FSCGL Chapter 1

Greetings, this is a new ancient novel that I just picked up which is rather light-hearted. and I’ll try my best to explain the varying terms as the novel proceeds. Please be kind to my comment section?

This story will update on a weekly basis, 12AM every Sunday, GMT +08:00.

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The Nineteenth Year of Shengde, Third Month of Spring.

• 盛德 (pinyin: sheng de) – splendid virtue; great kindness. The name of the current emperor’s reign.
  

In the sunlit and enchanting scene of spring, the grass flourished and the orioles flew.

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Official Residence of Earl Chengyi, Limpid Heart Garden.

• 诚意(pinyin: cheng yi) – good faith, sincerity.

In the early morn, the bright and warm sunlight seeped through the window lattice and shone on Ruan Xi’s slightly pale visage as she laid on the soft pillow on her low and narrow bed. Her dark hair was black like ink, her eyes were limpid with its glossy blacks, and a delicate, light yellow outer jacket and skirt lined her snowy-white skin. Her countenance was devastatingly beautiful.

• 倾城 (pinyin: qing cheng) – comes from the idiom ‘倾城倾国’ (qing cheng qing guo), which means (of a woman) lovely enough to cause the fall of a city or a state.

Ruan Xi raised her hand to press it above her heart, feeling the strong and forceful pulse of her cardiovascular organ which made her lips curl up. Truly, the Heavens did not despise her and allowed her to possess a healthy body.

She had suffered from congenital heart disease in her previous life, and she had been abandoned at an orphanage ever since she was born. It had not been easy for her to live until the age of twenty, and yet when she woke up again, she had transmigrated into a novel featuring a laid-back female protagonist which she previously read at her leisure, and became a female supporting with an incomparably good life that the female protagonist envied. The character in question was the fourth daughter of Ruan Family—

Ruan Xi.

She was a replacement for the engagement that had fallen through because her older legitimate sister had abandoned her fiancé from a rich family, and she was later pampered to the heavens by her husband’s single-minded devotion. In the end, she became the winner in life as the imperially mandated first-rank wife of an official.

Ruan Xi had the same name and surname as the Ruan si niang, but the unfortunate part was that the story revolved around the laid-back female protagonist, and the smooth and satisfying life of Ruan si niang – which was the source of the female protagonist’s envy – only appeared in conversations between the female protagonist and her trusted servant girl.

• 阮四娘 (pinyin: ruan si niang) – it means the fourth daughter of the Ruan Family, but it is also how Ruan Xi is typically addressed by her family as an affectionate endearment.

The two people in question did not have any intersections.

It was only when the male protagonist had taken the throne that the female protagonist had the fortune of meeting her a few times during the palace banquets.

And the reason why the female protagonist paid particular attention to everything concerning Ruan si niang was only because Ruan si niang’s older legitimate sister Ruan san niang was a transmigrated woman, whose fate was worlds apart from Ruan si niang.

• 阮三娘 (pinyin: ruan san niang) – it means the third daughter of the Ruan family.

After the Ruan san niang in the novel had broken off her engagement in the early stages –  thereby kicking away her ignorant and incompetent fiancé from a rich family who only knew how to muddle along, eat, and wait for death – she had caused the waters to ripple and the winds to rise in her favour by pretending that the disease-curing function in her system was her medical skill. In the end, she had pitted herself into the old Emperor’s imperial harem and became one of his concubines, and the old Emperor had later placed down a secret edict that she had to accompany him in burial. All in all, her final ending was too tragic to look at.

• 不学无术 (pinyin: bu xue wu shu) – lit. without the learning or skill.

As a highly conspicuous transmigrated woman, Ruan san niang’s appearance had alarmed the female protagonist, which made her conceal herself silently, and live out her small days in the male protagonist’s inner residence in an inconspicuous and well-behaved manner.

Presently, Ruan Xi had transmigrated into the book when the original owner was just fourteen. However, the strange thing was that inside the original owner’s memories, the transmigrated Ruan san niang – who had been kicking up a fuss about the breaking off the engagement – had suddenly changed her mind, and she was currently preparing for her marriage with boundless joy.

Whereas the original owner had suddenly exchanged horoscope cards (which were sent as a proposal for betrothal) with Wen Ting Zhou, the legitimate son of a Rites Minister, four days ago, and their marriage had been settled.

