120.Scare

"Your Majesty, the Dingguo Palace has no plans to hold a wedding."

As soon as these words came out, the hall suddenly fell silent, and almost everyone's eyes were focused on Ye Li. The most fierce ones were Helian Huimin and Consort Liu in the hall. Helian Huimin probably didn't expect that she would dare to refuse the marriage in front of all the noble ladies and the queen mother in the palace, which made her difficult to back down. If Prince Dingguo's Mansion insisted on not marrying Helian Huimin, then her face would be completely lost. Facing Helian Huimin's eyes full of anger and shock, Ye Li smiled faintly. Could it be that she usually behaved too gently, so Miss Helian thought she didn't dare to refuse the marriage in public?

"Princess Ding, what did you say?" The Queen Mother frowned and stared at Ye Li. In fact, the Queen Mother now doesn't want to have anything to do with the Dingguo Palace. She knew that her son was unreliable when her youngest son rebelled without even saying hello to her, putting her in a dilemma. And for a woman in the palace, it's useless to have the ability to turn the world upside down without a son to rely on. Although her power is now hollowed out, the Queen Mother has always been respectful to her, so she just wants to enjoy her old age in the palace. It's a pity that the emperor's son, who wanted her to retire, didn't want her to retire. So after Mo Jingqi hit a nail with Mo Xiuyao, he pulled her out and hoped to start with Princess Ding. The Queen Mother, now outside the situation, could see things more clearly, and naturally understood that Princess Ding was not someone who would be easily manipulated by others. Although she did not want to sin against Ye Li, she was now helpless and could no longer stay out of it.

Ye Li smiled and glanced at Madam Xu who was not far away, then turned back to look at the Queen Mother and said in a clear and firm voice, "Your Majesty, the Dingguo Palace has no plans to hold a wedding recently. In fact, as long as this princess is still the Princess Dingguo, the prince will not marry any concubines into the family."

There was a sudden noise in the hall.

"Princess Dingguo, you are so outrageous!" Princess Zhaoren stood up suddenly, pointing at Ye Li and said, "As a woman, you are so brazen as to stop Prince Ding from taking a concubine. You have no virtues at all. How can such a jealous woman be a good match for Prince Ding?" Princess Zhaoren was very angry because her only beloved daughter was sent to marry the Northern Rong people. She was also quite dissatisfied with Ye Li on weekdays. Naturally, she was the first to stand up and make trouble.

Ye Li glanced at Princess Zhaoren lazily, as if Princess Zhaoren had disliked her from the beginning. No, it should be said that Princess Zhaoren disliked Mo Xiuyao so she also disliked her. On weekdays, it was okay for Ye Li to give in, but today's matter was not something she could get away with. So Ye Li did not intend to apologize to her, and smiled faintly, Ye Li said: "Princess, please be careful with your words. Our prince is not willing to take concubines. As a wife, I naturally have to follow my husband's lead. Do you want to join outsiders to force the prince? Princess, since you are talking about women's virtues, do you know that you should obey your husband after you get married?"

Princess Zhaoren's face turned pale and blue. Everyone in the capital knew that Princess Zhaoren could not give birth to a son and that she prohibited her husband from getting close to the concubines, which resulted in her husband being over 40 and still not having a son. Fortunately, her husband was only the second son. If it was the eldest son, even the princess would not be able to suppress the dissatisfaction of the powerful and noble families. At this time, the words of woman's virtue coming out of her mouth had a bit of irony. Princess Zhaoren snorted with a sullen face, "Even so, as the princess of Dingguo Palace, you should also consider the descendants of Dingguo Palace and expand the palace. Even if the prince is confused for a while and is seduced by someone and refuses to take a concubine, you, as a princess, do not know how to persuade him and you are not worthy of the word virtuous."

Ye Li raised her eyes and smiled faintly, "When did I ever say that I was worthy of the title of virtuous? If being a virtuous concubine means having nothing to do every day to find beautiful concubines for your husband, I'm sorry, but I'm not virtuous, and I don't plan to be virtuous any more."

"You...you..." Princess Zhaoren was so angry that she pointed at Ye Li with her finger shaking for a long time and couldn't speak. Ye Li didn't hide it and raised her eyebrows with a smile.

The Queen in the palace looked at the Princess who looked like she was about to faint from anger, a hint of smile flashed in her eyes, and she said, "Okay, if you have anything to say, just talk it out nicely, Princess, don't get angry. Princess Ding, don't be rude to your elders."

Ye Li nodded and said respectfully, "I will definitely remember the teachings of the Empress and take the eldest princess as an example and will not disobey her."

The Queen Mother frowned and coughed lightly, then looked at Ye Li and said, "Princess Ding, the Emperor's marriage to Miss Helian is both a family matter and a state matter. Princess Ding should put state affairs first and not act recklessly."

