The Pearl on the Emperor’s Crown

Chapter 12 – Xie Ying wasn't in the Mood to Tease

The empress dowager was a devout Buddhist. During important Buddhist festivals, Zhu Yi would always enter the imperial monastery to worship and pray for blessings on her behalf. Thanks to that, she had already mastered several Buddhist scriptures, and could even discuss one or two of them with the Zen Master Ding Xu, who was as wise as the sea. Therefore, it wasn’t unusual that the empress only took Zhu Yi with her to the temple.

The ebb and flow of the soft sedan chair were like Zhu Yi’s mood at the moment. From time to time, she poked her head out to check that Mian Feng and Geng Lu were still following them.

Dajue Temple was on the outskirts of Sangyang City. It was normally swarmed with worshippers on weekdays, but because of the arrival of the empress, the temple was closed on the first day, so as to escape the censure of the noble masters if they were disturbed.

As soon as the empress entered the temple, she went along with the abbot, while Zhu Yi was led to a guest room to copy auspicious notes. In the past, she also had to copy such notes whenever she entered the Imperial Temple, so she didn’t think much about it.

Zhu Yi wrote for a while, then suddenly said, “Mian Feng, I think there’s something wrong with the incense burning here.”

“Is there?” Mian Feng and Geng Lu both sniffed the air.

“Yes, go and snuff out the incense,” Zhu Yi, always sensitive to smells, then added, “Let’s stop writing for now and go out for a walk.” Zhu Yi’s thoughts were clear. Even if the empress found out and punished her for laziness, it would still be better than having something happen to her.

However, she was stopped by the two guards at the door. They lowered their heads and spoke respectfully, but their message wasn’t pleasant. “Princess, Her Majesty has ordered that you remain in the room until you’ve finished writing the auspicious notes.”

Zhu Yi didn’t move, nor did she speak, and the two guards couldn’t help but raise their heads to look at her.

Only then did Zhu Yi smile, and it was like a jasmine flower shining on the water, with the bright moon shining out of the clouds. Both men instantly became dazed at the sight. 

“I drank a lot of water earlier,” She explained, embarrassed.

The guards understood. People had urgent necessities, even if they were fairy-like princesses. They glanced at each other, and one of them said, “Princess, please follow this humble servant.”

After they went out the door and turned the corner, there were another two guards standing at the door of the first wing. From behind that door, there was a whining male voice coming from the inside. Zhu Yi listened carefully. The voice was muffled as if he had been gagged by something.

Zhu Yi’s face instantly paled. There should be no one else inside the temple. The empress’ guards would not guard a man for no reason, yet they were still placed next door to her. She didn’t expect the empress to be so scheming. She originally thought that the empress would punish her to kneel and chant scriptures for a whole day at most.

Zhu Yi knew that since the empress had made such an arrangement, she must have thought of a way to avoid blame and suspicion. She believed that the empress must have known that she was approaching Xie Ying again. It seemed that the empress badly wanted Xie Ying to marry Zhu Dai.

The temple was full of bamboo shoots, stones, and clear springs. Zhu Yi picked up a handful of water and splashed it on her face to clear her mind. It turned out that the potency of the incense was really strong. Even though she had noticed it quickly enough, she could still feel her limbs gradually getting weak.

Zhu Yi whispered a few words to Mian Feng and the two of them turned back to return. She had to take the initiative. Otherwise, when she had no strength, she could only let the man next door do whatever he wanted to her.

When Zhu Yi left the room earlier, she had deliberately left the door open, and the smell of the incense had almost entirely dissipated by the time they returned.

“Mian Feng, what’s wrong with you? Geng Lu, Geng Lu!” Zhu Yi’s frightened cry suddenly rang out.

The two guards immediately turned to look at her. They saw one of Zhu Yi’s palace maids leaning against the table and the other had collapsed on the ground. Zhu Yi herself was sitting on the couch with her hands on her forehead, innocently panting. Her appearance made the two guards feel pitiful towards her.

Zhu Yi narrowed her eyes as she watched a man being kicked into the room. The door then was slammed shut and locked from the outside.

The man’s face was bruised and swollen, but Zhu Yi recognized him as the man she met in Jade Palace the night before.  It was only because she had an impression of his lustful eyes at the time. Because of her status, it was the first time she had ever seen a man with such disgusting and frightening eyes.

Wan Hai was initially sprouting curses, but he was stunned silent when he saw Zhu Yi.

“Beauty, am I dreaming? Is that really you? Haha, then all the sins I suffered yesterday and today were worth it!” Wan Hai completely forgot where he was and why he was there. He was happy to die under the peony flower and become a ghost1.

“You’re not dreaming,” Zhu Yi giggled softly. “It’s really me. We meet again.”

Wan Hai gulped, then he suddenly rushed to the edge of the couch, clasping Zhu Yi’s shoulder with one hand and holding her hand with the other.

Zhu Yi flinched, but she held his hand without resisting. Wan Hai was ecstatic and began to stroke the back of her silky hand.

Zhu Yi tried her best to restrain the desire to vomit, and shyly asked, “Since you appeared at Jade Island, you must be rich, right?”

“Yes, yes!” Wan Hai confirmed hurriedly. “Beauty, you can follow this master without worry. I’m part of the richest family in the whole of Sangyang.”

Zhu Yi gave a pleased laugh. “Then…if I follow you, will you marry me as your wife?”

