Transmigrated Empresses (Male and Female) - Chapter 10
"Hey ladyboy, if you give me 3,000 taels as a base, maybe I'll get some inspiration." The ladyboy's eyes lit up when she heard me speak. "Really? Don't mention 3,000 taels, I'll even give you 30,000 taels!"
"Okay, thirty thousand taels it is." I jumped up excitedly, feeling fortunate that I would have a much larger income.
[Main Text: Chapter Eleven]
The ladyboy's face, which had been all smiles just moments before, contorted in a grimace after hearing my words, as if he had swallowed a fly.
Qianqing smirked slightly, while Wu Hui laughed heartily at the transvestite. Chou Qian remained silent, while Zi Mo stroked my hair with doting eyes (my Zi Mo is still the best).
The transvestite glanced at the gloating crowd. He angrily declared, "Thirty thousand taels is nothing! Even three hundred thousand taels wouldn't deter me—" All five people, ten pairs of eyes, turned to the transvestite. I waited expectantly for him to continue.
But a transvestite is still a transvestite, a scoundrel from a shady merchant family. He swallowed back the words he was about to say and changed them to: "It's settled, thirty thousand taels."
Damn it, this is infuriating!
Wu Hui attends class with me every day, and I wickedly think, "Wouldn't it be great if he just took a break forever and never came back?" I don't know if I'm just being paranoid, but I've noticed that the way those kids look at Wu Hui is more than just fear; they also seem to respect him. But even so, it doesn't really concern me, and I have no interest in investigating.
Since I was six years old, the person I've seen most often is Wu Hui. He's in front of me during class, he's in front of me after class, and even after school, he's in front of me for a few minutes.
As the saying goes, if you look at a face for too long, you'll either fall in love with it or start to hate it. I think I belong to the latter. Now, whenever I see his bull-like eyes that seem ready to spit fire, I feel uneasy. To calm myself down, most of the time I pretend he doesn't exist and don't talk to him. I also pretend I don't know what he's doing.
During class, he nudged me. I kept my head down, not looking at him. Wu Hui lowered his voice and asked, "What's wrong with you?" His low voice could attract elephants foraging a hundred meters away, let alone in the classroom. The whole class stared at us. The teacher also secretly glanced at us. After Wu Hui glared back, he obediently started lecturing.
"It's nothing, I'm just having teenage angst." I lay on the table, my short legs dangling, unintentionally becoming the focus of the spotlight.
"What did you say?" Wu Hui jumped up from his seat, staring at me with dumbfounded eyes. All eyes in the class fell on him again. The teacher looked at the whole class, and I looked at the teacher.
"Sit down, the teacher is giving a lesson." I kindly tugged at his sleeve, hoping that he would give the teacher some face out of consideration for me as his student.
But this guy didn't take the person on the podium seriously at all.
"Are you telling the truth?" That idiot Wu Hui kept yelling, ignoring the whole class's desire to watch the show. But I had no intention of pretending it was fake. Wu Hui didn't believe me, so I could only comfort him, "Okay, okay, sit down. We see each other every day. You know best whether it's true or not!" I suppressed my anger and coaxed him.
"You won't be able to see it after you get home!" Damn, they're really pushing their luck. But what can you do when they have the power?
I held back. "Good boy, repentant. I just thought winter has come, but spring can't be far behind. Sit down and don't disturb the teacher's class." I coaxed and tricked him into sitting down. My resentment towards him only grew stronger. Damn it, those little brats looked at me like I was a monkey.
After school, Wu Hui rushed out of the classroom before me, grabbing Zi Mo who had come to pick me up, and they were muttering something to each other. I kicked the front railing of the carriage hard, feeling infected by Wu Hui's plague-like restlessness; damn it, it was all things that annoyed me.
At the end of the seventh year of Emperor Renguang's reign, the court was in turmoil again. The old prime minister stepped down and intended to transfer power to his thirteen-year-old grandson, Sikong Qian. This decision was supported by the Secretariat, strongly opposed by the Minister of Personnel, supported by the Ministry of Rites, neutral by the Ministry of Revenue, and withdrawn from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works. The chaotic court situation left even the neutral parties at a loss as to how to respond.