Wen Ting Zhou was one of the male protagonist’s capable aides and was a Minister of Rites’ legitimate son as well. He was a noble’s son; handsome like jade in appearance, refined, cultivated, and unrestrained in disposition. Yet, he became a ruthless person with swift and fierce means by the end, a high official in the Boards of Punishment who was held in awe and veneration.

He had remained alone all his life; he never took a wife, never tried or proposed a marriage, and his inner residence was clean as a pin.

Later, there were rumours in the streets that Minister Wen was a cutsleeve.

• 短袖 (pinyin: duan xiu) – to be a ‘cutsleeve’ is to be gay. It originates from the History of Western Han, wherein the Emeperor Han Aidi was in bed with his male lover Dong Xian, and had a court audience in the morning. Not wishing to wake his lover, whose head was resting on his long robe sleeve, Aidi used a knife to cut off the lower half of his sleeve.

The current Wen Ting Zhou was barely eighteen or nineteen in age, and he was one of the best candidates as a husband among the noble ladies within the capital.

With the illegitimate daughter having a better marriage settlement than the legitimate daughter, the reputation of Earl Chengyi’s furen became a level higher, and everyone was giving her high praises and holding her in esteem for her breath of mind and magnanimity.

• 夫人 (pinyin: fu ren) – The legitimate wife of an official. 

However, that meaning in those words was quick to change because it was apparent at a glance that the problem resided with her legitimate older daughter Ruan san niang.

This is rather interesting.

Ruan Xi smiled slightly.

At this moment, a servant girl whose hair was combed into a double-looped coiffure and wearing black clothing pulled away the beaded curtain nimbly and entered the inner room. When she saw Ruan Xi sitting on the divan, dazed, she said in a soft voice: “Young Lady, the Third Young Lady has come to visit you.”

double-looped coiffure

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Third Young Lady…

“Invite the Third Young Lady in quickly.” Ruan Xi knitted her eyebrows together briefly as she spoke in a warm tone of voice, which was sweet and pleasant-sounding to the ear. The original owner had encountered the mischievous and chased six-year-old young master as she was returning to her own compound after giving her legitimate mother well-wishes for her health. She had been passing through the arch bridge when she had been knocked into the water by accident. With the chill present in the air during spring, the original had caught a cold carelessly.

This bout of cold had arrived with a violence; in just one night, it had robbed away the original owner’s life.

Ruan Xi gave the prematurely dead original owner her quiet condolences. Silently, she decided to find an opportunity in private to light an altar lamp (that was kept burning day and night) for the original owner, in hopes that she could reincarnate into a good family in her next life.

The beaded curtain stirred as the wondrous and drawn-out figure of a person with a graceful demeanour stepped in. It was as though a lotus flower was in full bloom as she was lithe and graceful in her many postures, and any move she made faintly revealed a trace of her lovely charms.

She was Ruan Xi’s legitimate older sister Ruan san niang— Ruan Ning. She enquired about her health with ardent concern the moment she entered the room: “Si mei, I heard from your servant girl Su Yu that you have awoken. Are you feeling better today?”

• 四妹 (pinyin: si mei) – fourth younger sister.

Her gaze proceeded to give Ruan Xi a scrutinising one-over as she murmured in her heart, It seems like fourth sister’s body and bones are quite decent. That does make sense; if she didn’t have a good physique, how could she possibly give birth to three sons and one daughter for Qi Yue An without any complications?

“Thanking san jie for her concern. After drinking some of the prescribed medication, my body is a lot better, and it only requires a few more days to recuperate completely.” Ruan Xi mimicked the original owner’s manner of speech by warming her voice and speaking softly in her reply.

• 三姐 (pinyin: san jie) – third older sister.

It seemed like her conjecture was correct, this fellow transmigrator of a legitimate older sister had been reborn. It was just that the exact timing of her rebirth was unknown.

A glint flashed past Ruan Ning’s eyes, even though she breathed out a sigh of relief on the surface. With some pity in her tone, she uttered, “Then I can set my heat at ease. Right, Xiao San has been punished by father for knocking you into the water. Lin yiniang will probably be visiting you today. I have some top-class ginseng with me, and while it doesn’t reach a hundred years, it is still a good quality product that is hard to find. I’ll instruct someone to send it over to si mei, to let you nourish your body.”

• 姨娘 (pinyin: yi niang) – term for father’s concubine

Su Yu revealed an expression of pleasant surprise at the side. Even if the Earl attached great importance to her Young Lady, the owner of the inner residence was still the furen of the Earl, and she was in-charge of the food, clothing and expenditure of all the inhabitants in this residence. It could certainly be said that her Young Lady’s family background was not rich and generous, and that it was slightly shabby and miserable when all things were considered. Thus, let alone good medicinal herbs, she did not have many normal medicinal herbs either.

