Disclaimer: This is a human-powered fan-translation. I don’t own the official translation rights and make no profit out of this. This is the result of a crazy impulse and desire to compare The Imperial Coroner with Bone Painting Coroner (which I DO have official translation permission).
Please do not copy or repost this translation.
Title: The Imperial Coroner (Madam Coroner) 御赐小仵作(仵作娘子)
Author: Leisurely Lass 清闲丫头
Chapters: 128
ISBN: 978-7-5402-2636-7
Publisher: Beijing Yanshan Press (2014) 北京燕山出版社
Chapter 2
Jing Yi lifted his head and saw that Xiao Jinyu was still lying in his original position. After a slight adjustment, his posture looked significantly more graceful than in the moment that he fell.
Xiao Jinyu pinched his bleeding nose with one hand and grabbed a crutch with the other. He was clearly trying to push himself up from the ground with all his might.
It was a futile effort.
Before Xiao Jinyu could utter a second sentence in the same furious tone, Jing Yi had already completed the following series of actions with lightning speed:
- Stood up from the foot of the wall.
- Pulled the wheelchair from beside the window.
- Grabbed Xiao Jinyu up by the arms.
- Helped Xiao Jinyu to the wheelchair and seated him properly.
- Put the crutch away to the back of the wheelchair.
- Took out his own handkerchief and passed it to Xiao Jinyu.
- Crouched down at the foot of the wall with both arms wrapped around his head.
He didn’t even dare to ask if Xiao Jinyu was seriously hurt.
Although he was the person to whom Xiao Jinyu made the most exceptions for, to some extent, he was actually very scared of Xiao Jinyu, even more so than his father feared the Emperor.
This had nothing to do with Xiao Jinyu’s power and status, and everything to do with his temper.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea1, Xiao Jinyu finally broke the silence with a cold voice that sounded slightly nasal and slightly angry, “Why is Wu Jiang’s sabre with you?”
Jing Yi remained crouched meekly in the corner, replying obediently with his gaze directed down at the floor. “We were drinking at my place last night and hid it for a bet. I forgot where I hid it after I drank too much, while he was also drunk and couldn’t find it. Today I remembered after waking up and found it, so I came to deliver it.”
“When did you wake up?”
“Over two hours ago.”
Xiao Jinyu stayed silent for a short while. He felt that the blood had stopped flowing from his nose, so he casually tossed the handkerchief to the side. Then, he spoke with that light and mild tone that was the most liable to make Jing Yi anxious, “Did you remember that you were supposed to work with the Ministry of Appointments to preside over the embezzlement case of the Yanzhou provincial governor at 9am2 today?”
Jing Yi jumped up with a whoosh and faced the rare eye roll that Xiao Jinyu especially bestowed onto him, quickly putting on the smile that had charmed thousands of girls, ladies, matrons, and grandmas, replying feebly, “I didn’t forget. It’s just that I thought of it a little late…”
Xiao Jinyu rubbed at his still-throbbing forehead. His tone became even milder. “Mm. Write down what you just said, word for word, and submit it to the Imperial Censor, Lord Tai Liang, then.”
“No no no!” Jing Yi immediately lost his cool the minute he heard the words ‘The Imperial Censor, Lord Tai Liang’. “Last time, my father urged that old man to submit a complaint that I was absent from work without leave. As a result, I was doomed to go with the Ministry of Works to dig canals in the mountain valleys for three months! It’s already almost the end of the year…please do a good deed, accumulate merit, and save me from this pain and distress!”
Jing Yi glanced solicitously at the desk piled high with documents, the corner of the wall stacked high with scrolls. “Couldn’t I redeem my crime with work? Would you like me to help you organise the documents?”
“When are you going to bring me the documents of the Court of Judicial Review for the ninth and tenth months?
Jing Yi felt a burst of guilt. Why on earth did he have to mention the documents out of nowhere! “Soon, soon…”
Xiao Jinyu didn’t intend to nag him further about the documents, because there was absolutely no point in nagging this person about that matter.
“There will be a major case being heard at the Ministry of Justice tomorrow. All Ministry of Justice officials above the fifth rank will be involved, so you’ve been roped in to take charge of the coroner admission tests.”
At the mention of the coroners, Jing Yi immediately thought of that silly lass that was looking all over for the Six Doors. “Alright, leave it to me.”
“What are you smiling at?”
Jing Yi had always lacked the patience for tasks that involved sitting down unmoving all day long. Usually, he would put on a pitiful face and only grudgingly agree whenever such tasks were assigned to him. However, this person was actually smiling today with the kind of smile that took so much effort to suppress that it seemed like he was about to give himself an internal injury.
Jing Yi restrained his smile slightly, reverting to the same good-natured rich dandy disposition he had put on earlier in the streets, and replied earnestly, “At the beginning of the year, didn’t you ask me to look out for a bold and intelligent coroner with a clean and simple family background?”
