrzl eyal dsv xldvksd kd rwczkn byp yzalyeu yaakhle yv vbl cynj byzz sq vbl tshladxldv sqqknl.

Mbl cynj byzz qynlp dsavb yde pvalvnblp qsa esgldp sq qllv. Rv kp y pkdtzl-lyhl czwl caknj cwkzekdt. Mbl yvvldeydv, obs bye blze vbl wxcalzzy lyazkla, pvydep yv vbl essa okvb ds lmralppksd.

Rdpkel vbl byzz, pydeyzosse clyxp pwrrsav vbl assq, yde vbl qzssa kp kdzyke okvb ryvvladle pvsdl pzycp. Mos knl xkaasap yal rzynle yv ekytsdyz nsadlap.

Mball rlsrzl pvyde okvb csole blyep clpkel vos asop sq Lydxw yaxnbykap. Mbl tshladsa sq Kkysgbsw, bkp pwcsaekdyvl, yde yppkpvydv xytkpvayvl yal pvydekdt, qynkdt vbl xyd kd vbl wrrlaxspv xykd plyv, vbl xyd kd vbl pleyd nbyka, obsx Fw Yk bye plld clqsal, yde vbl nbklq sq vbl Oypvlad Jwalyw vbyv vbl rlsrzl eyal dsv zssj ekalnvzu yv, Ckd Zyd.

Tl osal y okel-pzllhle eyaj czwl ruvbsd ascl, yde bkp qkdtlap, okvb ekpvkdnv jdwnjzlp, nypwyzzu alpvle sd vbl bydezl sq vbl tsze-rykdvle osseld yaxalpv sq vbl nbyka, vyrrkdt pkzldvzu.

Mbyv bydepsxl qynl oyp wdryayzzlzle kd clywvu, yde bkp pzldela rlynb-czsppsx lulp nypwyzzu polrv shla vbl sqqknkyzp pkvvkdt clzso, okvb y qykdv nwahl yv vbl nsadla sq bkp xswvb vbyv oyp byae vs alye oblvbla kv oyp y pxkzl sa ydtla, xyjkdt kv ekqqknwzv vs twlpp bkp xsse.

Rv bye clld yzxspv byzq yd bswa pkdnl vblu bye clld pvydekdt, yde vbl vball rlsrzl yv vbl zsola lde olal clnsxkdt kxryvkldv. Mblu bye dlhla sqqldele vbl nbklq sq vbl Oypvlad Jwalyw, Ckd Zyd, ps obu eke bl pweeldzu nsxl vseyu okvbswv ydu raksa dsvknl?

“I, your humble servant, did not know that the lord had arrived. May I ask why you have come?” Magistrate Cui tentatively inquired.

He had a square face and well-proportioned facial features. At the moment, he was smiling and bowing, but his eyes betrayed a barely noticeable tension.

“Why don’t you guess, Magistrate Cui?” Qin Yan’s thin lips curled up slightly. His voice was not as sharp as a typical court official’s, but it was not low-pitched either. It sounded quite pleasant.

However, his natural aura of authority was enough to make one tremble, even with such a lightly spoken sentence.

“Is it about the selection of the young ladies?” Magistrate Cui asked cautiously.

The current Emperor of Ming Shun was born premature and his health has never improved since inheriting the throne at a young age. He suffered from serious illnesses and frequent minor ailments, which were widely known throughout the court and even among the people.

As a result, the harem has been sparse for a long time. However, since last year, after reaching the age of twenty, the matter of producing heirs could no longer be delayed. Under the persuasion of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites, the Emperor finally agreed to select new young ladies for the harem and even lifted the restriction on non-merchants from respectable families to expand the pool of candidates.

Each province had already sent eunuchs to monitor the selection process, so there was no need for someone of the rank of a Chief of Eastern Bureau. However, Qin Yan’s thoughts were difficult to fathom even for the Cabinet officials, so Magistrate Cui could only guess at random.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yan let out a light laugh and remained noncommittal. “Go ahead and speak,” he said.

Magistrate Cui stole a glance and finally relaxed. If it really was about selecting women, he was fully prepared.

“Lord Supervisor, in Jiaozhou, we have recorded all the eligible young women who are over thirteen and under eighteen years old and have not yet been married. We have already selected the first batch, and the second batch will be selected in five days. Finally, the palace eunuchs will examine and select the top hundred candidates to send to the capital.”

“Have the allocated funds from the Ministry of Revenue been enough?”

“Lord Supervisor, we have enough. After the accountant verifies it, there will even be a surplus. We will report to the Ministry of Revenue in a few days.”

Magistrate Cui spoke clearly and neatly, feeling quite pleased with himself. He had handled this matter much faster and more efficiently than the other twelve provinces.

Others said that Chief Qin Yan was unpredictable, but if he could win his praise and attention, his future career would be smooth and unobstructed!

“Hmm, not bad.” Qin Yan leaned back in his chair, looking lazy, and suddenly stopped tapping his index finger on the armrest.

He lifted his eyes to look at Magistrate Cui opposite him and opened his thin lips.

“Where did the excess 100,000 taels of public funds for repairing the Liushui County Qingjiang River at the beginning of the year go?”

Mount Ganquan is a famous mountain in Jiaozhou. Although it is not high, the verdant trees on the mountain are lush and shaded, creating a beautiful view. The Lingquan Temple halfway up the mountain is especially renowned for its efficacy.

People who come here to burn incense and pray often come because of the famous mountain and the temple. When the Su family’s carriage arrived at the foot of the mountain, the entrance to the mountain gate was already bustling with people.

