Pearl Legend Chapter 10

On that particular day they spent the whole day at the lake together from dawn to dusk which was followed by a visit to the ale house for a good meal before they parted ways. However, as Shen Zhenzhu had only recently recovered from her poisoning so after her bath, she weakly lay on the chaise and picked up a random book to read. Su Ci bid her leave after serving tea.

Li Chu slowly sipped the tea as he watched her read the book “A record of Criminal Justice.” It was only a book discussing the different kinds of criminal cases, so he didn’t know why she was so interested in it. Two small crescent shadow fluttered against her face where her eyelashes were, her eyes which were hidden beneath them was filled with a bright light that was so clean that there was not a single grain of darkness within them. Her whole body seemed to be bathed in a soft gentle glow. Something within his heart seemed to soften and unable to control himself, he slowly moved closer to her until he was sat right next to her. He reached an arm over and gently pulled her into his arms.

The night was like cold water. As it was already a night in May, the flowers that should have blossomed had begun to blossom and the vegetation that should be turned green had turned green. He could only hope that this peace can last forever.

He didn’t know how long it was, perhaps for an eternity, but it also felt as if it only lasted in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, they heard someone knock on the door. “What is it?” Li Chu demanded.

It was Yu Shu who answered with a quivering voice, ” Your Highness, Lady Cui would like to invite His Highness over….”

Li Chu had never spent the night with Cui Caiping at her Liuli pavilion after their marriage so Cui Caiping’s action was considered to be rude. The beauty in his arms froze at Yu Shu’s words and he responded by wrapping his arm tighter around her as he silently vowed that if she stopped him from going, as long as she stopped him from leaving….

For a moment, he felt a sheen of cold sweat all over his back as he anxiously awaited her response. “How have I become like this? How could I ignore the impact this will have? How am I not planning for my future?” There was so much he was willing to do, yet he was willing to sink so low, as long as she told him not to go.

Suddenly he felt his arms feel lighter, somehow she cleverly maneuvered herself out of his embrace and turned her back to him. She raised a hand to gently tuck her hair behind her ears before spitting out, “Go.”

He felt as if his heart was a heavy stone that dropped right down to the abyss. Even though it was already at the bottom, but it felt as if it could drop further as if it was bottomless. The words he overheard in the day now replayed again and again in his mind. She did not love him; there was someone else in her heart. She only saw him as her husband and what she was doing was carrying out her duty as his wife. He was Prince Guangping and she his Princess Consort. That was all. She was merely being a dutiful wife by pushing him into the arms of another woman. Since she was young, she had always been intelligent so of course she knew how to be a good Princess Consort.

He glanced down at the two cups called “Like Jade”. When he first set eyes on them, they seemed so gentle and pure but now their alabaster white colour was too bright, the slight green colouring on them an ugly defect to the jade, its brightness made it look like a replica of the real thing. He felt annoyance rise through his body, twisting his heart so much so that all he wanted to do was overturn the side table with a hand or made a kick and then kick those servants by the door to the ends of the earth. But in the end he did none of that. Instead he made himself presentable before coldly informing her that he was going and then leaving through the door. A cold breeze swept into the room. The flame of the red candle battled against it in order to stay alight but to no avail, in the end it was extinguished.

After that night, Li Chu was just as busy as before, returning once every three to five days but he never visited Qingyi pavilion again. In the few times he spent the night at home, he would spend all of them at the Liuli pavilion. On the other hand, Murong Linzhi would visit Shen Zhenzhu frequently. Although Shen Zhenzhu eventually made a full recovery but she had lost a significant amount of weight whilst she did so. When she observed how differently Li Chu treated Shen Zhenzhu, she was confused and surprised but as she was involved in this matter, she did not feel she could talk about it. 

On a day when Li Chu was also at the manor, Li Yan and Murong Linzhi visited early in the morning. Murong Linzhi had just stepped foot in the Qingyi pavilion, when Dugu Jin entered the room with three other maidservants behind her, each carrying the elaborate clothing and accessories of the formal court dress of a Princess Consort. “Please can Your Highness change into your court dress, His Majesty has summoned you.”

Murong Linzhi turned around with a smile, “Today is a good day. His Majesty has just returned to the Imperial Palace yesterday so he must have missed you.” As she spoke, she started to leave and headed to the direction of Prince Guangping’s study. Inside the study, Prince Guangping had already changed into his formal dress and was engaged in conversation with her husband Li Yan. When she called his name, he hurriedly finished his conversation with Li Chu before bidding his leave and leaving the manor with his wife.

“What do you think? Do you think the two of them are as in love as we are?” he asked his wife as they headed out.

“I think your elder brother has fallen in love this time,” Murong Linzhi replied with a mysterious smile.

“Fallen in love? With who?” Li Yan gawked.

“Of course it’s with Shen Zhenzhu,” Murong Linzhi replied with a roll of her eyes.

“But I heard that elder brother has been doting on Cui Caiping recently. That is so strange. I remember that things were going well before the Dragon Boat Festival. Chu has had a change of heart so quickly, it only took a night of passion….”he finished his sentence with a mischievous smile.

Murong Linzhi paused for a moment, unsure how to answer before finally spitting out, “I don’t understand either. But from what I’ve seen lately he has clearly fallen in love with Shen Zhenzhu at first sight. He cares about her a lot but he….your elder brother is becoming more and more mysterious, unlike you…..”she poked his forehead with a jade like finger, “you speak what is on your mind, can read you like a book.”

Li Yan smiled, “Of course, elder brother will ascend the throne one day. As for me, I don’t want to fight for that position and I won’t be able to win against him anyway. I will be happy and content if I can be as carefree as I am now forever.”