Xiao Jinyu rubbed his swelling forehead, slightly startled, “You found someone?”
“They’ll be among those taking the tests tomorrow. This person is undeniably unconventional.”
Xiao Jinyu furrowed his brows slightly and nodded thoughtfully. Jing Yi’s judgement of people had never let him down. It could even be said that Jing Yi got his post in the ministry due to his ability to accurately appraise people.
While Xiao Jinyu was deep in contemplation, Jing Yi stared at his paling complexion. “Did you fall very badly?”
“I will be holding court at the Ministry of Justice tomorrow and will go take a look at that coroner you mentioned if I have free time.” From Xiao Jinyu, this sentence was equivalent to a notice for unwanted guests to take their leave.
This was one of his many shortcomings — he absolutely refused to handle any problems related to his body in front of anyone else. Including Jing Yi.
“Right. I’ll wait for you at the Ministry of Justice tomorrow.” Jing Yi stood up and walked towards the window. Just before he jumped out, the darkening sky suddenly reminded him of something. He turned his head and asked Xiao Jinyu enigmatically, “Have you ever thought of giving yourself a jianghu 3 nickname?”
Xiao Jinyu frowned, surprised. “A jianghu nickname?”
“What about the Leader of Six Doors, ‘Jade-faced Judge’?”
“Did you also hit your head on the window?”
“…”
—
Chu Chu had been doing the same thing from the moment she parted ways with Jing Yi till nightfall: looking for an inn.
She must find an inn to get a good night’s sleep; the admissions tests for the Six Doors were a major undertaking and she had to be in top form. This inn must also be close to the Ministry of Justice; the capital is too big and it would be terrible if she took a wrong turn and got lost.
However, after asking everywhere, Chu Chu finally understood that the little money she had on her was far from enough to even catch a glimpse at the inside of these inns in the capital. Seeing that the sky had turned completely dark, Chu Chu gathered her courage and entered an inn that looked small, rundown, and less expensive. She asked the manager the price of its cheapest room and was discouraged again. “Half a tael of silver…?”
“Too expensive?” The manager looked at her outfit, typical of a country bumpkin, while continuing to flick the beads on his abacus up and down, and commented rather bad-temperedly, “Why don’t you go to the one opposite then? If a little miss like you went to stay with them, they wouldn’t charge you for it and would even give you money.”
“Really?” Why did Mister Dong never mention that there were such inns in the capital?!
The manager didn’t even bother to lift his head. “Go ask them yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“Thank you, manager!”
By the time the manager raised his head in astonishment, Chu Chu had already dashed out of the doors. “Hey, little lass! That lass wearing pink! Yes, you, come back, come back!”
Chu Chu stood still and turned back to see the manager frantically waving his arm at her from behind the counter.
“Is something the matter?”
“Nothing… how much money do you have on you?” In any case, he had been operating the inn here for almost thirty years. How could he simply look on idly while this forthright little girl dashed into the brothel opposite?
“Just… seventeen copper coins.”
“I’ll charge you seventeen coins then.”
Chu Chu waved a hand grandly with a sweet smile. “No need to trouble you! They don’t charge there!”
A cloud of gloom came over the manager’s face. “You…you just stay here. I don’t have many guests here anyway, so I won’t charge you.”
Chu Chu blinked her bright, almond-shaped eyes. “They’ll even give me money.”
The manager’s face turned completely black. “You…I’ll give you a meal tonight and tomorrow morning for free.”
“Why?”
“You…you have a face with good fortune. You’ll change luck for the better wherever you go.”
Chu Chu’s eyes widened into large circles. “Manager, you’re amazing! That’s exactly what Demi-immortal Shen in my county said, word for word!”
“Heh heh, is that so…”
“That’s right! Unfortunately everyone from my county doesn’t believe it and even keep saying that I’m unlucky, making it difficult for me to be married off… if only they were half as perspicacious as you are!”
“Don’t mention it… Lai Fu4! Bring this lady to the ‘Earth-B’ room on the second floor.”
“Manager,” Chu Chu blinked at the manager again, “Could I stay in the ‘Sky-A’ room?”5
“Huh?”
“I’m here to take a test and would like to have something auspicious.”
“…Fine, the ‘Sky-A’ room then.”
“Thank you, manager! You’re such a good person!” Chu Chu put down her floral cloth-bundle in the ‘Sky-A’ room, washed her face, and filled her stomach with three dishes and a soup.
There were two dishes with meat, one of vegetables, and cabbage tofu soup. This was a more sumptuous meal than any other she had eaten on her journey; the flaw in this otherwise perfect meal was that the staple included was mantou6 instead of rice. She thought that the manager may not have known that she is a southerner, unused to eating mantou, so before bed, she went downstairs to tell the manager in advance that she would like rice porridge for breakfast, accompanied by mung bean pastries and side dishes.
