The forest was silent, only the sound of the wood within the bonfire cracking and breaking audible. Son Juguang, eyes narrowed, gazed intently at the shrubbery not too far away, though not even the breeze had rustled its branches and leaves. Suddenly, that deep green foliage shifted; first swaying slightly, and then the extent of the shaking grew greater and greater, as if something was about to wind out from within. Song Juguang stroked the unremarkable stone by her side; with a wave of her wrist, in an instant, the stone rushed towards there with the sound of breaking. Pu. It was the sound of stone piercing flesh. Yet the sound of something heavy falling over didn't rise with it, and after this sound, the empty space was once more silent. Looking intently, it was merely a wild rabbit laying on the ground, its breath already gone. "Ah." Song Juguang let out a breath, sneering as she rose from the ground, holding the folding fan that had, who knew when, become grasped in ...

Jiang Changbai, seeing Song Juguang had come in, let out an undetectable sigh, and turned her head to look at Xie Qianbing. "Go on, go; we'll discuss this matter again later." Xie Qianbing let out an "understood", lowering her head and leaving, unwilling to meet Song Juguang's gaze. She didn't know why, but she felt that she'd been somewhat scared by Song Juguang's stare. And Song Juguang only spoke once Xie Qianbing had gone a distance, a hidden bitterness in her tone. "Is this Bixia guarding against this minister?" Jiang Changbai chuckled hollowly, shaking her head in denial without thinking. Yet Song Juguang raised a brow, as if utterly uncaring. "Actually, if you are, it doesn't matter; it's merely that this minister hopes you know she doesn't have hidden intents towards you." Jiang Changbai became aware of the burning gaze of Song Juguang's which had fallen on her, and she collected herself. "Of cours...

Qin Anhe's brows furrowed in a flash. Everyone knew that physicians helped the dying and tended to the injured; even if they weren't people who studied medicine, they all understood that saving a single life was more meritorious than building a seven-floor pagoda. How could there be reason to those who set up an aid stand, yet locked their doors and refused to see a patient? She'd almost in a single moment given those complete strangers endless judgments; she felt that they were merely seeking merit, and had forgotten their own duties. But even if she were angry, there was still those who needed to be saved. Qin Anhe extended a hand and pulled the woven mats back, remembering to say, "I need to take a look at what sort of ailment is this complex." Hearing this, a hope suddenly entered the old woman's eyes. Her hands were shaking, yet her gaze remained steadily on the young girl's figure, and she comforted, "Good girl, your illness will get better soon...

"Take me back to the Taishan Prefecture," A Yin said, her handkerchief hitting the tabletop with a " pa ". Across from her, Li Shiyi, tidying up the books, had just briefly flipped through a couple ancient texts, and raised her gaze to look at her. A Yin's mouth pulled to the side, revealing a seldom-seen weakness. A Luo had returned to the Taishan Prefecture to deal with affairs; it had already been over a month, and, since Li Shiyi and Song Shijiu had both returned to Shanghai, she had disappeared without any correspondence, not even a greeting having been sent back. Today, she'd gone to see an opera, the story's contents of a top scorer in the exams looking for scholarly honour, having forgotten his wife who had gone through the hardships of poverty; she'd had that flower cap, [1] the beautiful, delicate wife; how could she have remembered the Wang Baochuan, who'd gone through freezing and fires for eighteen years? [2] The grievance in A Yin...

The entirety of Boyang was being broiled under the scorching sun; on Qin Anhe's journey there, she'd seen withered crops, listless and drooping, even the riverbed showing, cracked into pieces. On the road, dust flying about, the commoners were emaciated and gaunt, even their eyes sunken in. The more she saw, the more she grew flustered. Yet in Boyang's prefectural office, it was an entirely other sight; the back court's pale flagstones seemed to have been washed every day with water, shining bright. The pine and cypress planted along the sides grew verdant and lush as well, exceptionally vital. The Prefectural Magistrate of Boyang, Lan Dexiang, reclined the soft cushion that had been placed on the taishi chair, the cup of tea before him giving off a fragrance. He picked up the cup, sipping a small mouthful, and said faintly, "This tea isn't found often." The master behind him appeared flattered. "Of course, this tea was brought back specially from Hon...

It was said that, in the south of Sijiucheng, there was a family, whose husband in the past had packed tobacco for an official; afterwards, the official had plaited his hair, and no longer had the mind to smoke, and so the man had set up a tobacco stand, right at the mouth of the Nansanshi Alley, and others called him Tobacco Stand Wu. Tobacco stand Wu's wife was a fool; once, she'd looked after the stand for him, and although she'd sat at Zhu Rougui's stand, when people asked how much two liang of pork cost, [1] she would say, "What sort of tobacco do you want?". This comedic happening travelled about the whole neighbourhood, half because their lives didn't have any prospects, and partially because Tobacco Stand Wu's fool wife looked lovely. How foolish was she? The uneducated, coarse-skinned residents of the marketplace couldn't describe it, but when they passed by her, they would whistle. When I met her, she was already no longer that pretty; a...

Translator's note: This isn't a proper chapter, but I felt that the novel wouldn't be properly complete without including the author's afterword. As a result, this will be the last page linked in the main novel. The extras will be posted as well once I've completed translating them, but they will be posted independently, linked only to the main page of contents rather than the novel itself. - When I invited feedback, this novel of mine was completed incredibly well; it didn't count as sluggish, nor hasty; everything I wanted to say, I had said entirely, and it hadn't yet come to the time when either of us were fed up with the other. But when I typed out the three characters of "this novel is complete", because of the disappointment on my face, it became very ugly. I've said it many times; writing this novel was unexpected. Originally, it ought to have ended on the first chapter, and ended without finishing what had been started. There wasn'...

Translator's note: We did it! It's done! Well, the main portion of the novel anyway, there's still six extras left. But after just under two years, the main narrative has been fully translated! As I mentioned on the previous chapter's T/N, I'll be going back and editing and compiling everything into a single document, but otherwise, this is a wrap. Thank you to everyone who has read and commented kind words; this could not have been completed without all of you. - She thought over it for a few days, but it didn't really need to be thought on for that long. But the squirrel had acquired a chestnut the size of its head, and so naturally it cradled it in her chest for a couple days; Zhu Long had acquired a the sweets that she'd plotted for for so long, and so of course she nestled it in her smile to keep for a couple days. She thought her first intimate experience with Li Shiyi; she'd been struck by the other's towel, folded again and again, been struck...