Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

I have started few new translations. Check them out and let me what do you think?

Daily Life of Raising Cubs in the 1980s

How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Happy Little Mayor

The Pretty Widow in the 1980’s Remarried with Her Baby

Changzhou was far, and by the time the Crown Prince and Xu Yanmiao arrived, it was already June.

“Our first stop! Let’s eat first!”

The accompanying retainers of the Crown Prince: “!!!”

They all scrambled forward, grabbing at the Crown Prince’s legs: “My lord! Have mercy on us! Pufferfish are poisonous! If something happens, and we fail to protect you, we’ll be beaten to death!”

This left the Crown Prince in an awkward spot—he couldn’t insist any further. But he found their worries oddly endearing. He gently nudged them with his foot and feigned annoyance: “Get up! I won’t eat pufferfish then. We’ll have another kind of fish instead. Surely it’s fine if I have that with a side of five-spice pickled radish, right?”

The retainers immediately broke into relieved smiles: “His Highness is kind and considerate of us!” Then they promptly released his legs, patted the dust off their robes, and stood up.

Xu Yanmiao, watching from the side, was dumbfounded.

[I remember it wasn’t like this before—when did they evolve like this?!]

The retainers kept smiling politely, but hearing that inner thought made their hearts ache a little.

Wuwuwuwu… They didn’t want to be like this either! But other methods didn’t always work to persuade the Crown Prince—this one worked instantly!

The Crown Prince cleared his throat and turned to Xu Yanmiao. “Looks like pufferfish is off the menu—do you like pufferfish?”

Xu Yanmiao quickly shook his head.

He didn’t even dare eat it in the modern day, let alone in ancient times.

“Perfect then!” The Crown Prince’s eyes lit up. “We’ll have five-spice pickled radish! And river fish from the Yangtze! Let me tell you, Changzhou’s pickled radish is absolutely delicious! Thick skin, firm flesh, crispy and fragrant without being spicy! So juicy when you bite into it! Back when my father broke my leg, he coaxed me with this radish!”

Xu Yanmiao was immediately intrigued—this was the kind of radish that could cheer up a Crown Prince with a broken leg!

So the two of them happily stepped onto the footboard and entered the carriage. With a crack of the whip and a neigh from the horses, the carriage began to move slowly, disappearing into the sunlight.

“Let me tell you, the way they address people in Changzhou is quite amusing. Here, they call grandfathers ‘A-die,’ and fathers ‘Die-die.’”

The Crown Prince lifted the curtain and looked out at the street, laughing. “Last time I came to Changzhou, I didn’t know about this and made a fool of myself—called someone’s grandfather my uncle—because I heard someone call him ‘A-die’ and thought it meant ‘father.’”

[Hahahahahaha—]

The Crown Prince glanced back at Xu Yanmiao, who sat upright and proper, showing no reaction, and rolled his eyes: “If you want to laugh, just laugh. No need to hold it in.”

Xu Yanmiao couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The Crown Prince pretended to be angry and suddenly stood up in the carriage: “Oh! So you dare laugh at me, Xu Yan—ah!”

The carriage jolted, the Crown Prince lost his balance, and fell back onto the cushion with a thump. Xu Yanmiao was already laughing, but now he nearly died laughing.

The Crown Prince widened his eyes and stared at him, and then, unable to hold back, started laughing too. He waved, “Xu Lang, come here and look!”

Xu Yanmiao didn’t know what he was supposed to see, but still leaned over to the window—and saw the bustling crowd outside.

Girls, carefully dressed up, walked with delight, their bright smiles seeming to spread to every passerby and animal.

Children with ears of corn hanging from their chests strutted like crabs, heads held high, as if parading their own power.

An old man held a cage with a kingfisher inside, poking a finger in to tease the bird. A farmer, with two dou of rice tied to his trousers, rushed past, then paused in front of a stall selling pear syrup candy, hesitated, then bought a stick, cut into small cubes, and watched as the vendor carefully wrapped it in hemp paper.

