Author: Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 34 – Breaking Relations

Ever since An Zi Ran said those words and scared Steward Su, every time Steward Su saw him, he would show a worried expression. In his heart, he thought that the young master had gone crazy because of the young miss, for An Zi Ran to be able to say those kinds of words.

An Zi Ran knew that Steward Su must be thinking those thoughts in his head, but he did not say anything.
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It’s been almost four months since he arrived in this time and place. He now knew that the Da Ya Dynasty, asides from not putting businessmen in high prestige, the people were also quite open-minded. Male homosexuality* was common in Da Ya. In Jun Zi City there were several well know specialty shops**. Many men who wanted to have a taste would go there, and some would even do it out in the open.

[*T/N: The phrase used here is 断袖龙阳 with 断袖 meaning “homosexual” and 龙阳 is colloquial for “male homosexual.”

Translator Muse would like to say “I know this is a BL world, but if the author had to specify male homosexual then does that mean female homosexuals are not accepted…?]

[**T/N: 倌馆 guan guan. I’m ninety-five percent sure the author wants to say “brothel with male prostitutes” or “restaurant catering to homosexuals,” but I don’t understand the author’s word choice. 倌 guan means “keeper of domestic animals / herdsman / (old) hired hand in certain trade” and the second 馆 guan means “building / shop / term for certain service establishments.” So I translated it as specialty shop.]

However, despite the open-mindedness of the people about such matters, taking a male wife was still rare.

After all, a man can’t compare to a woman when it came to continuing on the ancestral line for the husband. So even if one were to take a man for a wife, it would only be the status of a male concubine.

An Zi Ran was only thinking about it and nothing more. Even if Fu Wu Tian was willing to marry a man, An Zi Ran could not find someone to marry off. The little bun was only four months old. It’s not like he could make Fu Wu Tian wait, right? Just thinking about it was funny.

There was another way, but he didn’t want to implement that method.

That being An Chang De’s daughter.

An Chang De and Wu Zhi had a daughter named An Xue Yan. She was already seventeen this year. According to Steward Su her looks were okay but her character was not so good. Inheriting the bitterness and snobbery of her mother, she was very picky about her future husband. Her parents spoiled her too much, leading to her becoming unruly and willful, at seventeen years old she’s still not married.
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So when Steward Su mentioned it, An Zi Ran rejected the notion without hesitation. The purpose of the marriage was to safeguard the An family, and An Xue Yan would only cause trouble for the An family.

Steward Su knocked on the door and then entered. He put a hot thing* in front of An Zi Ran and said with concern, “Young Master, these past few days you’ve been rushing about for the young miss’s wedding, you must be very tired. I prepared a cup of hot tea for you. Drink it while it’s hot.”

[*T/N: The raws actually said “thing” 东西 dong xi]

An Zi Ran rubbed his temples. He was indeed tired.

Had it not been for the sake of the An family, he would not have dragged the family all the way to Jun Zi City. Every time he had to deal with Fu Wu Tian, a great deal of his brain cells would die in the exchange. In contrast, he would rather stay in the study every day and read over the ledgers.

Steward Su saw him start to drink the ginseng tea one mouthful at a time. Several times he wanted to speak, but refrained from doing so.

An Zi Ran perceived his line of sight and sighed. “Steward, if there’s anything you want to say then just say it, ba.”

“Since Young Master tells me to speak, then I will speak.” Steward Su seemed impatient to get the conversation over with. Watching An Zi Ran, he cautiously said, “You’re not really thinking of replacing the young miss and marrying Fu wang ye are you?”

An Zi Ran choked on the ginseng tea.

Steward Su quickly took out a handkerchief and handed it to him.

An Zi Ran coughed several times before the coughs subsided. Then he looked up at the worried Steward Su. He finally understood why he was always looking at him with that kind of gaze. As it turns out, the two of them were not thinking of the same thing. Even if he liked men, he never thought of marrying another man. It was not in his character to ruin* his future prospects for the sake of the An family.

[*T/N: 葬送 zang song: figuratively this means “to ruin (one’s future prospects etc)” but it can also mean “to hold a funeral procession and burial” or “to give somebody a final send-off”]

“Steward, do not worry, I will not do that.” An Zi Ran looked at him firmly.

Steward Su saw in his expression that he did not seem to be lying. Finally he felt a little relieved. But once he thought of the next problem, his heart tensed up again. “Young Master, about the young miss, what do you plan to do?”

A faint flash of coldness passed through An Zi Ran’s eyes. “Since she can only remember her own happiness, and doesn’t care if her actions implicate her two brothers to the point of death, then that kind of sister is not even worth recognizing. I will pretend I never had this younger sister. From now on, the An family does not have a Third Miss.”
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When Steward Su heard such a rejection, he eventually sighed. Before coming here, he never thought that things would become like this. Although Young Master’s words were heartless, the young miss’s actions were indeed bitterly disappointing. He also did not have any words to say.

“Tomorrow, accompany me on a trip to the Fu palace.”

After a moment of silence, An Zi Ran suddenly spoke.

Steward Su said, “Young Master, you are…”

After thinking it over, An Zi Ran felt that there might be a way to salvage the situation* if he just spoke openly about the situation.

[*T/N: 转圜余地 zhuan huan yu di “to have room to save a situation” or “margin for error (idiom)”]

Concerning An Yu Zhi running away to escape the marriage, they could conceal the matter for a period of time, but not for a lifetime. He’s been in contact with Fu Wu Tian several times, and he very much understood how enigmatic and unpredictable that man was. It was possible that he already knew about the matter. In that case, it was better to be active than to be passive.

An Zi Ran was someone who does what he says. So the next day he went to the Fu palace.

Steward Su wanted to persuade him to wait a bit, perhaps they could think of a solution tomorrow. But for the first time, he discovered that the young master’s temperament could also be this stubborn at times. It was something one couldn’t ordinarily tell from just looking at him.

