The Deer and The Cauldron

[littleli]

Afterwards also he haven't changed the dress.. We should not search logic in movies or novels that too this minute, we will miss the enjoyment, Thanks foxs for finishing book1.. I will post an unabridged thread sometime later..

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the update foxs.

[Ace High]

I wonder how nobody noticed WXB smelling of urine after he pissed himself, twice.

Its a normal thing for a eunuch to be smell of urine...

For a long time after castration, many young eunuchs wet their beds and themselves. No notice of this was taken for a time, but a long continuance of the problem resulted in severe floggings, which were continued until the habit was broken or outgrown. Thus, the Chinese spoke of them behind their backs as "stinking eunuchs," and claimed they could smell one a mile and a half away. A common expression used for a normal person who offended the nose was, "He's smelly as a eunuch".

[myko85]

Its a normal thing for a eunuch to be smell of urine...

For a long time after castration, many young eunuchs wet their beds and themselves. No notice of this was taken for a time, but a long continuance of the problem resulted in severe floggings, which were continued until the habit was broken or outgrown. Thus, the Chinese spoke of them behind their backs as "stinking eunuchs," and claimed they could smell one a mile and a half away. A common expression used for a normal person who offended the nose was, "He's smelly as a eunuch".

Wow I never knew that. Thanks for sharing!

[littleli]

Thanks AceHigh for the clarification, appreciate for sharing this cultural fact, now understanding of the novel is even more deeper..

[morbiuz666]

Its a normal thing for a eunuch to be smell of urine...

For a long time after castration, many young eunuchs wet their beds and themselves. No notice of this was taken for a time, but a long continuance of the problem resulted in severe floggings, which were continued until the habit was broken or outgrown. Thus, the Chinese spoke of them behind their backs as "stinking eunuchs," and claimed they could smell one a mile and a half away. A common expression used for a normal person who offended the nose was, "He's smelly as a eunuch".

Lol yeah just saw a documentary on eunuchs recently and this problem was mentioned too. Thanks for sharing Ace High.

Saw your pm foxs, no worries about it

To echo (parrot maybe lol!) some observations made, our little runt is very much a product of his upbringing. I mean honestly a kid born and bred in a brothel is bound to pick up quite a dirty vocabulary and the adults around him are hardly good behaviour role models too. He's a sly, sneaky, glib tongued rogue with a broad streak of yellow; the perfect attributes to survive and succeed in his environments! Curse when you're out of arm's reach, run and dodge around when chased and through it all large doses of idle flattery all around. His treatment of the junzhu so far although highly unorthodox and rude is really quite mild overall. His touching did not have sexual urges to drive it I think. He's probably used to seeing adults behaving frivolously all the time without having actual knowledge of the birds and the bees I guess so his actions are keeping in tune with his rascally can't lose nature.

Sorry for the long boring yarn everyone (methinks there be snoring from the row over there ;P) and in case I don't come visit anytime soon, an advanced Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

[foxs]

Banh Mi, Sky, Myko and Morbiuz, thanks for stopping by. Littleli, thanks for helping, I made a small correction per Ace's suggestion, it's Regional Commander of the Office of Record, please update Part 9. Ace, thanks for your info, as always.

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Chapter 11 - At the end of spring, a shadow departs the small courtyard; in the night, light garment emitting faint fragrance.
(Translated by Foxs)

Xiao Junzhu giggled, she lifted the quilt and got down from the bed. "My acupoints have been unsealed early on," she said with a laugh, "I have been waiting for a long time, why are you back only now?"

Wei Xiaobao was puzzled, "Who unsealed your acupoints?" he asked.

Xiao Junzhu replied, "Sealed acupoints will open after twelve, fourteen hours, no need for anybody to open it. I'll help you to the bed, and then I'll go."

Wei Xiaobao was very anxious, "You can't, you can't!" he called out, "The scars on your face haven't healed yet. I must apply some medicine on you before you will be healed completely.

Xiao Junzhu giggled and said, "You are really bad, always deceive people. When did you carve my face? You made me worry for half a day."

"How do you know?" Wei Xiaobao asked.

"I was able to get down the bed early on and looked at the mirror," Xiao Junzhu replied, "There is nothing on my face."

Wei Xiaobao looked at her face and noticed that it was bright, spotlessly white and soft; the bean paste, lotus seed paste and other things he applied on her face had been washed clean, he felt quite regretful, "I was in such a rush that I did not look at her face first, if I had seen that she had washed her face, whatever it was, I would never come close to her." he said, "It was because I applied my miracle cure on you, naturally you will be healed. Otherwise, why would I go to buy more pearls for you? I went to jewelry stores all around Beijing before I can find these two strings of pearls. I also bought a pair of exceptionally pretty toys for you."

"What kind of toys?" Xiao Junzhu asked hastily.

Wei Xiaobao said, "Unseal my acupoints first, then I'll get it for you."

"Alright!" Xiao Junzhu said. She was just stretching out her hand to unseal his acupoints when suddenly she saw he was rolling his eyes incessantly; her heart was moved. She laughed and said, "I almost fell into your trick. If I unseal your acupoints, you won't let me go."

"Can't be, can't be," Wei Xiaobao busily said, "A real man gave his words, that horse cannot chase it."

"You mean 'team of four horses cannot chase it'!" Xiao Junzhu said, "What do you mean 'that horse cannot chase it'?"

"That horse can run faster than a team of four horses," Wei Xiaobao replied, "If that horse cannot chase it, naturally a team of four horses cannot chase it even more."

Xiao Junzhu did not know which horse he was talking about, she was half believing half doubting; she said, "'That horse cannot chase it', this is the first time I've ever heard it."

"Now you have learned it," Wei Xiaobao said, "These toys are very amusing, one is male, the other female."

"Are they rabbits?" Xiao Junzhu asked.

Wei Xiaobao shook his head, "No, they are not. They are ten times more fun than rabbits."

"Are they goldfish?" Xiao Junzhu asked.

Wei Xiaobao shook his head vigorously, "What's so fun about goldfish?" he said, "These toys are a hundred times more fun than goldfish."

