The following morning, Head Eunuch Changde arrived at Prince Li’s residence with a royal decree from the Emperor. The accompanying guards had brought along several chests of considerable size that appeared to contain valuable treasures.
Such a grand manoeuver naturally would not be missed by individuals who were closely monitoring the succession battle for the crown prince position. The news quickly spread to the heads of various affluent families. It was a day of mourning for countless prized porcelain articles for the families that sided with the opposing faction.
Today, Ming Jue was clad in a black brocade court robe complemented by a golden sash, with cloud-like embroidery, wrapped across his waist. His clothing perfectly emphasized his position as a member of the royal family and emitted an air of grandeur. He had broad shoulders and his black lustrous hair was combed upwards and held in place by a gold-gilt jade crown. His face had sharp and recognizable features.
At this moment, his sight was fixed on the guard who presumed a kneeling position before him, presenting a report. With a slight crease on the lips and an icy cold gaze in his eyes, his daunting presence made everyone consider twice before meeting his gaze directly.
“No one on this list will be spared. Proceed with it.” These were the people who betrayed him in his previous life. He would grant them the appropriate treatment they deserved without fail!
The guards were intimidated by the merciless directive and promptly dispersed to carry out their duties after giving a bow to acknowledge the orders.
After Prince Li had concluded his official matters, the steward approached to make his report, “Your Highness, Head Eunuch Changde is waiting outside with a royal decree from the Emperor. Please provide your instructions.”
“Hmm, let him in.”
Head Eunuch Changde entered the hall with the royal decree in his hand and walked towards the prince in small but quick strides. When he noticed Prince Li about to perform his formalities, Changde humbly took a step back and saluted to the prince first with his usual smile, “His Majesty had given instructions to dispense all formalities when delivering the imperial edict. This edict will not be recited aloud. You may read the contents in private at your own convenience.”
Ming Jun relaxed his expression as he let out a helpless sigh inwardly. He had grown accustomed to it. Rather than an imperial edict, this was more like a personal letter from the Emperor. His father had totally abused the royal decree for self-serving communication purposes.
Unlike his usual serious and intimidating demeanour, the content of the imperial edict was particularly homely and chatty, with words densely cramped that a magnifying glass would have made reading the contents way much easier.
Ming Jue: “…”
The prince did a facepalm while narrowing his eyes. Old habits sure were hard to break. Once his father began writing, the brush would never stop. He skipped straight to the end and understood the gist of the contents.
Priest Qingyun was a remarkable individual with a mysterious ability that could make precise predictions of events through divination. In his past life, his father had summoned the priest to the palace for guidance and consultation on various subjects. It was natural for the priest to be aware of Prince Li’s tribulation more than anyone else.
But where did these three unfamiliar stars come from? He had never encountered this even in his previous life. Ming Jue was lost in deep thoughts.
Did the deviation have any connection to his reincarnation?
Changde observed that Prince Li had a grave and solemn expression after reading the decree. Without further delay, he excused himself and hastily returned to the palace to report to the Emperor.
“Reporting to Your Highness, there is new information about the activities of the Chen family. Chen Xinyue had been searching for an individual for quite some time. According to the description, the search target is a woman with an attractive appearance dressed in farmer clothing. After her visit to the Chen Family’s manor, the woman vanished and hasn’t been seen since. The peculiar part about it is that Chen Xinyue enlisted a bunch of third-rate thugs to search for her the next day, but yielded no results to date.” Zuo Yi lowered his head as he made his report.
Ming Jue’s eyebrows shot up, displaying a heightened level of interest in this new discovery. He issued a command, “Deploy more manpower and locate this woman before Chen Xinyue does. I will uncover her motives.”
“Affirmative!”
“As for Ming Sheng, leave him to the Phantom Dance Guild. Since he finds pleasure behaving like a worthless person, he can stay that way forever.”
His gaze exuded a bone-chilling coldness. Zuo Yi felt as though his heart skipped a beat. He noticed that his master had lately become increasingly ruthless and cautious, leaving lesser openings for other people to take advantage as compared to previously. It was a change he admired and welcomed.
Zuo Yi was cautious not to reveal any change in his expression and promptly departed to accomplish his mission.
Meanwhile, the centrepiece person behind the unusual developments in the capital was soundly asleep in a faraway rural village, blissfully enjoying her beautiful dreams while remaining unaware of the people who were secretly in search of her.
The calm before the storm was extraordinarily tranquil.
……
Three years had gone by.
Surrounded by mountains in three directions and a nearby reservoir, laid an estate enveloped in lush greenery. The courtyard was intricately designed, featuring a lotus pond at its center and pavilions and rockery connected through platforms and corridors. The structures perfectly complemented one another.
As far as the eye could see, the plantation fields were organized neatly and the crops appeared to be thriving with vitality.
In a study room located at the west side of the manor, three children with delicate features were seated, reciting poetry while rhythmically swaying their heads.
Among them is a young girl, with her hair styled into two small buns on either side of her head. She rested her plump cheeks on both hands and yawned continuously, accentuating her dimples. Her round-shaped pupils were clear and bright like exquisite crystal beads.
