unforth:

Today I’m Thinking About…

…Sui Zhou and Tang Fan’s first kiss.

I’m a bit of a slow reader, but I’ve been plugging away at The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua since, like, March, and I’m in the low chapter 80s now, and the slow burn is getting more and more brutal now that Sui Zhou definitely definitelyrecognizes that he is hopelessly in love and Tang Fan is still a clueless dumbass solidly in “I always feel so happy when Sui Zhou is around I wonder what’s up with that” and it’s killing me.

(eta: Okay, I’m going to pretend this was intentionallywritten as a fill for today’s May Trope Mayhem, which is The Grumpy One is Soft for the Sunshine one. I…didn’t actually plan it to be that…but then it go long and fuck it, might as well make it count…) @duckprintspress

So I was just thinking, like…

Tang Fan has been working a case, and he was in danger, and Sui Zhou has justheard that Tang Fan needs rescuing…when Tang Fan walks in the front door of Sui Zhou’s house. The panic instantly switches to relief, then to annoyance when Tang Fan looks at Sui Zhou like he cannot fathomwhy Sui Zhou was freaking out.

“It’s no big deal,” Tang Fan laughs it off. “I’m totally fine! You’re over reacting.”

“I am NOT,” Sui Zhou replies, the mess of emotions making is voice loud as he slams a hand against the door behind Tang Fan, trapping Tang Fan in place. (kabedon!) “Ido not over-react. Youunder-react. I know you, Runqing. I know you wouldn’t tell me even if you’d been in mortal danger. Tell me, truly, how serious was it?”

And Tang Fan opens his mouth to answer with a light-hearted jibe only to find he can do nothing but swallow the words, because Sui Zhou is staring at him so intensely, his eyes so bright and dark and gorgeous, his expression so fixed and serious. His heart starts racing worse than it had when he (definitely hadn’t been!) in peril, and he can’t imagine why.

“I can’t…” Sui Zhou catches his lip between his teeth, manages a slow blink in a clear effort to calm himself down, takes a deep breath, and continues, “Just promise me that next time, you’ll ask for help if you need it.”

“I always ask for help when I thinkI need it,” lies Tang Fan blithely. Why does Sui Zhou care so much, anyway? Why do I like that he cares so much? “But it’s not like I can predict ahead of time when things will go sideways. Not that anything went sideways this time! Really, it’s no big deal. You know the job I do, just like I know the job you do. Danger’s part of the deal. You don’t need to–”

“You don’t need to go looking for it,” interrupts Sui Zhou. He knows he sounds harsher than he wants to. He knows he’s acting inappropriately. He’s still got Tang Fan pinned against the door, still has their faces barely a hand’s width apart, still can feel his heart in his throat, still wants…still needs…he tries another slow blink, but it gets him absolutely fucking no where. There’s such a cacophony of wordsin his head, Don’t you understand, Runqing? I need you. I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I can’t - I can’t - I can’t– but there was no speaking a one of them aloud. Tang Fan doesn’t look at him that way. Sui Zhou knows that. He does. And–

“Why do you care so much?” whispers Tang Fan, and Sui Zhou’s blood goes to ice. One touch, one word, even the faintest quirk of a smile on Tang Fan’s achingly kissable lips, and Sui Zhou is going to shatter.

How can he possibleanswer that question?

Andwhyis Sui Zhou choosing nowto be silent? Tang Fan cycles rapidly through potential reactions - should he laugh it off? Brush Sui Zhou’s arm aside (as if he coulddo that, unless Sui Zhou lets him, and oh, thinking about how strong that arm just over his shoulder truly is shouldn’t be so tempting)? Duck and run away? Open the door so they both tumble into the street beyond and return to his own home next door? Call for Dong-er?

Yet, to his amazement, before Tang Fan can finish planning and implementing an escape plan. Sui Zhou actually speaks.

“How…” Hoarse with emotion, Sui Zhou pauses, licks his lips - which is far, farmore distracting than Tang Fan would ever have imagined - then continues. “…how do you not know, Runqing?”

Every instinct demands Tang Fan act like this is somehow a joke. He knows it’s not - he knows Sui Zhou better than he knows anyone, better than he knows himself sometimes he thinks, and there is absolutely no way Sui Zhou would joke about something like this. Tang Fan wantsto know, but what if it’s not the answer he hopes for? (What answer does he hope for?) Tang Fan wants to guess, but what if he guesses wrong? (What would he guess, if he had to?) Tang Fan yearns,craves Sui Zhou’s presence, but most days even he’snot sure what that means, how is he supposed to know what that means? (No matter what Guangchuan says next, will Tang Fan even know how to answer it?)

He desperately prays that Sui Zhou will continue before Tang Fan has to formulate an answer…

Keep reading

My third Meng Xishi novel~

Note(s):

• (Very) long post ahead
• Contains spoiler
• This is my personal review and does not represent the entire audience

Summary:

During the ruling of Chenghua Emperor in the Ming Dynasty, political affairs were rife with conflicts and bitter rivalries between officials as multiple factions were fighting for their monarch’s favor. The Emperor himself was a fickle man of superfluous personality, putting little focus on matters related to governing the country. Furthermore, his widely known bias towards his favorite consort, Consort Wan, allowed her wishes and preferences to affect imperial decisions, which became a weapon used by many corrupt officials to turn the tides in their favor.

In the fourteenth year of Chenghua, Tang Fan, a young and bright scholar, transferred from the prestigious Hanlin Academy to become a sixth-rank Judge in Shuntian Prefecture. During the investigation of an alleged murder of a nobleman’s son, he noticed peculiarities in the seemingly simple case, yet his superior’s incompetence pushed for the case to be wrapped up early as it was, which ended up drawing the attention of various contending factions among the higher-ups. Eager to establish their merits in front of the Emperor, investigation was reopened with each side itching to be the one to resolve it.

It was during this time that Tang Fan unexpectedly came across Sui Zhou, an aloof, tight-lipped seventh-rank personnel of the notorious Brocade Guard who was also tasked to delve into the matter.

Two people as different as heaven and earth, they ultimately worked together to discover the truth, not knowing that they would share countless moments of life and death in the line of duties.

STORY: 8/10

If I have to summarize my impression on this novel in one sentence, I would say “It pissed me off”……but not in a bad way.

Evil monsters and cruel villains made for fascinating antagonists, but more often than not, we may not be able to relate to them enough to actually hate them, because their characteristics are simply too far from reality.

However, selfish husbands, unfair in-laws, corrupt officials, cowardly men who readily abandoned all loyalty when cornered were something that we could find and see with our own eyes to these days. These people might not have as many kill counts as monstrous fictional villains, but their mere existence in a story could be so extremely annoying because we could easily relate to facing people like this in our every day’s life.

And “The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua” is full of those people. In fact, all of the cases presented from start to finish are related to these very issues.

I haven’t come across too many mystery/detective-historical-political stories before, but “The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua” should be one of the best I’ve read so far.

(my most favorite book of this theme so far is actually “Wu Shuang”, which was also written by Meng Xishi, so… )

The cases in the story were interesting and engaging, with the right amount of suspense, action, and intense elements to keep me on edge throughout the way. Especially because it kept dragging the main character into it, one couldn’t help but want to root for him and see the resolution as soon as possible.

The story mixes political and social conflicts well into the plot and cases. While the main goal in the end was to clean up all the political conspiracies in the palace, many of the cases came from non-governmental people and/or ordinary family matters, but it doesn’t make the story looks inconsistent. In fact, it becomes a set of stairs that the main character, Tang Fan, needed to climb in order to reach the final stage.

In regards to this, I would like to give kudos for the story’s solid and detailed setting, both in the political and social aspects. It is evident that the author has done a lot of researches and is well-learnt about history. Even if us as the readers aren’t familiar with how life was during the Ming dynasty, as well as the history of ancient China in general, the illustrations provided in the narrative are more than sufficient to at least give an overall picture of the circumstances.

Furthermore, the plot, conflicts, and characters all fit perfectly into this historical setting, not excluding the real historical figures who were present in the plot.
Nevertheless, the way these explanations were presented in the narrative were often too lengthy, jam-packed all at once in between scenes and dialogues that it ended up disrupting the story flow, not to mention that these explanations were sometimes repetitive.

While I understand (and very much appreciate) every bit of information regarding the historical aspects since I DO need it, I wished the way it was presented could be more well-distributed instead of having a bunch of information being dumped just like that in a single section. Sometimes, because the explanations were too long, by the time they returned to the plot, I almost already forgot what the characters were talking about beforehand.

CHARACTER: 7/10

I love Tang Fan and Sui Zhou’s dynamic. One is friendly, witty, and pleasant-looking while the other was stoic, strict, a man of very few words who wouldn’t easily socialize with just anyone. However, inside they could both be opposite of their outer appearance.

Tang Fan appeared gentle on the surface, but he had a tough heart and strong principle, preferring to break rather than bend. As for Sui Zhou, though it was mostly reserved for those he cherished (Tang Fan being the most frequent receiver), he was actually quite soft-hearted and a very caring man. He could also be witty and smart in his teasing, something that he exclusively reserved for Tang Fan alone.

They were admirable when working together to chase after the truth, and at the same time they were adorable when the world finally gave them a time to rest for just the two of them.

In a sea of corrupt officials and selfish people who were only thinking for their own benefits, having main characters like Tang Fan and Sui Zhou were like a glimmer of hope that despite so many bad people ganging up together, dragging the country into ruin, there were still those who were genuinely determined to do good things and keep their conscience clear.

Even character like Wang Zhi, despite his original motive being wanting to achieve great things for himself, ended up learning that he could still obtain his goal without playing dirty like many others around him. Actually, his character development was one that I appreciated the most, especially after reading his struggles and background story in the extras.

That said, perhaps I’m being too skeptical, but I feel that characters like Tang Fan, Sui Zhou, and Wang Zhi are rather exaggerated and unrealistic in real life. Tang Fan, especially, is borderline flawless if not for the torrents of misfortunes befalling him due to being righteous. I honestly could not imagine any real person nowadays would insist as hard as they did in this story, let alone being extremely smart like Tang Fan who practically always had a solution for 90% of the current and future troubles.

But again, first of all this is fiction and secondly, if not for characters like them, who would stand against those selfish and corrupt villains in the story? Despite me saying that the characters being a bit unrealistic, I actually enjoyed seeing those three burning the bad guys whenever they could.

I do not know what the author’s motivation was when she decided to write this novel in the first place, yet I couldn’t help but feel that it might stem from frustration towards corrupt government and injustice in families. Thus born a story where those insolent people were punished.

But of course, this is nothing more than my personal conjecture.

If I have to point one downside about the characterization, then similar to the way-too-lengthy-explanation mentioned above, there are also too many description on the characters’ “character” that it left little room for readers to imagine, because the narrative already dictated that “this character is definitely this”, “that character would obviously do that”, etc.

Honestly, the placement and repetitions of these descriptions are actually one of the main reasons Tang Fan’s character felt unrealistic because instead of discovering it on my own, I’m being choked full of dictations that I must perceive this character as such, allowing no opportunity for analysis.

TECHNICAL ASPECT: 7/10

Description of environments were clear and detailed to the point that I can almost visualize the scene in my head, including people’s gestures and expressions.

The only complaint I have about it was probably the info-dump and repetitive explanation that I’ve already mentioned above.

OVERALL SCORE: 7.3/10

One of the greatest things about Meng Xishi’s works that I’ve realized so far is that she always managed to tie everything nicely in the end, leaving no loose ends. The good ones were rewarded, the bad ones received retributions.

It’s a long story and reading it would sometimes prove to be exhausting, but it is gratifying and deserve another re-read in the future (if I manage to find the time to do it).

I just wish there had been more sweet personal moments of Tang Fan and Sui Zhou because most of the time, they always ended up getting interrupted by other people and their works. xD

rongzhi:

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Today I’m Thinking About…

…Sui Zhou and Tang Fan’s first kiss.

I’m a bit of a slow reader, but I’ve been plugging away at The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua since, like, March, and I’m in the low chapter 80s now, and the slow burn is getting more and more brutal now that Sui Zhou definitely definitelyrecognizes that he is hopelessly in love and Tang Fan is still a clueless dumbass solidly in “I always feel so happy when Sui Zhou is around I wonder what’s up with that” and it’s killing me.

