RVW – Chapter 24

Lu Lao furen’s left hand held a beautiful girl aged about 15/16 years old, accompanied by a red-eyed little boy on her right side, and followed by two young girls dressed in green. She was surrounded by maids and Momos.

Lao Taitai’s young and well-maintained face was so gloomy that water might come out any second¹脸阴沉得能滴出水 To be honest I don’t quite get what this refers to, from the context this basically means she is really angry. But what does “angry/gloomy enough for her to let out water” refer to?. She can walk very fast, she is old but vigorous even at the age of over 60, not lagging behind the younger generation.

When Lao Taitai saw Lu Shaoling cocooned and tied up under the hazel tree in the yard, she was really heartbroken. She immediately scolded the maid who was guarding the yard and said, “Are you all dead? Each one has no eyes! Didn’t you see that the young master is suffering? Hurry up and let him down!”

The maidservants looked at each other, there’s no movement. Although they were maids of the Imperial Chancellor’s mansion, Lu Shaoling’s being hung there was an order personally issued by Su Wang. How dare they disobey? Until Lao Taitai angrily pounded on the ground with her cane, one of the Momo gathered her courage and stood up among the the servants, wishing herself luck, whispering, “Lao furen, without the command of Wang ye²Wang ye (王爷) is a form of address from others to the lord (王)., this servant dare not oppose.”

Lao Taitai was taken aback and said, “Did you say this is the order of Su Wang?” She earlier only heard Lu Shaocheng crying that they had been bullied, and her good grandson Lu Shaoling was even hung under a tree. She was furious for a moment and immediately dragged Lu Shaocheng to come and save the person without care. If it weren’t for her beloved granddaughter who comforted her, she wouldn’t have been a step late.

Lao Taitai stayed in Ningcheng all her life, where the sky was high and The Emperor was far away³天高皇帝远, literally the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Refers to remote places where law is not strict and not supervised properly.. Even the county head magistrate was respectful and deferential to her, resulting in her overbearing and haughty character who won’t accept her words being disobeyed. Lao Taitai was used to giving orders, no one had dared to say ‘No’ or disobeying her. How could she accept that her beloved two grandchildren were bullied under her nose the first time she stepped on the capital? Isn’t it the same as slapping her face? How could she not be angry? Previously, she heard from Lu Shaocheng that it was Lu Shaoqi, the only Shu⁴Shu (庶) children, refers to concubine-born children. daughter of his third son, who caused Lu Shaoling to be hanged. LaoTaitai gritted her teeth in hatred, she was extremely furious in her heart. In her heart she cursed, you, a Shu daughter birthed by a commoner woman, unexpectedly would go as far to bully the young master of Di⁵Di (嫡) children, refers to children birthed by the first-wife (legitimate wife) origin. Who gave you the guts.

Lao Taitai rushed over, all the way she had already determined that it was Lu Shaoqi who had the audacity to bully her Di-born younger brother. She had already thought about how to deal with her later, but now she was told that this was the order of Su Wang, making her confused.

“Momo, are you sure it was Wang ye’s order?” The young girl supporting Lao Taitai asked with both warmth and elegance, yet her pair of beautiful eyes, like clear autumn water, feels cutting⁶I don’t know how to properly convey this (翦) “cut.” Basically it is saying that the girl is politely asked but her eyes showed that she wants to cut down / kill the Momo..

Lao Taitai was also uncertain in her heart, looking fiercely at the Momo in front of her.

The Momo dared not lie, Lao Taitai’s gaze was too sharp. Unable to endure it, she quickly said, “Fifth lady, this slave dare not deceive you. It is indeed Wang ye’s order! Us humble servants are only following orders.” Lao Taitai is the mother of the filial Imperial Chancellor. How could they, humble servants, dare to disrespect the Lao Taitai.

The girl who inquired was Lu Feiting, the apple of the eye of the Lu family’s Da ye⁷I am not sure who this Da ye (大爷) refers to, it could be the Imperial Chancellor Lu’s father or the elders.. She was the fifth in the family and was sixteen years old. She had just discussed a marriage. This Lu Feiting is extremely loved by Lao Taitai, so this time when she came to the capital, Lao Taitai brought her to sight-see before the end of the year, when she had to go back to Ningcheng to get married.

Lu Feiting listened to the Momo‘s words and gently comforted Lao Taitai, telling her not to be too impulsive and point fingers, but to clarify the matter before proceeding. Lao Taitai couldn’t help but listen to Lu Feiting’s words, and now she restrained her anger and her face returned to its usual kind expression.

