The Pearl in the Palm – Chapter 8
Madam Wu was just leading a flock of maids and old female servants toward Ye Lizhu’s residence, Jingshui Pavilion, when halfway there, the steward’s wife, Sun-shi, hurried over.
Sun-shi announced, “Madam, the Master has just returned from morning court. Word has arrived from the palace that His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Prince of Qin are coming to the Ye estate. Auntie Lanxin from Her Majesty the Empress’s palace is also coming. You must go at once to prepare for Auntie Lanxin’s reception.”
People naturally held Ye Fu’an in high regard. Back when Lady Jiang was alive, all the noble madams in the capital and even the royal dignitaries in the palace had held Lady Jiang in equally high regard. But Madam Wu was of low birth, merely a side-concubine elevated to the main seat; naturally, she couldn’t enjoy the same treatment Lady Jiang once had. She only ever managed to catch a glimpse of the Empress during major holidays and festivals. The Empress specifically sending a female official from her palace over was an absolute first.
Pinching a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, Madam Wu smiled gracefully. “I was originally planning to visit the Eldest Miss. The Miss returned yesterday, and I still haven’t managed to see her face.”
Sun-shi replied, “The Eldest Miss is of the younger generation, naturally she will come to pay her respects to you. Receiving the royal guests is far more pressing; you should go attend to Auntie Lanxin first.”
Madam Wu nodded. She turned to two maids behind her, “Take these pastries to the Eldest Miss’s quarters. Remember to ask after the Miss’s health on my behalf.”
The two maids curtsied, took the food boxes, and headed out. The moment they arrived at Jingshui Pavilion, they knocked on the courtyard door, and a little servant girl poked her head out.
The two maids asked, “The Madam sent us to check on the Eldest Miss. Is the Miss in?”
The little girl replied, “The Miss just finished her meal and went for a stroll in the garden to digest. Does the Madam have any messages?”
The two maids lifted the food boxes in their hands. “The Madam told us to deliver two dishes of pastries and ask after the Miss’s health.”
The little girl led them inside, transferred the pastries onto plates, and then sent the maids on their way with their empty boxes.
Swinging the empty food boxes as they walked back, the two maids grumbled, “We didn’t even get to see the Miss. This one really is something, not giving anyone an ounce of face! The Madam is the mistress of this house. Offending the Madam like this, what kind of good days can she possibly have before she’s married off?”
The other chimed in, “I heard the Miss’s health is exceptionally terrible. She’s going to drop dead before she even waits long enough to marry.”
Nanny Chen and Ye Lizhu just happened to walk up to the corner and caught the two maids’ words. Nanny Chen was instantly furious, ready to charge over and fiercely reprimand them.
Ye Lizhu knitted her brows and caught Nanny Chen’s sleeve. “Nanny Chen, let it go.”
She turned around, walking in the opposite direction. “I have only just returned to the Ye estate. The estate was originally peaceful, and it wouldn’t be good to stir up a storm just because of my arrival.”
Nanny Chen followed closely behind Ye Lizhu, arguing, “Miss, you are the golden-branched Eldest Miss, the true master of this house! For two mere maids to chew their tongues behind your back, cutting those tongues out wouldn’t even be going too far. If the Master found out, he would absolutely stand on your side.”
Ye Lizhu said softly, “Father is already busy enough. The affairs in the royal court are already more than he can handle; there is no need to trouble him to judge such trivial matters. Who hasn’t spoken ill of someone behind their back? Say the wrong words, and you can correct them. But once a tongue is gone, it never grows back. Nanny, let them off this once. If you hear them slandering their masters next time, directly drive them out of the estate.”
Nanny Chen sighed, “Miss, you’ve been with Master Wuxin for too long. They are monastics who certainly chant about compassion and mercy in your ear every day, but the capital doesn’t play by those rules. You will understand in the future.”
Back at Mingfo Temple, Ye Lizhu was used to doing everything all by herself. She really wasn’t accustomed to having a whole flock of people constantly hovering around her, getting in the way.
Taking a seat in the flower hall, Ye Lizhu said, “All of you, step down. Let me be alone in peace for a while.”
The moment everyone left, her surroundings instantly felt refreshingly quiet.
In her heart, Ye Lizhu knew that what the little maid had just said wasn’t wrong. Her illness had seeped into her very bones; she couldn’t be cured. She truly would die before she could ever marry.
