A step into the past - 寻秦记 - by Huang Yi

[Gravitzz]

Good luck Jean. Hope everything is ok with you and the baby.

[KChill]

Hope everything is going well, Jean-Er!

[aliderhamy]

Wow 2 pages of best wishes :-)
jean your a star...

I hope you experiance the same success with your baby as u did translating for us. your a real talent jean, enjoy your well earned break from work (sleepless nights ).

[Eagle]

Jean,

All the best and post pictures of your baby(ies).

[Goobernaculum]

Congratulations on your baby Jean!
I hope you're prepared for minimal hours of sleep in the next few months

[Encaitar]

Yeah, hope everything's alright with you and your baby. Like what the rest said, have some proper rest and all.

[LiarLiar]

Best wishes, Jean.

[yongbifan]

best wishes jean

[akolaw]

Best wishes, Jean.

[darkcser]

Good luck.

If this is your first I would recommend buying tie-on mitts or one of those outfits that cover the hands. Babies tend to scratch themselves in the first couple of days.

Also keep in mind that despite how peaceful they seem at the hospital in the first few days, it'll be quite different when they go home. I suspect that they're not very hungry the first couple of days or just don't know what to do even if they are hungry. It's probably a good thing since milk expression might take a couple of days.

[yeongwee]

Oops I missed the post when you were in hospital. Congratulations and may your baby grow up to be as beautiful as Wu Tingfang, as talented as Ji Yanran, and as effectively bilingual as yourself. Err, she's a girl right? =)

[dewyloony123]

Best wishes and congratulations, Jean!

[balikpapan]

Hi, Jean:
My friend just has a baby as well. She told me to never visit her about a month, because of those sleepless nights. So, I understand that it will take you about the same time to fully recover. Maybe...

Congrats, Jean. First child is always a treasure. Just like me

[eliza bennet]

Jean, I hope that the delivery was as painless as it can be and that you and the baby are both fine.

It would be great to hear from you and knowing that you will have very little time in your hands to actually do something for yourself - but you'll be so happy everytime you looked at your baby, the whole thing will be worth it insaallah.

And

Congrats, Jean. First child is always a treasure. Just like me

Oh yes me too

[aliderhamy]

Hey everyone...
should we have some discusion on the book while jean is away ?
im missing the updates, maybe we can help each other through by sharing opinions and ideas we get from the text.

[Han Solo]

Hey everyone...
should we have some discusion on the book while jean is away ?
im missing the updates, maybe we can help each other through by sharing opinions and ideas we get from the text.

I hope and pray that Jean and baby is healthy, happy and getting plenty of sleep.

Waiting a few weeks or months is no problem at all, i had waited a couple of years between SOD translations before.

Han Solo

[yeongwee]

Waiting a few weeks or months is no problem at all, i had waited a couple of years between SOD translations before.

Oh yes, I remember those days... checking Lanny's site, and then checking the reading room once every few months with some sliver of hope that there'll be a new entry somewhere... come to think of it, the volume of translations nowadays is actually unprecedented... Ah if only these good days can go on forever =)

Once again, BIG THANK YOU to all the translators and editors!!

[Jean]

hey guys.... finally back at my own home after staying with my mum for 2 weeks. Not sure how to insert picture, but here's the link to my bb girl at 1.5 weeks old. She took a really long time to come out and I had to go for c-section in the end to evict her because she refused to move out.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/...d7063f6e_o.jpg

And some good news.... here's some translation which I completed before I popped.

************************************************** **

Book 5 Chap 8 – The secret about Ying Zheng

Xiang Shaolong sat alone in the garden in his Hidden Dragon Abode, a manmade fountain spurting water from the stone, forming a winding stream through the rocks. By now the stream is almost turning into ice, with only a small portion of water still flowing in the middle, looking extremely intriguing.

Wu Tingfang and the rest all dared not disturb him.

Thoughts rolled in his mind as he thought of how he first met Zhao Ya on the streets on Handan, how he conquered her in his own way. He also thought of how Zhao Mu touched her all over in the carriage, of how aroused she was with all his ministrations. That there are already premonitions that she will develop feelings for someone else, because she cannot defend herself from any man’s flirtations at all.