Ye Li couldn't help but feel angry. What was wrong with these people? If the men were unfaithful, it would be fine. But these women would not stop inserting other women into other people's houses. They were clearly forcing the men to be unfaithful. They liked the virtuous woman, but she didn't love her. Why did they have to take her with them? Ye Li stood up and said coldly, "You are joking, Queen Mother. How can the marriage between the two countries be so hasty? When the marriage was first arranged, the King of Beirong never mentioned sending people to the Dingguo Palace for marriage. If it is really a state matter, where is the letter of state for the marriage between Beirong? If there is no letter of state, then it must be decided privately by some people? What does the Queen Mother think the Dingguo Palace is? Anyone can enter it if they want to? Miss Helian wants to enter the Dingguo Palace, the position of the maid in the Dingguo Palace is vacant. You want to enter the Dingguo Palace with an unclear identity as a goddaughter, Miss Helian, first give a clear identity before talking to this princess!"

Helian Huimin stood up, her beautiful face full of anger, "Even if you are the Princess of Dingguo, I am also a noblewoman of the Northern Rong. How can you humiliate me so wantonly!"

"A noble lady from Beirong?" Ye Li raised her eyebrows in disdain. "This princess has never heard that the identity of that noble lady is someone's goddaughter. A noble lady whose biological parents' details cannot be revealed?"

Everyone present understood what Ye Li meant. Even though the status of the adoptive father is much higher than that of one's biological parents in Da Chu, one must first mention one's biological parents when talking to others, and at most add a sentence of "adopted daughter of someone" at the end. However, Helian Huimin never mentioned the status of her biological parents, which can only prove that the status of Helian Huimin's parents is not just generally low, but should be very low. Thinking about some customs of Beirong, there are not many Beirong nobles who look as dignified as Yelu Ye, and most of the Beirong nobles are not good-looking in the eyes of Da Chu. On the contrary, most of the good-looking people in Beirong are slaves, that is, they were sold or abducted to Beirong from other countries, and many of them are descendants of Da Chu people. Therefore, since Helian Huimin did not even mention the status of her biological parents, people had to wonder if she was a descendant of Beirong slaves. If that was true, it would be a huge joke if Prince Dingguo really took her home as a concubine. The noble ladies looked at Helian Huimin with a subtle look, which was filled with a bit of disgust and contempt. The slaves of Beirong and the servants of Dachu had an even lower status. Not only could they be killed at will, but they were also forced to do rough work that ordinary people were unwilling to do, and there was no such thing as a monthly salary. Many female slaves were also played with and abused by their masters.

Helian Huimin was also a very smart person, how could she not notice the changes in the eyes of the people present? There was even more resentment in her eyes when she looked at Ye Li.

The Queen Mother glanced at Helian Huimin hesitantly. She didn't know what Helian Huimin's true identity was. If this was true, the court would be dissatisfied with the emperor's marriage decree, and the army would even think that the emperor wanted to humiliate the Dingguo Palace on purpose. "The princess is probably filtering. Since the Northern Rong Kingdom is on good terms with our Great Chu, they naturally understand the customs of our Great Chu. The woman sent to marry is naturally of noble status. Miss Helian must have lost both her parents when she was young and grew up in General Helian's Mansion, so she is used to it, right?"

Ye Li had no intention of arguing with Helian Huimin about her status. If Helian Huimin's background was really bad, it would not be good for the Dingguo Palace if it got out. Standing up, Ye Li glanced at Helian Huimin, raised her head and looked directly at the Queen Mother and said, "Queen Mother, I have made it clear here that unless the prince personally agrees to take in a concubine, I will not agree to let anyone in."

The Queen Mother was secretly annoyed. If Prince Ding could get their way, why would they bother to talk so much nonsense to Princess Ding? "Princess Ding, the Emperor has issued an order. Don't you know that an order cannot be disobeyed? Do you still want the Emperor to go back on his word and take back his order?"

Ye Li smiled and raised her head and said, "Then there is only one way. Please ask the Emperor and the Queen Mother to decree that I be executed. When I am gone, the position of the Princess will be vacant and the Prince can naturally take a concubine. At that time, I will not be able to control who the Prince marries or takes in."

"Princess Ding!" The Queen Mother was furious. Ye Li's expression was stern and unmoved. The Queen Mother sneered angrily, "What if I really want Miss Helian to come in?"

A faint smile flashed across Ye Li's face, and a cold light flashed in her hand. "Then the Queen Mother will not mind holding both the wedding and funeral at the Dingguo Palace. I promise that the funeral will be more lively than the wedding."

