"Long Life Girl "《長命女》Chapter 1

T/N: Hi all it's been a while! Here's a new project that I hope everyone will enjoy ^_^ Updates might not be frequent so sorry >.<

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Liang Yu had never before sat in such a grand carriage, there was a roof and walls, a cushioned seat, as well as a small table and many bits and bobs that she could not name, even the refreshments were all she had never seen before.

Anyway, they were all very exquisite.

These things, were all for her.

If it was at another time, she would have looked closely and tasted them with great interest, but right now wasn’t in the mood at all.

Opposite her was her father Liang Man Cang, her eldest brother Liang Da Lang, next to her was her mother Nan Shi, the four of them were sitting in the first carriage of the procession, the carriage behind them carried her family.

Four hours before, their entire family was politely without explanation hustled into these carriages by county magistrate assistant Ma, he only said it was a [good thing], but he didn’t let on at all what this [good thing] was.

This made them worry even more.

Enjoying something you’ve never experienced before was similar to be given a chicken leg before a beheading, surrounded by an ominous feeling.

The evening drum, sounded the time, the procession entered the city.

The ancient city gates let out a teeth-gritting sound when the last carriage entered, then closed with a bang, as if it was also closing off the last speck of light outside.

Until this moment, Liang Yu had been feeling regretful, if county magistrate assistant Ma hadn’t been in such a hurry, she would have been able to bring a knife from the kitchen with her.

When the continuous drumming stopped it was night curfew, the sound of people in the streets gradually faded, then it was silent, it was also then that the procession stopped.

Liang Yu was shocked – they had reached the end?

Liang Man Cang then suddenly uttered: [Yu ah, take a look at where this is.]

Liang Yu’s chin was about to fall off from shock.

At the beginning of the year she had come to the city to be the apprentice of tailor Wu, it had already been a few months, clearly, her father felt because she worked in the city she would know more about the city than Shing Wong,[1] giving her the job of identifying where they were.

Honestly! She had come to learn a craft not to wander aimlessly, how could she recognise everywhere?

Forcing herself, Liang Yu pushed the curtain of the carriage aside a little, then she was startled – she really recognised this place! This was the county office!

Liang Yu quietly told them her findings, and said: [Normally during night curfew, the county office shouldn’t be open.]

After saying this, the other three people’s complexion changed simultaneously.

None of the Liang family were officials, the whole neighbourhood had no money, commoners were most scared of coming into contact with the authorities, it was best to never step through the gates of the county office in one’s lifetime, now the entire family had been brought over, could it really be a [good thing]?

Just when this thought arose, county magistrate assistant Ma who had hustled them into these carriages came over in a friendly manner: [Elder Liang, we’ve arrived, careful of your footing.]

Liang Man Cang a commoner, who lived off the land, was actually being treated by county magistrate assistant Ma in such a courteous manner, making him even more unsettled.

Liang Yu looked at the serene and distant courtyard of the county office, the flagstone path was lit on either side by lanterns, making it even more portentous, Liang Yu thought of the kitchen knife even more.

Behind her, Liang Yu’s six older brothers, her eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law to her fifth sister-in-law, and each one were carrying their children, all of them alighted from the carriages in a daze one after the other.

The entire family was startled by this situation, even her youngest nephew was well-behaved not daring to cry and make a fuss.

The county magistrate assistant led the way, the county office’s gates also closed behind them. The lights inside the office were bright, all the way, up to the rear hall.

The thing that surprised Liang Yu was, the court magistrate Zhang that she had once seen on the streets was unexpectedly not standing in the middle, rather he was standing to the side accompanied by several people wearing beautiful fur cloaks.

In this part of the world, which county magistrate was more impressive? Were they the people who called the entire Liang family here?

While she pondered, all of them had arrived at the front of the hall.

County magistrate Zhang personally came down from the elevated seats to greet them, also with a smile: [Finally elder Liang has arrived?]

County magistrate assistant Ma greeted him with his hands cupped, hurriedly replying.

County magistrate Zhang briefly glanced over, knitting his brows together, he didn’t look pleased and hopeless, he turned to say to those finely dressed visitors: [Liang Shi has arrived. This… maybe it’s better to get them to change clothes first…]

What he said next, Liang Yu already wasn’t able to hear, she was blankly looking at the person standing on the platform.

She had never seen such a good-looking person! Of the three people, she was only looking at the person on the left, he was eighteen, nineteen years old, he really was a beautiful man! Jade like features, the lights turned into stars in his eyes, his figure was tall but not weak, with a glance he appeared reliable.

