Chapter 11 – The Wronged Protagonist

Since then, Xiao Weixin would always call You Shu to spar with him whenever he felt like it, as if he was an emotionless sparring machine. In spite of this, You Shu actually felt very happy in his heart, thinking that this must be because the protagonist had seen the potential and talent hidden beneath his handsome and reliable appearance and their relationship has become closer.

He will very successfully catch up with his idol and begin his career!1

Aside from himself, the rest of the shadow guards were also delighted. They would never be jealous of each other. Although they often compete with each other, they have never used any shady tricks or schemes. No matter which one of them is appreciated by the master, it is an honor for all of them. It seems that they have also achieved great success and prosperity through him2 so, in private, they frantically told You Shu to do his best to please and serve the prince, lest the prince gets angry and drives him back3.

The more You Shu listened to their long-winded chatter, the more he felt that it was outrageous. They spoke as if he was going to be the prince’s bed warmer4. All of them must have had their brains become rusty from disuse.

In his spare time, he took the opportunity to recall the future plot.

At the beginning of the story, Xiao Weishen’s throne was quite safe and stable. Although his temperament was irritable and his political talent non-existent, he had never made any major mistakes due to the supervision and aid of Prime Minister Xia. And the common people didn’t care who sat on the throne, as long as they could live decent lives. During this period, even if Xiao Weixin wanted to take action against him, it was impossible to gain support from the public.

Therefore, the first priority at this time is to gradually break the relationship between Xiao Weishen and Prime Minister Xia because if they became estranged, Xiao Weishen would no longer have a capable advisor beside him, and acting against him would become more convenient.

However, the difficulty lies in breaking them apart because as long as Empress Dowager Xia remains5 in power, she will never allow any conflict between her son and elder brother. Furthermore, Xiao Weishen’s empress is the eldest daughter of the Xia family. With an in-law relationship in addition to their family ties, it becomes even more difficult to divide them.

You Shu continuously turned the plot over and over in his mind, trying to find a convenient solution for this but he has never been a politically-minded person. He is good at fighting and assassinations but schemes and tricks aren’t his forte. Not to mention, he was afraid of messing up the entire plot because of a wrong step.

Looking at the date, the next plot point should be the birthday of Empress Dowager Xia.

Ten days later, it was Empress Dowager Xia’s birthday.

In the blink of an eye, it was already early winter, with the weather becoming colder with each passing day. People shivered from the cold, already beginning to count the nines6. It is conceivable that this cold and harsh winter will prove to be even more difficult for the poor people to pass, as compared to the previous ones.

Xiao Weixin awoke early in the morning and listened to Qi Han’s report, while eating breakfast.

“Last year’s harvest was ruined due to the flood and this year, there was no harvest at all due to the severe drought in the north. Several refugees have already begun migrating to the south but the situation has worsened due to the beginning of winter. Many of them died of starvation and others froze to death on the streets.”

Xiao Weixin lowered his head and took a sip of the fish porridge, then casually asked: “Didn’t Lin Qi report this matter?”

“Lord Lin reported it last month, but the emperor brushed him off, saying that a mere group of refugees weren’t worth such trouble and that more deaths would solve the food shortage problem. He closed further discussion on this matter until next year’s spring.” Qi Han reported calmly but his face showed slight indignation. He had personally received the report from the shadow guard regarding the corpses and barely-alive bodies lining the streets. According to his description, those people were little more than skin and bones and vultures were already gathering to prey on them even before they died. Grieving families and starving people had all gathered outside the city. Just hearing about their state was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Xiao Weixin snorted coldly, “That indeed sounds like something he would say.”

“My lord, should we…” Qi Han didn’t dare to make such a decision himself and closed his mouth without finishing his sentence.

Xiao Weixin naturally understood his meaning. He frowned and thought for a while, “Tell Xiao Weijing to find a way to distribute the food we stocked some time ago to several shops in the city. Put all other tasks on hold for now and focus on getting past this winter first. Tell him to act in the name of a merchant without exposing us.”

“In the meantime, you should act secretly to manipulate and intensify the public opinion. Tell them that the current emperor is too busy indulging in pleasures worry about their lives and has already decided to leave them to their fates so it’s hopeless to expect any aid from the court.”

