The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

Guibai was in a dilemma. He didn’t know what to say.

Ji Man looked at the closer doors for a moment before sneering and turning around. She was an idiot. How could she have hoped that a stallion would become a pure hearted virgin? He had an estate full of women and the freedom to roll around the sheets with whomever he wanted. She must have been blind to come here.

Desperate, Guibai shouted, “Mister Ji!”

The sounds in the room stopped. Ji Man had also stopped walking and turned her head back, but her expression didn’t look good.

Guibai pursed his lips and asked, “Are you really going to leave like this?”

If he couldn’t stop her from leaving, the marquis would tear him into pieces once he came out.

Ji Man tilted her head and considered. True, it would be such a waste to leave like this. She was the only one feeling angry while the two people inside were on cloud nine.

Original translation is from fuyuneko dot org. If you’re reading this elsewhere, this chapter has been stolen. Please stop supporting theft.

Ji Man turned around, walked over, and pushed open the closed doors. There was an expected scream followed by Wen Wan rushing to hide herself in the quilt.

Ning Yuxuan only had on his inner robes. He turned his head to look at the person that had entered the room. It was a man, but that person’s face was changing into Nie Sangyu’s face too.

“Sangyu...”

Sangyu, my ass! Keeping a slight smile on her face, she stood at the doorway and saluted with her hands. “This one is going away on a long-distance trip. Marquis, please excuse this one’s inattention that led to this disturbance. At the very least, we’re acquaintances. This one hopes that the marquis will be full of vitality even in old age and will have someone send over a parting gift later.”

The wound on his hand was already dripping blood. Ning Yuxuan struggled to get out of bed, but he didn’t have the strength to do so. He could only look at her and call out, “Don’t go.”

Ji Man smiled. She turned around and decisively left.

She wasn’t angry. What was there to be angry about? In this place, what man didn’t have multiple wives and concubines? Ning Yuxuan had merely been well-behaved for a period of time. Why should she think his inherent nature could be changed?

Guibai chased after her, but he didn’t dare to forcefully stop Ji Man. He only followed after her and quietly tried to persuade her. “Mister Ji, since you’re already here, why don’t you stay and wait for the marquis for a bit? The marquis wants to send you off...”

“No need.” Ji Man walked out of the estate and to the carriage. She took out an oil-papered umbrella and stuffed it into Guibai’s hands. “Let’s separate here. Give this present to the marquis. It represents this one’s most sincere wish to him.”

An umbrella? While Guibai was still stunned, Ji Man had already boarded the carriage without looking back.

—

By the time that Ning Yuxuan had put on his outer robes and came out to pursue Ji Man, there was only Guibai left. Guibai handed him the oil-papered umbrella. It wasn’t a remarkable umbrella. Most people wouldn’t even consider it as suitable for a gift.

“Umbrella? Breaking up?” Ning Yuxuan felt heartache. The wound on his hand continued to bleed. As he held onto the umbrella, the dripping blood looked like fallen plum blossom petals on the white umbrella.

(T/N: In Chinese, the words for umbrella and breaking up are homophones.)

She wanted to break up with him? Why else would she give him an umbrella? Was she really going to erase all of his long-term efforts just because of today’s misunderstanding?

Actually, Marquis Moyu was overthinking things. Her intention behind giving him the umbrella was very simple; when you don’t raise it, the sky is clear.

(T/N: Those words are from an Internet meme. Her original intention in giving him the umbrella was just wishing him well.)

However, as a person from ancient times, Marquis Moyu wouldn’t know this. And yet, he still held onto this umbrella as he looked at the empty road. There was no trace of anyone left. It felt as if someone had dug out a piece of a heart, and the sky had become gloomy.

—

Ji Man was on the road for half a month. Fortunately, the road between Zhangjun and the capital was almost complete. She wouldn’t need to go up and down mountains to enter Zhangjun.

By the time she arrived in Zhangjun, she was exhausted. She thought about looking for an inn and resting. She could wait until tomorrow to go to Zhangjun Prince’s estate tomorrow to report in. However, as soon as she passed through the city’s gate, his servants brought her to Zhangjun Prince’s Tianxian Pavilion. When she got there, Zhao Zhe was there to welcome her back and with a full table of good food.

“Mister Ji, you’ve worked hard.” Compared to before, Zhao Zhe’s attitude towards her had made a 180-degree turn. Ji Man wasn’t surprised by this change. After all, she had control of the capital’s lifeline right now. In the past, Zhao Zhe hadn’t believed her when she said that she could use food to open the capital’s gates, but he probably understood the power of it now.

“Your Highness, this one fortunately hasn’t failed my mission.” Ji Man saluted him with her hands.

Zhao Zhe’s smile was very friendly. Looking at her, he said, “You’re probably tired from rushing back. This prince has already ordered the servants to set up a courtyard for you to use in my estate. Once dinner is over, you can head over there to rest.”

Ji Man bowed to thank him. “Your Highness, thank you for your great kindness.”

After going through a round of pleasantries, Zhao Zhe finally asked, “What’s the situation in the capital?”

Ji Man thought it over before saying, “The clamoring complaints of the common people fill the capital. Marquis Moyu’s power has been weakened. The situation in the imperial court isn’t clear. Since this one is only an itinerant, this one is unable to clearly understand how matters are unfolding in the imperial court.”

Zhao Zhe smiled again. “That’s fine. You’ve already done a fine job with your task. At the beginning, this prince didn’t think that food could be used that way. You probably already earned a huge profit during those periods when the imperial court was collecting grain, right?”

At the mention of this, Ji Man hastily straightened her sitting posture and said, “This one was able to earn that profit because of Your Highness’s support. Seeing that Zhangjun is on the verge of war, this one is willing to donate all of my earnings during this period of time to pay for the forging of weaponry in order to strengthen your fiefdom.”

“Oh?” Zhao Zhe’s smile became even more amicable. “Mister Ji, you’re willing to be that generous?”