When they were standing at the door of the Fu palace, he knew that the young master had steeled his heart.

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Next Chapter: Wedding Continues

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Chapter 33.2 – Terrible Mess

An Zi Ran looked down. “Is that all?”

Xing Er nodded. “This is it. After that, the lady stayed in her room and rarely went out. This servant believes that the young miss’s decision to runaway from home is related to what those people said.”

In other words, she may not be pursuing happiness and love, but was afraid to marry an ugly person?

An Zi Ran: “…”

Steward Su: “…”

Although Xing Er explained the situation in a simple and deft manner, An Zi Ran still felt that it was not so simple. An Yu Zhi did not look like a woman without a brain, but she also did not seem like someone with a hidden face to her.

“Young Master, the young miss went overboard with her actions.” Steward Su finally could not help but reveal his anger. Whatever the reason, the young miss should not escape from the marriage. She was going to marry a high-priority lord, not an ordinary person. This kind of thing involved the dignity of the royal family. If news of this passed out, the first person to be denounced would be the young master.
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Xing Er hesitated and said, “Young Master, why don’t we go look for the young miss right now? It’s possible that she still hasn’t left the capital yet.”

“Yes. We must bring the lady back.” Steward Su immediately answered her words. The An family only had this one daughter born from the main wife. If she left, there was no one to replace her.

Both of them looked at An Zi Ran at the same time.

An Zi Ran replied, “It’s already too late to go look now. Furthermore, Jun Zi City is beneath the feet of the emperor. Nowadays, everyone knows about the marriage between the An family and the Fu palace. Our family’s every move is being observed under their watchful eye. If we send people out to look it would be the same as announcing that Yu Zhi ran away from home to escape the marriage.”

Fu Wu Tian absolutely must not find out that An Yu Zhi ran away to escape the marriage.

Even now, An Zi Ran still can’t guess what was going on inside that man’s head. If Fu Wu Tian got angry, An Zi Ran could imagine the final ending of the An family. At that time, he wouldn’t have to wait for An Chang De’s plot to target the An family, the An family would just disappear from An Yuan County forever.

Steward Su understood Young Master’s concerns, but he was more worried about the An family.

An Zi Ran thought for a while, “Second mother and third mother’s daughters haven’t married yet. Maybe one of them could be a substitute?”

“That won’t do, Young Master,” Steward Su denied without hesitation. “Eldest Miss and Second Miss are both born from concubines. Their status is not suitable for public. Moreover, the Old Master’s promise to Fu lao wang ye was for the daughter of a main wife to marry into the Fu family. If the Fu palace found out that we tried to substitute with the daughter of a concubine, then the consequences…”

An Zi Ran felt a headache building up. He was only throwing out some ideas without thinking the matter through.

“Young Master?” Steward Su couldn’t stand to see the troubled look on the young master’s face. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the young miss was selfish. Even if she didn’t care about the An family, she should’ve at least considered the young master. They were blood-related siblings after all.
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An Zi Ran suddenly raised his head and looked at Steward Su with a look of anticipation. “Does it have to be the child of a main wife?”

Steward Su blanked a bit, and then he nodded.

An Zi Ran’s eyes suddenly moved to a small bun who will be four months old. “Well… is a male child okay?”

Both Steward Su and Xing Er turned wooden.

…

Fu Wu Tian sat on the steps in a gesture of randomness, not too dirty, and looked at the trees in the courtyard without know what to think. The handsome face had no expression until Ge Qian An’s voice rang in his ear.

“Wang ye, this subordinate received a message. It is about the An family.”

Fu Wu Tian gave him a casual look. “Speak.”

Ge Qian An said, “An Yu Zhi ran away to escape the marriage.”

Fu Wu Tian raised his head. His lips lifted by a faint degree. In the blink of an eye the expression disappeared. Ge Qian An thought it was an illusion, except he knew it wasn’t, wang ye really smiled.

Ge Qian An continued, “In the morning, someone saw the An family’s Third Miss and one of her personal maids renting a horse carriage and then leaving the city in a hurry. They were both carrying bundles* with them. Then I sent people to investigate. It has just been determined that An family’s Third Miss did indeed escape her marriage.” A pause, and then he said, “Wang ye, do you want to send someone to catch her and bring her back?”

[*T/N: 包袱 bao fu: lit. bundle or bundle wrapped in a cloth. Because suitcases were not invented yet, a 包袱 was indicative of travel.]

Although it was only a landlord’s daughter, it would be bad for the Fu palace’s reputation if such news were spread about.

“No need, let’s see what he will do.”

He spoke this with an expectant tone. After dropping this sentence, Fu Wu Tian suddenly stood up and turned away.

Behind him, Ge Qian An revealed a grave expression. Wang ye seemed more and more interested in An Zi Ran. This was not a good thing!

[T/N: Hell yeah, it’s a good thing! XD]

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Chapter 33.1 – Terrible Mess

Hearing the news, Steward Su hurriedly rushed over. He was told that the young master was in the second young master’s room, so he changed his trajectory to head over there instead. He had yet to get close to the room when he heard the second young master’s cries. The child usually did not cry, but when he did, not even the wet nurse could appease him.
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When Steward Su arrived at the doorway he saw the young master sitting on a chair. The young master appeared as if he was submerged in water. The young master usually did not have much expression on his face, but right now he could see that the young master was very angry. Then he noticed that the second young master was cradled in the young master’s arms. Gradually, the cries quieted down.

An Zi Ran handed the little bun over to the wet nurse. She received the child. The little bun let out a “wa” sound indicating his intention to cry anew. When he was returned to An Zi Ran’s arms, the little bun sniffled and did not cry. Silence descended on the room all at once. The wet nurse was embarrassed.

An Zi Ran was silent for a moment. Then said, “You all go out first, ba.”

The wet nurse and two maidservants left the room.

After the little bun’s crying episode, the atmosphere within the room was not as depressing as before.

