Dan Brown: Inferno

I am an avid fan of Dan Brown, especially the Robert Langdon series, ever since I read The Davinci Code back in 2004, although, I must say back then, in my imagination, Langdon does not look like Tom Hanks, by the way. I like to stick to my personal portrayal of him. So I'm saving my money on cinema tickets for the upcoming movie adaptation.

Any way  last year when I heard that a new book to this series was coming out, I had my finger on my mouse ready to click the purchase button. I enjoyed it so much, a doomsday conspiracy story with a twist.

As per the cover picture of the book and the title, the story revolves around the first cantica of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alghieri. (There are mixed opinions on how this book influenced major world religions. I'm keeping my opinion on this to myself).

Summary:

The story starts with Langdon waking up in a hospital in Florence with no recollection of what happened in the past day and a half. Thus beginning his adventure accompanied by a beautiful yet genius physician, and strangely being pursued by a sinister underground organization and the police. Such as the Da Vinci Code, he must use his expertise in Symbology to decipher the trail left by the villain that is mapped out in the contents of The Divine Comedy. His mission is to stop the leashing of a new genetically engineered plague to the world.

 

Where The Sky Meets The Sand Chapter 1 Part 3

Time went by and Michele and Kashfiya went to study in Paris, but she was so busy that she didn't even have time to visit the famous tourist destinations, like Eiffel Tower, Champ Elysee, Arc de Triomphe not even Moulin Rouge.

Read more

Where The Sky Meets The Sand Chapter 1 Part 2

Sorbonne around 1970

Madame Turned around sharply, her expression was exited with anticipation as the door slowly opened, Michelle entered. She stood up bracing herself, and gazed at Michelle. Looking at each other.

“Michelle, Madame and your grandparents are staying at St. Valarie the coastal town nearby for a vacation. This is Madame de la Ville de Nice, their daughter in law. She has been donating money to the church to provide for your necessities.” Said Mother Superior.

Read more

Where The Sky Meets The Sand Chapter 1 Part 1

It was an old but grand Catholic Church. It stood in the midst of the night. To the population of the small town of Abbeville in North of France. This Church in a well-known one.

A black car came into view, it was an antique model. It directed to the parking area in front of the church door, the headlights shining a bright beam.

Read more

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 17 Part 2

So I’m not sure if I translated the title of the chapter correctly because it would make sense a little later, but not in this particular chapter.

Anyway, I just wanted to let all the readers know that I will be going on a hiatus for a bit to focus on school and work, Evida will continue to translate the next chapters. I will continue from where I left off (Chapter 18) on my own blog, but it won’t be updated on a regular basis as I will only be translating when I have time. I’m sorry for the short notice because I forgot to mention it in the last chapter. I just wanted to thank all of you guys for all the support as that was my greatest motivation! Thanks for all the love!

 

The Mrs. Long San Who Wishes To Be Divorced Part II

The fourth day after Feng Ning's departure, the Feng Ning and Yu Mama who should have originally arrived home before noon, still had not returned. Long San couldn't help but admit, he was extremely worried. He sent someone to inquire after them; and finally after nightfall, Yu Mama and Feng Ning's chariot reached home.

Feng Ning jumped down first, and seeing Long San standing by the door, happily rushed over: “Long San, Long San, I’m back.”

Long San nodded his head in reply, then saw Yu Mama unexpectedly limping down supported by a servant, and said in shock: “What happened here?”

Long Er received the news and came out, the moment he saw Yu Mama’s injury, he frowned and shot a look at Feng Ning. Feng Ning waved her hands and shook her head: “It’s not my fault, Yu Mama twisted her foot.”

Long Er coldly glanced at her again, and did not say anything. He sent someone to call Doctor Chen, then went over himself to help Yu Mama, and went into the house.

Feng Ning creased her face: “Why is Er Bo so fierce?”

“Were you acting unruly again?” Long San’s tone was also bad.

Feng Ning pouted, and quietly admitted: “I wasn’t acting unruly, at most it would count as not being able to control my temper.”

“What exactly happened?”

“I quarreled with the elder monk, Yu Mama came over to pull me away, and as a result fell down and twisted her foot.”

Long San only felt so angry that he couldn’t even sigh, and could only ask: “How can you even quarrel with a monk?”

Feng Ning also felt quite wronged: “He wouldn’t let me eat my fill, saying something about eating less and not talking throughout the process*, these I all endured, but he starved me for two days, and after the exorcism, there wasn’t the least bit of food. On the last day he still wouldn’t let me eat more, and even wanted me to go on top of Feng Tai** and use some spell and then do the expulsion once. He said I suffered evil influences in the water, and must be immersed in water, hearing those several monks reciting some scripture thing and carrying out some kind of method, and with that basin so deep, so big……” Feng Ning gestured as she spoke: “Of course I was unwilling, so I just asked a few questions.”

Feng Ning mumbled, remembering her tone when she asked wasn’t very good, now felt somewhat guilty, and then she spoke again: “The elder monk scolded me, I started feeling anxious and my voice also became loud. Yu Mama, seeing us get rather noisy, hurriedly came over, which resulted in her twisting her foot.

Feng Ning, under Long San’s glare, became quieter and quieter, and then didn’t have anything else to say, so she acted pitiful and looked at him. Long San was somewhat angry, this woman, goes out for only three days and causes trouble. Feng Ning, seeing no pleasure on his face, also became upset, and softly blurted out: “I was starving, and also didn’t sleep well at night, Yu Mama snores, and they also wanted to throw me into the water, I already endured a lot, you can’t blame me.”

Long San didn’t know what to say, and could only shake his head, turn around, and leave. Feng Ning followed behind him the entire way: “Really can’t blame me……” But Long San didn’t respond, he walked to Yu Mama’s residence to check on her injury, Feng Ning leaned by the doorway and looked, and decided she had better retreat first.

In Yu Mama’s room, Doctor Chen attentively looked over her injury, after all, she was older and shouldn’t fall over, but fortunately it wasn’t anything major, only then did Long Er and Long San relax.

Long San said to Yu Mama: “Mama, don’t blame Feng Ning, I will properly scold her.” Long Er looked at him, Long San looked back at him.

Yu Mama replied: “That girl ah, everyday acting so crazy, the spirit can’t be expelled, we still have to think of how to deal with this.”

Long Er opened his mouth a few times, glanced at Long San, and stopped himself from saying the words “expel the person”.

Long San turned towards Docter Chen: “Are there any other methods of treatment?”

Docter Chen shook his head: “San Ye, Madame’s head injury definitely isn’t much of a problem anymore, she also doesn’t have any other problems with her health, she only needs to take medicine for her dizziness and oft occurring nightmares, the rest, I positively can’t do anything about. This matter of memory loss, is also the first time I’ve come across it.

Although this answer came as no surprise to Long San, but he was still somewhat disappointed. He and Yu Mama and Long Er talked for a while, and then returned to their own residences. As he was leaving, Yu Mama said: “San Ye, Feng Ning is indeed very different from before, but this is affair is just too odd, you and her right now are quite close, it is still better if you stay on guard some.”

Long San nodded in reply, and saw Long Er’s expression had much of the same opinion as Yu Mama; he silently walked out. He stood at the courtyard door for a while, then finally decided to return to his own room.

These three days while Feng Ning was gone, he was concerned for her, but now that she returned, he actually somewhat didn’t want to see her. If he saw her, he would think of the issue of whether to divorce her of not, and this matter made him feel somewhat frustrated.

But even if he didn’t take the initiative to see her, Feng Ning would actively come nonetheless. Sure enough during the night, Feng Ning came holding her pillow.

“Long San, let me tell you ah, these last three days have indeed been painful, the bowls at the temple is this small, one meal, one bowl of rice, with only vegetables and Tofu to fill the stomach, it is really easy to go hungry. And on top of that ah, I didn’t sleep well, Yu Mama’s snoring is very loud.” She appeared to have forgotten the unpleasantness of earlier, endlessly complaining to him.

“Then sleep by yourself, then you don’t need to hear snoring.”

“No good, I’d rather listen to snoring than drown.” After Feng Ning laid her pillow down, she lay down: “I’m going to sleep first, so tired, so tired.”

Long San looked at her peaceful sleeping face, unclear of what he was feeling, he didn’t know how she would turn out if she were to recover her memories one day, he didn’t know how she would fare after she left the Long Residence, he also didn’t know from now on, who would accompany her when she was alone and had nightmares.

Should they really send her away?

 

* Not sure exactly what she’s saying here, so this is just a guess.

** Again, I’m not too sure, I believe it’s just the summit of a mountain there.

If you appreciate the stories and our work here, please visit the page below and show your support for women survivors of war to rebuild their lives.

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 17 Part 1

Sorry guys, I’ve been so tired and unmotivated recently, this chapter isn’t boring, but the latter half of the chapter kind of annoys me a tiny bit haha, so unfortunately it will only be the first part of the chapter today. The next chapter is super cute though, so wait for it!

Also, I don’t know if it was ever clarified, but Long Da, Long Er, and Long San are called as such because in Chinese family hierarchy the oldest child  would be called  老大 Lao Da – ‘Eldest child’,  then 老二 Lao Er ‘second eldest child’ and 老三 Lao San for ‘third eldest child’, and so on down the line; therefore, Long Fei (which is Long San’s name in case you forgot) is often called many different ways e.g. Long San, Lao San, San Ye, etc. All containing the number 三San (three). I thought I should mention it just in case it got too confusing because of all their different names. Hopefully I didn’t just make it more confusing haha.

