Blessed by God

 

I found the last scene so funny I needed to release it quickly so as to let you guys laugh a bit. A lil rant at the end. —Bambi.

 

 

Chapter 39: Habits

 

In the early morning of the next day, the whole army was bursting with energy. When Yinsi got out of his tent, he saw the seventh brother was in great spirits as he pointed here and there, looking at ease when commanding the soldiers to pack up the things. The fourth brother was standing nearby, looking stunned as he stared blankly at Yinyou.

Soon later, Yinzhen turned around and saw Yinsi who was a few steps away from him. He nodded to him, “Eighth brother.”

“Fourth brother,” Yinsi approached, and stood two steps away. His eyes fell on Yinyou patting a soldier on the shoulder, “The seventh brother and the soldiers seem to get along very well. It seems that life in the military camp is very suitable for the seventh brother, these soldiers also seem to like him very much.” 

Yinzhen didn’t seem to hear the deep meaning in Yinsi’s words. “The seventh brother is pretty good.”

“That’s right. This younger brother also thinks that the seventh brother is very good,” Yinsi smiled; he had to curl the corners of his mouth to hide the slight suspicion and mockery in his eyes.

“Fourth brother, eighth brother, are you up?” Yinyou had just noticed the two of them, and he quickly walked towards them. He threw a glance to the fish-belly white1 鱼肚白. Yúdùbái. fish-belly white (used to describe the dingy light of the dawn sky). sky. “Today’s weather is good, and General Ula Nara decided to leave early. Did you guys rest well?”

“Just fine. How come the seventh brother woke up so early?” Seeing Yinyou’s sleepiness last night, Yinzhen thought that Yinyou would wake up late, but he didn’t expect that he’d wake up earlier than himself, and without him noticing it2The last chapter ended with them going to bed together in Yinzhen’s tent. So he’s surprised he didn’t feel him leave..

“Pure habit. I can’t fall asleep when I hear the footsteps of the soldiers outside the tent.” Yinyou looked around seriously. Some soldiers had already started to close their tent, their hands and feet so very nimble; they were indeed skilled soldiers, he thought with a smile.

Yinzhen’s emotions fluctuated, and in the end, he was simply relieved. Originally, the seventh brother was not an incompetent person, but it was the deep palace that had restrained him. He had to become cautious, a bit defensive, and a little wanton. He’d felt sorry for Yinyou suffering in the military camp, but Yinyou looked comfortable and at ease.

“Fourth prince, seventh prince, eighth prince, the things are almost packed. Are you ready to go?” Fiyanggū walked up to the three of them. He was wearing thick armor, but his movements were not at all clumsy.

“Master Ula Nara is commanding. My three younger brothers and I have no military experience. I ask Lord Ula Nara to bear with us,” Yinzhen tilted his head slightly.

“Fourth elder brother, you are welcome,” Fiyanggū secretly admired his son-in-law’s extraordinary character.  Clasping his fists, he added, “Then, this general will make arrangements first.” 

“Please.” 

Yinsi stood aside and looked at Yinzhen interacting with Fiyanggū. 

Though the gentle smile on his face did not diminish, he was secretly guessing that since the relationship between the seventh brother and Fiyanggū seemed to be very good, adding that Fiyanggū was the fourth Fu Jin’s father, if the seventh brother won the favor of the soldiers in the future, afraid Fiyanggū will be tempted to support the fourth brother.

Looking at the morning light in the East, Yinsi narrowed his eyes, and turned his head to glance at the person who had been silent all this time only to find that the person’s originally handsome face was bathed in the morning light. Stained with a little halo, he looked indescribably beautiful and gentle.

 

 

The West Army passed through the Gobi3The Gobi Desert. Look at the map to get an idea. and Ningxia4Ningxia (寧夏) is a relatively dry, desert-like region in China. The capital is Yinchuan. As a frontier zone between nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers, Ningxia was a frequent seat of war and incursions by non-Chinese tribes. , and soon entered the desert. Due to water shortage, their pace was much slower, and even more, they were ambushed on the way. Fortunately, the ruse was quickly discovered by Fiyanggū, Yinzhen, and others, and the few enemy forces were successfully repelled. As a result, the West Army became cautious and soldiers began taking turns to guard every night.

After entering the desert, water could only be used for drinking. Considering their marching speed, the fact they didn’t have a surplus of water, and that the replenishment and supplies of troops were not timely, they could only refrain. The entire army, regardless of rank, was prohibited from wasting water. Offenders will be fined twenty military sticks.

Yinyou gazed at the boundless desert. Thinking of the desert he knew from TV in his previous life, he still felt that the current view in front of him was a hundred times more natural and unrestrained. Only when he experienced such an atmosphere did he realize that the desert was not made for people. In the night, it was frighteningly cold. The only thing to be glad about was that because it was early April, they didn’t risk being cooked alive by the sun.

Patting the sand that fell on his body from the last sandstorm, Yinyou commented to the two brothers beside him, “It’s enough to experience this desert once in a lifetime. I really am not eager to have it repeated.”

Yinsi took a sip of water from his water bag, moistening his throat before replying, “This younger brother finds the seventh brother admirable. Elder brother is very calm when encountering sandstorms.” 

It was impossible for Yinyou to admit he had known sandstorms were a thing from the documentaries and TV shows he’d seen in his past life so he merely smiled. “I was bored these past two days, so I asked the guide some questions.” He didn’t say anything else.

Yinsi seemed to believe Yinyou’s words and also fell silent. After all, the army did bring some experienced people, and with Yinyou’s temperament, it was not impossible to ask.

Yinzhen, who spent all day with Yinyou, turned his head to look at him, and chose to remain silent.

