Spring thunder rings, and everything grows.
After the hibernation season1, the weather grew warmer day by day, and Sifang Town, which had been silent for a winter, became increasingly lively. The shouts of vendors on the East Street spread across two streets and reached Wen Tian's ears, making him feel as though he was in a trance.
He raised his hand to block the sunlight above his head, but the not-so-strong spring sunlight still stung his eyes. A clear young boy's voice in the distance pulled him into this trance-like reality.
"Young Master! Young Master! Madam is looking for you!"
A young man wearing festive red clothes ran over from a distance. He was fat and round like a white dumpling wrapped in red cloth.
The dumpling-like youth wiped the sweat from his forehead and gasped for breath as he stood in front of Wen Tian. "Young Master, Madam is calling you to hurry over!"
Tomorrow was the auspicious day for the eldest daughter to get married. This young master, the young miss’s brother, was to personally send the young miss to her husband’s house. The process of sending the bride off had been talked about a few times, but Madam was still worried and asked him to call the young master over to go over it again.
Yes, tomorrow was his sister’s wedding day.
Wen Tian was thinking in a daze, his eyes slowly sweeping across the festive red silk and satin in the courtyard. Memories surged out like a flood.
He still remembered that he buried his sister at the foot of Nanming Mountain with his own hands.
He pawned everything he could, but hadn't been able to afford even the cheapest coffin. The only money he had left could only buy a straw mat. He used that straw mat to wrap his sister's stiff, gray body. There were no Taoist priests chanting sutras for salvation, and no relatives in mourning. He was alone next to his mother's grave. It took him most of a day to dig a pit and bury the straw mat and the body in it.
There were two simple earthen graves next to each other, where two of his dearest and most beloved people were buried, but he couldn't even erect a stone marker.
Dai Fu didn't know what was going on with him, so he grabbed the corner of his clothes and tugged at it. "Young Master? If you don't go, Madam will be anxious."
Wen Tian broke free from his heavy memories, blinked his eyes slowly, and asked in a daze: "Dai Fu, what year is it now?"
"The third year of Pingchu, the eighteenth day of the first lunar month!" Dai Fu replied without hesitation. "You've asked me three times."
"Really?" Wen Tian followed him to the backyard in a daze, and every step felt like he was stepping on clouds, floating and not landing on solid ground.
The third year of Pingchu…
He was only sixteen this year, and tomorrow was the day when his sister, Wen Shuyue, would get married.
"The thing I regret the most in my whole life is marrying him!" A hoarse cry of pain rang out in his head. Wen Tian stumbled a little. Dai Fu, next to him, supported him in time and nervously asked him what was wrong.
Wen Tian shook his head and looked around. His eyes were hurt by the flamboyant red color. "It's nothing. Let's go there quickly."
Wen Shuyue's husband's family was the Jiao family from Lehe Town next door. The Jiao family, with their poetry and calligraphy, was a well-known scholarly family in Nanming County. Her husband Jiao Changxian was handsome and talented. He was only eighteen years old when he passed his imperial scholar exams2.
It was common knowledge that there were not many eighteen-year-old scholars in Lehe Town or even in the entire Nanming County.
If it weren't for the ancestors of the Wen family and the Jiao family, the two families wouldn't have made a marriage arrangement so early. The Wen and Jiao families were of comparable family lineage, and they were both talented and beautiful, so everyone had long been optimistic about a good marriage.
Wen Shuyue sat quietly in front of the dressing table. The noodle-lady3 twisted the slender white cotton yarn with her hands to twist the noodles for her. Wen Tian looked at this familiar but still childish face intently, and his nose was so sore that he could hardly bear it. He couldn't help but shed tears.
On the 19th day of the first lunar month of the third year of Pingchu, Wen Shuyue got married, and the ten miles of red decoration that stretched behind her stunned the entire town of Sifang. Everyone said that this was a pair of god and goddess, but the ending of this marriage was not as beautiful as that in the myths.
