enchanting beauty (美人如妖)
Shen Yu cannot help himself from imagining how this man—who has stormed across the land north of Xinjiang for more than ten years,1 who has been dubbed the Living King of Hell—will look. Surely he must resemble a malevolent fiend. Based on hearsay, the King of Hell is precisely that type, with black eyes, rosacea, a face full of whiskers: the kind of face that could even spook a ghost. Suddenly, the bridal veil is lifted. Due to a subconscious instinct, Shen Yu closes his eyes. He senses a finger lift up his own chin, forceful and strong, without a bit of tenderness and even possessing some roughness. Because the Prince of Zhenbei led troops into battle, he would definitely have calluses on his hand from holding weaponry. The finger strokes the right side of his face. “Ah, the Jing Dynasty’s number-one beauty. Interesting.” The voice is deep and thick like a war drum, and as he speaks, the odor of alcohol mixing with a man’s smell hits Shen Yu in the face. Unexpectedly, it does not have the revolting stench that Shen Yu had imagined, and the scent of alcohol is even a little intoxicating. It is probable that, as preparation to marry a concubine, he had washed his face and cleansed his mouth. Right now, Shen Yu can only make guesses: he does not know if the other is satisfied or dissatisfied. “You don’t dare to look at me?”Shen Yu shrinks into himself, feeling increasingly apprehensive and nervous. The Prince of Zhenbei looks at the beauty in front of him who has a slim figure and seems only about seventeen to eighteen years of age, a bud yet to mature. The face is clean to the extent that it resembles both the untouched snow on a mountain peak and flawless white mutton fat jade.2 His bridal attire, a phoenix coronet and robes of rank,3 under the candlelight makes his skin color appear slightly more rosy. The light touches of rouge add to his unique sensuality. Though his lips are closed, they still curve up faintly and tempt others to try a taste. His nose is exquisite like jade, delicate and dainty, while his ears are as glossy and translucent as precious gems.4What an exceptional rarity in the mortal realm!5Although the Prince of Zhenbei is thoroughly experienced with such matters after marrying ten concubines and frequenting brothels,6 those women were nothing out of the ordinary7 and he is awed by the beauty before him.
The Prince of Zhenbei gently caresses and strokes the beauty’s face from the chin to the lip and from the nose tip to the corner of the brows. He is able to sense the beauty’s subtle trembling. “Afraid I’m going to eat you?”Shen Yu nods his head; before, he had heard that if the Prince of Zhenbei lacked army provisions during a conflict, he would even eat the flesh of his enemies. It is very clear that the words of the Prince of Zhenbei had a completely different meaning and Shen Yu simply misunderstood, which resulted in the Prince of Zhenbei believing that he was intentionally being seduced. “Hahaha!”With an unrestrained laugh, the Prince of Zhenbei raises up Shen Yu’s chin. “Eyes; look at this venerable prince.”8This time, the tone is an order; since the prefectural magistrate had previously stated that he absolutely could not disobey the prince, Shen Yu slowly opens his eyes. Before his eyes is a tall, robust, and soldierly man. If Shen Yu is to stand up, his height might only reach the other’s chest. The Prince of Zhenbei has a broad chest and long limbs, giving an impression of great strength and power; his body is full of a rugged ferocity that has no place to escape. He is dressed in marriage robes,9 but they had merely been carelessly draped on and so his black inner clothes are peeking through.As it turns out, the Living King of Hell from the legends does not actually look disgustingly sinister!Shen Yu sees the Prince of Zhenbei’s unyielding brow ridge;10 bladelike eyebrows and thick hair with the hue of concentrated ink;11 deep, composed, self-assuredly dominating eyes; and the straight proud nose bridge combine together to culminate in an unmistakably heroic aura. He had even shaved his beard, as Shen Yu sees remnants of stubble on his chin. Accompanying his boorish crudeness is an imposing air of presence. “Not ugly in the slightest . . . . . . And not even that terrifying.”12The Prince of Zhenbei is dumbfounded for a moment. When Shen Yu had his eyes closed, he was already a beauty rarely found in the secular world; after