Chapter 38: Passing Off Fish Eyes as Pearls
"Yao Mowan! You're too heartless!" When Ye Junqing saw that Yao Mowan had nothing to say, he slapped the table and got up. Just as he was about to leave, Yao Mowan called him back.
"Ahem… Since Prince is talking about feelings with this empress, then this empress will stop mentioning money." The moment Yao Mowan said this, Ye Junqing immediately returned to his seat and looked towards her with his eyes sparkling.
"Really?" Ye Junqing rubbed his eyes. He seemed to see a Bodhisattva sitting in front of him.
"Of course. It damages feelings too much to talk about money!" Yao Mowan nodded earnestly.
"Then you have a way to help this prince reject this marriage?" Ye Junqing had never found Yao Mowan's figure as tall and lofty as he did now.
"There is a way, but…" Yao Mowan lifted her brows and her eyes curved with her smile.
"Didn't you say that you wouldn't talk about money?" Ye Junqing immediately narrowed his eyes.
"If Prince can convince Yan Nansheng to help resolve the troubles that Mowan is facing in Mangyuan, this empress guarantees that not even the Heavenly Emperor would be able to take you away!" declared Yao Mowan solemnly as if she was making a vow.
The smile that stiffened in Ye Junqing's face gradually shattered piece by piece as three black lines dropped down on his forehead.
"Why don't you ask yourself?" Ye Junqing finally understood one truth now, which was: even if he waited until the end of time, Yao Mowan would never have any mercy!
"Isn't it all because he won't see this empress?" Yao Mowan tugged at Ye Junqing's wide sleeve childishly as she spoke in a beautifully gentle voice.
"Then do you think he really wants to see this prince?" replied Ye Junqing. As of now, to Yan Nansheng, Yao Mowan, Ye Junqing, and Yin Xue were like the three biggest stars of calamity in his life. He avoided them like the plague!
"Mowan has faith that Prince will definitely find a way, unless Prince wishes to become Bactria's son-in-law or is able to take out five thousand taels of gold." Yao Mowan returned to the main topic and stopped haggling with Ye Junqing.
"Yao Mowan! If this prince had money, this prince definitely wouldn't talk about feelings with you!" Each one of Ye Junqing's words came out like blood from a swan's mouth, filled with grief and indignance. Once Ye Junqing stormed off, Yao Mowan knew that this deal was a success.
The first autumn rain fell like gentle feathers, chasing away the torrid heat of summer and calming the heart.
Inside the imperial garden, Xia Furong was jogging to keep up with Ye Junqing. She extended her sleeves to help block the rain for Ye Junqing, but Ye Junqing had no desire to interact with her and reflexively started walking faster to the pavilion.
"This rain came so fast." Xia Furong smoothed out the hair that fell over her shoulders as she looked towards Ye Junqing with a sigh. During these past few days, no matter how eagerly attentive she was or how she ingratiated herself, she wasn't able to get a single trace of a smile from Ye Junqing. Even though she had the wedding contract, she was still a little worried.
"Wonder if Prince remembers? The first time Furong met Prince, it was also in the rain. At that time, it was the battle of Changping. Prince had passed through Bactria. For the sake of catching a glimpse of you, Prince, Furong had snuck out of the imperial palace to wait on the road where the army was marching through. At that time, the rain had also drizzled this way. However, for the sake of seeing you, Prince, Furong couldn't bear to leave. Finally…" Just as Xia Furong was getting into her narration, Ah Bi suddenly called out to her.
"Princess, you…" Before Ah Bi could finish what she was saying, Xia Furong had shot her a warning glare. Ah Bi immediately stopped speaking, but a conflicted expression remained on her face.
When Xia Furong turned back around and saw that Ye Junqing was staring at her, she was delighted. She thought that her story had touched Ye Junqing, so she immediately continued talking about it.
"Furong was finally able to see Prince's valiant appearance. In the drizzling rain, Prince had appeared like a descended celestial riding on the wind. The shining silver armor complemented Prince's imposing manner magnificently. It was at that time that…" Just as Xia Furong was reveling in these memories, Ye Junqing finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Junqing feels that perhaps Princess should change into different garments," reminded Ye Junqing out of good intentions. When Xia Furong heard this, she froze, then glanced down, only to find that her moon white garment had actually been dyed with a rainbow of colors. The rainbow scales on her shoulders had already become crow-black. She looked closer and found that they were clearly just iron! As for the blood red pearls on her skirt, their true identities were revealed after the colors were washed off. They were just the most worthless type of green marbles!
