Translator: Mushi
Mid-June was the hottest time of the year; it could even be described as being scorchingly hot, to the point where it was difficult to get by.
Su Yuan changed the location for her martial arts training to the promenade of her courtyard; compared to the training field, her promenade was much cooler.
The Su Family began with martial arts, and was well-known for their marksmanship; unfortunately, Su Yuan wasn’t interested in this. Other than kung fu and riding, she’d only learnt swordsmanship.
“There’s no need to be so diligent every day; the weather’s too hot, so just go rest in your room. Why continue practicing? It’s not like your skills will lack from a few days of missed practice,” Mother Su said with a distressed expression.
This daughter of hers wasn’t intentionally brought up to be a man; she just chose whatever she wanted to learn, her parents acting as mere guides, as there wasn’t a mandatory requirement for her to learn anything.
During the first few years, this child liked to play instruments and paint; although her personality wasn’t so quiet, the things she liked were. After these two years, she grew up; her temper had become firmer than before and even the things she liked changed, spending most of her time practicing martial arts.
“I’m used to it. If I don’t practice for even a single day, I’d be uncomfortable all over. It’s not too hot around here either since I’ve placed several buckets of ice nearby.”
Su Yuan took the teacup from a maid’s hands and began to take small sips, appearing very refined.
Regardless of martial arts, etiquettes and rules must not be ignored.
Mother Su understood her daughter, so she didn’t say much; compared to those ladies in Beijing who’d fall over with a single gust of wind, she much preferred her daughter to be like this – healthy and capable of knocking down several grown men.
This kind of ability couldn’t be obtained just from practicing martial arts alone. A-yuan was only eleven this year and hadn’t even seriously practiced for two years; no matter how amazing Su Family’s martial skills were, they’d never compare to this.
A-yuan was naturally stronger than average people; this aspect of hers followed her father. In her earlier years, this little brat was never happy about it, feeling as if she was different from her playmates. After two years of growth, she turned out to feel very satisfied with her natural strength, and even became shrewd in martial arts.
For the past two years, Duke of Qi, A-yuan’s elderly grandfather, would often feel great pity that A-yuan wasn’t a man; such great skills, yet no way to use them.
“News just came from the palace; we’ll be departing in a few days for a summer retreat to the resort1. Your father will also be accompanying you – us family of four are all going – so let Granny Zhao help you pack your luggage. Bring everything you like to play with and use; there’s few people going, so it’s okay to bring a bit more things.
Su Yuan nodded in response. She’d already been in this world for two years, so it wasn’t the first time she went to the resort for a summer retreat; she was familiar with this process, therefore she wasn’t worried about anything.
Besides, with her current status, few would dare make things difficult for her.
The Su Family’s ancestors were all ministers who’d given outstanding service to the founding Emperors; to be titled as Duke of Qi was an irreplaceable hereditary privilege, passed down from generation to generation.
The current Duke of Qi was Su Yuan’s grandfather, and his son was her unreasonably foolish diedie2
Plus, with her paternal aunt as the Empress, Su Yuan was second-to-none among the Capital’s ladies’ circles; few people would dare to provoke her.
“Speaking of which, this should be the first time A-di 3will be going for a summer retreat. A-niang4, don’t worry; your daughter will definitely take him around to have fun at the resort and, at the same time, supervise him so he doesn’t lag behind for his homework,” Su Yuan said mischievously.
What kind of homework would a three-year-old baby possibly have? She’d just amuse him with some fun was all!
“Oh, child.” Mother Su smiled and flicked her daughter’s forehead. “Go visit your grandparents a bit more in the next few days; although this is a summer retreat, I’m guessing we’d have to stay at the resort for a few months. When we come back, you must learn how to manage the household with A-niang; it’s fine for you to not learn the feminime arts – we don’t lack embroidery servants – but you must learn how to manage a household so you won’t be fooled by others in the future…”
“I’ll listen to whatever you say, A-niang.” Su Yuan nodded rather obediently; as long as she didn’t have to do embroidery and needlework.
