POTATO TRANSLATIONS by Violet

Violet. 30s. PH. Writer. Shou(jo)sei defender. @violetheart08 in Twitter. Wannabe translator who has potato translations. CREDIT MY TRANSLATIONS PROPERLY! Shou(jo)sei apologist. This NOT SPOILER NOR NSFW-FREE blog is a dumpsite of anime/manga/light novel/game/romance novel/drama spoilers, writing tips and cat posts. RIP my potato laptop 2014-2024 you will be missed

[ultra-violet-heart]

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[meowmeowsabortionclinic]

LN5 Epilogue: The Bench Retranslated

The official English version of the Apothecary Diaries translation is rather notorious for being full of problems. The fan compiled document of mistranslations focuses primarily on outright errors and information that has been cut or altered, generally keeping to being an objective record of these issues.

What a compilation of mistakes can't provide, though, is an account of how beautiful and evocative Hyuuganatsu's writing is. Her work is woven with symbolism, poetry, foreshadowing, and cultural references that are simply lost in a direct translation.

There's plenty of straightforward re-translations of the text out there-- so what I'd like to do is try to honor Hyuuganatsu's prose in English. Understanding and communicating intent, tone, and general artistry, even making the occasional addition to the text for clarification, or to explain iconography that the Western audience is very likely to be unfamiliar with.

Since the Bench Scene of Light Novel 5 and the choke it contains is so notoriously mistranslated, I've spent the last few weeks working on this part. I have downright STUDIED this scene like a SCHOLAR so I can properly retell it in English.

In fact, I've even created a document with line-by-line annotations, in case you're curious! I took lots of notes for the sake of sharing them with anyone who'd appreciate a deeper dive, plus some conjecture about my own reading of the moment. If you have any further questions, please feel free to shoot me an ask here on Tumblr.

Thank you to everyone who helped me with this crazy little project! I couldn't have done this without my friends and acquaintances!

I hope that this clarifies the intent of the scene in the broader narrative, I hope that this makes for a generally better read, and most of all, I hope you enjoy this as much as we did :D

(You can either open up the Cryptpad document linked above, or hit "read more.")

(Man, it’s cold.)

Maomao shivered and clutched her thin gauze shawl, but it didn’t make her feel any warmer. Sure enough, not having another drink was something she’d come to regret. 

It would have been warmer inside the building, but in truth, she’d rather just suffer out here than go back in and deal with all that hot air. Especially from Lahan. He kept begging her to perform impromptu veterinary care on the lion. She did worry about what would happen to the animal now that the poor thing had its muzzle smashed, but that didn’t mean she was going to risk being bitten in half to help it. Yeah, it was a tragedy that the pitiful creature had been starving away in a cage, but Maomao was also a pitiful creature and she was the one who almost got eaten tonight. 

He just wouldn’t stop. Lahan lamented that the lion was a beautiful array of values, complained that the collapsed nose was disrupting that sequence, going on and on about how it was “a waste,” and when he just wouldn’t stop badgering her into trying to fix it, she fled.

Apparently, even a giant, shaggy cat was simply a string of numbers in that Freaklet’s eyes.

Still shivering, Maomao sat down on the bench at the front of the garden. Finally alone and unwatched, she took the opportunity to huddle up, hugging her knees and nestling her chin atop them.

The sky stretches beyond the horizon, taking her thoughts with it. With no moon in sight, the stars twinkle and beam all the brighter. Her mind drifts to three brilliant stars in the void, drawing the summer triangle with its furthest point on the opposite side of the milky way. Were those lights truly the souls of starcrossed lovers, kept apart by the celestial river?

(I wish this party would just end already.)

As she considered ways she could sneak back to Gyoku-en’s estate unnoticed, the sound of footsteps crept up behind her.

"Your honorable cousin is urgently looking for you."

"May I suggest that you urgently ignore him, then?" 

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who took advantage of the chaos to dodge social obligations. 

She pressed, ”Don’t you have work you should be doing?” 

Being outperformed during all the action earlier may have made him seem rather limp, but now and then, he could rise to the occasion. Yes, Basen might have taken the lion’s share tonight, but Maomao expected this man could probably provide another little scrap or two.

“Are you hoping I’ll work myself to death?”

“Not at all.”

Jinshi, who had been shirking his work, regarded her with a suspicious pout. It looked like he believed her just as much as he’d believe a charging barbarian hoard only wanted a friendly chat, but he sat beside her all the same. The bench creaked beneath his weight. He set down an object between them– on closer inspection, Maomao recognized it as a shard of scrap iron.

“Something was wrong with the metal, just like Basen said. High quality iron wouldn’t have shattered like this.”

There are various ways to strengthen metals, and various ways to weaken them as well. A flaw in the process of smelting iron could fill it internally with dozens of tiny air bubbles, making it deceptively brittle.

“It’s as if those bars were forged to be broken.”

“An unsettling thought.”

That wasn’t the only suspicious detail nagging at her mind, either. That lion made a beeline right for Lishu. If anything, it was like Maomao just got in the way of its real target. Why?

Because the lion was starving and Lishu was simply the first thing it went for?

That didn’t seem right…

Because Lishu had a full plate of meat?

That didn’t seem right, either…

It was something else that kept bothering her. The odor.

That perfume had to be it. The so-called “accident” and the stench. You didn’t need a sense of smell as sharp as Maomao’s to notice that Lishu absolutely reeked of that musk. To such a deadly predator, a scent that overwhelming would have been a punch in the nose.

So if the lion had a strong reaction to that smell, strong enough to lunge at the sabotaged cage–

“……”

“......Hey! Don’t just go quiet on me!”

Jinshi’s voice broke Maomao’s train of thought, but not her silence. This guy should know by now that she was never the one to take the initiative in conversation, and yet, he kept insisting on being by her side. What did he expect? Why were his brows knitted with such desperate emotion? He should just get back to work instead of fooling around!

“You just want to tell me to get back to work, don’t you?”

“No, not at all.”

Every now and then, this man demonstrated the uncanny ability to sense what she was thinking. It was quite bothersome. She felt a cringe but kept her face serving tranquility.

He sighed, “Why go back, anyway? It’s either nothing but endless paperwork, or else get besieged by fawning women.”

"Don't say that too loud. The dregs of high society would demand restitution if they heard you complaining about being too popular."

A man of wealth, status, and good looks to boot– Jinshi was above and beyond. Truly divine, in every sense of the word. On a dark, moonless night like this one, where you could be accosted from any shady corner… Well, he ought to be prepared.

“They all want to suck me dry of the imperial blood in one way or another, don’t they?”

Was he saying they meant to bleed him for his influence in the court, or was it just innuendo about how they wanted to breed him like a prized studhorse? She wasn't sure.

“I’d say at least half of it is just your beautiful face.”

“Don’t say that.”