(eta: Okay, I’m going to pretend this was intentionallywritten as a fill for today’s May Trope Mayhem, which is The Grumpy One is Soft for the Sunshine one. I…didn’t actually plan it to be that…but then it go long and fuck it, might as well make it count…) @duckprintspress

So I was just thinking, like…

Tang Fan has been working a case, and he was in danger, and Sui Zhou has justheard that Tang Fan needs rescuing…when Tang Fan walks in the front door of Sui Zhou’s house. The panic instantly switches to relief, then to annoyance when Tang Fan looks at Sui Zhou like he cannot fathomwhy Sui Zhou was freaking out.

“It’s no big deal,” Tang Fan laughs it off. “I’m totally fine! You’re over reacting.”

“I am NOT,” Sui Zhou replies, the mess of emotions making is voice loud as he slams a hand against the door behind Tang Fan, trapping Tang Fan in place. (kabedon!) “Ido not over-react. Youunder-react. I know you, Runqing. I know you wouldn’t tell me even if you’d been in mortal danger. Tell me, truly, how serious was it?”

And Tang Fan opens his mouth to answer with a light-hearted jibe only to find he can do nothing but swallow the words, because Sui Zhou is staring at him so intensely, his eyes so bright and dark and gorgeous, his expression so fixed and serious. His heart starts racing worse than it had when he (definitely hadn’t been!) in peril, and he can’t imagine why.

“I can’t…” Sui Zhou catches his lip between his teeth, manages a slow blink in a clear effort to calm himself down, takes a deep breath, and continues, “Just promise me that next time, you’ll ask for help if you need it.”

“I always ask for help when I thinkI need it,” lies Tang Fan blithely. Why does Sui Zhou care so much, anyway? Why do I like that he cares so much? “But it’s not like I can predict ahead of time when things will go sideways. Not that anything went sideways this time! Really, it’s no big deal. You know the job I do, just like I know the job you do. Danger’s part of the deal. You don’t need to–”

“You don’t need to go looking for it,” interrupts Sui Zhou. He knows he sounds harsher than he wants to. He knows he’s acting inappropriately. He’s still got Tang Fan pinned against the door, still has their faces barely a hand’s width apart, still can feel his heart in his throat, still wants…still needs…he tries another slow blink, but it gets him absolutely fucking no where. There’s such a cacophony of wordsin his head, Don’t you understand, Runqing? I need you. I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I can’t - I can’t - I can’t– but there was no speaking a one of them aloud. Tang Fan doesn’t look at him that way. Sui Zhou knows that. He does. And–

“Why do you care so much?” whispers Tang Fan, and Sui Zhou’s blood goes to ice. One touch, one word, even the faintest quirk of a smile on Tang Fan’s achingly kissable lips, and Sui Zhou is going to shatter.

How can he possibleanswer that question?

Andwhyis Sui Zhou choosing nowto be silent? Tang Fan cycles rapidly through potential reactions - should he laugh it off? Brush Sui Zhou’s arm aside (as if he coulddo that, unless Sui Zhou lets him, and oh, thinking about how strong that arm just over his shoulder truly is shouldn’t be so tempting)? Duck and run away? Open the door so they both tumble into the street beyond and return to his own home next door? Call for Dong-er?

Yet, to his amazement, before Tang Fan can finish planning and implementing an escape plan. Sui Zhou actually speaks.

“How…” Hoarse with emotion, Sui Zhou pauses, licks his lips - which is far, farmore distracting than Tang Fan would ever have imagined - then continues. “…how do you not know, Runqing?”

Every instinct demands Tang Fan act like this is somehow a joke. He knows it’s not - he knows Sui Zhou better than he knows anyone, better than he knows himself sometimes he thinks, and there is absolutely no way Sui Zhou would joke about something like this. Tang Fan wantsto know, but what if it’s not the answer he hopes for? (What answer does he hope for?) Tang Fan wants to guess, but what if he guesses wrong? (What would he guess, if he had to?) Tang Fan yearns,craves Sui Zhou’s presence, but most days even he’snot sure what that means, how is he supposed to know what that means? (No matter what Guangchuan says next, will Tang Fan even know how to answer it?)

He desperately prays that Sui Zhou will continue before Tang Fan has to formulate an answer…

…but Sui Zhou holds silent, trembling, battling inner demons as fiercely as he’s ever fought a cult member or foe. He must not, cannot, tell Tang Fan the truth. He’s already said more than he should have. He should move his arm, walk away, but every muscle feels locked, this brief moment stretching to an eternity. He can see no exit from this situation, not positive outcome. Whatever he says or doesn’t say, won’t Tang Fan be upset with him? Wouldn’t Sui Zhou be upset with Tang Fan, if their situations were reversed?

Fuck. No. Never. If somehow they swapped places, if somehow Tang Fan were on the verge of confessing the emotions Sui Zhou knows himself to cherish toward Tang Fan, knows Tang Fan to have no inkling of toward Sui Zhou…wouldn’t Sui Zhou give anything to hear Tang Fan say those words?

What if he’s waiting for me, right now, hoping I’ll speak?

“Guangchuang–”

“Runqing–”

“Oh, you first!”

“No - no, you continue.”

“Guangchuang…please…just talk to me.”

After this moment, they will never be able to go back to how they were before this.

Steeling himself as though about to face a line of dauntless enemies with their swords all drawn, Sui Zhou leans forward and breaths in Tang Fan’s ear, “I need you, Tang Fan.”

The words ruffle, hot and breezy, through Tang Fan’s hair. He has no idea what they mean. Sui Zhou is so close that Tang Fan can feel him trembling, feel his tension, feel his fear. Analyses like mathematical computations race through Tang Fan’s head - things he can say, ways Sui Zhou could react, hypothetical simulations of what might happen next, permutation upon permutation playing out over and over until Tang Fan is lost. He still has no idea what to say. For once in his whole damn life, he is speechless. But, he does know one thing with utmost certainty:

If Sui Zhou walks away - if Sui Zhou leaves him - he will break, crumble to his knees, sob his life away on the spot.

He doesn’t know what that means, what that emotion equals.

I need you, TangFan.

Hedoesknow what that means, what that emotion equals.

“I need you, too, Sui Zhou,” he whispers. A distressed, shuddery sound leaks from Sui Zhou; he shifts back, his warmth and musky, armory scent fading, and Tang Fan semi-unconsciously, semi-intentionally follows him, leaning forward, chasing him –

And then Sui Zhou crashes back into Tang Fan’s space, crashes their mouths together, rough lips brushing on soft ones, the arm that had him trapped against the door now curling around his shoulders, roughly pulling him close, disheveling his robes, tangling in his hair.

“Guangchuan,” and Tang Fan intendsto exclaim the name in shock, but Sui Zhou is too close, and Tang Fan’s body is too hot, and his thoughts are too muddled, and the word comes out as a groan dragged long and slow and sultry against Sui Zhou’s lips.

“Runqing,” Sui Zhou replies fervently, like a prayer, like a blessing. Tang Fan’s sweet taste lingers on his mouth and Sui Zhou craves more - he leans in to brush their lips together again, and again, sucking gently at Tang Fan’s lower lip as he draws away than dives in again to seize another kiss, another. I should stop. This is too much. He’s still trapped. I mustn’t–

And Tang Fan lifts an arm to encircle Sui Zhou’s neck, raises his other hand to cup Sui Zhou’s cheek and tug him into another kiss as if he senses the hesitation about to lead Sui Zhou to draw away, and arches his body to match the curve of Sui Zhou leaning over him.

“Oh…” breathes Sui Zhou. Oh, this is perfect…this is everything I’ve ever wanted…Tang Fan…my incredible, beloved Tong Fan… The words will never come, so Sui Zhou tries to explain them with his body language - with every whisper of lips on lips, with every caress of hand over lithe, robed body, with every press of hips and chests and thighs, with every reverent exhale and urgent inhale.

In Sui Zhou’s embrace, with their mouths joined, with their growing arousal impossible to conceal, Tang Fan’s mind has gone perfectly, wonderfully silent, one single truth singing in his head.

He finally, finallyhas figured out what the morass of conflicting feelings he’s experienced mean. They never were conflicting. They simply sang in a harmony Tang Fan had never heard before, one that was missing several instruments. Now that Sui Zhou is so close, now that they’re touching, sharing, feeling in tandem, the melody is complete and the meaning is so clear that Tang Fan can’t believehe didn’t realize it sooner. He’d always thought himself so perspicacious, yet somehow he never realized…

“I love you, Guangchuan.”

…what a full he’d been.

“Runqing,” says Sui Zhou reverently, trying to get closer, trying to hold him more closely, trying to make it clear to Tang Fan how cherished he is, to demonstrate exactly, precisely why he cares so much when Tang Fan stumbles into danger. “Runqing, Runqing, Runqing, Run–”

“Hey!” Dong-er’s voice, sharp and familiar, interrupts. They jump apart like they’ve been burned, Sui Zhou leaping a stride away, Tang Fan colliding with the door. “Are you two done yet? Cause I’m not gonna just cook this whole meal alone, you know!”

“Right, right,” mumbles Sui Zhou, adjusting certain…betraying…parts of his anatomy to be more concealed. Robes. Very good clothing items, Robes.

“Does that mean you expect meto cook?” Tang Fan asks with an air of innocence.

“No!” they both snap at him.

And, to the beautiful sound of Tang Fan’s laughter - to the gorgeous chorus of Sui Zhou and Tang Fan laughing together, of Dong-er acting like she’s seen precisely nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary, to the crackle of the fire and sizzle of meat in the pan - they walk toward the kitchen together.

No matter what happens after this - always, always together.

…

oops this got long. *sweat drop*

Anyway, yeah, that’s what I’m thinking about today.

Context: Continues from Chapter 68. Tang Fan, Sui Zhou and the other men are headed back to the Imperial City and Tang Fan knows that his punishment for letting Yin Yuan Hua get killed will be severe. Sui Zhou tries to help him but is helpless to do so, and Tang Fan plans for him instead, touching and warming the man’s heart.

*Note: Liang Wen Hua is Yin Yuan Hua’s direct supervisor and the both of them have been trying to sabotage Tang Fan for the longest time. 

Introduction Post|Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Tang Fan smiles slightly, and then finds a chair next to the bed to sit down on. The red swelling on his face has already faded, so this action naturally looks elegant.

“What do you think will happen?” he asks in return, wanting to hear his good friend’s thoughts.

Sui Zhou is highly skilled in martial arts and has a firm, strong body, so even after sustaining severe injuries, now that he has laid down for so many days he is more or less recovered. Now, as he sits leaning against the side of the wall and chats with his good friend, this is instead another type of rest.

Listening to Tang Fan’s words, he then says sombrely, “A lot of people already think that you are in the Zhang Ying’s camp, but from what I can see, Wan An has been wanting to switch him out and so he definitely won’t sit in the ministerial position for long. Once he leaves, you’ll have to face Liang Wen Hua on your own, but in today’s court there are a few different parties that are competing fiercely with each other. Although Liang Wen Hua and the Chief Minister Wan An are close, but Liu Xu and Liu Ji do not look upon Wan An favourably, you still have a chance.”

The bunch of them have stayed in Gong County for a month, and at this point, Sui Zhou still does not know that Zhang Ying has been assigned to Nanjing, and also has no idea how accurate his premonition is.

“So what you mean is, I should depend on Liu Xu or Liu Ji?” Tang Fan asks.

Sui Zhou nods, “In the internal courts, today’s leading three elders, aside from Wan An, are Liu Xu and Liu Ji, these two men. Liu Xu is righteous and blunt, while Liu Ji is used to patronising others, and they are certainly no easy people to get along with. However, Liu Xu is the Emperor’s teacher and even he has to address the man as Dong Liu-xiansheng. The respect he has for the man is apparent. As for Liu Xu himself, he can appreciate capable young officials, so if you can gain his protection, you will not need to be afraid of Liang Wen Hua.”

And within the internal courts, although Liu Xu tends to be arrogant, compared to others, his personality can be considered one of the better ones. Moreover, he often advises the Emperor to work hard and serve his people. The only thing is, Liu Xu has a bad temper and likes to lecture others. If he sees someone he does not like, no matter if that person has done something good or bad, he will still lecture them from a higher moral ground. This has garnered the resentment of others, and so his relationship with others in court is not good. He tends to spread rumours to the disadvantage of others, which is why he, Wan An and Liu Ji are discussed together in the same sitting.

