Is the Gentleman Feeling Alright? – Chapter 36

The faint fragrance of sandalwood loomed in the room.

Chu Mingyun knocked on the desk, looking at Du Yue who was shoving cakes into his mouth across from him, “I called you because I have things (to discuss), not to treat you to (a meal).”

Du Yue didn’t even look up, and responded with a muffled sound, “I know, you definitely didn’t find me for anything good, that’s why right now I’ll eat a few more liang of your silver (eat more off your tab) to soothe my feelings.”

Chu Mingyun could not be bothered to deal with him. He took out a jade pendant and lay it on the table in front of him, “Help me check whether there are any hidden mechanisms in this? How come the people of the Su residence each have livelier expressions than the next once they see it.”

In that instant, Du Yue’s couldn’t exhale his next breath and choked on it. As he coughed, he pointed to it in shock, “I, that, th-that that……”

Chu Mingyun leisurely propped up his jaw and studied his expression, “Exactly, (they had) just this reaction.”

“Surnamed Chu, where did you steal this from?”

Chu Mingyun looked at him expressionlessly, “Su Shiyu gave it to me himself.”

“This is given to you by Su Shiyu?! Which Su Shiyu?!” Du Yue started to recover his breath.

“Shouldn’t you be clearer than me how many cousins you have?”

“……Has my cousin gone silly ah?” Du Yue’s face was filled with disbelief.

“Get to the point.”

“……Woh.” (T/N: Affirmative noise, pronounced “or”) Du Yue held his head to soothe over his feelings for a bit, “Actually I’m also not too sure exactly what this is meant to be used for, I just remember this jade pendant was left to him by my aunt (T/N: Jiumu, mother’s brother’s wife so Shiyu’s mother), my cousin always carries it on his person.”

“You’re certain?” Chu Mingyun lightly raised his brows, “Su Shiyu even took this jade pendant to use in place of stake money for gambling, if it really is that important, would he bear to do such a thing?”

“You probably don’t understand this,” Du Yue said smugly, “I’ve seen Su Bai take this jade pendant along with him several times when conducting his business, basically you can say that as long as (the beholder) is a member of the Su family, once they see this jade pendant they’ll know it’s my brother. Even if it got lost no one would dare to keep it, in the end it would definitely return to his possession.”

“Woh——?” Chu Mingyun smiled, “Seeing the jade is like seeing the person¹?”
It seems to be that Su Shiyu was planning to switch strategy to using the jade pendant handed over to the casino as a lead for the investigation once he’d lost the wager that day.

“It should roughly mean seeing the jade is the same as seeing the person, but since my cousin dared to give it to you, you’d best not think you can use the jade pendant to mobilise the Su family’s forces anymore.” Du Yue said bluntly.

Chu Mingyun glanced at Du Yue who was having a rare moment with his brain present. The other party’s eyes only stared at the jade pendant, and bit fiercely into a Rongfu cake, “But why did my cousin give it to you and not to me ah!“

“I cannot make sense of it either.” Chu Mingyun held the jade pendant in his hand and fiddled with it, and said uncertainly, “Probably at that time he had nothing else on his person, or perhaps he intends to make use of this jade pendant to…”

“Chu Mingyun.” Du Yue suddenly cut him off in an extremely serious tone, “I don’t know how it is when you officials fight back and forth all day, but setting that aside, my cousin isn’t as treacherous as you imagine him to be, and that jade pendant is really important to him!”

“Yes yes yes, you’ve always been on his side, and only wish Su Shiyu was your blood brother.” Chu Mingyun tossed back a reply callously, and lifted the jade pendant in hand to his line of sight, looking at it. White jade carved with an ornamental pattern, glistening as if it generated light. His lips suddenly curved with a hint of cold humor, and barely an warning he loosened the hand holding the jade pendant. “So what if it’s important or not, I certainly don’t care about it.”

The jade dropped straight down, and in that instant the clear and crisp sound of jade-stone striking rang out from the floor.

Du Yue was stunned into stillness, but quickly slapped the table and stood, saying in a fury: “Surnamed Chu are you crazy²?” He walked up and bent over trying to pick it up, yet was blocked by Chu Mingyun lifting his leg and could only withdraw, quickly straightening up again, “What are you doing?!”

Chu Mingyun folded his arms on the table, tilting his head and smiled looking at him, “Something given to me, what are you trying to pick it up for?”

“(If) you don’t want it can’t I want it?” Du Yue glared at him.

“You can’t.”

“Your mother! (F*ck!)” Du Yue flicked his sleeves and walked out, and as he passed (Chu Mingyun) he scolded between gritted teeth: “Don’t know how to appreciate kindness, since you don’t even know how to cherish others’ good intent you just wait to get your retribution!”

Chu Mingyun sent him off with a grin, “Gladly.”

With one leg, Du Yue kicked the door open.

The room returned to silent stillness. Chu Mingyun turned his head round, and as the humor (in his expression) receded, he slowly drank a cup of tea to the last drop, stood and walked out.

Yet for some reason he ceased his steps in front of the door, and was unable to take the next step.

