Huaiqing second year, month three day two. Today is the third day after my wedding. Counting on my fingers, I’ve already been in this world for two and a half years. Let me introduce myself properly. I’m trainee Xu Qi’an, with two and a half years of training under my belt. I like fighting and killing, and listening to music at the goulan.
In my previous life, I heard someone say that a man had three stages in life: single from the womb, settling down and building a career, and then lying in a coffin.
I’ve now entered the second stage. I think it’s very meaningful, and I feel I ought to record this stretch of time.
As tradition dictates, on the third day after the wedding, Lin’an and I had to return to the palace to give thanks. Huaiqing held grand banquets in both the inner court and outer court to entertain the officials. Apart from Xu Lingyue and Mu Nanzhi, who were ‘recuperating’ at home, the whole family came to the palace for the feast.
Lingyue, big brother believes you’re a strong girl. You’ll get through this crisis of your persona collapsing. Mm, there was a dish at the banquet, monkey brains, that left a deep impression on me, because it really was delicious.
Huaiqing second year, month three day three.
The fourth day after the wedding. Afraid Lin’an might overexert herself, I slept vegetarian last night. Lin’an, oh Lin’an, you’re the girl I can’t bear to be rough with, even in bed.
I gave Mu Nanzhi a spiritual refuge, a place where ‘my heart finds peace’. I gave Luo Yuheng the chance to fulfil her long-cherished wish of ‘quelling karmic fire and advancing to first rank’.
What I can give you is only your rightful title, so I’ll cherish you all the more.
From today on, I’m not going to the goulan to listen to music any more. [Entire passage crossed out.] I’ll go to the goulan less often in future. Also, for the time being, I won’t fool around with Mu Nanzhi, Luo Yuheng, or Fuxiang. I must stay by Lin’an’s side properly and help her fully adjust to married life.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day four.
Lin’an is far too shy! Up to now, she still hasn’t mastered the basics of dual cultivation, the positions. This won’t do. It’ll affect my cultivation.
Lin’an, you need to work harder.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day five.
Something major happened today. Caiwei said that yesterday Senior Brother Sun and Senior Brother Yang had fallen out and started fighting among themselves. Senior Brother Sun chased Senior Brother Yang down, and still hadn’t returned. Strange. Could they have fought over the top position in the Sitianjian?
But Senior Brother Sun isn’t that sort of person.
Lina and Lingyin went with Caiwei to play at the Sitianjian.
By dusk, Lina and Lingyin still hadn’t come back. Auntie got anxious and came to find me, asking me to go to the Sitianjian and see what was going on. When I got there, I discovered Lingyin, Caiwei, and Lina squatting in front of Song Qing’s secret chamber, completely motionless.
The two of them stared fixedly at the door, as if some peerless treasure lay inside. I said, ‘Xu Lingyin, your mum’s calling you home for dinner!’ She didn’t react in the slightest, and kept the same timeless and deeply affectionate posture, staring hard at the door.
So I asked Lina, and Lina told me that Protector Yuan had hidden himself inside Song Qing’s secret chamber. The chamber door is too sturdy, and even she couldn’t knock it open, so she and Lingyin were squatting here to wait out Protector Yuan.
I immediately understood. It was all because of that monkey brain banquet the day before yesterday. Is Huaiqing doing it on purpose? No wonder Chu Caiwei invited Lina and Xu Lingyin to the Sitianjian today. So she was borrowing a sabre to kill a monkey. Of the three great gluttons, Caiwei is very much the clever one.
Wait, if I remembered correctly, apart from this door, the walls of Song Qing’s secret chamber are just ordinary brick walls… I take back the praise.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day six
The National Teacher hinted at dual cultivation with me, and I painfully refused. Right now I have to focus on tutoring Lin’an into becoming accomplished and graduating smoothly. By the same logic, I also refused Nanzhi’s hint. Incidentally, ever since the wedding, the way Auntie looks at the Flower God has become rather strange.
In what way is it strange? Let me sum it up. I treated you like a sister, and you wanted to sleep with my nephew!
Time will soothe those who’ve socially died. Amen!
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day eight.
Lingyue finally came out of her room. I hope she walks out of the shadows and turns towards the light. Lin’an has finally gained a preliminary grasp of the secret art of dual cultivation. As her teacher, I’m greatly comforted. Lingyin and Lina went to the Sitianjian again to squat for Protector Yuan. Protector Yuan is so adorable, why do they want to eat Protector Yuan?
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao asked me to go to the goulan and listen to music, and I refused them in righteous terms. People have to learn to grow. I’m no longer the youth I once was. I’m now a man with a family.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day nine.
Today I sent a great gift to the Holy Son. The list of gifts: Chai Xing’er, Wenren Qianrou, Zhao Susu, Yu Hanxiu, Lan Lan, Mei’er (Rongrong’s master), Yin Ling…
Holy Son, brother can only help you this much. I hope your years stay peaceful.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day ten.
