Chapter 298: Earthquake
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Gumihou
To give you an idea of just how ‘I don’t give a fxck’ the author being:
“It’s an earthquake.”
Fu Qiuning suddenly shouted out loud…
“是地震。”
傅秋宁猛然喊了出来…
Gumihou: The above is canon, down to the ‘…’
[1] “… …” Fu Qiuning had no idea what to say after that long and excessive explanation.
After his speech, Jin Fengju turned to embrace Fu Qiuning, clearly proud of his own rhetoric as he declared, “No matter what, the Emperor had been an emperor for decades. None of the princes would ever dare to oppose him openly. If the Crown Prince had acted quickly and seized the throne during the Emperor’s absence, he might have had a chance of success; however, the window of opportunity had closed. Right now, the Emperor is just waiting, letting the scoundrel gather the rope to hang himself.”
Fu Qiuning made some sympathetic noises, “How unfortunate. No wonder they say that those born to an imperial family lead a hard life. What’s the point of all the scheming between fathers, sons and everyone else?”
“Although all that is true, the Emperor still requires an heir. I can only hope that my brother-in-law does not follow that old man’s path. Thankfully, my nephew is an intelligent one and was often praised by the Emperor. Brother-in-law also promises to make him the Crown Prince once he ascends the throne. That way, the position will be secured and other princes would not harbour rebellious thoughts.”
That remark only elicited a sceptical eyebrow from Fu Qiuning. Emperor Kang, hailed as one of the greatest emperors in China with a reign of 61 years, also had trouble securing his successor, with his favourite son turning out to be a pedophile, forming cliques and being stripped of his crown prince status twice. In fact, according to history, the issue of who the next crown prince might be was so prevalent it even disrupted imperial court activities… [2]
[3] Although… considering Mister Brother-in-law’s level of intelligence and Jin Fengju’s tendency to meddle in the court’s affairs despite all his big talk, the next emperor would be decided by the Jin family in the end.
[3] In short, not her problem.
[3] Her silence must have provoked something again because Jin Fengju suddenly laughed out loud and said, “Naturally, there is no need for you to worry. I promise you, when the time comes, I shall take you travelling and enjoy all there is to see in the world. Qiuning, ah, although I have my ambitions, I have already done a lot these past few years. So long as my brother-in-law’s affairs are settled, I shall consider my life’s ambition fulfilled. I shall spend the remaining time travelling with you and the children. We shall explore the mountains and lakes of Daning, just as we did on Dongfang Island. What do you think?”
Fu Qiuning gave the man a look. There was an expectant expression on his face. What was he hoping for? A reward for making plans without consulting her? [4] Again?
[4] The smile on Jin Fengju’s face wavered for a second before bobbing up again. Before she could react, he darted forward to kiss her on the lips and said affectionately, “I have let you down once before; I will not let you down a second time. Things like power and status do not interest me. Speaking of which, the night is still young. With your belly still quiet, I should work harder…”
[4] Fu Qiuning stiffened, “We already did it once…”
[4] Instead of listening to her, he laughed and slid a hand up her dress…
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In the blink of an eye, an entire month passed by.
The Capital remained under heavy guard as the power struggles between various factions brewed beneath the surface. Someone said [5] something about Prince Rong’s army slowly approaching the capital and how it was evidence that the struggle for the crown prince position was coming to a close.
[5] To be honest, Fu Qiuning didn’t even know that Prince Rong even had his own army. When did this happen? After pondering it for a while, she dismissed the thought. It had nothing to do with her anyway.
[5] Jin Fengju said something about how the Crown Prince may have all the initiative, but that aside from those aligned with Prince Rong, many still refused to align with the Crown Prince. Jin Fengju sounded especially gleeful when he explained that the emperor still held great authority, and how, without an explicit decree, no one dared to say that the Crown Prince would actually take the crown.
[5a] Personally, in Fu Qiuning’s personal opinion, everyone within this so-called Great Ning dynasty just doesn’t have enough brain cells to rub together to generate an intelligent thought. It had been more than a month since the Emperor had gone missing. Nothing much had happened since the Emperor’s army had been parked just outside the Capital and the Emperor ‘hidden’ within the Jin Estate’s so-called Imperial Garden.
[5a] The fact that nothing had happened convinced Fu Qiuning that the Crown Prince was just as stupid as the rest of the people in this world. And that, rather than prudence, it was the sheer inability to think for themselves that the officials of this Great Ning Dynasty were unable to do anything during the entire month of their emperor’s having disappeared from sight.
The only other thing of note was Madam Jiang’s birthday.
[6] Madam Jiang became a devout Buddhist one day when, on one of her birthdays, her mother became gravely ill. Madam Jiang set out for the temple to pray for her mother’s recovery. On the way, she encountered a group of beggars and handed out generous alms to the poor. According to Madam Jiang, when she later returned home, she found that her mother’s health had gradually improved.
