CFB Chapter 106.1

Translator – Xiao He Lian

This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.

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Chapter 106.1

 

(Past Life continuing)

Because Lu Yan suddenly left the palace, the lights on the eaves of the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion were up all night. Princess Jing’an sat by the couch all night, and finally saw Lu Yan’s figure early the next morning.

Princess Jing’an pushed open the door of Suining Hall.

Seeing a large amount of blood oozing from his chest, she couldn’t help but said with red eyes: “Are you crazy? You have gone crazy, haven’t you?”

When they looked at each other, Lu Yan smiled and said, “Mother, this is the last time.”

Princess Jing’an looked at the cold and gloomy eyes and couldn’t help but hold her breath. She swallowed all the words that were about to overflow from her lips.

Where he went last night and who he met, obviously, it doesn’t matter anymore… now that he is back home safely.

After a period of silence, Lu Yan stood up straight, took out two secret letters from the desk, and handed them to Princess Jing’an, “Mother, take a look.”

The Grand Princess read silently from right to left, her brows becoming increasingly furrowed.

These were all about the secret activities that the Xu family had been doing for the past two years, and although there was no concrete evidence for some of these things, Grand Princess Jing’an could roughly guess which ones were true and which ones were false.

Her fingers holding the letter gradually tightened.

Lu Yan then said, “Although the Tenth Prince is young, he has been gifted since childhood. With a benevolent teacher like Grand Tutor Xu([mfn]This is another Xu character, not the same surname as the Empress’s family.This is 徐 while the Empress’s family surname is 许 (Xu))[/mfn] by his side, I think he will be able to take on important tasks in the future.”

His Highness the Tenth Prince, that is Concubine Duan’s son.

Princess Jing’an’s eyes turned cold, “Do you know what you are talking about?”

“I know that factional disputes are a taboo in the royal family, but His Majesty has no interest in government affairs. The Xu family rules the people with inhumanity, with the hearts of jackals and foxes[mfn](Refers to having a cruel and cunning heart like that of jackals and foxes.)[/mfn] . They just want to protect themselves.” Lu Yan looked at the secret letter in the Grand Princess’s hand and continued, “The country will be in danger.”

“But Lu Yan, behind you is the entire Duke’s Mansion…”

Before the Grand Princess finished speaking, She saw Lu Ting and Lu Ye appeared at the door of Suining Hall carrying a lot of precious medicinal materials.

“If it is beneficial to the country, I will not avoid it for the sake of misfortune.” Lu Ting smiled and said, “Third brother, I will be the first one to support you.”

Lu Ye also laughed and said, “It should be so.”

Three days later, Princess Jing’an and her personal guards went to the Taoist temple and not only smashed the useless Nine Heavenly Furnace, but also cursed at Taoist Master Ge.

Emperor Chengyuan asked sternly: “Jing’an, am I spoiling you too much?”

Princess Jing’an shouted at the top of her lungs, “If my son hadn’t blocked the arrow for Your Majesty that day, how would Your Majesty be able to achieve immortality? With these incense beads that fool people!”

Emperor Chengyuan was breathing rapidly, obviously extremely angry. He pointed at Princess Jing’an’s face and said, “Go back to your Duke’s Mansion!”

Princess Jing’an burst into tears, “If brother doesn’t go back with me today, there will be no Jing’an in this world.”

The little Taoists inside the temple were so frightened by this kind of scene and retreated in all directions.

When the stalemate reached a deadlock, Hong Sheng drew the sword from his waist, and chopped off Taoist Master Ge’s head. Before Emperor Chengyuan could react, Hong Sheng bent his legs and knelt on the ground.

“I know my crime is unforgivable, I only hope that Your Majesty will spare my adopted son for the sake of our old friendship.”

After saying this, the long sword pierced his abdomen, and Hong Sheng died to atone for his crime.

Emperor Chengyuan’s shoulders were slumped, his temples were gray, and his cloudy eyes were filled with anger, surprise, and a hint of indescribable dejection.

He swayed, and Princess Jing’an supported him, “Your Majesty, please return to the palace.”

