“…Leave…leave some for me, would you?” Ling Miaomiao began tugging at his sleeves and forcefully stole the pot of wine from him. She began giving him a long-winded lecture while struggling to seize the wine back. “You’re so boring. Do you even know what exchanging cups 1 [1] If you didn’t get what she meant, it’s essentially just taking turns drinking. means?”
Ling Miaomiao was close to drinking herself into unconsciousness but her words continued to spill out. Her mind was muddled and the filter between her thoughts and mouth was not working.
Mu Sheng snatched the wine pot by her lips in one swift move.
Like this, the wine pot was passed between them under mocking remarks and they finished the entire pot in the dark.
What should have been a cold night, instead… heated them up with their drinking, nearly burning them up from the inside out.
“Why did you decide to drink in the middle of the night?”
And she had even done so in his bed.
“…”She hesitated before continuing in a quieter voice. “My heart…heart feels uncomfortable.”
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Mbl uswdt xyd pvyale czydjzu cynj yv bla cwv vbld kxxlekyvlzu zlv swv y nsze zywtb.
“Hkik, alyzzu…”Ebs oswze’hl vbswtbv pbl oswze pzsozu okttzl nzspla, czkdjkdt bla lulp. Fbl dlyale bkx kd y pvyvl sq elzkakswpdlpp, yde pkdnlalzu xyel yd yrszstu, “R pbswzed’v byhl pyke vbspl osaep lyazkla, R’x psaau…”
“Fsaau…”
“Fsaau psaau…”
Rv pvsse vs alypsd vbyv vbkp xyvvla pbswze xspv elqkdkvlzu dsv byhl clld elyzv okvb kd vbkp oyu. Ebld kv nyxl vs psal rskdvp zkjl vbkp, bso nswze kv cl pszhle okvb fwpv y qlo osaep? Zlv, pbl wple vbkp jkde sq ekalnv xlvbse, obknb oyp pkxrzl yde wdalqkdle, vs qynl vbkp kppwl.
Direct and straightforward.
The worries which had tormented him all night, the things he had debated about in his mind, had all become jumbled again. His head was filled with her mutterings.
“Fine!” The young man, who had reached the end of his rope, pushed away the girl’s soft face with a hand and told the girl, “Ling Miaomiao, shut up!”
She went silent for a few seconds and rolled her eyes a few times under great exhaustion before clenching her fists, as if desperately reminding herself to not fall asleep. Then she began to explain in a muffled voice, “As your friend, I’m actually worrying about you.”
“…What do I have for you to worry about?”
She couldn’t straighten out her tongue,“That’s not right, I said it wrong, it’s care about you.”
“…Then, what do I have for you to care about?”
“You and Sister Mu aren’t compatible. If you like Sister Mu… you will be very miserable, no one will understand you, your petals will fall off from worry. You should like someone else instead, Mu Sheng, like someone else instead…”
She cajoled him noisily without end and repeatedly brought up Mu Yao, earning his ire.
He should have thrown Ling Miaomiao off the bed, but the girl’s fingers slowly landed on his face. They were ice-cold but gentle and caring.
For some reason, he remained still, allowing her to raise his face and calmly asked, “Who should I like?”
Suddenly, Ling Miaomiao burst out into a brilliant smile and a light bloomed within her eyes. “You should like me, like someone similar to me, who’ll raise you to be tender and round.
She began laughing again, shaking the bed excessively.
Sure enough, she really was drunk, babbling on about a bunch of nonsense like that.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew by his ear lifted his hair. As his defenses were lowered, the girl’s face came down without warning, laying down a soft, chilly kiss on the side of his cheek before disappearing in the twinkling of an eye.
Mu Sheng froze in place, a roar sounding in his ears.
His face was about to burn up. She even added fuel to the fire, using her fingers to stroke that place back and forth, over and over, as if trying to wipe off the residual lip rouge. She sighed, “It’s a shame, I’ve set my heart on Brother Liu. In this life, I’m not fated to be with you—— But it’s okay, sometime later, I’ll introduce you to another good…”
As the second half of her sentence poured into his ears, he pushed her down onto the bed. The girl sank into the soft pile of quilts and bounced once.
“Why are you pushing people, you’re shameless.” She knitted her brow and scolded him fiercely. She pulled up the quilt, rolled over and fell asleep on the bed.
