MHNEB 16 (2/2)
Book 1: Now we don’t hear the loom shuttle; we only hear our daughter sighing.
练武木兰
Chapter 16: Mulan Practices Martial Arts [Part 2 of 2]
Edited by Granny
If it weren't for Hua younger brother being a thin and weak man rather than a petite beauty, this scene of fluttering pieces of cloth, coupled with the moment of the two individuals’ eyes met would make a very good historical film.
He Mulan quickly pulled herself out from the state of “Martial Concentration”. She glanced apologetically at Hua younger brother that collapsed on the floor in shock and fright.
“My apologies, I concentrated too much on practising Martial Arts. You shouldn’t barge into my yard out of the blue. Father should have told you before.”
Hua MuTuo couldn't manage to utter a reply to that. He didn't dare to say that he was dazzled by the fluttering pieces of silk, so he could only show his usual apologetic and silly smile to his sister.
“Hehe, I forgot about it.”
He Mulan mildly waved her sword to allow the pieces of silk that were fluttering in the air to be wrapped around her sword. Doing so, she was able to see what was in front of her sword.
“What’s this? Cotton cloth? Did our family plant cotton flowers?”
"No, the cotton cloth is only found in the south. This is silk. It is made from what is wrapped around the silk cocoons." Hua younger brother shook his head, “Sis, this is what those lords left behind in the woodpile yesterday.”
In He Mulan’s mind, the back view of the 14 horsemen appeared.
When did they stuff it into the woodpile? The thought of how the 14 horsemen looked when they secretly retrieved their silk and slowly stuffed it into the woodpile was heart-warming for her.
He Mulan looked at the sight of awe reflected on her younger brother’s face and chuckled softly: "Since this is the case, seeing that it is almost near the Chinese New Year, you can give these silk cloth to your wife. You could ask her to make a new coat for winter then.”
Hua MuTuo was shocked.
“Eh? Using silk? There is simply not the need for this. Last year sis just bought us new fur coats. It would be wasteful if we use silk cloth to make it this year.”
Silk has always used by Han-ren or rich households to act as a filling for their coats. (1) Ordinary people used thick cloths to make their winter clothes, while they layered an additional layer of fur coat on the outside to keep warm.
As people do need to do farm work in winter, and while they might need to feed a few farm animals that they kept, it is not necessary to wear such good quality winter clothes in their house.
“Throughout these days both of you have worked hard. Since both of you may feel that it's wasteful to use silk to make coats, you can decide on how you want to use it then.” He Mulan saw that Hua younger brother did not continue to speak. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat while sheathing her sword. She acted as if she did not seem to care and continued: “Since they gave it out of goodwill, both of you should keep it. Sis is not short of money.”
Hua younger brother saw that his sister had really given him these silk cloths, he immediately made a sound of acclamation. He belatedly brought the few baskets back to the house to find Fang-shi.
They felt that it's such a waste to wear the coats layered in silk. But their child was only about two years old. They didn’t feel that it was wasteful to make silk clothes for their child.
Besides, He Mulan had replenished her household’s stock of farm animals that consists of chickens, ducks, pigs and goats as well as other grains after the Yulin lads left. The winter this year would still be quite manageable. Therefore, these silk cloths were given to her younger brother’s family.
He Mulan was not being polite when she said she was not short of money. Right now, the present her is really not short of money.
Although she did not know why those chests of what the emperor bestowed her were half emptied, as she frequently went to the market, she naturally knew that the remaining cloth, gold and other pieces of jewellery would be enough for her to lead a fulfilling and stable life.
Truthfully, she previously thought that the missing items were given to the Hua family members. But later as parts of her memories surfaced, it was evident that Hua father and Hua mother did not accept Hua Mulan’s cloth and gold bars. They solely accepted goods that were easily spoilt like grains and leather.
Hua Mulan spent quite a sum of money to fix this big house of hers. She also frequently bought for her parents’ clothes and other necessities. Her meals were settled at her brothers and parents’ side, while the expenses for her meals were reimbursed by the grains, food and seasonings she bought from the market. Those don’t cost much.
Since she was unable to resolve the mystery of why half of her bestowed goods were empty, He Mulan could not be bothered to think about it longer.
Originally, the money didn’t belong to her anyway.
.
.
.
Midnight.
Although the money did not belong to her, it does not imply that she is able to tolerate this group of thieves that returned repeatedly to steal her stuff!
Didn't the "Haunting" incident scare them away? They really dared to return here again!
She heard scuttling sounds from the treasury warehouse next to her house. She sat upright, hurriedly put on her fur coat, tugged a short blade around her waist belt, and passed through the door connecting the bedroom to the warehouse.