***

Tang Fan only laughs bitterly at his words, “This is a good solution, but on me, this doesn’t really work.”

Sui Zhou frowns, “Why?”

“My teacher and Liu Xu hold old grudges against each other, detesting one another. They cannot resist but want to triumph over the other. With Liu Xu’s character, do you think it’s possible for him to protect his enemy’s student?”

“There is deep enmity between them?” Sui Zhou asks.

Tang Fan, “Not quite to that extent, but you are also well aware that the both of them have bad tempers and believe in that they know best. You know this, it is easy to determine who the winner is in a physical fight, but between scholars, it is challenging to see who wins. I am not certain how their conflict came to be, but in any case, I once saw my teacher throw water from a cup at Liu Xu with my own eyes, and he said that Liu Xu is just as this water, that he is dirty and hard to deal with.”

Sui Zhou, “…”

Well, since they have already come to blows, it is probably impossible for them to become friends in this lifetime. And Tang Fan, as Qiu Jun’s student, if he approached the man, judging by Liu Xu’s personality, it is not difficult to imagine how Tang Fan will be humiliated as a result.

This method indeed will not work. When he thinks about this, Sui Zhou too is a little helpless.

He is the zhenfushi in charge of the Northern Administrative Court, and although the official hat he wears on the top of his head is Rank Five qianhu only, the rank he has when compared to civil officials of the same rank is very different. Not only do Rank Five civil officials need to give way to him, even the seasoned elders in the internal court will have to stop and exchange greetings with him when they see Sui-zhenfushi.

Moreover, he is also related to Empress Dowager Zhou, while the Emperor trusts him immensely. For him to keep progressing upwards is not a difficult thing.

And yet, for Sui-zhenfushiwho holds so much power, he is unable to do anything for his good friend’s career problems. On the surface, it seems that this is due to the entirely differently systems that govern the promotions for Embroidered Uniform Guards and civil officials.

However, Sui Zhou believes that this is the result of him not being powerful and strong enough. If he had the power and authority that someone like Grand Tutor Sun Ji Zong has now, even if Liang Wen Hua wanted to sabotage Tang Fan, he would have to reconsider and they would not be stuck in this situation where they can only react to changes.

Tang Fan sees his frustration and instead comforts him, “You do not need to be like this. I know you are doing this for my own good but whether or not I continue to be an official, this is not under yours or my control. I have already done my best at the things I need to do and have no regrets. You don’t have to worry about things that will happen in the future.  We should live in the present, and there will always be things to worry about tomorrow!”

Sui Zhou hears this and does not know if he should be reassured by how open-minded Tang Fan is, or worried that he is so nonchalant.

Then again, if Tang Fan was the the type of official that went after status and power, focusing only on promotions, then the both of them would unlikely have any common interests or views, or become good friends.

It is commonly said that there is a everything happens for a reason, and if you lose something you will also gain something. Although it is impossible for everything to go smoothly, but they headed into Marquis Gong’s tomb, meet bloodthirsty, merciless and ferocious tomb-guarding beasts and originally thinking that they would have to die down there, and they ended up returning safely. This is already a fortunate thing; hey really should not ask for too much.

In any case, he has plenty of savings and when it comes to that, Sui Zhou can definitely afford to take care of him. All he has to do is think of ways to make Tang Fan stay.

Sui Zhou does not realise that unconsciously, he has already been influenced by Tang Fan’s casual, broad-minded attitude. The way he used to regard life in a strict and narrow manner is also slowly changing.

If it was before, he might have gotten angry at Tang Fan’s lack of ambition and competitive drive, and the way he does not seem to want to work with anyone else, but right now, he instead understands Tang Fan and acknowledges his friend’s perspective towards life.

This is because Sui Zhou knows that it is not that Tang Fan does not want to progress upwards, that he doesn’t work hard. It is that he has already done his best within the limitations of his capabilities, and he does not want to force things. He prefers to let things come as they will - he works with the determination of wanting to work towards maintaining peace in this world, but as a person, he is happy being himself and will deal with things when they happen.

To be able to be friends with him is the other person’s fortune.

“You’re right,” Sui Zhou’s mouth curves upwards, and his heart eases.

He does not know when it started; when he looks at this person and thinks about him, his eyes lose the cold and hard edge usually present when he looks at others, and what’s left behind is a light layer of happiness.

***

“Guang Chuan, after we head back, you better make a trip to Yuan-zhenfushi’s. He has been with the Embroidered Uniform Guards for so many years and though he does not think much of power and status, he is definitely not someone who will let others step on him. Since he let you command the whole of the Northern Administrative Court, this means that he obviously is impressed with your abilities and is intent on making you his successor. If you can obtain his complete approval and you absorb all of Yuan Bin’s power and connections, then even if Wan Tong returns, he will not be able to touch you easily. At that point you would control the Northern Administrative Court firmly, and naturally will not be afraid of Wan Tong.”

“And,” Tang Fan sits on the bed and bends at the waist to remove his shoes and socks, then hugs the covers and lies on the bed as he plans for Sui Zhou, “You are Empress Dowager Zhou’s grandnephew and the trust that the Emperor has for you is not lesser than the trust he has for Wan Tong. After you return, you must remember two things and you will be able to stand firmly before the Emperor. No matter how Wan Tong tries to sabotage you, he will not be able to do anything to you.”

Sui Zhou raises an eyebrow, “I’m all ears.”

“Firstly, no matter what the Emperor wants to do, you must not oppose him. If he asks for your opinion, you must not respond. Whatever he says, you do, unless it clashes with your principles. Secondly, after Wan Tong drags Yuan Bin down, you must ask for leniency for Yuan Bin. If the Emperor asks you for a reason, you should say that you are willing to serve him as Yuan Wen served the previous Emperor. Not only will the Emperor not blame you if you say this, but he will also pardon Yuan Bin, and be closer to you as well.”

The Cheng Hua Emperor has plenty of bad habits but at the same time, he is also rather soft-hearted and nostalgic. However, he is also an Emperor and emperors do not prefer their subjects to oppose them day in and out. With this type of personality, the Emperor is indeed a very contradictory person.

Although Tang Fan has only seen the Emperor in person a few times, from the descriptions of people who often interact with him such as Sui Zhou and Wang Zhi, it is not difficult to deduce the Emperor’s character.

What he has just said to Sui Zhou can be regarded as him guessing at the Emperor’s thoughts and this is taboo. If it wasn’t someone like Sui Zhou who he is this close to, Tang Fan will definitely not say any of this.

Sui Zhou naturally understands and his heart warms as he enjoys this treatment.

“I understand, thank you.”

“Between you and I, is there any need for thanks?” Tang Fan smiles.

At night, Tang Fan sleeps rather restfully and these problems have obviously not affected his mood.

Sui Zhou, however, is unable to sleep.

Tang Fan took the initiative and asked to sleep on the inside so that he would not accidentally press on Sui Zhou’s injuries if he tosses and turns. He is lying on his side and his back is almost pressed entirely against the wall. Sui Zhou feels uncomfortable on his behalf just looking at him, but Tang Fan is still able to descend into his dreams.

Sui Zhou’s gaze is sombre and he looks quietly at Tang Fan for a long while, then reaches out to touch that handsome face.

His fingers land on the other’s lips, but he only lightly caresses for a moment. The touch is not made out of lust or want, only respect and sincerity.

Before he met Tang Fan, Sui Zhou was actually incredibly lonely inside.

The Sui family members are not able to understand why Sui Zhou entered the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and in their eyes, Sui Zhou should have emulated his older brother, working hard at the imperial examinations, helping the family to forge a path of honour which will allow them to get rid of the reputation that says they relied on their external relatives for status. Although the authority the Embroidered Uniform Guards wield is great, they have a terrible reputation as well. If he had received an empty title, that’s one thing, but being called a dog to the imperial court, what is this?

However, Sui Zhou does not need anyone to understand him. He is like a single, long wolf, moving forward on a path he has set his heart on.

And then he met Tang Fan.

A person who genuinely wants to help him to plan and strategise for the future.

To be able to attain such a soulmate, what more can he ask for?

He can only reciprocate with everything he has.

The bright moonlight peeps in through the window and lands on Tang Fan’s face. This illuminates his beauty and makes him look like an immortal, unlike a common man.

Suddenly, Deity Tang moves his lips, as if saying something.

Sui Zhou’s curiosity is piqued and he moves closer, but he ends up hearing Tang Fan mumble, “Crab roe… tofu soup…”

Sui Zhou, “…”

Tang-daren’s imposing and noble image has been shattered.

===

Notes:

*今朝有酒今朝醉，明日愁来明日愁 - An idiom that literally translates to ‘I will get drink on alcohol today, and worry about tomorrow when tomorrows comes.” Means to live in the present and worry about things when they happen rather than in advance.

Context:Tang Fan, Sui Zhou and their surviving subordinates have escaped the tomb and won against the remnants of the White Lotus Sect members camping outside their escape route. They should be celebrating, but trouble has only begun for Tang Fan. Although Yin Yuan Hua’s death was hardly his fault, their rivalry is still well-known back in the imperial city. Yin Yuan Hua’s direct supervisor makes use of this opportunity to lodge a complaint about Tang Fan having failed as a leader, and Tang Fan’s powerful allies in the ministry are all sent away. This case must have a scapegoat, and the Emperor, hearing all the complaints about Tang Fan from another official as well, decides to suspend him from his rank and title.

Before they deal with that, however, Tang Fan tries to take care of an injured Sui Zhou on their way back, and is unsurprisingly, absolutely useless at taking care of someone else.

*Note: Tang Fan is referring to a previous incident later when Sui Zhou teased him about his… after making him take off his pants (for a good reason).

Introduction Post|Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

In Tang Fan’s eyes, his person career advancement will never be as important as the health of his friends and companions. He orders Cheng Wen and the rest to properly record all the treasures and also rejects Magistrate He’s attempts to make him stay, bringing everyone on the journey back to the imperial city.

They are not as much in a rush this time on the way back because they have to take care of those who are injured. The journey cannot be too fast and they must often take rests at outposts along the way meant for officials.

Magistrate He helped them to prepare several carriages and inside, several thick layers of soft covers have been placed to ferry the injured. A physician is also accompanying them on this journey and he can help to prescribe and brew medicine, and also to treat wounds.

As Sui Zhou’s internal organs have been wounded, he needs to to rest often and adding to that, he has to drink medicine that has herbs that would help with his sleep, so on this entire journey, he has spent most of the days in sleep.

Those who are injured need someone to take care of them, and the only woman in this convoy is Lady Chen. However, as she’s a wanted criminal, she can enjoy sitting in a single carriage, but her hands and legs have been trapped with heavy cuffs. There are supervising men stationed before and behind this carriage. Tang Fan cannot let her come and take care of Sui Zhou, and so Tang-daren volunteers bravely to take on the responsibility of attending to this patient.

Pang Qi is immensely touched at how noble Tang-darenis.

And at this moment, Sui Zhou is still unconscious in rest, otherwise he would be the first one to jump up and oppose this… but the ship has sailed and there is no time for him to even protest.

After Sui Zhou wakes up, he realises that the person who is delivering his medicine to him has change from the accompanying physician to Tang Fan.

“…”

“What is it?” Tang Fan asks.

“Where’s the physician?”

“He’s helping others to change their dressings, I’ll feed you today,” Tang Fan answers.

Sui Zhou’s smile is forced as he says, “No need, I can do this myself.”

Tang Fan thinks that he’s only being courteous, and then presses him down, “The physician said, forcing all of you to journey back at this point is already harmful to your injuries. If you can lie down just lie down, then you can recover quickly! How close are we, you don’t have to stand on ceremony with me!”

Sui Zhou is speechless, thinking that he would truly like to stand on ceremony with him.

Tang-daren scoops out a spoonful of the medicine and is about to bring it to Sui Zhou’s mouth. He then remembers the way Sui Zhou took care of him when he was ill, and learns from him by placing the spoon to his lips to test the temperature, before sending it over.

And yet, just as it is about to arrive at its destination, Tang Fan’s hand shakes.

