I [Imperial] Am Not This Kind of Man

This chapter was translated by Daed and edited by Shiny to be hosted on Foxaholic.com. Want to support the translator? Turn off adblock or buy Daed a kofi here! Thank you.

This chapter directly continues from ch8 (last few sentences). Please read that if the beginning seems abrupt.

Edit 11/15/20: Slight tln additions; added message to lazyinu.

I can’t seem to message on Wattpad, so I’ve just gone ahead and posted my response to you here. If possible, lazyinu, could you contact me? Please either comment below this chapter or contact me on Discord.

…Especially since he was still undressed. A chilly wind blew through the room and Qin Nuo shivered. It’s so cold! That bastard Qin Ze, he was ruthless enough when he laid his hands on him (QN). That guy directly took all of his outer clothes, leaving him in just his inner short underpants. 　　

Qin Nuo turned and, glancing at Fan Juan, he opened his mouth, “Take off your clothes.”　　

Fan Juan was taken aback, she raised her head and gazed blankly at Qin Nuo. Immediately her expression changed and she covered her chest with both hands, “What do you want to do?” 　　

I c your paternal grandfather1, what kind of reaction is that? Don’t tell me that you think that I can unleash my inner beast even under these circumstances?! 　　

“Either you take off your clothes, or you help me get my clothes back. Choose one.” Qin Nuo’s gaze was not friendly.　　

Only now did it dawn upon Fan Juan. She glanced at Qin Nuo’s half-naked body, then averted her gaze and suggested tactfully, “This servant is afraid that this servant’s clothes might not fit Ninth Highness’s build. However, the Virtuous Consort’s coat and cloak are in the room. How about you [formal] put up with those for the time being?”   　　

“Hurry up and bring it over here then.” Qin Nuo commanded with a stern face.　　

Fan Juan hurriedly climbed up from the bed, then charged towards the clothes rack beside the screen and grabbed the clothes. In the middle of this, she happened to pass by Virtuous Consort Ge’s corpse and her footsteps became visibly messy. Nevertheless, she didn’t slip and she placed the clothes into Qin Nuo’s hands. 　　

It was a snow-azure-colored satin cloak, its pattern extremely simple and neat. After all, the emperor was critically ill. No one would be so brainless as to wear red and drape green cloth over their shoulders. Qin Nuo shook out the cloak before donning it.
2 　　

He raised his head to see that Fan Juan was staring at him and smiled maliciously at her, “What are you looking at? You killed Virtuous Consort Ge, shouldn’t you be thinking about how you should explain yourself?”　　

“It was you! I didn’t……” Fan Juan’s expression changed dramatically.　　

Qin Nuo sighed and said very considerately, “I know that you didn’t do it on purpose. How about you go and tell Qin Ze, ‘I beg your pardon, my hand slipped and stabbed your Mother Consort Ge. Now she’s dead.’ Seeing as you have such deep feelings for him, who knows? Maybe Qin Ze will forgive you.”  　　

Fan Juan began to cry again.　　

“Shut up, don’t cry anymore! If you don’t want to die, then shut your mouth!” Qin Nuo barked impatiently.  　　

In a split second, Fan Juan’s sobbing stopped. Due to her meek nature, she did not dare to defy the person in front of her. 　　

His surroundings were finally quiet and peaceful. Qin Nuo began to ponder over how he could absolve himself from the crime. Indeed, it was Virtuous Consort Ge who sought her own death. There wasn’t a single bit of injustice in her death! But the emperor’s court was not a place where one could simply reason their way out. Presently, what was most important was what he should do to completely remove himself from this situation.　　

First, he must dispose of Virtuous Consort Ge’s corpse. Then, the most troublesome issue of the sole witness……His gaze fell upon Fan Juan’s figure.　　

If he were to kill this palace girl, then there wouldn’t be anyone who would know about this matter! What’s more, this damned girlie had slipped him a knock-out drug earlier and caused harm to him. Basically, death could not wipe out her crimes! 　　

After building up a mental shield for a long time, Qin Nuo sighed resignedly. He couldn’t bring himself to do it!　　

At the end of the day, he was someone who had lived twenty years in a society where the law was enforced. No matter what, there was a lower limit to his morality. Shaking his head helplessly, Qin Nuo said coldly, “Come and help.” He squatted down beside Virtuous Consort Ge’s body.　　

Fan Juan lifted her head, mystified, “With what?”　　

