Queen of No.11 Agent 11 Chapter 155 Part1

Chapter 155: Final Farewell with the Ruler (Part 1)

h.e.l.lo readers! New update! Please always read the NOTES for each update. They will definitely help with your understanding, as they are specific for each update.

If you didn't read the post "", I would kindly ask that you do so because it really is important. Thanks!!

Again, thank you all for waiting patiently for this update. I really appreciate it!! ❤

*****IMPORTANT: Original novel is set in some made-up dynasties in ancient China. However, I think China probably has some sort of rule where production teams can't historical dramas being set in non-existent dynasties (because it does not accurately represent Chinese history or something like that), so the production team changed it and adapted everything into the Wei/Liang dynastic era. The surname of Yuan was the actual last name of Wei rulers, and Yuwen was also the surname of a minister family during that time.

Please use the following as a key (some of these places have not yet shown up in my translations, but will soon show up):

Wei = Xia (for those who know Chinese history, this Xia is does not seem to be the same Xia as the one in Chinese dynastic order)

Yanbei = Yanbei

Liang = Bian Tang

Yuan = Zhao (so instead of Yuan Chun/Yuan Song/Yuan Che it is now Zhao Chun/Zhao Song/Zhao Che)

Yuwen = Zhuge (so instead of Yuwen Yue it's Zhuge Yue)

Xiao Ce = Li Ce (Li Ce is the ruler of Bian Tang)

Qing Hai = new place in the book created by Zhuge Yue and later ruled together by Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao

Huai Song = place in book, not in drama

*****NOTES (to help with your understanding of this chapter!):

Da Tong Chamber of Commerce = I believe they called this Xian Yang Chamber of Commerce in the drama. The book sometimes refers to this as “Da Tong” for short, so don’t mistake Da Tong as a person’s name. There’s a lot of footnotes at the end. Read those if you need clarifications. If you’re still confused about any part of this update, leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!!

Everything came without warning. The news of Da Tong Chamber of Commerce's rebellion seemed like boiling hot oil, suddenly exploding into a crackling spark in the midst of Hui Hui Mountain's rainy weather.

Chu Qiao stared at Duo Ji's uncle, a forty-something year old man with bloodstained shoulders, and frowned as she pondered the sensational news he brought.

"Master, please come down the mountain. If you don't go, Da Tong will definitely be completely destroyed!"

Chu Qiao quietly stared at him, and did not speak for a long time. She had already been notified of Da Tong Chamber of Commerce rebelling when a Qiu Lan city soldier had brought the news to her. But shortly afterwards, Duo Ji's uncle rushed to her house to tell her that Yan Xun wanted to completely eradicate Da Yong Chamber of Commerce, and that he had already removed Miss Yu and Mr. Wu's military powers as well as captured Da Tong lead generals Xia Zhi and Xi Rui. Da Tong's home base had already been razed to ruins, and His Majesty had also pretended to recruit Princess Huan Huan's Fire Cloud Army, as he wanted to get rid of Princess Huan Huan as well, as an effort to rid the problem of its roots.[1]

In regards to these happenings, Chu Qiao did not wish to believe them. Reason was warning her not to hastily believe in unconfirmed rumors.  

Even though Yan Xun possessed ruthless means, that did not represent that he lacked a mind. At this time, getting rid of Da Tong Chamber of Commerce was still excusable. Getting rid of Mr. Wu and Miss Yu she could still grudgingly accept. But why did he want to get rid of Huan Huan? Huan Huan was his biological sister. Even though she was a believer of Da Tong, and was raised by Da Tong, that didn't mean that she would turn against her brother just for Da Tong.

"You can go down the mountain first."

"Master!" Duo Ji's uncle suddenly kneeled to the ground, and bowed his head to the floor repeatedly, crying: "I beg Master to try and save Da Tong. Only you can save us now."

Duo Ji's uncle's forehead hit the floor loudly again and again and had started to bleed after only a short period of time. Chu Qiao frowned as she looked at him. But in the end, she quietly turned around and walked into her room, slowly closing her door and leaving him and his desperate and sorrowful gaze behind her.

Chu Qiao originally did not have a very good impression in regards to Da Tong Chamber of Commerce. Aside from Mr. Wu and Miss Yu, she did not deal with anyone else from Da Tong. She used to think they were a group of power-holding people with ulterior motives. But later on, she slowly started to discover that not all of them were like that, and that a majority of the Da Tong members were persevering believers and warriors. They were like Mohists in ancient China, good fighters, knowledgeable, and maintained a kind heart.

