Qin Anhe wore a moon-pale Daoist's robe, her head and face round; she wasn't tall, but she was very adorable. Looking at her carefully, she could only be fourteen or fifteen years old. For a moment, Shen Yanyi thought Chen Xun was playing a trick on her, and so her complexion darkened, and she asked, interrogating, "Chen-zhanggui, what's your meaning with this?" Chen Xun laughed. "Shen-daren, don't judge others by their appearances. This Qin-daozhang of mine is actually incredibly skilled; not only is she proficient in fengshui, she can even call the wind and summon the rain." Shen Yanyi let out a scoff, clearly not believing it much. Yet Qin Anhe's expression was one of having expected it from early on, and the corners of her mouth rose in a light smile; she waved her hand to indicate to Shen Yanyi to look at the teacup before her. Shen Yanyi didn't understand what she was doing at all, but she still followed her gaze and looked over. In the...

The next morning, Xie Qianbing's memorial was brought to Jiang Changbai's desk. This wasn't the first time that Jiang Changbai had received a memorial impeaching Lin Yingqing; actually, among the memorials that had piled up on a corner of the imperial study's bookshelf, a good portion of the impeachments were of Lin Yingqing. Sometimes, even Jiang Changbai felt that it was amusing. She didn't know whether, as an official, Lin Yingqing having cultivated this many political opponents was deserved or not. But, in the end, others were others; previously, having seen these sorts of memorials, Jiang Changbai had always viewed these with disdain beneath contempt as political struggles; but, now, even Xie Qianbing had sent a memorial indicating to her that Lin Yingqing's oddness, and Jiang Changbai struggled not to mind it. It was just that she didn't have the time to investigate it; she'd just set down the memorial when Song Juguang pushed the door open and ent...

"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 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 sh...

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 gazed 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 smil...

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 shadow. 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, patting 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 had st...