[6] “…from then on, I will pray at the temple every year on my birthday. However, because my husband, son and important court officials are involved, I am unwilling to trouble them to send me off. Naturally, once Wanying entered the household, we would go and worship Buddha together…”
[6] It was something that Madam Jiang would mention nearly every day in the week leading up to her birthday every year. Fu Qiuning had already heard it over a dozen times and had zoned out of the conversation even as the rest of the ladies gasped and praised Madam Jiang in all the right places, treating the tale as though it was something new and fresh.
[7] “Ah, but to think Fengju would insist on coming with me this time…”
[7] This time, the titter was genuine as the women in the room gasped with awe and surprise.
[7] “Goodness, I tried to decline him, but he insisted. Fengju is even planning to bring Qiuning and the children along-”
[7a] Fu Qiuning cast a look at Jiang Wanying, who was looking bored and waving a fan lazily to her face. As though feeling Fu Qiuning’s stare, Jiang Wanying turned to her and said to the room in general, “I have a headache.”
[7a] “… …”
[7a] “I fear this headache will be a full-blown migraine tomorrow.”
[7a] Right, fine.
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In the end, the party that came with Madam Jiang to the temple included Jin Fengju, Fu Qiuning, Concubine Cui, as well as all the children. Seeing her son’s wife, the remaining two concubines, as well as all of his children, Jiang Wanying’s absence was even more pronounced.
Madam Jiang sighed, thinking: Has Fengju and Wanying’s fate truly reached its end? In the past, no matter what happened, Wanying would always make sure to accompany me. Why would she suddenly have a headache today?
After mulling over the matter for some time, Madam Jiang shook the thoughts out of her head and stepped into the temple. [8] Perhaps some more time praying to the Buddha will clear her head.
Fu Qiuning followed after her mother-in-law, trying to ignore Jin Fengju’s twitching eyebrows. She finally looked at him, receiving a ‘meaningful’ look from him before he glanced around in a very obvious manner and ducked away behind a building. Jin Ming [8] was conspicuous in his absence, and Fu Qiuning could only guess what mysterious plan these men were concocting with this ‘temple trip’.
[8] According to novel and TV drama logic, temple trips never ended peacefully. One would think that temples were a place rife with kidnappers, thieves, traitors and other despicable human filth. A short while later, she heard the sound of hoof beats and had to roll her eyes before pretending not to notice the rapidly disappearing sound to kneel beside her mother-in-law to pray.
Madam Jiang was already praying in earnest and muttering scriptures under her breath. Concubine Cui was also praying sincerely next to her. [8] From what Fu Qiuning had heard, to fill the void left in her life [8a] now that Jin Fengju had completely lost interest in her, Concubine Cui had turned to religion. She recited scriptures day and night, as though trying to achieve Nirvana.
[8a] Beside Concubine Cui, Jin Xiufen was also praying, with an open scroll in front of her. A closer observation showed that the girl had half memorised the scroll’s contents and was on her way to becoming a little nun. An odd feeling surged within Fu Qiuning as she looked at this mother-daughter pair who had been abandoned by the man in their life.
[8a] The very same man who had bedded her yesterday despite her protest. Would she be the abandoned one in the future, once she had grown older and her body had grown out of shape? She had seen dramas where a man promised to have one woman in his life, only to take a fresh girl in once the children were grown, citing how ‘men have rights’ as they did so. Sure, Jin Fengju was showering her with love now, but what about five years later? Ten? Fifteen?
[8a] Not even duty could induce a man to show favour to the ones he had once had a relationship with. He was the one who had brought these women into his harem, had children with them, and later abandoned them once they were of no interest to him.
[8a] As she watched Jin Xiufen desperately trying to mimic her mother’s fervent reciting, Fu Qiuning resolved to make sure that these two should at least have the wealth and comfort one should enjoy after having married into a so-called noble house. Pining after a man who barely gave a thought to their lives was no way to live.
After a while, Madam Jiang rose to her feet. Fu Qiuning looked up, admiring the effortless way the older woman had gotten up from a kneeling position. The slight ache in her knees and calves almost sent her down to the floor, but at least she got to her feet by herself, which was a win in her eyes.
Madam Jiang spoke [10] as she led the way out of the main temple through the exit, “Let us go to the back of the temple. Each year, I come to sweep the [9] stupa on my day of birth. All of you are still young and restless; there is no need to come with me. You may go and explore the back mountain. We shall have a vegetarian lunch at the temple. I have also asked the masters to make a few hundred catties of steamed buns to be distributed to the beggars at the bottom of the mountain…”
[10] True to her pious nature, Madam Jiang immediately cut her commentary short at the sight of other shrines housing different Buddha statues. She immediately paid respect to the nearest one, so, of course, the rest of the ladies with her did the same. They all bowed and prayed to each statue, making their way slowly towards the stupa, which was located right at the end of the hallway.
[10] By the time they reached the actual stupa, the sun was already high in the sky.
It was also then that Madam Jiang finally noticed that Jin Fengju was missing. [10] Flustered, she asked, “Where is Fengju?”
[10] Fu Qiuning shrugged. She truly had no idea where her golden child went.