Xiao Junzhu guessed several more toys, all were incorrect. She said, "Take it out quickly! What is it?"

Wei Xiaobao wanted to lure her into unsealing his acupoints first, he said, "As soon as you unseal my acupoints, I will show it to you."

Xiao Junzhu shook her head, "No, can't do. I am leaving now, Gege has not seen me, he must be very worried."

"Your acupoints have been opened for a long time," Wei Xiaobao said, "Why haven't you left? Why must you wait for me?"

Xiao Junzhu said, "You are kind enough to buy me some pearls, I must thank you first and say goodbye to you. If I simply leave without saying anything, won't I be too unfair to other people?"

Wei Xiaobao sniggered in his belly; "Turns out this little miss is a little idiot; Mu Palace people are blockheads, they are really not being surnamed incorrectly." He said, "That's right, I was so worried that being alone, you might be afraid in here, so I desperately ran along the streets, I wanted to buy the pearls as soon as possible, but looking from store to store, I couldn't find any that met my satisfaction, I was very anxious in my heart, I tumbled down several times."

"Aiyo!" Xiao Junzhu cried out softly, "Are you hurt?"

With distressed look on his face Wei Xiaobao said, "One time, I fell and hit a big stone on the pit of my stomach, the pain was unbearable."

"Are you feeling better now?" Xiao Junzhu asked.

Wei Xiaobao groaned several times, "My injury is not light, it is getting more and more painful. You ... you ... sealed my acupoints and unwilling to unseal it, my ... my ... my breath can't ... can't ... can't come up ... I ... I ..." His voice was getting lower and lower, suddenly his eyeballs rolled until only the white part was visible, as if he fainted, his breathing also stopped.

Xiao Junzhu reached out to feel his breathing, and indeed he was not breathing; she was shocked. "Ah!" she cried out; with a trembling voice she asked, "How can you die?"

Wei Xiaobao said intermittenly, "You have ... have mistakenly ... mistakenly sealed my ... sealed my death ... death acupoint."

"It can't be, it can't be," Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "Shifu taught me acupoint sealing technique, it can't be wrong. I clearly sealed your Ling Xu and Bu Liang, two acupoints, and also Tian Chi[1] acupoint."

Wei Xiaobao said, "You ... you were flustered, you sealed ... sealed the wrong acupoint. Aiyo! The chi and blood in my body are welling up, the channels of chi are reversed, my world is turning upside down, I suffer from fire ... fire ..."

"Fire deviation?" Xiao Junzhu said.

"Exactly," Wei Xiaobao said, "Aiyo! How can you be so muddleheaded? You haven't properly mastered the acupoint sealing technique, but randomly and blindly use it on my body? You did not seal any Ling Xu or Bu Liang acupoints, but you sealed my death acupoint. I am ninety percent sure it was the death acupoint!" He did not know any acupoint names, otherwise he would have mentioned the name of several fatal acupoints.

Xiao Junzhu was still very young, naturally she had not mastered her family's martial art skill. Acupoint sealing technique was indeed very difficult and complicated; there are several hundred major acupoints in human body, located only several fen away from each other. In a great rush, it was not uncommon to seal the wrong acupoint. However, she had received directions from good master, and was very familiar with the locations of these three acupoints. Although her strength was somewhat lacking, the acupoints she was sealing was not the slightest bit incorrect. It's just that it was a new skill and this was the first time she used it, hence she did not have too much self-confidence. With Wei Xiaobao looking so distressed, and his acting was extremely believable, she thought she had indeed mistakenly sealed the fatal acupoint. "Could it be ... could it be that I have sealed your Shan Zhong[2] acupoint?" she asked anxiously.

"Exactly," Wei Xiaobao said, "It's exactly the Shan Zhong acupoint. But don't be grieved, you ... you ... you did not do it intentionally. After I die, I won't blame you. When Yan ... Yanluo Wang asks, I won't say that you sealed my death acupoint ... I will say that I was not being careful, that my finger has sealed my own death acupoint that I died."

Hearing that he was willing to cover her up in front of the Yanluo Wang, Xiao Junzhu felt grateful, but also apologetic; she busily said, "Quick ... don't say anything, quickly unseal your acupoints, perhaps you can still be saved." Hastily she reached out to massage his chest and armpit.

Since the force with which she seal acupoint was not too strong, only by massaging a little while, Wei Xiaobao was already able to move. He groaned several times and said, "Ay, you have sealed my death acupoint, I won't live!"

Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, "Perhaps I can still save you. I was not being careful and sealed the wrong acupoint. Really ... really sorry."

"I know you are a good person," Wei Xiaobao said, "After I die, I will bless and protect you from the netherworld; from dawn to dusk, my ghost will always be your side."

Xiao Junzhu shrieked. "Your ghost will always be my side?" she asked.

"You shouldn't be afraid," Wei Xiaobao said, "My ghost will not harm you. It's just that there is a rule that whoever killed me, my ghost will always follow that person."

The more Xiao Junzhu thought about it, the more scared she was; "I did not kill you intentionally," she said.

Wei Xiaobao sighed; he said, "Little Miss, what is your name?"

Xiao Junzhu took a step back. “Why do you ask?” she said. Her face showed astonishment. “You are going to tell on me in the netherworld, aren’t you?” she asked, “I won’t tell you.”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head, “I won’t tell on you,” he said.

“Why did you ask, then?” Xiao Junzhu asked.

“So that when I am in netherworld I can bless and protect you,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “I have a lot of ghost friends in the netherworld; I will ask everybody to work hard together to bless and protect you, no matter where you go, several thousand several hundred of ghosts will follow you.”

Xiao Junzhu was so scared that she screamed and hastily said, “No, please don’t! Don’t follow me.”

“How about only me, one ghost, following you around?” Wei Xiaobao said.

Xiao Junzhu hesitated for a moment; she said, “If you … if you won’t scare me, then it’s alright.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Of course I am not going to scare you. When you are sitting down in the day time, my ghost will drive the fly away from you; when you are sleeping at night, my ghost will keep the mosquitoes away from you. When you are bored, my ghost will come to you in a dream, telling you stories that are very, very pleasant to hear.”

