Is the Gentleman Feeling Alright? – Chapter 20

T/N: In case you forgot, Li Yanzhen is the emperor’s name, and Xu Tong is the guy they were betting against in the casino. Please ask me if you wish to repost this translation on another site.

Chen Siheng’s stance seemed to imply that he was intending to perish together with this enemy. Light reflected in a sharp glint off the dagger in his hand as it stabbed towards Chu Mingyun viciously.

　　Chu Mingyun turned his head, and squeezing Chen Siheng’s hand, he shoved him away with ease. Chen Siheng fell heavily to the ground, his dagger dropped out of his hand and fell far away, but he didn’t even look at it. As soon as he got up he lunged towards Chu Mingyun again and flailed indiscriminately towards him. He actually snapped Chu Mingyun’s hair tie abruptly. Long crow-coloured hair immediately scattered over his shoulders.

　　”Tsk.” Chu Mingyun ran out of patience and threw him to the ground. He lifted his foot and stepped on the shoulder of Chen Siheng, who was struggling to get up but couldn’t move anymore.

　　”Brat, what are you trying to do?” Chu Mingyun’s eyes scanned him.

　　Chen Siheng’s eyes were reddened, and in a voice so loud it resembled a roar: “You killed her! You killed her!”

　　”Oh,” Chu Mingyun sneered, “Before you even grow up, you’ve become muddled by infatuation with pretty ladies?”

　　”She saved me! Only her!” Chen Siheng was already in tears, “You said that you were colleagues of my grandfather, said you’ll take care of matters for me, but where were you when my family was ruined? Only her! It was only her who saved me from the fire!”

　　”If she didn’t cause your family’s ruin, would you even need her to rescue you?” Chu Mingyun said coldly.

　　”You’re speaking nonsense!” Chen Siheng glared at him, “As if I’d believe what you say!”

　　Su Shiyu walked over, looked down at him and said, “Earlier you said, that it was Miss Jingshu who went into the fire to rescue you?”

　　”Yes! “

　　”Then do you remember, how you described it to us at the Red Sleeve House? “Su Shiyu said.

　　Chen Siheng was suddenly speechless.

　　Su Shiyu then said slowly: “She said, you escaped from the house by yourself, and then fainted in front of her carriage.” He gazed downward at Chen Siheng, and continued: “There’s something wrong about Miss Jingshu, you’re aware of it in your heart, aren’t you?”

　　Chen Siheng remained silent.

　　”You deliberately ignore and avoid it, because you are afraid that once you figure it out, you would no longer have anyone to rely on?”

　　This man’s voice was so gentle, and each word broke the self-deception that he used to go on living. Chen Siheng closed his eyes, and lay back on the ground as if sapped of strength. Tears slid off his pale cheeks, and fell to the ground.

　　Chu Mingyun lowered his eyes to look at him and said abruptly, “One more thing, when did we say we decide matters for you?”

　　Chen Siheng opened his eyes and looked at him, startled.

　　”Brat, how old are you?” Chu Mingyun asked.

　　”Fifteen.”

　　”Fifteen…?” Chu Mingyun leaned down slightly and looked Chen Siheng in the eye, his loose hair spreading to cover his expression. Su Shiyu could only see his eyes, clear and bright under the dawning sky. His tone was completely flat and even, and he said without emotion: “So what if you’re fifteen, from the moment your home and family was ruined, you were no longer a child. You can no longer think about relying on someone, you have to stand up for yourself. Your family’s blood feud, if you don’t clear it, are you waiting for someone to do it for you?”

　　”…But what can I do?” Chen Siheng choked up, “I don’t know anything, anyone can kill easily. I, how can I take revenge?”

　　”What are you being humble for,” Chu Mingyun raised his hand to sweep his hair to the back and said coldly, “Don’t you still have the stupidity that you just wanted to kill me with?”

　　”…Master Chu.” Su Shiyu couldn’t help but say.

　　Chu Mingyun turned his head and smiled at Su Shiyu, then cast his gaze over the Chen Siheng beneath his foot and said, “Okay, who are you still keeping this half-dead look for? I will raise you on behalf of Chen Xuanwen, but I don’t care about everything else. What to learn, finding who to take revenge on, you make that decision yourself. “He paused and added,”But if you use that hot-blooded head to come at me again, I’ll break your legs, alright? “

　　The boy’s slight rebellious mentality was finally induced by Chu Mingyun, Chen Siheng stared at him vigilantly, “You said that Sister Jingshu saved me to harm me, so why should I believe you? How do I know that you’re not trying to use me too?”

　　Chu Mingyun looked at him unhurriedly from head to toe, “What about you do you think is useful to me?”

　　Chen Siheng ignored his words, only gritting his teeth and asked persistently, “Why should I believe you?”

　　Chu Mingyun finally lost his patience, “Believe it if you like to. If you don’t believe me, you can just lie here and wait for the wolves to pick at you.” After saying that, he lifted his foot, turned and left.

　　Chen Siheng couldn’t react for a while.

