Chapter 102 : A Turning Point (Part II)
After Jiang Xin Zhi and the Zhao family received news that Jiang Ruan had been sent to Ci Ning palace to be treated, they were all momentarily stupefied. Empress Dowager Yi De lived high up[1] and usually looked down upon others, and today was the first time she had met Jiang Ruan. Yet now, she acted conspicuously different. She even personally allowed her to stay in Ci Ning Palace, which meant that in her heart, Jiang Ruan was not simply just the legitimate daughter of a regular official.
[1] 居高临下 (jūgāo-línxià) – refers to one’s arrogance due to a high social standing/rank.
Jiang Quan and Xia Yan both waited outside. Jiang Su Su longed to receive news of Jiang Ruan’s death, however, she heard that Empress Dowager Yi De had summoned the physician to treat Jiang Ruan. This was a rare honour that one could tell from a glance thus she could not help but clench both her hands into fists, a streak of hatred flashing through her eyes.
Jiang Quan’s expression was complicated. Currently, Jiang Ruan had gained merits for coming to the rescue of the Empress Dowager and this credit would eventually be counted towards the Jiang fu. Yet it just had to be Jiang Ruan. Recently, Jiang Ruan had showcased extraordinary splendours and buried Jiang Su Su’s radiance. Deep down, he had never treated Jiang Ruan as his own flesh and blood[2], and so the more Jiang Ruan shone, the more she hindered Jiang Su Su’s pathway and the more unsatisfied he was. As of now, Jiang Ruan would definitely be ahead of Jiang Su Su by a head. He had wholeheartedly wished to help Jiang Su Su lay out a flat path which made Jiang Ruan’s actions truly intolerable!
[2] 骨肉 (gǔròu) – refers to kin/kinship.
While following various trains of thought, Jiang Quan’s face did not reveal any hint of worry- just an unperturbed expression, with some disgust. Consequently, he replied to the low-ranking eunuch who had reported the news with, “This official sincerely gives thanks to Empress Dowager’s piece of goodwill. However, it is just that my daughter is boorish and is unable to bear this grace. Gonggong[3], please report to the Empress Dowager to ask for permission to bring this official’s daughter back to the fu.”
[3] 公公 (gonggong) – term to refer to an eunuch employed by the imperial family with an official position.
Upon hearing Jiang Quan’s words, pride flashed in Xia Yan’s eyes. However, that low-ranking eunuch was astonished. Normally when one’s own daughter was injured, a typical father would at least ask about the injury, but this father opened his mouth only to request to bring his daughter back. The low-ranking eunuch was also someone who had become experienced from facing challenges in the palace, so at one glance, he had a clear understanding about the situation. Jiang Quan’s eyes only contained distaste- there was no warmth. Thinking of Empress Dowager Yi De’s special regard towards Jiang Ruan, the low-ranking eunuch raised his whisk and said, “Alas this servant does not dare to relay these words. Eldest Miss Jiang has a imperial physician to treat her in the palace, and I am afraid that even if you bring her back to the fu, you will not be able to find such a skilled physician. Furthermore, this servant is only is here to relay the message. If Jiang Daren has anything further to say, you should personally go to Empress Dowager to tell her.”
His defiant attitude, deliberate or not, was meant to suppress. The servants in the palace could not be offended and Jiang Quan was renowned in the palace for being upright and respectable. So, when he was mocked, his face immediately flushed but he was unable to utter any words. The low-ranking eunuch glanced disdainfully at Xia Yan and scoffed at them in his heart. It’s really curious how this Jiang couple were able to give birth to such a clear-minded young miss as Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Xin Zhi couldn’t see Jiang Ruan’s injury personally so even though he knew that she was being treated by the imperial physician, he was still anxious. He didn’t know why Jiang Ruan had to block the sword for Empress Dowager Yi De. He felt reproach in his heart; even though saying this would mean high treason, he didn’t want Jiang Ruan to take a risk even if the Emperor’s life might be in danger.