These types of people, if used and taught properly, could be of great use in the future. Kill them? Yan Xun wouldn't.

Chu Qiao thought in this way, forcefully trying to suppress the uneasiness rising in her heart. She quietly awaited for follow-up information.

However, the situation completely broke away from her expectation. In less than two days, fighting erupted continuously throughout the Yanbei mainland. Multiple Chamber of Commerces had been encircled military troops. Da Tong's leaders suffered the disaster of extinction. The ma.s.sacre came so quickly that they had not heard a trace of the news beforehand. Everything seemed to be like a long-awaited flood， rising above one's head and cras.h.i.+ng down loudly. For everyone, it was too late to react to the sudden emergency.

The next night, messengers asking for helping once again climbed up Hui Hui Mountain. A group of twenty people had climbed up the mountain, but once they reached the top, only one person remained alive. The warrior was completely bloodstained, and one of his forearms only had a little bit of flesh attached to his shoulder, looking as though it were to fall off at any moment.

He looked at Chu Qiao, and could not say anything. He used one hand and unb.u.t.toned his outer clothing with great effort. His underclothes were already dirtied by blood and sweat, but the words written in fresh blood onto his underclothes could still be seen:

               "A'Chu,

                Come help us.

                Zhong Yu."

Chu Qiao remained silent for awhile longer, and then turned to the cavalryman and bowed, replying: "Thank you for your hard work."

The cavalryman stared at her, expressionless, his eyes staring straight at her, as though he had not heard her.

Chu Qiao straightened her back as the cold wind of the night blew across her thin frame. She took a deep breath, and then solemnly said: "He Xiao, prepare the horses, we are going down the mountain!"

The eyes of the cavalryman lit up, and then immediately afterwards, he fell to the ground face down. An arrow was stuck deeply in his back. No one could imagine how he had managed to persevere as he struggled to climb up Hui Hui mountain.

With only twenty men, Chu Qiao put on a cloak and rain poncho, and rushed into the darkness. Cold rain spattered endlessly against her eyes, an ominous premonition began to slowly swallow her whole. She did not wish to continue thinking about it as her war horse bolted through the dark night, the way forward looking so very distant.

The three thousand members of Miss Yu's protection guard was now down to less than one hundred. Each and every person was seriously wounded. But the moment they saw Chu Qiao and her men riding towards them, they bolted upright from the ground like beasts, eyeing them with an intense gaze.

In the midst of the pouring rain, Miss Yu was lying down in a thatched cottage. When Chu Qiao pushed the door open and entered, Miss Yu was still sound asleep, but still seemed to be able to hear voices and slowly opened her eyes. Her pale face seemed slightly blue. She did not seemed to be surprised to see Chu Qiao, and lightly smiled: "You came."

An arrow had wounded her and was now stuck in her chest. Even though the wound had been hastily cleaned and dressed, there was no medicine available, and thus no one dared to pull out the arrow.

Duo Ji's eyes reddened as soon as he saw the wound. He sniffled and said: "I'll go look for Uncle Da Lie," opened the door and left.

The room slowly turned silent, with only two women dressed in white clothing remaining. Chu Qiao half-kneeled on the ground, and could easily tell with one look how sever Miss Yu's injury was. She swallowed down the the sorrow in her heart and lightly asked: "Miss, what happened?"

Miss Yu took a deep breath, coughed lightly, a unhealthy-looking red blush rose to her face.

The tax rates in Changqing are very harsh. The people in the area rebelled, a couple of the Chamber of Commerce leaders partic.i.p.ated in the rebellion as well. The excursion failed, so naturally there is no way to turn the situation around.

"You partic.i.p.ated as well?" Chu Qiao frowned, solemnly asking: "How could you be so muddled in your actions? Partic.i.p.ating in the people's rebellion equates to directly rebelling! Yan Xun originally did not trust Da Tong. Why would you all be so careless?"

"Hehe," Miss Yu lightly laughed, her chest rising slightly, her gaze only dimly discernible. It seemed as though she was looking at Chu Qiao, but it also seemed as though she had already gazed right past Chu Qiao into the distance. She quietly replied: "You haven't seen what happened. Last year, Changqing suffered from a sever snowstorm, and then this spring the pastures and gra.s.s have grown so poorly that livestock have been dying in batches. Now there are already places where children are being eaten. In this moment, if we take away the very last bit of the people's winter food supplies, we are literally taking away their lives."