Xiao Weishen had indeed done exactly this so Xiao Weixin wanted to ensure that everyone in the world knew about it. Wouldn’t people panic if they found out that [for the emperor] even [the lives of] tens of thousands of refugees weren’t worth worrying about? In the face of countless unknown and unforeseen disasters that may befall them in the future, would the emperor still remain uncaring?

Qi Han received the order and left.

After breakfast, Xiao Weixin got up and changed his clothes. It is Empress Dowager Xia’s birthday so everyone is expected to go and congratulate her. Although he7 looks calm and unaffected on the surface, You Shu is very aware of the resentment and helplessness hidden in his heart at this moment.

Qi Han had been sent out to complete a task and Wang Chen had yet to return8. After thinking for a while, Xiao Weixin asked You Shu to change his clothes and go to the palace with him. It stands to reason that normally this should be Xie Feiyuan’s job9 but You Shu didn’t ask any more questions, followed Luo Yao to get the clothes and quickly changed into them.

You Shu already looks very handsome even in the ordinary black uniform of the shadow guards which he usually wears but after changing into the luxurious uniform of the palace guards, his appearance became even more dazzling and attractive than before. Luo Yao covered her blushing face with her hands, continuously peeking at him and even the ever-steady and unruffled Hua Chun couldn’t help giving him a second glance.

Xiao Weixin turned his head and looked at him for several seconds.

Compared to the shadow guard uniforms, the uniforms of the palace guards are made with more care and delicacy. The beautiful blue uniform perfectly complemented his tall figure, slender waist and long legs. Paired with his overly handsome face, his appearance is very eye-catching. It is impossible for anyone to think of him as a shadow guard.

“Cover your face.” Xiao Weixin said calmly, “It’s too ostentatious.”

You Shu had yet to look at himself in the mirror but if the prince said he looked ostentatious then he must be right. So, he wordlessly pulled out a stack of masks10 from his robes and after looking through them, pulled out the ugliest one.11

Luo Yao immediately stopped giggling.

Xiao Weixin frowned in disgust: “What the hell is that? Change it!”

You Shu scratched his head and obediently changed it but Xiao Weixin still felt it was ugly. So he had to change it four or five more times before Xiao Weixin was finally satisfied. Although the appearance was still not good-looking, it was at least within the range that Xiao Weixin can tolerate.

The protagonist being such a hopeless face-con is too torturous. He is going to be a bodyguard for him, not to win a beauty pageant. Besides, isn’t it normal for a man to have a rough and ugly appearance?

You Shu couldn’t help complaining about him in his heart.

After everything had been arranged, the smile on Xiao Weixin’s face disappeared and he got into the carriage with an indifferent expression.

After he was seated, You Shu also got into the carriage. This was the first time he rode in a carriage in an upright manner. In the past, he could only sit in the compartment under the carriage but with just a slight change in his status, the treatment he received had become so different. Sure enough, shadow guards are at the lowest rung of the social ladder.

He couldn’t help feeling sad and became even more determined to work hard. In the future, maybe he could lead his brothers out of slavery and live the life of ordinary people.

Xiao Weixin’s mood has been terrible ever since he got into the carriage. His beautiful face had an impatient frown and the hand placed at his side was slightly clenched. Seeing him like this, You Shu understood the pain and resentment in his heart. After all, Consort Xian had been forced to death by the Empress Dowager Xia and the dog emperor. As her son, he had a blood feud with the two of them but was unable to avenge it and even had to feign happiness and congratulate his enemy on their birthday. Anyone would break down [in such a situation].

He couldn’t speak up to comfort him so he could only sit silently on the side without disturbing him.

The carriage drove all the way to the palace where someone greeted Xiao Weixin and escorted him to the Empress Dowager’s Yuqing Palace.

Different from the cold outside, Yuqing Palace was as warm as spring. Charcoal pots12 are placed everywhere in the palace, the palace maids are all dressed in brightly-colored, beautiful clothes and the entire palace is filed with the sound of laughter and merriment. It seems to be a completely different world compared to the situation outside. You Shu thought of the refugees that Qi Han had mentioned during breakfast and immediately understood the poem “Behind the vermilion gates, meat and wine go to waste while out on the road lie the bones of the frozen13.”

It’s only early winter and the Empress Dowager’s palace is spending so extravagantly. Wouldn’t it be even more wasteful in the cold winter?

