The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 1
When Ye Lizhu woke from her slumber, she felt a stifling heaviness in her chest.
Her health had been terribly frail right from birth. Born precisely at the midnight hour of the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, Ye Lizhu was naturally heavy with yin energy, a prime target for malevolent spirits. When she was little, an eminent monk decreed that if she wished to survive, her best course was to renounce the secular world and live out her life in a temple, accompanied only by coarse tea, plain rice, and the ancient Buddha under a blue oil lamp.
However, Ye Lizhu’s father doted on her most of all. How could he ever bear to let his perfectly good daughter shave her head and become a nun?
The year she turned three, Ye Lizhu’s wet nurse suffered a moment of sheer carelessness. Forgetting to close the window before bed on a freezing winter night, she left the little girl exposed to the bitter chill until dawn. It resulted in a severe illness and a raging fever that nearly snatched her young life away.
Ye Lizhu’s father was none other than the current Prime Minister. Prime Minister Ye summoned the most renowned physicians to treat her, barely managing to keep her alive. But, during Ye Lizhu’s fifth year, watching her little body grow weaker by the day, Prime Minister Ye dared not keep her at home any longer. He sent Ye Lizhu away to the Mingfo Temple, and from then on, only during festive holidays could Prime Minister Ye catch a single glimpse of his precious daughter.
Ye Lizhu had been cultivating at Mingfo Temple for nearly ten years. In just two more months, it would be her fifteenth birthday.
Over these recent days, her health had deteriorated even further. She suffered from frequent coughing fits and chest pains, her handkerchiefs blossoming with mottled stains of blood. The temple’s abbess declared that since Ye Lizhu refused to sever her hair and become a nun, entirely detaching from the mortal coil, the Buddha could no longer offer her His divine protection. She advised the girl to return home early, hinting that perhaps, she might just stumble upon her fated noble savior.
With a slender hand, Ye Lizhu parted the pale cyan gauze bed-curtains.
Having just awoken, her ink-black hair cascaded down in loose, cloud-like waves. Her white inner robes were comfortably disheveled, revealing the delicate, exquisite lines of her collarbones.
Ye Lizhu was breathtakingly alluring—a fact she herself remained blissfully unaware of. The nuns in the temple never gossiped about a woman’s earthly beauty, but in all honesty, Ye Lizhu was an absolute stunner.
Though young in age, her figure was exceedingly supple, swaying delicately like a fragile willow in the wind. Her skin was as flawless as ice and snow, naturally exuding an innate, effortless charm. This was especially true of her peach-blossom eyes; shimmering like a pool of spring water, they seemed to perpetually beckon and entice whoever gazed into them. Yet, as if by divine intervention, a dot of rich, vivid cinnabar rested naturally between her brows, diluting her seductive aura and lending her a few charming touches of innocent naïveté.
Sensuality entwined with pure innocence—that was always the most fatal combination.
Because of her sickly nature, her complexion was habitually pale, and her lips held only a faint, delicate shade of pink. Since the temple forbade the luxury of servants, Ye Lizhu always dressed and washed up entirely on her own.
She grabbed a simple cyan robe, draping it over her exquisite, petite curves, and sat by the window to gather her ink-black locks, topping them off with a modest little cyan hat.
Ye Lizhu strolled to the back of the mountain, scooped up a handful of crisp spring water to wash her face and hands, and was just about to return when she caught the sound of two familiar voices.
“I heard Master say that Zhuzhu is heading back this month.”
“Zhuzhu is going back? Back where?”
These two chatterboxes were the young disciples serving right beside the temple’s abbess, Master Wuxin. One was named Qingshuang, and the other Qinghui.
Qingshuang said, “Oh, right, you wouldn’t know. When Zhuzhu first arrived at the temple, you hadn’t even taken your vows yet. And Master never talks about it on normal days. Zhuzhu isn’t just some ordinary family’s miss; she’s the daughter of a grand official! Her family is terrifyingly powerful. Ordinary minor officials have to drop to their knees just upon seeing Zhuzhu’s father. Now that Zhuzhu has grown to the age of fifteen, Master says it’s time for her to return.”
Qinghui knew that Ye Lizhu normally lacked any snooty airs. She was neither arrogant nor aloof, and though her health was poor, everyone in the temple adored her. Hearing that Ye Lizhu was leaving, Qinghui felt a pang of genuine sadness. “Ah? Zhuzhu is leaving? But I was just saying before, once I collected enough alms, I was going to buy Zhuzhu a pretty pearl hairpin!”
Everyone else in the temple had shaved their heads; only Ye Lizhu retained her beautiful long hair. Though she kept it hidden under her hat, everyone knew it was there. Qinghui merely assumed Ye Lizhu had already taken her vows and was cultivating as a lay Buddhist with her hair intact.
“Hmph, you’re not worried about failing to buy Zhuzhu a hairpin! You’re just terrified that once Zhuzhu is gone, you won’t have anyone to accompany you down the mountain for the end-of-the-month errands, you little coward!” Qingshuang grumbled. “Over all these years, when Zhuzhu’s grand official father came back to visit during the holidays, he donated quite a fortune. But, Zhuzhu’s mother hasn’t visited even once. I heard that Zhuzhu’s mother even gave birth to a younger brother for Zhuzhu. Qinghui, do you think Zhuzhu will be bullied by people when she returns home?”
