The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 12
Less than a moment later, an old imperial physician, well over fifty with graying hair at his temples, arrived. After paying his respects to the various royal ladies, Empress Ti smiled and said, “This is the Eldest Miss of the Prime Minister’s estate. Imperial Physician Xu, her constitution is frail, so please take her pulse carefully.”
Ye Lizhu sat high up beside Empress Ti. Through the thin fabric of a handkerchief draped over her wrist, Imperial Physician Xu knelt on the floor and took her pulse. His cloudy eyes briefly met Empress Ti’s, and he gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head before saying, “The young lady’s constitution is indeed somewhat weak. However, Her Majesty need not worry too much. This humble official will write a prescription for the Miss shortly.”
Catching Imperial Physician Xu’s subtle hint, Empress Ti fully understood that Ye Lizhu’s health was truly, hopelessly poor.
To marry a girl with such a fragile fate and lacking fortune into the Eastern Palace would likely be a terrible idea.
Yet, the more impossible it became, the more Empress Ti felt a profound sense of pity.
Looking at Ye Lizhu’s family background, and looking at that breathtaking face… what a wonderful girl…
Just then, a palace maid hurried in from outside to report, “Her Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince departed the Eastern Palace a quarter of an hour ago, saying he is coming to pay his respects to you. Also, Her Highness the Noble Consort, His Highness the Second Prince, and Her Highness the Third Princess are already outside the doors and are entering now.”
Empress Ti’s heart instantly soured with displeasure. Noble Consort Sheng, that ultimate shit-stirrer. Wherever she isn’t needed, that is exactly where she insists on showing up to be a nuisance.
Nevertheless, Empress Ti maintained her graceful smile and nodded.
Just as they were speaking, an opulently dressed figure stepped into the hall. Ye Lizhu cast a glance over. The woman in the center possessed a charmingly seductive face, the corners of her eyes and lips naturally tilting upwards. Dressed in dazzling, luxurious robes with her hair piled high like dark clouds and jade ornaments clinking at her waist, this was undoubtedly Noble Consort Sheng.
To Noble Consort Sheng’s left stood a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth. He was tall and handsome, though his features carried a faint, wicked edge. Beside him was a girl of similar age, dressed in fine royal clothing but with a distinctly timid expression.
Noble Consort Sheng lowered herself into a curtsy. Her voice was soft and bewitchingly sweet, naturally sharp and lilting at the ends, much like the tilt of her eyes. “This concubine pays her respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Empress Ti’s face was brimming with smiles, yet she made absolutely no move to tell Noble Consort Sheng to rise, deliberately forcing the Noble Consort to hold her strained bowing posture.
Empress Ti leisurely took a sip of tea, slowly handed the teacup back to a palace maid, and finally drawled, “Ah, Sister, you truly do love a lively crowd. This Palace guessed you would come over to take a look at Miss Ye. But—did Yi’er not go to listen to the Grand Tutor’s lectures? How is it that he loves to join the fun just as much as his mother?”
Noble Consort Sheng’s robes and headdresses were incredibly heavy, pressing down on her form. Without anyone supporting her, her calves were already trembling with exhaustion. Hearing the Empress pivot the target to Zhao Yi, she hastily replied, “It was this concubine who thought that since Yi’er hasn’t paid respects to you in quite some time, I should specifically bring him along.”
The Second Prince, Zhao Yi, chimed in, “The Noble Consort has been constantly speaking of you, Imperial Mother. That is why your son came over to pay his respects.”
Empress Ti smiled faintly. “Yi’er has grown taller again, looking more and more like a proper royal prince. It’s just a pity you still aren’t sharp enough—no wonder His Majesty always has to lecture you. Hurry and help your mother to a chair, holding that bow for so long must be exhausting.”
Only then did Zhao Yi support Noble Consort Sheng as she stood up.
Seeing Consort Xian, Noble Lady Jia, and Concubine Du all rise to greet Noble Consort Sheng, Ye Lizhu stood up as well.
Noble Consort Sheng was, naturally, here specifically for Ye Lizhu.
The Empress had an immensely powerful brother backing her. With someone as haughty and untouchable as Ye Fu’an, the Prince of Qin could just casually drop by his estate as a guest whenever he pleased! Noble Consort Sheng was practically burning her eyebrows off with anxiety, terrified that she would wake up one day only to hear that Ye Fu’an had betrothed his daughter to the Crown Prince. The Second Prince was already surviving in the cracks between powers; if the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince joined forces, would her son have any path to survival left?
She had rushed over today specifically to see if Ye Lizhu was truly as sickly and frail as the rumors claimed.
Noble Consort Sheng smiled and asked, “This is the Ye family’s daughter, yes? What is your name?”
“This official’s daughter is Ye Lizhu,” Ye Lizhu replied softly.
“Ye Lizhu. Tsk, tsk, a pearl worth a thousand pieces of gold. Truly rare,” Noble Consort Sheng praised. “Last month, the Second Prince gifted this Palace a pair of earrings, which just so happen to also be worth a thousand gold pieces. Sangyu, bring them here. This Palace will personally put them on Miss Ye.”
Ye Lizhu had absolutely no desire to accept such treatment. In the inner palace, Noble Consort Sheng was second only to the Empress. If she personally put earrings on Ye Lizhu today, once word spread, outsiders would frame it as a beautiful anecdote. They would assume their relationship was exceptionally close, that Noble Consort Sheng valued her immensely to the point of lowering her noble status to personally adorn her.