“Grandmother, Shi ge⁸十哥 or tenth brother. has been crying all the time, it must be very uncomfortable…” Lu Shaocheng furrowed his face with tears in his eyes, looking pitifully at Lao Taitai.

Lu Feiting, seeing the pitiful appearance of the boy that could make people feel heartbroken, sneered in her heart. But her face also showed her worry.

Lao Taitai’s hand holding the cane tightened, her originally cloudy eyes darkened. She pursed her mouth and turned her heart away from her poor grandson, and went through the corridor supported by Lu Feiting’s hand.

When they arrived at the main hall, except for the Su Wang couple sitting in the seat, everyone in the room was standing. The girl sitting next to the solemn and graceful man was particularly eye-catching. Whether it was Lao Taitai or the few girls beside her, they couldn’t help but stare at her, feeling uncomfortable in their hearts.

Once upon a time, this Shu daughter was secretly mocked and humiliated by them. They would sit and enjoy when she kowtowed in ceremony as part of Shu daughter’s etiquettes. Unexpectedly, she now sat high and made them salute her.

Such a contrast couldn’t be tolerated by the young and energetic girls. Even Lu Lao furen⁹Referring to Lao Taitai, who had struggled in household fights and became the supreme madam of the Lu Mansion, cannot accept it for a moment. She can only force herself to open her eyes and respectfully bow down to Su Wang.

“Lao furen don’t need to be too polite. You are Ah-Nan’s grandmother, and I respect you, “Chu Baning said lightly, letting someone take Lao furen to sit.

Lao furen was anxious and didn’t have the mind to fret over these small details. She really wanted Su Wang to directly let Lu Shaoling go, but she was afraid that her bold words would upset Su Wang. She had to sit down when the servant brought a stool over. Chu Baning looked over and asked for seats to be brought over for all elders present¹⁰Yeah he only asked for seats for (his) elders, the rest will have to stand..

Lao Taitai sorted out her thoughts and finally got to the main point after a few friendly pleasantries. “Wang ye, What has Ling-er¹¹Adding er (儿) after someone’s name is kind of a nickname. Here Lao Taitai also refers to Lu Shaoling as Ling er to show that she is close to them done to make you punish him like this? For the sake of him still being young and ignorant, please be lenient and spare him once!” Lao Taitai said with a rare lowered posture.

Chu Baning’s aura is too strong, even Imperial Chancellor Lu, a powerful minister, doesn’t dare act recklessly in front of him, let alone an elderly woman who has been in peace inside her house for years? Thus Lao Taitai dared not show the tough attitude she had in the Lu family.

“Lao furen, eleven years old is not too young! Ben wang was only ten years old when crowned lord. At ten years old, Ben wang had already helped brother emperor with his work¹²This humble translator asks the viewers to be wise and not let a 10 year-old govern the nation unsupervised or push heavy responsibilities to them. Translator is in her 20s and still doesn’t know what she is doing.. Does Lu Shaoling only have the guts but no brain?” Chu Baning said solemnly.

Lao Taitai was choked by Chu Banning’s words, feeling why do this Wang Ye poke people’s lungs like this? Only Ah-Nan and Imperial Chancellor Lu, who had frequent contact with him, knew that this was just Su Wang’s unique way of speaking. Sometimes it was so straightforward that it could poke a person’s heart to bleed and unbearable pain.

“This… Wang ye, this old woman¹³The term Lao Taitai used here is 怒老妇. She is referring herself as an elder to someone above her status was too hasty that she offended you. What mistake has Ling er made?” Lao Taitai decided to first understand the situation before making plans.

Chu Baning asked someone to replace their already lukewarm tea, raised his eyes, and gazed solemnly at the people below. Several timid people lowered their heads when met with his cold eyes.

“An Momo, come forward!” Chu Banning handed over the task to narrate the story to his personal Momo.

An Momo obliged and recounted the previous incident in a flat voice.

