The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 15
Empress Ti took a sip of tea, casting a sidelong glance at Ye Lizhu. The corners of her lips curled upwards, but she did not speak.
Ye Lizhu merely stood quietly to the side. If the Empress didn’t speak, she wouldn’t take the initiative to say anything either.
She had always been a silent, tranquil young girl.
After a long while, Empress Ti finally said, “Miss Ye, come here. Sit beside this Palace.”
Ye Lizhu walked over and sat down.
Suddenly, Empress Ti reached out and lifted Ye Lizhu’s chin. “Let this Palace take a closer, careful look at you.”
Unable to dodge in time, Ye Lizhu’s chin was held firmly in Empress Ti’s grasp.
Empress Ti scrutinized the little girl once more. Previously, she had only thought the girl was green, endearing, and possessed excellent skin. Now, looking closely, she realized that every detail of her brows and eyes was exceedingly bewitching. Those shimmering, liquid eyes were enough to make anyone who looked into them drown entirely.
While Empress Ti was observing her, Ye Lizhu was also observing Empress Ti.
The Empress was exceptionally well-maintained, looking almost like a young maiden in her prime. However, up close, one could still see the vast difference between her and a true young girl. Empress Ti’s eyes were profoundly deep, the depths swirling with a heavy gloom devoid of any true joy. Fine lines had gathered at the corners of her eyes, and her smile lines were somewhat pronounced.
Ye Lizhu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Empress Ti released her and said, “Tomorrow, there will be a martial arts competition at the training grounds. The Prince of Qin, the Crown Prince, and other young talents will all be there. Miss Ye, this Palace will send someone to pick you up.”
Although Ye Lizhu had many questions in her heart, she did not voice them.
For Empress Ti to suddenly invite her to watch some competition definitely held a deeper meaning. Ye Lizhu planned to ask her father about it when she returned home. For now, she merely smiled and said, “I thank Your Majesty for your profound grace.”
Empress Ti kept Ye Lizhu in the palace for a meal before finally having her escorted back.
After Ye Lizhu left, the Empress’s personal maid, Meizhi, asked, “Your Majesty, are you trying to play matchmaker for Miss Ye and His Highness the Prince of Qin?”
Empress Ti was the Prince of Qin’s biological sister; naturally, she would never harm him. Whatever the Prince of Qin liked, the Empress would certainly not try to destroy.
Empress Ti gently massaged the space between her brows with her middle finger. Her voice was calm and rippleless. “Let fate decide. If she can live until then, this Palace naturally will not stand in the way. I am only afraid that Xianzhou is a thousand miles away; she might lose her life before she even reaches it.”
Meizhi sighed. “His Highness the Prince of Qin truly is something. He usually doesn’t easily fall for anyone, but the moment he does, he falls for someone like her. If Miss Ye were to pass away, where in the world could he find a second woman as beautiful as her? This servant still remembers the first time I saw Madam Ye over a decade ago. Madam Ye’s appearance and temperament stunned the entire palace; even the late Empress Dowager praised Madam Ye as a peerless beauty. Now, Miss Ye surpasses even Madam Ye, possessing a beauty rarely seen in this world. And our Prince of Qin just had to set his sights on this one…”
Empress Ti instructed, “Are the Cordyceps presented by the Imperial Household Department this month still there? Pick out two millennium-old ginseng roots and send them over to her as well. Also, in the storehouse, there is a Calambac agarwood bracelet inlaid with gold beads, and a gold-chiseled Pixiu figurine. Send those two items to ward off evil. I heard her birth date is considered inauspicious and that she is plagued by dark entities. I only hope this girl can live a little longer. At the very least, she needs to stay alive long enough to thoroughly warm Ti Xiao’s heart.”
Meizhi memorized the list one by one and quickly dispatched a trusted junior maid to handle it. She added, “Your Majesty, the Noble Consort hit a brick wall today. After today, she will definitely run to His Majesty and spout all sorts of nonsense.”
