CH 9

There is a saying of accidental encounters, and there is also a saying that when rivals meet on a narrow path, only the brave will win.

Ban Hua rode on horseback as Xie Wanyu was descending from a sedan chair. Their gazes clashed against each other and Ban Hua could clearly see the ridicule and triumph in the other’s eyes.

Why was she so proud of herself just because she was about to become an Imperial Prince’s Consort (huángzǐ fēi)?

Becoming an Imperial Prince’s Consort wasn’t worth a damn thing. Anyway, in a few years, this whole realm will not belong to those surnamed Jiang. Besides, the kind of rotten hearted man that Jiang Luo was, if it was not because of his distinguished status, even if he were gifted to her to be a male pet, she wouldn’t want him.

“Ban Xiangjun, what a coincidence!” Xie Wanyu stroked the big pearl hanging on her earlobe and looked at Ban Hua with a rosy complexion. Then, seeing that Ban Hua’s earrings were a pair of blood-red gemstones, she dropped her hand and said unenthusiastically, “Why haven’t I seen you come out to play recently?”

“Wrong,” Ban Hua shook her index finger. “It’s not Xiangjun, it’s Jun Princess.”

Hearing this, Xie Wanyu covered the corner of her mouth, smiled and said, “Look at my memory! I had forgotten that you profited from your misfortune and were bestowed the title of Jun Princess. Many congratulations! “

Merely a Jun Princess. In this Daye Imperial dynasty she was not the only Jun Princess. So what was she so proud of? Besides, after the spring of next year, when she married the Second Prince, this little bitch no matter how arrogant she was, would have to obediently salute her.

Misfortune? What misfortune?

It’s nothing more than to laugh at the fact that she was jilted. Ban Hua didn’t even care about this little thing, so Xie Wanyu’s words had no effect on her. Ban Hua played with the whip in her hand and casually said, “Young Lady Xie is dressed really nice today. Have Xie Ergongzi’s* eyes gotten better yet?”

When fighting with people, Ban Hua never beat around the bush. As long as people ridiculed her in a roundabout way, she would taunt them back mercilessly, and furthermore, she would poke them in their sore spots without any attention to maintaining aristocratic elegance and grace. With this invincible skill, not many ladies in the capital dared to provoke her.

Xie Wanyu dared to sting her like this today because she felt that even Ban Hua, no matter how arrogant she was, would not dare to offend her as she was on the verge of becoming the Second Prince’s Imperial Consort.

Who knew that she had underestimated Ban Hua’s courage and brainlessness and Ban Hua had even dared to speak about the issue with Second Brother’s eye to her face. This woman was indeed a poisonous beauty. All said and done, she had in the past been engaged to Second Brother but now that Second Brother had hurt his eye, she was taking pleasure in his misfortune like this. It was really extremely hateful.

But even if she was dissatisfied, she couldn’t allow herself to flare up at the moment. She was the future Imperial Prince’s consort and she must be dignified and magnanimous. Before marrying the second prince, she could not let her conduct fall short by even a single step. She does not want to be jilted by her fiance before she gets married like Ban Hua had, and become the object of ridicule among people in the city.

“Thank you, Jun Princess, for your concern. Second Brother is quite well.” said Xie Wanyu, taking a deep breath and barely squeezing out a smile.

“Miss Xie, please go upstairs. Our family’s young lady is waiting for you in the private room there.” A momo came out of the teahouse next to her. She then saw Ban Hua and saluted her. “Greetings to Ban Jun Princess.”

Ban Hua recognized that this momo was a person who served beside Shi Feixian. She glanced at the teahouse next to her, and nodding at the momo, left without looking back.

Ban Heng, who hadn’t spoken from beginning to end, deliberately made a scoffing sound, and then walked away following behind his sister’s horse.

Xie Wanyu looked on with an ashen complexion as the two Ban family siblings walked away into the distance, itching to pull them off their horses one after another and stamp them under her feet. However, she couldn’t do anything. So she merely smiled at the old woman who had come to pick her up and said, “Thank you for your trouble. Elder Sister Shi must have been waiting for a long time.”

For the time being, she would endure and continue to endure.

Shi Feixian had asked her momo to receive Xie Wanyu because she had seen Ban Hua just then. After watching Ban Hua riding away through a slit in the window, she turned towards Kangning Junzhu who was beside her and said, “Nowadays, Ban Hua is behaving more and more unbearably arrogant*.”