After a moment, Steward Su whispered, “Young Master, I just heard that the young miss is missing. What is the matter?”

An Zi Ran looked at Xing Er, who stood by and dared not speak out.

Xing Er immediately took out a letter and handed it to him. “The lady wrote a letter and ran away from home.”

An Zi Ran put the little bun in the cradle. The bun did not cry this time. An Zi Ran then took the letter. He had yet to ask for the full story when the maid, Yue Ju, came running over to look for him, saying that the second young master was crying out of breath and would not stop no matter what. The wet nurse had no choice but to send one of the maids to look for him. As a result he came to check on the situation, and as soon as he cradled the little bun in his arms, the bun stopped crying.
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There were four words written on the envelope: Elder Brother personally open.

An Zi Ran looked at the handwriting. Those characters, written with firm and resolute strokes, were at odds with An Yu Zhi’s physical appearance. In the letter, she wrote that she did not want to get marry with Fu Wu Tian, someone who she’s never even seen before, and that she wanted to pursue her own happiness.

Asides from those words there were no more. Not even a word of apology!

Steward Su read the letter, and suddenly looked shocked. He couldn’t speak for a long time. After a while, he finally found his voice. “Young Master, how can Young Miss suddenly… In the first place, wasn’t she, herself, the one that agreed to marry into the Fu palace? How can she suddenly run away? What can we do? There are only four days left. Young Master, let’s quickly sent someone to find the lady and bring her back.”

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to bring her back,” An Zi Ran said coldly.

Needless to say, he already guessed, An Yu Zhi left in the morning when he was absent from the courtyard. By this time she should have already left the capital. Unless this matter was told to Fu Wu Tian, so that he may send someone to go find her, but that was obviously impossible.

Steward Su looked at the young master helplessly*, he also did not know what was the best course of action. “Why would the young miss suddenly think like this? Everything was still fine two days ago…”

[*T/N: 六神无主 out of one’s wits (idiom)]

An Zi Ran looked at Xing Er.

Xing Er dropped to her knees, “I’m sorry, Young Master, this servant did indeed lie last time. The lady went to the jewelry shop that day and overheard other people talking about Fu wang ye. After that she was all out of sorts. The young miss didn’t let Qiao Er and I speak of this matter. This servant knows that she is wrong.” Fearing severe punishment, she readily admitted to the mistake.

“Tell me everything that occurred that day. Don’t leave out a single detail.” An Zi Ran pinned her with his stare as he said each word clearly. His expression was very serious and cold.

This was the first time that Xing Er saw the young master angry. Just being watched by him was kind of stifling. Under pressure, she immediately recited what happened that day at the jewelry shop.
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The jewelry shop that they went to that day was the best one in Jun Zi City. Many ladies or unmarried women liked to go there to buy jewelry. There was a group of women gathered there gossiping. The topic of gossip that day was Fu Wu Tian. They were discussing his appearance and his track record in the army.

Fu Wu Tian was considered the God of War in Da Ya, but very few people actually met him. He had been on the battlefield since he was a child, and he returned only a handful of times. The number of people who has seen him was small to the point of pitiable. Even his own cousins have not seen him, let alone other people.

As a result, many mistaken rumors floated about.

One upper-class woman who was said to have seen Fu Wu Tian said that he was very ugly. Supposedly half of his face was once burned off and was now disfigured. Therefore, on the day when he returned to the capital he wore a mask.

Another upper-class woman said that Fu Wu Tian was a bloody and cruel person. He murdered countless people. His hands were stained with endless blood. And he liked to torture the enemy the most. He would rip out their heart, dig out their intestines, and gorge out their eyes, and then let the enemy die a miserable* death. The gossip went on in this vein.

[*T/N: 惨不忍睹 spectacle too horrible to endure (idiom); tragic sight / appalling scenes of devastation]

An Yu Zhi was scared. She left the jewelry shop and fell down the stairs. After returning to the courtyard, her entire face was white.

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Chapter 32 – To Leave

“My lady, we have returned.”

The people have yet to enter the room, but Qiao Er’s voice had already floated into the room first. Only, they had not yet entered the room when they encountered a restless An Yu Zhi by the doorway.

An Yu Zhi’s complexion was looking not so good. Just thinking about the fact that after seven days she will have to marry into the Fu palace, there was not a drop of joyous color on her face, only fear. “The matters that I asked you to inquire about, how goes it?”

Qiao Er did not notice and said happily, “Miss, the news of your marriage to Fu wang ye is circulating all throughout Jun Zi City. I heard that the emperor has also passed a decreed, not only is he allowing the marriage, but he also conferred many valuable things, just waiting for you when you marry into the Fu family.”

An Yu Zhi’s face suddenly turned white.

“Miss, what is wrong?” Xing Er was the first to notice her strangeness.

Qiao Er looked and also saw the white face of the young miss. “Miss, don’t scare us. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” As she said this she quickly poured a cup of hot water for her.
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An Yu Zhi did not take the cup but instead seized Qiao Er’s wrist. Her fingers turned white with the excessive force of her grip. “Tell me, if right now I say I will not marry… what will happen?”

“Miss, these words, you mustn’t say them. Otherwise there will be big trouble for the An family.” Xing Er was startled.

“That’s right, Miss.” Qiao Er also did not know that their young miss had such thoughts, and hurriedly took Xing Er’s side. “Fu wang ye is a member of the imperial family. To be able to marry him, that is the kind of fortune that every women dream about. Not to mention, you’re becoming the wang fei when you’re marrying into their family.”

Xing Er said earnestly, “Miss, the news of your and Fu wang ye’s marriage is well known. Even the emperor is starting to take notice. If you say you won’t marry, and the emperor gets angry, the entire An family will be charged with committing crime against the throne. You must not have such an idea.”

An Yu Zhi put on a stiff smile. “The two of you needn’t worry so much. It’s just a sudden thought I had, so I just said it out loud. It’s not like I will necessarily do it.”