She suffered from insomnia and shallow dreams, was easily frightened, and lost her breath after walking just two steps. Outsiders didn’t know the details, but she knew her own physical condition best.
Sitting in the flower hall, Ye Lizhu spotted a swing not too far away. A sudden, playful itch tickled her heart; she wanted to go over and sit on the swing to play.
Standing up, Ye Lizhu swayed unsteadily as she walked over.
…
Meanwhile, Ti Xiao and Zhao Yun had arrived at the Prime Minister’s estate. Naturally, Ye Fu’an received the two with a face full of hearty smiles.
He knew perfectly well in his heart that Ti Xiao was eighty percent likely trying to get Zhao Yun to marry his precious daughter. There were some things Ye Fu’an wanted to make crystal clear in advance.
As the Crown Prince and the heir apparent to the nation, Zhao Yun was a figure as brilliant as a jade tree of orchids—the most coveted dream husband for every noble lady in the capital. Although Ye Fu’an refused to form factions for personal gain or align himself with the Crown Prince, he had to admit that the Crown Prince was indeed exceptionally outstanding.
But the husband Ye Fu’an wanted to find for Ye Lizhu couldn’t be too powerful or overbearing. If he was too strong, Ye Fu’an feared Ye Lizhu would suffer grievances.
Ye Fu’an didn’t need to rely on a daughter to consolidate his family’s political power. The Ye family relied on its men; for so many years, the Ye family had never sent a single daughter into the imperial palace.
When it came to Ye Lizhu, naturally, the same rule applied.
Ye Fu’an had already ordered the servants to open up the Linxian Tower. The three men drank and conversed in the high pavilion.
The wind was strong up high, and all six windows were thrown wide open. While Ye Fu’an and Zhao Yun discussed this year’s mulberry field agricultural reforms in the south, Ti Xiao peered out the window.
This was the fourth floor, the highest building in the Ye estate. Linxian Tower sat in the slightly northern corner of the property, and looking south, one could practically take in the entire Ye estate in a single glance.
Observing the layout of the entire Ye estate, Ti Xiao roughly deduced where Ye Fu’an would have arranged for Ye Lizhu to live.
Seeing that Ti Xiao had gone so long without bringing up the topic of marriage, Ye Fu’an felt a bit uncertain in his heart.
Since Ti Xiao didn’t talk about it, Ye Fu’an couldn’t very well initiate the topic either. He looked at Ti Xiao and asked, “Your Highness the Prince of Qin, why are you catching the wind over there all by yourself?”
Ti Xiao turned his head and replied, “Being up high for too long, this Prince feels a bit dizzy. Crown Prince, you and the Prime Minister have a good chat. This Prince will go down for a stroll.”
Zhao Yun looked slightly startled, then smiled, “Ah, Uncle dislikes high places. Prime Minister, just now you were saying the planting area for the mulberry fields should be reduced…”
After descending the tower, Ti Xiao didn’t let his attendants follow him, and naturally, the Ye estate servants didn’t dare trail after him either.
He was an outsider, and the inner courtyard had many female relatives. As an unrelated male, it was improper for him to casually enter the inner courtyard. With high walls layered deeply, Ti Xiao only guessed at two possible locations for Ye Lizhu’s quarters. Though he knew the chances of actually seeing her were slim, he still held onto the thought.
The night he first saw Ye Lizhu, Ti Xiao had fallen asleep and had a dream. Last night, he had another dream. He wasn’t someone who usually dreamt at all in the past. The contents of these dreams were entirely too indecent. Ti Xiao’s emotions were rarely swayed, yet upon waking, his expression had drastically shifted. As he was changing his clothes back then, he had thought to himself: This woman absolutely cannot be given to the Crown Prince.
It had only been a fleeting glance. Ti Xiao reasoned that it was simply because Ye Lizhu was born too beautiful—a true femme fatale. Although he usually kept his desires pure and his heart clear, he was still a normal man, after all. Seeing such peerless beauty, it wasn’t hard to understand having certain thoughts. Perhaps, if he just took the person back, brought her into his home, and saw her more often—if he looked at her every single day—he would eventually realize she was just like any other woman and nothing special to look at.
Ti Xiao continued walking forward.
Having grown bored of sitting on the swing, Ye Lizhu decided to head back to Jingshui Pavilion.