　　Su Shiyu couldn’t help smiling slightly, raised his hand and grabbed Chu Mingyun’s arm to stop him. He turned his head to Chen Siheng who was still lying on the ground and said, “Do you recognize who he is?”

　　Chen Siheng shook his head confusedly.

　　”Then do you know the General Chu who repelled the Huns?”

　　Chen Siheng nodded confusedly, but halfway through a nod, he suddenly froze , seeming to understand something, and stared at Chu Mingyun’s figure in shock.

　　Su Shiyu smiled faintly: “Even if he adopts you with the intention to use you, aren’t you able to use him more? You don’t know martial arts now, but don’t you plan to learn?”

　　Chen Siheng got up and looked at the two of them hesitantly. “But he clearly said he doesn’t care…”

　　Su Shiyu smile deepened, “I guess if you can bother him to irritation, there may likely be a point at which that changes.”

　　”Master Su…” Chu Mingyun looked at him with a complicated expression.

　　”But he…”

　　”He didn’t break your leg just now, right?” Su Shiyu smiled, “Aren’t you coming over?”
Chen Siheng hesitated in walking over.

　　Su Shiyu looked at the sky and sighed slightly: “In a while, he and I still have to attend morning court. If you delay any longer, then there really will be no chance.”

　　Chen Siheng hurriedly followed and looked at Chu Mingyun’s side profile uneasily, “Chu…”

　　Chu Mingyun cast an uncaring glance at him, then his gaze swept over Su Shiyu, who was smiling broadly, and walked away.

　　In the end, Chu Mingyun placed Chen Siheng in a quiet house outside the city. He hurriedly tied his hair, changed his clothes, and went to enter the palace.

　　The fragrance of imperial incense wafted from the burner, and the calls of orioles had yet to cease. Ten thousand arrival bells sounded in the palace, and a thousand officials gathered round the insignia flags on the jade podium1.

　　Eternal Joy Casino had been sealed for investigation, but no traces of third-party forces suspected by Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu had yet to be found. Chen Siheng’s case was only known to the two of them. Therefore, High Official Lu Shi of the Ministry of Justice was the one appropriate to report the handling of the casino case to the Emperor in the Golden Palace. The only suspicious point in this case, is that the building was clearly opulent and prosperous, and yet there was no vault stored with money.

　　After listening, Li Yanzhen complimented his efforts and showed appreciation according to the usual practice, simply saying that they could continue to investigate slowly.

　　However one looked at it, it seemed to be just an ordinary case, but only few people knew of the undercurrents beneath it.

　　After court was dimissed, Chu Mingyun stepped out of the Golden Palace. Xu Yin hastily followed, and respectfully said: “Master Chu.” 

“En.” Chu Mingyun glanced at him, “Need something?”

　　”This…” Xu Yin gave an embarassed smile. “It’s not anything important. My son has always been accustomed to troublemaking, and this humble official never thought this time he would even go to this sort of place, and was even implicated and imprisoned…”

　　Chu Mingyun waited for him to finish speaking.

　　”Although he can be released in a few days’ time, this humble official only has this one son, who hasn’t experienced suffering since he was young. Also, because my old mother loves her grandson, she couldn’t sleep all night after hearing about this matter last night…” After speaking for so long and watching Chu Mingyun’s indifferent expression, Xu Yin finally got to the point, “I heard that Master Chu also contributed a lot to the Eternal Joy Casino case. This humble official thus wishes to plead Your Excellency to make an exception, and see if it’s possible for that unfilial son of mine to be released earlier.”

　　Chu Mingyun suddenly smiled and said, “Your son said he wants to sleep with me. Did you know this?”

　　Xu Yin’s face changed suddenly, and in his panic dared not look at him, and said, “This…this is truly,.. this humble official will surely discipline him another day, I still hope Your Excellency will be magnanimous.”

　　 Chu Mingyun mockingly laughed and said coldly: “You don’t have to scared to this extent. I don’t intend to kill him just for this one word.” He said with a light tone. After a pause, his smile slowly deepened and said: “But don’t the books also say, if the child is raised without teaching, it’s the father’s fault.”

　　Xu Yin said hurriedly: “Yes, what Your Excellency said is right, this humble official was incompetent in educating…”

　　”I’m not talking about this,” Chu Mingyun said slowly, taking a step forward and staring at him: “Although I usually don’t care about how you talk about me in private, it is still better to act a bit proper after all. Since I am a man of such unpredictable moods, don’t you agree?” He stretched the last syllable slightly, with a faint amusement. Xu Yin’s back was soaked in cold sweat for an instant, and he dared not respond.

　　Chu Mingyun retracted his gaze and walked away. During this conversation of his, Su Shiyu had already walked a few feet away from the side, and Chu Mingyun called out as he tried to catch up, “Master Su.”

　　” Master Su?” He raised his voice slightly and called out twice, but Su Shiyu kept heading forward.

