Author: Yue Xia Die Ying

NOTES:

  1. Huángzǐ fēi – Imperial Prince’s consort
  2. Er gongzi – Second son of an official
  3. Mù zhōng wú rén – to consider everyone else beneath one (idiom); so arrogant that no-one else matters; condescending; to go about with one’s nose in the air
  4. Nǎo xiū chéng nù – to fly into a rage out of humiliation; to be shamed into anger (idiom)
  5. Xiangjun (Country Lord) – Title given to wives or daughters of high ranking noblemen
  6. Jùn jūn – Title given to female members of the imperial clan; 2 ranks above Xiangjun; Translated as “Lady of a Commandery” or “Lady of the First Rank” (I will be using the term Jun Princess for this rank)

Chapter 9 (Part 2) – Dreams

In the dead of the night, during the hour of dreams, Ban Hua turned over on her bed and fell into a spell of dreams.

In her dream, she was wearing a thin, unlined garment, looking at a table laden with delicacies and at the man seated by the side of the table, like a fool.

Ban Hua became aware that she was dreaming and looking at herself and a man whose appearance was indistinct from the perspective of a bystander. This kind of feeling was a bit strange, and even stranger, she detected that her other self felt a sense of gratitude towards the man sitting at the table.

Soon she saw herself exiting the house with a thick fur coat on her body. There was a lot of snow outside. She saw a noblewoman laughing and pointing a finger at her, but not really daring to do anything to her.

Then she saw herself die, collapsing on a field of deep snow and her bright red blood splashing on the white snow like a blooming red peony looked extremely beautiful.

Ban Hua couldn’t help but feel that she really was an exceptional beauty. Even if she died, her death was so poignant.

The winter wind blew carrying with it flakes of snow, but in her dream Ban Hua didn’t feel the cold. The wind sobbed like the sound of a woman weeping. She stood in front of her own corpse and looked at the feathered arrow piercing her back. Suddenly she realized, could it be that this is how her last dream ended?

So her future would be this miserable? Not only losing her title, but also losing her life?

Fortunately, the white fox fur on her body looked very expensive, and she did not look too shameful when she died.

“Crunch, creak.”

Suddenly a series of footsteps came from behind and the sound was urgent and chaotic, as if someone had hurried over.

“Master, Master, the Young Lady Ban is gone.” 

Master? Who?

Ban Hua turned around and saw a man in a black fur coat standing behind her. The man looked tall and straight and the hands exposed outside his sleeves were as white and lustrous as jade. Even if she couldn’t see his face, Ban Hua was sure that this must be an outrageously beautiful man.

Though she couldn’t see the man’s face, she heard the man’s voice when he spoke.

“It’s a pity.”

Ban Hua nodded. It really was a pity. After all, she was so beautiful.

“She was a lively person whose like was hard to find in the capital. Make sure she’s buried richly.” Ban Hua breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that not only was this man good looking, but his heart was also very beautiful.

The man turned his head suddenly, as if he saw her standing beside him. She bowed her head to look down at the complicated palace skirt on her body complacently and then straightened her waist.

It was a pity that the other party didn’t see her, but said in a complex tone, “Find out who did it and let people … let people take care of her family well.”

“Boom!”

Ru Yi, the servant girl who was on night duty, hearing a noise from inside the room, hurriedly got up from the couch in a fright and quickly ran into the inner room. She then saw the Jun Princess dressed in only a tunic sitting blankly at the table with a broken teacup lying at her feet.

“Jun Princess, what’s the matter with you?”

“It’s okay, I just had a dream.” Ban Hua suddenly looked up and smiled at her, “It’s okay, go to bed.”

“It’s cold outside, this servant will help you into bed.” Ru Yi lit two small lamps to make the room a little brighter, “It’s still early. “

Ban Hua lay back on the bed and said to Ru Yi, “When did Shizi sleep last night?”

Ru Yi was somewhat taken aback. She was one of the Jun Princess’ maidservants. How would she know the occurrences in the Shizi’s yard? So she had to honestly shake her head.

Ban Hua did not mind and said, “Do we have any  good arctic fox furs in the family? I want to use some to make gloves, a fur coat and a collar. “

“There are only a few good red fox furs in your warehouse, but no arctic fox furs.” Ruyi didn’t understand why Jun Princess, who always liked colorful things, suddenly wanted white fox fur, but as a servant she only needed to meet the requirements of the master.

“I understand. Go to sleep.” Ban Hua pulled the quilt to her chin and closed her eyes thinking how beautiful it would be if she trimmed a red cloak with white fox fur. Wearing a white fox fur with a big red palace skirt would definitely set off her skin beautifully. In winter, she could try dressing like this

A few days later…

“Junzhu,” the stewardess-in-charge looked sadly at Kangning Junzhu, “The fox fur you liked last time has been bought.”

“Who dares to snatch my stuff?”  Kangning Junzhu raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t the people who bought it know that it’s what I had reserved to buy?”

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