The two maidservants breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiao Er resumed that smirking expression, “Miss, good thing you are only asking.”

An Yu Zhi’s eyes flashed.

Time flies quickly, in the blink of an eye another three days passed. Only four days away from the big wedding. Both sides were in full swing preparing for the wedding. Even An Zi Ran was busy to the point of not having time to practice his calligraphy. These past few days he’d been running back and forth between their courtyard and the Fu palace. Therefore he did not have time to pay attention to the situation with An Yu Zhi.

Before An Yu Zhi said she was just talking about it, but on that day when An Zi Ran went over to the Fu palace, she began to pack up. She sent away the more sensible Xing Er, and only Qiao Er was left. When she heard that the young miss wanted to escape from the marriage, she was shocked into a stupor.

“Miss, didn’t you say…”

An Yu Zhi went back on her words. For the first time, her pretty face revealed her determination. “I don’t want to marry. I’ve already figured it out. My life cannot be destroyed in Fu Wu Tian’s hands. I want to pursue my own happiness.”
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These days she thought again and again, about the opera plays that she once saw with her father and mother. One scene had always impressed her. It was a woman who had always had a firm belief in bravely pursuing her own happiness. In the end, she obtained that happiness. She thought that she should also be like that woman in the opera play.

Qiao Er was shocked. “But Miss, if you just pack up and leave like this, what will happen to the young master and the An family?”

Seeing that the young miss had already packed her bags, she finally knew that the young miss was not kidding this time. She was overwhelmed. She felt that she must persuade the young miss. There may be some flaws with Fu wang ye, but his status was a noble. How many people wanted to marry him but would never have the chance. It was incredible that the lady wanted to escape the marriage!

An Yu Zhi raised her eyebrows. She knew she was making things difficult for her maidservant. She gnawed on her lower lip. “I believe Brother will find a way. Qiao Er, are you willing to go with me? If you don’t want to, I can’t let you tell my brother, so I’ll tie you up.”

[T/N: Damn~ where is all this steadfastness coming from. Not too long ago she was blushing and stammering things like “I’ll leave it all up to Brother.”]

“Miss…” Qiao Er’s face revealed her inner conflict.

For the first time, she saw the young miss so determined, and it looked like she had made preparations way ahead of time.

“Qiao Er, if you come with me, I won’t treat you poorly.” An Yu Zhi actually wanted someone to leave with her. There was peace of mind in two people relying on each other. So between the two maidservants, she chose Qiao Er, the one who was comparatively more impulsive.
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Qiao Er hesitated for a while and eventually nodded in agreement. She knew that the jun wang would definitely lay blame on them. When that happens no one in the An family would get away. If she stayed she might get implicated. It would be better to follow the young miss.

The master and servant pair who agreed on the idea soon slipped from the back door.

By the time An Zi Ran returned to the courtyard the sun was fast setting towards the horizon.

As soon as he entered the door, he was keenly aware that the atmosphere was somewhat strange and seemed to be repressed.

Eventually he found Xing Er pacing back and forth. When Xing Er saw him it was like she saw the holy savior himself. She immediately rushed over. She opened her mouth and the first sentence that left her lips was, “Young Master, it’s not good, the young miss is gone.”

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I recently finished translating a portion of Aku no Joou no Kiseki as a teaser to increase reader interest in the story. It’s a Japanese light novel with a female protagonist. It’s another transmigration story and the premise is quite interesting. Take a look if you have time.

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Chapter 31 – Before Fleeing*

[*T/N: The Chinese word used here is very specific to the situation. It is 逃婚 tao hun and it literally means “to flee to avoid an arranged marriage”]

After leaving the study, Qiao Er and Xing Er hurried back to the lady’s boudoir.

An Yu Zhi, who was sitting on a chair, immediately stood up and hurriedly asked, “What did Brother ask you two about?”

“Young Miss, do not worry, Xing Er and I did not say much about your situation, the young master still does not know.” Qiao Er said placating. Her smiling face held a hint of smugness*.

[*T/N: 邀功 yao gong: “to take credit for somebody’s achievement.” The author used this word because the one that responded to An Zi Ran was Xing Er, and here Qiao Er is making it seem like she was the one that cleverly duped him when she said nothing at all.]

An Yu Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xing Er could not help wrinkling her brow and saying, “Young Miss, is it okay for the two of you to fool the young master like this? If the young master finds out, he will definitely be very angry.” When she was just speaking to the young master, she did not dare say too much. She only said a part of the truth, so if the young master found out, the responsibility would not be as heavy.
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An Yu Zhi was dissatisfied when she heard her. “Can’t let Brother find out.”

She was consciously hiding this from An Zi Ran. Especially after hearing that the marriage talks went well, she became even more adamant in her idea.

“Xing Er, you’re worrying too much. Even if the young master knows afterwards, it would be impossible for him to punish the young lady. Once our lady marries into the Fu palace she will be a wang fei, who dares to bully her then ah!” Qiao Er said with a look of pride.

Xing Er saw her like that and just shook her head.

Neither of them noticed An Yu Zhi’s emotional expression.

Three days later, the wedding date was finally settled on. It was on April 17. It was an auspicious date. Because the sole senior member of the Fu household had some problems with his memory, all the marriage preparations were handled by Fu Wu Tian himself. On the fourth day, the wedding gifts from the Fu palace were sent over to the An family.
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The courtyard that they lived in was no longer a rented one. An Zi Ran had spend a few thousand silvers and bought the place. Then the courtyard was converted into one of their houses. This was to prevent An Yu Zhi having to marry out from a rented house. If some ill-intention person found out, there would be an article of gossip.

News of the marriage between the An family and the Fu palace had spread throughout Jun Zi City, causing a great sensation to rock the city.