Jinshi’s expression twisted, jaw tight, like he was chewing on a bitter bug. This was a man of divine beauty, and somehow, he regarded this blessing as a curse. With his right hand, he traces the scar on his cheek, the one part of his face where the perfection wanes. Everyone in the entire empire grieved the wound as a national tragedy, so was it just her imagination that he treasured it?

Not that Maomao disliked it, either. Human beings aren’t supposed to be perfect. In Jinshi’s case, his outward appearance had been so immaculately tailored that his own face didn’t suit his true self. Logically speaking, this was simply the mending of an error. A restitch overdue, even.

What was so wrong with adjusting something mismatched at birth?

Besides. It might be a scratch in a conspicuous spot on the cheek, but it was also her dad's handiwork. Every time she'd stroked it while applying medicine or makeup, she'd admired how neatly it was healing. The sensation under her fingertips was fading– slowly but steadily.

He spoke again, “Maybe I should say I burned my face and apply new scars every time I go out in public.”

“No, the color will eventually stain,” Maomao's gaze flicked over the powder he was using to cover up the reddish-pink blemish the sticky makeup left behind. That's what happened when you used it for about twenty days straight.

She had a suggestion though, “If it's burns you want, I'll help you.”

If he was going to do it anyway, she may as well take the chance to test out this new burn ointment recipe she’d been concocting.

“Stop that,” He dismissed, “Gaoshun would die before I even finished roasting. The makeup’s a bit of a bother, but, well… easy. It was so easy it made the rest easy, too. All along the way, I was free from worry.”

Between how none of the village girls wanted to take a pass at the dour “burn victim,” and how the journey liberated him from his chronic desk job, he had plenty of reasons to be over the moon. Meanwhile, Maomao had nothing to do except watch the scenery roll by. AND all the sitting made her butt hurt. Even just thinking about the return journey was making her start to feel… heavy.

“It seems like you didn’t like the carriage very much, did you?” There was that mind-reading ability again, “Would you like to practice riding a horse?”

“I’d really rather just be able to take the bed.”

Maomao had already modified the carriage for the journey by making herself a bed. The problem was, everyone else also liked her bed. Whenever she went to use it, chances were that some lump was already lounging in it.

“Aah, yes. I’m also hoping to sleep more comfortably.”

Her belly flipped to a rolling boil. That was a BOLD thing to say when he was the biggest lump of them all. He'd go riding around on the horses, enjoying the great outdoors, then come flop down on HER bed whenever he got bored. Easy for him to be so “free from worry” when he was always snug as a bug in a rug!

“After all, I’m on His Majesty’s imperial orders to enjoy this trip. And,”

Jinshi flashed a small, wry smile, 

“I was told to choose carefully.”

If he was told to choose carefully, that could only mean he’d been told to choose a bride. This bounty of women had been gathered for that purpose. Whichever one he picked, a reaction from the court would follow. The nation’s future, its direction, the fate of the empire itself, laid upon the fruit of his choice.

Would he strengthen ties with neighboring countries? Would he join forces with domestic factions at home? Either way, his position would shift depending on his choice. Additionally, the intention behind hosting such an event in Sei-Yi-Shu was loud and clear: Deepen your ties with the west. That would explain why Uryuu had brought along his other daughter, too.

‘Who will he choose?’

No matter. His choice didn’t involve her. Maomao would always behave in accordance with what was expected in her role as practitioner alone. Nothing less, and nothing more.

Or, well, behaving was the plan…

But the instant it occurred to her that their fingertips had connected, her hand had already been seized. His grasping hand pressed desperately against hers, palms together, fingers intertwined. It was a full size bigger than her own, rough and calloused. Long fingers ensnared Maomao’s hand, as if he intended to hold on forever.

“Sir, could you ever be obliged to let go?”

“If I let go, wouldn’t you keep trying to run away?”

“Do you plan to do something I’d want to run away from?”

“Sometimes I just want to smack you!”

Jinshi’s gaze sought Maomao like an animal tracking prey. That look, reminiscent of a starving, stray dog, belonged to neither the eunuch official nor the imperial prince. If it belonged to anyone, it was someone else entirely.

“Good sir, a mark on the face would surely draw attention. I humbly request that you smack me somewhere less conspicuous."

“I wouldn’t actually hit you.”

“Yeah, I’m aware.”

The noble Jinshi wasn’t the type to lay his hands on women, children, and other innocents. Well, wait– actually, he would lay his hands on her; whenever she’d swill down something toxic, he’d either force an emetic down her throat to clean it out, or wrestle her until she spit it up.

“At best, you’ll twist my arm and choke me out until I’ve spilled my guts.”

“That's on you! Why do you keep trying to poison yourself?!"

She shrugged, “I wouldn’t know…”

The saying goes that “experience makes the best teacher,” but it seemed that Maomao was the only one putting that into practice. People thought she was so much smarter than them, but she wasn’t. She simply had her specialized interests, and that would cause her to put more thought into learning about them. Even worse, it always seemed like she had more thoughts than feelings. Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure– she felt those, just… less than other humans, apparently.

And yet, there were emotions that everyone else seemed to have that she didn’t understand.

His pulse throbbed through her palm, echoed in her veins. Sweat slicked their shared touch. She looked up at lowered lashes. Eyes dark as the moonless night fixed on her with intent, so close that Maomao could see herself reflected upon them.

The courtesans had a saying, thus had she heard; “You know hell when you know it.”

The customers had a saying in turn, thus had she heard; “That’s why we come here, to get it.”

That unspeakable word was written with four letters in the west, thirteen strokes of a brush in the east, and in both it bore a slot where a heart could go. It was branded vulgar. It was dismissed as a toy in a game. It was something that she’d heard some say they couldn't live without.

Jinshi’s free hand reached up to the side of Maomao’s head. His fingertips gently rounded the curve of her ear, brushing a wisp of hair down, down to the nape of her neck where his touch came to a sudden halt.

“You’re really wearing it, after all.”

His hand hovered where her hair was tied up in the kanzashi. Pure silver of the finest make, crafted into a motif of poppies under the light of the moon. She’d assumed Lahan prepared it, but apparently, she’d assumed wrong.　 That explained why everyone was so interested in her hairstick.

"Oh, was this from you, sir? I already don’t know how to feel about the moon, but the poppies are just in poor taste."

The flowers reminded her of the White Lady, Pai Niangniang. Though they had a superficial resemblance to the common field poppy that grew in disturbed soil like a weed, the much larger opium poppy was cultivated for making drugs– opiates.

“No more. Don’t ruin the moment. Had it made before the journey. Made sure you’d have a replacement for the old one.”

Jinshi’s hum came from above. His chin rested atop her head, hooked on her crown. He toyed with her hair, a lock between his fingertips, idly twirling round and round. Warm breath fanned her neck from a deep, dreamy sigh. Anyone who happened to pass by would have mistaken them for a couple in an amorous embrace, and Maomao was struck by the concern that an onlooker would get the wrong idea.

