A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City-Chapter 110

If the Lingzhou Ming family had even a shred of shame, they would never dare show their faces. Yet not only did they feel no remorse, they even resented the Capital City Ming family.

"Jiuzhu, if Prince Chen knew the truth about your background, do you think he would still protect you?" In desperation, Ming Zhenyu played her last card. "Your family hid the fact that you were lost among commoners for over a decade just to marry you into the imperial family. Who knows if you had a sweetheart before returning to the Capital City? Or if you were entangled with other men?"

"So this is your big secret?" Shen Ying laughed as if hearing a joke. "The Ming family has served the nation with unwavering loyalty. Why would we resort to such underhanded tactics for wealth and status?"

They had concealed their daughter’s past only to spare her from gossip. Moreover, when the Emperor first expressed interest in a marriage alliance with the Ming family, they had already disclosed everything to him. How could this be called deception?

"Whether it’s deception or not is for His Majesty to decide," Shen Ying’s voice turned icy. "If Prince Chen were to distrust Jiuzhu over such trivial matters, the Ming family would willingly petition for her annulment from the royal family."

"You’re just putting on a brave front for me." Ming Zhenyu’s panic deepened. She shook her head in denial. "Impossible. How could the imperial family allow a woman raised outside noble circles to become a princess consort?"

"Because she bears the Ming name, carries the blood of the Capital City Ming family, and embodies the finest qualities of both the Ming and Shen lineages." Shen Ying stepped down from the carriage, tilting her chin slightly as she regarded Ming Zhenyu. "You’ve never even seen the Capital City, let alone understood the imperial family’s ways. Don’t presume to decipher their thoughts just because you’ve read a few cheap novels about royalty."

"Your Lingzhou Ming family couldn’t even produce a single provincial graduate, yet here you are, worrying about the imperial family’s affairs." Shen Ying let out a light laugh—devoid of any particular meaning, yet Ming Zhenyu heard nothing but boundless mockery.

She was ridiculing the Lingzhou Ming family’s decline, their lack of worldly experience, their incompetence—she was mocking everything about them.

Jiuzhu sat silently inside the carriage. Her mother, usually gentle and smiling, was someone no one dared provoke once angered.

Since meeting His Highness, she had never once worried that he might mind her past. Was growing up in a Taoist temple something to be ashamed of?

At first, she had approached him with no expectations, only the desire to give.

Her master had said: "Too many expectations breed fear. Only those without desire are truly strong."

Resting her chin on the carriage window frame, Jiuzhu wondered—was she still without desire now?

The sound of approaching hoofbeats caught her attention. Turning her head, her face lit up with joy.

A white steed, a figure clad in violet robes—even from a distance, his noble and proud bearing was unmistakable.

Behind him rode sword-bearing guards, their presence bold and vivid, impossible to ignore.

"Jiuzhu." Prince Chen spotted her by the window. Dismounting, he strode over and met her gaze. "Come."

He stretched out his arms. "Jump. I’ll catch you."

"Alright." Jiuzhu stepped onto the seat, climbed through the window, and leaped into Prince Chen’s arms. He caught her effortlessly, then turned to Shen Ying with a respectful bow. "Duqing greets Mother-in-law."

"Your Highness." Shen Ying returned the courtesy with a smile. "What brings you here?"

"I came to take Jiuzhu back to the palace. Your servants mentioned you’d gone to Changfeng Slope, so I thought I’d check." Prince Chen accepted two cloaks from his guards—one handed to Shen Ying, the other draped over Jiuzhu’s shoulders. "The wind is strong here. Did Mother-in-law and Jiuzhu come to… admire the scenery?"

This desolate wilderness, with its unremarkable hills and streams, hardly offered anything worth admiring.

"An old acquaintance requested a meeting, so we had no choice but to come," Shen Ying replied, her usual gentle demeanor restored. "Thank you for making the trip, Your Highness."

An old acquaintance?

Only then did Prince Chen notice Ming Zhenyu standing opposite Shen Ying. Wasn’t this the impostor who had once claimed a false identity?

"Finished talking?" he murmured to Jiuzhu.

"Finished… I think?" Jiuzhu adjusted her cloak and looked up at Ming Zhenyu. "That benefactor you mentioned earlier—was he the one who saved you in Huaxi River?"

Ming Zhenyu tensed. "How do you know that?"

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Jiuzhu pressed further. "Are you certain it was really him who saved you?"

"Of course." Ming Zhenyu averted her gaze. "Do you think I’d mistake my own savior?"

"Oh." Jiuzhu nodded but didn’t pursue the matter further.

What did "oh" mean?

Ming Zhenyu’s heart pounded, but she forced herself to appear calm, lest Shen Ying and her daughter detect her unease.

In her panic, she turned to Prince Chen. "Do you know that your princess consort wasn’t merely fostered by the Ming family? She was lost among commoners—her past is unclear!"