“To dispose of the corpse.” Qin Nuo replied, slightly annoyed.　　

Fortunately, Siyue Lake was right behind Qian Yuan Palace Chamber. And to their luck, the sun still hadn’t risen. They threw Virtuous Consort Ge’s corpse into the lake. The night wind blew strongly, spurring the water to surge over and over. As long as they stalled for some time, he reckoned that it would be difficult to determine where Virtuous Consort Ge had died. 　　

Since there would be political turmoil taking place in the palace tonight anyway, there was bound to be more than one dead body. Who could say for certain which side killed Virtuous Consort Ge in passing as she walked by? 　　

With a splash, a middle-aged woman’s corpse fell into the lakewater. A figure who used to stir the winds and clouds within the imperial harem3, with people responding en masse to a call, was now no different from the lower-ranked imperial servants who had died in this lake.　　

As she watched her mistress’s corpse drifting away with the waves, Fan Juan’s two hands gripped the windowsill. She practically vomited blood as tears streamed down her cheeks, “Consort……”　　

 What a miserable cry that truly saddens those who hear it and brings tears to the eyes of those who see it! Beside her, Qin Nuo rolled his eyes, “What are you upset about? Your consort had wanted to kill you.” Although he had been immobile earlier, his consciousness had still been present. Naturally, he heard the entirety of Virtuous Consort Ge and Fan Juan’s conflict.
　　
“The consort, she……had no other choice.” Fan Juan’s expression was forlorn. 　　

“Forget it, think of it however you like. Hurry up and get over here to wipe this place all clean!” Qin Nuo pointed at the bloodstains on the floor and commanded without any qualms.　　

Fan Juan held back her tears, meekly kneeling down on the floor as she started wiping the bloodstains on the floor and the windowsill clean. Then, she dumped the dirty water into the lake situated below the window.　　

Qin Nuo assessed the room. Only after he had confirmed that not a single trace of the murder that had occurred could be found did he let out a sigh of relief. He walked over to the bed and sat down to ponder his next move. Offhandedly, he patted the spot beside him, “You’ve worked hard. Come here and take a break.”

Fan Juan shivered, yet unexpectedly, she didn’t refuse. Instead, she docilely walked up to him and sat beside him.　　

“Have you thought about how you’re going to absolve yourself from the crime?” Qin Nuo asked offhandedly. 　　

Fan Juan was silent for a while before she raised her head and asked, “Is Your Highness not going to make a move?”　　

Qin Nuo was taken aback. He met Fan Juan’s large, watery eyes. Her gaze contained pleas, suffering, and the sort of despair where she had already accepted her fate. 　　

He instantly understood her thoughts. “You think that I will kill you?” 　　

Fan Juan nodded. 　　

Qin Nuo was suddenly amused. He was afraid that it was exactly because she thought so that she would be so obedient. The innate servile nature was deeply ingrained in her bones; in other words, she had already been resigned to her fate.　　

It was undeniable that there was a moment earlier where he really did harbor the thought; alas, he couldn’t actually do it. 　　

“Then why didn’t you seize the chance to escape before?”　　

Just now when she had helped him to grab the clothes and clean the floor, she had had the opportunity to flee. 　　

Fan Juan let out a bitter laugh, “This servant already has no other choice. If [this servant] left, where could [this servant] go? If I return to the palace, once the news of the consort’s death spreads, it would be my failure to attend to her. The Tenth Highness would certainly take his anger out on me.”　　

In fact, when Virtuous Consort Ge demanded that she murder the ninth prince, she had already had a premonition of her future. Yet she never would have expected that Virtuous Consort Ge—someone superior to her—would actually die before she herself was silenced. Either way, she was destined to die. So she had resigned herself to her fate. Furthermore, now that she thought about it, it wasn’t that bad to die after Virtuous Consort Ge. 　　

In this time period, servants had no human rights. Even if Virtuous Consort Ge died from illness, it was common to expect competent servant girls to be buried along with her mistress and accompany her in death. Qin Nuo once again gave himself a mental thumbs-up for his transmigration techniques.4 　　

“You are so besotted with him, that good Tenth Brother of mine ought not to be so hard-hearted.” Qin Nuo rubbed his chin. This girlie was rather clever. Moreover, she had large, round eyes and rosy cheeks. She was born with extremely alluring looks.5 　　　

“Tenth Highness wouldn’t. He has always been a hard-hearted person.” As she recalled how enamored she was with that striking and martial highness, Fan Juan became downcast. Within less than a shichen6, her beautiful first love was extinguished like foam, with no ripples to be seen again.　

