Then Pearl heard footsteps going back and forth, then they disappeared completely.
After a while, Alaric smiled and said, "Madam, shall we go see if any of the jewelry suits your taste?"
Pearl put down the book in her hands and got out of bed to walk over, but Alaric held her hand. She turned to look at him, puzzled.
He gave a light smile and said, "Let's go, Madam."
Alaric led her to a table filled with twelve trays of jewelry.
Pearl looked carefully. The jewelry included headpieces, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.
The headpieces came in many styles: dignified, elegant, delicate, lively, and shiny golden with a noble feel.
Pearl picked up a lively butterfly tassel hairpin. The butterfly wings swayed gently as she moved it, very vivid.
She examined it closely and noticed the material was firm yet flexible, which made the butterfly look so lively.
She put down the butterfly tassel pin.
Then she picked up others slowly, noticing all the headpieces were finely crafted with clever color matching that made them very appealing.
She felt like taking all of them.
Alaric saw her pick up one, look at it, then put it down, pick up another, and put it down, as if she hadn't chosen any yet. He asked, "Madam, do you like any?"
Pearl did not answer.
Alaric picked up the butterfly tassel pin she had first taken and easily pinned it on her head.
Looking at her pretty face made more lively by the butterfly, he smiled, "This one suits you well, Madam."
Pearl responded with a faint "hm," but actually, she liked the golden ones with pearls and gemstones more. They could be exchanged for a lot of silver outside, but she did not want to show this to him.
Seeing her indifferent, Alaric said, "Come, Madam, sit down. Let me put them on your head one by one so you can look in the mirror and see which fits best."
"No need," Pearl quickly stopped him, pointing at the golden ones that were dignified and elegant. "Just these few. They look nice."
Alaric saw she had chosen and did not insist. Then he let her choose necklaces.
Pearl looked at the necklaces as he suggested. There were jade, gemstones, agate, pearls, and crystals, in round, diamond, and square shapes. The materials were very fine.
The pearl necklaces had beads of different sizes; some beads were carved with patterns, some were plain.
The diamond and square necklaces were mostly edged with gold or silver, looking very luxurious.
Alaric watched her expression. Seeing she looked indifferent to all the necklaces, he said, "Madam, look at these bracelets."
Hearing this, Pearl glanced at the earrings tray and said, "No need. I don't have pierced ears, so those won't work."
Alaric then said, "Then look at the bracelets. Pick some you like."
Pearl looked at the bracelets.
There were three trays with bracelets: gold bracelets set with various gems and jade bracelets, crystal bracelets, and agate bracelets.
The jade bracelets came in green, purple, and pink, all very translucent. The crystal bracelets were light blue, pinkish purple, and pale yellow. The agate bracelets were white, light red, and smoky green.
The styles suited young women well.
Pearl picked up a jade bracelet to put it on, but it didn't fit.
Alaric said, "Madam, let me help."
He opened a box, releasing a strong scent of osmanthus. Alaric scooped some ointment and carefully rubbed it on the back of Pearl's fair hand.
Wiped it clean, picked up the bracelet, held Pearl's small hand, and gently pushed the bracelet on. It slid smoothly onto her wrist.
The fair, delicate wrist combined with the moist green color gave an indescribable beauty.
Pearl shook her wrist, feeling a stone hitting her bones, cold and chilly. She didn't like the feeling.
She wanted to take it off but couldn't no matter how hard she tried. Alaric smiled and said, "It looks good on you, my lady. Since you can't take it off, just wear it."
Pearl didn't say anything but kept trying to remove it. Her fair skin rubbed until it was sore and red, then she reluctantly stopped.
She didn't dare try the other bracelets. Instead, she picked up a few rings to try on.
Alaric picked up a gold ring set with red and blue gems, both precious and delicate, and put it on Pearl's finger. "My lady, try this one. I think it suits you."
Pearl glanced at the ring on her slender finger. The plain finger now reflected a sense of wealth. She softly replied, "Hmm."
After trying the rings, Pearl looked at the trays of exquisite and gorgeous jewelry.
Suddenly, she had an idea and said, "Actually, I like all of these. Let's keep them all."
She looked at Alaric. He looked very surprised but then smiled and said, "Since my lady likes them, we will keep them all."
Seeing his quick agreement, Pearl raised her brow, took off the ring on her finger, then held out her hand toward him, saying calmly, "Please take it off for me. I don't want to wear it for now."
Alaric looked at the fair wrist reaching out and smiled, "Alright, as my lady wishes."
Alaric took some osmanthus balm and rubbed it on the back of her hand. Holding her hand, he pushed the bracelet, and it slid off smoothly into his hand.
Pearl felt a sharp pain in her wrist bones and silently regretted it. She would never wear this damn bracelet again. It hurt terribly.
Seeing Pearl frown and rub the red sore spot on her wrist, Alaric took her hand, blew on the red area, then rubbed it gently. He softly asked, "My lady, does it still hurt?" He blew on it several times.
Pearl felt uncomfortable with his actions and quickly pulled her hand back, saying coldly, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
She turned and went to the inner room, sat on the bed, and started reading.
After a while, Alaric came in, sat beside her, and pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her.
Pearl knew she couldn't push him away, so she just let him be.
Outside came a report, "Lord, my lady, people from Yingchang Pavilion have arrived."
Alaric said, "Let them put the things down and then leave."
The people outside responded.
Steps came to the outer room. After some noise, it became quiet again.
Alaric got up and brought in the clothes that had been delivered.
Pearl glanced at the clothes. All were made of top-quality fabrics and looked very beautiful.
Alaric picked up one, a pale blue strapless long dress, opened it, and smiled at her. "My lady, what do you think of this one?"
Pearl looked at it and said softly, "Hmm, not bad."
Alaric quietly picked up another, a light green flowing gauze dress. "My lady, how about this one?"
Pearl looked at it with no expression and said softly, "Hmm, not bad."