Hey guys! So I’ve recently been told by a reader that a new group has picked up Story of Yanxi Palace from the beginning, and they are up to chapter 20 now. Because of this, I am not sure if I want to continue translating SYP. For one, I average around 1 chapter released per month, whereas this new group released 20 chapters at once. When it comes to release frequency, I simply can’t compete with that, especially since I have other projects with more priority.
The question is, if I do continue SYP, will you guys still read it? Or would you read the faster translations? Because there’s hardly a point in continuing (especially with all those lengthy history-related notes) if no one will read it.
Please vote on the poll or leave a comment with your opinion. I won’t base my decision solely on the poll, of course, but it will affect it.
Thank you for giving me your time, and on to the chapter!
Like flowing water, dish after dish consisting of lychees were sent to the banquet.
There were stir-fried lychee and shrimp balls, fried egg and lychee, roast duck with fresh lychee salad, red lychee rolls, pork and lychee balls, and so on. The empress scooped a spoonful of clear soup. Within sat a snow-white lychee, as well as a few scarlet wolfberries. White at the center with rosy surroundings. As though a couple of red plum blossoms fluttered among the snow, lovely to the max.
“Your Majesty the empress, this is the dish called White Snow Red Plum Blossom that the imperial kitchens specially made.” Erqing noticed her inquisitive expression, and so explained at the side, “It’s easy for one to suffer from excessive internal heat from eating lychees. Thus, they must be soaked in warm salt water, and then paired with wolfberries.”
“There has been much attention and consideration put into the tea and meals. Simply the outward appearance of this is elegant to an immense degree.” The empress smiled. “Emperor, have a taste.”
Hongli cut an absent-minded figure, gaze wandering everywhere. What he was searching for in the crowd proved anyone’s guess. It wasn’t until the White Snow Red Plum Blossom was sent before him that he smiled faintly at the empress. “Empress is considerate.”
A sliver of envy flashed through Noble Consort Hui’s eyes. She stroked her tortoiseshell nail guards, a smile blossoming on her lips. “Lychee dishes are very common. After all, there are dried lychees sent here every year, and condiments can be added to them. But they won’t taste like this! People who truly want to eat lychees are most interested in the fresh sort. Your Majesty the empress, aren’t you supposed to personally pick the lychees today? Why haven’t the servants brought out the lychee tree yet?”
The empress found it strange as well. According to the plan, the lychee tree should have already been brought out. But for some reason, there hadn’t been any sign of activity regarding that.
“Speaking of which, who’s in charge of this…?” Noble Consort Hui smiled profoundly. “This concubine remembers now. It’s a palace maid named Wei Yingluo.”
All of a sudden, the hand Hongli was using to hold a lychee paused.
The empress did not become aware of it, but because of Noble Consort Hui’s smile, she wrinkled her brows. They had fought against each other for so many years, and had been enemies for so long. The empress could be considered the person who understood Noble Consort Hui the most in the world. This smile obviously carried ill intentions. What does she want to do? What can she do?
All of a sudden, Hongli said, “It’s getting late. Have the palace maid named… Wei Yingluo bring the lychee tree out.”
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Alarm struck the empress’ heart. Although she felt uneasy, since the emperor had already spoken, there was no way she could reject his decision in public. She could only say, “Where’s Yingluo? Have her bring the lychee tree over.”
The order was issued, but said person still did not appear.
After a while, Noble Consort Hui said, voice springing from all around, “Oh, that Wei Yingluo is truly bold, actually daring to make His Majesty, the empress, and so many imperial concubines wait for a servant like her.” The implications behind Noble Consort Hui’s smile grew deeper. “The empress’ palace was able to teach and train such a servant. Hehe.”
The empress furrowed her brows. From her understanding of Wei Yingluo, she would not make such a mistake without rhyme or reason, slighting so many noble personages of the imperial palace. What good would that do for her? Something must have happened.
She swept her peripheral vision at Noble Consort Hui. And she caught sight of her appearance, one of waiting for a good show to start. The empress’ heart grew cold. “Perhaps this matter has something to do with her…”
The empress wanted to dodge the matter altogether, but the arrow had already been plucked and must be released. The emperor, Noble Consort Hui, Imperial Concubine Jia… So many pairs of eyes stared at her, their owners waiting for her to reply.
How should she answer…?
Just when the empress was hard-pressed, her ears caught Erqing saying, “Your Majesty! It’s Wei Yingluo! She’s come!”
Wei Yingluo came?
