Trying to trick my wife again? (Part Two)
Translation Checker: jellypeaches
Editor: jellypeaches, Miiya, and Avalie
In the middle of the night while he slept, Meng Huan sensed that Lin Bozhou seemed to have returned.
The man took him in his arms and kissed him on the forehead, then his movement stilled, allowing the silence to surround them.
Meng Huan picked up the smell of wine and guessed it was from Lin Bozhou, but luckily it wasn’t overpoweringly strong. Since he had run around too wildly catching fireflies that evening, he was so sleepy that he couldn’t open his eyes, only snuggling into the embrace.
He grabbed Lin Bozhou’s inner robes, burrowed his head into his arms, and fell into a deep sleep.
But the next morning, when he blearily opened his eyes, the spot beside him was empty. Lin Bozhou had gone off to court again.
“…”
He closed his eyes. He found that he and Lin Bozhou seemed to only have the evenings for themselves.
Royal Highness of Darkness, true to his name.
–
After a quick wash, Meng Huan went to the pavilion to continue studying characters.
The compound was open and spacious, but Meng Huan’s favorite place had to be the lotus pond, which was cool and beautiful with winding walkways wrapping around it. He often painted in this area.
In the morning, he learned more characters, and in the afternoon, he painted. When he got bored, Xue Hong and Xue Yan appeared one after the other, likely coming to find him after practice, and they smiled towards him from afar.
As soon as Meng Huan showed a smile, he saw the flamboyant young master with a fan behind them, Cui Han.
Seeing this man made the smile stiffen on Meng Huan’s face.
“Royal Consort and Young Master Cui are this slave’s lifesavers. I have been blessed with the fortune of eight lifetimes to meet two noble benefactors,” Xue Hong said. “Young Master Cui wanted to see the Royal Consort, so I led the way here.”
Cui Han cupped his hands and saluted. “Royal Consort.”
Meng Huan resisted the urge to roll his eyes, sat back on the stool, and continued to paint.
“Royal Consort, this junior has studied a little bit about painting.” Cui Han paced behind him. “This painting by the Royal Consort is very expressive in style and exquisite in brushwork, natural beauty captured in light washes and dark ink. At first glance it clearly exhibits the skills of great masters.”
Meng Huan allowed the other person to stare at his work, then he stopped after making a couple more strokes, redirecting his attention to watch the servants play Cuju. Unexpectedly, Cui Han joined them and performed with gorgeous technique, hooking the ball with his leg and kicking beautifully.
“…”
Meng Huan said, “Is there anything that you can’t do?”
Cui Han smiled. “This junior can’t study, can’t compose essays, and can’t do exams. But I excel in playing and drinking.”
Meng Huan gave him a round of applause. “Excellent.”
In the heat of the day, the court musicians and maids all walked to the pond. They lounged there, stretched their legs into the cool water, and played around.
In this field of emerald green, interspersed with contrasting vermilion hairpins, Meng Huan thought of A Dream of the Red Chamber. He couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Lin Bozhou conquered with his early mornings and late nights of hard work?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
With a splash, someone went deeper down into the pond. As Meng Huan was about to stop them, he saw that person catch a black carp and hold it up. “Royal Consort!”
“Qbk, rb jwjhlcu.”
“Cgf atf olrt lc atf qbcv atja oja?”
“P jirb kjca ab ub olrtlcu…”
Ktf rbecv bo fzmlafv nblmfr kjr tfjgv. Pc rewwfg, mjamtlcu olrt lc atf mbbi kjafg kjr atf wbra fcpbsjyif jmalnlas.
Zfcu Lejc kjr jogjlv ab ub lc, rb tf mbeiv bcis kjamt. C wbwfca ijafg, rbwfbcf rjlv, “Ofa’r rff ktb mjc mjamt atf wbra mgjyr.” Vfnfgji wjif rfgnjcar pewqfv lcab atf qbcv, ralgglcu eq atf vlga ogbw atf ybaabw.