Lao Taitai was originally resentful that Su Wang was not respecting her as his grandmother–since Ah-Nan married him, Lao Taitai can also be considered Su Wang’s grandmother–bu he even went as far as to make a Momo to welcome and talked to her¹⁴Lao Taitai is offended that Chu Baning made a Momo “deal” with her, because he is supposed to welcome her, the grandmother of his Wangfei, and told her the details of the situation *himself* as a sign of respect. Because by assigning Momo, a servant, to face her implies that she was not worth his time, only worth his servant, basically the same as being looked at condescendingly.. When had Lao Taitai ever suffered such anger? Her heart felt intense fury. However, upon hearing An Momo talk about how Lu Shaoling climbed the wall and threw a snake towards Ah-Nan, Lao Taitai turned pale and immediately grateful for Su Wang’s quick action in her heart. Fortunately, Su Wang reacted quickly and Ah-Nan was not frightened; otherwise, even if Lu Shaoling wouldn’t die, he would still face serious consequences¹⁵脱层皮 (literally shedding a layer of skin) means facing a very serious consequence..

As An Momo narrated, Chu Baning was sitting upright drinking tea, looking sideways at the girl beside him who appeared to be in high spirits, smiles glinting in her eyes.

Ah-Nan sat on the side, ignoring the gaze of several young girls on her person. She pursed her lips slightly, trying to suppress her smile and not make herself look too gloating else she be struck by lightning.

It is rare for Ah-Nan to see her towering grandmother lower her figure and beg for help. Ah-Nan found it utterly strange. She didn’t hold a grudge against Lao Taitai. After all, every time she meets, the old lady has not done anything to mistreat her except looking at her condescendingly and treating her coldly. It’s all fine as long as she can survive that period in Ningcheng. Around Lao Taitai were several of her gorgeous female cousins¹⁶She is referring to female paternal cousins (堂姐妹). Ah-Nan sighed that the world is really unpredictable. When she was young and ignorant, these cousins had tripped her up and done some terrible things. Now that everyone has grown up, they have already learned to wear masks to cover themselves up. When they meet, they can greet each other with smiles. They are respectful, and have no contempt or gnashing teeth when they get along with each other.

While Ah Nan is dull. She just felt that although they are smiling, their eyes are too sharp yet was completely not aware of the various thoughts that rose in their hearts. It’s really hard to accept.

After An Momo finished her narration, Chu Baning continued, “Lao furen, Ben wang doesn’t care about things before Ah Nan got married. Ah Nan is the daughter of the Lu family, how you treated her was not Ben wang‘s business. However, since Ah Nan has been married to Ben wang and become Ben wang’s Wangfei, Ben wang will not allow anyone to not adhere to proper etiquettes towards her anymore. Married couple is of one body, offending Ah Nan also means offending Ben wang! Looking down on the royal family is a great sin!”

Su Wang spoke solemnly¹⁷I know it may be unintended by the author, but I find it a bit funny that Su (肃) Wang said something with Su(肃) (meaning solemnly) (yes, Su wang is literally King/Lord Solemn/serious)., but it made a whole group of people tremble with fear¹⁸Literally heart frightened, flesh jumping (心惊肉跳), meaning they felt extreme fear as if facing incredible disaster. Only Imperial Chancellor Lu had a pleased expression on his face, lamenting that his family’s Ah-Nan had married the right person, while also secretly furious at Lu Shaoling for bullying his obedient daughter.

Ah Nan’s eyes widened, looking at the handsome side-face of the man, suddenly feeling warm in her heart. In this world, besides her father the Imperial Chancellor, he is the first man to defend her so much. And he is also her husband¹⁹I can’t convey the meaning properly, but Ah Nan here is basically exclaiming in her heart that she had married the right man, thank god he became her husband.. Although this man has many strange habits, always loses his temper for no apparent reason, and is as serious as an old man, always poking people’s lungs when speaking… But he is really accommodating to her, and even willing to stand up for her.

Ah Nan’s eyes were a bit hot, she couldn’t help but stare at the man’s resolute and serious side profile. At this moment, this unparalleled solemn expression, which had previously made her feel unparalleled trouble²⁰Uh… She said it was 无比蛋疼 (unparalleled egg pain). edit: so I had just searched for it. It turns out 蛋疼 is a slang for something troublesome or boring., now made her feel extremely amiable.

Lao Taitai was blocked by Chu Banning’s words, her face turning pale and blue. After a moment of change, she finally gritted her teeth and lowered her tone, admitting that she was wrong: “Wang ye, this is the fault of this old lady’s son who couldn’t teach his children properly. Asking Wang ye to be magnanimous and spare Ling er‘s life!” Lao Taitai said, looking at the obediently standing Lu Shaocheng on the side, and exclaimed, “Cheng Er, come here, kneel down!”

Lu Shaocheng was startled, his adorable face, which had not yet grown up, turned pale with fear. His pitiful eyes, like those of a pitiful puppy’s, looked at Lao Taitai. Seeing this, Lao Taitai’s face became gloomy. In the end, he obediently walked over and knelt in front of Chu Baning.