“She grew up from childhood acting arrogant and wilful. Now that she has had her engagement broken three times by three different men, the words circulating outside are so shameful and naturally she’s decided to smash the cracked jar and is acting madly with nothing to lose.” Kangning Junzhu sneered. “She can’t get married anyway, and she has no choice but to boast and quarrel. “

In terms of relationship, she and Ban Hua were distantly related female cousins. But there was animosity between her family and the Eldest Princess, so her relationship with Ban Hua has not been very good since they were children. She had heard from her mother that when her grandfather, the previous emperor,  wanted to depose the crown prince and establish her father in his place, unexpectedly the Eldest Princess had thrown a wrench in their plans and finally earned favour for her meritorious deeds in front of the present Emperor.

Although their family dared not mention these decades old complaints again, they still have not forgotten the things that the Eldest Princess had done.

As the two young ladies were talking, Xie Wanyu came upstairs. Seeing her two bosom friends, Xie Wanyu’s face suddenly changed, “That little bitch Ban Hua! I really want to tear her mouth.” Recalling the perfectly matched pair of blood jade earrings worn by Ban Hua that set her snow-white and tender face off so well making her complexion seem moist like one could squeeze out water with a single pinch, the hatred in Xie Wanyu’s heart became even stronger.

Jealousy was a raging inferno that could burn up people’s rationality.

“We came here today originally to celebrate your happy occasion. What is the point of talking about such disgusting people?” Kangning Junzhu smiled and invited her to sit down, “This time next year, we will be addressing you as Princess.”

“Well, why are you mentioning these things?” Xie Wanyu said with her cheeks flushed in shyness, “I think you came here today deliberately to make fun of me.” 

“Look at this blush! Today I finally understood what is called flying into anger out of shame*” Shu Feixian reached out and squeezed Xie Wanyu’s cheek, “Congratulations to my sister on her engagement.”

Looking at Xie Wanyu’s bashful and happy appearance, she remembered that she had secretly liked Rong Xia for several years now and felt a bit bitter in her heart. She raised her head to look at Kangning Junzhu and silently tidied the strands of hair near her temples. Don’t think that she didn’t know that Kangning Junzhu too had some intentions towards Count Rong.

In the dead of the night, during the hour of dreams, Ban Hua turned over on her bed and fell into a spell of dreams.

In her dream, she was wearing a thin, unlined garment, looking at a table laden with delicacies and at the man seated by the side of the table, like a fool.

Ban Hua became aware that she was dreaming and looking at herself and a man whose appearance was indistinct from the perspective of a bystander. This kind of feeling was a bit strange, and even stranger, she detected that her other self felt a sense of gratitude towards the man sitting at the table.

Soon she saw herself exiting the house with a thick fur coat on her body. There was a lot of snow outside. She saw a noblewoman laughing and pointing a finger at her, but not really daring to do anything to her.

Then she saw herself die, collapsing on a field of deep snow and her bright red blood splashing on the white snow like a blooming red peony looked extremely beautiful.

Ban Hua couldn’t help but feel that she really was an exceptional beauty. Even if she died, her death was so poignant.

The winter wind blew carrying with it flakes of snow, but in her dream Ban Hua didn’t feel the cold. The wind sobbed like the sound of a woman weeping. She stood in front of her own corpse and looked at the feathered arrow piercing her back. Suddenly she realized, could it be that this is how her last dream ended?

So her future would be this miserable? Not only losing her title, but also losing her life?

Fortunately, the white fox fur on her body looked very expensive, and she did not look too shameful when she died.

“Crunch, creak.”

Suddenly a series of footsteps came from behind and the sound was urgent and chaotic, as if someone had hurried over.

“Master, Master, the Young Lady Ban is gone.” 

Master? Who?

Ban Hua turned around and saw a man in a black fur coat standing behind her. The man looked tall and straight and the hands exposed outside his sleeves were as white and lustrous as jade. Even if she couldn’t see his face, Ban Hua was sure that this must be an outrageously beautiful man.

Though she couldn’t see the man’s face, she heard the man’s voice when he spoke.

“It’s a pity.”

Ban Hua nodded. It really was a pity. After all, she was so beautiful.