Noble Consort Sheng was the Second Prince’s biological mother. If someone deliberately fanned the flames of those rumors, Ye Lizhu would inevitably be forcefully tied to the Second Prince’s faction.
It wouldn’t matter if the Second Prince actually wanted her or not; the moment an unmarried woman’s name was publicly tangled with a man’s, her reputation would be utterly ruined.
Ye Lizhu took a subtle step back and smiled apologetically. “This official’s daughter does not have pierced ears, so I cannot wear the earrings. I deeply appreciate Her Highness the Noble Consort’s kind intentions.”
Noble Consort Sheng found this incredibly bizarre. “You don’t have pierced ears?”
Standing nearby, Ye Lizhu’s maid, Yusha, respectfully explained, “Our Miss grew up in a temple since childhood. They do not practice dressing up or wearing jewelry there.”
Noble Consort Sheng had always been an arrogant and overbearing woman. If the Prince of Qin weren’t currently in the capital, relying on the Emperor’s intense favor, she absolutely wouldn’t act this respectfully toward the Empress either.
Hearing the maid’s excuse, Noble Consort Sheng immediately grew displeased. She had actively lowered her status to personally adorn this girl, and Ye Lizhu dared to claim she had no ear holes?! Even if she didn’t have them, they would just have to pierce two holes right this instant!
“That is easy to solve,” Noble Consort Sheng declared. “Summon two palace aunties over to pierce Miss Ye’s ears. Since she is a young lady from a prestigious, high-ranking family, she will have to wear earrings eventually.”
What Noble Consort Sheng said wasn’t wrong. A noble lady would have to pierce her ears sooner or later. By refusing to give Noble Consort Sheng face, this hurdle wouldn’t be easy to pass today.
Empress Ti suddenly spoke up. “Go, summon two aunties over.”
As she spoke, she shot a fleeting glance at Ye Lizhu. Ye Lizhu instantly understood her meaning.
Noble Consort Sheng sat down to drink her tea. The Second Prince, Zhao Yi, stood right beside her, secretly sizing Ye Lizhu up from head to toe.
A moment later, two experienced palace aunties arrived, and Ye Lizhu was led behind a decorative folding screen.
The two aunties first used small gold beads to firmly rub Ye Lizhu’s earlobes. Gradually, her earlobes turned tingly and numb. Just as she felt she had lost sensation in them, two red-hot silver needles were swiftly pierced through.
A sharp spike of pain hit her, and beads of blood dripped down. The two aunties hurriedly worked to stop the bleeding and threaded smooth tea stalks through the fresh piercings to keep them open.
Right at that very moment, Ye Lizhu suddenly feigned a swoon, closing her eyes and collapsing limply onto the daybed.
The two aunties instantly shrieked in panic, “Oh no! Miss Ye has fainted!”
As the screams reached the outer hall, Empress Ti felt a surge of smug triumph in her heart, but immediately knitted her brows in feigned fury. “Hurry and summon the Imperial Physician! Miss Ye is the pearl the Prime Minister holds in the palm of his hand! Prime Minister Ye has worked his heart out for His Majesty and this nation for years; if Miss Ye suffers a mishap right here, wouldn’t it completely chill the Prime Minister’s loyal heart?!”
Noble Consort Sheng immediately started to panic. She was only able to act so arrogantly in the palace entirely because of the Emperor’s doting favor. While Empress Ti was treated coldly by the Emperor, Empress Ti had the Prince of Qin as a terrifying backer; Sheng did not. If Ye Lizhu’s health was truly this fragile and something disastrous happened to her, the Prince of Qin and Prime Minister Ye would absolutely seize upon it. When the Emperor inevitably laid down the blame, wouldn’t she be completely doomed?!
Imperial Physician Xu was practically dragged back in. At the exact same time, Crown Prince Zhao Yun finally arrived.
Looking at the room densely packed with panicked people, the Crown Prince was utterly confused. “Imperial Mother, what happened?”
“Yun’er, you’re here,” Empress Ti sighed. “The Ye family’s Miss has fainted. Her constitution is frail, yet the Noble Consort saw she had no pierced ears and insisted on having them pierced immediately. As a result, Miss Ye couldn’t bear the pain and fainted right after the needles went through.”
Zhao Yun: “…”
Isn’t this woman entirely too weak?! How the hell did an invincible man like Uncle blindly fall for a woman who faints just from getting her ears pierced?! Uncle’s taste is seriously concerning!
If it ever came to the wedding night, wouldn’t this fragile little woman just be played to death?!
Noble Consort Sheng had already rushed behind the screen to check on the girl. After exchanging a few words with the Crown Prince, Empress Ti hurried inside as well.
The Crown Prince was just hesitating over whether he should go in and see what Ye Lizhu actually looked like, when he spotted the Second Prince, Zhao Yi, and the Third Princess, Sirou, attempting to squeeze their way behind the screen too.
Zhao Yun instantly flew into a raging fury. “Zhao Yi! Sirou! What do you think you are doing going in there?!”
Ti Xiao had already passed through the palace gates; he would arrive in less than a quarter of an hour. Zhao Yun knew perfectly well that his uncle was moody, unpredictable, and possessed the most terrifying temper imaginable.
Ye Lizhu fainting was already bad enough. If he let another man like Zhao Yi waltz in there to intimately stare at her while she was unconscious, Ti Xiao would probably detonate the entire palace.
Translator’s Anecdote: Crown Prince Zhao Yun’s thought process: “My uncle is a terrifying warlord, and his crush just fainted from an ear piercing. I must now guard the fainting zone from my rival brothers to prevent a bloodbath.” Truly the MVP of keeping the peace. 😌
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