If she was to speak of which, Su Yuan didn’t reject the feminime arts at first – it could even be described as interesting – it was just, embroidery wasn’t an easy skill to learn.
She didn’t mind how she’d be inevitably pricked by the needle no matter how careful she was; Su Yuan wasn’t the type of person who couldn’t bear hardship. She just didn’t have the patience for it.
She had the patience to practice the horse stance5 in her yard, but not the patience to embroider in her room.
So after training for a few days, Su Yuan refused to practice anymore of the feminime arts; she never planned on showing her talent in the palace anyway, so what if she couldn’t embroider?
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Only after the mother-daughter pair had spoken for a while, when she sent her A-niang out, did Su Yuan finally sit before her dressing table, dazed.
She wasn’t completely in a daze. The bronze mirror in front of her wasn’t as clear as the ones from the future, but she could still see her appearance with clarity.
Although this face hadn’t fully developed yet, it was still similar to the one from her previous life. It had the same eyebrows and the same contour; if she had to point out one difference, it’d probably be that this face appeared more heroic than the one in her previous life.
It wasn’t just looks; even her name was the same as her previous life. Fate truly ran deep this time.
Su Yuan hadn’t read many novels in her previous life. She was born into a considerably wealthy family, it’s just that her home wasn’t very quiet or peaceful; there were many women who’d show up beside her father, causing many illegitimate sons and daughters. For this reason, her mother left a few years after she’d given birth.
When she was young, she studied hard; after she grew up, she competed against her father for their family property in order to directly take over her grandfather’s business. She didn’t feel frustrated, nor did she need the pity of others.
But even though she didn’t have the time to read any novels, due to the advancement of media, Su Yuan still knew a thing or two about transmigration to a different era or a novel.
Her current life was one of those typical ‘transmigration into a novel’ cliches; after waking up in this body two years ago, what rushed into her mind weren’t just the memories belonging to the original owner of this body, but also the contents of a novel.
A novel about conflicts within the Palace, with the original owner’s role as the female lead.
According to the novel, the original married the fifth prince of the Great Yan Dynasty at fifteen before becoming Empress at eighteen. The Empress Dowager at that time was still the original’s paternal aunt; such a lucky opportunity was truly fitting for a female lead.
It’s a pity that the male lead in this Palace-conflict novel wasn’t very dedicated to his feelings – due to ‘needing to calm those from the previous Dynasty’, the male lead would treat everyone in the harem with equality.
Although the original was the Empress, she suffered a lot as a concubine. She was even harmed and forced into abortion – the two children she did give birth to didn’t survive either – and in the end, had no choice but to walk on the same path as her paternal aunt – to adopt a bastard son and record him as her own.
From being the Crown Princess, to Empress, to finally the Empress Dowager, the original owner was successful, but her life couldn’t be considered happy.
In Su Yuan’s perspective, the original’s life in the palace was far more than just unpleasant; it was downright aggravating! She became a concubine for the male lead, raised children for the male lead, and finally, after the male lead died, had to support the enemy’s child to sit firmly on the throne.
With the original’s background, if she hadn’t married the Fifth Prince, who would possibly dare bully her? If it wasn’t for the Fifth Prince, who would possibly dare harm her?
Su Yuan was a person who refused to suffer. Let’s not mention how she didn’t like the novel’s male lead; even if she did like someone in the future, she’d still love herself more.
Hence, since she arrived in this world, she never intended to marry the Fifth Prince – to marry into the imperial family. To suffer and be angry, she just couldn’t do it.
Marriages in this era were all arranged by parents and a matchmaker’s words. In the novel, although the original and the Fifth Prince had known each other since childhood and therefore had good impressions of each other, the marriage wasn’t begged for by any of the two; instead, it was the current Emperor’s wishes.
The Fifth Prince wasn’t the Empress’ biological child; he was just an adopted child whose name was recorded under the Empress’. In order to strengthen the relationship between the two, the best method was to marry the Su Family’s daughter to the Fifth Prince.
