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Chapter 131: Snake
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
Gumihou: This chapter is the reason why I wanted to translate this novel
After morning court, he reconvened with the other ministers to talk about resettling people to the wild lands at the emperor’s study. Therefore, it was almost noon when he finally left the palace. Jin Ming was waiting for him at the palace gates. At the sight of his master, he trotted over to say, “Master, would you be returning to the estate? Or will you eat a meal outside before going home? It’s been a while since you have visited a restaurant.”
Jin Fengju laughed and said, “What good thing is there to eat at a restaurant?”
Jin Ming beamed back and said, “Rumour has it that several restaurants under Master Peng’s name have just introduced the Second Madam Ning’s hotpot. The new menu is very well received. Shall we go and have a taste?”
Jin Fengju raised an eyebrow, “What’s that? They have been introduced? Very well, let us go.”
Thus, Jin Ming led the way to Drunken Cloud Pavilion. They happened to find Jin Pengzhan there with some former classmates of his. These classmates have all become Seventh, Sixth or Fifth Rank officials, how could they not be happy to eat a meal with such a celebrity? He was the sharpest of His Majesty’s officials and the most favoured one of them all. After eating and toasting these officials for an hour, [1a] if Jin Fengju had been any less aware of his own dignity, he would have been drunk by now.
After leaving Drunken Cloud Pavilion, Jin Ming found his master muttering to himself as he walked. “No, no, mustn’t dress up as a ghost as the first tactic, what if I scare her to death? To start with, I should
”
Curious by the random word salad, Jin Ming warily asked, “Master, what are you talking about? What’s this about dressing up as ghosts?”
Jin Ming stopped muttering long enough to [1a] chuckle to himself, “When did you develop such heavy curiosity? Will you die if you do not ask? Go away, no need for you to eavesdrop. Go and find some colourful snakes for me. I want those non-venomous types. Must be those that could not lay eggs. I don’t want Night Breeze Pavilion to become a snake’s den.”
“What? Night Breeze Pavilion?” Jin Ming’s eyes widened. He quickly looked left and glanced right, seeing nobody, he scuttled closer to Jin Fengju to say, “Master, your meaning is
 you wish to place snakes inside
 Night Breeze Pavilion Why, ah? What if you scare Second Madam Ning? Won’t you feel bad too?”
Jin Fengju sighed [1b] very deeply and said, “What else could I do? Qiuning did everything she could just to not move out of Night Breeze Pavilion. Now that she had personally spoken before Old Ancestor and Elder Madam, I dare not force her too much anymore. I can only try some small tricks in secret. En, I have considered the matter carefully. Do recall the day you brought the gecko to them last time? Neither Yu Jie, Aunt Yu nor Fu Qiuning was afraid of it. Therefore, one could say that their guts are not small. I don’t believe that a few snakes could scare them to death.”
At this, he suddenly sneered, “That Wanying is too clever for her own good. The maids by her side are the same. You said that Qiu Xia had screamed at the sight of the gecko, well, back then I had not thought much of the matter. However, thinking back, it must be a show purposefully created for you. After all, the Gecko Sand was made from these things. Wanying had to have handled those creatures with Qiu Xia.
Naturally, they can hide this matter from you for a while. However, did they never think that in summer when we spend days catching the cool breeze outside, just how many geckos have we seen? She was not afraid at that time, so how could she be so frightened now? Clearly, she was just being overly dramatic. Humph.”
Jin Ming quickly nodded, echoing his master’s words. They were nearing Jin Yang Street, which was named after Jin Xiang Marquisate and Xiang Yang Marquisate. Even though the Xiang Yang Marquisate had moved away, the street name remain.
“Master, I shall go and purchase the snakes now, please return to the estate first. This servant believes that good news will arrive within five or six days,” said Jin Ming with a grin. Then, he quickly turn a corner and rushed off in a different direction. Indeed, as Jin Fengju contemplated his clever scheme of using snakes to ‘force the snake out of its hole’, he could not help the smile of triumph spread across his face.