The war god’s reputation was illustrious. Ever since Fu Wu Tian led numerous high-ranking military officers in their return to the city, many people wanted to witness the truth and bravery of the God of War. However, Fu Wu Tian rarely appeared before the masses. He had returned to the city for more than a month, but he still wore a mask while riding outside. Therefore, except for a small group of people, almost no one knew what he was like.

Thus, many rumors spread in Jun Zi City. Most of it was speculation about his appearance, as well as his battle record at the border. News of his marriage roused the people more than the emperor’s harem selection event*.

[*T/N: 选秀 xuan xiu: 选秀女 “harem selection event” or “talent selection”]

The emperor of Da Ya, Fu Chong Yi, was alarmed. Da Ya’s God of War, his relative was going to get married. Even he, as the emperor, did not know. So that night, he summoned Fu Wu Tian into the palace.

The names of everyone in the imperial family were recorded in the ancestral hall. Only then would it be recognized. It also needed the emperor’s approval. In other words, it meant that the emperor was in control of their marriage. Only he could assign their marriages. The imperial family could not marry casually.

Fu Wu Tian’s marriage was worth more to the emperor than his sons.

Although he only returned to the capital for a month, the emperor had already brought up the topic of Fu Wu Tian’s marriage more than once. There had been the idea of marrying the minister’s daughter to him. Later, because of something, the idea was dispelled, but it did not mean that he gave up.
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If Fu Wu Tian wanted to take someone as a concubine then he (the emperor) would not say anything, but the wang fei position, that was no good. The daughter of a landlord in some county wanted to climb into the royal family. It was absolutely impossible!

The emperor’s anger soon extinguished.

Although Fu Wu Tian was his close relative, he had control of a large part of the army. For more than ten years, his prestige in the military was even higher than that of the emperor. What made the emperor most afraid was if Fu Wu Tian did not want to do something, even if the emperor ordered it, he still won’t do it. Not to mention he still had a grandfather with a changeable character.

Fu lao wang ye was the emperor’s uncle. In his hands he held the dragon whip of the previous emperor, which gave him the right to supervise the emperor. Although he had not been at court for a long time because of his illness, his right was still there. If he got worked up, even the emperor himself would have to give way*.

[*T/N: 退避三舍 lit. to retreat three day’s march (idiom); figuratively “to give way in the face of superior strength;” a strategic withdrawal]

Fu Wu Tian brought his grandfather into the palace for a roundabout stroll. No matter what ideas the emperor came up with it was all no use. He could only acknowledge that the lao wang ye had promised a marriage contract.

Only seven days left until April 17.

While everyone in Jun Zi City was discussing the matter, An Yu Zhi was in a panic.

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Surprise! This is a special update in celebration of Fourth of July. I hope y’all had a fun day. Now kick back and relax with another chapter of TBL. This one is longer than usual. =^-^=

Also, I have a character list and a notable locations list for this story. You can find them on The Big Landlord’s info page under the Translations tab of the menu.

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Chapter 30 – Abnormal

By the time they returned to the courtyard it was almost approaching noon.

An Zi Ran called Qiu Lan over to inquire after An Yu Zhi’s health.

“Young Master, the lady had an excellent appetite this morning and ate two bowls of congee,” this was how Qiu Lan replied. Ever since returning from shopping two days ago, the young miss’s complexion did not look good. Her appetite was smaller than usual. Yesterday night she only had one bowl of congee for dinner.

An Zi Ran was simply asking, but received such an unexpected answer. His steps into the courtyard faltered. With an unclear expression he asked, “This morning when you went to attend to the young miss, how was her complexion looking?”
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Qiu Lan thought for a bit. “She looked well. There was a bit of red in her cheeks. She wasn’t pasty like she was two days ago. So this servant had the kitchen make more congee for the lady. Young Miss did not say anything. And unlike two days ago, she did not resist and ate two bowls of congee.”

An Zi Ran nodded. “That is all. You are dismissed.”

Qiu Lan turned and left.

After lunch, An Zi Ran returned to the study. Steward Su was quietly waiting for him inside. Without realizing his state of mood, he said, “Young Master, the ink is almost ready*. Would you like to make the gift list today?”

[*T/N: Back then, ink was prepared by grinding an ink stone with a bit of water.]

The date of the marriage was not set in stone yet, because they needed to find a knowledgeable person to choose a good day. Taking advantage of this time, An Zi Ran wants to get the list of dowry ready. An Yu Zhi was the daughter* of the first wife, and she was about to marry into a prince’s palace, so the dowry must not be small. Losing face was a trifle, but if she was looked down upon after marriage, it would implicate the An family too.

[*T/N: 嫡女 di nv: “daughter of first wife.” I saw the word “prostitute” in MTL and I thought I was tripping, but no they really translated it as prostitute.]

Yesterday, before the ledgers were sent over, An Zi Ran had already finished half of the list.

The An family was a big landlord. What they had a lot of was land. There were also quite a few shops under their name. Most of them were rice shops. Only a small fraction was jewelry and fabrics and such. The scope involved was not particularly wide. Based on the An family’s situation, their status was indeed too low to be rubbing elbows with the Fu family, this point could not be refuted.
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What An Zi Ran could take out for the dowry was not a lot. Ever since he made those two decisions*, the An family’s assets have shrunk. The total number of monthly accounts earned was less than half that of An Chang Fu when he was alive. An Chang Fu’s three concubines already gave An Zi Ran a piece of their minds early on, especially the second and third concubine, because they had unmarried daughters. In the future, if they wanted to get married, they will be dependant on the dowry from the An family. Since the An families assets have shrunk, then those dowries were bound to shrink.

[*T/N: I believe he’s referring to the two decisions he made concerning the situation with the farmers]

But they did not know that when An Chang Fu was alive he had already prepared a dowry for his eldest daughter and second daughter. Both of them have reached the age of marriage. Just because Liu Mei Xiang was pregnant with An Zi Ming, so their matters were delayed. An Zi Ran also heard about this later on from Steward Su. Both the second and third concubine did not know about this.