When He Mulan entered the warehouse, the group of "wandering swordsmen" had just quietly unlocked the copper lock that had been replaced by He Mulan. A few tall men entered the warehouse. The man who headed the group had looks resembling the later generations of the people of Xinjiang. He had curly hair, a long braid and his left ear hung a small buddha figurine earring. Just the look of his face gave a lingering sense of an evil foreboding aura. At first glance, he does not appear to be a gentle person.
He Mulan saw the men entering the warehouse. She immediately knew that these men definitely had different objectives different from the thieving wandering swordsmen who had a singular objective to steal. These tall men would definitely not be wandering swordsmen either.
Hua Mulan’s memories had transmitted to her who exactly these people were.
Or rather, it transmitted to her what exactly was their background.
Therefore, He Mulan could no longer afford to hide her presence, she turned out from the hiding spot, pulled out her short blade and slashed in the direction of the curly-haired man. The enemy was unaware of the sneak attack planned. Just as the curly-haired man was about to turn around to enter from the door, a short blade appeared in front of him all of a sudden. He took a step back to evade it immediately.
The moment he turned his body around again, his hand had already held a machete.
The wandering swordsmen behind him were so scared that they could not stand upright. The few curly haired men stared at the wandering swordsmen who had been frightened to flee by the "female ghost" last time with looks that would kill. With this look, they only dared to stand behind them rigidly.
He Mulan strode a few steps forward, shut the door backhandedly, and forced them out of the warehouse.
The reason why she forced them out was that they had a lot of people on their side. Fighting in a cramped area was disadvantageous for her this way.
With this, her circumstances would be largely different.
“Hua Mulan?” The curly-haired man who led the team asked with a choppy voice in the Xianbei language.
"When did the LuShuiHu (2) men start to pilfer and get into this shoddy line of work?" He Mulan raised an eyebrow and glanced at the man who appeared no older than his early twenties.
"Since you know that I'm Hua Mulan, why are you not fleeing?"
(1) Image for clearer explanation: here (exterior made of other materials like cotton; interior made of silk) In the past, only the rich would have money to purchase silk in ancient China.
(2) LuShuiHu is a minority race recognized by China in present times. Most of them live in the Gansu province in China now. They are also known as the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu repeatedly invaded small kingdoms of China in ancient times. Read more: here
Previous Chapter
练武木兰
Chapter 16: Mulan Practices Martial Arts [Part 2 of 2]
-xxx-
Edited by Granny
If it weren't for Hua younger brother being a thin and weak man rather than a petite beauty, this scene of fluttering pieces of cloth, coupled with the moment of the two individuals’ eyes met would make a very good historical film.
He Mulan quickly pulled herself out from the state of “Martial Concentration”. She glanced apologetically at Hua younger brother that collapsed on the floor in shock and fright.
“My apologies, I concentrated too much on practising Martial Arts. You shouldn’t barge into my yard out of the blue. Father should have told you before.”
Hua MuTuo couldn't manage to utter a reply to that. He didn't dare to say that he was dazzled by the fluttering pieces of silk, so he could only show his usual apologetic and silly smile to his sister.
“Hehe, I forgot about it.”
He Mulan mildly waved her sword to allow the pieces of silk that were fluttering in the air to be wrapped around her sword. Doing so, she was able to see what was in front of her sword.
“What’s this? Cotton cloth? Did our family plant cotton flowers?”
"No, the cotton cloth is only found in the south. This is silk. It is made from what is wrapped around the silk cocoons." Hua younger brother shook his head, “Sis, this is what those lords left behind in the woodpile yesterday.”
In He Mulan’s mind, the back view of the 14 horsemen appeared.
When did they stuff it into the woodpile? The thought of how the 14 horsemen looked when they secretly retrieved their silk and slowly stuffed it into the woodpile was heart-warming for her.
He Mulan looked at the sight of awe reflected on her younger brother’s face and chuckled softly: "Since this is the case, seeing that it is almost near the Chinese New Year, you can give these silk cloth to your wife. You could ask her to make a new coat for winter then.”
Hua MuTuo was shocked.
“Eh? Using silk? There is simply not the need for this. Last year sis just bought us new fur coats. It would be wasteful if we use silk cloth to make it this year.”
Silk has always used by Han-ren or rich households to act as a filling for their coats. (1) Ordinary people used thick cloths to make their winter clothes, while they layered an additional layer of fur coat on the outside to keep warm.
As people do need to do farm work in winter, and while they might need to feed a few farm animals that they kept, it is not necessary to wear such good quality winter clothes in their house.
“Throughout these days both of you have worked hard. Since both of you may feel that it's wasteful to use silk to make coats, you can decide on how you want to use it then.” He Mulan saw that Hua younger brother did not continue to speak. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat while sheathing her sword. She acted as if she did not seem to care and continued: “Since they gave it out of goodwill, both of you should keep it. Sis is not short of money.”
