Return of the Swallow c1-644

by Edited by Deyna up to chapter ~100.

  “Madame’s been too tired lately and overly grief-stricken.” Bingtang smiled reassuringly. “Your body naturally needs rest. Your health is good to begin with, so your body will be fine. It was just emotional distress. You’ll be fine after resting for two days.”

  Née Sun was still angry when she thought about what’d just happened, but her body was really out of energy to continue the argument. She nodded.

  “Bingtang, have someone bring over a carriage.” Qin Yining had just finished speaking when Ruyi led strong granny servants with a warmed carriage.

  “Qin-mama had already given orders for me to prepare a carriage. The doctor has already arrived at the Garden of Tranquility. Please set foot into the carriage, madame.”

  Qin Yining didn't let anyone else help and stuck her arms beneath née Sun’s armpits and hauled the lady up, then helped her mother into the carriage. She bent and held up the curtains. “Go back and rest, mother. I’ll have Bingtang go back with you. I’ll go see you as soon as I take care of everything here.”

  Née Sun nodded, leaning tiredly on the inky-green velvet that hung on the carriage walls. Qin Yining patted Bingtang’s hand. “Take care of her for me.”

  “Don’t worry, miss.” Bingtang smiled. After sending off the carriage with her eyes, Qin Yining took a glance at the still and silent house. A trace of a cold smile graced her lips after some thought and she turned to grasp Qin Huining’s collar, hauling her up from the ground.”

  “What do you want?!” Qin Huining shrieked. “Mother’s already awoken! This is grandmother’s yard, how dare you!”

  Qin Yining didn’t say a word and firmly grasped the foster girl’s hair, dragging her outside and scattering her hairpins and decorations all over the ground. Qin Yining’s hand was forcing Qin Huining’s down, so the latter could only stumble along with her waist bent. She couldn’t reach Qin Yining no matter how wildly her arms flailed. She struggled and shrieked along the way, like prey being carried by a hunter.

  Jixiang and Ruyi were flabbergasted! They’d served in the manor for many years but had never seen a miss with such eye-popping strength! The two quickly went in to make their report.

  “Old Dowager, Fourth Miss has dragged Miss Huining off by the hair!”

  The matriarch could finally no longer sit still. “Let’s go take a look, don’t let any actual harm happen!”

  Qin-mama was also a bit worried. What if the fourth miss really chops up Miss Huining in a moment of impulse? She grabbed a cloak to fling onto the old dowager and helped her mistress out with Jixiang and Ruyi.

  Curious maids and granny servants were trailing Qin Yining from the Garden of Loving Piety all the way to the rear gardens. It was winter. Although the water surface wasn’t thickly iced over like it would in the north, there were still ice flakes in the ponds. Qin Yining arrived at the side of the lotus pond and flung the foster girl in without another word.

  Splash! Qin Huining plunged into a pond full of mud, withered lotuses, and chunks of ice. The water only reached her waist, but she’d done a belly flop into the water. Survival instincts kicked in when one was frightened stiff. When the old dowager reached the pond, all she saw was Qin Huining splashing in the water and crying for help.

  Qin Yining snorted coldly on the banks. “You won’t die. Stand up.”

  Qin Huining paddled and splashed a while longer before standing up skeptically, finally realizing that the water reached only her waist. She was both furious and humiliated; the immense range of emotions swiftly morphing into a singular notion: hatred. She was covered in mud and looked like something the cat dragged in out of the storm. The second madame, third madame, third, sixth, seventh, and eighth miss had come running over when they heard what’d happened. Everyone was stunned.

  “What are you all standing there for? Pull Miss Huining up!” Qin-mama frowned.

  Qin Huining felt her support arrive in the form of the old dowager and stooped on the banks, hugging her shoulders and bawling. She looked like she’d been so frightened that she only knew how to cry.

  “I threw you down there to have the muddy slop in the pond clean your mouth out,” Qin Yining said. “I hope it cleans out your brains and heart as well!”

  Qin Huining sobbed even louder.

  “The Qins took care of you for fourteen years and never mistreated you. Even if you aren’t a Qin daughter, the old dowager, father, and mother have never thought of sending you back to the Hall of Fosters. Instead of being grateful, you try to drive a wedge between mother and the old dowager instead. Are you even fit to be human?!”

