He came. (Part One)
Translation Checker: jellypeaches
Editor: jellypeaches, Special_K
Meng Huan didn’t expect to see Cui Lang here.
Echul was an outlander who was planning to defect from the country.
Cui Lang was well acquainted with him.
Did the Cui Family collude with the Zhong Dynasty’s enemies and betray the country?
Meng Huan raised his eyes in a daze. After having been imprisoned for a few days without basic care, his face was dirty and his hair was a mess. However, under his black hair his eyes remained bright and his skin stayed clear, resembling the delightful freshness found in the depths of a green summer.
Meng Huan had barely made his guess when Cui Lang dropped down to his knees, both startled and enraged. “Royal Consort, this junior came late to the rescue.”
Why did he kneel down?
Meng Huan blinked, a bit confused about the situation. Cui Lang turned his head and roared, “Why is the Royal Consort still tied up! You are growing bolder!”
It seemed that Echul had not told Cui Lang about his kidnapping, and Cui Lang was very much against it.
However, this did not improve Meng Huan’s impression of him.
This group of people may have simply failed to negotiate a price in the back end, and were trying to hide their belly full of tricks. In any case, there was no way the Cui Family was completely innocent.
Cui Lang’s face was drenched with sweat, and he looked genuinely afraid. “The Prince Regent has been on the verge of madness these last few days. He’s locked down the city gate, and anyone who goes through is being interrogated. The rumor is that a relative of a high-ranking official is missing. Not only is he utilizing the country’s government and his own royal guards, he even put the Criminal Investigation Service’s brocade-clad guards to use! You must be really tired of living! To actually have the courage to kidnap his wife!”
Echul glowered from the scolding. “Well, what’s done is done.”
“Then why are you not freeing him yet?!”
“Why should I do that?” Echul gently pressed his whip against the palm of his hand and shrugged unconcernedly. “Just so happens I can use him to threaten Lin Bozhou~”
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.
“Threaten Lin Bozhou?” Cui Lang looked as if he was about to vomit a mouthful of blood. His expression was turning extremely dark, but he tried to pronounce each of his words clearly, “Echul, although you are Mao Chengchang’s adopted son, you were sent to the Cui compound as a hostage. These past few years, I have treated you well. Are you actually going to repay me and the Cui Family by putting us in mortal danger?”
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Cui Lang was trembling as he spoke.
As a bystander, Meng Huan was stumped. He felt that Cui Lang was still very righteous, youthful, and energetic, not at all crafty and fawning.
Echul was silent for a moment before saying, “What does who I kidnap have to do with you? This negative reputation will not fall on you. I will bear the consequences.”
“Wrong! As someone who watched you tie up and kill the Royal Control without stopping you, I could already be charged with collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country,” Cui Lang ran towards Meng Huan. “Release the man at once!”
But after he finished saying this, Echul dragged him back by the shoulder, yanking so hard that Cui Lang’s shoulder slammed against the door.
Echul looked both gloomy and murderous. “I’m telling you, what’s done is done. It is impossible for me to free him!”
As he said that, he strode forward and pulled up the chain that held Meng Huan. “If the worst comes to worst, I will leave now, and never burden your Cui family again!”
Cui Lang stood in place, looking devastated.
Echul’s clansmen came forward from behind him and led Meng Huan out of the door.
Behind him, Cui Lang shouted with rage, “The Prince Regent’s forces will be here soon! Where do you think you can run to?!”
Hearing the mention of ‘the Prince Regent,’ Meng Huan turned his head and glanced at him, but the rope around his waist tightened as he was yanked forward by Echul, making him stumble momentarily.
It was pouring in the courtyard and because they left in a haste, they were without rain gear, allowing the rainstorm to crash furiously onto their faces and drench their clothes. The rain slid down their necks and under the collars of their clothes, making the wet robes cling tightly against their skin
Echul’s gaze tilted back to look at Cui Lang. “For the three years I spent at the Cui compound, I am very indebted to your care. However, I will never yield to the Han Chinese, and when the time comes, I will fly back to my homeland, stretch out my wings that your people have broken, and become an eagle soaring in the sky.”
After a pause, he added, “Next time we meet, it may be when my army invades the capital. However, I will spare your life.”
He tugged Meng Huan forward and stepped into the rainstorm. “Goodbye.”
Their conversation finally came to an end.
As the rain drenched his hair, Meng Huan’s boots stepped into a muddy puddle. Hearing this, he knew that Echul had made up his mind about invading the Zong Dynasty.
What he had to do now was obviously leave the capital and regroup with the scattered Jurchen north of Liaodong.
The rain washed all over his body as the chill penetrated into his bones. Meng Huan’s teeth chattered and he felt cold all over, but this cold could not compare to the fear of what was to come.
If they really did take him out of the capital, how would Lin Bozhou find him?
Would he ever get the chance to come back?
The more things dragged on, the more variables would be added.
—He must not leave the capital.
