Dark Empress: Chapter 9

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‘Ah Chuwei! Are you going to wash your clothes at the brook? Have you eaten this afternoon?’ A wide statured aunt said with smile to Chuwei.

‘Aunt Fu, I have a steamed bun with me.’ she replied. She was carrying a wooden bucket with a few clothes and sticks inside it, but her thin arms made one fear she would drop the bucket at any moment.

‘How is it enough to only eat a bun? Look at you, so thin. Come now, have these two meat buns for lunch.’Aunt Fu said as she merrily picked two hot meat buns from the steamer.

‘Aunt Fu, there’s no need!’ Chuwei was embarrassed by the older woman’s generosity; Aunt Fu usually sent meat buns to her home from time to time, as well as vegetables and chicken. She was embarrassed, but Aunt Fu waved away her rejection,

‘It doesn’t matter. No need to be polite.’ she wrapped the meat buns in oil paper and put the buns in her bucket.

‘You work so hard teaching the children. We are bothering you to take care of our Gouzi [1].’

Seeing she was well meaning, Chuwei could no longer refuse, ‘Gouzi is very smart. He is learning faster than the other children his age.’

‘That is because you’re the teacher,’ Fu Shen replied but hearing her son being praised brought a smile to her face.

‘Yes, yes, it’s because Jiang-Fuzi teaches them.’ Rong Shu who sold pork, came over from his stall, ‘Our A Bao likes you so much. Everyday, when he comes home, he will talk about you and he always wants to be praised by Jiang-Fuzi at school.’

‘Our family’s Da Tou [2] is also the same,’ Aunt Li, who ran the booth on the other side interjected, ‘When he comes home, it’s always about what Jiang Fuzi did [3].’ (Zuben there is another phrase to the sentence, if anyone could help.)

Chuwei smiled and listened to their conversation without impatience.

She had ended up in a small village by the sea. The people who live here were pure and enthusiastic. She had arrived six months ago and stayed.

When she had first arrived, she had been hungry and in a stroke of good fortune, she tried to buy meat buns from Aunt Fu. Aunt Fu asked where she was from, Chuwei told her she had come from a foreign country. The only question Aunt Fu asked was whether she was looking for a relative. Chuwei replied she was a widow without anyone to help her and she was looking for a place to settle.

Hearing that she was the only one, Aunt Fu took her to the village chief. The village chief was very kind, he had rented to her a small house located in the East lane for cheap. On hearing she was literate, asked if she could help in the village school. They had only one teacher, but too many students. If she could assist with the teaching, it would be a great help and she could earn a little silver to live on.

Chuwei was certainly willing to live in this small village. As for the past...she would not think about it.

But when the night fell and all was quiet and she was alone, her mind would go over things that it should not.

She had been pregnant with a child in October. She had never seen him or hugged him. When she woke up after the birth, she had been taken outside the palace to a mansion in the city.

There, the old midwife who helped her deliver the child took care of her and served her. In that house, she did not have to worry about her food or clothing. She knew that he had arranged this for her as per his promise; as long as she gave birth to the child, she could leave. She knew that he announced to the world, that she had died during a difficult labour. So from then on, Su Xiurong no longer existed, just Jiang Chuwei. He had not given her any chance to look back, he didn’t even let her look at her child. She still blamed him, but she knew it was for the best.

It was she who used her child for a transaction. Since she didn’t want the child, why bother to see him? After all, he was just a piece of meat in her body. But when she was healing and she was sore,  the aches reminded her that she had abandoned something. But she could not regret it, because this was her choice.

She knew that living in the mansion, she was under his supervision; so after a month, she left without telling anyone.

She was too close to him, and she was scared. Scared that she would not be able to hold back, scared she would not be able to control her thoughts, scared that she would want to would want to go to the palace and see her child…and him.

But she couldn’t, she was not Su Xiurong; she had sat in her place inappropriately. Since she chose not to be Su Xiurong, she could not regret her choice.

So she left. She went as far as she could so she could no longer see the palace. If she could no longer see it, she could stop thinking about it - at least forcing herself not to think about it.

She walked a long way. When she saw a carriage, she asked for a ride. When they reached their destination, she walked on - alone.

She didn’t know where she was going but walked on aimlessly, until she finally came to this small village by the sea. (Zuben: Small Village by the Sea ™ for all your escape needs)

It was very far from the city, the people of the village were very kind. She had a house to live in and something to do with her time. She could no longer see the magnificent city.