he opened his eyes, the Prince of Zhenbei was once again given a start—those eyes like the petals of peach blossoms, carrying the colors of spring, are capable of ensnaring mortals’ souls! The pupils are black and astute, with a night sky’s worth of stars living inside. This pair of eyes can compete with the sun, moon, and celestial bodies for splendor: they caused the dusky bridal chamber to seem to emit light. Converging in that single body is both the bright and lovely purity of a fairy and the bewitching allure of a demon.13Within the lower abdomen of the Prince of Zhenbei, there rises a nefarious heat. He wants to seize this beauty entirely for himself! This person will only belong to him!cicadacricket notes: 1. 驰骋北疆十数载. North of Xinjiang might be referring to the territory outside of China, with various ethnic minorities (who were viewed as “wild people” or “barbarians.”) 2. 羊脂玉. Sounds kind of ugly translated in English, but it is white nephrite jade. 3. 凤冠霞帔. Traditional Chinese wedding bridal dress. 4. 耳珠晶莹玉润. This translates to “ear pearl” or “ear bead”; I don’t know if this is referring to his earlobes or earrings of some kind. 5. 人间哪得几回闻的尤物. Might mean that you don’t hear about these rarities (beauties) very often. 6. 寻花问柳. Literally looking/enjoying beautiful scenery and flowers of spring. 7. 也是家常便饭. Not sure about this one in context. 8. 本王. This prince/king; referring to himself. 9. 喜袍. I think this means marriage robes. 10. 两条山丘一般的眉骨. Compares his eyebrow bones to hills? I thought it sounded very strange so I took liberties and changed it a bit. 11. 直插云鬓. Describes the eyebrows sticking directly into his beautiful head of hair. Sounds super awkward in English and “云鬓” is used to describe a woman’s hair, so I didn’t know how to include this. 12. This is in quotation marks, but I’m pretty sure this is just Shen Yu’s thoughts since he can’t speak. 13. 出尘明媚. I tried. Maybe it’s because it took me so long to translate, but 80% of this chapter was describing how beautiful each individual body part of either lead is. back next
enchanting beauty (美人如妖)
Shen Yu cannot help himself from imagining how this man—who has stormed across the land north of Xinjiang for more than ten years,1 who has been dubbed the Living King of Hell—will look. Surely he must resemble a malevolent fiend. Based on hearsay, the King of Hell is precisely that type, with black eyes, rosacea, a face full of whiskers: the kind of face that could even spook a ghost. Suddenly, the bridal veil is lifted. Due to a subconscious instinct, Shen Yu closes his eyes. He senses a finger lift up his own chin, forceful and strong, without a bit of tenderness and even possessing some roughness. Because the Prince of Zhenbei led troops into battle, he would definitely have calluses on his hand from holding weaponry. The finger strokes the right side of his face. “Ah, the Jing Dynasty’s number-one beauty. Interesting.” The voice is deep and thick like a war drum, and as he speaks, the odor of alcohol mixing with a man’s smell hits Shen Yu in the face. Unexpectedly, it does not have the revolting stench that Shen Yu had imagined, and the scent of alcohol is even a little intoxicating. It is probable that, as preparation to marry a concubine, he had washed his face and cleansed his mouth. Right now, Shen Yu can only make guesses: he does not know if the other is satisfied or dissatisfied. “You don’t dare to look at me?”Shen Yu shrinks into himself, feeling increasingly apprehensive and nervous. The Prince of Zhenbei looks at the beauty in front of him who has a slim figure and seems only about seventeen to eighteen years of age, a bud yet to mature. The face is clean to the extent that it resembles both the untouched snow on a mountain peak and flawless white mutton fat jade.2 His bridal attire, a phoenix coronet and robes of rank,3 under the candlelight makes his skin color appear slightly more rosy. The light touches of rouge add to his unique sensuality. Though his lips are closed, they still curve up faintly and tempt others to try a taste. His nose is exquisite like jade, delicate and dainty, while his ears are as glossy and translucent as precious gems.4What an exceptional rarity in the mortal realm!5Although the Prince of Zhenbei is thoroughly experienced with such matters after marrying ten concubines and frequenting brothels,6 those women were nothing out of the ordinary7 and he is awed by the beauty before him.