　　Chu Mingyun raised his eyebrows slightly and stretched his tone of voice: “Baobei’er–“

　　Su Shiyu turned around, looked at him somewhat helplessly and said, “Is there something Master Chu needs?” 
“I didn’t even pick a fuss with you over the matter with Chen Siheng, so why are you still keeping me at an arm’s length? “Chu Mingyun keep up with him side by side to go out, “After what happened last night, couldn’t you and I be considered to have some friendly relations? “

　　Strolled through a brothel together and shut down a casino, this was beyond having some friendly relations.

　　Su Shiyu smiled faintly, “Master Chu, what do you want to say?” 
” Why don’t you and I have a good chat, talk about the past, and confide in each other.” Chu Mingyun pondered briefly, “Doesn’t Master Su think you and I are well-matched?”

　　”… …” Su Shiyu said, “Last night you didn’t sleep all night , it’s better for Master Chu to return to his residence and rest.”

The author has something to say:
Su Shiyu: “Wash up and sleep.”

T/N: Thought this was going to be a simple chapter to translate, took even longer than the previous chapter ORZ. Acquired an adopted child, check. This is starting to resemble Word Of Honor/ Tian Ya Ke a bit. 

1. 御炉浮香，莺啭未央。金阙晓钟开万户，玉阶仙仗拥千官。This actually stumped me a bit because the author used different words for the first verse (matching phrases highlighted in blue), but this is actually a reference to the poem 《奉和中书舍人贾至早朝大明宫》by Cen Shen. The poem is in seven-character-verse ode-style, and the original verse goes: 鸡鸣紫陌曙光寒，莺啭皇州春色阑。金阙晓钟开万户，玉阶仙仗拥千官。Note that the last two verses are the same, but instead of talking about the spring scenery and the cold light of early morning, the author used four character verses to talk about the imperial incense and the call of orioles. Because the call of orioles has yet to stop, spring is not over. I can’t remember if the earlier chapters mentioned that the current season is spring, but I’ll edit this if that is the case.

Is the Gentleman Feeling Alright? – Chapter 19

Everything had happened in a flash. Boss Mu was the first to regain his senses and shouted : “You’re still not coming in? Hurry up!” As his words were uttered, a group of people in black broke through the doorway, and the dancers in red also reacted, turning away and drawing soft swords from the qin at their side, approaching Chu Mingyun’s side.

　　Su Shiyu took a few staggered steps to keep some distance, raised his hand and threw the tea cup in his hand.

　　Hot tea sprayed out towards the leading man in black’s face, and subconsciously wanting to avoid it he ducked sideways. But with a flash of the silhouettes in front of him, the man in blue had already stepped to his side. That man felt a pain in his wrist, and the long sword was snatched by him (Chu Mingyun) directly. This was followed by a strong strike to his knees with the porcelain cup, forcing him to kneel down, throwing the footwork of those behind him into disarray.

　　Chu Ming Yun swung the sword in his hand, slashing the droplets of water in the air, and went directly for Boss Mu’s throat.

　　But Boss Mu reacted quickly, he picked up the table and threw it over, forced to retreat a few steps. Chu Mingyun didn’t duck either, not withdrawing the ferocious momentum of the long sword in his hand, and he directly split the heavy table. With a dull and explosive sound, the round table burst into pieces, and the sawdust flew everywhere, forcing the surrounding men to retreat again.

　　Most of the people in black rushed towards Chu Mingyun, and on the other side Su Shiyu flexibly staggered the blades that intertwined surrounding him. He pulled a person within reach and pushed them away, and the white blade behind that man stabbed through his chest, the collision causing chaos behind him. With that short reprieve, Su Shiyu turned his head to look at Chu Mingyun’s side, and was slightly taken aback.

　　However, Boss Mu showed a disadvantage in a few moves, and only had room to breathe by relying on his surrounding subordinates attacking Chu Mingyun. Chu Mingyun didn’t get too distracted by the others’ attacks, only occasionally sweeping away the obstacles. He had already pulled off the ribbon and stared at Boss Mu, in close and intimidating pursuit.

　　Su Shiyu had never before clearly realized that this person in front of him was a general, and it seemed that he could have imagined this man’s posture on the Mongolian battlefield; his horse would have galloped astride thousands of people, broke the formation and killed the enemy, then he beheaded the commander.

　　From the start Chu Mingyun’s eyebrows were always gorgeous, and he often seeming-yet-not smile, always showing some coquettish intent. Therefore, the hard-hearted senior officials of the court has always held contempt for him. But at this moment, there was no trace of a smile on his face, his eyes were sharp, and even the slightly pursed line of his lips seemed stiff and cold. His whole body radiated hostility no longer being concealed.

　　This world really has the so-called beauty in slaughter, and though every gesture is so bloody, it carries such a thrill.

　　——”The four generations of the Su family, is not lacking for you as a general.”

　　Su Shiyu’s heart froze for a moment, and he suddenly returned to his senses. In this trance, a knife happened to sneak over from the side. He quickly tilted his head by leaning backward slightly, and the sharp blade just grazed the tip of his nose. He stretched out his hand to grab his opponent’s wrist, straightened up and backhanded the knife back viciously, and blood sprayed all over.