Hua younger brother saw that his sister had really given him these silk cloths, he immediately made a sound of acclamation. He belatedly brought the few baskets back to the house to find Fang-shi.
They felt that it's such a waste to wear the coats layered in silk. But their child was only about two years old. They didn’t feel that it was wasteful to make silk clothes for their child.
Besides, He Mulan had replenished her household’s stock of farm animals that consists of chickens, ducks, pigs and goats as well as other grains after the Yulin lads left. The winter this year would still be quite manageable. Therefore, these silk cloths were given to her younger brother’s family.
He Mulan was not being polite when she said she was not short of money. Right now, the present her is really not short of money.
Although she did not know why those chests of what the emperor bestowed her were half emptied, as she frequently went to the market, she naturally knew that the remaining cloth, gold and other pieces of jewellery would be enough for her to lead a fulfilling and stable life.
Truthfully, she previously thought that the missing items were given to the Hua family members. But later as parts of her memories surfaced, it was evident that Hua father and Hua mother did not accept Hua Mulan’s cloth and gold bars. They solely accepted goods that were easily spoilt like grains and leather.
Hua Mulan spent quite a sum of money to fix this big house of hers. She also frequently bought for her parents’ clothes and other necessities. Her meals were settled at her brothers and parents’ side, while the expenses for her meals were reimbursed by the grains, food and seasonings she bought from the market. Those don’t cost much.
Since she was unable to resolve the mystery of why half of her bestowed goods were empty, He Mulan could not be bothered to think about it longer.
Originally, the money didn’t belong to her anyway.
.
.
.
Midnight.
Although the money did not belong to her, it does not imply that she is able to tolerate this group of thieves that returned repeatedly to steal her stuff!
Didn't the "Haunting" incident scare them away? They really dared to return here again!
She heard scuttling sounds from the treasury warehouse next to her house. She sat upright, hurriedly put on her fur coat, tugged a short blade around her waist belt, and passed through the door connecting the bedroom to the warehouse.
When He Mulan entered the warehouse, the group of "wandering swordsmen" had just quietly unlocked the copper lock that had been replaced by He Mulan. A few tall men entered the warehouse. The man who headed the group had looks resembling the later generations of the people of Xinjiang. He had curly hair, a long braid and his left ear hung a small buddha figurine earring. Just the look of his face gave a lingering sense of an evil foreboding aura. At first glance, he does not appear to be a gentle person.
He Mulan saw the men entering the warehouse. She immediately knew that these men definitely had different objectives different from the thieving wandering swordsmen who had a singular objective to steal. These tall men would definitely not be wandering swordsmen either.
Hua Mulan’s memories had transmitted to her who exactly these people were.
Or rather, it transmitted to her what exactly was their background.
Therefore, He Mulan could no longer afford to hide her presence, she turned out from the hiding spot, pulled out her short blade and slashed in the direction of the curly-haired man. The enemy was unaware of the sneak attack planned. Just as the curly-haired man was about to turn around to enter from the door, a short blade appeared in front of him all of a sudden. He took a step back to evade it immediately.
The moment he turned his body around again, his hand had already held a machete.
The wandering swordsmen behind him were so scared that they could not stand upright. The few curly haired men stared at the wandering swordsmen who had been frightened to flee by the "female ghost" last time with looks that would kill. With this look, they only dared to stand behind them rigidly.
He Mulan strode a few steps forward, shut the door backhandedly, and forced them out of the warehouse.
The reason why she forced them out was that they had a lot of people on their side. Fighting in a cramped area was disadvantageous for her this way.
With this, her circumstances would be largely different.
“Hua Mulan?” The curly-haired man who led the team asked with a choppy voice in the Xianbei language.
"When did the LuShuiHu (2) men start to pilfer and get into this shoddy line of work?" He Mulan raised an eyebrow and glanced at the man who appeared no older than his early twenties.
"Since you know that I'm Hua Mulan, why are you not fleeing?"
-xxx-
(1) Image for clearer explanation: here (exterior made of other materials like cotton; interior made of silk) In the past, only the rich would have money to purchase silk in ancient China.
(2) LuShuiHu is a minority race recognized by China in present times. Most of them live in the Gansu province in China now. They are also known as the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu repeatedly invaded small kingdoms of China in ancient times. Read more: here
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Fleur's corner:
I'll try to update the next chapter by next Weds (11/12). The next chapter is gonna have more world-building historical content, so translations might be slower.
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Thank you so much for translating, I am enjoying this novel a lot as Hua Mulan is also my idol! I still have one more year to go before I graduate university haha. Again thank you for translating this wonderful novel, it means a lot and I really appreciate the hard work you do :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! Hua Mulan is my idol too :D
DeleteAll the best in your studies!