“Why do you treat me this good?” Xiao Junzhu asked; sighing gloomily, she said, “It would be better if you don’t die.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “There is something you promised me, but you haven’t done it yet. Ay, I won’t die with my eyes closed.”

“What is it? What did I promise to you?” Xiao Junzhu asked.

Wei Xiaobao said, “You promised to call me ‘Good Gege’ three times. If before I die I can hear you call, then I will die with my eyes closed.”

Xiao Junzhu was born in the Palace, into a noble family who ruled Guizhou province for generations, her parents, older brother, as well as her elders, all doted on her very much. Although by the time she was born the country was already ruined and the people perished, as a minister family whose ancestors had done meritorious deeds, they had numerous slaves and servants who cherished this ‘golden-branch, jade leaves’ Junzhu in every possible way. In all her life, no one had ever lied to her or scared her. Growing up, she always heard that she must never tell even half a word of lies. Consequently, when she heard Wei Xiaobao’s nonsense, at first she accepted every word as the truth. But after a while she saw that the more he talked the more spirited he was, and when talking about her calling him ‘Good Gege’ three times his eyes were gleaming with mischief. She was only naïve and kind-hearted, but not at all an idiot. Realizing that Wei Xiaobao was teasing her, she took a step backward and said, “You deceived me, you are not going to die at all.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed heartily and said, “Even if I am not going to die for the time being, I will die in several days anyway.”

“You won’t die in several days,” Xiao Junzhu said.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Granted that I may not die in several days, but in the future I will die. If you don’t call me ‘Good Gege’ three times, my ghost will follow you day and night, I will continuously call you, ‘Good … Mei … Mei … Good … Mei … Mei …!’” He pinched his throat hard that his voice was dragged long and shrill, it sounded like a wretched ill wind, extremely scary. He also stuck out his tongue, pretended to be a ghost who died of hanging.

“Ah!” Xiao Junzhu screamed and turned around to run out of the room. Wei Xiaobao ran after her. Seeing she was stretching out her hand to pull out the door bolt, he hurriedly grabbed and pulled her waist, saying, “You must not go out, there are too many evil spirits outside.”

“Let me go,” Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, “I want to go home.”

“You can’t go,” Wei Xiaobao said. Xiao Junzhu hacked down with the edge of her right palm toward his right wrist.

Wei Xiaobao flipped his palm and caught her forearm, Xiao Junzhu pulled back her elbow. Forming a fist with her left hand, she struck down the top of Wei Xiaobao’s head. Wei Xiaobao drew back and down to evade this punch blow, but he grabbed her calf. Xiao Junzhu launched the stance ‘Tiger Tail Scissors’, her left palm hacked diagonally down. Wei Xiaobao was unable to dodge; ‘smack!’ his shoulder was hit. He pulled with all his might, Xiao Junzhu was unable to stand, she was pulled down to the ground. Wei Xiaobao scrambled up to wrestle her, Xiao Junzhu legs flew out with ‘Mandarin Ducks Chain Kicks’ toward his face. Wei Xiaobao rolled away, but he caught and twisted her left arm.

Xiao Junzhu’s punching and kicking skill was taught by a prominent master, it was far more superior to the essence of skill Wei Xiaobao had learned. If the two of them were having a real martial art competition, Wei Xiaobao was not her match. However, the two of them were wrestling on the floor right now, one wanted to go, the other grabbling and twisting her, preventing her from leaving. In this kind of twisting, pouncing and wrestling skill, Wei Xiaobao had undergone an extensive training, he had had martial art competition with Kangxi for almost a year. Although the martial art skill Hai Laogong taught him was half true and half fake, plus he trained carelessly, in the end his body was still trained and he still knew several tricks of qin na.

In these several rounds, although the pit of Wei Xiaobao’s stomach had received two blows, he managed to catch Xiao Junzhu’s right arm, which he bent and twisted backward. “Surrender?” he asked with a laugh.

“No!” Xiao Junzhu replied.

Wei Xiaobao raised his left knee and knelt on her arm, he asked again, "Surrender?"

Xiao Junzhu still said, "No!"

Wei Xiaobao increased the force on his hand to twist her arm behind her back harder. "Ah!" Xiao Junzhu screamed and began to cry.

During Wei Xiaobao's bouts with Kangxi, no matter how severe the pain those two boys experience, they had never shown any weakness, much less crying. Whenever one of them was pinned down by the opponent and was unable to move, he would simply called out, "Surrender!" and then he would be considered the loser of that round, before he started wrestling again. Unexpectedly Xiao Junzhu's attitude was totally different from Kangxi, she cried as soon as she lost. "Pei!" Wei Xiaobao spat, "Useless little girl!" and he let her go.

Right this moment, suddenly they heard a 'crack!' on the window lattice. "Aiyo!" Wei Xiaobao cried out in a low voice, "A ghost!"

Xiao Junzhu was shocked; she reached out to hug him. They heard some noise on the window frame, the window was shoved open with creaking noise. This time, even Wei Xiaobao was frightened. "It's really a ghost!" he said in trembling voice. Xiao Junzhu threw herself forward and crawled underneath the quilt; her body was trembling all over.

The window was slowly pushed open, someone in gloomy voice called out, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi!"

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[1] Lit. Spirit Mound, Stepped Corridor, and Heavenly Pool, respectively.

[2] Lit. Mutton Smell.

[smurf120]

If full grown adults are no match for WXB what hope is there for Xiao Junzhu.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs.

Xiao Junzhu is pretty naive to be tricked by WXB but then again, who isn't?

[foxs]

Sky, thanks for always stopping by, I appreciate that. Smurf, you're right.

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At first Wei Xiaobao thought it was Hai Laogong's ghost coming to demand his life, but the voice was a woman's voice. "It's a female ghost!" he said tremblingly, while successively took several steps backwards. His legs grew numb and he fell sitting down on the head of the bed.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew in, the candle in the room was extinguished, something blurring their eyes, there was one more person in the room. The female ghost creepily said, "Xiao Guizi, Xiao Guizi! Yan Wangye is calling you, Yan Wangye says you killed Hai Laogong!"