The Mrs. Long San Who Wishes To Be Divorced (Part I)

Once Long San hardened his heart, he no longer thought of exactly how Feng Ning was doing at the temple, over there there was Yu Mama and there were bodyguards, Feng Ning herself also knew Martial Arts, moreover, there were no rivers in the surrounding area; she should be safe with no problems. He put it from his mind, and started arranging a search according to the portrait.

The next day, Long Er returned. The two brothers held a meeting and straightened out the context of some matters. One, was settling the troublesome affairs of the Long Family business in other parts of the country when Long Er went out this time, he confirmed that this matter had something to do with the Feng Family; second was, there were no news at all about the stolen treasure in JiangHu, it could be assumed that, if it wasn’t lost in the river, then the other party already discovered that it was a fake; third was, Long San got someone to keep an eye on the Feng Family, to watch their recent activity, but there wasn’t any information on the treasure or of the previous attack on Long San; fourth was, the two attacks and drowning of Feng Ning, should not have been the doing of the same person. Long Er hearing this, furrowed his brows: “Then it seems the things Feng Ning stirred up is not limited to just one.”

“That person that she remembered, I already sent his picture out, and yesterday also made inquiries at the places Feng Ning had often been to, no one has ever seen him. According to the past Feng Ning’s personality, she should not have had feelings for someone with this kind of appearance, those silk rope love tokens, perhaps wasn’t meant for him. As for his actual identity, let’s wait for news and then see.”

“Speaking of feelings, you should also take note of yourself.” Long Er said: “When you’re dealing with that Feng Ning, you should still keep your guard up. The so-called ‘hard to change one’s inherent nature’[1]; at that time, she was already able to fool around all over the place, so she’s not some faithful or dependable woman. Now, she’s lost her memory, and with you being friendly with her this way, she immediately stuck on to you; this can also attest to her personality.”

“Er ge, no matter how you put it, I am still her husband. These days she’s helplessly scared, naturally she would look for someone to rely on; being dependent on me is excusable.”

“This is exactly what I’m afraid of.” Long Er said bluntly: “You are starting to speak on her behalf. Lao San, any kind of behavior can be justified. But this Feng Ning, just as we were preparing to strike the Feng family, made a move and stole the item, after being caught, she immediately loses her memory. After losing her memory, her entire person changes, the item that was stolen disappeared without a trace and with no news, and now, it is a fact that she had something to do with the attack on you, all these timely coincidences are too uncanny. I certainly don’t care what kind of person she’s become now, if she’s a threat to our Long family, I absolutely won’t let her get away with it.”

“Er ge, I haven’t not guarded against her, only, just like you said, her person has entirely changed, being excessively hostile towards her is not fair.  She definitely has no bad intentions, don’t worry, I will handle this properly.”

Long Er said: “In my opinion, you should just take this opportunity to divorce her and send her back to the Feng family, and also conveniently settle the matters with them.”

Long San didn’t immediately reply, his heart somewhat hesitant.

Long Er raised his eyebrow, asked: “What?”

“Er ge, let’s wait until after we’ve finished investigating the circumstances on the Feng family, and then decide on what to arrange.”

“What does you divorcing her have anything to do with the situation on the Feng family? Regardless of what the ultimate details behind the attack and theft are, in the end it is the work of Feng Ning. She already violated all Seven Reasons for Divorcing a Wife[3], you can confidently and justly divorce her. We should take advantage of this, while we have evidence against the Feng Family in our hands, and conveniently settle this matter.”

“Then if the Feng Family don’t actually treat her well?” The one he was worried about was Feng Ning: “Right now, she no longer has memories of the past, she already feels left alone with no one to rely on, and is easily scared and flustered; then as soon as she finally becomes familiar with us, she gets divorced and sent home, if by chance the Feng family take their anger out on her, or did not treat her well to begin with, then with her living in that kind of environment, what would be done then?”

“Lao San!” Long Er was shocked: “Are you pitying her?”

Long San didn’t speak, this woman could create trouble to torment him with every day, when she spoke she would also piss people off; but he pitied her?

Long Er said: “Just be at ease, this Feng Ning has been wanting to return home all along, no matter how things are, a married woman’s parents’ home is always more favorable than their husband’s home. First divorce her, and then we can slowly investigate what the truth behind this matter is, right now this is the perfect opportunity.”

But Long San still did not say anything, he thought of Feng Ning’s sweet smiling expression, of her agreement in the letter to leave him, and also of her miserable expression as she looked at him and said: “Don’t abandon me ah, Long San.”

Sending her away, just as she finally started adapting to this house, was it really okay?

In the end, Long San and Long Er didn’t actually reach an agreement on the matter of divorcing Feng Ning. Previously, because of their ancestor’s promise of marriage, it was difficult to say anything, now it was holding evidence, the Seven Reasons for Divorcing a Wife, even an attempt on husband’s life; if these were revealed, forget divorce, they could even report it to the government.

 

 

[1] 本性难移Běnxìng nán yí – Long Er refers to this phrase which means ‘it’s hard to change one’s inherent nature’. It usually goes in the idiom江山易改，本性难移 ‘It is easier to change mountains and rivers, than to change one’s inherent nature.”

[3] This actually cracked me up haha. -- 七出之条Qī chū zhī tiáo or the ‘Seven Reasons for Divorcing a Wife’ are as such: A husband can divorce his wife if she: 1. Is not filial, 2. Has no son, 3. Is promiscuous, 4. Has a tendency to be jealous, 5. Has a serious disease, 6. Is a gossip monger or has a big mouth, 7. Steals.

 


If you appreciate the stories and our work here, please visit the page below and show your support for women survivors of war to rebuild their lives.

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 16

The Mrs. Long San Who Causes Others to Worry

This question didn’t bother Long San for very long, as he was unable to figure it out, naturally he was temporarily not impatient. He could always accommodate matters, thus he fell asleep. His hand was still being held by Feng Ning, just under the blanket, one big one small, two hands holding each other in one place. He ignored this, and quickly fell into the land of dreams.

This night, he was awaken from sleep twice by Feng Ning’s nightmares, however, when he woke up early the next morning, he still felt like he slept very well. Feng Ning was in even greater spirits, laughing very cheerfully. But she was about to leave with Yu Mama to the spiritual temple at the outskirts of the city, to let an elder monk perform exorcism. As this was arranged by Yu Mama, she was unable to refuse.

Unexpectedly, Long San could sense her unease. He didn’t point it out, but he did a few things to distract her.

He accompanied her to eat breakfast, and also drew a simple drawing of the man she spoke of last night. Feng Ning looked at it, furrowed her brows, and thought for a while and said it should be more or less the same. But she also recalled another question: “Say, Long San, that colored silk rope, it couldn’t also be his, could it?”

Long San said: “At that time, that guy had his face covered, I didn’t actually see his appearance.”

Feng Ning opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. Long San asked: “What, did you think of something again?”

Feng Ning shook her head, Long San stared at her, staring until she felt guilty, and quietly stammered: “I was just thinking, I couldn’t have had any relationship with him right? He’s so ugly.” Mentioning the matter of relationships with other men, Feng Ning still felt ashamed and uneasy, but the truth was indeed laid out there, that man’s appearance was repulsive, one look and one could tell he was not a good person. She couldn’t have been that unperceptive and fooled around with him, right? Just thinking of this possibility made her feel quite disgusted. She curled her lip, with an expression of being unable to bear the thought.

Long San couldn’t help touching his face, fortunately he didn’t lack in looks, moreover, seeing his considerable popularity with women, and having enjoyed many admiring gazes, he should be the very good looking type.

He lifted his eyes, and met Feng Ning’s clear gaze, he hurriedly put on a stern expression, and insincerely rubbed his chin, pondering: “It seems he may not be, moreover, that silk rope, since you cannot remember clearly anymore, it also may not necessarily have anything to do with that kind of relationship.”

Feng Ning drooped her head: “Long San, you’re a good person, you’re comforting me.” This kind of situation for a man is incredibly insulting, she felt extremely sorry towards him.

Actually, she did use all her strength to try to remember, hoping she could know exactly what had happened a little faster, but when she exerted too much effort trying to remember, she would get a headache, but she was also scared people would say she was pretending. As a result, every time she got a headache, she would endure it. Fortunately, this headache problem didn’t happen too often, and also wasn’t too hard to bear.

“This matter, leave it to me to investigate. Just feel at ease and go with Yu Mama.” After Long San said this, Feng Ning nodded her head, went back to her room, fetched her things, and prepare to set off with Yu Mama. Before she left, she handed Long San a letter, telling him not to look, and only said to wait until she came back, and then return the letter to her. Long San failed to understand the reason why, but nevertheless nodded his head and agreed.

Yu Mama was calling people to hurry, Long San sent Feng Ning to the gate. Surely enough, the carriage was already parked over there waiting, maids were carrying while Yu Mama was on one side waiting.

Long San told Feng Ning, once she was there, she should do as she was told, must not be unruly and get angry, that place was an important Buddhist location, and Yu Mama was very serious. Feng Ning fiercely nodded her head. Long San said, Yu Mama is already very old, don’t be naughty and cause trouble while over there and cause her to worry and get angry. Feng Ning responded okay again.