The low-ranking eunuch was ready to leave after he finished conveying the message. When he walked to the door, he ran into Xiao Shao and bowed in a hurry. Xiao Shao waved his hand and took out a small blue porcelain bottle from his bosom and threw it to him. “Yu Ji ointment[4],” he said briefly.
[4] 玉肌膏 (yu ji gao): referring to whitening cream, lit. jade skin ointment.
Yu Ji ointment was a good thing that even the concubines in the palace could rarely use, thus this small bottle was very valuable. It could remove scars on women’s bodies. Although Xiao Shao did not say for whom, the low-ranking eunuch also understood that the recipient should be Jiang Ruan who was currently resting in the Ci Ning Palace. Although he doubted the relationship between Xiao Shao and Jiang Ruan in his heart, he still replied with a smile. “Don’t worry, Wangye. This servant will surely take it.”
Xiao Shao glanced at him faintly, then turned around and walked out of the palace gate.
* * *
Jiang Ruan slept surprisingly well in the Ci Ning Palace that night.
When she woke up, two beautiful palace maids attentively helped her change her clothes. Jiang Ruan moved her body, but she didn’t feel any pain from her chest wound.
The palace maid said with a smile, “Miss, you’re awake. The wound is not deep. It will be fine as long as it’s bandaged well.” Then she explained in a low voice. “The imperial physician previously said that it would leave a scar. Fortunately, Xiao Wangye sent the Yu Ji ointment, so there is no need to worry. You won’t have any scars.” There was envy in her tone.
Jiang Ruan looked at her in surprise. Xiao Shao sent her the Yu Ji ointment? She pressed the centre of her forehead. The favour she owed was becoming bigger and bigger.
Since her rebirth, she would reward the other party equally when she took advantage of them. For example, supporting Liu Min was to get a useful ally in the future. Getting Gu Yi’s help was also making use of Gu Yi’s love of beauty. But, Xiao Shao came to help her many times. Even if it was to repay her kindness of the past, from what he had just given her, he had already paid the favour in full. She had no idea how to reciprocate Xiao Shao’s straightforward help.
After thinking about it, she simply put the matter aside. She asked the palace maid, “Who else was injured last night?”
The palace maid reported a long list of names. Jiang Ruan was relieved when she heard that none of her acquaintances was on the list. Then the maid mentioned one incident related to someone she knew; Jiang Dan had panicked and fallen into Zuo Langzhong’s[5] arms last night. Zuo Langzhong was young and promising. Unfortunately, Jiang Dan’s clothes were torn during the chaos last night and Zuo Langzhong felt especially soft-hearted when seeing a pretty and delicate girl weeping. Hence, he agreed to take responsibility for her after the event.
[5] 郎中 (lángzhōng) – doctor (Chinese medicine).
The palace maid said, “Your fu’s Fourth Young Miss’ wedding is perhaps already set.”
Jiang Ruan raised her eyebrows. With new eyes she reflected on the cowardly and timid Fourth Younger Sister. It was a gamble for her to think up such a scheme during last night’s chaos because if she was not careful, she would lose her life. But she dared and Jiang Dan’s luck was good. She won the bet, didn’t she?
Seeing Jiang Ruan in a trance, the palace maid continued, “Deputy General Jiang came to see you. However, he left in a hurry due to some matters. Empress Dowager should be back soon. While Miss was unconscious, the Deputy General and Empress Dowager were very worried.”
Jiang Ruan thought for a moment. “What about my father, mother, and sisters?”
“Empress Dowager ordered them to go back to the fu first.” The palace maid answered.
Jiang Ruan lowered her eyes. Empress Dowager asked Jiang Quan to return to the fu. Did this mean that she already felt some dislike towards Jiang Quan? If this was so, it was very good. She smiled faintly and looked at the palace maid apologetically. “I’m a little hungry.”
“The meal is ready. This servant will now serve the food.” The palace maid said with a smile.
* * *
In the imperial study, the Emperor suddenly smashed the paper weight on the table to the floor. “So, it was the Tianjin’s people last night?”
