RVW – Chapter 32

When the imperial chancellor dropped in for a visit, the doorkeeper didn’t dare to disrespect him, even Housekeeper Qin respectfully welcomed him in. Moreover, Imperial Chancellor Lu is not only the Imperial Chancellor, but also the biological father of their Wang fei. The servants in the imperial mansion all had to cater to his needs.

Ah Nan quickly received the news and brought several maids and Momos to the hall. But then she saw her father, the Imperial Chancellor unable to sit still, walking around the hall. Fortunately, the servants all stationed themselves to wait far outside the door. Otherwise, the Imperial Chancellor Lu’s behavior would have been seen as a joke.

“Father, why did you suddenly come? Have you had lunch yet? Do you want me to have someone prepare lunch? Daughter hasn’t had a meal with you for a long time.” Ah Nan said as she welcomed the Imperial Chancellor Lu. Seeing the Imperial Chancellor Lu still wearing an official uniform, he might have gone straight here from the court, not returning to his residence¹The word used for residence and mansion in the RAW is the same (府), I will use it interchangeably here depending on what sounds better.. Ah Nan looked again, seeing that tea and light refreshments had been set on the table, she was somewhat satisfied knowing that the imperial mansion’s servants didn’t dare to be slow on serving the Imperial Chancellor Lu.

When Imperial Chancellor Lu saw his daughter, his expression relaxed and his whole face expressed his affection, saying, “No need, Father is not hungry, can just eat later when I go back to the residence. Ah Nan, come and let Father look at you.”

Ah Nan obediently put herself in front of the Imperial Chancellor Lu, letting him examine her carefully.

Imperial Chancellor Lu observed her in detail, seeing that his daughter’s face was rosy and still had that sweet and sticky²I know it might sound weird but the author refers to Ah Nan’s appearance a lot as 甜甜糯糯 (sweet and sticky), sticky as in glutinous (yes that glutinous rice) appearance. Not only does it make him feel at satisfied, knowing that his daughter had been doing well since getting married, he felt relieved.

Recently, Imperial Chancellor Lu has also felt a lot of pressure ah!

Not mentioning a war is about to break out soon—every year there would be a war between Bei Yue and Great Chu because of them robbing the supplies in the border³I can’t get the right words out but this sentence means that the Bei Yue are robbing Great Chu., they as officials have already gotten numb to it. But this year’s disastrous condition could lead to a more severe war. For those of them, far away in the capital, they may think there is no difference, life is still the same. But now he has a son-in-law who is about to go to the border, and this son-in-law is also one who holds a high position of power, one that even he as the imperial chancellor has to give some face to this son-in-law. How can he not be worried? There are frequent wars in the border areas, and Tongcheng is also a military fortress. The resistance against Bei Yue has lasted for a hundred years, there is almost always a small fight every two days and a big conflict every five days. Of course the folks there are tough, the blades have no eyes on the battlefield, who would know if a little mistake would cause his daughter to be a widow?

Secondly, the accidental death of a palace maid in Su Wang Mansion caused a great uproar in the capital. Not only did the Su Wang Mansion receive attention and be secretly ridiculed again, but even the people in the Imperial Chancellor Mansion suffered some backlash—After all, the current Su Wang fei is someone from the Imperial Chancellor Mansion. Imperial Chancellor Lu now really feels indignant when he thinks about it. If a servant dies they just die. What does it have to do with his daughter ah? Those groups of annoying idle people each opened their eyes wide to see when his family’s daughter would die a Ke death. For this reason, they even went and placed bets on whether his family’s Ah Nan would live past this winter. There are even some honoured⁴The word here is 士 (shi), referring to people with certain honor such as senior ministers, soldiers, or skilled workers (specialist in their fields). But in ancient context, 士 usually refers to ministers or learned individuals individuals betting that the fate of his family’s Ah Nan as the legitimate wife would also be hard, maybe she will not die a Ke death but will have no children in the future——Isn’t this cursing on his family’s Ah Nan to have no children to send her off in death in the future⁵I am actually a bit confused here. The RAW is 这不是诅咒他家阿难将来无子送终么. Particularly on the 送终 part (it means to send someone off or paying one last respect to someone who is dead), in ancient setting this is done by the sons, daughters usually aren’t involved because they have already become part of their husband’s family. I am confused as to whether this sentence mean “there are no children born that she could mourn on (I wonder can the elders 送终 the younger generation? Just a thought)” or if that means “there is no sons to mourn and pay respect to Ah Nan when she is dead.” Let me know if you understand, my Chinese isn’t that great :”)?