And then Feng Ning asked: “Then after three days, will you come pick me up?”

Long San blanked, he subconsciously resisted, and rapidly said: “I’m very busy, you and Yu Mama will come back together.” These last two days, he was overly close to her, this really should not be.

Feng Ning was somewhat disappointed, and gloomily replied a single “Oh.” And then turned around and climbed into the carriage with Yu Mama. Long San was about to turn and return to the house, when he suddenly saw Feng Ning open the carriage door and rush down again.

“Long San, Long San, could you help me tell Yu Mama, that the few days that I’m in the temple, I want to sleep with her in the same room.”  Indeed, she was still concerned about the nightmares. Long San helplessly could only go forward and tell Yu Mama. Yu Mama was astonished, looked at Long San, and then looked at Feng Ning, ultimately still agreeing.

Feng Ning once more mounted the carriage, Long San stood at the door watching, waiting for them to be on their way. In the end, the coachman had just raised the whip, when Feng Ning pushed open the doors once again, and came down.

“Long San, Long San, if the temple’s food can’t satiate my hunger, what do I do? Can you help me tell them, to have the monks give me some more food.”

Long San sighed, and called: “Feng Ning.”

“Mm.” Feng Ning answered, her expression very innocent; she really wasn’t trying to cause trouble.

“It’s only three days, you won’t go hungry, and will also be able to sleep well, it’s only trying some methods, doing some exorcism, just a ritual, that’s all. That temple also doesn’t have any rivers surrounding it, and there are also bodyguards going with you, you’re not in the least bit of danger. You must not make any more disturbances, obediently go with Yu Mama.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in Feng Ning’s voice was very obvious. She silently walked towards the chariot, taking a few steps, and turned around again: “Long San, if I’m exorcised away, don’t blame me, I didn’t go willingly.”

“Mm, I won’t blame you.” Long San answered, mentally thinking, it’s not like you’re a demon, how would you be exorcised away.

Feng Ning pursed her lips, turned around preparing to walk towards the carriage. Before even lifting her foot, she turned around again：“Long San, it’s only three days that’s all, can’t you come with us?”

“Feng Ning……” Long San’s dragged the sound, warning her.

Feng Ning rapidly turned around, and rushed towards the chariot: “I got it, I got it!” She jumped onto the carriage, and waved goodbye very hard to Long San. This time the carriage finally started moving without a hitch, speeding up, and gradually disappearing before Long San’s eyes.

Long San entered the residence, thought for a bit, then went to Feng Ning’s room. The maid who was left behind to take care of things seeing him come, was very surprised. Long San waved his hand and said it’s nothing, sending her away.

He stretched out his hand and picked up that jewelry box, felt around it, opened that interval layer, and discovered that this time, there was unexpectedly a paper filled with words hidden inside, resembling a letter.

Long San’s heart stirred, could it be another mysterious person who did it, in order to pass information to Feng Ning? He opened the letter, took one look, and was unexpectedly shocked. This was actually a letter Feng Ning wrote to Feng Ning.

As it turns out, she was actually really afraid, afraid that after this trip to get exorcised, she didn’t know what would happen, after all, this time, her experience was unimaginable. She feared, going this time, she would lose this present her. So she wrote a letter of reminder.

The letter said, if she couldn’t remember what happened during this period of time, but still remembered that this box has a hidden interval layer, then she definitely returned to being the past Feng Ning. She hoped that the past Feng Ning would listen well to the words of the present Feng Ning.

She said she didn’t know what had happened in the past, but staying at the Long Residence during this period of time, she can confirm that the Long residents were all good people, she hoped the past Feng Ning, no matter what she did, or planned to do, would have a clear conscience, and not make any mistakes.

She said, she felt that she herself shouldn’t have been a bad woman, so she believed that no matter what the past Feng Ning did, she must have had some reason, some difficulties. She urged herself, if she really had difficulties, then it would be better if after she takes care of relationship with all parties, she sincerely had a talk with the Long Family, because she believed it would definitely be possible to properly talk things over and resolve everything.

She even wrote down, that Long San treated her very well, it was only because she could completely rely on him, that she could find a sense of security and a bit of happiness in this unfamiliar place where she was loathed. She said, although Long Er is very petty, but he isn’t a malicious person. Yu Mama is strict, but also isn’t really horribly mean. There was also that untalkative and not often seen steward Tie, actually, he is also an honest and considerate person. She said after she lost her memory, she was instead able to look at these matters from another perspective, hoping her past self would could also let go of her prejudices, and properly assess and handle matters.

The letter even wrote, she had already agreed to divorce Long San, and give him freedom, hoping her past self wouldn’t rescind her own promise, and at the appropriate time, talk it over with her family, and clearly settle it with the Long Family.

At the end of the letter, she wrote: if there is sincere treatment, there must be some in return. Since you are me, you will definitely know my intentions, you musn’t make mistakes, if you treat people well, people will treat you well.

And at the very bottom was a small line: to prove the legitimacy of this letter, I will leave my fingerprint here. If you doubt the source of this letter, please press your fingerprint and compare the two, and then you will know the truth. To the side of this line of words, there really was a distinct fingerprint.

After Long San finished reading this letter, he really didn’t know what this feeling in his heart was. This Feng Ning; this seemingly carefree, simple-minded, trouble making, Feng Ning who only cares to eat, was actually this scrupulous.

He sat in her room for a long time, thinking, then also taking out the letter she handed to him, deciding to open and secretly take a look. This letter’s content was more or less the same as the one of the letter in the box, only in the beginning she explained that she was worried that she would forget the things that happened during this period of time, so she wrote a letter to Long San to pass on to her.

Long San suddenly felt like he knew what Feng Ning would do. He set about rummaging through Feng Ning’s room. In her closet, in her chest, as well as beneath her bedding; sure enough, all hid a letter with the exact same content.

“Don’t blame me, I didn’t go willingly.” Long San thought of Feng Ning’s words, his heart somewhat feeling tenderness towards her.

As he returned the letters back to their original places, he thought, thankfully this person was Feng Ning, if it was someone else, in this sort of situation, he feared if it wasn’t weeping to death, she would have bothered the surrounding people to death. But Feng Ning, in his mind what he remembered the most was actually her arrogant, proud, and mischievous laughter.

Long San’s heart started to feel jittery, this woman wouldn’t really go one trip to the temple, and return as the previous her right? He unexpectedly didn’t want her to return to her old self.

Long San paced back and forth, no longer calm, one moment thinking, Yu Mama handles matters well, she wouldn’t let Feng Ning meet with any accidents, another moment thinking, it’s still not clear who the assassin is, could this trip have leaked some news and put her in danger? And another moment thinking, if Feng Ning really returns to her former self, how should he treat her? He even thought, maybe he should simply just go to the temple and accompany her?

In the end, he felt that Feng Ning was indeed an expert in blindly disturbing people, she’s not even here, but she can still make him extremely nervous. He still had a lot of important matters to attend to, he definitely couldn’t stay disorderly and with no propriety.

If you appreciate the stories and our work here, please visit the page below and show your support for women survivors of war to rebuild their lives.

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 13

Hi everyone, here’s a new chapter of Dragon Flies Phoenix Dances (龙飞凤舞)! I realize everyone is very intrigued with the mystery, and I thought I might give a clue that the title of the book is a big hint in of itself, and if you figure it out, kudos to you! I won’t go any deeper as it would ruin the mystery for everyone, and I’m sure no one wants that. I do have to mention that I haven’t actually finished the novel yet, so I don’t know the details of the unraveled mystery, but I read far enough to figure out the general scheme.

Anyway, I would love to still send my translations out by Saturday, but as Ramadan has started, it’s been tough to juggle fasting, working, and school work, on top of translating; and working on an empty stomach and dry throat is not exactly pleasant. So bear with me everyone, I’ll try to churn these chapters out (as well as work on Eastern Palace (forgive me Sutekii)) as fast as I can!

Enjoy!

 

The Mrs. Long San Who Makes a Narrow Escape

 

Feng Ning’s survival instinct dominated, with her strength at its peak, her savior’s limbs were restricted, ironically unable to fully utilize them and so both of them, coiled together in this difficult situation, were flushed downwards by the river water. The two of them bobbed up and down, swallowing several mouthfuls of water.

Feng Ning was so scared her entire body went rigid, she screamed and shouted, causing that person to also be dragged down and submerged. With no other choice, he could only forcibly push her away, grasp her arm and place it on his back, pull her head out of the water, and loudly scream into her ear: “Calm down, don’t be afraid, it’s me, don’t be afraid, I’m here……”

Feng Ning shuddered and struggled to look at him, finally realizing that the person saving her was Long San. Her eyes started to warm up, and she loudly shouted: “Long San, Long San, don’t abandon me! Don’t abandon me……”

Long San propped her head up, looked into her eyes, and said: “Don’t be afraid, listen to me, and let’s get to the shore immediately, okay?”

Feng Ning wasn’t sure whether it was water or tears on her face, she only cried: “I’ll listen to you, I’ll listen to you, don’t abandon me, don’t abandon me, I’m afraid of water, I’m scared……”

Long San loudly said: “I’m going to loosen my hold, don’t struggle, don’t kick me, relax, I won’t let you sink, do you understand?” Feng Ning frantically nodded.