When Meng Huan smiled, he found a pair of eyes looking at him, like a ghost of the night spying on his every move, sending chills down his back.
As soon as he turned his head and met Cui Han’s eyes, the unsettling feeling disappeared and was replaced by silliness.
“Royal Consort, this junior can also catch fish.” Cui Han rolled up his trousers, ignored the pleas to stop from the young servants around him, and walked into the pond as he said, “Allow me to join the contest as well!” He began to check around the crevices of the rock.
Meng Huan blinked and looked at him with some confusion.
After a moment, Cui Han threw a black carp, which was still alive and kicking, up into the pavilion. He chirped, “Royal Consort, did you see it? What a fat fish!”
Meng Huan murmured, “…Yes, I saw it.”
Cui Han continued to catch fish. Then as if he’d lost his footing from rushing forward, half of his body fell into the water. There were shrieks from all around and Meng Huan grasped the railing. Unexpectedly, Cui Han emerged again with moss on his head, laughing. “Hahaha, the water in the pond is so refreshing!”
“…”
Feeling amused, Meng Huan couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Cui Han kept throwing his catches, whether it be fish, prawns, or carbs, in front of Meng Huan. Seeing how much fun people were having in the water, Meng Huan, being a youth at heart, gradually had his interest aroused. “I want to try as well.”
“Royal Consort, the pond water is very cold—” You Jin exclaimed.
Meng Huan propped himself up on a boulder, and stepped onto its cold surface.
His tender foot stepped on the stone, and after a few steps, he began to sway, which made You Jin’s heart jump out. “Royal Consort!”
Meng Huan was also startled.
Fortunately, Cui Han was quick on his feet and swiftly helped him steady the boulder.
Meng Huan regained his footing.
He gave his thanks. “Thank you.”
Cui Han thought that he was getting closer to him. “No need for thanks. The Royal Consort can compete with this junior to see who can catch the most crabs”
Meng Huan kept his distance. “That is not necessary.”
“…”
He bowed his head and fiddled with the rocks.
It was like going to the beach and digging in the sand, something for all ages.
As time slowly passed, Meng Huan didn’t even realize that the pond water was slowly cooling down.
–
When Lin Bozhou got out of the carriage, he was greeted with the rare sight of an empty gate. The figure that would usually be waiting for him was missing. He frowned. “Where is the Royal Consort?”
A servant responded, “Royal Consort should be playing in the lotus pond, having a good time.”
Playing in the lotus pond…
Lin Bozhou raised his eyebrows, not showing a hint of emotion on his face. “Really?”
The flute from last night flashed through his mind. He asked, “Who else is there beside the Royal Consort?”
“The Young Master of the Cui Family.”
Lin Bozhou pursed his lips. He would usually go straight back to the chamber to bathe. But after a brief moment of thought, he raised his eyebrows and said, “Let’s go to the pond and have a look.”
The water’s surface shook as moss drifted to the top. The pond water had long become clouded.
When Meng Huan caught another prawn, an attendant said, “Royal Consort, it is getting late, it is time to come out.”
Before Meng Huan could speak, Cui Han shouted first, “If the Royal Consort wants to play, let the Royal Consort play. What are you rushing him for, don’t be such joy-killers!”
He seemed to be in high spirits acting like a lackey. “Royal Consort, the fish you just caught is huge! That patch of water plants is so dense and green, there should be more juicy fish and prawns hiding there!”
Meng Huan ignored him and walked to the other end of the green patch.
When Lin Bozhou came over, he saw a group of cheering servants around the bank. There were aquatic plants all over the place, and some lotus flowers had even been trampled to pieces. Meng Huan stood in the water with the skirt of his robes tied around his waist, gaze searching across the surface of the water as if he were an expert fisherman.
Next to him, Cui Han was fanning the flames. “Under the rock! Right over there! I just saw a prawn swim over there!”
Meng Huan turned his head, and against the light of the sunset, he saw Lin Bozhou in his crimson imperial outfit standing on the bank. Surrounding him were kneeling servants. The man’s hands were behind his back as he held his head up high and quietly gazed down at Meng Huan.
