Jin Siyu thought the young man’s extra focused manner when eating is quite endearing. On a lark, Jin Siyu personally put a few pieces of meat into Xiao Dai’s bowl “This is Pucheng city’s best chef’s specialty roasted meat. It is most tender. You probably never had it before. Come, eat, eat.”

The meat Jin Siyu had put in Xiao Dai’s bowl… was three pieces. 

Xiao Dai’s hand paused. 

Physician Ruan who was in the middle of drinking wine, his hand holding the cup also paused. In the next instant, he got up with a smile and respectfully raised his up to toast Jin Siyu. 

He planned to use the toast to distract Jin Siyu. As for what Xiao Dai might do, he really has no idea so he had to plan for the worst. 

Three years ago, someone who was serving him forgot the eight-piece meat rule and he ended up tossing the bowl into the outhouse. 

If this bowl also ended up in the outhouse…that would cause a big problem. 

Physician Ruan raised his cup, his fingers secretly clasped the bottom of the cup, keeping an eye on Xiao Dai out of the corner of his eye while smiling at Jin Siyu. 

Xiao Dai lowered his head and stared at the meat without moving his chopsticks. 

Jin Siyu’s eyes have already drifted over to him in mild puzzlement. 

Although Physician Ruan was smiling but if one looked carefully, there was a coldness gathering in his eyes and the position he was standing had changed slightly. 

Xiao Dai suddenly stood up.

Jin Siyu and Physician Ruan were both startled. 

The young man stood up and bowed to Jin Siyu before sitting down, silently and earnestly finishing the three pieces of meat. 

His mannerism towards eating the soup and meat was no different at all. 

Jin Siyu was immensely pleased and laughed, “Everyone said that he is not whole mentally but I think he is quite sensible. No wonder Shao Yao has taken to him.” 

All the guests promptly joined in, praising how His Highness’ greatness has become a blessing to the simpleton of the world. Miss Shao Yao listened on quietly, something shiny sparkled in her eyes. 

Physician Ruan sat down silently, and loosened his fingers, his eyes glancing over at Xiao Dai who was diligently eating those three pieces of meat. Emotions rushed into his eyes, difficult to describe. 

No one is more aware than him of how stubborn and closed off that person has been. He had used every legendary medical skill in his possession but was not able to even shine an inch of light into his world. With everything vibrant in this world presented in front of him, he couldn’t see any of it. 

But now, he is finally seeing him one step at a time walking out of that fog into clarity. He is one step at a time backing out of his stubbornness, walking toward the only person in this world that could give him warmth. Yet, he is not sure if he should be worried or happy. 

He learned to eat three pieces of meat, and he also learned to force himself to bow to his enemy. 

This complex life of gaining and losing at the same time. 

On this New Year’s Eve, some people gathered together in the festive hall to enjoy the New Year in the midst of enemies. 

This New Year’s Eve, someone was drinking in the guard’s room with a bunch of friends, running around with a wine glass, toasting to the moon under the wall of the outer courtyard. (This is Helian)

This New Year’s Eve, someone is standing in line with everyone in the mess hall, sitting on the study’s stony step eating dinner that is already cold, thinking back to the palace banquet that always leaves one hungry, going home to an empty lonely New Year’s Eve meal. 

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner, is over.

___________________

After the New Year’s dinner, Jin Siyu helped her out and personally put a cloak on her “The sky has darkened, just in time to set off fireworks.”

The two of them walked over to the stage the servants had set up by the lake. 

  • Skipping over a few paragraphs describing the many many guards Jin Siyu had stationed around the festival area so not even a rat can get past them. 
  • Only the closest servants were allowed in the inner circle of the festival area so Physician Ruan and Xiao Dai should’ve stayed in the outer circle but since they were invited to dinner then they naturally followed the other guest to the inner circle area. 

A crowd of people stood by the lake. Not counting the servants on call, all the guards and other servants included are already a couple hundred people. Liu Sanhu was also in the crowd. He had subbed for someone in the afternoon so it felt too rude to not let him come see the play at night. With a bottle of wine in his arms and a pocket full of peanuts, Liu Sanhu leisurely took a sip of his wine and threw a peanut into his mouth. 

By Liu Sanhu’s side was a sweeper servant rubbing his swollen hands from sweeping the yard earlier in the day. Liu Sanhu ignored the sorrowful glares from the sweeper servants. (That would be Helian and Ning Chang) 

A little further, the study servant Qiu Shu stood calmly under an old tree. Leaning against the tree, he looked in the direction of the inner courtyard with a half-smile, the light of the lantern reflecting in his eyes. 