Long San, seeing that she had seemingly understood, released her arm, and held her against his chest: “Hold onto my shoulder, I’ll swim you onto the shore.” Feng Ning couldn’t stop trembling, she was like a child, tightly clinging onto his neck and shoulder, not daring to loosen her hold even a little bit.

Long San strove to keep both of them steady in the midst of the current, he had also swallowed a lot of water, he had one hand supporting Feng Ning, and the other wading through the water, his two feet treading hard, using both hands and feet simultaneously, he was finally able to drag the rigid, rock-like Feng Ning onto the shore.

The two of them, battered and exhausted, collapsed onto the shore, Long San coughed a few times, finally getting his breath back. Feng Ning’s fear of water was very serious, she hugged him tightly, unwilling to let go in the slightest. Long San seeing her trembling so wretchedly, could only half-drag-half-carry her somewhere far from the water, rubbing her back and her arms: “It’s alright now, we’re already on land, it’s alright……”

Feng Ning, seemingly unable to hear anything, had her head buried in his shoulder, continuously shaking, with both her arms and legs tightly wrapped around him. Long San had no other choice but to pat and coax her, patiently waiting for her to calm down.

After a while, Feng Ning was still unwilling to let go, two people who appeared to be bodyguards came running over, they said to Long San: “San Ye, we were unable to overtake him.” Feng Ning shivered, and lifted her head, Long San said to her: “The person who pushed you into the river, we didn’t catch him.” He turned around and asked the other person: “What about that servant?”

“Drowned. There’s no hope.” This answer frightened Feng Ning immensely, causing both her arms to tighten, once again holding tightly onto Long San.

Long San was left with no choice, he instructed one of the bodyguards: “Bring a carriage and two sets of clean clothes.” That person accepted the order and left, Long San then made the other bodyguard start a fire.

Feng Ning with her head still buried, very quietly said to Long San: “I remember now, it was that person.”

“Who?” Long San asked while attempting to pry her off so that they could both stand up. But the minute he moved, Feng Ning once again forcefully wrapped herself around him: “Don’t abandon me.”

Long San helplessly sat on the muddy floor, holding a wet, mud-ridden, disheveled Feng Ning. Not wanting to imagine in the least what he must look like at the moment.

Feng Ning nearly drowned to death twice, traumatizing her a great deal, Long San could only divert her attention and ask her again: “Who were you talking about?”

“The person who shouted that a woman fell into the river in order to draw me over; that person, he was the one who asked me where the thing was when I had injured my head that time. His voice, I remember it.”

“Did you see what he looked like?”

Feng Ning shook her head, when she remembered sinking into the water at that time, she would start panicking again.

Long San lifted his eyes and looked at the already darkened sky, the bodyguard on one side had already started a fire, Long San patted Feng Ning: “Let go of me first, let’s go warm ourselves by the fire, we don’t want to catch a cold.”

The moment Feng Ning heard this, she hurriedly tightened her arms, shaking her head over and over: “I’m not letting go, don’t leave, let the fire come over here.”

Long San inwardly grinded his teeth, she thinks the fire can walk. He forcefully pulled her off, scaring Feng Ning to the point she began to cry loudly: “You want to abandon me, you don’t care about me anymore……” Long San heartlessly struggled free of her bind, pried off her wrapped limbs, and harshly picked her up, moving next to the fire; all the while also laughing at her: “You’re usually so fearlessly brave, just like a mother tiger; but once you fall into the water, you become a useless person.”

“You’ve never been near death from injuring your head and falling into the water.” Feng Ning whispered, hugging Long San’s arm, and sitting next to the warm fire, finally feeling peace of mind.

“You’re just a pile of weird problems, you have amnesia, you’re scared of water, and your appetite’s unusually large, when this is all over, how about I take you to Bai Qiao City and have you checked up.”

“What place is that?”

“It’s a city famous for its medicine, there are many good doctors there. My good friend Nie Cheng Yan lives there, he will definitely be able to find a cure for you.”

Feng Ning’s lips twitched: “You have so many good friends, there’s probably several close female friends there as well.”

“There actually are.”

“Hmph.” Feng Ning at this point had regained her energy, and started bickering with him: “Then how come that close friend of yours Nie Cheng Yan didn’t cure your philandering disorder.”

“I really shouldn’t have hauled you out.” Long San smacked her forehead: “I’m just asking for trouble.”

“Why did he want to kill me?” At the mention of hauling her out, Feng Ning’s heart was still in fear. “Shouldn’t he be my accomplice? I remember his voice, that day it was he who asked me where the thing was. If he didn’t find it, wouldn’t it be even harder to find after killing me?”

“This only goes to show that the threat of keeping you alive is worse than not finding it.”

“He’s probably afraid that I’ve defected to your side, right?” Feng Ning felt that this possibility was very likely: “I definitely have a secret he can’t let anyone know about in my grasp.”

Long San didn’t say anything, he poked the fire, making the fire burn brighter, that bodyguard had the sense to leave them some space to talk, and had gone elsewhere to hide himself.

Feng Ning watched Long San’s movements, and asked: “How did you come to be here?”

“These last few days, you had been acting weird, naturally I sent people to watch your movements. You don’t have friends, but you suddenly received a letter, and said you were going to turn in early, clearly there was something wrong. But by the time I received news of this, you had already ran off; fortunately I asked the guard at the city gates, he recognized you, so I assumed that you probably ran here.”

Feng Ning chewed her lips, but still said it: “It was Xia Er who gave me the letter. The day she left, she secretly told me, I wasn’t Mrs. Long San. Today, in the letter she arranged for us to meet here, saying that it was to tell me the truth.”

“You’re not Mrs. Long San?” Long San was surprised.

Long San slightly narrowed his eyes and closely looked at her expression: “You believe it?”

“She said it so strangely, of course I had to find out exactly what was going on.” Recalling it, Feng Ning, still had some lingering fear. “Who would’ve thought it was this kind of situation.”

“You’re not Mrs. Long San?” Long San stared at Feng Ning as he said this.

Feng Ning touched her own face: “You guys couldn’t have gotten the wrong person, right?” Compared to that Xia Er, she was actually more willing to believe Long San, moreover, to have an entire household of people lie and not make a single mistake, wasn’t very possible.

Long San cast a sidelong glance at her: “Are you implying that I can’t even recognize my own wife?”

Feng Ning gave a “hmph”, and said: “What’s so strange about that? You don’t understand a single thing about your wife anyway, forgetting what she looked like is a possibility.”

“That is true.” He deliberately followed along. Provoking Feng Ning to glare at him. Her entire body was in a pitiful state, so her glare lost all of its intensity, and she even gave a loud sneeze to boot.

Long San couldn’t help but start laughing, Feng Ning flew into raged humiliation, she “hmph”ed and let go of him, sitting at a farther distance.

At this point, the weather turned cold, there was no moonlight, leaving the shore to depend on the burning heap for light. Feng Ning sat and sat, and finally couldn’t help shifting towards Long San again: “Say, those words that Xia Er said, they were to pique my curiosity, and draw me here, right? It wasn’t actually because she wanted to tell me that I’m not Mrs. Long San, right?”

Long San replied: “You’ve never changed your face, and at the same time in the same place, there’s someone asking you the whereabouts of the treasure, and also for that same reason used a maid to bait you, if you’re not Feng Ning, then who else could it be? If you’re not Feng Ning, why would he want to kill you?”

“That also makes sense.” Feng Ning wrung her fingers.

However, Long San continued to ask: “The matter of Xia Er, isn’t really what you were concealing from me, is it?”

Feng Ning lowered her head and did not speak, mentally whispering why is this wasteful squanderer this smart for, so annoying.

Long San spoke again: “Feng Ning, you’re isolated and alone here, if you don’t speak up when you have something on your mind, we can’t help you, if something were to happen again, what would you do?”

Feng Ning was silent for a long time, then finally replied in a low voice: “I won’t be so foolish again, as long as I am not near water, I should be able to defend myself.”

Long San’s expression turned grave: “So you stilldon’t want to say it?

Feng Ning started to feel sad: “I don’t want you to hate me.” Long San’s expression told Feng Ning that he loathed this kind of situation even more. Feng Ning brooded for a long time, then finally said: “Then promise me, the things I did in the past, no matter what it was, you cannot hold it against the me right now.”

Long San nodded, Feng Ning said: “Then after we return, I have something to show you.”

But Feng Ning never expected that the horrible happenings of today had not ended yet. She and Long San returned home, she took him to her room, grinded her teeth, and made up her mind to honestly confess: “I discovered a clue, perhaps the past me really had something to do with the attack on you.” She paused, looked at Long San, and emphasized again: “The past me, not the me right now.”

She opened the jewelry box as she spoke, but she didn’t expect to find that the space between the two layers, was empty.

Feng Ning was stunned in an instant: “This… It was definitely in here. That night, I had searched for a long time, I had seen those silk ropes in here, just like the ones you showed me.”

Long San understood what she was trying to say: “You thought the assassin was related to you in some way? So you didn’t dare to tell me, and wanted to find out by yourself?”

Feng Ning nodded: “My dowry maid died at such an opportunely time, so I thought she must have known something, I noticed Xia Er was flustered when she saw me, so I tried to probe her, and it turned out that she really did have a problem, but I didn’t expect that I actually ended up harming her.”

 

 

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 12

Hi everyone, I'm sorry for the late releases, I'm sure Evida's pulling her hair out trying to keep up with the schedule as I turn in late translations. I'll try to figure something out, but for now, please be patient!

