A Seductive Gentleman Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Small Gentleman – Part 1

Translated by: Ritpoppy

Edited by: Ren

"Huai Yu ge-ge!" Zhao XiaoLan yelled, "Speak of the devil, and he'll come!"

Ming ChangYan suddenly turned around, raising his head to take a look, Fu Ling and Peony's bodies were already crouched down in a greeting, "Young Prime Minister."

Fu Ling lightly tugged on the hem of Ming ChangYan's sleeves, Ming ChangYan awkwardly laughed as he promptly crouched down, "Good afternoon, good afternoon."

His posture while crouching was extremely amusing, Zhao XiaoLan laughed, "Yan jie-jie, all the other woman are graceful and delicate when crouching, why do you look like you're in a horse stance?*"

(TN: "扎马步" This is too funny. https://gss0.baidu.com/9vo3dSag_xI4khGko9WTAnF6hhy/zhidao/pic/item/b7003af33a87e950f4465b7d10385343fbf2b44a.jpg )

Ming ChangYan half-heartedly said, "I have long legs, it's too inconvenient to crouch down."

He constantly glimpsed at Huai Yu, but the other party didn't even spare him a glance, and was instead completely concentrated on the bowl in his hand; Throwing fish food into the pond, his gaze fixated at the carps that were chasing each other around in the pond.

Ming ChangYan suddenly felt that the atmosphere was rather relaxed, and tried finding an excuse to escape, but was dragged back by Zhao XiaoLan.

"Huai Yu ge-ge, meeting you here really was a coincidence! I just ran into a very interesting imperial concubine, she says she wants to meet you, I'm bringing her over!"

Hearing this, Ming ChangYan's mind was met with great momentum, using the small fan in his hands to smack the hand Zhao XiaoLan was using to pull him and causing Zhao XiaoLan to cry out in pain.

"XiaoLan! Zhao XiaoLan! Let go, let go!"

Zhao XiaoLan this person was exceptionally warmhearted, even though it hurt, he nevertheless endured the pain. Though tens of thousands of trails, he dragged Ming ChangYan in front of Huai Yu.

Ming ChangYan suddenly closed his eyes, praying in his heart: Amitabha, this shaoxia is currently dressed like this, he shouldn't be able to recognize me."

Compared to the well-regarded n.o.ble Gentleman from two years ago, the current Ming ChangYan's height has shortened a chunk, but regarding his outward appearance, even his gender has changed. Although this Young Prime Minister had seen his appearance before, it's already been two years, he should've already forgotten it right!? Ming ShaoXia himself wasn't very skilled in recognizing people's faces, so he used his own self-evaluation of the human face to convince himself that Huai Yu wasn't good at recognizing other people's faces either. After absentmindedly comforting himself, he opened his eyes, imitating Zhao XiaoLan's tone of voice, showing off his obedience and said, "h.e.l.lo Huai Yu ge-ge."

Huai Yu moved the bowl from his left hand to his right.

Hearing this, Zhao XiaoLan said, "Why are you copying me?"

Ming ChangYan said, "How do you call this copying you, we're of the same generation. If you can call him ge-ge, then why can't I?"

Zhao XiaoLan thoughtfully nodded his head, lowered his voice and said, "But you sound too childish."

Ming ChangYan thought: My bad, my bad. I overdid it.

Zhao XiaoLan said again, "Huai Yu ge-ge."

Ming ChangYan followed suit, "Huai Yu ge-ge!"

The more he called, the more smooth it sounded. He was determined to create a good relations.h.i.+p, so that it would be more convenient for him to roam the imperial palace and find the Immortal Gra.s.s. As a result, he might as well just toss his shame away, it didn't matter if it scared Fu Ling and Peony till their gallbladder breaks, each minding their own business as he walked forward, "Is ge-ge feeding the fish? What kind of fish are you feeding?"

Huai Yu didn't spare him a look, Ming ChangYan then confirmed that this person didn't recognize him.

It would be normal if he didn't recognize him, being able to recognize him would be abnormal! Don't even mention the fact that he's been discredited right now, he's accustomed to being shameless, it didn't matter to him if he hit rock bottom. If Huai Yu had recognized him, and lifted his skirt in front of everyone to see, and with a single look: Shaos.h.i.+ is actually a male!

It would be completely preposterous!

He took advantage that Huai Yu wasn't looking, and sneaked a few more glances at him.

Ming ChangYan happily smiled, "When I see Huai Yu ge-ge, I have this feeling that you're a friend that I've met from a foreign land. I feel like we have a very deep relations.h.i.+p, it may be because Huai Yu ge-ge and I are brought together by fate!"

