Ch6 - Misfortune of Young Lady

TL/N: Just a heads up that Qiao Yingze thought that his bride, Gong Zhuoliang, is a woman, hence throughout the whole chapter he refers to him as “Her” and “She” 

________________________________________ 

When Gong Zhuoliang heard the other party called him with that ‘title’, he went stiff for a moment before instantly feeling awkward.

While Qiao Yingze―who called him that in the first place―immediately became embarrassed and instantly looked away from him, but fortunately, Gong Zhuoliang wasn’t looking at him so he didn’t see the other’s unnaturalness.

“Cough….. Ah….H-Husband…”

Gong Zhuoliang gave Qiao Yingze a hesitant reply due to his internal struggle and bashfully faced his back to the other, only for him to hide the dark gloom on his as he internally scolded himself. 

“…T-Then.. shall we…..”

When Qiao Yingze saw his little bride turning ‘her’ back from him, he thought that, maybe ‘she’ was also shy as himself. However, when it immediately dawned to him that he is the Husband now, he thought that it’s supposed to be his responsibility to take initiative here. And so he stood up, approached Gong Zhuoliang’s shoulders, and started fondling him…

“W-What the heck?!”

Gong Zhuoliang turned red as soon as he was touched by Qiao Yingze and looked at him with cautious eyes. Then he turned his back from him again while wondering in his mind― Why is this kid so impatient already?

The Gong Family was such a brazen type of a human being to fool the Qiao Family into marrying a man to them as a ‘Bride’, because it’s definitely about the terminally ill Eldest son who they assumed to bring nothing but bad luck at this point.

From what Gong Zhuoliang could remember, Madam Gong had once repeatedly warned this child that if Qiao Yingze turned out to be that deathly ill, he’ll have to come up with a persuasion to avoid having sexual intercourse with the other during the wedding night consummation, and in that way, he could preserve his health.

If the other party buys it, then at least they could finally bring up the excuse of still being an underage hence he couldn’t do any sexual activities yet until two years later, and then have Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi enter the bridal chamber to take in charge for now(have sex).

When Madam Gong was having a conversation with Ruo Zi, the child was eavesdropping. And it had to be during that part when Madam Gong was giving the drug to Ruo Zi, which could only be used to send the child in his one-way death, in case the truth couldn’t be concealed anymore….That’s when the child committed suicide after that. 

Gong Zhuoliang surely wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen and have this child be killed. He had been planning about driving Ruo Zi away then teaching the entire Gong Family their well-earned lesson before he left this place. But he had just found a problem, and that is about the information that the Gong Family received… Not only was the Eldest son not terminally ill, but he also seemed to be quite…'vigorous'….Then how is he going to get through this, ah?

“I… Let us change our clothes and have a drink”

Qiao Yingze was taken aback by Gong Zhuoliang’s defensive reaction, causing the blood in his face to pale even more. Then a thought started ringing in his mind― ‘She really is unwilling to marry someone like me, a miserable being‘

Qiao Yingze’s outstretched hand had paused and slightly trembled, before he placed it down once again and clenched it under his sleeves. 

“Ah! I’m sorry! I was just too nervous!”

Seeing Qiao Yingze’s gloomy smile, Gong Zhuoliang instantly realized that his reaction just now had affected him, so he hurriedly took the other’s hand and apologized, while complaining in his heart that this man is way too sensitive.

“It’s fine! It’s just me being silly!”

Qiao Yingze hesitantly let out a smile, indicating to Gong Zhuoliang that there should be no need for her to be anxious. But in truth, the coldness in his heart did not fade even in the slightest. 

Qiao Yingze was a premature baby, and his mother had a hard time giving birth to him. He is born with deficiencies which caused him to be disliked by his own biological mother, while his father never cared about his own children and so he had not received care ever since he was born. He was only discovered by his grandmother later on and was brought up by her, but his foundation was already weak to begin with, and a recultivation would not be healthy for him anymore.

However, Qiao Yingze is a strong person at heart. He thought that he shouldn’t be pessimistic then started spending his time, studying and reading books, in hopes of bringing honor to his family one day, and most of all, so he could gain the love and attention from his parents that he always yearned for. But in the end, his health lost its patience, causing him to get exhausted easily, and he ended up unable to attend the imperial exam at Beijing due to illness.