"His Majesty is preparing for war, and plans on taking down Cui Wei border before winter arrives. Thus, he's been conscripting men and provisions, but the civilians are all dying. I knew that the end result would be like this, but I have to do it."

Chu Qiao's lips tightened, and tightly gripped Miss Yu's hands, unable to speak.

"A'Chu, you are a good kid, but your life is just too tough. I hope that you can understand, that not everything in this world can progress according to your hopes and dreams. Often times, even though we have worked hard, but the end result does not fulfill our wishes. You are still very young; you still have a great amount of time waiting for you.

Miss Yu's smile was so gentle and soft, the soft wrinkles at corners of her eyes were like gentle winds, caging in two pools of clear water and her voice sounded as though it was blowing inwards from far away. Chu Qiao half-kneeled on top of the dry gra.s.s, her hand covering her chest, fresh blood silently oozing from Miss Yu's wound, dyeing Chu Qiao's white clothes. Miss Yu tightly bit on her lips, her tears hanging on the edge of her eyes, her lips tight, her face miserably pale.

"Miss Yu, stay strong, Duo Ji went to find a doctor."

"No longer……"

Miss Yu lightly shook her head, her face as pale as the white snows on mountaintops, her thin shoulders and forearms had turned freezing cold. She looked up, her eyes gazing upwards at the worn-out ceiling. The pouring rains raged on outside, and she seemed to be recalling multiple things at once. In her last breath, her entire life quickly flashed before her eyes. Suddenly, she seemed to travel back fifteen years into the past, at the base of Wo Long mountain, thinking back to the red maples and its falling leaves. She reminisced herself standing amongst the maple trees at the start of autumn, gazing at a figure in front of her clothed in blue-green garments with hair as dark as ink.

She was still able to recall the suns.h.i.+ne from that time, the sun's warmth s.h.i.+ning onto her shoulders, just like a mother's gentle hands. On one side, a guqin[4] was placed on top of a stone table. A couple of maple leaves had landed atop of the guqin, and sunlight s.h.i.+ned straight through the leaves, creating a mottled pattern of shadows on the instrument, leaving a flickering halo here and there. He turned her head towards her as he stood amongst the maple trees, his smile warm, his gaze as clear as water as he gently gazed towards her, stretching out his hands towards her and warmly asked: "A'Yu, why did you wake up so early?"

No one had ever known that she did not actually like the world of power, that she did not actually enjoy army tactics and military strategies. At a very young age, she had always hoped to have a family, and be just like ordinary girls, learning needlework and poetry, and then marry herself off to a caring husband when she became of age. When wanted to pick flowers in the spring, listen to the sounds of rain during winter nights and enjoy a safe and smooth life. Who cares about saving the world and saving the people, or about your hands supporting the heavens and the earth? These things had ever been a part of her dreams.

And yet, he was a person with great aspirations and great ambitions. His heart was full of love for the common people and he could not turn a blind eye to the unfairness of the world. He traveled up the mountain[5] to learn how to save the world. Thus, as he studied military tactics, she buried herself deep in the study of power. As he studied about industry, she would study business. As he discovered how to gather civilian insights, she would try to figure out the intentions of others. He treated people generously; she remained strict in control. She sometimes lost sleep and forgot to eat as she learned the craft of soldiers and the schemes of power, all in the hope that some day in the future, she would be able to advance and retreat with him in any situation.

Her teacher was an insightful and knowledgeable person, and easily knew her motive with one look. And yet he did not stop her, but instead accepted her and taught her all he knew. When it was time for her to leave the mountain, he had quietly placed a letter within her travel luggage. She had only discovered it long after she had left the mountain. But after she opened the letter, there was only one word on it: crazy.[6]

Fifteen years had pa.s.sed, and she had a spent an entire lifetime in the military making painstaking efforts and experiencing life and death situations. Fortunately, he was always by her side. No matter how hard it was raining outside or how fiercely the winds were blowing or how freezing cold it was, they had always been together at one place. Time pa.s.sed, the world changed, nothing in the world had remained the same. In the fight for power, fathers and sons became enemies, relatives turned on each other, lovers betrayed each other. But the two of them never let go of their roots, held onto their beliefs, and had never changed one bit.

However, words that had been buried deep within their hearts had never been spoken aloud. Ten years had pa.s.sed, and throughout this time they would gather and then scatter. She had always thought that there would be a chance in the future. Time pa.s.sed day by day, they busied around, rus.h.i.+ng about, fighting for the dreams. However, the idea that one day, they truly wouldn't have a chance, had never crossed their minds. All the words that had not been spoken, and the deep feelings that they had repressed for almost twenty years, would forever lose the chance to pour out of their hearts.