Zhao XiaoLan squeezed his book and asked Fu Ling, "Is Yan jie-jie always like this? She really doesn't seem like a woman."

Fu Ling's eyes were seeing black, she wished she could just faint and die.

Peony said, "She, Shaos.h.i.+ is lively and cute in nature, she's always been so…."

Zhao XiaoLan smiled, "Then that's very interesting!"

Huai Yu scattered some more fish food, repeating, "Friend that I've met from a foreign land?"

Ming ChangYan nodded his head, reaching his hand into the other's jar and grabbing out some fish food, and scattered the feed into the pond wildly like a woman throwing flowers. With pieces going east and west, it provoked the carp, making them flee around in dismay.

He patted his hands together, extremely curious, "What kind of fish are these, why have I never seen them before?"

Huai Yu indifferently said, "Didn't you say that you were brought together by fate?"

Ming ChangYan smiled, "Brought together by fate, brought together by fate! I'm brought together by fate by the one above and by the one in the water!"

Huai Yu said, "The fish in the Imperial Golden Pond were gifts from a foreign nation."

Ming ChangYan said, "With the tone of your voice, it's like you can speak to the fish. Huai Yu ge-ge has really outstanding strong points." He asked before thinking the matter though, "What are these fish saying to you?"

Huai Yu was calm as he paused for a while, before saying, "It's raining outside so why aren't you heading back home?"

Ming ChangYan was dazed, he reached his hand out, catching small droplets of rain as they collided with his palm. He glanced at Huai Yu in astonishment, thinking: Is it possible that this person really is a G.o.d?

Zhao XiaoLan said, "There's a pavilion on the side, let's go in to avoid the rain!"

Entering the pavilion, just as they sat down, two people emerged from the rain. The two individuals were tall and lofty, dignified and solemn; Upon seeing this, Fu Ling and Peony immediately saluted, "Eldest Prince, Third Prince!"

Zhao XiaoLan cupped his hands together, "Eldest Cousin, Third Cousin."

Fu Ling softly reminded Ming ChangYan, "Shaos.h.i.+, quickly make your salutations!"

Ming ChangYan was stunned for a moment and while he was saluting, the Eldest Prince didn't pay attention to him at all. He replied to Huai Yu, and nodded his head at Zhao XiaoLan, before sitting on the stone stool with a hard to understand expression.

The Third Prince stood beside him as he soothed, "Huang-xiong*, restrain your grief and accept fate."

(TN: "皇兄"; Xiong means older brother or a term of address you would use to someone who's close to you. Huang is just what they addressed to people in the Imperial family, but it can also be used as a surname. They're using Huang because saying there real name was forbidden and considered taboo.)

This was translated by , any repost of this is stolen and if steal our work, I'm going to go feral on you.

The Eldest Prince, "I know. I…Young Prime Minister, the hauntings within the palace, are they really by Ming ChangYan?"

Ming ChangYan interjected, "How could it have been him!"

The Eldest Prince turned his head around, Ming ChangYan stared at his face, after looking at it from left to right, he concluded that he didn't have any memories of this face. Two years ago in the YanBo River, this person lead troops to come purge him. Ming ShaoXia looked at him and thought that he wasn't pleasing to the eye, yet he unexpectedly changed his tone, promptly saying, "Yes! How could it not be him!"

The Eldest Prince said, "What palace are you from?"

Ming ChangYan waved his hands around, "You don't need to know about that. There are so many people dying in the palace, and there are those that haven't died, yet they seem to only be killing people related to you. If I say that you don't have any enemies, would you believe me?"

He continued to scare them with frightening words, "The w.a.n.g Shaos.h.i.+ that shared a courtyard with me saw it with her own eyes, Ming ChangYan's ghost hanging in midair, formidable-looking and with an imposing aura."

The Eldest Prince was subjected to the emperor's influence, his superst.i.tion on ghosts was even greater than the emperor himself. He unnaturally changed his position, even neglecting the fact that Ming ChangYan wasn't following proper conduct, directly asking, "Ming ChangYan has already died, his corpse which was salvaged out of the river looking like a steamed bun, so how could his ghost look formidable-looking? Could it be that your friend saw wrong?"

Ming ChangYan drank a cup of tea, and impartially corrected, "Well then he'd be a formidable-looking steamed bun! Even when being a steamed bun, the n.o.ble Gentleman is still very handsome and distinguished. Let's not talk about this, Eldest Prince, don't tell me you don't know how the people in the palace died?"