I also have to apologize about a mistake I did in translation in the last chapter when Feng Ning insults Long San. It's actually a phrase in Chinese that I did not recognize, so I wrote it more literally, but it actually goes more along the lines of a 'wasteful squanderer'. Basically someone who doesn't bother with house affairs and likes to extravagantly waste money. (The line I'm talking about is when she insults him and then kicks him.)

This chapter reminded me of why I was so frustrated with Long San at the start, though he's not even half as bad as Long Er in Three Marriages, but I love my female leads, so I get angry at anyone who snubs or hurts them (even if they have somewhat of a reason to do so *cough*).

The Mrs. Long San who is plotted against

Feng Ning's mood was indeed better for a spell, but not waiting for her to rampage on for too long, that "wasteful squanderer" husband of hers already came to retaliate. Long San wasn't uncivilized like Feng Ning, naturally he wouldn't break things, he also wouldn't beat the other person up, he just used his probing eyes to stare at Feng Ning.

"Say it, what exactly is wrong with you?"

What is there to say, Feng Ning cast her head to one side, she would rather die than admit that she was taking her anger out on him. Actually, the moment Long San came over to reprimand her, she had already begun to feel guilty. She is now but a vicious suspect who had conspired to kill her husband. she was ashamed to face him, but this matter she choked back and couldn't say, her heart felt painfully suffocated.

Long San crossed his arms, and said: "I admit, you are different than before, and I don't believe you have any bad intentions, but that doesn't mean you can act unruly and make a scene in my household. You unreasonably went to my courtyard and caused a ruckus, who do you think you are?"

His tone of voice was per usual, his expression had no sign of resentment, but Feng Ning was very clearly aware that he was really angry. She began to feel flustered, but in spite of that, she still did not dare to say what exactly was bothering her, those clues that she found, she just couldn't bring herself to speak about it. She bit her lips, resiliently not speaking.

Long San stared at her for a while, then coldly said: "If you don't want others to get fed up with you, then don't go making trouble without reason."

His words were like knives painfully piercing her heart, she didn't know what she should say, but he just turned around and left.

Feng Ning watched his back, suddenly feeling like the energy she had stored up in advance was gone. Today's dinner, there was no one to accompany her. The food was sent to her residence, Feng Ning did not dare to complain about the simplicity of the dishes. She was like a child who did something wrong, sitting there restlessly.

Feng Ning was someone who could not hide what was on her mind, during the night, she was unable to sleep peacefully. She thought about the things that she did in the past two days, she and Long San had agreed not to hide anything from each other, not to tell lies, and to go after the truth together. But right now she has a clue, yet she  was keeping it from him, she was someone who did not act on her words,  this made her mood worsen from the pent-up frustrations. But being irritable by herself hadn't been enough, she had to come back and use him as a punching bag. She thought back, had she let him lose face in front of his henchmen?

The more Feng Ning thought about it, the more she felt that she had done wrong, she felt that she had to do something to restore her and Long San's good relationship. Thinking of this, she could no longer lie still, she put her clothes on, ran to Long San's courtyard and knocked on his room door.

Long San draped an outer garment over his shoulders, loosely tousled his hair and opened the door, it was clear that he had just fallen asleep. Seeing Feng Ning come over, he looked at her without much expression: "What?"

Feng Ning clenched her teeth, said: "I'm here to apologize."

Long San sounded an "mm", and replied: "I'm listening."

The way he held himself, high posture, not giving her any way out of embarrassment, made Feng Ning not very happy. She lowered her head, looked at his bare feet wearing slippers, really wanting to stamp on them. She moved the tips of her toes but still endured it. She mumbled to herself: "I shouldn't have thrown a temper, shouldn't have made you lose face in front of your henchmen, shouldn't have kicked you, shouldn't have flung the table......"

When she was acknowledging her wrongs she was actually quite honest, Long San was a bit surprised, he stared at the top of her head, lightly coughed twice, and said: "Then you tell me, why were you acting so unreasonably?"

Feng Ning was caught off guard, why must the reason still be analyzed when I'm apologizing? But the reason she was angry can't be told, what to do? She lifted her eyes and looked at Long San, he was staring at her waiting for her to speak, she stammered a bit, then finally composed herself: "I was jealous, I went to Jade Clothes Pavilion, and came across that Qin Ya Yin, she took the love token you gifted her and flaunted it, I...... of course I would be angry, once I was angry, I couldn't think straight, once I was unable to think calmly, I wanted to go find you...... so......"

"Love token?"  The corners of Long San's mouth hooked upwards grinning: "You were really jealous?"

Feng Ning was very unhappy, but this time since she wants to reconcile, she can only summon up the courage and force herself to admit it: "mm." She thought for a bit, then added: "This, even Xiao Qing saw, she can confirm it. So just forgive me okay? Next time I won't throw this kind of unreasonable temper."

Long San looked at her reaction and gently laughed, he warmly and tenderly closed in next to her ear and said: "Once you're willing to tell me the truth, you can come and find me." He lightly pushed her out, and closed the door.

Feng Ning looked at the tightly shut door in a daze, dumbfounded. After a long while she finally came around realizing her lie had been seen through, the unspeakable frustration in her heart, only after a while did she say through the door panels: "Don't be so stingy ah, I only have you, my single friend to speak with......"

Unfortunately no one answered her from inside, Feng Ning blankly stood there for a while, gloomily lowered her head and left.

In the next two days, sure enough, Long San did as he said, and did not see Feng Ning. Feng Ning had stamped down the fire, and exchanged it for a cold shoulder, naturally she was unhappy. But she thought it over, and felt she still couldn't tell Long San, she made up her mind to first investigate herself, just in case the matter wasn't as bad as she imagined, if the assassin was actually someone else, then she could at least straighten her spine and work it out with Long San. Thus, she paid exceptional attention to any news of that Xia Er, waiting for the moment she got better and can leave bed, intending to find her and investigate to the bottom of the matter.

Unexpectedly, things still didn't go as she anticipated, the next evening, Feng Ning suddenly received news, Xia Er continuously did not get better, so her family had come to take her home to recuperate. Xiao Qing also told Feng Ning, she heard that Xia Er's family decided they might as well take this chance to sell her to prostitution.

Feng Ning was shocked, and hurriedly ran to the side entrance of the Long Residence,  parked there was a shabby carriage, a young man handling the carriage, an old woman waiting on one side, Xia Er together with several maids, appearing to say goodbye. Feng Ning anxiously stepped forward, but didn't know what to do, under these circumstances, it was really much too inappropriate to investigate anything.

Seeing Feng Ning arrive, everyone was stunned, no one spoke any longer, the old woman came over to urge Xia Er onto the carriage, Feng Ning looked at the man handling the cart, then looked at the old woman and Xia Er, she really could not come up with any excuse to retain her, she had no other choice but to advance two steps, and call: "Xia Er......" Several maids cautiously and carefully looked at her, as if afraid that she would bother Xia Er. Feng Ning thought for a while, and finally could only say: "You haven't completely recovered, take care of yourself."

Xia Er stooped and curtsied, softly saying: "Many thanks for Madame's concern." She stood up to leave, but her legs suddenly went weak, she stumbled, and almost fell head first, Feng Ning subconsciously reached out her hand and supported her, but she never expected, that in the moment that Xia Er neared her to hold her arms for support, she extremely quietly and very quickly said one sentence: "You are not Mrs. Long San, quickly escape."

Before Feng Ning could recover, Xia Er had already retreated two steps, allowed that old woman to help her onto the carriage, the young man handling the cart whipped the horse forward, and the three quickly left. A few of the maids who saw her off began to weep, supporting each other back into the house, Feng Ning foolishly stood there, watching that carriage disappear without a trace, suspecting the words she had just heard were an illusion.

She's not Mrs. Long San? Then who was she? If she's not Mrs. Long San, then this entire Long residence's people have all been lying? How could that be possible?

Feng Ning was like a wandering soul, walking step by step back to the Long Residence. Walking, walking, unexpectedly she heard Long San's bright laughter, what was ear piercing was, along with his laughter, there was also a woman's delicate laughter . Feng Ning lifted her head, turns out she had arrived at the stone corridor garden, Long San was leading a young woman out, the two of them chatting and laughing, looking very happy conversing.

Feng Ning followed them in the distance, watching Long San send that woman through the entrance, cup his fist and salute: "Then, I will have to request this of Lady Yuan."

"San GongZi, rest assured, I will definitely honor your trust in me." That Yuan-whatever-lady gallantly cupped her fist, said goodbye and took her leave.

Long San turned around, saw Feng Ning holding the corridor pillar, impatiently watching him in the distance, he walked over and slowly said: "My courtyard's stone table has been replaced with a new one, do you want to go try lifting it?"

Feng Ning was not at all happy with his mocking, she pouted and retorted: "If you're willing to reconcile, then I can also go flip your table again."

"You're not even willing to speak the truth, how are we supposed to reconcile? If you want to go back to being the Mrs. Long San who is treated coldly, naturally I'll comply." Long San finished speaking, and unhurriedly walked off.

Feng Ning stood leaning on the corridor pillar, mentally thinking, if the truth were told, forget reconciling, she's afraid he wouldn't even want to look at her anymore. Moreover, Xia Er said she wasn't Mrs. Long San, what did that mean?

