Listening to the woman’s past, something stirred in Liu Sanhu’s memory but he couldn’t grab onto the vague thought. Because of that vague thought, Liu Sanhu didn’t reject the woman and continued to meet with her a few times. The woman was very fond of him, every time they meet, her eyes are full of ardor…kinda like the way Liu Rabbit look at him.
On this day, the sewing room of the inner manor is in charge of distributing the guards’ winter clothing. These types of errands were always done by Jiarong (the woman’s name) so the deputy captain sent Liu Sanhu to get the clothes as a way to give the two of them another chance to meet.
Jiarong’s eyes lit up with excitement the moment she sees Liu Sanhu. After giving him the clothes, a blushing Jiarong shyly invited Liu Sanhu to go take a walk by the pond. Liu Sanhu rolled his eyes and agreed— walking around by the lake in the middle of winter? Who in their right mind would do that? Sigh…this trip sure has destroyed all of his glorious reputations. He first met a rabbit, then added the job of daily whipping and now, he has to go walking around with an ugly girl.
Shivering in the cold, the two walked around the rather small pound again and again. Jiarong twisted her handkerchief shyly the whole time but she also kept on trying to lead Liu Sanhu towards the more secluded area.
Liu Sanhu held onto his chastity tightly and refused to give in– wash your neck thoroughly first then let’s talk about it!
“Haha, the manor has been pretty quiet…” Liu Sanhu babbled on, trying to figure out a way to lead the conversion to Miss Shao Yao.
“It will be New Year soon, it will get busy again.” Jiarong tried to reach for his hand indiscreetly.
The shaking hand didn’t find its goal when Liu Sanhu suddenly raised a hand to straighten his hair, looking left and right at the scenery, “Ah, you must be so busy in your sewing room. His Highness’ clothes…are also made by you guys right?”
“I am not qualified to make His Highness’ clothes, the most senior seamstress is the one who does that.” Jiarong was not discouraged but tries to not so discreetly move to Liu Sanhu’s other side.
Liu Sanhu abruptly changed direction, “Then your senior seamstress’ job is quite easy, she just needs to make clothes for one person.”
Jiarong promptly turns in the other direction and with a blushing face, secretly stole a glance at his pretty buttocks, “Actually, His Highness’ clothes are the most time-consuming. Senior seamstress also has to make clothes for Miss Shao Yao. I heard she is recently working hard on a formal dress for Miss Shao Yao.”
Taken aback, Liu Sanhu stopped moving and Miss Jiarong finally was able to successfully touch his hand. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very skilled at the whole hand grabbing thing and ended up scratching a red line on Lin Sanhu’s hand with her untrimmed fingernails.
Liu Sanhu had no time to pay any attention to his hand but asks “Ah? Formal dress?”
“Yes, after the New Year, His Highness is going to take Miss Shao Yao as his royal concubine. To go from a war prisoner to this, Miss Shao Yao has sure lucked out. If she can produce a son or daughter, then perhaps her status might go even higher.” Jiarong suddenly turned to stare at Liu Sanhu and pouted “You seem to be very concerned about this Miss Shao Yao?”
Her tone was dripped with sourness.
“No way.” Liu Sanhu immediately took her hand and rubbed her palm gently, “No matter what peony and morning glory (a play on the name of Shao Yao and the fact flowers are often used as a synonym for women) sort of flower there are, they cannot be compared to my Jiarong. You are my heart, my liver, when you look at me, my heart quivers at least three times.”
After finishing his sentence, he really quivered.
“You dummy!” Jiarong stomped her foot, a blush could even be seen from her thick mess of hair as she stares at Liu Sanhu with sparkling eyes “How you can utter such cheezy words!”
Yes, how did I say such disgusting cheezy words out loud? Liu Sanhu looked up at the heavens…
“Cheezy? I am just too overwhelmed by love.” Liu Sanhu took Jiarong’s hand and guided her with an arm around her waist towards a grove of trees, “Jiarong, neither of us are young kids and I think it’s time for us to settle down. When exactly is His Highness planning to take a concubine? Once we are finished with that big event then we can talk to the butler and see about letting you out of the manor.” (Maids cannot get married unless they have permission to either be let go from their servant contract or are married off to another servant within the same household.)
Half in his embrace, Jiarong shyly followed along, her heart fluttering wildly as she replied in a daze, “Probably on the eighth of the New Year. Miss Shao Yao has been recovering gradually so that’s why His Highness dared to start the preparation or else he was worried that she would be too fatigued. A few days ago, I heard another maid say His Highness is moving Miss Shao Yao to another courtyard since her original place was too rigid and was worried that Miss Shao Yao would have nightmares at night because of it. His Highness originally planned on putting her in the courtyard right next to his but Miss Shao Yao dislike too many noises so His Highness ended up putting her in the southwest corner courtyard that has its own garden. She took with her some of her favorite maids and was given a couple more new ones…”
She rambled on about everything she knew to Liu Sanhu while a smiling Liu Sanhu appeared to only be listening with one ear as he touched her here and there until her knees are weak, without a clue about what she said.
