A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City-Chapter 71

"County Princess, His Highness says he won't be able to leave the palace for the next few days. If you have anything to say, you may write it in a letter for him." The blue-robed eunuch cautiously glanced at the future Princess Consort of Chen. "This is the letter His Highness wrote for you. Please read it."

Jiuzhu took the letter and turned to see her brother Ming Jiyuan and her mother Lady Shen watching her. She paused before opening it.

"I'll go check on the kitchen," Lady Shen stood up, giving her daughter some privacy.

Ming Jiyuan reluctantly rose as well. "I'll go read in the study."

They had only just returned from an outing late last night—barely five or six hours apart—and already there was a need for letters?

Jiuzhu opened the letter and read every word carefully before asking the eunuch, "His Highness won't be able to leave the palace before the second day of February?"

The blue-robed eunuch bowed respectfully. "Please rest assured, County Princess. His Highness will write to you every day. If you wish to reply, this servant will wait here for your letter to take back."

He silently prayed that the County Princess would write back—otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to face His Highness.

"Please wait a moment, honored eunuch." Jiuzhu stood and called for a maid to serve him tea while she hurried back to her room with the letter.

She felt she had nothing particular to write about, yet so many things she wanted to share with His Highness.

Like the spring orchids blooming in the courtyard, the praise from the etiquette matron sent by the Ministry of Rites, or the interesting travel journals she found in her brother’s study.

After scribbling down a long, meandering letter, she finally ended it with a few words:

"All is well, Your Highness need not worry."

Once the ink dried, she folded the letter into an envelope. After a moment’s thought, she took another sheet of paper, sketched a spring orchid, and tucked it inside.

The new season brought new beginnings, and the first bloom of the orchid symbolized just that.

---

"Princess Consort, Aunt Bai Shao has arrived."

Sun Caiyao set down her book and studied the woman before her. She had delicate features, a respectful demeanor, and an air of steadiness about her.

"This servant, Bai Shao, greets the Princess Consort." Bai Shao performed a deep bow of submission.

"No need for such formality." Sun Caiyao stepped forward to take her hand—rough and strong from years of labor in Qianyi Pavilion. Her smile deepened. "Auntie served by Her Highness’s side. No one knows the palace’s ways better than you."

"Given His Highness and my current circumstances, I must ask you to endure some hardship for now." Sun Caiyao returned to her seat. "You remain a first-rank palace maid in the imperial registry, and you will be treated as such here."

"Thank you, Princess Consort." Bai Shao bowed deeply again.

"Go rest for now. If His Highness summons you, you may go pay your respects." Sun Caiyao’s feelings toward Bai Shao were complicated. Logically, there was nothing wrong with the woman, yet she couldn’t bring herself to feel close to her.

Bai Shao waited in her room for hours, but no summons came from the Fourth Prince. The servants in Zhangliu Palace were all assigned by the Palace Administration Office, leaving her feeling out of place, uneasy in her own surroundings.

"Did you hear? Last night, a maid from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau ate something wrong. She screamed in agony before she died—her face was still twisted in pain afterward."

"Hush, keep your voice down. Don’t let the Fourth Prince or Princess Consort hear. They say that maid used to serve His Highness’s birth mother."

"Lady Zheng offended Her Majesty the Empress while she was alive. Did you really think her people would be spared?"

Bai Shao, who had been about to step outside, froze.

Hong Mei was dead?

She knew better than to think this conversation was mere coincidence.

In the palace, there were no coincidences—only deliberate acts.

By the time the whispering servants had left, Bai Shao had already splashed cold water on her face, straightened her robes, and stepped out with perfect composure.

"Aunt Bai Shao! I was just looking for you." A young maid hurried over. "His Highness wishes to see you. Come quickly."

When she met the Fourth Prince, he said nothing to her. She kowtowed once, then withdrew from the courtyard.

---

In the outer courtyard, Prince An and Prince Jing were admiring paintings. Prince An glanced at Prince Chen, who sat in a corner, and curiosity got the better of him.

"Fifth Brother, last time you mentioned showing us Princess Consort’s paintings. Might we see them today—"

"The weather isn’t suitable for appreciating art today." Prince Chen refused without hesitation. "If Second and Third Brothers are bored, take a stroll in the imperial gardens."

"What’s there to do there?"

"The spring scenery is lovely, the grass is lush—perfect for weeding."

Just then, the eunuch delivering letters returned. Prince Chen stood and tilted his chin up. "Enjoy your paintings, elder brothers. I’ll return to my quarters."

Prince An looked up at the clear sky. Wasn’t today’s weather perfectly fine?

"Never mind, Second Brother." Prince Jing, true to his serene title, smiled gently. "It seems Fifth Brother is reluctant to share his consort’s paintings."

"The more he refuses, the more curious I become." Prince An sighed. "I’ll ask the County Princess myself once she enters the palace."

Prince Jing chuckled. He was, after all, a man who preferred quiet.

"Speaking of which, for Fifth Brother’s wedding to County Princess Ming, should we send gifts to the Ming family?" Prince An mused. With Prince Chen being the Empress’s son—and thus a likely future Crown Prince—Jiuzhu would become Crown Princess. Wouldn’t it be wise to curry favor with her family early?

But he couldn’t help but feel wary of Ming Jinghai’s temperament. The man was infamous for once drawing his sword on bandits.

"We could follow Eldest Brother’s lead," Prince Jing suggested mildly as he tidied the books on the table. "If he sends gifts, we will too."

