Imperial Capital 21. Hundred Flowers Festival (2)

Ye Mansion Gate

Before Ye Li could even leave the house, she saw Ye Ying walking in slowly, surrounded by maids, followed by Ye Lin and Ye Shan, who looked very happy. It seemed that the matter of the Hundred Flowers Festival post had been resolved. Ye Li was not very familiar with these two sisters, so even if they occasionally played tricks on her to please Wang, she would not bother with them as long as they did not really offend her. After all, she had never fulfilled her responsibilities as a sister, so she could not expect them to have the friendship of a sister to her. Seeing Ye Li, Ye Lin and Ye Shan reluctantly stepped forward to greet her.

"Hello, Third Sister."

Ye Li nodded, "Fourth sister, fifth sister, sixth sister."

Ye Ying was wearing a snow-white wide-sleeved gown with pink cherry blossom petals dotted in between. Her black hair was tied into a simple bun, and a pair of butterflies were flying in her hair. The delicate butterfly wings trembled slightly when she moved, making her look lifelike. Ye Ying was undoubtedly a girl who knew how to dress herself up. In fact, the Ye family sisters were all pretty, but Ye Lin and Ye Shan, who were also well-dressed, became nothing more than foils in front of Ye Ying. The pink cherry blossom petals between her eyebrows made her look like a fairy. The most beautiful woman in the capital really lived up to her reputation.

While Ye Li was looking at Ye Ying, Ye Ying was also looking at the third sister whom she and her mother disliked. Ye Ying had never attended any gatherings in the capital and did not seem to be good at dressing up. She had not taken Ye Li seriously at first. Seeing Ye Li in a light blue dress from a distance just now confirmed this idea. Although Ye Li did not wear the clothes that her mother had sent, it did not mean that she could take better care of herself. But after walking in, Ye Ying found that Ye Li's dress was not as inconspicuous as she thought. The light blue fabric, seemingly plain and simple, was faintly flowing with gorgeous dark patterns under the sunlight, and the silver-thread embroidered peony pattern gave the girl in front of her a reserved, elegant and noble aura. The two jade orchid hairpins inlaid with night-shining pearls in her hair were the new products released by Fenghua Building this month. I had my eyes on them for a long time, but my mother had never agreed to buy them. I didn't expect to see them on Ye Li's website. Looking at Ye Li's low-key yet generous, simple yet noble clothes, Ye Ying, who was originally a little proud of her makeup, wanted to turn around and tear off the clothes immediately.

Thinking of what she heard two days ago about the Dingguo Palace sending someone to give something to Ye Li, Ye Ying felt even more depressed. Since she got engaged to Prince Li, Prince Li had never given her anything!

"Now that everyone is here, let's set off. It won't be good if we're late." Ye Li retracted her gaze and said to her three sisters.

Three carriages had already been parked outside the door. The first one belonged to Ye Li, and then to Ye Ying. As concubines, Ye Shan and Ye Lin could only share one carriage. The youngest, Ye Shan, looked at the red sandalwood carved carriage, the pear wood carved carriage with gauze curtains that belonged to Ye Ying, and then looked at the one she and Ye Shan shared, and pouted her lips in grievance. Looking at Ye Ying and Ye Li who got on the carriages, Ye Shan rolled her eyes and ran to Ye Li, "Third sister, can Shan'er sit with you?"

Ye Li, who had already boarded the carriage, came back to her senses and looked at Ye Shan, who had an innocent and eager face, and nodded nonchalantly, "Come on up."

Ye Shan hurriedly stepped on the brocade stool and got on the carriage happily. Ye Ying, who was behind, obviously heard what they said. She lifted a corner of the veil and smiled at Ye Lin who was still standing beside her: "In that case, Fifth Sister, you can sit with me. It will save me from being bored alone." Ye Lin hurriedly thanked Ye Ying with gratitude and followed her into Ye Ying's carriage.

The carriage went slowly and steadily to the Peony Garden. Ye Li sat in the carriage and looked at the obvious and unconcealed regret on Ye Shan's face. She just felt funny. Was she regretting her behavior just now, which might have upset Ye Ying? Girls in this era think too much. Ye Shan will not be thirteen in a few months. She remembered that even when she was twelve years old in her previous life, she was forced to memorize countless military books and strategies, but in fact she was still a little kid who knew nothing. It's good enough to play tricks with grandpa or cousins ​​occasionally. How could she think of these intrigues? This is just a strategy for their survival, so Ye Li didn't want to deliberately embarrass this girl who was feeling regretful.

"Being too competitive is not a good thing." After handing the book to Qingshuang, Ye Li looked at Ye Shan with interest. After all, she was still young and could not hide her expression and thoughts.

"You...what are you talking about? I didn't!" Ye Shan's tender little face flushed, she bit her lip and glared at Ye Li.

"Is there really a big difference between riding in my carriage and riding your own carriage?" Ye Li asked calmly.

