Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage: Chapter 38

April 1, 2017 By in CNovel, Translation Tags: , 136 Comments

Thanks to the donors there is an additional chapter this week! Enjoy this new chap on April’s fool day! 😛

Edited by Tnyhy & Larkspur (Updated 30th May 2022)

Chapter 38: Gifting Flowers

“Little Shen Girl, do you have enmity with Historian Adviser Jing?”

Shen Miao quietly watched the youth in front.

His facial features were beautiful but his heroic spirits were rather pressing. Even though he had a rich playboy appearance, he had a kind of serious air that was transcendent to his age. It was not shown in his appearance but  followed him as if there was a kind of sense of safety that one would feel even if the Heavens fell. Even if she was in Qin country or in the Inner Palace, she had never seen such a thorough person. With just one sentence, he could discern the middle of everything.

For such a brilliant and talented person to die prematurely, it was truly that the Heavens were jealous of heroic geniuses.

Pity flashed in her eyes, but when she spoke again, her voice was flat and plain, “Yes.”

“You have taken the roundabout route for this chess game.” Xie Jing Xing examined her closely, “To go about such a meandering way just to send Gao Yan into the official circles. could it be that you want to throw Ming Qi’s official circles into disorder?”

Even Shen Miao, who had lived for two lifetimes, could not help but feel slightly surprised. She could say that Xie Jing Xing’s performance was overly smart and was able to immediately conclude things with one hint, now this person was truly scary.

Ordinary people would take a step and look at the next step. Smart people would take a step and see the next ten steps. With those seemingly ordinary words, Xie Jing Xing took a step and saw thousands of miles away. To be this unabashed and get straight to the point, it made her somewhat unsure of how to respond.

After a moment she replied, “What has it got to do with Little Marquis?”

“This Marquis is not concerned with Ming Qi’s official circles, but the Marquis of Lin An must not be touched.” There was some warning in his tone, “If you have any intentions for the residence of the Marquis of Lin An, then don’t blame this Marquis for being rude.”

Shen Miao took a look at him. Xie Jing Xing had always loathed the Marquis of Lin An’s Residence extremely, and loved to go against his father. But now it seems that it was not complete hatred. In fact, he seemed to have the Marquis of Lin An in his heart. Otherwise, he would not have protected the reputation of the entire Marquis of Lin An’s Residence in the last lifetime, ending up with tens of thousands of arrows piercing his heart.

And it was also understandable for Xie Jing Xing to be suspicious of her acting upon the Xie family. The Shen and Xie families had never been able to see eye to eye and with her current actions that no one seemed to understand, it would seem to others that it was possible that the Shen family would make the Xie family stumble.

“Marquis Xie can be rest assured.” she plainly spoke with a tone as if she was speaking of the weather today, “the Xie and Shen families are like well water not intruding with the river water, thus naturally would not cause any trouble. What Marquis Xie worries about would not happen. A person’s life is only a short few decades, the reversal of the wheel of fortune could also happen. The Xie family views the Shen family as enemies, but who would know if there would be a day in the future where they would be in the same boat under the wind and rain to deal with the same enemy.”

“Is this you expressing your goodwill to me?” Xie Jing Xing raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Shen Miao calmly said.

Xie Jing Xing sized the young female in front of him. From when he was born up until now, he had seen countless women. When he was young, those women wanted to get closer to his father and afterwards, those women wanted to get closer to him. Among them, there were those who had flowery words, those who were devastatingly beautiful, those who could brandish swords and spears and even those who were scheming and resourceful.

Xie Jing Xing had seen thousands of types of smart people but not one of them made him feel surprised like this person in front of him.

Perhaps it was the intuition born at the tip of the sword on the battlefield, Xie Jing Xing could smell the bloodthirst from this young female. As if there was a pool of stagnant water with a fierce beast lurking at the bottom. At the moment, the surface looked calm and peaceful, it did not move and was waiting for a chance to break through the sun. And when that day came, there would be a reign of terror.

Although this looked rather ridiculous, how much of a storm could an unmarried female stir? But Xie Jing Xing was one that never underestimated his own intuition.

Under the lotus purple cloak that was being blown by the wind, the young female’s face was somewhat frozen, but the lush plum blossom forest seemingly made her stand out like one from the Palace. Noble. Lonely. Decisive. Bottomless like an abyss.

“The Shen family unexpectedly has such a smart person.” His remarks had a somewhat ridiculing tone, but there was some firmness as he spoke, “This being the case, then you should do as you wish. I would treat today as watching a good show. You better not disappoint this Marquis.” He stood up and turned around to leave.

“Marquis Xie.” Shen Miao called to stop him.

“What other matters are there?” He stood still and asked without looking back.

“The two Shu younger brothers of the Xie family would also go up on stage in the academy examinations.” Shen Miao said lightly, “Would Marquis Xie indulge that much?”