This was very good, very good…

‘Come Chuwei,’ Aunt Fu suddenly dragged her off to the side and said in her ear, ‘What about the matter with Wu Fuzi?’

Although, she was supposed to be whispering, Aunt Fu was born with a big voice so that other people still heard her.

‘Yes, Chuwei, Wu Fuzi’s character is good, and he is very kind to you; you should accept him.’ Aunt Li leaned over to add her voice to the persuasion

Not again! Chuwei gave a bitter smile.

Somehow Wu Fuzi, who taught at the school as well, had come to ask Aunt Fu about her  and told her he wanted to marry Chuwei. She had been dumbfounded when she heard. Wu fuzi was a good looking man. He seemed good and honest. He was not married and many girls in the village liked him, how could he be looking at her?

Obviously this face was ordinary! Although she refused from the outset, Wu Fuzi did not relent. Although, after being pregnant her body was more plump, and her bosom also was reluctantly fuller,  she was still a black charcoal! (Zuben: One would think that after one handsome man did not raise complaint about skin colour you would be over this by now. Alas...)

Besides that, she had told him she was a widow, There were many girls in the village who were better than she was and he wanted to marry her. Was Wu Fuzi blind?

She refused from the start, but Wu Fuzi would not give up; he told her he was not jealous, he thought she was a good person and he thought she would make a good wife. Even if she was a widow, she didn’t mind.

He didn’t mind but she did!

She was completely uninterested in Wu Fuzi!

But the news that he wanted to marry her spread through the village, the result was that at three ‘o’ clock and at five ‘o’ clock, she was being persuaded. What is wrong with Wu Fuzi? She was still young, and a widow. It is rare to have such a good person. Why did she find it hard to grasp?

‘Aunt Fu, I don’t want to marry at the moment. Let me say, I do think that he is very good.’ Chuwei said as she gave a perfunctory smile. Seeing Aunt Fu wanted to say more, she quickly blocked her, ‘Ah look it’s getting late. I need to wash my clothes before it gets dark. I’ll be going. Thank you for the buns.’ She waved and without waiting for Aunt Fu to sat any more, she hurried off.

This Wu Fuzi was really looking for trouble. Because of him, our days were not calm.

It’s strange, obviously her face as so ordinary. Her figure was not charming, but why was she attracting male attention. Before it was Xiahou…

She paused for a moment, then continued to walk to the brook quickly.

With her head down, Chuwei walked to the creek outside the village. It was already past noon. There was no one at the banks. She found shady place to sit, and placed her bucket down. She picked up the dirty clothes and her sticks and began to wash.

She didn’t want to, she didn’t want to think of anything.

She was sullen, her lips were pulled tight and she washed her clothes hard like she was fighting with them.

The clear water flowed down and along the creek. After a few minutes of washing, Chuwei jumped.

She stared at the water; it was red and getting redder. What was this? Was it blood? As the thoughts raced through her mind, a body drifted by.

Yao shou! Chuwei stumbled back. The body was caught against a boulder right in front of of her. What is this?

She felt she should do something, but she was fearful. She licked her lips and braced herself for a few minutes. After some dithering, she picked up her courage, grabbed her washing stick and approached the body.

From a distance, she poked at the body with her stick, ‘Hey! Are you still alive?’ she said.

There was no movement. Were they really dead?

God, you can find a body when you wash your clothes, why was there no lottery to buy?

‘Hey!’ She poked at the body again.

A groan came from the body as they moved.

Chuwei jumped back: Not dead! Knowing that the person was alive made Chuwei relieved, 'Hey, wake up!’ She called again.

She went forward to poke again, when there was another groan and the person turned their face to her.

Chuwei’s eyes and mouth opened in shock. The stick in her hand slipped and fell into the water.

How was this possible?!

♛

‘...A gentleman asked to kiss the Empress and asked her to marry him, although the Empress rejects him, the gentleman does not give up. He has asked people to speak to her on his behalf. He pledges to marry her but the Niangniang does not seem bothered.’

Yongfu kept his head bowed but he sneaked a peak at the Emperor. His saw his master’s sinking face. It looked so scary, which made him hesitate to say the next thing.

‘What else?’ Xiahou asked but his tone was very cold.

Yongfu’s forehead began to sweat, and he swallowed drily. He opened his mouth and tried to keep the tremor from his voice, ‘There is a man suddenly living in Niangniang’s house.’

‘What?!’ there was a snap, the brush in Xiahou’s hand was broken in half.

‘A man?’ he repeated, ‘When did this happen?’