Shen Ying watched Ming Zhenyu, whose face now bore a frenzied excitement.

This fool had actually said it.

Since arriving in the Capital City, Jiuzhu had lived under the Emperor’s watchful eye. His Majesty and the Empress knew her character well. The Great Cheng dynasty was open-minded—women weren’t subjected to such harsh scrutiny. The imperial annals even recorded instances of princes marrying widows as their principal consorts. Why did Ming Zhenyu think such a trivial matter could ruin a woman’s life?

Prince Chen’s expression remained unchanged. He simply gazed at Jiuzhu for a long moment before casting a disdainful glance at Ming Zhenyu.

"What concern is it of yours?"

"Have you never suspected that she might have been involved with other men before coming to the Capital City?" Seeing that her words had not achieved the desired effect, Ming Zhenyu grew impatient. "You are a prince—there’s no shortage of women for you. Why insist on one with such a dubious background?"

Prince Chen frowned and fell silent.

Ming Zhenyu’s heart leaped with joy. As expected, no man in this world could overlook a woman’s past.

"What are you all standing around for? Arrest this woman who slandered a member of the imperial family and throw her into prison." After his father and father-in-law’s "patient guidance," he had long memorized the laws of the Great Dynasty by heart.

A mature man knew how to use the law to protect his princess in front of her.

"What?" Ming Zhenyu’s eyes widened in disbelief. This Prince Chen, with his striking handsome features, how could he act so ruthlessly?

"Yes, Your Highness!" The Imperial Guards obeyed immediately, swiftly binding Ming Zhenyu and gagging her without so much as a second glance.

"Next time you encounter such a madwoman, don’t waste words on her," Prince Chen turned to Jiuzhu. "We are of the imperial family—we must act with pride and aloofness."

"Is someone like her even worthy of speaking to you?" Noticing Jiuzhu’s silence, he lifted her onto the horse, mounted behind her, and pulled her into his embrace. "Let’s escort your mother home first, then return to the palace."

The young woman nestled against him, even the little hair bun atop her head looking utterly adorable. He tightened his hold, resting his chin gently on her head.

"Little Ming Pig."

"Hmm?"

"Don’t overthink things. This prince treasures you dearly."

The horse lazily stamped its hoof and nibbled at the grass by the roadside, utterly at ease.

Everything was peaceful and beautiful.

Shen Ying glanced at her daughter and Prince Chen on horseback before bending down to re-enter the carriage.

It was as if everyone had forgotten Ming Zhenyu—or perhaps no one cared about her at all.

Ming Jisi crouched by the city gate, waiting for his sister to return. Not that he was particularly concerned for her well-being; he was eager to know how much wealth she had extorted from the Ming family in the Capital City.

After waiting for nearly an hour, he saw his sister being marched through the gate, bound and escorted by a group of sword-bearing guards. The guards exchanged a few words with the gatekeepers, whose faces instantly paled. Without so much as a question, they let the group pass.

When Ming Zhenyu glanced in his direction, he quickly ducked behind a vendor’s stall, afraid the guards might drag him away too.

His father was right—women were useless. She had barely stepped out before landing herself in serious trouble. He turned and bolted, only calming down once he had hidden back in his courtyard.

No, if his sister was implicated in a crime, it could jeopardize his chances in the imperial exams. He had to find a way to get her out.

Ming Jiyuan was on his way home from duty at the Court of Judicial Review when he spotted Prince Chen riding with Jiuzhu, followed by guards dragging a bound figure. "Your Highness, Jiuzhu, what’s going on?"

"Jiyuan," Shen Ying lifted the carriage curtain. "We’ll discuss it at home."

"Understood." Ming Jiyuan glanced briefly at the captive woman before looking away.

Shen Ying had called him Jiyuan?

Was he Ming Jiyuan?

Ming Zhenyu lowered her head further, not letting him see her face clearly.

The person she hated most wasn’t Shen Ying or Ming Jingzhou—it was Ming Jiyuan.

He was the one who made her realize that sisters didn’t always have to yield to their brothers, that they didn’t have to obey their brothers’ every whim.

Yet on the day she was driven back to Lingzhou, he had glared at her with pure hatred.

["Your family lost my sister! You’ll pay for this."]

["You’re not my sister. My sister would never stoop to impersonation."]

But what was wrong with that? The Ming family in the Capital City had power and status. Every man for himself—wasn’t that the way of the world?

Suddenly, Jiuzhu turned her head toward a nearby teahouse.

"What is it?"

"It’s the Fourth Prince."

Prince Chen looked up and saw Yun Yanze seated by the second-floor window.

Dressed in black, Yun Yanze seemed surprised that Jiuzhu had noticed him. After a brief pause, he smiled faintly and nodded at them.