Waterfowl flew off from the Yangtze, and the fishermen’s singing and the sound of paddles splashing weaved together with the reflections of city towers on the water’s surface.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” the Crown Prince said as he fumbled in his coin pouch and pulled out a few copper coins, handing them to a retainer to buy some pear syrup candy. Watching the retainer’s back, he smiled and said, “Xu Lang, do you know why even ordinary people can now afford to buy a few jin of candy?”

Xu Yanmiao honestly shook his head.

The Crown Prince looked out the window and spoke slowly, “Because of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes. These new crops don’t fill the belly as well as wheat or rice, but if you add even a little sweet potato to your wheat meal, the amount of wheat you can sell increases. Bit by bit, over time, people can afford to buy treats like candy once in a while.”

Xu Yanmiao quietly watched the stream of people outside.

Some carried firewood, others sold water as they passed by. Behind the walls, there came the sound of grinding flour—or maybe it was someone pounding rice. A young boy sat perched atop the wall, looking around, while children chased each other in games in front and behind houses. Slingshots sent birds flapping and scattering into the sky.

“The mountains and rivers still stand…” the young man murmured, “and the nation is at peace.”

“Yes, the country is at peace,” the Crown Prince sighed. “But it wasn’t like this at the end of the last dynasty.”

His recollection was slow, and so was his speech—

“That year, I had just turned fifteen. Changzhou still belonged to the previous dynasty and was under siege by another rebel faction. Though the previous court was decaying, the commander defending Changzhou loved the people like his own children. The people climbed the walls to help defend the city. The rebels, unable to breach it for a long time and with morale plummeting, ended up massacring all the civilians outside the city.”

“If I can’t defeat the soldiers, can’t I at least defeat the people?”

Hearing this, Xu Yanmiao felt a wave of nausea wash over him, and his brows furrowed deeply. “That’s too much. Thankfully, they didn’t win the world.”

The Crown Prince nodded.

Say what you will, but he truly believed that their Xia army, even in chaotic times, never slaughtered cities—far better than the other forces of the era.

“But… that massacre of the people… was partly my fault too.”

The Crown Prince’s smile slowly faded.

Xu Yanmiao looked surprised. “Your Highness, why would you say that?”

The Crown Prince said, “My father’s original strategy was: while the rebel force attacked Changzhou, the Xia army would seize Wuxi and Zhenjiang, then advance to Zhenglu Bridge and cut off their retreat—trapping them outside Changzhou’s gates.”

Xu Yanmiao’s eyes widened. “Then… could it be…”

The Crown Prince lowered his eyes. “Yes. Because I underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, the Xia army failed to take Wuxi. We lost the initiative. Changzhou fell. The rebels turned around and secured Wuxi and Zhenjiang. At that point, Changzhou, Jiangyin, Wuxi, Zhenjiang, as well as counties like Gaochun and Lishui, all fell to the enemy. The Xia army could no longer push west and had to find another way. And the people of Changzhou… suffered greatly.”

Xu Yanmiao didn’t quite know how to console him—it was all in the past.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to offer a little comfort. Taking some pear syrup candy from a returning attendant, he handed it to the Crown Prince. “Your Highness, have something sweet? Sweet things help improve your mood.”

The Crown Prince tilted his head at him. “Thank you.” He took a small bite of the candy, and sure enough, he felt better. He continued, “But half a year later, my father took it back.”

“After retaking Changzhou, we captured the enemy. The people had once avoided all soldiers, but when they heard the rebels had become prisoners, they wanted to kill them all. Who knows what filth they committed in those six months? In other cities controlled by the rebels, once they heard my father was coming, the people started resisting on their own. Several places surrendered directly. Within a month, Suzhou, Kunshan, Taicang, Qingpu, Jiading, Xinyang, and Songjiang all fell to us.”

Xu Yanmiao listened carefully, the candy about the size of a fingertip melting in his mouth. The flavors of peanut, sugar, and sesame exploded—rich but not sticky.

Sunlight crept into the carriage quietly. The Crown Prince looked at the light, then at the people outside. He smiled slightly and gently touched his crippled leg. “A peaceful world like this doesn’t come easy. I truly hope it stays this way, that people can always have enough to eat and enough money to buy candy.”