Wan Hai frowned as he thought for a while. “Yes! I’ve long wanted to get rid of the tigress at home.” As long as the beauty in front of him was willing to follow him, he would agree to everything she asked.

“In fact, you’re quite attractive,” Zhu Yi said, her smile deepening.  “I can’t believe they beat you up until such a state. It’s upsetting me.”

Zhu Yi’s fingertips trembled as she raised her hand to touch Wan Hai’s forehead. Enduring the disgusting and sticky touch, she touched his eyelids and took the initiative to get closer.

“Close your eyes.”

Zhu Yi’s breath almost drove Wan Hai’s soul out of his body, and he closed his eyes with anticipation, waiting for the beauty to take the initiative to kiss him.

Suddenly, he shivered and collapsed on the spot.

Zhu Yi looked at Mian Feng standing behind Wan Hai. Mian Feng put down the bronze bowl in her hand and came to Zhu Yi. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” she said regretfully. Zhu Yi shook her head.

However, just as master and servant were happy for the success of the plan, Wan Hai abruptly jumped up, grabbed Mian Feng by the neck, and started squeezing furiously. It turned out that Mian Feng’s strength had been too small, and she hadn’t managed to knock him out as they had believed.

Mian Feng’s eyes immediately rolled back, and her face contorted in pain. Zhu Yi could no longer maintain her previous composure and she pulled at Wan Hai’s arm frantically.

“You let her go! Let her go!”

Wan Hai was dragged by Zhu Yi twice before he let go of Mian Feng, turned around and clasped Zhu Yi tightly against him. “So the beauty lied to me? Hmm?”

Before his fat body could press her to the couch, Wan Hai suddenly let out a sharp howl. He didn’t know what had happened but his neck could no longer move, and both his arms were folded at incredible angles. With the terrifying snap, they were abruptly broken. Wan Hai rolled his eyes and was thrown aside.

Zhu Yi was frightened by Wan Hai’s expression, but the man who appeared in front of her still felt disgruntled. Not knowing what else to do, he called someone to drag Wan Hai out.

Zhu Yi didn’t expect Xie Ying to come. She was stunned, but she soon felt an indescribable joy in her heart, and she even forgot her fear of Wan Hai. The corners of her lips curled up into a smile and she greeted, “Your Highness.”

Seeing the ugly look on Xie Ying’s face, Zhu Yi pondered for a moment before she reassured him with, “I’m fine.” 

In fact, she should have been dissatisfied with Xie Ying by association because of the empress, but for some reason, she didn’t feel it in her heart. Instead, seeing him now made her feel pure happiness.

Seeing that Xie Ying still wasn’t speaking, Zhu Yi took the rare initiative to move her body closer to him. “Xie Ying, my body is very weak and I don’t have any strength.”

If Zhu Yi had said such things to Xie Ying before, it would inevitably cause deliberate misinterpretation and teasing, and he would have taken full advantage of it. But at this moment, Xie Ying was obviously not in the mood to tease.

“Wen Yan,” after Xie Ying spoke, a woman in blue flashed in and handed him a porcelain bottle. He took the medicine and asked Zhu Yi to take it, before stating, “I’ll take you back to the palace.”

Zhu Yi wanted to leave, however… 

“It was the empress who brought me out,” she said, studying Xie Ying. “Can I just leave?” Zhu Yi understood that the empress was Xie Ying’s aunt after all, and he wouldn’t easily put his kinship with her and the interests of the Xie family at risk. Therefore, she couldn’t help but seek confirmation.

“Of course you can,” Xie Ying said resolutely. 

In the meditation room on the other side of the temple, the empress also put down her tea cup at this moment. “I should go and check how the princess’ auspicious notes are being written,” she murmured to herself.

No sooner had she risen than a sweet, pink figure came in as lightly as a butterfly. “Imperial Mother! I only took a short nap, so why did you leave the palace without bringing me along?”

The empress was a little surprised when she saw Zhu Dai. “Did your father allow you to leave the palace?” The princes had tokens that allowed them to enter and exit the palace freely. On the other hand, consorts and princesses weren’t allowed to do so. Instead, they had to inform the emperor in advance.

“I’ll report it to you first. Anyway, I can just say that my mother brought me out,” Zhu Dai smiled coquettishly. “By the way, it was elder cousin who escorted me here.”

The empress was stunned. “Did you look for Ah Ying, or did he take the initiative to find you?” She asked, suppressing the anger surging in her heart.

“I went looking for elder cousin, but he agreed to escort me to imperial mother without me asking,” Zhu Dai’s voice was as sweet as honey.

“And just where is your cousin?” The empress asked, her voice deep. “He knows that his aunt is here, yet he didn’t come to greet me first? Where did he go instead?”

Zhu Dai froze. In fact, she hadn’t seen Xie Ying at all since the time she got on the carriage, only his attendant Shen Xing Liu.

“I know where your cousin is,” the empress sneered. “Let’s go. If he won’t come to this empress, this empress shall go to him.”

When she saw the empty guest room and the collapsed guards at the door, Zhu Dai was shocked. “What happened to these guards? Imperial mother, didn’t you say that we’re looking for elder cousin? Why would he be here?”

The empress clenched her fist tightly, and she laughed furiously. “Each and every one of them is very good.”

“What is Imperial Mother talking about?” Zhu Dai asked, not understanding.  　　

The empress did not answer, but only said, “Return to the palace.”