When Imperial Chancellor Lu heard about this one bet, he was so furious he almost directly took people to go and imprison these gamblers. It was the Imperial Chancellor’s wife who had worked hard to calm him down.

Because of this, the Imperial Chancellor Lu even had a debate⁶The word used here is 舌战 (she zhan), meaning debating or verbally fighting back and forth with the court’s imperial censor, Imperial Censor Xin. It was only because Imperial Censor Xin has a sharp mouth⁷The RAW is 嘴上不饶 (the mouth is unforgiving) and the two had different political views, often engaging in debates in the court. In addition, Imperial Censor Xin was perhaps, for a long time, particularly love to open people’s scars, mocking Imperial Chancellor Lu that Su Wang fei was placed bets on by people on “when will she die and in what kind of death” bet. Although Imperial Censor Xin spoke very vaguely, everyone knows who he refers to. The matter of Ah Nan being forced to marry Su Wang has always been a sore point for Imperial Chancellor Lu. Imperial Censor Xin saying such a thing, isn’t it to stab at Imperial Chancellor Lu’s beloved⁸he word used is 心窝子, literally the child held dearly in heart child?

If it weren’t for several officials blocking him at the time, it is likely that the next day, both civil and military officials in the court would have known that the Imperial Chancellor scolded and beat the Imperial Censor with his sleeves.

“Father, has something happened ah? Are you here just to stare at this daughter?” Ah Nan asked in a baffle. Previously, she received news from the servant that the Imperial Chancellor was in hurry⁹火急燎 (huo ji liao, literally hurrying like being burnt), making her think something had happened hurried over immediately. Who knew that when the Imperial Chancellor Father had arrived, he only stared at her in a daze, his face turning green and red, making her anxious that he might not feel well.

Imperial Chancellor Lu put aside those troublesome things and first asked Ah Nan warmly. Although it was long-winded, Ah Nan showed no impatience towards his concern and answered them attentively—finished answering. When Imperial Chancellor Lu finally felt satisfied, he hesitated to talk to Ah Nan.

“Father~~” Ah Nan pulled Imperial Chancellor Lu’s hand, angrily saying, “Just say what happened ba. Seeing you like this, this daughter is really worried.”

Ah Nan’s spoiled act made the Imperial Chancellor feel warm. Among his four daughters, he loved his youngest daughter the most. It’s not because the youngest daughter’s birth mother is beautiful, nor is it because the youngest daughter is a Shu born or because she is the youngest daughter. It’s just because the youngest daughter has been obedient, considerate, and worry free since childhood, unlike those three unfilial daughters who are big tempered and have their own opinions. Although they are also his pride, their lack of coquettishness and gentleness towards their father makes it difficult for a father to feel the joy of raising a daughter ah. It was his youngest daughter that allowed him to experience the joy of raising a daughter, making him more and more distressed for her. Moreover, Imperial Chancellor Lu believed from the bottom of his heart that with Ah Nan’s sweet and sticky appearance, a sweet smile can make people’s heart feel sweet, certainly no one would think Ah Nan was not good.

“Ah Nan ah, Wang ye will leave the capital the day after tomorrow, do you know?” The Imperial Chancellor asked.

“That fast?” Ah Nan gasped. There are only two more days, so sudden. She is afraid that there is not enough time to prepare all of Su Wang’s luggages.

“Not fast la. It is now the middle of the tenth month. It’s uncertain when the people of Bei Yue will go south again to rob our common people at the border.” The Imperial Chancellor Lu first had to be concerned about the fate of the nation and its people. Looking at Ah Nan whose expression became hard to look at¹⁰Uh how do I convey this. I translated it literally but hard to look at here means that Ah Nan’s expression doesn’t look good as in worry or other negative emotions, not actually meaning ugly., saying, “Ah Nan ah, Su Wang is doing something of extreme importance, you… can you…”

“What?” Ah Nan listened anxiously. Why so hesitant¹¹The RAW is 吞吞吐吐, meaning to hesitantly say something that what you are saying is unclear, usually because of mumbling.. How could she know what he is trying to say? Doesn’t the Imperial Chancellor Father know her brain capacity is small and that she wouldn’t understand it if he didn’t speak more clearly?