“Master Jinshi, you have to move on.”

"What do you mean?”

“What would you do if someone saw this?”

Maomao wasn’t the only little kitty who might slink away from all the commotion. This spot was hidden away from the banquet’s firelight, protected from prying eyes by the trees and shadows, but that didn’t mean no one could stumble across them. He had to know the reason why he was brought here in the first place.

“It's been settled that Lady Lishu is not your niece by blood. You needn't worry about the effects of inbreeding.”

Maomao’s words let loose with all the cold detachment of shooting an arrow. Jinshi winced like it was a direct hit.

Nevertheless, she continued, “Surely you understand that’s the safest option?”

Forget about that whole affair about Basen and Lishu earlier. Just, pretend it never happened. Even if there was a desultory spark, a tiny little sprout between them– It could never have meaning. Never be more than a painful waste of time. Best to nip it in the bud. Safest for it to have never existed at all.

“To hell with safe!”

The chill grazed her ear as his voice went cold as a blade. The playful twirling of her hair came to an end, one hand sliding down her nape, circling round her throat. Long fingers across the whole of her neck that began applying pressure.

“Too much…”

“Too much what?”

Just too much! Pressure, pain, whatever, what did it matter what it was too much of? Yet, he only pressed harder. Entwined fingers seized her hand upward, twisting her arm behind her back. Lunatic! Moron! Freak! Her joint was going to pop right out of the socket! Neck in the gallows of his grip, her arm kinked around the back, Maomao's face was painted with anguish. Her jaw flung open like a flapping fish, tilting back to glub for any bit of breath she could catch. All her dignity had been drained out of her dumb face, and worse, Jinshi was looking down at her from above, admiring his view of her silly, stupid expression, and then—

"……"

Maomao inhaled his heavensent air with raga– the lust of a glutton who indulges in desire. The scent of flowers tickled her nose. She’d expected the divinity of peach blossoms in early spring, but instead this was tea jasmine, simple and sincere. It wasn’t what she’d imagined for the breath of a divine envoy. 

His thin lips were slightly dry and just a bit hot.

The hand that choked her neck was now relaxed to cradle her head, and the one that twisted her arm loosened to take her hips in an intimate embrace.

However long they stayed like that, she didn't know. They lingered for exactly as long as he felt it would take for his breath to fill her lungs, pass through her heart, and circulate through every vein of her body. It was only then that he broke the kiss to leer down at her, a glimmer of victory in his gaze.

Tears that had welled up in her eyes, tears he’d squeezed out of her, were now being tenderly swept away by his thumb. Inexplicable fury surged out instead.

“...if you’re going to kill me, have the decency to do it with some venom.”

“I said I would never do that to you,” Jinshi’s fingers traced Maomao’s lips, “and I won’t let you poison yourself either.”

“So,” He declared, “Don’t even try to claim you didn’t know you were one of the candidates. You were clearly prepared to play dumb until the bitter end.”

He wasn’t done, “And what was that guy about, anyway? It’s not like you to dance along to someone else’s tune.”

So he had been watching them, then. Intently.

“That was just the cost of a cheap drink.”

Maomao tried to twist away to avoid his searching gaze, but she couldn't, not while he kept her head locked in his grasp. Her mind was running like her body couldn’t, spiralling around and around down to a single urge; run! Run! Run away! Until escape was the only thing she could think of. She blurted out, “There’s no good in picking a nobody like me!”

“Lahan escorted you here, didn’t he? Everyone will take this as your debut.”

Okay, fine. She could see Jinshi had a point. Maybe deploying her as the La Clan’s marriage candidate was the plan from the start as Lahan’s opening gambit. Ew. Her belly revolted just thinking about it. She would have to crush his toes later.

That aside. If the prince picked a blood relative of the La Clan… well, among the Named Clans, the La Clan was unique in that it maintained a strong sense of neutrality between the factions at court. In that sense, if you were to say this was a safe choice, you probably wouldn’t be wrong. Exactly like Rikuson said earlier. However! They’d all left out a crucial point on the board!

“You’d have to face that man as your adversary.”

She was, of course, referring to the old crank with the monocle. Just imagine the chaos he would have caused if he’d been present! He would have unleashed utter pandemonium so fierce that the escaped lion would have looked like a kitten in comparison, no doubt about it. That was sure to put him off, and she prepared herself to watch Jinshi waver-- but his resolve only faltered for an instant.

"...you agreed to pick up where we left off, didn’t you?"

Once again, she found herself seized. His body pinned hers against the bench, pressing into her so fully that even her hair felt quashed into place. Something slicker than his breath negotiated its way past her lips, sweeping away any remnants of protest. Up close, she could see that his obsidian eyes had gone feral. Brighter than any star even through their dusky haze, both shaded and fervent at once. This was a man who could choose to live a life without want; and yet, within him were the occasional hunger pangs of wanting. He was starving for something and to satisfy this craving was all he wanted.

(He should just choose someone else.)

That which he craved could surely be found within anyone else he’d been provided. A countless number of people were desperate to be the ones providing! Why was he going out of his way to beg at the altar of a broken being for what she didn’t have and couldn’t grant?

Her anxious mind was still urging her to run. Devastation was surely looming. She wanted to evade disaster, but the wild eyes of the hound wouldn’t let her escape. He had his own raga, his all-consuming desire, driving him to hunt what shouldn’t exist. He would rip her apart and find nothing there. Maomao could only meet his feral gaze with the hollow eyes of an effigy.

It only served to stoke the stray dog’s desperation, pressing ever heavier, rooting even deeper.

(This time I might be smothered to death.)

She’d been mounted by a man nearly twice her size. Yet, she knew that courtesans just had to suck it up when they took on clients more than thrice their weight class. They couldn’t whine about it being “too much.” If she coughed up a pathetic complaint like that in front of her beloved sister Pairin, Guru of the Pleasure Garden, do you know what she’d say?

“Even a respected visitor mustn’t be allowed to take the lead. This skill will make or break your value in this house!”

And she’d lay out that teaching in her most seductive tone, accompanied by an erotic display. This was a memory from when she’d been initiated into the doctrines of the courtesan, in spite of the childish fits she’d pitched at the time.

“......”

Maybe it would have been better to just keep laying there, let him see for himself that she was a doll with nothing but stuffing inside. Maybe that would have been worse. Who knows. The only thing we can know is this; Remembering Pairin’s precept also meant remembering everything Pairin prepared her for. Everything she’d had to do to get out of that locked room, every submission she made to get that passing grade, every tear she’d just barely stopped from spilling out when she’d finally performed well enough to earn her big sister’s satisfaction.

It had been drilled into her until reluctance was replaced by reflex.

That’s why she insisted that the author say this clearly; 猫猫に罪はない. 