The frontier markets Huaiqing established have begun to show results. Large quantities of goods are pouring into the Central Plains, cattle and sheep, medicinal herbs, timber, and so on. As trade becomes more frequent, job opportunities keep increasing. The people of the Great Feng have employment, while the Yao and barbarians, the Southern Marches, and the Wanyao Kingdom also got what they wanted.
How wonderful. Peace under heaven, people living and working in contentment. This is the flourishing age of peace I dreamed of.
The only problem is that, according to Huaiqing, the children of the Strength Gu tribe refused to bring their own food, and even worse, they sent babies that had only just been weaned to the public schools. It’s utterly devoid of conscience.
I plan to make a trip to the Southern Marches after a while, to teach that unruly Strength Gu tribe a lesson. It definitely isn’t because Luanyu wrote me a love letter.
Second Year of Huaiqing, month three day twelve.
Today I went with the National Teacher to the Heaven Sect to fulfil the agreement of the conflict of heaven and man. All the beyond-mortal experts of the Great Feng went along to watch the show. The Heavenly Venerable didn’t look too pleased. Or perhaps that was just my imagination. The Heavenly Venerable has no emotions, so how could he be angry over such a small matter?
That said, Daoist Jinlian and the others really went too far by setting up a table at the side to drink and feast.
Second Year of Huaiqing, month three day fourteen.
The conflict of heaven and man is over. The National Teacher was quite badly injured, but I could clearly feel that after plundering The Heavenly Venerable’s source, her karmic fire has almost extinguished. The Heavenly Venerable came off relatively better. He became more like a ‘person’.
I could feel that he really wanted to kill Luo Yuheng and seize all her source power. If I hadn’t existed, and events had proceeded normally, the National Teacher would certainly have died in the conflict of heaven and man.
This is good too. After the conflict of heaven and man, the National Teacher’s cultivation will rise another level. When we launch the surprise attack on Ananda, her staying behind in the capital will be all the more reliable.
Second Year of Huaiqing, month three day seventeen.
For some reason, I’ve felt somewhat gloomy these past few days. I can’t put my finger on the reason, I just feel rather depressed and withdrawn. I tried examining myself, but found nothing. Then, this morning, I saw Second Uncle and Erlang each carrying back a bag of green tangerines…
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day eighteen.
Yesterday, after achieving great enlightenment, I went with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to the goulan to listen to music. The familiar atmosphere, the familiar singing, the familiar acrobatics, the familiar young ladies… In this world so lacking in entertainment, only listening to music at the goulan can give me the slightest bit of warmth.
As I write this diary entry, a thought flashed naturally through my mind. I’m still the same youth I used to be, unchanged in the slightest.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day nineteen, listening to music at the goulan!
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty, listening to music at the goulan.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-one, listening to music at the goulan.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-two. Today I drank tea with Duke Wei. He asked about my cultivation, and I said I’d made slight progress, but was still a very long way from the middle stage of first rank. Advancing in the first rank realm is simply too difficult.
Duke Wei expressed concern. Leaving aside the great calamity to come, the battle of Ananda alone can’t be treated lightly. After careful reflection, I decided to devote myself to cultivation.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty three. In the afternoon, Mu Nanzhi suddenly sent Baiji to find me, saying she’d lost her bracelet and was extremely anxious. So I went to her room to help look for it… I was looking for it until dusk.
This won’t do, Xu Ningyan. It’s not even been a month, and already you can’t keep hold of yourself? Can you face Lin’an like this? Next time, no matter what excuse Mu Nanzhi uses, I won’t take the bait.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-four, flower arranging.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-five, flower arranging.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-six, flower arranging. This afternoon, the National Teacher said she was inviting me to Lingbao Temple for tea.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-seven, flower arranging and jade fondling!
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-eight, flower arranging and jade fondling!
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day twenty-nine, flower arranging and jade fondling. Lin’an, ah, your husband is doing this for cultivation too, so I can deal with the great calamity to come…
After cultivating for several days, the results aren’t bad. Also, Xu Yuanhuai officially joined the Nightwatchers today, which I think is quite good. Going out to work is better than staying at home and living off the family. I asked Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to look after this bargain-bin younger brother of mine, which counts as giving my birth mother something back.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day thirty. My birth mother came to find me, deeply worried, and said that every day Xu Yuanhuai comes home, he smells of powder and rouge. He must have gone astray outside, and he hasn’t even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet.1
Yes, he’s still a child, so how can he visit the Jiaofangsi? So in secret, I taught Xu Yuanhuai the correct way to use green tangerines.
Second year of Huaiqing, month three day thirty-one. As expected, my birth mother hasn’t come to complain again. Very good.
Actually, at Xu Yuanhuai’s age, he ought to be thinking about women already. It’s only normal for Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to lead him astray. Rather than forcing abstinence on him, better for him to become a more normal sort of person. The environment he and Yuanshuang grew up in was rather twisted, and it shaped them into less than ideal personalities.
