Chapter 137: The Young Marquis’ Absolute Defeat
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
Gumihou: This chapter is the reason why Gumi wants to translate this novel, hehe
Even after waiting for a long time, Fu Qiuning and the others did not come out of their rooms. There was really no reason for the ladies to explore the darkened courtyard or even to look outside. Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao had finished their homework earlier and were no longer in the study room. The children were, in fact, peacefully sleeping in their own rooms under Aunt Yu’s care. There was absolutely no reason for Fu Qiuning or Yu Jie to come out to the courtyard.
After waiting for a whole two hours, seeing no one come out to witness his performance, Yang Ming felt helpless. Finally, he had no choice but to float down from the wall and let out a shrill ghostly cry before floating back to the top of the roof.
As expected, this ghostly cry caught Fu Qiuning’s attention. It also frightened everyone within Night Breeze Pavilion who had not yet fallen asleep. However, instead of running out to investigate the source of the mournful cry, [1] the servants all huddled together under their sheets, not even daring to say anything. The more timid ones even covered their heads with their blankets like hunted pheasants.
What a pity that Fu Qiuning was not one of these people. Not only that, she had always felt that this series of unexpected events was just too odd. Thus, ignoring Yu Jie’s pitiful pleas, she shrugged on a silver-red cloak and stepped out of the house.
Yu Jie was indeed very frightened. However, she was even more frightened to think what the Master would do to her if she allowed the Madam to confront a g-ghost on her own. Therefore, she grabbed Fu Qiuning’s hand and trembled like jelly as she shuffled after her mistress. In fact, rather than saying she was there to protect her mistress, it was more like the Madam was protecting her.
“Which wronged soul is wandering around here now? Didn’t we already burn some paper money earlier?” Fu Qiuning mused as she walked into the courtyard. The cry just now was indeed very ghostly. Well, at least she was fairly sure it was not the wind. Aside from the fact that she had never heard the wind make such high-pitched sounds, there was almost no breeze that night. Especially during that spring season.
Yang Ming worked very hard and floated before them once more, pitching his voice high and warbling sadly, “Resentful death… resentful death, ah…”
As he warbled piteously, Yang Ming went ‘pei pei pei’ inside his heart, grumbling: God in heaven, ah. Please, please understand that I am just playing a role and not cursing myself, ah. No matter what, please don’t let me die a resentful death… pei pei pei, this crow’s beak…
“Resentful death?” Fu Qiuning frowned. She thought: Could this be the soul of the previously drowned concubine? Hmmm… [1]
“So what if you died a resentful death? Are you here because you need my help? Are you short of travelling money or need something else? So long as I can help, I will do my best,”
Aih, as a fellow woman, if I can help you, this poor wronged woman in this male chauvinist era, I will do my best.
Wh-what is going on? Help a ghost? Yang Ming nearly lost his footing and slipped off the tree. He thought: I have certainly learned a lot today. To think that there is such a woman in this world…
He turned towards the roof where the Young Marquis had hidden. The man was [1] clinging to the side of the roof desperately, obviously having lost his balance after hearing his wife’s outrageous words.
“Resentful death, ah… resentful death…” Yang Ming had no idea what else to do. He could only repeat his one line desperately in an increasingly high-pitched voice.
“What’s the use of you shouting here? Do you think you’ll get to rest in peace after shouting for a bit?” Fu Qiuning was starting to feel annoyed. This fellow’s performance was rather limited. If they had come here to perform, shouldn’t they put their heart and soul into it? Also, did you come here just to frighten people? I may not be afraid of you, but the servants here are literally shivering with fear, ah. Leave aside the superstitious ancient people, even in the modern era, there are more people who are afraid of ghosts than not, you know?
Yang Ming was on the verge of tears. He thought: If I don’t shout, what should I do, ah? Master, why won’t you tell me what to do through some secret voice transmission or something? Oh, that’s right, if the Young Marquis had this skill, he would probably play the flying ghost himself.
Just as Yang Ming was contemplating banging his head against the tree [1] and becoming an actual resentful ghost, he found that Fu Qiuning had sat down on the steps. She sighed and said, “I know, you must be that resentful ghost from this courtyard, right?”
Yang Ming: What? There are resentful souls inside Night Breeze Pavilion? No, wait, since the Madam had offered up such an excellent reason for his existence, there was no reason not to take it up. Therefore he quickly nodded and screeched, “Tis I—- resentful death, ah—-”
“Don’t shout, didn’t I say so earlier? Would shouting lead to a peaceful death?” Fu Qiuning interrupted crossly. Suddenly, she looked contemplative. She turned to Yu Jie and said, “Yu Jie, take a look at the ghost. Can you tell what kind of ghost she is?”
