Chapter 3
Madam Su quickly opened the bag after hearing that there were ten boxes of Tianxiangjin inside. Her eyes lit up after seeing that there really is Tianxiangjin.
She opened the boxes and smelled them one by one as she nodded affirmatively, “These are really Tianxiangjin, the tea will leave fragrance on the lips and teeth after drinking it, it also has a texture as silky as brocade, hence living up to its name Tianxiangjin. A box is worth a thousand gold, just who did you rob?”
“You have tea to drink, so why ask so much?” Su Feng Nuan untied her sword and handed it to Madam Su for her to see, "Mother, look, is this sword of mine good?"
Madam Su looked up only to see Su Feng Nuan pulling the sword out of its sheath, the cold light flashed around, like snow and jade. She nodded, and praised, “It is a really good sword and where did you steal it?”
“This sword is called Xueyu. I didn’t steal it. This daughter of yours won this in a fair competition. I fought my friend from Jianghu who is good at sword welding. He dug up a thousand year old Hanyu from an ice cave on Tianxue Mountain. He was only able to make one sword out of it but I won against him and earned it before it was fully crafted. If it weren't for this Hanyu, I would not have been able to injure Northern Zhou’s second prince, Chu Han."
(T/N: Xueyu literal translation ‘snow jade’; Jianghu, in this context could mean countryside dweller or river/lake side dweller; Hanyu means cold jade)
“That is a fine sword.” Madam Su withdrew her gaze from her and looked at the package again, her eyes full of love, "But it's not as good as this tea."
Feng Nuan just rolled her eyes.
Madam Su no longer asked about the source of the tea. Holding the package happily, she tugged Su Feng Nuan into the inner house.
After Mrs. Su made a pot of Tianxiangjin to drink, she collected the rest to save, and talked with Su Feng for a while until she was satisfied. She then remembered and asked, "Where is your third brother? Your father sent a letter and said that the two of you will come back together. Why is it only you that returned? How about him?”
Su Feng Nuan leaned against the bed, drowsy, "I left him behind."
“Did the two of you fight again? Why the two of you didn’t arrive at the same time?” Mother Su asked.
Su Feng Nuan hummed twice and closed her eyes.
Madam Su asked her again, but there’s no reply. Taking a look at her, Feng Nuan actually fell asleep.
Only then did Madam Su realize that she was covered in dust, her shoes were still stained with dirt, her clothes hadn't been changed in two or three days, and now she was sleeping on her new and clean brocade bed. Although she was disgusted, she didn’t want to wake her up. So , she gets up and walks to the front door to meet Su Qing who will be returning later.
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Su Qing ran back to Su Mansion panting, his face dirty, and immediately asked Mother Su, "Mother, is that stinky girl back?"
“Just came back! She’s inside and now asleep.” Madam Su looked at her son repulsively, “You, both of you look like you’ve just come out of the soil. Who did you fight in the mud with?”
Su Qing huffed and puffed when he heard his mother. Cursing, “That damn girl, she played a trick and did something on my horse.”
"Sure enough, you were fighting again." Madam Su covered her nose and waved, "Go and wash quickly, you’re so dirty."
Su Qing threw the reins and entered the yard angrily, going to Su Feng Nuan to settle the accounts with her.
(T/N: settle the accounts = to bring a final end to an argument, disagreement, etc.)
However, Madam Su grabbed him, “Aren’t you an older brother? Don't you know how to give way to your little sister? She looks tired, don't wake her up, if you wake her up, I won’t let you off the hook."
Su Qing was immediately dissatisfied, "Mother, we are both your own, why are you so biased?"
Madam Su snorted and crossed her arms, "It is said that the daughter is the little padded jacket of their mother. This is true. Your sister came back and brought ten boxes of Tianxiang to me. You, what did you bring for your mother?"
(T/N: little padded jacket symbolizes the caring nature of daughters towards their parent compared to sons)
Su Qing choked and his eyes widened in disbelief, "Where did she get ten boxes of Tianxiang, when she’s having a race with me?"
Madam Su looked at him distastefully, "Who cares where she got it? You didn't bring anything for me anyway. Go back to your yard and freshen up. Although we have been away from the capital for twelve years, the emperor has sent someone to clean it from time to time. Everyone’s yard is clean and you’ll still be using your previous yard. If you don’t wash up, don’t go into my yard and dirty my place.” After saying so, she turned and went back to her place.
Su Qing watched his mother slowly return to her yard and blinked.
So, this is what they called, the same people, but different lives!
(T/N: same people but different lives can also mean same family but getting different treatment)
Su Feng Nuan probably didn’t wash up either and is still dirty, yet she stayed and now sleeps soundly on the pillow in Mother’s room.
He stared at the main courtyard for a long while, thinking helplessly about who made his mother like his sister more, resulting in his Mother to favor her daughter. She gave birth to three sons in a row., and when she finally gave birth to a daughter, she loved her like she was everything. If Feng Nuan wanted the stars in the sky, their mother would get them for her. Yet, that stinky girl was a complete opposite of a good daughter. She didn’t like to stay at home since she was young and she’d run away every two or three days. Then, when she grew up, the times she got back home in a year could be counted in one hand. Each time she came back, she would always bring back things for Mother, the one who’s at the top of her heart. She only knew how to sweet talk and coax people , so like that, Mother felt pain and loved her terribly!
Not to mention that he lost his Hanxiang-yu, he just came back home and was not given proper reception, he can’t say how wronged he felt.
I feel annoyed that I am not a daughter. If I was a daughter, there would be no problem with such Feng Nuan now.
