Black Belly Wife

Chu Changge walked into the inn surrounded by four devastatingly beautiful 'women' and sat facing south. He felt an unusual and eager gaze that seemed to want to penetrate his mind, so he looked back and saw an ugly looking woman standing on the stairs. Then, she moved up the stairs as she turned back.

Although Chu Changge was born with a face that could attract bees and butterflies[1]Chinese idiom : attract the opposite sex, he was not lustful. It was hard for him to take a second glance at a beautiful woman, let alone an ugly woman. He turned around in a wistful mood, but halfway through, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and looked over again, but unfortunately, there was not a glimpse of her left for him to see. He withdrew his gaze in disappointment, as he felt that he had missed something.

And Murong Yunshu, who was forcefully pushed into one of their rooms by Zhang Yu, was also feeling disappointed in her heart. Although she knew that her face had already changed, but, before she saw Chu Changge, she, on the whole, held a slim hope in her heart that he would be able to recognise her.

And now, for them to not know each other just across the street was really chilling…

Murong Yunshu stared expressionlessly at Wang Chao who had jumped in like avoiding Wen Shen[2]Chinese god of plague and she indifferently said, "Since you dare to kidnap me, you should make good plans to maneuver around Chu Changge. He didn't recognise me today, but since he's looking for me, I have a way for him to find me."

Wang Chao asked, "How did you know he was looking for you? He's surrounded by beautiful women and perhaps he has already thrown you to the back of his head[3]fig. the back of one's mind."

Murong Yunshu laughed and sneered, "Your distinguished self's eyes are so good that they're unable to differentiate between men. Truly admirable."

Wang Chao was embarrassed. Of course he knew that the four massive 'women' around Chu Changge weren't really women. He was only saying that to irritate her, but he didn't expect her to notice it too. [0]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

The reason why Murong Yunshu concluded that Chu Changge appeared here in search of her was because he was accompanied by the Four Great Guardians, and not the Li Clan Princess. As she thought of the Four Great Guardians, she couldn't help but smile. These four people still acted in unison. Their sentiment must have been really good.

 

Downstairs, the Four Great Guardians looked sorrowful, while hating that they couldn't find a hole to drill down into. They were seven-foot tall men, and for the Leader to go as far as making them wore skirts and combed their hair into buns was honestly...very heartless!

"Leader, it's not a good idea for us to keep searching blindly like this, so why don't we post a reward notice and let everyone find her together." North Guardian suggested.

East Guardian shook his head in objection, "Posting the notice will only be like beating the grass and scaring the snake[4]Chinese idiom : inadvertently alert an enemy."

"And jianghu[5]lit. rivers and lakes—people wandering from place to place and living by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc., considered as a social group people will often act in disguise to hide their faces, so maybe Madam ran into a disguise expert, and it's useless to post notices once Madam's face has been changed." South Guardian analysed.

That had woken him up! Chu Changge stood up fiercely, grabbed the shopkeeper who was holding the plates and asked in a stern voice, "Which room did that woman live in just now?"

The shopkeeper was so frightened of him that his legs were trembling and his teeth were chattering, "Which, which woman?"

"The one with half of her face has been destroyed."

"In the overhead room number 2."

After he got the answer, Chu Changge quickly went upstairs and pushed open the door of the overhead room number 2, but what awaited him was an empty place as the people had gone

[6]Chinese idiom : deserted place.

"It really was her." Chu Changge muttered, while feeling both disappointed and delighted. Disappointed that he had passed by Murong Yunshu, and elated that he had finally found a trace of her.

 

Leaving the inn, Chu Changge quickly galloped towards the western gate. Jingbian City was the only two-gate city in the Daye Dynasty, and the two-gate city, as the name implied, it only had two gates, east and west. According to the shopkeeper's description, they had come from the direction of the east gate, so they must now be heading west, out of the city.

The Four Great Guardians were baffled, but they had already accustomed to such a situation, so they calmly spurred their horses to follow with dazed minds.

"It should be unlikely that the Leader has taken a fancy to that ugly woman, right?" North Guardian asked incredulously.

West Guardian replied, "I think she's a lot prettier than you are right now."

"That's true." North Guardian twitched his mouth as he said, "Actually, I think the person who should dress as a woman is the leader. If you look at his flower-like features and moonlike face[7]Chinese idiom : a great beauty, when he dresses up as a woman, he will definitely be lovely enough to cause the fall of a state[8]Chinese idiom : devastatingly beautiful and he will make all the women in the world feel ashamed of their ungainly appearances[9]Chinese idiom : have a sense of inferiority. "

West Guardian was busy tugging on his reins, distancing himself from him with a face that could be read——'I am not even remotely related to this brain-dead man'.

Both South and East raised their eyes to the distant mountains, indicating that they had heard nothing.

*

Murong Yunshu and the others were indeed approaching the western gate. She was trapped in a magnificent carriage, with the dark red on her face had disappeared, replaced by snowy skin, beautiful and touching, but it still was not her own face. However, having a beautiful face was always something to be happy about, plus there was a book on hand to pass the time, so Murong Yunshu was in quite a good mood at the moment. The corners of her mouth hooked upwards from time to time, as if she had thought of something funny, or as if she was waiting for someone to make a joke.