So long as there is one level-headed person to take charge of the situation, the people around would also gain some courage through osmosis. At the very least, Yu Jie was no longer as frightened as before. She carefully looked over the ghost and said doubtfully, “From that long tongue… I guess she must be a hanged ghost?”
Yang Ming felt a deep sense of desperation. It’s so scary to play a ghost, ah. If he continued down this road, it was unclear who would end up traumatized.
However, since the Young Marquis had no intention of giving up the ‘mission’, and Yang Ming was [1] too ashamed to run away without at least doing his best. Therefore, he could only brace himself, and bobbed up and down on the branch like a spectre, hoping that this would be enough to frighten the ladies.
“Are you really the ghost of the former mistress of this place?” Fu Qiuning sounded really doubtful.
[1] “… …” he stopped bobbing.“That’s not right, ah. Didn’t the former concubine here die from drowning? Wouldn’t she appear as a water ghost?” Fu Qiuning muttered to herself.
“… …” Yang Ming was confused. What former mistress? What former concubine? Drowning? Why are we talking about drowning now? Yang Ming’s nature as an Imperial Guard with nothing to do but eavesdrop and gossip about his masters was suddenly bristling with curiosity. To think that such an interesting thing happened in this place, ah!
“Ah, you must be another lost ghost. Is there a migration of ghosts or something? Well, I don’t think you belong here at all, ah, Miss Ghost. So please be on your way. If you need money, we can burn some for you too.”
[1] “!!!” I’m… a lost ghost now? When did this happen, ah!? Ah, but if I’m a lost ghost, surely it would not look weird if I were to retreat now?He cast a subtle glance at the roof where the Young Marquis was supposed to be hiding, but found that his employer was no longer there. He thought: Is this… a signal to retreat? Yes, it must be. Now that matters had arrived at that point, it was better to take the opportunity to escape while he could.
Thus, with a slight tap of his foot, and a ‘whoosh’, Yang Ming disappeared.
“Madam… she- she’s left? Just like that?” Yu Jie stared with wide eyes at the spot where the ghost had been floating at. “Could it be that she had really come to the wrong place?” Then, turning glittering eyes at her mistress, she gushed, “My Madam is too incredible. To drive a ghost away with just a few words… that’s a ghost, ah! An actual ghost, ah!”
Fu Qiuning was not quite as impressed with herself as Yu Jie. After seeing the ghost fly away, she thought: Why is this ghost so active? Here I thought ghosts prefer to slowly float around… [2b]
Finally, she dismissed the thought and turned to Yu Jie, “If you’re scared, you can sleep with me.”
As they move back to the room, Fu Qiuning could not help but ponder over the matter a little more. [1a] The early snake incident, the whooshing ghosts yesterday and the appearance of the hanging ghost today…
[1a] Even after they went to bed, Fu Qiuning spent a little more time staring at the ceiling, trying to decide the best course of action to take before ultimately rolling her eyes and turning to her side to sleep. Whatever, let’s just continue to play dumb. After all, as the saying goes ‘One cannot wake a person faking sleep’ [4], so long as she keeps pretending ignorance, no one could call her out on it. Yes, let’s just keep playing dumb and observe the farce of this man’s so-called promise. At this point, it is impossible for her to be disappointed with such a man, let’s just observe how far he is willing to sink.
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The next day, news about a ghost appearing at Night Breeze Pavilion began to spread. Yu Jie naturally would not spare an opportunity to brag about her mistress’ prowess, especially against a supernatural being. Her descriptions were especially vivid and colourful as she retold the tale to servants who have not seen the event with their own eyes. The listeners listened with such shocked amazement that their jaws nearly fell off their faces.
Consequently, when Jin Fengju finally entered Night Breeze Pavilion the next evening, he listlessly listened as the servants cheerfully chattered about last night’s events with each other.
Even so, [1b] Jin Fengju still played out his role and dramatically declared, “What? A ghost in Night Breeze Pavilion?” The Young Marquis frowned and said in a serious tone, “You are sure? How could a ghost suddenly appear? Could it be that this place is too inauspicious?”
The two servants he had been speaking with suddenly puffed up their chests, “No worries, no worries, there is no need for Young Marquis to worry. That ghost, ah. Second Madam spoke to it twice and it immediately fled away. Therefore, we are not afraid at all. The Fengshui at Night Breeze Pavilion is very good. We are certain it must be very auspicious. Otherwise, how could it cultivate such a clever and brave Madam and two little masters?”