　　Boss Mu was finally out of strength on the other side, and his weapon had dropped a few feet away. Chu Mingyun’s long sword pursued him in that instant, in a trajectory to stab his face. He inhaled desperately, and in that fraught position he raised his arms to block the blow, groaning in pain as it met his bare flesh and bone.

　　Chu Mingyun simply let go of the sword, striking out towards Boss Mu’s heart with his hand as quick as lightning. The men in black fell one after another. Chu Mingyun ducked away for a second, which threw off the position of his hand slightly. The force of his strike caused Boss Mu’s body to shake, and broke an untold number of ribs. Boss Mu coughed out a mouthful of blood and drew back to the window in a wretched manner. He glanced outside, then looked back at Chu Mingyun who was already approaching him. He gritted his teeth and quickly leaped over the window.

　　Chu Mingyun quickly stopped him by grabbing his collar but Boss Mu violently struggled out of his grip. In the struggle, something seemed to be drop out of Boss Mu’s breastpocket1. Before a closer look could be taken, the other party had already dropped below, and within the next blink his figure disappeared into the wild forest outside the building.

　　Chu Mingyun turned around, his eyes sweeping behind him with a sharp gaze. More than half the men in black and the dancer maidens were incapacitated, and the master had already extricated himself. They couldn’t help taking a step back and staring at him vigilantly, not knowing what to do.

　　Suddenly the galloping sounds of horseshoes treading leaves was heard from a distance, outside the window. Chu Mingyun glanced back and saw a flame-coloured river rushing through the mountains and forests, approaching from afar. His eyebrows finally loosened slightly with some humour, and he said to Su Shiyu: “Aiy, Baobei’er–” Having finished ‘cleaning up’ the aggressors on his end, in a spotless white robe lacking even trace of blood, Su Shiyu gave him a heavy glance.

　　”Cough-Master Su,” Chu Mingyun quickly corrected, “People from the Ministry of Justice are here, but it’s quite the time.”

　　The officers and soldiers who were riding their horses with torches approached, and everyone in the room could see them from the window. To see. Su Shiyu retracted his gaze and smiled slightly at the people still standing in the room: “It’s useless to resist, you have no chance of winning.”

　　They looked at each other, hesitating, and finally put down their weapons.

　　In a short time, the officers and soldiers tightly surrounded Eternal Joy Casino and searched it floor-by-floor, and escorted everyone in the building to the Ministry of Justice for trial. Chu Mingyun observed this for a while, and thinking there was nothing wrong, he held up the object in his hand to the lantern and studied it.

　　It was a bronze seal with detailed outline, cast in the figure of a beast. Chu Mingyun fiddled with it in his hands for a long time, and couldn’t guess what it was used for.

　　There were footsteps approaching behind him, and Su Shiyu’s voice sounded out: “The forest has been searched.
There are several blood stains, but we couldn’t find Boss Mu.”

　　Chu Mingyun put the bronze seal in his breastpocket1, turned around and said casually: “It’s alright if you can’t find him. He was seriously injured by me, even if he’s not dead yet he soon will be. Let’s interrogate those subordinates first.”

　　Su Shiyu nodded, “I’ve really troubled Master Chu tonight. I thank you on behalf of Secretary Lu. “

　　Chu Mingyun waved his hand at will, and said: ” I’ll do without the thanks. Just don’t let him stare at me as if he wants to skin me alive all the time.”

　　Su Shiyu smiled faintly and didn’t answer.

　　”That’s right,” Chu Mingyun said suddenly: “Didn’t you already recognize who that Boss Mu is?”

　　Su Shiyu shook his head lightly and smiled: “If I really recognized who he is, I wouldn’t have to go on acting with you, let alone needing to send people into the forest to look for him.”

　　”Oh?” Chu Mingyun said, “So, what you said was a bluff?”

　　”Not entirely,” Su Shiyu said, “He was indeed vaguely familiar. But I can’t think of who it was. What I said later was just to swindle him, to see if he would get confused and expose something himself.”

　　”Then how is Master Su sure that he should be one who calls you an elder brother?”

　　Su Shiyu gave him a strange look, “Couldn’t Master Chu tell that he is younger than you and me?”

　　”…I did observe that.”

　　A bird chirp suddenly sounded in the night sky starting to break with the color of dawn, and the black-feathered bird swooped down from mid-air, landing on Chu Mingyun’s raised arm, giving him a timely rescue from this embarrassment.

　　Chu Mingyun removed the letterhead, his lips upturning with a smile, and turned his head to Su Shiyu: “It seems, this night is not over yet.”

　　”Someone sneaked out of Chang’an City, appearing to be headed here. Master Su, if we both walk back now, maybe you can just meet them.”

　　The skies were colored with dawn, and the mountains wrapped in thin fog. A carriage galloped speedily out of Chang’an, turned away from the official road and went straight into the forest.

　　Jingshu’s face was scrunched, leaning against the carriage wall in a daze; it was unknown what she was thinking. Chen Siheng sat in the car next to her, sneakily opened the curtain to glance at the deep forest flashing past, and then retracted his gaze. After a while, he couldn’t help pulling the sleeve of the person next to him, calling out in a very thin voice: “…Sister Jingshu.” Chen Siheng called out several times, before Jingshu returned to herself slowly, and asked with a forced smile: “What’s the matter?”