And that’s why the translator now says it clearly (but in English this time); Maomao did nothing wrong.

And what does that mean? Well! It means, when push came to shove–

Maomao sucked up all the saliva he’d pooled in her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. She parted her lips, a lure, and when the opponent had been reeled into her feint, she slid her tongue across enemy lines.

Wonder and delight sprang to Jinshi’s face, but he didn’t last very long. His body responded with a twitch, and then it twitched again, which caused his hold on Maomao to soften. Enough to turn the tables on him– or maybe the bench.

We’ll say it again; Maomao is innocent of any crime. This act was, legally, vis major– the Will of Heaven.

In her attempt to pay him back, Maomao mistakenly used all of her Pleasure Garden training on Jinshi, subjecting him to an artisanal whore’s finest techniques. Oops!

[haru-chi]

They mean so much for me !! HE mean so much for me!!

If I see them moving and talking I'll cry ... I already did during the first episode but this'll kill me even more ....

MY WINTER WILL BE HERE 😭🩵

you need to understand I'm pretty normal about Rosei .. about them ... totally normal ..

[jruthphipps]

Agents of the Four Seasons episode 1

This looks absolutely beautiful and, even though we only followed a couple of characters, there was some very skilled worldbuilding that successfully established that this has significant substance and weight behind it. I am very excited to see where this goes and I expect it to be a very emotional journey.

[fuckthisbloganditscurses]

Happiness Will Come To You.

[12goblins]

when tho

[fuckthisbloganditscurses]

When You Least Expect It. Probably Late March

[wizardshark]

reblog for happiness to come for you in late march!

[zigxortega]

[zac--efren]

I reblogged this last year and I hung out with blink-182 backstage on March 30. Reblogging again because it worked the first time.

[scientiablr]

honestly, last year one of the best days of my life happened in late March

[emperor-julius-caesar]

I’m really looking forward to late March!

[blue--deer]

*slides this across the table* you're going to want to read this

[elodieunderglass]

There are Experiences behind this sign

[lunarsmochii]

Sitting here thinking about how much I want a second season of the anime 7th Time Loop.

GIVE US MOREEE

[doodlemancy]

hello fellow artists. google has fallen. pinterest/duckduckgo AI filters don't work. do not despair; here is a list i made of places to find reference images without having to sift through piles of worthless garbage. (for future editing convenience i am just linking my blog post on dreamwidth.)

✨ good places to find art reference that are not full of AI trash 🌈

[super-autism-death-ray]

reblogging for personal use

[theunsureartist]

ART REFERENCE NOT FULL OF AI?! YESSS

[fangirling-and-making-stuff]

THANK YOU

[ultra-violet-heart]

Oh, I don't mean anything negative to media with straight romance in them or saying they're bad. Just they're not for me.

Sorry it got sent before I finished it.

Sorry, this ask has no context, so I don't know what you actually mean by this.

[anitrendz]

Isekai Office Worker Episode 2

Might be his first time having sex with a man or with anyone, but there's a financial deadline around the corner, so if it means he can keep taking Red Bull on steroids maybe it's something to seriously consider...life as an accountant

[mapoeggplant]

the beginning of it all, three different universes

[ultra-violet-heart]

7th Time Loop Volume 8 cover (JP release: 12/25/25)

Remember this post I made previously?

I AM NOT READY

WE NOW HAVE THE DRESS IN THE MANGA THAT DRESS I AM TOTALLY NOT READY

I WAS NEVER READY

ABSOLUTELY WILD WE ARE SEEING THIS NOW IN MANGA FORM IN VOLUME 8, MAN.

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

DNA testing has accidentally uncovered the biggest royal secret in modern Chinese history

These past couple of days, the entire Chinese internet has been going wild over this gossip. Every social media platform is flooded with discussions — this is probably the biggest bombshell in modern Chinese history. And it's not just some casual scandal.

To put it simply: the two emper who created the glorious "Kang-Qian Golden Age" of the Qing Dynasty… had no royal blood. They were swapped in.

Kangxi likely had mixed Han (his bio father) and Mongolian (his bio mother) ancestry, while Qianlong might have been a fully Han chinese.

The first was Kangxi. He wasn't his father Shunzhi’s biological son. The real crown prince Xuanye died of smallpox as a small child outside the palace. The one who returned was an imposter — Kangxi himself — actually the illegitimate son of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Shunzhi's bio mother) and Hong Chengchou, the last Ming emperor’s former tutor (The most dramatic part of this story is that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was likely sent by her husband Huangtaiji to persuade Hong Chengchou to surrender. Hong, a brilliant mind and representative of the Ming scholarly elite, somehow formed a genuine bond with her. They maintained contact in the following years, which eventually led to the birth of Kangxi).

The second was Qianlong, Kangxi’s nominal grandson. In truth, Qianlong was secretly adopted by his father Yongzheng from the Chen family in Haining, Zhejiang. Not only was he unrelated to the Aisin-Gioro clan — he wasn’t even Manchu. What really shocked Cnetizens is this: the Chen and Hong families have been traced back to the same clan, just with different surnames. Yongzheng made the swap to gain an edge in the "War of the Nine Princes." Official records show Kangxi met Qianlong as a child and was deeply impressed, viewing him as an exceptional grandson — which later influenced his decision to pass the throne to Yongzheng. The reason he felt such a connection? Qianlong actually came from the same bloodline as Kangxi's own biological father.

It’s a three-generation conspiracy of imposters ruling the empire.

And Dream of the Red Chamber, the greatest novel in Chinese literary history, was written based on this truth. Its status is like that of One Hundred Years of Solitude in Latin American literature — a masterpiece that reaches the pinnacle of artistic achievement, flawless in every aspect, what people call the ultimate "all-rounder."

Now people finally understand: the real reason Dream of the Red Chamber became the most banned book in the Qing Dynasty wasn’t because it mourned the Ming — but because it was filled with metaphors exposing this bloodline swap and all the political drama that followed.

By now, most people have accepted this conclusion. It all started when DNA tests revealed that modern royal descendants of the Aisin Gioro clan carry genetic matches found in both Hong Chengchou's descendants and those of Chen family from Haining, Zhejiang — something impossible according to official historical records. These grassroots genetic tests have since been urgently halted by the authorities.

Other direct evidence includes surviving royal portraits — people noticed Kangxi looks nothing like his nominal father or grandfather, but bears a striking resemblance to portraits of Hong Chengchou himself.

That said, there's still plenty of pushback and skepticism. At the moment, Kangxi's own tomb remains off-limits for excavation, making it impossible to obtain his direct DNA.

(The full chain of evidence is all over chinese internet — it's just too much to translate and repost here. If you're interested, you can check the summaries on Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or Zhihu -they're everywhere. My main focus here is translating comments of Cnetizens.)

