The Cry of the Phoenix Which Reached the Ninth Heaven

Episode 2

Stepping out of the Cold Palace, Ye Hong Yi restrained the vehenmence in the depths of his eyes and coldly commanded Yao Su Luan.

“Lock up the palace doors. Starting today, it is prohibited to bring water or food here!” Leaving this order, Ye Hong Yi completely departed. After watching Ye Hong Yi’s figure fade from her sight, the corner of Yao Su Luan’s mouth curled slightly and she proceeded to stroll into the Cold Palace.

“Tsk, who would have thought it. His Majesty actually harbored such deep sentiment for you, and didn’t even end you with his own hands!” Yao Su Luan lifted her eyebrow as she looked towards the ground at where Yao Mo Xin was collapsed, sobbing in grief, her soft voice carrying unconcealed maliciousness.

Not paying any attention to Yao Su Luan’s mocking and ridicule, Yao Mo Xin was tightly hugging her Zhong er, heartrendingly wailing, I’m sorry! I’m sorry Zhong er! If it weren’t for mother, you wouldn’t have died so miserably! This heartless fate! Where did she go wrong? If it wasn’t due to some mistake of hers, why did she have to go through all of this!

“Then cry! Bring that lowly mother and imbecile sister of yours along to cry! Now that I think about it, it’s about time, they should be down there already waiting for Zhong er! Ah—” Yao Su Luan couldn’t hold back and bursted out laughing. She finally got rid of her eyesore and it was even to the satisfaction of everyone!

“You…… what did you say?” Yao Mo Xin abruptly lifted her gaze, her despairing eyes fixed on Yao Su Luan.

“Did I not make it clear enough? Then fine, I’ll repeat it again. It was yesterday, when you were thrown into the Cold Palace by His Majesty, my mother had already, according to plan, sent that lowly mother of yours a dose of strong poison. As for that imbecile sister of yours, I reckon by now she’s already been defiled by those daye1s in the brothels for their money’s worth.” Every word, every sentence Yao Su Luan spoke, like knells, strike and vibrated inside Yao Mo Xin’s head.

(1) 大爷 – “daye” can refer to self-centered showoffs, uncles, a term of respect for older man, basically just refers to guys, sometimes derogative, something respectful, sometimes neutral

“Yao Su Luan! I treated you well, yet you bite the hand that fed you, you heartless wretch! You…..” Yao Su Luan’s palm fiercely slapped down, interrupting Yao Mo Xin’s snarl.

“Pei2! If you treated me well you would have quietly given up the throne of the Empress, that seat is mine! Do you think a lowly life like yours, which was borne of a concubine, could ever be suited to seat on the phoenix throne! Yao Mo Xin, I’ve hated you to death since forever. Luckily, the Heavens have eyes. Even though it was a bit late, it still allowed me to get rid of you, you blight! Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, that rumor was something I had people spread; He Lian da ren was sent into prison with my accusation, otherwise what would have made you move to secretly incite the court to jointly present a petition to save him; and that night at Water Ripple Pavilion, it was also me that found all the so-called eye witnesses, and…… there’s really too much, even ben gong can’t quite keep track of them all!” Yao Su Luan egotistically flaunted her own ‘accomplishments’ and sinisterly laughed.

(2) 呸 – “Pei” Spitting sound

大人 – “da ren” Sir/Madam. A suffix used for an official or a person in authority.

本宫 – “ben gong” is a way of referring to oneself, employed by an empress or a high-ranking consort when speaking to a person or an audience of lower rank or status

“Such a black heart! I’ll kill you! Ah——” Yao Mo Xin felt her heart which was already heavily damaged from the start, right now, with a thump, shattered completely. The one who she loved enough to sacrifice her life for, Ye Hong Yi, saw her as a thorn in his eye. The one she had always indulged, Yao Su Luan, saw her as a thorn in her side. What she received in return, was that all her relatives died pitifully one by one!