She is just following her heart, not caring about right or wrong, or else she won’t have been so intimate with Zhao Mu knowing fully well that he is causing harm to the country and the people, until he has treated her so badly before she left him. If it were Zhao Ni or Zhao Qian, they would not have gone against him under such threats.

But he still trusted her, upon seeing her pretty and wonderful side, he truly believed her honeyed words.

Of course, if he is still planning to stay on in Zhao, maybe their relationship could have continued. But now it has been proven that she cannot withstand the test of benefits and lust.

People of this era all likes to use ‘trickery of the heart’, the higher the position of the person, the more so.

Cheng Xu who had once gone through thick and thin with him would do a sudden turnabout now caused him much heartache.

Many in this world are those who add salt to wounds, very rare are those who come to help when one is in need.

As he became lost in his thoughts, he was unconsciously following the Mohist meditation technique to stop his thoughts and he immediately felt better. He was suddenly jolted by the sounds of footsteps, it turned out that Tao Fang has come to look for him.

He saw the look of delight on his old friend’s face, who came up to him, swept off the thin layer of snow on the huge rock next to him, sat down and said, “That lad is even lousier than imagined, he’s finally confessed.”

Xiang Shaolong counted the time, if they started the questioning from yesterday, they have at least bombarded him with questions for more than 30 hours, which is not something that one can easily hold up against. He asked happily, “What inside news have you found out?”

Tao Fang was a little miffed as he answered, “Actually he’s only a messenger, and has no idea what is Zhao Mu’s background at all. He purely reports verbally what is happening in Chu and then he’ll relay Zhao Mu’s words back to Chu’s Prince Wen Xin, Chu Leng, who is a top official whom the King of Chu trusts.”

Xiang Shaolong asked, “What is Zhao Mu’s message this time?”

Tao Fang replied, “He only asked Prince Wen Xing to send someone over with gifts 3 months later, only this point is a little unique. The rest are all normal recent news like the one regarding Xiao Weimou’s death.”

Xiang Shaolong had a thought and asked, “Is he still being questioned now?”

Tao Fang replied, “Of course! I was afraid he was lying so I followed your instructions and kept forcing him to repeat the details to see if anything does not correspond.”

Xiang Shaolong asked, “Has he ever been to Handan in the past?”

Tao Fang shook his head, “It’s the first time he made contact with Zhao Mu. In order to avoid suspicions, I believe they send different people here every time.”

Xiang Shaolong asked, “How long does it take at the fastest to travel between Chu and Zhao?”

Tao Fang said, “If it’s a rushed journey on a quick horse, and because there are many checkpoints along the way, just the journey alone will take 2 months. That’s why I suspect that this person is lying.”

Xiang Shaolong is adept at spying techniques and said with a smile, “No, he is not lying, this is a secret message that will prevent others from forcing the information out. 3 months may be half the time actually meant, in fact he is referring to half a year. Sending gifts over meant the opposite, I’ve already thought that if Zhao Mu is sent here by the state of Chu, he will never let the ‘Secret Manual of Lu Gong’ fall into the hands of the Zhaos, so the real meaning is he wants the Chus to send over skilled exponents in half a year’s time to steal the secret manual. Zhao Mu is really loyal to the state of Chu.”

Tao Fang was enlightened, “So the words all meant the opposite, it’s taking gifts, not giving gifts. The Chus are really wily, and Prince Wen Xing already knows that the ‘gift’ refers to so he will know once he hear the message.”

Xiang Shaolong’s eyes shone, “Most importantly we have to find out who he pretended to be when he came to Handan and what are the ways he used to make contact, the more details the better. I was just worrying that I won’t be able to kill Zhao Mu but this trip will really prove to be exciting.”

Tao Fang is beginning to understand his thinking and left excitedly.

Tao Fang had just left and Jing Jun came looking for him, looking totally dispirited.

************************************************** *****

[Ren Wo Xing]

Welcome back Jean! And hah! Does that kid ever look happy to be outta there/you

Hope all is well!

[Hoju!]

She is beautiful, Jean! And she looks so happy. Congratulations!!