　　Chen Siheng looked at her worriedly, “Why do we need to leave the city overnight, is it because something happened?”

　　”Yes,” Jingshu thought for a while, and coaxed: “But it’s not a big deal, it may just be a small incident. Do you remember the brother who used to see me often before, we are going to check on him.”

　　Chen Siheng lowered his head, clenched his sleeves unconsciously, and whispered: “But I…feel very scared…”

　　Jingshu was surprised, but listened to Chen Siheng slowly continuing: “That night…it also seemed to be like this. Everyone told me nothing was wrong, and then it was gone…everything was gone…” He choked slightly, but then buried his head so that no one could see it. It was as just that his body was really scrawny and thin, seeming to be unable to hold up any more weight.

　　This child relied on her so much, and no matter how hardened Jingshu’s heart was, she couldn’t help but feel moved at this moment. She pondered in silence for a moment, stuffed the dagger hidden in her sleeve into his arms, and said gently: “Don’t be afraid.”

　　Chen Siheng slowly raised his head and looked at her, and indeed his eyes were reddened.

　　Jingshu smiled sharply, stroked his head, and said: “You have a knife, so you have power. When you next feel afraid, you can protect yourself.”

　　Chen Siheng opened his mouth, still wanting to say something. There was a sharp neighing noise outside, and the car stopped abruptly. Jingshu quickly grabbed Chen Siheng so he did not fall out. After he was stabilized, she let go of him and pulled up the curtain to ask, “What happened?”

　　The coachman actually fled, and the night was getting brighter. She saw the two people who were dismounted not far away. The young man in white saw her as soon as he turned his head, and smiled saying, “We meet again, Miss Jingshu.”

　　Jingshu was shocked for a moment, but with a smile on her face, she pulled Chen Siheng to dismount the carriage, “It really is a coincidence, why are the two young masters here?”

　　”We just solved a case and are about to return to the city.” Su Shiyu said, “And why is Miss here at this hour?”

　　”I…”
　　”Don’t you two get tired of talking in circles?” Chu Mingyun interjected coolly, and took a step closer to directly flash the bronze seal at Jingshu. He asked: “Do you know what this is?”

　　Jingshu’s expression suddenly changed, “Why is it… in your hands?”

　　Chu Mingyun retracted his hand and glanced at the thing, then smiled at her, “Why do you think?”

　　”You…”

　　”Naturally its master died, so I took it off him.”

　　Jingshu’s body trembled as she muttered: “Died?…Died?”

　　Her mind had immediately blanked, and she looked around in a disoriented manner, before her gaze finally fell back to Chu Mingyun with some difficulty. The look in her eyes suddenly turned resentful, and she pushed Chen Siheng away from her side, rushing lightning-swift towards Chu Mingyun.

　　”I’ll kill you–!” The voice was sharp and stern, no longer gentle.

　　”Yo,” Chu Mingyun raised his eyebrows and smiled, leaning slightly to her side, raising his hand to cut off her move, and clasping her wrist in a deathly grip, “(Your) skill is good, but it’s a pity-it’s a little slow.” He countered and threw Jingshu off, and she fell straight into an old tree a few feet away.

　　Jingshu struggled to prop up her body and coughed, feeling a pain as if all her bones were falling apart, and she couldn’t stand up for a while.

　　Chu Mingyun said slowly: “If you can’t stand up, just obediently lie there and answer my questions.” He raised the bronze seal in his hand, “What is this for?”

　　Jingshu stared at him, snorted softly, and suddenly took out something and stuffed it into her mouth. The moment she raised her hand, Su Shiyu stepped forward to stop her, and pulled her arm down, but it was still a step too late, Jingshu met Su Shiyu’s gaze with a challenging look, as her white throat moved slightly and swallowed the thing.

　　Su Shiyu sighed lightly, let go of her and stood up, “Why did Miss have to act so severely, we don’t actually intend to kill you.”

　　Jingshu put her hands on the ground and suddenly let out a slow laugh, her laughter gradually growing louder, as if that action made her feel carefree. “Young Master…” She looked into the distance, “Jingshu is incompetent, you… you wait for me.”

　　Her body suddenly trembled uncontrollably, and a trace of blood came from her lips. Her pupils already seemed unfocused, and she muttered dully.

　　Su Shiyu frowned slightly and leaned downward. He could only hear her saying discontinually:

　　”…The silent maiden so wondrous, waiting for me… . at the city corner… love and…love and… not see… scratch my head in anxiety…”2

　　”What’s your name?”

　　”Replying to the Young Master3, this subordinate’s background is humble, not worthy of a name, but only because of age order, I am called Shiqi (seventeen).”

　　”How can a lady be called that. Let me think–the lovely quiet girl5, since you are sent by my father to assist me, then listen to me. How about changing your name to Jingshu?”

