This was a very luxurious and beautifully decorated bedchamber. The west wall was painted black and inlaid with a Cloud Dragon Pattern made with mother-of-pearl, and in front of it were a pair of statues of Elephants Carrying a Vase. In front of the north wall was a bed surmounted by a PiLu hat with a Hanging Flower Gate underneath, and a double row of bed curtains. To the right of it, was a washstand of Fragrant Rosewood, inlaid with multicolored mother-of-pearl. On the east wall was a Dresser of red sandalwood, on which were a Table Screen, various precious objects for entertainment, and two small Curio Cabinets. In front of the dresser was a square table, made of red sandalwood, with a Cord and GongBi pattern, and with red sandalwood carved armchairs on either side. Finally, there was a scent of pine rosin in the air, which permeated the whole room 1 , creating a hazy feeling of falling into a wonderland.
When ZiLi slowly woke up, he saw such a gorgeous yet unfamiliar place. He grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck, which was a little sore. Was he not drinking tea in the pavilion, so how did he get here? Could it be that he had been kidnapped by someone? But who would want to kidnap him? ZiLi got up from the carpet covered with gold-lined peonies, and looked in a daze and with uneasiness at his surroundings. There were no doors and no windows, just like a secret room. The only source of light was the night pearl placed on the table. Such decoration and furnishings were definitely not something common people could posses!
At that moment, the originally smooth wall suddenly opened slowly, and ZiLi turned abruptly around, staring nervously at where the leader of the kidnappers was about to appear!
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 62 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“It’s you?” ZiLi frowned as he watched Mo HuaYan, the Emperor of Chi Xiang, walk in with a cold smile on his face. Dressed in red and with snowy skin, he would have been strikingly beautiful in the sunlight, but in the icy glow of the night pearl, he looked very eerie!“It is Us, what about it?” Mo HuaYan stopped in front of ZiLi, his face full of contempt as if the other was a disgusting bug. Even though his features were more than exquisite, with an expression like this, it would be hard for people to get a favorable impression.
“What is this place? What―― what did you bring me here for?” ZiLi asked with some uneasiness. In such an environment, coupled with this man in front of him, who had a face with an implication of wanting revenge, ZiLi could not help but be seriously concerned about his own personal safety. Even if he were cut to pieces in a place like this, not even the gods and ghost would know! 2 A bit creeped out, he turned his gaze away from Mo HuaYan.
“This is the Imperial palace, a secret room in Our study. What do you think We are going to do here?” Mo HuaYan said ambiguously, as he smiled eerily, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and turning ZiLi’s head, forcing him to look into his eyes.
“I― I don’t know what you want to do, but I’m telling you, if you try to kill me, you― you won’t be able to explain yourself to CangJing!” ZiLi said, looking at him with round eyes.
“Kill you? Why would I 3 kill you!” Mo HuaYan suddenly showed a big smile, his picturesque face causing ZiLi unable to help but be slightly taken aback. “You do not know how valuable you are. Killing you would not be smart!” Mo HuaYan said with scorching eyes. His calm and awe-inspiring expression at this moment was poles apart from the headstrong and arrogant look he had when they first met.
When he heard that he would not be killed, ZiLi felt a lot more at ease, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Mo HuaYan say, “Although We will not kill you, We did not say We will give you an easy time!”
*Swoosh* ZiLi’s heart leapt into his throat, and he asked tentatively, “You― you are going to torture me?”
Mo HuaYan narrowed his eyes with a smile and looked at ZiLi again with an eerie expression and said, “Looks like you are not stupid!”
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 62 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“Hey, hey, you― listen to me, ah. If the Emperor tortures someone for personal reasons it will likely lead to a series of very serious consequences, do you realize that? If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked 4 . If you torture someone for personal reasons, the official wives 5 and concubines in your harem will follow your example one after another and capture the women you favor――”“We have not established a harem yet, and have not even married an Empress, so you do not have to worry about that!” Mo HuaYan took out a dagger with a blue gem inlaid from who knows where and * shing* unsheathed it in front of ZiLi. Brandishing the sharp blade, he said ambiguously, “We still have not returned the slap you gave Us that day! Although We cannot kill you, We can cut off your hand. Also, it is your seduction of cousin Jing that has made Us very unhappy, so after cutting off your hand We will also mutilate your face so that you can no longer use it to seduce cousin Jing and make him treat you well!”
