The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 3
Ti Xiao smiled and said, “This Prince has only heard that Prime Minister Ye has a son, whose literary talent has been brilliant since childhood. With Prime Minister Ye’s strict upbringing, your beloved daughter must surely also hold jade and grasp gems in her character, entirely different from ordinary women.”
The moment the Prince of Qin’s expression shifted, Ye Fu’an knew exactly what kind of scheme was brewing in his head.
They hadn’t even reached the capital yet, and already, one after another, these men were targeting his daughter. Heh.
Ye Fu’an said, “The Prince of Qin praises her too highly. My little girl’s aptitude is thoroughly mediocre. Whether in looks or talent, it is hard for her to compare with the other noble ladies in the capital. She has been frail since childhood and was raised alongside Master Wuxin, so her disposition is incredibly naive. This Prime Minister is actually still worrying that she won’t adapt to life in the capital once she returns.”
In front of the Emperor, Ye Fu’an could brag boldly and confidently, only to follow it up with a remark about his precious daughter being too difficult to serve to enter the royal family. The Emperor was wary of Ye Fu’an, so naturally, he wouldn’t force the issue. Furthermore, the Second Prince’s faction was right there; with the massive power of the civil officials led by Ye Fu’an, marrying the sickly daughter of the Prime Minister was no different than marrying an ancestor you had to worship.
The Prince of Qin, Ti Xiao, however, was not a man easily intimidated. Even if the Ye family’s daughter married over and was toyed to death by the Crown Prince, Ye Fu’an wouldn’t be able to retaliate.
This man, Ti Xiao, held military might in his palm and had a character colder than ice; even the Emperor feared him. A scholar clashing with a warrior—especially a warrior who was brave, strategic, brilliant, and battle-hardened—was like smashing an egg against a rock.
Therefore, the more Ye Fu’an degraded his own daughter, the better. Under no circumstances could she be betrothed to the Crown Prince by Ti Xiao.
It wasn’t that the Crown Prince wasn’t good—the Crown Prince was excellent. But Ye Lizhu was sickly. Ye Fu’an wanted Ye Lizhu to marry into a family with a lower background than his own. That way, if anyone ever dared to bully Ye Lizhu in the future, Ye Fu’an could just directly wipe out their entire family.
Ti Xiao could see that Ye Fu’an had no intention of buddying up to him.
But Ti Xiao… wasn’t exactly a good person. If Ye Fu’an wouldn’t give him face, Ti Xiao was absolutely going to make things difficult.
He said, “Heh, Prime Minister Ye is too modest. There are still two premium rooms vacant in the inn. Why not let your beloved daughter step out of the carriage and rest in her room first?”
Ye Fu’an stroked his beard and tossed a few instructions to his subordinates.
Barely a moment later, a sturdy old maidservant walked over carrying Ye Lizhu. Ye Lizhu was weak and still fast asleep; no one dared to wake her. Upon exiting the carriage, a veil covered her face, and her whole person was wrapped up securely and tightly.
Ti Xiao’s sense of smell was extraordinarily sharp. He could detect an indescribable fragrance.
It seemed like a scent of orchids mixed with light white sandalwood—utterly ethereal, neither sweet nor cloying, untainted by even a hint of mortal dust.
Ye Fu’an said, “My little girl is pampered and spoiled. Her body is too weak to walk even a few steps, so she can only be carried up by the servants. The Prince of Qin must be laughing at us.”
Ti Xiao’s gaze trailed after the cluster of female family members.
He didn’t know whose fragrance that was.
Ti Xiao was used to a life of licking blood from the edge of a blade. Originally cold-hearted and ruthless, he utterly loathed slippery, powdery little women. Yet, weary from days of travel, suddenly catching a whiff of this light, clean scent actually made him feel incredibly comfortable.
Ye Fu’an was a bit of a sly old fox, but he knew right from wrong and had genuine capability—otherwise, it would be hard for him to sit securely in the Prime Minister’s seat, beneath only one man and above ten thousand. His daughter, no matter how lacking, couldn’t be that bad.
Thinking this way, Ti Xiao wanted Ye Lizhu to marry the Crown Prince even more.
Ye Lizhu was carried to her room, where the serving women carefully removed her shoes and socks and peeled off her outer robes.
Naturally, they wouldn’t use the inn’s bedding. The other maids light-footedly laid out the bedsheets and quilt covers they had brought along, placing down a fresh pillow so Ye Lizhu could sleep sweetly.
Once Ye Lizhu was tucked into bed, the maids retreated, leaving two robust old women guarding the bedside.
