334. Ye Yue

After comforting Ye Ying, Mo Jingli turned around and went out to the study alone. Sitting in the study, Mo Jingli frowned and thought about the result of the previous conversation with Ye Yue in the Ye family. In fact, no matter from which aspect, offending Mo Xiuyao in Licheng for Ye Yue was an extremely unwise decision. Mo Jingli was naturally never one of those who turned around blindly for lust. But Ye Yue had conditions in her hand that made people have to agree.

Taking out a small emerald green porcelain bottle from his sleeve, Mo Jingli's eyes showed a hint of eagerness.

If he could bring Ye Yue back to the southwest successfully, he would definitely get ten or even a hundred times what he paid.

In fact, Mo Jingli saved Ye Li's life. The Queen Mother originally wanted to kill Ye Li, but Ye Yue was forced to do so. But Mo Jingli didn't want to kill Ye Li at that time, so after Ye Yue's plan was implemented, he sent someone to take Ye Li out of the palace. If it wasn't for Ran, Ye Li might have been killed by Ye Yue. After taking Ye Li away, Mo Jingli ignored Ye Yue. A concubine of his royal brother and a pawn in the hands of the Queen Mother was not worth his trouble. So when Ye Yue was burned to death in the fire, he just thought that it was killed by the Queen Mother to silence her. Unexpectedly, Ye Yue not only did not die, but also evaded the spies of the Queen Mother, the Imperial Palace and even Prince Ding's Mansion and lived peacefully for so many years, and even came to Li City, right under the nose of Mo Xiuyao.

There is no doubt that compared to Ye Ying who only has good looks, Ye Yue is the real smart person. Even compared to the group of women in his brother's harem, Ye Yue is the smartest one among them. As long as he can bring Ye Yue back to Jiangnan, then... the queen mother who has always troubled him will no longer be a roadblock to him.

The Queen Mother has been in power for decades. Even when Mo Jingqi was alive, he was always hindered by her, not to mention Mo Jingli, who has been in power for far less time than Mo Jingqi. After so many years of suppression by Mo Jingqi and the blow before his death, the Queen Mother's power should have been shaky. But who knew that after Mo Jingli came to power, the Queen Mother was assisted by God and stood firm in the court again. Mo Jingli knew that there must be an outsider behind this. He even knew who it was, but he was powerless. He could suppress the Queen Mother's power, but he couldn't fight with her and both sides would suffer losses and let others gain.

Mo Jingli knew his mother's methods and cruelty better than anyone else. He also knew that in the Queen Mother's heart, supporting Mo Suyun, a seven or eight-year-old kid, would make her more satisfied than his son becoming the emperor. Even after the Queen Mother's burial sacrifice was left unresolved, Mo Jingli often wondered in his heart whether the Queen Mother was always looking for ways to depose him.

But it's different with Ye Yue. Ye Yue has some leverage over the Queen Mother. If she uses it well, she can even wipe out all the power of the Queen Mother. Ye Yue is very smart. While being threatened and used by the Queen Mother, she also secretly collected a lot of her privacy. If Ye Yue hadn't left too early, Mo Jingli even believed that Ye Yue would definitely be able to get the whereabouts of his son from Mo Jingqi. It's a pity that Ye Yue's luck is really bad compared to Ye Li. When Mo Jingqi was alive, he favored Concubine Liu more than Ye Yue, so even if she was smart, she could only be low-key in the palace. And how can a concubine resist the authority of the Queen Mother when her father is also on the side of the Queen Mother?

After pondering for a long time, Mo Jingli's eyes finally flashed with determination. In fact, even if there were no above reasons, Mo Jingli must take Ye Yue back. Mo Jingli unconsciously stroked the small bottle in his hand, and frowned as he moved closer. It is impossible to send Ye Yue out of Licheng first now. The strict guards of Prince Ding's Mansion make people feel jealous. The only way is to let Ye Yue blend into the team of Prince Ding's Mansion when they leave Licheng and leave without being noticed. But this is a matter of many days later. What if something happens in these days... Since Ye Yue can come to Licheng quietly and hide herself safely for so many years, nothing should happen in these ten days, right? Mo Jingli thought to himself.

