The Rise of Phoenixes Novel Translation #68

In case it wasn’t clear before, Yan Clan has a lot of money but money is nothing when it goes up against political power. Those who held power in South Sea were determined to squeeze the Yan Clan (with the other nobles) out of influence so that’s why Yan Huaishi had to go to the Capital in search of someone with even more political power to trump those back home. Yan Huaishi was wise enough to befriend Zhi Wei who then hooked him up with Ning Yi which would be like landing the jackpot for the Yan Clan. (One could argue that the Emperor would be even better but that’s an impossible dream for most people.) What Yan Huaishi did was essentially found a “master” for his clan and single handedly saved his clan if not potentially guaranteeing a glorious future for his whole clan if Ning Yi ended up becoming the next emperor. Of course things could get dicey if Ning Yi doesn’t but most nobles would not even get the chance to place their bet…plus, if you win the bet then it could potentially be generations of unimaginable prosperity for your whole clan.  

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The tent door opens and in comes a crowd mixed with young and old, men and women. Respectfully holding the tent door open,  Yan Huaishi waited until everyone entered into the tent before he himself came in last. Every single person who passed him acted as if it was a matter of course he should be treating them with such an attentive attitude, including the last few who looked like they were the same age as him. 

Zhi Wei raised an eyebrow as amusement flashes across her eyes. The elders of the Yan Clan had already seen Zhi Wei during the day but those who came behind them were brought along by the elders and were stunned that this year’s Royal Envoy was so young, only about fifteen or sixteen. (Well, there, I guess we have an official age range for our heroine at this point. I know this seems extremely young but remember most women get married around 13 or even younger in ancient China. Most boys got married a bit older around 15-16 so while one could argue about their maturity but in the society’s eyes, a 16 year old boy is already an adult.) Zhi Wei could feel a surveying glance her way and look over, the woman at the end of the line didn’t look away but instead met her eyes and flashed a smile. Hmm…certainly not one to follow rules. Taken aback when Zhi Wei’s expression remains impassive, the woman stiffens, her smile faded away replaced by an obvious flash of anger. 

“Yan Clan of South Sea, come to pay our respect to the Royal Envoy, greetings sir!” The elderly man leading the group bows while everyone else kneels down. The few youngsters at the back of the group exchanged a glance and begrudgingly kneels down as well. Zhi Wei is still helping the few elderly men stand up as they thank her profusely but the few youngsters at the back have already stood up and are busy patting off the dust on themselves. With his head lowered, Yan Huaishi gingerly helps Zhi Wei to assist the elders up and then says “I will go get some tea for everyone, we don’t have servants here right now…” 

“You can’t be the one to get the tea.” Zhi Wei sits down and says with half of a smile “How can we have a meeting with the Yan Clan without the hero? Come sit down.”

The members of Yan Clan seemingly taken aback upon hearing Zhi Wei’s words, the lead Yan Clan elder finally couldn’t hold back and asks “Sir, we are of course grateful that you treat Huaishi so kindly but how is he a hero to our clan?” 

Zhi Wei was surprised by the question. Yan Huaishi is not the hero of your clan? If Yan Huaishi had not befriended me would you Yan Clan become a member of the imperial merchant? (Imperial merchants are the only ones who are permitted to sell their goods to the palace…which of course comes with lots of money and prestige so it is impossible to become an imperial merchant without having the right connections.)  If it wasn’t for the fact that Yan Huaishi had done so much to help her and she wanted to repay him, would you Yan Clan have the opportunity to assist a Royal Envoy to open up a Maritime office with the hope that it might pave a path to a duke title in the future? Of course Zhi Wei can’t say all those thoughts out loud so she could only glance over at Yan Huaishi who just winced hopelessly in his heart. Zhi Wei could see clearly that something is off. Yan Huaishi is someone who is very skilled in both business and social interactions so he was totally in his environment at the Capital but now that he is back in South Sea he is completely different as if he is walking on eggshells, what in the heaven is going on? 