The two Shu younger brothers of the Xie family were born from a Yiniang, Madam Fang, and both, Xie Chang Wu and Xie Chang Chao were currently in Grade Two. In fact, Xie Jing Xing was also Guang Wen Tang’s Grade Three student, but because he did as his own wishes, Guang Wen Tang was unable to restrain him and thus let him be. Otherwise, Xie Jing Xing would be taking the academy examinations with his Grade Two Shu younger brothers. 

In the previous life, Xie Jing Xing of course did not participate in the academy examinations and his two Shu younger brothers were able to grab the limelight. In all fairness, Xie Chang Wu and Xie Chang Chao were considered very capable and among the best in the martial category. Therefore, they caught the Emperor’s eyes and later were deliberately promoted by Fu Xiu Yi to handle matters for him.

Shen Miao had always felt that the Marquis of Lin An and his son were smart people and wondered how they had ended up like that in the past lifetime. Although the Imperial family gave out aid, the ones who received the shade were those three, mother and sons. In fact, with careful considerations, there was no lack of doubts. For instance the collapse of the Shen family in the previous lifetime, there was a helping hand from the Second and Third Household. So it would seem that there was also a problem within the Xie family.

“You are hoping that this Marquis would go up and compete with them?” Xie Jing Xin looked back as he said with some surprise, “Just like you fighting with your older sister?”

“How would Marquis Xie’s situation be the same as mine?” Shen Miao ignored his words of ridicule and said, “The deepest knife is precisely in the hands of the closest people. I naturally understand that Marquis Xie is a noble person and would not worry unduly over minor matters with the Shu sons. But a thousand mile dike was destroyed by an ants’ nest. A seemingly unremarkable plaything it may look like, but it’s a venomous snake in the darkness.” Her every word and sentence was spoken very clearly. It was very clearly a warning tone but her eyes were as clear as a young child, “One must cut them off in the bud and ensure that they would never be able to sprout.”

“Compared to letting them have unlimited support from nobles, for these snake-like brothers, to compete with them and let them make a fool of themselves in front of everyone, wouldn’t one be more delighted than pretending in the residence?”

Xie Jing Xing’s heart moved.

His mother was the blue-blooded noble Princess Yu Qing and he did not want to be bothered with the Shu sons, as these people would say that his bearing was not up there and mention that his birth mother was angered to death by jealousy when she was pregnant. He did not care about his own reputation but would forever take into account Princess Yu Qing’s.

In the Marquis of Lin An’s residence, he would treat the mother and sons, those three people, coldly. Even though the Marquis of Lin An was biased towards him, outsiders gossiped unnecessarily. All that those three needed to do was to show a respectful and loving appearance which made him nauseous. He just wanted to be like an outsider watching the three of them acting, thus Shen Miao’s words made his heart move.

If one were to extinguish their hope, wouldn’t it be more fun? To shed all pretence of cordiality and let them be frustrated by being unable to show the face of being respectful?

Shen Miao’s voice seemed to be somewhat bewitching as she said, “It has been a long time. Don’t tolerate it.”

Don’t tolerate it…

He lowered his head and looked at the person in close proximity. That young female had a light scent of delicate fragrance just like herself, looking pure in appearance but in actuality, cold and indifferent. He obviously knew the purpose of the suggestion but one was unable to refuse it.

His lips hooked up to a smile and with a sweep of his sleeves, the begonia flower fell onto his palm. In the next second, where the begonia flower was before, there was now a small jade begonia in its place.He smiled a smile that was not a smile as he picked up the flower and spoke with an ambiguous tone, “You are interesting. This flower is bestowed upon you. The suggestion is not bad. Many thanks.”

136 responses

  3. Man, these chinese names confused me. Is the brother of the love interest not su ming feng (or whatever it is) that believed Sheb miao to be able to win the competition? I vaguely remember they are related, but how?

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  5. btw can you explain this?
    a thousand mile dike was destroyed by an ants’ nest. A seemly unremarkable plaything it may look like but it’s a venomous snake in the darkness.
    Thx

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    • Its a simile she used to explain to him not to underestimate his brothers. A thousand mile long dam, was destroyed by a small ant nest that created some cracks and eventually caused it to collapse. No matter how lowly he may think of his brothers, they are actually dangerous and can cause him harm if left alone.

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    • It means to take full attention to detail to avoid catastrophe. The Chinese proverbs is indicating a dam (made from wood) would be destroyed by termites if one do not pay attention that the wood house them… Hope this explains

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  8. Whether it is ancient time or present time, isn’t giving jewelry is an indication of affection? And why would ML be carrying female jewelry around with him?

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  10. I wonder how it never occurred to him that he’s letting his enemies grow power right under his nose. Anyhow, she gave him good advice and now there’s a tentative alliance between them. Yay.

