Overturning The World Chapter 3-4

The mysteries begin to unravel~ I really like Jiu Lu Fei Xiang’s style of telling the story in both Yun Cheng’s memories and the present! It really evokes a feeling of nostalgia and not coming to terms with one’s past. Everyone has to move on someday. Some people just handle it differently from others.

Chapters 3-4

At that moment, his heart was stabbed with pain and frustration, but after he woke up his muddy pupils were full of bits of regret and pleasant surprise. He immediately felt for the brush on his desk. However, right when he was about to draw, he found that the ink on the brush had already dried up, and there was no longer any ink left in the inkstone.

The figure in his mind was fleeting. In the next moment, he immediately forgot everything.

His old face immediately closed up with disappointment. The Protector General, who had made the rest of the world revere him, revealed an expression as helpless as that of a child.

With a sigh, he powerlessly leaned back on his chair [1]. Last night, he had unexpectedly leaned forward on his desk and had fallen asleep in this manner. Yun Cheng bitterly laughed. As he kept getting older, he kept having incidents like this. He would inadvertently lift his eyes , and the sunlight would penetrate his pupils, as the girl in front of his desk remained still. She lifted her head, slightly closing her eyes, clad in all red. She resembled the Qing Shi who had bent her head down in his dreams. It was then, that Yun Cheng momentarily lost his senses.

[1] His chair was more appropriately named the Imperial Tutor chair. The Imperial Tutor chair was the only chair with a name from an official position. It was originally a chair only for government officials, symbolizing power and status. It was placed in the palace, inside government offices, and inside households. When it was placed inside households, it symbolized the status of the Master of the household.

He did not know how he arrived in front of the girl, but when he reached out his old hand, he seemed to have travelled back in time  He touched the lively face of the person who was too beautiful for his eyes: "Qing Shi." A simple name made his eyes moist. The girl from his memories lifted her eyes to look up at him, "Yun Cheng it doesn't matter to me that you like me."

Yes, I like you.

But, he would never be able to say these words. And she, she would never get to hear these words again.

Qing Shi's brows furrowed as she slowly opened her eyes. The old face in front of her, that was almost within her reach, startled her immensely. She coldly hmphed, and waved her hand to throw his hand off. Then, she forcefully pushed him away. Yun Cheng wasn't the least bit prepared so he drew back a few steps until he b.u.mped into the desk. Qing Shi's legs crumpled and she fell onto the ground. She looked at Yun Cheng with shock, but she only saw the Protector General support his waist as he hissed from the force. After some shock, Qing Shi's face suddenly paled. She… had injured the Protector General?

When the servants outside heard the unusual change in the room, they pushed the door open and entered. When they saw the scene that was presented, someone berated, "You have guts…"

"All right." The servant hadn't finished when Yun Cheng cut him off, "Help her settle in." These mere words made everyone able to understand the General's mood.

Qing Shi stayed in the General's estate, but Yun Cheng never touched her. He wished for her to wear red clothes, and he only liked to watch her sit down quietly, but he was kinder to her than anyone else. A rumor went around the streets that the General had been so captivated by her, that he fell head over heels in love with her. Though Qing Shi never said anything about that, she could not conceal the happiness she felt.

It was on another day, when the sun shone brightly, and Yun Cheng and her sat down for a meal. But today, the dishes were much simpler than what they usually were. "Even though the dishes are simple and crude, I made all of this myself. How is it?"

Qing Shi was startled. The General had personally cooked for her… her face reddened as she slightly nodded.

"Today is your birthday. I didn't know what to give to you, so I could only make you a few dishes that you like." Yun Cheng spoke nervously like he was currying favor with someone else's child. "If it doesn't taste good, you can scold me."

Qing Shi blanked out for a moment. Today wasn't her birthday… this sentence bubbled up in her throat, but then she swallowed it down. She glanced at the dishes on the table. Many of them weren't dishes that she liked. Almost as if realizing something, Qing Shi looked at Yun Cheng, seeing the warmth in his eyes directed towards her. But his eyes never focused on her, as if…

—

After her coming of age ceremony, Qing Shi sat in her courtyard gazing at the brightness of the moon. She had still not taken off her exquisite and complicated clothing. Her mouth flattened, telling of her displeasure.

After Yun Cheng finished his Imperial bodyguard deployment matters, he went to the Princess's courtyard, and immediately saw that she hadn't closed the door to her courtyard again and was just sitting there. Her face looked up at the moon with an indistinct quiet coldness. Yun Cheng knit his brows silently, She wasn't happy? Why?