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

　　” The quiet lady…qi…2” Jingshu suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, lost strength and slumped back, and no longer let out breath nor sound.

　　The red blood surged in the air within Chen Siheng’s dumbfounded field of vision, dragging him back to that night of fire and blood. He was shocked, as if finally waking up from a long dream.

　　Su Shiyu straightened up, “It looks like, she came with the resolve to die.” Chu Mingyun chuckled with unknown meaning, and kept away the bronze seal.

　　Su Shiyu sighed again, turned back to look at him, and his expression suddenly had a slight change, “Watch out behind you!”

　　Chen Siheng, who had been standing in a stupor on the side, suddenly rushed to Chu Mingyun desperately, holding a dagger in his hand. All the cowardice faded from his expression, he looked as fierce as a little wolf.

T/N: Good grief, I hate translating action scenes since the way they’re written is rather metaphorical in historical pieces, and it seems like there’s quite a lot of it in this book. Now we have Chinese poetry too, I hope someone is reading the footnotes.

The text in blue have hover text to tell you what the word is referring to when the original text vaguely writes several ‘he’s in the same sentence, but it takes a while to pop up and I’m not sure how it appears on mobile so I might put it in brackets in plain text like “his (Chu Mingyun)” instead. Which do you think works better? Please leave a comment! The scene in the beginning with teamwork between the two is so cool, the poor man in black who tried to dodge Shiyu’s tea only to get his sword smacked out of his hand by Chuchu and then getting conked in the knees by Shiyu with his teacup. And he’s supposed to be the gentle one. Edit 09/06/21: changed all the ‘Jing Shu’ to ‘Jingshu’ to be consistent with the chapters already translated by Dust Bunny. Tried to make it clearer that the Jingshu naming scene is a flashback.

1.“怀中” can either refer to something dropping from within his arms (if he was hugging something) or from his bosom; so since he was fighting I’ll assume it was within the chest area of his robes the way the account book was hidden within Shiyu’s robes a few chapters ago.

2. This is quoting the first line from “The Quiet Lady” which is a poem in the State of Bei (邶风·静女) Bèi fēng·jìng nǚ section of the Shijing《诗经》,the Classic of Poetry aka the Book of Songs or otherwise known as the Book of Odes. This is the oldest existing collection of written poetry, written the four-character stanza style of the Western Zhou period. The line goes, “静女其姝，俟我于城隅。爱而不见，搔首踟蹰”, and it’s a man writing about his gentle and quiet lover arranging to meet him in the city corner, yet deliberately hiding such that he becomes so anxious he grabs his ears and scratches his cheeks.

3. The type of ‘Young Master’ used here is 少主 which is a informal title as the owner of a small garrison of guards, which is also what the manager called Boss Mu in the previous chapter. This is different from the ‘young master’ 公子 that you generally call a young man of assumedly noble birth. I will try as much as possible to use small caps for the latter. Also, whenever Su Shiyu and Chu Mingyun address each other as ‘Master Su’ it is ‘大人’ daren which is the general respectful address for an official.

Is the Gentleman Feeling Alright? – Chapter 18

Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu were invited upstairs.

　　The room was luxuriously decorated, with pearl lanterns and shining bead curtains. A charming maid served tea and snacks, and the manager bowed, greeting: “If the two masters wait a moment, the younger ones will go and notify the master.”

　　Chu Mingyun poured a cup by himself, walked to Su Shiyu and looked at the night of the distant mountains outside the window together with him. “What’s the matter?”

　　Su Shiyu looked back at him, then looked at the maid who was standing not far away, then leaned his head closer to Chu Mingyun and said in a lowered voice, “I’ve now recognized where this is.”

　　Chu Mingyun hugged him and pulled him closer, causing his long crow-colored hair to slide down his shoulder and sweep across the side of Su Shiyu’s ear, looking as if they were cuddling ear-to-ear from a distance. “Huh?”

　　Su Shiyu frowned slightly, and continued: “West a few miles from the gravehills in the wilderness outside Chang’an. No wonder no one discovered it, this valley is actually a burial mound.” Chu Mingyun looked at the other’s eyebrows and raised his hand to press the cup of tea to his lips, whispering: “The owner of the gambling house happens to be here, do you want to notify the Ministry of Justice?”

　　”If you want to, just drink it yourself.” Su Shiyu pushed back his hand and said, “From what you say, am I to understand there is a way of sending out the notice?”

　　Chu Mingyun drank the tea in his cup and suddenly laughed, “You won’t drink tea when I pour it for you, and you still say that you don’t hold any grudges?” He sighed helplessly. “I told you that it was a joke. Are you really jealous?” Su Shiyu silently pulled away Chu Mingyun’s hand that was holding onto him, not knowing how to answer.

　　Chu Mingyun flipped back his hand to hold the other man’s hand, and looked him down with a grin: “Don’t worry, even if there were thousands of Su Shiyus, Baobei’er, you are the one I love the most.”

　　With complicated feelings and a flat tone, Su Shiyu went along with him: “…Really?” Chu Mingyun pretended to sigh again, “If you don’t believe me, then how about I write you a guarantee?” Turning around, he said to the maid who was staring with wide eyes, “Is there any brush and ink here?”