There was red paper on the desk, and the brush was prepared by Steward Su.

An Zi Ran sat down and took up the brush. He dipped the fine hairs of the brush nib into the ink and started to write out the list.

After several months of practice, his writing was starting to look better. Although it was not to the level of a scholar, his words were already very angular, vigorous and slender, just like his person.

Every time Steward Su saw the words written by the young master, his face would reveal a happy expression. He was the one who had the greatest understanding of the young master’s handwriting from before, it was so shameful that it could no longer be expressed with words. Now it was finally written with a good hand. If the late lord and lady saw this from the heavens above, they would be very happy.

An Zi Ran suddenly put down the brush and stood up.

Steward Su was slightly surprised and asked, “Young Master, what is it?”

“A break first. It won’t be too late even if I write it a little later,” An Zi Ran said, and then thinking of a new thought he said, “Have Qiu Lan bring the young miss here to the study.”

Steward Su did not question further. He nodded and went to do as bid.

Qiu Lan was quick. An Zi Ran had just finished the tea that Chun Lan poured for him when he heard several pairs of footsteps approaching. Soon, An Yu Zhi’s figure appeared beside the doorway.
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An Zi Ran looked at her. As Qiu Lan had said, An Yu Zhi’s face was a healthy shade, not at all like an infirmed person. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was no illness at all. Why did she lie to him about feeling unwell and refused to accompany him to the Fu palace? He could still recall how she had said she wanted to marry Fu Wu Tian. That shy demeanor, she was not one who could deceive people.

“Brother, what did you call me for?” An Yu Zhi approached him and asked. After spending some time together, she no longer spoke to her brother like before, with a bit of estranged distance between them.

An Zi Ran put down the cup in his hand, and said, “This morning I already spoke with Fu wang ye. He already agreed to take you as his princess, so you don’t have to marry him as a concubine. The marriage will be within a month. I will handle this matter well. You do not have to worry. Come over tomorrow. Brother will give you some money to buy some beautiful jewelry. Deck yourself up well. The Fu family is part of the imperial family after all, and we cannot allow others to look down on our family.”

As An Zi Ran talked, An Yu Zhi’s face became whiter and whiter, expression no longer happy. Her hands were twisted under the table. Don’t know what she was disturbed by.

An Zi Ran looked at her quietly. “Yu Zhi, are you not happy?”

An Yu Zhi became alert again. Seeing her brother looking at her with a concerned gaze, she pretended to hold her forehead. “No, I’m very happy. It could be that I’m not completely well yet, my head feels a little dizzy.”

“If you feel unwell, go back to your room and rest. We can talk about the other things two days from now.” An Zi Ran said peacefully.

An Yu Zhi immediately replied, “Then little sister will retire (to rest) now.”

After she finished speaking, she left in a hurry*.

[*T/N: 迫不及待 po bu ji dai: impatient (idiom); in a hurry / itching to get on with it]

An Zi Ran watched her go. He could tell that she was lying. She covered up in time, but in front of him, her acting had no effect at all. Her wandering eyes have already betrayed her. In order to clarify the problem, he called for An Yu Zhi’s two personal maidservants, Qiao Er and Xing Er.

“Two days ago, when you accompanied the young miss out, did anything happen?”

Qiao Er and Xing Er looked at each other in dismay. Qiao Er said, “Replying to Young Master, on the day we accompanied the lady to the jewelers to buy jewelry. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.”

An Zi Ran asked again, “Then let me ask you, when the young miss is calm is there anything that’s out of place?”

Xing Er said, “There was a little thing. When the young miss came out from the jewelers, she slipped on the steps and fell, but there was nothing serious about it. This kind of thing happens quite frequently at other times too.”
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An Zi Ran saw that he would not be getting any useful information from these two, so he dismissed them. According to the two of them, there seemed to have been no problem on the street that day. It couldn’t have happened at any other time, because An Yu Zhi barely left the house since that incident. Perhaps she was experiencing premarital phobia?

Unexpectedly, he thought of the premarital phenomenon. It was more common in the twenty-first century.

If that was the reason, then An Yu Zhi’s abnormal behavior could be explained. Perhaps that was it. The female mind was always particularly difficult to guess. He could only think so.

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Chapter 29 – A Servant’s Quality

When An Zi Ran arrived at the Fu palace, it was Steward Li that came out to invite him inside.

Seeing him, Steward Li’s entire face scrunched up with a smile. “An gong zi came early. Our wang ye is still practicing in the yard. It will take a while before he is done.”

An Zi Ran noticed that his expression was laughing. There was not a speck of deference in his eyes. But he did not mind. He was also not surprised by the servant’s words. He had mentally prepared himself when he received the invitation card.

…

The arrival of An Zi Ran set off a small wave in the Fu palace.

The purpose of their arrival from two days ago had already spread throughout the palace. Before that, it was very rare to know that the Fu palace had a marriage contract with the An family. Only Fu lao wang ye and Fu Wu Tian knew about it.
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But since Fu lao wang ye’s illness, the only person in the entire Fu palace that knew of this matter was Fu Wu Tian. But because he had been away at the border station all this time, and he did not put the matter of the marriage contract in his heart, even his men did not know about it. So when the news spread out, one could just imagine the shock.

When An Zi Ran hadn’t arrived yet, someone had started to inquire about the news.

When they heard that the other party was the daughter of a landlord they could not believe it.

[T/N: The “they” refers to the servants of the Fu palace.]

In all of their eyes, their wang ye’s identity was very noble. Someone who could be their wang fei, at the very least must be the daughter of some high official. How could a landlord’s daughter measure up? No one was optimistic about this kind of marriage. They thought that their wang ye was definitely not willing to marry that woman. So when they heard that wang ye was only going to give the woman the status of a concubine, they looked upon her even more scornfully.

[T/N: Even though they haven’t even laid eyes on her yet. Aiya, these servants…]

Steward Li was representative of one of these people.