Qin Nuo didn’t have time to concern himself with her remembrance. He sighed, “Killing you wouldn’t help resolve this situation. How about you and I think about how we should make the lie consistent.” 

Having ascertained that the ninth highness had no intention of killing her, Fan Juan’s eyes lit up. Even an ant has the desire to live; if there was a path to take where she could stay alive, she didn’t want to die!　

“Lu He was right. Your Highness is a benevolent person.”　　

Lu He? How is she related to this? Qin Nuo was a little confused. Yet after he thought about it again, he remembered, wasn’t Lu He also someone who Virtuous Consort Ge had arranged? It was normal for the two of them to have friendly relations.　　

“She is my godmother’s sworn sister’s adopted daughter.” Fan Juan explained.　　

“Ha. In this palace, it’s also a school of thought to be a servant.” Qin Nuo remarked with a laugh. 　

Amidst this kind of anxious atmosphere, unexpectedly, these two were chatting nonchalantly.  　

Fan Juan herself thought that she had forgotten herself. She could never have dreamed of actually talking with a prince who was superior to her about such matters. Perhaps it was because this person before her eyes possessed such an amicable aura that made people feel a natural closeness with him.　　

While using simple conversation to relax his mind, Qin Nuo gradually organized his thoughts. His plan was like this: 　　

After her son Qin Ze had left, Virtuous Consort Ge went to visit Empress Huo and pay her respects as she consulted her on the next part of the plan. While she was at it, she would ask for instructions on how to take care of this good-for-nothing prince. She had left Fan Juan to keep watch over Qin Nuo, leaving by herself.　　

Afterwards, Thirteenth Princess, concerned about her father emperor’s condition, came to Qian Yuan Palace Hall to visit. When she passed by this palace room, she unexpectedly found her unconscious older brother. Fan Juan lied that the Ninth Highness had fallen asleep because he had stayed up too much. Thirteenth Princess did not suspect a thing and ordered her female attendants to bring Qin Nuo back. 　　

" "

After Qin Nuo was taken away by Thirteenth Princess, Fan Juan was helpless. She wanted to find and report this new development to Virtuous Consort Ge, but no matter where she looked, she couldn’t find her. Hence, she could only go to Liu Guang Palace to find Qin Ze. Since she was together with Qin Ze, then when his biological mother died, he ought not to be able to find any excuses to punish Fan Juan anymore. 　　

Up until this point, everything would be consistent and would seem rational. As for why Virtuous Consort Ge suddenly disappeared in the middle of going to find the empress, well, that wasn’t their responsibility.　　

No matter how Qin Nuo thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a better way to absolve himself from this matter. He could only rely on his dear sister to help him out!　　

For this plan to succeed, there were two points that were necessary: first, someone witnesses Virtuous Consort Ge leaving her room. Second, the thirteenth princess comes and supports him.

Visual examples for the eyes (TLN #5):

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Footnotes

Basically the same as a cuss. The “c” is a censored version of “cao” which is a euphemism for the curse word “fuck”. So this cuss (我c你大爷的)means “I fck your paternal grandfather/grand-uncle”, depending on the region. In some regions, 大爷 (Da Ye) is a term of address for one’s father’s father (their paternal grandfather) while in others, it’s used to address one’s uncle. To be more specific, one would call the older brother of their father 大爷 (Da Ye). It is also used as a term of respect for an older male elder in general.Something like this:

曾经在这个后宫里搅动风云.To be more specific, he “pressed the ‘like’ button” for himself. But basically, he gave himself a thumbs-up for at least transmigrating into a bona-fide male prince and not a female servant. 杏眼桃腮 xìngyǎntáosāi. 杏眼 (xìngyǎn) – apricot/almond-shaped eyes; this eye type is considered to make the individual appear more youthful and beautiful because the individual has large, round eyes. Visual examples available at the end of the chapter. 桃腮 (táosāi) – peach cheeks; I thought it sounded a bit awkward to say “peach cheeks” so I used “rosy cheeks” instead. I think it’s the same effect. She has a natural blush.时辰 (shíchen) – these are 2-hour periods of the day (12 in total). Half a shichen would mean one hour in modern day. Less than a shichen gives a range from a few minutes to almost two hours.