It was only when Emperor Chengyuan put on the dragon robe again and sat on the dragon throne that he suddenly realized that the Great Jin, had long since ceased to be Great Jin in his hands.

The calls for the crown prince grew louder and louder.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, two years have passed.

The Lu family and the Xu family were like fire and water. Although the Xu family was powerful, they couldn’t resist the influence of the Duke of Zhenguo, the Marquis of Xuanping, the Lu clan, the Chu family of Yangzhou, and the Xu family behind Concubine Duan[mfn](The family of Grand Tutor Xu, 徐 )[/mfn], who were leading the court to oppose the Eastern Palace. In the past two years, Lu Yan has personally killed many people from the Xu family.

The means were so brutal that it was shocking. The 26-year-old Lu Yan was no longer the calm and composed young master of the Lu family.

The court was in turmoil, and Empress Xu’s life was not as easy as she had imagined.

Chu Xun and Sui Yu invited him to have a drink at Hongxiu Tower. It was already evening when the carriage reached Pingkang lane. He hurried over, exhausted, following the flickering shadows of fire in the suspended corridor.

His sleeves were covered with snowflakes. It was another winter, another bleak year.

When he lifted the curtains of the wing room, Chu Xun teased, “It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to meet Lord Lu in private.”

Lu Yan was now the Minister of Personnel and he can no longer socialize as he pleases, so what Chu Xun said was not wrong.

Sui Yu laughed and said, “Admit it, you were lured to the capital by him right.”

Chu Xun was so touched by Lu Yan’s “sincere and heartfelt” letter that he bid farewell to the pleasure boats on the West Lake and the beautiful scenery of Yangzhou and rushed to the capital without stopping. However, only to stumble and become the Assistant Minister of Justice who has to report to duty on time with a black hat on his head.

Li Niang from Hongxiu Tower sat on her knees beside him, stretched out her hand to rub Chu Xun’s brow, and said softly, “Look….look at how wronged Lord Chu has been.”

Chu Xun hugged her waist, with a sly smile on his face, “You’re trying to trick me too, aren’t you?”

Li Niang smiled and said, “Li Niang dare not.”

After eating some snacks, Li Niang brought a jar of good wine and said to Lu Yan respectfully, “This peach blossom wine is the signature wine of Hongxiu Tower. Lord Lu, wouldn’t it be a waste if you drank it by yourself tonight?”

Lu Yan knew exactly what Li Niang meant. The man leaned back, his deep eyes and eyebrows showing a sense of romance, “How can it not be considered a waste?”

Li Niang exchanged glances with Chu Xun, got up and pushed open the door.

The red lanterns crisscross each other, and the melodious and sweet sounds linger in the ears.

A girl walked in slowly. She was pretty with bright eyes. When their eyes met, Lu Yan’s increasingly sophisticated and distant eyes dazed for a moment.

Only then did he realize that today was a “Hongmen Banquet“[mfn](Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of Xiang Yu” records: After Liu Bang captured Xianyang in 206 BC, he sent troops to guard Hangu Pass. Soon, Xiang Yu led his army to attack and held a banquet at Hongmen to “entertain” Liu Bang. At the banquet, Xiang Yu’s adviser Fan Zeng ordered Xiang Zhuang to dance with a sword in an attempt to assassinate Liu Bang. Liu Bang escaped under the protection of Fan Kuai and others. Later, “Hongmen Banquet” was used to refer to a banquet that was full of murderous intentions and intended to harm guests.)[/mfn].

The woman in front of him bears a striking resemblance to that person.

The moment the woman sat down, the man’s eyes were calm again. He asked her, “What’s your name?”

The little girl was a little timid. She clenched her fists and whispered, “My Lord, my name is Zhen’er.”

Lu Yan smiled slightly, “Which Zhen[mfn](Lu Yan is asking which Zhen character she is named after)[/mfn]?”

Zhen’er said, “Zhen[mfn](Zhen, 珍 character for the world pearl (珍珠) while our Shen Zhen’s, Zhen character is 甄)[/mfn] as in Pearl.”