What a pervert! He’s a pervert, if not a psychopath!
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 62 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
“Wait, wait, didn’t you request CangJing to come to the Imperial palace? You requested him to come to the Imperial palace, but then threw him aside, making him wait for a long time, which is not smart of you! He’ll think you’re angry with him and this way your relationship will become distant.” ZiLi tried to persuade him with a far-fetched reason while pretending to be calm.Mo HuaYan frowned and stared at ZiLi like an idiot for a while, then walked forward, grabbed ZiLi by the collar, pulled him close and slapped him in the face, smugly saying, “We will never suffer a loss, consider this slap as letting you off lightly! Listen, We are not letting you off because of your words, but We just really do not have time to waste on an idiot like you!” After these words, he pushed ZiLi to the ground and walked out with large strides.
ZiLi stared foolishly at the door, which had once again reverted to a smooth wall.
This man is not only a psycho but also delusional! 6
The first paragraph was a real hassle to translate and it took me a long time to decipher which objects were being described (ￗ﹏ￗ ), I hope I got most of it right.
After a lot of searching I found out that the author most likely used two photos as inspiration.
Can you spot all the objects that the author has described?
Empress Dowager Cixi’s Bed Chamber in the Palace of Gathered Elegance
A room where Empress Dowager Cixi stayed, in the Palace of Eternal Spring
Translation Notes
Cloud Dragon Pattern
云龙纹翘头
Yúnlóng wén qiào tóu
Something like this, I think:
made with mother-of-pearl 螺钿
Luó diàn
Raden , a method of inserting a board-like material, which is a cut out part of the mother of pearl inside a shell, into the carved surface of lacquer or wood, or a craft.
More information can be found here
Something like this, I think:
a Cloud Dragon Pattern made with mother-of-pearl Although, I am not entirely sure if the author meant a wall or an object, that is covered in a Cloud Dragon Pattern made with mother-of-pearl.
Something like this, I think:
Elephants Carrying a Vase 太平有象
Tàipíng yǒu xiàng.
When there is peace, there are signs’
In Chinese culture, elephants are stable, dependable and symbolize auspiciousness. An elephant carrying a vase was a popular decoration subject because of its auspicious meaning. The words for ‘vase’ and ‘elephant’ are homonymic with ‘peace’ and ‘signs,’ thus coinciding with a Chinese proverb: ‘When there is peace, there are signs’.
Something like this, I think:
Pilu hat 毗卢帽
Pí lú mào
Hat with five Vairocana, which is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, embroidered on it.
Something like this, I think:
Hanging Flower Gate 垂花门
Chuí Hua Mén
Something like this, I think:
Such a gate has a column-like object at both ends, the bottom of which may be carved into a flower, which explains the name, I think. This is called ‘垂花柱’
Chuí Huā Zhù
Hanging Flower Column
Something like this, I think:
However, both the Pilu hat and Hanging Flower Gate are used in this paragraph in the context of a canopy bed, which I believe looks like this: 
Double Row of Bed Curtains Something like this, I think:
Washstand 脸盆架
Liǎn pén jià
Although, what is actually written is 盆架, which means pot stand, but I thought a washstand seemed more logical in this context.
Something like this, I think:
Fragrant Rosewood 黄花黎
Huánghuā Lí
This is used as a wood product and in folk medicine. Furniture from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties was made of this wood.
Multicolored mother of pearl pieces
五彩螺钿
Wǔcǎi luó diàn
The same Raden method as mentioned earlier, but this time with more colors.
Something like this, I think:
Dresser 纹架几案
Wén jià jī'àn.
Something like this, I think:
Table Screen 插屏
Chā píng
Usually used as decoration or, for example, in the study to shield what you write for more privacy.
Something like this, I think:
Various precious items for entertainment 珍玩
Zhēn wán
Refers to antiques, calligraphy and paintings, etc.
Curio Cabinets
多宝格
Duō bǎo gé
Something like this, I think:
Cord and GongBi pattern 绳纹拱璧
Shéng wén GǒngBì
GongBi refers to the hole in the center.
Something like this, I think:
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