"I know, my time has come," she lightly exhaled, her voice very low as she continued: "I have always known that this day would come. Except, I did not think it would come so quickly."

“Perhaps, my life's happiness, is to finally have a good sleep. No need to think about anything, no need to do anything. No more war, no more ma.s.sacres, no more strategical games and intrigues. Outside, large amounts of snow are falling, fierce winds are blowing, and the person I love laying by my side just quietly sleeping, not moving, not speaking. A pity that I will never have this chance.”

A smile spread across her face as Miss Yu said in a tired voice: "A'Chu, I want to sleep for a while. Don't forget to wake me up."

Chu Qiao bit on her lips tightly, and desperately shook her head. Miss Yu closed her eyes, her eyebrows full of tiredness and exhaustion as she lightly spoke: "I will just sleep for a tiny bit. I am too tired, I'll just sleep for a tiny bit."

Her long eyelashes created a slight silhouette on her pale complexion, her heart beat slower and slower, until finally it could no longer be heard. Her hand slid down, hanging by her sides and falling into the crook of Chu Qiao's arm.

The wind outside suddenly turned stronger, and small bits of rain blew their way inside. Inside the small cottage, Chu Qiao's body slowly turned stiff. She lowered her head, allowing a single tear to fall onto Miss Yu's icy cold cheeks, meandering down to the floor, and gently spreading and mixing in with the blood and water.

"Master!" He Xiao suddenly rushed in and froze in his steps upon seeing the dead Miss Yu.

Chu Qiao slowly raised her eyes, and calmly looked at him, her voice hoa.r.s.e: "What's happened?"

He Xiao turned silent for a long time, and then slowly replied: "Mr. Wu has arrived."

It was still raining when she went to see Mr. Wu. Chu Qiao wore her rain cloak and arrived at the edge of the Qiu Lan Plateau under the protection of He Xiao and his men. In front of them lay a field of darkness as soldiers lit up torches to use as light sources. The entire road was filled with corpses that had turned white due to being soaked in the rain for so long. He Qi stood beneath a poplar tree, holding a large umbrella. Mr. Wu was kneeling underneath the umbrella, facing the direction that Chu Qiao and her men were coming from. Three arrows stuck out from his back, with one arrow sticking straight through his back and directly into his heart. His face was extremely pale, a streak of blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. He no longer breathed, and yet his eyes remained open, as if they were stuck staring at something. Even though he was dead, he did not fall. His gaze still bright, his eyebrows still furrowed tightly, frowning.

"When we finally arrived, Mr. Wu had already pa.s.sed away." He Xiao's deep voice sounded next to her. The night was so dark, so dark that not even a sliver of light could be seen. Chu Qiao straightened her back while sitting atop her horse, her eyes dry, unable to let out a single tear.  

A painful sobbing suddenly came from behind. It was Duo Ji's uncle, who had once been a soldier under Mr. Wu. After Duo Ji's uncle had been wounded, Mr. Wu had been kind and allowed him to return to his village and even gave him extra money to support his family. Now, this forty-something year old man looked just like a red-eyed wolf, running towards them, kneeling in the rain, and crying his heart out.

"In this world, there is something else that outmatches love and freedom, and is worth doing anything to protect. The ideals of Da Tong, I have already left on the Shang Shen Plateau.

Chu Qiao seemed to vaguely hear Mr. Wu saying those words more than a year ago as the winds of the night blew continuously and the rain continued to pour. Chu Qiao closed her eyes and raised her head, allowing the rainwater to splash onto her face like sharp knives.

Miss Yu, just wait a little while. The person you are waiting for is coming. This life, you both were too tired. In the next life, do not carry so many responsibilities. You guys need to be together, live a good life, and not to think about anything else.

Heavy horse steps suddenly sounded from far away. In the distance, a large group of men and horses thundered their way towards them. There were about three-thousand of them, all of them were part of the cavalry. The galloping of the horses sounded like rolling thunder, their sounds rolling towards them like lighting. Cold rain spattered against their black armor, creating dense clanging sounds.

"Master Chu," the leader of the group loudly called out. She was unable to see his face in the darkness, and could only determine that he was still very young by his voice: "I have come under His Majesty's orders to protect the safety of Master. Now that Da Tong has rebelled, please follow me towards Qiu Lan Army Base to temporarily avoid the dangers."