Ye Fu’an, meanwhile, was downstairs drinking with Ti Xiao. Despite being a civil official, Ye Fu’an lacked any pedantic stuffiness. After three rounds of wine, even though he hadn’t truly opened his heart to Ti Xiao, Ye Fu’an was already clapping Ti Xiao on the shoulder and calling him brother.
Ti Xiao initially thought Ye Fu’an was a sly, smiling tiger. After exchanging a few words, he realized Ye Fu’an was exactly a sly, smiling tiger.
He refused to discuss proper business, insisting on talking about how brilliant the literary talent of some new scholar under his wing was. Every time Ti Xiao tried to probe Ye Fu’an for his thoughts on the various princes, Ye Fu’an would smoothly brush it off in a single stroke.
Ye Fu’an was exceptionally good at bullshitting. In a short time, Ti Xiao learned exactly which tavern in the capital had which signature wine, found out that a recently famous young poet actually used a ghostwriter, and learned that the Emperor kept a remarkably noisy parrot—however, none of these boring trifles were what Ti Xiao wanted to know from Ye Fu’an’s mouth.
Ti Xiao smiled without his eyes, saying, “This Prince originally thought Prime Minister Ye was occupied with a myriad of state affairs daily. Who would have thought you had such elegant hobbies.”
Ye Fu’an chuckled, “My greatest love in life is leisure, and I just snatch moments of peace amidst the chaos. One day, if His Majesty permits it, this Prime Minister will retire on account of age and take my daughter back to the countryside to live.”
Ti Xiao sneered inwardly. Want to retire? Ti Xiao would be more than happy for Ye Fu’an to retire. Without Ye Fu’an, wouldn’t the Emperor, the Second Prince, and their whole flock of useless trash just be meat on his chopping block?
His only fear was that this old fox Ye Fu’an coveted power too much and wouldn’t let go, and ordinary people couldn’t touch him.
When the previous Emperor was still alive, Ye Fu’an was young. Before he was even twenty, he relied on his family background and capability to be appointed to the Censorate. In his twilight years, the previous Emperor heavily valued the Ye family, bestowing upon Ye Fu’an two gold medals and a precious sword before he passed away.
Back then, Ye Fu’an was crowned Prime Minister in his early thirties. Such status at such an age was incredibly rare, let alone in the current dynasty, even in the previous one!
Now, Ye Fu’an was in his forties. If his fate was long and he lived to seventy refusing to surrender power, as long as he made no mistakes, it would be terribly difficult for the Crown Prince to touch him after ascending the throne.
Just now, Ti Xiao had taken a glance at Ye Lizhu. Although she was blocked by layers of female servants, he could tell through the gaps that Ye Fu’an’s daughter was no longer a toddler, but a young woman nearing her hairpin ceremony of adulthood. At this age, she eventually had to marry.
If Ye Fu’an had no interest in the Crown Prince, could it be that he wanted to marry his daughter to the Second Prince?
Ye Fu’an and Ti Xiao exchanged cups and toasts. Both men had massive alcohol tolerances. Only when they were thoroughly drunk did they each get supported upstairs.
Arriving at his door, Ye Fu’an asked a maid, “Is the young miss still sleeping?”
The maid nodded and said, “The Miss is still sleeping. Nanny Li went to the kitchen to make some pastries, and Nanny Chen is keeping an eye on them. If the Miss wakes up, we servants will feed her something. Master, please go rest first.”
Ye Fu’an nodded and led his attendants back to his room.
…
In the middle of the night, Ye Lizhu felt her body lighten considerably. The usual sensation of a ghost pressing down on her bed faded. She opened her eyes and said softly, “Tea.”
An old maid quickly fetched tea for Ye Lizhu to rinse her mouth.
Ye Lizhu managed to sit up. “What time is it? Where is my father?”
The maid replied, “It is already the midnight hour. The Master drank a little wine and went back to his room to sleep. Miss, you must not cry anymore, look at how swollen your eyes are, just like little peaches. Are you hungry? Would you like something to line your stomach?”
Reminded by the maid, Ye Lizhu once again thought of her mother, Lady Jiang.
Her nose tingled with sourness. Fighting back tears, she forced out, “Alright.”
Inside this inn, the kitchen staff couldn’t make anything too exquisite. Since Ye Lizhu had just come from a temple, the servants weren’t sure if she would eat meat, so they simply stewed some japonica rice porridge with ginseng and added a little old rock sugar.
Ye Lizhu disliked the taste of ginseng. She only wet her lips, took a tiny sip of the porridge, and ate a single piece of pine nut cake.
After she ate a little, the maids feared she couldn’t digest it and sleeping immediately would hurt her stomach, so they sent two young maids outside to take a look.