“Get up, go back to your own room.” He held her by the waist and dragged her out. His heart had suffered a fatal hit. His temples throbbed and a roaring sound echoed through his head. But there was one thing he knew, He had to stay away from her.
If he continued to listen to her, his heart may have gone and blown up, right there and then.
Ling Miaomiao clung to the canopy, “I won’t go! This bed is softer than mine, I want to sleep here!”
He gritted his teeth. “Then, where shall I go?”
“Go, go sleep in mine!”Her eyes had closed, her eyelashes quivering with impatience, and she pointed at random, telling him, “Opposite from here, opposite, hurry and leave, stop bothering me.”
He stood by the bed, looking at the messy bed which had been thrown into disarray by her. Her fair ankles were revealed below her iridescent ruqun2 [2] The english name for this is served ru. (Sorry, I just needed to emphasize this since uh.. It’s just too strange no matter how I look at it. I keep reading it has A served ru(-fill in the blank here) to B for their meal. :facepalm: ) However, for the sake of the sanities of us two translators, we’re just going to keep this in the pinyin. On another note, Entropy has been translating this to short jacket. So just keep in mind that short jacket is actually, ruqun. Ruqun is a type of hanfu where the skirt is worn at the chest rather than at the waist. For reference, you can view the image below. and lay on the quilt. He tugged at the quilt but wasn’t able to pull it out from under her. The quilt had gotten caught between her legs.
……
His cheeks abruptly lit on fire. Swiftly, he picked up the robe which had been left on the table and dove into the room opposite.
Birds chirped, calling out to each other from outside the window without end. They practically sounded like they were arguing.
When they had breakfast, they only saw Li Zhun. There was no sign of Madam Shi.
“Is the madam’s health a little better?”Mu Yao asked indifferently.
Li Zhun had a worried look on his face and seemed distracted. “I’m not sure why, but Madam Shi had a splitting headache and tossed and turned the entire night. I only fear that she’ll need to rest in bed today as well.
He took a sip of tea, deeply troubled. “I don’t usually see her experience headaches or fevers. How come this time——”
Liu Fuyi nodded. “Brother Li, don’t disturb her for now. Let her sleep for a little longer.”
Everyone was well aware that the reason behind Madam Shi’s discomfort was most likely the work of the talisman which was used to drive away evil spirits. Once she let down her guard and walked out of the room muddleheaded, she’d be trapped by the Seven-Kill Array outside her door and become a sitting duck for them to capture.
All they had to do was keep it secret and bide their time.
Ling Miaomiao had bruises under her eyes and her mind was still groggy.
She hadn’t expected the two pots of shaodaozi3 [3] A type of Kaoliang, a clear distilled liquor. Shown below: she had taken from the kitchen were so strong. In addition, Mu Sheng did not follow the script and instead drank out of the same pot with her, stealing the pot from her, and drinking with her until she blacked out.
Liu Fuyi had gotten up early but did not see anyone. He then knocked on the door, but no one answered. He then proceeded to push open the door, only to have the living daylights scared out of him upon being met with the shocking sight of Ling Miaomiao sleeping like the dead on Mu Sheng’s bed. Quickly, he scooped her up, fed her a bowl of hangover soup, and then began to shake her shoulders.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Liu Fuyi nervously asked her, “Last night…were you alright?”
She was still in a daze with her hair like a bird’s nest. “Huh?”
“How could you drink so much? A’Sheng didn’t bully you, did he?”
Sir Liu, you should watch your words.”
The young man stood by the doorway with his arms crossed, his shadow cutting a long and willowy figure. His shining black eyes stayed on her face and with a mocking look, he told her, “Miss Ling came in the middle of the night to my place to throw a drunken fit. She cried and clamored as she hogged my bed. Exactly who was bullying who?”
“…”Miaomiao’s eyes widened.
“Miaomiao, don’t use so much combing water, the room is clogged with the scent and if you smell too much of it, it’ll make you nauseous.” He ignored the stupefied look on Liu Fuyi’s face and threw a smile full of ridicule towards Miaomiao before turning around and entering the hall.
This meal was eaten with everyone deep in their own thoughts. All of the people at the table mechanically moved their rice into their mouths and the delicate refreshments seemed to be tasteless, so much that they were difficult to swallow.
