The Pearl on the Emperor’s Crown

Chapter 19 – Contraceptive Pill

Zhu Zhen’an’s meeting place was once again on the top floor of the Luminous Building; he simply loved the feeling of overlooking the bright moonlit night of the capital.

When Xie Ying arrived, apart from the crown prince and Zhu Zhen’an, Yan Yu’er was also there. She was dressed in a light blue male outfit, looking like a young gentleman with red lips and white teeth, but her demeanour was charming and naive.

It so happened that Xie Ying was also wearing light blue thin silk robes with a summer jacket embroidered with clouds. 

“Hah, cousins are always such kindred spirits,” Zhu Zhen’an said jokingly. 

Yan Yu’er loved hearing those words. She pursed her lips into a smile and sat down at the right-hand side of Xie Ying. “Your Highness.”

Xie Ying absent-mindedly hummed in acknowledgement.

The crown prince sat on the other side of Xie Ying. “Ah Ying, why didn’t you bring Xi Zhen with you?” He asked. On his way to the capital, the crown prince met Xie Ying’s team of guards and knew that he had brought Zhu Yi alone to the capital for pleasure, but he wasn’t fazed by it.

“The princess has eaten too much ice and is not feeling well,” Xie Ying replied.

“Which inn are you staying at?” The crown prince asked, frowning. 

Xie Ying looked at the crown prince and gave the name.

Yan Yu’er also took note of it mentally. Immediately afterwards, she became spirited and lifted her glass of wine to toast the crown prince. “When I return to the palace in a couple of days, Younger Cousin Yu’er will have to come with me,” the crown prince said with a smile. “When imperial grandmother heard that you’d entered the capital, she ordered me to make sure that you were brought there.”

“Got it, Imperial Elder Cousin,” Yan Yu’er replied with a grin. She offered Xie Ying another toast. Xie Ying only drank one glass, and when she toasted again, he stopped paying attention.

Wen Yan went straight to Xie Ying. The prince had many people at his disposal and a great deal of energy and it would be far quicker than her searching alone. The longer the princess was in the hands of the criminals, the more harm she might suffer, so Wen Yan dared not delay.

After listening to Wen Yan’s report, Xie Ying turned his head and gave her a look. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his expression but Wen Yan knew that if something happened to the princess, the prince would skin her alive. She was the most skilled martial artist in the women’s barracks, and the prince had trusted her to guard the princess.

She was willing to let him chastise her, but all she wanted to do now was to get the princess back quickly. In the two days she had spent with her, the princess hadn’t been arrogant at all, just a soft and kind-hearted young girl.

Xie Ying didn’t go back to the room to inform the crown prince and the rest, he left directly.

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Zhu Yi’s face felt ice-cold and wet. Someone had wrung a towel to wipe her face and was also trying to get her awake as soon as possible. She opened her eyes and straightened her head up from its resting position against one shoulder and scrutinised the person in front of her. “Xie Ying?”

“…I’m Rong Xiao,” the young man had to say.

“Rong Xiao? Oh, yes – we were drinking,” Zhu Yi’s tongue felt swollen.  She was usually a good drinker, and she should never have gotten this drunk so easily.

Perhaps it was better to ask when she was sober, but if it was the usual Zhu Yi, Rong Xiao didn’t think that he would be able to ask. He supported Zhu Yi, who had her head hanging down, and lifted her face. “Princess, you must listen to this official’s advice this time. You mustn’t let Xie Ying get close to you again.”

“Huh?” Zhu Yi’s mind occasionally buzzed for a little while, and she didn’t hear anything clearly earlier.

Rong Xiao thought that Zhu Yi had heard his words. “Did Xie Ying…has he ever given you contraceptive pills?” He asked, his voice acerbic. The princess was trapped in the palace. Of course, Xie Ying was the only one who could get these things for her.