At this hour, deep in the night, a bright moon illuminated the outside almost like daytime. The inn was surrounded by the Ye family’s fierce servants, guarded by dozens of the Prince of Qin’s cavalry, and further protected by hundreds of heavily armed soldiers outside. It was immensely safe.
An old maid said, “Miss, you just ate, you cannot lie back down right away. The night breeze outside is gentle, and the May weather isn’t cold. Let this servant drape a thin cloak over you, and you can go out for a stroll.”
Ye Lizhu nodded.
A beauty under the moonlight was naturally a breathtaking sight. Ye Lizhu wore a cyan satin cloak, heavily embroidered with complex patterns in shimmering silver thread. The hem of her moon-white ruqun skirt was immaculately clean and spotless. Her ink-black hair was thick and dazzling, the pearl hairpin in her tresses faintly flowing with luster.
Although he didn’t see the young woman’s face, relying solely on her silhouette, Ti Xiao felt that this girl must be beautifully unique.
He had drunk a few too many cups and felt too stuffy in his room to sleep. The moonlight outside was beautiful, so Ti Xiao decided to come out for a walk.
He hadn’t expected to actually run into Ye Lizhu, completely surrounded by a flock of servants.
At this moment, however, Ti Xiao still didn’t know Ye Lizhu’s name.
When he stood alone in the shadows, if he didn’t want to be discovered, absolutely no one could spot him.
The young woman’s long hair was exquisitely beautiful, cascading loosely down her back. It created an incredibly sharp contrast against her moon-white skirt and cyan cloak.
Ti Xiao listened as the old maids spoke a couple of sentences, and then heard Ye Lizhu say, “It’s so late, all of you go back upstairs. Having all of you densely crowded around me is ruining my peace.”
The old maid glanced around. The surroundings were deserted, and ordinary people couldn’t even enter the inn’s inner courtyard. If anything happened, Ye Lizhu only needed to shout once, and everyone would rush out.
The whole entourage headed back.
Stripped of the dense crowd, Ye Lizhu instantly felt much more relaxed.
Ever since Ye Lizhu woke up, she felt as if her body had grown much lighter. That sensation of lying down with a boulder crushing her chest, sitting with someone pressing on her shoulders, or standing with something tangling her feet—it wasn’t so obvious anymore.
Master Wuxin had said her birth time was unlucky and she was tangled up with evil spirits, so naturally, her body was never comfortable.
But at this moment, Ye Lizhu felt her symptoms had significantly improved. Without a layer of people blocking her, she felt even lighter and freer.
Could it be because this inn had good Feng Shui?
Ye Lizhu turned around and took two steps forward. She felt as if there was something directly ahead of her; the further forward she walked, the more relieved she felt.
Ti Xiao: “…”
When the young woman turned around, he saw her face. In an instant, an indescribably electrifying numbness swept through his heart.
This woman was a stunner. A disaster.
Ti Xiao began to hesitate.
Giving such a bewitching woman to the Crown Prince—would it make the Crown Prince wallow in female charms all day and lose his fighting spirit?
Ye Lizhu’s beauty wasn’t something that could easily be put into words.
She was both pure and alluring, a walking contradiction from head to toe.
That dot of cinnabar between her brows sometimes made her look innocently naive, and other times made her look dazzlingly bewitching, even a bit demonic.
Her eyelashes were extremely long, and her peach-blossom eyes were naturally misty and watery, seemingly enticing people. Because she had been crying, they were faintly red and swollen. But if you looked closely, you’d find her eyes were incredibly clean and clear, utterly devoid of worldly impurities.
Her slender, straight nose was beautiful, but nothing was more beautiful than her lips. Plump as flower petals and slightly dewy, just looking at them gave people the urge to steal a kiss.
Ti Xiao took two steps backward.
The Crown Prince hadn’t visited the Qin lands for many years, relying only on letters. Ti Xiao didn’t know just how strong the Crown Prince’s self-control truly was, or whether he could handle this little demoness.
Moreover, Ti Xiao didn’t know Ye Lizhu’s true nature either. She was far too beautiful, looking both like a demoness and an immortal. Her temperament was inevitably bound to be different from ordinary women. If this woman was a femme fatale like Daji or Baosi, wouldn’t it utterly ruin his nephew?
If that were truly the case… when the time came, would he just have to execute this disaster himself?
Ye Lizhu curiously walked forward. As she got closer to Ti Xiao, she felt even more unblocked and comfortable.
Ti Xiao couldn’t take it anymore. He pressed down on the hilt of his blade at his waist, turned around, and swiftly walked away.
Ye Lizhu: “Huh?”
Translator’s Anecdote: Nothing screams true romance quite like a hardened warlord retreating from a confused, sleepy girl because she’s so pretty he’s already calculating how to assassinate her.