Sui Zhou, “…”

Tang Fan, “…”

Sui Zhou, “It’s best if I drink it myself.”

Tang Fan laughs, “I’m just not used to this, sorry, sorry! Or we can change a position?”

He uses his sleeves to wipe at Sui Zhou’s shirt and places the bowl aside first. He then helps Sui Zhou up so that he is half leaning on him, then picks up the bowl, carefully bringing it up to Sui Zhou’s mouth. He slants the spoon slightly, thinking that this time, his hand will not shake, at least.

Unexpectedly, a woman’s scream resounds from the outside, and then it is followed by the sounds of chaos from a startled bunch of men and horses.

After a moment, they then hear Qian San Er’s voice, “Sui-daren, sorry about this and that we disturbed your rest. Lady Chen was screaming for no reason and insisted that someone was peeping at her as she was changing clothes. We didn’t startle you did we, Sui-daren?”

Tang Fan, “…”

Sui Zhou, “…”

This time, the whole bowl of medicine has been spilled on Sui Zhou’s face. Thankfully the medicine’s temperature was just nice, otherwise they will have to add another item to the list of Sui Zhou’s injuries.

Sui Zhou is left with no choice but to remove the bowl from his face, and says, “I’ll do it myself.”

Tang Fan is speechless, “Guang Chuan, I really did not meant to…”

Although Sui Zhou is the victim of this, he wants to laugh, “I know, but you are not the type to assist others like this. Get someone to brew another bowl, you just have to stay and chat with me.”

He has to comply unconditionally with the patient’s requests. Tang Fan is reinvigorated, “Sure, what do you want to talk about?”

Sui Zhou, “… You should help me get another set of clothes to change first.”

“Oh, oh, oh,” Tang Fan says.

Seeing Tang Fan get up to help him find clothes, Sui Zhou cannot help but feel helpless but also slightly sweet inside. Helpless, because Tang Fan cannot even take care of himself and wants to take care of others - anyone who is taken care of by him will end up in a pitiful condition. And slightly sweet because… Sui Zhou does not need to describe it, as long as he himself knows what it is about.

After a moment, Tang-daren comes back with a pile of clothes.

Sui Zhou has internal injuries and his hands and legs are fine. The physician asked him to recover in peace and quiet, but never said that he cannot move entirely, so changing his own clothes is not a problem. However, Tang Fan insists that he feels guilty and wants to make amends for what he did earlier. Sui Zhou is unable to refuse this face filled with sincerity, and can only silently agree to Tang Fan’s offer.

Sui Zhou’s bronze-coloured abs and muscles are revealed as his inner layer is removed. From the lines of his arms and chest, one can see that he definitely has trained hard on a daily basis. At the same time, as he frequently needs to walk on the edge of danger and has been through many battles, the old marks left by wounds on his body are not little. Some are old and the colours have become very light, but some of them he got a few days ago in the tomb, and are only starting to scab over.

And yet it is this body littered with scars and marks that are a testament to how manly and masculine he is. Without the cover of clothes, he is definitely more imposing than usual. Even if he is wounded now and sitting on the bed, the first thing every person will think of is that this is a sleeping lion, and not a sick cat.

Originally, it would have been fine to just change his outerwear and the inner layer, but Tang Fan insists on changing the full set, making him change his pants as well together. Sui Zhou has no choice but to go along with it. And in the end, when he takes off his pants, he sees Tang-daren eyeing him there, and mischievously he says, “So the shape looks like that.”

Sui Zhou, “…”

How well Tang Fan holds onto grudges… so many days have passed, and at that time, Sui Zhou was merely teasing him, must he remember it like this?

Tang Fan helps him to change and says, “Coming to Gong County, I thought of some materials for the new novel. I’ll write about a man who was born in the wilderness and one day, a demon sets its eyes on a unique treasure that has been passed down for generations in the man’s family. However, he’s troubled by the fact that the treasure recognises its owner and the demon cannot come close to it. And so the demon drinks on the fresh blood of women and turns himself into a beautiful woman, seduces the man and finally makes the man fall irrevocably in love with her, so much so that he willingly gifts the treasure to the demon. The demon’s true form is immediately revealed, the man sees that the person who has slept with him all this time is a horrifying demon filled with scales and has blood-filled eyes, and is scared to death. What do you think?”

Sui Zhou is silent for a bit, “It is rather good.”

But he also has a bad feeling…

As expected, the next moment, he hears Tang Fan say, “How about I call the man Sui Zhou then?”

“Change it,” Sui Zhou replies.

Tang-daren goes with the flow, “Alright, then I’ll call the demon Sui Zhou.”

Sui Zhou, “…”

As people say, one would rather offend a gentleman than offend Tang-daren.

Don’t just judge by Sui Zhou’s unapproachable face, and how he seems cold and ruthless to his subordinates and others. Everyone tends to think that he is so cold that he doesn’t have friends and even when he spends time with his good friend Tang Fan, it is Tang-daren who is always giving in to him.

They do not know that their assumption is wrong, because with Tang-daren, Sui Zhou has this “as long as he is happy anything goes” attitude. Once compromise becomes a habit, he unconsciously keeps giving in, and giving in, and giving in again…

Giving in to the end, and Sui Zhou is defeated and convinced.

And so Tang-daren’s new novel and the name of the demon in it is set, just like that.

As for those from the Northern Administrative Court who will see the book in stores in the future, they will make a noise of confusion, “Zhenfushi-daren’s surname is not common, how did it turn up here? Is the author a man who was arrested and tortured by Sui Zhou before?”

But that is all talk for later. Tang-daren finally can make use of this opportunity when Sui Zhou is weak and via the chance to change his clothes, he unceremoniously bullied the other. He is feeling exceptionally good right now, and hums a small tune under his breath.

Sui Zhou doesn’t know if he is deliberately being like this in front of him, or if he really does not care, and cannot help but ask directly, concerned, “Did you think about what will happen after you return to the imperial city?”

Context:Continues from Chapter 66. Yin Yuan Hua has died out of stupidity in the previous chapter. Sui Zhou is now unconscious after taking a blow meant for Tang Fan, and it is up to Tang Fan and Qian San Er to help everyone escape. Some loving pre-relationship gazing into each others’ eyes and face-reddening, Tang Fan having to reassure himself with touch that Sui Zhou is alright and alive, and Sui Zhou being so, so relieved that Tang Fan is safe, even if his safety comes at the expense of himself.

Introduction Post|Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

It is chaos in the main hall.

The hand cannons cannot fire consecutively, and every time they use up the gunpowder, they need to make a refill. This takes up time, and the creature is agile, making it difficult to aim for it. It is only too easy to hurt someone if they are careless.

Sui Zhou has already collapsed and is unconscious, so the commanding authority naturally falls on Pang Qi.

Making use of the opportunity while the creature is still blind in one eye, the rest of the Embroidered Uniform Guards rush forward together and drive the weapons in their hands towards its abdomen, but this is no easy feat. In the blink of an eye, numerous people are swept away.

The center of the main hall lies a coffin and this is originally where the owner of Marquis Gong’s tomb rests. The lid of the coffin is heavy and even using both hands to push at it will not necessarily open it. Right now, both of Li Man’s hands are unable to gather strength, so he uses his body to push at the lid instead, but of course the slab does not budge.

However, thanks to the chaotic situation, everyone’s focus is on combatting the beast, and no one has any time to pay him any attention.

The coffin’s center position would originally have made it easy to be embroiled in the thick of the fight, but due to the fact that the flame above was extinguished earlier, light is centered around scattered flame torches. This is so they can more clearly and accurately see the beast’s weaknesses. Everyone is also unconsciously driving the beast to where there is light.

This has instead made it easier for Li Man. The two men that came in with Li Man have already died here. One of them was used by Li Man as a human shield, and the other had his chest pierced with one of the beast’s claws, dying on the spot immediately.

Li Man obviously does not care about their survival. He has all his attention focused on using his torso to push the coffin lid open, and can only hate that he is not quicker enough. Too bad his body has been trussed up like a dumpling, and he also has to constantly keep tabs on the situation around him and prevent the creature from suddenly turning up before his eyes. Frantic, sweat fills his forehead.

However, just because most people are not paying attention to him, doesn’t mean that no one is paying attention to him.

Just as Li Man is about to use all his energy, he’s raised up from the ground by someone behind him, and is directly dumped next to the coffin.

“What are you doing!”

The next moment, his face receives a heavy, hard slap, and the side of his face immediately swells up like that of a pig’s head, just like what he did to Tang Fan not so long ago.

This is indeed karma - what goes around comes around.

Li Man demands furiously, and then when he sees the other’s face clearly, his fury turns into glee, and with slurred speech, he says, “Little xiongdi, don’t hit me! Don’t hit me! You don’t want to die either, do you? I have a way for escape, don’t let anyone else know!”

Qian San Er squints at him in a cautious stare, and then his expression changes. Picking him up, Qian San Er drags Li Man to the side, barely dodging a gust of wind from a swipe of the beast’s tail. There are not only scales on that tail, but they pierce and possess great strength, so getting swept by this is hardly child’s play.

Qian San Er traps him in a corner, then slaps him again, before spitting, “Weren’t you almighty then, why are you such a weakling now? If it wasn’t for you, my shifu and the rest of them wouldn’t have died!”

Li Man is struck so hard that he’s seeing stars, and if it was any other day, he would have fought back. At this point, however, he forces himself to push the anger away, and reveals a twisted smile, “Your shifu and the rest are already dead, but you are still alive. Do you want to die here like they did?”

Qian San Er, “There’s one more beast outside, how do we escape?”

“I have a way, but you have to loosen my ropes first!”

Don’t look at how righteous he pretended to be earlier in front of Tang Fan, saying that he is willing to die for the Sect. He is an ant that is desperate to live. People like Li Man are people who fear death the more they possess. And as long as there is a way to live, he will not let it go.

Since he is afraid of death, then after luring the beast here, how could he not have a backup plan?

Now that Tang Fan is busy checking Sui Zhou’s injuries, Li Man does not have the energy to care about them over here. After interacting with the man a few times, he’s well aware that the other is one of the most intelligent men he’s known. Before, Tang Fan was in the thick of the plot, which is the only reason why he was carelessly tricked. When Tang Fan finally reacts, he surely will be able to see through his petty tricks, and when that time comes, he will truly die without resting in peace.

And so no matter what, Li Man has to take advantage of this opportunity and run first, leaving Tang Fan and the others to tear each other to shreds with the tomb guarding beast.

He believes that with how ferocious and merciless this beast is, everyone here will definitely be massacred. Then, all they have to do is find a way to transport all the treasures out. From then on, they would have freedom under the skies, and fat chance of officials catching them!

Qian San Er is a thief, he’s not from the courts and for Li Man to tempt him, it naturally comes easy to him.

Li Man says, “You knew this from before, I’m the leader of the White Lotus Sect’s He Nan branch. As long as you follow me, you will never have to hide in secret again! You won’t have to be humiliated by the court’s dogs, hurry, loosen the ropes!”

Qian San Er’s suspicion does not go away, but his eyes reveal that he is slowly being tempted, “Tell me first what the escape route is?”

Li Man coldly laughs to himself inside, then says sincerely, “I don’t mind telling you. That coffin has long been dug empty, from underneath it there is a route that leads directly straight towards Luo River, and when we get there, there will naturally be someone there to meet us!”

Qian San Er grabs at his shirt, “You better not lie to me. If the river and the tomb are connected, the water would have long rushed in, I don’t know how to swim!”

“Stupid, who told you it’s connected to the river!”

Just as he’s done speaking, he’s slapped again, so hard that even the teeth at the back of his mouth were nearly struck out with the force.

Qian San Er glares, “You still fucking dare to scold me!”

Li Man, “…”

Tolerating this and swallowing his anger, Li Man says, “Little xiongdi, I am not lying to you. The other end is connected to the river bank, it’s a little far from here but safety is guaranteed.”

Qian San Er is still doubtful, “Didn’t the beasts also swim in from the river? Before I came in, I saw that the tides of the river water were about to rise, by that time, what if the beasts escape and catch up to us?”