    Thank you for the translation, zazajunnie, and thank you to the sponsors!

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      • Hi again, rereading many years later, but yeah I agree.

        To paraphrase Su Ming Fang from an earlier chapter: “When you’re close to the situation, a single leaf can obscure your vision.”

        XJX is too close to things, trying his best to protect his mother’s reputation and so he is unwilling to take risks with her reputation even if they’re small risks. Due to this, he’s ignoring the ants/termites near or in the dam and it will cost him later if this was the original timeline.

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    • Its not that he didnt notice he just didnt want his mother’s reputation to be ruined. *sigh i feel so much pity for his mother she was innocent and naive. Xjx step mother is probably a snake i hate her so much.

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  13. I knew it!!!
    Being sheltered during the fall of the family, XJX’s father’s concubine and shu brothers are no good. His mother’s death is certainly a painted picture by that woman’s hands!!!

    And SM receives her first decent accessory. A jade Begonia flower, I wonder if her relatives would notice, and what their reactions would be? It’s his first gift to her, and a flower at that. Certainly signifies the beginning of something. Nothing grand at the moment, sonce the romance is slow, but it’s enough of a stir. It’d be nice if she takes it as a sign of their truce and temporary alliance, and treasure it until it becomes a significant memory for the future when they actually start liking each other.

    It’s like a mark saying she’s already taken. Lol. My mind flutters in an advanced manner, still!!!

    So… XJX is going to compete then? Well, it’s a good idea, preventing his shu brothers from gaining anything beneficial at this point in time. Is the novel going to cover up his competition with his brothers as well?

    If SM succeeds with Gao Yan as well, she’s finally taken the actual step into breaking Prince Ding down – as breaking the inperial family as a while had already begun with the painting which is an entirely different thing though relatively connected.

    And it seems a hint had already been given with Prince Ding’s first enotion for SM (though this was in a different chapter) what’s left to see is if he would end up actually liking her – and fail, of course.

    —

    Thanks for everyone who made the updates possible!!!
    😆😆😆.

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    • I am glad that almost everyone is paying close attention to the hairpin… Cause I am like freaking out when I read it the first time. A guy will not just anyhow give a girl a jewelry!!! How in the hell did he go and buy it?!?!?! You have to specifically get it from some shop!!! There is a goal in mind and not like ‘Oh this is nice, let me get it for her’

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  20. Oh…! He is indeed brilliant…. He is able to see everything with those small hints…I just fell hard for him…!!!😍 .. so now this can be considered as beginning of their alliance????

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  22. I know it’s too early, but I’m gonna take that jade flower he just gave SM as his betrothal gift to her. I know there will be more, but this is the first hehe. Thanks for the chapter~~

    (lol SM please don’t reject the flower. Please please~~)

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  23. What kind of magic is that? Flower to jade?! Is she going to accept it gracefully?

    One question appears (kinda late though lol), she knows about the clothes, gold, and everything else about her family, but why didn’t she do anything when she was empress?? It should be kinda obvious, isn’t it?

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    • He is sooooooo smooth. No wonder all the females fell for him.
      Till the scene in the first chapter, she still believed that those people are her family and treated them as such… Sad that they took advantage of her and her trust…

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      • Yup, so smooth, can see he is truly experience playboy. I kinda want to see him flustered now lol a flustered expression on a normally cool male is so precious!
        Ooh, I get it now! But after that betrayal, it changed her whole outlook on her family then? Too bad (or fortunately) how she looks at her family now is all true, there’s no good intention at all…

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  25. I love intelligent men… especially men who listens… I didn’t really like last chapter because if I’m SM, I would be under a really heavy pressure. My mom can make someone confess of their sins by asking them again and again, and she’ll notice if your story doesn’t match up with what you said before. I think that’s why I hate it when people questions me like they already know everything… But, ah~, our male protagonist just makes me want to fall in love with him!!! Thank you for the translation!! I’ve been waiting for this to see what would happen.

    And that gift!! She won’t turn it away, right?! Honey, your man is taking the first steps, you should meet him halfway. ❤️❤️❤️

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    • Yeah… My mum is the same… I guess mums have the same ability to do that to their kids. The worst is to also have a sharp boss like that… Imagine having your boss to question you like that for all your work and have your mum do that in your personal life… It would be a nightmare…

      She would have to take it if she cannot return to him yar? 😛

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  27. Where did that begonia jade come from ??? I mean it must’ve been that he intentionally bought her for some reason, right?

    Also, I’m with SM. He saw her actions and was able to correctly deduce everything. How did he have such a terrible death? He warned his friend to be careful too. And he seems to care about his family. There’s no way he didn’t see the emperor’s intention….

