The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 117 : A So-Called Competition between Two Men

Translated by : Minodayz, Salv & Iris

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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Xiao Shao had just arrived only to chance upon the scene of Liu Min tightly holding onto Jiang Ruan's hand who had a frown on her face. A hint of displeasure flashed quickly in his heart.

The two opposing people turned their heads and Liu Min was taken aback when he saw Xiao Shao, yet his hand still did not release its hold. Xiao Shao took offense at this and his eyes chilled. Taking big strides, he went up to grasp Liu Min's hand and physically removed it from Jiang Ruan's arm.

Xiao Shao was a man who trained in martial arts while Liu Min was unaccustomed to doing physical work[1] and was merely a weak young scholar. Thus, in a short span of time, the spot where Xiao Shao had grabbed hold of his hand began to throb, and his face paled.

[1] 手无缚鸡之力 (shǒu wú fù jī zhī lì) – lit. lacking the strength even to truss a chicken (idiom) / fig. weak / unaccustomed to physical work.

"Are you alright?" Xiao Shao turned towards Jiang Ruan and spoke directly to her.

Jiang Ruan shook her head in reply, "It's nothing, I'm alright."

"Xiao Wangye, I was having a conversation with Junzhu!" An indignant Liu Min furiously voiced. Possibly it was because Xiao Shao was infamous within the courts as a known "rebel and a scoundrel", that as an upright official, Liu Min felt a distinct dislike towards him. Looking at the rather familiar relationship between Jiang Ruan and Xiao Shao, his brows knitted tightly into a deeper frown. How could she associate herself with such a scoundrel?

Xiao Shao was also sizing Liu Min up. This was the current Emperor's new upstart, and had become the zhuangyuan in one fell swoop three years ago. Within the imperial court, he had steadily climbed and attained the highest rank as a court official and was now a prominent court official. But, while looking over Liu Min, he couldn't help feeling a sense of jealousy and dislike. Xiao Shao was well aware that three years ago, Jiang Ruan and Liu Min had exchanged correspondence, and the discussion regarding the question asked in the imperial examination was still vivid in his mind. Aside from the fact that it was still a mystery how Jiang Ruan was privy to the imperial question, even the rationale and reason behind helping Liu Min had baffled and caused the investigating Jinyi guards a great deal of duress[2].

[2] 焦头烂额 (jiāotóulàn'é) – lit. badly burned about the head (from trying to put out a fire) (idiom) / fig. hard-pressed / under pressure (from a heavy workload, creditors etc).

However, once Liu Min had fought for the position, Jiang Ruan had cut off ties with him. Now, with both of them having their little tug of war within the imperial garden, the look in Liu Min's eyes shimmered with zealousness and emotions, and gone was the usual detached pedantic scholar disposition.

Xiao Shao arched his brows and stated coolly, "The conversation has now ended."

The frosty cold glare was sufficient enough to cause Liu Min's heart to shudder.

Lu Zhu glanced at Liu Min, before glancing back at Xiao Shao. Blinking her eyes, her heart felt that their Miss was indeed popular and in great demand. Both Xiao Wangyeand Grand Tutor Liu were pretty good candidates for the role of guye, however if she had to make a choice, Lu Zhu thought for a bit and decided that Xiao Wangye was slightly better. That's because not only was Xiao Wangye much better looking, he also had an awe inspiring authority about him. Whilst Grand Tutor Liu was also good, he was an intellectual. Wasn't there a saying, 'Those that uphold justice often slaughter dogs in the name of righteousness[3]', and most of these heartless people were usually scholars. Of course, Xiao Wangye wasn't of this slaughtering dog generation, but rather he was Great Jin's most respected and honorable Wangye.