With no one speaking up, the Prime Minister's faction and the Minister's faction remained in a stalemate. The young emperor clearly wanted to watch the show; given his current situation, saying a word would have been quite effective, but he remained silent.
Zi Mo has disappeared again these past two days. Poor clown Qian, I'm here to support you in spirit.
Amidst their fierce struggle, the Lunar New Year arrived.
I happily wore the new clothes my mother had made for me, dressed up beautifully, and performed a dance and opera for her in the courtyard. My mother, wrapped in a coat and holding a hand warmer, watched me stare blankly while helping me peel peanuts. It was a beautiful day.
But I hate this season and I loathe this holiday, because during this season, it is quite difficult for us powerless people to get more heating supplies to get through the winter, and during this holiday, there is something even more unacceptable to do.
At noon, Zimo took me to the front yard to wish my father a Happy New Year.
In the morning, the principal wife and favored ladies would perform the rites; it wasn't until the afternoon that it was our turn, the creatures of the corner.
We passed through the back hall and the middle courtyard before finally seeing the main hall. I was only allowed to stroll around the front during the New Year; normally, it was just a line of people through the back gate of the small courtyard. This dilapidated Ministry of Revenue really had a complex population, with many concubines and a large number of people.
I and several other unfavored young masters offered our New Year's greetings to that man. I'm sure the person sitting there wouldn't know any of our names. What a terrifying family!
I exaggeratedly lay prostrate on the ground, bowing gratefully to my benefactors. "Get up," they said, and I obediently stood up, intending to quit this boring game.
Just when things weren't going my way, a gentle voice rang out: "Is that Little Eleven? Come here and let your mother take a look." Zi Mo's mother patted my head affectionately and said with a smile, "You're getting prettier and prettier." She handed me a red envelope, which I accepted shyly.
I don't have a good impression of her. How many good people can secure the position of the first wife?
She grabbed my hand and complimented me, "You're so pretty! I wish you were a girl." What a load of rubbish! If I were a girl, you'd probably sell me off to whoever you wanted!
Zi Mo, that idiot, still thought his mother was a good person, and interjected, "Eleventh Brother is indeed handsome. In the entire capital, perhaps only Su Gu can rival his beauty." His tone was extremely smug.
After he finished speaking, the man pondered for a moment and said, "Eleven is like his mother. She was also like that back then—" He didn't finish his sentence, but it was enough for his wives to look at me with eyes that wanted to tear me apart.
I looked at Zi Mo like he was trash. You son of a bitch, are you trying to kill me?!
But Zi Mo seemed oblivious, still rambling on and on. I kindly brought him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Fourth Brother, have some tea!"
"So what if she's pretty? She's still of lowly birth." I knew without even looking that the arrogant voice belonged to Zi Mo's precious younger sister, Shen Zi Ji.
The children born to the legal wife all have some issues.
I lowered my head and let her scold me to my heart's content. Seeing my aggrieved expression, Zi Mo said, "Zi Ji, mind your manners! You are destined for the royal family; how can you have such a temper!"
I glanced at Ziji furtively; she was clearly unhappy that her brother was siding with outsiders. They started arguing, and I didn't dare interrupt. After all, they were valuable pillars of their families, people I couldn't afford to offend. I just stood there and watched.
The wife came out and scolded her two children, apologizing to the old man for failing to properly discipline them. The man said nothing; one was the royal heir chosen by the emperor, and the other was the legitimate son who had a chance to succeed him. How could he bear to scold them? He doted on them too much. Tch! Hypocritical person.
[Main Text: Chapter Twelve]
After this farce ended, I escaped the scene of trouble unscathed, but I thought to myself with a sour feeling: Shen Ziji, you just wait, don't fall into my hands one day.
I skipped and hopped back to my little courtyard. Passing by the back garden, I casually picked a sprig of plum blossom and a cluster of snowflakes. I also plucked a few living blades of grass and made a simple bouquet. I'm going back to give it to my mother as a New Year's gift.
"Eleventh brother, did you have fun?" Who is this? He is quite handsome, but I don't remember seeing him before.
Holding the flowers, I gazed thoughtfully at the two dashing young men before me.