Seeing the whole table full of similarly sized pearls that were even bigger than a thumbnail, Zhu Junyang suddenly said, "Are these pearls…gifts from the young dragon maiden that you met?" 

“You can consider it that way!” Yu Xiaocao deliberately smiled in a mysterious manner. In truth, she wanted to say, ‘The pearls that the young dragon maiden had given me are all still in my pocket.’ She had not dared to take them out, for fear of shocking others with the pearls that were about the same size as small chicken eggs. 

The Pearl Hunting Competition this time was considered quite successful. They had managed to find several thumb nail-sized pearls. Including the ones that they had bought while they were in the capital, and some of the smaller pearls, there were enough to make a pearl crown. The value of the crown increased by another fold when the purple pearl that symbolized grace and eminence was placed in the center of the crown. 

Anyway, during Princess Consort Duan's birthday celebration, she wore this crown and outshone all her guests, stunning the noble ladies of the capital. What made others envy her more, was that aside from this crown, the Imperial Palace had also given her a bright, sunset-red coral that was as tall as a person. She had put it on display in the middle of the hall for everyone to admire, earning praises...