[23] This is a style of writing called 十字令, where ten values/lessons are listed in the form of ten chengyu that contain numbers from one to ten. Wen Kexing goes up to eight here.

[24] 夫唱妻随 (lit. when the husband sings, the wife follows) - the wife goes along with whatever her husband does, also used to describe a harmonious marriage. Wen Kexing says the equivalent of "when someone sings, someone follows", obfuscating the roles of the husband and wife.

[25] About 100 sheets

[26] 打更: Time at night was divided into 5 gengs, each lasting about 2 hours. A night watchman would walk the streets, banging a gong and announcing what time it was.

[27] The original idiom is “男女授受(shou shou)不亲” [It is improper for a man and a woman to exchange gifts and be intimate]. Gu Xiang mistakes the “shou” for 瘦 (skinny), and changes it to 胖瘦 (pang shou).

[28] 交杯酒 - A traditional wedding ritual where the bride and groom will drink from separate cups, and then exchange their cups to drink from.

[29] Cao Weining calls him 小花脸, which is a minor comedic role with specific face makeup (丑) in Chinese opera. Yes, he technically called him a ‘little clown’.

[30] A powder made out of jimsonweed/devil’s snare.

[31] Comes from an idiom “Three cobblers putting their brains together rivals Zhuge Liang’s brilliance”. (Further reading: https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2016/09/a-match-of-wits/)

[32] In the first few years of the Western Zhou dynasty, everyone was slutting it out all the time. The Duke of Zhou said “This shit’s not going to fly”, and banned pre-marital sex.

[33] The Chinese character for ten is 十

Chapter 61: Formation

Cao Weining and Zhang Chengling were holding a bucket of faeces each. The stink blotted out the sky. Finding joy amidst misery, Cao Weining thought: A-Xiang is really full of wit and stratagems, a Zhuge amongst womankind.

Zhang Chengling did not hold the same grand worldview. He thought that Gu Xiang lacked eight lifetimes’ worth of morals.

As the labourers, the two of them covered those night-soil buckets with lids, and placed much camouflage over them. Under Gu Xiang’s direction, they arranged them in position on the roof, on the ground, creating the most disgusting formation in history so far--a night-soil bucket formation.

On the other hand, Military Strategist Gu covered her nose and stayed far away. After the buckets were in place, she beckoned the two over, her nose covered, and spoke to Zhang Chengling in a low voice, “Have you memorised the path I told you?”

Zhang Chengling nodded his head and said, “Be rest assured, Gu Xiang-jiejie. I won’t stumble on the Drifting Clouds Nine Palaces Steps, shifu will break my legs otherwise.”

Gu Xiang poked him in the head with the tip of her finger and said, “Take one wrong step, and you’ll become Stinky Bug Zhang.”

She took another glance at Cao Weining, swung her arm in a wide arc, and ordered, “Action!”