Imperial Chancellor Lu did not have much demand for Ah Nan’s IQ, so he simply thickenned his face and said openly, “A lot of people are saying, that you want to be like Madam Chu¹²There are actually 2 notes for this sentence. The ‘want to be’ here actually uses the word imitate (效仿). And the Chu used here is 褚 (Chu3) compared to Chu Baning’s Chu (楚, chu3); see that they are pronounced with exactly the same tone. To differentiate them, I will bold the Madam Chu’s chu., following her example of “following a chicken when married to chicken, following dog when married to dog”’s behavior¹³Meaning a woman follows whatever her husband orders.?”

Ah Nan was baffled, asking, “Madam Chu, who is she ah?” Seeing Imperial Chancellor’s expression of suffocation, he felt offended about the matter of people spreading gossips that she is a jealous woman——God knows how Ah Nan has been accused unjustly, it was clearly Chu Baning’s doing, Unfortunately, the consequence befall only on her person—— Ah Nan quickly explained, “Father ah, don’t worry, daughter is not a reckless person. Since I had already married Wang ye, I naturally respect him and absolutely will not do anything that would make you lose face. Those rumors outside shouldn’t be trusted, please calm down ah…”

Imperial Chancellor Lu sighed at Ah Nan, thinking What a silly daughter, Why got her taken away¹⁴The word used here is 叼走 (diao zou), refers to biting something in their mouth and go away. Here Imperial Chancellor Lu word it as if Chu Baning is like a dog who took Ah Nan away by carrying her in his mouth by a man with such a bad fate?

“Ah Nan ah, you have already forgotten la, Madam Chu is the wife of Lord He, the governor of Tongcheng…..” Imperial Chancellor Lu reminded, seeing his daughter only blinking her eyes at him like a cat, he knew he had wasted his breath. Yes, this daughter has always been well behaved since childhood until now, the Imperial Chancellor’s wife has managed the Imperial Chancellor Mansion in a neat and orderly manner, no one dared to talk about those gossips to the unmarried young ladies of the Imperial Chancellor family. Therefore Ah Nan doesn’t know much about the affairs happening outside.

Ah Nan, seeing that Imperial Chancellor Lu’s expression was unusual, went on to praise him, “Father, your information is truly fast…..” Even knowing about a certain lord’s wife far away in Tongcheng.

Imperial Chancellor Lu felt suffocated by his stupid daughter. This daughter is a second-rate goods¹⁵The word used here is actually 二货 (er huo) meaning second-rate goods or stupid goods (joking), this comes from the sentiment that second-rate goods (usually fakes) are inferior to the real ones. I have been translating it as stupid the past few chapters when Ah Nan referred to Ru Cui as second rate maid., truly a little cotton jacket held dear in his fatherly heart, a sweet burden ah!

“Ah Nan, Can you not learn from Lady Chu’s footsteps to follow Wang ye to Tongcheng? I heard people say you would like to go to Tongcheng along with Wang ye, how could you have such thoughts?” Imperial Chancellor Lu finally threw away his embarrassment¹⁶The sentence used here actually means “wiping off his old face,” meaning to just throw away his embarrassment or dignity as an elder and ask “inappropriate” questions. and asked, concerned about his married daughter’s affairs. It is said that after marrying out daughters all is a lost cause¹⁷发出去的水 (meaning water has been spilt, the meaning is similar to spilt milk in ‘no use crying over spilt milk.’ This here refers to nothing to be done once the daughter has been married over because their life and death are now tied to the husband and not the clan she was born in.. From the moment a daughter has been married over to the husband, her parent’s home have no reason to meddle in her affairs. Therefore, Imperial Chancellor Lu had truly thrown away his self-respect as an elder by dropping in for a visit, after all this matter is a big deal.