What makes this royal scandal blow up even more is that it's not just some gossip — it practically solves the greatest mystery in Chinese literary history: the unfinished ending of Dream of the Red Chamber. It fills in the real plot of the missing last 40 chapters, completely overturning centuries of Redology research. It also proves that the much-criticized "allegorical school" (based on the Gui You version) might have been right all along. The so-called "absurd" Gui You version could actually be one of the earliest drafts of the novel — a complete version with the original ending. And those seemingly ridiculous plot twists might just be the real intended ending.

People are realizing that by following this shocking truth and connecting it with existing clues and evidence, they can logically explain so many major events and unsolved mysteries from Qing history. It also completely decodes the metaphors behind the characters and their experiences in Dream of the Red Chamber. In fact, the historical puzzles and the novel’s hidden messages match up perfectly.

The reason the novel was banned in the Qing Dynasty wasn’t just because it mourned the Ming — but because it exposed the bloodline swap: Kangxi wasn’t really Shunzhi’s son and carried no Aisin-Gioro blood, and his grandson Qianlong was most likely fully Han. This also aligns perfectly with key events in Qianlong’s life — most famously, the hair-cutting incident of his second empress.

According to official records, Empress Huifa Nara, the second wife of Emperor Qianlong, suddenly cut her hair during his Southern Tour — which coincided with the centenary of Hong Chengchou's birth. Under Qing customs, a woman cutting her hair was an act reserved only for her husband’s death or national mourning. Her drastic gesture is now interpreted by some as a silent protest: she had discovered the secret and was telling the world that the throne had already passed to another bloodline.

After the incident, Qianlong immediately deposed the empress and placed her under lifelong house arrest, forbidding anyone from visiting her. (This exact plotline would later play out in countless popular novels and TV dramas — most famously in My Fair Princess. But until now, no one understood why the empress suddenly went mad and cut her hair, especially since she was known for her quiet and dignified temperament. The truth perfectly explains her actions: as a proud member of the prestigious Huifa Nara clan, she could never accept that her husband was an impostor — and a fully Han Chinese at that.)

So Cnetizens comment:

Male Lineage Server, 香火服xianghuofu, literally "Incense and Fire Server", the 'Incense and Fire' refers to the ritual of burning incense and maintaining an eternal flame at ancestral altars, symbolizing the unbroken continuity of family lineage. Cnetizens often metaphorically describe Earth as an "Earth Online" game where we're all players, and different regions are seen as separate servers. In this context, 'Server' specifically refers to China.

"Male Lineage Server" is a humorous satire and metaphor targeting the traditional patriarchal obsession with continuing the male bloodline. In this context, "lineage" symbolizes the perpetuation of the family line, a duty traditionally assigned to men.

Under the dominant influence of Confucian ideology, this concept became tightly linked to severe son preference. Ancient China’s dual-track kinship system — where the xing (姓) represented the maternal line and the shi (氏) represented the paternal line — was deliberately erased by patriarchal norms. By downplaying women’s role in reproduction (e.g., attributing childbirth solely to the "father’s essence") and stripping women of ancestral rights (e.g., excluding them from family trees and property inheritance), the system essentially credited women’s reproductive labor to men.

Language further reinforced this order — for instance, tangqin (堂亲) refers to paternal relatives, while biaoqin (表亲) refers to maternal relatives. Today, as society grows more progressive, an increasing number of Cnetizens are openly rejecting these traditional Confucian values.

The overwhelming majority of Cnetizens are in agreement: "We've just witnessed the gossip of the century and a historical revelation.""Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, THE REAL QUEEN.""I can't believe I'm alive to see the day when the true ending of Dream of the Red Chamber is revealed! ""God, Chiung Yao and Jin Yong died too early — they must have known something. ""I bet even Sun Yat-sen knew something (founder of the Republic of China). He once said, 'Even if a Han becomes the emperor, I will still oppose Qing rule,' which is now seen as a hint that he knew."

People are now realizing - belatedly - that Jin Yong and Chiung Yao aka Qiong Yao, the two most famous popular fiction authors in modern China (Jin Yong being the master of wuxia literature (1924 - 2018), and Qiong Yao the queen of romance novels (1938 - 2024）), had actually filled their works with countless hints about this. All their novels set in the Qing Dynasty contain clear references and clues. What’s more, the two were related — Jin Yong’s ancestors were among the Booi (bondservant) nobility of Qing — so this was likely an open secret within their own circles.

What's even more fascinating is that this appears to have been common knowledge locally in Haining (though they only knew about Qianlong, not Kangxi). Back when communication was slow and the internet didn't exist, the story still spread. Many Cnetizens have shared that they excitedly told their parents, only to get a muted reaction — their parents said they'd already heard growing up that Qianlong was the son of the powerful Chen family from Zhejiang.

In Qiong Yao's My Fair Princess, the character Chen Zhihua is said to be the daughter born to Yongzheng's own biological daughter. People think that Yongzheng, then without a son, had a daughter born on the very same day as a son in the Chen family. His wife secretly swapped the baby girl for the Chen's baby boy and brought him back to the palace, and he later became Emperor Qianlong. This explains why Qianlong's nominal mother, Lady Niohuru, was so fond of Chen Zhihua. Upon meeting her, she insisted on arranging her marriage to the then-crown prince Yongqi. Lady Niohuru knew Zhihua was biological granddaughter of Yongzheng — meaning Zhihua carried enough noble Manchu blood. According to official historical records, Qianlong stayed with the Chen family during all seven of his Southern Tours — a highly unusual arrangement that now has a clear explanation: he was likely returning to pay respects to his biological ancestors.

This is Chen Gelao House in Haining nowadays:

The first paragraphy: The Chen family of Haining earned its reputation through the imperial examination system. With members — whether brothers, father and son, or uncles and nephews — repeatedly passing the exams, often in the same year, the family had already become influential in court circles by at least the mid-Qing Dynasty. Its fame, however, reached every household thanks to the popular belief that Qianlong himself was the son of Old Minister Chen of Haining.

But right now, the hottest topic taking over the discussion is still Dream of the Red Chamber. "So in Dream of the Red Chamber, the heroine Lin Daiyu represents the last Ming emperor Chongzhen, the hero Jia Baoyu symbolizes the imperial jade seal, the supporting female role Xue Baochai represents Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and the supporting male role Jia Yucun represents Hong Chengchou... Everything suddenly fits together!" Cnetizens even came up with an improvised art: Lin Daiyu holding Baoyu in her hand and introducing, "I'm the Great Emperor, and this is my little jade seal." (cr 路过的农民x)

See update of the gossip here: Chinese authorities release the denial of royal bloodline scandal—Cnetizens' reaction towards the denial: utter nonsense

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

Chinese authorities release the denial of royal bloodline scandal—Cnetizens' reaction towards the denial: utter nonsense

See previous post here: DNA testing has accidentally uncovered the biggest royal secret in modern Chinese history (Two of the most highly regarded and powerful emperors in Qing dynasty are impostors, and had no royal blood at all).