Xiao Weixin adjusted his mood at the palace gate and then walked in with an unaffected smile as if nothing had happened. You Shu didn’t dare to raise his head and carefully helped him walk inside. Even through the thick sable fur, he could feel Xiao Weixin’s restraint and self-control.

As Xiao Weixin entered, the Empress Dowager who had been speaking to Xiao Weijing, raised her eyes and said with a kind smile, “Oh my, look who’s here? Our Lao Qi is finally willing to step out of his home?”

“Empress Dowager, please don’t make fun of this minister.” Immediately after Xiao Weixin sat down, a palace maid stepped forward and took his sable fur coat while another maid handed him a hand warmer. He coughed a few times before speaking again: “It’s freezing cold. How would this minister dare to go out and walk around willfully?”

Empress Dowager Xia has maintained herself very well and even though she is nearing fifty, she retains her charming appearance. After teasing Xiao Weixin for a while, she looked around at the juniors in the room with a satisfied expression and said in a soft voice: “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. All of you should stay and accompany Aijia14 to listen to Xiao Qu’er. It is a new opera troupe that has arrived in capital recently and you have likely not seen it before.”

Xiao Weijing is the kind of person who can adapt to any situation with ease15 and his continuous loud flattery made Empress Dowager Xia smile from ear to ear. Xiao Weiming has never been favored by the Empress Dowager so he only ate fruits with his head lowered while Xiao Weixin listened attentively to their conversation with a light smile, his appearance akin to a quiet immortal in a painting.

Sitting at the head of the table with the Empress Dowager is the current Empress, Xia Lingwei, the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Xia. She is gentle and demure with a dignified air. Although she is laughing and bantering with the Empress Dowager, she doesn’t have much sense of presence. In comparison with the dazzling Imperial Consort Luo beside her, she seems like a dull foil.

You Shu is standing not too far behind Xiao Weixin, still as a statue. Out of the corner of his eye, he scanned the whole audience seated in the room. Everyone is laughing and conversing happily, as if all of them merely came to celebrate Empress Dowager Xia’s birthday when, in fact, they all had ulterior motives.

After a while, Xiao Weishen arrived and everyone knelt down to greet him. He walked in with a smile, telling them to stand up before looking around and taking a seat near the Empress Dowager. Looking closer, it was obvious that the seat was closer to Imperial Consort Luo than the Empress.

Empress Dowager Xia was clearly dissatisfied with this but, in the end, she didn’t say anything. The Empress didn’t give any reaction. However, whenever no one was paying attention, she silently glanced at Xiao Weixin but Xiao Weixin didn’t even notice the Empress, let alone return her glance. Seeing this, the Empress’s eyes showed some disappointment.

You Shu calculated the time and estimated that it was almost time for that.

Sure enough, the next moment, the Empress Dowager spoke [to Xiao Weishen]: “A few days ago, the Empress told Aijia that you were worried about Lao Qi’s marriage and you have already begun searching for possible candidates among the noble girls?”

Xiao Weishen smiled cooperatively: “Seventh Brother is always in poor health, is he not? I thought it might be help him if we were to follow the common folk custom of Chongxi16. I have been worrying about this for a long time.”

Xiao Weixin realized that this was where the trap laid. He scoffed in his heart but hurriedly stood up and begged for mercy: “Imperial Brother, please don’t joke anymore. This minister really has no intention of getting married to anyone.”

But no one paid any attention to his words. Empress Dowager Xia said to herself: “Aijia remembers that our Xia family also has a daughter who is of marriageable age. Yinxiu is sixteen this year, right? It’s time to arrange a marriage for her.”

Empress Xia nodded and said with a smile, “Yinxiu has indeed come of age.”

They make it sound like this is for Xiao Weixin’s own good but, in fact, Xia Yinxiu is just an unfavored shu17 daughter of the Xia family. It is said that her mother was a mere servant girl who had been raped by a drunk Prime Minister Xia and her status in the household was even lower than that of a lowly prostitute.

Their family clearly has other shu daughters, but they still want to give the lowest and most shameful of them to Xiao Weixin. Even though Xiao Weixin has no real power, as a prince, it is impossible to marry a shu daughter as his Princess Consort. Empress Dowager Xia’s only objective is to humiliate him. Just from this, it is clear how vicious and malevolent her mind his.