 

Men’s clothes during the Qing Dynasty. Yinyou’s probably wearing something similar.

 

At the end of April, the whole army finally came out of the desert. Everyone was exhausted, thus Fiyanggū decided to rest for a day before continuing. Yinzhen and the others had no objections, and the army was stationed in a nearby forest.

Yinyou had never thought that grass was cute or water so attractive, but now he did. In fact, the bucket of clear water in front of him was more tempting than any beauty, and he quickly jumped into the bucket with a ‘plop’, feeling a sense of extreme relief washing over him.

The bucket was a bit small, but that was not a problem since he was happy as long as he could wash himself. Although the water was not hot enough, it was also not an issue, at least he had water.

It was true that water was the source of all things5水乃萬物之源 shuǐ nǎi wànwù zhī yuán. This is referencing Thales of Miletus, the Greek philosopher who said that Earth was floating on water, thus considering water the source of life and the first and most important element of all. [Thanks to Luminarily in NU for the explanation.] Most probably the author was trying to quote Guan Zhong’s philosophy (管子·水地篇), which is similar to Thales’s philosophy regarding water. [Thanks to motokare un NU forum for helping me out for the nth time.] Overall, this is most likely, the author once again taking liberties while writing..

After leaving the desert, Yinyou and Yinzhen lived separately. After Yinzhen took a bath and changed his clothes, he went out of the tent and walked towards Yinyou’s tent. It was only two steps away, and the soldiers guarding the tent did not stop him. He entered without obstacles. As a result, he saw Yinyou in messy clothes. He should’ve looked away, but his eyes were glued to Yinyou’s wheat-colored chest and his dried lips. Yinyou’s body was clearly no longer white, and his lips were not as moist and red as they were in the past, but he was unable to tear his gaze away.

“Fourth brother?” Seeing Yinzhen coming in, Yinyou casually closed his shirt, but found that the other person’s eyes were still boring on him, seemingly staring at his chest. He  reopened the front of his shirt in doubt, and touched his strong chest muscles down to his unformed six-pack abs, “Fourth brother, what are you looking at?” 

Was he perhaps envious of his figure?! However, he remembered that the fourth brother already had a six-pack, so why should he be envious of him?

Seeing his series of movements, Yinzhen’s eyes brightened and then darkened, then they brightened again, then dimmed once again. After struggling for a while, he quickly stepped forward and pulled Yinyou’s lapel together. “It’s cold at night.” His hands climbed to tie the clothes of Yinyou, looking the perfect picture of a worried older brother.

“Fourth brother, seventh brother…” Yinsi entered the tent, and the first thing he saw was Yinzhen’s hand was falling on Yinyou’s open shirt, and the seventh brother’s blushing cheeks; he also cleverly took notice of Yinyou’s disheveled hair and how Yinzhen was sitting on the wooden couch. Thinking of the rumors of the second brother’s cutting sleeves6In the raw it said the second brother’s habit of liking male sex, but I decided to put it more… prettily. The Crown Prince, Yinreng, was known to have intercourse with eunuchs and other men. In fact, when Kangxi deposed him the first time, he called him “depraved and lustful” for these same rumors. “Homosexuality in China was regarded as a taboo and off-center practice. Chinese society saw homosexuality as an illness (…) (or) addiction (癖) over which one does not have control that stemmed from sexual frustration or sense of inferiority.” Wikipedia. , the forever gentle smile finally froze in his face.

 

Bambi: I tried to investigate the original war situation between Kangxi and Galdan, I searched maps of the regions, but honestly I don’t know where they are, where they’re going or what is happening. I really apologise if the war situation is messy Tbh, I think the author is as lost as me, and we two are not doing good Please simply enjoy the characters’ interactions and don’t focus on the places, timeline, etc… I honestly spent three days trying to understand how could they pass Ningxia if they were in the Kherlen River and end in the desert since supposedly the desert was in the middle instead of the end… If you watch the map I put there closely, you’ll know that the jourey doesn’t make sense. I also found this image from Galdan’s Wikipedia page where it shows the campaigns made by Kangxi and the Qing army to defeat Galdan which almost sent me in a spiral because I so don’t get it. So by this time, I’m like whatever. This is my apology if the geographical stuff gets weird.

1 鱼肚白. Yúdùbái. fish-belly white (used to describe the dingy light of the dawn sky).2The last chapter ended with them going to bed together in Yinzhen’s tent. So he’s surprised he didn’t feel him leave.3The Gobi Desert. Look at the map to get an idea.4Ningxia (寧夏) is a relatively dry, desert-like region in China. The capital is Yinchuan. As a frontier zone between nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers, Ningxia was a frequent seat of war and incursions by non-Chinese tribes. 5水乃萬物之源 shuǐ nǎi wànwù zhī yuán. This is referencing Thales of Miletus, the Greek philosopher who said that Earth was floating on water, thus considering water the source of life and the first and most important element of all. [Thanks to Luminarily in NU for the explanation.] Most probably the author was trying to quote Guan Zhong’s philosophy (管子·水地篇), which is similar to Thales’s philosophy regarding water. [Thanks to motokare un NU forum for helping me out for the nth time.] Overall, this is most likely, the author once again taking liberties while writing.6In the raw it said the second brother’s habit of liking male sex, but I decided to put it more… prettily. The Crown Prince, Yinreng, was known to have intercourse with eunuchs and other men. In fact, when Kangxi deposed him the first time, he called him “depraved and lustful” for these same rumors. “Homosexuality in China was regarded as a taboo and off-center practice. Chinese society saw homosexuality as an illness (…) (or) addiction (癖) over which one does not have control that stemmed from sexual frustration or sense of inferiority.” Wikipedia.