Yesterday, authorities suddenly stepped in with emergency measures. Multiple state-media outlets published statements debunking the rumors, stating that the "bloodline swap" theory is a baseless conspiracy. They emphasized that official genetic sampling of Aisin Gioro descendants confirms the Qing imperial bloodline has always been legitimate. This urgent clarification was originally published on the official WeChat account of "Science China(科普中国)".

But Chinese netizens have taken it remarkably chill and aren't buying it at all. They just keep roasting calmly. And many Cnetizens have proved that the "fact-check" is full of holes.

This "debunking paper" was authored by Professor Yan Shi from Minzu University of China. Cnetizens find the so-called evidence he provided unconvincing—essentially lacking substance. More importantly, the public widely understands that the core mission of universities for ethnic affairs is to promote ethnic unity and maintain social stability (Note: The Chinese term "Minzu" and the English word "ethnic" don't have exact equivalents, though we won't delve into that distinction here). Also the term "Central" in the university's name highlights its official background. In China, the use of "Central/Zhongyang" is strictly regulated—it is exclusively reserved for institutions of the central government (all such organizations are based in Beijing, and local governments are not permitted to use it). The swift and high-level nature of this response, however, only makes people feel it's a case of "protesting too much."

Chinese netizens have responded with the following rebuttals:

What's more snowballing, Cnetizens suspected Yan Shi came from an academic elite family and served as a government mouthpiece. In the age of big data, personal information is practically public—if it's not, the resourceful Chinese netizens will find a way to dig it up. So they dug into his background—and were shocked. He truly is descended from a powerful lineage: his great-grandfather was Yan Xiu, a renowned modern historical figure and one of the founders of Nankai University.

Comments from Cnetizens:

Netizens pointed out the flaw: you'd need to test the Y chromosome of every single male in every generation to be sure the lineage is unbroken. A single match doesn't prove anything, making the paper's argument weak. People remain unconvinced not only because of its lack of rigor, but also because the study completely ignores the independently tested results from the public — specifically, those showing that descendants of the Aisin Gioro and the Hong & Chen families share the same Han Chinese ancestral genes.

This matter is far from over—it's only escalating. It's expected to become a recurring topic of ongoing discussion, as Dream of the Red Chamber is regarded as the masterpiece among masterpieces. When people discuss the novel, they simply can't avoid this issue. The authorities certainly can't ban Dream of the Red Chamber now—that would be like shooting themselves in the foot.

Now, Cnetizens are saying they wouldn't believe it even if Kangxi was dug up on a live stream—who knows what foul play might happen off-camera? There's precedent: 50 billion in disaster relief for Ya'an of Sichuan was embezzled, and an actress tied to the scandal was let off the hook officially. This protection of interests happens all the time.

Jokes aside, those who know the history see it differently. They say we shouldn't cast Hong Chengchou as some kind of hero. From the perspective of ordinary people, this guy was pretty awful. To climb the ranks, he helped the Qing design an even harsher system to control civilians. And after he rose to power, the Qing dynasty became more and more isolated.

Here's a interesting theory: since Shunzhi was supposedly killed by cannon fire (orchestrated by Hong himself), Kangxi became super wary of cannons afterward — he was scared it would happen again. So he tightly restricted cannon development. And that move, like a butterfly effect, might have been one reason the Qing missed the Industrial Revolution. Some believe that if the Ming's emphasis on cannon technology had continued, China would've had a much better shot at an industrial revolution.

So these history buffs think the late Qing wasn't really the dynasty Nurhaci built, nor did it resemble the Ming at its peak — it was more like a strange, hybrid regime stitched together from conflicting legacies.

While Cnetizens are used to these stories from their own history, international audiences might find it all pretty wild — like, why were they so obsessed with male bloodlines? And why were wives and concubines locked away in inner courtyards? (This mostly happened after the rise of Neo-Confucianism — back in the open-minded Tang Dynasty, things were totally different.)

To simply put: it was a mix of patriarchal interests and brainwashing by the ruling class to control ordinary people.

In China, Confucian filial piety serves as an exceptionally effective tool precisely because rulers have used it to shift the responsibility of elder care from society onto individuals—a practice that has persisted throughout history. Until a comprehensive elder care system is established, this system will endure for a long time. Therefore, on Chinese social media, if you openly suggest that adults need not support their parents or adhere to filial piety and get a lot of likes comments reblogs, your social media accounts will be suspended overnight - you have touched upon the fundamental interests and underlying logic of the nation.

But the more intense the patriarchal suppression, the stronger the public backlash becomes. Most Cnetizens believe that maternal lineage is fundamental and unchanging. Here is the context: surrogacy is completely illegal in China - its legality varies in other countries. Cnetizens view surrogacy as a direct form of exploitation against women and children - extremely inhumane. They look down on the practice, and consider those who run surrogacy companies to be fundamentally selfish and evil. In China, if a celeb is proven to have used surrogacy, they will face a permanent ban from public life. Not only that, but their reputation will be completely ruined. However, this still doesn't stop many wealthy individuals from secretly going abroad for surrogacy services. The government has also outlawed surrogacy to align with public opinion on this issue—the government wants things such as gender ratio to be balanced because it's good for the nation. But surrogacy messes that up – a lot of people using it just pick boys. So, it also shows how vast and complex society is.

And the buzz around this bombshell hasn't faded at all — Cnetizens say that it feels like we're all at this massive, open archaeological dig site that anyone can join. Everyone's digging eagerly, uncovering new clues one after another. It's as if each person has found the right puzzle piece, and together we're slowly fitting them into this enormous, incomplete map. Love and peace everywhere. They're having so much fun and they won't stop.

Most Cnetizens are just here for the drama. Even if they think the story is true, it's all past history to them — nobody's taking it too seriously. The whole vibe is like binge-watching a TV series.

The most amazing part is how wildly this gossip spread—big data algorithms actually pushed the posts to a direct descendant of the Chen family. She's a young woman now based in Shanghai, and seeing all these discussions online has got her really excited. Ms. Chen said the complete version might really be in the hands of the clan leader. However, the main branch of the Chen family was separated during the war. She now plans to start searching for the clan leader and has even visited the local museum to study the Chen family's complete genealogy. In the comments, a netizen chatted with her and mentioned having bought a batch of timber from her family back in the day. She actually recalled the incident.