Other than glaring at Liu Sanhu sorrowfully, the sweeper servant attempted several times to move in his direction but was promptly stopped by one glance from Qiu Shu. The sweeper servant’s lips pouted even more. 

A sudden commotion came from the front causing everyone to look up. Liu Sanhu who had been chomping happily on his peanuts suddenly stopped and stood up straight.  

Guided by the melon-shaped lantern, a group of people comes escorting a man and a woman. The man wore a golden crown and jade belt, his expression gentle. The man is obviously Jin Siyu. The woman is wearing a snow-white fox fur, her autumn-colored palace-styled skirt peeking out from her robe. Her sparkling eyes and spring breeze-like smile are accompanied by a deep red head jewel hanging between her brow, hiding that deep red scar, making her snow-white skin stand out even more. 

There were sharp intakes of breath from all sides. They have all heard that the girl with the vulgar name of Shao Yao is well favored by His Highness so they could guess she must’ve been quite pretty but didn’t expect she would be this beautiful. 

No wonder His Highness who is usually in possession of great self-discipline ended up falling into the tender embrace of this prisoner of war. 

Liu Sanhu bent over, and opened his mouth wide, a half-chewed peanut fell out of his mouth. 

The sweeper servant jumped away in disgust but could not help but looked in the same direction, and then looked again. 

For both of them, this is the first time they have seen her real face. There is the surprise at the unexpected beauty but more of it is the shock at the face itself. 

Liu Sanhu’s shock was a bit greater– he had always thought his little aunt is that yellow-faced appearance. He never thought that face was ugly nor felt there was any need for it to be prettier. But now, not only is she more beautiful but what’s worse is that face is a bit world shockingly beautiful. 

It’s fortunate this is Da Yue. If this was in some noble manor in Tian Sheng then it would probably cause a crowd of people to faint. 

Liu Sanhu opened his mouth, and after stuttering a good while finally stumbled back a step and muttered “#$@!% This woman has actually been hiding her face from me all this time, #$@!% but I don’t blame her, #$@!% no matter who it was they would’ve had to hide it too.”

 The sweeper servant stood dumbfounded for a good while before an expression of extreme joy burst from his eyes. Clapping his hands together, he thought, “Too much alike, too much alike, did perhaps the emperor has already slept with her mother all those years ago? Then wouldn’t that mean she is also a royal offspring? Then she and His Highness would be siblings, that’s great, that’s great!” 

Over yonder, Qiu Shu’s eyes didn’t linger on her face at all– he is someone who has already seen her real face, that shock has long passed. His eyes are instead on her waist, there is a hand that is resting on a place it shouldn’t be. 

His eyes then drifted over to her red lips, thinking silently that the taste of that night was actually especially good… 

In the midst of the crowd, she stood smiling, her gaze swept over the whole area, not stopping at any one point, like a wandering dragonfly, making it difficult to see where her gaze is falling.

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. 

If that whole bit about Helian and Ning Cheng’s shock over Zhi Wei’s appearance doesn’t make sense (which it shouldn’t at this point in the story) but you don’t mind spoilers then you can either go find the ending translation on my site or read on.

So Zhi Wei and Princess Shao Ning look a lot alike. Obviously, Ning Cheng’s assumption that Zhi Wei and Princess Shao Ning are half-sibling would be most people’s guess as well. With one look at Zhi Wei, most people who knew Princess Shao Ning would figure that they had discovered a giant palace scandal and that Mama Qiu must’ve given birth to the Emperor’s daughter all those years ago. Now, all that is of course wrong since we know Zhi Wei is the last royal bloodline of the last empire and Mama Qiu is also not her birth mother. So why would Shao Ning and Zhi Wei look alike then? The answer is not revealed until much later when we learned that all this was pre-planned long long ago by the Bloody Pagoda…which means, Shao Ning is actually not a real princess but she was a baby that Bloody Pagoda had placed into the palace in order to set their whole plan in motion. To be perfectly honest, I am a bit hazy about what their reasoning was exactly but I am pretty sure that was part of the ending translation so you guys might have to go back and dig for it. No matter what, it’s clear that Ning Yi has figured out a long time ago Zhi Wei’s real identity so while perhaps he might not know the exact reason why Zhi Wei and Shao Ning look alike but he is obviously quite assured of the fact that he is not related by blood in any way to our heroine.

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