The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 14
Ti Xiao let out a low chuckle.
His voice was excessively pleasant to the ear.
Ye Lizhu’s eyelashes brushed against the sheer silk handkerchief, fluttering lightly like a butterfly’s wings.
She was somewhat nervous, waiting for this person to leave. If he didn’t leave soon, she was going to have to speak up.
Ti Xiao could see right through her nervousness.
The little girl had been raised in an ancient temple deep in the mountains and hadn’t seen many people since childhood. Her current timidity and fear of strangers were perfectly understandable to him.
He asked, “Do your earlobes still hurt?”
Ye Lizhu shook her head.
Even though they still hurt—a burning, stinging pain—she absolutely didn’t want to tell this person.
Ti Xiao asked, “Have you seen the Crown Prince yet? What do you think of him? If you think he is good, nod your head.”
After saying this, Ti Xiao narrowed his eyes in a deadly warning.
Although this wasn’t his first time seeing Ye Lizhu, it was their first official meeting. If he let that brat Zhao Yun get ahead of him…
Ye Lizhu hadn’t seen the Crown Prince, so she could only shake her head.
Through the sheer handkerchief, Ti Xiao saw her gently shake her head, and his heart immediately filled with satisfaction.
It made sense; the Crown Prince was just a child, far too young. How could Ye Lizhu possibly have a favorable impression of him?
Ye Lizhu said softly, “I have not yet met the Crown Prince, but I did see the Second Prince. The Second Prince possesses an uncommon bearing, so the Crown Prince must surely be outstanding as well.”
Ti Xiao hadn’t expected that scheming opportunist Zhao Yi to actually worm his way to the front of the line. The corners of his lips curled into an icy smirk. “Is that so?”
Ye Lizhu suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body.
She was somewhat afraid of Ti Xiao. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Did Her Majesty the Empress send you, My Lord, to check on my condition? I am fine, just a little dizzy. I will sleep a while longer. You may leave, My Lord.”
Hearing her call him “My Lord,” her voice so light and soft, Ti Xiao found it incredibly pleasing.
After saying this, Ye Lizhu squeezed her eyes tightly shut, refusing to say another word. Ti Xiao lifted the handkerchief off her face. He had originally just been worried that she might feel suffocated, but the very moment he laid eyes on her delicately beautiful face again, Ti Xiao’s eyes darkened once more.
Ti Xiao was fundamentally a cold, aloof, and proudly noble man. It had always been him manipulating and controlling others; no one could ever do anything to him.
But Ye Lizhu seemed to be guilty of a crime. Being too beautiful was a sin, and being too adorable was also a sin. Her entirely unconscious actions were, to a man, a fatal temptation.
But, who could bear to push the blame for such sins onto a little beauty as precious and fragile as colored glass?
Perhaps knowing she wasn’t perfect… perhaps, if he just took her home and dragged her down from the altar, Ti Xiao wouldn’t be this impulsive, this utterly captivated and haunted by her.
Strictly speaking, he still didn’t understand this little girl at all; his interest in Ye Lizhu was merely sudden lust provoked by her beauty. Ti Xiao reasoned that once he obtained her person and fully enjoyed her beauty, this intense emotion would surely fade.
Ti Xiao’s gaze swept over Ye Lizhu, and he pulled a thin blanket up to cover her.
Ye Lizhu was slightly taken aback. Although the room was pleasantly cool, she didn’t feel cold at all.
She kept her eyes closed and continued to play dead.
“Men and women should maintain proper boundaries.” Ti Xiao actually didn’t mind Ye Lizhu looking at him, but he deeply minded her looking at anyone else. His eyes were icy cold, and his deep, striking features were so intensely imposing that people didn’t dare look directly at him. “In the future, when you meet the Crown Prince, do not stare at him too closely. The Second Prince is not a good person either, so spare him your glances as well.”
He issued a cold warning to Ye Lizhu. Ti Xiao’s possessiveness was immensely heavy. The person who caught his eye could only be his. Her body was his, and her gaze was his too.
Ye Lizhu looked like a picture of naive innocence. Seeing her entirely tucked beneath the thin blanket, her curves still exquisitely delicate and defined, Ti Xiao’s expression grew several degrees heavier, and he finally left the room.
Only after the person had left did Ye Lizhu sit up.
She didn’t know many rules, but she could vaguely guess that people in the capital placed great importance on strict etiquette. Men and women should maintain a proper distance, and one shouldn’t casually stare at others, as it was disrespectful. But—this man had literally just been holding her hand! How did he have the nerve to subtly accuse her of not being respectful enough?!
Ye Lizhu fiercely rubbed her small hand against her skirt.
She looked around and realized that the handkerchief she had used to cover her face was gone. Perhaps it had been taken away by that terrifying man.
Fortunately, the handkerchief was plain and unembroidered. No one would be able to recognize it as hers.
Ye Lizhu had just felt perfectly comfortable, but now that stifling sensation had returned, as if a large boulder were pressing down on her chest. She thought secretly to herself: this man was definitely not a good character. If she saw him again in the future, she absolutely had to take a long detour to avoid him.