The child died young, and her husband wrote a letter of divorce to marry someone else. Wen Shuyue fled home in embarrassment, only able to cry with her mother and brother who were in even worse circumstances.
The ancestor of Wen Tian's mother, Fu Youqin, was once a prosperous businessman who later retired to Sifang Town and passed on uncountable wealth to future generations. However, this generation of the Fu family could only give birth to a daughter, Fu Youqin.
The two elders of the Fu family naturally doted on their only daughter, so when Fu Youqin wanted to marry Wen Boli, a disciple of the family, they agreed to the marriage with surprisingly little resistance.
Wen Boli married into the Fu family. However, this marriage did not affect the relationship between the two. The young couple lived a happy life, and later gave birth to a pair of twins. The two elders of the Fu family saw this and entrusted all the family property to their son-in-law before their death, and even allowed their two children to take their father's surname.
These were the painstaking efforts of the two elders for their beloved daughter, but who would have thought that Wen Boli, who seemed like a humble gentleman, was actually a duplicitous and ambitious villain.
Behind the promise between two people to spend a lifetime together was this: Wen Boli's son from his concubine was even two months older than Wen Tian.
Clenching his fists by his sides, Wen Tian sniffed and said in a hoarse voice, "Sister looks really good today."
Wen Shuyue opened her eyes and looked at him, her brows and eyes as warm and soft as his. "Mother was looking for you just now, where did you go to hide??"
Wen Tian barely managed to drag out an ugly smile. "I was in the courtyard to get some air."
"Youling4 is coming?" Youling was Wen Tian's baby name. Afraid that he wouldn't thrive, Fu Youqin specially gave him a prosperous baby name.
She walked in from the outside, holding a small wooden box. She had a plump figure, her skin a blushing white from being pampered all the time. Her bun was black and shiny. Only a transparent jade hairpin was inserted diagonally, but she still exuded a graceful demeanor
The moment Wen Tian saw her, he couldn't help the lump in his throat and he shouted "Mother" in a hoarse voice.
Fu Youqin was startled by him. She hurriedly handed the wooden box to the maid behind her, took him into her arms and softly comforted and coaxed him. "Okay, what's wrong? Is your father scolding you again?"
Wen Tian shook his head vigorously, hugging her tightly with both hands, like a long-lost cub that had finally found its way home. He buried himself in her arms and cried inconsolably.
The noodle-lady was so startled by his earth-shattering cry that she stopped and looked at Wen Shuyue and then at the bawling Wen Tian in bewilderment.
Wen Shuyue went over to give him a pat on the back, but couldn't help but laugh a little. This little brother had been delicate and prone to crying since childhood, but she had never seen him cry like this. She couldn't help but want to laugh at him. "How old is this person? Already a man, but he still loves to cry as much as he did when he was a child."
Wen Tian also knew that he was being too ill-mannered, but seeing his family who had been gone for many years in his memory standing in front of him, alive again, he couldn't control the joy and sadness in his heart however much he tried.
After crying for a while, Wen Tian reluctantly stopped. He wiped the tears with his sleeves, looked up at his smiling mother and sister, and found an awkward excuse to make his behavior seem less abrupt, "I just …I feel a little sad when I think about my sister getting married."
"You…" Fu Youqin reached out and tapped his forehead, his eyes full of love. "When will you grow up?"
Wen Tian lowered his eyes to cover the emotions in them, but on the surface, he pulled at her sleeves petulantly. "Mother should stay with Sister. I'll go out for a while."
Fu Youqin refused to let him go. "Where are you going again? Have you memorized all the procedures for tomorrow??"
Wen Tan smiled, spoiled and pleading for mercy. "I remember, I remember, I'll go out for a while and come back soon."
Fu Youqin reluctantly let go of him. "Let Dai Fu follow you, and remember to come back early."
Wen Tian waved his hands and ran out of the courtyard quickly.
"This child…" Fu Youqin shook his head somewhat helplessly and returned to the house.