In the study of the Ye Mansion, Ye Wenhua sat with a gloomy face, and his originally gray eyebrows wrinkled tightly. Ever since Prince Li and Ye Ying left, he had a vague feeling of uneasiness, and then thought of the person in his wife's room... Although he had left the court for many years, Ye Wenhua still believed in his intuition. This intuition of danger had helped him avoid danger many times in the court. Even though he was the son-in-law of the Xu family, at least he relied on his own struggle during the years when the Xu family withdrew from the court. Not only did the Ye family not decline, but it became more prosperous.

Since coming to Licheng, Ye Wenhua is different from the unwilling Old Lady Ye and Ye Wangshi. He is very satisfied with his current life. He has been poor and rich, he has studied hard, and he has almost become an official. He married the most beautiful and talented woman in Dachu, and even his daughter is now the Regent Princess of Dachu and the Princess of Dingwang Mansion. And he eventually fell from a high position and became a commoner. If it were in the past, he might still be eager for fame and fortune. But when you really see the suffering of the people in the war, you will know that the current stable life is not easy to come by. Ye Wenhua knows clearly that as long as he stays in Licheng quietly, no one will make things difficult for him because of his identity as the father of Princess Ding. But if he went to Jiangnan, even if Mo Jingli could use him, how long could Jiangnan last? To be honest, after so many years, Ye Wenhua had no hope in Mo Jingli's ability. Moreover, he was more willing to trust Mo Xiuyao's character than Mo Jingli.

"Master, why do you look so bad?" Ye Wang came in with a cup of tonic, looked at Ye Wenhua and asked with a smile.

Ye Wenhua came back to his senses, and looked at her smug smile coldly, with a flash of disgust in his heart. Somehow, the image of his first wife, whom he thought had been blurred for a long time, appeared clearly in his mind. At that moment, he even began to doubt why he had neglected his first wife for Ye Wangshi. In terms of appearance, talent, virtue, and family background, Xu Shi was far superior to Ye Wangshi. Maybe... it was because Xu Shi was too outstanding. A noble woman who was too outstanding, like a fairy, favored a poor boy who was born in poverty. After the initial ecstasy, what followed was the frustration and pressure that made him feel ashamed. And the envious and weird eyes of his colleagues...

"Kick that person in your room out immediately." Coming back to his senses, Ye Wenhua said coldly as he looked at Wang, whose eyes were filled with joy.

"What?!" Wang was stunned and immediately screamed.

Ye Wenhua stared at her coldly and said, "Do you think I'm blind? You can either chase her out or follow her out!"

Wang felt cold in her heart when he looked at her, but she was more angry. Putting the things in her hand heavily on the table, Wang said angrily: "Since the master knows, why do you want me to drive her out?! You know... you know that if Prince Ding's Mansion knew..." Ye Wenhua interrupted her impatiently and said: "Since you know, you shouldn't bring her with you. No one cared about you in your hometown before, do you think no one knows about you in Licheng? Not many people have seen her, but there are some!" If Ye Yue didn't die, she knew how to hide herself well, and there were not many people who had seen her when she entered the palace. I'm afraid she would have been recognized long ago. Ye Wenhua certainly knew that there were people from Prince Ding's Mansion who secretly saw her in the Ye Mansion, and it was precisely because of this that Ye Yue could not stay in the mansion.

In recent years, Ye Wenhua has rarely lost his temper like this, and Ye Wangshi was also stunned. After a long while, she cried and said, "She is a weak woman. If she didn't come with us, how would she live? It's all because of you. If we had gone directly to Jiangnan, it would be better than living here with no food to eat and no death." Now there are wars everywhere. Even if it is normal for a weak woman to walk from a place like her hometown to Jiangnan, it is not easy, let alone the current situation. I am afraid that if I am not careful on the road, even if I don't encounter war, I will be caught by the bandits on the road, and then it will be worse than death.

