Princess Agents 特工皇妃楚喬傳 Chapter 166 English novel translation

Princess Agents - 特工皇妃楚喬傳 

Synopsis:  The next few chapters deal with the politics of the situation surrounding the King of QingHai.  DaXia wants to use him as their asset.  Huai-Song is a strategic point of trade and everyone wants him to marry the princess of Huai-Song.  That would make the Zhuge family come out on top in terms of politics.  Even the Zhao family wants it to happen, since they are planning another war with Yan Bei now that Chu Qiao and the XiuLi Army are out of the picture.  Chu Qiao thinks Zhuge Yue cannot refuse this marriage, but Yan Xun would most likely not let it happen.  

I translated this chapter not because it was really romantic like the previous two, but it's still romantic.  This is not a complete translation of the chapter, as the interaction between them is short.  The remainder of the chapter is summarized below.

Chapter 166: From Dawn to Dusk

The days seemed as if they were stolen.

When there was no one about, Chu Qiao would still sometimes disappear.  She would silently go watch the sun rise and set.  The evenings would come time and again.  The New Year came, and left.  Time slipped quietly through her fingers and flowed away.  She could even see it surge through her veins, like unclouded water.

The excitement in the beginning gradually receded and life started to revolve anew.  She watched the sky, the flapping, fluttering wings of birds from the north.  Their wings moved back and forth across the lofty and far away sky, winding across traces of brilliant blue or white.  She thought, they are probably going home then.  

She now lived in Zhuge Yue's private house in Xiang Yang.  There was no excuse or reason for it.  Zhuge Yue had only asked whether or not she wanted to spend the New Year with him. She pondered it and then accepted.

This was quite a simple New Year.

There were no extravagant and wasteful court songs and dances, no mild court musician's long folk ballad, no beautiful dishes of splendid delicacies.  But still, there was that hard to come by peace and quiet, a true piece of gentle harmony of the heart.

In the past few days she and Zhuge Yue had gone to many places.  They walked through long and cold little alleys, explored ancient and dilapidated temples, they ate snacks from the street vendors, went together to a packed temple fair, and on the night of the New Year they set off a long string of firecrackers together.  (TN: ^_^ couple goals…In my head cannon these two live to be 99 together.)

The sound of the firecrackers popped and burst, just like they had two years ago.  She stood in the street full of people going and coming, her eyes filled with the smoke of the firecrackers. (TN: as opposed to her tears last time)

A type of long lost happiness gently enveloped her.  The surrounding area was lit by waning lanterns, while he stood in front of the crowd, holding back the squeezing throng of people for her, occasionally furrowing his brows and turning his head to chide her, as if she were a disagreeable child.

In the sky, blooms of fireworks burst over his head, a blaze of color, and their brilliance reflected onto his cheek. So very beautiful.

Yes, very beautiful indeed.

Chu Qiao's vocabulary was at its limit as she could not think of any other adjectives to describe everything she saw.  She seemed to suddenly be blown by the wind from the battlefield and drawn into this bizarre, colorful world. She saw a pleasantly warm sun, the warm lake water, the happy crowd as well as Zhuge Yue who had shed all his struggles and defenses.  This man who had once faced her with scowls and angry eyes, raised his sword against her, who had time and again extended a helping hand to her, and risked the Yellow Springs (TN: Hell) for her.  At that moment he was alive and standing before her eyes, furrowing his brows and scolding her, likening her to a country bumpkin.   She suddenly felt that she had somehow stolen this time from the gods, and every second was so very precious. 

The whole world was a dazzling display of fireworks and lanterns, but in her eyes, she could only fit one man.  (TN: he literally calls her a 'dirt dumpling' because she's always lagging behind like she's busy staring at everything -- but she's only staring at one thing ^__^)

Like deep ocean water, after being encased in ice, it now poured out from the bottom of her heart, warming her cold limbs and her numbed brain.  At the end of the road of life there opened splendid blossoms, colors blazing as they bloomed over the decaying trees.  She stood on the other side of the river bank of the Yellow Springs, staring for a long time.  She thought, perhaps, this was something that could be called a rebirth.

Although, even if she was staring at it with both eyes open, it still felt really far away.

The chamber door was half open.  He stood in the courtyard, adorned in blue and purple robes with large clusters of golden brocade flowers embroidered on them.  The splendor of the moonlight shone on his figure, radiating gleaming brilliance.

He looked at her as if he wanted to say something, but after a while, he said nothing at all.

The moonlight was a bit sad and mesmerizing.  A few streets away the public square was still lively with the sound of continuous drumming carrying over.  *Ping, ping, boom boom* it was such a joyous occasion.  Even if Chu Qiao couldn't see it she could still imagine the commoners dancing with happiness.

It seemed that much time had passed, though it felt as though it had only been a short instant.  He opened his mouth to say, "Go to sleep."

Chu Qiao gave a nod, and said with a tranquil, slight smile, "You as well."

The chamber door closed a bit, and with it, the moonlight from outside was shut out. One beam, one line, one thread, until finally, only darkness resulted. 

She stood at the doorway, her fingers pressed against the door panel.  The person outside did not leave for a long, long time.  The wind was a bit cool, moaning as it blew, and the shadows of the trees outside the window moved, casting grotesque shadows onto the window.

Little by little time from the water clock elapsed, and finally, she heard very slow, rustling footsteps, but still gradually getting farther, farther and farther.  (TN: TT__TT)

The wind outside the window was suddenly strong, and even the door could not block it, followed by the cold air blowing in through the door crack.  Chu Qiao rested her head against he door panel.  In the darkness, she slowly closed her eyes.

***

Translator's notes:  The rest of the chapter is from Zhuge Yue's POV and it has to do with strategies and politics, so unless you all really want me to, I'm not going to translate it.  My summary is below.

Zhuge Yue plans to outmaneuver his family, for whom he has no real love for since they abandoned him so cruelly two years ago and he will never forget that.  He also thinks on how he can mess with Yan Xun. Though he has no real loyalty to DaXia, it was still his homeland and he didn't want it breaking to pieces as it had become more politically unstable now. 

He thinks about how grateful he was to Chu Qiao, who taught him that life isn't all about conquering and fighting, but it was also about protecting things he believed in.  His people needed him to overcome the winter, and, unlike Yan Xun, he would not abandon them.  

Unfortunately, whenever he and Chu Qiao met again, it was always like this.  For whatever reason they ended up parting and it was never the right time to be together.  This does frustrate him.

He also wanted the glory of being able to accomplish all this by himself, after all, he was still his twenties.  It meant something to him to return the conquering hero and offer something to Chu Qiao.  Instead of palaces and land and titles like most princes would offer their loved ones, he would probably give her an entire country.  Silly man. ^_^;

Zhuge Yue also has many things he wants to do, more battles ahead, his own kingdom to establish, and he knows it isn't the right time for them to be together.  So once again, their parting is imminent…. TT__TT  (A cannon fires over the hull of my ship…)  -Kero