  Qin Huining shook her head. “I know you hate me, but how is any of this my fault?”

  “You were indeed innocent for being swapped at birth, but look at what you’ve done afterwards! I don’t hate you because you’re not worthy of hate. I’ll just see that I end you!”

  Qin Huining hugged her knees and shook. Qin Yining laughed coldly. “Don’t use that pitiful act on me. I’m a barbarian and am completely immune to that. Since Old Dowager and the sisters are all here today, I’ll tell you this. If I find out that you’ve stirred up trouble or used mother in the future, I won’t let you off as easily as today!”

  As easily as today? She’d knocked a tooth out of Qin Huining and even thrown the girl into the lotus pond to eat ice chunks and mud. If that was easy, then what wasn’t?!

  “How dare you!” Qin Huining finally lifted her head as she shuddered.

  “Don’t you know already if I dare or not?” Qin Yining turned to kneel in front of the old dowager and spoke sincerely. “Granddaughter was too violent and knows my faults. Please tell me my punishment, Old Dowager.”

  The old dowager didn’t know whether she should punish Qin Yining or not. Her looks were so very similar to a young Qin Huaiyuan, and the aura of not allowing anyone to harm her mother reminded the old dowager of her firstborn as well. She knew that a strong hand was needed to rein in Qin Huining, or the inner residence would be become a chaotic mire. She frowned. “Although there was reason behind your actions, you were too ruthless. You threw her into the pond on such a cold day. You could’ve gotten her sick.”

  There was no mention of the tooth. Qin Yining instantly understood the old dowager’s thoughts and heaved a silent sigh of relief. “Understood, your granddaughter knows her wrongs.”

  Qin Huining lifted incredulous eyes to the old dowager. “Grandmother, do you not love me anymore? How can you treat me like this?!”

  The old dowager was both pained and angry by Qin Huining’s muddy form. “Granddaughter Hui, I watched you grow up. I know what you’re thinking of. You should think of your actions.” She turned to everyone. “Let’s all disperse now. There’s no reason to stay here further.”

  She left with Qin-mama, Jixiang, and Ruyi after speaking. She didn’t seem inclined to punish Qin Yining at all. The second and third madame, third miss and others had been a bit confused about the happenings but now understood. Qin Huining must’ve done something again that made even the old dowager unwilling to help her. Qin Yining curtsied to her aunts and cousins, explaining that née Sun had fainted and she wanted to serve at her side. The girls immediately expressed concern and followed her to the Garden of Tranquility.

  Meanwhile, Qin Huining was carted back on a litter when her maids Fugui and Caiyun came hurrying over after they received the news. When the rear gardens quieted down, Qin Huaiyuan and Weichi Yan appeared from behind the nearby artificial mountain with their followers.

  “Please forgive us for the sight you just witnessed, Your Highness. My daughter grew up in the wilds and her behavior is unmannered. Please forgive us for any offense.” Qin Huaiyuan bowed.

  * * *

  Chapter 73: Official Correspondence

  Chapter 73: Official Correspondence

  Weichi Yan looked in the direction of Qin Yining’s departing figure with sparkling eyes and a stunned expression. He didn’t actually hear Qin Huaiyuan’s words. The grand preceptor quickly realized that the
crown prince hadn’t heard him when he caught sight of the latter’s expression. He raised his voice slightly. “Please forgive my daughter for her transgressions, Your Highness.”

  “Eh? Oh! It’s nothing at all, Grand Preceptor.” Weichi Yan’s face burned slightly, and he coughed to cover up the moment. “Your daughter is extremely filial and a lady of genuine emotions. What’s wrong with such a personality? Placed next to those affectedly sweet girls, your daughter displays an incomparably heroic air. Just like how the essence of plum blossoms are drawn only with the addition of winding branches, your daughter’s strength of character is evident in her personality.”

  “My daughter is stubborn and does not deserve your praise. I will increase my supervision of her in the future.” At least, Qin Huaiyuan felt that Qin Yining’s style was too fierce and unreasonable, behavior unfitting a noble daughter.

  However, Weichi Yan responded quickly, “Don’t hem her in too much, Grand Preceptor. There’s nothing wrong with such a personality.”