Wei Xiaobao was scared out of his wits; he wanted to say, "I did not kill Hai Laogong." But his mouth was wide open and his tongue tied; how could he speak out? He heard the female ghost said again in shrill voice, "Yan Wangye is going to seize you and take you, going up the mountain of blades, going down into a deep fryer. Xiao Guizi, today you can't run away!"

Hearing these sentences, Wei Xiaobao suddenly realized, "It's the Empress Dowager, not a female ghost!" But he did not feel less frightened, he thought, "If it was a female ghost, there is a possibility she can't catch me, but Empress Dowager will definitely kill me to close my mouth."

Ever since he knew the Empress Dowager's secret, at first he was constantly in fear that she would kill him to close his mouth, but all along there was nothing astir. After a long time, his fear gradually diminished, he thought that the Empress Dowager believed him, that he really did not hear what Hai Dafu was saying; or perhaps even if he did, she thought he would not dare to leak the secret, plus since he was promoted to be the head of the Catering Department, he must be very grateful to her, then all was well. How would he know that the reason she did not promptly deal with him was because when she fought Hai Laogong that day, she had suffered a very heavy internal injury? Moreover, she also saw that Hai Laogong's heavy kick unexpectedly did not kill Wei Xiaobao; she thought this child must have profound internal energy cultivation. If she did not recover completely and have her strength restored, she did not dare to act without careful consideration. This business of killing people to close their mouths simply cannot be delegated to others; she must do it personally. Otherwise, if at the point of death the child spoke several sentences, wouldn't her important matter go bad?

This important matter carried too great of implications, not to mention that Wei Xiaobao was an insignificant little eunuch; even if it were imperial wives, imperial concubines, crown prince, generals or ministers, as soon as they find out about this secret, if there were a hundred people knew, she would kill a hundred, if there were a thousand people knew, she would kill a thousand.

She had been waiting for too long; although right now her strength had not fully recovered, she thought that if she delayed for a day, the danger of her secret leaking was also increased by a notch, until that night she could no longer wait and decided to act, and thus she went to Wei Xiaobao's room. As she pushed the window open, she heard Wei Xiaobao said, 'A ghost', and so she pretended to be a ghost. She did not know there was another person on the bed; slowly concentrating her strength, she raised her right hand, and step by step walked toward the bed.

Wei Xiaobao knew he could not resist, hence he crawled into the quilt. The Empress Dowager brought down her palm, 'slap!' she simultaneously struck Wei Xiaobao and Xiao Junzhu. Fortunately the quilt was very thick, so most of her strength was dissipated.

The Empress Dowager raised her palm again to deliver the second strike, this time she increased her power. Her palm had just touched the quilt when suddenly she felt a severe pain on the center of her palm, like an injury from a sharp object. She cried out loudly and leaped backward.

Suddenly from outside the window she heard three, four people shouting and yelling, "Assassins! Assassins!" The Empress Dowager was stunned, "How did they know?" she thought. The fact that she came personally to kill a little eunuch must not be known to anybody, plus the pain on her palm was so severe that she did not have time to see whether Wei Xiaobao had died or not. Her feet kicking the ground, she flew out of the window. Yet before she landed, two people attacked her from behind. The Empress Dowager sent her palms backward in the move 'Looking Back Without Any Concern', both her left and right palms simultaneously hit the two people's chests. The two people fell straight to the ground.

She heard the 'Tang! Tang!' sound of the gong, in a short moment all around her the gongs were sounded. From a distance some people were calling out, "First and Second Guard Units protect His Majesty, Third Guard Unit protects Empress Dowager." Immediately afterwards, from the eastern end of the rockery someone called out, "Assassin in here!" Empress Dowager knew that these people were the Imperial Bodyguards; immediately she shrank back and hid behind some flowering shrubs. She felt the pain in the middle of her palm was getting worse, she saw indistinctly seven, eight people were fighting fiercely, their weapons collided unceasingly; she thought, "Turns out there really are assassins in the Palace. I wonder if they are Hai Laogong's friends, or Oboi's former subordinates?" She heard from the distance the unending voices of people giving orders; the light from torches and Kong Ming lanterns[3] appeared in the darkness, gathering together from all directions. The Empress Dowager realized that if she tarry slight and did not leave right away, it would be difficult for her to escape undetected. She crouched down and suddenly leaped out from behind the flowering shrubs, and then bolted toward the Compassionate and Peaceful Palace.

She was only rushing for several zhang when directly in front of her someone attacked; with the pair of steel awls in his hands he swiftly stabbed the Empress Dowager's face, while shouting, "Audacious rebel, unexpectedly dare to come to the Palace to create havoc."

The Empress Dowager slanted her body slightly, her right palm feigned a move, her left palm struck toward his shoulder. The man pulled his shoulder back to evade, then he spun around as the steel awl in his left hand rose up. The Empress Dowager dodged to the left and sent her right palm backhandedly. In an instant the two of them had exchanged several moves.

The man bawled, “Rebel thief, turns out you are a woman.”

The Empress Dowager saw that this Imperial Bodyguard’s martial art skill was not weak; although she could subdue him, she would need more than a dozen moves, by that time perhaps the rest of the Imperial Bodyguards would catch up. In a moment of desperation she called out, “I am the Empress Dowager.”

The Imperial Bodyguard was stunned; he held his hands and asked, “What?”

“Audacious servant,” the Empress Dowager said, “You dare to offend the Empress Dowager?”

The man hesitated slightly, the Empress Dowager sent out both palms, ‘Bang!’ she struck the pit of his stomach. The Imperial Bodyguard was killed instantly. The Empress Dowager gathered her chi and leaped, she ducked away into the flowering shrubs.

When Wei Xiaobao crawled into the quilt, his waist was slapped by the Empress Dowager, he was almost suffocated; in desperation he pulled the dagger in his boot and held it facing upward inside the quilt, raising the quilt somewhat higher. When the Empress Dowager sent the second palm strike toward the bulging quilt, due to the extremely sharp dagger and the powerful strike of the Empress Dowager’s palm, the point of the dagger immediately penetrated the quilt and pierced the center of her palm all the way through the back of her hand.