A flash of icy coldness crossed Empress Ti’s eyes. “Let her stir up trouble. Just ignore her.”
Having been in the palace for over a decade, Empress Ti and Noble Consort Sheng had been fighting openly and covertly for just as long. Empress Ti’s heart had died toward the Emperor a long time ago. She only wished for the Emperor to drop dead early so the Crown Prince could inherit the throne.
Naturally, the Emperor had gone to Noble Consort Sheng’s quarters again.
His favorite was the Noble Consort. She knew how to act coquettishly and pout, unlike the Empress who was always holding up a hypocritical, rigid front.
After drinking some wine, Noble Consort Sheng complained, “Your Majesty, this concubine met Ye Fu’an’s daughter today. That girl is incredibly beautiful and tender, but her health is indeed terribly poor. This concubine merely had someone pierce her ears, and she actually fainted dead away!”
The Emperor was lounging on the daybed. “If she was perfectly fine, why did you insist on piercing her ears?”
Noble Consort Sheng knelt beside him, gently massaging his legs. “This concubine was only acting out of good intentions… The Empress hosted Miss Ye today, and this concubine wishes to host her tomorrow as well. Your Majesty, you know full well that Yi’er is already constantly being made things difficult for. If Prime Minister Ye truly becomes the Crown Prince’s man, our mother-and-son pair will have absolutely no path to survival left.”
The Emperor was in his forties, the very prime of his life. He was also deeply paranoid that if the Crown Prince’s faction grew too powerful, they would eventually force him to abdicate.
Therefore, he constantly used Zhao Yi to keep the Crown Prince in check.
Observing the Emperor’s expression, Noble Consort Sheng added, “Please rest assured, Your Majesty. With so many people at the martial arts training grounds tomorrow, absolutely no mishaps will occur.”
The Emperor replied coldly, “If she were anyone else’s daughter, if Yi’er wanted to play with her, he could play with her. But Ye Fu’an is immensely deep-scheming and iron-fisted. If a marriage alliance cannot be formed, do not let Yi’er humiliate her.”
Noble Consort Sheng nodded. “What Your Majesty says is absolutely right. This concubine understands.”
…
The moment Ye Lizhu’s front foot stepped into the estate, the Empress’s lavish rewards followed right on her back heel.
Having received news of Ye Lizhu’s return, Madam Wu was naturally waiting in Jingshui Pavilion. With the palace servants present, she, as the mistress of the Ye household, had to put on a perfect show.
Madam Wu subtly probed about the events in the palace. Hearing that Ye Lizhu had fainted while getting her ears pierced, Madam Wu felt a surge of smug satisfaction in her heart.
She assumed Ye Lizhu must have deeply offended Noble Consort Sheng.
Noble Consort Sheng was not a kind character. Since Ye Lizhu hadn’t given her enough face, the Noble Consort would definitely make things difficult for Ye Lizhu in the future.
Outwardly, however, Madam Wu maintained a concerned smile. “I said it before, the Miss’s health is far too poor; she isn’t suited to go out. You see? The moment she goes out, she faints.”
Auntie Lanxin interjected, “Miss Ye should rest well today, as she will need to move about tomorrow as well. There will be quite a few people watching the competition tomorrow—the royal princesses will all be there, as well as the daughters of officials of the second rank and above. There will certainly be no shortage of socializing.”
Madam Wu’s smile abruptly faded.
Right, tomorrow was the day the young royal talents sparred at the martial arts grounds.
The moment Ye Lizhu returned to the capital, she had already attracted the attention of the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. Who knew what kind of prominent figures she would attract tomorrow?
Madam Wu had originally thought that since Ye Lizhu was raised outside for so many years, she would definitely be a rustic, ignorant little country bumpkin. But her return this time had truly given Madam Wu a massive shock.
Madam Wu absolutely did not want Ye Lizhu to steal the limelight.
