Ning Yi did not follow the trio but stopped far away under a tree, surrounded by his guards.
In front of the tree was the road to the capital. She and he are going the same way but they might not be returning to the same destination. They worked together heart and mind in the villa, but now they are out of the villa, the girl who reached out to catch him on the cliff, the one who gave him a smile as dazzling as a blooming flower, seemed to instantly be far far away.
At this moment, she looked relaxed and peaceful, leaning against Gu Nan Yi without any defense, completely different than the way she is always alert and nervous when she is around him.
What he can give her, is storms of blood, hidden traps, and endless attacks. What he can give her is this vast and treacherous empire, with endless battles for power, either on the way to attack or in the middle of defending, never a moment of rest.
He can’t give her the peaceful leisurely farming life in the countryside, can’t give her the free nomadic life of roaming the world hand in hand. Can’t give her purity nor can he let go completely.
But.
Fighting is what she is truly perfect for, isn’t it?
She is naturally calm on the outside hot on the inside, with blood that only surges and stirs for the maps of this world. Like the drooping big flag that only flutters when the wind blows.
A flag is always waiting for the wind.
Under the tree, Ning Yi smiled slightly, watched as Feng Zhi Wei titled her head slightly at him with a smile, and then set her horse off.
The golden light of the morning sun shoots in, like a sharp sword turning and churning the sea of clouds, splitting open the night’s last confusion.
Zhi Wei.
I wish to see you wield your sword resolutely, splitting through this empire’s layers of wind, rain, and fog…and even…splitting me apart.
Better than living in silence and mediocrity, growing old in a corner unknown to me.
———————————————-
After a night of banquet, what they should know, they know, what they shouldn’t know, they also know now.
They had originally chosen the Huang couple out of necessity since there were no other identities they could take over but who would’ve thought Official Huang had also played a part in all that went on before. It was precisely because of that, that night at the banquet, all those who had insider information did not avoid him. During the time when Feng Zhi Wei left Ning Yi alone to go circle around the other guests, that Envoy Xu Minglin made the remark to Official Huang that someone as talented as Official Huang is not able to show off his full potential in such a small insignificant place and that he is completely competent to handle business at the province level. This means Xu Minglin is indeed one of Second Prince’s men. In other words, Concubine Shu was indeed involved in the incident with Shaoning.
As for why Concubine Shu who had no children and had seemingly no interest in palace affairs would get involved, they now have an explanation for it as well. Tiansheng Emperor had been very wary of his extended relatives ever since the Chang family incident. In the last two years, Tiansheng Emperor had been actively reducing their power, causing all the clans to be on alert. The Xu clan is weak so naturally, they want to find a backer to revitalize their clan. As for why they chose Second Prince…Second Prince probably used the Lulin case to drag them in and with Changing Fan throwing in his lot with Second Prince, this also caused the Xu clan to feel that Second Prince was very promising so they just went ahead and chose him. (Shu is Concubine Shu’s title, not her last name. She is part of the Xu clan so that’s why she is involved.)
Ning Yi voluntarily shared the information with Feng Zhi Wei. Feng Zhi Wei listened carefully, let out a slight smile, and went to court (at the palace) as usual. On the way to the palace, she discovered that the atmosphere in the imperial capital was a bit strange. On the surface, everything seemed to be normal, but the interrogation and search on the street seemed to have become more intense.
Glancing over at the angry faces among the guards and officers, the corners of her lips could not help but curve up slightly.
The commander of the Gold Feather Guard who is used to controlling others and their very lives has been tricked. He must’ve realized he had been tricked when he didn’t find the two “South Mountain subordinates” waiting for him and is now trying to find them.
But where is he going to find them? The real Huang couple is dead and never in these people’s wildest dreams would they imagine “that husband and wife” is a prince and Marquis Zhongyi (our heroine’s official title), their mortal enemies.
She went to court with a satisfied expression. After the imperial court was over, Xu Minglin was summoned to the imperial study. She and Ning Yi were both present.
During the meeting, Tiansheng Emperor asked about the Luiling case and Xu Mingling’s answer was without any flaws. (Skipping over a big long paragraph of Xu Mingling making excuses that the whole riot was just some mountain robbers trying to cover up their evil doings with weak political slogans.)
Feng Zhi Wei sneered in her heart. What a talent in avoiding the truth and spinning stories to fit their goal.
(We get an explanation from our heroine’s inner thoughts that the whole “mountain robber uprising” was actually an internal conflict between one clan (the Hang clan) and King Changning who were both in Second Prince’s camp. (the title king here is just a title given by the emperor to his sons/relatives/important alliances. These kings will usually have some armies of their own and are more of double edge swords to emperors since they could either provide help during critical times or become his biggest foe.) Years ago, someone who belonged to the Hang clan was killed when the Third Prince went down. Using that connection, the Second Prince’s camp is trying to make it seem like the Hang clan was still loyal to the Third Prince and that’s why they are causing all this trouble. The other reason the Second Prince is trying to blame their own internal conflict on the Third Prince is that they are hoping it would remind the emperor again that Ning Yi used to have a good relationship with the Third Prince when he was young. They only showed part of this in the drama, but in the book, Ning Yi was highly favored by the emperor when he was really young but ended up losing the emperor’s favor because of various reasons but one of them was the fact that he was very close with Thrid Prince who eventually got framed and accused of trying to start a rebellion.)