Liu Sanhu asked “You are pretty close with Miss Shao Yao’s maid, Hexiang. In the future, you might as well become more friendly wither her. Perhaps she might say something nice about you in front of Miss Shao Yao, then when you leave the manor, she might reward you with a dowry and it would look good for us as well.”
Jiarong pressed her lips together, “Like she is some important person? She is just a war prisoner with some good luck. According to my nanny, I am the one…”
She suddenly stopped talking with a blank expression but Liu Sanhu didn’t pay too much attention to her words, instead, his mind was full of what he just heard. Mulling over the information, Liu Sanhu pulled his hand away from Jiarong. Feeling lonely immediately, Jiarong pressed close but Liu Sanhu is already impatient and stood up “I am leaving.”
Stunned, Jiarong sat up abruptly. She is of the age to be dreaming of romances and her passion had just been aroused by Liu Sanhu but he is now leaving without another word. It’s like suddenly falling off a cliff in a dream or like being in a hurry to urinate but unable to find an outhouse, that sort of empty yet stuffy feeling is both suffocating and uncomfortable. Staring blankly at Liu Sanhu, Jiarong suddenly grabbed his pant leg with tears in her eyes.
Liu Sanhu hates people grabbing his pant leg!
He is tired of being grabbed by his pant leg every day! (Sounds like Captian Liu must be grabbing Helian’s pant leg every day.)
At first he wasn’t going to but he couldn’t hold back anymore. With an evil smile, Liu Sanhu slowly opened his palm and show it to Jiarong.
There were some faint grey long strips, if one looked closely, it seemed to be dirt gathered from rubbing…
Dirt strips from him rubbing the girl’s wrist and chest…
Jiarong stared blankly at Liu Sanhu’s hand a good bit before realizing what it is, promptly causing her body to shake in shame. Liu Sanhu flashed her a smile and walked away without another word.
*PLOP*
The sound of something falling into the water sent alarm tingling through Liu Sanhu’s scalp. Oh, crap! He went too far and the girl is trying to drown herself! This is big trouble. Not only has he caused someone’s death but this could spoil everyone’s plan!
Liu Sanhu spun around, started to prepare for a running jump so he could go dive into the water to save the damsel in distress…but stopped in his track the moment he turned around.
The girl is swimming in the lake!
What is this? Swimming in the winter? Even if she wanted to swim why swim in front of him? Was she too mad so her rumored strange illness came out?
However, seeing the shivering woman in the water, that doesn’t seem to be the case either.
Before Liu Sanhu could react, Jiarong suddenly dunk her head into the water!
Whoa, is she trying to drown herself? Does it really take this much effort?
Confused, Liu Sanhu stared at Jiarong with her head in the water, wondering if this is her way of showing her anger or is she trying to demonstrate her breath-holding ability? Before Liu Sanhu could figure it out, he suddenly heard another flush of falling water.
Liu Sanhu stood rooted to the spot, blinking.
The thick hair is gone, the scar on the chin is gone, the yellow dirt on her face is gone. The woman in the water light, her skin glowed like snow, with delicate eyebrows, and a pair of long slander sparkling eyes.
She stood shivering in the water with trembling lips. The thin fabric plastered tightly to her body, showing off the curvacious body that is usually hidden behind a big heavy overcoat.
Liu Sanhu suck in a sharp breath– and after a long moment, finally realized Jiarong is truly Jia Rong. (The Chinese character of Jia Rong means Good Looking)
The beauty standing shivering in the winter lake water said in a trembling voice “I…I..I… I am now very clean….”
Liu Sanhu rubbed his nose, did quick repenting of his unscrupulous behavior just now and said with some embarrassment “Clean, very clean. I say, you can just wash, why wash so hard? Come out quickly, it’s no joke to get a cold in this weather…”
“I…am very clean…” A trembling Jiarong rubbed her wrist, “…no dirt…no dirt…”
Liu Sanhu is ready to smack his head against the wall. These inland women are so fragile. They are ready to toss their lives aside over the smallest hurt feeling. If this was Feng Zhi Wei, he can promise she would push whoever told her she is dirty into the mud pit. Never would she be the one to jump into the water.”
Liu Sanhu sighed inwardly while reaching for Jiarong and assured her by rubbing her wrist, “…clean, very clean…”
A sobbing Jiarong threw herself into his arms, immediately soaking him with water, “I…the dirt I accumulated for more than ten years…I washed it off…all for you.”
“Uh.” Liu Sanhu couldn’t help but think this phrasing sure sounds like the sad tragic overused sentence “The innocence I have kept for decades have been given to you…”
Holding Jiarong’s shoulder, Liu Sanhu said solemnly “Don’t worry, I will be responsible to the…uh…dirt you have accumulated for these ten years.”
Hearing his promise, Jiarong sobbed even harder. Looking at the yellow marks on the back of her neck, Liu Sanhu didn’t dare to remind the lady that she is actually not washed completely clean yet.
