“Hua Qing?” She frowned, repeated the name, “Is she my friend?”
Jin Siyu stares at her face. Her expression was clearly one of bewilderment and questioning. Be it her expression or her tone, there was nothing anyone could find fault with.
His heart suddenly tightened with alarm. This woman, it’s fine if she really did lose her memory, but if not, then this ability to disguise herself under pressure is too terrifying.
“I too do not know if she is your friend or not.” He replies, “This is a suspect that was captured with you. She seemed to really want to see you.”
“If you want me to go see her, then I will.” She struggled to get up, looking very cooperative.
Jin Siyu personally helped her up. Not hesitating at all, she weakly leaned on him while the maid helped her put on her shoes.
Jin Siyu originally just wanted to give her a hand but who would’ve thought she would lean her body on him. By the time he thought of moving away, it was too late. His hand on her arm, even through the autumn clothing, he could feel the delicateness of it. A hint of cool fragrance danced by but when one tries to discern it carefully it’s nowhere to be found. The fragrance is reminiscent of the autumn butterfly that flies over the fading summer lotus leaves. Her face half leaning on his shoulder, her long eyelashes cast a shadow of a small arc under the eye.
Lost in thought, he was amazed that after taking off her armor she could be so delicate and fragile. Was it really the military camps that forced her to be so hardened and strong? Was the one in front of him now, the real her?
“Your Highness, you need to support me well. Don’t be distracted.” She nagged, before putting her bear claw-like hand on his shoulder in a matter-of-course manner. In that instant, Jin Siyu felt that he had become one of the eunuchs in the palace.
Giving the ugly claw-like hand a side glance, Jin Siyu really wanted to push it off but for some reason, once he saw the faint bloodstain on the white fabric he didn’t do it.
The two went all the way out with a heavy guard presence following behind. With every few steps, she had to stop to catch her breath, whenever there is a doorway then she has to put a hand on it to steady herself. When she sees a railing she needs to go sit on it. When there is a pavilion…then of course she must go sit in it to get some air.
Jin Siyu looked up at the sky– by the time she crawled over like a tortoise, it would be dark, and his whole day would’ve been wasted by her.
“Your Highness, there is a lotus pond over there…” She said, attempting to crawl over there again.
Unable to take it anymore, Jin Siyu suddenly scooped her up into his arms.
The guards immediately stepped back and lowered their eyes. There was no outcry of alarm from her. Squinting her eyes to look at him for a few moments, she very naturally rested her head on his shoulder and even let out a sigh of satisfaction.
Judging by the sigh, it sounded like she was saying you are finally willing to carry me. I was so exhausted from walking!
Jin Siyu suddenly became a little annoyed– Is this woman a natural flirt? Any man could come to hold her and it doesn’t matter?
He was about to get angry and considered throwing her into the lotus pond when he heard her whisper in front of his chest “I don’t want to go to the Red Tent.”
Taken aback, Jin Siyu looked down at her. Her lips were pursed, not looking at him but her fingers were playing with the gold button on his collar. Jin Siyu belatedly realized that while she might appear to be quite at ease to be held by him but her body is a bit stiff and she is also trying hard to put some distance between her chest and his body.
His mood abruptly much improved, Jin Siyu’s remained impassive and said “So you want to seduce me?”
“Huh?” She raised her head, her expression a mixture of surprise and some embarrassment. Her face quickly turned red, she then immediately laughed and said “Sort of.”
Jin Siyu’s hand jerked and almost dropped her. He quickly turned his head to the side, so she wouldn’t discover the smile at the corner of his lips that he couldn’t suppress.
This woman…is truly very intriguing.
“The Red Tent matter, we will discuss later.” He quickly recovered his composure, carried her swiftly past a few courtyards, the areas they are passing grew more and more remote, more and more downward.
In the backyard garden, a pair of stone lions guarded the entrance. Jin Siyu spun the left stone lion’s head and the ground noiselessly slid open to reveal a dark underground tunnel.
Jin Siyu carried her into it while the guards remained outside. This is a gloomy iron prison with only one skylight. Through the hazy strange lights, only after taking a careful look can one discover that it’s not empty above the skylight but seemed to be the bottom of a pond. Since the four walls are all made of metal, it is no wonder there was no need for guards. Once someone is in here, there is no way out.
“It’s still better for one to be on the pretty side,” She signed as she looked around “You see, even the treatment is different.”
Jin Siyu glared at her– there is actually such a shameless woman in this world! (Shameless is not quite the correct translation. Shameless in English is fairly negative but the Chinese word here is something that can be used in anger but also in jest as well. Jin Siyu is obviously more exasperated than angry here.)
The hollow sound of footsteps stopped in front of a deep underground dark cell.
“Go see her for the last time.” Jin Siyu said without any emotion in his voice, “In a bit, she will be sent on a prison cart heading for the Pu Cheng dungeon, to be beheaded tomorrow.”