The smile on Wen Tian's face faded after leaving the courtyard. He turned back to the entrance of the yard and looked at the mother-and-daughter pair by the window through the shade of the trees. The mother held the wooden box and put it in his sister's hand. The two were laughing and talking about something
He took a deep breath and felt a sudden pain in his temples. He didn't know why he suddenly returned to the third year of Pingchu. In fact, just a moment ago, he was lighting a fire to keep warm in a drafty dilapidated wooden house. After his mother and sister passed away one after another, he had no interest in life, but he was unwilling to die and let his enemies get the last laugh, so he simply lingered in his life. Until there came a loud bang outside the house, and when he opened his eyes again, he went back to fourteen years ago, the day before Wen Shuyue got married.
In one night, Wen Shuyue was going to put on her wedding attire and marry into the Jiao family.
The image of Jiao Changxian flaunting the new love in his arms flashed across his eyes. Wen Tian bit the tip of his tongue hard. The severe pain caused tears to overflow from the corners of his eyes, but his aching brain became clearer. He looked back at the yard and resolutely walked outside.
This time, he would never let his sister jump into the fire pit that was the Jiao family.
Wen Tian first went back to change into a pair of inconspicuous coarse clothes. He untied his neatly-combed bun and casually tied it back with a cloth strap. He also found a large cloth scarf and wrapped it twice around his neck to cover his face. Finally, he put on a worn-out bamboo hat, then put his money in his pocket and slipped out of the back door.
This marriage was definitely not going to happen, but the wedding date was tomorrow, and it was impossible to formally break off the engagement. He would have to find another way.
Past two quiet streets was the bustling East Street. East Street was where commoners gathered. It was close to East Square Market. Both sides of the street were filled with stalls and the sounds of vendors hawking one after another.
Wen Tian hunched his shoulders slightly and walked through the middle with his hands clasped and his head lowered. He looked so ordinary that he didn't attract any attention. He walked straight to the end of East Street, which was a dead end. Many of the town's ruffians like to gather there, and when they ran out of silver, they would gang up and go wandering around the streets, collecting some silver to live on for a while.
These ruffians would make good helpers for Wen Tan, who was short of people.
The street corner was a bit dirty, and scruffy men were sitting on the roadside in twos and threes. When they saw Wen Tian coming over, they all showed malicious looks.
Wen Tian, who had dealt with them in the previous life, was well aware of their money-minded characters. He slowly took out five taels of silver from his sleeve and spread it in the palm of his hand. "I have twenty taels of silver. I want three people. These are the deposit."
"What kind of job?" The tallest man came over, a cunning light in his eyes, and reached out to take the silver in Wen Tian's hand.
Wen Li withdrew his hand and looked at him coldly. "We're still two people short."
The big man snorted and beckoned two more people to come forward. They were both big and strong men like him. "Say it, what do you want us to do?"
"Follow me and you'll find out." Wen Tian deliberately lowered his voice to make himself look more mysterious and profound, and quickly led the three people out of the town.
Between Sifang Town and Lehe Town was the Qitian Ridge. There were only two roads for crossing over. One was the official road, which was leveled and easy to walk on but took the long way around. The other was a small path that went around the bandit-ridden western mountain, which few people dared to take.
What Wen Tian took them on today was the third path.
In the middle of Qitian Ridge was the Sihou River, which connected Lehe Town and Sifang Town. Except for the occasional fishermen, almost no one passed by there.
Wen Tan happened to know that there was an old fisherman living by the river in Sifang Town.
When his mother was gravely ill, it was the old fisherman who took him by boat to Lehe Town to seek medical treatment. Wen Tian followed the route in his memory and saw the fishing boat tied to the shore.
Not far from the shore was a dilapidated thatched house.
Wen Tan asked the three big men to stay behind and went to knock on the door to negotiate with the old fisherman.
After the negotiation was completed, the old fisherman took the four of them in a boat to Lehe Town. Even by water, this journey took almost an hour. It was already dark, and the red lanterns on the river bank could be seen.
The fishing boat stopped at a simple pier. Nanming County was located in the southeast, far away from the capital Qingyang, and had little contact with other places. There was not even a decent pier.