Liang Yu had not been educated, she was a bit regretful but never resented it, now she hated it – indeed she could only use the word [good-looking], after all no matter how good-looking, there was no other word she could use.

Pressing her chest, her heart, was beating viciously. Liang Yu pat her cheeks, her face was also very hot.

It wasn’t just Liang Yu, the Liang family were looking in bafflement, when have they seen such a person in this small place?!

A cold wind blew, the youngest nephew sneezed, that’s when the silence was broken.

Liang Yu slowly came back to her senses, realising what she had been doing, her face heated up even more, she raised her head even more, taking a few more glances – such a person, compared to her, one was in the heavens, the other on the ground, if she missed this opportunity, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to see this again, since she was looking, she really couldn’t bear to look away. She wanted him to linger for a long time in her eyes.

Liang Man Cang only saw three people, the one in the middle was around thirty, forty years old, fair and clear skin, a kind of beauty, looking around calmly. He appeared to be the person in charge, on the right was a younger man, a delicate appearance, a pair of quick-witted eyes, compared with the person on the left he didn’t seem as reliable.

The finely dressed visitors did not say a word, magistrate Zhang and magistrate assistant Ma also didn’t say anymore, only waiting with their arms crossed.

The three people sitting above them calmly looked at the group of dusty farmers, assessing them, not hiding the disappointment in their eyes at all. The eyes of the delicate man on the right were filled with contempt, yawning, he moved his head: [Nineteen, seventh elder brother, we’ve seen them, I’m going to read, I’ll leave this to you.]

Having spoken, he really left, the remaining two people looked them over even more. In the younger man, the disapproval could also be seen in his eyes, Liang Yu without holding a kitchen knife, her courage wasn’t as great, she hurriedly turned her head away, meeting the gaze of the man in the middle, even though she could feel a stab of resentment from his gaze.

Liang Yu believed, if he wasn’t afraid of dirtying his hands, he would definitely have pried open each of their mouths to check her family’s teeth. This was a judging gaze. The two of them only looked over her briefly, then looked over her brothers.

A sheen of sweat covered Liang Yu’s back, when the cold breeze blew in the courtyard, she shivered from the cold.

After a long time, the two people seemed to have seen enough, the beautiful man opened his mouth, his voice extremely gentle, almost as if he could settle any unrest and agitation: [Elder Liang has had a long journey, I am Xiao Du, this is the seventh master of the Lu family, Hui Yi, just now that was the Zhu family’s ninth master, we came from the capital city to welcome all of you, we’re borrowing master Zhang’s home, and have prepared wine, it’s cold outside, we invite you to change your clothes, we can continue with our conversation later at the banquet, master Ma?]

Magistrate assistant Ma hurried replied: [This official is here.]

[Thank you for your trouble,] the beautiful man Xiao Du nodded his head, making a [inviting] gesture, then he turned to the person who hadn’t spoken at all, [seventh brother, we will wait respectfully for the Liang family, what do you think?]

[Seventh brother] Lu Yi calmly nodded: [Fine.]

Liang Yu knew, a rich person saying [change clothes] had many meanings, it couldn’t just be change clothes, at the end they would have to do something, what she also didn’t know.

Fortunately magistrate Zhang didn’t make them figure it out themselves, he sent people to the east wing, then wash their hands, wash their faces, comb their hair, straightening out their clothes, making them slightly more presentable.

Liang Man Cang bowed at the waist, moving to magistrate Zhang’s side to quietly find out what was happening. Magistrate Zhang only shook his head: [I also don’t know, they also didn’t say. All you need to know is, they’re emissaries from the capital city, from a well-known large influential family, extremely respectable people, you cannot speak without thinking. If you don’t know what to say, then don’t say anything, there’s good wine and meat, just focus on eating.]

But, when the banquet arrived, they couldn’t [just focus on eating].

The three nobles were chatting and laughing, seeing their family, the laughter gradually faded, the ninth master Zhu looked even more disappointed, but Xiao Du said: [Elder Liang please sit.]

Once the Liang family were seated, he then threw a firecracker into the chicken nest: [I came here for one reason only – crown prince Ren Xiao has passed away, the position of heir couldn’t be left empty for long, his majesty newly appointed prince Zhao as crown prince, the crown prince’s birth mother has been promoted to cai ren, that is elder Liang’s eldest daughter. We are welcoming everyone into the capital city.]

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[1] The guardian god who protects and watch over cities.