By now, the lead Yan Clan elder is saying “If it wasn’t for you sir, Yan Clan could not be what it is right now. Also, we have not thanked you for the help you gave to my grandson Huaiyuan…”

Zhi Wei is thoroughly confused, who is this Huaiyuan? When the Yan Clan was approved by the Emperor to become the royal merchant she was very busy at the time so she had never thought to ask who from the Yan Clan came to do the appropriate paperwork. Plus, she had naturally assumed that it would’ve been Yan Huaishi, was it not so? If that’s the case, then why didn’t Yan Huaishi say something? Her questioning gaze moved over to Yan Huaishi but he avoided meeting her eyes. 

“All the things concerning royal merchant status were agreed upon by Brother Huaishi (a term of endearment between men to show close friendship) and me so you can just thank him.” Zhi Wei says with a meaningful glance over at Yan Huaishi’s direction. 

“What does that have anything to do with him?!” Before the Clan leader could speak, the woman sitting at the very end suddenly blurts out coldly “It was obviously my older brother who got the royal merchant status!” 

“Huai Ying!” A middle aged man reprimands her “Watch yourself!”

The woman arrogantly turns her face away, her expression full of anger.

Zhi Wei slowly puts down her tea cup. There was no trace of anger on her face but everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seat as the air in the tent suddenly got colder and stifling. The Yan Clan began to look embarrassed as Zhi Wei remained silent, unsure what to do next. 

After a long moment of silence, Zhi Wei finally says “The tea has gotten cold.”

What does that mean? The restless members of Yan Clan looked at each in confusion, caught off guard by Zhi Wei’s words that seemed completely unrelated to the topic they were discussing. 

Standing up from the shadow of the tent door, Yan Huaishi says “We don’t have enough servants here, I will go get some tea.” 

“Wait.” Zhi Wei says with a smile “You are a man, why are you in a rush to volunteer to go get tea? You Yan Clan is one of the biggest clan of South Sea with strict rules of conduct. In a setting where all of the men are discussing business, who should be serving is something that your clan leader is well aware of, so there is no need for you to worry about that.”

Taken aback for a second, the clan leader’s face paled then promptly says “Yes, it’s my oversight. Huai Ying, go quickly to get tea for Official Wei and everyone else here!”

“I will not!” The woman raised her chin proudly, her hand trembling with fury “I am the oldest daughter of Yan Clan, serving people have nothing to do with me!” (The translation says “daughter” but she is actually the clan leader’s granddaughter. Being the oldest usually means a higher status.)

“Huai Ying, don’t be stubborn!” The middle aged man once again chided her. Judging by their appearances, the man is most likely Yan Huai Ying’s father. The man’s expression is full of frustration and regret. 

The Clan Leader is also frowning as well. He had thought since Official Wei supposedly is quite young then it would be good to bring the youngsters from the clan. Who knew that Yan Huai Ying who is usually not this bad would lose her head when something concerning Yan Huaishi comes up. How are they supposed to fix this now? The Royal Envoy might look young but he is nothing like the youngsters of the clan. The clan leader’s frown deepens. He has heard about what happened this morning. Can someone who can force Bullying Zhou to go up to the boat to light a stove fire be ordinary? It is not like South Sea has never had Royal Envoys before, there were even some who have been forced to leave by Bullying Zhou! The clan leader wants to say something to smooth this over but Zhi Wei will not spare them a glance and instead holds up her tea cup again and smirks coldly. Unable to think of anything else to do especially since the gesture of holding up the tea cup means it was time for the guest to leave, the Yan Clan had no choice but to file out of the tent. 

The woman stood up first and angrily kicked over a folding stool on the side. Zhi Wei just watched impassively as an expression of derision flashed across her eyes.  Yan Huaishi begins to follow them out until Zhi Wei says “Huaishi, you stay.” Under the tent shadow, the clan leader gave Yan Huaishi a warning look before leaving. 

Sorry, no Ning Yi in this scene but this one sets up a great scene that will be coming later so you guys will have to be patient. I personally feel like these particular scenes help you get a better flavor of how formidable our heroine is in the novel. In the drama, our heroine is certainly clever and smart but I didn’t quite get the feeling that she was formidable or scary to her enemies….at least no where like she was in the novel.