“…”
Meng Huan gazed up at the sky.
Then he looked at Cui Han again.
His expression changed slightly as he shouted “Husband” before running towards the shore. His tender feet were treading in the water, as he took careful and slow steps. There was a deep part where Meng Huan staggered as soon as he stepped in. He straightened back up and was blocked by a tall boulder when he got to the bank.
He couldn’t go any further and stopped in the place, looking to Lin Bozhou and seeking help with his gaze. “Umm, husband, I’m stuck…”
Looking very piteous.
Lin Bozhou closed his eyes with great patience. In full view of everyone, he stepped onto the wet stone, the lower hem of his court robes brushing across the lotus leaves, and put his arm around Meng Huan’s waist, gently lifting him up.
Like he was being held as a child, Meng Huan put his arms around the man’s neck, feeling a little ashamed.
Cui Han dashed to the shore like a crazed man and kowtowed desperately. “Greetings to Your Royal Highness!”
Lin Bozhou’s face was gloomy as he ignored the person.
An invisible and heavy aura filled the space.
He knelt down, picked up the two shoes left on the shore, and slowly raised Meng Huan’s foot.
Because his feet were wet, he took out his handkerchief and wiped them dry before placing Meng Huan’s pale feet into his shoes.
—It was very obvious that he was very annoyed that someone had taken his wife out to play today.
There was not a sound to be heard as everyone watched this all powerful man squat down to help his wife put on shoes.
Meng Huan was also dumbfounded. “Husband…”
Lin Bozhou would help him get dressed after they spent the night together, but there was no one around during those times. Now, Meng Huan was a little bashful to have so many eyes watching.
After he got the shoes on, Lin Bozhou stood up and said in an unusually gentle voice, “Did Huan Huan have fun this afternoon?”
Meng Huan nodded with sweat dripping from his temples.
“As long as Huan Huan is happy.”
But in a flash, he turned to Cui Han, using the seemingly same tone, but with an iciness that sent chills down people’s backs, “Cui Han, this Regent told you to take the Royal Consort out to relieve his boredom, and you took him running into the pond?”
Cui Han’s hair stood up. “This junior…”
He didn’t expect that Lin Bozhou would come.
His intention was to have fun with the Royal Consort in order to gain his trust.
But now, he didn’t even know if he had gained that trust, but he knew he had angered Lin Bozhou.
Cui Han’s back was stiff. “Well, at first, it was just this junior that got into the water. I didn’t expect the Royal Consort would also come down—”
He expected Meng Huan to speak for him, since they were having a blast in the water just now.
Who would have thought…
Thinking of Cui Han’s repeated hints with subtle, underlying connotations, Meng Huan knew that this was a good opportunity to get Lin Bozhou to stand up for him, and nodded innocently. “Yes, it was him. He made me get in the water.”
Cui Han: “…”
The author has something to say:
Bad-ass fighter: Tricking my wife again? (In the process of removing the seal—)
.
The revised part is Huan Huan being lonely in the palace. The loneliness is necessary, but it was not suitable in this chapter. I still want to ride this sweet and pampering wave TvT
Huan Huan has gotten smarter, he is already a Huan who is twice shy after being bitten once.
The translator has something to add:
Teo: The rest of the translator note…
Natural beauty captured in light washes and dark ink (淡妝濃抹總相宜): Cui Han is using the quote to say how Meng Huan is able to capture the natural, inextricable beauty of the landscape.
This is an extremely delicate literary reference. It’s a line from a poem by Su Shi (aka Su Dongpo, one of the most influential literary figures in chinese history), specifically 飲湖上初晴後雨 (referencing Graham’s translation “Drinking by the Lake: Clear Sky at First, then Rain”).