Ye Wenhua sneered, just because of the naivety of the woman in front of him. The Ye family was wavering between the Queen Mother and the Emperor, which had already made Mo Jingli very dissatisfied. Later, they concealed the news of Ye Ying's pregnancy and kept her in the capital, which led to Ye Ying's imprisonment and the child she gave birth to was replaced and disappeared. Mo Jingli was a vindictive person. I believe he will treat the Ye family well, unless Ye Wenhua has a problem with his brain. Wang didn't care about that and said, "No matter what, Yue'er is also the old man's daughter. Could it be that the old man is so cruel that he wants to make Yue'er his mortal enemy! As long as these few days pass, King Li has promised to take us back to Jiangnan. Then we won't have to suffer in Licheng, and Rong'er will definitely have a promising future. By then, our Ye family will definitely return to its former prosperity. Is there anything wrong with this? The old man is only thinking about Ye Li now, but what has she done for our family? Isn't it that he only cares about his own happiness and doesn't care about you as a father at all. Or is it that only my Yue'er will think about our family."

"Stupid woman!" Ye Wenhua cursed angrily. She actually believed that Mo Jingli would take all the Ye family members away. She didn't think that with Mo Jingli's personality, if he suddenly took so many people away, wouldn't it arouse the suspicion of Prince Ding's Mansion?

"I don't care what you think. I have no plans to go to Jiangnan." Ye Wenhua said.

Ye Wangshi was really stunned this time. Glory and wealth are important, but so are daughters. But all of these are based on the fact that Ye Wenhua is still alive. Ye Wangshi still has some self-awareness about her son, who can't support the Ye family at all. If Ye Wenhua is unwilling to go to Jiangnan, even if they both go, they won't have much time to spend in Jiangnan. No matter how calculating Wangshi is, she is still a lady who has never seen much of the world. She dare not and cannot do such a thing as abandoning her husband and following her daughter away.

"Why?!" Ye Wangshi couldn't help but scream, "Do you like staying in Licheng and living under the sway of others? What's wrong with going to Jiangnan? By then, the Ye family will still be respected and envied by everyone as before. Isn't it much better than hiding in this broken yard?"

"Shut up!" Ye Wenhua said sternly.

"You are still thinking about that jerk, right?!" Wang finally couldn't help but burst out. Although her family was not prominent, she was the daughter of a wealthy family. It was not without grievances when she married into the Ye family as a concubine, but the head lady of the Ye family was the kind of person you couldn't even envy. When the gap between you and the other party is too far, you don't even have the qualifications to be jealous, and all you can do is feel sorry for yourself. Although Ye Wenhua has always doted on her, she knows very well that she is not as good as Xu. Every time Ye Wenhua looks at Xu, the feelings in his eyes that he himself doesn't even notice are like a poisonous thorn piercing her heart. Even if Xu has been dead for many years, it can't be pulled out. It's ridiculous. Ye Wenhua doesn't dislike Xu, but he doesn't dare to like her. It's just because he knows that he is not worthy of his wife.

"Pa!" Ye Wenhua seemed to be enraged, and slapped Wang in the face mercilessly. Wang was unable to stand still and fell to the ground. She was stunned for a moment and finally burst into tears.

"What's going on?" The voice of Old Madam Ye came from outside the door.

Ye Wenhua snorted lightly, turned to the door and said, "Mother, why are you here?" But when he saw the person supporting Old Madam Ye, his eyes paused for a moment, and then slowly moved away.

Old Madam Ye frowned unhappily and said, "If I hadn't come, would you have caused a quarrel in the whole house? What are you doing?" Holding Ye Yue's hand, Old Madam Ye stepped into the study, and Ye Yue closed the door of the study behind her.