Here's what Ms. Chen originally said: "My family was very close to the emperor back then. From what the older generations said, it was to secure favor—our Chen family had no choice, and it was heartbreaking. At that time, our ancestors held high positions like Grand Secretary, and had strong influence across court departments. That’s why they grew close to the princes—probably because the royals knew our family wouldn’t gossip. We were all on the same boat, so they felt secure. That’s the story I heard from my elders. Over the years, word got out anyway—pretty much everyone in Haining knows about it." "I’ve visited the former residence of Senior Chen—it’s still there today. Writers like Jin Yong and Qiong Yao knew these secrets too. The Chens, Jin Yong’s Zha family, Xu Zhimo’s Xu family, and Jiang Baili and Jiang Ying’s Jiang family—all these Haining families intermarried for generations. We’re basically all relatives. Back in those days, they were all aware of these inside stories, so it’s no surprise they wrote them into their novels. I heard from elders that Jin Yong often visited my family when he was a kid."

As for whether Kangxi himself knew he was Hong Chengchou's son—based on current clues, the answer is yes, very much so. Chinese netizens have been digging through official historical records and cross-referencing details. Many unexplained mysteries suddenly align:

According to accounts by foreign envoys, Kangxi didn’t look or act like a nine-year-old but more like a thirteen-year-old (his age didn’t match).

Kangxi was exceptionally intelligent, especially in literature and mathematics—traits starkly different from his supposed father and grandfather (note: Hong Chengchou was a Ming dynasty scholar).

Kangxi observed only about ten days of mourning for his nominal mother, Empress Xiaokang, whose burial was modest. Yet, he mourned Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang—officially his grandmother—as a mother, for three full years.

Why did Oboi, once a loyal Qing minister, suddenly turn against Kangxi after the emperor “recovered from smallpox and returned to the palace,” even attempting a coup?

Why did the Plain Blue Banner, composed almost entirely of Manchu soldiers, inexplicably support the Southern Ming emperor Zhu Youlang against Kangxi—a legitimate Qing ruler—effectively committing treason?

All evidence suggests that early Qing leaders discovered the bloodline substitution: the empire founded by Nurhaci was being redirected, and they felt compelled to act.

Additional clues include:

Kangxi elevated the temple where Hong Chengchou was imprisoned into an ancestral shrine.

Hong Chengchou's son, Hong Shiming, held the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, managing ancestral temple rites. Under traditional norms, this ceremonial duty fell specifically to the legitimate eldest son.

An unidentified male corpse was excavated from a Qing imperial tomb—wearing Ming official robes outside, but a dragon robe inside. His name was recorded as Huang Zhuowu (suspected to be a hidden reference to "The Emperor Came From My Family", suggesting this person was actually Hong Chengchou).

If you're interested, you can search social media platforms for detailed evidence and discussions.

The funniest part of this whole situation is the local cultural and tourism bureau in Haining—the hometown of Emperor Qianlong’s biological parents, the Chen family. They seized the viral moment to promote local tourism on their Xiaohongshu account. Their first post, written as if Emperor Qianlong himself was addressing netizens, said: "Your Emperor misses you in Haining." But soon after, it was reported by an anonymous user and temporarily taken down. Undeterred, the account continued posting humorous follow-ups like, "Your Emperor has a plaque in Haining" "With autumn's splendor at its peak, We cordially invite thee to revel in the joys of a journey south of the River" "In Haining, We seek to recruit people of virtue and talent for thy Emperor"and "There’s mink fur in my dragon robe—We don’t get cold in winter." Clearly, they know how to keep up with the trends.

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

DNA testing has accidentally uncovered the biggest royal secret in modern Chinese history

These past couple of days, the entire Chinese internet has been going wild over this gossip. Every social media platform is flooded with discussions — this is probably the biggest bombshell in modern Chinese history. And it's not just some casual scandal.

To put it simply: the two emper who created the glorious "Kang-Qian Golden Age" of the Qing Dynasty… had no royal blood. They were swapped in.

Kangxi likely had mixed Han (his bio father) and Mongolian (his bio mother) ancestry, while Qianlong might have been a fully Han chinese.

The first was Kangxi. He wasn't his father Shunzhi’s biological son. The real crown prince Xuanye died of smallpox as a small child outside the palace. The one who returned was an imposter — Kangxi himself — actually the illegitimate son of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (Shunzhi's bio mother) and Hong Chengchou, the last Ming emperor’s former tutor (The most dramatic part of this story is that Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was likely sent by her husband Huangtaiji to persuade Hong Chengchou to surrender. Hong, a brilliant mind and representative of the Ming scholarly elite, somehow formed a genuine bond with her. They maintained contact in the following years, which eventually led to the birth of Kangxi).

The second was Qianlong, Kangxi’s nominal grandson. In truth, Qianlong was secretly adopted by his father Yongzheng from the Chen family in Haining, Zhejiang. Not only was he unrelated to the Aisin-Gioro clan — he wasn’t even Manchu. What really shocked Cnetizens is this: the Chen and Hong families have been traced back to the same clan, just with different surnames. Yongzheng made the swap to gain an edge in the "War of the Nine Princes." Official records show Kangxi met Qianlong as a child and was deeply impressed, viewing him as an exceptional grandson — which later influenced his decision to pass the throne to Yongzheng. The reason he felt such a connection? Qianlong actually came from the same bloodline as Kangxi's own biological father.

It’s a three-generation conspiracy of imposters ruling the empire.

And Dream of the Red Chamber, the greatest novel in Chinese literary history, was written based on this truth. Its status is like that of One Hundred Years of Solitude in Latin American literature — a masterpiece that reaches the pinnacle of artistic achievement, flawless in every aspect, what people call the ultimate "all-rounder."

Now people finally understand: the real reason Dream of the Red Chamber became the most banned book in the Qing Dynasty wasn’t because it mourned the Ming — but because it was filled with metaphors exposing this bloodline swap and all the political drama that followed.

By now, most people have accepted this conclusion. It all started when DNA tests revealed that modern royal descendants of the Aisin Gioro clan carry genetic matches found in both Hong Chengchou's descendants and those of Chen family from Haining, Zhejiang — something impossible according to official historical records. These grassroots genetic tests have since been urgently halted by the authorities.

Other direct evidence includes surviving royal portraits — people noticed Kangxi looks nothing like his nominal father or grandfather, but bears a striking resemblance to portraits of Hong Chengchou himself.

That said, there's still plenty of pushback and skepticism. At the moment, Kangxi's own tomb remains off-limits for excavation, making it impossible to obtain his direct DNA.

(The full chain of evidence is all over chinese internet — it's just too much to translate and repost here. If you're interested, you can check the summaries on Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or Zhihu -they're everywhere. My main focus here is translating comments of Cnetizens.)

What makes this royal scandal blow up even more is that it's not just some gossip — it practically solves the greatest mystery in Chinese literary history: the unfinished ending of Dream of the Red Chamber. It fills in the real plot of the missing last 40 chapters, completely overturning centuries of Redology research. It also proves that the much-criticized "allegorical school" (based on the Gui You version) might have been right all along. The so-called "absurd" Gui You version could actually be one of the earliest drafts of the novel — a complete version with the original ending. And those seemingly ridiculous plot twists might just be the real intended ending.