This caused him to experience depression for a long time.

On the other hand, the betrothed person who they had decided for him since he was a child unexpectedly died out of nowhere. 

For a long time, Qiao Yingze found it hard for him to accept this situation, until he felt that he finally lost his optimism to live. This was the reason why his health started deteriorating, until one day, his grandmother forced him to an another good-luck marriage.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Pc bgvfg ab cba mjerf jcs wlrobgaecf ab atf Tbecu Ojvs, tf aglfv tlr yfra ab fcvegf atf mbcrajca oijglcu bo tlr liicfrr. Tfa, gluta cbk, atf batfg lr ulnlcu tlw j mbiv-rtbeivfg….

“P-Pa’r cba atja P…. Leryjcv? Leryjcv! Cgf sbe jigluta?” 

Rbalmlcu Hljb Tlcuhf’r kbyyilcu oluegf, bea bo gfoifz, Xbcu Itebiljcu jygeqais fwygjmfv tlr ybvs yfobgf atf batfg kbeiv mbiijqrf lc ogbca bo tlw. Lf atfc rja yfrlvf tlw, jcv rajgafv mjiilcu bea atf batfg’r cjwf gfqfjafvis ktlif ktlrqfglcu rbwf kbgvr bo gfjrregjcmf, ab rabq atf batfg ogbw bnfgatlcxlcu atlcur atja jgf kjs yfsbcv gfjilas.

Noticing Qiao Yingze’s wobbling figure, Gong Zhuoliang hurriedly embraced him and held him up as he sat down beside the bed and kept calling out the other’s name, whispering some reassurances so that the other party could refrain from thinking whatever bullshit he had in his head.

“I’m fine, my wife…..”

Qiao Yingze could feel warmth from the embrace of Gong Zhuoliang. As soon as he finally stabilized his disordered mind, he shyly looked up from Gong Zhuoliang embrace to look at his expression, and to his surprise, his concerned look did not seem fake. Qiao Yingze’s mood lightened a bit… 

He wondered to himself― Am I just overthinking?

Since he was little, Qiao Yingze had been living behind the gate of the most secluded pavilion of the Qiao Family.

His parents were not close to him, but his grandmother doted on him a lot, so the sickly Qiao Yingze barely made any contact with the outside world, but was instead, surrounded by maids and servants.

No one had ever been genuine to him, nor said words to him that came from the bottom of their heart. So Qiao Yingze had a lot of expectations for his wife―for his lifetime companion― who will always stand beside him for the rest of his life. 

She doesn’t need to be beautiful or talented. Qiao Yingze only hopes to have a wife who genuinely likes him, and cares for him. Then he will try his best to be good to her, and he will take good care of their family for the rest of his life…

“Uhh… Husband, allow me to start serving you”

This time, he dared not be vague in his response. Gong Zhuoliang let out a polite smile, his eyes turning into crescents, and took the initiative to take off the wedding headpiece for Qiao Yingze, then removed the other’s robes, until what’s left was only a single robe. Then he paused.

He recalled that this should be the first activity for the local wedding custom. 

First, the newlywed couple should help each other change clothes; Secondly, they should drink a glass of wine; Lastly, they have to tie each other’s hair piece into a knot. Then after that, they’re officially wedded, and they can finally enter the bridal chamber…

“My wife…”

Qiao Yingze kindly encouraged Gong Zhuoliang to proceed changing his clothes, his eyes filled with tenderness towards the child, then finally, the other finished tying the pajamas’ belt on his waist.

He really liked the sound of this special title*. It shows that he now has complete possession of the person in front of him, and she will be the only person closest to him. 

(*TL/N: He liked calling the MC his “wife”)

“….”

Gong Zhuoliang is wondering why Qiao Yingze became happy all of sudden, but he could only follow along and smiled back, while helping the other to remove his wedding headpiece and change his robes.

At the moment, he wasn’t yet worried about being exposed in front of Qiao Yingze. Since he’s only a twelve-year-old child, the body he’s possessing right now hasn’t started developing yet. It’s normal for any child at this age to have a flat chest… 

“My lady… After we drink this glass of wine, you and I will officially become husband and wife. I, Qiao Yingze, couldn’t guarantee that you will be prosperous in the future, but I dare to vow that if you have me in your heart, I will never let you down in this life…”

As Qiao Yingze pulled Gong Zhuoliang’s hand to the table, he held one glass in his hand, then raised the second glass on his other hand, stretching it out to the person in front of him, before he softly but firmly spoke those words.