Thanks to this incident, Jin Fengju had shown some subtle dissatisfaction with Madam Jiang. As for Jiang Wanying’s side, there was really no need to mention her, he had not stopped by her place at all. Madam Jiang had swallowed her anger and pleaded with her son on her niece’s behalf. However, all she received from him was ‘Once Qiuning moves out of Night Breeze Pavilion, I will enter Clear Soft Pavilion’.
Madam Jiang was angered. However, as she was in the wrong first, she dare not make a fuss or bring the matter up before her husband. Jin Yu still had no idea what had occurred, something which made Madam Jiang recite thankful prayers. Therefore, she could only muddle onwards and wait for Jin Fengju to calm down in the next few days.
On Night Breeze Pavilion side, Fu Qiuning was feeling very energetic and refreshed. Her daily life was particularly enjoyable. The sight of budding flowers and brilliant new shoots, and flowers blooming on apricot and peach trees made her beam. Every day, servants swept the fallen petals into piles at the base of the tree. Fu Qiuning turned to Aunt Yu, and said, “The days are getting warmer. Have the servants clear away the weeds. The mice, rats and ants would be coming out of their nests soon.”
Suddenly, they heard Yu Jie’s scream from the yard. Fu Qiuning and Aunt Yu hurriedly ran out, calling, “What happened? What happened?”
They saw Yu Jie running at them, excitedly pointing at a patch of grass. “Madam, I just saw a snake, a really large and fat snake [2]. It’s just coiled right over there.”
Aunt Yu was shocked, “Really? Is time for them to leave their holes? Don’t they often come out later?”
Yu Jie said, “Just come and see it. Heaven must know that I have been craving for Snake Soup and especially sent this fat fellow here to satisfy my appetite.” She turned excited eyes at Fu Qiuning, “Madam, shall we use the old method? Pick it up with a stick and smash the head with a stone?”
One of the old matrons said, “Amitabha , this young lady’s words are too sinful. Of all the animals in the world, the snake is the most enlightened. There are a great many stories about snake spirits everywhere, now you want to eat it? Are you not afraid of retributions for your sins?”
Yu Jie immediately turned and, with her hands on her hips, said, “How interesting. Here I thought all living beings are equal. Why should one suffers retribution for eating a snake and not suffer anything from eating pigs, chickens and ducks? Since most people in this world eat meat, wouldn’t we all suffer retribution?”
Fu Qiuning smiled, “Enough, Yu Jie, no need to say more.”
[3a] Back when the three ladies and two children were suffering from a lack of food and clothing in the first few years of living in Night Breeze Pavilion, there was hardly any meat to be had. The poultry was kept mainly for their eggs and a lot of them were sold for money to purchase warm clothing and bedding. During the hot summer months, they would encounter the odd snake or two in the tall grass.
In Fu Qiuning’s previous life as Fang Chuyu the Southerner, she used to enjoy eating snake soup at restaurants. However, it was one thing to enjoy a tidily prepared soup at a table and quite another to encounter a live snake in the grass. However, for the sake of the children’s nutrition, she dared herself to lift the snake with a stick and have Yu Niang and Yu Jie smash its head in with large stones.
Snake meat has a strong fragrance and was particularly tasty in soup. At first, Yu Jie and Aunt Yu felt disgusted by the prospect of eating snakes. As for the children, so long as there was something good to eat, they were happy. Slowly, Aunt Yu and Yu Jie got used to the idea of eating snakes. It was a wonder how people could change under the extreme pressure [3a] of poverty.
[3b] Since it was rare for them to have meat, the maids and children eventually associated snakes as a wonderful treat during their times of hardship. This was probably why Yu Jie was so excited to see the snake in the grass. She immediately seized a sturdy stick and picked up the snake. [1c] She was about to move it to the porch where Aunt Yu was already ready with stones in her hands when one of the older male servants yelled, “Miss, don’t move.”