"Old Madam... Yue'er..." Wang cried even harder when she saw Old Madam Ye and her daughter. Ye Yue stepped forward to help Wang up and asked softly, "What happened to mom and dad? Why are you so good..." Ye Wenhua snorted coldly and said, "Do you still know that I am your father?" Ye Yue paused, and a gentle smile appeared on her face, "My daughter knows that it is my fault to have been hiding it all the time. This is really because... Father also knows what happened in Chujing that year. It is not that my daughter wants to harm my third sister, but she really has to do it. My daughter has no choice. My daughter has not had a good life these years. I beg father to forgive my daughter." It must be said that compared to Ye Ying, Ye Yue is a person who speaks very well and understands people's hearts very well. Even though Ye Wenhua's heart is as hard as iron, the expression on his face can't help but ease a lot. He naturally knew what happened back then. He said that Ye Yue had a sudden whim to kill Ye Li. Not only did he not believe it, but Ye Li herself did not believe it either. At that time, the Ye family was in the hands of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother wanted to kill Ye Li and Ye Yue was also coerced. Looking at Ye Yue's appearance again, although she was still beautiful, she was much thinner and paler than she was in the Ye family and the palace. It was precisely this pallor and thinness that made her look younger than her actual age. She stayed in Wang's room for so long and did not attract anyone's attention. After all, she suffered a lot.

"In that case, just stay here quietly. When the time is right, I will find a way to send you away from Licheng and live a good life in hiding." After all, she was his daughter whom he had loved since she was a child, so Ye Wenhua softened his heart.

Ye Yue was startled, then lowered her eyes and said, "Prince Li already knows that I am in Licheng, and he said he would take us to Jiangnan. I'm afraid what father said is..."

"Why would Mo Jingli take you to Jiangnan?" Ye Wenhua asked coldly. Mo Jingli has always been a person who does not do anything without profit. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that his relationship with Ye Ying is not very good. Who would believe that he suddenly agreed to take Ye Yue to Jiangnan if he said that she had no use? More importantly, even the people in Dingwang Mansion did not notice that Ye Yue was in the mansion before. If she had not deliberately exposed herself to Mo Jingli, how would Mo Jingli know her whereabouts?

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ye Yue's face. Yes, she did follow Wang to Licheng on purpose, and she also deliberately let Mo Jingli know that she had a trump card and something extremely important to him. What's wrong with this? How much suffering has she endured for so many years of hiding her identity? She was originally an imperial concubine, and she also had a son of the previous emperor's bloodline. Her son is much smarter than the useless Mo Suyun in Da Chu today. As long as she can make it work, she may not be unable to become the empress dowager. Why should she hide her identity and live in fear for the rest of her life?

"Father, as long as we go to Jiangnan, Mo Jingli promised me to support my son to ascend the throne. Then you will be the real father-in-law of the emperor. The Ye family will also truly prosper from then on." Ye Yue looked at Ye Wenhua and said seriously.

Ye Wenhua was not as easily persuaded as she thought, "I believe that Li'er's child will be able to ascend to the throne in the future. Staying in Licheng will at least allow your brother to marry and have children in peace, leaving a descendant for the Ye family." Ye Wenhua now understood that Ye Rong had long been spoiled by Old Madam Ye and Lady Wang Ye. Now he only hoped that Ye Rong's son would be well educated and not cut off the incense of the Ye family. After hearing what Ye Wenhua said, Ye Yue's eyes flashed with resentment, "In my father's eyes, is my daughter so inferior to my third sister?" If she had not been forced by the Queen Mother to be blown up and hide her identity, how could she be so miserable now?

Ye Wenhua shook his head and said, "You are different from Li'er." Ye Yue is very smart, maybe even smarter than Ye Li. But she is different from Ye Li, and they should not be compared to the same level. If they were both placed in the backyard of the palace, Ye Wenhua believed that Ye Li might not be able to beat Ye Yue. But Ye Li's eyes did not stay in the backyard of the palace from the beginning. She has the courage and ability that is not inferior to men, so she can assist Prince Ding in governing a region, and can go to war and command thousands of troops. Placing such a woman in the backyard of the palace can only be a trampling on her ability. Many times, Ye Wenhua even regretted that Ye Li was not a son. If she was a boy, no matter what happened in the world, at least the three generations of the Ye family could be protected.