Feng Ning secretly made inquiries on Xia Er's whereabouts  after leaving the Long Residence, but heard that she was from outside of town, so she ought to have directly left the city. She dragged Xiao Qing with her again to stroll around the entire the city in an attempt to remember even the slightest memory, unfortunately, every single place was unfamiliar to her.

But to Feng Ning's surprise, two days later, a great opportunity came. Feng Ning received a letter, on it wrote "If you want to know the truth, meet me at the Liang river bank at youshi 酉时(about 5-7 pm in ancient times). I am taking risks to meet you, this should by no means be made public." The signature on the letter was Xia Er.

Feng Ning at once mentally calculated, at youshi, the sky would still be light, if she left and returned early, she should still be able to make it before the city gates closed. Xia Er doesn't know martial arts, so she shouldn't be able to do anything to her, and if there is anything fishy, she could always flee.

Thus, Feng Ning found an excuse, said she didn't feel good and would turn in early; actually, it was the old method again, she climbed over the wall, and secretly left the Long residence. She rushed the entire way there, when she reached the city gates, she happened to see the gate-keeper brother from the other day, she greeted him, then went through.

Feng Ning's ability to remember directions was pretty good, even though she had only taken this route once, but she remembered it very clearly, before it reached youshi, she already stood at the bank of the Liang river. The sound of the river water slapping the shore made her feel dizzy, the river itself she dared not look into, only standing far in the distance, looking all around for her.

After looking for a long while, she only saw several people who appeared to be fishermen carrying nets and bamboo baskets on their backs, holding firewood, walking towards the city, not even one female could be seen. Feng Ning thought, and wandered along the riverside, could it be that the that place Xia Er is waiting at is not here? She walked a length, and didn't see anyone. Just as she was thinking of whether she should turn back, she heard a androgynous voice shriek, followed closely by someone standing on the bank of the upper reaches of the river loudly shouting: "Quickly help, a woman fell into the water, help......"

Feng Ning's first reaction was Xia Er, she didn't even have time to ponder that as she subconsciously ran towards the direction of the voice, in the river, a young woman struggled with all her might, but the more she struggled, the more she sank towards the bottom of the river, it was Xia Er. Feng Ning seeing the current circumstances, felt a sudden daze, as if the river water swept upwards and was going to drag her down. Her entire body stood rigid on the spot, without the chance to divert her attention or to do any sort of movement, a sudden attack from behind, ruthlessly pushed her into the river.

Before Feng Ning could even scream, she had already been submerged by a wave of ice-cold water. Her nose, mouth, ears all filled with a rush of water, she couldn't breathe, chest was going to explode, her four limbs were out of control, struggling; in the midst of this, through the water she could see an indistinct silhouette of a man distorted by the water ripples, very quickly disappearing on the shore.

Feng Ning didn't want to die, but the ice-cold water dragging her downwards, that kind of ingrained fear tightly encircled, her four limbs were heavy, head was dizzy, as if her entire person was being sliced into fragments  by the river water, the pain was getting worse, her awareness about to dissipate, she could only feel that her body was about to split open, and the darkness corrode her.

Suddenly a pair of arms reached over, dragging her entire body out of the water. All at once, air overflowed her lungs, Feng Ning subconsciously opened her mouth wide and breathed in hard, her four limbs doing everything it could to struggle free, she didn't want to die in such a dubious way. A voice next to her ear loudly yelled: "Feng Ning, it's me, it's me, don't be afraid, don't panic......"

Feng Ning was not clear headed at all, she couldn't recognize who it was , she only knew that at this moment, she was a person near death, grabbing onto a floating log; she tightly held  onto the other person, doing everything she could to raise her head upwards, she didn't want to fall into the water again, she was so frightened.

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 11

 

Feng Ning is burdened with angst and guilt, but still striving to solve the mystery of her past. A lot of questions and self doubt begin to arise from her recent discovery. Hidden thoughts and an outburst that may well be a signs of  her blooming emotions.

The Mrs. Long San Who Unreasonably Makes a Scene to Vent

The rope's thickness and color was indeed the same as the one she saw in Long San's room that day. Feng Ning stared at those threads as if she saw a ghost, her heart beating wildly.

She couldn't have, how could she have been capable of doing this kind of thing? But those silk ropes were undeniably vivid, very clearly right before her eyes, so many ropes, and all of them weaved into that fancy knot, seemingly the result of practice.

Feng Ning's legs in a moment went weak, falling onto the chair. How could this be, how could she have an illicit affair with someone? How could she have planned to assassinate her husband? How could she be such a fierce and malicious woman?

Feng Ning could only feel cold sweat coming down, and spurts of chills down her spine. Yu Mama was right, she had a woman's intuition as well as an elderly person's insight, that's why the disgust and loathing towards her,  the coldness and severity, there was a reason behind it all.

Feng Ning tried hard to recall, Long San had said that she had liked to take her dowry maid out to play, Xiao Qing said her dowry maid had died of illness a while ago, just before her accident. In other words, if her outings were secret trysts with her lover, then her maid must have been a witness, and it just so happened that right before she went to steal the treasure and flee, the single attestant happened to die.

Could it really be this timely? So awfully coincidental.

Feng Ning did not dare to think about it, it couldn't be that that maid's death had something to do with her, right? Xiao Qing had clearly said that that maid definitely died of an illness, Doctor Chen also had examined her, this must be the fact, and it couldn't have anything to do with her, right?

Feng Ning covered her face, only feeling like she had suddenly been hit by a bolt of thunder, it was even more shocking than when she found out she had lost her memories, she stared at those silk ropes until the horizon began to suffuse with white.

Today was Long San's first time seeing Feng Ning eat with such low spirit, he looked at the dishes, they were clearly all her favorite foods, wasn't she so happy eating these the past few days that her eyes were all curved? But today, it was as if she didn't know flavor, and only cared about stuffing her mouth with food.

"What's wrong? Feeling unwell again?" She would sometimes have nightmares and come to him to complain, but that had never affected her appetite in the least, he feared today there was some sort of plight, Long San pondered, but his expression remained unchanged.

Feng Ning put her chopsticks down, suddenly conveying her thoughts: "Long San, you said that when you injured your head and fell unconscious last time, you became right again when you hit your head a second time, then how about me, can I recover if I am struck again?" She wanted badly to know what kinds of things she had done before, wanted badly to know that she wasn't such a bad person.

Long San also put his chopsticks down, and said: "I don't mind if you want to go and try, but before you do, please write a suicide note, clarify that it was you who wanted to be struck, this way, if you don't come back, I can justify myself in front of your family."  (afaasun: ha ha ha….)

Feng Ning's mouth twitched, and stood up with a clatter: "How can you act like this, whatever the case, you should at least try to persuade me, show some concern for me."

"Then just don't do it, if you become stupid after injuring your head, I would have to tell you the story again, and that would be rather tiring."

Feng Ning didn't say anything, exerting all her strength to glare at him.

Long San sighed and spread his hands out: "Then you tell me, what exactly is it that you want to do?"

Of course Feng Ning was unable to say anything, for a while she could only glare: "When I think of it, I'll tell you." And then she turned around and left.

Long San looked at the leftover dishes in front of him, and found that he had actually been wondering if that crazy woman had eaten her fill.

Feng Ning's thoughts were completely filled with those silk ropes, and had not noticed that she had eaten less than usual during this meal. She was both ashamed and confused; so this is what doing something worth feeling guilty over felt like. She didn't dare tell Long San about her finding the silk ropes, there was finally someone who treated her well, if she said it just like that, wasn't she just asking to be loathed?

The more she thought about it, the sadder she got, she still couldn't believe it, how could she be such a bad person? But this method of injuring her head again was indeed very dangerous, and inconvenient, Yu Mama the capable person in deciding the course of action in these matters, was also unreliable. But she ate the medicine, she also visited her former haunts, yet there was still no progress to be seen.

Feng Ning was extremely depressed, wandering around the entire residence, suspecting everything she saw. Those servants who evaded her gaze, could they possibly have some inside information? Those maids who turned and ran at the sight of her, could they possibly know some secret?

Feng Ning's eyes suddenly narrowed, and that maid really turned and ran after seeing her, this person, she had never seen before.

"Stop right there." Feng Ning shouted, causing the flustered and panicking maid to stop in her tracks. Feng Ning walked over with big strides: "Which staff are you part of?"

"This -this lowly servant is a maid of the clothes bureau."

"Clothes bureau?" The clothes bureau takes care of the family's tailoring, sewing, mending, and laundry, for no reason Feng Ning's heart thumped, in a stern voice she asked: "Why were you so flustered after seeing me?"

"This- this lowly servant had only suddenly remembered that there was still some work to be done, I was anxious to get back, it was not at all because I saw Furen and got flustered."

"What's your name?"

"Xia Er."

Feng Ning stared at her, not speaking anymore; Xia Er also did not dare to lift her head, agitatedly she said: "If Furen doesn't need anything else, this servant will be going back to the yard to work." Feng Ning steadily made an "mm" sound, Xia Er anxiously bowed, turned, and ran away.

Feng Ning went back to her own residence, and called Xiao Qing over: "I want two new set of clothes made, who is responsible for handling these matters?"

"In the past, Furen's new clothes were all handled by Ping Er who would find a tailor from outside to make them, the money was allotted by Yu Mama."

