Once these words came out, everyone from the Luo family all froze. Even the ten year old little brothers and sisters all couldn’t help but peek at Jing Wan’s face. The incident of Li Ru Yu coming to make a ruckus, they perhaps were kept in the dark by the adults, but third older sister’s cancelled engagement, they for the most part all were aware. They perhaps still were’t very clear as to what this signified, but they also knew it wasn’t a good thing.
Towards this matter, Jing Wan was also very helpless. She clearly didn’t care, but some people just kept feeling that she was very heartbroken and very upset, and now that her former fiancee has become the Flower Snatcher, receiving the favor of the young ladies, she probably was further heartbroken and upset.
Jing Wan faintly smiled, “Prior to the court exam results coming out, who would know who the three people of the first class will be. I’m the same as everyone else, just here to join in on the festivity.” Seeing the three approaching even closer, the smile on Jing Wan’s lips suddenly grew. Those who didn’t know thought that because of that Flower Snatcher attracting everyone’s attention, she was feeling proud. And for those that were in the know, they were somewhat confused.
“What is third older sister smiling about?” Luo seventh miss curiously asked.
“En, third older sister just feels, the three of them right now must be between fire and ice.”
“Eh, what does that mean?”
“With that many things getting thrown at them, it definitely must be very painful, yet they can’t dodge, but they’re probably also genuinely happy inside as well. Isn’t this caught between fire and ice?”
“If third sister didn’t say, really wouldn’t have noticed. With that many things getting thrown at them, if in the fragrant pouches, there are things like pearls and such placed inside, and the person throwing it doesn’t pay attention, then after the parade finishes, their bodies will perhaps be bruised all over.”
When these words came out, everyone all looked to one another in dismay. Then in other words, this parade through the streets was actually something very much like enduring hardships.
Jing Wan turned around, “Would there be those failed candidates that would out of jealousy and vengeance, deliberately use this opportunity to put a rock in a fragrant pouch and do something malicious?” Carrying a bit of curiosity, Jing Wan asked her older brothers.
“There shouldn’t be, right?” Her eldest tang brother Luo Jing De said, not too certain. However, you really can’t rule out this possibility.
“Who knows, because the occasion is special, those people will definitely have misgivings and only throw it on the body. Just like you said, little sis, one can only endure getting hit, that’s why…..” Luo Jing Bo rubbed his chin, “When there’s the chance ask Zheng Min?”
Just then, right at this moment, waves of screams sounded from below, seemingly saying Top Scorer Xie’s nose was bleeding from an impact.
No way. Jing Wan used a brocade handkerchief to cover her mouth. This was having the potential of a ‘crow’s mouth’[1]?
The parade procession all stopped, and from the looks if it, his injury was quite serious.
The brothers from the Luo family all went forward, while some of the young misses subconsciously moved back.
Luo Jing De carefully looked out, “Looks like someone really did deliberately create a disturbance.”
Jing Wan also noticed, it probably wasn’t just the Top Scorer that got hurt. If Jing Wan’s eyes didn’t see wrong, Chen Zheng Min should’ve received the most impact, just he wasn’t so unlucky as to have it land on his face. There seemingly was something grasped in his hand. His face although didn’t show anything out of the ordinary, but the back of his hand seemingly had blue views protruding out. It can be seen he really was angry, or perhaps really was hurting very much.
Chen Zheng Min was only sixteen. Of the spring metropolitan civil service exam candidates, ones that were in their forties and fifties weren’t in the minority. In fact, there were even those in their sixties. They have worked hard for so many years, yet still failed the exam. Seeing the successful candidates in high spirits, and with Chen Zheng Min further being a youth accomplishing his ambitions, it’s inevitable for them to feel unbalanced inside. The rational ones perhaps would just feel sour inside and then dimly walk away. But the ones that get momentarily riled up, doing something impulsive………….
The Top Scorer’s nose was quickly treated, and with his nostrils stuffed, he continued marching on.
But the matter clearly didn’t just end here. There were the people of the city defense squad that charged into the crowd, having a few mercilessly pressed onto the ground, quickly arresting them and dragging them away.
“Wrong, they’re not from the city defense squad.” Luo Jing De said.
“The people of the Black Clad Guards. The person in front on horseback leading the group is the Black Clad Guards’ Left Captain[2].” Luo Jing Bo said.
Upon hearing this, Jing Wan gazed over. The one commanding the guards of the parade was a twenty some young man, his face somewhat sharp, even faintly carrying a menacing air. Jing Wan wasn’t certain whether or not this Black Clad Guards was the same as the Brocade Clad Guards[3] of history from her past life. If so, then those people really weren’t good to provoke.
“Looks like this situation was long anticipated, else the people of the Black Clad Guards wouldn’t have appeared either.” Luo Jing Bo spoke again.
“This Top Scorer, I also know, he’s someone from the Xie clan. As for the Eyes of Notice, member of the Jiang Clan. Looking at it like this, it really is just Zheng Min that’s somewhat considered someone born from a poor and humble family. As expected, in this aspect, it’s still the land-owning class that further has an advantage.” Luo Jing De added.