Ruan Xi revealed some gratification on her visage and said a word of thanks.

No one would dislike top-notch ginseng. Since Ruan san niang was being so magnanimous, she would accept it without any modesty.

Ruan Ning gave her a restrained smile as she said: “Lao Taitai gave it to me previously. It’s enough if you give your heartfelt thanks to the Lao Taitai.”

• 老太太 (pinyin: lao tai tai) – a term used for the old matriarch of the house, in reference to their father’s mother.

There was a hint of flaunting in her words.

Truth to be told, Ruan Ning did not have a lot of good ginseng in her hands. While it was not necessary for her to partake in any top-notch medicinal herbs because she possessed a disease-curing function in her system, it still caused her some physical pain to give it away, even if she did not have to use them.

Especially if she was giving it to Ruan si niang.

Hating to part with the child and yet unable to curb the wolf, Ruan Ning could only endure the pain of giving it away.

Who was unaware of the fact that Ruan san niang was the grandchild that the Lao Taitai doted on the most in the Earl Chengyi Residence? It was not strange that Ruan san niang had top-notch ginseng that the Lao Taitai gave her.

Ruan Xi nodded her head before she thanked Ruan san niang and Lao Taitai again.

“San jie speaks aptly, I will head over to Tranquil Longevity Hall to thank Lao Taitai when I have fully recovered.”

Ruan Ning nodded her head, satisfied. She sat beside Ruan Xi and patted on her hand affectionately, studying Ruan Xi’s exceedingly beautiful facial features and curvaceous body that had already developed. A burst of frustration filled her heart. All four sisters in the Ruan Family were remarkable in appearance, and they were well-known beauties in the capital.

But Ruan si niang was the most outstanding.

It did not matter if Ruan si niang was only fourteen; even with her sparse showings at banquets, her devastating beauty had already spread out into the streets.

By virtue of Ruan si niang’s absolute beauty, and according to her foreknowledge, her father had the intention to send her fourth sister to a certain imperial son’s residence, which was why her marriage had remained unsettled for the most part.

A few days ago, she had urged her mother to settle si mei’s marriage shortly after her rebirth.

Her chosen candidate was Rites Minister’s legitimate son Wen Ting Zhou. As the illegitimate daughter of Earl Chengyi’s Residence, being able to marry the legitimate son of a Rites Minister as his legitimate wife was considered marrying above her social status.

Even if her father were to become furious after learning about the settlement later, he would not be overly angry at her mother either.

The truth was as such.

However, the bitter remorse in Ruan Ning’s heart only increased. She originally assumed that the Rites Minister’s furen and Wen Ting Zhou would reject the offer, because her fourth sister was only an illegitimate daughter when all was said and done. Moreover, the fact that she was an illegitimate daughter with exceedingly magnificent features did not help matters either.

The Rites Minister’s furen would definitely be against making her fourth sister her daughter-in-law.

Once the rejection had occurred, she would proceed to suggest a second person to her mother. Contrary to her expectations, however, her fourth sister’s life was that good; her mother only had to give the Rites Minister’s furen a subtle hint before the Rite Minister’s furen had immediately agreed. Then, she had exchanged their horoscope cards swiftly, thus settling the marriage agreement.

There was hearsay that Wen gongzi did not voice a single objection.

She clearly remembered that Wen Ting Zhou never married a wife until his death, and her soul after death had lingered around the imperial place for dozens of years. She would frequently hear the palace maids guessing if the Boards of Punishment Minister Wen Ting Zhou was a good male homosexual because he had never taken a wife.

Ruan Ning felt that their guess was right.

Men were prone to having three wives and four concubines in the ancient times. There was nothing to pick at with regards to Wen Ting Zhou’s family background, and yet he abstained from womanly charms for his entire life. His inner courtyard was clean and tidy and he did not even have a tongfang or a servant girl as company. He was either incapable of raising or a cutsleeve, born with an innate love for his own gender.

• 同房 (pinyin: tong fang) – means to have sexual intercourse, but it also refers to women (usually servants), who serve their master sexually without being titled as an official concubine.

Who could have expected that he would agree to marry her fourth sister in this life?

Could it be that the previous incarnation of Wen Ting Zhou had an unrequited love for her fourth sister…? And because her fourth sister had replaced her in marrying Qi Yue An, he had remained unmarried for his entire life?

