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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="361" data-orig-width="481"></figure>The past two chapters feel like the calm before the big storm. But Murong Feng is not merely a big storm. He is actually a raging, uncontrollable typhoon who will turn Jian Zhang’s life upside-down and tear Jing Wan’s heart to shreds.
Even though our Murong Feng hasn’t shown up for a couple of chapters, he has been a busy boy. Well, ruling half a country as large as China tends to do that to you. While Jian Zhang and Jing Wan have been lovey-dovey, Murong Feng has been dealing with his unruly officers and cracking down on illegal smugglers… and looking dashingly handsome in his military uniform. He’s mine, all mine. *-*
Also, I just realized that Sina, which is what I’m using to read the book, cuts it differently than Fei Wo Si Cun intended. While this chapter is the fifth part on Sina, it is technically only part of the third chapter in the printed copy. I’m going to continue to translate according to the way Sina cuts the book so that each chapter is more manageable to translate in one sitting.
Encountering Love: Chapter 5
The flower fair on a spring day is usually very lively, but because they came during this season and early in the morning, it seemed rather deserted. Many stall owners had just begun to move the flowerpots outside but they continued to walk alongside the road. After they looked at all the ones by that street, seeing that the season for spring flowers has already passed and there weren’t many varieties, as the only flowers in season were pomegranate flowers. There was one kind of pomegranate that had been growing for many generations, among the emerald green leaves grew dense clusters of flower buds, which were just as large and red as embroidered flowers; when the flower blooms it would take tens of thousands of stiches to embroider. There was also the Western dahlia, each white flower looked like it was made from crystals; it was very beautiful. Xu Jian Zhang knew that she liked bustling places and took her to look at Chinese peonies. He bought another type of pomegranate and said: “Even though this is small and exquisite, it is perfect for your room. When it blooms, it will be beautiful.”
Overjoyed, she herself also picked out a camellia flower and Xu Jian Zhang laughed: “We really do seem a bit silly. We happened to pick the two kinds of flowers that the gardener has much of to take home.” She also laughed and said: “Whenever I’m with you, I do this kind of silly thing.”
The walked out of the flower fair and went towards the jade cutting shop to look at ancient calligraphy and paintings. Xu Jian Zhang is a regular customer so the store clerk at jade cutting shop was very attentive. When they sat down, he steeped a pot of high-end tea, then served four plates of snacks, and then said, smiling: “Young Master Xu came just in time. I just got a shipment of extremely good inkstones.” He continued: “Miss Yin hasn’t come to this shop in quite a while.” He also asked how her family was, always attentive and polite. The store clerk then went to get a few things for Xu Jian Zhang to look at, and while Jing Wan drank half a cup of tea, she saw that the cashier was examining a few pieces of ancient jade, one of which was a string of red jade pearls. They were bright red and radiant, catching her attention fully. The store clerk saw this and brought them over for her to look at. She held one in her hand before she realized that it was actually not jade, it was not agate either, but was actually made out of red coral beads. The store clerk saw that she liked them and said: “Miss Yin has good taste, this actually came from the palace. It passed through many hands before coming into mine. The pricing is not of importance, but if Miss Yin likes it, we can talk more.”
Xu Jian Zhang saw that she did seem to like it and said to the store clerk: “Tell me the real price and I will get you the money right away.” The store clerk agreed and went directly to ask the cashier. Jing Wan has the temperament of a rich girl but when she heard that it came from the palace, she knew that it would be expensive. No matter how much she liked it, she did not ask how much it was but instead, she happily tried it on. She examined it using the vanity made out of ancient pear wood. Today, she was wearing Western-styled clothes the color of red cherry blossoms with a small heart-shaped collar, and when she put the beads on, it made her skin look as white as snow as the beads were sparkling and clear. The more she looked at it, the more she liked the beads. Suddenly, she heard Xu Jian Zhang say from the side: “Don’t they look like red beans?”
She didn’t think about it before but when she thought about what he had said, she thought it was very sweet. In the mirror, you could see two broadly smiling faces, the happiness between them seemingly unlimited.
Jing Wan and Xu Jian Zhang spent the whole day having fun and only returned after they had watched a movie. By the time Jing Wan arrived home it was nearly ten o’clock. The Yin family always does business with foreigners, so they learned a few customs from the foreigners. Even though Jing Wan was a girl, arriving home at ten o’clock was a common occurrence. Wu Ma heard the sound of a car horn and when out immediately to help carry in her bags. Jing Wan walked in, and upon seeing that the atrium was still lit, she asked: “Mother hasn’t retired yet?” Wu Ma replied: “Madam Zhao, Second Madam Sun, and Madam Qin came to play cards.” When Jing Wan heard that they had guests, she walked to the atrium and as expected, she saw that the west hall had a table full of mahjong pieces. Madam Qin was sitting on the south side and when she looked up, she saw her and said: “Miss has returned.” With all smiles, she called out: “Aunt Qin.” She also greeted Madam Zhao and Second Madam Sun; she stood behind her mother to look at her hand. Madam Yin asked: “What did you eat for dinner? I ordered the kitchen to prepare some snacks.” Jing Wan replied: “I ate western cuisine for dinner. I’m not hungry right now.” Madam Yin said: “Your father is in the study. He wanted to see you when you returned.” Jing Wan nodded and left.
When she got to the doorway of the study, she smelled the strong scent of tobacco, she said: “Father, be careful that the room doesn’t burn down.” He gazed at his daughter and seeing that she had returned, he couldn’t help but smile and said: “You little thing, you only know how to speak nonsense.” He suddenly thought of a matter, his face stiffened and he said: “I have something to ask you.” Looking at her closely, he said: “The merchandise has already arrived this afternoon, everything went smoothly. But why are there four cases of Western medicine hidden in between them? If someone had investigated, what would you have done?”
When Jing Wan heard him asking about this matter, she remained unflustered and said: “I heard Jian Zhang say that his shop was in short supply of Western medicine. Since I am making this long journey anyway, I might as well bring some back for him.” Yin Chu Fan replied: “You make it sound easy, but if someone had investigated further, you could have been thrown in jail. You have a temperament of a child and don’t understand the complexity of the situation. Jian Zhang looks dependable but when he handles these matters he is so muddleheaded. How could he let you do this?!”
When Jing heard him say this, she quickly defended him: “Elder Brother Xu didn’t ask me to do this, I made the decision myself. Even now, he doesn’t know that I did it. If you want to scold someone, scold me. This has nothing to do with other people.“ Yin Chu Fan was originally very angry, but when he saw her gazing at him with those glistening eyes, he thought, he only has this one daughter, does he really want to scold her? His heart softened again, he gave a humph and said: “You will eventually have to suffer to understand how serious this matter is.” He continued: “If Jian Zhang knew about this, I will definitely give him a severe lecture. You just wait and see.”