Just at the moment when Yao Mo Xin flung herself towards Yao Su Luan, she was savagely struck by Yao Su Luan back onto the ground.

“Oh well, after all that’s said and done, you did give me the chance to harm you, so take this dagger as my way of repaying you! This place reeks of blood. How disgusting. The way to die, you can choose as you see fit!” Yao Su Luan flung the dagger in her sleeve in front of Yao Mo Xin, cover her nose again, then swept a final disgusted glance across Yao Mo Xin’s deathly pale face before finally leaving.

The iron chains clanged, the doors of the Cold Palace were securely closed once again. Yao Mo Xin roughly dug both hand into the ground, allow her fingers to be pierced with pain as she silently crawled towards the infant whose whole body was covered with blood.

“Zhong er, don’t be scared……no need to be scared……Mother will join you now! Mother swears, never to let anyone ever bully you again……” Blood tears flowed out the corners of Yao Mo Xin’s eyes. She tightly embraced the infant with one hand, the other hand slowly raised the dagger. In the depths of her eyes, was a blanket of pitch-black darkness.

“Ye Hong Yi! Yao Su Luan! After I die I will become definitely become a malicious spirit, and I will seek you out make you two pay for all the unfinished debts……”

Blood, bubbling and gushing out, dyed the ice-cold bricks a scarlet red. That dark red blood was just like the dark flowers that bloom in the underworld; in its tragic beauty was penetrating eeriness.

Yao Mo Xin and the infant’s corpses were tightly bound together, in this lifetime, no one can separate them again……

In the great Chu Imperial City, it is Xing Hua street that is the most popular. The streets were filled with streams of people, carriages clattered, and both sides of the street were filled with teahouses, taverns, pawn shops, workshops, row upon rows of shops. A complete scene of booming prosperity.

The entire large street gave off the impression of imposing luxury. But none dared to compare with the Fragrant Harmony Courtyard. The three-story-high building rose steeply from the ground, crowned with glazed roof tiles, blood-colored flight eaves, engravings decorated the roof beams and paintings the pillars; the colors were splendid and eye-catching.

This is where men indulge in luxury, a place dazzling with paper and gold. Huge amounts of silver are cast into the sumptuous mansions of the Fragrant Harmony Courtyard. At the door, several enchanting girls with conspicuous amounts of makeup and half-exposed fragrant shoulders continuously waved the silk handkerchiefs in their hands, their soul-suckingly coquettish glances turned many a man’s legs limp.

Inside the Fragrant Harmony Courtyard were gentle and charming colors of spring, unlimited amounts of bright colors, men with reds and blues in each arm3, in a drunken stupor. This Fragrant Harmony Courtyard that looked full of gold and jade in glorious splendor was truly the exemplification of the saying gilded on the exterior and shabby within.

(3) “red and blues in each arm” seems to be a part of it saying though no dictionary I found officially defines it. The closest I got was the whole saying seems to go like this “first embrace red, then embrace blue, accompany for a chat accompany for a night” So like escorts that also work as prostitutes…

At present, the innermost room of the Fragrant Harmony Courtyard was a complete mess.

“Waaah…… You’re bullying me…… Liu Xing save me…… it hurts……” On the bed, Yao Mo Wan’s tears spilled forth from the corners of her eyes as flailed her snow-colored lotus arms with all her might, trying to shove down the man on top of her that was pinning her body down, but in the next moment, both her hands were forcefully pressed down above her head by another man.

“You bunch of animals! Let go of the Third Miss! Scram!” The man called Liu Xing’s eyes were scarlet red. He lifted his leg to kick the hired thug that was dragging him and turned around with a sudden large stride to rush to the bed, reaching out to drag the white silk pants gongzi ge4 down to the floor, then turned to land a punch on the other vulgar man’s eye.