The Prince of Zhenbei gently caresses and strokes the beauty’s face from the chin to the lip and from the nose tip to the corner of the brows. He is able to sense the beauty’s subtle trembling. “Afraid I’m going to eat you?”Shen Yu nods his head; before, he had heard that if the Prince of Zhenbei lacked army provisions during a conflict, he would even eat the flesh of his enemies. It is very clear that the words of the Prince of Zhenbei had a completely different meaning and Shen Yu simply misunderstood, which resulted in the Prince of Zhenbei believing that he was intentionally being seduced. “Hahaha!”With an unrestrained laugh, the Prince of Zhenbei raises up Shen Yu’s chin. “Eyes; look at this venerable prince.”8This time, the tone is an order; since the prefectural magistrate had previously stated that he absolutely could not disobey the prince, Shen Yu slowly opens his eyes. Before his eyes is a tall, robust, and soldierly man. If Shen Yu is to stand up, his height might only reach the other’s chest. The Prince of Zhenbei has a broad chest and long limbs, giving an impression of great strength and power; his body is full of a rugged ferocity that has no place to escape. He is dressed in marriage robes,9 but they had merely been carelessly draped on and so his black inner clothes are peeking through.As it turns out, the Living King of Hell from the legends does not actually look disgustingly sinister!Shen Yu sees the Prince of Zhenbei’s unyielding brow ridge;10 bladelike eyebrows and thick hair with the hue of concentrated ink;11 deep, composed, self-assuredly dominating eyes; and the straight proud nose bridge combine together to culminate in an unmistakably heroic aura. He had even shaved his beard, as Shen Yu sees remnants of stubble on his chin. Accompanying his boorish crudeness is an imposing air of presence. “Not ugly in the slightest . . . . . . And not even that terrifying.”12The Prince of Zhenbei is dumbfounded for a moment. When Shen Yu had his eyes closed, he was already a beauty rarely found in the secular world; after he opened his eyes, the Prince of Zhenbei was once again given a start—those eyes like the petals of peach blossoms, carrying the colors of spring, are capable of ensnaring mortals’ souls! The pupils are black and astute, with a night sky’s worth of stars living inside. This pair of eyes can compete with the sun, moon, and celestial bodies for splendor: they caused the dusky bridal chamber to seem to emit light. Converging in that single body is both the bright and lovely purity of a fairy and the bewitching allure of a demon.13Within the lower abdomen of the Prince of Zhenbei, there rises a nefarious heat. He wants to seize this beauty entirely for himself! This person will only belong to him!cicadacricket notes: 1. 驰骋北疆十数载. North of Xinjiang might be referring to the territory outside of China, with various ethnic minorities (who were viewed as “wild people” or “barbarians.”) 2. 羊脂玉. Sounds kind of ugly translated in English, but it is white nephrite jade. 3. 凤冠霞帔. Traditional Chinese wedding bridal dress. 4. 耳珠晶莹玉润. This translates to “ear pearl” or “ear bead”; I don’t know if this is referring to his earlobes or earrings of some kind. 5. 人间哪得几回闻的尤物. Might mean that you don’t hear about these rarities (beauties) very often. 6. 寻花问柳. Literally looking/enjoying beautiful scenery and flowers of spring. 7. 也是家常便饭. Not sure about this one in context. 8. 本王. This prince/king; referring to himself. 9. 喜袍. I think this means marriage robes. 10. 两条山丘一般的眉骨. Compares his eyebrow bones to hills? I thought it sounded very strange so I took liberties and changed it a bit. 11. 直插云鬓. Describes the eyebrows sticking directly into his beautiful head of hair. Sounds super awkward in English and “云鬓” is used to describe a woman’s hair, so I didn’t know how to include this. 12. This is in quotation marks, but I’m pretty sure this is just Shen Yu’s thoughts since he can’t speak. 13. 出尘明媚. I tried. Maybe it’s because it took me so long to translate, but 80% of this chapter was describing how beautiful each individual body part of either lead is. back next