Except, the Ye estate was simply too massive. She twisted and turned, and surprisingly, managed to get herself completely lost.
At this time of day, she didn’t bump into anyone else to point the way, so she just walked further and further away, eventually wandering right out of the inner courtyard.
Ye Lizhu’s constitution was frail, and just walking a few steps left her breathless. Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, her face pale, she leaned against a wall to rest for a moment as she passed by a certain spot. Less than half a quarter of an hour later, she felt as if she had grown somewhat lighter.
Her chest wasn’t so stiflingly heavy anymore.
Her legs no longer felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
Ye Lizhu found it strange—that feeling from the other night seemed to have returned again.
She had been born deficient, her health exceptionally terrible, so she didn’t know what a normal person felt like. But right now, this feeling… it was as if she were as perfectly healthy as an ordinary person.
Stepping away from the wall, Ye Lizhu saw an archway ahead and unknowingly walked toward it.
Only to run head-on into a man.
This man was too tall—even taller than Ye Fu’an.
Ever since she was five years old, Ye Lizhu had lived in Mingfo Temple. For as long as she could remember, aside from her own father, she truly hadn’t seen any other men. Ye Fu’an’s attendants weren’t even allowed to lift their heads to look at the Eldest Miss. Besides, with maids and nannies around, Ye Fu’an would never let an attendant touch a single finger of Ye Lizhu’s.
So, Ye Lizhu usually only ever saw women. Suddenly encountering a man who was this tall, with a weapon suspended at his waist no less, made Ye Lizhu feel quite deeply unaccustomed.
She also finally realized that she must have taken a wrong turn. If she were obediently staying inside the inner courtyard, it would be highly unlikely to run into such a massive man.
Ye Lizhu didn’t know this person, and men and women were meant to be kept apart; even if they met, they couldn’t possibly speak. So, she hesitated for a moment, turned her head, and walked right back the way she came.
Taking advantage of the fact that she still had some impression of the route, she figured she could trace her way back to the original pavilion and wait for Nanny Chen to come find her.
Ti Xiao: “…”
Viewing mountains from a tower, viewing snow from city walls, viewing the moon by lamplight, viewing rosy clouds from a boat, and viewing a beauty under the moonlight—these were all the ultimate, most exquisite sceneries. He had originally thought that the other night under the moon, because of the lunar haze, Ye Lizhu had gained a few extra points of allure. Now, looking at her under the bright sun, he discovered that Ye Lizhu was even better-looking, even more beautiful than what he had pictured in his mind over the past two days.
Ye Lizhu was wearing a pale golden gauze dress, the layers cascading in incredibly ethereal waves. Her lowered eyes and bowed head made her look wonderfully gentle, while that dot of cinnabar between her brows burned dazzlingly red. Because it was broad daylight, Ti Xiao could see clearly, finally realizing that she truly, entirely lived up to the word “尤物” (Femme Fatale/Stunner).
But—
Why wasn’t Ye Lizhu looking up at him?
Hiding the moment she saw him… was she being shy?
Ti Xiao’s fingers abruptly curled. He watched as Ye Lizhu, step by step, disappeared from his sight.
On this side, as Ye Lizhu kept walking, she finally discovered something was wrong.
She felt her physical strength failing her again; her body was becoming uncomfortable.
She had been perfectly fine just a moment ago when she was leaning against that wall!
Could it be, that wall was exceptionally magical?
Ye Lizhu turned her head to look back at that wall again, only to be startled to find that the man she had just encountered was actually standing completely still in his original spot, his sharp, predatory eyes locked dead onto her.
The man’s gaze made Ye Lizhu uncomfortable. She could sense that this man possessed an extraordinary aura, clearly someone who had long resided in a high position, perhaps a good friend of her father’s. Except, this person’s skin was entirely too thick! To actually stare at her so relentlessly, his gaze practically poking holes right through her body.
Seeing Ye Lizhu actually turn her head back to look at him, Ti Xiao couldn’t help but find it amusing in his heart: She was just acting shy a moment ago, yet after putting a little distance between them, she actually dared to boldly look back at him.
Translator’s Anecdote: Ti Xiao really just convinced himself that kidnapping his nephew’s potential bride so he can stare at her every day is a perfectly logical, completely normal medical cure for his inappropriate dreams.