The Eldest Prince weakly said, "Needles…"

Ming ChangYan smiled, "Yup, needles! May I ask, with the palace under such strict precautions, besides ghosts, who could enter freely without obstructions? Who would be able to enter through restricted areas without anyone stopping them?"

The Eldest Prince's expressions swayed, looking towards Huai Yu, "Young Prime Minister, what do you say?"

Huai Yu let out an earnest sigh, "Her words are rational."

Ming ChangYan inclined his head to the side, secretly looking at Huai Yu; His heart was somewhat nervous, one moment he thinks the other party recognized him, and the next he thinks the other hasn't recognized him. He was kind of depressed, the splitting image of a young maiden in love. He followed after Huai Yu and let out a sigh, sentimentally looking at the other party, but at this moment, Huai Yu was also looking in his direction.

Ming ChangYan, who had drunk some water, immediately coughed it back up. Fu Ling instantly stepped forward to help him wipe his chest, but Ming ChangYan refused, carelessly wiping it off himself, his heart was gloomy: Does he really not recognize me?

If he recognized him, Ming ShaoXia thought it would be embarra.s.sing.

If he didn't recognize him, Ming ShaoXia felt a bit sullen: This shaoxia is so good-looking, but you forgot me in just two years, that's really hateful. To think that back then, I even saved him, if it was switched to a woman…

While he was letting his imagination run wild, the Eldest Prince finally couldn't sit still any longer, he stood and circled the pavilion a few times, "Then wouldn't the next one he looks for be me?!" He suddenly turned around, looking at Huai Yu, he pleaded, "Young Prime Minister, you must save me!"

The Third Prince said, "Huang-xiong, no need for you to be so nervous. It's because Father is worried for you that he summoned you to the palace, the forbidden areas in the imperial palace are guarded by the 13 Guardians, and you also have the Young Prime Minister here, so you can be at ease."

Ming ChangYan laughed out loud, "Yes! Rest a.s.sured, the 13 Guardians were unwittingly a bit careless, accidentally letting 3 people die, I'm sure they're normally very on guard and will defend one's property till death! At most, if we're not careful enough, a few more people will die, but the imperial palace already has so many people, even if they die in one round it wouldn't necessarily be brought upon your head."

Hearing this, the Eldest Prince looked a bit angry, "Enough, enough, they've already arrived."

At this moment, the rain stopped.

Huai Yu stood up to take his leave, the Eldest Prince bid him goodbye.

Ming ChangYan looked at him leave without wading in the mud and water, even the Eldest Prince has to give him some face, his heart couldn't help but sob. Two years ago, when he came back from Tokhara, he had thought that Huai Yu had already left. Who knew he was living in TianQing even more ease than him. Only after asking did he find out that Ming Yue and YuLou had fought again, and the two rolled down the mountains, both of them breaking one of their legs. Huai Yu stayed behind to treat their injuries, delaying his time till he returned.

After that, he and Huai Yu were on good terms with each other, apart from how the other party would tend to display his small temper. Excluding his conceited disposition, he didn't have any other faults. He didn't think too much at that time, but now it seemed like having him stay at TianQing was a waste of his talents, he didn't expect for him to be like a fish back in it's waters in the imperial palace.

Naturally, he would be more indifferent and cold. Ming ShaoXia was drinking tea, saw that Huai Yu didn't even turn his head around, and began to groan and reminisce about the little brat that used to follow behind him. Sure enough, when a man grows up, no one would recognize them even after changing their face, Ming ShaoXia sighed: n.o.body in this entire world except for his wife would be able to bear this little ancestor's temperament!

Just as the Eldest Prince found his way out, the imperial bodyguard beside him wittily said, "Master, I say that this is actually a blessing in disguise. Although there are rumors springing up from everywhere in the palace, it might not necessarily be someone who's trying to deceive us. The emperor specifically a.s.signed you to the Eastern Palace, the Eastern Palace has always been where the crown prince dwells…"

The Third Prince also said, "Huang-xiong don't think too much, even if Ming ChangYan's vengeful ghost is haunting the imperial palace, if you could kill him once, then don't tell me that you can't kill him a second time!"

After a few more flattering and fawning, the Eldest Prince's heart was much more at ease and, for a moment, he felt that he could kill ghosts.

Within the pavilion, Ming ChangYan stood up and was about to leave as well, and just as he took two steps forward, he was stopped by Zhao XiaoLan's yell, "Yan jie-jie!"