When this preposterous thought sprouted in Ruan Ning’s mind, she became even more uncomfortable. If that were truly the case, then her fourth sister’s life was too great.

She hoped that she was thinking too much.

Maybe Wen Ting Zhou was borrowing her fourth sister’s devastating beauty to conceal his sexual orientation. When her fourth sister was only woman in an otherwise expansive inner courtyard, and yet unable to bear a child, the Rites Minister’s furen will probably assume that her fourth sister was a femme fatale.

Once she thought about that, a faint sense of guilt arose in Ruan Ning’s heart. Then, she remembered why she had made this visit, and quickly changed the topic to her own marriage matters. The rims of her eyes became red as she spoke, and her hands held onto Ruan Xi’s sleeve tightly. “Si mei, I’m incredibly envious of the fact that you’ve been slated for a good marriage unlike me. I can only marry a Marquis’s illegitimate son, who is without the learning and skill, and only knows how to drink and play.”

“Si mei, my life is truly bitter!”

As Ruan Xi listened to Ruan san niang ‘pour out her woes’, she watched her performance silently. Then, Ruan Xi displayed a slightly lost expression that was suitable for the occasion, and held onto her hands to console her. She said: “San jie, with how much Lao Taitai loves you, she will definitely help you if you’re unwilling to marry the second noble son of the Qi Family.”

The marriage agreement between Ruan san niang and the concubine-born second noble son of the Qi Family was a gamble that Marquis Huaiyang and Earl Chengyi had made.

• 淮阳 (pinyin: huai yang) – it is a county in Henan Province. 

This marriage agreement was known by everyone.

In the book, Ruan san niang had been hell-bent on breaking the pledge of marriage, swearing that she would never marry him even if she died. However, the Residence of Earl Chengyi and the Residence of Marquis Huaiyang could not dissolve the marriage agreement, which was why Ruan si niang had replaced Ruan san niang in marrying the unlearned and incompetent, illegitimate son of the Marquis’ residence, Qi Yue An. To the outsiders, it had been clarified that the person who was marrying Qi Yue An was Ruan si niang.

Everyone was well-aware of the circumstances, they merely chose not to vocalise it on the surface.

And after Ruan san niang had broken off the engagement, her reputation had suffered a severe impact.

Ruan Ning’s voice faltered, as though she was choking on her sobs slightly as she mumbled: “I… I don’t want to trouble Lao Taitai, and breaking off the engagement will affect my reputation. Without a reputation, it’ll be even harder to find a good family, so I can only accept my fate.”

She refused to walk the old path from her previous life where she used her disease-curing ability to pass off as her medical skill in a conspicuous manner, and was later brought into the imperial palace by the old Emperor to become his concubine. In the end, the old Emperor refused to spare her even in his death, and forced her to accompany him in burial.

When Ruan Ning remembered the tragic ending she was met with in her previous life, her heart fluttered with lingering fears.

In this lifetime, she would marry Qi Yue An obediently, and live out her days with him properly.

Accept her fate?

Ruan Xi was rendered speechless in her heart. If she hadn’t known about Ruan san niang’s course of actions in her previous life from the book, she would definitely believe her excuses.

If Qi Yue An hadn’t roused himself and became progressive by attending the imperial examinations, did not have a meteoric rise to the highest official rank, did not become the new Emperor’s left and right arms which allowed him to hold onto great power, would Ruan san niang accept her own fate after her rebirth?

She would probably wish that she could break off the engagement again and allow her to become the replacement one more time.

However, it was unknown if this Yue Qi An was playing the pig to eat the tiger, or if he was genuinely ignorant and incompetent, only knowing how to eat and play around. The original Ruan Xi had not met the original Qi er gongzi from the book, so she did not know which category he belonged to.

• 齐二公子 (pinyin: qi er gong zi) – the second noble son of the Qi Family.

But it did not matter which category he was. With the original owner’s intelligence and beauty, she would definitely find a way to pass her days well.

Ruan san niang on the other hand…

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Characters  |  Terms  |   TOC   |  Next Chapter

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Translator’s Notes:

A Question of Legitimacy:

Children born of the legitimate wife (嫡妻; di qi) are termed as di children (嫡出), whereas any child born of a concubine or tongfang (or a bastard child) are known as illegitimate children (庶出; shu chu). In this chapter Ruan Ning and Wen Ting Zhu are legitimate children born from the legitimate wife, whereas Ruan Xi and Qi Yue An are products of concubines.