The current Empress, Su Yuan’s aunt, actually did have a biological child – the Third Prince. He had both integrity and talent, was deeply favoured by the Emperor, and trusted by hundreds of officials; it was a pity the Third Prince died at an early age under a traitor’s arrow, still unmarried.
At the beginning of the novel, the marriage between the original and Fifth Prince had already been arranged. In regards to the Third Prince’s murder, although there wasn’t a detailed description on it, the time and reason behind the murder was mentioned in the epilogue – during this year’s summer retreat to the resort.
The Third Prince had set off a day earlier than the Imperial Carriages to make arrangements at the resort, so the number of guards he brought were naturally less than the Imperial Carriages’; who’d have thought they’d come across rebellious traitors? The traitors had originally intended to kill the Emperor but they received incorrect information, hence the ones they ambushed turned out to be the Third Prince’s party.
None of the convoys, including the Third Prince, survived.
The Emperor was furious. After a thorough investigation, the rebellious traitors were captured and punished with nine familial exterminations6, but none of this could bring back the Third Prince’s life.
The reason why these people intended to kill the Emperor was actually quite funny. The former Emperor was weak and was unable to restrain his court ministers; so much so that a large number of corrupt officials developed. They could be considered the nation’s vermin. Of course, after the current Emperor took over the throne it was impossible to not deal with these people; some officials’ homes were raided and their possessions confiscated; some were exiled; some were beheaded.
The traitors that’d planned to assassinate the Emperor turned out to be the corrupt officials’ descendants and a few fugitives they found; they wanted revenge. Even after they realised the Emperor wasn’t among them – instead, it was the Third Prince who led the party – they didn’t show any mercy.
Without the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince finally obtained an opportunity to stand out.
Su Yuan looked down on the Fifth Prince; moreover, the Third Prince was her cousin. Both her aunt and cousin had always treated her well. With this kind of relationship between them, it’d be better for her cousin to dominate the world rather than an outsider.
No matter how she looked at this matter, since she knew what’d happen in advance, she just couldn’t watch as her cousin sent himself into death’s way.
Su Yuan didn’t need to enter the palace to tell her aunt about this; she’d just directly tell her father.
Without further ado, Su Yuan cleaned herself up and went straight to her father’s study.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Father Su was much busier than his daughter. Although he was a civil servant, he came from a family of military commanders and thus was born with innate supernatural powers. He’d persisted with Kung Fu for several decades, never letting his skills lack, and he was quite well-known among calligrapher circles, which was naturally due to his diligence.
When his daughter arrived, Father Su was calligraphing large characters; because his sleeves were in the way, they were rolled up, making him appear not so much an elegant civil servant but a rugged general.
The Duke of Qi always believed his eldest son should walk a path of martial arts. People with innate supernatural powers were rare and he was a good martial artist; in addition to their roots and connections with the military, obtaining a promotion as a warrior would definitely be easier than as a scholar.
Unfortunately, Father Su wasn’t someone who liked to use his common sense. Everyone thought he should become a martial artist, but unexpectedly, he plunged himself straight into Four Books and Five Classics7, participated in the imperial examinations, overcame all kinds of obstacles along the way, and in the end, tested third in the national civic examinations and became an official.
“A-yuan, why are you here at this time? Come and see A-die’s calligraphy; I feel quite good about it,” Father Su waved his daughter over. It was unfortunate that such excellent calligraphy was pressed under the bottom of a box; it’d be better framed and gifted or hung on the wall. It was definitely pleasing to the eyes.
Su Yuan didn’t step forward. She wore an expression of bitterness and reddened eyes, topped off with a nasal voice when she spoke. “How could your daughter possibly have the heart to see whether diedie’s calligraphy is good?”
“What’s the matter? Who bullied my A-yuan? Tell diedie, and I’ll find their diedie to teach them a lesson,” Father Su said angrily, putting down his ink brush.
Whoever bullied his daughter must’ve been tired of living; regardless of whether they were a boy or girl, there was no such principle as hitting a junior. He could just find the brat’s father and have a match with him.