Guan Liang Han and Xiao Shao tacitly admitted that it was so.
Tianjin kingdom was located in the north of Great Jin and its territory wasn’t vast. Since it was close to the sea, it did very well in transoceanic trade. Furthermore, they currently maintained a non-aggression relationship with Great Jin though at one time Great Jin had wished to make it an annex. Tianjin’s territory was small, but its steel smelting technology was excellent and their soldiers’ weapons were much better than those of Great Jin. The late Emperor once tried to attack Tianjin, but the latter unexpectedly resisted the troops of 400,000 soldiers of Great Jin and dragged the war out for a whole year. At that point, once the Great Jin’s troops’ supplies were completely exhausted and its people had no way of living due to the heavy taxes, the late Emperor finally realized that neither side would win and ordered the troops to withdraw. Since then, they had been on guard and didn’t act to invade, instead choosing a peaceful coexistence.
But then, last night, Xiao Shao and Guan Liang Han had interrogated the prisoners for many hours. Although this squad of assassins had been unyielding, their speech revealed that something was amiss. Xiao Shao ordered the Jin Yi guards to check. What he found was that these assassins were from Tianjin.
“How dare such a tiny land be so presumptuous!” The Emperor was furious.
Last night’s assassination attempt was aimed at the Emperor. They were unsuccessful but in the end, they went on a killing spree in the palace, causing panic among officials. By disrupting the imperial court, their behaviour actually meant provocation. What was Tianjin’s intent? Did they really want to go to war with the Great Jin?
“Tianjin has been stirring up trouble at the borders over the past few years. It’s starting to flex its muscles.” Xiao Shao reminded him. “This assassination is probably a signal.”
“A signal of war?” Guan Liang Han asked.
“Zhen[6] is not afraid of them!” No Emperor could tolerate such a blatant provocation. The dignity of the Emperor could not be trampled on, let alone compromise when it came to such the weighty matter of national security. The Emperor frowned. “General Guan, would you like to lead the troops to march to Tianjin?”
[6] 朕 (zhen) – term used by an Emperor to refer to himself.
Guan Liang Han smiled. “It’s my pleasure.”
He did not want to stay here in this annoying capital and face these pedantic people every day. He had defeated the enemy and returned to the capital this year, but he was very unhappy when the Emperor told him to remain in this place for his retirement. Soldiers were born for the battlefield, especially those like Guan Liang Han. Only on the battlefield could he exert his greatest talents.
The Emperor thought for a moment. “Take your Deputy General with you. If he’s destined to be a General and returns after a victorious battle, Zhen will reward him heavily.”
Guan Liang Han looked solemn. The Emperor’s words really gave Jiang Xin Zhi room to display his talents. He had thought that since Jiang Xin Zhi had contradicted Imperial Consort Chen earlier, the Emperor would have been prejudiced against him. Jiang Xin Zhi and his sister had just reunited, but Jiang Xin Zhi now had another chance to go into battle. If he shone in this military campaign, there would be another young hero in the Great Jin. Then, Jiang Xin Zhi would truly be able to gain a firm foothold in the imperial court.
It’s just… Would this man with the sister complex be willing to leave Jiang Ruan?
The Emperor then said, “So many assassins infiltrated the palace last night. Were all the imperial guards dead?” He looked at Xiao Shao. “Ah Shao, call out your Jin Yi guards.”
It was time for a complete purge. The Tianjin kingdom’s assassins had entered the imperial palace with ease; this meant that they already had an insider inside the palace. Although they didn’t know who the person was, if not uprooted in a day, it would grow like a malignant tumour in the Emperor’s heart.
Xiao Shao nodded his head slightly. “Yes.”
Guan Liang Han sighed in his heart. Another bloodbath was bound to happen in the palace.
Once they finished discussing matters with the Emperor, they came out of the imperial study only to see a beautiful girl standing outside. She wore a golden muslin skirt, was gorgeously adorned, and her beautiful face was meticulously made up. She had a touch of exotic air. She came over slowly and smiled at Xiao Shao and said, “Xiao Wangye.”