Qinghui didn’t know either. They rarely gossiped about such matters in the temple, and Master Wuxin expressly forbade them from discussing secular affairs, so they only dared to whisper about it in private.
Hoisting her water bucket, Qinghui declared, “I’ll tell Zhuzhu later—if she doesn’t like her home, or if she gets bullied by people, she must come right back early! Master and all of us love her here.”
Ye Lizhu’s hands were still slick with the un-dried mountain spring water. She quietly rubbed her eyes.
Ye Lizhu saw her father twice a year, and for barely two days at a time before her father had to rush back to the capital. As for her mother, Ye Lizhu hadn’t seen her once since stepping foot in Mingfo Temple.
Her father always claimed her mother’s health was too frail for long journeys, so for ten long years, Ye Lizhu could only think about her in her dreams.
She had come to Mingfo Temple at the tender age of five. The events prior to being five were a hazy blur, and her memories concerning her mother’s features were equally unclear.
Her father had previously mentioned her little brother to her once, though at the time, Ye Lizhu hadn’t committed it to memory. Now, catching Qingshuang’s underlying implication—that her mother stayed away because she had a new son—Ye Lizhu felt a fleeting sting of sourness in her heart.
But it lasted for only a single instant.
Until she returned home and saw her family with her own eyes, she could not let her mind run wild with baseless suspicions.
Ye Lizhu swept the courtyard. From afar, the elegant notes of a zither drifted through the air; it was Master Wuxin playing.
Over these years in the temple, Ye Lizhu had rigorously studied the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, all personally taught to her by Master Wuxin.
After washing her hands and changing her robes, Ye Lizhu brewed a pot of fragrant tea and delivered it to Master Wuxin’s room.
Master Wuxin’s features were pristine and clear, entirely transcendent from the mortal world. Ye Lizhu gently set the tea down. “Master, please have some tea.”
Master Wuxin nodded. “Lizhu, you should go have your vegetarian meal as well.”
Ye Lizhu was just turning away when Master Wuxin called out to her once more, “Lizhu.”
Lizhu lifted her eyes to look at Master Wuxin.
“Once you return to the mortal dust, you cannot come back. Once you decide to return to the laity, there is no turning back,” Master Wuxin warned softly. “Stay, and the Buddha can guarantee you a lifetime of peace. If you leave, your life and death will be completely unpredictable.”
Lizhu smiled faintly. “Master, this disciple has already made up her mind. This disciple does not wish to shave her head and renounce the world.”
“This disciple’s earthly senses are not yet cleansed, and the red dust remains unbroken. There are debts in the human realm this disciple must repay, and this disciple cannot shirk them. Whether it leads to life or death, having made a decision, this disciple harbors absolutely no regrets.”
After stepping out of Master Wuxin’s meditation room, the sunlight had just begun to filter through the treetops onto the ground. Ye Lizhu gazed into the distance, where the vegetation grew deep and the birds chirped merrily.
A tiny thrush fluttered down, suddenly landing right on Ye Lizhu’s shoulder. Ye Lizhu gently stroked its back. It lightly pecked her finger with its beak, then fluttered its wings and soared away.
Ye Lizhu entered the dining hall, collected her vegetarian meal, and took a seat right beside Qingshuang and Qinghui.
Qinghui kept sneaking shifty-eyed glances at Ye Lizhu from time to time.
Ye Lizhu hooked her lips into an amused smirk. “Qinghui, what are you looking at me for? Are there words written on my face?”
Qinghui blurted, “Zhuzhu, are you about to leave? I have something to tell you…”
Before the words could fully fall, Qingshuang violently pinched Qinghui, shoved a steamed bun straight into Qinghui’s mouth, and turned to Ye Lizhu. “Zhuzhu, your porridge is going to get cold, hurry up and eat your porridge.”
Ye Lizhu smiled to herself and lowered her head to drink her porridge. With her famously small appetite, she was always the quickest to finish.
Once Ye Lizhu had left, Qinghui complained, “Qingshuang, why did you pinch me just now, and even stop me from talking?”
Qingshuang ruthlessly poked Qinghui’s forehead. “Do you know why Master gave you the name Qinghui (Wisdom)? Because you’re stupid! She gave you the word ‘hui’ hoping you’d get a little smarter!”
Qinghui was poked so hard her eyes welled with tears.
Qingshuang sighed. “Zhuzhu is going home soon. She must be absolutely brimming with joy, eagerly looking forward to reuniting with her family in her heart. You absolutely must not pour cold water on her by saying her family members are bad! Don’t you know better than to drive a wedge between relatives? Besides, Zhuzhu isn’t stupid either. Master always says Zhuzhu is the most clever among us. Whether going home is truly good or bad, she’ll find out when the time comes. Don’t ruin her mood in advance.”
Qinghui rubbed her head. “I didn’t want to say all that! I just wanted to say, Zhuzhu is leaving, but I still don’t have the money to buy the pearl hairpin I promised her. Sigh. Qingshuang, can you lend me two coins from your secret stash?”
