A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City

T/N: Thank you so much for the kofi, @Teckel and @Mainechan! Hope you all enjoy the bonus chapters~~

It snowed for two days. On the morning of the third day, JiuZhu got up and saw the sun shining brightly in the sky. She let out a long sigh, “The snow is about to melt.”

 

“Don’t worry, Young Miss. It might snow again this year.” ChunFen smiled and comforted her: “From now on, you can see this beautiful snowscape every year in winter.”

 

JiuZhu rested her upper body on the windowsill and looked at the icicles hanging from the branches: “It can’t keep snowing all the time either, people will freeze.”

 

“Yes ah. It is the ordinary people who suffer if the snow doesn’t stop falling even after a long time.” As she talked, ChunFen gently combed JiuZhu’s long hair: “I heard that people used to freeze to death before. But ever since His Majesty ascended the throne, he gave instructions to set up relief shelters in various places, so such incidents occur a lot less.”

 

“His Majesty is indeed an extraordinary ruler.” JiuZhu turned to look at ChunFen: “Sister ChunFen, did you use to serve by my mother’s side before?”

 

“Yes ah, I entered this residence when I was six years old. And now, it’s been twelve years.” She looked at JiuZhu’s lovely face and continued: “At that time, Master’s reputation had just been rehabilitated, so there was only a handful of servants in the residence. Madam was kind-hearted enough to offer shelter to a few young girls abandoned by their parents. I was one of them.”

 

What ChunFen didn’t tell JiuZhu was that it was perhaps also because of her that Shen-shi took them in. She might have taken pity on them because she kept thinking of her daughter who was being nurtured in the ancestral home in LingZhou.

 

She was only eight years old when the fake Young Miss was sent to the residence but she could still recall the scene of the Madam crying her heart out after she found out the truth. At that time, she seemed to have given up all hope of ever meeting her daughter again.

 

However, with the blessings of the Heavens, Young Miss returned to the Madam’s side safely.

 

“Sister, please tell me more about what happened before.” JiuZhu was extremely curious about the people in her family.

 

With a smile, ChunFen continued to tell JiuZhu entertaining anecdotes about the Master, the Madam, and the Young Master. Seeing the twinkle in JiuZhu’s eyes, she felt a little sad. If those so-called clan members in LingZhou did not abandon the Young Miss, how nice would it have been?

 

In that case, the Master and Madam could have accompanied Young Miss while growing up, she could have experienced her parents’ affection much earlier, and her elder brother could take care of her.

 

“So my Brother also liked to climb trees when he was a child?” JiuZhu was very happy to discover this point of similarity between her elder brother and herself: “I also liked to climb trees when I was young. My masters always used to say that I should not have been born in the Year of the Dog1T/N: Just extra (but interesting ehehe) info, you can skip if you like. In Chinese culture, each lunar year is associated with an animal that represents an astrological sign. Known for being loyal and honest, the dog is associated with the 11th year in the cyclic 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar. Women born in the Year of the Dog are very cautious. They are indifferent towards people they don’t like, and don’t trust easily; but once they do, it’s permanent (much like our XiaoZhu with her fiancè and soon-to-be mom-in-law). They are intensely protective of their friends and family, genial, independent, love outdoor activities and being in nature. However, they are also hard workers and don’t give up until they succeed. [Source: chinesenewyear.net], but in the Year of the Monkey2T/N: Again, not particularly relevant info ahead: Monkey is associated with the ninth zodiac sign of the 12-year lunar circle. As everyone can already expect, people born in the Year of the Monkey are mischievous, curious, witty, and crafty opportunists. They are fast learners and very active. because only monkeys like to jump around so much.”

 

“How can there be a monkey as adorable as the Young Miss!” ChunFen finished combing JiuZhu’s hair: “Today is a nice day. After having your breakfast, Young Miss can go take a walk outside.”

 

“That’s a good idea.” JiuZhu wanted to buy a new set of brushes for painting a snowscape for His Highness Chen Wang.

 

The sun seemed to shine extraordinarily well after the snowfall. After JiuZhu got off the carriage, she looked up at the sky, only to feel a sting in her eyes caused by the sunlight.

 

“Ming guniang.”

 

Hearing someone call her, JiuZhu looked back, “Zhou guniang?”

 

It was Zhou Xiao, the daughter of Zhou Rui, who was the Right Assistant Minister3Right Assistant Minister [右侍郎] – In ancient China, dating back to the Qin dynasty, every position of ministers in the court was divided into two sides: right and left. So, Zhou Rui and Ming JingZhou hold the same position. of the Ministry of Rites. JiuZhu had met her when she went shopping for the first time in the capital with Ming CunFu. Although they had also seen each other on other occasions after that, they didn’t have a chance to chat.

 

“I felt it was you from a distance.” Zhou Xiao got off the carriage, “Are you going to the teahouse to listen to the storyteller?”

 

Only then did JiuZhu notice the teahouse beside her.

 

“There is a female storyteller here who is specifically appointed for catering to the female customers. If Ming guniang has nothing else to do, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to listen to the stories?” Zhou Xiao had a gentle and sweet-tempered appearance. So when she asked JiuZhu in a soft voice, the latter couldn’t help nodding her head.