Standing in the cold wind, a half soaked Liu Sanhu is holding a thoroughly soaked beauty, as he gritted his teeth and thought Aunty, aunty, I am really sacrificing a lot for you, what is more tragic in this world than only being able to stare but not able to partake. (He is saying he is sacrificing a lot because he can’t sleep with Jiarong. Not sure if Helian is referring to the fact he is in the middle of a rescue mission or the fact that he is saving himself for Zhi Wei.)
“Why did you make yourself so dirty?” Jiarong wouldn’t stop crying so Liu Sanhu could only try to distract her.
“I don’t know…either.” Jiarong sobbed, “My nanny told me to. Before she died, she said an orphan girl can’t have a pretty face or it would bring misfortune. She made me swear a vicious vow that I would hide my face so all these years I kept my hair long, put on a fake scar and try to make myself dirty. I had originally planned to just live like this for the rest of my life…but…but…” (Vicious vow…remember the one Zhi Wei’s mom made her promise in the show about Ning Yi? A vicious vow means the person would swear by the most horrifying thing to them to not break the vow. By the way, the whole vicious vow thing between Zhi Wei and her mother didn’t happen in the novel.)
But as soon as her sweetheart showed the slightest disdain, then she couldn’t keep going anymore.
A woman’s weakness is always love.
“Since you made a vow, then don’t go against.” Liu Sanhu is thinking the sudden appearance of such a beauty could only bring trouble, “Once your hair dries, don’t do anything to it and let it still hide your face. Put the scar back on as well. But your skin…”
Jiarong looked at him and said sadly “It was mud I saved for a long long time…”
“Oh, well.” Liu Sanhu sighs and patted her shoulder, “If someone say it’s strange your skin has turned whiter, then you can just tell them that you were always like this, they are the one with bad eyesight.”
Without guile, Jiarong promptly accepted her sweetheart’s no-so-good reason, nodded, then suddenly sneezed. Liu Sanhu quickly urged her “Go back, go quickly, go take a hot bath and changed your clothes.”
“You…” Jiarong was still reluctant to go.
“I’ll always be yours…” Liu Sanhu opened his mouth, but suddenly those sweet glib words didn’t flow out as easily as before. At first, he was just playing along. He thought this miss was just in a hurry to get married so it wouldn’t be too hard to take her along with them and find a good wild grassland lad for her. But now, she broke her vicious vow because of him. It’s obvious her feelings are deep so how can he keep his eyes closed and fool her with sweet words. A woman’s affection is not to be trifled with, it will lead to big trouble later on. After Mei Duo, a certain someone doesn’t dare to provoke a woman’s heart again.
With a sigh, he touched Jiarong’s hair and said gently “Go back, don’t worry, you are on my mind.”
Her face blushing, Jiarong reluctantly left after looking back at him several times. Letting out a heavy sigh, Liu Sanhu shook his wet robe and left as well.
At night, while meeting a certain ground sweeper Ning servant (Ning Cheng), the two have been in communication lately and has somehow formed a strange friendship from their bickering, he couldn’t help it and told him about it.
There was a strange expression in Ning Cheng’s eyes but he didn’t say anything more. Liu Sanhu didn’t think anything of it either when Ning Cheng made some excuse and quickly left.
Liu Sanhu continued to romance Jiarong. After getting some random pieces of information, he would try to put them together and share them with everyone. Whenever he could, he would volunteer to run all the errands, running all over the outer manor. Pretty soon, Liu Sanhu has figured out not only the schedule of guards of the outer manor but the inner manor as well. He also found a bunch of big and small traps, he even peed on every single wall corner, just to signify that he had been there.
Of course, everyone else didn’t sit around idly either. The things they are doing are all about the same as well. They are waiting on one hand for Miss Shao Yao to get well enough to make their daring escape, on the other hand, they are waiting for the time they have agreed upon to arrive.
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
Liu Sanhu- Helian
Qiu Shu- Ning Yi
The outer manor servant Helian gave the map to- Ning Cheng
Physician- Zong Chen
Apprentice- Gu Nan Yi
Jiarong- the maid Helian is romancing to get information. She has a mysterious background.
Captain Liu- that’s the guard captain who tried to force himself on Helian but ended up getting beat up…and loved it.
I remember that in the drama, Jiarong is Ning Yi’s relative from his mother side. Is it the same in the novel?
Spoilers…:-)
Thanks for this week. I appreciate the refresher on everyone’s identities at the bottom. I actually cracked up at the description of the captain Helian beats up because he he likes it. Lol I’m still laughing
This week’s translation was great! I think I like Book Hélian better than his character on the show. What was up with the peeing on the walls, though?
It was more poking fun at Helian by saying he is marking territories like animals.
Thank you, Ninja. This weeks translation reminds me of the scene when Ningyi, sees Zhi Wei coming out of the pond at her uncles home. The scenes are very similar. Also, do we know the happenings of the emperor? Ningyi’s has been gone for a long time, what is the situation at the capital?