After the Empress Dowager jumped out of the window, Wei Xiaobao raised the corner of the quilt and heard the commotion outside his window. The very first thought that came into his mind was, “The Empress Dowager has sent people to arrest me.” He leaped out of the bed, lifted the quilt, and said, “Hurry, we must run away!”

Xiao Junzhu cried and said, “It hurts … it hurts so much!” What happened was the Empress Dowager’s first strike hit Wei Xiaobao’s waist and Xiao Junzhu’s left leg. Xiao Junzhu bore most of the brunt that unexpectedly the calf bone of her left leg was broken.

“What happened?” Wei Xiaobao asked, while trying to pull her by the collar of her clothes. “Hurry up, hurry up!” he said, pulling her down the bed.

Xiao Junzhu stepped on the floor with her right foot first, but she felt the pain on her left leg was unbearable, her body leaned to one side, and she tumbled down on the floor. “My … my leg is broken,” she said while crying.

In a moment of desperation Wei Xiaobao cursed, “Xiao Niang Pi, why do you have to break your leg now, not sooner or later …” In his heart he said, “Saving my own life is more important for Laozi; let’s not say you broke one leg, even if you broke four legs, eight legs into seventeen, eighteen pieces, Laozi won’t care.” Turning around, he rushed to the window and peeked out. He was hoping there wouldn’t be anybody outside so that he could leap out.

But as he looked out, he saw the Empress Dowager struck backward with her palms, followed by two people flew up and fell heavily down on the ground. One person happened to land right in front of his window. In the dark night he saw faintly that this man was dressed in an Imperial Bodyguard uniform; he was extremely baffled, “Why would the Empress Dowager strike the Palace’s Imperial Bodyguard?” He saw the Empress Dowager dodged into a flowering bush; he also saw several zhang away six, seven men were engaged in a close combat, each one had a weapon in his hand, the battle was really intense. He heard people shouting from the distance, “Catch the assassins! Catch the assassins!”

Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised, “Turns out there really are assassins in the Palace; they are not here to catch me.” Focusing his attention outside, he saw the Empress Dowager was fighting with another Imperial Bodyguard. The Imperial Bodyguard was wielding a pair of steel awls. Although they were fighting quite some distance away from his window, he could still see the flashing of the steel awls. After fighting for a while, the Empress Dowager killed the Imperial Bodyguard, and then she flew into the darkness and disappeared.

Wei Xiaobao turned his head to look at Xiao Junzhu; she was sitting on the floor, whimpering softly. Since now he knew he was not in any danger, his mood improved considerably. Walking toward her, he said in a low voice, “Does it hurt so much? There are people outside who want to get you. Don’t make any noise.”

Xiao Junzhu was so frightened that she did not dare to make any noise. Suddenly somebody outside the window shouted, “Black feet and dog’s teeth are formidable, go up the Diancang Mountain!”

“Huh?” Xiao Junzhu exclaimed, “Those are our men.”

“They are your friends?” Wei Xiaobao wondered, “How do you know?”

“What they said was our Mu Palace’s code words,” Xiao Junzhu said, “Quick … quickly help me up, I want to look.”

“They are coming to the Imperial Palace to rescue you, aren’t they?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“I don’t know,” Xiao Junzhu replied, “Is this the Imperial Palace?”

Wei Xiaobao did not reply; he thought, “If they knew that this little girl is in here and broke into the Palace to rescue her, Laozi’s two fists cannot fight the enemy’s four hands.” He reached out and firmly covered her mouth, while with a low voice he threatened, “You must not make any noise, if they find out and your other leg will be broken, I won’t be able to bear it!”

They heard someone shouting outside, “Ah!” while another voice cheered, “Two assassins are killed!” and yet another voice called out, “The assassins are running away to the east, everybody, pursue them!” The voices gradually went far away.

Wei Xiaobao released his hand and said, “Your friends run away!”

“They did not run away!” Xiao Junzhu said, “They said ‘go up the Diancang Mountain’, that means they are retreating temporarily.”

“What is ‘black feet dog’?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“‘Black feet dogs’ are Tatars’ warriors,” Xiao Junzhu replied.

The voices in the distance were still faintly heard, people were transmitting orders incessantly, obviously the effort of capturing the assassins was still going on. Suddenly they heard someone was groaning twice below the window, it was a female voice. Wei Xiaobao said, “There’s an assassin has not died yet, let me stab her twice!” The Imperial Bodyguards in the Palace were all male, so this voice definitely belonged to the assassin.

Xiao Junzhu said, “No … don’t kill her, perhaps she is from our Palace.” Propping herself on Wei Xiaobao’s shoulder, she stood up and with only her right leg she hopped to the window. She saw two people outside the window. “Southern sky northern land …” she said. Wei Xiaobao stretched out his hand to cover her mouth again. But the female voice outside the window replied, “Under the throne of bright peacock. You … are you Xiao Junzhu?”

Wei Xiaobao thought that since this woman had discovered Xiao Junzhu’s trail, the incoming disaster was not small; raising his dagger, he wanted to throw it down. Suddenly he felt his right wrist tightened as it was being grabbed by Xiao Junzhu, followed by a stabbing pain on his flank so that involuntarily his hand holding down her mouth came loose.

“Are you Shijie[4]?” Xiao Junzhu asked.

“It’s me,” the woman below the window replied, “What … what are you doing in here?”

“Your granny,” Wei Xiaobao cut her off, “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t … don’t curse her,” Xiao Junzhu said, “She is my Shijie. Shijie, are you injured? You … please think of a way to save my Shijie. Shijie is very good to me.” She said those words to two different people.

The woman underneath the window groaned and said, “I don’t want to be saved by this kid. He doesn’t even have the ability to save me.”

Wei Xiaobao struggled hard to free himself, Xiao Junzhu then loosened her grip. Wei Xiaobao cursed, “Stinky woman! You said I don’t have the ability to save you? You, this little girl, are just a ninth-class martial artist. Humph, Laozi only needs to stretch my little finger, then I will be able to save twenty, thirty, or even seventy, eighty mothers like you.”