“She was a lively person whose like was hard to find in the capital. Make sure she’s buried richly.” Ban Hua breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that not only was this man good looking, but his heart was also very beautiful.

The man turned his head suddenly, as if he saw her standing beside him. She bowed her head to look down at the complicated palace skirt on her body complacently and then straightened her waist.

It was a pity that the other party didn’t see her, but said in a complex tone, “Find out who did it and let people … let people take care of her family well.”

“Boom!”

Ru Yi, the servant girl who was on night duty, hearing a noise from inside the room, hurriedly got up from the couch in a fright and quickly ran into the inner room. She then saw the Jun Princess dressed in only a tunic sitting blankly at the table with a broken teacup lying at her feet.

“Jun Princess, what’s the matter with you?”

“It’s okay, I just had a dream.” Ban Hua suddenly looked up and smiled at her, “It’s okay, go to bed.”

“It’s cold outside, this servant will help you into bed.” Ru Yi lit two small lamps to make the room a little brighter, “It’s still early. “

Ban Hua lay back on the bed and said to Ru Yi, “When did Shizi sleep last night?”

Ru Yi was somewhat taken aback. She was one of the Jun Princess’ maidservants. How would she know the occurrences in the Shizi’s yard? So she had to honestly shake her head.

Ban Hua did not mind and said, “Do we have any  good arctic fox furs in the family? I want to use some to make gloves, a fur coat and a collar. “

“There are only a few good red fox furs in your warehouse, but no arctic fox furs.” Ruyi didn’t understand why Jun Princess, who always liked colorful things, suddenly wanted white fox fur, but as a servant she only needed to meet the requirements of the master.

“I understand. Go to sleep.” Ban Hua pulled the quilt to her chin and closed her eyes thinking how beautiful it would be if she trimmed a red cloak with white fox fur. Wearing a white fox fur with a big red palace skirt would definitely set off her skin beautifully. In winter, she could try dressing like this

A few days later…

“Junzhu,” the stewardess-in-charge looked sadly at Kangning Junzhu, “The fox fur you liked last time has been bought.”

“Who dares to snatch my stuff?”  Kangning Junzhu raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t the people who bought it know that it’s what I had reserved to buy?”

There is a saying of accidental encounters, and there is also a saying that when rivals meet on a narrow path, only the brave will win.

Ban Hua rode on horseback as Xie Wanyu was descending from a sedan chair. Their gazes clashed against each other and Ban Hua could clearly see the ridicule and triumph in the other’s eyes.

Why was she so proud of herself just because she was about to become an Imperial Prince’s Consort (huángzǐ fēi)?

Becoming an Imperial Prince’s Consort wasn’t worth a damn thing. Anyway, in a few years, this whole realm will not belong to those surnamed Jiang. Besides, the kind of rotten hearted man that Jiang Luo was, if it was not because of his distinguished status, even if he were gifted to her to be a male pet, she wouldn’t want him.

“Ban Xiangjun, what a coincidence!” Xie Wanyu stroked the big pearl hanging on her earlobe and looked at Ban Hua with a rosy complexion. Then, seeing that Ban Hua’s earrings were a pair of blood-red gemstones, she dropped her hand and said unenthusiastically, “Why haven’t I seen you come out to play recently?”

“Wrong,” Ban Hua shook her index finger. “It’s not Xiangjun, it’s Jun Princess.”

Hearing this, Xie Wanyu covered the corner of her mouth, smiled and said, “Look at my memory! I had forgotten that you profited from your misfortune and were bestowed the title of Jun Princess. Many congratulations! “

Merely a Jun Princess. In this Daye Imperial dynasty she was not the only Jun Princess. So what was she so proud of? Besides, after the spring of next year, when she married the Second Prince, this little bitch no matter how arrogant she was, would have to obediently salute her.

Misfortune? What misfortune?

It’s nothing more than to laugh at the fact that she was jilted. Ban Hua didn’t even care about this little thing, so Xie Wanyu’s words had no effect on her. Ban Hua played with the whip in her hand and casually said, “Young Lady Xie is dressed really nice today. Have Xie Ergongzi’s* eyes gotten better yet?”

When fighting with people, Ban Hua never beat around the bush. As long as people ridiculed her in a roundabout way, she would taunt them back mercilessly, and furthermore, she would poke them in their sore spots without any attention to maintaining aristocratic elegance and grace. With this invincible skill, not many ladies in the capital dared to provoke her.