The male servant quickly rushed over, grabbed the snake and hurled it violently against the wall twice, upon which the fat snake fell over and remained motionless.
“Wow, Uncle Lin is really incredible,” Yu Jie clapped her hands and laughed. “This way is much better, it saves us from having to clean up the smashed head afterwards. I swear, we need to clean the place several times to clear the blood away.”
Uncle Lin laughed, “I think miss is really incredible. You are not at all afraid of picking up snakes with a stick.” He sighed, “I am from Ling Nan, and everyone there loves to eat snakes. Don’t look down on these creatures for being scary looking, they tasted really good. My great-grandfather and father are renowned for their snake soups and work for big restaurants just making these soups. Later, I came to the Capital to avoid a disaster, never expecting to find that people here dare not eat snakes. Moreover, they even revere the snakes like deities, rendering the skills I inherited from my forefathers useless. Aih, it truly is delicious, it’s just too bad that everyone is afraid to eat it.”
He was still sighing when Yu Jie’s eyes actually shone with light. With a laugh, she cried, “Is Uncle Lin truly skilled at making snake soups? That’s too incredible! We at Night Breeze Pavilion don’t follow this belief. In fact, our Madam, Young Master and Young Miss all love eating snakes. You must take this snake and clean it up in the kitchen and allow us a taste of your culinary skills. Usually, our Madam is the one who makes these soups, but she insists that her skills could barely be counted as mediocre despite how delicious it is. I don’t believe her at all. However, since Uncle Lin has inherited your forefather’s skills, could you really make it taste as good as dragon’s meat?”
Fu Qiuning laughed, “Even if Uncle Lin could make it as good as dragon’s meat, would you know it? Leave aside eating dragons, nobody has seen ever seen one.”
Uncle Lin happily said, “Madam and the miss like eating snakes? Heavens, ah. This
 this is too wonderful. Madam, please wait, now that the first snake has appeared, I fear that there could only be more in the backyard. I shall go and see if I could catch a few more. Please be at ease, I shall raise them at my place and not let them out to frighten people. So long as Madam wishes it, I shall pick a fat one to make soup.”
Yu Jie giggled, “Uncle Lin, are you sure you can resist eating them all before serving any to the Madam?”
The slender, middle-aged uncle laughed as he carried the large snake away.
Fu Qiuning smiled, “I had thought he was a little different from a northerner. Turns out, he came from Ling Nan, no wonder he is good at cooking snakes. Back in the village, a Ling Nan cook once secretly killed a snake and secretly gave Grandma and myself a share. Otherwise, [3c] I would have never have thought that snakes could be eaten, let alone taste so good.”
Maids and Mistress chatted together happily, excited for dinner.
Jin Fengju had no idea what had happened at Night Breeze Pavilion. That evening after changing his clothes at his study, he hurried over to Night Breeze Pavilion. The moment he set foot into the courtyard, a cheerful Yu Jie came up to greet him, “Master is here? What excellent timing, we are having a treat for tonight’s dinner.”
[Gumihou: While I do not refute the fact that Jiang Wanying probably deserve the punishment, I believe it had more to do with JFJ’s excitement for an excuse to stay more days at Night Breeze Pavilion]
[1] Add Details:
[1a] Add details to make the leap from ‘cute’ to ‘creep’
[1b] Add details to showcase JFJ’s solo drama actions
[1c] Add details on how to catch and kill the snake
[2] äș”花蛇 – five colour snake? Does it exist? Just went with ‘snake’
[3] Adjust Details:
[3a] Change the ‘back when we were ignored, lol~’ to ‘back when we were so poor we could barely scrape enough to eat’
[3b] Change ‘addicted to eating snake’ to ‘associate snake with nostalgia of eating meat on rare occasions’
[3c] Change ‘this delicacy’ to ‘this food’