Qingshuang: “…”
…
Meanwhile, Ye Fu’an had delegated his duties to his subordinates bright and early. He requested a few days of leave from the Emperor, stating he needed to bring his daughter back.
The Emperor was intimately familiar with Prime Minister Ye Fu’an’s working capabilities and worldly conduct. Suddenly hearing that Ye Fu’an had a daughter naturally piqued the Emperor’s curiosity, prompting him to ask a few extra questions.
Ye Fu’an loved his precious baby daughter the most. Ever since the very moment Ye Lizhu was born, he wished he could just stare at his daughter day and night.
Since the Emperor was asking, Ye Fu’an first offered a token display of modesty, before smoothly and seamlessly bragging about Ye Lizhu, elevating her into a talented beauty rarely found in heaven or on earth.
The Ye family boasted generations of loyal subjects, all of whom were civil officials. Though Ye Fu’an was ruthless and his methods left some quaking in terror, his loyalty to the country and its people was absolute. The Emperor hadn’t achieved anything grand himself; his mediocre reign relied entirely on such loyal ministers.
He had six princes, and since the Emperor loved his Noble Consort the most, he naturally favored the Second Prince raised at her knee. Recently, the Emperor had been toying with the idea of deposing the Crown Prince and instating the Second Prince in his place.
However, the Crown Prince’s faction was deeply entrenched, backed by the formidable Prince of Qin, who commanded an army of six hundred thousand soldiers. The Empress was the Prince of Qin’s biological sister, and the Crown Prince was the Prince of Qin’s nephew. The Prince of Qin was decisive and ruthless, his terrifying reputation shaking the realm. Even if you lent the Emperor ten extra guts, the Emperor wouldn’t dare depose the Crown Prince.
But not daring didn’t mean not wanting to. Lately, spurred on by the Noble Consort’s pillow talk, the Emperor was itching for action, wanting to pull the neutral Prime Minister Ye over to the Second Prince’s side.
“Yi’er has yet to take a principal royal wife. Since Miss Ye is so brilliantly clever, We are quite inclined to arrange a marriage for them.”
The Imperial Study wasn’t exclusively occupied by just the Emperor and Prime Minister Ye; there were also several other powerful ministers present.
Prime Minister Ye smiled, stroking his beard. “This subject would truly love for my little girl to marry the Second Prince. However, my little girl has great looks and a wonderful temperament, it’s just that her body is terribly weak and she is dreadfully difficult to serve, otherwise she wouldn’t have been sent to a temple to be kept alive. This subject has heard that His Highness the Second Prince currently has a few concubines in his chambers. With my little girl’s frail health, if she were to be slightly contradicted by a concubine, she would certainly faint dead away from the anger. If that time comes, and my little girl suffers any untoward mishap, this old subject definitely wouldn’t be able to keep on living, and would accompany my little girl in departing this world.”
Hearing these words, the Emperor hesitated.
The Second Prince was a bit of a playboy. If the Ye girl had a cursed, thin fate and was tormented to death, it wouldn’t be a huge deal.
The fear was exactly that if the Ye girl was angered to death, this villainous thug Ye Fu’an wouldn’t just die, but would instead unleash revenge on the Second Prince!
Furthermore, catching the underlying meaning in Ye Fu’an’s words: if the Ye daughter entered the estate, the other concubines simply could not exist. The most vital duty of the royal family was spreading its branches and producing heirs. What the Emperor feared most was that the sickly Ye girl wouldn’t be able to give birth, wouldn’t allow anyone else to give birth, and might even team up with her father to frame the other concubines, leaving the Second Prince completely heirless.
The Emperor forced a smile and said, “Yi’er is rather reckless. Since Lord Ye cherishes his beloved daughter so deeply, We naturally cannot bear to see such an excellent daughter ruined by Yi’er. The Shu region has presented some tribute silks; Lord Ye shall take them back for Miss Ye shortly.”
Ye Fu’an stepped out of the Imperial Study, his face glowing red with triumphant satisfaction. How could his precious baby girl be ruined by a lecherous wolf like Zhao Yi?
He was simply praising his own daughter, showing her off a bit! She was his, Ye Fu’an’s, pearl in the palm—did they really think just anyone could marry her?
(Banxia Novels, bringing much joy.)
Translator’s Anecdote: (It’s a long one) Prime Minister Ye deserves an ancient acting award for that flawless performance in the Imperial Study. Imagine standing right in front of the Emperor—your boss and the literal Son of Heaven—and politely threatening a massive murder-suicide if his playboy son gives your daughter a headache. “Oh Your Majesty, I’d love my daughter to marry your son! Unfortunately, she’s so fragile that if his side-chicks look at her wrong, she’ll drop dead. And if she dies… well, let’s just say I’m taking everyone down with me.” The Emperor practically had to throw premium tribute silks at him just to make him leave the room! If this is how fiercely he gatekeeps a Royal Prince, the actual male lead of this story is going to have to survive an absolute gauntlet to so much as hold Lizhu’s hand.