With Zhu Yi’s state of confusion, she couldn’t ponder on what Rong Xiao had asked. Besides, this question was really abrupt. No matter what, Zhu Yi also wouldn’t be thinking of such a thing.

Under Rong Xiao’s questioning, Zhu Yi looked bewildered. “No, no, gave me…comb to play with.”

Rong Xiao immediately found it hard to constrain the overflowing fury in his heart. Xie Ying only cared about his own enjoyment and comfort. Did he even have the slightest bit of consideration for the princess? What could the princess do if she became pregnant? How would others despise her? Rong Xiao only hated that he had no abilities. He couldn’t kill Xie Ying with his martial arts skills, and he also didn’t dare to kill Xie Ying. If Xie Ying died, there was no telling what kind of changes would be caused by the tigers in the northwest and the power-hungry warlords of the vassal states who were biding their time.

Looking at Zhu Yi, Rong Xiao finally couldn’t resist embracing her. “Princess, don’t be afraid, I will help you,” he said, full of emotion. Although Zhu Yi was very drunk, she knew that men and women were different, and she was unfamiliar with this embrace and scent, so she instinctively tried to break free. As soon as Zhu Yi struggled, Rong Xiao quickly let her go.

The doctor who hurriedly arrived saw a woman’s hand peeking out from the verdant muslin canopy veil of the dark sandalwood-frame bed. He held the snow-white wrist through the thin silk and carefully checked the pulse. “Third Master, this young lady is not pregnant.”

Rong Xiao’s brow relaxed slightly before he heard the doctor say, “However, I don’t know how long ago Third Master and the young lady had intercourse, but after this intercourse, it will take more than a month at the earliest to diagnose.”

Rong Xiao calculated the time when Xie Ying had entered the capital. It was almost a month, which meant that the diagnosis could not be made yet. “Do you have any contraceptive pills here?” He asked.

“There are some in the shop,” the doctor replied. “I have to go and get them.”

“Go on, I’ll wait for you here.”

After the doctor left, Rong Xiao sent his maidservant to make a sobering soup. He sat alone outside the bed for a while, his gaze fixed on the canopy veil before he finally took a step and slowly lifted the veil with a slightly trembling hand.

Rong Xiao sat down on the bed and lowered the veil again, shutting both him and Zhu Yi inside, as if he could pretend that he had not disrespected the princess when she woke up.

Zhu Yi’s cheeks were flushed from the wine she had consumed, and the room was sealed shut by Rong Xiao, so she had a little sweat on her forehead and her dark, dense eyelashes fluttered gently. Rong Xiao looked at Zhu Yi’s slightly parted lips and leaned down as if he had been caught in a dream.

A knock on the door outside the room brought Rong Xiao back to his senses, and he hastily jumped out of bed to take the sobering soup that the servant girl had made.

Rong Xiao also knew that he couldn’t detain Zhu Yi for too long without permission. Xie Ying was ordered to protect the princess. He had just and honourable reasons to find his own important people. After feeding the sobering soup to Zhu Yi, Rong Xiao intended to send Zhu Yi back to the inn.

When the cool wind outside blew, Rong Xiao also sobered up. He really became muddle-headed by the stimulation of wine. He couldn’t let the princess know that he had kidnapped her tonight. Rong Xiao was aware that the reason why the princess could trust him in the past was that she believed that he had no distractions. If the princess knew he had such thoughts…

However, Rong Xiao was glad that he knew Zhu Yi’s most important secret. With this, Zhu Yi couldn’t easily break off contact with him.

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In the carriage on the way back, Zhu Yi was mostly sober and Rong Xiao had an explanation for the situation in front of him.

Zhu Yi didn’t know that because of her, Xie Ying’s people had turned over the public places in the capital and that the capital’s human traffickers in particular had been subjected to a serious purge.

Xie Ying hurried back to the inn after receiving the news and only let go of the worries in his heart once he confirmed that Zhu Yi had not suffered. After hearing Rong Xiao’s words, Xie Ying looked at him coldly. “So you rescued the princess from two human traffickers by yourself?”