Ming ChangYan's footsteps came to a halt, looking at him. Zhao XiaoLan stepped forwards, his smile dazzling, scratching his head he said, "Yan jie-jie, didn't you say you were going to teach me martial arts."

Ming ChangYan suddenly realized, "Ah, I just remembered. You want to learn how to use needles? Unfortunately, you've only completed one of my conditions. I wanted to see the Young Prime Minister, now that I've seen him, there's only one more left."

He said, "Egret Academy."

Zhao XiaoLan, "It's not hard to bring you to Egret Academy, it's just that we're on a holiday right now, even if we go there'd be nothing good to look at. Furthermore, the flowers have already scattered, the trees bare, it's quite ugly."

Ming ChangYan said, "Sigh, those words are wrong. I'm not going there to look at the flowers, I'm going there to look at the people."

Zhao XiaoLan said, "The people aren't that good to look at either! All the good-looking people are in the Depths of the Flowers, the academy is full of a few bossy and indulged woman with sly temperaments; always making fun of me. If I go now, I'll definitely meet Jun, she always uses me as a way to amuse herself."

Ming ChangYan said, "Don't you have a very powerful friend, tell him to hit her back!"

Zhao XiaoLan, "Jun is a princess, how can I hit women? Ming ShaoXia has said it before, gentlemen must not punch other women." He took out《The n.o.ble Gentleman Way》from his bosom, "It's written on page 32 of《The n.o.ble Gentleman Way》, look."

Ming ChangYan didn't even look as he said, "He's already dead, what are you abiding by his words for!"

Zhao XiaoLan fumed, "As long as the Common People's Order hasn't been pulled out by anyone yet, even if he's dead he's still number 1 in the entire world! I don't like hearing the words that Yan jie-jie just said."

Ming ChangYan could only half-heartedly say, "Okay, okay, okay, I didn't say he was bad, Ming ChangYan's the best, the most handsome! Alright, XiaoLan-xiong, if you bring me to Egret Academy, I'll teach you some of the TianQing six sword techniques!"

Zhao XiaoLan's eyes glimmered, raising his voice, "Okay! It's a deal!"

He rolled up the book, facing Ming ChangYan and said, "With your appearance, you wouldn't be able to enter Egret Academy."

Ming ChangYan lifted the edges of his skirt, "How? These clothes are so expensive, don't tell me I still can't get in?"

Zhao XiaoLan shook his head, "That's not it, if you're dressed like this, how are you supposed to leave the Imperial Palace. At night, I'll bring you a set of men's clothes, disguise yourself as a man, and then leave the palace together with me!"

Ming ChangYan paused for a moment, before he suddenly burst into loud laughter, laughing till he was out of breath. He took Zhao XiaoLan's shoulder and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I'll disguise myself as a man!"

Zhao XiaoLan didn't know what he was laughing for, but he followed his actions and began laughing as well, continuing, "There's another thing, entering or exiting the imperial palace requires a pa.s.sing token. But this pa.s.sing token is something that you and I are unable to get out hands on."

Ming ChangYan said, "Does my little friend XiaoLan have any other methods?"

Zhao XiaoLan mysteriously beckoned him over, Ming ChangYan approached his ear as he whispered, "Yes. Besides the pa.s.sing token that allows anyone to enter and exit the imperial palace as they please, there's also a person who's able to freely enter and exit the palace as they please. As long as we get a hold of the pendant that hangs by his waist, we won't have to worry about people not letting us out!"

Ming ChangYan shared a look with him as the two said in unison:

"Huai Yu!"

"Huai Yu ge-ge!"

The two looked at each other with a gaze filled with profound mystery, after consideration, they decided to go to the Ninety-Ninth Temple – to steal.

Zhao XiaoLan thought of a plan for him, telling Ming ChangYan that after stealing the pendant by Huai Yu's waist, he should steal his clothes along with it, so that he could disguise himself as the Young Prime Minister and leave the palace. This method, after Ming ShaoXia dressed up in woman's clothes, was the second most clever rotten idea that he's ever got.

This was translated by , any repost of this is stolen and if steal our work, I'm going to go feral on you.

Oh my G.o.d, I finally got this out.

Time to go die ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

What did you think of this chapter? Any thoughts on what's going to happen next? ┴┬┴┤( ͡° ͜ʖ├┬┴┬

If you see any grammatical/translation errors, please comment or notify me! I love reading your comments so much, I literally come and refresh every day just to see if there's a new one.

Take care of your health and have a magnificent day!