Chapter 29 - The Cannon Fodder Little Fulang [Quick Transmigration]

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters. 

If you’re able to provide me with the Raws of the Novels I need, you'll be the first person to receive my translation of them. You’ll also gain instant access to up to 30 advanced chapters for the novel of your choice.

For more details, you can check out the Raw Provider new page. 

After they left the inn, Xiao Zimo noted how unsettled Wu Bai had seemed upon learning that Su Li was to marry Dong Heng. Concerned, he asked, "Bai ger, is something bothering you?"

 

Wu Bai took a steadying breath before answering, "Do you remember how I once told you and Zhao Chengnan about an innocent soul who would fall victim to another's schemes?"

 

"I remember. Didn't my cousin find that person for you? It was a man named Ji Wen. My cousin even personally visited his household to advise against a marriage at this time, but the man took offense. To fulfill your request, my cousin has kept people watching over him, fearing he might fall into misfortune." Xiao Zimo explained.

 

"We were mistaken. That person isn't Ji Wen at all—it should have been Dong Heng." Wu Bai sighed and shook his head.

 

"Dong Heng? With this marriage? Are you saying the Su family might harm him?" Xiao Zimo guessed.

 

But soon after, he added, "For someone like Dong Heng, who could plot against his own fulang, it would be poetic justice if his new family were the ones to bring about his downfall. It's no more than he deserves."

 

"No, not the Su family. It's Yu Hongyi," Wu Bai clarified.

 

"Yu Hongyi? Isn't he the general who went missing on the frontier? How could he be connected to Dong Heng?" Xiao Zimo looked bewildered.

 

Wu Bai pondered briefly before deciding to share the details of what he'd read in the book from that mysterious space. "… and that's the whole story."

 

"So Yu Hongyi isn't dead, and Su Li is currently carrying his child," Xiao Zimo concluded, piecing things together.

 

Seeing Xiao Zimo accept his words without question warmed Wu Bai's heart. He nodded, saying, "That's how it seems."

 

"I suspected there was more to why the Su family suddenly dropped their plans to marry Su Li to me and turned to a minor official from the Hanlin Academy. They probably thought Dong Heng would be more easily controlled, but it seems they were also fooled by him. Who would have thought Dong Heng capable of such cruelty—murdering his fulang for wealth!" Xiao Zimo remarked, shaking his head.

 

"I just advised Ning Qiao to go to the Dali Court to accuse Dong Heng. Do you think I overstepped?" Wu Bai asked, displaying a serious look on his face.

 

Xiao Zimo chuckled, gently pinching Wu Bai's cheek. "How could that be? Our Bai ger is not only fair of face but also pure of heart. If Dong Heng has done such vile deeds, he deserves to face justice. I cannot abide seeing someone act so ruthlessly without consequence."

 

Wu Bai finally allowed himself a satisfied smile.

 

...

 

After receiving Wu Bai's advice, Ning Qiao quickly inquired about the location of Dali Court and went to strike the drum at its entrance.

 

Hearing the summons, the officials quickly brought him inside, where Gao daren*, the presiding official, took his place at the high bench and inquired about Ning Qiao's purpose.

 

[T/N: The term "dà rén" (大人) is a respectful title used in Chinese culture, typically translated as "honorable" or "respected person." It is often used to refer to someone with high status or authority, such as a government official, an elder, or someone of great wisdom and respect.]

 

Ning Qiao recounted his marriage to Dong Heng and how Dong Heng had plotted to murder him.

 

Gao daren's face darkened with anger when he heard that a fellow official, and a jinshi no less, was the perpetrator. Immediately, he dispatched officers to apprehend Dong Heng and collect the evidence.

 

Luck was not on Dong Heng's side. When the officers arrived at his home, he was putting on a show of mourning for Ning Qiao, with a coffin set up prominently in the main hall. When the officers opened the coffin, they found a young ger dressed in a servant's attire, Ning Qiao's close attendant, lying inside.

 

It had all begun when Ning Qiao had fallen ill recently and was prescribed some medication. That day, Dong Heng brought him a bowl of medicine, urging him to drink it. But Ning Qiao, who had hated bitter decoctions since childhood, hesitated. Worried that his insistence might arouse suspicion, Dong Heng left, cautioning Ning Qiao to drink it later.

 

After he left, Ning Qiao's servant, seeing the medicine had nearly cooled, tried to coax Ning Qiao into drinking it. Having grown up by Ning Qiao's side, he tasted a little himself to reassure his master that it wasn't too bitter. But he hadn't even finished his sentence when he collapsed, the bowl of medicine spilling to the floor.

 

Realizing the medicine was poisoned, Ning Qiao was struck with horror at Dong Heng's betrayal.

 

Swallowing his grief for his lost servant, Ning Qiao took advantage of a moment when no one was watching to escape from Dong Heng's household. But Dong Heng soon sent some people after him, and Ning Qiao, fleeing until he was utterly exhausted, collapsed in a dark corner of an alleyway and narrowly escaped capture.