“Cheng Er, was Ling Er with you when he made a mistake?” Lao Taitai asked.

Lu Shaocheng glanced anxiously at the people present, who were already frightened by the atmosphere at the crime scene because of his young age. At this moment, seeing his grandmother who had always been high and mighty, lowering herself towards a young man, he knew that his present situation would be difficult to get out even with force.

“Ye-, Yes…” Lu Shaocheng weakly replied

“Shaocheng!” Upon hearing this, Lu Erbo was both surprised and angry, with a sorrowful expression on his face. He thought this was all caused by Lu Shaoling before, but he didn’t expect it to involve his youngest son. His son has always been obedient, wholeheartedly reading books of sages and virtuous rulers, wanting to achieve scholarly honours, following the steps of his third uncle. He has never been worrisome, so how can he not feel heartbroken now?

At this moment, the Imperial Chancellor Lu’s family seemed like insignificant theater players, knowing that it was not their time to speak, and cleverly did not interrupt.

Lu Shaocheng looked aggrievedly at his father and Lao Taitai, with a small voice said, “Grandmother, that snake is Shi ge’s pet, Xiaoqing. It is not venomous! Shi ge has been raising it for a long time and has never seen it harm anyone… Grandmother, Shi ge originally said he wanted to scare Qi jie²¹七姐 (seventh sister) refers to Lu Shaoqi (Ah Nan), but did not mean to harm Qi jie…”

“Shut up! Do you all want to anger me to death?” Lao Taitai quickly interrupted the boy before the child could say more, stroking her chest and taking a deep breath. This matter unexpectedly revealed too much about Lu Shaoling’s matter. If he said something that shouldn’t be said and made Su Wang furious, these children’s punishment will not just be hanging on a tree.

Lu Shaocheng lowered his head and dared not look at Chu Baning’s deep eyes. He always felt that those eyes seemed to penetrate his soul, making one dared not look directly.

Chu Banning observed for a while. Seeing the case is almost done, he continued to say, “Since this is your first offense, I won’t pursue you this time.” Seeing the people overjoyed, Chu Banning’s lips ticked up in a faint smile, continuing, “However, Ah Nan is your elder sister after all. A wise person has once said, ‘To learn Filial piety is a must, fulfilling one’s duty as a younger brother is a preface.’²²It’s really hard to translate poems or saying like this :”) The original was “孝，德之始也，悌，德之序也.” Basically saying first to start learning filial piety (towards parents and elders), then one must first learn to be a good younger brother. There is an emphasis on the filial piety (孝) and ‘duty of a younger brother’ (悌). Filial piety towards elders comes first, filial piety of younger brothers comes second. If one does not respect one’s own sister, how could he be filial as a younger brother? Let alone be a filial son?²³Chu Baning here is saying that one would first learn to be filial as a younger brother, then learn being filial to parents (and elders), but they have to rank the importance of filial piety to parents first. But Lu Shaoling is already failing the first step to be filial as younger brother (悌) by not respecting his sister, then how could he be filial to his parents and elders. Therefore, one must be punished.”

A hat of “filial piety” was pressed down on their heads, no one could speak boldly anymore. Some people lowered their heads in shame, while others stared blankly at the once solemn and dignified man, whose solemn and resolute face had been warmed by a faint smile, like a blooming spring flower. The handsome face of a scholar had nowhere to hide, as dazzling as the clouds on the horizon.

A person who originally didn’t like to smile smiled. One can imagine how astonishing the effect was.

Even Imperial Chancellor Lu, who sees Chu Baning every day, has to admit that Su Wang’s appearance is really excellent, but he is way too serious. He always likes to keep his face solemn, like an elderly person. No wonder he exudes overwhelming aura²⁴The term used in the raw is 权势滔天 (literally power overwhelming to the sky), “power” here refers to his aura.. As a result, no ladies would put him on their eyes, living as a bachelor until he ran into their family’s treasure Ah Nan…… (=.= Your esteemed self forgot his fate of killing his wife and losing son ah, this is the main reason ah~ Mister Imperial Chancellor~)

Chu Baning quickly reverted to his solemn expression, looking at Ah Nan, “Wang fei, what do you want to do with them?”

Ah Nan was dumbfounded. Really wanted to ask this Wang ye, is this giving a chance to vent her anger, or to pull hatred towards her?

Translator’s little theater:

Ah Nan, who was just enjoying the show: Don’t cue!