Hi Everyone! 💖 I’m He Lian, and welcome to my new translation project!
I was honestly quite hesitant to take on this novel at first, as it touches on some sensitive topics. But the story is so well-written and compelling that I couldn’t resist wanting to share it with more readers. That said, depending on your personal views and emotional compass, this story might sit a little differently with you than with others —so I strongly recommend checking the tags and content warnings before diving in. 🤗
I’ve done my best to preserve the original historical atmosphere in the translation. In line with the tone of the source material, I’ve chosen to keep euphemistic or implied parts as they were, rather than simplifying them into more direct language. (Hope you don’t mind!) Due to censorship, there are also moments that are intentionally left to the imagination. 😉
What drew me to this novel most was its unique portrayal of Lu Yan’s rebirth. The way he only receives fragmented glimpses of his past life and has to navigate the present with incomplete memories fascinated me. It created a sense of suspense and emotional depth that really stuck with me. Watching the mystery of his past unravel slowly—bit by bit—made the journey even more meaningful.
I truly hope you’ll enjoy reading this story as much as I did translating it. Thank you for giving it a chance! 💖
Chapter 1.1
It was the fourth day of the tenth lunar month in the fifteenth year of Yuanqing.
There were still six days until the Shen family paid off its debt.
The winter solstice had not yet arrived, but a heavy snowfall had suddenly fallen. Looking around, the entire city of Chang’an was shrouded in silver light and covered in heavy fog. The originally bustling streets and alleys seemed to have also suddenly changed their nature, becoming extraordinarily cold and clear.
At the third quarter of the hour of Mao1(the period of the day from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m), before the thick clouds and fog were cleared by the morning light, a carriage could be seen galloping towards the main street.
Half an hour later, it stopped in front of a mansion.
Shen Zhen got off the carriage with her skirt in hand and hurried to the door of Suning Bo Mansion.
She stared at the closed red door in a daze. After hesitating again and again, she finally raised her hand and knocked on the door.
She knocked three times, but there was no response.
Shen Zhen’s thin white arms froze and she laughed to herself.
After being shut out for half a month, Shen Zhen, a delicate flower that had never faced hardships before, finally understood what it meant to be pushed down by a falling wall2(Everyone will seize the opportunity to attack a person when he or she loses power or influence) and when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter 3(It is a metaphor that once a powerful person falls, those who rely on him will disperse).
At the beginning of last month, the Marquis of Yunyang, Shen Wenqi, who had served as the Minister of Works for three years, had been about to be promoted to another Province when the newly built Chengxi Canal suddenly collapsed. The canal had a breach, which hindered the transportation of water and caused floods that obstructed the transportation of food between Song and Zhao provinces.
In order to quell this matter, the Emperor brought down the entire Ministry of Works4(The Ministry of Works or of Public Works was one of the Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in imperial China.Under the Ming, the Ministry of Works had charge of weights and measures, the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure (especially roads and canals), other government construction works (especially flood control projects), the manufacturing and provision of government equipment, the public exploitation of natural resources, and the hiring of artisans or laborers for temporary service. Permanent hires fell under the purview of the Ministry of Personnel) in one fell swoop.
Marquis Yunyang had occupied an important position in the Ministry of Works and even if the construction of the canal had not been done by him, he still bore the crime of dereliction of duty.
According to the laws of the Jin Dynasty, he not only had to be dismissed and stripped of his title, but also sentenced to two years in prison.
As soon as the news came out, those relatives who used to be eager to visit the house every day now avoided seeing the Shen family for fear of being implicated for no reason.
The so-called sharing of joys and sorrows was nothing more than that.
As time passed by, the street became more and more crowded. Seeing that Suning Bo Mansion had been closed and no visitors had been seen, several women passing by couldn’t help but look at Shen Zhen with sympathetic eyes.
“To be honest, the third young lady was really pitiful. Their birth mother had passed away, their father had been imprisoned and now they had such a huge debt on their shoulders. It really was as the saying went, a house that leaked was often accompanied by continuous night rain. 5(misfortunes never come singly)”
Another person sighed: “Yes, the monthly interest rate of Jin family’s Money Shop was really scary. If it continued, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to earn that much money in this lifetime.”