Everyone present couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. Seeing the dagger in Princess Ding's hand that was shining with cold light, a few people who originally had other thoughts also extinguished their delusions. Even if a concubine's daughter who was not liked by the family married into a worse family, she could be of some help to the family. If she married into the Dingguo Palace, she would not only offend Princess Ding, but also commit a sin for nothing. Looking at the woman in front of them who was still smiling gently, they did not dare to doubt that she was just joking. Ye Li smiled and scanned the crowd, her eyes stopped on Helian Huimin, and smiled and said, "What do you think? Miss Helian still insists on entering the Ding Palace?"

Helian Huimin secretly took a deep breath, looked at Ye Li with an unyielding look, and said, "Princess, I'm afraid you don't have the ability to kill me. Can a mere short knife scare me?" Which Beirong girl didn't grow up wielding swords and swords on horseback? Although Helian Huimin was born in a low-class family, she was adopted by Helian Zhen since she was a child, so her martial arts skills were naturally not weak. She pulled out the curved knife in the scabbard full of gems that she carried with her and pointed it at Ye Li.

"Ms. Helian, how can you just draw your sword in front of the Queen Mother and not put it down?" The Queen frowned and scolded.

On the other side, Concubine Liu Gui said calmly, "Just now, Princess Ding drew her sword and the Queen didn't reprimand her."

The Queen smiled and said, "Sister, you forgot that our ancestors taught Prince Ding and Princess Ding to carry swords in the palace."

Concubine Liu snorted and turned away, ignoring the empress. The empress did not bother with her and smiled faintly.

Looking at Helian Huimin who was holding the ornate curved knife towards her, Ye Li pursed her lips and smiled.

Helian Huimin frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Ye Li smiled and said, "Speaking of which... there are many women who are eyeing my prince. Today, I will use you as a target!"

"What big talk!" Helian Huimin sneered disdainfully, and swung the curved sword in her hand towards Ye Liping. Ye Li casually stepped aside to make way, but Helian Huimin did not relax and the blades behind her kept coming. Helian Huimin was indeed a woman who grew up on the prairie. She wielded the curved sword more vigorously than the women in the Central Plains. Ye Li waited until she had swung the sword more than ten times before she laughed crisply, "Ms. Helian, have you fought enough? It's my turn next." Compared to Helian Huimin's majestic momentum, Ye Li's moves seemed mediocre. People didn't even understand what was going on. They only saw Ye Li approaching, holding Helian Huimin's hand with one hand, and kicking away her kicking leg with one foot. A flash of cold light appeared in the other hand, and it stabbed towards Helian Huimin's chest without mercy.

"Princess Ding, please show mercy!" the Queen Mother and the Empress shouted in unison.

After Helian Huimin found that she couldn't break free from Ye Li's grip, she could only close her eyes and wait for death. She was unwilling to accept this. She believed that her martial arts skills were the best among the women of Beirong, but she lost to a woman from Da Chu. She didn't even have time to see her moves clearly, but it didn't matter. Even though she was unwilling to accept this, death was waiting for her...

After waiting for a while, the expected pain did not come. Helian Huimin opened her eyes in confusion, only to see Ye Li unceremoniously push her aside and calmly put away the dagger in her hand. After a narrow escape from the gates of hell, Helian Huimin was still a little dazed. She could feel that Princess Ding definitely did not just want to scare her, and the murderous aura that came over her face was enough to make her clearly realize that she had really saved her life just now.

Such a shock, Helian Huimin was speechless for a while and just stood in the hall in a daze.

The Queen Mother's face turned blue with anger. She stood up and said, "Princess Ding, you are so brave! Forget it... I am old and can't take care of these things. Your Majesty, I will leave the rest to you. I will go back first." After saying that, the Queen Mother rubbed her chest and called the palace maid beside her to help her walk.

The Queen Mother gave up the task, and the Queen could only smile bitterly. Concubine Liu looked at the Queen and asked, "Your Majesty, how should we deal with this matter?"

The queen smiled and said, "Of course I will report to the emperor and then make the decision. But after today... I think this matter will not be difficult to resolve. Sister, don't you think so?" If Helian Huimin still dared to marry into Prince Dingguo's palace, then she could only admire her.

Concubine Liu looked down at His Highness Ye Li, her eyes becoming more complex and deep. The Queen ignored her and just smiled to herself, "I still like Princess Ding's personality. She is quiet but amazing when she speaks. She handles things neatly and efficiently. I'm sure those who want to marry their daughters into the Ding Palace will have to think twice in the future." She smiled faintly at His Highness Ye Li, with a little more envy and admiration in her eyes.

Ye Li faced everyone's gazes and nonchalantly played with the sharp blade in his hand. Since this matter could not be let go, he might as well solve it once and for all.