 

“Both my father and your esteemed father are colleagues and friends, while my mother and your esteemed mother have been close friends for many years.” Zhou Xiao led JiuZhu into the teahouse: “There were other people around when we met before, so I couldn’t chat with you properly.”

 

“Come, sit here.” Zhou Xiao picked a good position and sat down. From the way she gave some silver to the attendant and asked him to serve tea and refreshments, she seemed quite familiar with the ways.

 

“Zhou guniang…”

 

“I’m a few years older than you. If you don’t mind, just call me jiejie.” Zhou Xiao whispered in JiuZhu’s ear: “I’m afraid you don’t know this, but sixth Ming gongzi entrusted me early in the morning to accompany you because he feared that you might get bored after leaving the house.”

 

While mentioning Ming CunFu, Zhou Xiao’s cheeks turned a little red. She hurriedly lowered her head and drank a mouthful of tea.

 

JiuZhu blinked as she cupped her face and watched Zhou family’s guniang.

 

The last time she met Zhou guniang and Zhou gongzi, there didn’t seem to be any sort of peculiarity between her Sixth Brother Fu and Zhou guniang. She certainly didn’t expect…

 

Are the men and women in the capital this good at concealing things?

 

“Zhou jiejie and Sixth Brother Fu…” JiuZhu shot an understanding smile: “Thank you for specially making this trip for meimei, Zhou jiejie.”

 

Zhou Xiao’s cheeks turned crimson: “Ming meimei, quickly listen to the story, you must not let your imagination run wild.”

 

JiuZhu blinked her large eyes: she obviously didn’t do that.

 

“Madams and young ladies, last time we heard about the handsome prince’s betrothal to the noble family’s honored Young Miss.” As soon as the female storyteller tapped on the wooden table, everyone’s attention was focused on her.

 

“The handsome prince was so majestic and graceful that countless women of the capital admired him wholeheartedly.” The storyteller sighed: “However, there was one person who harbored hard feelings towards the handsome prince and made things difficult for him at every turn.”

 

JiuZhu lowered her head and peeled the peanuts. The peanuts of this teahouse are fried pretty well.

 

“The evil prince took advantage of his position and bullied the handsome prince in the middle of the street. He was extremely rude.”

 

The more JiuZhu listened, the more she felt that something was odd about the story. She frowned at the storyteller who was still talking non-stop.

 

“The handsome prince couldn’t bear to harm the camaraderie between brothers, so he didn’t bicker with the evil prince…”

 

“Hold on.” JiuZhu interrupted the storyteller, “I don’t like this story, change it.”

 

“Guniang, although there are only a few customers here, I cannot change the story at will.” The woman looked at JiuZhu: “It must be guniang’s first time here so you don’t that a lot of the young female customers are fond of this handsome prince.”

 

“I don’t like the handsome prince.” JiuZhu poured out the money in her pouch: “Tell me a story about an evil prince who spends his life as he wishes, has a lot of offsprings, and is loved and respected by countless people.”

 

“Guniang, you- this…”

 

“Come one, tell me.” JiuZhu put the silver in front of the storyteller. Seeing that she still didn’t speak, JiuZhu put a few more pieces of silver.

 

“Of course! Satisfying the requirements of the customer is what we storytellers must do.” She put the money into her clothes and changed her words: “It is said that although the evil prince may seem arrogant and domineering, all of that, is in fact, only a disguise. Actually, his heart is filled with kindness, righteousness, and benevolence…”

 

In the Imperial Palace, a palace maid whispered in Ning Fei’s ear: “Niangniang, this servant has given the book to that female storyteller. Many women are already very fond of that story. I believe that the prince’s good name will spread among countless women before long.”

 

“Well done.” Ning Fei smiled with satisfaction.

 

The world did not understand how powerful a woman’s mouth and ears were. They were the wives and mothers of men after all.

 

Soon, the recounts of Chen Wang’s domineering and preposterous behavior will take root deep within the hearts of the common people.

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1T/N: Just extra (but interesting ehehe) info, you can skip if you like. In Chinese culture, each lunar year is associated with an animal that represents an astrological sign. Known for being loyal and honest, the dog is associated with the 11th year in the cyclic 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar. Women born in the Year of the Dog are very cautious. They are indifferent towards people they don’t like, and don’t trust easily; but once they do, it’s permanent (much like our XiaoZhu with her fiancè and soon-to-be mom-in-law). They are intensely protective of their friends and family, genial, independent, love outdoor activities and being in nature. However, they are also hard workers and don’t give up until they succeed. [Source: chinesenewyear.net]2T/N: Again, not particularly relevant info ahead: Monkey is associated with the ninth zodiac sign of the 12-year lunar circle. As everyone can already expect, people born in the Year of the Monkey are mischievous, curious, witty, and crafty opportunists. They are fast learners and very active.3Right Assistant Minister [右侍郎] – In ancient China, dating back to the Qin dynasty, every position of ministers in the court was divided into two sides: right and left. So, Zhou Rui and Ming JingZhou hold the same position.