By this time the cry ‘catch the assassins, catch the assassins’ was resounding again from the distance. Xiao Junzhu was greatly anxious, she hurriedly said, “Please hurry, save my Shijie. I … I will call you three times, Good … Good … Gege, Good Gege, Good Gege!” Originally she was unwilling to utter these words, but now in order for him to save someone, she had called him three times in a row.

Wei Xiaobao was very happy; he said, “Good Meizi, what do you want your good Gege do?”

Xiao Junzhu’s entire face turned deep red; she said in low voice, “I am asking you to save my Shijie.”

The woman under the window was extremely obstinate; she said, “Don’t ask him, this kid is powerless; he won’t be able to save even himself.”

“Humph,” Wei Xiaobao snorted, “Looking at my good Meizi’s face, I am bent on saving you. Good Meizi, we have said the words, you must not deny; you want me to save your Shijie, later you can’t go back on your own words, you must call me ‘Good Gege’ forever.”

“I will call you whatever you want,” Xiao Junzhu said, “Good Shushu, Good Bobo, Good Gonggong[5]!”

------------------------------------------------------
[3] Paper lanterns supposedly invented by Zhuge Liang (Romance of the Three Kingdoms).

[4] Older martial sister.

[5] Younger uncle (father’s younger brother), older uncle (father’s older brother), grandpa (or father-in-law), respectively.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for another update foxs. It's my pleasure to drop by and read your wonderful translation. You're the one who's doing all the hard work!

The 2nd of the 7 wives has made her entrance. I wonder how much older this woman is compared to WXB.

[Grundle]

Thanks for another update foxs. It's my pleasure to drop by and read your wonderful translation. You're the one who's doing all the hard work!

The 2nd of the 7 wives has made her entrance. I wonder how much older this woman is compared to WXB.

Uh yea, can you stop with the spoilers now? I haven't read this, and I don't know who gets married. Thanks!

[Ace High]

These were the Green Standard Army's ranks

提督 (tidu) Provincinal Commander/General
副提督 (futidu) Vice Provincinal Commander/Lieutenant General
总兵 (zongbin) Regional Commander/Major General
副将 (fujiang) Regional Vice-Commander/Brigadier General [1]
参将 (canjiang) Administrator/Colonel [2]
游击 (youji) Brigade Commander/Lieutenant Colonel
都司 (dusi) Vice Brigade Commander/Major
守备 (shoubei) Commandant/Captain
千总 (qianzong) Company Commander/First Lieutenant
把总 (bazong) Squad Leader/Second Lieutenant

Note :

[1] More commonly translated as Asst. Commander.
[2] The military officer LHC impersonated in SPW, Wu Tian De, was of this rank.

[SkyWalker]

Uh yea, can you stop with the spoilers now? I haven't read this, and I don't know who gets married. Thanks!

My bad. Thought this story was pretty well known so didn't realize I was spoiling anything. I"ll be more careful with my post moving forward as not to spoil anything for anyone.

[littleli]

Thanks for the update foxs,

"Originall Posted by foxs" 'I made a small correction per Ace's suggestion, it's Regional Commander of the Office of Record, please update Part 9.'

Updated part 9 of chapter 10.

[foxs]

Sky, you are quite welcome. Grundle, so I was not the only one ... Ace and Littleli, thanks.

-----------------------------------------------------
“I only want to be your Good Gege,” Wei Xiaobao said, “If you called me Gonggong, I am afraid I am a little lacking.”

“Alright,” Xiao Junzhu said, “I will forever … forever call you ‘Good’ … ‘Good’ …”

“’Good’ what?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

Xiao Junzhu said, “Good … Gege!” While saying that, she gently pushed his back.

Wei Xiaobao jumped out the window. He saw a woman dressed in black with curled body was lying on the ground. He said, “The Palace’s Imperial Bodyguards are coming to arrest you, they are going to behead you and chop you into mincemeat and use you as the stuffing for the steamed buns.”

The woman said, “Is that strange? Our people will avenge me.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “You, little girl, are so stubborn. The Imperial Bodyguards won’t kill you right away, they will strip you naked, everybody … everybody will take you as a wife.”

The woman angrily said, “Quickly use your blade to kill your Miss.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed, “Why would I want to kill you? I also want to strip you naked, and then take you as my wife.” Finished speaking, he bent over to pick her up. The woman was extremely anxious, she waved her palm to slap his ear, but she was heavily injured, her hand did not have the least bit of strength, when the palm reached his face, it only felt like a gentle brush.

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “You haven’t become my wife, yet you tickle your husband first.” Carrying her body, he handed her over the window. Xiao Junzhu was greatly delighted, she stepped forward to receive the woman, and then slowly lay her down on the bed.

Wei Xiaobao was about to follow by leaping into the room when suddenly someone by his feet said in a low voice, “Gui … Gui Gong-gong, this woman … this woman is a rebel thief … assassin, you must not … must not save her.”

Wei Xiaobao was shocked, “Who … who are you?” he asked.

The man replied, “I … I am the Palace’s … Imperial … Bodyguard …”

Immediately Wei Xiaobao understood that he was the Imperial Bodyguard who was hit by the Empress Dowager just a moment ago, unexpectedly he did not die; he lay on the ground, unable to move a single step, his speech was also discontinuous, obviously his injury was very heavy. Wei Xiaobao thought, “If I handed over this woman in black, it would be a meritorious service, but what about Xiao Junzhu? This matter would fall through and stand exposed, than the disaster would be even greater.” Raising his dagger, ‘stab!’ he thrust it into the man’s chest. The Imperial Bodyguard did not even grunt; he died instantly.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Forgive me for this, if just now you did not open your mouth, you would not have to die, but then Gui Gong-gong’s head would not sit smooth and steady on my neck.” He thought further, “Perhaps there are more injured people nearby, I have no choice but kill them all to close their mouths.” Thereupon he looked around the surrounding flowering bushes and rock garden thoroughly; altogether he found five bodies on the ground: three Imperial Bodyguards and two assassins from the outside, they all had breathed their last breath. Wei Xiaobao picked an assassin’s corpse and placed it over the window sill, with head inside and legs outside, and then with his dagger he stabbed the corpse’s back several times.