People are realizing that by following this shocking truth and connecting it with existing clues and evidence, they can logically explain so many major events and unsolved mysteries from Qing history. It also completely decodes the metaphors behind the characters and their experiences in Dream of the Red Chamber. In fact, the historical puzzles and the novel’s hidden messages match up perfectly.

The reason the novel was banned in the Qing Dynasty wasn’t just because it mourned the Ming — but because it exposed the bloodline swap: Kangxi wasn’t really Shunzhi’s son and carried no Aisin-Gioro blood, and his grandson Qianlong was most likely fully Han. This also aligns perfectly with key events in Qianlong’s life — most famously, the hair-cutting incident of his second empress.

According to official records, Empress Huifa Nara, the second wife of Emperor Qianlong, suddenly cut her hair during his Southern Tour — which coincided with the centenary of Hong Chengchou's birth. Under Qing customs, a woman cutting her hair was an act reserved only for her husband’s death or national mourning. Her drastic gesture is now interpreted by some as a silent protest: she had discovered the secret and was telling the world that the throne had already passed to another bloodline.

After the incident, Qianlong immediately deposed the empress and placed her under lifelong house arrest, forbidding anyone from visiting her. (This exact plotline would later play out in countless popular novels and TV dramas — most famously in My Fair Princess. But until now, no one understood why the empress suddenly went mad and cut her hair, especially since she was known for her quiet and dignified temperament. The truth perfectly explains her actions: as a proud member of the prestigious Huifa Nara clan, she could never accept that her husband was an impostor — and a fully Han Chinese at that.)

So Cnetizens comment:

Male Lineage Server, 香火服xianghuofu, literally "Incense and Fire Server", the 'Incense and Fire' refers to the ritual of burning incense and maintaining an eternal flame at ancestral altars, symbolizing the unbroken continuity of family lineage. Cnetizens often metaphorically describe Earth as an "Earth Online" game where we're all players, and different regions are seen as separate servers. In this context, 'Server' specifically refers to China.

"Male Lineage Server" is a humorous satire and metaphor targeting the traditional patriarchal obsession with continuing the male bloodline. In this context, "lineage" symbolizes the perpetuation of the family line, a duty traditionally assigned to men.

Under the dominant influence of Confucian ideology, this concept became tightly linked to severe son preference. Ancient China’s dual-track kinship system — where the xing (姓) represented the maternal line and the shi (氏) represented the paternal line — was deliberately erased by patriarchal norms. By downplaying women’s role in reproduction (e.g., attributing childbirth solely to the "father’s essence") and stripping women of ancestral rights (e.g., excluding them from family trees and property inheritance), the system essentially credited women’s reproductive labor to men.

Language further reinforced this order — for instance, tangqin (堂亲) refers to paternal relatives, while biaoqin (表亲) refers to maternal relatives. Today, as society grows more progressive, an increasing number of Cnetizens are openly rejecting these traditional Confucian values.

The overwhelming majority of Cnetizens are in agreement: "We've just witnessed the gossip of the century and a historical revelation.""Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, THE REAL QUEEN.""I can't believe I'm alive to see the day when the true ending of Dream of the Red Chamber is revealed! ""God, Chiung Yao and Jin Yong died too early — they must have known something. ""I bet even Sun Yat-sen knew something (founder of the Republic of China). He once said, 'Even if a Han becomes the emperor, I will still oppose Qing rule,' which is now seen as a hint that he knew."

People are now realizing - belatedly - that Jin Yong and Chiung Yao aka Qiong Yao, the two most famous popular fiction authors in modern China (Jin Yong being the master of wuxia literature (1924 - 2018), and Qiong Yao the queen of romance novels (1938 - 2024）), had actually filled their works with countless hints about this. All their novels set in the Qing Dynasty contain clear references and clues. What’s more, the two were related — Jin Yong’s ancestors were among the Booi (bondservant) nobility of Qing — so this was likely an open secret within their own circles.

What's even more fascinating is that this appears to have been common knowledge locally in Haining (though they only knew about Qianlong, not Kangxi). Back when communication was slow and the internet didn't exist, the story still spread. Many Cnetizens have shared that they excitedly told their parents, only to get a muted reaction — their parents said they'd already heard growing up that Qianlong was the son of the powerful Chen family from Zhejiang.

In Qiong Yao's My Fair Princess, the character Chen Zhihua is said to be the daughter born to Yongzheng's own biological daughter. People think that Yongzheng, then without a son, had a daughter born on the very same day as a son in the Chen family. His wife secretly swapped the baby girl for the Chen's baby boy and brought him back to the palace, and he later became Emperor Qianlong. This explains why Qianlong's nominal mother, Lady Niohuru, was so fond of Chen Zhihua. Upon meeting her, she insisted on arranging her marriage to the then-crown prince Yongqi. Lady Niohuru knew Zhihua was biological granddaughter of Yongzheng — meaning Zhihua carried enough noble Manchu blood. According to official historical records, Qianlong stayed with the Chen family during all seven of his Southern Tours — a highly unusual arrangement that now has a clear explanation: he was likely returning to pay respects to his biological ancestors.

This is Chen Gelao House in Haining nowadays:

The first paragraphy: The Chen family of Haining earned its reputation through the imperial examination system. With members — whether brothers, father and son, or uncles and nephews — repeatedly passing the exams, often in the same year, the family had already become influential in court circles by at least the mid-Qing Dynasty. Its fame, however, reached every household thanks to the popular belief that Qianlong himself was the son of Old Minister Chen of Haining.

But right now, the hottest topic taking over the discussion is still Dream of the Red Chamber. "So in Dream of the Red Chamber, the heroine Lin Daiyu represents the last Ming emperor Chongzhen, the hero Jia Baoyu symbolizes the imperial jade seal, the supporting female role Xue Baochai represents Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and the supporting male role Jia Yucun represents Hong Chengchou... Everything suddenly fits together!" Cnetizens even came up with an improvised art: Lin Daiyu holding Baoyu in her hand and introducing, "I'm the Great Emperor, and this is my little jade seal." (cr 路过的农民x)

See update of the gossip here: Chinese authorities release the denial of royal bloodline scandal—Cnetizens' reaction towards the denial: utter nonsense

[gatoiberico]

(points at ōdanna-sama and aoi) i just think they're neat

[gatoiberico]

(ignore the fact that pulling on sleeves probably doesn't create permanent wrinkles, and that i just drew this because rishe constantly tugging on arnold's sleeves makes me chuckle like a dummy)

[ultra-violet-heart]

His name is Oliver Laurenz Friedheim!

Also not surprised Oliver's thoughts immediately went to "Lady Rishe and Milord Arnold did the hanky-panky" because Oliver is a manwhore who actually replaces five girlfriends event six months LOL