“….”

Gong Zhuoliang was tongue-tied towards Qiao Yingze’s solemn and gallant pledge. 

Although he didn’t think that he himself was a kind person, he still found it hard to deceive a young man’s pure and lovely sincerity. So the hand holding the glass of wine hesitated reaching out and couldn’t hook with the arm in front of him.

It was not until he saw the unease and wariness from the other’s eyes did Gong Zhuoliang linked his arm around his partner with a forced smile, then drank the glass of wine together with him.

“It has been a long day for you so you must be starving right now. These foods could also fill you up, so please eat even if it’s only a little. After that, let’s take a rest.”

After drinking the three glasses of wine, Qiao Yingze was slightly blushing while he pointed to the plate in front of them. Right after a short moment, the fruits and cakes were all eaten by Gong Zhuoliang. 

Qiao Yingze stared at Gong Zhuoliang’s face as if he hadn’t seen enough of him, and then seemed to think of something. He then looked over towards the bed, then his face turned even redder.

“…yeah….”

Gong Zhuoliang became a little irritable as soon as he landed his sight on the bed, and his mouth seemed also dry, so he reached for a bottle of wine from the table and immediately drank all the contents. He was so quick that Qiao Yingze didn’t have time to stop him, while the rest of the half bottle of wine instantly entered Gong Zhuoliang’s mouth.

“My wife! Are you alright?” 

Qiao Yingze was taken aback and instantly snatched the empty bottle away from the other, throwing it on the other side. He then hastily got up, and walked to Gong Zhuoliang to hold her shoulders, checking on her condition, only to see a pretty little face turning pink. Qiao Yingze suddenly had the urge to kiss the little child in front of him.

“No! I-I’m fine!”

Gong Zhuoliang closed his eyes then subconsciously buried his face on Qiao Yingze, without bothering about the arms that were hooked on his own waist.

He never thought that he― who used to drink baijiu as if it’s water in the past― had such a poor alcohol intake in this life. 

Just as soon as he drank one more time, he instantly felt like his body was floating. His mind then started spiraling through different directions. The two memories that kept resurfacing in his mind, one after another, instantly caused headache to Gong Zhuoliang.

….He really wanted to scream out loud to vent his complaints.

Laozi never wished to come here! How could Laozi be so unlucky as to have gotten caught with this kind of mess?! Why would he have to risk his own life so he could cover other’s mistakes?!

He didn’t want to deceive this beautiful young man! He didn’t want to take the place of this girly kid! He didn’t want to be vigilant towards every human being around him! 

“Are you sleepy? Then we’ll take a rest after we tie our hair…. ”

Qiao Ying could detect Gong Zhuoliang’s unease and thought that ‘she’ was worrying about her future, so gently embraced her and comforted her with some few words. He dragged ‘her’ towards the side of the bed so they could sit together, then thought in his mind― As I expected, she’s still too young for this, so we should just go to bed and sleep. It’s still inappropriate for her to do the things between Husband and Wife with him…. At least the future is still long…

“Hair knotting…” 

The wine made Gong Zhuoliang’s emotions surge for a while. He saw Qiao Yingze happily cutting their hair, then tied them with a red rope, before he placed it inside a box and then put it away.

Seeing what the other was doing, Gong Zhuoliang’s heart started beating fast…..

He couldn’t bear to look at Qiao Yingze’s expression….

His hopes and expectations had long been crushed! His marriage is already ruined! Because his bride is a guy! 

“My wife? What’s wrong?”

Qiao Yingze, who had already placed the box down, noticed something wrong with Gong Zhuoliang. The rims of the other’s eyes were red and she seemed very sad.

He then hurriedly sat down beside Gong Zhuoliang, and was about to touch Gong Zhuoliang’s face, but was shoved onto the bed at the next moment.

“Do not call me ‘Wife’ again… I’m not your Wife….! This Young Master is a guy just like you! Why can’t you see it clearly?!” 