It was Princess He Yi.
Guan Liang Han winked at Xiao Shao and strode away.
Xiao Shao looked at He Yi with indifference. There was no warmth in his gaze at all. Her heart palpitated at his cold and indifferent eyes and felt a little timid. However, when she thought of what happened last night, resentment emerged in her eyes. She looked up at Xiao Shao’s handsome and cold face, asking, “What’s the relationship between Xiao Wangye and Eldest Miss Jiang?”
This unfathomable question made Xiao Shao baffled about her intention. With knitted brows, he asked her coldly. “What does this have to do with Princess?”
Princess He Yi’s eyes reddened and her whole body was chilled by his aloof words. She answered grievously. “You know perfectly well that I like you.”
“Princess, please speak cautiously.” Xiao Shao’s eyes suddenly turned chilly. “I have no other thoughts about Princess.”
“What about Jiang Ruan,” Princess He Yi couldn’t help but ask harshly, “Do you like her?”
Xiao Shao’s frown went deeper as if he couldn’t understand her words. However, there were more pressing matters at the moment, so he just gave Princess He Yi a cold look and turned to leave. Such action was acquiescence in Princess He Yi’s eyes. After a brief shock, she suddenly covered her face and burst into tears.
* * *
After Jiang Ruan had breakfast, Empress Dowager Yi De returned to the Ci Ning Palace. Seeing her like this, she asked, “Are you feeling better?”
Jiang Ruan smiled. “To answer Empress Dowager, I’m feeling much better.”
Empress Dowager Yi De looked at her from head to toe and saw that her spirit was much better than yesterday. Feeling relieved, she sat down on the soft couch. Her close maid came with a cup of tea. Empress Dowager Yi De took the tea and took a sip, then looked at Jiang Ruan quietly.
The girl in front of her was clever and pure. Although she had a charming look, her eyes were clear and without impurities. What was so rare about her was the calm indifference in the face of favours or humiliations. It took frivolity out of her beauty and made her serene and noble.
She asked casually, “Does Jiang Quan not treat you well?”
Jiang Ruan seemed surprised by this question. She thought for a moment and answered with a smile. “Not at all. It’s simply because this subject was raised in the country, thus hasn’t been very close to Father since childhood.”
She didn’t complain incessantly nor did she lie that Jiang Quan had treated her very well. Instead, she told the truth and used her words to justify Jiang Quan. Her speech was very proper.
A faint smile rose on Empress Dowager Yi De’s lips. “Since the relationship is not close, there won’t be sadness upon separation.”
Jiang Ruan was taken aback and looked at Empress Dowager Yi De with doubt.
Empress Dowager Yi De looked at the ruby on top of her nail guard. “Jiang family’s girl, aijia is going to stay at the imperial temple next to the royal mausoleum for three years. Would you like to join me?”
© MerakiTranslations tranzgeek.wordpress.com. This translation belongs to tranzgeek.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from tranzgeek.wordpress.com then this has been posted without consent of the translator. Notice – Anybody who wants to try their hand at translating are most welcome to join the Rebirth team. If you are interested, you can drop a comment below or mail at tranzgeekz@gmail.com. Join us on Discord to fangirl about this novel and many others in the meraki world. You can also read this novel offline on Wattpad – here.
Translated by : Mazu & Shl Edited by : Anks & Ely
MerakiTranslations 
This is a lot like The Story of Yanxi Palace, when Wei Ying Luo follows the Dowager Empress. Anyway, the fight against the neighboring kingdom will probably also last for three years.
Jiang Dan reminds me of Shen Dong Ling. I hope she’s smart, when the Jiang family falls, she should already be married and won’t be implicated, she can have a happy life if she stays quiet from now on.
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Yes! But unfortunately Shen Dong Ling lost her life because she pit herself against Shen Miao.
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Yep, my girl miao pulls no punches.