“Could they still think about making an income? The Jin family would come to ask for money in six days! They’d be lucky if they didn’t sell their body!”
The former most beautiful woman in Chang’an would soon become a delicate flower that everyone could pick.
The mutterings behind her continued one after another and Qingxi on the side couldn’t listen anymore. She glanced at the stiff back of her young lady and her whole heart felt like it had been torn apart.
When had the third young lady, who was the legitimate daughter of the Yunyang Marquis Mansion, ever suffered such grievances?
Qingxi turned around and glared at everyone. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Zhen grabbed her arm and said, “Qingxi, we are here to beg for help.”
When Shen Zhen spoke, Qingxi could only turn back.
She endured it again and again before letting her tone become calmer, “There are a lot of people today and young lady has always been afraid of the cold… How about, let’s come back another day?”
Come back another day?
Shen Zhen lowered her eyes and couldn’t help but ask herself: Could those ghosts and monsters6(all sorts of bad characters) who came to the Shen family to collect debts still allow her to wait until another day?
She stretched out her hand to gather the cloak around her body and said in a very soft voice: “Let’s wait a bit more.”
When the people on the street leave, her aunt will naturally meet her.
This time, they waited until the sun tilted westward.
The red light gradually dyed the floating clouds red and those watching the excitement finally felt bored and gradually dispersed.
At this moment, the closed door slowly opened and Liu momo7(Wet nurse, a type of nanny) leaned out and said to Shen Zhen familiarly: “Third Young Lady, come in quickly.”
After closing the door, Grandma Liu hurriedly said: “Madam had been suffering from the cold recently, and she was not feeling very well. She had been drowsy all day long. No matter who came, she always closed the door and didn’t invite guests. At this moment, she had just woken up.”
Shen Zhen heard the meaning of the words trying to smooth things over, but she did not expose it. She just followed along the words: “When did my aunt get sick? Was it serious?”
Liu momo led Shen Zhen inside and sighed: “When the Madam heard that the master had received sixty boards in prison, she cried so much that she fainted… that’s why she fell ill.”
As soon as these words came out, Shen Zhen’s hands in her sleeves began to shake uncontrollably, and the little blood on her face gradually faded away.
She completely panicked.
As soon as they passed through the verandah, they happened to encounter a blushing and heart-pounding scene in front of the small courtyard.
A man and a woman were entangled under the blue sky. If the woman hadn’t called him “Master Bo”, Shen Zhen would never have believed that that man was her usually polite uncle.
After hearing footsteps, Suning Bo8(title of her aunt’s husband, his real name is Xie Cheng) turned around and looked back.
His clothes were slightly disheveled and there were two very conspicuous red marks on his neck.
When he turned around, he looked all flirtatious.
Shen Zhen quickly bowed her head and saluted.
Suning Bo took a step forward and looked at Shen Zhen from top to bottom. Suddenly, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, “Third young lady, are you here to see your aunt?”
Shen Zhen nodded and replied politely.
Suning Bo stared at the sixteen-year-old girl’s plump figure and jade-like skin… For a moment, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
This child has grown up…
Offering such a wonderful person as a congratulatory gift must have been irresistible to King Teng this time.
After all, what could be more satisfying than taking your enemy’s daughter under your body and attacking her wantonly?
Suning Bo smiled and said: “No need to be polite, just go in quickly.”
Affected by the scene just now, Shen Zhen couldn’t help but walk quickly to the main courtyard after completing the etiquette.
As she walked faster, the skirt on her body changed its shape with the pace, outlining her delicate and charming figure.
Suning Bo turned his head to look at the uneven outline, smiled brightly, and thought to himself: After all, she is the peony in Chang’an, and can’t compare to the rouge and vulgar ladies from the brothel in Pingkang Lane.
***
T/N – Also, I will break down chapters more than 2000 words into two parts but for the smaller chapters I’ll upload the entire chapter. Because later into the novel the chapters will get bigger overtime and it will take time for me to translate those chapters. Hope you guys understands. Love y’all. 😘
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Tetxiu On Guide to Raising a Support
What’s money shop? Money lending? Loan sharks?