"It's you guys!" Duo Ji's uncle suddenly jumped up, eyes red, and loudly roared: "You guys killed Mr. Wu! I'm going to take you guys down!"

The forty-something year old man fiercely rushed forward, branded out his knife from his side, and fiercely roared like a wolf that had gone insane.  

"Come back!" Chu Qiao sharply called out. But in the same moment, ten or so arrows shot through the air and straight into the chest of Duo Ji's uncle. He staggered forward for a few more steps, and then fell to the ground with a loud thud, fresh blood bursting through his wounds, dyeing the dark night with a bewitching red color.

"Uncle!" The shrilling screams of youths suddenly sounded close by. Chu Qiao frowned, and looked in front of her, only to hear the voices of children from the opposing group of cavalrymen: the voices of Duo Ji, Ping An and Qing Qing.

"The behavior of the rebel party has been too aggressive. We ask that Master follow us back immediately."

He Xiao and his group of about twenty men slowly pulled out their battle knives, and rode their horses forward to protect Chu Qiao and her surroundings while coldly trying to hold out against the opposing army. Duo Ji's curses and screams sounded like cold, sharp arrows, piercing Chu Qiao's heart inch by inch. She furrowed her eyebrows and remained silent for a long time, and then finally threw down her sword with a loud thud, the three feet of green metal landing in the dirty silt.[8] 

Chu Qiao would never have thought to see Jing Zi Su here. Inside the barracks of the west camp barracks of Qiu Lan City, Jing Zi Su carefully opened the door, holding a large food box. Her body seemed slightly more full than before, her cheeks slightly red, her stomach quite big. With one look she could tell that Zi Su was pregnant.

"Yue'er?" Jing Zi Su carefully called out. She cleaned away the already cooled down dishes of untouched food and set the table with newly warmed and cooked foods. They were all foods that Chu Qiao normally liked to eat, four dishes and one soup, all made with a light taste. 

"Eat a little bit. You haven't eaten all day and night."

"Why are you here?" Chu Qiao turned her head, slightly frowning, and deeply asked: "Did Yan Xun force you to come scold me?"

"No, he didn't," Zi Su quickly shook her head. She nervously replied: "s.h.i.+ Peng is my husband."

Tang s.h.i.+ Peng, was Qiu Lan City Army's garrison leader, and was the military official that Chu Qiao had previously forced to come here. He was also the person directly behind the murders of Mr. Wu and the ambush of Miss Yu.

Chu Qiao's face slowly turned cold. She looked at Jing Zi Su and remained silent for a long time.

"Yue'er, you—you eat some," Jing Zi Su carefully said. She didn’t dare raise her head to look at her, and quickly said: "These foods are all foods you like to eat; I personally made them."

"Mr. Wu has been murdered. Did you know beforehand?"

"Jing Zi Su stood in place, her head lowered, nervously clenching the handkerchief in her hand. Like a frightened little bird, she replied in a low voice: "I–I knew."

"Mis Yu also died. Did you also know?"

Jing Zi Su nodded her head lightly.

"Your husband captured Ping An and Qing Qing to threaten me to give in. Did you know?"

"Yue'er?" Jing Zi Su raised her head, her eyes red and filled with tears almost about to fall.  

"Now they're about to kill other people as well. Bian Cang, Xi Rui, Xia Zhi, A'Duo, Huan Huan, Xiao He. All of them cannot escape death. Do you know that?"

Jing Zi Su's tears finally rolled down. She covered her face, silently crying as she stood in front of Chu Qiao with her pregnant stomach.

Chu Qiao looked at her, her eyes turning slightly blurry. For them, she had risked her life multiple times. And yet in these past two years, because of her stiff relations.h.i.+p with Yan Xun, she had never come to visit her. Even when she was about to have a child, she had never bothered to send her a letter asking how she was.

These people were technically still her family. They were her blood-related sisters after all.

"You can leave."

"Chu Qiao turned her body around, away from Zi Su, not wanting to look at her again. Jing Zi Su carefully tugged at the corner of Chu Qiao's sleeve, lightly calling her: "Yue'er……"

Chu Qiao did not move, but heard Jing Zi Su sadly sob: "Yu'er, what can I do? What can I possibly do? I am only a woman!"

True, what did Chu Qiao hope for her to do? To betray her husband, betray her family, so that she could notify them of secret plans? For someone like Jing Zi Su, who saw her husband as her world, to do this would be almost impossible. But why, why did she still feel so angry? Why did her heart still feel so cold? Why was she still feel unwilling to accept this? She knew that if Jing Zi Su and them were in danger, she would do anything to go help them. So because of this, did she also wish that other people would treat her in the same way?