With a twinkle in her eye, she toddled towards her second eldest brother from the same birth. “Second brother, I don’t want to study anymore. I want to go out and play!”
The little boy had a pair of sharp and fine eyebrows. When he heard his younger sister’s words, he cast a glance at her while doing his best to maintain a straight face with tightly pursed lips. However, this expression on his chubby baby face only served to enhance his cuteness.
He turned to the girl and asked sternly, “Have you memorized everything that the teacher instructed us to? I won’t help you if he tests you again.”
“I’m done with it! Don’t believe me? You can test me, Erbao!” Her soft, childish voice was brimming with pride.
Erbao raised an eyebrow in doubt at how obedient she was behaving today. He put his book down and started testing her, “What comes after this phrase? The early bird…”
Guaibao puffed up her tiny chest with confidence and answered cheerfully, “Goes chirp chirp!”
Erbao: “…” 1TL Note: In the original language, the quiz was on the subject of poetry couplets, which is close to impossible to translate while retaining its essence. Instead, I have taken the liberty to modify it to complete the idioms instead. The proper second half of the idiom should be “catches the worms”.
He should not have expected too much from her. With a pout on his face, he turned away sullenly and gave up.
When Guaibao noticed that her second brother had ignored her, she suddenly felt like she could empathize with withered flowers. Even the little hair buns on her head appeared to have drooped down.
She tilted her head and pondered about where she had gone wrong. She believed that she had answered well enough. Even the word count was mirrored perfectly!
“Hmph! If you continue to disregard me like this, my little wings will take me away.”
With that said, she darted off towards the other side of the desk where a plump, fair skinned boy was sound asleep and snoring, exuding a vibe akin to the Child of Wealth 2TL Note: 善財童子 or Sudhana.
With a tap of her palm, a noticeable indentation appeared on the desk despite her exerting just a little force, and that shocked the boy awake from his pleasant dreams.
“Dabao, take me out to play! With you taking the lead, we could easily sneak out without getting discovered by the caretakers and guards.”
Dabao was still half asleep. His hair was in a mess, sticking out in all directions, while his round cheeks were covered with sleep marks, creating a comical and adorable appearance at the same time. He rubbed his round, moist eyes as he glanced around.
When he saw that it was his sister who interrupted his nap, he did not get upset. Instead, he wore a silly smile, just like a ball of glutinous rice beckoning people to knead and pinch on it.
“But mommy had forbidden me from bringing you out again,” he replied while rubbing his bum, vividly remembering what happened the last time he did that.
Guaibao’s expression instantly turned downcast. Studying had taken too much of a toll from her young and sensitive heart. She did not have a photographic memory like Erbao, who could perfectly remember everything after a single glance. Neither did she possess extraordinary luck like Dabao, who could make anything go his way even against all odds.
She was just an ordinary, witty and lovely little fairy.
“Sob sob sob…” The little girl plopped to the ground and started to cry, feeling miserable as she started venting her emotions. She struck her chest while weeping bitterly, and her other hand was slamming on the chair in frustration. Being born as a female child was her greatest downfall!
“Rattle, clatter!” the chair gave way and fell apart, leaving a bunch of wooden planks scattered on the floor…
Erbao did not even lift his head as he insensitively made a tally, “This is the seventh chair for the month. Mommy said she would deduct it from your monthly allowance.”
“Uwahhh!!” the girl shed genuine tears this time. She had accumulated such a great deficit that her allowance had already been deducted till next year!
TL Note – Small trivia corner
With this chapter, the story has finally progressed to the point where the pun in the title can be explained without spoilers.
To understand the pun, some background knowledge behind the term “Three Treasures” (or sometimes referred to as Three Jewels) is required. Rather than referring to real tangible treasures, the “Three Treasures” in the title, or “三宝 (pinyin – San Bao)” in the original language, could be traced back to the basic virtues of humanity in Taoism, which are 1) compassion, 2) frugality and 3) humility.
With that as a basis, the term had been widely adapted to other aspects of the Chinese culture. One of the popular one amongst common folks living in countryside regions is “家有三宝，白头偕老 (pinyin – Jia You San Bao, Bai Tou Xie Lao)”, which means that if the family has three treasures, they will enjoy a blissful amiable marriage till ripe old age. And those three treasures refer to 1) an ugly wife, 2) infertile land, 3) torn padded jacket, which somewhat embraces the spirit of the virtues in Taoism.
At the same time, the word “宝”, can also be interpreted as baby, or child. So… if you noticed the number of children… is three as well.
Dabao – Da Bao (大宝) – translates to “First Child”
Erbao – Er Bao (二宝) – translates to “Second Child”
Guaibao – Guai Bao (乖宝) – translates to “Obedient Child”
Hence, the “three treasures” in the title could have possibly encompassed various meanings, and which of those are applicable… You would have to imagine and decide on your own.
End of trivia. Hope my explanation did not bore you.
TL Corner: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do let me know in the comments or discord if there are any errors or mistakes.
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Thank you!