Li Man smiles, the expression cold and ruthless, “Did you forget that my people are outside? Both of them are my most trusted men, I’ve long since made proper arrangements, as long as we leave, they will all die here, be it the fucking people or the beasts! The huge treasures and riches from Marquis Gong’s tomb I got others to hide them earlier, you also saw the scattered pieces before. How can the real treasures compare to those dimly shining ones? All you have to do is go with me, and there is only time for you to enjoy wealth and fortune without limits!”

Qian San Er goes ‘oh’, nodding his head.

Li Man’s heart races with anxiety, “You can let me go now, can’t you!”

Qian San Er asks, “What does ‘dimly shining’ mean?”

Li Man almost throws up blood at that moment. He finally knows that this boy has been lying to him from start to end, and it’s likely that he was just tricking him to reveal details (of the escape route). He obviously does not have any intention to release him!

It is a pity that by the time he understands this, it is too late. Qian San Er has already gotten a hold of a dagger, and then ruthlessly stabs at Li Man’s heart!

Li Man’s eyes go wide in disbelief. Until the moment he dies, he is unable to understand why Qian San Er would have wanted to kill him.

Qian San Er retrieves the dagger from Li Man’s chest without hesitation. The other’s blood splatters on his face, and is wiped away along with his tears.

“…Shifu, I’ve finally gotten revenge for you!” he mumbles.

He gets to his feet and yells at Tang Fan and the rest, “Tang-daren, Li Man says there is an exit from inside the coffin towards the Luo River, we don’t have to run outside!”

When everyone hears this, their spirits are reinvigorated. Originally, everyone that there was only one way out, but the door is already blocked. Although they will be able to kill this tomb guarding beast here as long as they use all their strength, but there’s another one keeping guard outside. Thus, everyone was slowly despairing.

However, at this moment, Qian San Er’s words have given them new hope of survival.

Tang Fan shouts, his voice low, “Pang Qi, don’t persist in the fight, fight while you’re retreating!

Within the main hall, wherever the beast’s body sweeps across, its shrill wails echo, and along with it the howling wind. Although it is hurt, everyone else is barely hanging on. The other beast waiting outside, which was supposed to prepare to grab their food from the one inside, is already impatient, and its body shifts inwards slightly. Its blood red eyes stare at the humans in the main hall, and its sharp teeth are revealed.

Pang Qi manages to take a breath and turns back, then shouts with all his strength, “Daren, how his da-ge?!”

“He’ll live!” Tang Fan hauls Sui Zhou onto his back, then runs for the coffin.

Qian San Er has already gone over to push the coffin lid half open, revealing the wooden board underneath. He then peels the wooden board back, and he does see the dark entry way into the hole.

Delighted, Qian San Er shouts at Tang Fan and the rest of them, “Tang-daren, we can go down from here, Li Man didn’t lie to us!”

“Let’s go!” Tang Fan commands, and everyone starts to shift towards the center of the main hall.

Both tomb guarding beasts seem to realise what they’re trying to do, and rush towards them, bringing with them a gust of wind stained with the sharp stench of blood. The one that was hurt is exceptionally insane, and its attacks are stronger than before. Pang Qi and the rest are slowly losing the ability to hold them off. Another Embroidered Uniform Guard is not able to dodge in time and his throat is directly bitten.

Pang Qi is battling uncontrollably, but he doesn’t have any choice. The fighting power on both sides are entirely on different levels.

At this moment, a loud explosion resounds, and even the ground beneath their feet start to sway, shaking so much that everyone is almost unable to stand up straight.

Both beasts were going to attack the rest of them, but after the shock of that, they stop in their tracks for a moment.

Tang Fan’s expression changes slightly. He finally knows what Li Man’s plans were, but he doesn’t have much time to say anything at the moment, and can only shout, “Hurry and go! This place is about to collapse soon!”

Qian San Er ventures down the hole first, then turns around to help Tang Fan. Tang Fan first sends Sui Zhou down, then yells at Pang Qi, “Why aren’t you leaving!”

Pang Qi still wanted to kill the beast while it is still injured, but after the other one came in, he realises that this is an impossible mission. He can only begrudgingly give up and retreat to nearby the coffin. They shift into the hole in the coffin while the beasts are still stunned.

At this point, the entire underground tomb is shaking more and more intensely, and even the walls and the ground are sporting cracks quickly, visible with their naked eyes. Loud bursts of sounds echo one after another, far away and near, and everyone’s ear drums are close to bursting.

The two beasts look around them, stunned, and seeing that Tang Fan and the rest are leaving one by one, they shriek once and make to chase after them. Pang Qi, who is the last one, simply throws his xiuchun blade, slightly interrupting their forward momentum. He then holds onto his shoulder and dives into the coffin.

Behind him, along with the huge crackling and collapsing noises, the main hall’s stone walls fall after exploding, and even the stone piece at the top crashes downwards, heavily slamming on top of the coffin and cutting off the terrifying wails of the beasts.

In the long, narrow passage, everyone’s breaths are harsh. The sound of the explosions seems very far away, but the underground passage is also affected and keeps shaking endlessly. Above their heads, loose pieces of rock constantly drop, and some of the bigger ones can make anyone’s head bleed.

“Hurry, any later this place might collapse!” Tang Fan urges the rest of them to walk faster.

Qian San Er is at the front, carrying Sui Zhou on his back as he walks, while Tang Fan stays at the back to look out for everyone. Because of Sui Zhou’s protection earlier, he did not incur much injuries, but he does have small wounds here and there. Add to that his strength being severely depleted, his pallor is not any better than anyone else’s.

To be more accurate, if he didn’t have something to hold on to right now, he would have collapsed much earlier. But no one would think that Tang Fan, who knows no martial arts, is a burden. After all, if it wasn’t for his earlier planning, the number of people who are able to walk here right now would certainly be much lesser.

The White Lotus Sect did spend a lot of effort here - this passage has been dug in a way that makes it much wider than the one Qian San Er and the rest of them used earlier. It’s not that difficult to walk either, so it seems that the sect was already eyeing this tomb from a year before. They started there, and the only troublesome thing was that they needed to shift the treasures out before they could fully demolish the tomb, which is why they’ve delayed progress until now.

It is too bad that they faced Qian San Er and then Tang Fan, these two batches of people, and in their schemes to deal them with harm, they ended up being murdered instead. Even Li Man himself is buried in there. As people always say, as much as one would scheme, they may end up endangering their own lives in the end.

Qian San Er already told Tang Fan Li Man’s dying words. Li Man’s words are half truth and half lies, and he is always trying to manipulate and toy with him. Before Li Man died, he even hid the fact that they had gunpowder in the tomb, wanting to make use of the opportunity to deal them one last blow and kill them together with the tomb guarding beasts with the explosion.

Just by this point alone, Tang Fan does not dare to fully believe in what he said. However, when Li Man told Qian San Er that this passage leads to outside, and there is someone to receive them, these parts should be real.

Judging by Li Man’s selfishness, that pile of treasures certainly have to be placed right under his eyes for him to feel safe, so it would be impossible for him to let any of his men take the treasures first and flee.

In the process of walking forward, Tang Fan would frequently test for Sui Zhou’s pulse. Only when he finds that there is movement under his fingertip does he feel slightly assured.

They do not know for how long they have walked, and Qian San Er’s footsteps suddenly pause, “Daren, the exit seems to be in front.”

He puts Sui Zhou down, walks over and reaches out to touch, before turning around and saying in a low voice, “Seems like there is something pressing on top of it.”

Tang Fan indicates for everyone to keep silent and gets Qian San Er to come over and take care of Sui Zhou. He then walks over to where Qian San Er was standing previously and begins exploring. This is indeed the end, and the only exit is above.

Tang Fan meticulously touches the object that is pressing on the exit and then knocks on it lightly, putting his hand to his nose and sniffing.

“It’s a box, and it should be storage for clothes,” he says.

“How do you know that its a storage box for clothes?” Qian San Er asks, stunned.

“That wood is pear wood, and most people will not use wood like this to store miscellaneous items, so this is definitely a box. If the items inside are too heavy, then it would be very difficult for Li Man and the rest to go out, and I also smelt it earlier. There’s the smell of camphor wood grease, so it definitely is used to store objects that are easily bitten by insects, so it can only be storing clothes and garments.”

Qian San Er is entirely impressed. He touched the object earlier for a bit, but didn’t come up with any conclusions. Now that he hears Tang Fan say this, he experiences an epiphany of sorts.

Then looking at Pang Qi and the rest of them, they seem to have already gotten used to Tang-daren’s observation and deduction skills, his exceptional intelligence.

Tang Fan does not know that he has gotten himself another follower. He helps Sui Zhou up and adjusts him so that he’s in a more comfortable position to conveniently lean against his hold.

He says, “It should be another meeting point for the White Lotus Sect above. Earlier when we left, I took note and according to this distance and direction, this house should be on the outskirts of town. But what we can’t confirm is if there are any White Lotus Sect men outside, and if there are, how many of them.”

Feeling the impacts of the gunpowder back in the tomb, the passage has been dropping loosened pieces of stone constantly. As the magnitude of the shaking becomes increasingly greater, who knows how much powerful gunpowder Li Man and his men buried in there in order to obtain such an effect.

Everyone is tolerating the stale air, and staying in a dangerous passage that will collapse at any time is not an easy thing. A lot of them have already lost too much blood and are dizzy and unsteady. Those who are injured more severely, like Sui Zhou who is unconscious, can only be supported by their companions who are injured to a lesser degree.

When these domineering Embroidered Uniform Guards joined the Northern Administrative Court, they probably never expected to one day end up in such a pathetic situation. Twenty odd men entered (the tomb), and here in the passage, there are only less than ten of them.

But compared to Li Man’s tragic case, their current situation is considered an improved one. The dead have passed, but the ones left behind have to do their best to live.

Pang Qi cannot help but say, “Daren, let’s rush out, we may still have a way to survive!”

And yet, Tang Fan shakes his head, “No. Use your blade and open the box according to edges of the exit. if it’s all garments inside, there will be no sound when they fall, and then we can use that as a cover to make some observations first before proceeding.”

Pang Qi feels that this method is too wishy-washy, and cannot help but retort, “Why go to so much trouble? We don’t know how long more we can hold on, and the more we delay this, the smaller our chances of victory!”

Tang Fan only uses one sentence to refute and stop everyone’s protests, “Guang Chan handed all of you over to me, so I must do my best to ensure that more people survive.”

***

After Lady Chen helped Li Man to give birth to a son, and then handed the child over to a nearby family to raise, she herself then began to safeguard this little house, waiting for Li Man and the rest to bring over greater amounts of treasures from the tomb.

As the time they have arranged to meet has long gone and past, and Li Man and his men have yet to turn up, Lady Chen is also afraid of the beasts in the tomb and does not dare to go over and look for them. After waiting for several days, they believed that Li Man and the rest died inside, and she began to think about obtaining the treasures for herself.

Lady Chen is naturally promiscuous and is not a good, virtuous wife. After being with Li Man, she controlled herself slightly, but Li Man is after all an aging man and even with the best of disguises and illusions, his stamina cannot compare to that of a young man’s.

Now that Li Man is most likely dead, Lady Chen no longer has anything to worry about and starts to deliberately seduce the other members of the sect.

She is beautiful and gorgeous, and no man can resist her seduction, so when Tang Fan and the rest of them get here, Lady Chen and several other men are having fun in bed, so much so that they do not know what day it is even. Li Man probably would never have guessed even till his death that his woman so quickly began to mess around with other men. If he knew this, he probably would be so mad, enough for him to rise from the dead, and then die out of anger again.

This gave Pang Qi and the rest of them an advantage, however. While the few people in bed were tussling in the sheets, they emerged, and Lady Chen and the other men were all killed in bed before they could even react.

Wanting to take Lady Chen alive, however, Pang Qi and the others neglected to take note and gave her the opportunity to scream, which drew the attention of other disciples of the sect outside.

Both sides quickly are embroiled in a ferocious, intends battle. The glint of swords and blades flash on then spot, and blood splatters everywhere.

Theoretically, these disciples should not be of their match, but Pang Qi and the rest of them have lost too much energy and stamina before, so are unable to put in their best in the fight, seemingly struggling.

Tang Fan cannot fight and so will not go forth and become anyone’s burden. He can only watch from the sides.

He pats Qian San Er on the shoulder, “You did well today, this is all because of you!”