The last time, because of the lao wang fei’s jade pendant, he didn’t dare look at the other party before ushering him inside. As a result, he was almost punished by the wang ye. Now, knowing that wang ye did not like the people of An family, he was the first to express his dissatisfaction.

[T/N: 老王妃 lao wang fei: lit. old princess, referring to ML’s grandmother]

Steward Li asked An Zi Ran to wait in the hall. He did not immediately send someone to inform wang ye. Instead, he had a servant pour a cup of semi-cold tea for An Zi Ran.

An Zi Ran picked up the tea cup, and then lowered it.
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Steward Li looked in his eyes and smiled. “Why isn’t An gong zi drinking the tea? Is the Fu palace’s tea not to your taste? Then, my apologies. An gong zi may be used to drinking inferior tea. Unfortunately, the Fu palace’s tea is all top-notch tea. We really don’t have substandard tea leaves, so please put up with it.”

Steward Su heard this sentence and almost jumped out, but he was stopped by An Zi Ran in a timely manner.

An Zi Ran finally determined that Steward Li was targeting him. Such blatant sarcasm. Could it be that Fu Wu Tian instigated this? Was this his way of flaunting his power? Although he could not be very sure, he still could not casually let a servant give him cheek.

“I* certainly have never seen a person entertain their guest with cold tea. It makes one doubt the quality of the servants in the Fu palace.”

[*T/N: An Zi Ran refers to himself as 本公子 ben gong zi here, which roughly translates to “this son of a well-to-do family.” This is a slightly elevated and arrogant way of referring to oneself. He’s usually neutral when he addresses himself, but here he is kind of putting on airs to counter Steward Li’s rudeness towards him.]

Steward Li’s face froze.

He was just preparing a few more words of sarcasm when a steady stream of footsteps came in.

Fu Wu Tian’s tall figure appeared at the door.

Steward Li turned around and his three souls and seven skeletons* were all frightened away. His heart plummeted as he wondered if wang ye heard the words he had said just now. His mind descended into sudden disarray**.

[*T/N: 三魂七魄 san hun qi po: “three immortal souls and seven mortal forms in Daoism”]

[**T/N: The original sentence here was 顿时七上八下 lit. suddenly at sixes and sevens/perturbed state of mind/in a mess]

An Zi Ran’s eyes fell on Fu Wu Tian. His face was not easy to read. He wanted to gleam from his expression whether or not he was the instigator behind this. But like his first impression of Fu Wu Tian, this was a man that was hard to understand. The deep expression did not tell him whether he had heard their conversation.

Fu Wu Tian walked in. He threw a glance at the stiffened Steward Li. “I don’t ever want to hear the guests questioning the quality of Fu palace’s servants. Go and bring back two cups of hot tea.”

[T/N: Ha!]

Steward Li immediately rushed out of the hall.

An Zi Ran looked suspiciously at Fu Wu Tian. Was it really not his doing? The idea flashed to the forefront of his mind but with a turn of the head it was immediately denied. With Fu Wu Tian’s status, there was absolutely no need to make things difficult for him.

“Are you done looking?”

Fu Wu Tian’s steady and solid voice evoked his attention.

An Zi Ran withdrew his gaze. He always felt that Fu Wu Tian’s words carried a trace of ridicule, but looking at him with his serious expression, that did not seem to be the case either, so An Zi Ran settled the matter with the thought that he probably heard wrong.

After a while, Steward Li really did bring back two cups of hot tea. That cup of tea that had been cooled off was taken away by him.

An Zi Ran proactively brought up the topic, “Wang ye, about the marriage between our families, the An family will not accept this talk of concubine. That year, the agreement that was made between Fu lao wang ye and my grandfather, it was for Yu Zhi to be your wang fei. This is the promise that Fu lao wang ye made to my grandfather!” He specifically enunciated the word ‘promise.’

Fu Wu Tian looked at him. The boy in front of him was not as fat as described in the data. There was some baby fat on the cheeks. The five features were not very prominent, but his eyes were very clear. The staunchness conveyed by his eyes when he was unwilling to concede was amazing to behold.
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When he did not reply right away, An Zi Ran did not panic. He had already practiced several scenarios in his mind. He was just waiting for him to refute, to express unwillingness, but Fu Wu Tian’s next words stunned him.

“Then, in accordance to you, I will marry your sister as my wang fei.”

An Zi Ran looked at him without blinking.

Fu Wu Tian looked back at him.

Steward Su could not help but cough.

An Zi Ran returned to his senses. In his subconscious mind, he overdid it. “Since wang ye is this frank and straightforward, let us talk directly about the marriage arrangements, and set a date…”

Fu Wu Tian did not refute his words.

The two talked very pleasantly!

After two hours, An Zi Ran and Steward Su left the Fu palace. Steward Su had a face full of smiles. They passed by Ge Qian An at the door. Ge Qian An glanced back at them. Then, just as he walked up the steps, Fu Wu Tian came out. He was just about to speak, but then Fu Wu Tian dropped a sentence that made him stiffen and then turn to the corridor next to him.

“Next time, do not act on your own initiative*.”

[*T/N: 自作主张 to think for oneself and act accordingly (idiom); to act on one’s own initiative. This is usually used in the negative sense when a person is scolding someone else. Often times it is a superior saying this to a subordinate when the subordinate thinks he or she is being smart, but ends up acting out of line and causing trouble for the superior.]

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Chapter 28 – Invitation Card

News of Fu Wu Tian’s sudden change in attitude had yet to reach An Zi Ran’s ears.

Although An Yu Zhi did not care whether she was the main wife or a concubine, An Zi Ran did not want to compromise so easily. Certainly, the agreement between Old Master An and Fu lao wang ye was not to make An Yu Zhi a concubine of Fu Wu Tian.

