The Pearl on the Emperor’s Crown

Chapter 20 – She Liked Hearing Him Call Her Yiyi

Clear as ice and clean as jade, without a single blemish.

Xie Ying was relieved, but he was suddenly slapped on the face. Although it wasn’t painful, it was the first time in his life that Prince Wei Ning, who only had to ask for the wind to receive it since he was a child, was slapped.

“Leave! I’ll request imperial father to make Rong Xiao my guard officer. I don’t want you!” Although Zhu Yi had drunk the sobering soup, she was still far from being fully sober, and with the courage gained from the wine, she said what she normally dared not.

Xie Ying’s eyelids twitched at the mention of Rong Xiao’s name.

Zhu Yi has already started sobbing. “I hate you, go away!”

Xie Ying helped Zhu Yi fix her clothes, covering up the mesmerising beauty. “That won’t do, Your Highness can only want me,” he said coldly. “Don’t even think about Rong Xiao.”

But when Xie Ying raised his eyes to look at Zhu Yi’s face, the evil fire caused by Rong Xiao was instantly extinguished.

Xie Ying knew that Zhu Yi was strong at heart and seldom shed tears, but at this moment there were crystal tears in her eyes and she was forcing herself to hold them in. Eventually, Zhu Yi blinked, and the tears slipped down the corners of her eyes.

There was silence for a moment as Zhu Yi shed tears, but Xie Ying felt as though his lifeline was being pinched, and he also had a rare feeling of being at a loss for words. It was a strange sensation, one he had never experienced before.

Xie Ying lowered his head to kiss Zhu Yi’s eyelids, and she hurriedly closed them as he murmured in her ear, “I’m sorry, Yiyi, I’m so sorry. Don’t cry, I was wrong earlier.”

The fact that a girl’s tears could have such an impact on him was something Xie Ying hadn’t expected. Although he had seriously considered what kind of feelings he actually had for Zhu Yi before this trip to the capital, in reality, his yearning for her probably far exceeded his prediction.

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Zhu Yi didn’t want to forgive him. “Xie Ying, I know that you despise me because I approached you both times, and you think that I’m at your mercy,” she sobbed.

“That’s not true, how could you think that?” Xie Ying told her earnestly. “Yiyi, I always want to be close to you because I like you.”

Zhu Yi didn’t expect Xie Ying to say the word ‘like’ directly to her. Although she knew nothing about love, she could tell from Xie Ying’s repeated words and actions that he was interested in her body. As for liking her, she didn’t dare to think about it. Zhu Yi was a little flustered. Just because of Xie Ying’s words, she was the one who became helpless.

Xie Ying frowned and turned the other side of his handsome face towards her. “Yiyi, don’t be upset, keep fighting instead.”

Zhu Yi let out a laugh involuntarily. Was this really Xie Ying? He wasn’t possessed by something, was he? Just then, she remembered that she was being bullied by him and shouldn’t laugh, so she quickly put on her angry face again and pretended to be annoyed, but there was no way she could cry anymore.

“Is it really alright to fight again?” Zhu Yi asked cautiously.

Xie Ying’s eyes flashed. “As long as it makes you happy, you can do whatever you want.”

Zhu Yi examined the area on Xie Ying’s face where she had struck him. She was once captivated by this face, especially when it was smiling. Who would have ever thought that there would be a day where she would strike him. “Does it hurt?”  She asked tentatively.

“It hurts,” Xie Ying replied, seizing the opportunity to gain sympathy.

Zhu Yi was actually a little distressed, but she grudgingly said, “Good. Who asked you to go that far earlier?”

“It’s my fault,” Xie Ying immediately admitted again. “When I saw that Your Highness had returned with Rong Xiao and was so protective of him, I acted out of line. Princess, will you forgive me?”

Zhu Yi was always a forgiving person, and because Xie Ying was special to her, she saw that he was sincere in his apologies and so she nodded without further ado.