Xie Wanyu dared to sting her like this today because she felt that even Ban Hua, no matter how arrogant she was, would not dare to offend her as she was on the verge of becoming the Second Prince’s Imperial Consort.

Who knew that she had underestimated Ban Hua’s courage and brainlessness and Ban Hua had even dared to speak about the issue with Second Brother’s eye to her face. This woman was indeed a poisonous beauty. All said and done, she had in the past been engaged to Second Brother but now that Second Brother had hurt his eye, she was taking pleasure in his misfortune like this. It was really extremely hateful.

But even if she was dissatisfied, she couldn’t allow herself to flare up at the moment. She was the future Imperial Prince’s consort and she must be dignified and magnanimous. Before marrying the second prince, she could not let her conduct fall short by even a single step. She does not want to be jilted by her fiance before she gets married like Ban Hua had, and become the object of ridicule among people in the city.

“Thank you, Jun Princess, for your concern. Second Brother is quite well.” said Xie Wanyu, taking a deep breath and barely squeezing out a smile.

“Miss Xie, please go upstairs. Our family’s young lady is waiting for you in the private room there.” A momo came out of the teahouse next to her. She then saw Ban Hua and saluted her. “Greetings to Ban Jun Princess.”

Ban Hua recognized that this momo was a person who served beside Shi Feixian. She glanced at the teahouse next to her, and nodding at the momo, left without looking back.

Ban Heng, who hadn’t spoken from beginning to end, deliberately made a scoffing sound, and then walked away following behind his sister’s horse.

Xie Wanyu looked on with an ashen complexion as the two Ban family siblings walked away into the distance, itching to pull them off their horses one after another and stamp them under her feet. However, she couldn’t do anything. So she merely smiled at the old woman who had come to pick her up and said, “Thank you for your trouble. Elder Sister Shi must have been waiting for a long time.”

For the time being, she would endure and continue to endure.

Shi Feixian had asked her momo to receive Xie Wanyu because she had seen Ban Hua just then. After watching Ban Hua riding away through a slit in the window, she turned towards Kangning Junzhu who was beside her and said, “Nowadays, Ban Hua is behaving more and more unbearably arrogant*.”

“She grew up from childhood acting arrogant and wilful. Now that she has had her engagement broken three times by three different men, the words circulating outside are so shameful and naturally she’s decided to smash the cracked jar and is acting madly with nothing to lose.” Kangning Junzhu sneered. “She can’t get married anyway, and she has no choice but to boast and quarrel. “

In terms of relationship, she and Ban Hua were distantly related female cousins. But there was animosity between her family and the Eldest Princess, so her relationship with Ban Hua has not been very good since they were children. She had heard from her mother that when her grandfather, the previous emperor,  wanted to depose the crown prince and establish her father in his place, unexpectedly the Eldest Princess had thrown a wrench in their plans and finally earned favour for her meritorious deeds in front of the present Emperor.

Although their family dared not mention these decades old complaints again, they still have not forgotten the things that the Eldest Princess had done.

As the two young ladies were talking, Xie Wanyu came upstairs. Seeing her two bosom friends, Xie Wanyu’s face suddenly changed, “That little bitch Ban Hua! I really want to tear her mouth.” Recalling the perfectly matched pair of blood jade earrings worn by Ban Hua that set her snow-white and tender face off so well making her complexion seem moist like one could squeeze out water with a single pinch, the hatred in Xie Wanyu’s heart became even stronger.

Jealousy was a raging inferno that could burn up people’s rationality.

“We came here today originally to celebrate your happy occasion. What is the point of talking about such disgusting people?” Kangning Junzhu smiled and invited her to sit down, “This time next year, we will be addressing you as Princess.”

“Well, why are you mentioning these things?” Xie Wanyu said with her cheeks flushed in shyness, “I think you came here today deliberately to make fun of me.” 

“Look at this blush! Today I finally understood what is called flying into anger out of shame*” Shu Feixian reached out and squeezed Xie Wanyu’s cheek, “Congratulations to my sister on her engagement.”

Looking at Xie Wanyu’s bashful and happy appearance, she remembered that she had secretly liked Rong Xia for several years now and felt a bit bitter in her heart. She raised her head to look at Kangning Junzhu and silently tidied the strands of hair near her temples. Don’t think that she didn’t know that Kangning Junzhu too had some intentions towards Count Rong.