But when Meng Huan slowed down even a little, he would be pulled by the rope. His shoes splashed in the muddy water, making the back of his feet sticky—it was not his choice whether or not he left.
After leaving the Cui compound, Meng Huan realized that the place where they were hiding was the Cui compound’s temple. Senior Cui’s wife was Buddhist, so the temple was built in the past, but since her death, it had been left to rot.
The Cui compound would no longer give them sanctuary, so they needed to hide elsewhere.
However, the streets were full of patrolling guards with heavy armor. Even during a heavy rainstorm, they did not relax and did not slack in their search.
Echul snorted, “Fuck, so I really kidnapped a Royal Consort? In all the years I have been in the capital, I have never seen so many soldiers before.”
His gaze turned to Meng Huan, who was silently hanging his head in the cold, wet rain. In this torrential storm, Meng Huan’s black hair was stuck to his fair face and pale lips, but his eyes remained bright, vanishing under his long, thick eyelashes that were as black as crow feathers.
Echul wasn’t sure what came over him, but he began speaking, “I really hate Lin Bozhou.”
“…” Meng Huan adjusted his breathing and kept his eyes low as rain fell into his eyes.
Who doesn’t hate Lin Bozhou?
“My hatred is different from that of the Han. Cui Lang also hates Lin Bozhou, but what he hates is the monopolized power the man has over the Emperor. I hate Lin Bozhou because he cleaned up the mess made by your imperial court in the past few years, and the treasury is so well stocked that he has money to spare military funds for Liaodong.”
He spat to the side and cursed, “Fucking shit!”
This was equivalent to creating an obstacle in their invasion of Liaodong.
To say more was to make more mistakes, so Meng Huan chose to remain silent.
But at this point, Echul could not resist asking, “He seems to care a lot about you if he’s willing to send so many people to search for you. What do you think?”
Meng Huan knew very well that saying anything positive about Lin Bozhou in front of Echul was equivalent to asking for trouble. He coughed and gave a vague response, “I am just someone who he snatched from the street and brought into his compound.”
“I know,” Echul gave him a strange look and said with a smile, “So that means I saved you from a pit of fire?”
Meng Huan was silent, not contributing to the conversation.
“It feels freaking amazing to see him unable to find you.” Echul scanned the street and ducked behind a wall with quick steps. Although he spoke with a wicked tongue, he stayed extremely observant.
In the rainstorm, they finally reached a house. An old man, who seemed to have been waiting for them, opened the door. “Come in quickly.”
Bang—
Meng Huan was shoved through the door by a harsh push. When his wet shoes landed on the ground, a tingling sensation shot down his back from the force. As he stood examining the humble house, Echul and the others finally relaxed and took off their sodden leather layers and dried their clothes by the stove.
They could rest for the time being.
Meng Huan’s strength had long been exhausted. Knowing his current position, he hugged his wet arms and squatted down in the corner of the room against the wall, silently wringing the water from his clothes with his fingers, trying to get his clothes to dry faster while minimizing his presence.
They were talking.
The old man was puzzled by Meng Huan’s presence. “How does Your Royal Highness plan to escape from the inner city? It might be feasible under disguise as a commoner or merchant, but you also have to take him along. There are people investigating everywhere, and as soon as he calls for help, Your Royal Highness will be discovered. Why not just kill him now?”
Meng Huan stopped wringing out his clothes.
Echul squeezed his frame into a battered chair. With his clothes off, half of his masculine back was on display. With a thoughtful look on his face, his dark shadow swayed with the flickering flames.
“No, his usefulness is much more important than a few of your lives. If possible, I hope he will stay alive over each and every one of you.”
His party members looked bemused.
Someone boldly questioned, “What kind of letter are we trying to forge?”
Echul dismissed coldly, “The less people know about this, the better.”
But after he said this, he rose from the narrow chair.
“…”
This dog Echul really needs to let Lin Bozhou take his anger out on him. I hope that Cui Lang will have enough brains to realise, that he has higher chances of staying alive if he immidiatly goes to inform Lin Bozhou, instead of hiding away.
I just got a mental image of Echul hanging up like a Mexican piñata, with a blindfolded Lin Bozhou swinging a stick at him 😄.
Why does this sound lowkey insulting to both of them 😂 no, but I imagined something similar, just with Echul kneeling, altough a pinata is good as well 😆
My inner child is a menace near a keyboard 😅
I hope someone around Cui Lang squeals on him to Lin Bozhou.
I hope “he came” means that Lin Bozhou will arrive in the the second part of the chapter! 😭😭
Cui lang if you value your life, you’d go and inform lin bozhou asap… Poor huan huan ><
It sure sounds like they’re advising Meng Huan to call for help as soon as Echul tries to leave with him.
Our babyboy must return to his home
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
Thank you!
For how long poor MH going to be tossed and pushed? QAQ
Thank You for the new chapter (๑˙❥˙๑)
Thanks very much for the chapter
Echul needs to go, like to hell lol
Lin Bozhou, please, save my Huan Huan
Thanks for the update