Imperial Chancellor Lu had also just learned about this matter. When he had just finished the court and came out of the palace gate, Imperial Chancellor Lu heard people in the liquor shop talked when passing by in the carriage, there is a rumor that Su Wang fei, this jealous woman with short life, could definitely follow Madam Chu who had gone against her in-laws and followed along her husband who had to go to the borders to govern the city, ten years ago. This matter has been an object of ridicule of the Great Chu dynasty. Ten years ago, the Lady Chu at the time just married over to He family, they were still newlyweds at the time. But the He patriarch’s eldest son coincidentally got appointed by the newly crowned Emperor to govern the city of Tongcheng, and was about to take office. The He family’s Furen wanted the new daughter-in-law to remain and serve by her side, arranging to give her son two capable maids wishing him to promote them to become concubines along the way, as her replacement. But who knew Lady Chu is a tough person, dissatisfied with her mother-in-law squeezing a person in for her husband when they are still newlyweds. Moreover those two concubines were made to follow him, isn’t it directly slapping her, the first wife’s, face? Hence she packed up her luggage and followed her husband to Tongcheng and lived there for ten years. At the time, this matter became the laughingstock of the capital at once, Chu Shi’s name also became famous.

Imperial Chancellor Lu earnestly advised, “Ah Nan ah, Tongcheng is just a small border city, the sandstorm is big, the weather ruthlessly cold and dry, and there are still invasions by the Bei Yue barbarians. It is not a good place ah! Women when they arrive there could just wait for…” the word ‘Death’ is too inauspicious, Imperial Chancellor Lu could hardly swallow it down.

Ah Nan was startled, quickly shaking her head to interrupt Imperial Chancellor Lu’s words, “Father, why would you think like that? Wang ye will go to do something of great importance, how could I go along with him?” She had already have rumors of herself being a jealous woman, who knew what those people would say about her if she also went over there.

Imperial Chancellor Lu stared at her and then sighed, saying, “You might not have known, the Emperor not only commanded Wang ye to escort troops and send the provisions¹⁸To be honest with you I’m kind confused here. This is the RAW:皇上不只命王爷押送军晌过去, The 军晌 (jun shang) here means the soldier’s salary. What I don’t really get is, wasn’t it said that Su Wang is going to escort the army provisions (grain and grass)? I am translating it as provision for now, but also want Wang ye to be stationed there, following the army to defend over there, and might not be able to go back before the end of the year. This visit of Su Wang is of great importance, not only was it crucial to defend these provisions, but also pacifying the common folks as a representative of the imperial household.” Imperial Chancellor Lu understood Emperor Chongde’s move. This year, due to severe disasters both within and outside the nation, the grain harvest was not good, making winter food reserves a concern for every nation. Bei Yue was even more affected due to a plague, their situation more severe than of the Great Chu. Winter has yet to arrive, yet there is news that there are already people who starve to death. In order to alleviate the disaster and the people’s war-weariness, it is likely that Bei Yue’s royal court will go south to loot within a few days. Perhaps this winter, they will fight to death with the Great Chu Dynasty.

This war will not stop due to the extreme cold of winter, it is likely to be a long-term resistance war. Emperor Chongde was also very concerned about the common people and the army on the border, so he sent Su Wang to be stationed there, which may be able to appease the locals that the court would never abandon them.

Simply put, this is an action to buy people’s hearts, although it is public knowledge, it is very effective.

Ah Nan was completely stunned. She thought he would just come back after delivering the grains. Counting the travelling distance, it would take more than a month to travel back and forth. If it was fast, it would take a month. However, her family’s Wang ye actually had to defend and stay there until the New Year before returning….

Damn¹⁹The word used is 摔 (shuai) meaning to throw or drop something. Here it implies Ah Nan is mentally throwing something down dure to frustration, so I used Damn instead, they’re still newlyweds ah. The honeymoon period hasn’t even passed, yet they are about to part ways. It’s unreasonable!

Ah Nan now very much understood Lady Chu’s action. They had to be separated just after getting married, even the deepest of feelings would be worn away by time. Not to mention that they had exactly just gotten married, the emotion between them was not deep. It was easy for a third party to take advantage of it. No woman could bear it….

Although Ah Nan was imagining wildly, she can still patiently comforted Imperial Chancellor Lu, swearing that she will not learn from Lady Chu, then sending him off the imperial mansion.

Imperial Chancellor Lu’s concern for Ah Nan was actually understandable, isn’t it because he’s afraid that she might die a “Ke” death due to her family’s Wang ye. After all, the fate of Su Wang’s killing wife and losing sons is too strong, added with the death of lady Shi Qing a few days ago, people originally thought that Su Wang might have married the right person as Wang fei who might not die a “Ke”, which further deepened Su Wang’s ominous fate²⁰In case you don’t get it, they say Ah Nan didn’t die because Su Wang married the ‘correct’ person who won’t die, that makes them firmly believe that the fate is real so it became more ominous (so Ah Nan going to border town is more ‘dangerous’ because she might be somewhat affected by that curse). Imperial Chancellor Lu is also worried that Ah Nan will follow him along to Tongcheng. What should be done if something unexpected happens in a place with such poor living conditions? Would it confirm Ah Nan’s “Ke” death?

