"Sleep," Ling Heng said. Tu Laoyao couldn't see anything anymore, his eyes filled only with the blinding, hazy light; in the light, there was a bright figure, with a red birthmark on the side of her neck, like a droplet of weeping blood. Sleep…this voice of Ling Heng's, it was truly fucking pleasant to listen to. Tu Laoyao spat out a mouthful of blood, and wanted to ask her, what about Li Shiyi? Had Li Shiyi, who had, just then, been beaten such that she could only breathe in and couldn't breathe out, died? Ah, it was said that in Sijiucheng, the tobacco stand's proprietor was thin and frail, dispirited and washed out in appearance, her hair cut short, unable to cover her neck, with bangs that seemed to have been gnawed by a dog, long here and short there, concealing her heavy eyelids, an antiquated guapi hat atop her head, looking somewhat comical. Her surname was Li, and had always looked like this, neither a man nor a woman; she didn't have a name, and ...

Translator's note: If there are any errors in this chapter, forgive me; at over 6k characters in the raws, this is the longest chapter I've ever translated, and it took me all day. - "Who are you?" Song Shijiu raised her gaze. The white-clad woman laughed, the sound seeming to have come from deep in the snow-capped mountains. "A Yao." A lonely ancient rode, sandalwood wheels; she sat at the end of time, the mountain and river exhausted, sat at the flourishing yin and yang, where the breeze sprang up and created waves on the water. The Xi Wangmu of folk tales had a leopard's tail and tiger's fangs, hair fluffy like a hoopoe, [1] but the woman sitting here now was weak and frail, and when she spoke, her skin stuck to her neck, as if even in breathing she was straining. She sluggishly raised her head to gaze at the heavens, and then swept her gaze across the withered and fallen plague worms on the ground, the corners of her mouth still carrying a smile...

Xie Qianbing's chopsticks paused, yet her reply was honest. "The truth is, I did a bit, at first." That year, Xie Qianbing hadn't been able to relax at He Leyong living alone, deep in the mountains, and had furtively brought the necessities of life to her a number of times to make sure she was doing alright. Even He Leyong herself thought that, were it not for Xie Qianbing, she might not have been able to steadily pass those first couple of years. But, three years ago, Xie Qianbing had gone up Mount Tongshan like she usually had, yet He Leyong had locked the door and refused to see her. After a harsh half year with no results, Xie Qianbing had resentfully left, and the two hadn't seen each other since then. At the time, Xie Qianbing had been resentful; but now, in the end, she'd understood He Leyong's goals then. "From childhood, I thought that you were a good successor for studies; even if you couldn't become an official, following after the Empe...

After morning court ended, Xie Qianbing and He Leyong were left behind, and only approaching midday did they leave the Palace. He Leyong had only just entered the capital, and hadn't had the opportunity to purchase a residence, and so she was temporarily living in Xie Qianbing's home. Yet the two didn't return together; Xie Qianbing, seeing He Leyong had gotten into a carriage, herself actually happily rode a horse to Honghailou. Honghailou was located in the most flourishing part of the capital; those who came and went were all high-ranking officials and nobles. As soon as Xie Qianbing dismounted her horse, she saw a number of familiar faced. But today, she hadn't actually come to acquaint herself with these people, and so didn't pay much attention to them, heading directly into Honghailou. The waiter had a sharp eye, and with a single glance, was able to tell that Xie Qianbing was wearing a third rank official's dress, and so hurried to approach her. "Dar...

Translator's note: My apologies for the delayed chapter; I had a hectic weekend. The next chapter is over 6k in the raws, so that might be delayed slightly as well, but I'll do my best to post it in a timely manner. - The crisscrossing roads were like a qi board, [1] the uneven houses the blanks where pieces couldn't be placed, and the sun and moon and stars the hands moving the pieces, seizing the passersby with the shadows. The village's other end was clattering with the sound of the "firecracker", rising and stopping along with Xiao Douding's footsteps, the child's clear, tinkling voice drifting further away, along with the thick, unbeaten gasps. "It's the New Year! The coming year will be well!" He went from house to house, slapping the doors. The bamboo pipes clattered against the stairs, and he lifted them, knocking on them, making the sound of the beast-chasing weapon even louder. Exhaustion struck once more; in the end, his body ...

Song Shijiu suddenly understood; in the affection between her and Li Shiyi, there had never been a need to argue about who was right or wrong; all she needed was for Li Shiyi to care about her. Just as then, what caused her to have a hard time resisting had never been Li Shiyi's attitude towards right and wrong, but that phrase of her "acting impetuously". And now, this phrase of Li Shiyi's "alright" caused her previous resentment to disappear entirely, and caused her frame to loosen, her heart to soften, truly becoming a water snake, curved and laying on its abdomen, happily clinging to her, hugging and kissing her. She was just this sort of unreasonable woman, just this sort of inexperienced woman; right and wrong weren't as great as her willingness, good and bad, black and white, none of it as good as her love. She gazed earnestly at Li Shiyi's features, carefully considering why she would love her like this. It was because her brows were like gre...

Song Juguang wore darkly-coloured sleep attire, her figure slender and tall. She held the teacup, respectfully and deferentially standing before Jiang Changbai's bed, no different from the other maids. Jiang Changbai looked at her in astonishment, a great shock in her heart. For a moment, she didn't know what to do, her extended hand halting in midair, and then she awkwardly drew it back to scratch behind her ear. "Didn't Bixia say she was thirsty?" Song Juguang asked, lightly holding the cup up before Jiang Changbai. Yet Jiang Changbai didn't take it, only staring at her. Song Juguang, seeing this, didn't actually say much more; she neatly drank half the hot water in the cup. Then, she held the cup before Jiang Changbai again, not forgetting to explain herself. "Just now, this minister also felt a bit thirsty." Only at this did Jiang Changbai hesitantly take the cup, her palm sensing the heat seeping from the cup. She sighed softly, and swallowe...