Zhu Yi didn’t like the way Xie Ying was interrogating Rong Xiao, so she answered for him. “That’s exactly what happened.” She also made the decision to let Rong Xiao go back.

As they brushed past, the faint fragrance on Rong Xiao’s body made Xie Ying narrow his eyes. It was the same fragrance on Zhu Yi’s clothes. It would have been impossible for him to acquire the scent unless he had embraced her for a long time.

Rong Xiao’s footsteps suddenly stopped in place. His neck was being pinched by Xie Ying. The young man’s handsome face was distorted with pain. Zhu Yi was so frightened that he hurried to break Xie Ying’s grip. Xie Ying glanced at the panicked Zhu Yi. He released his grip and said, “Rong Xiao, if it weren’t for the sake of the princess and Rong Ting, I wouldn’t let you go like this.”

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Xie Ying immediately followed Zhu Yi into her room afterwards. Seeing that Zhu Yi wouldn’t even look at him, he asked, “Is Your Highness angry with me because of Rong Xiao?”

“Shouldn’t I be angry? Rong Xiao was kind enough to save me, yet you were rude to him.”

“Princess, you really do trust your two guards.” Xie Ying said. “Your Highness firmly believes in the words of Rong Xiao. But I’m afraid I’ve only been given a little bit of trust instead.”

Zhu Yi said in her heart, ‘It’s only been less than a month since you returned to the capital. Also, you’re taking the initiative to be entangled with me now even though you were completely indifferent to me before.’

With such a big contrast, she was naturally unable to trust him with her heart and soul.

Xie Ying knew what Zhu Yi was thinking.“I heard from Wen Yan that when Rong Xiao was separated from Your Highness, he was already drunk and unconscious; no different from a dead man,” he said. “But in such a short time, he regained his sobriety and rescued Your Highness from the hands of a human trafficker?” Xie Ying snorted. “He lured Wen Yan away himself and then ordered his subordinates to kidnap Your Highness. In such a short and coincidental time, no one but Rong Xiao could have done that.”

This remark really hit the nail on the head. Zhu Yi also realised that there was something really strange with the matter but she said, “But Rong Xiao didn’t need to do this at all. If he wanted to see me, I would have gone to the appointment.”

If he wanted to see me, I would have gone to the appointment.

Their intimacy was clear to see. Xie Ying pulled out a lukewarm smile. “But what if he doesn’t just want to meet Your Highness?” He asked. “It’s rare for Your Highness to get so drunk.”

Zhu Yi trembled with anger at his frivolous suggestion. “Do you think that everyone is like you?”

Rong Xiao always strictly maintained proper etiquette with her.

Xie Ying didn’t answer Zhu Yi’s question, but suddenly said, “Show me.”

“Show what?” Zhu Yi didn’t react to his words.

Xie Ying didn’t answer. Of course, it was to check if his darling had been stained by a covetous person. If Rong Xiao dared to touch Zhu Yi, even with Rong Ting’s connections, he wouldn’t spare him lightly.

Xie Ying hooped Zhu Yi’s waist and pressed her on top of the bed. There was no trace of purple marks on the girl’s neck. He peeled open the front lapel of Zhu Yi’s clothes, and her exposed shoulders were clean. Xie Ying didn’t stop there. With a little force from his hand, the thin and delicate chain of her undergarment top that was around Zhu Yi’s neck broke, and the last piece of fabric covering her chest was scrunched up and thrown out.

Xie Ying’s speed had always been beyond reach. Zhu Yi became aware of the slight chill she suddenly felt on her torso and she cried out fearfully and wrapped her arms around her front, trying to cover herself.

Even though Xie Ying had always been a man of reason over emotion and desire, he was still in a trance at the sight of the appetizing red plums in the middle of the snow.