After that, she took out a booklet from her floral cloth-bundle and dove into the warm nest of blankets on her belly to have a good read.
This is the story ‘Nine Legendary Bailiffs of the Six Doors’ that Mister Dong recited.7 She memorized each section of the story as she heard it, then immediately wrote it down when she got home. Whenever she was free, she would even bring it to Mister Dong for corrections, then carefully transcribe it out again at home when he was done. When she collected enough stories, she would bind them into a booklet. By now, she had already made three large booklets.
Since she was testing to be a coroner of the Six Doors, they might ask things about the Six Doors. It would be terrible if she forgot something out of nervousness, so she’d better take a look.
As she read, she fell asleep. The candle at her bedside had extinguished itself sometime, and she woke up to Lai Fu knocking on her door, delivering her breakfast. Chu Chu scrambled out of bed frantically. She had intended to wake up early and read more, but now she only had the time to eat breakfast. Fortunately, she got the rice porridge that she requested last night, with mung bean cakes and other side dishes.
The county magistrate’s wife was right; the mung bean cakes in the capital really weren’t as delicate and refreshing as that of their Zizhu county. The same with the rice porridge; the rice was too hard and not fragrant at all. As for the side dishes, shouldn’t they be sweet and sour? Why were they so salty that you could practically squeeze out grains of salt from them?
No wonder the inn didn’t have many customers!
Chu Chu couldn’t care too much at this moment. She finished eating with lightning speed, hurriedly thanked the manager, then took her bag and sprinted to the main gates of the Ministry of Justice, two streets away.
The sky was still dark. Before Chu Chu started going up the steps, she saw someone open the gates of the Ministry of Justice from the inside. Her head was much clearer after a good night’s sleep and Chu Chu immediately recalled that Jing Yi had told her on the streets yesterday, that she had to make the appropriate greetings when she saw the officers from the Ministry.
Chu Chu’s feet thumped loudly as she ran up the steps and immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud, bowing with her head to the ground in a kowtow as she shouted brightly, “Chu Chu kowtows to My Lord!”
“Oh my mother – ack!” The subject of her bow was thoroughly startled, took two steps back in quick succession, and tripped over the threshold of the gates behind him to fall flat on his back with a thud.
Chu Chu quickly scrambled over to help him up. Only then did she realise that this was an old man of around fifty, who wasn’t even wearing the robes of an official. “Are you not one of the officers in the Ministry of Justice?”
The old man grimaced as he pushed himself upright; his old bones had nearly shattered in that fall. “Whoever said that I am an officer? I’m the doorkeeper!”
“It’s dark. I didn’t see clearly…”
“What are you shouting for if you didn’t see clearly then?!” The old man’s anger dissipated as he faced the pitiful look the young lady directed towards him. “Which officer are you looking for?”
“I’m not here to look for an officer. I’m here to take the test.”
“Testing as a coroner?”
“Yes!”
The old man rubbed his back and frowned as he looked appraisingly at Chu Chu from head to toe. “Since when do they need little girls as coroners, hmm?”
“They do! Jing-dage said they do!”8
“Which Jing-dage is that, eh?”
“Jing Yi. Jing, as in the characters for sun and capital; Yi, as in the characters for stand and feather. Jing Yi, Jing-dage.”
The old man looked like he remembered something. “Oh, you must be called Chu Chu then?”
“Yes! Chu Chu, as in the idiom, ‘delicate and lovable’.”
The old man nodded. “I remember now. Lord Jing told me last night. You really arrived too early; even Prince An hasn’t arrived… wait there down by the steps. I’ll put up the official notice in a while. You do exactly as it says, and go to whichever room it tells you to, got it?”
“Got it!”
2560 words (Eng), 6 pages
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES
1. This was an actual unit of time measurement. ～10min
2. This was written as ‘hour of the snake’ (9am-11am) but i’m putting it in regular 24h time for ease of reading.
3. A jianghu nickname is like… a ‘hood name I guess? And jianghu is… see aveX vid
4. Name. Means come, fortune.
5. Different class of rooms… imagine ‘Earth’ being like economy on flights, and ‘Sky’ is first-class
6. A mantou is a steamed bun made of rice flour
7. It was common then to have storytellers at inns and teahouses for entertainment. the stories themselves could be based on current affairs or myths and legends.
8. Dage is pinyin for big brother. I’m trying out readability with all honorifics in pinyin.
TL’s Rant
Chu Chu’s aggressive cheer is… rather intimidating I’d say. And her obtuse rudeness at the inn just about broke my suspension of disbelief and brought me out of the story. It does create quite a lot of comical moments but I think I might prefer if it were a deliberate manipulation tactic rather than ‘naïveté’…
Anyways, I’ve finally finished reading the raws, and should be posting a full book review soon-ish. I have much to rant about and will attempt to restrain myself sighs.
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