Xiao Junzhu was startled, “He is our Palace’s man; he is dead, why do you kill him again?”

“Humph,” Wei Xiaobao snorted, “He is dead, I can’t kill him anymore. Try killing a dead man and show it to me! But if you want me to save your stinky Shijie, I have to do this.”

The woman, who was lying on the bed, said, “You are the stinky one!”

“You haven’t smelled me, how do you know I am stinky?” Wei Xiaobao replied.

“This entire room is reeking with stench,” the woman said.

“It was originally very fragrant,” Wei Xiaobao said, “It smells as soon as you came in.”

Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, “The two of you do not even know each other, yet quarrel as soon as you meet. Quickly stop bickering. Shijie, how did you come here? Is it … is it to save me?”

“We did not know you are in here,” the woman replied, “Everybody did not see you, we went everywhere to look for you but could not find you …” Speaking to this part, she was already out of breath.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Don’t have strength to talk, you’d better talk a little less.”

“I want to talk, what are you going to do about it,” the woman said.

“If you have the ability, go ahead and talk,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Other people’s Xiao Junzhu is so gentle and refined, not at all like you who is rude and unreasonable.”

“No, no, you don’t know,” Xiao Junzhu busily said, “Nobody’s better than my Shijie. Don’t curse her, then she won’t be mad at you. Shijie, which part of you is injured? Is it heavy?”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Her martial art skill is not good, she overestimated her own capabilities, she came to the Palace just to lose face, naturally her injury is heavy. I’ll say she won’t live pass six hours; perhaps before daylight she will return to heaven.”

“She can’t die,” Xiao Junzhu said, “Good … Good Ge … please think of something quickly, save my Shijie.”

The woman angrily said, “I would rather die, I don’t need his help. Xiao Junzhu, this kid is glib-tongued, why do you call him … call him like that?”

“Call me what?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

The woman did not fall into his trick, “Call you little monkey,” she said.

“I am a male monkey,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You are a female monkey.” Bickering and quarreling with women, he had had an extensive practice when he was in Lovely Spring Courtyard; he had experienced major conflicts and major battles, how could he lose against other people? When the woman heard him speaking vulgarity, she no longer paid him any attention, she simply breathed deeply.

Wei Xiaobao raised the candlestick on the table and said, “First we must find where her injury is.”

“Don’t look at me! Don’t look at me!” the woman shouted.

Wei Xiaobao shot back, “Don’t shout loudly! Do you want people to catch you and take you as wife?” Picking the nearby candlestick, he saw half of the woman’s face was covered in blood, she was approximately seventeen, eighteen years of age, she had an oval face, and looked very beautiful; he could not help but praise, “Turns out this stinky Xiao Niang Pi is a beautiful girl.”

Xiao Junzhu said, “Don’t curse my Shijie, she … she is indeed a beautiful girl.”

“Very well!” Wei Xiaobao said, “Now I want to take her as my wife even more.”

The woman was startled, she struggled, wanted to slap him, but she only managed to lift her body a little, then she cried, “Ah!” and fell down on the bed.

Naturally Wei Xiaobao had heard a lot about the matters of men and women in the brothel, but knowing and doing are not the same. He said ‘take her as wife’, but he was still young, and the thought of actually doing it had never crossed his heart; it’s just that he was a natural prankster. When he saw how the woman became very anxious as soon as he mentioned he was going to take her as his wife, he could not help feeling very smug. He laughed and said, “Don’t be impatient, we have not performed the wedding ceremony yet, how can we be man and wife? You think this place is the Lovely Spring Courtyard? As soon as you talk about being man and wife you want to do it immediately. Aiyo! Your wound is bleeding, you are spoiling my bed!” He saw blood continuously seeped out her clothes; her injury was indeed not light.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, a group of people came hurrying, someone called out, “Gui Gong-gong, Gui Gong-gong, are you alright?” After the Imperial Bodyguards repelled the assassins, they sent people to protect the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and comparatively high-ranking imperial concubines, then they also protect department heads and eunuchs with authority. Wei Xiaobao was the Emperor’s favorite, so they sent a dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards to curry his favor.

Wei Xiaobao said in low voice to Xiao Junzhu, “Hide in the bed.” He pulled the quilt to cover the two women, pulled the mosquito net down, and called out, “Come here quick! There is an assassin here!”

The woman was shocked, but she was seriously injured, how could she struggle? Xiao Junzhu anxiously said, “Don’t shout, don’t call people to arrest my Shijie.”

“She does not want to be my wife,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Why should I be polite to her?”

While they were still talking, the dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards had already arrived in front of the window. “Aiyo!” one of them cried out, “There is an assassin here.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “That fellow wanted to climb into my room, Laozi finished him off with several stabs of my blade.”

The Imperial Bodyguards raised their torches and saw several cuts on the dead man’s back; there were blood on his clothes, on the window sill, and on the ground. “Gui Gong-gong must be startled.” Another man said, “What do you mean Gui Gong-gong was startled? Gui Gong-gong’s martial art skill is superb, he is able to kill the assassin in just one move. If there were more coming, he would simply kill them all the same.” The rest of the Imperial Bodyguards immediately followed by fawning him; they praised Wei Xiaobao greatly, saying that he had rendered a great merit tonight.

Wei Xiaobao said with a laugh, “The merit is nothing, coping with one or two assassins did not need too much effort. Arresting the Manchu's Number One Warrior Oboi is a bit harder to do." The crowd of Imperial Bodyguards naturally seized this opportunity to flood him with flattery.

One of the Imperial Bodyguards said, "Shi Laoliu and Xiong Lao'er[6] died in the line of duty, those assassins were truly very fierce. If it were not Gui Gong-gong, how would he deal with it?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "It's more important for you all to protect His Majesty, in here I am alright."

