Imperial Capital 13. Garden War
Although Ye Li didn't like to join in the fun, she knew that there was a difference between a young lady from a noble family and a married woman. When she was still unwilling to attend the gatherings of the ladies, outsiders thought that she was introverted and quiet, or that she was really in poor health. But after marriage, if a woman who was supposed to be in charge of the family still refused to blend in and socialize, people would think that she was arrogant and didn't know how to behave. In serious cases, it would even affect her husband's family. The current master of Dingguo Palace was the disabled Prince Ding, Mo Xiuyao. Although there were still a few female relatives in the palace, she would definitely be in charge of Dingguo Palace after she got married. Therefore, after listening to Madam Ye's words, Ye Li also responded with a smile, and acted as if she was looking forward to this year's Hundred Flowers Festival.
After seeing off the Empress Dowager Xianzhao and her group, Ye Li took her leave from the old lady and returned to Qingyixuan. The old lady Ye and Wang were very happy about the honor of Empress Dowager Xianzhao coming to propose marriage in person, so they did not keep Ye Li for long. Ye Li left Rongyue Hall and walked carelessly in the corridor, but she remembered the look that Empress Dowager Xianzhao gave her before she left. Somehow, she always felt that the look of the Empress Dowager was very meaningful.
"Miss, look." Ye Li was thinking about something when she passed by the garden. Qingshuang reminded her softly in her ear.
Looking up, she saw a couple sitting in a pavilion by the garden road. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful and delicate. Who were they, Mo Jingli and Ye Ying? Ye Li was puzzled. Why were these two sitting at the intersection of the garden where people were coming and going instead of enjoying the flowers and the moon? It looked like they were waiting for her here on purpose. She stepped forward and said, "I have met His Royal Highness Prince Li." Mo Jingli glanced at the maids following her and sneered, "You are good at putting on a show." Mo Jingli had seen Ye Li several times before, and each time Ye Li was only followed by a maid, which made people feel petty. Now that she had just been given a marriage, Ye Li not only dared to embarrass herself, but also put on a show. For some reason, Mo Jingli always felt a little upset when he saw Ye Li. Thinking of the nearly 20,000 taels of silver that fell into Ye Li's hands, Mo Jingli gritted his teeth. It was not that his Li Wangfu could not afford this sum of money, but Ye Li's behavior clearly showed that she didn't care about him, so she asked him for money so generously.
Ye Li smiled and covered her lips, her eyes wandering over the two of them. "You are joking, my Lord. This is just the rules that girls should follow. I know that my fourth sister and my Lord are in love, so it is inevitable... But after all, they haven't gotten married yet, so it's better for my fourth sister to let a maid follow her in and out... Even if she follows from a distance, it's fine. It also avoids other people's gossip."
"Third sister, why do you say that..." After hearing what Ye Li said, Ye Ying's bright eyes suddenly turned red, tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked at Ye Li with great grievance, "The prince and I are innocent, even if I am sorry to you, but... this is not what I meant, why did you..."
Ye Li raised his hand slightly, calmly thought about her words, and asked with some amusement: "Fourth sister, you misunderstood. Who said that you and the prince have an affair? Just say it out. Even if grandmother and father don't make the decision for you, third sister will make the decision for you." After speaking, she glanced at the people behind her with an inquiring look, and Qingshuang smiled and said, "I haven't heard of it. But since the fourth lady said so, there must be someone. Why don't we go back to the old lady and investigate it carefully? We will definitely be able to find out the person who slandered the fourth lady and His Royal Highness Prince Li." Ye Ying's expression changed. She glared at Qingshuang with hatred, turned her head and looked at Mo Jingli pitifully, "Prince..." If her grandmother knew about this, she would definitely scold her. If she made a big fuss, I'm afraid that the rumor that didn't exist would become true.
"Enough! Ye Li, it's useless no matter what you do. This king will never like you, so just give up on this idea." Mo Jingli scolded in a cold voice, staring at Ye Li with a look that seemed to be full of disgust and hatred.
Ye Li was so surprised that she couldn't recover. What was Mo Jingli talking about? Did he think that she was playing hard to get? Where did this person get such a good self-esteem?
Being looked at by Ye Li with scrutiny, Mo Jingli was a little annoyed and angry, "Have you seen enough? You have no shame!"
Ye Li rolled her eyes helplessly at the sky, but she resisted the urge to say "You should take medicine". She bowed to Mo Jingli and said, "That's enough, Prince Fourth Sister, please chat slowly. I'll take my leave now." Without waiting for Mo Jingli's response, she turned around and walked towards her own Qingyixuan.
Behind him, Mo Jingli stared at the thin figure walking away with a gloomy face. Ye Ying saw this and felt nervous. She said softly, "My Lord, Third Sister has always been like this. Don't bother with her."
Seeing the beautiful face of the person in front of him filled with worry and pleading, Mo Jingli's expression eased a little. He pulled Ye Ying and hummed softly, "Don't worry, since she is your sister, I will not bother with her for your sake." Ye Ying's eyes flickered slightly, and she lowered her head shyly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
As soon as I entered Qingyixuan, I heard a few idle maids muttering and exclaiming about the rich betrothal gifts sent by Prince Li's Mansion today, and how lucky it was for the fourth lady to marry Prince Li as his principal wife. Of course, they also talked about the misfortune of the third lady marrying the useless prince who was known to everyone in the capital. Qingshuang was so angry that her face turned pale. Before Ye Li could speak, she shouted, "How dare you! Who gave you the courage to talk about the master?!" Those maids were probably too absorbed in what they were saying, and they didn't even know when six or seven people stood behind them. When they heard Qingshuang's voice, they turned around and were so scared that their bodies softened and they knelt on the ground.
Ye Li walked past the kneeling maids with a calm expression. Just when the maids were relieved that they had escaped, they heard Ye Li say, "Go down and receive twenty strokes of the cane each."
"No... Miss, please forgive us, we dare not..." Although Qingyixuan is not a favored courtyard in the mansion, it is not much different for these maids who do chores. In other courtyards, it is not the maids' turn to have good things, but the third young lady is the easiest to serve in the whole Ye Mansion. Usually, she never makes excessive demands to embarrass the people below, nor does she get angry at the maids, and she has basically never punished anyone in the courtyard, so these little girls inevitably think that the third young lady is soft-hearted and they become lax. But they didn't expect that they were punished with twenty boards for just saying a few idle words today.
"Go away!" Too lazy to listen to those words of begging for mercy, Ye Li left with a cold voice.
"Miss, why bother getting angry with those little guys? It's not worth it to make yourself upset for nothing." Qingshuang followed behind Ye Li and advised softly.
Ye Li glanced back at her and said with a smile: "Do you think I'm angry?"
"Miss...what's up?" In recent years, it is rare to see the young lady punishing the maids.
Ye Li sneered and said, "I punished them not because they gossiped, but because they betrayed their master."
"Huh?"
"If you were a maid, would you stand at the entrance of the yard to gossip about your master?"
Qingshuang suddenly realized what was going on and asked in confusion: "Who ordered them to do this? Could it be the Madam? What good will this do for her, other than pissing off the young lady?" And it's not certain that she would be pissed off.
Ye Li frowned slightly, shook her head and said to Qing Shuang: "Tomorrow you go to the Yu Shi Mansion in person and deliver a letter to my second uncle for me. Tell the outside world that there are some things I don't understand and want to ask my second aunt for advice, and ask her to come over when she is free. By the way, tell my aunt that there is no rush."
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