"How could this be?" Xia Furong was stunned, then she suddenly recalled that Ye Junqing was next to her and immediately covered her face while running back to Harmony Palace.
Inside Guan Osprey Palace, Yao Mowan was currently sitting by herself by the window. Her clear eyes were filled with distress.
"Your Imperial Highness, what's wrong?" Ting Yue draped a purple cloak over Yao Mowan's shoulders as she asked this worriedly.
"This autumn rain came a little early. This empress still hasn't tricked Xia Furong into giving this empress that phoenix hairpin yet. What a shame, what a shame!" As Yao Mowan lamented in a disappointed tone, Ting Yue almost tripped.
Right at this time, a burst of noise came from the main hall.
"Princess, Her Imperial Highness is currently resting, please return later or allow this servant to first make a report…" Liu Xing did all he could, but he wasn't able to stop Xia Furong who was frenzied with rage.
"Yao Mowan! You imbecile! Get out here! Get out!" The rims of Xia Furong's eyes seemed about to crack and her sinister appearance was as frightening as the face of a demon.
"Princess, this is the imperial palace of great Chu and the place where you're standing is where the empress of Chu lives. If you continue to speak so rudely, Liu Xing will be reporting this to His Majesty. There is no way His Majesty will allow our master to suffer grievances!" Although Liu Xing didn't dare to do anything to Xia Furong, there was no way he could tolerate Xia Furong cursing his master like this.
"Suffer grievances? Did this princess hear that right? She, Yao Mowan, would suffer grievances? Didn't you say you were going to call King Chu? Go! You should go call King Chu right now! This princess wants to confront Yao Mowan! Everyone says that Yao Mowan is a fool, but that's only because they're blind!" Xia Furong roared at Liu Xing so loudly that Liu Xing felt a headache.
"Liu Xing, head outside to guard the door." A leisurely voice came from inside the bedroom. Yao Mowan stretched lazily, then walked towards Xia Furong.
"Yao Mowan! You actually dare to come out to see this princess? Return the pearls and gold scales to this princess! Give them all back!" Xia Furong was like a lion whose bloody mouth was stretched wide open with the desire to just eat Yao Mowan alive.
"Why should I?" Yao Mowan was completely unconcerned as she slowly walked to the chaise lounge to sit down, then picked up Fluffy. Perhaps it was because Fluffy had been with Yao Mowan a long time because Fluffy was becoming more and more unperturbed by things. However, Jewel had immediately scuttled off the moment Xia Furong rushed in.
"You actually have the nerve to ask why? Ah Bi, show it to her!" Xia Furong stormed over to Yao Mowan, her expression cold as frost. At this time, Ah Bi had already carried that hideously dyed garment over.
"What happened to this garment?" asked Yao Mowan, her eyes wide.
"What happened? Look for yourself! This was the rainbow-colored scales and blood pearls you traded to this princess! They're all fake! Do you admit to it!?" Xia Furong grabbed the garment and threw it at Yao Mowan's feet while shouting angrily.
"I admit to it. It was this empress that traded them to you. Is there a problem?" Yao Mowan looked towards Xia Furong with an innocent expression as she asked this in a tone of disagreement.
"Can't you see the problem yourself? These are all fake! You used these crappy pieces of iron to trade for this princess's pearls and gold scales! Yao Mowan, give the things you tricked out of this princess back and perhaps this princess will let this matter go. Otherwise, this princess will definitely go to King Chu and expose you! This princess will make the entire world know that you're not a fool at all, that you're just pretending to be a fool!" How could Xia Furong remain calm? Her imperial father had borrowed those things from King Qi. If she lost them, how were they supposed to return them?
"One, when we first traded, Mowan had asked more than once if you were willing. There's probably no need for Mowan to remind you about your answer, right? Two, you should go just find His Majesty now! Mowan is the empress of Chu while you're nothing but a princess from a poor nation. Whose side do you think His Majesty will lean toward? Moreover, how are you certain that His Majesty doesn't know I'm only pretending to be a fool? And how would you guarantee that His Majesty will believe your words?" The questions Yao Mowan voiced left Xia Furong completely helpless without any answers.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
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