After all, their mother was afraid of giving birth. She gave birth to their big brother and allowed the Su family to have an heir. She hadn’t wanted to give birth again but she desired to have a daughter so much, then it resulted in three sons in a row. Hence, after giving birth to Su Feng Nuan, the only daughter, their mother finally got what she wished for and was determined not to give birth again.
Thinking that way, if it wasn’t for their mother’s desire to give birth to Feng Nuan, it would seem that he and the Second Brother would’ve also not been born. His feeling of being wronged immediately lessened.
Going back to his yard, after washing and cleaning up, he was already sleepy and feeling drowsy. He doesn't care anymore about the Hanxiang-yu he lost to Feng Nuan.
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Meanwhile, Ye Xiang was hunting with a group of people.
In the hot weather, a group of people screamed bitterly, Ye Chang was also soaked all over, but he’s still chasing a lion for him to kill.
Chen Shu, the second son of the Anguo-gong Manor complained loudly, “Ye Xiang, are you still human? It’s been an hour, and you’re not done yet? Do you want to kill us?”
Shen Qi, the third son of Jingyang-Hou, also shouted, “Ye Xiang, you have such fierce energy, you should have gone to the border, the Northern Zhou’s second prince is not your opponent at all.”
The Ping-jun Manor’s young master, Qi Shu also could not stand it anymore, and yelled,, “I”m not playing anymore! He slept for three months, and now he is full of energy. Even if we play until tomorrow, all of us together can’t beat him.”
“So, the seven of us will just surrender?” said Liu Yan, the eldest grandson of Prince Jin’s Mansion.
The three of them looked at him together and said in unison, "We will not admit defeat, let’s go!"
Liu Yan, wiped off his sweat and shook his head, “I can’t. It’s so hot.”
The three looked at the others.
The others were also dying of heat so they waved their hands and shook their heads.
“Then we shall admit defeat.” Chen Shu used his sleeves to shield the burning sun over his head, and said angrily, “Ye Xiang… that bastard, he offered to pay at the teahouse, but in the end, it’s still the seven of us that paid the bill for him.”
Qi Shu patted his forehead “Yeah, each of us lost a thousand gold to him, seven people together is equal seven thousand gold. It turned out that he insisted on coming to hunt and making a bet for this purpose.”
“That’s not humane at all!” Shen Qi also came to a realization, “Seven thousand gold, not only could pay for one day worth of tea, but can actually pay for ten days worth of tea with commoners of the Imperial City lining up ten rounds. They also wouldn’t be able to drink up so much for that worth of money eh. I’m kind of broke lately, had I known, I wouldn’t gamble with him.”
“Too late.” Liu Yan said regretfully.
At this point, Ye Xiang had already captured and immobilized the lion and came back. He looked at the seven people, full of spirit and asked triumphantly. “Are you all sure about giving up?”
The seven men looked at him and gritted their teeth.
“Not convinced? Then come again, not to mention fighting until tomorrow, even the day after tomorrow, this prince has a lot of energy” Ye Xiang said.
The seven were immediately discouraged and waved their hands together, "We have lost."
Ye Xiang laughed and let go of the lion. The lion was not hurt, but his legs were too tired to run. After letting it go, the lion lay down on the ground in resentment, looking at Ye Xiang with misery.
Ye Xiang glanced at the lion as he got on his horse, and slowly said, “I am a Noble Prince, you are a lion, we can be considered as a family. Why don't you follow me in the future?”
(T/N: Noble Prince and Lion has the same romanization of Shi Zi/Shi-Zi but different character and slightly different pronunciation; Ye Shi-Zi/Ye Shi Zi could mean Noble Prince of House Ye/ Heir of Noble House Ye)
The lion immediately stood up and rubbed his horse's legs.
Qi Shu was amazed, “Even animals know to kiss the horse’s leg.” Ye Xiang took a rabbit from the bag in front of the saddle and threw it at the lion, proudly saying, “Follow me the Noble Prince and there’ll be meat to eat, however, you have to be obedient, without my permission, you are not allowed to eat human.”
The lion instantly became so energetic and started tearing away the rabbit meat, eating it.
Liu Yan couldn’t bear to see such a bloody scene and looked away, “Ye Ge ge, what do you mean by not allowing it to eat humans without your permission? Are you saying that you’ll allow it to eat humans after all?”
(T/N: Ge ge = Older brother)
Ye Xiang nodded. “So, you should weigh things a little bit, don’t offend me, your brother.”
Liu Yan immediately flinched.
Qi Shu glanced at Liu Yan and sneered, “Oh, look at you, so unpromising, you’re even afraid of something like that? Why did you come here to hunt then?”
“Hunting is hunting, but this is slaughter.” Liu Yan’s body felt chills down his spine while he looked at the lion’s bl*ody mouth; seeing Ye Xiang still smiling at the lion, as if admiring it, he pointed at him and said angrily., “You are too…cruel.”
Ye Xiang looked back at him laughing, “Indeed, you’re such a coward, Prince Jin’s Manor will lose face with you as their grandson.”
Liu Yan’s neck stiffened at once, and said with great dissatisfaction “What does not tolerating a brutal slaughter have to do with losing face?”
Ye Xiang rolled up his horse’s reins and turned its head with a faint smile on his face, “If they are clever enough, although rabbits are small, they may run fast, and avoid becoming the lion’s dinner. Even so, a rabbit is just a rabbit, after all, born as a rabbit and not a lion. This is the law of the jungle. The weak are the prey of the strong.” After saying that, he hit the horse with his whip and told everyone, “It’s boring. Let’s go back to the city.”
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Happy reading!💗