“Top Scorer Xie right now is representing the entire Xie clan’s dignity. Continuing the parade carrying this kind of look, afraid, after the fact, the entire Xie clan won’t be able to escape being made fun of for a period of time.” Luo second young master, Luo Jing Ming continued following his tang brothers’ words.
“This excitement today really can be considered amply ‘exciting’.”
As the parade procession disappeared into the distance, those that already saw were satisfied and didn’t continue flocking forward, leaving in groups of twos and threes. And as for those young women and little wives of commoner families, some even giggled, mutually making jokes.
Ninety-nine percent of the people purely just came to watch the excitement. The commoners that truly belonged to the lowest rung actually didn’t have any jealousy. They lived at the foot of the imperial city[4] and grew up at the foot of the imperial city, just being well and happy was enough.
The crowd gradually scattered, and the streets were swiftly cleaned up. Everyone continued on with whatever they should be doing. The previous bustling excitement disappeared without a trace. Seeing as it was about time, the upper class children in the buildings all successively walked out of the private rooms, perhaps taking this time to also go stroll around, or just directly return to the manor.
Jing Wan and them had just exited the private room, when across from them, she saw the person coming out of the neighboring private room, someone rather unexpected, the Head Cabinet Minister Sir Ruan’s youngest di daughter, Ruan Fang Fei. She was still that gentle and elegant.
The ones following by her side were probably all her nephews and nieces. That youngest one perhaps was even her grandnephew? After all, Ruan Rui Zhong was even quite a few years older than Luo Pei Shan, and Luo Pei Shan’s great grandson was already on his way in his mother’s stomach, so Sir Ruan having great grandsons wasn’t that strange either?! Jing Wan felt somewhat 囧 inside. That friendly looking Head Cabinet Minister, who would also fight over ‘the treasure of his heart’ like others, was also a true and honest ‘old cow eating tender grass’. However, no one felt there was anything wrong with this, having long been accustomed to such. If this while, Sir Ruan still were to make a certain wife or concubine at home get pregnant, others would only say he was ‘old but vigorous’, causing people to envy endlessly.
(T/N: 囧 this character in this context is being used as an emoticon because the actual meaning of it doesn’t make sense in this context. Also, if I remembered correctly, Ruan Rui Zhong was in his fifties already when he married Ruan Fang Fei’s mother, who was I think around 16-17, as his second wife.)
That’s why, she really can’t use those standards from her past modern life to judge the men here, otherwise she would feel stuffy inside all the time. Then thinking again to her past life similarly having no lack of sixty seventy year old men gnawing on young girls, it seems, in actuality, the deadly sins of men were the same everywhere. It’s just that majority of those in her past life were restricted, that’s all.
The etiquette and rules of ‘the humbled first, the esteemed after’[5] were all the same no matter where. After Jing Wan and them bowed in greeting, Ruan Fang Fei and them immediately returned the courtesy as well. However, there were those few who had an arrogant look on their face, with their nostrils pointing to the heavens, seemingly finding it very much beneath them to acknowledge Jing Wan and the others.
[1] Crow’s Mouth – Used to describe a person who has made an inauspicious or unlucky remark.
[2] 左佥事 – This official title [佥事] just translates to mean ‘all things’. In the Jin dynasty, this position belonged to the Bureau of Investigations, but later in the Yuan dynasty, this title was for personal imperial bodyguards as well as various other bureaus also having this position, like the Bureau of Public Safety, Bureau of Investigations and Punishments, and Bureau of pacifying the public when shit happens like drought and war. Then in the Ming dynasty this title was used for the commanding officer of the bureau that was in charge of carrying out punishments and investigations. I just love official titles that have varying functions throughout history depending on dynasty heheheh……I want to cry.
[3] Brocade Clad Guards – Another translation would be ‘Embroidered Uniform Guards’, I like the brocade one better. Black Clad Guards didn’t exist in our history, but Brocade Clad Guards did. In history, they were the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty directly. They have the authority to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecutions with full autonomy in arresting, interrogating, and punishing anyone, including nobles and the emperor’s relatives, without trial and due process, to some degree they pretty much hollowed out the imperial power. This group originated as Emperor Hongwu’s personal bodyguards who protected him during battles before he became the Emperor. After he became Emperor this group worked as his spies, helping him spy on his subjects because he was paranoid of assassinations and rebellions. When the government later in the Ming dynasty sank into corruption and this group was placed under the control of the Eastern Bureau, a spy and secret police agency ran by eunuchs, they were constantly used as a means to eliminate political opponents through assassination and legal prosecutions. This group was disbanded after the Ming dynasty fell.
[4] The imperial city is referring to the inner circle of the capital with the imperial palace at its center. As you can probably guess commoners weren’t allowed to live in areas reserved for the upper class.
[5] Basically the etiquette of someone with lower status bowing to someone of higher status first.