This imperial capital is full of silent conspiracies, if they had not risked going to that feast, then perhaps they would have been totally clueless until the Second Prince showed up on their doorstep to wipe them out.
Sitting on his seat, Tiansheng emperor let out a non-committal “hmm” sound. Feng Zhi Wei observed him carefully, unsure of how much he knew– Although the Gold Feather Guards commander had shown up at the feast and the Second Prince was eager to get on his good side, but Second Prince would not have dared to reveal too much. Therefore, it is likely the commander might not know more than she does.
After the emperor let out the “hmm” and casually put his cup off to the side, a person came out from behind the divider screen to pour tea for the emperor. Tiansheng Emperor looked over at the woman, a bit startled, probably surprised that she did not leave but remained silent after a glance over at Feng Zhi Wei’s direction. (In most circumstances, a woman of high status should try to avoid situations where she would have close interaction with males who are not her husband or family.) However, as the woman poured the tea, she glanced over at Feng Zhi Wei’s direction again and again.
Feng Zhi Wei who was sitting below drinking tea almost choked– no wonder she felt uneasy like there was a target on her, it turned out this person was watching her from behind the screen!
Diagonally from her, Ning Yi glanced over at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Feng Zhi Wei let out a helpless smile, and lowered her head, trying to keep her eyes straight down but then an idea flashed across her mind.
Once business matters were settled, everyone dispersed with Feng Zhi Wei walking at the very end. When Tiansheng Emperor’s head was turned, Feng Zhi Wei turned and smiled at Princess Shaoing whose gaze had been burning a hole into her.
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
I’m curious. About how far into the story are we? We’re past the point where the drama deviated and crunched out entire storyline. But there seems to be quite a bit of novel still to go?
Either way, enjoying every bit of it!
Dear Ninja,
Like many others, I first found the drama (on YT), was frustrated by the obviously garbled last chapters & absurd ending, and wanted to know more about the novel.
I’m very happy to have found your blog. Your dedication and meticulous work is amazing, over so many years! And it is a pleasure to read. I think you have really been able to transform the tension, poetry & romance of the original into the other language.
I binged through all the texts within 10 days and now have to wait for your sequels like everyone else 🙂
Thank you so much for your tremendous work!
I can’t resist making a small comment:
“A flag is always waiting for the wind.”
NY is right, and that’s why the ending of the novel leaves some question marks in my head too. At first glance, everything looks good. They are finally happy together, the thousand conflicts & pressures overcome. But something about it tastes stale.
How could these two fire spirits ever be satisfied with a “simple life” without going mad with boredom?
I’m waiting to see how the novel makes it plausible that they are both ready for this (temporarily at least).
Totally agree with you. Perhaps, FZW would be happy leading a simple life, but what about such a strong personality as NY? It would have made more sense for both of them to stay and rule the empire together.
Both are strong personalities and are at their strongest whenever their combined potential is challenged.
The concept of their dual power would require fundamental reforms to the political system.
However, the fictional narrative leaves room for the unusual. Many things in the novel actually contradict the system (in drama as well). Ultimately, it’s up to the author to declare it possible, or not.
As I said, I’m curious to see how things develop ending up in their dropout.
I adore love your translation, i am currently watching the drama and this is sooo different and perfect i love it so much more now¿
Thought about that too. But I think our couple may not be truly detached from politics and all. In one of the epilogues, it implies they “serve as secret advisors” to the young new emperor, Ning Ji, so I guess they still have many opportunities to flex their bad-ass intelligence together. Ning Yi can even “order around to kill” with just a letter to his brother.
Also, there’s a certain modest side of Ning Yi that tells he can live a simple life with Zhi Wei. For example, his bed may be regal from the outside but what he actually sleeps on is rather ordinary or just convenient. And he can learn to cook (goodness, our prince learned how to cook out of love for our heroine), and dreams about cooking for her until they grow old together.
So yes, in the end, I can imagine our couple living a sweet countryside life while still being in the know and having a hand, more or less, in the empire. Just my thought. 😊
Oops, this is a reply to a comment by Sonabilis 😊
Thx Peaches 😊
I didn’t have so much high status and prestigious bedding in mind as a fulfilling role in life. It could also be as a consultant, or in regional admin roles etc.
But in epilogue both go into hiding bc Ning Ji is acting too dependent on them, bothering them day & night with his requests…. So the last told status quo is they have nothing relevant to do.
Interestingly NY in drama has much more clearly a different, artistic/creative side, shown in his brocade weaving & tailoring.
This character I’d actually be more confident of a complete life change, esp as his quest for the throne was always conditional & limited.
Ofc the “people & state” pathos they put in the drama doesn’t allow for that.
Instead, he has to suffer lonely for the rest of his life in order to be a “good ruler” ….. and that’s not just inhumane, it’s utter nonsense. Lonely rulers are the most dangerous thing there is.
But that’s another topic.
Peachy, of course
Sorry 🤦🙃
Which chapters were NY room and cooking moments mentioned again? I have so many favorite moments I want to go back to
Thanks for helping me to get my dissertation done! If I work for 10 minutes, I get to read what can fit onto a screen. Another ten minutes, another amount of text that fits onto the screen. Slowly but surely making progress.