A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

Advertisement

She lifted the curtain and saw Chen Wang walking in with the two other princes. Looking at the white fur coat on his body, Sun Caiyao lowered her eyes faintly: “Please come in, Your Highnesses.”

 

“Fourth Sister-in-law is too polite.” Chen Wang handed the branch to Sun Caiyao: “Picked this up for the fourth brother to adorn the room.”

 

As soon as the branch reached Sun Caiyao’s hand, the last leaf struggling at death’s door gave up. It floated down to the ground after a final battle against the wind. 

 

An Wang looked at the withered leaf on the ground, and then at the bare branch in Qi Wangfei’s hands, hoping for her to fling it at Yun Duqing’s face.

 

But as the Sun family’s daughter, how could Sun Caiyao possibly lose her cool in the presence of a prince? Even if Chen Wang had picked up a stone from the ground and gifted it, she would accept it without changing her expression: “Many thanks for this thoughtful present, fifth younger brother. I will put it in His Highness’ room so that he can appreciate it a lot.”

 

“My pleasure, fourth Sister-in-law.” Chen Wang walked into Qi Wang’s room and pointed to the long neck vase facing the bed: “I think this flower vase is pretty good, you can put it in this.”

 

Advertisement

Her hand holding the branch shook as the intelligent, beautiful and gentle Sun Caiyao replied, “Okay.”

 

When she put the branch into the vase, Chen Wang nodded in satisfaction: “As expected, it’s not bad.” He turned to look at Qi Wang, who lay on the bed: “Fourth brother, don’t you think so?”

 

Qi Wang looked at the vase and smiled: “It’s fine as long as you’re happy, fifth younger brother.”

 

Did Yun Duqing gift him this dried-up branch to mock him for his injury?

 

Advertisement

From childhood to now, his good fifth younger brother relied on his Father Emperor’s doting to deliberately use this kind of almost obvious tricks. 

 

“I am, of course, happy to see fourth brother like the gift I brought.” Yun Duqing sat down in the chair and looked at the pale-faced Qi Wang: “How is the fourth brother’s injury?”

 

“A lot better.” Qi Wang said with a haggard smile: “Second brother, third brother, hurry up and take your seats. Please forgive your younger brother for not greeting you now.”

 

“We are all brothers, no need to follow the rules so strictly.” An Wang observed Qi Wang’s face: “Father Emperor has sentenced the assassin to death by execution so you can recuperate at ease.”

 

“Thank you for your concern, elder brother.” Qi Wang looked at the three of them and coughed slightly.

 

Advertisement

Was the true mastermind one of them?

 

“Fourth brother suffered a skin injury. Why are you coughing?” Chen Wang summoned a eunuch: “Go summon an imperial physician to examine fourth brother carefully.”

 

He thoughtfully adjusted the quilt on Qi Wang’s body: “The body, hair and skin, all have been received from parents1T/N: This is said by Confucius to his disciple Zengzi and is recorded in his book «The Classic of Filial Piety» (孝经 or Xiàojīng). The whole sentence is: ‘身体发肤, 受之父母, 不敢毁伤, 孝之始也’ (shēntǐ fā fū, shòu zhī fùmǔ, bù gǎn huǐshāng, xiàozhī shǐ yě), which translates to: ‘the body, hair and skin, all have been received from parents, and so one doesn’t dare damage them- this is the beginning of filial piety’.. Fourth brother must not be negligent.”

 

It hurts. 

 

Qi Wang’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. Yun Duqing, this bastard, was pressing his wound.

 

Before long, Huai Wang came to visit Qi Wang. He was a little more generous and brought a small bottle of ginseng pills.

 

“Younger brothers are all here?” Huai Wang handed the ginseng pills to the eunuch and walked up to the bed: “Fourth younger brother, why haven’t you covered yourself properly with the quilt…”

 

“Eldest brother need not trouble yourself. Tour younger brother can do it himself.” Qi Wang looked at Huai Wang warily.

Advertisement

 

“Why are you polite with your eldest brother?” Huai Wang bent down and pressed the quilt on Qi Wang’s chest. Seeing the latter’s face turn pale, he smiled guiltily: “Silly me, I actually forgot that fourth younger brother was hurt in the chest.”

 

Qi Wang took a deep breath.

 

Yun Liu’an, you son of a b*tch!

 

Huai Wang retracted his hand and sat down beside Chen Wang.

 

From Yun Yanze’s expression, it seemed that he was indeed injured.

 

Who did this thing? Did he ever expect that Father Emperor would lock them all in the Palace because of it?

 

At first, he suspected it to be Yun Yanze’s plan, but when he heard from a palace servant that their Father Emperor had sent someone to thoroughly investigate both Qi Wang’s residence and Zheng’s family, he knew that Yun Yanze would not have done this.

 

He was not so stupid.

 

He turned to look at Chen Wang, who raised his brows in return. 

 

It could also not be Yun Duqing. He had Father Emperor’s favor. He didn’t need to do anything to make the latter feel that he was better than his brothers.