A red-tasseled spear

The uses of the tassel on the spear are, firstly, it is for the sake of beauty. Secondly, it acts as a threat, which can increase the enemy's panic effect and achieve the purpose of deterrence. Thirdly, it can suck blood, or prevent blood from flowing down the handle of the spear, effectively reducing the trouble that the spear brings to soldiers during combat.

Image Credit | 历史控 (红缨枪上的红缨到底有啥用？等刺中敌人身体的时候，作用就出来了, Mar 4th) at Sohu

The sound of clattering carriages, gradually approaching the city gates, when suddenly, a straight red-tasseled spear came across the sky, which stopped the horses. Then, twenty to thirty soldiers surrounded the carriage. They were also holding red-tasseled spears, looking truly majestic and solemn.

Zhang Yu subconsciously put his hand at the machete at his waist, ready to strike. He had also changed his face, which was even more lifeless than his original one. He looked exactly like he had just crawled from inside a grave. [0]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

 

Wang Chao quickly grabbed Zhang Yu's hand and motioned for him to calm down. Then he smiled and said to the young general who stopped in front of their horses, "General, what's the matter?"

This young general was Shan Shaoyu, one of the five extraordinary men under the command of the Marquis of Jingbian. He was a promising young man and excelled in martial arts, especially with his red tasseled spear that could shake the four seas

[10]the whole world.

In his whole life, Shan Shaoyu hated people who liked to fawn on other people the most, but this person in front of him not only had an expression of fawning, but even his appearance showed that he was fawning on him. So Shan Shouyu suddenly felt disgusted and didn't even bother to look at him, but he said to Zhang Yu instead, who had a dead face on top of his face, "The Lord Marquis wants to see you."

Zhang Yu was a very quiet person. Usually in this kind of situation, as long as Wang Chao's tongue wasn't cut out, he wouldn't open his mouth. So he didn't even look at Shan Shaoyu and just ignored him.

Shan Shaoyu was young and ambitious, so how could he endure this kind of arrogance. Suddenly, a long spear came out and pointed directly at Zhang Yu's eyebrows, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit[11]Chinese well-known phrase : hesitate to do sth until forced to do even more!"

"The general really has good eyes! This brother of mine is a natural born scoundrel, and if he isn't made to drink as forfeit, he still won't suffer!" Wang Chao smiled. His original flattering face was now even more repulsive, which showed that he enjoyed this situation himself. The more people hated it, the more it showed that he had exquisite disguise skills.

Shan Shaoyu really wanted to spit at him. How could there be such a disgusting face in this world…

Inside the carriage, Murong Yunshu, on the other hand, was in a good mood with her eyes on the book and her ears listened to the conversation outside, as the corners of her mouth curved wider and wider.

As the saying went, when one was under the eaves, one had to bow one's head[12]meaning when a person has to depend on others like foods, pay etc, that person has to do what they say. This was Marquis of Jingbian's territory, and when the Marquis had offered an invitation, it was naturally hard for Wang Chao and Zhang Yu to refuse. So the three were escorted by Shan Shaoyu to the Marquis' residence. However, Wang Chao always wondered, although he and Zhang Yu were the King Liang's trusted subordinates, the Marquis of Jingbian didn't know them. They had also changed their faces, so even if the Marquis knew them before, it was impossible for him to recognize them now, so why would they suddenly be invited to his residence?

After thinking about it, Wang Chao felt that there was only one possibility. "Did you do this?" He asked Murong Yunshu.

 

Murong Yunshu was leaning against the wall of the car reading a book. Her eyes paused when she heard what was said, then she turned a page and continued reading.

Silence was equal to agree tacitly, and sure enough it was her. Wang Chao asked again, "How did you do it?"

Murong Yunshu still paid no attention to him, with both of her ears shut to what went on outside the window[13]pay no attention to outside matters as she concentrated on reading her sacred book.

Wang Chao was defeated by her, so he opened her mute acupoint and asked, "Can you tell me now?"

Murong Yunshu closed the book, smiled with satisfaction, and asked, "Do you know what book this is?"

"Yueliu Tianshu[14]Book Of Heaven : Reviewing The Class. Something like that. If anyone has much better, please let me know." He bought it, how could he not know?

"Do you have any idea what the book is about, then?"

Wang Chao shook his head. He had only heard the name for the first time when she said she was going to buy the book to pass the time. How would he know what the book was about?

Murong Yunshu smiled again. Her smile was like the spring breeze had obtained its wish[15]Chinese idiom : one who has attained a success and is well-contented. "This book, it's about some of the things that have been committed in the past, and over the ages. At the end of each story, the author will praise the person who did the rebellion greatly."

Wang Dynasty's forehead veins jumped at the corners. In this particular period where every bush and tree looks like an enemy[16]Chinese idiom : state of extreme nervousness, for someone to see a person reading the story of rebellion...no wonder...no wonder the Marquis of Jingbian had to 'invite' them over to his residence to 'drink tea[17]fig. to have a meeting with state security agents (to be warned to behave "responsibly")'...

Zhang Yu gave Wang Chao a fierce glance. It was terrible for them to be this uneducated.

Although he himself had previously not understood why Murong Yunshu wanted to buy this book, he had been against buying it for her from the beginning. Someone who had even been admired by His Highness was definitely smarter than themselves, and it had been his usual style to ignore people who were much smarter than himself.