Ye Shan stared at her fiercely, her eyes showing resentment and resentment, but soon turned into frustration, "Yes, even if you are not favored anymore, you are still a legitimate daughter. Even if the engagement is broken off by Prince Li, you can still marry Prince Ding as a legitimate wife. And no matter how smart I am or how much I please my father and grandmother, I will always be a concubine's daughter. In the future, I will either marry someone else as a concubine or marry a concubine's son as the main wife." Ye Li looked at the resentful little girl in front of her speechlessly. She was thinking about these things at the age of twelve. Even after so many years, she was still a little uncomfortable. Moreover, the girl's words were really not very nice, "It's not a good habit to say hurtful things."

"snort!"

Ye Li was too lazy to argue with her, and only said to herself when they were about to reach their destination: "If your identity cannot be changed, it is better to make your life better within the possible range than to desire something that you cannot achieve."

Ye Shan was stunned for a moment, and it took her a long time to react. She glared at Ye Li angrily and said, "Are you warning me not to dream of good things?"

Ye Li felt choked for a moment, and after a long while she said, "I mean, you are still young, you can take your time with whatever you want. Also, it seems like we should get off the bus."

Seeing Ye Shan rushing to get off the car first with a sullen face, Ye Li shrugged her shoulders in amusement. Qing Shuang said gloomily, "Miss, why do you care about Miss Six? She always bullies you. You really don't know how to be kind."

Ye Li patted her hands, stretched out her hand to lift the car curtain and said with a smile: "She is still a child. Everyone has their own means of survival. As long as she doesn't really harm me, why would I bother with a child?"

The Peony Garden is the largest peony viewing site in the capital and even in the entire Chu. Every year, people from all over the country and even other countries come here from thousands of miles away just to admire the beauty of the peony. April is the season when peonies are in full bloom, and you can smell the faint fragrance of flowers in the air from a distance.

The Shangshu Mansion was famous in the capital these days. One of the daughters was named Zhaoyi and pregnant with the heir to the throne. The other two daughters were the future Princess Li and Princess Dingguo. So when the carriage arrived at the door, it attracted many people's attention. While people were praising the beauty of the most beautiful woman in the capital, they also cast their sympathetic (pity?) eyes on the carriage in front. So when Ye Shan got out of the carriage, the people who were pretending to be casual onlookers were stunned. When they came to their senses, they saw a cute girl dressed as a maid getting out of the carriage, and then the curtain was lifted and a beautiful and quiet girl came out.

Is this the future Princess Ding?

Everyone was surprised or disappointed. Miss Third Ye was not as ugly and crude as they had imagined. Her calm and elegant manners showed that she was well-educated. This reminded everyone of Miss Third Ye's maternal grandfather, the Xu family, a century-old family with a long tradition of learning and etiquette. Looking at Miss Fourth Ye, who looked like a fairy, weak and helpless, it was obvious that a woman like Miss Third, who was beautiful, generous and dignified, was more suitable to be the mistress of the house. Perhaps out of jealousy of Ye Ying, many of the ladies present had a little doubt about the eyes of His Royal Highness Prince Li, whom they admired, and at the same time, they had a little more affirmation of themselves.

The peony garden was indeed full of blooming flowers and colorful butterflies, and the young girls lingering there added to the beauty. The girls walked in groups of three or four with their close friends, smiling and whispering, creating a scene of prosperity and peace.

When Ye Li and his party arrived at the venue in the center of the Peony Garden, many people had already arrived in advance. The girls gathered together, some playing the piano, some playing chess, some painting, and some writing poems. The maids from the princess's mansion shuttled among them, perfectly serving these noble ladies.

"Ying'er..."

As soon as Ye Ying approached, someone greeted her. Several girls of the same age came over to greet her. It was obvious that they had a good relationship with Ye Ying. Others also smiled at Ye Ying to welcome her.

"Ying'er, you're finally here. We haven't seen each other for a long time since you got engaged to His Royal Highness Prince Li." A girl in colorful clothes happily pulled Ye Ying and said with a smile.

Ye Ying smiled, and a blush appeared on her beautiful face. "Mom asked me to stay at home. I miss you all too."

After everyone was busy congratulating Ye Ying, the girl in colorful clothes asked, "Ying'er, this... is Miss Ye San?"

"I'm Ye Li, and I'm polite, ladies." Ye Li said with a smile.

The girls exchanged glances, and felt that the Third Miss Ye was not as bad as the rumors said. Moreover, she was the future Princess Dingguo, the real daughter of the Shangshu Mansion, and the granddaughter of Mr. Xu. Soon someone showed goodwill to Ye Li, "Hello, Miss Ye, I am Qin Zheng, the second daughter of Qin Yushi."

"My name is Murong Ting, the daughter of a powerful general."

“…”

"Huh! Who did I think it was? It turned out to be Miss Ye San, whose engagement was broken off by Brother Jingli."