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Chapter 70.1: Husband, I’ll Wait for You
The beautiful missus began getting ready to return. The entire family got together and decided it was best to let Xiaoqi return to Tongxu first. After everything here was finished, they would head over to bring her back. Most of this was also what Song Liangzhuo wanted. What he wanted was to keep her company properly rather than allow her to continuously worry about his safety at every single moment.
Xiaoqi didn’t go see Song Liangzhuo. However, it wasn’t because she didn’t want to go but because Chen Zigong had said that if she went, he would send Song Liangzhuo back to the death cell. From the start, Xiaoqi had been hesitating over whether to let Song Liangzhuo know that she didn’t leave. After being muddled by Chen Zigong, she immediately threw away the idea of going to see him. She decided to just returned to her hometown first with the beautiful missus. If he chased after her, it would work out quite well. He could leave this place for a while and it’d also be easier for him to digest the shock caused by the bad green plum’s death.
Ruoshui’s marriage was pushed back again and again. It was pushed back so much that black smoke was emitting from the top of Liu Hengzhi’s head. The moment Liu Hengzhi got the news that Song Liangzhuo was moved from the death cell to a normal jail, he fought off the pressure and forcefully had the marriage done. At first, Ruoshui refused to get married for the life of her until Song Liangzhuo came out of the prison. However, Liu Hengzhi said that what Song Liangzhuo needed was precisely a cheerful atmosphere so they should hurry and get married in order to bring a rush of blessings. He said that perhaps right after they got married Song Liangzhuo would be released from prison right away. Ruoshui only half-believed his words but in the midst of her confusion, she was deceived into entering the Liu family and her clan name became Liu WenT/N.
It had suddenly started to snow. Xiaoqi got a quilt and headed to the government office. The moment she arrived, she was stopped by Chen Zigong who was staying at Song View Pavilion.
Chen Zigong’s objective was very simple. He wanted Xiaoqi to complete what she promised earlier. Chen Zigong lifted the clothes he had changed out of and threw them over as he said to Xiaoqi who had an unwilling expression on, “You said you were going to help me wash my clothes. How come you look so unwilling now?”
Xiaoqi pouted as she took them. “These are cotton-padded clothes. I’ve never washed something this thick. Find some thinner ones for me.”
Chen Zigong lifted his brows. “How about you wash a handkerchief?”
Xiaoqi repeatedly nodded as she said with a smile, “Alright, alright!”
Chen Zigong looked at her curved smiling eyes and turned away with a humph. In the end, he actually did dig out several handkerchiefs. Zhou Cang had someone bring warm water and some soap in before exiting and closing the door.
Xiaoqi carried a low stool over and sat in front of the wooden basin very properly. She soaked the soft, natural silk handkerchief in the water before fishing it back up. After rubbing a bit of the soap into it, she started rubbing it very vigorously. Chen Zigong crouched down opposite her to watch and some indescribable emotions flashed through his eyes.
The silk handkerchief couldn’t take being rubbed. After Xiaoqi rinsed it with water and fished it out again, she discovered that the handkerchief had already been rubbed to the point it was in clumps in some places and threadbare elsewhere. From the looks of it, it was ruined.
Xiaoqi smiled in embarrassment. “Your handkerchief is really not durable. I’ll just gift you a new one.”
Chen Zigong gave a light humph. “You, this woman, seriously! To be incapable of even doing this little bit of work well! Whoever married you will seriously have bad luck.”
“That’s right ah, that’s right.” Xiaoqi shook her head as she said with delight, “But my husband is just willing to have bad luck, so what can one do?”
Chen Zigong gave a heavy humph. Taking the handkerchief that was beyond recognition from her hands, he rinsed it clean, squeezed out the water, and hung it on the back of a chair.
Xiaoqi blinked her eyes as she said, “It’s already ruined, are you still going to use it? Aren’t you a wang ye? Why are you this stingy? Even more stingy than my dad!”
Chen Zigong was amused. “Your dad isn’t stingy at all. There’s many areas in which he’s generous.”
Xiaoqi smiled as she wiped her hands on the hem of her clothes. “I’ll be returning to Tongxu in a few days, so I’ll say goodbye to you first. In the future, you’re my friend, alright? If you go to Tongxu to play, just look for me. I’ll take care of your food and housing, and I’ll even do it for free!”
The corners of Chen Zigong’s lips twitched. “Then not only are you not losing out, you’ve also won big. Having a wang ye as your friend is something that other people can’t obtain even with several lifetimes of beseeching.”
Xiaoqi pouted. “It’s not like you have more eyes or nose than other people just because you’re a wang ye. Don’t you still only have two arms, two legs, one nose and one mouth?”
Chen Zigong was stunned for a moment before he shook his head with a wry smile. “If everyone thought this way, it would be quite interesting.”
“That’s not true. If everyone thought this way, there’d be no one that’s afraid of you. Then my husband’s case wouldn’t have been overturned.” Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose, distressed. “It is still necessary for people to fear you. In times of necessity, you can use it.”
Chen Zigong laughed. “Are you trying to say that those in the bureaucracy should hold people’s respect but in their daily life should be amiable?”