(4) 公子哥 – “gongzi ge”refering to a rich person who only eats, drinks, and play, a child that does not attend to one’s proper duties

“Third Miss, don’t be scared, as long as Liu Xing is here, no one is allowed to bully you!” Liu Xing used his sleeve to wipe the bloody stain below his nose. In spite of all the injuries on his body, he, just like a statue, stood straight in front of Yao Mo Wan.

“Preposterous! Attack him! Ben shao ye5 orders you to beat him to death!” The silk pants gongzi ge climbed up with difficulty, cutting a sorry figure, then pointed at Liu Xing giving this furious shout. Many hired thugs heard and at once advanced to surround Liu Xing, throwing their fists with all their might.

(5) 本少爷 – “Ben” refers to oneself, “shao ye” refers in this case to the young master of the house, other usages include son of the boss and your son (honorific).

“Don’t…… you guys don’t hit him! Liu Xing…… Waah……” Yao Mo Wan watched with fright as Liu Xing was shoved to the ground by those thugs, continuously being punched and kicked, so she recklessly rushed off the bed to try and pull away those thugs, but unexpected was fiercely kicked out of the way by one of the thugs. Her body, like a wing-torn butterfly, violently slammed into the corner of the bed. Hand, hung down limply. In the end, her breath ceased.

Everyone was preoccupied with dealing with Liu Xing. Even the white silk pants gongzi ge had joined in the ranks to beat him up, no one cared about Yao Mo Wan’s situation.

“I’ll kill you all!” Liu Xing who was beaten black and blue, upon seeing Yao Mo Wan fall to the ground, his heart felt extremely worried. He suddenly got up in a burst of insane desperation, picked up the stool next to him and ferociously swung it towards one of the thugs. The thug, caught off guard, was hit squarely by the stool and blood gushed forth.

“Such big guts for a dog! To dare to actually harm ben gongzi‘s people! Beat him to death!” The silk pants gongzi ge bellowed, outraged, and the hired thugs closed in around Liu Xing and once again merged into a mess.

“So noisy……” Yao Mo Xin, in an absent-minded moment, only felt a stab of pain from her forehead, her eyes slowly opened. Looking at the scene before her eyes, Yao Mo Xin felt an indescribable feeling, suddenly as if remembering something, both hands abruptly tightened. She looked down, yet didn’t see her Zhong er.

“Third Miss! Run! Hurry and run——” Liu Xing’s head was broken and blood was flowing. He knew himself that he could not hold on for much longer, so he shouted as if his life depended on it, hoping that Yao Mo Wan would hear.

Yao Mo Xin looked towards the voice with shock, seeing that familiar silhouette. It’s Liu Xing. She remembered clearly, in the entire Yao Xiang fu6, her mei mei was only close to this one servant. But just now he……

(6) 府 – “fu” refers to a residence and the clan that resides there; Yao Mo Xin’s paternal home is the 姚相府 “Yao Xiang fu”

“You! What did you call me?” Yao Mo Xin looked towards Liu Xing, aghast. In the next instant, she abruptly got up and ran towards the dressing table, picking up the copper mirror.

“Mo Wan…… How could it be? How is this possible!” Yao Mo Xin gripped the mirror, turning the surface as if her life depended on it, but no matter which angle she looked from, what was reflected in the mirror was her sister Yao Mo Wan’s face! Didn’t she already die? She still clearly remembered the sudden chill she felt as she stabbed that dagger into her stomach. The moment when she closed her eyes, Zhong er’s face, covered with blood, was the last thing she saw of this world.

But right now, unexpectedly, she was conscious. Not only that, but this body was clearly her own sister’s! Who could explain to her what exactly happened!

“Little girl, don’t even think of running, ben gongzi had spent a bunch of silver for you! You guys can’t you hurry up and finish dealing with this guy! Seriously disappointing!” The silk pants gongzi ge suddenly grabbed Yao Mo Wan’s hand, a wide lewd smile stretched across his perverse face.