Immensely flattered, Qian San Er becomes incredibly excited. He has been stealing since young ever since he followed his shifu, and they’ve always been on the opposite side of officials and the courts, but now he even obtained the praise of an official envoy!

“Da, Da.. Daren’s praise, I truly do not deserve it!”

Seeing how excited he is, a smile emerges on Tang Fan’s exhausted face, “You were not tempted by Li Man and did not lower yourself to join him. This is enough to prove that you are not a bad person. Your shifu is no longer around, so do not involve yourself in illegal petty crimes anymore. When you’ve done too many bad things, you will eventually be punished for it. When you go back, find a legal way to support yourself!”

Qian San Er suddenly kneels down in front of Tang Fan, “I’ve already wanted to stop committing crimes and doing those things, but aside from those, I don’t know how to do anything else either. I beg daren to please point out a clear alternative for me!”

This person immediately went with the flow, and Tang Fan does not feel repulsed by this, instead thinking that Qian San Er is rather smart. This boy also has a good heart, and is a talent that can be folded, “We’ll talk when we get back.”

With these words, Qian San Er knows that Tang Fan has agreed and is delighted, kowtowing to Tang Fan three times in a row, the sound of his head hitting the ground bright and loud.

Who knew that Qian San Er used too much force in putting his head to the ground, and the intense battle before them was unable to wake Sui Zhou up, but the sound of his head hitting the ground has Sui Zhou’s brows furrowing.

Realising the movements of the person in his arms, Tang Fan looks down, and beams, “Guang Chuan, you’re awake, are you okay?”

Sui Zhou opens his eyes slowly, and the first thing he sees is Tang Fan’s concerned and anxious expression.

Sui Zhou, “Pfft!”

Tang Fan, “…”

What is this reaction? Did he hit his head and become silly?

Tang Fan cannot resist and feels for the other’s forehead, his gaze meeting Sui Zhou’s smiling eyes.

Tang-daren seems to have forgotten that he received a slap from Li Man earlier down in the tombs, and this led to swelling on one side of his face, swelling which has not yet gone down. His handsome, elegant image has been changed into that of a pig’s head, akin to the ones placed on ancestral offering tables. Seeing such a face, Sui Zhou cannot help but want to laugh.

However, after laughing, his heart melts more and more on the inside. He gazes at Tang Fan, and in his head only one thought is left.

Thankfully, this person is alright. Then no matter how severe he’s hurt, it is all worth it.

“… and Li Man?” Sui Zhou asks, his voice hoarse.

“Dead, Qian San Er killed him,” Tang Fan says.

Qian San Er fidgets, embarrassed, and he is about to make some humble proclamations, but Sui Zhou is not even looking at him.

Only one person can fit in the rectangular world he can see through his eyes. Both of their gazes meet, bringing with it a type of intimacy and flirtation that even Tang Fan himself does not realise.

And then, under Qian San Er’s eyes, Tang-daren, whose face is thicker than the walls of the Great Wall, slowly reddens.

===

Notes:

*萤囊之光ying nang zhi guang

This is used to refer to the dim light that poor scholars use when they study at night, as they are unable to afford candles whenever they need them, they have to use them sparingly. However, scholars cannot skip out on studying at night just because they cannot afford more candles, and can only light them minimally - in this case, it’s referring to gold that does not shine as brightly as real, authentic gold. It’s a little hard to translate exactly in this context, especially as Qian San Er asks what this means later, so I changed it a little, but Qian San Er, who had not studied much, is asking what the ying nang means.

*五体投地wu ti tou di

This literally means to falls flat on the ground entirely - in this context, it’s used as a metaphor to say that Qian San Er is entirely convinced without a single shred of doubt. 

*夜路走多了，总会遇到鬼的

This is an idiom of sorts - what it literally means is that if you frequently walk in the night, you will at some point see a ghost. It’s usually used to describe someone doing something bad/committing crime - Qian San Er as a thief ‘walking the roads at night’ = committing crime and stealing, one of these days he will ‘meet a ghost’ = get into trouble basically.

Context: Sui Zhou and Tang Fan (and their respective teams) embark on their journey to He Nan Province. Tang Fan ended up having to bring along Yin Yuan Hua, one of the officials in Tang Fan’s department who he bested, and whose supervisor/shifu in the same department Tang Fan offended (for good reason!). Yin Yuan Hua’s mission on this trip is to gather evidence of Tang Fan’s wrongdoings/mistakes so he can go back and report him to higher-ups, and hopefully this will end in Tang Fan’s demotion.

Also a Note: I’m doing the first half of 61 for context (because the case is pretty complex plus all the new characters lolol) and the second half of 61 where the cute fanzhou moments are, but from now onwards Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are hanging out with each other like 24/7

AMAZING TIDBITS:

• Pants stripping
• Sexual innuendos
• Tang Fan and his tongue licks Sui Zhou’s finger
• Sui Zhou feeding Tang Fan pastries
• Fanzhou shares a bed XD

Introduction Post|Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Tang Fan and the rest of them set off from Jing City, and head in the direction of He Nan Province on land.

Sui Zhou left Xue Ling back in the Northern Administrative Court to hold the fort, and he himself, along with Pang Qi included, brought along 20 close guards. With Tang Fan, they head south, tasked as an imperial convoy.

Although this case is hardly the most urgent, it involves the life and death of others and also the robbery of royal and imperial tombs, so there is no time to waste. Everyone began the journey riding horses, but after rushing on the roads for two days, the disparity between the Embroidered Uniform Guards and civil officials slowly became increasingly visible.

The guards are a bunch of brash old men and have thick and tough skins. Moreover, after going through Sui Zhou’s hellish training, all of them have already been polished into people with bodies and bones of steel. That being said, even without Sui Zhou’s intensified training, for army officials like them, riding horses and rushing along is a simple thing to them.

The same cannot be said of civil officials, however. These officials spend most of their days in the courts and the hardest manual labour they have done is at most serving tea. Suddenly having to ride horses for two days consecutively, it feels as if their bodies and bones are about to fall apart. And what they could not say was that every one of them had blisters on the inside of both their thighs, and some of these have already burst and are bleeding. They hurt like burns.

As the formal lead envoy, Tang Fan of course has to act like the leader he is and grit his teeth in determination regardless of the circumstances. It does not take Sui Zhou long to discover that these civil officials can no longer go on, and orders the guards to slow down their pace. He also quickly takes out some ointment for Tang Fan and the rest to use on their wounds.

Since their leader can withstand this, the two officials under Tang Fan naturally are in no place to complain. Instead, it is Yin Yuan Hua who insists on not riding horses anymore and demands that they switch to a horse carriage.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards do not look upon these civil officials kindly, but they also know that their Sui-laoda has a good personal relationship with Tang Fan, and it is rumoured that this formal lead envoy is staying right in Sui-laoda’s house. 

This Yin Yuan Hua, on the other hand, is obviously not on good terms with Tang Fan, and this is easily seen when he speaks with Tang Fan, and even when he does not speak. Both of them are not on the same side, and the guards do not dare to mock the formal lead envoy, so naturally, they focus their attention and provoking remarks onto Yin Yuan Hua instead.

One of them wriggles his eyebrows, “Aiyo, someone thinks he’s out here to sightsee, and wants to even sit on a horse carriage? Does he also want a beaded curtain? Like those esteemed ladies, or wives, when they hide half their faces, and are embarrassed even before they speak!”

Another laughs snidely, “How do you know if he isn’t a little wife? Don’t tell me you’ve seen what he looks like without clothes on?”

Earlier, their group passed by a official’s relay post, and decided to stop for a rest. Tang Fan and Sui Zhou are formal lead and co-lead envoys, and wanting to interact freely, they are unwilling to share a table with their leaders even at meals, and so Sui Zhou and Tang Fan have a table to themselves. Yin Yuan Hua and the two civil officials share another, and the rest of the guards are scattered around. So once the next table speaks, Yin Yuan Hua can hear them extremely well.

How would he not know that these people are speaking about him? Fury courses through him immediately and slamming his chopsticks on the table, he gets to his feet and says, “Who are you talking about!”

It would have been better if he did not stand up, because once he gets to his feet, his thighs cramp up immediately, sending Yin Yuan Hua into unbearable pain, and this garners the mockery of the group of guards.

Although Tang Fan doesn’t think much of Yin Yuan Hua, but on this trip, he is formal lead envoy and is also Yin Yuan Hua’s supervisor. As a leader, he needs to have the aptitude of one and so he cannot just stand by and let Yin Yuan Hua be mocked like this. He uses the other end of his chopsticks and pokes at Sui Zhou’s arm.

Sui Zhou lightly coughs and his sharp gaze sweeps over his group of men, and they immediately stop laughing, burying their heads into their rice and meal.

After their meal, Yin Yuan Hua insists on not riding horses, wanting to sit on a horse carriage and head to He Nan.

Both of the other civil officials are also suffering silently, and so turn their hopeful eyes onto Tang Fan.

With a strange expression, he asks, “All of you really want to sit on a carriage?”

The officials do not dare reply, and Yin Yuan Hua interjects, “We must have a carriage. We lower-ranked officials cannot compare to daren, we don’t have to deal with the pressure which comes with the formal lead envoy position. Comfort is of importance, and we’re not afraid of being mocked by others!”

In his words is hidden mockery at Tang Fan bringing suffering upon himself, all to salvage his pride.

Tang Fan says, “We may not have enough horses at the next relay post, so once you switch to a carriage, if you regret it, you will still have to sit in it until we reach He Nan.”

The more he says, the more Yin Yuan Hua feels that Tang Fan is deliberately making things difficult for him, and so insists on sitting in a carriage and nothing else.

He has already said this much and given them a friendly reminder, but they will not listen, so there is nothing to do but to let them have their way. He asks the official in charge of the relay post to prepare the horse carriage.

The carriage itself is still considered quite spacious and has enough space for Yin Yuan Hua and two other officials to sit in. The official also found a driver for them, and once the carriage reaches its destination, it is just nice for the driver to return with it.

The three of them happily get on the carriage after seeing that the insides are padded with cushions, and this is definitely more comfortable than riding the horses.

In the end, just after they crossed several kilometres, Yin Yuan Hua and the rest suddenly realise why Tang Fan revealed that indescribable expression earlier after they insisted on sitting in a horse carriage. Because this is even more shaky and turbulent than riding a horse…

Yin Yuan Hua regrets as he finally gets a taste of what it means to strike his own foot with a rock he’s moving.

Not only just him, but both Cheng Wen and Tian Xuan, are regretting their decision immensely.

It is such a turbulent journey, and just before their souls are shaken out of their cores, they finally arrive at Gong County.

Before the group of them arrived at Gong County, the county’s magistrate had already brought his men out to the official relay post right next to the official’s travel channel early on to wait for them.

“Daren, how about you come in and rest your feet?” the county deputy, who has also come out to welcome the group, cannot help but ask the magistrate, who is pacing back and forth so much it’s making him dizzy.

Aside from the deputy and other officials, which include both low and high ranking ones, plenty of other well-known gentlemen also wanted to accompany them originally, but were all rejected by the magistrate. He is facing so many cases right now, how would he have any more energy to bring these people along and let them create trouble in front of him?

Before his trustworthy deputy, the magistrate does not hide his face full of worry, “Hai, laodiah, it’s not like you don’t know, these envoys are not here to sightsee, they’re here to investigate a case. At the end of the day, trouble happened to the imperial tombs within my jurisdiction, and if we don’t handle this properly, I will not be able to keep this futou of mine!”

The deputy advises, “Daren, it is futile for you to be frustrated about this, you might as well cooperate well with the envoys, and then ask them for a favour so they can go back and help put in a good word for you, who knows, this huge matter may turn into a small one!”

The magistrate sighs, “That’s all I can do at this point. I’m such an unlucky magistrate, the former magistrate and the one before him left a huge mess of things when they passed on their positions, and the imperial tombs were left untouched, but these messes I still had to deal with! No one knew of my efforts, and now that the imperial tomb is involved, the responsibility for this has instead fallen onto my head!”

Which official has not been dragged into one or two terrible events, thinks the deputy. How is it possible for an official to have a smooth career all his life, it is the magistrate who was afraid of trouble in the first place, and now he is complaining about this instead of thinking about how to properly suck up to the incoming imperial envoys. What future can he count on like this?