The original poem is about West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, which was a frequent subject for a lot of classical poetry, so Cui Han quoting the poem here makes sense because Meng Huan has been painting the lotus pond (landscapes in Chinese painting are literally called “mountain water paintings”, so thematically the parallels are there). This line in particular is hard to translate in context here though because it uses a comparison to Xi Shi, one of the four great beauties of Chinese history. Graham’s handling is pretty directly accurate: “Lightly powdered or thickly smeared fancy is just as apt”—the makeup metaphor here corresponds with descriptions of the scenery in sunlight and in rain. Not sure there’s academic consensus as to whether the sunlight parallels light makeup and the rain is heavy makeup or if it’s vice versa, but highkey that’s the entire point: Xi Shi is just as naturally and undeniably beautiful regardless of how much makeup she has on, and West Lake (Xi Hu) is beautiful regardless of the weather.
HUAN HUAN IS SO CUTEEEEEEE
Cui Han: 0
Meng Huan: 1
Lin Bozhou: Angry
PLEASE 😭
Thanks for the chapter
Thank you for the update 🩵
So quick to change face!
I have a beautiful paperback English copy of “dream of the red chamber”. I suffered through it and muddled my way to the end. Bit like reading Moby Dick which is all metaphor. I wasn’t an Arts Major or Minor in my defense. Couple of things I struggled with in Red Chamber book is that it’s pitched as this huge romance but the male lead doesn’t even consider being faithful to her. I found it disconcerting that he didn’t even see it as something you would do. Different culture and time and place I suppose. Also there is excessive suicide, so if someone has something go wrong, they don’t even try to work through the problem (by no means am I implying that suicide is an easy way out, it’s how it’s depicted in the book). A whole bunch of characters essentially write themselves out of the story. But not having any knowledge of Buddhism or Chinese gods and goddesses set up also made the book impenetrable for me. I grew up with Roman, Greek and Celtic mythology so I recognize when they are used in stories. Then I didn’t know the Chinese or Asian equivalent.
Sorry for the late response but I saw this and wanted to give a little context re: Red Chamber and the characterization of the central figures over the course of the narrative. There’s a large body of literary study about Red Chamber, but a key thing to note is that the authorship of the last 40 chapters is uncertain. I actually recently had a conversation about the central characters going completely out of character with a friend who studies this period of Chinese literature and honestly the whole thing might be easier to swallow if the first 80 chapters are seen as the original work and the last 40 are read essentially as fanfiction 😂. There definitely is something to be said about the sociocultural reasons a different author may have edited or fully changed the ending of the story, but with regards to the novel is commonly understood and its reputation as a love story, I just wanted to mention that there is this possible explanation for why things might have felt a little weird, especially with the resolution. It’s disputed in academia, but it’s likely the premise created by the first author might have been at odds with the motives and viewpoints of later authors or editors, and that discrepancy does come through in the text, I think.
Hopefully this gives some context and helps clarify some confusion! Thanks for reading!! 😀
Yes that is a possible explanation for why the second writer just gets rid of characters that he doesn’t know how to handle in the laziest way possible.
Another thought to ponder is that I’m reading “the science of storytelling’ by Will Storr and he explains that Eastern stories ard about returning the world to Balance after a change whereas Western storytelling follows the Hero/ Heroine who drives change. In that context what your friend says regarding the second writer treatment of the story is to bring about a different balance than the original writer.
What husband could resist a helpless, dripping wet damsel in distress who happily throws his insincere playmate under the bus 😄
Now, your clothes are wet, you both should be careful about it
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Heh heh, cui han messed with the wrong person if he thought he could take advantage of huan huan uwu
Thank You for the new chapter ♡(ŐωŐ人)
Huan Huan said “husband, defeat him for me” LOL
Cui Han thought he was being so clever, luring Meng Huan to his side by preying on his empathy and boredom after the subtle literary references flew over his head, but Huan Huan had a secret defense move hidden up his sleeve: “Husband, isn’t your wife so pitiful? Ó n Ò “
Lol, Huan Huan learned to be devious 😂
Hahaha, Huan Huan knows how to take hints.
Thanks for the chapter!
🤣🤣🤣 throw him under the bus!!