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I feel like Shen Dong Ling actions were out of blue and out of character. Like the author just wanted to kill of the whole generation
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I partly agree with you and I partly don’t. Hopefully I can explain this clearly:
First I’ll explain why I believe it is possible that SDL’s actions aren’t out of character. I feel that Shen Dong Ling’s actions could be interpreted as a character who was mostly isolated/sheltered and was highly intelligent, so much so that she never really felt much other than boredom until Shen Miao was reborn and she met her match. At the same time she and Shen Miao never really had a close attachment to each other in either of Miao’s lives. So she probably didn’t feel much guilt over targeting Miao in the first place when push came to shove.
Now as to why I agree that SDL’s actions might be considered out of character. Again she was intelligent and had already witnessed how ruthlessly Miao had handled the rest of her family.
So, in conclusion, I think it could have gone either way and still have been in character. 😅
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Ah but I don’t think she’ll stay in her lane. I remember bits and pieces of her character where it’s mentioned she’ll live a life better than all sisters since she’s regarded low than others and JR’s not liking her at all when they were young. It matches with the parallel of SM’s brother not liking SDL.
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Oh i thought this too princess he , wei ying luo going is such a deja vu moment.
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whoa that’s a good scheme. Good job. that was worth it
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Interesting. Will she be willing to go away for 3 years?
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Here’s to Jiang Dan. Living her life in peace and not fucking it up. Ruannn say yes.
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Yasss!!!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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Bury myself inna temple for 3years😳? Thanks but no thanks Dowager Empress, this girl has lots more revenge to fulfill 😈 Just gotta say it nicely so you’re not offended 🤔
Thanks for the chapter
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Wow, new chapter. I’m sorry my nagging. Jiang Quan is awful father 🤨. Thank you for the chapter 😉
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I wonder if she’ll go? 🤔 Seems like too much time to give up scheming?
Thanks for the chapter and stay safe!
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Wow, okay, lots of curveballs in this chap. I feel like I’m lacking background info, and tho I’ve been re-reading some select chaps, I feel I need to do a deep dive to properly understand what’s going on.
First off, Jiang Dan. There’ve been lots of hints that she’s somewhat of a hidden dragon among the sisters, so that part about her scheming onto that Zuo Langzhong in the middle of all that chaos isn’t that surprising. Not sure how this is going to end tho, since this was a pretty sudden thing, so it feels more like a buildup for something else. Still, I feel this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of her. There’s still an unexplored connection between her and Zhao Mei, and I’m thinking there’s gonna be some iffy stuff there–the worst-case scenario I can imagine is JD having something to do with ZM’s death, with or without XY pulling some strings behind it buuut–we’ll see.
Re: the assassination attempt–yup, never thought it was a setup by Xuan Li. The risk was too high for a payoff that was too low. At most, it was just him taking advantage of what he could in the situation. Unfortunately, my guess at a rebellion seems to be way off. There haven’t been many mentions of foreign conflict, so the jump to this Tianjin place caught me a bit off guard. Need to check which direction General Guan and JXZ came from in their last mission to really see what’s going on in Tianjin.
Anyway, the empress dowager asking JR to accompany her on a three-year seclusion also threw me for a loop, but thinking about the incoming war, JXZ’s separation anxiety issues, and the timeskip in Malicious Empress–yup, this is probably gonna be another timeskip. My first thought was to calculate JR’s age, which I don’t think has been ever stated explicitly in the story? I’ve been reading on the assumption that she is in the 13-15 range. Her mindset is definitely on the mature side (understatement of the year lol), which mostly has me thinking she would be leaning toward the older side. Also, she has three younger sisters, so unless each of them was born with less than a year between them (wtf Jiang Quan this horse–), it really does feel that they’re all too young to match the mindsets they’ve been shown with.