As Madam Shi was ill, Li Zhun’s spirits were low. So he gave an apology before leaving the table in advance, saying he would return to look after Madam Shi.
When he was ill, Madam Shi also looked after him tirelessly. And now that she was ill, he had no heart to jovially chat with his guests.
Madam Shi’s room had a talisman posted on it, turning it into her cage. It wouldn’t be right for an innocent person to go in again. Just as Liu Fuyi wanted to stop Li Zhun, the nanny suddenly appeared from behind the screen with Chuchu in her arms. “Master, you should take a look at the young lady. The young lady refuses to take her medicine!”
Beads of sweat covering the nanny’s cheeks could be seen as she carefully handed Chuchu over. The little girl’s lips were purple and trembling. Her eyes were half closed and her face pale.
Li Zhun anxiously asked, “Chuchu, why are you so disobedient? Why don’t you take the medicine?”
“Daddy…”
She reached out her very pale arms, indicating her desire to be hugged. Li Zhun accepted her into his arms, his panic evident on his face as he looked over his daughter’s small face.
Her glistening and bright jewel-like black eyes were filled with tears. Only after a long while did he hurriedly stammer out, “Daddy, I had a nightmare, I’m so scared…”
“Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared. Daddy will hug you.” Li Zhun patted Chuchu’s back and felt her body trembling. Anxious and panicked, he couldn’t maintain his composure and shouted at the nanny. “Why are you still standing around? Bring the medicine!”
Several people surrounded Chuchu, watching her. Like a small chick, the skinny little girl shivered and was immediately held and coaxed by her father. However, he was unsuccessful in comforting her in the slightest.
The nanny rushed to bring the medicine over, holding a white porcelain bowl with brown colored medicine in it. She quickened her pace and a few drops of medicine spilled onto the tray. Along with it, a strange smell emanated.
Mu Yao began acting strangely. “This medicine——”
Liu Fuyi stopped her. Li Zhun was in the middle of coaxing Chuchu to drink the medicine in a slow quiet voice, a frown on his face. The hand holding the spoon was shaking slightly. Only after seeing her drink the medicine spoon by spoon, he finally relaxed and let out a long sigh of relief.
“Chuchu, you can’t refuse your medicine in the future, do you understand?”
The young girl nodded blankly in his embrace.
Li Zhun placed the empty bowl and spoon on the tray held by the nanny. He rubbed the place between his brows and said softly, “Just now, my head was muddled due to my anxiety. You can leave now.
The nanny hesitated for a while, standing in place and weighing his words. After a long time, she spoke with some foreboding, “Master, the medicine…it seems we’ve run out.”
Li Zhun’s expression, which had just relaxed, immediately tensed back up.“Why didn’t you say it earlier?”
“I also hadn’t noticed…” The nanny was near tears with worry. Her mouth chattered as she spoke. “I had checked two days ago and there were still plenty. But when I checked this morning, we were already down to the last one…”
Li Zhun did not delay for even a moment. He stood up with a calm look on his face, having already taken the outer garment handed by the boy and worn it on himself, “Brother Liu, I will be going out.”
“Is Brother Li going out to buy Chuchu medicine? Liu Fuyi was somewhat surprised and asked, “You’re going out now?”
“Oh, Brother Liu, you don’t know.” Li Zhun waved his hand in annoyance and pulled at his collar. “The medicine shop is located in town. It’s very far from our Jingyang Slope. If I leave now, I’ll need to spend the night and then come back tomorrow.”
He leaned down and looked affectionately at Chuchu’s pale face and tucked her soft hair behind her ears. Then he raised his head and looked at Liu Fuyi. “Chuchu’s illness requires her to drink a bowl of medicine a day, she can’t miss a single bowl.
Liu Fuyi nodded and passed an oiled paper umbrella hanging in the hall. “Then Brother Liu should send a boy to do this, why go yourself?”
“Oh, it must be me who goes.” Li Zhun took the umbrella and began to leave, but then turned back around and grabbed a few more handfuls of silver from under the table. He gave a helpless smile. “The medicine recipe is a secret recipe from my wife. I promised her to not reveal it to outsiders so I can only go to purchase it myself. In addition, I must visit several medicine shops to purchase them.