‘A few days ago.’ Yongfu quickly replied. He felt like his back was wet with a cold sweat, ‘The person seems to be hurt, the Niangniang saved him and let him stay in her house. She is taking care of him herself.’

‘Who is that man?’ Who is this person that could get her care?

‘I don’t know. I haven’t found out his identity yet.’ Yongfu said hesitantly, but decided to say everything, ‘But I have heard the man is doing well. The Niangniang talks with him a lot and laughs with him too. The villagers are noticing, the Niangniang may like him…’

‘Enough…!’ Xiahou slammed a hand on the desk. He didn’t want to hear anymore, ‘Leave!’

‘Yes.’ Yongfu quickly stepped out.

Xiahou closed his eyes, trying to resist the urge to sweep the documents off his desk, and forced himself to calm down; but how could he teach himself to calm down?

Hearing that a man was asking for a kiss, and another man was living with her in her house and she is very good to that person. Who was he? He wanted to kill the damn guy!

He would never allow her to have someone around her, even if she left him, even if she didn’t want her child, even if she didn’t love him, he...he still could not forget her.

She wanted to leave the palace, he let her go. He let Su Xiurong die. His mother and Guo Ji were sad, and he missed her everyday.

He had known she would eventually leave that house. With her personality, she could not tolerate staying close to him.

Sure enough, late one night, she left in secret.

If he hadn’t sent spies to watch her, he would not have known. His people, disguised as businessmen and travellers, gave her rides in their carriage and took her far away from him.

She ended up in a small village and lived a stable life. She forgot about him and their child. She was very happy.

Listening to the spy’s reports, knowing she was doing well, he could not feel joy, only hate.

Her heart was so cruel! Only he could not let her go. Only he...

His ministers asked him to marry again, even his mother urged him; the nation could not rely on only one heir, but he did not want to; he did not want any other Empress but her.

Even with the concubines, he no longer visited them. He concentrated on handling the affairs of state  so he did not have chance to miss her. So he would not go crazy thinking about her.

And what of her? Someone is asking her for kisses and a man lived in her house?

Her face was so ordinary, not beautiful at all. Her body was not attractive but yet, she attracted bees and butterflies and annoying flies.

Did she think she could fly with another person? Don’t even think about it! As long as he was still alive, she belonged to him!

Xiahou Yin rose from his chair and went to the cradle placed near his desk. The baby inside was already awake, but he didn’t cry or make trouble. He chewed on his finger. When he saw his father he raised his arms; he wanted to be carried.

The coldness fell away from Xiahou’s face. He reached out and picked up his son. He did not think it dirty to wipe the drool of his son’s face with his thumb.

He did not ask any noble family to raise their son. He chose to personally care for him with a few wet nurses to serve him.

‘Lin, do you want to see your mother?’ he asked softly as he stroked his son’s soft cheek.

Xiahou Lin grabbed his father’s finger. His large eyes that stared at his father were so like his mother. The rest of him were like Xiahou Yin but his eyes...were especially like her.

Xiahou smiled. He waved his son’s little hand and said, ‘Father is like you, shall we go and see your mother?’

Xiahou Lin widened his eyes and giggled.

With his son’s agreement (Zuben: Dubious), he smiled but his eyes were cold.

He has let her do enough. She wanted freedom, she got it; she was not Su Xiurong. He allowed her to be free, but she wants to be with other men, he will kill the man and then drag her back to the palace to stay forever. She would never be allowed to leave again, even if she hated him, he didn’t care. (Zuben: How 70’s Harlequin Presents!)

He had let her go for half a year, it was enough. He had reached the limits of his tolerance, he would not allow her to be wilful again...no longer!

‘Wei Wei…’ Xiahou whispered. There was a deep timbre to his voice; he would bring her back. He would…

♛

The face like a melon, the eyes were large and her nose was flat, the mouth shape was not bad but overall, there was only two words - very ordinary. Down the body, there was no chest, no butt. The skin is dark, wow...too classic! (Zuben: is ‘too classic!’ a chinese thing?)

‘Du Miaofu, have you looked enough?’ Chuwei’s temples twitched. She wanted to pour the soup in her hand on Miaofu’s face.

Du Miaofu’s shook her head in amazement, she was still stunned, even after seeing her these last couple of days, she still could not get over it.

‘Wei, I had thought that my crossing into a body with the same face was very miserable. I didn’t expect…’ seeing Chuwei, she was comforted.

The once enchanting woman was wearing such a black charcoal skin - haha! Was there anything funnier? If she hadn’t been hurt, she would have been happy to roll around the bed in laughter.