Another man said, "Dolong Zongguan is leading more than two hundred brothers to personally guard outside His Majesty's private chamber. The assassins have either escaped or killed, the Palace is quiet now."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Tomorrow I will ask His Majesty to grant some comfort and aid to the families of those Imperial Bodyguards who died in the line of duty. Everybody has been working hard, His Majesty will definitely grant generous reward." Everybody was delighted, they all bowed and expressed their gratitude. Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "As long as I don't have to spend my own money, why not become the mediator between them and the Emperor?" He said, "I do not remember very clearly everybody's surname and given name; would you all report to me? If His Majesty asks who has exerted himself using extreme force of will, and has rendered great service tonight, Xiongdi will mention your names."

The Imperial Bodyguards were even more delighted, they hurriedly reported their name and surname. Wei Xiaobao had an extremely good memory, he was able to repeat the full names of those dozen or so Imperial Bodyguards without any mistake. He said, "You all should patrol everywhere, perhaps there are assassins still hiding in some dark and remote places. If you catch one alive, if it's a man, beat him severely, if it's a woman, strip her naked and take her as wife." The Imperial Bodyguards laughed heartily and repeatedly said, "Yes, yes!"

"Would you take away the corpse?" Wei Xiaobao asked. The Imperial Bodyguards compiled; they snatched the corpse and left after paying their respect once more.

Wei Xiaobao closed the window, turned around and lifted up the quilt. Xiao Junzhu laughed and said, "You are so bad, you scared us in a big way ... Aiyo ...!" She saw blood all over the bedding, her martial sister's countenance was deathly pale, her breathing was very weak.

"Where is her injury?" Wei Xiaobao asked, "Quickly stop her bleeding."

The woman said, "You ... go away, Xiao Junzhu, my ... injury is on the pit of my stomach."

Seeing the blood flowing from her wound was indeed a lot, Wei Xiaobao was afraid she might die from her heavy injury; he did not dare to tease her. Turning his head away, he said, "What's so good about bleeding wound anyway? Do you think it's a peep show or something fun to watch? Xiao Junzhu, do you have the medicine?"

"I don't," Xiao Junzhu replied.

Wei Xiaobao said, "Stinky mother, do you have any medicine with you?"

"I don't!" the woman snapped, "You ... you are the stinky mother."

He heard light ripping noise, Xiao Junzhu was undoing the woman's clothes. "Aiyo!" suddenly she cried out in fear, "What ... what should I do?" Wei Xiaobao turned his head around, he saw a cut about two cun long below the woman's right breast, from which the blood was flowing continuously. Xiao Junzhu was at a loss of what to do; she cried and said, "You ... you ... quickly help my Shijie ..."

The woman was frightened and ashamed; with a trembling voice she said, "Don't ... don't let him see."

"Pei," Wei Xiaobao spat, "You think I've never seen one?" Seeing her blood was flowing endlessly, he was unable to restrain being panicked. He looked around the room, trying to find some cotton cloth to stop the blood stream from her wound. He spotted the medicine bowl and saw that he still had more than half bowl of his concoction of 'mashed lotus seed, bean paste, honey, candy and pearls'. "My miracle medicine can also stop bleeding," he said happily. Fetching a handful, he applied it on her wound.

This mixture of honey paste was very viscous, as soon as it was applied to the wound, the blood flow stopped. Wei Xiaobao spread the entire bowl of honey paste onto the wound, his fingers were also covered in honey paste. Seeing her nipples shivered, this little urchin restrained his mischievous thought with great difficulty; casually he smeared the paste on her breast.

The woman was ashamed and enraged at the same time, she called out, "Xiao ... Xiao Junzhu, quickly ... quickly kill him for me."

Xiao Junzhu explained, "Shijie, he is treating your wound!" The woman was so furious she almost fainted. Unfortunately she could not move.

Wei Xiaobao said, "Quickly seal her acupoints, don't let her speak or move randomly; otherwise she might bleed again and her life will be in danger."

"Yes!" Xiao Junzhu complied; she sealed several acupoints on the woman's lower abdomen, flanks, and legs. "Shijie," she said, "Don't move randomly!" By now the pain on her own broken leg was almost unbearable; tears started to gush out of her eyes.

Wei Xiaobao said, "You should also lie down and not moving." He remembered his childhood in Yangzhou, when he had a fight with the little hoodlums and someone broke an arm or leg, the doctor would use splint to set the bone, and applied herbal medicine on it. Immediately he drew his dagger and cut two legs of a bench and clamped them on either side of her broken leg, and used a piece or cord to firmly tie them together. "Where can I find the medicine for her injury?" he mused.

After pondering for a while, he had an idea; to Xiao Junzhu he said, "The two of you must lie down on the bed, do not make any noise whatsoever." Releasing the mosquito net, he blew out the candle and pulled the latch to go out.

Xiao Junzhu was startled. "You ... where are you going?" she asked.

"To find medicine for your leg," Wei Xiaobao replied.

"Please hurry and come back soon," Xiao Junzhu said.

"Yes," Wei Xiaobao replied. Hearing the tone of Xiao Junzhu's voice, which unexpectedly she regarded him as someone she could depend on, Wei Xiaobao could not help but feeling very proud of himself. He had already turned around to close the door when he thought something was not right; he pushed the door and went in again, bolted it from the inside, and then he jumped out the window and closed it behind him. In this way, other than Empress Dowager and the Emperor, no one in the Palace would dare to enter his room without permission.

-----------------------------------------------------
[6] Ol' Six and Ol' Second, respectively.

[Ren Wo Xing]

Okay, him copping a feel is DEFINITELY not in the adaptations, or in the Minford translation. Keep it up foxs!

[littleli]

keep it coming foxs, never read minford, so enjoying everything wholesome without knowing the plot, thanks.

[smurf120]

Well Minford called "Good Gege" --> "my darling" which I personally feel is very different from "nice big brother".

Yes, WXB copped a feel but the story is still quite PG compared to A Step Into the Past....LOL

[stanman]

Thanks foxs!

All of the internal monologue really helps. All we have in the adaptations are facial expressions. While Tony Leung does a great job in that respect, it still can't compare to JY actually telling us exactly what the character is thinking.

WXB's very capable of adapting to the situation. Before reading all this, I'd thought that everything he had he got by sheer luck, but it's good to read that a lot of it is in the way he adapts and uses his limited knowledge to improve his situation.