Even after countless rereads, it’s still so dramatic! References previous chapters.

'I also know all about the little tricks you've been playing.' — Yi Liankai, Ch. 13.2 © 12

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Qin Sang was extremely fatigued by this point so she merely turned her face away and said: 'Can we talk about it another day? I'm really tired.'

Yi Liankai actually smiled but it was quite a strange smile and he only replied, 'If we wait, it might be too late again.'

Qin Sang, unable to bear his mystifying manner¹, sat up slightly and said, 'Go ahead then.'

¹ 陰陽怪氣 yīnyángguàiqì: (of a person’s manner of speaking) mystifying; enigmatic; deliberately ambiguous. If you’re not reading this chapter at MerakiTranslations, it has been stolen and reproduced by bootleg websites.

'I know you loathe me,' Yi Liankai seemed calm as he continued slowly, 'I also don’t expect that you'll like what I’m going to say, but since matters have come to such a pa.s.s, I have to be honest with you.² Just now the physician told me that you’re two months with child.'

² 實話實說 shíhuà-shíshuō: speak frankly; talk straight; not mince matters. Please consider reading from MerakiTranslations rather than at bootleg websites.

Qin Sang seemed to have suffered a sudden blow as her entire person shrank back slightly, her lips drained of colour as she stared at Yi Liankai.

'I also know all about the little tricks you've been playing. Those Western medicines you take to prevent getting a child harm your health over time, so I replaced them all with vitamins sometime back. I know you don’t want this child, but if you dare do the same heartless thing you did last year&h.e.l.lip; if you ever dare do such a thing again&h.e.l.lip;' He leaned forward, looking at her ashen face with a sort of satisfaction and promised through gritted teeth: 'I'll kill you with one shot!'

Qin Sang’s​ lips quivered faintly. Her face was devoid of expression but her voice was calm: 'What are you saying? I don’t understand.'

'Must you make me spell it out? You think I really don’t know what you were sick with last year? The baby was almost three months along when you insisted on taking the medicine to abort it&h.e.l.lip; I acted dumb back then, thinking you couldn’t possibly be so heartless&h.e.l.lip;' He had seized her arms to force her to keep looking at him. 'I kept hoping you would come and tell me yourself. I thought maybe you were thin-skinned, you were embarra.s.sed. So I kept waiting for you to come and tell me&h.e.l.lip; but instead you went secretly to the hospital, you ate a whole lot of foul• medicine to abort the baby before coming back and claiming that you were ill&h.e.l.lip; I’ve long wanted to have your measure, to see just what your heart is made of. That was also your own flesh and blood; how could you bring yourself to do it? How could such a heartless woman like you exist? You think you got away with murder?³ You think just because I didn’t say anything, therefore I knew nothing? I'm telling you — if you dare try it again, I’ll make sure you're buried together with this child!'

³ 滴水不漏 dī shuǐ bù lòu: 1. lit. not one drop of water can leak out. 2. watertight (fig.). Translation originally published at tranzgeek(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.

As Qin Sang watched him glaring at her as though he would have liked to swallow her whole⁴, she suddenly felt exhausted. She had been imprisoned in the cage for too long, so long that she seemed to have forgotten how to struggle. So this was the face after all pretences were torn away5: a vile visage6. No wonder when she had been ill for half a year in Changye last year^, he had refused to go home even once — he had been hurt after all. But did such a man even have a heart?

5 撕破臉 sīpòliǎn: 2. to shed all pretense of cordiality. 3. to tear into each other.

6 面目猙獰 miànmù zhēngníng: ferocious features; a vile visage. If you’re not reading this chapter at MerakiTranslations, it has been stolen and reproduced by bootleg websites.

She said slowly: 'Why must you keep forcing me? Back then it was your father's decision to send someone to propose our marriage. I had no choice but to agree for my parents' sakes. After marrying you, I found that our temperaments and personalities aren’t compatible. Never mind that I'll have to pay7 with my entire lifetime but why involve a child in all this&h.e.l.lip; a.s.suming you like children — even if you have one with someone else outside — it'll still be your child should you bring one home&h.e.l.lip; Why won’t you let me off&h.e.l.lip;'

She had not come to the end of her speech when Yi Liankai suddenly clenched his fists as though he were going to hit her but at last, he slowly lowered his hands. She did not feel any fear; she only watched him. His face was red — as though drunk — and he averred: 'It’s you who won’t let me off&h.e.l.lip;' Having said this, even his eyes reddened and he had to turn his face away. After a long silence, he said hoa.r.s.ely, 'Sorry.'