He’d been practicing martial arts for decades; let’s not mention civil servants, even military commanders would find it hard to beat him.
The emotions Su Yuan had strugglingly brewed on her way here was immediately broken by her father; she even almost laughed.
“I wasn’t bullied; who’d dare bully me? I just had a nightmare last night.”
Su Yuan already thought about it; this matter could only be explained in this way. It’s not like she could spend money on a Taoist to come help her lie – she couldn’t trust outsiders with such a thing. If she could use money to buy one’s services, then others could use money to pry open their mouth8.
“I dreamt of going to the temporary imperial resort for our summer retreat. Biao-ge9 set off a day earlier than us, but encountered an attack on Yuxi Mountains where numerous traitors were waiting in ambush. Daughter thought it was just a dream, but I didn’t expect the news from the palace informing us we’ll be going to the resort for a summer retreat; it’s too coincidental. It’d be best if this really was just an absurd dream, but daughter is afraid this might be a warning from the Heavens…”
Father Su frowned. He’d never believed in Gods, demons, monsters, or any of that sort, but his daughter didn’t have a reason to lie to him or to deceive herself of such things.
Although it was a dream, it still left a time and destination. They should prepare just in case; it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Father Su patted his daughter on the shoulders, and said comfortingly, “diedie knows now, and will definitely make proper arrangements. If it really is just a dream, then we’ll just take it as eliminating the risks in advance; if it’s true, then we’ll never let the traitors escape.”
Seeing how seriously her diedie took this, Su Yuan let out a relieved sigh. “With diedie making arrangements, daughter isn’t that worried anymore.”
The reason why those traitors were able to succeed was because of luck; as long as the court paid attention, things would never develop like they did in the novel.
“Don’t mention this to outsiders; don’t mention it to anyone. Just take it as if you never had that dream last night,” Father Su exhorted.
He only wished his daughter’s life to be filled with happiness and peace; it’d be better if this matter didn’t stick around for too long. His elder sister had a very good reputation back then, which was also why she was chosen to be the Crown Princess before finally becoming the Empress; but how could the imperial family possibly be easy to match against?
“This daughter knows. I was afraid A-niang would be worried, so I didn’t mention it to A-niang.”
Su Yuan knew that one’s reputation was very important; but if everything was too late, what good was reputation?
What’s more, if this matter spread, she and her cousin would be seen to have an ambiguous relationship with each other; she wanted to hug his golden thigh10, not marry him. Wouldn’t it be nice to have such a strong supporter behind her?
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Translator's Notes
- Resorts – Temporary imperial residences Emperors would take their concubines and ministers to during Summer to escape the heat.
- Diedie – an intimate way for a child to refer to their father (pronounced dieh-dieh).
- A-di – refers to younger brother. The prefix ‘a’ is used to express familiarity or intimacy.
- A-niang – refers to mother
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Horse stance – the most basic stance in martial arts.
- Nine familial exterminations – A serious punishment where all relatives of an individual would be executed, including children and the elderly.
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Four Books and Five Classics – Books to do with Confucianism written before 300BC.
The four books are: Great Learning (expresses themes of Chinese philosophy and political thinking by Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius), Doctrine of the Mean (focuses on principles and virtues that everyone should follow, including a demonstration on how to achieve it), Analects (a compilation of speeches and discussions made by Confucius and his disciples) and Mencius (a collection of conversations between Mencius and the Emperors of his time). The five classics are: Classic of Poetry (a collection of 305 poems divided into folk song, court ceremony songs, and hymns and eulogies for heroes and ancestral spirits of the imperial family), Book of Documents (a collection of documents and speeches allegedly written by rulers and officials during and before the early Zhou period), Book of Rites (describes ancient rites, social forms and court ceremonies), Book of Changes (contains a divination system) and Spring and Autumn Annals (a historical record of Lu, Confucius’ native state, from 722-481BC).
- To pry open their mouth – to obtain information
- Biao-ge – refers to cousin
- Hug his golden thigh – use him as a powerful supporter or shield