Unfortunately he is the man’s subordinate and although these are his true thoughts, he still ends up properly reassuring his magistrate.

In the midst of their conversation, a group of men and horses approach from the distance and gradually slows down, the dust picking up around them, and behind, it looks like there is a horse carriage accompanying the group as well.

The magistrate and his deputy head out, and a minor official comes over with news, saying that the people ahead are indeed the imperial envoys.

“Quickly accompany me to fetch them!” the magistrate says, adjusting his uniform and hat.

The speed of the horse carriage is not fast and Sui Zhou’s subordinates in front seem to have deliberately slowed down to wait for the carriage at the back, and only after a minute or so does the whole group, which was already visible from a while ago, arrive.

Right in the middle of the other Embroidered Uniform Guards, a young man wearing a Rank Five uniform and an Embroidered Uniform Guard wearing a feiyuuniform are surrounded.

The magistrate quickly approaches them and offering both his hands in greeting, he says, “Gong County Magistrate He Hao Si greets the imperial envoy!”

Although he is unsure who is actually the formal lead envoy, but this greeting will certainly do no wrong.

The official document sent by the Department of Justice also clearly says that the lead envoy is the department’s overseeing langzhong in Henan’s Qing Li Si, Tang Fan, and the co-lead is the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ acting zhen fu shi, Sui Zhou. However, since both lead and co-lead envoys are here, then who is the one sitting in the horse carriage at the back?

Could it be an even more important person?

Magistrate He cannot help but look towards the back.

Instead, he sees the Embroidered Uniform Guard next to the civil official move backwards a little to put some distance between them, indicating the difference in status between him and the civil official. He opens his mouth and affirms Magistrate He’s guess, “This is Henan’s Qing Li Si langzhong, Tang-daren, and he is the formal lead envoy.”

Tang Fan wearily gets off his horse and returns Magistrate He’s greeting, “Magistrate He does not need to stand on ceremony, we have been on the roads for days, shall we first find a place to sit and talk?”

“Yes yes yes!” Magistrate He returns to himself, and hurriedly says, “This official has already readied the relay post, and also asked them to prepare food and hot water. I’d like to ask everyone to move into the city, it is not far away from here.”

Tang Fan nods, “Then I’ll have to trouble Magistrate He to show us the way.”

***

“Come over here.”

Tang Fan takes a look at the ointment in his hands, and cannot help but laugh, the sound dry, “You see, I’ve used the bandages for so many days, it’s almost healed, so I don’t need to put it on anymore, it’s uncomfortable!”

Sui Zhou’s face is cold, “Come over when I tell you to come over, whether or not it has healed, wouldn’t you know best?”

Of course he has not yet healed.

Tang-daren’s face falls, and he slowly ambles his way over.

“Lie down, take off your pants and pick up your shirt.”

“…”

No matter the circumstances, this conversation sounds only too intimate, and if anyone were to pass by on the outside, it’s likely they will misunderstand, but the reality could not be further from that.

Tang Fan’s physique is not much better than Yin Yuan Hua and the rest, and he has ridden on a horse for so many days consecutively. Naturally, he is unable to withstand this, but sitting in a horse carriage is worse, and he knows that just by seeing the way Yin Yuan Hua threw up. In comparison, it is only his butt and the sides of both his thighs that hurt riding the hose, and not his whole body. Weighing between both to see which is more important, as the biggest lead in this mission, Tang-daren would rather suffer than lose all pride like the way Yin Yuan Hua did.

This is called suffering as one would rather die than lose pride and face.

The posterior is one thing, as it is shaken here and there; the area is a bit thicker, so it doesn’t matter as much. The main thing is the insides of his thighs, which has been subjected to endless friction and movement in contact with the horse. Blisters formed, and then bled when the skin was broken through.

It is a must to put some ointment on if he is hurt, and in the beginning, Tang Fan was worried of losing face, too embarrassed to ask for help, until Sui Zhou forcibly restrained him to put the medicine on.

Now, having to put on a fresh round of ointment every night has become something that Tang-daren is most reluctant to do.

If he could choose, he figures he would rather go to the Luo River and warmly face the River God there, than to lie flat on the bed like this with both legs spread open, his pants taken off and his shirt picked up, letting Sui Zhou change the bandages around his injured parts.

Although they are both men and the parts he should have, he has, and the parts that he should not have, he does not have, but Tang Fan just feels incredibly uncomfortable. Staring at the ceiling above him, he disassociates, only to hide his embarrassment.

Sui Zhou seems to be able to see through his thoughts and finds it really hilarious inside, but on the surface, he retains his stoicism. Circling the bandage around Tang Fan’s legs, he pretends to accidentally brush his eyes past Tang Fan’s groin, peering at it for a moment, before saying, “The form is not bad.”

Even though Tang Fan is pretending to be dead, he is still conscious and attentive, and the moment the other’s words sound in his ears, he cannot help but go red in both his face and ears, and furious, he says, “How dare you, assessing the lead envoy like this, do you not want to live anymore?”

Sui Zhou goes ‘oh’, and then, “I am an envoy too.”

“You’re a co-lead, and I am the lead, cut out the nonsense, you should strip and let this official assess yours as well!”

Sui Zhou, “You are certain you want to see?”

“Of course!”

He thought Sui Zhou would come up with an excuse to refuse, but who knew the other simply stands up without another word, and reaches out to loosen his trousers belt.

Tang Fan hurriedly says, “ Forget it, forget it, I know you’re smaller than me, if your ego takes a hit later this is not good, all men want to save face, so I will go easy on you this once.”

“No matter, I do not mind,” Sui Zhou returns.

“…”

Sui Zhou only wants to tease Tang Fan, he is not this despicable. And seeing that Tang Fan is about to explode in anger, Sui Zhou goes with the flow and stops. He brings a plate of pastries over from the table, picks up one, and personally brings it to Tang Fan’s mouth.

Under the dim glow of the candle light, Tang Fan cannot see the shape of the clear jujube cake, but the flavour as it enters his mouth is extremely good. Sour and sweet, and for a moment, it is a familiar taste to him, similar to the one the cooking lady at home made when he was younger.

He cannot help but curl his tongue, reaching for the rest of the pastry piece, only to sweep across Sui Zhou’s finger accidentally. The other freezes slightly, and snatches his hand back quickly.

Tang Fan does not take this to heart, and instead squints as he fully savours the flavours on his tastebuds. He nods, and praises, “The pastry that Deputy Zhao chose is really not bad! It is a pity this place is filled with evil, and such good pastries are wasted here. We may have to start rushing about sometime in the middle of tomorrow night!”

Sui Zhou gets him to wear his trousers properly, and bends down himself to adjust the bedsheets and covers. He asks, “You saw something amiss?”

Tang Fan shoves another piece of jujube cake into this mouth and instead of answering him, responds with a question, “You can see it too?”

“Don’t eat too much, or you won’t be able to sleep later,” Sui Zhou frowns and nags. Then, “That old man seems suspicious.”

Tang Fan nods, and opens his mouth, about to speak, but because the cake slides into his throat, he ends up almost choking to death. He brings his hand up, holding onto his throat and the whites of his eyes can be seen.

Exasperated, Sui Zhou goes over to pat at his back, then gives him a cup of tea, “How did you actually survive the past twenty years?”

Drinking the tea and sending the cake down along with it, Tang Fan finally heaves a sigh of relief before laughing, “A menace like this official will naturally be alive for a thousand years. That old man is indeed suspicious, and although he seems incoherent when speaking, it does look more like his behaviour is deliberate.”

Sui Zhou makes a noise of assent, waiting for him to continue.

“There are a few possibilities. Firstly, those people were killed by the old village chief, but this isn’t very likely. I can’t think of a reason why he would kill all these people. Besides, he is a weak elderly, so unless he had some help, it is impossible for him to harm so many people. So let’s set this possibility aside for now.”

“Second, that old man, or even the whole village, are in cahoots with the tomb raiders, and are doing all they can to mislead us, directing us to focus on the possibility of a malevolent ghost. Maybe after the robbers raided the imperial tomb, they promised to distribute some of their loot to the villagers in exchange for their help in keeping this a secret. The people who were killed discovered this, and wanted to report them.”

Tang Fan slowly analyses that hypothesis, then shakes his head, “But this is not fully explainable. The clues that we have on hand are too little, it is very difficult to guess what the truth is.”

“There’s still one more possibility,” Sui Zhou says.

Tang Fan looks at him, and he continues, “What the old man said is true.”

“You believe in ghosts too?”

Sui Zhou shakes his head, “It might not be a ghost, but it could be something else. Whether the old village chief has truly gone insane or is pretending to be, he is definitely hiding something from us, and has not told us everything.”

Tang Fan laughs, “We tried the civil, courteous route first, and next can bring out the troops. It looks like we have to get the Embroidered Uniform Guards to take over.”

In terms of interrogations and forcibly getting confessions, there is no other group of people more adept at this than the guards. When people hear of interrogations, they often think of cruel torturous methods, but in actual fact, a lot of other methods exist in this world which will make one obediently vomit out the truth without any physical torture. These methods are most commonly used on officials who refuse to speak the truth and yet cannot be subjected to torture; a secret that is passed only within the guards and is unique.

Using it against an old man in a poor and removed village, is considered using a blade that is made for slaughtering cows, to slaughter a chicken.

Sui Zhou says, “We’ll talk tomorrow and rest now.”

Yes, it is almost the haihour (9-11pm), and they naturally must rest.

It is quiet outside, not even the slightest sounds can be heard from livestock or dogs, and all living creatures have also descended into sleep. Saying it is entirely silent, however, is not correct. At the very least, the Luo River which is a short distance away continues to flow, day or night. The rush of water charging forth fills up their ears, but once one gets used to listening to this, it does not bother them much. Instead, it almost feels as if their troubled thoughts are being scrubbed clean by the river.

The bed space is not cramped or narrow, and is more than sufficient for two people to lie on it. Tang Fan sleeps on the inside, and Sui Zhou sleeps on the outside.

Although the both of them stay under the same roof, they have never slept shoulder to shoulder like they are doing today, previously. The both of them are really too tired, but sometimes, when one is too exhausted, it is instead more difficult to fall asleep.

Sui Zhou hears Tang Fan’s tossing and turning and says, “Turn over.”

Tang Fan does not ask why and turns over so his back is facing the other, and then he feels a warm palm cup over his jaw. Another hand slowly presses at a few acupuncture points at the back of his head.

The tension in his brain dissipates gradually, and Tang Fan moans once, comfortable. The person behind him is applying just the right amount of force, not too light, and not too heavy. He feels the pull of slumber come up as the exhaustion emerges again, and quickly enter the land of dreams.

In the middle of the night, he has a strange dream.

In it, he is walking along the dark river banks and in the vast land in the distance, many tombstones, high and low, have been erected. The wind blows past him, and along with it brings the sound of cries. The cries are devastating, as if filled with endless suffering, pain and resentment. The sound echoes in the space and then digs into Tang Fan’s ears, sending shivers down his spine.

The cries approach, coming closer and closer, closer and even closer, and suddenly, it seems like there is something behind him! The sensation is unclear to him, all he knows is that he has never felt this afraid before.

Slowly, he turns his head, and jolting, he opens his eyes.

“Don’t move,” Sui Zhou says, his voice low next to his ear, his arm stretching across Tang Fan’s waist.

Hearing his voice, the heart that was racing because of his nightmare slowly calms.

Then he quickly realises that the intolerable wails does not seem to exist just in his dreams, but is originating right from outside!

===

Notes:

*乌纱帽wu sha mao

Also commonly called a 乌帽 (wu mao) or futou, this is the headwear for Ming dynasty officials, with a tall cylindrical top and two flaps on the sides.

*河南清吏司郎中he nan qing li zi lang zhong

This is a full official rank. It is a little hard to find an English equivalent to this on my end so I’ve left it as that. 河南 (he nan) is a city all on its own in today’s map, and in this case it means Tang Fan is heads this particular court located in he nan. I’m not really familiar on the geography of it as well, it could just be a name for the neighbourhood or sector he’s in as well.

