居然是漕匪的儿子
“is actually the son of a bandit.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
阁臣的侄儿
“To think the nephew of a Grand Secretary”
居然是 漕匪的 儿子
“is actually the son of a bandit.”
欺君 轻者
“[that Chen Xuanqing was a son of a collateral branch of the Chen clan.] If one deceives the emperor, in lesser cases,”
“This deception is treasonous; if this gets out, heads will roll.”
In imperial China, obscuring background or lying to the court is classified as treason against the emperor, punishable by collective familial execution.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
actually turned out to be / unexpectedly is
Use '居然' to express strong surprise when reality contradicts expectations.
canal bandits / waterborne smugglers
A historical term referring to illegal underground gangs operating along the Grand Canal.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I happened to be serving at the Canal Transport Office at the time and ran into the case.”
“you hide in Luoying Valley.”
“Surely no one would deliberately neglect river repairs just to push forward sea transport, right?”
“Lu Huai colluded with grain merchants,”
“Commissioner Liu, there's no need to worry.”
“and your father to usurp the throne!”