Gong Zhuoliang’s emotions finally flared out due to him constantly hearing the word ‘Wife, wife‘. He leaned over to press on Qiao Yingze’s body, grabbed the other’s hand and led it in between his thighs, to prove the other that he’s indeed a guy, and also to tell himself that he’s a man to the core.

“…you…”

Qiao Yingze was completely stunned as soon as he felt the mass of meat through the layers of fabric. He stared straight at Gong Zhuoliang’s small face, then his mind turned blank, completely confused towards the situation…..

“I-I was forced to marry to replace my Elder Sister. My Elder Sister was actually the one who’s supposed to marry you but…. She eloped with someone. The Gong Family was afraid that your family would blame them, so they insisted on using me as the substitute for the Bride… But I couldn’t stand this…. I’m a boy, this is too ridiculous! ….Just how are you….” 

Qiao Yingze’s reaction had immediately brought Gong Zhuoliang’s reasoning back. So he hurriedly let go of Qiao Yingze’s hand, not knowing whether to get up or keep pressing him with his body while he demandingly explained everything, talking about the key points of the situation, but before he could finish talking, he was pushed away by Qiao Yingze. This caused him to hit his legs on the bedpost, making him shiver with pain.

“Outrageous!!!”

Qiao Yingze furiously pushed Gong Zhuoliang away, abruptly standing up staggeringly.

When he thought of his heartfelt affections that had only ended up becoming a joke tonight, he felt so ashamed and enraged that he just wanted to leave this place and run faraway. 

“Hey! Watch out!”

Seeing that Qiao Yingze was about to stumble on the ground, Gong Zhuoliang couldn’t care about his leg pain anymore, and instantly got up from the bed to catch Qiao Yingze. But then they ended up falling together on the ground due to the other’s heavy weight on his small body.

“A-Aren’t you dizzy, ah?”

Gong Zhuoliang struggled to assist Qiao Yingze to the bed again before managing to lay him down. The other’s pale face and tightly closed eyes made him feel even more anxious that he instantly thought of calling out for help, but after thinking it through, he thought that things would only become chaotic even more, so he could only pat the other’s chest to calm him down and pinched his philtrum.

He shouldn’t be vexed at this moment. He knows that the other is not in good health, so why did this guy still acted impulsively?

….Fortunately, the two of them didn’t really cause that much of a ruckus, so they didn’t startle the maidservants outside.
Only, who knows how long they will stay…. But he certainly doesn’t intend to make his escape in the dark tonight, ah!

________________________________________ 

TL/N:

Luckily the footnotes for this chapter weren’t that many this time.
At the beginning, it had been fun for me to place tons of pop-out translations, but right now, I only wished that the chapters would have fewer vague Chinese words in the future… Because guess what, it’s 2 am right now as I posted this, that’s why I’m rushing to post this 

Well, honestly this isn’t what I wanted to talk about right now.
I wanted to clarify some things with you guys, and that is about the bed position of Gong Zhuoliang. (You guys can ignore this if you want XD)

First of all, about Gong Zhuoliang’s surname, the Gong in Chinese was “宫”- as in “palace”
So in case you guys thought that it is 攻 which meant “to attack” (Gong in chinese)… well, it is not XD 

Secondly, Gong Zhuoliang might not be the Gong, however I had assumed before that Gong Zhuoliang was the ‘Gong’. But then the other day, one commenter had confirmed themselves that Gong Zhuoliang was the ‘shou’ instead, and they found this info from JJWXC site (where the raws in this novel were located)
And to tell you the truth, I had not really finished reading all the raws. But the smut scenes still made it hard for me to discern who’s the Gong or Shou. As I had said from my Lisha’s notes before, these two had never did thw deeds yet aside from intimate touching and such, so it’s hard to discern about their bed position.
Well on the other hand, Gong Zhuoliang tend to tease Qiao Yingze, which made me think that he could be the Gong… But since Wei Wuxian is also a teaser, does this mean that he had to be the Gong while Lan Wangji was the Shou? Lolll 

There’s a 50% possibility that Gong Zhuoliang might be the Gong, while the rest of the percent was him being a Shou.
Perhaps I really should proceed checking JJWXC through the novel’s comment section to look for more cluesෆ╹ .̮ ╹ෆ

I’m sorry if this TL/N kinda took a long time, I swear that next time there won’t be an another long note (unless necessary) (• ▽ •;)