But no matter how much he wanted to make her happy, he could not walk in. The Princess had already come of age, so she was now a grand lady. There was a difference in their genders, and also a difference in their statuses.

Yun Cheng lowered his head, thinking of Qing Shi's figure at the coming of age ceremony. He had never seen their differences this clearly before. She was the proud daughter of the heavens, a star from the sky. No matter how much he looked up at her, no matter whether he stood on his tiptoes, he could never be able to touch her.

As his palms tightened, Yun Cheng took a step back and guarded the outside of the courtyard. Suddenly, he heard porcelain being smashed from within. Yun Cheng was shocked, and he turned around and looked at Qing Shi who stood inside the courtyard. He only saw her stand up, and viciously look at him. Yun Cheng did not understand, so Qing Shi shouted, "Come in!"

Yun Cheng obediently walked inside the courtyard. Qing Shi glared at him for a long time. Seeing that he had not said a word this whole time, she finally couldn't bear it, and loudly said, "Where's my present?!" She spread out her fine hand, as if she was about to s.n.a.t.c.h something from him, and shoved her hand in front of him, "Where's my present?!"

Under the moon, the finely made hair clip in her hair made Yun Cheng's eyes blur. His hand clenched as he hid the object inside his sleeve more thoroughly. He hung his head: "Sorry, I… this servant does not have it…"

Qing Shi became angrier. "Lies! A few days ago I obviously…" She bit her lip and swallowed the rest of her words. Her outstretched palm was still in front of him, but it trembled noticeably. She lowered her eyes, her eyes rimmed with red.

Actually, how could Qing Shi not know what Yun Cheng was being apprehensive about? She knew that when she had gotten on the stage for the ceremony, this man had looked at her with an expression that revealed his loneliness. As companions for many years, she could tell that as the days pa.s.sed, they were beginning to become farther and farther apart. He called himself a lowly servant, and bowed to her. They were drifting apart, and she… she felt afraid, that one day their conversation would become the lamentable strict order and answer.

As he gazed upon the girl who lowered her head, Yun Cheng's heart softened. The pain stemming from his heart suppressed all the feelings he bore inside of his heart. He slowly took out the hairpin he hid in his sleeve, and softly said, "I did not make it well."

Qing Shi looked at the hairpin inside his palm with a bit of surprise. Yun Cheng's ears became redder. "I kept on grinding it, until it became like this. Even though it is not pretty, you can use it to protect yourself." His eyes drifted from place to place until they landed on a pear tree nearby, but he didn't dare look at her. "If you don't like it, you can scold me."

Holding the hair pin, Qing Shi held it to her chest, treasuring it immensely. Her anger and restlessness from a moment ago was cooled, and she obediently nodded, "Okay." Her mouth slowly widened into a smile, "I like it very much." Her eyes curved as she smiled, as she reflected the poignant moonlight and looked at him, "I like it a lot."

Yun Cheng quietly shifted eyes towards her, but when he saw Qing Shi's smile the feelings in his heart all calmed. Vaguely, he remembered why he stayed by her side. Wasn't it all for this- to see this bright and beautiful smile? Wasn't it all… to see her happy?

"But…" Qing Shi pretended she was distressed as she said, "It seems this hairpin will be useless."

Yun Cheng was startled.

"Because, you'll always be by my side to protect me, right?"

——

As the bottom of his heart became limp and painful, he almost broke through the distance between his and her status to touch her face. His Princess was really such a rascal, actually asking for a promise in these types of circ.u.mstances. Yun Cheng helplessly laughed, and nodded earnestly. It already went without saying that he would always protect her… he would always protect her…

Suddenly, violent horse hoof sounds came from out of nowhere, breaking through the peace and quiet. His dream that was as beautiful as the moonlight was shattered. Qing Shi's face dissipated in front of his eyes, and an urgent announcement for the Court to gather suddenly sounded, like a sudden clap of thunder. He could still remember that it was the year after Qing Shi was married into the Yue Nation, when the news from the border came…

The Yue Nation was in internal disorder. After the Princess of Qi married their Emperor, she was flogged to death by the rebel army.

"You will always protect me."

The smile that she wore was like the sunlight he admired greatly in his world. He would never be able to see that type of brightness or beautifulness, and he would never be able to recall it again…

Translated by geeky

Edited by Ely