Fix Smile Order Chapter 19
Translated by Pure
Unedited
Chapter 19: Cherished
The young man who suddenly came in seemed very unwelcome. Madam Qi pointed at him and scolded, "Have you not done enough harm to my daughter, what are you doing here?!"
"A-Fu, A-Xiang, drag him out!" Official Qi ordered.
The two servants tried to pull the man away, but the latter held Qi Hui's hand desperately and refused to let go, pulling the corpse to the point of sitting up.
Tang Tianyuan calmly watched the farce in front of him for a while, and instructed, "Guards, bring the couple, Miss Qi's personal maid, and this man into the detention center for interrogation."
Li Dawang and a few other bailiffs took away the people who were named, and the room became almost empty. Tan Lingyin asked Tang Tianyuan secretly, "How do you know her personal maid is here?"
"For things like corpse recognition, it's natural to let someone you know come."
Tan Lingyin nodded and followed Tang Tianyuan out of the House of Xi. The sun was shining brightly outside, scorching all the plants and trees. Tang Tianyuan propped up his folding fan to shade from the sun. He looked down and saw Tan Lingyin beside him squinting because of the sun. Seeing her face scrunched up, Tang Tianyuan was very sincerely happy at her pain; he was filled with schadenfreude.
Tan Lingyin looked up and saw the inscription on his fan, and immediately came back to life, "Well written."
Tang Tianyuan held the folding fan in front of him, "You know calligraphy?"
"Sir, I said that I was well versed in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, why don't you believe me?" Tan Lingyin said while hooking her fingers. Tang Tianyuan handed her the folding fan.
Tan Lingyin pointed to the four big characters on the folding fan <Benevolent Like Flowing Water>(上善若水) and said, "Looks to be written by a beautiful man."
Tang Tianyuan was shocked, "How are you so sure?"
"Because the signature says Tang Tianyuan."
"..."
Tang Tianyuan stretched out his hand to grab the folding fan. He was really out of his mind to think that Miao Miao Sheng had taste.
Tan Lingyin hid the folding fan, "Don't, don't, I was just joking, these words do have its beauty."
Tang Tianyuan stopped, "Then speak."
Tan Lingyin walked under the shade of a tree, opened the folding fan again, and said, "Light as a cicada's wing, heavy as a collapsing cloud, mad as a frightened snake, stable as Mount Tai... It’s easy for all rivers to run into the sea[1], but it is difficult to stand by oneself. When a person learns too much, it is easy to lose his heart, with a handsome exterior but hollow inside or fall into the cliché of studying how other’s walk in Handan[2], but this Tang Tianyuan was in his own realm. Although this Tang Tianyuan seemed gentle on the surface, I think he is actually an unrestrained person. People can pretend, but words can't. Look at his words, besides the vigorous style, the words contain a little of both righteousness and evil. Also, he was probably in a bad mood when he wrote these words. It’s a little frantic..."
translat ed by pure tl. com / do not re post
"Enough." Tang Tianyuan interrupted her.
"Eh? Pardon me." Tan Lingyin scratched the back of her head, "I tend to lose myself when I talk about calligraphy."
Tang Tianyuan remained silent. It was rare to meet a confidant in life. It was a good thing for someone to understand him. He really doesn't mind having a female confidante, but he minded if this female confidante was Miao Miao Sheng.
Tan Lingyin saw that the county magistrate's face was not very good and felt it was strange, "Did I say something wrong... I say, my lord, you are not jealous of Tang Tianyuan, are you? There’s no need to be, everyone has their own fate, even if you are jealous, nothing will change."
"I'm not jealous of him."
"Then, sir, are you and Tang Tianyuan good friends?" This was a possibility, otherwise he wouldn't be holding the folding fan inscribed by Tang Tianyuan.
Tang Tianyuan shook his head.
"Then do you know him?"
He shook his head again.
"Ah, so this folding fan was bought. I thought you knew Tang Tianyuan."
Tang Tianyuan frowned. What's with the contemptuous tone in her...
Tan Lingyin turned the folding fan in various ways, "Sir, how much did you pay for this folding fan? Can you give it to me?"
Tang Tianyuan was dazzled for a while, confused, he asked, "What do you want it for?"
"This is the folding fan inscribed by Tang Tianyuan!"
Tang Tianyuan sneered, "You don't secretly admire Tang Tianyuan, do you?"
"If you say it that way, I guess I do admire him. Which girl in this world wouldn't want to marry Tang Tianyuan? Plus thinking is free, I don’t have to spend any money doing so."
Tang Tianyuan was embarrassed at her blunt confession. He turned his face and scolded, "You are too shameless, that is unjust for a woman."
Tan Lingyin pleaded, "My lord, for the sake of me being your bull and horse, can you give the fan to me? Please!"
This was the first time Tang Tianyuan ever saw Tan Lingyin keep her posture so low, and it was just like a fan. Anyway, this fan was not worth much in his eyes, a grown man should quarrel over small things, so he waved his hand lightly, "As long as you promise not to yearn for Tang Tianyuan in the future, I will give this folding fan to you."
"Okay, I promise. From now on, in my eyes, Tang Tianyuan will be a cloud, a dung, and a dung beetle!"
"..."
In the end, Tang Tianyuan not only gave the folding fan to Tan Lingyin for free, but also gave her a scolding. He left in a poor mood and didn't have a good lunch.
As for Tan Lingyin, she turned around and left the county office. She arrived at the Gutang Bookstore and found Tan Qingchen.
Tan Qingchen had just eaten lunch and was slowly enjoying his tea from a zisha pot. When he saw his sister coming, he smiled, and his eyes changed from bright stars to crescent moons.
"Only know how to giggle all day long." Tan Lingyin tapped Tan Qingchen's forehead with the fan.
Tan Qingchen didn't avoid her, and when Tan Lingyin sat down, he took the folding fan in her hand and took a closer look. He nodded at the words, and looked at Tan Lingyin in surprise when he saw the inscription.
"That’s right, it’s Tang Tianyuan's," Tan Lingyin asked Tan Qingchen, rubbing her hands together, "How much is this fan worth?"
Tan Qingchen estimated in his heart. According to Tang Tianyuan's popularity and the mastery of these words, it would be at least two hundred taels. He compared this number to Tan Lingyin.
Tan Lingyin scratched her chin happily and said to herself, "One fan is two hundred taels, two fans are four hundred taels, and four fans: eight hundred taels!"
Tan Qingchen tapped the table lightly, pulling her back to reality: there was only one.
Tan Lingyin knew what he meant, she looked at her hand, "Don't worry, it’s not like you haven't seen my devil's hands before." After speaking, she giggled to herself, the laughter was heart-wrenching.
Tan Qingchen chuckled and shook his head helplessly.
.
.
.
Footnotes:
[1] Rivers to run into the sea- (海纳百川) idiom describing how different means can be used obtain the same result.
[2] Studying how other’s walk in Handan- (邯鄲學步) idiom used to describe people who “imitate others, and lose their individuality in the process”. Read more here