How does that saying go? A bad childhood takes a lifetime to heal. So let the girls of the Jiaofangsi heal him with their warm bosoms.
I can’t help recalling that when I reached his age, I also had a girlfriend. She only knew how to make unreasonable scenes. Every time she started up, it made my scalp go numb. I had to pin it hard against the keyboard to stop it showing off. Compared to that, Xu Yuanhuai is quite fortunate.
Second year of Huaiqing, month four day one. Today I made a trip to the Southern Marches. The situation in the Abyss is still fairly stable, but the crack in the Confucian Sage’s statue had already reached the waist and abdomen. Within a year, the Gu God will definitely break out of the seal.
In other words, the great calamity will arrive within a year. At times like this, I can’t help missing the Jianzheng. How’s that old bastard doing now? Did Desolation take him to romantic Turkey, or to Tokyo and Paris…
Mm, Luanyu tastes really good.
Second year of Huaiqing, month four day two. Lin’an can already chat and laugh with Auntie, and she also gets on rather well with my birth mother. Although her spoilt and overbearing temperament hasn’t changed, Auntie and my birth mother can both tolerate it.
It’s just that every now and then she has a fight with Lingyue, and she’s hardly ever won… rubbish at it, but addicted to it. Sigh. Wouldn’t it be better to bully Lingyin and Lina? Why insist on making trouble for Lingyue? Fuxiang is still better. She hasn’t caused me any bizarre drama.
Second year of Huaiqing, month four day three. Li Miaozhen officially entered the Earth Sect. Daoist Jinlian gave her a Daoist title, Blue Lotus Lanlian. Bloody hell, Lanlian. Now every time I see Li Miaozhen, a tune echoes in my mind, Blue Lotus Flower, ah, ah~
…
Second year of Huaiqing, seventh day of the fourth month.
Inside the imperial palace.
In the magnificent sleeping quarters, the doors and windows were tightly shut, and every palace maid and eunuch had been dismissed.
Xu Qi’an stood inside the sleeping quarters. Beneath his feet were glossy floor tiles that shone bright enough to reflect a person. Wisps of sandalwood incense drifted from the mouths of the golden beast ornaments by the windows.
On the dragon bed, the bright yellow bed curtains embroidered with dragon patterns had been rolled up. Huaiqing was wearing casual imperial attire. In her cold beauty there was mixed the charm of male clothing.
When a man wears women’s clothes it’s unbearable to look at, but when a woman wears men’s clothes there’s a certain flavour to it. Really unfair. Mm, if Li Lingsu, Erlang, and Nangong Qianrou wore women’s clothes, they’d definitely outshine most women… Xu Qi’an thought to himself, then asked:
“Are you ready?”
After more than a month of preparation and accumulation, Huaiqing had adjusted herself to her peak state and was prepared to charge into third rank today.
“Yes,” Huaiqing said.
“Once we advance to the beyond-mortal realm, those irritating flies should quiet down for a while.”
As the world gradually became more peaceful, the biggest matter before the civil and military officials was the female Emperor’s marriage.
The reason this matter was so hard to suppress was because it truly was important. Naturally there were nobles and officials with great ambitions who wanted to ‘marry into’ the female Emperor’s line, but some members of the Wei Clique and Wang Clique were also urging Huaiqing to marry.
They were precisely the ones unwilling to establish a crown prince. If Huaiqing delayed marriage and ‘establishing an empress-consort’ for too long, then sooner or later the position of crown prince would fall to someone else. If it were the child of another prince, that would be one thing.
But if one of Emperor Yongxing’s children became crown prince, then in future half the officials at court would be purged.
“No need to mind them,” Xu Qi’an said with a smile.
He then took out an Earth Book fragment, while Huaiqing drew the blood pill from her robes.
In an instant, rich and surging life force spread through the sleeping quarters. The potted plants standing in the corners first grew lush and verdant, then rapidly withered, dying soundlessly.
The blood pill contained tremendous life force, but to ordinary things and ordinary people, it was deadly poison.
“Ding!”
Xu Qi’an flicked the mirror surface of the Earth Book, and a thick strand of Dragon Qi, almost tangible, burst out and charged at Huaiqing baring fangs and claws. Golden light rippled open across her chest like water.
After absorbing the Dragon Qi, Huaiqing pinched the blood pill between her fingers and gazed at it intently.
The blood pill was crystal clear and warm to the touch. Just by smelling its aura, she felt her blood boiling, her heartbeat quickening, and her pores opening, as if she’d gone through a bout of intense exercise.
Two flushes of red rose on her cheeks, and heat surged through her body.
Huaiqing swallowed, no longer suppressing her ‘appetite’. She parted her vermilion lips and swallowed the blood pill whole.
Traditionally age 20 (for men, 15 for women) ↩
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