Fix Smile Order Chapter 23
Translated by Pure
Chapter 23: Official Sun
The county magistrate suddenly visited and Official Sun solemnly greeted him. Tang Tianyuan was not in a hurry to see Sun Bufan, so he chatted with Official Sun for a while and asked about the marriage of his son Sun Bufan and Qi Hui. Official Sun was chubby, but seemed to be very cunning, with a three-point smile on his round face.
He knew that this was a murder case, not daring to hide anything, Offical Sun answered the truth. It turns out that the Sun family was really going to marry the Qi family. The eight characters[1] of the children of the two families have been exchanged, and the members of the Qi family have already nodded their heads. The Sun family just needed to choose a date and planned to give a big gift, but this happened.
"So was your esteemed son satisfied with this marriage?" Tang Tianyuan asked.
Sun Yuanwai replied, "The Qi family's daughter was a well-known beauty. What's he dissatisfied with? A pity."
"According to what you said, your two families already established a marriage contract, but Official Qi said that his daughter was not betrothed to anyone."
"Oh, it’s like this. We haven't arranged the three books[2] nor the betrothal gifts, so the engagement was not formalized. Official Qi was probably afraid of implicating me, that's why he said that."
"Is that so," Tang Tianyuan calmly continued, "I heard that Qi Hui was not satisfied with the marriage, and had several fights with her father. I thought this caused Qi to change his tune."
Sun Yuanwai's smiled wryly, "It’s a bit shameful to say that the family’s daughter interfered with her own marriage. To tell the truth, my son is a talented person, and there are many people who want to marry into my family, so how could we not be worthy of her?"
Seeing that Sun Yuanwai did not deny his words, Tang Tianyuan had some ideas in his heart, so he smiled and said, "In this case, can this official see your esteemed son?"
If the county magistrate asks to see someone, it was just to give him face. Afterall, he could not deny his order.
After a while, Sun Bufan came, dressed in light blue clothes. His belt was loosely braided with gold thread and inlaid with turquoise stones of various sizes and irregular shapes.
This person was really handsome, but his facial features were too delicate; he lacked some masculinity. Good-looking people often attracted a lot of attention. Tan Lingyin blatantly stared straight at Sun Bufan. She was motionless, like a female pervert.
Tang Tianyuan stabbed Tan Lingyin lightly with a folding fan, and said in a low voice, "You show some restraint and don't lose the face of this official."
"Ah? Ah." Tan Lingyin came back to her senses. It's not that she was swooned by the other, she was in a daze just now because she was thinking about how such a character could be written in her books.
Sun Bufan was good-looking, but his taste was a bit strange. His hair was not properly combed, leaving a large lock of hair hanging down to the side of his face. With his bowed head and downturned eyes, he looked as shy as a flower.
Tan Lingyin couldn't help shivering, and accidentally imagined a lot of things. She felt that between Sun Bufan and her, at least one of them was a pervert.
When Sun Yuanwai saw Sun Bufan, he reprimanded him a few times, scolding him for not being well-groomed. Tan Lingyin nodded, the old man's tastes were normal.
Tang Tianyuan still had no expression on his face, and had a few polite words with Sun Bufan, and asked him what he thought about the marriage.
Sun Bufan's demeanor was steady, and he speaks in a leisurely manner, "I will naturally listen to my parents when it comes to marriage matters.
"Have you met Qi Hui?" Tang Tianyuan asked again.
Sun Bufan shook his head, "No."
"What were you doing the night before yesterday at hai-shi(9-11 pm)?"
"Replying to the lord, I usually go to bed by the second half of xū-shí(7-9 pm), so I should have fallen asleep at hai-shi. The same was true the night before yesterday."
Hai-shi was the time of Qi Hui's death. At this time, most people had already fallen asleep, which in itself was a perfect excuse.
Tang Tianyuan frowned, didn't ask any more questions, and soon said goodbye to the Sun Family.
After leaving the Sun Residence, Tan Lingyin thoughtfully followed Tang Tianyuan. Seeing that she didn't speak, Tang Tianyuan asked, "Are you still thinking about that Sun Bufan?"
"Yes," Tan Lingyin nodded, "this Sun Bufan is more charming than the courtesans in the brothels hahaha..."
Tang Tianyuan suddenly stopped and looked at her with a frown, "You’ve been to a brothel?"
"That's right, I went to gain inspiration," Tan Lingyin rubbed her hands together, her eyes shining, "because I want to write a story about Tang Feilong and a famous courtesan."
Tang Tianyuan frowned more, "Don't."
"Why not? What can you do about it?!" Tan Lingyin refused.
"Anyway, don't."
Tan Lingyin crossed her arms and looked at him disdainfully, "Don't be so naggy. Even though your name is Tang Feilong, I’m writing about Tang Tianyuan, Tang Tianyuan!"
"..."
Tang Tianyuan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, "Tan Lingyin, one day you will fall into my hands."
Tan Lingyin was not afraid of him, "If I fall into your hands, I will make a mark by peeing on it first."
Tang Tianyuan quarreled with her, "I can squash you with a flip of my hand."
"Then better press me hard. Then my master will come to save me."
"Your master has already been eaten by me."
"..." Tan Lingyin hated this kind of freak who didn't follow the script.
The two of them quarreled all the way back to the county office. Tang Tianyuan couldn't believe that he had become so mentally handicapped, for him to bicker back and forth with Tan Lingyin the whole way back.
However, before he could even take a steady break, the officers came to report that they found something in Qi Hui's room. There were several exchanged letters between the deceased and Wei Zitong in the Yuhuan’s storage box. They requested for the lord to go and see.translat ed by pure tl. com / do not re post
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Footnotes:
[1]Eight characters- (八字) are one's birth data for astrological purposes, combined from year, month, day, hour, heavenly trunk and earthly branch. Usually one exchanges their eight characters to check if their numbers are compatible.
[2]Three books- The three books (letter of appointment <聘书>, ritual book <礼书>, welcome book<迎书>)are documents used in the marriage process, which can be said to be effective written records for guaranteeing marriage in ancient times. Read more HERE