The Pearl on the Emperor’s Crown

Chapter 4 – Pipa Hairpin

Zhu Xiu Li finally came out again, fully dressed this time.

He was chattering away and as he came out, he asked, “Elder Sister, did you know that elder cousin is staying just opposite me?” His face was full of admiration.

“He’s also really nice.”

Zhu Yi looked at the child with a complicated expression. Zhu Xiu Li had mentioned Xie Ying three times since she came in. She never knew that Zhu Xiu Li could easily claim family relations like this. The key was though, was this – was that person willing to be his elder cousin?

Zhu Xiu Li came over to pull at Zhu Yi.

“Come on, let’s go and play with our elder cousin.”

Zhu Yi had not seen Xie Ying earlier, but she found herself imagining Xie Ying in contrast to the crown prince’s attire, and her cheeks flamed red instantly. 

“You shouldn’t pester the prince,” she scowled. “You’re keeping him from his business.”

“I’m not! Elder cousin said that he has been free recently, so let’s go!”

Zhu Xiu Li forcefully dragged along a reluctant Zhu Yi to find Xie Ying. When the siblings reached the West Hall, they saw a strange little palace maid suddenly appear on the opposite side. Behind her stood Xie Ying’s attendant Shen Xing Liu, with a look of impatience.

Zhu Xiu Li laughed mockingly at the sight. 

“Ever since elder cousin started staying at Mountainous Cloud Pavilion, there are often palace ladies who accidentally go to the wrong place,” he observed. There was no lack of contempt in his words.

The careless remarks of her younger brother stopped Zhu Yi in her tracks. Zhu Xiu Li didn’t know that his sister was going to do the same thing, which made her feel ashamed and aggrieved.

Obviously, she had pursued Xie Ying before, so why was it so difficult to take this step now? Zhu Yi thought about it carefully, and finally understood the difference. In the past, her intentions had been pure, but now, she was approaching him with an agenda. Naturally, it felt like she was betraying herself.

“Elder Sister, what’s the matter with you? Are you unwell?” Zhu Xiu Li tilted his head to look at Zhu Yi.

“No, I’m alright,” Zhu Yi replied. “Ah Li, I’ll come visit you next time. I just remembered that I have urgent matters to attend to.”

Ignoring the shouts of Zhu Xiu Li, Zhu Yi took her palace maid and left him behind. Stunned, Zhu Xiu Li turned to face Xie Ying, who had unknowingly come out. 