Everyone turned to look at her, wanting to see how this presumptuous palace maid appeared.
At first glance, one could tell that her uniform did not seem any different from those of other palace maids.
At second glance, one felt she was different from the other palace maids, however.
Such an appearance… was too beautiful.
Her breath resembled the fragrance of orchids. Her looks clear as a lotus core. Even among the candidates for the Selection, who went through layer upon layer of inspection, there were few as beautiful as her. The empress had a large heart, actually allowing such a beauty to serve by her side. Was she not afraid this beauty would attract the emperor’s attention?
Compared to Wei Yingluo, the woman whom she was supporting was overshadowed. Thin and pallid like a wilting flower. Perhaps the only thing surpassing Wei Yingluo were the clothes she wore, those belonging to a master.
“Noble Lady Yu, why are you here?” asked the empress, shocked.
The woman Wei Yingluo was supporting was supposed to be in Yonghe Palace for her pregnancy. Noble Lady Yu.
She smiled at the empress. “Since Your Majesty the empress has hosted this banquet, this concubine ought to be present. Your Majesty shows solicitude for me, so this concubine must not be lazy.”
Hongli slowly shifted his gaze from Wei Yingluo’s face to Noble Lady Yu’s. “Has Noble Lady Yu’s condition improved?”
Noble Lady Yu rushed to perform a curtsy. “Many thanks, Your Majesty, for the concern. This concubine’s condition has already improved by quite a lot.”
“Then that’s good. You need to pay more attention to your body. Don’t have Empress worry over you.” Hongli nodded. “Sit.”
Noble Lady Yu took a seat in her usual position. As she sat, she exchanged a thoroughly-understanding gaze with Wei Yingluo.
At almost the same time, Noble Consort Hui and Imperial Concubine Jia shared an equivalent gaze. Imperial Concubine Jia said, “Your Majesty the empress, when will the lychees be plucked from the tree? This concubine is gluttonous, and is waiting for a taste of those fragrant, delicious, and fresh lychees!”
Such words startled the empress. Then she looked at Wei Yingluo, worried.
“We have let the masters wait for too long,” replied Wei Yingluo with a relaxed smile. Following that, she shouted, “Bring it over!”
I don’t usually split chapters, but I had to do it for this one since it was nearly 6k raw characters. The second part will be out in a week or so, maybe even earlier, as I am currently in the process of building a Patreon chapter stock for my main projects in August.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a like or a comment below, or rate an add this novel to your reading list on NU.
- suffer from excessive internal heat: Traditional Chinese medicine term.
- Selection: Referring to the selection of concubines for the emperor, or wives for the imperial clan members, high-ranking official families, and nobility.
sleepchaser's cot 
I like your translation very much, but if someone can pick it up and translate it faster I’d be reading it. I can only hope they won’t stop in the middle of it. Thank you for this chapter.
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Try reading the other groups translations. You’ll see that it is actually very poor quality! So we Bette hope the translator here continues
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Thanks for the update. I am used to your update speed and don’t care much about it.I am a fan of your translations at this point and will keep reading as long as you post it. I currently know of other novels that have multiple translators and the different teams are okay with it. So I think you deciding to continue will also depend on if you are okay with another group working on this story. I am not a translator and don’t fully understand the struggles but as a reader aside from the story and update schedules, my perceived translator quality and style are equally important to determine whether to continue reading. I definitely support whatever decision you make. Thanks for sharing this story with us.
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I love your translations. Not only is it well done, but the trivia and cultural information you add is so helpful. It doesn’t matter if another group is translating, I love yours. Pace doesn’t matter, it’s quality and you’re wonderful. Please don’t stop.
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I’m sticking to your translations if you decide to keep going. I don’t care how slow your releases are. Who knows if the other translator will quit halfway. I rather have slow chapters and finish the story than binge read chapters that aren’t up to par with your translations.
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I really like you’re translations and they are much better than the ones posted by the other group. The other groups translations are not as eloquent and don’t make much sense sometimes. It detracts from the quality of the story quite a bit. Please continue, even if you’re going at your current speed.
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I adore your translations, they are well written and flow beautifully. I want quality before quantity. Plus as others have said, if rather have a slow pace and a finished story than something sloppy abandoned halfway. Please continue if you can. Thank you!
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Please do continue at your own pace, I’ve read some of your other projects and appreciate all the hard work you do.
Plus, the other group’s entire site always redirects me to an online banking site within moments of opening any page or chapter. Not sure if it’s a virus or poor advertising on their part, but it’s shady for sure
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