“Third Miss! Smack him! Use the mirror to smack him! Hurry and run—” Numerous thugs, receiving the gongzi‘s command, attacked him even more cruelly. Blood, gushed out from Liu Xing’s forehead.

At this moment, Yao Mo Xin couldn’t not accept this reality. She had came back to life, and had even reincarnated into someone else’s body7! Feeling throbbing pains from her forehead, Yao Mo Xin concluded without doubt, her own sister must have knocked into the corner of the bed and lost her life to the nine springs.

(7) I just wanted to make a note about this because ‘reincarnated into someone else’s body’ is the literal translation of a chinese pronoun. What the pronoun actually means is that it refers to an occassion in which a formerly discarded or discredited idea returns in another guise. I just find it funny, maybe reincarnation stories were inspired by the literal translation of this saying?

“nine springs” refers to the chinese underworld

Fine! Since the heavens had given her this rebirth opportunity, she will properly cherish it. From now on, she is Yao Mo Wan. The one, in this entire world, who understands most, of Ye Hong Yi’s cruel dog nature, of Yao Su Luan’s poisonous scorpion heart. The Yao Mo Wan containing Yao Mo Xin and Zhong er‘s grudge that is deep as the blood seas, she is the Yao Mo Wan who swore to tear Ye Hong Yi and Yao Su Luan’s corpses into ten thousand pieces!

“Stop!” Accompanied by a ‘bang——’ sound, Yao Mo Wan’s stern voice resounded loudly. That winter-like chilling voice caused the white silk pants gongzi ge to tremble and loosen his grip.

“Third Miss…… Run……” Liu Xing’s sight was fuzzy, his whole face bloody, but still, he only worried about Yao Mo Wan’s safety.

“Tch…… Why did you become difficult all of a sudden, well being a bit difficult is good, ben gongzi just loves little chilli peppers!” The silk pants gongzi ge was only slightly startled for a moment, then started approaching again with a lewd smile, but met with Yao Mo Wan’s blood-chilling expression froze in his steps.

“I am present Empress’s blood related younger sister, the Imperial Court Prime Minister’s honorable third daughter, you guys must have ate an ambitious leopard’s gall, to dare to actually think lightly of me!” The soft and cold sound was like the voice of Asura from hell. Yao Mo Wan’s cherry lips pursed as she pressured the silk pants gongzi ge gradually.

“You……”

“Don’t tell me you guys didn’t know? The waist tablet Liu Xing dropped onto the floor has such a large ‘Yao’ character on it, it can’t be that you guys are blind? He called me Third Miss with every cry, it can’t be that you all are deaf? The entire Imperial City, if not the distinguished officials of the Imperial court, what other family servant have a waist tablet! It can’t be that you guys don’t even know this bit of common knowledge?” Yao Mo Wan’s each and every word resounded, her icy gaze pierced the silk pants gongzi ge.

“I……”

“And don’t try to hush things by killing the witnesses! This room is wide and open, how many people do you think passed by and saw ben xiao je‘s8 appearance, and how can you guys dare to guarantee that when Liu Xing came he didn’t notify the other family servants? Listen well, heal Liu Xing, otherwise you, and the rest of those trash, and your entire family can look forward to being buried together! Right now, move aside!” Yao Mo Wan’s beautiful eyes were severely cold. The gaze within those eyes seemed to contain the pressure of a death god, the silk pants gongzi ye didn’t dare to make the slightest indication of disobedience.

(8)本小姐 – again, ‘ben’ is refering to oneself “xiao je” translates most often to ‘miss’, I will be using ben xiao je and this miss interchangably. Usually ben xiao je when the tone is more authoritative I guess.

In the next second, Yao Mo Wan madly dashed out of the Fragrant Harmony Courtyard, in her ears echoed the words Yao Su Luan had spoken in the Cold Palace!

‘My mother had already, according to plan, sent that lowly mother of yours a dose of strong poison. As for that imbecile sister of yours, I reckon by now she’s already been defiled by those daye1s in the brothels for their money’s worth……’