She was silent as she looked into the dark prison cell. There were torture instruments hanging all over. Far more than what was in the cell she had stayed in. The torture instruments had blood and flesh stuck on them. One could tell the blood and flesh were still fresh. Those torture instruments had just drunk full of their prisoner’s blood.
On a rotten straw pile, there laid a woman clad in black. Her clothes were more like fragmented strips of fabric, with purple and red skin exposed between the gaps. On her waist, it was a large patch of bloody flesh, greenish veins beating faintly with no skin in sight– it seemed the skin there has been peeled off.
And from the waist down, between the torn dresses, there were traces of red and white sticky liquid, testifying that she had also suffered the most brutal and inhuman torture female captives often suffered.
She withered among the straw pile, her face so covered with blood that her features were no longer discernable, even her usually bright eyes are now dim.
The strong stench of blood rushed at them, and the scene was unbearable.
Jin Siyu heard her let out a low sigh.
His heart tightened.
Then he heard her say “What crime did she commit that you guys would treat a woman thus?”
A very disgruntled tone but one of unfamiliarity. Like all kindhearted women would respond when they see a stranger who is suffering.
There is no pretend indifference, neither is there the pain of watching a companion who has been through life and death with you suffering unspeakable pain.
Taken aback again, he then asked “You don’t know?”
“If I know then why would I ask you?” She glared at him grumpily.
“You brought a knife into my mansion with unknown intentions. You were knocked unconscious and captured.” Jin Siyu said coldly, “To rescue you, she broke into the mansion and almost killed me. That is a capital offense.”
He turned his head to look at her expression. Her brows were knitted with bewilderment and confusion but she didn’t try to refute his words.
“If it was something else, in hopes of seeking more clues and the truth I might’ve let her live. Perhaps she might still have enough value to be kept alive.” Narrowing his eyes at the tattered broken woman, he sighed, “But now…since you don’t remember, then the crime of assassinating a prince will all fall on her…she will die for certain.”
He spoke carelessly with a tone full of regret while staring at her intently. She was silent and seemed to be deep in thoughts but there was still no sign of any intention on her part to start talking.
“Thank carefully, is there perhaps some sort of hidden reason?” Jin Siyu gently cajoled “What can you women do? There must be someone else giving the orders. Don’t be the sacrificial lamb for nothing and end up dead without even a proper burial.”
“I think so too.” She finally said, “Look at me, I have neither marital arts nor physical strength. I came to the iron-walled prince’s mansion to assassinate you like a mad man? Have you wrongly accused me? Did you get the wrong person? Since you have wronged me, then perhaps this person here was also wrongly captured? Don’t you think this makes sense?”
“Wronged you?” Jin Siyu said, “The evidence we have currently is solid. If you want to overturn it, there must be some context, or else…someone will die.”
“I can’t remember…” She squatted down in pain, holding her head, “I can’t…remember…”
Jin Siyu stared at her, the expression in his eyes unreadable.
Hint: There is a tiny tiny clue in Post #155 about Hua Qing…
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
Thank you for the translation!
This is killing me. I cant wait to see what will happen. Hopefully, that poor woman is not our Hua Qing.
Thank you for the translation ! You make Monday a great day 😀
It seems that Feng Zhiwei has really lost her memory … ?
Also I really love the use of the word shameless and the little addition you made to explain it. I’ve seen « cunning » a lot too and I suppose this is kinda the same – a bit ambivalent in the meaning. Europe words are either on the bad or good faction (I suppose due to the christianity history) it seems in China maybe Asia not so which helps in creating such complex and astonishing characters.
I’ve read #155 again but can’t seem to grasp the tiny clue.
Is the person they caught perhaps not Hua Qing at all?
Can’t wait for another Monday!
I think perhaps the word “shame” and its meaning may be more as “guile” than shame. Or sometimes when I watch some Japanese character said thing likes ” I am ashamed of carrying this precious sword.” Of course as it was translated into English. It took me a long time to realize it was not “shame” but “humble” because that character felt unworthy to carry that precious or valuable mission or sword.
I read translation 155 again. It appeared that a female physician who cared for FZW also care for another female prisoner, probably Hua Qing.
I am not really sure that FZW truly lost her memory. The FZW of the novel grew up in a severe hostile household of her uncle, as I read at Ninja; she was a master at controlling her emotion and disguising her feeling, emotion, motive and action at all time. I remember even NY said he could learn from her. FZW of the drama almost an exact opposite except her love for her mother.
As always, thank you Ninja for the translation and for all the explanation that make reading this as a priviledge,
Omg this is so good I almost forgot about NY !
So angry with how they treated Hua Qing!! Hope they get exacting vengeance on him soon for harming our heroines. I couldn’t see the tiny clue either but am now on edge of my seat for next week.
The prince mentions that Zhiwei looks so different after removing her armor. But, didn’t she remove her armor before she was captured?
By look he meant she looked/felt more fierce and hard when she was on the battlefield with armor on. Now that she is all weak and not on the battlefield, she has more of your usual womanly soft feel.