Ah Nan was truly unable to laugh or cry, but she was also moved by Imperial Chancellor Lu’s earnest and gentle fatherly heart, making her feel warm.

Ah Nan let herself think wildly for a moment, then immediately went to find An Momo, telling her about the matter of Wang ye’s departure to Tongcheng in two days and letting her help prepare the luggages and medicines. After all, An Momo has been serving Chu Baning for years and quite well prepared in this regard. She just has to take a look and see if there is anything overlooked.

After An Momo left, Ah Nan sat anxiously in the room, her mood extremely gloomy.

She found herself reluctant to part with that man.

She is used to sleeping in his arms at night, used to her sneeze being able to attract his focused and concerned gaze, used to having him accompany her during meals, used to stroll in the courtyard with him after meals hand-in-hand, used to his intense²¹The word for this is actually strong/hard. Here actually means that Chu Baning is the strict scolding type when caring for someone, I don’t know how to translate it… care….

Ah Nan didn’t know how long she had been sitting until Ru Lan and Ru Cui came in. Ru Lan said to Ah Nan, “Wang fei, the residence’s Sixth xiaojie, Eighth xiaojie, and Ninth xiaojie has arrived, and are waiting outside the Mansion. The gatekeeper asked if you would like to see them.”

“Ei?” Ah Nan went stupid for a moment, couldn’t manage to react. After digesting Ru Lan’s words, Ah Nan remembered that the so-called “Sixth xiaojie, Eighth xiaojie, and Ninth xiaojie” were her cousins from Ningcheng, namely Lu Feiting, Lu Fei’an and Lu Feiya.

Ah Nan’s whole face showed her astonishment, asking, “What are they doing here? I don’t have such good relationships with them, do I?”

Ru Lan’s mouth secretly twitched, not answering.

Ru Cui rolled her eyes, and said as she giggled: “Of course because they knew Xiao jie had married well and wanted to see~~ But this slave remember Sixth xiaojie once said that there is nothing to gain²²The word here is 没出息, meaning not profiting or yielding interest from you, thus can only be married to a small household to live a poverty-stricken life in the future. Xiao jie, actually, I think the Sixth xiaojie’s heart is full of acid²³As in sour or jealousy, I prefer to translate these stuff literally. You are not as beautiful as her and have no qualifications yet were able to be a Wang fei, while she can only choose one of the four aristocratic families in Ningcheng to marry, everyone knew their worth²⁴The RAW is 是个人都会心里平衡, literally ‘everyone knows the balance in their heart,’ meaning they know their own worth and here, Ru Cui is saying those cousins know they are more worthy than Ah Nan.~~”

Ah Nan gave her a resentful glance. Does this second-rate thing not feel at ease if she isn’t squeezing her?

Ru Lan, seeing that this master and servant had the impulse to quarrel again, immediately interrupted: “Wang fei, those young ladies are still waiting outside the Mansion for you to receive them. Although they are your sisters, they didn’t write Tie zi²⁵贴子 is like letters. Here Ru Lan said they didn’t inform Ah Nan beforehand that they would like to drop in, so it’s actually fine for Ah Nan to refuse meeting them (the same way it’s kinda rude for people to just drop in on your house without prior notice) to you beforehand, and also don’t have the Furen title. The gatekeeper didn’t let them in.”

Ah Nan understood that this was the custom of this society. After becoming a Wang fei, she clearly felt how strict the hierarchy of the world was. Even the sisters in the past, who used to be nobler than her, were no different. Now she is a Wang fei with the proper title²⁶The title (诰命, gao ming) here is legitimate as in the Emperor issued an edict or certificate that granted them that title. Heavy emphasis on the *issued by the emperor* of the highest degree, which is different from those women who only came from a small city. At the end of the day, although they were the Di descendants of the Lu family and had a higher status than her before her marriage, they are currently far behind her status as a Wang fei. Without her approval, they could not even enter the door of the Imperial Mansion, let alone wanting to meet her.

Translator’s little theater:

Ah Nan: Turns out husband will be gone for a while, unhappy!