Imperial Capital 28. Rejection

The Resident Beauties Pearl... Ye Li thought idly of the most coveted pearl of the three prizes she received, the emerald green pearl. It is said that those who wear the Resident Beauties Pearl can stay young forever. For women who love beauty, this is more attractive than precious jewelry and gorgeous clothes. However, for Ye Li, who is fifteen years old physically and has a huge psychological age, it is not that attractive. Everyone loves beauty. She is still very young now. Only if she takes care of herself a little more in the future, can she pursue beauty to the extent that her appearance is basically consistent with her actual age. If she still has a twenty-year-old face at the age of fifty, Ye Li is not sure if she really likes it that much. What's more, she is still skeptical about the so-called eternal youth of the Resident Beauties Pearl. At least the original owner of the Zhuyanzhu, Princess Zhaoyang, was younger than her peers, but she was far from being in her prime. But... just because she didn't care didn't mean that others could just plunder her!

"Father, please forgive me. Zhu Yanzhu is no longer with Li'er." Ye Li said calmly.

"How is that possible?!" Ye Ying exclaimed, then looked at Ye Li suspiciously and said, "Could it be that Third Sister is reluctant to leave Yan Zhu? Ying'er is also thinking about Empress Zhao Yi. After all, Empress Zhao Yi is the support of our Ye family."

Ye Li sneered inwardly at this. Rely on? How many of the aristocratic families that have been able to stand firm for a hundred years rely on nepotism for support?

"Fourth sister, you think too much. It's just a pearl. I've already given it away."

"Give it away? How could you give the Zhuyan Pearl away?" Wang screamed. Which woman in the world would not want the Zhuyan Pearl? If she hadn't been thinking about her daughter in the palace, Wang herself would have wanted to take the Zhuyan Pearl for herself.

Ye Li looked at her strangely and said puzzledly: "Li'er is only fifteen years old, it's far from the time when she needs to be beautify her face." She would not think like the ancients that fourteen or fifteen is the most beautiful age for a girl. Even though girls matured early in ancient times, girls of fourteen or fifteen still looked too immature. Even a beautiful girl like Ye Ying was actually far inferior to Yao Ji, a girl in her twenties with unique charm. Old Madam Ye's eyes darkened, and she looked at Ye Li and said: "Who did you give Li'er to? Let's see if we can exchange it back. Even if it's for something more precious, it's fine."

Ye Li frowned and stared at Old Madam Ye without blinking, with a strange look on her face, "Switch it back?"

Old Madam Ye was already old and shrewd, how could she not know how rude it was to ask for a gift back after giving it away. But the Zhu Yanzhu was of great use to Empress Zhaoyi, and she believed that when the news of the Hundred Flowers Festival reached the palace in two days, Empress Zhaoyi would ask them for it. Moreover, she did not intend to ask for it back in the name of the Ye family, and finally let Ye Li go to ask for it back in person. Of course, Old Madam Ye actually suspected that this was just Ye Li's excuse, and Ye Li was simply unwilling to give the things out. Forced out a gentle smile, Madam Ye said softly: "Good child, Grandma knows this is a bit rude. But you also know how important this Resident Beauty Pearl is to Empress Zhaoyi. Empress Zhaoyi has a hard time in the palace. If she has the help of the Resident Beauty Pearl, she can get more favor from the emperor..." Ye Li frowned and said helplessly: "But Grandma, I have already sent the Resident Beauty Pearl and Xue Yinqin to my uncle."

Minister Ye's face darkened in displeasure, and he glared at Ye Li and said, "Nonsense! What's the point of your uncle staying in Yanzhu?" If it was someone else, Minister Ye might have sent someone to stop it. But Minister Ye really didn't have the courage to stop the gift for his deceased wife's brother-in-law. Mr. Qingyun has two sons and one daughter. The second son Xu Hongyan is now the only one of the direct line of the Xu family who is still in the officialdom. In fact, the one who puts the most pressure on Minister Ye is his brother-in-law Xu Hongyu, who left the capital ten years ago. He is also the most famous scholar in the world today. Unlike Xu Yushi, who was elegant but slightly sharp and quite principled, this great scholar who was praised by the world and was said to be better than his master was always gentle and elegant, but if he didn't like someone, that person would definitely be worse off than dead. This was also the reason why Minister Ye didn't dare to send Ye Rong to Lishan Academy despite the relationship of marriage. This brother-in-law was not as decent as he looked, and he had a deep understanding of it.

Ye Li smiled and said, "My eldest uncle wrote to me a few days ago and mentioned that grandpa's pine organ was broken some time ago, so I was so happy to get the Snow Sound Pearl that I immediately asked someone to send it to grandpa. By the way, I remembered that there was no use for the Resident Beauty Pearl to keep it, so I sent it to my eldest aunt as well." Of course, I also sent the purple jade hairpin, which was said to have health-preserving effects, to my second aunt.

Minister Ye's face was distorted again. For some reason, when he heard that the pine organ his daughter gave to her father-in-law was broken, he suddenly felt a chill on his back. He was also a little angry and guilty. Therefore, he could not show any tough attitude towards Ye Li. He just said reluctantly, "You...child, why don't you discuss it with your father and mother?" Ye Li raised his eyebrows indifferently. Did his father have a bad brain because he had been an official for too long, or did he really think that Wang was virtuous? To give a gift to the former father-in-law, he had to discuss it with the concubine's step-wife. After discussing it, could she still give the gift away?

"It was Li'er who didn't know how to think about it. It was my uncle who said that grandpa was very angry. Li'er couldn't fulfill her filial duty in front of grandpa. She was so happy today when she got the Xue Yinqin that she immediately sent it away." Ye Li lowered her head guiltily.

Minister Ye forced a smile and said, "Father knows that Li'er is filial."

"Daddy..." Ye Ying called anxiously.

Minister Ye looked sullen and waved his hand, saying, "Let's end this matter here. No need to talk about it anymore. Send more banknotes to Yue'er in the palace. We can't skimp on the palace."

Although Wang was unwilling, she had been with Minister Ye for twenty years and knew her husband better than anyone else. As soon as she saw his expression, she knew that there was no room for negotiation. She couldn't help but resent Ye Li and the late Madam Ye. It was always like this! Whenever the Xu family was mentioned, her husband would never think of her. Could it be that the Xu family was his in-laws' family, but her Wang family was not?

After coming out of Rongle Hall, Ye Li let out a sigh of annoyance and turned to look at Ye Ying who followed him out. "Fourth sister, I'm going back first."

Ye Ying seemed not to have heard Ye Li's words, and smiled softly, "Third sister is really generous. She gave away such a priceless treasure without even looking at it."

"Fourth sister, you are joking. Grandpa and the two aunts are not outsiders. Moreover, the two uncles and aunts have taken good care of you. But although you were born in the Shangshu Mansion, you did not own any of the grass and trees around you. Now that you finally have a few things to show off, you naturally have to honor your elders. After all... people should be grateful, right?" And you, you have been living on my mother's dowry money for these years, have you ever thought about her at all?

"Third sister is right. I have learned my lesson." Ye Ying said in a low voice, gritting her teeth.

Ye Li smiled, "I am a vulgar person who only knows how to repay the elders' care with these things. I am not as elegant and unworldly as Fourth Sister who doesn't care about these material things. Fourth Sister, take care."

"Goodbye, Third Sister!"

No longer paying attention to how Ye Ying's expression changed behind her, Ye Li walked leisurely towards Qing Yi Xuan, "Qing Shuang, tell Aunt Zhao that the time is almost up. Find something for Madam to do. I don't want to see them recently."

"Yes, miss."