“Hehe. Elder Cousin, women just have a lot of things to do, right?”

~~~~~

Except for a few short visits to Zhu Xiu Li, Zhu Yi did not leave her Pavilion for over ten days. She used the excuse of copying scriptures for the empress dowager to stay inside. It worked well until the emperor suddenly summoned her to the imperial study one day.

When Zhu Yi entered the study, she saw two men sitting opposite each other by the purple table.

The elderly man was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and had a kind face. It was the emperor, the current Son of Heaven.

The young one was wearing a dark purple brocade robe patterned with clouds, with a jade hairpin in his hair. It was Xie Ying.

Zhu Yi stepped forward and saluted the emperor.

 “Imperial Father.”

“Xi Zhen, you’re here.” The emperor got up with a smile. He pointed to the jade chessboard on the table. and said, “Shou Xu1 and I are in the endgame of our chess match, but he is always hiding and making it impossible for me to have fun. You will play two games with him on my behalf.”

Zhu Yi blinked. Her chess skills were mediocre and far behind the emperor. Yet he wanted her to play against Xie Ying? “Alright,” she found herself responding numbly.

A eunuch immediately set up another seat for the emperor. Xie Ying stood up and waited for the emperor to sit down before taking a seat with Zhu Yi.

The chess game implicitly matched the method of arranging soldiers. Zhu Yi was very cautious. After arranging ten chess pieces, her eyebrows were scrunched in concentration. The black chess piece in her fair bamboo shoot-like fingertips hovered over the chessboard and her little fingers curled up unconsciously, making her hand look soft and lovely.

Xie Ying kept staring at that hanging hand.

The emperor suddenly began to instruct Zhu Yi. Imperial father was always strict about observing chess matches without interference…what was going on today? Zhu Yi was uneasy, and she had the feeling that something was about to happen.

Sure enough, the emperor sighed softly. “Nephew Shou Xu came early in the morning to resign his position and state his intentions to return to Wei Prefecture. I’m really reluctant to let him go.”

Zhu Yi paused in the middle of her chess move. Xie Ying was leaving so soon?

However, the feudal kings were all emperors in their own domains, and Xie Ying was unrestrained and free in Wei Prefecture. Compared to being restrained in the Capital, it made sense that he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“It is rare for Shou Xu to return to the Capital, so it is better for you to stay longer,” The emperor coaxed. “You helped your father govern Wei Prefecture very well, and I hope you will discuss this more with the crown prince. The empress always talks about wanting you to spend more time with her as well. Moreover, when the feudal states meet in half a year, you will have to enter the Capital again. You might as well save on the long and exhausting journey back and forth.”

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and Zhu Yi’s heartbeat intensified. The emperor’s words were reasonable, and he kept complimenting Xie Ying and playing the family card. But in essence, he just didn’t want to let Xie Ying return to Wei Prefecture. Even if this was not about taking him to be a hostage in the Capital, it was at least a slap in the face to the Xie family.

But Xie Ying was arrogant, and he was very cunning. With the Xie family’s current military power, he definitely would not submit easily. If he wanted to, he could make up a proper reason to refuse.

Zhu Yi couldn’t help but glance at Xie Ying, wanting to see his expression at the moment.

Xie Ying was very aware of Zhu Yi’s minute movements. He did not find an excuse to push back, but instead replied naturally. “What the emperor said is very true. This minister had not considered it well, and this minister will obey your orders.”

The emperor’s furrowed brows slowly relaxed. When Xie Ying was silent, his aura was so mountainous that it almost made him forget that he was facing a young man in his early twenties. He knew very well that this man would be the pillar of the country and also a great problem for him.

Zhu Yi returned from the emperor feeling restless, but Noble Consort Tong had sent someone to summon her.

Noble Consort Tong ordered her servants to retreat from the room. For the first time, she didn’t ask Zhu Yi to sit down. She didn’t even look at her. She just played with her newly dyed nails.

After a while, she finally spoke.

“Xi Zhen, I heard that you went to see Ah Li recently, yet you never once stepped into Xie Ying’s home.”

When Zhu Yi heard this, she knew immediately that someone beside Zhu Xiu Li was spying on her. However, she had luckily come prepared with excuses.

“Mother, the prince doesn’t give this daughter a chance at all-”

“You have learned to be dishonest with me – agreeing to my face and disobeying me behind my back.” Noble Consort Tong interrupted her with a sneer.

Zhu Yi’s smile faded. 

“Do you think that relying on beauty to attract men is something that lowly women do?” Noble Consort Tong spat. “You even think that I, your mother, am inferior to the Empress.”

It was an open secret in the palace that Noble Consort Tong used her beauty and charm to gain the emperor’s favour. In private, the emperor gave her the nickname “Peach Blossom Lady”.

“How could this daughter think of Mother like that?” Zhu Yi hurriedly denied. “Mother is the person that this daughter respects the most. If it wasn’t for you, how could my Seventh Brother and I grow up so well?” She naturally admired Noble Consort Tong.

Noble Consort Tong smiled in derision. “Your words are very good to hear.” 

She then waved her hand dismissively. “You may leave. I am tired.”

Zhu Yi did not move, and Noble Consort Tong had to repeat her dismissal twice more before she finally turned around.

“I’m really disappointed.” Noble Consort Tong suddenly hissed out softly, causing Zhu Yi to freeze on the spot.

Then she heard Noble Consort Tong’s sigh. “It seems that I have worked hard to raise a daughter in vain. I must bear everything by myself, and I also have to be a bad person. She deserves to be the only precious one.”

She paused for a moment, as if in contemplation. 

“Yes, she will soon get married and become a Princess Consort, and unlike me, she will not be tormented by an official wife. As long as she lives well, who cares if Ah Li and I will live or die in the future. I was so stupid. I thought she would be our benefactor, but she only cares about herself. Some people don’t need to visit me in the future. They can just pretend that they don’t have a mother like me and no younger brother like Ah Li.”

Noble Consort Tong spoke slowly, and each word was as sharp as the tip of a knife. Zhu Yi’s arms trembled terribly by her sides, and in the complete silence that followed, she quickly fled.

Early the next morning, Mian Feng took a pile of coral pink pipa hairpins in-laid with gold from a sandalwood box and inserted it diagonally into Zhu Yi’s hair bun. “Princess didn’t sleep well last night,” she remarked.

Zhu Yi didn’t need Mian Feng to tell her that. The mirror revealed the faint shadows under her eyes in the mirror. Her skin was usually as fair as snow, and the slightest mark would be particularly obvious.

Zhu Yi studied her reflection in the mirror. Her hairline was not like Xie Ying’s sharp temples. Instead, she had a widow’s peak that was not as round and distinct as Zhu Chuo. Her hairline was round and beautiful, but there was also fine fluff that was soft, slightly curly, and never grew long. According to an illustrated book that Zhu Yi once read, it said that her hairline represented her shallow affinity with her parents.