 

It was there that he encountered Wu Bai and Xiao Zimo, who, by fortune, saved him.

 

...

 

In the grand hall of the court, Dong Heng was pressed down to his knees by the guards. Gao daren, seated at the highest bench, struck the gavel and called out, "Who kneels before this court?"

 

"Your humble servant, Dong Heng." Dong Heng, who had never seen such a scene, paled further at the sight of Ning Qiao kneeling beside him, collapsing to the ground in terror.

 

"Dong Heng, the charge brought against you is the attempted murder of your legal spouse. For the sake of justice, confess quickly, lest you suffer the lash," Gao daren commanded.

 

When Dong Heng saw that Ning Qiao was alive, he knew his fate was sealed.

 

Between the evidence left unattended in his home and the testimony of the pharmacy clerk, Dong Heng was condemned regardless. Yet, he understood that if he did not confess, he would endure further torment. Realizing he could not escape punishment, Dong Heng reluctantly admitted his crimes.

 

He confessed that he had plotted against Ning Qiao's life to marry the ger from the Minister of Rites' family.

 

Gao ger had not anticipated that the Minister of Rites would also be implicated and promptly sent for Su Mingda, the Minister himself.

 

Upon his arrival, Su Mingda regarded Dong Heng with a cold glare, realizing he had mistaken a wolf for a lamb.

 

"Gao daren," Su Mingda greeted, bowing without kneeling.

 

"Bring a seat for Su daren," Gao daren ordered, and soon a chair was brought over.

 

Only then did Gao daren say to Su Mingda, "Su daren, this man claims he plotted against his legal spouse because he wished to wed your ger."

 

Su Mingda remained seated while answering, "Gao daren, this man is Dong Heng, a newly appointed Reviewer* in the Hanlin Academy and a top-ranking jinshi. Seeing his promising future and respectable family background, I considered a marriage alliance with him. I had no idea he was so brazen as to deceive me, claiming he was unattached while secretly plotting such cruelty."

 

[T/N: The position of 检讨 (jiǎntǎo) was one of the ranks within the academy, specifically an official who was responsible for reviewing or examining scholarly works, particularly related to the emperor's policies or academic research.]

 

"You lie! You knew I already had a fulang and forced me to divorce him!" Dong Heng, infuriated by Su Mingda's deflection of blame, burst out.

 

Gao daren turned to Su Mingda. "Su daren, it seems there's a discrepancy in your accounts. Do you acknowledge the truth of his claim?"

 

Su Mingda thought quickly, realizing that denying it entirely might backfire if Dong Heng were to provide some evidence. After some contemplation, he replied, "Very well, I admit I knew of his fulang. I simply didn't want my son to be anyone's second choice. I told Dong Heng that if he wished to marry into our family, he would need to divorce his fulang first. But I never instructed him to harm his fulang. Gao daren, I am not at fault in this, am I?"

 

Gao daren paused, then nodded. "Su daren is correct. Dong Heng, do you have any evidence to refute Su daren's words? If not, Su daren may depart, for he has stated he never instructed you to commit murder."

 

Dong Heng fell silent, for indeed, Su Mingda had never instructed him to kill Ning Qiao. It was his own greed that led him to think that with Ning Qiao dead, he could inherit the Ning family's wealth and then wed the Minister's ger. With both riches and influence, he thought, his ambitions would be secure. Without much thought, he resolved to rid himself of Ning Qiao.

 

Yet seeing Su Mingda evade all responsibility so easily filled Dong Heng with bitter resentment. Enraged, he lunged at Su Mingda, hands outstretched, as he cried, "This is all your fault! If not for your desire to marry your pregnant ger to me to hide your shame, I would never have turned against my fulang! I would never have come to this ruin—it's all your fault!"

 

But as a mere scholar, Dong Heng's strength was no match for the guards who quickly subdued him.

 

In the end, Lord Gao sentenced Dong Heng to death, with the execution scheduled to take place after the autumn harvest.

 

Su Mingda, however, left the Dali Court unscathed.

 

Although he himself escaped punishment, his career did not. The Emperor, citing Su Mingda's negligence in managing his household, dismissed him from his post, and the people of the capital soon learned of the case's sordid details—that he had sought to marry off his pregnant ger, Su Li, to Dong Heng, thus igniting the whole scandal.

 

From that moment, whenever a member of the Su family ventured out, they were met with a hail of rotten eggs from the townspeople.

 

Having lost his title, influence, and reputation, Su Mingda's fatherly affection for Su Li vanished. Seizing a moment when no one was watching, he had Su Li sent out of the capital to their family's ancestral shrine, for him to "reflect" deeply on his actions. Gradually, the Su family faded from public view.

 

Two years later, Zhao Chengnan returned from the borderlands.

 

On his journey back, he encountered three individuals and decided to bring them along.

Last Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

 

❧ Join Bella Novels' Newsletter by clicking here ↫ and
receive an email for each New Update -͙✧˖*°࿐