 

Was it An Wang or Jing Wang?

 

But those two have always been mediocre and bland. How would they get the courage to plan such a thing?

 

“It’s rare for us five brothers to get together.” Yun Duqing suddenly said, “It’s cold today. Why don’t we eat hotpot here in fourth brother’s room?”

 

Huai Wang turned and looked at Qi Wang. As an injured person, he should not be able to eat hotpot. 

 

“Fifth younger brother’s idea is good.” Huai Wang clapped and laughed heartily, “Eldest brother will instruct the servants to prepare it at once.”

 

Being locked in this tiny Zhangliu Palace without being able to even step out the Palace gate, their days had become really difficult. So it was a good thing to have something fun to do.

 

An hour later, Qi Wang’s room was filled with the aroma of hotpot. Looking at the four people sitting around the table and moving their chopsticks swiftly through the air, all he wanted to do was pick up the pillows from the bed and send them all crashing outside.

 

This bunch of bastards!

 

Stuffed with food, Chen Wang got up and put on his white fur coat. Then he looked at Qi Wang with a smile: “It seems that with our company, fourth brother’s complexion has improved a lot. That being the case, we will come back again to visit fourth brother tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, fourth younger brother, don’t worry.” Huai Wang nodded: “We will visit you often till you recover from your injury.”

 

Qi Wang looked at them with a strained smile, trying his best to conceal the murderous intent surging in his eyes. 

 

“Then I would like to thank my brothers first.” He regained his usual gentle smile: “It’s all because I didn’t see through the assassin’s ruse and worried Father Emperor so much. But this is also good, we can finally live together like when we were young.”

 

Hearing this, the smile on Huai Wang’s face suddenly disappeared.

 

Yes, if it weren’t for the assassination attempt on Yun Yanze, they would not have been locked up in the Palace.

 

If he comes to know which bastard beat the grass to scare the snake, he would definitely separate his head from his body!

 

Everything that happened in Zhangliu Palace quickly reached Emperor Longfeng’s ears. But instead of getting angry, he laughed and ordered Liu Zhongbao: “Duqing likes to eat hotpots. Tell the Department of the Palace to send some fresh ingredients to Zhangliu Palace’s kitchen. Especially the dishes he likes to eat; those must not be left out.”

 

“Please don’t worry, Your Majesty. This old slave has already notified them.” Liu Zhongbao bent over to help Emperor Longfeng grind ink: “Your Majesty, the eunuchs and maids of the princes’ and princesses’ residences have all been confined. The attendants have also been prohibited from stepping outside. The Imperial Guards are keeping everyone under strict supervision.”

 

“En.” Sensing that Liu Zhongbao had something more to say, Emperor Longfeng asked, “What else happened?”

 

“This slave heard that His Highness Qi Wang’s maternal family’s two servants ran away after stealing some precious stones. So the Zheng family has been searching for them.” Liu Zhongbao smiled: “Everyone in the capital has been laughing at them, saying that they can not even manage their servants efficiently.”

 

“When did they escape?”

 

“It seems to be last night.” Liu Zhongbao laughed: “This old slave just listened a little. He doesn’t know the details well.”

 

“You old fox.” Emperor Longfeng laughed and put down his brush: “Summon the Dragon Guards.”

 

The Dragon Guards were imperial guards who obeyed only the emperor’s orders. They were highly skilled but they were not assigned small tasks.

 

“Bring back the two servants that ran away from the Zheng family.” Emperor Longfeng smiled coldly: “Zhen also wants to know what the servants who betrayed their master look like.”

 

After eating breakfast this morning, Zhou Xiao called out Jiuzhu.

 

“Zhou jiejie.” Jiuzhu glanced at the panting Zhou Xiao, and stretched out her hand to pull her: “Why don’t we ask the servants to take you up in a palanquin2T/N: Jiuzhu mentions a type of palanquin called 滑杆 (huá gān) which has, afaik, no equivalent term in English (if there is, please let me know). It looks like this: ?”

 

“No.” Zhou Xiao gasped for breath as she shook her head: “When requesting a protection talisman, one must go up to the Buddha’s statue on their own feet to show sincerity.”

 

“Alright.” Jiuzhu sighed helplessly, and could only pull her up step by step. Behind the two was a long string of maids and guards, making it seem less like they weren’t going to ask for a talisman and more like going to demolish the statue.

 

“Meimei, are there really any monks living here on a desolate mountain?” Zhou Shucheng looked at the Ming family’s guniang dragging his sister up without any discomfort and wondered if there was an issue with his physical strength. He, a grown man, could not even compare to a little guniang of 16-17 years?

 

“There are.” Zhou Xiao nodded affirmatively: “I’ve heard people say that there are several eminent monks living in the temple on this mountain and that the protection talisman they make are particularly effective. I want to get some for Father, Mother and… and Sixth Young Master Ming in passing.”

 

Maybe with the talisman, he won’t hurt his leg again.

 

Zhou Shucheng: “……”

 

Get it for Ming Cunfu in passing?

 

It was obvious that he was being tormented here for Ming Cunfu.