Xiaoqi smiled as she said, “That’s right ah. In reality, you’re already pretty amiable.” Xiaoqi thought for a little bit, then asked, “How come you always head out to play? Don’t the people at home miss you?”
Chen Zigong shook his head, but after being silent for a while, he nodded. “Probably. But who can tell whether they miss me or are longing for the power I have? Even I’m not sure.”
Xiaoqi blinked her eyes. As she stared at Chen Zigong who seemed a bit sad, she was stunned for a moment. However, a moment later, she smiled again and said, “If they miss you then they’re missing you. Why do you think they’re longing for your power? It’s not like they can eat or drink that stuff. You’d still better head home. It’s almost New Year’s. Your wives’ hearts are definitely chilled from waiting.”
Having gone through the experience of Song Liangzhuo being given a death sentence and recalling Lin Zixiao who was no longer here, Xiaoqi suddenly felt that human life was actually incomparably frail. Xiaoqi’s mood was a bit gloomy and she lowered her eyes as she said, “You don’t know. It’s only now that I feel like human lifetimes are really short. I waited for my husband for two years, but thinking back now, it seemed like nothing but a blink’s effort. If I blink again, another two years will definitely pass. Time passes so fast ah. We should treat the people next to us well. Otherwise, in the future we’ll regret it. You always say that the women in your home are too smart. My mom’s also very smart ah, but my dad just likes my mom. My mom also has a lot of little ideas to use and bullies my dad terribly every day. However, my dad never feels unhappy.” T/N3
Xiaoqi looked at Chen Zigong and continued seriously. “The reason you feel it’s troublesome is because you took too many wives. Three thousand. There’s only three hundred and sixty-five days in a year. Even if you spend time with one a day, you still wouldn’t be able to spend time with all of them so of course they would feel unhappy. I would feel unhappy if my husband ignored me for just one day. But no matter how many you married, you still have to treat them well. They can only follow you their entire lifetimes.”
Xiaoqi wanted to say: Look at the bad green plum. You casually decided to just not want her anymore. Now you’ve turned back, wanting to retrieve her, but you don’t even have the chance anymore. However, after thinking about it, she didn’t say it. The beautiful missus mom said that people have to look forward and just let the past pass.
Xiaoqi scratched her cheek and wrinkled her brows. “What am I trying to say? Do you get it?”
Chen Zigong’s expression was strange as he nodded. “For the most part I get it. It’s nothing but the logic of ‘water of utmost purity has no fish’. (don’t hold too severe of demands towards people, otherwise you won’t have friends.) Also, it’s strangely scary when you blink. In the future, you should blink less. If you blink a couple more times, we’ll all turn chicken skinned and crane feathered.” (wrinkled skin and white hair)
Xiaoqi giggled and jumped up. Blinking her eyes, she said, “I was just talking about an analogy, it’s not for real. You can’t even understand this? Look at me blink and blink. See, you still haven’t turned old, right?”
“A pregnant person shouldn’t get so scared and shocked at every little thing. No matter what, you should act more like a mother.” Chen Zigong subconsciously reached out to steady Xiaoqi. His light scolding voice carried a hard to detect gentleness.
Xiaoqi stood up properly. As she rubbed her belly, she slightly tilted her head and said, “Then I’m leaving. I won’t come say goodbye when I leave Ruzhou.”
“Hm?” Chen Zigong lifted his head, astounded. “You’re not going to see Song Liangzhuo before you leave?”
“I’m not going anymore. Didn’t you say we weren’t allowed to meet? Not to mention,” Xiaoqi shook her head as she continued, “I already told him that I’ve returned to Tongxu. If I suddenly popped out, he’ll definitely become very shocked.”
Chen Zigong’s lips twitched severely. She was really treating Song Liangzhuo as a fool to be able to play something like running away so happily.
Xiaoqi walked out with little steps. Chen Zigong saw her out of the government office and waited for her to get onto the carriage before standing by himself in the snow for a long while. Chen Zigong looked at the vast white street and the old trees on both sides of the street. His lips hooked into a slight smile as he silently thought that perhaps what Xiaoqi said was right. It was also about time for him to return home. Perhaps, happiness sometimes requires one to be a little muddled in order to obtain.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Ocelot
[Chiyomira’s Corner]
T/N – So the passage says that she was tricked to the Liu family to become Liu Wen 氏. The meanings of 氏 is clan name, or maiden name. Earlier I translated it as clan for Xiaoqi, I believe, because I thought when the girl married over, her surname is added to the branch and the surname became a mix of both the husband and the wife’s family names. I realized it was a little off around here became she became the Liu Wen 氏 and if it was a mix, over the generations there with like more and more surnames which definitely doesn’t seem to happen. So I searched it up and it turns out that 氏 is like a surname. However, according to baidu, your surname is like the main branch while 氏 is a diverging branch and both of them can be used interchangeably. That’s why, I’ll go with translating it as the girl’s new clan name from now on. Will go back through and fix the previous chapters… soon hopefully!
T/N2 – Lol, lesson here is, always negotiate! Better to try than to not have and miss out on benefits!
T/N3 – Tearing up lol. I feel like life is short, treat the people precious to you well now is a really important but sometimes hard thing to remember.
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Thank you sooo much for the update!!
GXQ certainly has matured as a person but a bit careless as a mother
thank you!!!