    Though it took SM a whole lifetime to see things through, this XJX lived jst once… really scary person….

    *sighs* i would not survive in these circles

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    • That’s what exactly my thoughts also…If I was in her place, I didn’t survived even up to two chapters….i would have very easily got schemed and died….,,😢

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  28. Ummm. . . The last two paragraphs. I did not misread it right? Why would XJX be carrying girls jewellery? And XJX is smart enough not to underestimate SM.When SM pointed out the thing about his half-blood brothers and the mistress, I guess even though he is a smart kid, sometimes as a victim we can’t really see the whole picture from our point of view. Since the Chrysanthemum event doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, does that mean SM is going to have another chance to show off her prowess? Maybe against a male? XD

    Thanks for translating~

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  30. Ehhh!! Did i see this right? Zazajunnie said that xie jing xin is the male lead i thought he was just a member of her harem i thought that her love interest is someone else someone who we haven’t seen yet……. 😉

    Anyway, Thanks for the chapter!~ 😉

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  31. Ohh so they have a lot in common! Well done empreeeess. Is it now the end of exams or there is more ?
    Thank you translator for you hard work !!

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  34. He her an accessory !!!!! What does this did he already have an favourable impression of her inspire of his suspicions??? How did he get a woman’s accessory at hand or is it that in ancient China the accessories of men and women similar or did he give his own like some kind of token…..Ah whatever I am so excited… hopefully we’ll see more interaction between the main leads now….I wish that Our little marquis would teach his treacherous shu brothers a lesson like or empress did to her cousin.

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    • I think he likes her already!!!! Hehehehe… He is just sooooo cute!!!!

      In this novel setting, men would have long hair and it would be tied up BUT a man’s hair accessory would be different from a female. Simple plain design, plain colours… SO! I don’t think he gave her his own or bought a guy’s accessory for her. Its a specifically female accessory (since it is a begonia flower) and should be rare and expensive (the hairpin is jade)… SO he had to go into a jewelry shop and buy it!!!!

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  35. Omg omg omg!!!!! He gave her a flower hairpin, and not just that, it matches with her outfit!!!!! Even if he says otherwise, I’m pretty sure our little marquis is already thinking favorably of our little empress 😉

    Their interactions are just so great~ I love how smart and capable they both are, and that XJX truly listens to SM. It’s just so nice to see a male lead that treats the female lead like his equal and doesn’t dismiss her for her gender, especially for the time period they’re in! And XJX, you’re completely right, this little empress is going to cause a bloody storm 😈

    Can’t wait to see them both on the stage, especially my little empress! She needs to knock down some more pegs, especially that admirer of her cousin’s lol!

    Thank you for your hard work 💖💖💖

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    • YES!!! Its like FINALLY a male treats the female like his equal in the ancient times without one of them being transported from the future

      Thanks for supporting!!! Your wish will be in the future chapters 😛

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  36. I believe this is a slow romance novel, besides the MC’s past and recent attitude shows that she won’t be falling in love with someone for now.
    In the flower language Begonia means “beware” or “deep thinking”, so I doubt that the ML already fall for her. He might have some interest because of what she’s been doing behind the scene, but romantically? Nah! he doesn’t.
    He gave the pin to the MC maybe because she wants her to be careful?
    Or a reminder that he’s basically observing her schemes?
    Or perhaps a token that the MC can use as a preventive measure for the crippled prince?

    Thanks again for the hardwork! Happy April fools 😊

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  37. Yay more progress to their relationship! Hoping to see XJX as emperor and SM as empress. XJX is too smart, and he can do magic trick?? Thank you for the chapter^^ hope SM wears it

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  40. Thank you. He is so scarily smart…..Its like he can understand SM’s move with just a few clues. Could it be that he is also someone like SM living after being rebirth…
    Thank you kind donors

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  45. Was that a sleight of hand he used in revealing the begonia jade? Did a flower first fall into his hand? This was a well thought out move. He came prepared with the flower and the jade, though perhaps not decided until he met her whether to give it. Why the magic act? Seems like it was intended to impress a young girl’s feelings and promote a crush–like he doesn’t know his looks are enough for that. Or just to entertain and be cool (again there would have to be a motive). Also it did not say it was a hairpin. Did everyone just assume or does everyone know something I don’t? Could it just be piece for hanging? or just for carrying in the pocket?

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    • Although I see the sense that he gave it for her to use to protect against the evil crippled prince. He mentioned this first of all. And it would have to be seen to do that– like a hairpin. Also explains why he came prepared–he already had overheard the princes talking. I suppose he wanted to be sure of her intentions before he offered aid. Which means he might have been ok with leaving her to her fate or her own devices if her answers had not pleased him.

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  48. It seems my previous question was already answered in this chapter! So even a brilliant mind would succumb to the evil backstab from close ones.

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