  Qin Huaiyuan felt compelled to assess Weichi Yan’s sincerity when he heard such unabashed affection in his voice. He smiled when he saw the crown prince’s face flushed red. To be a youth again… After so many years of tempering by the fires of court, his heart had long since been enveloped by a layer of rock. He would only recall the memories of his youth when he saw such interesting reactions from the young.

  The two continued to file down the stone path, their followers falling far behind.

  “The matters of the Ding Manor are truly a tragedy. Royal father has been scared out of his wits by Great Zhou and is willing to do anything for a moment’s peace. Although I am his son, I don’t agree with his actions. He doesn’t listen to anyone right now, just the empress.” Dissatisfaction and resignation suffused Weichi Yan’s words. Qin Huaiyan knew not to take sides when it came discussing matters regarding the royal family, so he just listened silently. The crown prince continued, “It’s been several days since the Great Zhou envoy’s sent his missive back to his country. He’ll probably receive a response in two days or so. I wonder what the Great Zhou emperor will do next. I hope royal father will take a hard stance and live up to Sun Yuangming’s efforts.”

  “The emperor is noble and wise. He’s naturally only doing so because he’s listening to the advice of others.”

  The emperor was the son of heaven and thus a divine existence. It was never his fault if he made a mistake. It was always the fault of others.

  Weichi Yan smiled helplessly and nodded with a sigh. “Indeed.”

  Qin Huaiyuan picked up the conversation, keeping his tone exactingly even. “As for Yuanming, although he defied the imperial decree, he used his own flesh and blood to once again incite the fervor and patriotism of the citizens of Great Yan. This is even more effective than his denunciation from yesteryear. Please remember this, Your Highness. There is nothing more disastrous than underestimating your enemy. Underestimating one’s enemies will cause one to lose everything.“

  Weichi Yan’s footsteps halted. “On the battlefield, the enemy who is prepared for the worst will be the side that wins. These are words from Laozi’s ‘Tao Te Ching’.”

  “Precisely.” Qin Huaiyuan strolled forward, his hands tucked behind his back. “There’s a reason for the notion that victory is assured for the side most prepared to lose. Yuanming has gone to such extreme lengths in order to uphold his ideology and to raise our morale. If the emperor makes a great fuss over this and spreads word of Yuanming’s heroic act wide and far, it will certainly raise the morale of our soldiers at Xihua and give us a chance to fight Pang Zhixi.”

  Weichi Yan was immediately heartened by these words and clapped. “Your stratagems are indeed superb, Grand Preceptor! After hearing your words, I feel that Yuanming might’ve already thought of all this. He wouldn’t have used such extreme methods otherwise. I will speak to royal father about this. I’m sure that any man with blood flowing through his veins will be inspired by this.”

  Qin Huaiyuan nodded, keeping a smile on his face. However, he wasn’t as optimistic as the crown prince. If the emperor really was that sort of person, he wouldn’t have shed all of his imperial majesty and cowered in front of the Great Zhou envoy. Not only was he frightened out of his wits at the mere thought of Great Zhou, but he likely wasn’t thinking about anything in the future at all.

  Sun Yu was renowned throughout the world when he denounced the enemy so eloquently. At that time, the citizenry had already utterly trashed the emperor’s reputation, but Sun Yu had appeared as a towering hero of nobility. Such a mighty figure with incredible strength of character was no more, due to the emperor’s ineptitude and his desire to fawn over the dowager empress of an enemy nation. How many scholars in the world would erupt in roars of fury? How many soldiers and civilians would grieve and mourn? Qin Huaiyuan didn’t believe for a moment that a Great Zhou doctor had actually prescribed eating human brains as a cure. The Great Zhou emperor had always been sly and crafty. This was likely a scheme designed to drive a wedge between the Great Yan emperor and his subjects.

  And yet, their emperor had jumped without hesitation into the pit they had dug. What could they as subjects do? Everyone could see that Great Zhou’s iron hooves had trodden all the way to the walls of Xihua. Great peril lurked just out of sight, and everyone was terrified of the city falling to the enemy. They were also fearful that they would be the next sacrifice.