In the dead of the night, during the hour of dreams, Ban Hua turned over on her bed and fell into a spell of dreams.

In her dream, she was wearing a thin, unlined garment, looking at a table laden with delicacies and at the man seated by the side of the table, like a fool.

Ban Hua became aware that she was dreaming and looking at herself and a man whose appearance was indistinct from the perspective of a bystander. This kind of feeling was a bit strange, and even stranger, she detected that her other self felt a sense of gratitude towards the man sitting at the table.

Soon she saw herself exiting the house with a thick fur coat on her body. There was a lot of snow outside. She saw a noblewoman laughing and pointing a finger at her, but not really daring to do anything to her.

Then she saw herself die, collapsing on a field of deep snow and her bright red blood splashing on the white snow like a blooming red peony looked extremely beautiful.

Ban Hua couldn’t help but feel that she really was an exceptional beauty. Even if she died, her death was so poignant.

The winter wind blew carrying with it flakes of snow, but in her dream Ban Hua didn’t feel the cold. The wind sobbed like the sound of a woman weeping. She stood in front of her own corpse and looked at the feathered arrow piercing her back. Suddenly she realized, could it be that this is how her last dream ended?

So her future would be this miserable? Not only losing her title, but also losing her life?

Fortunately, the white fox fur on her body looked very expensive, and she did not look too shameful when she died.

“Crunch, creak.”

Suddenly a series of footsteps came from behind and the sound was urgent and chaotic, as if someone had hurried over.

“Master, Master, the Young Lady Ban is gone.” 

Master? Who?

Ban Hua turned around and saw a man in a black fur coat standing behind her. The man looked tall and straight and the hands exposed outside his sleeves were as white and lustrous as jade. Even if she couldn’t see his face, Ban Hua was sure that this must be an outrageously beautiful man.

Though she couldn’t see the man’s face, she heard the man’s voice when he spoke.

“It’s a pity.”

Ban Hua nodded. It really was a pity. After all, she was so beautiful.

“She was a lively person whose like was hard to find in the capital. Make sure she’s buried richly.” Ban Hua breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that not only was this man good looking, but his heart was also very beautiful.

The man turned his head suddenly, as if he saw her standing beside him. She bowed her head to look down at the complicated palace skirt on her body complacently and then straightened her waist.

It was a pity that the other party didn’t see her, but said in a complex tone, “Find out who did it and let people … let people take care of her family well.”

“Boom!”

Ru Yi, the servant girl who was on night duty, hearing a noise from inside the room, hurriedly got up from the couch in a fright and quickly ran into the inner room. She then saw the Jun Princess dressed in only a tunic sitting blankly at the table with a broken teacup lying at her feet.

“Jun Princess, what’s the matter with you?”

“It’s okay, I just had a dream.” Ban Hua suddenly looked up and smiled at her, “It’s okay, go to bed.”

“It’s cold outside, this servant will help you into bed.” Ru Yi lit two small lamps to make the room a little brighter, “It’s still early. “

Ban Hua lay back on the bed and said to Ru Yi, “When did Shizi sleep last night?”

Ru Yi was somewhat taken aback. She was one of the Jun Princess’ maidservants. How would she know the occurrences in the Shizi’s yard? So she had to honestly shake her head.

Ban Hua did not mind and said, “Do we have any  good arctic fox furs in the family? I want to use some to make gloves, a fur coat and a collar. “

“There are only a few good red fox furs in your warehouse, but no arctic fox furs.” Ruyi didn’t understand why Jun Princess, who always liked colorful things, suddenly wanted white fox fur, but as a servant she only needed to meet the requirements of the master.

“I understand. Go to sleep.” Ban Hua pulled the quilt to her chin and closed her eyes thinking how beautiful it would be if she trimmed a red cloak with white fox fur. Wearing a white fox fur with a big red palace skirt would definitely set off her skin beautifully. In winter, she could try dressing like this

A few days later…

“Junzhu,” the stewardess-in-charge looked sadly at Kangning Junzhu, “The fox fur you liked last time has been bought.”

“Who dares to snatch my stuff?”  Kangning Junzhu raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t the people who bought it know that it’s what I had reserved to buy?”