Feng Ning had heard before from Xiao Qing that Ping Er was that dowry maid who died of illness. She sighed inwardly, it seems that this household in terms of clothing and living accommodations indeed did not mistreat her. Seeing that she did not say anything, Xiao Qing asked: "Does Furen want new clothes made?"

"Mm, I would like to look at the new style, do you know where I used to have them made in the past?"

"I do, it was made at the eastside of town, Jade Clothes Pavilion, that place is one of the most well-known."

"Oh." Feng Ning replied: "Then where do you guys get your clothes made?"

"All servants have their clothes made by the family's clothes bureau."

"Including Ping Er's, right?"

Xiao Qing did not understand why she brought this up, but she still replied: "Yes, at that time, Ping Er's clothes were all made by the clothes bureau, there was also the matter of embroidery, cleaning clothes, cleaning blankets; these were all done by the clothes bureau."

Feng Ning thought about it, then that being said, the clothes bureau's maids must have pretty good relations with the other residents' maids, who wouldn't want nice clothes, at the very least, they had the opportunity to come into contact with each other.

The next day, Feng Ning took out a set of clothes, tore a button off, cut the threads of the lapel, and personally went to the clothes bureau. The clothes bureau's yard wasn't very big, hanging bamboo poles to dry clothes with, in one room, several maids were busy working, seeing Feng Ning come, they were all taken aback. Feng Ning looked closely, that one named Xia Er was also there, when she saw her, a look of frenzy flashed through her eyes.

Feng Ning laughed, and walked directly towards her: "You're called Xia Er, right? We met yesterday, I remembered I had a set of clothes that needed mending, and Xiao Qing isn't around, so I personally came to send it over, and could you mend it for me?"

That Xia Er composed herself, took the clothes, and agreed. Feng Ning, as if nothing had happened, looked around touching things here and there, exchanged some idle gossip with some maids, the lady who managed the bureau came in to receive her, Feng Ning politely greeted her, asked about the temperature, if the work was exhausting, the entire room awkwardly and timidly responded to her questions.

Xia Er had very quickly mended both the lapel and the buttons, Feng Ning laughed and praised her skills, after giving thanks, she took her clothes and left. When she got to the door, she suddenly turned around and said: "Oh right, Xia Er, there's still another matter." She very clearly saw Xia Er's expression quickly change from relief to being defensive, she lightly laughed: "I want two new sets of clothes made, before it should have been Ping Er who picked for me, but you and her were close, I assume you must know my tastes, moreover you're very skilled, you would know good workmanship, why don't you accompany me?"

Xia Er's face drained of color, Feng Ning said: "Tomorrow then?", she looked towards the managing lady who nodded her head in a flurry and replied yes, Feng Ning only now was satisfied, and with a laugh, she left.

After walking out the clothes bureau, Feng Ning's face dropped. Excellent, when she said that Ping Er and she were close, no one expressed any surprise at that, seems like that it was true. Judging from this, she might really be able to dig some secrets out from this Xia Er.

But the next day, Feng Ning wasn't able to drag Xia Er out, the reason for this was that she fell ill. This illness of hers was menacing, only yesterday she had been healthy not doing over half a day's work, but she actually came down with such a high fever.

Sick servants have a separate room to recuperate in, in order to avoid infecting the others. So Xia Er was put in a small room, and with Feng Ning's position, it was not convenient for her to enter, she entrusted Xiao Qing to visit and look around. Xiao Qing reported back, the fever was quite high, even after drinking herbal medicine the fever didn't go down, Yu Mama already sent Doctor Chen over to examine her.

Feng Ning felt that this incident was very odd, did Xia Er get herself sick on purpose, so that she could avoid her? The meaning behind this supposition made Feng Ning depressed, could she have really resorted to murder?

She was in low spirit, thinking about this matter while going with Xiao Qing to the Jade Clothes Pavilion that she had often gone to get her clothes done. Jade Clothes Pavilion was indeed a top quality shop, a variety of cloth colors, and many different styles of clothing, it was a feast for the eyes, and there were even cabinets full of handkerchiefs and small ornaments. Those madams and young ladies in the shop were extremely excited.

Feng Ning stood at the doorway, not having much of an impression of the place, seeing how crowded the shop was, she also lost any interest in entering, just as she was about to return to the house, she heard a woman's voice: "Oh, what a coincidence, lady assassin is also here."

Feng Ning had just turned her head, saw Qin Ya Yin, and nodded her head in greetings: "Hello Ms. Qin."

Qin Ya Yin smiled brilliantly, and lifted up her wrist: "Look, Long San GongZi's gift to me." It was a jasper bracelet, Feng Ning could not tell if it was well made, but Qin Ya Yin's attitude put Feng Ning in a rotten mood. She roughly pulled her wrist over to take a closer look, Qin Ya Yin laughed, was about to say something, but was interrupted by Feng Ning's lift of the eyes, and she spoke emphasizing every word: "Miss, wear this plaything well, I've received San Ye's order to murder according to this item. Miss, look forward to it, don't worry, I'll give you an enjoyable one."

After she finished talking, she gave a cold laugh, and without a single glance at Qin Ya Yin's rigid and contorted expression, she turned around and arrogantly walked out.

The moment Feng Ning returned to the Long Residence, the first thing she did was rush straight to Long San's courtyard. Long San was in the middle of giving orders to two servants, when they saw her coming, everyone stopped speaking, Feng Ning didn't care at all whether they were guarding against her or not, she just rushed straight to Long San, stretched her leg out and gave him a kick, while also berating him: "wasteful squanderer.........."

She moved quickly, her actions completely went beyond Long San's expectations, this time being kicked head on, before he could even understand what was going on, Feng Ning had already finished the deed and ran for it. She ran out the room, passing by the small round table, as she was passing, she also flipped the table, by the time the sound of the table falling to floor rang out, she had already disappeared out the courtyard.

Long San with a dark expression, loudly roared: "Feng Ning!" Unfortunately, she didn't even leave him a shadow to scold.

Xiao Qing's pace was slow, by the time she ran back she already saw Feng Ning walking towards her own small courtyard, she worriedly stepped forward to console her: "Furen......" But when Feng Ning turned around to face her, she actually excitedly made a fist: "That was a good vent."

After making such an unreasonable scene, she was in a great mood!

 

Like Dragons Flying and Phoenixes Dancing by Ming Yue Ting Feng Chapter 10

Karma: I'm sorry for the late update everyone, hopefully I'll be getting back on schedule starting next week!

Afaasun: Well on the bright side, we get to read the 2 stories in one day, thanks for the great effort Karma.........

In this chapter, Long San struggles with keeping his proximity with Feng Ning, while Feng Ning discovers new things about the past, and becomes one step closer to the truth.

 

Mrs. Long San Finds a Clue

Long San glared at Feng Ning, and Feng Ning glared back.

Long San said: "Do you actually still want to listen? ”

"I do. " She replied grinding her teeth.

Long San was just about to continue speaking, when Feng Ning interrupted again and asked, "Then did my swine husband sleep in the same room as you afterwards?”

"Feng Ning! "Long San cried.

Feng Ning swiftly stood up and loudly said: "Why don't you just hang a plaque on this yard door of yours, with the two words 'pig pen' written on it?" She was unable to control her tone of voice.

Long San anxiously hit the table and stood up: "Who was it earlier that agreed they wouldn't continue pressing after the past? ”

"It was the pig's wife, that's who.  If you're not satisfied, you can go and find the pig to reason with." Feng Ning's voice was unusually loud: "Who would have thought that this old score would be so great? Fortunately I've lost my memories, otherwise I would have been rolled into a ball and kneaded and pinched around by you guys, do you guys take me as someone who is easily bullied? If I had done something wrong, I am willing to own up to it, but you guys on the other hand, still act the victim. I now realize, everything I did, I did for a reason, you guys treating me like this, don't tell me I can't retaliate even a little bit? ”

"Can you be reasonable at all? ”

"I can. "Feng Ning fiercely nodded, then she really began to reason with him: "You said it yourself, after taking me as your wife, forget about whether you liked me or not, or whether you were willing, after we married, did you treat me well? ”

"......" Long San was stunned in a moment, then vaguely muttered for a long time, "You ate and lived well, weren't mistreated, also had servants to wait on you......"

Feng Ning with a wave of her hand, interrupted him, continued to ask: "Do you know what color clothes I like to wear? ”

"......" He looked at what she was wearing right now, it was aquamarine.

"Do you know what dishes I like to eat?”

The dishes that appeared in Long San's mind were the ones at Zhen Wei Lou where they were a moment ago, before when he was in the residence, he indeed did not pay any attention to her.

Seeing that he could not say anything, Feng Ning sounded a "hmph", then continued to ask, "Do you know what I like to play with? ”

Long San cast his eyes down, and saw the kite and small wooden doll that she had placed on the table, Feng Ning shouted loudly at him: "You don't know anything, you're still my husband, how exactly are you acting like one? And you still have the nerve, I'm ashamed for you. ”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, with a turn of her head she ran. As she was coming out the doorway, she happened to run into Long Er, she gave him a ferocious glare, making Long Er  completely bewildered.

After entering through the door, Long Er asked: "What's wrong with that crazy woman? ”

Long San had still not come around, clearly it was she who had done him wrong, how come she was embarrassed for him, most importantly, the things she said, to think he felt he was unable to refute. He lifted his eyes and looked at Long Er, shrugged his shoulders, and with some helplessness: "She's throwing a tantrum. ”

"I know she lost her temper, her voice that loud, we can hear it even in the distance. ”

"I told her about the wedding ceremony, she was angry." Long San picked up the wooden doll from the table, and pondered, what kind of illness could change a person's character completely?