Ye Yue understood what Ye Wenhua meant. She was proud of her intelligence, but she also knew that she could not fight wars and govern the country like Ye Li. They were different from the beginning.

"We are indeed different. Third sister doesn't care about the rise and fall of the Ye family. With the support of the Xu family behind her, whether the Ye family is good or bad has no effect on her. But I am different, father. Only when the Ye family is well, I will be well. So, Yue'er will not abandon the Ye family." Ye Yue said softly. Ye Wenhua did not react, but Old Madam Ye next to him showed a look of approval. Ye Li's indifference to the Ye family is obvious to anyone with a discerning eye. Even if Ye Li's mother becomes famous in the future, it is only the Xu family, not the Ye family, that can benefit from it. Among so many granddaughters, Old Madam Ye loves and values ​​Ye Yue the most. Hearing her say this at this time, she naturally felt that it made a lot of sense. Looking at Ye Wenhua, she also wanted to speak to persuade him.

Ye Wenhua waved his hand and said tiredly, "Mother, there is no need to say more. The Ye family cannot leave Licheng."

Old Madam Ye frowned and said, "What are you talking about? Ye Li doesn't take our family seriously at all. Do you want to stick to her yourself?" Old Madam Ye was very dissatisfied with this granddaughter who didn't give her face.

Ye Wenhua shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly. His mother...after all, she was old and no longer as smart as she was when she was young. The Ye family came all the way to Licheng, and then left with Mo Jingli. Not to mention the matter of Ye Yue, even if Ye Yue was not there, it was impossible for Prince Ding's Mansion not to investigate. After this investigation, can they still leave for the Ye family? He glanced at Ye Yue lightly and said, "Since you have decided to follow Prince Li, leave now."

"Father..." Ye Yue obviously didn't expect Ye Wenhua to be so stubborn and ruthless.

"What are you talking about?!" Old Madam Ye was furious. "Yu'er is my granddaughter. If you want to drive her away, you might as well drive me, an old woman, away with you!" Old Madam Ye had long been tired of her life in Licheng. She wanted to go to Jiangnan. In Jiangnan, she would be the grandmother of the princess, the noble Old Madam Ye in Chujing.

"Master, Madam." The servant outside the door hurried over to report, "Prince Ding and Princess Ding are here."

Hearing this, everyone was shocked. Ye Yue's face turned pale. She had killed Ye Li, and no matter how much she said she was coerced, it could not change the fact. Although Ye Yue had lived incognito for these years, she had heard many rumors. She was familiar with Mo Xiuyao's cold-bloodedness, and how could she not be shocked when she heard that Mo Xiuyao was coming?

Ye Wenhua was also startled, but he quickly calmed down, stood up and said, "I understand, I will go out and welcome Prince Ding and Princess."

"No... no need..." The servant outside the door said timidly: "Prince Ding and Princess... have already come in."

The door was suddenly opened from the outside, and Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li walked in hand in hand. Standing outside the door, you can clearly see everyone in the study. Because of the backlight, Ye Yue in the study can only see the two white-clothed figures walking hand in hand. The sunlight formed a faint circle of light behind them, as if the gods had descended. For a moment, I couldn't see the expressions of the two people clearly.

Seeing the two people getting closer and closer, Ye Yue couldn't help but step back. Looking around, she found with some despair that there was no other place for her to hide in the study except a door. She had no choice but to face Mo Xiuyao and Ye Li.

Stepping into the study, which was not very spacious to begin with, it suddenly became a little crowded. Mo Xiuyao frowned a little dissatisfied, pulled Ye Li to the soft couch in front and sat down, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's going on? Why is the study so lively?"

Ye Wangshi tried hard to force a smile and said apologetically, "No...nothing. We are talking to the old man. The prince and princess are here, why don't you leave!"

Ye Yue lowered her head, bowed quickly and hurried out the door.

Just as she was about to step out of the study room, Ye Li's faint laughter came from behind her, "Second sister, are you leaving like this after not seeing you for so many years?"