Although You Shu was looking forward to the female lead’s debut, seeing all these people who are as vicious as wolves gather together to embarrass Xiao Weixin, he silently clenched his fists.

Xiao Weixin sat alone on the chair, his back view lonely and desolate, unsupported by everyone. His opinion doesn’t have any weight because no one cares.

You Shu felt sorry for him.

————————–

The author has something to say:

You Shu: The protagonist is weak, pitiful and helpless and he only has me! I want to protect him!!

Xiao Weixin: What nonsense are you thinking about?

T/N: Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce that I am completely freaking free. God!!! It feels weird af because now my only goal is waiting for my results instead of preparing for the test, the exams, the entrance exams and doing assignments and everything but it’s a good weird. The test went great and I aced all my papers and hopefully I will get to go to my favorite university too. But that aside, I have nothing but free time on my hands right now so feel free to expect several updates a week. I will post as I translate. Thanks for your support and understanding so far<3<3

I hope everyone’s doing well and is having an awesome summer vacation even tho all I am doing is dying in this ridiculous heat lol. Stay healthy and drink lots of water :)<3

1

You Shu: ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆

2

跟着 (gēnzhe) means to follow after someone while 飞黄腾达 (Fēihuángténgdá) is an idiom meaning to achieve great success in one’s life and career. Together, it basically means that one person achieves success and because of him, everyone else can enjoy that glory as well. An example of this would be if a daughter in an ordinary family married someone really high up the social ladder then the whole family would be treated really well because of her.

3

Remember the daughter example. If that daughter is sent back to her mother’s house or divorced, their whole family would be worse off because of it.

4

Little did he know….

5

a bitch, a pain in the ass, alive, existing etc. Feel free to fill in the blank as you please 

6

Now, I may have misunderstood this so the other translation is “already anticipating when they could begin to count nines”. So, counting nines is basically a folk method of calculating the end of winter so they could continue their farming or plowing. The counting starts from the winter solstice and continues for 81 days. A period of nine days is counted as one-nine then two-nine and three-nine and so on. It was also a way of getting through the winter because hardships always seem easier to deal with once you know when they will end. Like class and the bell for example 

7

Xiao Weixin

8

He is out of the city. Idr if this was mentioned earlier.

9

Since XWX has Qi Han and Wang Chen as his personal guards, they are the ones who accompany him visibly. But since they are both gone, it should be up to XFY to go with him because he is the head instead of YS who is a shadow guard.

10

To be clear, it’s a human skin mask like the one he wore to the brothel. It doesn’t just cover his face but changes his appearance entirely.

11

One thing about our boi here. He’s a hopeless straight man with zero sense of aesthetics. Even zero’s a stretch. Make it negative or maybe even imaginary.

12

Charcoal pots or charcoal stoves are basically used as heaters. Advantageous because no smoke and little ash. Disadvantageous because charcoal needs to be added every 30 minutes or so. And charcoal was a pretty useful commodity. For it to be used so extravagantly inside the palace when there are people dying of cold outside is really deplorable.

13

(朱门酒肉臭 路有冻死骨) can also be translated as “Crimson gates reek with meat and ale, while on the streets are bones of the frozen dead”. It is a verse from Going from the Capital to Fengxian County, Singing My Feelings by Chinese poet Du Fu. It is practically a proverb. The crimson gate means the gate of a rich and noble person’s house.

14

哀家: Āi jiā means “mourning family”. It is a title used strictly by the Empress Dowager whose husband has died. Similar to the Empress calling herself bengong and the emperor calling himself zhen.

15

见人说人话见鬼说鬼话 (Jiàn rén shuō rén huà jiànguǐ shuō guǐhuà) is a phrase used to refer to an adaptable person and also to a two-faced and insincere person. Literally it means “seeing people, talk people [language] and seeing ghosts, talk ghost [language] (nonsense)”.

16

冲喜 is an old Chinese tradition (which I personally find a little superstitious but who am I to judge). It works like a Patronus to a Dementor. The Dementor being sickness and bad health which is bad luck and the Patronus being marriage which is a happy event and brings good luck. Marriage drives away the illness and the sick person becomes healthy again.

17

Not really useful in this novel but may help with others. Concubine-born children are called shu and are considered illegitimate like Xia Yinxiu. Children born of a wife or the madam of the household are called di children and are legitimate like the Empress