The maids hurriedly nodded their heads, and ran out to take brushes, inks, papers and inkstones, and spread them out on the table, awaiting Chu Mingyun’s instructions.

　　But all Chu Mingyun said was: “He is thin-skinned, you all go out and wait, if the manager comes over with your boss, remember to announce them first.”

The maids bowed their heads , filed out, but as the younger maid who was walking last in the row turned around to close the door, she couldn’t help but glance at Su Shiyu, her face flushing instantly.

　　After confirming that there was no one left in the room, Su Shiyu smiled and said
quietly : ” Master Chu is really brilliant .” Chu Mingyun laid out a piece of white paper for him, “Why do I feel that you are not complimenting me?”
　　”Naturally, if there was a way that didn’t make you and I so uncomfortable, that would be better.”
　　Chu Mingyun raised his eyes to look at him, spread his hands, and tilted his head saying: “Come on, feel free to touch.”
　　Su Shiyu turned around and dipped the ink, drawing back his sleeve to write a letter.
　　Chu Mingyun chuckled lightly, stood aside for a moment, and then took a small, transparent whistle from his sleeve and placed it on his lips. It blew without sound. Not long after, there was a chip from a bird outside the window. A shadowy lump flew into the house. A black-feathered bird landed steadily on his shoulders, and seemed to call at Chu Mingyun twice with great joy, then twisted its head to peck at its wings.
　　When the ink on the letterhead had dried, Chu Mingyun rolled it up and stuffed it into the bamboo tube on the bird’s leg. He watched the black feather bird’s wings tremble, flying faraway in the blink of an eye, and sighed: “I hope that stubborn old goat Lu Shi, doesn’t drive Qin Zhao out as soon as he sees that it’s one of my men.”

　　”Secretary Lu still knows how to have a measured hand in important matters.” After a pause, Su Shiyu asked: “This correspondence is… …”
　　Chu Mingyun raised his hand to interrupt Su Shiyu’s words, as knocking from the door came suddenly, and the manager’s voice inquiring outside the door.

　　”It’s a secret technique left by my teacher.” After he said so, he turned and called out, “Come on in.”

The carved wooden door was pushed open, and the manager followed a young man in. The other party smiled at them, and introduced himself: “This one’s surname is Mu, the owner of Eternal Joy Casino. Young Master Lin, it’s my fortune to meet you.” 

“My fortune to meet you as well.” Chu Mingyun nodded, and said with a smile, “Boss Mu is in charge of such a large gambling house at such a young age, it’s really amazing.”

　　Boss Mu made a few courteous remarks then looked at them and said, “There is no one else here, so can I request that you take off your masks to discuss?”

　　Chu Mingyun was still hesitant, but Su Shiyu had already taken off the mask and smiled directly at him. He said, “Boss Mu, may I ask you something?” Boss Mu was stunned as soon as he saw Su Shiyu’s face. When Chu Mingyun took off his mask, Boss Mu’s eyes hovered on their two faces for a moment. He lowered his eyes and smiled hurriedly: “I didn’t expect that the two younger masters would have such celestial countenances… pardon my rudeness.”

　　”No problem,” Chu Mingyun said.

　　”Don’t worry about it,” Su Shiyu looked at him, and said, “Daring to ask Mr. Mu if has ever met me before?”

　　”I’ve never met you before.”

　　”Really,” Su Shiyu smiled gently, “Then why do I rather find you familiar?”

　　Boss Mu smiled: “There are so many similar people in the world. My appearance is so common, maybe it resembles one of young master’s friends.”

　　Su Shiyu retracted his gaze and said clearly: “Thinking about it carefully, it is indeed just a very similar-looking acquaintance. It seems that I was mistaken, sorry.” Chu Mingyun glanced over and asked Su Shiyu: “Who does he resemble?”

　　Su Shiyu narrowed his eyes and let out a slow laugh: “According to their age, that person should call me elder brother. Young master must have recognized it too.”

　　His voice fell, Boss Mu’s pupils shrank suddenly, his expression on his face remained flat and calm, and he opened the topic: “Seeing as the two young masters are so elegant, then we can’t offer you games as vulgar as the ones upstairs. How
about a different gambling method?” “What gambling method?” Chu Mingyun asked.

　　Boss Mu smiled, “Young master, wait a moment and I’ll make arrangements.” After saying this, the maidservants came in to wait on them personally, and Boss Mu ordered the chief to leave with him.

　　Only after leaving the house, Boss Mu’s expression instantly became unpleasant, and he whispered, “What did you do? You actually brought these two people over to me?” The manager said in a panic: “The subordinates just acted according to the rules……”

　　”Rules?” Boss Mu looked at him coldly, “When did I make a rule to not even check clearly who the person is?” The manager recalled that he had helped Chu Mingyun to cheat secretly, and his heart chilled. He hurriedly said: “Then order people to hold them back first, and move faster within the building. We should be able to evacuate in time…”

　　Boss Mu clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it on the porch with an enraged smirk, “Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu are both here, you think we can retreat with bodies still whole? What’s more, Su Shiyu has probably already recognized me!”