Jin Fengju could not cough out the blood in his chest without looking suspicious and nearly caused himself some internal damage. He had no idea that the impact of Fu Qiuning’s direct approach would be so strong. For a moment, he had no idea how to verbalise the words roiling in his stomach. Privately, he cursed Yang Ming, thinking: Yang Ming, don’t tell me you’re actually a donkey in your past life? Qiuning tells you that you’ve gone the wrong way and you really pretended to have stepped into the wrong courtyard, but how did it turn into you fleeing away, ah? Heavens, ah. You’ve even managed to pull down a ghost’s face, ah.
As he privately gritted his teeth, he continued on his way and stepped into the living room. Fu Qiuning [3a] was sitting at the table, reading. Seeing him stepping in, she lowered the book and greeted, “The Young Marquis is here? Yu Jie, tea.”
Ignoring everything else, Jin Fengju asked, “What are you reading?” This was the first time he saw Fu Qiuning with a book. Generally, she would be doing some kind of needlework or embroidery. Therefore, he was a little curious.
“Just some anecdotes about the fantastic,” said Fu Qiuning [3a] as she tapped the book with her finger.
Jin Fengju nodded. Then, in a serious tone, said, “I heard that a ghost appeared at Night Breeze Pavilion. Just what is going on?”
“Well, according to the book, though ghosts do exist in this world, they could only be seen under special circumstances. Such as when yin-yang energy collides. Most ghostly anecdotes were just people playing dress-up and pranking other people. Furthermore, tsk, a lot of incidents are due to a person’s conscience. The so-called ‘harbouring ghosts in their hearts’, made them see ‘ghosts’. What does the Young Marquis think?”
As Fu Qiuning spoke, Yu Jie continued to set the table up for tea. [3b] Even as the tea and snacks were being set up, Fu Qiuning’s eyes never left Jin Fengju’s face.
It was unclear whether it was really an attack of the conscience or, as Fu Qiuning put it, him ‘harbouring ghosts in his heart’, but Jin Fengju had the impression that Fu Qiuning’s eyes were piercing through him. His heart thumped, but, [1] like a true politician, his expression did not waver. He even smiled and said, “Qiuning is right. There are many cases of people frightening themselves. However, I must say that the servants here have really been influenced by you. Each one of them is quite courageous.”
Fu Qiuning’s smiled gently, her eyes moving from Jin Fengju to look at Jin Ming. However, how could a follower of the illustrious Young Marquis be so easily bullied? After all, he had followed this master through many life-and-death situations. Even as Jin Ming’s heart started to pick up the pace, his face remained calm. However, if he could see himself right now, he would have ordered himself to appear less tense.
[Gumihou: I enjoyed this, hohohohoho. Also, this is the main reason why I have been yeeting AR Qiuning. Can you imagine ‘AR kyaa kyaa~ tee hee~’ Qiuning behaving like the above?]
[1] Add detail – just random stuff for dramatic purposes [1a] Added details to lead FQN’s thoughts in the right direction. There’s a feeling as though the author is playing chicken with FQN’s IQ, wanting her to be intelligent but not so intelligent.
The lines in this note perfectly explain Fu Qiuning’s actions without resorting to spirit possession. AR ‘kyaa kyaa’ Qiuning is really not needed here.
[1b] Solo Drama time for surname Jin [2] Deleted: [2a] Deleted ‘If it’s me, I’d be angered sick, humph!’, like, dude, way to hand ammunition to the enemy… [2b] Deleted a bunch of pointless thoughts about ‘Nyeh? Ghosts go whoosh? Why? Hm? Don’t they float?’ [3] Replacements: [3a] In place of a ‘immediately got up and beam, very happy, yay! AR Qiuning’, replaced her with a suspicious FQN as per [1a] [3b] Replace ‘FQN took over pouring tea’ with ‘FQN sitting in place and staring holes into JFJ’. Also, she remained seated and did not smile or beam at JFJ. The atmosphere that the author is going for cannot be created if there are too many ‘jumping up’ and ‘smiling happily at the other’. [4] ‘One cannot wake a person faking sleep’I made up this idiom myself, found this saying when scrolling through one of those summaries of movies. A girl was raped while her boyfriend was ‘sleeping soundly’ next to her. Later, she realised that the boyfriend must be faking sleep, because only a person faking sleep could not be woken up. Just like a person faking dumb could not be ‘enlightened’.
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