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Empress《皇后》(part1)
#Chinese #English #Hisorical
© Tad_Lestrange
The Empress and I grew up together.
I was six years old when Teacher picked me up from the streets, with a dislike for talking and a penchant for sitting blankly all day. Back then, I was thin and small, and also very pale, like a porcelain piece that had never seen the sun. Teacher had the impression that I was the studying sort, so he named me ‘Wang Yibo’ – of broad knowledge.
Half a year later, I grew used to the environment, and could no longer withstand sitting around all day. I took the chance, when Teacher nodded off, to jump over the walls of the academy, into the wild mountains outside, spending a few nights with the flowers, birds, fish, and snakes there. Apparently, a lot of people in the academy said that there was an eighty percent chance I had perished in the mountains. But I jumped back over the walls of the academy after a few days, on a night that was much too cold to sleep outdoors in, landing in the middle of the courtyard, covered entirely in dirt, and scared a maidservant in the midst of her midnight tryst half to death.
Teacher, who witnessed the endless number of times I fell asleep at the writing desk, stopped forcing me to study. He sent me to learn kungfu from his close friend instead.
I spent two years with Master. Then he brought me back to the academy for a visit, told Teacher that I was a prodigy at the martial arts; studying would have been a waste of my talents, he said. Picking up his most precious teacup, Teacher took a sip of tea so fragrant that I, sitting two metres away, could smell. He asked Master, am I still averse as I was to talking, this past half year? Smiling, Master replied, not talking is good. As a person of the jianghu, I must understand the principle that misfortune comes from the mouth, so by not talking, I’ve already saved myself from half of the trouble.
I sat there, listening to them, and it didn’t take long before I started nodding off. A girl who looked to be a few years older than me entered from the outside.
I hadn’t seen many girls in my life. She must be the prettiest that I’ve ever seen.
Behind the girl was a nobleman. I stood up and bowed to them, then found another nondescript corner to continue napping in.
The orioles in the academy courtyard sing beautifully. Teacher has never consciously tamed them, but they frequent the academy still. Mrs Teacher feeds them millet, sometimes. When I first arrived here, I fed them, too – I get along quite well with the birds here.
I did not understand the things they talked about – perhaps it was because my focus was placed entirely on the birds in the courtyard. I only heard Master’s characteristic, boisterous laughter. He was singing my praises to Teacher, and even to that nobleman, and the pretty miss.
From that day forward, the little miss stayed at the...
© Tad_Lestrange
The Empress and I grew up together.
I was six years old when Teacher picked me up from the streets, with a dislike for talking and a penchant for sitting blankly all day. Back then, I was thin and small, and also very pale, like a porcelain piece that had never seen the sun. Teacher had the impression that I was the studying sort, so he named me ‘Wang Yibo’ – of broad knowledge.
Half a year later, I grew used to the environment, and could no longer withstand sitting around all day. I took the chance, when Teacher nodded off, to jump over the walls of the academy, into the wild mountains outside, spending a few nights with the flowers, birds, fish, and snakes there. Apparently, a lot of people in the academy said that there was an eighty percent chance I had perished in the mountains. But I jumped back over the walls of the academy after a few days, on a night that was much too cold to sleep outdoors in, landing in the middle of the courtyard, covered entirely in dirt, and scared a maidservant in the midst of her midnight tryst half to death.
Teacher, who witnessed the endless number of times I fell asleep at the writing desk, stopped forcing me to study. He sent me to learn kungfu from his close friend instead.
I spent two years with Master. Then he brought me back to the academy for a visit, told Teacher that I was a prodigy at the martial arts; studying would have been a waste of my talents, he said. Picking up his most precious teacup, Teacher took a sip of tea so fragrant that I, sitting two metres away, could smell. He asked Master, am I still averse as I was to talking, this past half year? Smiling, Master replied, not talking is good. As a person of the jianghu, I must understand the principle that misfortune comes from the mouth, so by not talking, I’ve already saved myself from half of the trouble.
I sat there, listening to them, and it didn’t take long before I started nodding off. A girl who looked to be a few years older than me entered from the outside.
I hadn’t seen many girls in my life. She must be the prettiest that I’ve ever seen.
Behind the girl was a nobleman. I stood up and bowed to them, then found another nondescript corner to continue napping in.
The orioles in the academy courtyard sing beautifully. Teacher has never consciously tamed them, but they frequent the academy still. Mrs Teacher feeds them millet, sometimes. When I first arrived here, I fed them, too – I get along quite well with the birds here.
I did not understand the things they talked about – perhaps it was because my focus was placed entirely on the birds in the courtyard. I only heard Master’s characteristic, boisterous laughter. He was singing my praises to Teacher, and even to that nobleman, and the pretty miss.
From that day forward, the little miss stayed at the...