Everyone still remembered Lady Jiang. Even though Madam Wu had been elevated to the main wife, whenever people mentioned Ye Fu’an’s wife, they still thought of the Lady Jiang who came from Wanzhou. With Ye Lizhu around, everyone’s impression of Lady Jiang would only deepen.
Even though Lady Jiang had been dead for years!
A venomous thorn pierced Madam Wu’s heart. She cast a glance at Ye Lizhu and said tightly, “If that is the case, the Miss should rest well today.”
Ye Lizhu nodded. A little later, she went to her father’s quarters and mentioned the Empress’s request for her to enter the palace again tomorrow. Since Ye Jiayou would coincidentally be accompanying Ye Lizhu tomorrow, Ye Fu’an wasn’t too worried.
Ye Lizhu hesitated for a long time but ultimately decided not to ask Ye Fu’an about that mysterious man’s identity. It was better for her to discover it herself; if she asked Ye Fu’an, she was afraid her father might misinterpret it as her harboring romantic intentions toward the man.
Upon returning to Jingshui Pavilion, exhausted from the long day, Ye Lizhu went to bed early.
In the middle of the night, Ye Lizhu suddenly felt wave after wave of suffocating tightness in her chest. She snapped her eyes open.
Inside the bed curtains, it was pitch black, with only a faint, chilling fragrance lingering in the air. Clutching her chest, Ye Lizhu suddenly felt an icy, bone-piercing cold seep into her body, shooting straight from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.
She parted the bed curtains, originally intending to ask a maid to brew some ginger tea for her. But the moment she lifted the fabric, she saw billow after billow of black mist swarming before her eyes. The shrieks and wails of ghosts and monsters seemed to echo in her ears, and a hideous, terrifying phantom appeared to crawl straight out of a swamp—dripping wet and reeking of dark, malicious yin energy, as if it had come to reap her soul.
Terrified pale by the horrific sight, Ye Lizhu’s body fluctuated violently between freezing cold and burning hot. Before she could even let out a scream, she lost consciousness and collapsed.
Meanwhile, inside Madam Wu’s room, a female Taoist priest dressed in green robes pinched out the burning stick of incense in her hand.
Madam Wu looked at the elderly female priest. “Master, how did it go?”
“She is now plagued by evil spirits and will absolutely not live past two months,” the female priest’s voice was hoarse and grating. “I cannot cast the spell too aggressively. If she dies too suddenly, it will arouse suspicion.”
Pinching her Buddhist beads, Madam Wu nodded. “I understand. Xing’er, bring the silver for Master Liu. Master Liu has worked hard performing this ritual.”
…
The next morning, Ti Xiao woke up extremely early.
He was scheduled to return to Xianzhou in a few days. The next time he returned to the capital would be in half a year to formally propose marriage. During this half-year, Ti Xiao would arrange all the political and military affairs in Xianzhou perfectly. After marrying in the capital, he would stay to nurse Ye Lizhu’s health back to peak condition, and only once she was healthy would he bring her back to Xianzhou.
However, Ti Xiao hadn’t yet figured out exactly how to broach the topic of marriage with Ye Fu’an. Still, he and Ye Lizhu were a perfect match of a talented man and a beautiful woman. Even if Ye Fu’an refused, Ti Xiao had plenty of ways to forcefully back him into a corner and make him agree.
Today was the martial arts competition for the royal clan’s young talents, and Ti Xiao was going as well. He rarely engaged in sparring with others, simply because no matter how formidable they were, none of them were any match for him.
But since Ye Lizhu was going to be there, Ti Xiao had changed his clothes exceptionally early and was currently testing the tension of his bow and arrows.
Translator’s Anecdote:
Madam Wu: (Paying a dark wizard to literally summon a swamp demon to assassinate her stepdaughter)🥷
Ti Xiao: (Waking up at 4 AM to polish his bow so he can aggressively flex his archery skills in front of his new crush)😎
The sheer contrast in how these characters are preparing for the day is sending me. 🤣