Su Mi wore a silk scarf on her head and followed Mrs. Yu as she got out of the carriage. The sun was scorching, and Chun Mei’s paper umbrella was folded up. People who come to Lingquan Temple to burn incense are more sincere and easier to achieve their wishes when they are tired, so much so that they would rather collapse from heatstroke in front of the Bodhisattva.

“Mi’er, you must not wander around again,” Mrs. Yu reminded her as she helped Su Mi put on a silk cloak. It would be very useful later.

“Mother, I know,” Su Mi replied with a smile. It had been so many years, but her mother still remembered.

When Su Mi was only ten years old, she came to Lingquan Temple to pray. At that time, her character was more impulsive than it is now. She chased a wild rabbit and wandered into the forest on the back mountain, getting lost overnight and even encountering a wildcat.

If it weren’t for someone who happened to ride a horse and kill the wildcat with a sword, she would have become its prey. Unfortunately, it was late at night, and she was young and panicked, so she couldn’t remember the person’s appearance. She fell seriously ill afterwards and lost her memory, fearing that even if she met her savior again, she wouldn’t recognize him.

While thinking, Su Mi had already followed Mrs. Yu up the stairs.

Buddhism emphasizes sincerity and piety, and Mrs. Yu had come for her daughter’s marriage. Every step she took was a prayer for Su Mi’s future husband.

By the time they finally reached the stone steps of Lingquan Temple’s mountain gate, the main servants were already sweating profusely.

Su Mi’s face was covered by a veil, but her thin clothes had already been soaked with sweat.

Her back was a little thin, but her chest was full and plump, with curves and lines that swayed beautifully as she walked.

Fortunately, Mrs. Yu was experienced and had already prepared a silk cloak to cover her daughter’s tempting figure.

Several guards were waiting at the mountain gate, and Mrs. Yu led Su Mi and Chun Mei into the mountain gate hall of Lingquan Temple. Two large statues of the Vajrapi Bodhisattva stood on either side of the hall, lifelike and vivid. Su Mi couldn’t help but take a few more glances every time she passed by.

Following Mrs. Yu, Su Mi first burned incense at the sacred altar outside the main hall, then entered the hall and bowed to the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, and finally drew a marriage divination stick.

Lingquan Temple was very popular, and there were many people waiting to draw divination sticks.  Mrs. Yu and Su Mi queued up behind two young women wearing similar veils.

“Let’s see what you drew,” said the woman in blue in a light tone.

“Unfortunately, it’s a middle lot.” The other woman seemed somewhat dissatisfied with her result.

The woman in blue glanced at her own top lot and was happy. She comforted the other woman, “It’s not bad to draw a middle lot; it’s still better than Miss Su from the Su family, who’s been rejected twice even with her outstanding beauty and talents.”

“Which Su family?” asked the woman in green with interest. Ruiyu Silk and Satin Shop was the largest silk and satin shop in Jiaozhou, and it was hard to believe that a wealthy merchant’s daughter would be rejected.

“Which one could it be? The Su family of Ruiyu Silk and Satin Shop, of course.”

“Ah, how could she still be rejected?” The woman in green became more interested.

“Who knows; it’s said that it was unclear with the first one.”

The green-clothed woman showed a look of disdain: “Tsk tsk, even though they’re from a wealthy merchant family, their family background is still not good enough.”

Su Mi stood behind them, her delicate face under the hat becoming frosty. She had only met her cousin from the Yu family three times in her life, including when they were children. She didn’t know who had spread such embarrassing rumors.

Mrs. Yu’s face also looked unpleasant, but Su Mi took her hand and shook her head, indicating that she was okay. After all, they were in public, and it was not appropriate to make a scene. Besides, what others said didn’t matter to her.

After a while, the two women in front finished their divination and left, and it was finally Su Mi’s turn.

“Master, may I ask how my daughter’s marriage divination lot is?” Mrs. Yu respectfully asked

The temple priest was an elderly man, kind and friendly-looking, with a white beard. He took a look at the lot and smiled, “Your daughter’s marriage is very good. This is an upper-top lot. You have an old relationship with the person, but you may have to marry someone far away.”

When Mrs. Yu heard that it was an upper-top lot, a hint of joy appeared on her face. Even if her daughter had to marry far away, as long as she was happy, it was all that mattered.

“Master, are there any other omens?” Mrs. Yu was too embarrassed to say that Su Mi had already been rejected twice. Would she really just wait for a third time?

The temple attendant stroked his beard and glanced at Su Mi. “Today is auspicious. Why don’t you write a character for me to see?”

Although it was cool in the temple, Su Mi was still a little thirsty. When she heard the old man opposite ask her to write a character, she casually wrote the character for “water.”

After the old temple attendant finished reading it, he laughed heartily. “It’s a coincidence. The future husband of the young lady should have the character for ‘water’ in his name.”

This time, it was Su Mi who laughed. She had come with Mrs. Yu to ease her worries and was happy to get a good fortune. But she had written the character for “water” so casually, and now they were saying her future husband’s name should have the character for “water.” What if she had written the character for “fire?” Would he have to be associated with fire then? This made her somewhat skeptical.

“Thank you for the good words, Master.” Su Mi smiled. “Mother, we have already seen the fortune. Let’s go back.”

“Okay, okay.” Mrs. Yu had been lost in thought but was reminded by Su Mi and quickly put the incense money into the wooden box on the desk, thanking the temple attendant several times.

After leaving the temple, they walked down the mountain at a leisurely pace.

Chun Mei held a paper umbrella and followed behind them. Mrs. Yu held her daughter’s hand and walked while lost in thought.

In the past, there was a connection; the name must have had the character for “water,” and she would marry far away. It must be Li Xiuyuan!