"Yue'er, why must you be so persistent? His Majesty treats you so well; we all can see it. Wealth and prosperity are all in front of you. Because of you, His Majesty has not married in all these years. He treats you like this, and yet you are still not fulfilled? What else do you wish for? After all, he is the Emperor!"

If put in the past, Chu Qiao would probably coldly laugh in her head. But now, she couldn't even smile.

True, gold and silver, splendor and wealth. As long as she agreed, she could be the Empress of Yanbei. She would be the Yanbei Emperor's one and only wife, and live a life of luxury and lavishness. As a woman, what more could she ask for? When she was heartbroken and decided to live deep in the mountains and forests, everyone was probably lamenting over how she was taking things for granted. And amongst these people, her sister was included as well.

However, none of those things were things she wanted. Just like Yan Xun had said, she had never truly understood him. But Yan Xun, we've known each other for ten years. Did you ever truly understand me?

You were wrong in that you saw me as the type of woman Jing Zi Su was. But I, Chu Qiao, is definitely not this type of woman.

There was no point in continuing this conversation.[9] Chu Qiao shook away Jing Zi Su's hand, and walked inside the inner room, never turning back to look at her again.

After a while, the door of the outside room opened and Jing Zi Su quietly walked out. The sound of Zi Su locking the door seemed to sound very loudly, as though the lock was locking up Chu Qiao's ideals. Chu Qiao sat on her bed with a cage of incense sat by her feet. Light wafts of incense drifted through the cracks of the copper cover like a line of floating clouds. She quietly leaned against the bed column, her head chaotically thinking of multiple things. Her heart grew colder and colder, slowly losing its warmth. All the things that she had forced herself not to think about came bubbling upwards, the shadows of Mr. Wu and Miss Yu interseted and overlapped in front of her eyes, making the tips of her freezing cold fingers shake uncontrollably.

Sorrow and grief should not be greater than a dead heart. And yet now, Chu Qiao had finally and absolutely reached hopelessness and despair.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] So if I remember correctly, in the drama, Mr. Wu and Feng Min are the top contributors to Xian Yang Chamber of Commerce. In the book, Miss Yu and Princess Huan Huan are as well. Yan Xun basically sees all of them as a threat to his power.

[2] Mohism was an influential philosophical, social, and religious movement that flourished during the Warring States era (479-221 BCE) in ancient China (source: ). Mohists were believers of Mohism.

[3] Uncle Da Lie is just a guy who knows medicine.

[4] If anyone is interested/curious, guqin (古琴) is a Chinese musical instrument: 

[5] So like I translated this literally as going up a mountain, because in ancient China, a lot of military schools, Taoism schools, etc were located on mountaintops.

[6] The word that the author uses here is the character "痴", and if you plug this character into Google Translate, you'll see various translations of the word, such as silly, mad, insane, idiotic, etc. Basically her teacher was trying to tell her that she was being way too silly and crazy over her love for that man.

[7] He Qi is another soldier.

[8] so here she ended up following them as they took her hostage. Just in case you are confused with the sudden change in place and action.

[9] The idiom/phrase used here is "话不投机半句多", which I didn't know how to translate into a simple one line English idiom/phrase. It basically means that since their ideals were different, discussing the issue won’t make them agree with each other, so it is much better/easier to just remain silent.

Also, if you found Jing Zi Su annoying here…please don’t!! She is very brave in the next part, a nice and kind innocent soul who deserved better.

I always think that there might be something lost in translation. In my opinion, this chapter is quite a sad chapter. I hope I was able to translate the meaning and feeling of the story well enough into English so that it doesn’t lose its original vibe. If not, oh well, I’m not a professional translator so my abilities are limited. But I will definitely continue to translate to the best of my abilities and maintain the original feel of the novel.

Hoped you all enjoyed this update!! Again, apologies for updating this so late. Life is truly a wild and unpredictable spectacle. I appreciate all your comments, love, and support!! ❤

Chapter 155 is quite a long chapter, and I was debating whether to split this up into three parts or two, but I eventually decided to keep the two-part format of my chapters. Thus, the slightly longer wait and delay. But thank you all for reading!!

If you found any part of this translation confusing, leave your question in a comment and I will reply to it as soon as possible. I will also look at this again and edit it to make the reading hopefully more smooth. Leave any other questions/suggestions in the comments below; they are greatly appreciated!! Share with other fans/friends as well. Have fun!!