How To Survive as a Villain

The next day, Xiao Fengyue’s door was knocked on.

Xiao Fengyue has always been someone lonely, and the only visitor he had was Yang LiuAn; but this time, when he opened the door with joy, he saw the last person he wanted to see.

Qin Yu smiled and said: “Can I come in and have a chat?”

Out of courtesy, Xiao Fengyue kindly invited him into the room: “This poor room is simple, Gongzi¹ can sit at will.”

Qin Yu stepped into the room and didn’t sit down. He looked at the Guqin placed on the table, his fingers played the strings frivolously: “I’ve heard that Xiao-gongzi is good at playing stringed instruments, so I came here to learn from you.”

“I don’t dare, but I’ll be glad to discuss it with you.” Xiao Fengyue suppressed the uneasiness inside his heart, picked up the porcelain cup on the table and poured tea for Qin Yu.

Qin Yu smirked and asked: “Xiao-gongzi, have you ever played the Guqin for His Majesty?”

Xiao Fengyue replied: “Humble me is not talented. His Majesty feels that my music is too muddled, humbled me has never played for His Majesty.”

Qin Yu smiled even more, his eyes narrowed slightly, they were cunning and sinister: “So, in such a large Palace, only Bodyguard Yang had heard the sound of Gongzi’s Guqin?”

Xiao Fengyue’s hand trembled, the porcelain cup fell to the ground shattering in pieces. He suddenly raised his head, his face was ghostly pale, his eyes were round and his red lips were trembling: “You, you, you…”

Qin Yu picked up a porcelain cup, filled it with clean water, took a sip, and then continued: “Oh, even if His Majesty had never favored you, you’re still not allowed to have sex with an Imperial Guard in private. You’re guilty and you should die².”

Xiao Fengyue calmed his mind and said with anger: “Don’t spit blood on people³, we’re just strangers that happened to meet once.”

“Stranger?” Qin Yu suddenly started to laugh out loud. After laughing, he wiped his tears, smiled, and asked: “Who would gift his personal sachet to a stranger?”

Xiao Fengyue finally lost all his strength. He almost fell to the ground. Supporting himself with one hand at the table, he asked hoarsely: “What do you want?”

“Xiao-gongzi is a wise man, I will go right to the point.” Qin Yu took out a small white porcelain bottle from his sleeve and laid it on the table.

Xiao Fengyue asked: “What’s this?”

“Knockout drug.”

“Knockout drug?”

“Yes, I want you to drug Yan HeQing, pretend to have an affair with him, and then be discovered by His Majesty.” Qin Yu’s tone was indifferent, and his words were bloody.

Xiao Fengyue’s eyes widened incredulously: “Th-this, this is a death sentence.”

It’s a sin that can even bring the death penalty to the people being favored by the Emperor.

“Yes, it is also a death sentence, but Bodyguard Yang’s name will be clean, doesn’t he?” Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.

Xiao Fengyue lowered his eyes and lost all the blood from his face: “But, how can I get His Majesty to…”

“You don’t have to worry about it, I’ll find a way myself. Just tell me whether you’ll do it or not.” Qin Yu cut off his words and smiled. “Please think about it, Xiao-gongzi, and give me your final answer at night.”

After that, Qin Yu didn’t want to stay any longer, so he got up and left. Xiao Fengyue’s voice sounded behind him: “You’re so vicious, aren’t you afraid of the wrath of heaven?”

Qin Yu laughed instead of getting angry, and turned sideways to reply: “The wrath of heaven? At that time, I was an Imperial Guard on my road to become an Official, but I was forced into this Palace by His Majesty’s desires. I was forced to become a male concubine for him to play with. Isn’t this condemnation? Because I had his favoritism alone, I almost died at the hands of a treacherous person because of my unique appearance, isn’t that also condemnation? Xiao-gongzi, I, surnamed Qin, had lived in this Jing Yang Palace long enough, I can’t hear the words ‘the wrath of heaven’.”

After his speech, Qin Yu turned away and left.

The Emperor was at the top of the sky, and he had to climb with a weak body to gain a place inside the Imperial Palace, but then, he was thrown at the front of the main hall, put into display as part of the Imperial Harem, for long nights that lasted forever, full of sorrow.

Footnotes:

Footnotes

1. 公子 gōng zǐ; The original meaning of “Gongzi” was used to refer to the son and/or daughter of a Prince, later generations used it to refer to the sons of the Imperial family, but also to the sons of an Official. It can also be translated as “Young Master”. In modern times, is often used to refer to to someone’s child (usually a son) in an honorific manner.
2. 罪该万死啊 zuì gāi wàn sǐ a; It’s a Chinese idiom, it means to be guilty of a crime for which one deserves to die ten thousand deaths / A thousand deaths will not atone for one’s crime / Be guilty of a crime for which even death cannot atone / Be very guilty and deserve death. From 《东周列国志》(dōng zhōu liè guó zhì), “Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms”. Written by (冯梦龙 féng mèng lóng) Feng Menglong [1574-1646], a historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty [1368-1644].
3. 含血喷人 hán xuè pēn rén; It’s a Chinese idiom, It means fabricating facts, slandering and framing people with vicious words / casting malicious words to injure somebody. From 《罗湖野录》(luō hú yě lù), “Private Historical Records of Luohu”. Written by (晓莹 xiǎo yíng) Xiaoying, a famous monk in Linji from the Southern Song Dynasty [1127-1279].