 

Jiuzhu wanted to say something but then stopped. She looked back at the distance from here back to the foot of the mountain, and decided not to tell her Zhou jiejie that talisman drawing was a specialty of Daoism, and traditional Buddhist cultivators generally did not draw talismans.

 

“Look!” Zhou Xiao pointed ahead: “I can see the temple! Meimei, bring me there quickly.”

 

Seeing Zhou Xiao insist on climbing further despite her legs trembling, Jiuzhu decided that if her sixth brother Fu dared to disappoint Zhou jiejie in the future, she would break his legs for her.

 

“Wait for me!” Zhou Shucheng put his hand on a young servant’s shoulder and breathed heavily like a bull: “You… you two little guniangs… go slower… can you not save me some face!”

 

A group of servants assisted him to the gate of the monastery, almost half-lifting and half-dragging him in the process. 

 

The monastery was more dilapidated than they thought; a broken bell covered with dust was hung on a tree and there were dried leaves strewn all over the place. But there were no piles so it seemed that those haven’t had enough time to accumulate. 

 

“Please bless us and forgive our sins, Bodhisattva.” Zhou Shucheng bowed toward the Buddha statue inside the prayer hall, “Is there a Naster here?”

 

Not hearing any reply, Zhou Shucheng looked at a servant.

 

“Master, we came to pray to the Buddha. Please show yourself, master.” The servant shouted, “We brought sesame oil money3T/N: In ancient times, believers often donated incense sticks, candles, lamp oil, gold paper and other items to temples and monasteries for sacrificial purposes. But later, donations in kind were gradually replaced by money, so it was called sesame oil money (香油钱 or xiāng yóu qián), fire incense money (香火钱 or xiāng huǒ qián), and incense paper money (香纸钱 or xiāng zhǐ qián).!”

 

“Amitabha Buddha.” A monk wearing traditional jiasha4Jiasha [袈裟] – In China, the jiāshā refers to a one-piece, patchworked rectangular fabric which is worn over a long one-piece, cross-collar robe. You can read more here if you’re interested. It comes from the Sanskrit term kāṣāya. came out and greeted Jiuzhu and the others: “Benefactors, please come in.”

 

Seeing that the monk was tall and strong, Zhou Shucheng couldn’t help asking, “Master, are you a warrior monk?”

 

Warrior monks wouldn’t be too skilled in drawing talismans, would they?

 

“Benefactor must be jesting.” The monk chanted the name of Buddha. “This poor monk has to be self-reliant in order to live in the temple. He grows vegetables, carries water and sweeps every day. Thus, he is naturally healthy.”

 

“So that’s the case.” Zhou Shucheng suddenly realized and raised his foot, intending to enter the temple.

 

“Hold on.” Jiuzhu stopped Zhou Shucheng.

 

“Is Master going out?”

 

“This poor monk is cultivating in the mountains through hardships, why would he go out?” The monk smiled at Jiuzhu: “Benefactor must be jesting.”

 

“If Master isn’t going out, why would you wear your jiasha?” Jiuzhu hid Zhou Xiao behind her: “All Buddhists cultivate through difficulty without attaching much importance to the mundane world. They don’t wear their jiasha on occasions other than important sermons or so on.”

 

Zhou Xiao looked at her, and noticed a hint of solemnity on her ever-happy face.

 

Jiuzhu raised her hand to signal the guards of the Zhou family and Ming family to surround the gates of the temple. After confirming that even a mosquito would not have the chance to slip out, she declared: “You are not a real monk.”

Thanks for reading ٩(๑ᴗ๑)۶! If you found any typo or want to suggest some corrections, feel free to do so in the comment section or on our discord server. And if you like my translation, please consider rating it on NU and supporting me on:

 

 

1T/N: This is said by Confucius to his disciple Zengzi and is recorded in his book «The Classic of Filial Piety» (孝经 or Xiàojīng). The whole sentence is: ‘身体发肤, 受之父母, 不敢毁伤, 孝之始也’ (shēntǐ fā fū, shòu zhī fùmǔ, bù gǎn huǐshāng, xiàozhī shǐ yě), which translates to: ‘the body, hair and skin, all have been received from parents, and so one doesn’t dare damage them- this is the beginning of filial piety’.2T/N: Jiuzhu mentions a type of palanquin called 滑杆 (huá gān) which has, afaik, no equivalent term in English (if there is, please let me know). It looks like this: 3T/N: In ancient times, believers often donated incense sticks, candles, lamp oil, gold paper and other items to temples and monasteries for sacrificial purposes. But later, donations in kind were gradually replaced by money, so it was called sesame oil money (香油钱 or xiāng yóu qián), fire incense money (香火钱 or xiāng huǒ qián), and incense paper money (香纸钱 or xiāng zhǐ qián).4Jiasha [袈裟] – In China, the jiāshā refers to a one-piece, patchworked rectangular fabric which is worn over a long one-piece, cross-collar robe. You can read more here if you’re interested. It comes from the Sanskrit term kāṣāya.