Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The proud young master leaves Jinling City in anger; The dumb warrior leaves for his distant hometown of Jiangnan

TL: Kirie

PR: Riri & Luke

QC: whalelyy

——“Lin Lang, are you playing with the birds again?!”

Lin Yuanwai angrily walked around the carved willow screen and stopped in front of the table. “What are you doing with your hands under the table? Admit it, you’re playing with the birds again, aren’t you!”

“I’m not!” Lin Lang denied. He pulled his hands out from under the table and raised them above his head to prove his innocence, only to see a golden parrot fly out from his sleeves with a swoosh and land on the patterned bird pole nearby, as its silver bells jingled and rung.

His pet’s betrayal made his expression turn awkward.

“Shun’Er——Where’s Shun’Er?” Lin Yuanwai slammed the fan in his hand heavily onto the table, his mustache fluttering in rage, insistent on finding Lin Lang’s reading companion to condemn her. “I told you to watch the young master study, where did you run off to!?”

Shun’Er, sound asleep in the dark room, was startled awake and immediately raised her arms, making tiny steps before falling to a kneel on the floor, crying breathlessly, “Mas——ter! It’s all Shun’Er’s fault! Shun’Er didn’t watch the young master study properly. Oh, how I regret it. Master please heavily punish Shun’er...”

(T/N: She’s admitting her wrongdoings and asking for punishment in hopes of a lighter punishment)

Then, she collapsed on the floor from crying, unmoving.

Faced with this sudden but cliche act, Lin Yuanwai needed a moment to process it.

Lin Lang felt a few drops of sweat on his forehead, and gestured to the servants to deal with the trouble while ordering them, “Take her away, take her away...” Then, he turned to smile apologetically and explain to his father: “Shun’Er was born into a theater troupe as a minor official, so she’s dramatic, very dramatic...”

“The day after tomorrow is the day of the prefectural exam on September 28. Have you reviewed all your books?” Not expecting the unfilial son in front of him to give a satisfying answer, Lin Yuanwai lowered his head dejectedly, rambling endlessly: “Look at the people around you… What an awful mess! If I don’t supervise your studies, you’d be playing around all day! Your mother in the heavens would be angered to tears!”

“Mother wouldn’t be angry.”

Lin Lang sighed, creating a mess of the Four Books and Five Classics* on the table, and then leaned backwards in the Inlaid jade birch chair, massaging his sore shoulders. “Shun’Er is the errand girl my mother personally brought into the manor. Besides——when my mother was alive, she said that she only hoped that I could live happily as I wish...”

(T/N: these are all major Confucian classics)

His words were only met with Lin Yuanwai’s rage. “As you wish? What could a mere child like you wish for? I’m asking you——Yesterday, I arranged for you to attend a feast with the daughter of the Hua family, but you made up an excuse midway and left without returning! What are you trying to do by making it so difficult for your father in front of others!”

“Father...I don’t want a wife yet. Besides, the young miss of the Hua family probably doesn’t think much of me either!”

“How would you know she wouldn’t think much of you?!” Lin Yuanwai was extremely disappointed in his son. “Do you know how much money I, your father, spent to prepare this banquet, but you just left whenever you wanted to!”

“Stop talking about it, father——either way I don’t want to marry her——and I don’t want to be a government official!” Lin Lang had a terrible sitting posture. In the time it took for him to say a few sentences he’d already raised his leg onto the table, shaking his head and was boasting about himself: “I’m someone who’s traveled on the Silk Road! Such an amazing business experience means that I should inherit the family business to share the burden...how wasteful would it be for me to be a government official!”

“In the social hierarchy, merchants have always been the lowest-ranked!” Lin Yuanwai was so angry he started coughing. “I shouldn’t have let you travel that Silk Road or whatever with your uncle then. All you learned was some nonsensical stuff! The Hua family has major officials in the imperial court. If we could make connections with them,,,”

(T/N: the social structure in ancient China from top to bottom: Emperor, nobles/government officials, peasants, artisans, merchants, slaves)

“——Stop!”