Chu Mingyun stood silently in the house, hand pressed against the red-painted engraved door, not moving an inch. His gaze seemed to fall into the distant void, and was lost in thought by himself.

The sandalwood incense burned out soundlessly, breaking into a burner-ful of trifling dust. The sound of wind passed by the window, circulating the faint scent.

After a good while he suddenly spun around gradually, and without any expression stared at his original position, the light in his eyes fluctuating. He lifted his feet and walked back, crouching to retrieve the thing beside his foot. The jade stone was still whole, just with the addition of several crack marks on it, clearly visible as reflected in the settling sunlight.

Chu Mingyun furrowed his brow tightly and let out a tsk sound, shoving the jade pendant back into his sleeve again, “Troublesome.”

“Cousin——!” Accompanied by a roar, the door to the study was forcefully pushed open.

Su Shiyu lifted his eyes to look at that blue-robed figure that was spitting with anger³, and could not help but laugh, “What is it, is this you looking to seek revenge on me?”

“Looking for you to seek revenge on someone else!” Du Yue reached his desk in a few bounds, “His mother that (That damn) Chu Mingyun actually (dared) throw your item!”

“Item?” The hand Su Shiyu was writing with paused, “What item?”

“It’s that jade pendant you gave ah! He actually (dared) say he doesn’t care about it and then threw it, Laozi⁴ cares about it ah!”

Su Shiyu put down the brush, wrinkling his brow, “Speak properly.” He paused for a blink, then suddenly laughed lowly, “If it’s thrown away then it’s thrown away.”

“You……” Du Yue was having difficulty accepting his calm reaction; and exasperation he said, “Cousin aren’t you going to something?”

“What is the something I should say?”

“Such as, ‘Surnamed Chu is really too much! He literally isn’t anything decent ah he……'”

“Ah-Yue,” Su Shiyu interrupted him, and smiled warmly, “Why slander others like this?”

“How is this considered slander?!” Du Yue blurted, but no matter that fury nestled in his heart, seeing Su Shiyu’s mannerism that seemingly didn’t care about this he felt it slightly embarrassing to continue blathering on, and hence relaxed his tone to ask: “Cousin, wasn’t that jade pendant very important to you, why’d you give it to him for no good reason?”

　　”So what if it’s important, so what if it’s unimportant,” Su Shiyu lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, and said casually, “It was what he was due, so I simply gave it to him.”

“What (do you) mean?” Du Yue didn’t understand.

　　Su Shiyu looked at Du Yue, then let out a light sigh, “Since it’s already been given to him, then that is his item, if he keeps it properly that’s good, if he casually throws it away then that’s that, it all up to his whims.”

　　”But where is there a case for you giving it to him with good intent and not only being suspected but also letting (him) throw it away?” Du Yue felt indignant (for him), “Cousin what the hell’s use in you being so nice to him!”

　　”You don’t need to feel so aggrieved.” Su Shiyu soothed, “I merely granted it willingly, not out of any intent to get something in return, and more so I didn’t ever consider there would be any use in this. Moreover, at the time I’d already thought of the likely outcomes, so now it doesn’t really comes as a surprise, you also don’t need to be so bothered.” He smiled blandly, “If it’s thrown away then it’s thrown away.”

　　Du Yue was pent up with frustration, looking at Su Shiyu for a half-beat, and could only say with a perturbed expression, “Alright alright I get it, it’s fine as long as I don’t scold him yeah.” Yet could not help mumble under his breath, “Such a good jade going to waste for nothing, even my heart hurts at the thought, you may as well give it to me.”

　　”Give (it to) you?” Su Shiyu laughed, “How come I remember that since you were little up till now, all of things I’ve given you would be dropped and broken within three days?”

　　”Back then wasn’t I young and ignorant mah, if you give me things again now I definitely won’t break it.” Just as he’d spoken the words, Du Yue’s eyes suddenly lit up, and went up (to him), “Cousin, you give me one jade pendant too bei, I’ll surely carefully keep it and treasure it!”

　　”There’s no more.” Su Shiyu shook his head and said.

　　”Ah? No more?”

　　”En,” He laughed lowly, and gazed at the reflection of clouds and the skies in water beyond the window, his expression gentle, “Back then Mother only left this one piece for me to give⁴.”

　　Du Yue followed his gaze to the falling flowers of the front courtyard, and hearing those words he fell silent, not speaking even half a word after that.

T/N: It was at this point that I went ‘aight Chu Mingyun you’re dead to me’
I’ll be watching for him to chase his wife to the crematorium and regret his actions deeply zhenxiang.jpg

1.见玉如见人 – basically 见__如见人 means that the object is so symbolic of the person that it is equivalent to the person’s authority.

2.有病吧 – although Du Yue asks him “are you sick?” this is a colloquialism for being mentally ill…title drop?

3.怒气冲冲

4.让我赠人 – okay so there’s a few ways this could be interpreted but I think what’s being implied here is that the jade pendant is a keepsake meant for SSY to give to someone, ‘a person’ but not specifying who that person is, (so it’s probably meant for SSY’s someone if you know what I mean 😏)