Lu Yan asked again: “How old are you?”

Zhen’er’s cheeks instantly turned red, “Sixteen.”

Lu Yan played with the cup in his hand, then moved it in front of her and said, “Pour the wine.”

Zhen’er was still unmarried and had never served anyone. The youthfulness in her eyes cannot be faked. She already knew that the man in front of her was powerful, but she didn’t know he was this gentle and handsome.

Smelling the faint sandalwood scent on him, she felt a slight shiver coming from her body like a spring breeze, which circled in her heart and disappeared in an instant.

Sui Yu and Chu Xun’s hands holding the cup stiffened, as if to say, this is not how they expected Lu Shiyan to react.

People thought that he only cared about power, and that his elegant appearance was accompanied by a growing ambition. But the young master of the Zhenguo Mansion, at the age of 26, did not marry or take concubines. Could it be that he could not let go of that person?

Recalling that after Shen Zhen left the capital, in early spring, a piece of news came from some restaurant – although Shen Zhen, the most beautiful woman in Chang’an in the past, was engaged to the Marquis of Changping, she was actually Lord Lu’s mistress.

The daughter of sinner and the proud son of heaven.

Overnight, there was a sensation.

Sui Yu thought that with Lu Yan’s temper, he would definitely teach that person a lesson, whether openly or secretly. Unexpectedly, he just brushed it off lightly.

Sui Yu had said to him, “Lu Yan, if it’s inconvenient for you to take action on this matter, I will handle it for you.”

Lu Yan replied: “Why bother? Rumors are mostly like this anyway. The more you care about them, the further they will spread.”

Sui Yu said: “Then you don’t care?”

Lu Yan frowned, then he chuckled, “Since she has decided to become the wife of the Su family, why should I care?”

Sui Yu couldn’t help but pause and give him a helpless look. His suspicion died in Lu Yan’s calm tone, “Sui Yu, I’m not as loyal as you.”

Sui Yu continued: “Then why is your marriage with the Bai family……”

Lu Yan straightforwardly said: “When I enter the central government and take charge of the government[mfn](In the early Tang Dynasty, the three prime ministers {Zhongshu (drafting imperial edicts), Menxia (deliberation), Shangshu (execution)} were in charge of the central decision-making. In the late Tang Dynasty, the power gradually shifted to the hands of Hanlin academicians and Privy Envoys.)[/mfn], I will naturally get married.”

For a moment, Sui Yu admired Lu Yan very much.

He admired him for not indulging in any romantic affairs, or rather, although he had fallen before, he was cold-hearted enough to let her go.

But a lie is a lie and they will eventually come to light. Now two years have passed, and the power in Lu Yan’s hands were no longer comparable to the past. In the end, he is still like this.

A look of total nonchalance.

Sui Yu suddenly realized that it was his personality that made it difficult for him to reveal his true feelings.

Sui Yu came back to his senses, looked at Zhen’er, and deliberately asked, “Lord Lu, don’t you think she looks a lot like someone?”

Lu Yan took a sip of wine and said in a deep voice: “Really, it seems like it.”

Chu Xun took a long breath and said seriously, “Raise your head.”

Zhen’er was at the side with her eyes downcast. After hearing this, she slowly raised her head…

Chu Xun nodded and said directly, “Don’t mention it, she and Shen Zhen do look a bit alike.”

Shen Zhen.

Speaking of which, Lu Yan did not know how long it had been since he had opened his mouth to say those two words.

Chu Xun looked at the snowflakes outside, which were like catkins, and said quietly, “Time flies. Two years have passed in a flash. It seems that the mourning period for Marquis Changping should be over soon.”

Sui Yu echoed, “If I remember correctly, it has been nearly half a year.”

Chu Xun asked again: “Are you going to the northern desert to attend the wedding banquet?”

Sui Yu nodded, “If there is nothing going on in the capital…”

Before he could finish his words, the corners of Lu Yan’s lips turned cold, and the curve suddenly flattened, and he threw the cup in his hand to the ground with a “clang”.

 

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T/N – This chapter is super long. phew….