~~~~~

Xie Ying was slightly surprised when Zhu Yi appeared outside his door alone.

“Your Highness,” Zhu Yi raised her hand. “Can we talk?”

Xie Ying knew that this was a gesture that Zhu Yi would only do when she was nervous. He turned aside to let Zhu Yi go in first. “Please come in, Princess.”

Now that she was here, Zhu Yi would not waver. When there were only the two of them, Zhu Yi fixed her gaze on Xie Ying’s shoulder. 

“That night when you sent me back to Joyous Hope Pavilion, my earring fell off,” she began. “I was wondering if perhaps you might have found it?”

Zhu Yi had been clever since she was a child, and she was also skillful with her words. If a girl’s earrings fell off, why would a man pick them up and say nothing? If he did that, he obviously had intentions towards the girl. 

If Xie Ying answered that he had picked it up, it meant that he was interested in her and was willing to respond to her advances. If Xie Ying answered that he hadn’t seen it, they both could walk away with their dignities intact.

Xie Ying’s lips curled up slowly, but his eyes were dark and unclear. Zhu Yi had deliberately kept her distance from him before, and she was very alienated. For her to change her attitude so quickly, it seemed that Noble Consort Tong was piling on the pressure.

After all, she still took a fancy to what he had in his hand.

Seeing that Xie Ying hadn’t answered, Zhu Yi was really tormented, and she finally couldn’t help but say, “It’s okay if Your Highness didn’t see it, I’ll look elsewhere.”

“Wait a moment, Princess.” Xie Ying’s voice was low, causing Zhu Yi to feel an unprecedented sense of danger. 

He stared at her intently. “If I say that I didn’t find your earrings, are you going to save this question for half a year and continue to ask Ruan Yu and others?”

Ruan Yu was the name of King Yongnan.

Zhu Yi’s face turned pale. 

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

She turned around and tried to leave, but Xie Ying wouldn’t allow it and he easily trapped her between himself and a bookcase. His gaze swept down condescendingly, from Zhu Yi’s face to her collar bone, before going further down and deliberately leering at her chest.

Xie Ying was truly born with a beautiful and picturesque appearance, with dark eyes as deep as the night. A simple glance at any woman would attract her like moths to a flame. Otherwise, Zhu Yi would not have been captivated at the time. Fortunately, he didn’t like to glance around, and he was very cold most of the time.

So, when Xie Ying actually looked at her like this, Zhu Yi was flustered. “What are you looking at? Get out of the way!”

Xie Ying scoffed, and he actually got out of the way. “I can’t even look. Does the princess still learn from others on how to provoke men?”

Zhu Yi was ashamed and anxious, and she was also so angry that she couldn’t speak.

Xie Ying pulled Zhu Yi back when she tried to step away, and finally softened his voice. “Why do you only know how to run? What would you do if you leave now? Noble Consort Tong will keep pushing you until she finds a satisfactory suitor.”

Zhu Yi didn’t want to run anymore. She now knew that Xie Ying would let her go if she asked, only to carry her back like a trussed chicken once she ran. She had to ask again. 

“Did you find my earrings?”
 

Xie Ying stared at Zhu Yi as her eyes looked in any direction except towards his face, and he slowly replied, “Since Your Highness has personally asked, how could I disappoint you?”