Xie Ying was the type to take a mile when given an inch, and he embraced Zhu Yi tightly, pressing his face against hers. Zhu Yi felt a dizzying intoxication returning again, which she definitely hadn’t felt earlier.

It was then that Zhu Yi heard Xie Ying say, “Yiyi, let me see little Yiyi again.”

…Little Yiyi? What was that? Zhu Yi took a moment to comprehend it before she was practically shaking with anger and laughing at his shamelessness. She pushed him away and then gave him a fierce look. How dare he mention it.

Xie Ying even made a point of promising, “I’ll just look at it, just for a second.” Zhu Yi glared at him and felt that Xie Ying’s pestering was just like a child asking for candy.

“Yiyi,” Xie Ying softly coaxed again.

Zhu Yi couldn’t bear it when he called her that. When he forced her, she had the will to resist, but once he switched to a softer approach, she was defenceless.

“Yiyi,” Xie Ying kept whispering in her ear like a demon who lured people away.

She actually liked hearing him call her Yiyi. Zhu Yi closed her eyes and slowly turned her face, her body trembling badly, not knowing whether she was ashamed or afraid.

Xie Ying looked at the side of Zhu Yi’s pretty face and knew that this was her tacit approval. The only sound in the room was the faintest scrape of fabric, and Xie Ying moved slowly this time, so slowly that Zhu Yi felt it was an ordeal.

After a while the girl asked, “Are you done?” Didn’t he say just one second? To her chagrin, Zhu Yi realised that her voice didn’t sound like her own, it was so delicate it could drip water.

Naturally, Xie Ying heard it too, and he smiled as he helped Zhu Yi pull on her blouse. 

“I’m done,” he said, and his voice sounded a little huskier than it had been before.

Xie Ying got off the bed. “I’ll find a new undergarment for Your Highness.” He had broken Zhu Yi’s undergarment and had to re-tie the chain before she could wear it. The suitcase was in the carriage of the large group still on the road, and all the clothes she needed for the next two days were in there. Xie Ying quickly found a small snowy-white undergarment embroidered with sapphire-blue butterfly flowers for her.

As Xie Ying moved away from her, Zhu Yi’s senses came back to her and she couldn’t believe that she had been so muddle-headed as to show her body to Xie Ying. She recalled that even with her eyes closed, she had been able to feel Xie Ying looking at her, his gaze so hot that it was like a fire burning on her skin.

It was to the extent that just seeing Xie Ying caused Zhu Yi’s heart to be full of shame and resentment, so she wanted to send him away quickly. “You should leave, I need to change my clothes.”

“Very well.” 

Once Xie Ying saw the look on Zhu Yi’s face, he knew that she was regretting her earlier compromise with him, so he thought that he would wait until she properly organised her thoughts before he explained to her.

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When Xie Ying left the room, Wen Yan walked up and knelt down towards Xie Ying.

“Your Highness.”

She had come to receive her punishment.

“Originally, you were to be punished, but the princess interceded on your behalf,” Xie Ying said. “This will not happen again.”

“Yes!” Wen Yan said gratefully. “Please rest assured, Your Highness, Wen Yan will definitely protect the princess with my life.”

Zhu Yi put on her small clothes before she went to the veranda outside her room to enjoy the breeze. She happened to meet the crown prince and Yan Yu’er walking up the wooden staircase to her current floor. 

“Xi Zhen,” the crown prince called out to her.  Zhu Yi promptly went over to greet him.

The crown prince looked Zhu Yi up and down, her hair was dishevelled and she did look like she had just gotten up from bed. “I heard you were not feeling well?” He inquired. “Have you been seen by a doctor?”

Zhu Yi stared at him blankly for a moment before she nodded. “I was a bit sick earlier, but I’m fine now.”

“That’s good, then,” the crown prince said. “Let me introduce you, this is Lady He Jia.” He presented Yan Yu’er. “We are all family, you two sisters should get to know each other better.”

“Princess Xi Zhen?” Yan Yu’er exclaimed, startled.

Zhu Yi was not surprised because she had heard about Yan Yu’er’s background at Luminous Tower. “Lady He Jia,” she greeted.