It was only now that Lin Lang began to become seriously angry. “Since you want to make connections, you should marry her and become a court official! I own my life so don’t force your dreams onto me!”

This time it took quite a while for Lin Yuanwai to overcome his anger. “...You...” It lasted for just a moment before the sparks in his eyes disappeared. Even his scolding weakened, and as if mumbling, he cursed. “Hopeless child!” But he didn’t know what to say afterwards.

The old man turned his head, and just as he stepped out of the door, he said loudly into the room as if he’d just pulled himself out of his thoughts. “Either do as I say! Or forget about eating in this house and scram!”

Very proudly lasting until the Zi Hour*, Lin Lang heard Shun’Er, outside the window, quietly whispering “Young master...Young master...”

Opening the window and seeing Shun’Er holding some food, Lin Lang rubbed his empty stomach, quietly saying, “Hurry and come in.”

“Master is too cruel...To forbid you from eating!” In the dim light, Shun’Er’s eyes were teary, the thick makeup shining on her face. “If there’s no other choice...if there’s no other choice, young master...you should just marry young miss Hua!”

While wolfing down the food, Lin Lang answered “No.”

“Young master...” Shun’Er pulled out an embroidered handkerchief, gently wiping her tears in a way that seemed as if she were afraid of smudging the makeup. “Shun’Er knows that the reason young master doesn’t want to take a wife is actually because young master cares for me. Young master is afraid that if you take a wife, the young mistress would bully me, whip me, and poison me...Shun’Er also doesn’t want to give up young master, but...”

“Wait wait wait——” Lin Lang stopped Shun’Er’s improvisation in time. “What nonsense are you spewing?”

Shun’Er’s face was covered in droplets of tears like a flower in rain. “That’s how it's written in all those plays——Have you heard of The Glazed Cup?” After seeing Lin Lang shake his head, Shun’Er explained, “It talks about a young master taking a wife, but that vicious wife was jealous of the affection the young master had for the servant girl and ended up killing the servant girl...The part after the servant girl drinks the poisoned wine was the most tragic. Shun’Er will sing it for young master...Ahem, ahem——the cold month of autumn, the fallen leaves and withered chrysanthemums, all travel east with the cold river...Oh~”

Lin Lang hastily covered Shun’Er’s mouth, who was crying so hard she was singing off tune. “That’s enough, enough.”

After he finally finished coaxing the disgraceful girl with difficulty, Lin Lang patted his full stomach and laid on the bed. “The gown that Mother personally sewed for me——the red brocade one——is it being kept well?”

“It’s in the cabinet. The one to the upper side——why do you ask?”

“Nothing, I just miss Mother...” Lin Lang rolled his eyes as he schemed. Would continuing this topic be suspicious? But after thinking for a moment he still asked the question. “Then how about the pair of boots mother sewed for me? The black suede boots.”

“It’s also in the cabinet.” Good thing Shun’Er wasn’t very bright and didn’t suspect anything, only worrying about cleaning the leftovers. Her remaining sorrows had yet to disappear, and there remained pitiful tears at the edges of her eyes. “Shun’Er also misses the Mistress. Sigh...but what use is there in just thinking about her. I have to fulfill her request of me——taking good care of the young master.”

After hearing this, Lin Lang felt his heart warm. “You know how to be grateful. I didn’t care for you for nothing.”

He didn’t mean much by his words, but who knew that after hearing that, Shun’Er started sobbing. “Young master, you and the mistress were the ones who saved me, clothed me, and fed me, keeping me from becoming a stray. Shun’Er is willing to repay your kindness with her body...”

“Wait wait wait——” Lin Lang once again stopped Shun’Er’s improvisation. After clearing his throat twice, he said very seriously, “Then, your young master...has a request.”