After another long pause, he seemed to have recovered himself somewhat and continued: 'I was brought up by a concubine aunt myself, which is pathetic enough. So I will never allow any child of mine to be brought up by a concubine. I don’t care how much you blame me, dislike me, or believe that we're incompatible&h.e.l.lip; You'll have this child. I only want this one and I won’t ask you to have another. Whatever you want, I'll agree to it. I treated you badly in the past — I'm sorry about it. In the future, if you should find it a ch.o.r.e to bring up the child, there'll be a wet nurse and servants to help. I promise not to make you angry any more and anything you want, I’ll get it for you. Or that matter about Miss Yao: I can speak with Commander Yao immediately&h.e.l.lip; As long as you agree to have this baby, I promise you I'll change all those bad habits from before&h.e.l.lip;' By the time he got to this point, his voice had trailed off gradually and it was some time before he raised his head to look at her again.

Qin Sang looked at him. Never had she seen him with such an expression. Her heart was in confusion, like a silk loom with countless threads8 that she couldn’t begin to unravel.9 She lay back down on the pillows with an effort before saying, 'Then I want you to look for someone for me. I have some urgent questions to ask this person. After I’ve talked to this person, we can discuss our affairs again.'

8 千絲萬縷 qiānsī-wànlǚ: countless ties; a thousand and one links

9 理 lǐ: 14. to put in order. 頭緒 tóuxù: main threads (of a complicated affair).

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Yi Liankai asked: 'Whom do you want found?'

'It's the man who originally swindled my father. His name is Fu Rongcai° and he disappeared after cheating my father of his money. Find him for me so I can ask him some questions.'

Before she had finished speaking, Yi Liankai’s expression had already changed. She looked at him searchingly as she asked: 'What? Is it so hard for you to look for this person?'

'I wouldn’t say that exactly,' Yi Liankai seemed to relax all of a sudden, as though nothing were wrong at all, before he said: 'But trying to find him in a sea of people isn’t a matter of a few days' searching. It will take a long time.'

'You're the Chief Commander. Surely it won’t be a problem if you deploy more people to look for such a person.' Qin Sang stated with a smile: 'Unless you’re not willing to look for him.'

'Why wouldn’t I be?' Yi Liankai a.s.serted: 'He cheated my father-in-law which amounts to cheating me of my money. As a son-in-law, the least I can do is to ferret him out and make him repay the sum of money. Only then would I be doing my filial duty.'

Qin Sang nodded slowly: 'If you think that way, there won’t be any difficulty.'

Yi Liankai said: 'Don't worry, I'll definitely send people to look for him.'

'What if he's dead?'

Yi Liankai paused, then questioned, 'What makes you think he's dead when we've yet to make enquiries?'

'With all the turmoil of war10 nowadays, human life is so cheap that you can be alive one day yet dead the next. If he's dead, then I may never find out what I want to know.'

10 兵荒馬亂 bīnghuāng-mǎluàn: soldiers mutiny and troops rebel (idiom); turmoil and chaos of war. Translation originally published at tranzgeek(DOT)wordpress(DOT)com.

Yi Liankai said: 'You just like to imagine the worst. I’ll send people now to look for this Fu Rongcai. Until he’s found, you should just stop worrying and look after your health.'

Qin Sang slowly let out an imploring sigh and said, 'Then let’s just wait until we do find him.'

Yi Liankai saw that she was looking extremely fatigued so he stood up and told her, 'You should rest now. I’ll send Zhu Ma in to accompany you.'

Qin Sang said 'mm' softly, seemingly in a.s.sent. Yi Liankai was already at the door but couldn’t help turning back to look at her. She was huddled under the down blanket, her figure as delicate as that of a child’s​. Her face, framed by the pillows, was extremely pale and made her look even more fragile and pitiable. His heart was filled with untold cares and in the end he heaved only the tiniest of sighs before closing the door behind him.

12’s notes:

• 傷天害理 shāngtiān-hàilǐ: to offend Heaven and reason (idiom); b.l.o.o.d.y atrocities that cry to heaven. Wow 

Consider that in , Qin Sang had described his killing of the mother rabbit as 'immoral' with the same idiom and now he throws it back at her unwittingly. I don’t think it was a coincidence that the author makes them use the same idiom to describe their respective acts.

⁴ 生吞活剝 shēngtūn-huóbō: swallow sth. raw and whole – accept sth. uncritically. I confess to some confusion at the use of this idiom in this context. Perhaps the author was thinking more of the literal meaning when she used it.

^ opens with her illness.

7 Direct translation of 賠 péi: make good a loss; compensate; pay for; indemnify.

°First revealed in 

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