“I’ll have to bother Brother Liu to take care of Chuchu.”
Li Zhun left those words before rushing out.
Mu Yao and Liu Fuyi looked at each other in dismay. They had wanted to examine the bowl which held the medicine but the nanny had already taken the bowl to the kitchen.
Miaomiao detected a bitter smell remaining in the air. In that scent, there was a trace of an unusual scent. She mumbled to herself, “This medicine smells so good…”
“It’s blood.” Mu Sheng looked at her as he replied with a dull tone. “It’s the smell of a demon’s heart blood.”
The author has something to say:
This was not written to develop the advancement/strategy. It was because the previous chapter was about them ending on bad terms. The mood of them two was extremely down. I don’t know if everyone looked closely. 🙂
The younger brother isn’t just the target, he is also one of Miaomiao’s few friends in this world. He also has his own emotions and needs other’s understanding. That she doesn’t like him yet, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t care about him at all…
The younger sister is a cheerful girl on the outside and soft on the inside. When speaking (talk of other’s weak points are also honest words), she also felt uneasy, and wanted to rush through her words. She had to be sincere and take the initiative, cheerful, and couldn’t let him go to bed while angry. She has a very simple mentality. Her sister-like feel is ordinary but it doesn’t mean she isn’t courageous and decisive. Also, hot-headedly, she took a risk for the princess. To take the first step in approaching Mu Sheng to chat, what does that count for?
With this night, the two can be considered as having made peace with each other. As they shook each other’s hands and made peace, Mu Sheng saw Miaomiao’s soft side. And only then could he slowly have the courage to face the honest advice she gave.
The guts of a drunk person is really= =She had become drunk and naturally, her behavior was different from usual. If you recall that scene on the Wanjiang boat, she was drunk enough to have the guts to hit Liu Fuyi’s hand and lecture him.
[1] If you didn’t get what she meant, it’s essentially just taking turns drinking.
[2] The English name for this is served ru. (Sorry, I just needed to emphasize this since uh.. It’s just too strange no matter how I look at it. I keep reading it has A served ru(-fill in the blank here) to B for their meal. :facepalm: ) However, for the sake of the sanity of us two translators, we’re just going to keep this in the pinyin. On another note, Entropy has been translating this to short jacket. So just keep in mind that short jacket is actually, ruqun. The ruqun is a type of hanfu where the skirt is worn at the chest rather than at the waist. For reference, you can view the image below.
[3] A type of Kaoliang, a clear distilled liquor. Shown below:
TLN: Entropy here, sorry for the late chapter~ I just woke up lol. Anyways, this is a pretty…. hohoho chapter eh? Hahahaha good night everyone o7.
Miaomiao really owned him an apology, Ziqi got so distressed after what she said, poor thing… I hope they can make up soon! (ɵ̥̥.ɵ̥̥ ) I can’t help bt mention Brother Liu again! Omg, such a caring older brother giving Miaomiao hangover soup! xD Thanks for the chapter!
I hope they make up huhu, thank you for the chapter!!
Miaomiao’s mission is to make Ziqi fall in love with her, right? But after drunkenly telling him to like her, she finishes off with “It’s a shame, I’ve set my heart on Brother Liu. In this life, I’m not fated to be with you—— But it’s okay, sometime later, I’ll introduce you to another good…” WTH!!! It seems like she’s never liked anyone before, and even more so, doesn’t even know how to be a decent friend to someone! Totally freakin’ clueless!
AND she hurt poor Ziqi’s heart (“He held her by the waist and dragged her out. His heart had suffered a fatal hit.”).
{There, there Ziqi baby, Mama loves you, don’t listen to the wench, Miaomiao.}
oke i srsly feel bad and sad for ziqi….. he was rlly hurt by miaomiao’s word.
miaomiao tryna coax him to like her or someome like her and she even kissed his cheek!!! (their first kiss ><)
but then she proceed in saying she dont like ziqi, she like brother liu!!! im mad at miaomiao now!!
i mean she never truly lover LF, she only admire and ship LF with MY why she had to spurt out some lies!!
i know she doesnt love ziqi YET but hes the target… ziqi even mentioned he hot a fatal hit from miaomiao 🙁 poor my boiii