However, just what was this man’s identity?
Ye Lizhu tilted her head in thought. Judging by his opulent attire, he was certainly an official of the third rank or higher, or perhaps a member of the royal clan. But a third-rank official who was this young and allowed to freely enter the inner harem was basically limited to the Emperor’s personal sword-bearing guards. But that brought up another problem—why would an imperial guard come to the Empress’s palace for no reason, and moreover, be allowed to come into the side hall to look at her?
Was it the Prince of Qin? Ye Lizhu firmly believed it couldn’t possibly be him. Rumor had it that the Prince of Qin, Ti Xiao, had a towering record of military merits and had governed Xianzhou for over a decade. Furthermore, he was the Crown Prince’s uncle and the Empress’s brother. No matter what, he had to be middle-aged like the Empress, right? The Empress was a woman who never stepped out of her doors and maintained her beauty every single day, which was why she looked so young. But the Prince of Qin was a man who charged in and out of bloody battlefields; no matter how good-looking he was, he would surely look weather-beaten and aged. That man just now was incredibly young. Someone that young couldn’t possibly command hundreds of thousands of troops.
After mulling it over, Ye Lizhu concluded that he was likely a member of the imperial clan belonging to the Crown Prince’s faction. It wasn’t hard for royal relatives to enter the palace, and if they supported the Crown Prince, entering the Empress’s palace shouldn’t be difficult either. Ye Lizhu didn’t know which branch of the royal clan was closest to the Crown Prince yet, but with all these thoughts pieced together, she felt her guess must be pretty close to the truth.
Still, to be perfectly honest, that man just now was truly very handsome. His features were deep and striking, his eyes like a river of stars. But exceptionally handsome men tended to be fickle. Just from his facial features alone, Ye Lizhu could tell that the man was a cold, callous person with few desires.
This person always made Ye Lizhu’s hair stand on end. She couldn’t quite articulate the look in his eyes, but she could acutely sense the danger. It was best not to take the initiative to get close to dangerous people.
Having lain in bed for quite a while, Ye Lizhu was starting to feel a bit stiff and sore.
Just then, Auntie Lanxin walked in.
Ye Lizhu initially wanted to take the initiative to ask Auntie Lanxin about the man’s identity. But on second thought, she didn’t know if the man had sneaked in privately or if he had announced his presence to others. If he had sneaked in secretly and no one else knew, bringing it up would be impossible to explain clearly and would definitely leave a stain on her reputation.
Anyway, the capital’s elite circle was only so big. Even if she didn’t know who he was right now, she would definitely find out in the future.
Auntie Lanxin smiled. “Miss Ye is awake? What perfect timing—everyone else has already left, and the Noble Consort is gone as well. Her Majesty the Empress is in the main hall. Why don’t you go over and keep her company, and share some food together?”
Ye Lizhu nodded.
By the time she went over, the Crown Prince had already been taken away by Ti Xiao.
After all, she was an unmarried maiden; if man after man went in to see her, it would sound terrible if word got out.
Empress Ti sat on the high seat, quietly sizing Ye Lizhu up once more.
Beautiful women were always the most critical of other beautiful women, yet purely in terms of looks, Empress Ti genuinely couldn’t find a single flaw in Ye Lizhu.
Seeing that Ye Lizhu’s clothes were perfectly intact and her expression was normal, she figured that when Ti Xiao went over, he hadn’t done anything too excessive to the little girl.
Empress Ti knew perfectly well that Ti Xiao was ascetic and indifferent to desires, having always kept his distance from women. Since he was treating Ye Lizhu differently right now, it definitely couldn’t be because of Ye Lizhu’s beauty; it must be because of her gentle temperament or something similar.
Ti Xiao had always been slow to warm up to people. If the two were to get engaged and married, he would definitely drag it out as long as possible.
Furthermore, they still needed Ye Fu’an’s agreement.
Imperial Physician Xu had said that Ye Lizhu’s body was excessively weak. Her pulse was literally the pulse of someone on the verge of death; she would survive until next year at most. Who knows, perhaps before the marriage was even settled, the person would already be dead.
Just thinking about it made Empress Ti feel a profound pity. For so many years, Ti Xiao had felt absolutely nothing for women. There was even a period of time when Empress Ti genuinely suspected that Ti Xiao might be impotent, going so far as to specially send imperial doctors a thousand miles away to examine him! With Ye Lizhu’s status, if only her constitution was a little better, she would be perfect by Ti Xiao’s side, and the massive boulder weighing on Empress Ti’s heart could finally be set down.
Translator’s Anecdote:
Empress Ti: “My brother is an ascetic monk who doesn’t care about looks, he must just like her gentle personality!”
Ti Xiao literally three paragraphs earlier: “I am absolutely acting out of purely physical, fatal lust at first sight.”
Meanwhile, Lizhu: “He’s probably just a hot, sociopathic imperial guard, the real Prince of Qin is a crusty old man.”
This family is operating on three completely different dimensions. 🤔