*镇抚使zhen fu shi

Another official rank, where 镇抚 (zhen fu) is the Administrative Court, and 使 (shi) on its own means ambassador. In this case, it can be interpreted as chief, or some equivalent. He is not a commander yet in this case, which is a position reserved for Yuan Bin, and previously Wan Tong.

*搬起石头砸自己脚 ban qi shi tou za zi ji de jiao

This means literally to pick up a stone and smashing your own foot with it, which means inadvertently and directly causing harm to yourself with a decision you made. I left the metaphor in the translations above because it’s interesting, the imagery!

*祸害遗千年huo hai yi qian nian

This is a common phrase used to say that a menace or evil being will survive for thousands of years, and good people are doomed to die early in a second part to this phrase.

*杀鸡用牛刀sha ji yong niu nian

Literally means to use a blade for slaughtering a cow to kill a chicken, which also means to apply unnecessary and excessive force to a matter which requires minimal effort. Or going overboard when the matter or thing requires much lesser force.

Context:洛水古棺案 The Luo Shui Ancient Coffin Case - This happens after Tang Fan’s promotion and is his first major case after he successfully deals with people who don’t like him at his new job. The case happens at a riverside city called Bei Song (Northern Song). To the North of the city it faces Luo Shui (Luo River), and further up they will see the Yellow River. The town is built near the tomb of the Song Emperor, and while the town and tomb have to frequently deal with tomb raiders, everything is still pretty manageable and peaceful.

Recently, however, things have taken a turn for the stranger, and the courts have put Sui Zhou and Tang Fan on the case.

Before they embark on their next case together, however, some things have to first be ironed out, for example, the royalties from writing that Tang Fan gets but secretly hides from Sui Zhou.

Seeing how his ears are drooping downwards, Sui zhenfushi compassionately caresses at his friend’s head as if he would a dog, “I am not after your money. I just want to help you keep it. Who asked you to be so happy when you see books? We almost cannot stack them up anymore, you have to control yourself.”

Introduction Post | Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Since a year ago, every day when it hits midnight, the civilians living nearby would hear some strange noises coming from Yong Hou Tomb and Yong Shao Tomb. At first, they thought it was the sound of the wind, but listening to it closely, they realised that those were crying sounds.

Yong Hou Tomb is where Song Ying Emperor Zhao Shu rests, and Yong Shao where Zong Ren Emperor Zhao Zhen rests.

Zhao Shu was Zhao Zhen’s successor, but he was not Zhao Zhen’s biological son, because all of Zhao Zhen’s sons died then, which left him with no choice but to take on Zhao Shu, who was from the royal family, as a charge.

These are not important, however. The question is, in the middle of the night, why would there be crying sounds from the royal tombs?

It has been so many years since the emperors from Song dynasty passed away and there are no longer any filial children or virtuous grandchildren. And even if there were, who would choose to cry for these lost souls in the middle of the night?

This is really strange.

The civilians in nearby villages have the responsibility of guarding and watching the tombs, and so after hearing the cries for a few consecutive nights, a few villagers went ahead to Yong Hou Tomb to investigate.

In the end, the people who went, never came back again.

It was only then that the village chief realised something was amiss - he urged other villagers to head forth to locate the missing people on one hand, and on the other, reported this to the Gong County Magistrate Court. Officials sent some men over and also searched thoroughly, but did not manage to find the people who disappeared. The royal tombs are built right next to the Luo River, and officials guessed that these people could have accidentally fallen into the river when they returned in the night.

With this conclusion, the case was wrapped up as well.

After that for a long time, the cries were never heard again. The village seemed to have its peace restored. Aside from those villagers who lost their loved ones, everyone slowly forgot about this incident.

But just half a year ago, those chilling wails emerged again and were louder than before, seemingly accompanied by the roar of thunder. The village chief did not dare to be careless about this and anxiously reported this to the courts again. The Gong County Magistrate thought that the village chief was making a fuss over something small, coming off the previous incident, and so did not think much of this. However, because the royal tombs are located there, he still got some of his officers to bring some men to the village and investigate.

This time, they found three tomb raiding holes near both the tombs of Yong Hou and Yong Shao. It seemed that tomb raiders had their eyes on these two emperors’ resting places, and came for a visit. Regarding the royal tomb being stolen from, the magistrate did not dare to be careless either. And so, he ordered the officers and also six of the strongest and younger men from the village to stake out the royal tombs nearby, hoping to catch the tomb raiders.

Everything was quiet in the surroundings of the royal tombs as the first day passed. The moonlight was like water, and next to them, aside from the sound of the Luo River water flowing, nothing else was heard. Everything was peaceful. The same happened on the second day.

And on the third day, crisis struck.

Three officers, six villagers and the village chief, when they went, they were 10 people in total.

At the end, only two returned.

One of them was an officer, and the other was the village chief.

The first went mad, and the second turned dumb.

The one who went mad was the officer. The village chief and he ran back from nearby the royal tombs, one after the other, and he was incoherent. Whoever he saw, he would try to hit, not to mention saying anything while being in a clear state of mind. The village chief’s expression was filled with horror, and his body drenched in fresh blood. His state of mind was almost that of the officer’s.

After the prognosis of the physician, he concluded that the officer has probably been frightened to the point of insanity. He would probably like this for the rest of his life as there is no cure for it. Although the village chief is old and of dwindling strength, he did experience more things in life and instead, was more resilient than the young officer. After a period of rest, his mental state slowly improved.

However, whenever the happenings of that night were mentioned, the village chief could not be more silent and reluctant to say anything more. It was not until the magistrate himself came over to question him that the man began repeatedly chanting ‘it’s a ghost’ and ‘there’s a monster’ - words related to that. No matter how much they asked, they could not get anything substantive out of him.

The magistrate was out of ideas but also felt that this situation was strange, and so had no choice but to get the investigation reported to higher authorities until it reached Jingcity.

“Ghost? Monster?”

In their small courtyard, Tang Fan considers both words and asks, “Could it be the tomb raiders pretending to be ghosts?”

Sui Zhou shakes his head, “I’ve also only just gotten this case. It’s very difficult to ascertain the accuracy of the magistrate’s report just by his words, we will have to head down there personally to make judgement. This happened in the jurisdiction of Henan, and I suspect it will be handed to the Department of Justice for an investigation, and then after that, it’ll also land on the head of the Henan’s Qing Li Si.

Tang Fan laughs bitterly, “That seems like a definite possibility.”

He stretches lazily, “Might as well. Anyway, I naturally have fidgety bones and cannot bear to be so leisurely. I’ve gotten tired of sitting in the courts, and if given the chance, I’d rather go out for a walk!”

Sui Zhou says in a low voice, “I also plan to go personally.”

Tang Fan is flattered, “It cannot be, Sui zhenfushiwould like to fight by my side? This is truly this lowly official’s honour!”

Although Sui Zhou is officially only a qianhu,he has become the boss of the Northern Administrative Court in reality. Any higher up than him would be Yuan Bin, so between officials, everyone is already used to calling him “Sui zhenfushi”.

Of course, hearing Tang Fan call him that, the title sounds a little more like (light teasing) mockery than anything else.

Sui Zhou leans into the chair, and taking the cup of buckwheat tea from Ah Dong, he says lightly, “Fighting side by side, maybe not so much. Since I am the zhenfushi, I naturally have to handle all matters. For a small Rank Five official like you, you’ll have to listen to my commands then too.”

Of course, these words are coloured with mirth, as he says it like a joke.

Tang Fan laughs, “Then I’ll have to fight for that with you. You’re a Rank Five army official, and I’m a Rank Five civil official. Since the Ming dynasty came into being, it is always civil officials commanding army officials. If we follow the principle of a Rank Five civil official being allowed to command a Rank Four army official, even if your big boss Yuan came, I’m afraid he would still have to listen to my orders. Otherwise, for someone who as physically unfit as me, what will I do if I go? I can’t possibly head up personally to catch the criminals myself, right?”

He winks at Ah Dong, “Isn’t that right, sister?”

Ah Dong nods, “Yes.”

Tang Fan puts up his leg and proudly says to Sui Zhou, “It’s really good to have a sister, see how considerate my Ah Dong is!”

Ah Dong goes, “I’m saying that Sui-dage is right.”

Tang Fan is dissatisfied, “Why do you always favour the outsider?!”

“Of course I have to side with the outsider. Da-ge, all your money is now in Sui-dage’s hands. Without him, we’d both be homeless!!” she laughs.

Tang Fan retorts, “What do you mean by all?! I only gave him half, don’t I still give you grocery cash every month?!”

Sui Zhou then asks, “So tell us how much money you have on hand right now?”

With both of them staring at him with their four eyes, Tang Fan stammers, “A man’s savings is a secret, you can’t just ask like that!”

Ah Dong then asks Sui Zhou, “Sui-dage, how much money do you have?”

Sui Zhou doesn’t say that she cannot ask, and very honestly says, “I helped him to save 30 taels last year, and then together with the 350 taels he gave me previously, that’s 380 taels. I also have some savings from before, and together it totals up to 1400 taels.”

Ah Dong gaps, “Sui-dage you’re so rich!”

Tang Fan huffs twice in awkward laughter, “The weather is really great today! That dumpling dish has been left alone for too long and it’s waiting for us to eat then. How low class is it to speak about money, our mouths full of the stench of copper!”

Ah Dong covers her mouth as she laughs, “You hid your writing royalties under your pillows and did not submit it. And here I was wondering how long you’d hide it for, but in a flash, you went to buy another stack of useless novels!”

Tang Fan, embarrassed, says, “What do you mean useless books! That is Spring and Autumn, a Song dynasty publication that people can’t buy even if they have money. I only got it after looking out for the book of so long!”

Ah Dong blinks, “Well, there’s another one called The Legend of Chun Chao.”

Sui Zhou frowns, “Why does that name sound a little strange?”

“That’s a proper book on demons, don’t think so much!” he says, guilty.

If he didn’t say anything, that would still be okay, but the more he explains, the stranger it sounds.

“Give it to me so I can have a look later,” Sui Zhou says.

Ah Dong sticks out her tongue at Tang Fan, “I want to see it too!”

Tang-daren feels immense pain, “You took the manuscript for Aspirations of War previously and you haven’t returned it to me yet!”

Although Tang-daren does spend his free time writing fiction books as a way to pass the time and also to get some writing royalties as well, to say that all he writes is erotica fiction, this is truly an injustice to him. Take Aspirations of War for example, he reflected the history of the years of war during the Eastern Zhou period, but because the content is complex, he often does not have time to write it. Only now does he have two-thirds of it finished.

Innocently, Sui Zhou says, “I’m not done reading it yet, I’ll return it to you when I’m done.”

“And when will you finish it?”

“When you promise not to secretly hide your royalties,” Sui Zhou answers.

Tang-daren is so angry right now that he feels like he is capable of doing anything, as he expresses his objections and dissatisfaction at these unfair standards.

“Well you didn’t give me the money either!”

“But I don’t have a habit of spending money unnecessarily,” Sui Zhou’s explanation ends the argument.

“…”

His pride slides to the ground and shatters.

He’s rising up in the ranks as an official, but when he comes home, his status gets increasingly lower! Let him live!

He wants to run away from home…

Seeing how his ears are drooping downwards, Sui zhenfushicompassionately caresses at his friend’s head as if he would a dog, “I am not after your money. I just want to help you keep it. Who asked you to be so happy when you see books? We almost cannot stack them up anymore, you have to control yourself.”

Tang-daren’s face is filled with tears.

===

Notes:

*胳膊往外拐 ge bo wang wai guai

Literally means using your elbow to reach out and hook onto someone else - As a metaphor it means to side with outsiders instead of your closest friends or family.

*满嘴铜臭味man zui tong chou wei

Literally means for one’s mouth to smell like the rotten stench of copper - as a metaphor it means that it is not good practice or manners to speak about money the way they are talking to each other.

*春潮记chun chao ji

Sui Zhou is so scandalized when Ah Dong mentions this book - The Legend of Chun Chao, and that’s because when you break the characters down: Spring (chun), tide (chao) and legend/records (ji)

• chun also can mean youth or a time of canoodling of sorts
• chao can also have a sexual connotation, i.e. to climax

And that’s why he is like “that sounds strange” when Ah Dong reads the title out, and this book is in fact an old story about demons, but the more Tang Fan denies it, the more guilty he sounds basically.