An Zi Ran had never had contact with the Old Master, but he knew that all literati have a certain stubbornness and pride to them. Case in point, the Old Master had the chance to become a small time official in the capital, but he abandoned that opportunity and return to An Yuan County. Such a person could not have agreed to a marriage contract that would only allow his granddaughter the position of a concubine. Therefore, An Zi Ran was wondering if there was some way that he could force Fu Wu Tian to take An Yu Zhi as his wang fei. After much deliberation, he still ended up back at the original idea, which was to approach the situation starting with Fu lao wang ye.

Before he could come up with a concrete plan, the Fu palace sent a servant over.
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“An gong zi, wang ye sent me to give this invitation card to you. He wants you to come to the Fu palace two days later to discuss the marriage between the two families.” Ge Qian An retrieved the invitation card from within the folds of his clothes and handed it over to An Zi Ran.

An Zi Ran received the invitation card and then opened it to take a look. The card was indeed signed by Fu Wu Tian. His attitude made him An Zi Ran slightly puzzled. Just yesterday, Fu Wu Tian was still unwilling, purposely creating difficulties for An Zi Ran. But today he took the initiative, what was the purpose? Despite his doubts, An Zi Ran did not reveal anything on the surface. He put away the invitation card.

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Ge Qian An could not tell if he was happy or not. He hesitated, but he could not bring himself to speak. This was the perfect chance to test An Zi Ran. If he really agrees to marry his little sister to wang ye as a concubine, then he was just mediocre*.

[*T/N: 不过尔尔 not more than so-so (idiom); mediocre; nothing out of the ordinary]

Selling a daughter (or sister) through marriage in order to seek fame, these kinds of situation, he has seen a lot of them. There were few exceptions. Since An Zi Ran was able to attract the wang ye’s attention, then let’s see if he was that kind of person.

Ge Qian An did not stay for long, after delivering the invitation he soon left.
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An Zi Ran personally saw him to the door. When he returned to the main hall, he saw that An Yu Zhi was standing there. He wondered how she’d gotten the news so quickly. For a second, there was a flash of dismay in her eyes.

“Brother, I want to go out for a bout. May I?” An Yu Zhi gave him an expectant look.

After hearing her say this he realized that he had misunderstood. But he knew that An Yu Zhi never left the house for more than two steps. This time, she was taking the initiative. He couldn’t help asking, “Go out to do what?”

An Yu Zhi’s face reddened. “I want to go out and buy something.”

“Buy something?” An Zi Ran asked.

An Yu Zhi stomped her foot and looked shy. “Brother, don’t ask.”

An Zi Ran didn’t expect her to have such a big reaction to his question, so he stopped his line of questioning. He did not have the so-called feudal ideology that women mustn’t show their faces outside the house, so he agreed readily.

An Yu Zhi was delighted. She did not expect that her brother would let her go so easily. She thanked him. The she took two maidservants with her and left the courtyard.

An Zi Ran did not take this matter into deep consideration and just went to the study.

Su Zi already had someone send the account books over. There weren’t many problems, since he solved the issues with the farmers. An Yuan County was becoming more and more peaceful. Even if An Chang Fu* wanted to provoke something to endanger the An family, he did not have the opportunity to do so.

[*T/N: Typo in the raws. It should be An Chang De, the evil uncle.]

For the common folk, as long as they had enough food, they were satisfied. And there was a precedent for the last batch of troublemaking farmers. (They were punished.) The people were now very clear on who provided them their bread and butter. There was no longer the problem of people looking for trouble because they had nothing better to do. All they had to do was honestly and diligently till their fields. Next year, there will be sixty percent more food. On top of not having to hand in taxes to the government, they will get twice as much as they did in previous years.
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Although the money they’re (the An family) earning now was not more than how much they earned in the past years, but the hidden danger had been eliminated. He can now rest assured as he planned the next step of development for the An family. His goal was more than just being a small landlord, because the status of businessmen in Da Ya was very low.

However…

His gaze fell on the invitation sitting on the desk. For his future plans, Fu Wu Tian’s backing was essential, so it was imperative to tackle the situation with Fu Wu Tian first.

Without realizing it, soon the sun was setting towards the horizon.

At the urging of Steward Su, An Zi Ran appeared at the dinner table on time. He glanced over at An Yu Zhi’s empty seat. Thinking that she had yet to return, he asked (after her whereabouts.)

Steward Su quickly explained, “Young Master, the Young Miss has already returned. She said that she was not feeling well and wanted to take dinner in her room.”

An Zi Ran gently wrinkled his eyebrows. “Did you send for the doctor to look at her?”

Steward Su said, “The doctor has already looked her over. He said there wasn’t anything major, only that her body is a bit weak. He wrote a prescription and I had people go to pick up the medicine.”

An Zi Ran nodded and did not ask anymore.
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The next morning, An Yu Zhi did not appear at the dining table. An Zi Ran thought that she was still not feeling well, so he ordered the kitchen to send a bowl of congee to her room. In the meanwhile, he went to check up on her. He saw that her complexion was indeed pale. After he exited her room, he abruptly turned and went to check in on the little baby bun. The little bun have become more and more spirited recently, but he was very sensible, and did not cry much.

Two days passed quickly, and it was time to visit the Fu palace.

Early in the morning, An Zi Ran had Qiu Lan remind An Yu Zhi, because the invitation card mentioned her. He did not feel that there was anything wrong. He also thought that they should meet in person. However, when Qiu Lan returned, she brought him unexpected news.

“You said the young miss does not want to go?” An Zi Ran was surprised. He thought An Yu Zhi would be happy to hear this news, because she seemed to like Fu Wu Tian. To meet at least once before the marriage was still better than not knowing anything about your marriage prospect.

Qiu Lan said, “The lady said she was unwell and does not wish to go.”

An Zi Ran frowned. “Well, since the young lady doesn’t want to go, you will stay and look after her.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

After that, An Zi Ran brought Steward Su with him to Fu palace.

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