Long Er was unhappy: "This method of yours, is it really okay? That woman is really weird now, and we have no idea what exactly is going on. Yu Mama told me today, she thinks it's still better to have someone come and do some exorcism, who knows, it might actually be some demonic possession. You keep worming your way to be friends with her, but while disclosing your thoughts, you should still be cautious, don't ultimately end up being hoodwinked by her. ”

"I know." Long San had traveled throughout Jiang Hu* and had seen countless people, he could read people's hearts clearly. He pushed the wooden doll around, watched its head sway on the table, he said, "When she didn't know who I was, she told me more than what she mentioned to you and Yu Mama. You didn't see her expression at that time, she said if there is sincere treatment, there must be some reciprocation, I can see that she genuinely wants to get along well with our family." He thought for a bit, furrowed his brows, and poked the wooden doll again: "At the very least, this Feng Ning is sincere. ”

Long Er reminded him: "I'm just afraid that she'll remember the past and have bad intentions again. Anyway, in short, just be more careful, and maintain some distance. ”

"That's natural, don't we all maintain distance ourselves?. ”

Long Er nodded, the three brothers each have their own strengths, Long San has traveled all over Jiang Hu and has had dealings with all kinds of people. There are times when he is better at taking care of such strange occurrences. He said to Long San: "Then I'll leave this matter in your hands, tomorrow I will be going on a trip, I reckon it will take about ten days to half a month and then I'll be back, I'm letting you know first, if there are any disturbances, you should first keep an eye out. ”

Long San complied, the brothers chatted for a while, and then Long Er left. Long San looked at the wooden doll, then summoned a servant: "Go tell San FuRen’s** residence, from now on when I'm home, have San FuRen come to my place to eat. The kitchen staff doesn't need to send any food over to her residence.”

The servant accepted the order and left, Long San poked the wooden doll, clenched his teeth and said: "If you're that fierce again, no food for you. ”

The next morning, Long San was in the middle of practicing Martial arts when Feng Ning arrived. He was surprised: "Here so early?" Feng Ning angrily pouted and sat on a stone bench in the yard: "Didn't you say I had to come here to eat? ”

Long San looked at her astounded, he kept looking and looking,  and then began to laugh loudly, indeed, food is the most effective method for dealing with her.

"What are you laughing at?" Feng Ning was very unhappy.

"Still angry?" Long San put his sword down, went back into his room and changed clothes, when he came out she still had a stern expression.

"Why don’t you try marrying a pig? ”

Long San kneaded his temples: "Alright, I'll apologize to you. ”

Feng Ning made a "hmph" sound,  she asked: "When is the food coming?" With this turn of conversation, Long San couldn't help but laugh again, Feng Ning glared at him, "Laughing again? Let me tell you, if it weren't for the fact that there are more dishes when we both eat together, I wouldn't be willing to eat on the same table as you.”

"Yes, yes, thank you for this honor, I'll make sure to let them know to make some more tasty ones, plenty more dishes.”

Feng Ning muttered: "That's more like it. ”

Today's breakfast under Long San's urging was quickly served, as suspected, the food here was better and more plentiful, once Feng Ning ate her fill, her mood also distinctly improved, she told Long San: "Let me tell you, from now on, you should stay at home every day. ”

Long San having now already adapted to her train of thought, began laughing without thinking, sure enough, Feng Ning went on to say: "If you're are at home, I'll be able to eat with you. ”

"Yes, yes. "Long San agreed, he could not help but be provoked to keep laughing by her satisfied expression.

The two sat together after eating, and continued the unfinished conversation from yesterday. Turns out, after Feng Ning was married, the Feng family head lived there for one more month and left. Feng Ning stayed at the Long Residence, she would frequently take her dowry maid out to play, and often inquired about inside information as well as their family property, but because of the mess involving the two families, Long San hid from her, Long Er guarded against her, and Long Da took his wife to live elsewhere.

Feng Ning ate small snacks while assessing the situation: "The restlessness must have been your guys' own perception, who knows, I may not have been that bad. "After a little bit, she said again: "You see, you guys ignored me, do you think I would be okay? Maybe it was in order to get your attention, and I was sincerely concerned about your family. ”

Long San took her snack box away: "Do you still want to listen?” Even food is unable to shut her up, he truly bought it in vain.

"I want to listen, keep going." Feng Ning snatched the box back and hugged it, but decided instead to attack a plate of grapes on the side.

So Long San continued speaking. As time dragged on, Feng Ning lost patience, Long San was often not at home,  so she began to befriend Long Er, she would even personally make pastries for him, she also made tea and sent it over to him, and also invited him to go out and play, but no Long Er didn’t fall for it, Feng Ning understanding her place,  then went back home for half a year.

During this time, the Long Family held onto some hope that the unpleasant things she went through in the past half year would dismiss any thought of returning, but to their surprise, the Feng Ning who was raised nice and healthy at the Feng Residence, came back again.

This time when she came back, her behavior was evidently restrained a bit, but she began to show interest in the Long Family's business and their family secrets. At that time, rumors began to circulate about the Long Family's treasure, Long San also began to run into troubles outside, everyone's attention were focused on the bad things outside of Jiang Hu, ignoring the situation at home. So one night, Feng Ning ran off with the Long Family's treasure, fortunately the Long Family noticed early on, and tracked her all the way, finding her outside the city at the Liang River.

The rest, Feng Ning already knows. The Long Family found her at the Liang River bank and saved her, she had hit her head and lost her memory. She thought and thought, and then asked, "Long San, according to your guys' suspicion, it was my family that sent me here to steal the treasure? ”

Long San muttered ambiguously for a bit: "The probability of that is high. You married into the family, but you didn't receive benefits, your family was most likely disappointed. You went home for such a long time, after coming back, the news about the Long Family treasure was spread out, the timing coincided. ”

"From then on, did you start running into trouble? ”

Long San nodded.

"What kind of troubles? ”

"Assassination. I was attacked several times, but it didn't always relate to this."After all, he was a master of drawing trouble, this much he knew very well.

"Oh." Feng Ning remembered Xiao Qing saying that San Ye had been attacked and struck on the head. "The matter of you being attacked, do you have any leads? ”

"Actually there is." Long San took out a box, opened it and drew from it a knotted rope: "This is from one time when I was in the middle of fighting and cut it from the head assassin's wrist. On that occasion, I think it was directed at the Long Family. ”

Feng Ning pulled it closer to examine it carefully, the knotted rope was weaved together using many brightly colored threads, could it possibly be an identification? As if reading her thoughts,  Long San said: "The other assassins didn't have this on their wrists, only that one person. It probably wasn't some kind of organization identification. ”

Feng Ning nodded, in her opinion, it was more like a small keepsake weaved by a woman sending it to her lover. Long San said: "I'm not going to keep it from you, Yu Mama kept thinking the matter of my injury had to do with you, she went through all the things in your room, but could not find any evidence, only then did she give up. ”

"It's no wonder she hated me so much. "Feng Ning's mouth twitched, she felt very upset. How could she do such horrible things, to have an illicit affair as well as conspiring to kill her husband, these types of malicious things, she definitely would not be able to do.

But that night, Feng Ning did not sleep, she thought about one thing. It wasn't why or for whom she stole it, buthow?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt there was something wrong, if she had secretly inquired about the whereabouts of the treasure, shouldn't she have had a map or tools or something, she knows martial arts, then where's her weapon? This room, even a knife was scarce, it was clean, just like a normal madam of a house.

She turned over and sat up, and started rummaging around the room, she who had already plotted by herself for a long time, it was impossible that there were no clues left behind. Although that Yu Mama did not find anything, it may have been that she hid it too well. She quietly looked through every nook and cranny, the cabinets, the table, beneath the bed,  she looked through all of them, but there was nothing.

Feng Ning looked over everything, her eyes fell upon a jewelry box, she walked over, opened it, it was only a simple square box, inside were several pieces of jewelry, Feng Ning weighed it in her hand, there wasn't anything wrong with its weight, but she had looked through the entire room, only this box she had not examined carefully. So she poured everything out, she felt around, looked it over up and down, and noticed something wrong with the color at the bottom of the box. She reached and dug, unexpectedly, the bottom could actually be removed. Inside, some rope lightly slipped out.

Feng Ning was stunned.

 

*江湖Jiang Hu: The pugilist world

** 三夫人San FuRen: Third madam

 

My Childhood Favorite Part 1-The Magic Pudding:The Adventures Of Bunyip Bluegum

I remember fondly the young me thinking how cool it would be to have a pudding that can never finish even if you chomp on it, giving a savory meal and dessert in one pot. Albeit a bare feet walking pudding must score low on the hygiene chart.

Anyhow, this is as the title sat the adventures of Bunyip Bluegum the Koala, which started off when he met Bill Barnacle the sailor and Sam Sawnoff the penguin. They are in constant effort to rid off the pudding thieves Possum and Wombat. Although Albert the Pudding never doubts in showing that he would rather be with the thieves than the members of the Noble Society of Pudding Owners, because of their insatiable appetites.

This book is a fun and adventurous classic, I highly recommend for your kids.