  Weichi Yan continued the discussion of what to say to the emperor, carefully committing Qin Huaiyuan’s words to memory. When they were both satisfied, he left enthusiastically for the palace. Qin Huaiyuan looked at the self assured figure of the departing crown prince and sighed. The crown prince was an honest and genuine person with great talent in the realm of drawing and painting. He would’ve led a carefree life had he been the son of any ordinary wealthy family or the second-born from the official wife of a noble family. Sadly, his fate was that of the crown prince. Qin Huaiyuan was well aware that the odds of the emperor listening to Weichi Yan were low. But though chances weren’t high, it was still worthy of a try. As subjects, they didn’t dare offer advice, but the crown prince was the emperor’s only heir. As angry as the imperial majesty may be, he would only yell and shout for a bit. He wouldn’t call for the crown prince’s head.

  Qin Huaiyuan summoned Qitai. “Go have people keep an eye on any happenings in the palace over the next couple of days. See how the emperor reacts when the crown prince talks to him.”

  Qitai nodded in assent, quickly making his way out while Qin Huaiyuan headed for the Garden of Tranquility.

  ……

  Née Sun had just seen the doctor, whose diagnosis had confirmed Bingtang’s words. Qin Yining could finally be at ease and help née Sun lay down to rest. “Don’t get so angry easily, mother. Anger hurts the body the most. Is your health important or is butting heads with someone more important?”

  Née Sun murmured back, “I have a clumsy mouth and never win in crucial moments. My heart has completely chilled, in any case.”

  “Don’t think so much.” Qin Yining smiled. “You spend your days with father, not anyone else. Isn’t it enough that father treats you genuinely? Think about how much father has done in the Ding Manor these days for eldest cousin. Grandfather and grandmother were both ill, and fifth and eighth cousin didn’t know what to do. Wasn’t father the one who’d picked up the reins and given advice? Father was willing to do all this because of you.”

  Née Sun was greatly soothed by these comforting words and her lips curled up a little. “Do you mean that?”

  “Of course I do.” Qin Yining nodded seriously and took the bowl of bird’s nest that Jin-mama had in her hands. She continued to reassure her mother as she fed née Sun. “You and father were a young couple and your love for each other has only deepened throughout the years. What haven’t the two of you weathered together? Although it hasn’t been long since I’ve returned home, I can see that father respects you immensely.”


  Née Sun had lost her appetite after taking her medicine, but slowly ate through most of the bowl as she listened to Qin Yining. Even her darkened expression was slowly lightening. Jin-mama beamed so merrily that her eyes disappeared. True flesh and blood is the most caring, alright. She knows to think only the best for her birth mother. The old servant also joined in, “Fourth Miss speaks quite truly. You have thought of it yourself, madame, because of your anger. You are a married couple with the lord. What else matters other than his love? Isn’t that the case?”

  Née Sun nodded as her wounded feelings from the afternoon dissipated. She tapped Qin Yining’s nose with a happy smile. “No wonder your maternal grandmother says that you see things clearly. This is most certainly the case. Your grandmother only doted on you when we went back together!”

  Qin Yining giggled. “Grandmother dotes on me only because of you, mother. I’m only here because of you.”

  Née Sun couldn’t help but cover her mouth with a laugh, her complexion resuming its normal color. Qin Huaiyuan had heard the conversation clearly from his position in the outside hallway. He was blushing a bit awkwardly and thought for a moment, deciding to leave instead of heading inside. Caiju and Cailan looked at each other and giggled, having been ordered a moment ago to not make a sound.

  Née Sun rinsed her mouth after eating the bird’s nest, then had Qin Yining and Jin-mama help her down to rest for the night. She didn’t learn about Qin Huining losing a tooth and being thrown in the lotus pond in the rear gardens until the morrow.

  When she did hear about it, it was an objective summary from Jin-mama. Née Sun looked at her reflection in the brass mirror and sighed after a long while. “Daughter Hui is a child after all. Choose two bolts of cloth made from the latest colors and send them to her to make new clothes. Also, have an imperial physician take a look at her. The days are so cold and it won’t do for a little girl’s health to be permanently damaged.”

  “Understood.” Jin-mama assented with a smile. Privately, she entirely approved of the fourth miss’ actions. She felt quite vindicated by them, in fact. That ingrate and heartless wench! She’s been nothing but trouble and might actually grow up into something that would actually affect family dynamics if she’s not punished properly. Only someone as strong as the fourth miss can keep her under control.