The hand that was cleaning up the plate suddenly jerked, the chopsticks falling to the floor. He could only see the disgraceful girl turn her head, her makeup thickening a bit. Because she held the wrong expectations, she was uncontrollably excited but still had to hold back her excitement, causing her voice to start trembling. “...W-what is it...”

Knowing what bizarre scene this girl was painting in her mind, Lin Lang reached for his fan and knocked it heavily on Shun’Er’s head. “What are you even thinking! What I want you to do is be more obedient and don’t infuriate the Master! If someday the Master kicks you out of the Lin Manor, I won’t be able to keep you! ——And also, take care of...Master.”

Shun er vaguely felt that something was wrong, but her brain couldn’t form the connection, only responding with a face full of confusion. “Of course...”

“Alright, leave. I’m going to sleep...”

It was only the next day when she awakened that Shun’Er realized the meaning behind Lin Lang’s “request”.

Sitting up on the bed, startled, she didn’t even have the time to apply makeup before she rushed to Lin Lang’s room and circled once. Immediately afterwards, she began loudly sobbing in the yard.

——””Ahhhhh—the young master scrammed!”

September 28th.

By the time he finished work and returned home, it was almost the end of the You Hour*. After greeting the stall owners he had started to get familiar with a few days ago, Tang Yushu closed the door, walking to the west wing, where he lived, while taking off his shirt.

(T/N: You Hour is from 5pm to 7pm).

After moving cargo and sweating the entire day, Tang Yushu felt he was a little smelly.

Suddenly, he remembered the large wooden bucket that was half the height of a person, which he’d discovered yesterday behind the house, he decided that he might as well use it——rolling it into the yard, he heated up two buckets of water and picked around ten soapberry leaves*, watching the beautiful Chentan sunset while comfortably taking a bath.

(T/N: As its name implies, it’s used as soap.)

——”Beautiful.”

Even as he was saying it, he felt a little empty in his heart——the huge house only had one person living in it: himself.

“But it’ll all get better, probably...” Tang Yushu muttered.

It’d been a little more than twenty days since he’d come to Chentan.

Even though the accent was different, he relied on his easy-going personality to slowly get accustomed to this place. He also successfully found some work moving cargo on a dock, which was enough to make a living. In his free time, he’d helped some neighbors do some of the heavy work, and occasionally he would tell the children some old stories of his heroism on the battlefield...at last, everything seemed to be at peace.

As for how he would spend his days in the future...Tang Yushu never dared to think too much.

“I’ll just take it one step at a time...” Tang Yushu mumbled.

Through the small gap of the house, the setting sun sprinkled a thread of gold on his face. He closed his eyes, still able to feel the warmth of this thread of sunlight.

The exhaustion he felt was dissipated by the hot water in the bucket. His mind muddled, he heard a creaking sound. And the thin thread of gold on his face turned to a large, dazzling piece of light.

Tang Yushu opened his drowsy eyes blearily, and without thinking too much, turned his head towards the source of the sound, only to see a noble-looking youth wearing a pair of black suede boots and a red brocade gown standing in front of the open door.

A gust of evening wind blew past him, blowing away his long side hair and revealing his cold and arrogant eyebrows.

Unconsciously, he thought of the word handsome, but right before he said it, he stopped himself as he startled awake. Tang Yushu, completely awake now, quickly stood up from the bucket and slapped his head, and shouted at the uninvited guest:

——”Who’re you?!” The youth dressed in red shouted before he could.

——”Why’d you intrude into my house?” This time the two’s question was asked in unison.

——”This is my house!” It was the same this time too.

——”Don’t say the same things as me!” This time as well.

Following this was a moment of silence.

And as for the dozens pairs of eyes of the stall owners behind the youth, alongside with the evening wind, past through the door, making the area under his abdomen chill.

Tang Yushu, startled, quickly sat back into the bucket.

It was night. The gate of the Chentan county office, which had been left unopened for more than ten years, was opened by Tang Yushu and Lin Lang.

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