Chuwei did not ignore this slight, she rudely thrust the bowl into her friend’s hand, ‘You drink it yourself,’ then turned to pour water into a cup. If Miaofu hadn’t been wounded, she would have beaten her up!

But Miaofu wasn’t afraid of her at all. She blew on the soup to cool it and sipped on it, unafraid of the bitterness, ‘But it is amazing that you’re in such a body in this place,’ she said, ‘When I woke up to your dark visage calling my name, I thought I was hallucinating.’

Chuwei also felt it was amazingly magical. At that time when the body turned his face to see Du Miaofu’s face. She had been shocked and scared. As she gained composure, she thought it couldn’t be right. This person was taller than Du Miaofu. And they were wearing men’s clothing. Was it just the face that looked like her?

With hesitant motions, she peeled off the person’s clothes to find the chest wrapped tightly with cloth. Although it was not obvious there was indeed a chest. It was a woman and she looked like Miaofu. She was at first shocked, then happy, then suspicious. She decided to save her, and when she woke up, she would ask.

She had not expected it to be Miaofu. She hadn’t died, but had also become a ghost wearing another’s body. So what about her idiot brother?

‘Miao Miao, do you think that A Hao would have transmigrated too?’

Chuwei’s heart beat fast in excitement and expectation.

Miaofu frowned in thought, she knew her friend’s state of mind, but she did not dare have too much expectation,

‘It’s hard to say. Can there be such a coincidence? It’s not a novel, if three of us could transmigrate, how come the whole world isn’t full of plane crash victims who transmigrated? Even if transmigration is popular, reality is not the same as fiction.’ (Zuben: I always find it funny when in a novel they say: "this is reality not fiction", it’s so daft. Besides if two of you did, it stands to reason that all of you transmigrated. That’s my opinion anyway.)

Chuwei understood what she meant. She lost her excitement and her expression fell. She didn’t say anything with her head hung low.

Miaofu scratched her head. She knew her words would be hard to hear. Although, Chuwei was often brusque with A Hao, he was her only family. To Chuwei, he was more important than anyone else.

So she said, ‘Wei, don’t think too much. It’s not certain that it is not a miracle either. You would never have thought that you and I would have met up. So who is to say that one day we would not meet A Hao as well? We probably won’t even recognise him when should we meet. He’ll probably get the most dog blood out of all of us and be the peerless weak.’

Thinking of his sturdy frame and the idea of burly idiot brother of hers becoming a beautiful weak man, Chuwei chuckled.

When she saw her friend laughing, Miaofu also smiled, ‘Right, don’t think about it too much. Don’t people say that if you survive death, you will have happiness in old age?

‘What happiness?’ Chuwei replied looking pointedly at the wound in Miaofu’s stomach in disapproval, ‘You still haven’t told me how you got hurt.’

Everytime she asked, this girl ignores her and tries to change the topic,

‘And why you’re wearing men’s clothing?’

‘Ah this…’ Miaofu prevaricated, the smile on her face fell and she shut her eyes; not daring to look at Chuwei.
I’m dead! Why was she asking this again?

Miaofu waved her hand dismissively. She really did not want to talk about it. But Chuwei wanted to know. She wanted to know who the damned bastard that hurt her friend was?! She must retaliate!

‘Du Miaofu, you are not avoiding this. We must talk about it!’ Chuwei said.

Knowing her personality; Miaofu was about to ask for leniency when there was a knock on the door. Saved by the bell. She breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Don’t think you have escaped.’ Chuwei said as she went to answer the door.

‘Who…!’ she was about to say as she opened the door. She quickly hid behind the door when she saw her visitor.

‘Yong-Yongfu?’ What was he doing here? She looked past him, and saw a carriage there. Her chest suddenly tightened.

‘Yongfu sees the Master,’ Yongfu greeted respectfully, ‘His Majesty has asked this small one to come and get you.’

After a small pause, ‘He and the young master are waiting for you in an inn in the neighbouring town.’

‘Little master…’ she repeated. Her child...was here too? Biting her lip, she could not help but tremble. She made a fist.

In her mind, she could hear her baby’s first cries. Her heart faintly hurt.

She looked at Yongfu and at the carriage, but her legs were as heavy as lead.

To go or not to go?

[1] Gou zi: Google translate: dog. Bing: son of a bitch!

[2] Da tou: All: big head

[3] Qu'est que c’est? 我這個娘都聽到吃味了 = wǒ zhège niáng dōu tīngdào chī wèile

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