[10] After looking around anxiously for a moment, Madam Jiang laughed to herself and said, “That child must have some urgent matters to attend to. Goodness, this is why I told him there was no need to accompany me.”
[10] The other women quickly made soothing, agreeable noises at Madam Jiang, hoping to calm her nerves. As for Fu Qiuning, she maintained her silence, already losing interest in this elaborate play that Jin Fengju and the Emperor insisted on conducting between themselves.
[10] “There is no need for any of you to accompany me,” Madam Jiang continued. “You may go off and entertain yourself while I sweep the stupa.”
[10] Entertain themselves how?
[10] There was really nothing else to do within a temple aside from strolling the grounds and looking at various statues and trees, or sweeping the stupa. Concubine Cui was the first to vehemently volunteer herself, followed by her daughter. Soon, it was decided that everyone should go and sweep the stupa together.
[9a] A stupa is a type of monument or structure typically used for meditation, prayer, and veneration. The shape and design can vary, but they often consist of a dome-shaped structure on a square or circular base with a spire or pinnacle on top. As a devout Buddhist, Madam Jiang considered sweeping the stupa to be a meritorious and auspicious activity that can bring blessings and positive karma.
[10] As the ancient era ladies began to diligently sweep the stupa for positive vibes, Fu Qiuning shrugged to herself and decided to participate in the activity too. No harm in farming some good karma for the future.
[10] Every now and then, the ladies would pause before a religious relic or statue and pay their respects before continuing on. As for the children, since it was their first time in such a place, they were all naturally curious.
[11] As the eldest, Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao took charge of the younger children. Jin Xiufen stayed with her mother, Concubine Cui, diligently sweeping the stupa with Madam Jiang. The only child she had to keep a keen eye on was Jin Zhenyi, who darted around the various statues and nearly got into trouble several times.
[11] When it was time to leave, Madam Jiang led the way, followed by Concubine Cui, Jin Xiufen, Jin Changjiao and Jin Changfeng. The rest of the children followed, with Fu Qiuning making sure that all the children were accounted for from the back.
[12] That was when it happened.
[11] Jin Zhenxuan suddenly looked up and said, “I dropped something,” and ran back into the stupa.
[11] As the others waited, the earth suddenly shook.
[11] “This…”
[11] “Earthquake!!” Madam Jiang shrieked.
[11] “Brother Xuan!!” Jin Zhenyi shouted and ran into the stupa.
[11] For a moment, Fu Qiuning just stood in place, stunned by the absolute stupidity of the situation. Then, while cursing herself, fate, and Jin Fengju for suggesting this super suspicious trip, she picked up her skirts and dashed towards the doorway.
[11] Of course, the moment she cleared the doorway into the stupid stupa, a huge chunk of rock fell and blocked the way out. She grabbed both boys by their collars and dashed towards the sturdiest-looking bit of the structure inside. The main altar that was set right in the middle of the floor. Hopefully, the only thing that would fall on them would be the roofing and just a bit of the wall…
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Jin Fengju, Jin Ming, and two young servants rode swiftly to meet their guard team after taking half of the soldiers from the capital’s garrison with them. The Crown Prince’s generals were puzzled by Jin Fengju’s sudden appearance in a different location than planned. The original plan was for Jin Fengju to lead his trusted men to meet the imperial carriage, but his unexpected presence raised suspicions among the generals, hinting at a potential change or unknown factor in the situation.
[Gumihou: Oh, geez, I don’t know…]
[1] Fu Qiuning doubting JFJ’s intelligence, because, seriously?
[2] More on Emperor Kangxi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_Emperor
[3] Actual intelligent thoughts from Fu Qiuning instead of whatever Teen Squee Ning is thinking
[4] Deleted kissing scenes. It’s all very squee. Basically I kith you, you kith me and we fck!
[5] Random Information that was just thrown in justified as ‘Random Rumours’
[5a] Actual intelligent counter thoughts
[6] Another random, tedious fact that doesn’t contribute much to the plot
[7] Replaced this unnatural scene: But this time, her son seemed different. He insisted on accompanying her to the temple, even bringing along Fu Qiuning and the children. Although Madam Jiang initially declined their offer to come with her, they persisted. Seeing her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren all expressing a unanimous desire to go, Madam Jiang’s heart softened, and she finally agreed.
Blah, blah, blah tacked on excuse for a thingy blah
[7a] Jiang Wanying being intelligent instead of just more blah, blah, reasons, blah
[8] Added details that were just skimmed over for JFJ’s dramatic ‘plan’ or whatever
[8a] Instead of ‘inevitable jealousy’ let’s go with ‘void in her life’. Remove a big show of ‘aww big sad~~’ from St Qiuning and went with more realistic anxiety instead.
[9] Stupa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uspcCmGxkGE
[9a] Embedded extra details on stupa into the novel
[10] Shockingly boring lines glossing over a bunch of stuff before suddenly, something IMPORTANT happened!!
[11] Realistic children shenanigens instead of 1D plot devices.
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