Xu Yanmiao nodded. “Peace has only lasted under forty years. The world can’t handle another upheaval.”

[That’s why the Dragon-Slaying Arts must be kept even more strictly guarded. Whether used for good or evil, they must not be practiced. Luckily, I’m the only one who knows about them—I’m not planning to marry or have kids here anyway, so I don’t have to worry about blurting it out in my sleep.]

[Wait a minute… Would the Emperor’s Jinyiwei actually eavesdrop on people’s dreams?!]

[What the hell! Gao Jianyi, you old sneak! You’re a pervert! You really made the Jinyiwei eavesdrop on people’s dreams?!]

From the Crown Prince to the attending officials to the Jinyiwei—each one stared straight ahead, ears sealed.

Didn’t hear anything! We didn’t hear Xu Yanmiao insulting His Majesty by name! Not a word!

[But… did I really say stuff like “three-year plan” and “five-year plan” in my sleep?]

[What else might I have said?!]

Xu Yanmiao’s pupils shook with horror.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of “Evening Song on a Fishing Boat” floated in from outside, interrupting his thoughts.

A palace attendant gently knocked on the carriage: “Your Highness, Lord Xu, we’ve arrived at the Yangtze riverside.”

“Scallion pancakes, sesame cakes, crab-stuffed buns, fermented rice dumplings, vegetarian ham, five-spice radish—eh? That one’s only made in the twelfth month? Fine. Then also one bowl of rice porridge per person, tofu with scallions, and whatever fresh river fish, shrimp, or crab you’ve got today. Pick the freshest. And a lamb hotpot—yes, that’ll be all. Do you two want to add anything?”

The Crown Prince, a seasoned gourmet, began ordering as soon as he sat down. He sounded like a native of Changzhou—the dishes he named were all perfectly local.

Once the order was done, he casually asked the owner if there were any mulberry fields nearby for picking.

—They truly had no missions this time. This trip was purely for fun.

With everything set and the owner gone, Xu Yanmiao couldn’t help but sigh, “Changzhou really is much more prosperous now.”

The Crown Prince replied casually, “Changzhou is part of Jiangnan. That region has always been wealthy and flourishing.”

Then, glancing at Xu Yanmiao, he added as if in passing, “In recent years, a lot of guildhalls have sprung up here. They’re meant to help workers avoid exploitation by wealthy merchants and ensure their wages aren’t withheld. They form mutual aid groups.”

Xu Yanmiao’s eyes lit up. “That’s great! Unity is strength!”

“You’re absolutely right!” The Crown Prince praised with a smile, but then shook his head. “Still, it’s not as ideal as you think. The guildhalls protect workers from being exploited by the rich, but there’s internal exploitation too.”

Xu Yanmiao’s eyes widened.

The Crown Prince explained, drawing on what he had learned while mingling in guildhalls: “To join, workers must pay a membership fee and monthly dues. The guildhalls help them find jobs—but they also charge hefty commissions.”

“Then…”

The Crown Prince immediately saw through Xu Yanmiao’s next question: “And no, you can’t work without joining. If you’re not in a guild, you’ll never find work. They have all the job sources locked down.”

Xu Yanmiao fell silent.

[Ah… so that’s how it is. I thought…]

(But whatever he thought, he didn’t finish the sentence in his heart.)

The Crown Prince took a break, sipped some cool water, and continued in a meandering tone—

“Commoners don’t have a choice. Even if they somehow find work on their own, they’ll be worse off. Employers know these workers have no guild behind them—no backing.”

“So they might get exploited by officials, or merchants, or the guild…”

“Sometimes even all three.”

“I still don’t know how to truly let the people live good lives. I’ve thought about this for decades and still haven’t found an answer.”

“Are commoners truly destined to suffer no matter what?”

If you'd like bonus updates or early access, you can support me over on Ko-fi! Every bit helps me keep translating and bringing you more stories to enjoy.

Thanks for reading and being here~ 💕

Happy reading!