　　”How, how could it be…” The manager glanced at the clever mask on the boss’s face, “… this subordinate think he is likely bluffing you on purpose.”

　　”That guy just smiling like that means he already understands everything in his heart but just doesn’t want to tell you bluntly, he has been like this since he was a child, can he be faking it?!”

　　”Then Young Master, you see…”

　　Boss Mu stared at Void gradually, gritted his teeth and said: “Since things have reached the end of the rope, I have to take a gamble.” He turned around abruptly, and said: “Send someone to inform the Red Sleeve House, don’t care about anybody else, just let Jing Shu leave Chang’an as soon as possible.”

　　While Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu were about to finish their cups of tea leisurely, Boss Mu brought some people back, and the house was immediately filled with fragrance. Red gauze wrapped around snow-white skin, seemingly visible and yet not, a few dancer maidens stood in a row behind him, all with enchanting postures and delicate eyebrows.

　　Boss Mu said: “If young master Lin will blindfold his eyes and let them dance around you for a round; one of them has something in their hand, and if you guess who it is you win, how about that?”

　　Chu Mingyun casually put a hand on Su Shiyu’s shoulders, looked at the women indifferently, and smiled, “Boss Mu, I just made a promise with my Baobei’er, and now you want me to indulge in this sensuous pleasure, I am afraid that someone will not let me go to bed for a few days.”

　　Su Shiyu didn’t avoid his hand, and just drank tea silently, seeming to have no intention to participate in the conversation.

　　”If it is inconvenient for Young Master Lin, you can go back first, and wait for me to think of something else interesting before gambling.” “There is no inconvenience, why is Boss Mu in a hurry to push people out?” Chu Mingyun smiled, “Come on.”

　　With a look from Boss Mu’s eyes, a dancer approached with a red ribbon. Su Shiyu raised his hand and stopped her, politely smiling: “No need to trouble you Miss, just leave it to me.” He took the ribbon and after a rough touch to assess it, it was soft and delicate. It was indeed just an ordinary ribbon. He then he looked toward Chu Mingyun.

　　Chu Mingyun turned his head and looked at Su Shiyu with a smile, and when he saw him, he calmly closed his eyes, looking like he was entrusting himself to him. Redness obscured what was before his eyes and the ribbon was tied behind his head. The force of his touch was gentle, and a faint scent brushed across Chu Mingyun’s cheeks with the movement of his sleeves. Chu Mingyun thought leisurely, the feeling of being served by the Grand Secretary is really good.

　　Su Shiyu pulled Chu Mingyun to stand still in the room before returning to his original position and watching calmly.
　　Boss Mu couldn’t help but glance back at Su Shiyu, but didn’t want to make eye contact with him. He smiled hurriedly, turned his face back and said with a clap of his hands, “Let’s start.”

The music sounded with a lingering but loud tune, in time with the figure of the dancer maiden stretching softly, as light as a wave, and shocking vivacity in swaying. The red gauze rose with their movements, making an interlace of hazy red, with only a spot of dark blue standing idle, as if enveloped in an indulgent embrace1 and isolated from afar, looking rather surreal from a distance.

　　It was indeed just a dance, and there was no attempt to murder. Su Shiyu frowned slightly unconsciously, for an unexplainable reason.

　　The music gradually reached its climax, and the overlapping of the dancers’ figures became faster and faster. From time to time, a slender hand touched Chu Mingyun’s robe, passing by, almost imperceivable. It was a vision filled with red gauze and snow skin, light and shadow intertwined, as if entering the enchanted cave, seducing the ignorant to have a dream with them.

　　A dancer maiden slumped back a few steps and slammed into the wall. The dream was broken, and the music was muted abruptly.

　　The dancers who were still clinging to Chu Mingyun suddenly drew away by one foot, all of them with well-trained skills. The dancer who was leaning against the wall lowered her head in disbelief, and saw a sandalwood fan inserted into her belly. Blood spurted out of her mouth, and red blood stained her red dress, adding a bit to her beauty. The knife fell to the ground with a clang.

　　Chu Mingyun raised his hand and hooked half of the belt covering his eyes, only revealing a single eye, and he turned to looked back. His eye was long and curved into a narrow corner, and the reflection of the crimson gauge made it seem smudged with rouge. He showed a broad smile:

　　”I guessed it correctly, does this mean I won?”

  1. The phrase used here is 温柔乡 which can have several meanings, it’s almost a term on its own to refer to the embrace of a lover, or referring to someone getting enchanted in lust. It’s a bit hard to translate.

If it’s not quite clear, what happens is this: Chu-chu acts all coy with Shiyu as an act to disguise their whispered conversation since the maidservants are still in the back of the room with them. Chu-chu held up a cup of tea to Shiyu’s lips as if helping him to drink. When Shiyu pushes his naughty arm away, he gets his hand held instead. The maids must be thinking, what a jealous male lover he has lmaooo.

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