The crown prince was puzzled, he could hear the politeness and coldness in Zhu Yi’s words. But why? She had always treated people with kindness, and wouldn’t be rude to someone she was meeting for the first time.

Yan Yuer only smiled and said, “Your Highness.” Then she turned away and asked, “Where is the prince staying? He left without finishing his wine earlier and I still have something to say to him.”

The crown prince had been watching Zhu Yi intently, so naturally he didn’t miss the slight change in her expression when she heard this. Her gaze even darted very quickly towards Yan Yu’er. It seemed that Zhu Yi had forgotten the pain after the scars were healed, and she had her heart set on Xie Ying again.

When no one answered Yan Yu’er’s words, she didn’t get annoyed either, and only asked the crown prince to book them rooms there as well.

“Your Highness!” Xie Ying had just come out of the bath and was trying to find Zhu Yi when Yan Yu’er ran up to him enthusiastically. People who didn’t know would have thought the two of them knew each other well.

Xie Ying glanced at Zhu Yi, whose eyes were downcast. 

His princess had a very jealous nature.

Xie Ying didn’t even greet Yan Yu’er and went directly to Zhu Yi. “Didn’t Your Highness want me to go with you to buy lanterns earlier? Let’s go.” Today was the second day of the seventh month, and although it was still a few days before the Qixi Festival1 lanterns were already being sold in the streets and alleys.

Zhu Yi glanced at him with astonishment, but when she turned her face away, the corners of her mouth turned up gently. She had never been very stingy about anything, so when Xie Ying wanted to be attentive to her, she would naturally not pretend to refuse.

Yan Yu’er looked at the two, and her smile instantly disappeared.

“Your Highness, I will accompany the princess out for a while, so please rest first.” Xie Ying said to the crown prince.

The crown prince was displeased. But it was the emperor’s decree that Xie Ying should escort Zhu Yi, and since Xie Ying wanted to take her away under the guise of escorting the princess, and Zhu Yi didn’t refuse, there was nothing the crown prince could do but nod his head.

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Once Xie Ying and Zhu Yi had gone downstairs, the crown prince also departed from the inn, as he still had to make arrangements for someone else.

“My lord.” A woman with an enchanting figure came forward to greet the crown prince, a little admiring and a little frightened at the same time. This woman was the dancer he had gotten at the Jade Island last time. She was originally called Ruo Shui, but the prince changed her name to Yiyi.

The first time he saw the girl’s back, he felt that her body resembled Zhu Yi. In his haste to vent his frustration that night, he didn’t look at her face, but when he saw her face early the next morning, he realised he had found a treasure. The girl’s nose and lips were very similar to Zhu Yi’s, except for her eyes.

Zhu Yi’s eyes were soaring and moving, clearly a pair of seductive fox eyes, but in contrast, the light in her pupils was as clear as the moon in a cloudless sky, and the two were strangely blended together, making them particularly attractive. This Yiyi, on the other hand, has plain eyes, but it also so happened that they were the easiest to draw on.

When the crown prince was in the mood, he would personally use his brush to change the shape of Yiyi’s eyes and outline them with wings. When he was impatient, he would take a strip of damask silk and blindfold her, revealing only her nose and lips.

Today, the Prince’s face was gloomy. Naturally he didn’t have the leisure to draw, so he took the silk strip and covered the girl’s eyes and immediately got right down to business with her.

“Yiyi, are you satisfied?” the crown prince asked the girl beneath him.

Yiyi didn’t understand what kind of mind this lord had, obviously he called her name with a voice of passionate ecstasy, but the methods he used on her were really frightening and often left her covered in bruises.

Afterwards, the crown prince embraced the girl, gently stroked her cheek, and said, “Good girl, don’t put medicine on your body today. Tomorrow, I’ll allow you to serve a gentleman. The young man is very handsome, so you’ll surely like him. When the time comes, it’s vital that you serve him well.”

Yiyi trembled in the crown prince’s arms for a while.