Anyway, in this kind of setting the 15-16 range is the usual springtime of youth for girls, so I’m assuming that that would be JR’s age upon return. After that, I feel the story pacing is gonna up by a lot. Jiaojiao from ME used the timeskip to build an army, and JR’s probs gonna be building up some resources in that time as well. Maybe she’ll leave tasks for Hui Jue and Luzhu? Chronologically, this period should still be when she was in the mountain village in the past life, if I’m not mistaken, but with her previously being XL’s sounding board/personal encyclopedia (good job past life’s XL, at least you did something right lolol), pretty sure she knows a few things that’ll happen. Probably gonna give JXZ some tips to help him gain more rep in the war too. He doesn’t question her anyway, so he’s probably gonna follow JR’s advice to the letter owo.
The timeskip will probs be a chapter or two for the before and immediately after? I don’t think much can happen while in seclusion, and Rebirth is shorter than ME, if I’m remebering right? Or at least, ME started having some pretty long-ass chaps in the latter half, so there might be more meat to the Rebirth story later on. The first half of Rebirth has seemed more like a very long establishing shot at the story–I mean, the main ship wasn’t put out to sail until like 90 chaps in, and the fall of the Li family had the long-term goal of de-fanging XL w/out directly going against him quite yet. From now on, I’m expecting a bit more direct faceoffs w/ XL and XS and less background plotting. JR’s so far been the initiator, so I’m expecting some more reactionary situations for her to face in the future.
Lastly, I wasn’t expecting that was Princess Heyi’s character? Have to appreciate how she directly went to XS–even tho that might not be the best way considering this block of wood is the prime example of “cause of misunderstandings” lol. Honestly, I was expecting more snark and ‘subtly make the MC’s life difficult with various trip ups and bullying.’ That she went up to XS to directly ask him if he liked JR was actually pretty refreshing to see and made me like and respect her more as a love rival. But I’ll wait and see what kind of mess this misunderstanding makes before giving the final verdict.
TL;DR: this random person is investing way too much thinking time on this story TwT
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In the beginning she was around 10, so since it’s her birthday now she’d be 11. Since she’s so young I’m getting creeped out every time her beauty is mentioned. Especially from men/boys younger than her.
I feel like this whole age thing is a huge plot hole, since JSS is said to be a few years younger than JR. So she’d be like 7 or 8 and the most beautiful/admired girl in the capital? And thinking about boys? And scheming? That’s my biggest complaint about this story.
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Anyone else who is refreshing the page every 10 minutes? 😀
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In the meanwhile, reflection on this part, because I did not know who JR referred to:
“I want those who owe me a life debt to hold their hearts out in front of me. I want those who looked down on me to only be able to admire me. I want Lord Zhong Zi to shiver when he sees me. I want to step on these splendid rivers and mountains!”
So if Lord Zhong Zi was referring to Zhong Kui
(Chinese: 鍾馗; pinyin: Zhōng Kuí; Korean: 종규, romanized: Jonggyu; Japanese: 鍾馗, romanized: Shōki) is a deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings.
Story: Becoming the king of ghosts
According to folklore, Zhong Kui travelled with a friend from his hometown, Du Ping (杜平), to take part in the state-wide imperial examinations held in the capital city. Though Zhong Kui attained great academic success through his achievement of top honours in the major exams, his rightful title of “Zhuangyuan” (top-scorer) was stripped from him by the emperor because of his disfigured and ugly appearance. In anger and fury, Zhong Kui committed suicide by continually hurling himself against the palace gates until his head was broken, whereupon Du Ping had him buried and laid to rest. During the divine judgment after his death from suicide, Yama (the Chinese Hell King) saw much potential in Zhong Kui, intelligent and smart enough to score top honours in the imperial examinations but condemned to Hell because of the grave sin of suicide. Yama then gave him a title as the king of ghosts and tasked him to hunt, capture, take charge of and maintain discipline and order among all ghosts. After Zhong Kui became the king of ghosts in Hell, he returned to his hometown on Chinese New Year’s eve. To repay Du Ping’s kindness, Zhong Kui gave his younger sister in marriage to Du Ping.
Source: Wikipedia
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I will answer on her behalf, “let’s go”!! 3 years is a long time though.
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