Prince An fell silent. If he only followed the Eldest Prince’s example, how could he secure the future Crown Princess’s family’s goodwill?

---

Meanwhile, the Ming residence was nearly overflowing with dowry gifts from noble families across the capital. Many were relatives of the groom’s side, yet they all sent lavish presents under the guise of "adding to the bride’s trousseau."

That wasn’t all. The Emperor and Empress also bestowed endless rewards from their private treasuries, while officials from the Palace Administration Office and the Ministry of Rites frequented the Ming household so often they nearly wore out the doorstep.

The Emperor’s blatant favoritism toward Prince Chen was obvious to all. Some even suspected the wedding’s grandeur would rival that of a Crown Prince’s ceremony.

Yet no one in the Ministry of Rites dared object. None of the other imperial sons’ in-laws spoke against it either. Thus, the wedding proceeded under an unspoken consensus—everyone sensed something was amiss, but no one dared say a word.

On the first day of February, the Ministry of Rites delivered the finalized bridal attire to the Ming household.

A jewel-encrusted phoenix-and-dragon coronet, auspicious robes embroidered with paired dragons and phoenixes, a "blossoming as one" round fan, and an array of matching ornaments.

"Mother." Ming Jiyuan studied the items without joy. "These are of higher rank than the trial garments sent earlier."

Typically, a prince’s consort would wear a coronet with six dragons and six phoenixes. But the one prepared for Jiuzhu bore eight of each.

"Your father is the Vice Minister of Rites. If these items had been tampered with, they would never have been sent to our Ming family." Lady Shen gazed at the phoenix crown on the tray. "So this can only be the intention of His Majesty and the Empress."

"Both thunder and rain are signs of imperial favor." Lady Shen picked up a red silk cloth and covered the phoenix crown. "Go and fetch Jiuzhu. I have something to say to her."

Ming Jiyuan turned and headed to his younger sister’s courtyard.

As a bride about to be married, Jiuzhu showed no signs of nervousness. Instead, she was leisurely walking her small white horse in the courtyard. She had raised the horse for over half a year, yet it hadn’t grown much in size.

"Brother?" Seeing Ming Jiyuan enter, Jiuzhu handed the reins to Chunfen. "What brings you here?"

"Mother asked me to bring you over." Ming Jiyuan noticed his sister’s simple double-coiled hairstyle, adorned with barely any hair ornaments. He thought of the lavish hairpins and jewelry sent by the Ministry of Rites and began to worry about her thick hair.

"Have all the visiting ladies left?" Jiuzhu peeked out the door, scanning the courtyard.

"They knew today was a busy day. Why would they linger? Don’t worry, they’ve all gone." Seeing his sister’s cautious demeanor, Ming Jiyuan couldn’t help but sigh. "What will you do after marrying Prince Chen, with your dislike for socializing?"

"His Highness said I don’t need to pay attention to those people." Jiuzhu tilted her head in confusion. "What else is there to do?"

"Silly girl, you don’t understand men well enough yet." Ming Jiyuan patted her head. "But I hope His Highness means every word he says."

"His Highness wouldn’t lie to me." Jiuzhu spoke with firm conviction. "He also said he’ll often accompany me back home."

Ming Jiyuan chuckled. His sister had grown up in a Taoist temple and knew little of the harsh expectations placed on women. The moment she stepped out of her family home after marriage, the world would no longer see her as part of the Ming family, but as belonging to her husband’s household.

He believed Prince Chen’s words were sincere now, with no intention to deceive his sister. But life was long, and hearts were fickle. Not everyone could be like their parents, who remained devoted and loving through the years.

"What if His Highness does deceive you?" Ming Jiyuan looked at his sister intently. "Jiuzhu, I hope you’ll be a little selfish and love yourself more. As long as you’re well, nothing else matters."

Jiuzhu stepped into the main courtyard and, after a moment of silence, met her brother’s gaze seriously. "If he truly deceives me, then so be it."

Her ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍master had once said that the rarest thing in life was to follow one’s heart.

But she didn’t find it difficult at all.

In this world, many things could be redone, but life was given only once.

Prince Chen had saved her life at Huaxi River, walked with her through the mountains and rivers of the capital, and admired the lanterns and moonlight of the Lantern Festival together.

"Brother," Jiuzhu smiled. "I don’t know what the future holds, but I choose to trust His Highness."

"Everyone in this world may change, but to me, His Highness is the most special one." Jiuzhu tugged at Ming Jiyuan’s sleeve. "So don’t worry about me, brother. There are countless men in this world, and each will be someone’s beloved."

"Prince Chen is the one in your heart?" Ming Jiyuan had always thought his sister, raised in a Taoist temple, was naive and unaware of worldly matters. But now he realized she understood everything—she simply had a heart that embraced fate with ease.

Prince Chen was her destined one.

"Brother, His Highness isn’t just the beloved in my heart." Jiuzhu grinned and skipped ahead, her carefree silhouette still that of an innocent maiden.

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Pushing open the door, Jiuzhu saw the meticulously folded wedding gown embroidered with dragons and phoenixes and whispered, "So beautiful."

"Do you like it?" Lady Shen smiled at her.

Jiuzhu nodded.

"That’s good." Lady Shen picked up a wooden comb from the table. "Jiuzhu, come. Let me comb your hair."

In folk tradition, a bride’s mother would comb her hair before marriage, wishing her a smooth and happy married life.

Though royal weddings did not follow common customs, Lady Shen still wanted to give her daughter the same blessing every girl deserved.