After paying the money and telling the old fisherman to wait for them at the pier, Wen Tian led the three strong men in the direction of the Jiao family.
The Jiao family was said to be a scholarly family, but they were not wealthy. The residence was next to the noisy market, with the colorful streets and alleys across the street.
Tomorrow was the wedding day. Red lanterns were hung on the Jiao family's front door, and even the stone lions were decorated with red satin. Wen Tian smiled sarcastically, pointed at the Jiao family, and said to the three people behind him: "If you help me catch the Jiao family's young master out, twenty taels of silver will be yours."
Wen Tan took out five taels of silver and handed it to them, "This is the deposit. After the deed is done, you will get another fifteen taels."
The three burly men glanced at each other. The leader accepted the money and said with a grin: "Deal."
Wen Tian tucked both hands into his sleeves, hunched his body slightly, and used the cover of his bamboo hat to intently watch the Jiao family's door
The big man leading the group sent off two of his men to go and poke around first, while he himself stood in the shadows with Wen Tian, surveying the quiet mansion.
"I heard that Jiao-gongzi is getting married tomorrow. Why are you arresting him?"
The hands in his sleeves tightened. Wen Tian did not move and replied in a low voice: "Jiao Changxian is not worthy of Young Lady Wen."
The big man laughed and tsked twice, seeming to understand this situation very well. "So it's a jealousy fight over a beauty ……"
"He's here." Wen Tian interrupted him and pointed at Jiao Changxian, who was staggering over, supported by a maid.
Jiao Changxian had come back from the outside and seemed to have drunk a lot of wine. He was walking unsteadily, still singing an off-key ditty.
As he got closer, Wen Tian could hear the content clearly, and felt a surge of anger rushing into his chest.
This man actually wandered around in the red-light district the night before his wedding! In their previous life, they were really blind to have thought that this man would be good for his sister!
"Tie the silk quilt, untie the skirt, take off the red shirt, remove the green socks…" Jiao Changxian kneaded and rubbed the little maid's body indiscriminately, his mouth singing lewd and obscene songs. "… flowery face, fragrant wind cracks noses …… don't, don't move, let master taste a mouthful ……"
Seeing that the two of them were about to kiss each other in the street, Wen Tian said coldly: "You're still not doing anything, don't you want the money?"
The strong man clicked his tongue twice and muttered that he was really good at playing. He winked at the brothers on the other two sides and surrounded them in a triangle.
A knife-hand strike knocked the little maid unconscious. The big man supported the drunken Jiao Changxian and asked Wen Tian what to do.
Wen Tian looked coldly at Jiao Changxian, who was still making a fuss without realizing what had happened, and for the first time, he felt the urge to skin and debone someone.
===Translator's Notes===
Hello! I just want to try a new translation project hahahaha. According to this thread, the previous translator retired and all her previous projects are up for grabs, so I figured why not. :D
First, a comment on the title, which is "你不许凶我!": I think I would actually prefer to translate this as something like, "You shouldn't be mean to me!" or "Don't be cruel to me!" or something like that, but "You Cant' Be Fierce Towards Me!" is how it's translated in Novel Updates, so there we go.
Second, this will probably not be updated as quickly as Wedding Celebration. Maybe a chapter every two weeks or so? Every three weeks? Something like that.
- My best approximate translation for 惊蛰 (Jingzhe), which falls on March 5 to 20. According to here, this is the time when animals etc. wake up from their hibernation period as the weather gets warmer. ↩︎
- 秀才 for more info. ↩︎
- My best approximate translation for “绞面”, which, according to this, pertains to: In the past, on the eve of marriage, girls waiting in the countryside had to wash their hair, dress up, and ask their aunt to knead noodles. Noodle making is to use yarn to pluck out the hair on the face. This is a low-cost beauty and skin care method that only requires a few feet of flexible thin cotton (linen) thread and a piece of white powder. ↩︎
- “佑龄”: characters for “bless/blessing” and “age” ↩︎
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